Chapter 1

A blanket of suppressing heat enveloped the city of Versailles, wrapping fat, sticky fingers around the windows of houses, squashing tiny children and the elderly with heavy feet. After a day of arduous work in the fields, most families were spread out around the dirt floor, lying still and keeping the fires as low as possible. The sky was muggy, the deep, solid navy swallowing even the faintest glimpse of a star.

The only girl awake at such an ungodly hour was Alys. Looking at the low ceiling of the small barn, she absently gave the sleeping mule beside her a gentle pat, inhaling a swirl of animal, straw, and hot night air infiltrating the corn smell of the barn through the cracks in the faded red planks of wood. Now and again a horse would stamp its foot, snort lightly, or a pig would grunt and subconsciously shift. Alys was so familiar with the barn that she knew every animal by name, recognized their habits and patterns, brought them table scraps after a particularly potent dose of leftover meatloaf and stale bread.

Sighing in contentment, Alys stretched, reaching up hands and pretending she was an elastic band. She stopped short of the bit where she almost snaps and then bounces back when she felt a pain at her side. It was almost like a muscle cramp, except, well, it wasn't. A small white circle with skinny, wispy tendrils branching out, like a branding, was situated on Alys's hip and although easy to miss at first glance, gave her little bursts of pain sometimes. She had no idea where it had come from, and her parents had never bothered to answer her.

"I bet you got pregnant...by a sheep!" Her younger brother (who was not actually her younger brother but a street kid who sometimes stopped by to eat when it suited him) would howl through a mouthful of food, spitting all over the place. Her mother would respond by grabbing him by the ear and dragging him back to the table, rolling her eyes at his cuss words, and Alys would smirk triumphantly and stick her tongue out. Not before he showed her another wonderful view of the half digested slush and yellowing teeth.

She would miss him, the little bugger.

Because tomorrow, 18 year old Alys Delarue was going to get a job.

Having evaded it for so long, she realized now was when it was most crucial, and took it upon herself to accept the responsibility, hitch a ride on some sort of carriage or cart, and look for whatever she could find. As if the King didn't have enough money, he was bleeding the people dry, sucking all their hard-earned money by almost doubling tax rates and tariffs, to what? Maintain his greedy overseas spending? To dote on his expense foreign wife? Just the thought made Alys want to make that much more with the irrational ideology that she could make so much and pay so much that the King would be sick of her. The other half just wanted a storm to come along, pick up the house, pick up the barn and engulf them and all their troubles.

"Oh, Jack. If you only you knew what it was like. Or if only I was a mule.”

Alys didn't want to think right now. In two or three years, she might return with riches made, debts repaid, a new life for them all. A light breeze sang in her ear and danced in her thick mane of hair, and in what one might call either defeat or determination for a good start for the day to come, Alys turned over on her side, nestled her head in the haystack, and fell asleep to the even sound of breathing of the mule beside her.

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Short first chapter, but ‘tis only the beginning…muahahahaahahHAHAHAH

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OLB