Gravity

Faerie spent the day with Ason and his family on their farm. She helped feed and water the animals, clean stalls, and repair fences. She loved working outside and Ason’s family admired her ability to keep up with them even though she wasn’t accustomed to doing farm work. Rey, had ensured that she was able to perform both hard, physical work like trapping and building things, and more domestic work, like sewing and cooking. Rey believed that everyone, whether male or female, should be able to live as independently as possible. She believed dependence on anyone else was a weakness that put the individual at a disadvantage.

Ason’s mother, Amanda, brought sandwiches out to the field where they were repairing the fences at lunchtime. The sandwiches were made with fresh bread and had a variety of fillings, including chicken salad, egg salad, and sliced turkey with vibrant green lettuce and slices of sun-ripened tomatoes. Amanda had also brought apples and pears from the trees in the orchard and carrots from the garden that she had cut into sticks. There was also cheese cut into cubes. She even brought a jug of cold tea that she had sweetened with honey. Amanda stayed to eat lunch with the family. She stayed to help with the fence for a little while, but then she excused herself to return to the house with the two younger boys, Eric and Jason, so she could give them their daily educational lessons and start preparations for dinner. Faerie offered to help in the house, but Amanda assured her that she had everything under control and that she needed her to supervise Ason and her husband, Anthony, while they worked in the field to make sure they stayed on task.

When the light in the field started to fade Faerie, Ason, and Anthony finished the section of fencing that they were working on and took all of the tools back to the barn.

Faerie was accustomed to working hard outside all day, but having a meal ready to eat when she got home was a new experience for her. She couldn’t tell what Amanda had cooked for dinner, but it smelled better than anything she had ever experienced in her entire life. The guys insisted that she, being the guest, wash up first. She used the guest bathroom to wash her hands and face, but realized that she still smelled of sweat and dirty farm work. She used the washcloth that had been provided for her to wipe down most of her torso and clean around her neck. She actually felt much better and wished she had a chance to shower and change her clothes before dinner, but she knew Ason and Anthony both needed to wash up, too.

When Faerie got to the kitchen she helped Amanda set the table and get the younger boys down from their bedrooms. She marveled at the size of the farmhouse, which had been the home of Mr. Arton’s guardian before his death. The house had at least five bedrooms, as far as she could tell, as well as a bunkhouse for hired hands. She couldn’t tell how old the house was, but she assumed from the size that it must have housed a large family at some point before marriage was banned in the Republic. Mr. Arton had opted to use children as his workforce instead of hired hands, so the bunkhouse had fallen into a state of disrepair.

When everyone got to the table Faerie noticed that the family was relaxed and happy. Amanda had prepared a beef roast with carrots and potatoes from the garden. She had also made fresh biscuits, which she served with butter that she had churned from the cream she skimmed off the milk provided by the farm’s cows. There was also jam she had made from blackberries. For dessert Amanda had made a pie out of the apples collected from the trees in the farm’s orchard. Faerie couldn’t remember having a meal that delicious, and made with such fresh ingredients, in her entire life.

Anthony and Amanda talked quietly to each other about what had been accomplished on the farm and in the younger boys’ schooling that day. The younger boys teased each other and competed for Faerie’s attention in their attempts to impress her with their stories about their lives on the farm. Ason watched with amusement as Faerie patiently listened to the younger boys’ chatter and expressed interest in everything they had to say. She did catch him looking at her a couple of times and he just smiled, blushed, and lowered his gaze to his plate.

After dinner Faerie and Ason washed the dishes while Anthony and Amanda got the younger boys washed up and off to bed. Anthony read them a story while Amanda came down to the living room and got a fire started. When the dishes were finished Faerie and Ason joined Amanda by the fire. Anthony came down and reported the younger boys were fast asleep. The four of them laughed and talked about the day and current happenings in the village until the daylight was completely gone from the sky. Faerie complemented Amanda on how amazing all the food she had prepared throughout the day was.

Amanda replied that living on the farm was actually a luxury after hiding out in the woods for two years. Having to forage for food, without ever actually having enough, had made the family really appreciate being able to produce enough food for their own needs. They even produced enough to trade for items they were not able to obtain from the farm. “It’s hard work,” she said, “but I am thankful many, many times each day for what we have now after going without things for so long.”

Faerie finally had to excuse herself for the evening, because she knew Rey would start to worry if she wasn’t home soon. Anthony insisted that Ason accompany her on her trip home, even though Faerie insisted that she was fine and knew the way perfectly well. “We deeply appreciate all of your help today and we would be terrible hosts if we didn’t ensure your safe trip home.”

Faerie really did want Ason to walk her home so they could spend some time together alone, but she also wanted to show Ason that she was capable of taking care of herself. In the end, Amanda and Anthony said “Good evening” to Faerie and thanked her, again, for all of her help on the farm that day. They also said that if she was ever interested in taking a job outside Rey’s seamstress and trapping business they would definitely be interested in discussing terms with her. Faerie thanked them for their hospitality and said she hoped to see them all again soon. She gave them both a sincere hug goodbye and she and Ason set out on the walk back to the village.

As they started their walk Faerie fantasized about accepting the offer of employment from Ason’s family. She knew she had some time before she could actually accept it, though. At 17 and a half years of age she was quickly approaching the age of independence, which was 18 years old in the Republic. She knew that Rey was open to her staying on longer in the shop if she wanted to, but she also felt like her presence was preventing Rey and Xenin from becoming the couple they were destined to be. Rey disappeared to Xenin’s house for small stretches of time throughout the day, but she obviously felt obligated to get back home frequently to check in with Faerie. Faerie believed that if she found employment outside the home and shop, Rey would be free to spend as much time with Xenin as she wanted to. They might even decide to share a home and start a family of their own if it ever became a possibility. Since there was at least six months before any of this mattered, Faerie chose to focus on Ason during the walk home, instead of the distant future.

At first the walk was a little bit awkward. She had enjoyed Ason’s company all day, but being alone together created pressure in a way she wasn’t prepared for. They talked about the events of the day, but there was also a connection between the two of them that had never been addressed. Faerie felt it, and she was pretty sure Ason felt it, but they had never actually spoken about it. Faerie was not particularly interested in her science curriculum when she had done her educational lessons, but she did remember the concept of gravity and how it caused the moon to circle around the Earth, and the Earth to circle around the sun. It made the planets and moons circle around other bodies instead of moving off into space. Even though she didn’t know what to talk about with Ason much of the time she felt a force between them that she could only compare to gravity. She couldn’t imagine just walking away from him and not coming back.

When the lights of the village became brighter Ason seemed to sense that they were running out of time and he adopted a boldness Faerie hadn’t seen in him before. He stopped and turned to Faerie and said, “You were amazing on the farm today.”

Faerie felt a sense of panic, like their interaction was finally getting real and she wasn’t sure what to say. She started to babble, “I had a great time with your family. I really loved helping and being involved in everything. I’m not used to the relationships you have with your family. Did I tell you Rey was not my original guardian? She took over when I was eleven years old. She’s been really good to me, though, and worked really hard to make sure I am well-trained and self-sufficient. She’s not my mother, though, and I’ll never know what it’s like to have a real mother. Things have changed since she was affected by the locket, but I can tell she feels limitations in our relationship because she is not actually my mother and she seems to have feelings for me, but she isn’t really comfortable expressing them.”

Faerie realized she had just expressed all of the thoughts she’d had in the last couple of months in a continuous train of thoughts. She looked at Ason, but he didn’t seem shocked as she had expected. He looked right into Faerie’s eyes and smiled. “I feel like I am finally getting to know you. You’ve had an invisible wall up since I met you and I haven’t been able to figure out how to get around it.”

Faerie realized they had nearly reached the outskirts of town. The green light from the sign on the general store pierced the darkness, casting an eerie glow on the road between them and the outer buildings of the village. She looked up into Ason’s eyes and smiled back, feeling emboldened by the darkness. Ason reached out to move a strand of her wavy hair out of her face and they just looked at each other for what was probably just a few seconds, but felt like an eternity.

The next thought Faerie had was that their faces were moving toward each other and they were probably going to collide at some point. Then their lips found each other and she stopped trying to think. She felt like she was taking a deep breath after being underwater too long. She felt a whirlpool in her stomach. She was floating through time and space. She had no idea whether the kiss lasted a few seconds or several hours, but it was definitely over too soon. Ason smiled and said, “We’d better get you home before Rey comes looking for you.”

The story continues in Trapped Under Ice.