The owls, badgers and foxes were the only ones who should have business at such late an hour, but in naught but her night gown again, her hair akin to that of a mad birds nest, Rosie opened the heavy oak door to the blubbering sight before her.
"C'mon in Ains.." Unable to help but yawn, given she had been disturbed from her sleep, she then closed the door with a gentle thud behind the crying woman and went straight for a bottle of hard drink. "Wha's 'e done now then?". "Aint he! It's they!" Snapped back the younger lass, her tone not like the last when she knocked upon their door, this time it was feisty, frustrated and made Rosie feel that putting on some armor would be a wise course of action. The imposing figure of a man stood in a doorway to the parlor and gave his lover a look as if to ask if all was well, replying to the unspoken question with a reassuring little nod. Pouring a line of three drinks, he disappeared again.
"Well Ains? If it aint 'e, wha' 'ave –you- gotten int' now?" She asked as she handed the girl a drink, the sleepiness making her sound more apathetic than she actually was. The blonde glared at her friend with such intensity that if looks could convey her anger, anyone else would have ran for cover. "I hate them!" Spat out the girl with an unusual amount of venom to her tone "I told them no, told them stop, but would they listen?! No, no they bloody well wouldn’t! Fighting! Is that all fellas do? Can't get what they want so they fight, fight, fight.." Rosie went to interject but was met with a barrage of words on the matter "and for what? To get cut up and broken! That’s what! If he hadn't had blimming well called me a whore, he wouldn’t be beaten to a pulp, nor the other fella!!! They're stupid! Stupid, fat, ugly, stupid!!!".
Rosie put her palm to her head, it still dazed by sleepiness. Cautiously, in case she was interrupted again, the woman replied, "Let me get this righ'. Your fella pummeled another fella because 'e called y' a 'hore? Unde-", "No!!" Yelled the little blonde as she threw her arms up in the air, her drink going everywhere as a result "NO!! Me fella, hmph, -was- me fella, called me that!!!! All because the other fella told him that we had a tumble!!!" Rosie closed her eyes as she groaned and decided to top up her drink, knocking the contents back quickly before refilling the cup again.
"Remember! Remember I were all upset because he were sat with lasses and all? Well, Gerlof, we were talking outside the inn me and him, and it were nice before! All cuddles and cooking, spent time t'gether, stayed at me house, were falling for him deep Rosie, really were! Well, this big lad comes over, says something about a wager, turns out him and Gerlof took a wager on a man that were stabbed, to see if he'd live or die! I couldn’t believe it! Made me feel sick it did! Told them both to bugger off!!"
Rosie took the now empty cup out of the womans hand, replacing it with what was intended to be Blinces, not interjecting, but allowing the woman to blabber on "I didn’t mean forever!! He didn’t come looking for me Rosie, instead he stayed with his friend, he didn’t care one bit why this would upset me! Tell me I aint wrong Rosie?" Bravely, Rosielea wrapped her arm around her friend, only saying "Aye, tha's cold Ains.." "It weren't meant to be like this Rosie! We were meant to talk, he were meant to say sorry, that it were wrong, and we'd be all happy again! He didn’t come looking for me Rosie!!"
Finally, the girl had some of her drink, only then to hold it away from her with a disgusted face and ask "What is this?!" To then be met with a "Drink up, it'll do y' good. Now..y' were sayin'…?"
The girl did as he friend told her, drinking back another mouthful and scrunching her face up as before, the spirit strong and harsh as it went down her gullet. "Remember when I were robbed? That big fella who tried helping? Well It were raining the other day, I were soaked through, he were there, we had a drink and a natter, I said more than I should about things and..he got all bold, says he wants me to be his!! Ale were strong, he were very strong, I were upset.." At this point, Rosie gave her friend a very disapproving look. "Anyway, that don’t matter! After that day, he and Gerlof, well, it aint pretty. Words here, looks there, and after Gerlof goes throwing coins at me, it ends up in a proper fight, blood and all! I hate fighting! You know I do, especially after what happened with me brother!" Squeezing her arm around her friend, Rosielea also kissed the top of Ainsleighs head, whispering "Aye..I do.. 'e were a lovely lad."
For a moment, they sat peacefully with their thoughts, sniffles here and there, a sip of a drink and the crackling of the hearth. The words of her friend milling in her mind, Rosie eventually broke the silence "Well, you got into a righ' mess, an' is the way of things when y' a pretty lass like y'self. Stay 'ere if y' like, Blince don' mind. Y'don' want t'be goin' 'ome when they are all angry like, an' we don' need 'em upsettin' y' anymore than y' are eh?" The blonde nodded and cuddled into her friends protective embrace, her hair stroked by the slightly older Rosielea. "It'll be alrigh' Ains, we'll sort it.." She said as she looked back to the parlor at the man she loved, he agreeing with a nod of his own this time and a solution already playing in his mind.
