"You know they wont like it!"
"They don't have to know! I'll be back before their next visit, safe and sound, not a scratch!"
"Child! There best not be a single hair hurt on your head or I wont hear the end of it from your Ma and Pa!"
An exasperated Jackilyn protested
"Oh don't be like that, we've gone over this before, nothing is going to happen!"
"Not when she has a doctor to be kissying up to! Mwah Mwah Mwah"
Alys continued with her kissing sounds till narrowly avoiding the pillow Jackilyn threw at her, her arms covering her face incase it met its mark. Mrs Denton gave then both a very disapproving look yet carried on folding the clothes that had come off of the line.
"Sellswords! That's what the man deals in, and you wanting to go on a trip with him and his lady friend? What do you know of the man hmm?! Nothing! And if you did, then I would want to know why! Blood and violence is a sellsword life, not appropriate for young women, at, all!"
"Don't forget the pretty healer! Think he has room for one more? I could sit on his lap!"
Both Jacki and Mrs Denton looked at sixteen year old Alys, a girl far too interested in men for her mothers taste, and the girl looked back, all innocence and sweetness, accompanied by a...
"What?! Oh fine! I'll just stay here, locked away, growing old and become a spinster!"
These words gave two very different reactions. Alys' mother directed a glare, though it soon set on Jacki who had burst out laughing, but once she'd stopped (at least enough to speak) she said her piece.
"Alys, you are the prettiest girl in Bree, all the lads say that! Besides, Elias is spoken for and he doesn't need anyone sitting on his lap..maybe..certainly not you anyway!"
The younger girl pouted, protesting the words
"The boys my age are just that, I need a man, someone exciting and handsome!"
Her mother interjected
"You need no such thing child! Not for a good while anyway! So get your head out of the clouds and fold some of these clothes!"
Alys looked at Jacki
"Where were you last night? I came by and the house were locked up"
"I were sleeping Alys, I always lock up at night"
"It were too early for that"
"No it wasn't"
"Was!"
"Not!"
Jacki playfully poked her tongue out at her
"Was! Besides, I looked through the windows and you weren't in there!"
This caught Mrs Dentons attention, the old woman halting in her folding of a shirt, it hanging in her hands as she too awaited an explanation
"I went out, alright? I spent a bit of time with Mister Maddoct and Elias"
Alys probed further
"When did you get home then? Or were you too busy looking into them pretty eyes of his?"
Mrs Denton looked confused
"Maddocts?!"
This sent the two younger women into fits of giggles, but declining to answer the question, Jacki picked up a pair of trousers, throwing them at Alys to fold, and a shirt for herself. Her mood was light, and the house was full of laughter, just as she liked it.
