Slimy's Tales

Bitter Water

Word Count: 2458

Warnings: homophobia & d3ath

➼ The outlines of the different plot points, are inspired by different songs within the 'Dear Wormwood' album by the 'The Oh Hellos', specifically the songs (in this order),  Soldier Poet King, Prelude, Danse Macabre, There Beneath, Exuent, In The Blue Hours of Morning, Bitter Water, & Thus Always To Tyrants. 

‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ☠ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ☠ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ☠ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ☠ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊

"There once was a soldier, he carried a mighty sword, he tore cities down, standing proud for his people" I whisper dramatically.
The kids gasp and I hear a chorus of children yelling, "I wanna be a soldier!".

"There once was a poet, they could slay you with their tongue, with their words as their weapon" I say in an overly posh voice.
A few kids laugh, intelligence isn't normalised in our village. But my gaze falls upon one little boy, Aldred, who seems greatly intrigued, and make a mental note to tell the boy the full story of the poet later.

"There was a ruler, his crown, covered in thorns-" I begin again, when I am interrupted.
"What does that mean?" Little Joan chimes in.
"It means he was unfair and spiteful" I answer.
"Oh" she frowns.
"He tore cities down and ruled mercilessly" I say as I lean towards the kids, causing some to flinch in fear.
"Like me!" A little boy, Barnabas, jumps up triumphantly.
"Perhaps" I stifle a giggle.

The day passes me and I find myself doing Agnes's laundry, she is too busy cleaning to do her own, so I volunteer my time for her, as she cleans my family's house, and many others.

I scrub vigorously, trying to get her clothes as clean as humanly possible, when the little boy, Aldred, from before who was intrigued by the poet walks up to me.

"The poet was from three villages to the west" I say as I lift Agnes's now clean clothes from the river and haul them to a basket, "they over powered the village elders, convincing them that the elders did such a poor job". Aldred's eyes widen and he follows me as I walk side by side with the river, back towards our village. "They controlled the village for many years, their people thrived until one day, a king came, he had heard of the great power this poet had grasped. The king's men had to strike immediately, or the poet would change their minds. So while the village lay asleep, the king and his men killed the poet, and burned down the village". Aldred gives me his full attention, "what about the poet's knowledge?". I smile as we near the village borders, "Some say the poet hid their books across the land, I believe that some lie in our very village". Aldred's eyes widen in hope, "really?". I only nod, because I can tell people will be able to hear us now, "Good day, little boy" I smile. "Thank you Miss Ashdwon".

As I enter Agnes's house, I see her waiting impatiently. I stop for a moment, and then realise. "Oh, Agnes, I'm so sorry, I myself completely forgot. She laughs, "it's ok, but you should go get ready as well!". I nod quickly and drop the basket of clothing on her floor, hurrying over to the family house.

My younger sister, Emil, is attending the Festival, and will spend the night dancing, looking for a suitor. By the end of the night everyone will be paired and will prepare to ask for the maiden's hand in marriage.
I remember when I went to the festival, I was not successful in the slightest, so all the hope is left with Emil, or, as my mother so dramatically put it, the bloodline would end with us, which my father has made it very clear is not an option.