The Vagrant King

Chapter 27

Julian swore to himself that he would only stay on Adelaide's farm for a few days, but he stayed much longer. He reasoned that it was smart to stay with Adelaide in the countryside. If Regulus was searching for him, he wanted to wait it out. If Regulus had not already forgotten about him already, he would soon.

In the beginning, Julian slept in the barn. He woke up at sunrise, ate porridge on Adelaide's doorstep, and did whatever she asked during the day. He fed the chickens, carried water from the river, and spent two days repairing the hole in the roof of the barn.

Julian met Adelaide's grandfather. He did not loathe Julian as either of them expected. He was ill and bedridden. He seemed too weary to care about Julian's Veneroi blood.

When Adelaide asked Julian to sell the eggs in the village square for her, he volunteered to bathe and feed her grandfather instead. He knew she thought it odd, since caring for the sick old man was unpleasant work, but she didn't question him.

On another rainy night, Adelaide invited him into the house to sleep. He slept on the floor of the kitchen in front of the hearth. There was not enough room in the house, and he didn't dare ask to share a bed with her. The warm kitchen was a wonderful respite from the drafty barn. From then on, he slept in the kitchen on a makeshift pallet.

Even she often ran into the kitchen in her nightgown because of his dreadful nightmares, she never asked him to return to the barn. Adelaide was generous with what she had, despite her poverty. She gave him some of her grandfather's old clothes and they dwarfed his slender frame.

Julian worked tirelessly as though the farm were his own land. Thoughts about his future on the farm began to appear naturally. One morning, he suggested that they till the overgrown garden. He hoped that they could have vegetables come springtime. They spoke about growing potatoes next fall, and saving enough to buy a cow. Years ago, when Adelaide's parents were still alive, they had cows. Then famine struck, and each animal was sold one-by-one. Julian hoped he could help Adelaide return the farm to its former glory.

Julian had not been this happy in a long time.

                                                       ~

One evening, Julian was sat at the dinky kitchen table with Adelaide. Night had fallen a couple hours ago, but they were drinking warm milk and pressing grapes by candlelight. Adelaide had plucked them from a nearby vineyard, and they were hoping to make wine. They had talked about everything under the moon, like how many young chickens they would have in spring and Adelaide's grandfather's cough that he couldn't shake.

"Where are you from?" Adelaide said after some time, peering at him over the table with a hesitant smile. Even though he trusted her, he never spoke about any of the details of his past. It was better to pretend none of it had ever happened at all.

"Hythe. It is in the mountains," Julian answered, taking a sip of the warm milk. He deposited the grapes into a wooden bowl and began to crush them with his mallet. All afternoon, he had a craving for the red wine from the High Castle. Regulus often bragged about the many casks of wine in his cellar and how he had imported wine from every country. Julian used to be able to rest his hand over Regulus' and ask for more to drink. In the blink of an eye, the delicious wine began to flow. How strange to think of that now.

Julian pressed the grapes harder with his mallet and told himself to put the castle wine out of his head.

"I've met some mountain folk from Hythe on their way to Berleant." She answered, standing to take the mushed grapes. She poured them into a small cask, then handed the bowl back to Julian.

"Ah," Julian said simply, placing more grapes into the wooden bowl. He knew she expected him to say more, but he changed subjects quickly. "Could we sell this, do you think?"