The Six Maidens

Chapter 7: Humiliation

Della and Jane were walked towards a small stone palace. Near its entrance, they were made to sit on the muddy ground, with their backs against the wall. Their arms were tied to their waists with heavy chains. Their feet, before them, were put into the stocks. These were large boards with holes in them. Their shoes were left off. They wore signs around their necks with a "B" for "blasphemer". The knight doing this to them explained that their offense against a monk was an assault on the Church and on God.

At first, it seemed comfortable. Peaceful, even. The wall sheltered them from the rising sun behind them. But then, they realized why this location was chosen. In front of this castle was a large, sprawling, stone square. And people were setting up market stalls of all kinds, all around it. Near them was a fishmonger, whose wares gave off a ripe smell. Beyond that a butcher, competing to give off more rank odor. They could also see merchants of cheese, wheat, vegetables, wine, jewelry, spices, furs, cotton, wool, more of everything than the town of Derlain produced in a month.

They didn't know the name of this town. Della wondered why it was so rich when Derlain was so poor.

But she didn't have time for thinking when they started to notice her and her companion. Most people passed them and didn't care. But children started tickling their feet. Some people came by and pinched them, kicked them, hit them, or threw rocks. Usually though, the people tormenting them didn't linger. They moved on, quickly bored of it.

Della tried not to yell too loudly, giggle too much, or squirm too much when they did these things. She didn't want to give them satisfaction, but also she figured they would get bored more easily, and move on faster, if she didn't react. But, that strategy backfired. Giving a stifled reaction meant the children especially would just do more and more, hoping to get more of a reaction out of her. Tickling with a finger would turn into pinching, then poking her feet with a stick. One little boy had a fun time catching a bunch of ants and dropping them on Della's lap. A girl came by and kept throwing handfuls of dirt at both of them, until they were covered. Then she got bored and moved on.

Then a man saw them, and saw the "B" they wore. He was clearly incensed that they had offended God. He yelled something at them, and said something about 'Our Lord and Savior', but they could not understand his accent. He gave both girls mighty backhand slaps across the face. His ring left a scratch on Della's face. She allowed herself to shed tears, but was unable to wipe them away, or the snot. She looked at Jane. Jane was not crying. Jane's eyes looked dull, dead. Della had never seen her like that. She didn't speak, and it seemed like she had gone into her own mind. Gone somewhere not real, but far away. Della wished she could go far away, in her mind, as well.

Morning became noon, and the sun overhead scorched them. People spat on them, cursed them, and threw pebbles. But most ignored them. In the afternoon, there was a hanging. Della understood from the knight's speech to the crowd that it was a cow thief, although they used a different word for 'cow'. She could tell they were talking about cows because he'd mentioned the value of the animals in terms of the cheese they could make. Della considered that they may have meant a goat, but a goat was usually much less valuable than a cow. She doubted theft of them, by itself, would warrant a hanging.

A dense crowd gathered in front of Della and Jane, but they were interested in the hanging, not in them. The man being executed had a wild look in his eyes. His head was covered in sweat, which drenched his red-gold hair. His facial hair was unshaven, but not quite a beard. His clothes bespoke his poverty, they looked like old hand-me-downs, the style and color out of fashion for decades. His last words were "Get fucked!" The hanging had no complications, so his death was quick. The stinking body was left up for the crowd to gawk and jeer at. Some threw things. But mostly, they dispersed. They were no longer interested in the market stalls. Most people had done their business for the day already. Stalls started to pack up.

An old woman in a proper, but plain dress with a white bonnet came to Jane and Della.

"When do you get out, my dears?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning, at sun-up." Jane said.

"I will give you food and drink. You poor dears."

She offered them water from a glass bottle. They drank eagerly. She took a rag out of her purse, wetted it with the bottled water, and wiped the dust from their faces. She slipped a note, rolled up, into the front of Della's blouse.

"This will give you directions to my house when you get out."

"It was accepting hospitality that got us here in the first place." Della glared. Jane nodded, looking depressed.

"Brother Mathew is a stain on this community. Don't let him make you think we're not a kind town."

"What is this town?" Jane asked.

"Denburg." she said.

"We hadn't expected such a major town between Derlain and the capital." Della wondered why she hadn't heard of it.

Maybe if we knew about it, they knew we'd run off for here, she thought. But she couldn't imagine that every adult in town had lied. Maybe they did not know about it. Travel to the capital was rare.

"It's a relatively new town, only founded ten years ago." the old woman said.

"Why was it built?" Jane asked.

"It was founded by a prince. The third son of the king and queen, Prince Dennis. That's why it's called Denburg. He started coming out here to get away from the bustle of the city. But he was popular, and people flocked to him out here. Merchants and lords came here to make deals with the prince. The town came up around all the trade that brought to the area."

"So it was that prince who sentenced us to these stocks?" Della asked.

"Yes. He is good friends with Brother Mathew. Mathew is his personal friend, confessor, confidant, and... drinking companion."

"Well, I'll be sure next time I smack a man that he's not so well connected." Jane grumbled.

"Yes, it's a shame, us women don't have it easy." she said.

"I just want to get out of here and get to the capital and study with Jane, or join a convent, and forget this whole mess." Della said.

"Me too. The sooner I get to that university library, the better." Jane said.

"Well, take care then. Come and find me. You're welcome to stay at my cottage for as long as you'd like." she said, leaving them.

The evening and night passed with mostly just boredom, hunger, and the cold that came with the darkness.

In the morning, as promised, a knight came and set them free.