Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

03: Lord What Fools

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Once outside, Juliette let Thomas go on ahead first, content to merely sit on the doorstep and take in the morning sunshine. As she gazed across the seemingly endless field in front of her and focussed on the feeling of the September breeze on her bare arms she contemplated going back inside to get a coat, and then smiled at the mundanity of her current predicament in comparison to her problems of only a few days before.

She only hoped the peace would last.

After what could have been anything from fifteen minutes to half an hour Juliette stood up from the doorstep and smiled into the sunlight, setting off into the inner parts of Aldbourne. She forwent a jacket in favour of feeling the sunlight on her skin, and wondered mindlessly what Thomas was doing at that moment. Flirting with whoever he could find, no doubt.

Grinning to herself at the thought, Juliette wandered into the centre of the village, shooting shy smiles at the people she made eye contact with and even engaging in a polite, though brief, conversation with one elderly woman who complimented the colour of her dress.

Juliette beamed at that; yellow had always been her favourite. She had once decided, rather naïvely she'd easily admit now, that life could never be too terrible if there was a splash of yellow about. Whilst that philosophy had long since withered away in the wake of too many difficult experiences, she quietly hoped it might brighten someone else's day at the very least.

After passing a tailor's, a baker's, and noticing a post office across the road, Juliette paused to fully take in the bustling activity around her. Whilst she had predicted that Aldbourne would be alive with activity due to its paratrooper population, she hadn't imagined there being nearly so many locals. She thought it was rather nice.

At least it would be easier to fit in if not everyone knew each other.

Turning back to the direction she was heading once more, Juliette took a single step forwards before colliding into someone who most certainly hadn't been there a second earlier. About a dozen packages covered in brown paper crashed to the floor, and a muttered, "Shit!" as well as a flash of khaki told her she'd just bumped into one of the very people she sought to avoid.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself, crouching to retrieve some of the dropped packages.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I should've looked where I was going," the man brushed her away, bending as well and desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the brunette girl's face as she tried to beat him in picking up as many packages as possible.

Successful in her silent competition, Juliette rose to her feet and handed the packages back to the man, who had also stood back up. "Well, I'm sorry all the same."

The man grinned when their eyes met; he had a charming, though genuine smile, but a mischievous glint in his eye. "So, I haven't seen you around here before. Why is that?"

Juliette internally rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you have."

"If I had, miss, I'd remember it, believe me." And there it was. Boys never really could seem to help themselves.

This time, Juliette actually did roll her eyes, but she wore a smile as well to let him know that it was good-natured. "Yeah, okay."

Much to her surprise, the man laughed. "What? Heard better?"

Juliette grinned. He was fun. "Oh, infinitely. That was an embarrassing effort, really, if I'm to be entirely honest."

"Damn, I'm crushed."