King of his Cottage (Rosemary)

[fred]

There is a very small cottage on the edge of town, it's quaint with brown stone and mud walls and a thatched roof. There is miniature ivy growing up one side of the cottage, and plants and bushes flourishing year round. There is a curvy little pat that's snugly edged in pink and violet carpet flowers, and even a whimsical bronze garden sculpture, or rather it was a former paper weight Fred got at the market. It's seemingly picture perfect, and it's home to the Greenbottoms, a large family of gnomes.

Fred had gotten a letter the other day from the king of Temarra. Well, he assumed it was a mistake, that the king had meant to send it to one of the warriors in town, so Fred decided he would be a warrior, and sent a letter back to the king in his best chicken scratch:

"Dear King,

You can count on Fred the Great to be among your party. [unreadable scribble] I am [unreadable scribble] honored to be [unreadable scribble] counted among your ranks.

Thanks,
Fred the Great"

While he was in the market, he spied some one else who got a letter from the same phoenix. Er, well he assumed it was the same, for how many letter delivering phoenixes were there? So he talked to her, and even arranged himself transportation to see the king. He even cashed in two months worth of vacation at work, since he had never taken one ever before. Or perhaps it was early retirement, who knew?

The only thing left was to tell his wife. He could face twenty dragons, slay a demon, too, but the scariest thing was to tell his wife that he was going adventuring. He'd just have to say, "Woman, I'm goin' adventurin' and there's nothing you can say about it." He trembled on the uncomfortable dining chair, because as much as he talked, his wife always got the final word. So much for being king of his own castle...

[rosemary]

The little cozy kitchen was warmed by the blaze that was coming from the oven. The smell of fresh bread, beef, cabbage, potatoes, and fresh pumpkin pie hung upon the air heavily. It was a heavenly smell to say the least.

Today was the day of their weekly feasts. All of the grandchildren had been forced out of the cottage to go off and play while dinner was cooking. Even Baden and his wife had been forced out of the cottage as well. They had been put to work earlier in the day, picking fresh cabbage and potatoes for the dinner.

Rosemary came into the kitchen from the bedroom she shared with her husband. She had finally changed into more presentable clothes. She wore a dark green dress that was the shade of the pines. The sleeves were long and so was the skirt that fell to sandaled feet. Her hair had been pulled back into a braid that trailed along her back now.

The little gnome walked over to the window, checking the pie that had been set there to cool. She gave a slight smile as she moved to check the other food that was still cooking. Her eye trailed over to her husband, and an eyebrow arched.

“What is it ye be doin’?” she questioned as she straightened up from the oven to give Fred a steadier look. She put her hands upon her hips. “Oy, ye can’t scribble worth a damn. What ye think ye be doin’ wastin’ me good parchment?”

[fred]

"What does it look like I'm doin', woman? I ain't wastin' neither." The gnome said gruffly, and stared down at his message. He didn't want to tell her this was the first draft, and he really used two pieces of her good parchment. The second draft, which looked just about exactly the same, but with out scribbles in the margins and the multiple practices of him signing 'Fred the Great.' The phoenix needed an answer, asap, the letter said. And since he wasn't sure if the bird got the right address, he wanted to tell the king exactly who was coming. For all anyone knew, he was Fred the Great, Fred the Great Gardiner. He looked up at her and smiled sweetly, "Dinner is smellin' right luv'y. I do love yer pies. And yer cabbage. No one makes cabbage quite like you, meh love."

He folded up the paper and put his quill down. He looked at her, her hands upon her hips, and he knew he better just spill, "Um, so meh dear, uh, I put in for vacation. I ne'er had a good vacation before, you know, I've always bin workin', workin' fer you, meh love, and so I think I deserve it. An' well, uh, I got this letter, so Imma goin' adventurin'. I can't refuse meh dear, it was a letter from the King of Temarra! As you know, you can't refuse a king, so I'm planning on leaving in the mornin'. Another person from Feriay is goin', and she'll be takin' me."

He hesitated, "Uh, if that's alright for you, meh dear."

[rosemary]

As soon as Fred started to go on with his compliments to her cooking, Rosemary knew that something was up. The man wanted something or was about to do something she would not like at all. Oh, she knew his games. As soon as one ‘meh love’ came out of him, that’s when she knew he was desperate for whatever was on his mind.

When he started explaining exactly what he was up to, Rosemary was far from pleased. She was shaking her head as the last little bit came from her husband’s lips.

“No, ye ain’t goin’,” she said, shaking her head a bit firmer. “I don’ care who be invitin’ ye. Ye ain’t ta be goin’ off on some adventurin’. Whatcha plan on me doin’ while ye be away seein’ the world? Ye probably be off flirtin’ with some other woman. Forgettin’ about yer ol’ wife Rosemary and all yer children who I was laborin’ for hours to have for ye. Not to mention all yer grandchildren. Ye ain’t goin’, Fred.”

Rosemary turned form him, now annoyed as she took out the bread from the oven.

[fred]

Fred's jaw dropped, No? She said no? Then he frowned and narrowed his eyes a said grumpily, "Now listen here, Woman, yer not telling me where I can go! I'm the man of this house! I work meh buns off every day gardenin' for every lazy ranking man in this city! If I say I'm goin' to work for the king, I'm going." He nodded his head, looking lofty.

Then he peeped at his wife and said under his breath, "Besides I already told him Imma goin'."

He hated to fight with her, and at her last bit about laboring for him he shook and he tried to decide what to do and jumped off his chair, "Ugh!" He couldn't leave her. Maybe he was weak, maybe she made him feel too guilty, maybe it was because deep down he always loved her, it was probably all three. He came up behind her and put his arms around her. He kissed her neck, he said softly, and genuinely, "Meh dear, you know you're the only woman fer me. I 'ppreciate that you had our children an' raised 'em, the gods know if it were up ter me they'd be sold at the market along time ago," He chuckled, "Yer wonderful mother an' cook, an' 'specially wife. An' beautiful to boot. We both know you aged better o' the two o' us."

He gave her a light squeeze, "An' maybe you need some time off, too. Let our son an' his wife take care o' the house while we're gone. Maybe we can have this vacation together since our honeymoon. Let's just go to Temarra and get a room at an inn, an' just have some time to us, 'cause we've bin workin our 'ole lives, an' we ain't never had a vacation. A shapeshifter is going to Temarra tomorrow and she said she could bring us. What do ya say? Kin we be a bit spontaneous?"

[rosemary]

Rosemary let out a sigh, allowing her husband to hold her close. Truly, she had not wanted him to go for the simple fact that they had never really been separated since they married. Not to mention, the world out there was much bigger for a gnome. He could easily get hurt, and she wouldn’t have been there to cure him. But if she went…

Now, there was an idea. Her going with him on this little adventure. But there was so much to be done in the house, and truthfully Rosemary felt as if she could not trust Baden to actually get work done. She had this notion in her mind that nothing around the house could get done properly unless she did it.

“Oh, I don’ know Fred,” she said, her voice calming a bit as she leaned back against her husband. “The world is rather big for us, ye know. Not to mention, who is goin’ keep the house in order. Sorry ta say, but that boy of yers is unfit for bein’ the man of the house. Why ye think he be livin’ here with us?”

Rosemary thought once more. “I don’ know, Fred,” she repeated, seeming to struggle with the decision now, unlike she had been before.

[fred]

"He's half yers, too!" He said suddenly, that boy was a disgrace sometimes, why couldn't he be like his older brother who was responsible, hardworking, and honest. He softened, "Oh, come on darlin'." He wiggled his face next her neck to tickle her with his beard, "Yer so good and yer taught Baden's wife well. I know he's a lazy, good fer nothin,' unemployed lout, but we need to trust him at some point. I'll have a talk with him. If we return and the house is in shambles, well it'll be no worse than the time he came home with his pregnant girlfriend when they were both just 15 and we still had the youngers in the house and then we rented him and his girlfriend my uncle's old little cottage and they ended up selling it two weeks later for the money."

The more he was talking, the more he felt uneasy, "Maybe that's a bad example. I'll have a word with Baden. Maybe have Pepin and Jasmine come to keep an eye on things every once in a while. If it's too bad we can get a nice condo in Temarra. Aw, come on meh love, don't ya want to have a little adventure? The world is big, even more reason to see it. When we get back we kin have a big ol' party and invite all our family and friends and tell them our tales. I know how ya like to entertain. An' I won't grump about that furry little beast in my chair no more."

[rosemary]

The gnome let out a sigh as she slowly came to her conclusion. They would go, but there would be ground rules set up before leaving. Rosemary did enjoy the thought of getting away from the cottage for a while to see the world. Feriay had been the only place she really had ever been in her life. These adventures could provide new insight of the world.

“Fine, we can go, but before we leave that boy better be in line. Imma not come back ta dis house to have my grandchildren and their mother starved ta death. That boy of yers better get the message that I want order in my household while we are away. I’ll be a talkin’ to Baden’s wife as well. Let her know how to handle those children and that boy.”

Rosemary had been working for a long while to have Baden’s wife become a younger Rosemary. That was the only way to handle the boy. Baden never back talked his mother or dared to step out of line around her.

“We’ll need ta pack our bags up as well, ye know.”

The little gnome moved away from Fred, pulling out the rest of the food from the oven as it finished. Her mind was instantly back on finishing up the meal for today.