Sapphic Voices Fantasy

Rebecca’s Choice

She sat in the grass under the large oak tree watching the pasture full of sheep and daydreamed about being far away from the commonplace existence that she lived. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she would leave her small town life and have adventures one of these days.

Rebecca watched as a strange rider came along the dusty lane that bordered the pasture. The rider was dressed in a mail shirt and wearing a sword and with a start Rebecca realized it was a woman. The woman rode easy in the saddle and looked capable and sure of herself. Rebecca felt an instant envy.

A bleat from one of her charges brought Rebecca’s attention back on the flock she was supposed to be watching, and she got up to go head off one of the sheep who was headed for the wooded area, no doubt to get into some type of trouble. Rebecca ran down the small knoll on which she had sat and shooed the wayward ewe back into the flock.

When she looked back towards the lane the rider had stopped and was looking in her direction. Self consciously Rebecca started back up the grassy knoll to her spot under the oak tree. With a note of alarm she saw that the rider was walking her horse across the pasture towards her.

“Greetings.” The rider called in a husky voice as she came up the hill to Rebecca’s spot.

“Greetings milady, what may I do for you?” Rebecca said somewhat flustered by the frank stare of the rider.

“My name is Izzy and I was wondering if you might tell me a bit about this place, I find it good practice to learn about a town before riding into it.” Izzy said.

“Oh there is nothing much to tell. It is just a boring little town out in the middle of nowhere. Watching the sheep is about the height of excitement, and they let me do that because I am the adventuresome sort, plus they don’t know what else to do with me.” Rebecca told her.

“I have heard there are beasts in the woods around here, aren’t you afraid?” Izzy asked, a curious expression on her face.

“As long as it doesn’t try and eat one of my sheep, I am of the live and let live sort. There is an old troll that comes around every now and again, but the militia chases it off whenever it gets too close to town. Other than that the only monsters around here are human.” Rebecca stated.

“Well besides the human monsters, what else is there about this place that I should know about?” Izzy queried.

“Only if you are looking for boredom, you have come to the right spot. Nothing ever happens around here.” Rebecca said with a sigh.

“Spoken like someone who wants to be someplace else, Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes boredom is better than the alternative. “ Izzy said cryptically.

“You probably have all the excitement you can handle, me, I am stuck here watching the sheep and beating everyone up during militia practice.”Rebecca said.

“Oh where would you rather be?” Izzy asked interested.

“I don’t know, off fighting orcs or bandits with the guard or a free company, being a member of the watch in the big city, anywhere but boring little Newcastle.” Rebecca exclaimed.

“Then why not journey to the city and join up, aren’t you of age yet.” Izzy said.

“Yeah but it isn’t as easy as all that. My family depends on me to watch their flock, my brother doesn’t have smarts or integrity enough to tend sheep.”. Rebecca said with resignation.

“There has to be someone in town who can watch the sheep, you are wasting yourself here girl. If you want to be elsewhere you should go. Or is it bravado that I hear and you are afraid.” Izzy said, Rebecca felt a flash of anger, then she thought carefully of what was said.

“It is not bravado, it is duty that keeps me here.” Rebecca said.

“What about your duty to yourself?” Izzy asked, Rebecca thought about it.

“As I see it my duty to my family is paramount. I mean I owe my parents for taking care of me and providing for me.”

“But haven’t you repaid that debt over and over again, what about your wishes, what about what you want out of life, or will you follow your parents into their boring existence by tending sheep all your life.”

“What would you have me do, abandon my responsibilities, abandon my family?”

“It is not what I would have you do, for that is something you need to decide for yourself. That is the only freedom we really have when you come down to it, deciding for yourself whether you want to spend your life tending sheep, or go off and become a soldier. How do you see your life, your future?” Izzy said as she turned to go.

Rebecca had no answer, for she hadn’t thought beyond vague daydreams. She had not considered her own wishes, just that she owed her family. But how much was a sense of duty, and how much was fear of the unknown. She thought she wanted to be a fighter, she was fast and strong, and could beat most everyone in the militia. She loved the militia practice and lived for it.

She had dreamed of a life as a soldier, adventurer ever since she was a little girl. Some of it was daydream and wishful thinking, adventuring in the far lands, finding treasures and having wondrous adventures. She saw herself as a hero who fought orc tribes and awful monsters.

How much was a real desire, and how much just day dream? She knew deep inside that she was wasting her talent here, that she had more skill at arms than most of her peers. To turn dream into reality though, was she ready to do that?

She had wondered the afternoon away and so she started the flock back towards the pens where they were kept at night. She thought long and hard as she corralled her charges and then went to her family’s home.

She washed up at the basin outside the back door and went in. Her mother was in the kitchen and smiled a greeting at Rebecca as she came in.

“Suppers almost ready, could you go get your brother, he is down at the tavern.” Her mother asked her.

Rebecca smiled and nodded, but inside she burned. She worked all day while her brother spent his time doing as little as possible and almost living in the tap room of the Lonesome Duck. He was turning into as big a sot as her uncle Grisham, and wasn’t nearly as humorous when he had a few tankards too many. She went out the front of their house and down the street, turned the corner and came to the Lonesome Duck, entering the dark and smoky room.

There at the bar, holding forth about his prowess with the spear was Alfred her wayward brother.

“It is supper time Alfred.” She called over the din, not caring whether she embarrassed him or not. He looked at her and frowned at being called so perfunctorily in the middle of his soliloquy.

“Well speaking of Amazons, here is my sister, hey traveler meet someone who might give you a run for your money on being butch.” He bellowed loudly.

Rebecca noticed Izzy sitting in a corner trying to ignore Alfred and his comments. The whiteness of her knuckles on her mug told of an iron control that was slipping.

“Well you can drink your supper for all I care you drunken lout, watch who you are calling butch, or I will have your hide.” Rebecca said in a low well modulated tone. Her anger covered her embarrassment like a screen.

Alfred roared like it was the funniest thing in the world. He called loudly to his fellow drunks a slurry good-bye and said. “ I had better go before my butch sister bends me over her knee.”

Rebecca couldn’t help but hit him, a smashing blow right to his nose that flattened it and put her brother on the ground with a stunned expression on his face.

“I told you not to call me butch you sloshing drunk sot.” Her anger flared and then a coldness came over her, she noticed the smile Izzy gave her and blushed.

Her brother slowly got up, his hand to his broken nose. He looked like a whipped puppy.

His drunken friends helped stand him up and brush him off.

“You didn’t have to hit me.” He protested.

“Yes I did, now get home before I do it again.” Rebecca told him.

He moved to the doorway of the tavern unsteadily. His hand covered his broken nose and blood flowed down the front of his shirt.

“I am going to tell maw you smacked me.” He threatened, then he tottered out the door and went down the street.

“Thank you for saving me the trouble.” Izzy said with a smile over her drink, which she raised in a toast.

Rebecca didn’t say anything she just turned about, her mind made up. That punch had been a small thing, but it had been enough to decide her on her course of action. She smiled to herself, feeling just a bit more free than she had before.

If you have enjoyed Elle Goff's "Rebecca’s Choice", then please be certain to  Contact The Writer  and thank her for posting this Story.

Click here for a list of all of Elle Goff's Stories at  Sapphic Voices Authoresses.

Copyright © 1997-2011 Sapphic Voices.  All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all site content is entirely owned and is solely maintained by  Sapphic Voices.
Absolutely no portion of this page may be reproduced either electronically or otherwise without the express
and written permission of the copyright holder, except as occurs in normal browser caching and page indexing.