'Floating Time Seeds drift high over the rich pastures paying no regard to their name'
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In the meadow of wildflowers Yulla sat with her friend Boudica. The flowers were above their eye level and put them in a world of their own on the bright spring afternoon. In the distance they could see the men working on the ditch, their bare backs and arms sweating in the low sun. From their nest they peered out at the line of grunting and straining soldiers as they dug deeper and deeper into the sides of the massive ditch. Alfos was stood over them and occasionally shouted an instruction.
"Is he the one you like?" Boudica asked, twirling a buttercup in her fingers.
"No," Yulla replied looking along the line of the other men.
"One of the others then?"
"They are all very..." she paused "...nice, but no."
"Hold on a moment, you don't like Alfos! He's next in line to the throne, everybody likes Alfos."
"If there is a kingdom for a throne to be put in left," Yulla said sullenly.
"What do you mean?" Boudica said getting impatient, seeing the serious look in her friends eyes. "Lets play a game. Do you like butter?" Yulla nodded. "Hold up your chin and let's see"
"What are you doing?" Yulla said as Boudica held the buttercup under her chin.
"Seeing if you like butter,"
"Do I?"
"Yes,"
"Let me do it to you now. How do I tell?" She said holding the buttercup under Boudica's chin.
"Is my chin yellow?"
"Yes,"
"Then I like butter" they laughed and then their eyes went back to the men. The men were resting and drinking water from leather flagons. Looking at Alfos, Yulla noticed how similar he was to Bezon. He was taller than Bezon at just over six foot, his hair was darker than Bezon's, almost black and he had a leaner frame, but other than that he looked like him. Or Bezon looked like Alfos. She stared at his unshaven face as he drunk, spilling water down his front. His features were more angular than Bezon's, sharper and you could see he already had a haggard look from worry and tiredness and he wasn't even king yet. Boudica leant in so her line of sight was following Yulla's.
"So you do like Alfos" she said tauntingly, holding a daisy. Yulla continued to look at him shaking her head. "Play a game?" She said holding up the daisy. Everyone knew this game, Yulla picked a daisy and then began plucking off its petals one by one. Under her breath she recanted the words:
'He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not' As she did Boudica did the same, their hushed voices quietly clashing. At the end of Boudica's daisy, her fingers lingered over the last petal.
"He loves me not" she said glumly out loud.
"He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me" Yulla continued, smiling as she came to the end of her plucked flower.
"But who loves you Yulla? Who?"
"Bezon" she said quietly, but with an irrepressible certainty after a brief silence.
"Bezon! He's a dead man"
"I don't care, he is the one I love" she said her mind deep in thought, her voice wistful. Boudica stared at her and then saw that Alfos was approaching.
"Well you're crazy then. He's never coming back from that suicide mission. His father must hate him"
"Thats not true" Yulla said angrily.
"Thats what everyone is saying"
"Well they're wrong"
"Hello girls" Alfos said confidently. Boudica went to get up and curtsey. "Please stay sat down"
"Hello Alfie" Yulla said with a friendly smile.
"Your highness" Boudica said formally with her mouth staying slightly open in shock at her friend's casual familiarity.
"I wanted to speak to you Yulla. Have you a moment?" He said looking down the meadow
"Of course" she said, getting up and taking his side through a group of hollyhocks and poppies.
"I wanted to talk to you about Bezon,"
"Oh," she said blankly.
"I'll be open, he has told me he is fond of you" Yulla looked away embarrassed, she felt herself get hot.
"Dont worry he confides in no one else, not that I know of anyway"
"Not Caratacos?"
"No they are not as close as he and I. Anyway I wanted to say you are not alone in your concern for his return, my father torments himself every day over his decision to send him away and I have to convince him every evening that his decision was right. I would have gladly gone in his place. I miss him." Alfos kept walking in great long strides, looking dreamily ahead. Yulla clutched the smokey blue amulet that swung about her neck and rubbed the silver surround, making her fingers smell of metal.
"As always you and your family are welcome at our house when the time comes and so is your friend by the way" he said turning to look back at Boudica, who had stopped in her tracks behind them. She then watchfully carried on following when he had turned around again. "Hopefully we will get some message from abroad about Bezon's whereabouts." While Alfos was talking he had picked a bunch of flowers. "For you." He said handing them to her, enjoying seeing her reaction.
"Thank you" she said, taking in their sweet bouquet.
"For my brother Bezzie the war has started, for us I fear we must savour every day we have left. A lot of people think Bezon is a dead man and won't come back, but I don't think that, I believe in him. My father chose him as he is the strongest and craftiest of us all and if anyone can achieve his mission and get back it's him. He'll return I know it." Alfos stood facing her his eyes full of emotion.
"I know he'll return too, somehow I just know. It sounds silly, but I gave him a lucky charm like this one" Yulla said holding up a smaller version of the pale blue amulet she had given Bezon for him to see.
"It is of fine craftsmanship" he said holding it, letting the sun glint through its glass. He looked at it and he also let his eyes wander to her for a moment, she was such a beauty he thought. Yulla waited patiently, not moving as Boudica slowly caught them up, standing at a polite distance out of earshot. Normally she would have said something like 'Are you going to let my friend go now?' But she couldn't this was the future king. So she just sidled up to Yulla and protectively linked her arm. After a few moments Alfos put the amulet down and stood back. "I've got to go now" he said distractedly, turning to go. Then he turned back and kissed Yulla's hand and then turned away again. But then seeing Boudica there too, he quickly turned on his heel again and kissed her hand also. "Good-bye girls" he said walking back to the men
"I feel quite sorry for him really" Boudica said sombrely.
"Well you could cheer him up then"
"What!"
"He likes you"
"How do you know?"
"Ive known him a while, I know"
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