A commotion arose in the background, but Grandma paid it no attention, instead speeding up her pace to the stable. The horses were turned out in the pasture, so the stable was empty save for one boy mucking out the stalls. He looked up in alarm as Grandma entered but she quickly shoved a chunk of bread into his mouth to silence him.
“I’m leaving. Do you want to come with me?”
The boy stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. Well, the truth was even stranger, so Grandma was inclined to forgive him.
“Huh?!” the boy grunted around his mouthful of bread.
“Listen, Tanner, I know you hate it here, and everyone bullies you. So let’s run away. It’ll be easier if you help me.” Grandma thanked Mina silently for supplying the details. This person did not appear as a character in her granddaughter’s story. “And if you think they’ll reward you for turning me in, you have worse judgment than I thought. They’ll beat you for letting me escape.”
“What if I stop you?” the boy asked, his voice shaking a little.
“Do you really think you can?” Grandma loomed, as best she could, in her tiny twelve year old girl body. “I don’t want to beat a boy unconscious with a bucket, but I will if you get in my way.” She hefted the bucket. “Or we can steal some supplies and run away together. Then nobody will beat us or bully us.”
Tanner looked deeply skeptical. “But what will we eat? Where will we sleep?”
“I’ll figure it out as we go. So? Are you in or do I have to beat you up?” Grandma sank into a ready stance, bucket at the ready.
“All right, all right, fine, I’ll run away with you.” Tanner threw her a look of mixed terror and disbelief.
The pair worked quickly, stuffing an assortment of supplies into a pair of saddlebags. Apples and oats, blankets, rope, a pair of knives. Grandma grabbed an armful of farrier tools, as well as several well oiled whips and riding crops.
“What are you going to do with those?” Tanner asked.
“We can try to sell these for a few coins, turn them into something more useful.” Grandma’s Mina had described the town around Duke Avery’s estate, including a pawn shop of questionable morality. The detail had been odd and incongruous, so it had stood out. She could still hear her granddaughter’s voice, quietly narrating the twists and turns of the town’s back roads, the rundown little shop, the weathered old woman in the dim interior stuffed with old trinkets.
“Fine. What next?”
“Let’s go catch a horse.” Grandma snagged an apple from the bin and a rope halter, handing them to the stableboy.
The horses were wary of Mina, but the boy tempted them with the apple until one drew near. As the horse leaned down to take the fruit, Tanner reached out and stroked her nose, murmuring soothing nothings until he could loop the halter over her head. The mare whickered in annoyance, but stood calmly as the boy stroked her neck. Grandma watched them for a few heartbeats, then turned away to open the gates to the field, readying their escape route. She didn’t care if the other horses stayed or ran away, that was none of her business. In fact, it was best if all the horses ran loose.
Step by step, Tanner coaxed the mare back to the stable, where he got to work saddling her up. It was hard work, on account of how short both children were, but eventually they managed to get the horse ready. Tanner scrambled onto the mare’s back using a stepladder, and hauled Mina up after him. “Do you know how to ride?” he asked.
“Some,” Grandma told him. “Now let’s hurry and get out of here before we get caught.”
Tanner clicked his tongue and the mare walked out. Across the field, Grandma could see the other horses had noticed the open gate and were investigating it. With one arm around Tanner’s waist and the other hand clutching the pommel, she urged the horse into a canter.
[Say goodbye, Mina,] Grandma said as they fled the Duke’s estate.
[I hope I never come back here,] Mina answered.
They reached the town in short order, and Grandma navigated their way through the busy streets until she found the pawn shop mentioned in the story. It was a little newer, its owner a little younger than the book had described. As she had thought, this was before the story began. Well, that was fine. That meant there was plenty of time before the main story got underway.
The old woman behind the counter examined the whips, riding crops, and farrier tools they had brought, and offered a few coins for them. Mina gasped at the amount, and Tanner looked bemused. Grandma agreed, since she didn’t want to bother haggling, and swept up the coins into her dress pockets.
[Is that a lot or a little?] Grandma asked after they’d scrambled back up onto the horse.
[I’ve never seen so much money in one place before,] Mina answered.
Well, on its own, that didn’t mean much, given how she had been treated at the Duke’s house. They’ll have to see what they can buy with that money. Food, pots and pans, fire starting tools, and maybe a tent if they have enough money for it. Grandma wanted to sell the horse somewhere too, since feeding and caring for the animal would be a pain, but who would buy the Duke’s horse in this town? Besides, if they sold the horse, they’d have to buy packs to carry all their stuff.
“Hey, I know a market nearby where we can buy more supplies,” Tanner said, nudging Mina in the ribs.
“Lead the way,” Grandma replied cheerfully.
Tanner steered the mare through the warren of narrow streets until the road opened up onto a small market square. The children scrambled back off the horse, leading the animal carefully through the throng. With the pawn shop’s money, they were able to buy a pot, a fire stone, a waterskin, and a small pack of dried meat.
[I guess it wasn’t that much money after all,] Grandma mused.
“This is enough to get us started,” she said out loud.
Tanner looked skeptical, but only shook his head. “Where to next?”
“I know a place nearby. Let’s go.”
The place nearby was actually a hidden dungeon. Grandma privately thought that the author of the story was a bit all over the place, pulling in tropes from multiple genres and throwing them all together in a jumbled word salad, but her Mina had enjoyed the tale, so that was fine, she supposed.
The mare plodded out of the town, and though the gate guards gave them a funny look as they passed, nobody stopped them. Soon, they were out in the countryside, cantering down a hard packed dirt path worn with wagon wheel ruts. Buildings became smaller and sparser as they traveled, until the only structures they saw were distant farmhouses and barns.
“We should break for lunch,” Tanner said as the sun passed its zenith. “Chestnut wants a break too.”
“Who?” Grandma blurted.
“The horse.” Tanner glanced back at Grandma, then shook his head. “Anyway, there’s a stream over there we can rest near.”
The stableboy led the way to a small clearing. Grandma slid off and went to the little creek, splashing cold water on her face and washing her hands. Behind her, Tanner spoke softly to Chestnut as he stroked her neck and checked her cinches.
“We should sell the horse eventually,” Grandma said as she watched Tanner work. “They’re expensive to maintain.”
“I know.” Tanner sighed and picketed Chestnut, letting her graze and drink as she needed. “But we’ll need more money to buy backpacks and supplies first.”
“Well, let’s eat now. We can figure out the rest later.” Grandma pulled out a few apples and split the dried meat between the two of them. [Good thing I don’t have to feed you separately, huh?] she asked Mina.
[I haven’t had fresh fruit in ages,] she sighed in pleasure as Grandma bit down, the sweet and tart juice bursting over her tongue.
The meat was tough and chewy, but well flavored. Grandma gnawed on it in between bites of apple, trying to sort out the spices. “What meat is this anyway?” she asked.
“It was the cheapest thing they had, right?” Tanner asked. When Grandma nodded, he said, “Well, then it’s probably some kind of monster meat.”
Oh right. In this story, domesticated farm animals were an expensive meat source, because keeping them safe from roaming monsters was a challenge. But monsters could be hunted and eaten, if you weren’t picky, and you were strong enough.
“Wonder what kind of monster it was. Anyway it’s pretty tasty.” Grandma finished her monster jerky and got to her feet. “Let’s keep moving. We’re getting close to the first place I want to visit.”
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