章 10: Vaucouleurs (2)
Two men stood at the gate of Vaucouleurs. The men glared at Jeanne and I as we approached.
"Hello, my name is Jack and this is Jeanne. We're from the neighboring village of Domremy."
"What business do you have here?"
Jeanne spoke up before me and started to explain what had happened in Domremy based on what I'd told her.
"Are you serious? Domremy was attacked by the English and destroyed?"
"Yes, there were hundreds of soldiers outside the town. We had barely managed to escape before the killing started."
The two men whispered to each other before one of them walked into the town out of our sight. The other man looked sympathetic as he pointed past the gate.
"Welcome to Vaucouleurs, I am truly sorry for what has happened to your village, but rest assured my comrade is informing our commander about the incident. Please feel free to stay as long as you need."
"Thank you."
Jeanne walked past the guard and into the town as I followed behind her. The guard looked at my arm and then at me, but I didn't pay him any mind as I entered the town.
"Jeanne, go find a tavern to eat something at. I'll find somewhere for us to stay then come find you."
I took out the pouch of francs inside the larger sack with all of our things inside and handed it to Jeanne.
"Make sure you do not take too long. I want to make sure you eat something because going this long without food will seriously affect you Jack."
"I understand Jeanne, I'll be quick."
I walked off further into town and Jeanne headed for a wooden building with open doors and conversations ringing out. As I walked around I noticed there were guards strung out all over the town which was good. It meant Jeanne would be safer here then alone with me in the middle of nowhere.
The town of Vaucouleurs seemed more like a stronghold than a settlement. There weren't many areas for farming, and the majority of the town seemed to house the guards stationed here. In a way that was better for me because it helped solidify my previous assumption. Vaucouleurs was infinitely safer for Jeanne than being stuck with me. It'd be best if we stayed here for a while.
I went inside a big wooden building near the center of Vaucouleurs. I saw an older man standing at the counter cleaning it. He had a long bushy beard, short grayish hair, and a puffy but friendly face.
"Hello, is this an Inn?"
"Indeed it is, my name's Gaston, what is your name young man?"
"My name's Jack, do you have any rooms for rent?"
"Indeed I do, is it just you?"
"No, there is a young woman with me. She's at some tavern getting something to eat near the front gate."
"Young man, word of advice, don't leave a young girl alone in a town primarily filled with men. This town is full of merchants and soldiers. It's not a place for a young woman to be alone in."
"Are they going to try and rape her?"
"Of course not, people would rather not get hanged in front of an entire town. The worst they'll do is flirt."
It probably wasn't a smart idea for me to leave Jeanne alone. I don't think she's ever left Domremy before, and she definitely hasn't been alone in a room full of thirsty men.
"I'll be right back Gaston."
"Goodluck to ya kid, hurry back now before it gets dark."
I traced my steps back to the front gate as fast as I could. My legs didn't feel any less tired than they did this morning. It was frustrating not being able to run, but I eventually made it back to the tavern I'd seen Jeanne wander towards. When I got there I saw Jeanne sitting on the edge of the wooden steps leading into the building. She had her head buried into her knees as a man stood behind her. The man seemed to be talking to her despite Jeanne clearly not being in the mood to talk to him.
"Jeanne!"
She looked around for a moment with a distraught look before she set her eyes on me. Her blue eyes lit up as she quickly got up and ran towards me. The man seemed agitated as he glared at me. Jeanne grabbed onto my shirt and buried her head into it. She gripped my clothes tightly as I patted her head softly.
"What happened Jeanne?"
"That man would not stop following me around… He kept trying to bed me…"
I looked up and glared back at the man as I turned and headed for the Inn I'd found minutes earlier.
"I'm sorry I left you alone Jeanne. I didn't know this would happen. Please forgive me."
"It is not your fault.."
Jeanne followed extremely close to me the entire way to the inn. She was never more than a foot away from me. I felt awful for leaving her alone in a place like this. Back in my time stuff like this didn't happen often, but this wasn't my time. This was a time where women weren't treated well and didn't have many rights.
"Did you eat anything Jeanne?"
She nodded while looking up at me with sadness in her eyes.
"Why not?"
"The man said he would not sell anything to me unless I offered him a service."
I guess when people see a beautiful young girl they just turn into assholes. Hopefully Gaston sold food because I didn't want to return to that tavern, but I didn't want Jeanne to go to bed hungry for the second night in a row.
We arrived back at Gaston's inn. As I walked in the man still standing at the counter smiled and greeted me.
"Welcome back Jack. Is that the girl you spoke of?"
"Yeah, this is Jeanne, Jeanne this is Gaston."
"H-hello.."
"Gaston, can you make something for Jeanne? The man at the tavern wouldn't serve her."
"Sure thing kid, what would you like Jeanne?"
"Also Gaston, here's some money for the room and whatever Jeanne wants."
I took the pouch of francs from Jeanne's hands and gave them to Gaston.
"Which room is available?"
"Third door to the left."
I turned and started walking towards the area where the rooms should've been. Before I could take more than a few steps Jeanne tugged on my shirt. I turned around and looked down at her.
"What is it Jeanne?"
"Can you order for me… I'll take our things to the room if you do…"
She must be still shaken up from the men at the tavern. I looked over at Gaston who just shrugged and smiled at me. I didn't know how to deal with these kinds of things, so I hugged Jeanne tightly then looked down at her as her eyes met mine.
"Jeanne, just go to the room by yourself. I'll bring our things and some food up there for you, okay?"
"Okay…"
Jeanne dropped her head back down and started walking towards the hallway on the other side of the building.
"A hug, that was the best you could do kiddo?"
Gaston chuckled to himself as my face started getting hot.
"I don't know how to deal with that kind of stuff!"
"Did something happen at the tavern, or is that young lady always that sad?"
"Some guy was hitting on her. She told me he wanted to bed her."
Gaston frowned after hearing my words.
"Poor girl."
At my request, Gaston made some kind of soup for Jeanne. I slowly carried it towards our room. It was hard to balance our things over my shoulder and the soup in my hands but I managed. I walked into the room and saw Jeanne curled up against the wall. She was staring at the floor in front of her. I dropped our things off my shoulder carefully so as to not spill the soup in my hands.
"Jeanne, eat this."
She looked up at me and took the bowl from me. She stared down at the bowl for a moment then at me.
"Why do you say my name so much?"
"I like the way it sounds, is that a problem?"
She looked back down at the bowl and slowly scooped some of the soup into her mouth.
"No, I was just curious.."
I slid down the wall beside Jeanne as she slowly ate the soup. I closed my eyes as random thoughts flooded into my mind. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a spoon pressing against my lips. Jeanne was looking at me when I opened my eyes. She just stared at me as my eyes shifted from her to the soup.
"I'm not hungry Jeanne."
"Yes you are."
"I'm not."
"You are…"
I signed. I really wasn't hungry, but if it made Jeanne feel any better then I guess I'll eat something. I opened my mouth to reply, but when I did she put the spoon into my mouth and tilted it up to let the soup fall in. I swallowed it and looked back at her while she smiled.
"Are you happy now?"
"Not entirely."
"I'm fine Jeanne, just eat the soup."
She narrowed her eyes at me and prodded my cheek with the spoon. I looked at her with a confused look, but she just kept poking my cheek.
"Uhm?"
"Eat."
"…"
I took the soup from Jeanne and ate a spoonful. She smiled innocently at me.
"See, I knew you were hu-"
I shoved the spoon into her mouth. Jeanne coughed slightly but swallowed the spoonful before frowning at me.
"Sorry Jeanne, I missed."
"How could you miss your own mouth!?"
"Oops, missed again."
I poked her lips with the spoon again. I don't know if she understood what a joke was, but she opened her mouth anyway. After that I gave the bowl back to her. She stopped trying to feed me and instead looked at me angrily as she ate.
After eating, Jeanne stood up and set the bowl on the table beside the bed. She walked over to the sack with our things and pulled out a book.
"What's that Jeanne?"
"A bible, since I can not read I would like you to read it for me!"
"Oh, I see. Alright then, I'll read it for you."
"Thank you Jack!"
She watched me as I read the book to her. She seemed like her usual self now, so I guess the whole soup incident and bible reading cheered her up. I read to her for half an hour before the moon shined in through our window.
"It's getting late Jeanne. We should really head to bed."
Jeanne stood up and dusted off her dress. I stood up and stretched. My legs felt slightly better than before. I'd gamble that I could jog now instead of being limited to just walking. Jeanned fell face first into the pillow on the bed as I moved over to the edge of the bed and pressed my back against it while shutting my eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
I opened my eyes and saw Jeanne's upside down staring at me. Her hair was draping down to the ground as she stared at me.
"Why are you down there?"
"I'm trying to sleep?"
"O-oh? You aren't going to uhm. Sleep up here?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea Jeanne?"
"Is this about the Vow I took?"
"It is."
"I took that when I first saw my visions. We've been uhm.. sleeping close… for a long time, so why would you stop now?"
"You can sleep fine by yourself though, right?"
Jeanne frowned and pulled her head back up. I could hear her mumbling to herself.
"What'd you say?"
"I said you're distancing yourself from me and it's hurtful!"
"What are you talking about Jeanne?"
"Early today! You were talking funny, as if you weren't going to be here!"
"I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I was only thinking about you and your safety. You're the one with visions, not me."
"Are you going to leave me too…?"
I tilted my head back and looked up at Jeanne. She looked just as sad as when she was alone at the tavern. I sighed, stood up, and sat on the bed beside her.
"Jeanne, I won't leave you alone. I hope you understand that."
"Your actions contradict your words!"
I sighed again and layed down on the bed with my back against the wall. Jeanne looked down at me which was something she really never could do before considering her small frame.
I grabbed Jeanne and pulled her against me. She yelped like a surprised puppy, qbut she didn't move around or try to leave. She just looked up at me like she did the first time we did this.
"Is that better Jeanne?"
"Y-yes, this is better…"
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The sound of dozens of blades clashing against each other every second made my panicked eyes shoot open.
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