The Peasant Queen

III Alcyan Ford twenty years earlier.

III

Alcyan Ford twenty years earlier.The farm gate swung open, letting out a young girl in her mid-teens. Like every morning, Deirane was going to the river to fetch water for their meal. For her sisters it was a chore, but not for her. She even enjoyed doing it. Not lifting and carrying two heavy buckets full of water, of course. Especially when the contents might burn her skin if she spilled it on herself. This allowed her to escape the suffocating family cocoon for a moment. Not that she was unhappy, on the contrary, only that it was... stifling. This was her moment of freedom. Her family had vaguely understood that it was necessary for her and respected it. Only because there was nothing wrong with it and she was doing her job properly.

Her favorite moment was when she looked at herself in the mirror formed by the still surface of the small lake. She felt she was pretty. And in fact, she was. Regular, slightly oval features, grayish blue eyes surrounded by a cascade of fine blonde hair, a thin smiling mouth, a small straight nose that wrinkled easily. Deirane was very beautiful, and not just because of her face. A young girl of ten, her supple and slender teenage body promised a woman of great beauty in a few years. Moreover, the boys were seriously interested in her, much to her father’s dismay.

Her father, a stern but fair man, scared her a little with his gruff manners. But she adored him. He had never raised a hand on her, not even to slap her when she did something stupid. And she had done some stupid things. Her younger sister had taken part in most of them.

Let's talk about her younger sister, that little pest. She was like all young sisters, perfectly stupid, not knowing anything about the concerns of grown-ups - a compliment her sister returned to her for her futility - she had denounced her more than once. In fact, the only person she would really miss, if she were separated from her own, was her youngest brother, a mischievous kid who adored her. He did whatever she asked, and she took a little advantage of it. After all, it's an older sister's right to a***e her little brother. And maybe, on second thought, she would miss her older sister too.

So that day, a day like any other, Deirane happily was walking down to the river. She had taken the two buckets attached to the device that purified the water from the poisons it contained and was walking briskly to the lake below the hill. She put down her buckets and crouched down in the grass by the shore to admire her reflection. She felt the contour of her face, adjusted her hairstyle, unfastened her bodice exposing her breasts and watched the effect. She wasn’t fully satisfied with her figure. She found her breasts too small and her figure a little skinny. Her mother and her aunt often told her that she was still young, that she would fatten up soon, but she could hardly believe them as she looked at herself in the mirror on the surface.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a movement behind a bush. Most likely Jeten, the son of the baker in the town, which was in fact a village of about ten houses on which the farm depended. He had been peeping on her for several days. He thought he was discreet, and had even bragged about his scouting skills, going so far as to say that he had elf blood. Poor guy, if he had known how visible he was, he would have been jaundiced. No city boy could compete with a country girl. Besides, even an ignoramus like her knew that cows couldn't mix with sheep, dogs with cats, and elves with humans.

Amused, she decided to shake his blood a little. She untied a few more laces from her bodice and spread it wide, without going so far as to strip. Then she leaned over the water. If he were where she thought he was, he would faint. And maybe that would make the big ninny want to join her. Whenever she had been alone with him, she had done everything she could to make him woo her. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to understand what she wanted. Boys could be so stupid sometimes.

Anyway, this one was so cute that she was willing to forgive him almost anything. He was the cutest of all the boys around. It wasn't hard, he was the only one her age. Mind you, she didn't have many rivals either. It had been known for years that they would get married one day. It wasn't divination, you just had to be able to count to two to figure it out.

Finally, the fool came out of his hiding place. It had been necessary to go all out. She was nevertheless surprised that it had worked so well. She got up, waiting for him. He stopped a few steps from her, suddenly shy.

“Hello,” he said awkwardly.

“Have you been peeping on me like this for a long time?” she asked reproachfully.

“I was just passing.”

Good excuse, at dawn, he was just passing by. He didn’t know how to lie; on second thought that didn’t seem like a bad thing for the future.

“And how many times a week do you “just” pass?”

“This is the first time,” he protested unconvincingly.

“Wasn't it you yesterday too?”

“It wasn't me.”

“Are you sure?”

The smile she gave him made him realize that she wasn’t angry. He calmed down a bit. His eyes left the girl’s face. His glance over her widely opened cleavage made her blush. What she could allow one hundred and fifty perches away was really indecent when so close. So she began to tie it up again.

“No,” he said suddenly.

She was startled when he put out his hand. However, she waited, feverishly. He was going to touch her, perhaps even to kiss her. At the last moment, the hand fell.

“Excuse me,” he said.

He turned around and walked away. The i***t. She went after him.

“Wait,” she shouted.

He stopped and turned around.

She held out her hand to him, an encouraging smile lighting up her face. Incredulous, he hesitated a long moment before taking it. Slowly, she gently lifted it to her chest. He couldn’t believe it. Intimidated, he couldn’t squeeze the breast offered to his caresses. Even through the fabric he felt her warmth. It wasn’t what he had expected. In fact, he hadn’t expected anything at all. His imagination had not even come close to giving him an idea of what was going on in him. Looking into her eyes, he realized that she was as embarrassed as he was about what was going on. Yet, neither of them would have wanted to be anywhere else.

Deirane gradually became aware of a cavalcade behind her. The noise had been going on for a few tösihons, and she had only just become aware of it. It was Jeten's frightened expression that made her turn around. A man on a horse was riding towards them. Not a human, a Drow, she realized with horror. One of those bloodthirsty, cruel beings that the Feythas had created to be warriors.

She screamed in terror and rushed towards the farm. The rider turned his course, blocking her way. She changed direction and he intercepted her again. She stopped, completely terrified. Fear made her legs wobbly because she was so strong. Her heart was beating so violently that she could feel it pounding against the ribs in her chest.

Jeten joined her and stood between her and the horse. The Drow watched them for a long time. The teenager's gaze fell on the horse, which seemed more reassuring than its master. It was a beautiful black thoroughbred, a stallion, she noticed. A Drow would never have been satisfied with a castrated animal. Its harness was luxurious, made of the finest leather. The markings on the saddle indicated a high-ranking lord. A Drow lord, they had a reputation for being more civilized than their less noble brethren, so maybe she had a chance.

The long, dark face gave a less than engaging smile that took away all hope. As if obeying a silent command, the mount moved forward a few steps.

“Don't come any closer," Jeten ordered in a voice he tried to make firm.

The Drow merely smiled at his injunction. The boy felt something run down his leg. His bladder had just let go. Deirane’s hands which rested on his shoulders, as if to hide behind him, gave him a semblance of courage. At least in appearance.

“Out of my way, kid”, said the stranger, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Go away,” he repeated.

“Go away, why? This is my home; these lands belong to my domains. Would you have the arrogance to forbid me to ride on my own land?”

“These lands are my father's," Deirane said without leaving her hiding position, "and they depend on Alcyan Ford, the Sernos charter...”

“The Sernos charter?”

The Drow burst out laughing. When he calmed down, he looked at Jeten again. A sneer curled his lips.

Abruptly, the Drow relaxed his leg. His foot crashed into Jeten's face, and he was thrown backwards. The young boy, screaming in pain, brought his hands to his b****y nose. The Drow then moved his mount towards him, slowly, inexorably, forcing him to step back. Another kick knocked him over into the lake.”

“Go to Sernos and complain to the king, go and enforce your rights if you dare, peasant!”

Completely hysterical, Deirane started to scream. The Drow came forward, she turned around and started to run.

The horseman caught up with her. Taking her by her dress, he lifted her and put her across his mount. She kicked and punched to free herself. The abused horse whinnied in protest. The Drow hit her on the back of the head to calm her down. Half-stunned, she stopped struggling, her screams turning to sobs. The horse went up the hill. At the last moment, he swerved to avoid Jensen, the girl's father, who was rushing up armed with a pitchfork. He galloped his horse and took his captive to his lair.

Seeing the kidnapper disappear with his youngest daughter, Deirane's father fell to his knees and began to cry, cursing him. When they disappeared behind a fold in the ground, he stood up. He looked for the young man. For several days, he had tried to surprise him and give him a good beating for trying to fondle his daughter. However, this idea was no longer in his mind. He only one thing in mind, to get him out of the water before the miasma it contained penetrated his wounds and poisoned him irremediably. Then he would mobilize the villagers to go get his daughter back. After the good beating, all said and done.