Loathe and Lust

Chapter 5

The following three weeks Anya found her life befallen in a routine. She had taken refuge with the kind Mrs Leister and she would help her with all she could. In the mornings they would wake up, wash, eat breakfast and set out to Mrs Leister's stall and open it up for the day's fruit and vegetables.

Mornings until mid-evenings they would sell all that they could and then close the stall up for the day. At Mrs Leister's place they would set out to the back garden, where she grew her vegetables and where fruit orchards were, they would harvest all that was marketable and then set back in the house to cook dinner.

At this routine Anya became comfortable but even though she found herself needed, she could not help but think of Ryder Knightley each morning she woke up to the night she slept. Even if her mind would be preoccupied with other things, she found she could not exclude thoughts of Ryder.

She will always look from her station from time to time in hopes of seeing him strolling about the market, but she never saw sight of him. In fact, it was the talk of the town, how Ryder Knightley's oppressing presence was becoming less and less.

With that she would wonder of his whereabouts, what he was doing and if he was alright. But as always she shunned these thoughts, because she knew Ryder was perfectly fine and was probably set into a mission by the King, so that was why people were seeing less of him.

Each week would pass and in each day she found she could not retain the emotion that something was missing from her life, that a part of her, as if a limb from her body was gone all because she missed Ryder.

Each day would pass and each hour when she would hear people's remarks against Ryder Knightley's flaws, she herself could not help but feel that his flaws were becoming part of her; she could not help but love his flaws and hope that his heart was still redeemable.

Each week would pass and her feelings for Ryder Knightley would grow slowly by slowly which was quite surprising to think of, because she had not seen him since that passionate night she gave herself to him. Why her feelings for him grew when he has not shown any signs of reciprocity for he was far away from her, was a wonder.

She wondered at this and tried to retain these feelings. However, whenever she would hear his name being uttered, her heart would begin a ridiculous beating rate, her cheeks would become inflamed as she would think of his passionate love making.

Love making? She would scoff at the idea, but then again what else would she call it? She did not know any other words in her vocabulary that would suit what she had felt when he was inside her.

She specifically saved all thoughts of Ryder's body and what he had done to her, at night, because day-dreaming about something so illicit was deemed unacceptable.

It was Saturday three and a half weeks after she had left him; Anya and Mrs Leister were going to the market to open up the stall after having eaten breakfast and washed.

The sun was bright and scorching and today's fears from Mrs Leister was the fruit going ripe or flies flying too close to the ripening fruits. So Anya's job added to the selling was to swat away the vile insects as well as shading the fruits and vegetables from the burning sun.

The market was fairly busy but because of the heat people were scarce and Mrs Leister's usual customers were less.

It was mid-afternoon when Anya was sitting among the stall, eating an apple as she fanned herself when a commotion interrupted the market's daily routine.

"Oh my!" Anya heard Mrs Leister's exclamation.

Far before them were a marching band of men, dressed in stale clothing with metal armour in their chests. They held with them knives and pitchforks and axes as their continuous march silenced the market's usual chatter.