I have no idea how Mother got all of those clothes ready so fast. She must have had dozens of her friends helping. And Benedicta had even less idea of how to put them all on, the layer after layer. Even after the garments that I wasn’t supposed to see were put on, there were several layers:
1) Bloomers that went on her legs.
2) A long white undershirt that tied at the wrists
3) Long leggings that went under the bloomers (I probably wasn’t supposed to have seen that, but she put them on after the others)
4) A white skirt that went over the shirt and the bloomers,
5) A jumper dress that went over the shirt and the skirt
6) Then a regular long sleeved dress over all that.
On her head she was given a fringed cap (don’t ask me to describe it, I couldn’t possibly) and on her feet long boots. Outside she would wear a hat over the cap. When she got done she looked very odd, but much more modest. She kind of spoiled the whole thing though by asking, in a loud voice, “And how am I supposed to pee with all of this on?”
The girls giggled and drug her off to Heidi’s room. I am not sure how the Fishergirls thought they were going to help in the whole process, they wore almost as little as Speargirls.
My Mother looked at me, sighed, and said, “Thank you. I know I have to learn to deal with other races, but if we are going to have the girl in our house, she simply must learn to dress properly.”
I was surprised, and pleased. She said nothing of my behavior, nor did she complain of where Benedicta had chosen to change, or her statement about peeing. Indeed she continued, “You are doing much better at this than I am, Heinrich. I tried and tried but could not find a way to tell all of those girls to go home for lunch. How did you do it?”
“I cheated. I used the ‘D’ word. But that only works for boys.” I thought about it a minute, and then added, “But of course, these girls knew that you wanted them to go home.”
“What?” she brushed the hair out of her eyes, and stared at me.
“Yes. Fishergirls are very perceptive. But they knew something else, something that you didn’t.”
“Oh, and what is that, my smart young Son?”
“That you wanted even more for them to stay. You were annoyed at having to cook for so many, but even I could see that you are thrilled with how well Heidi is doing.”
“Well, I suppose that is true. It was very nice of you to send them all over here to her, even if it did totally destroy my morning. She looks up to you, you know. And she's been wanting to be ‘good with the others’ like you are.”
Lunch was the chaotic mess that Mother feared, but everyone really enjoyed themselves, even Mother. I caught several of the Fishergirls grinning at her complaints, and knew that they would be hanging around here until they had to go back to their schip. Oh my poor, happy Mother.
Father arrived just before it was ready, and stood bemused at the crowd. But he sat down and ate willingly enough. And just before it was really over, there was a noise at the door and Seamus and the others came in. Fishermen never did knock, and considered doors more of a nuisance than anything, unless they were needed to keep out water.
“Are you done your duty yet Heinrich?” Seamus burst out. He had changed his physical form back to Fisherboy, although his younger Brother hadn’t.
“What duty?” quipped the oldest Fishergirl, “Watching bethQuirinus try on her new clothes?”
I blushed, but Seamus didn’t follow up on the lead (as he usually would have) being distracted by the subject of the sentence. It was the first time any of us had made any mention of the subject of her new clothes since she had tried them on and vanished to be taught the mysteries of feminine hygiene.
“Wow! A Speargirl in Dwarf clothing. Must have taken someone with some real--” He stopped, realising that that particular Fisherman phrase would not go down well with Mother, “Someone very strong to get her to do that. I would have liked to have been around to see that fight. She carries them well though, if not comfortably.”
“Anyway, what are we going to do this afternoon, Heinrich?”
“I am afraid I will have to disappoint you. You can go try to find Renatus if you like; Heidi can show you the way. I have to work at the excavations this afternoon.”
After they left, try as I might, I couldn’t find any excuse for not bringing Benedicta with me; or, rather, allowing her to come. So I went off to my afternoon job fully expecting to be teased… and I was.
Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!
If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.
Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid: A Christian historical fiction chapter book about four orphans who go to live with their aunt on a dairy farm.
The Bobtails and the Cousins: The sequel to Preacher’s Kid. The aunt has married, and the cousins come to visit. Meaning town kids dealing with chores and manure and…
The Bobtails go to France: The sequel to cousins. The Bobtails, and Preacher’s Kid, get to take a trip to New York, London, Paris, and a small town in France. To get some cheese.
and
No Ordinary School: A brilliant but socially clueless boy gets recruited for a special school. Where he makes a lot of money, gets a girl, and solves a mystery.
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.
Arthur also has a substack, and a website. On the substack you can listen to some of his published books. Free.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Other Stories
Island People’s is not my only story on Substack. I have two light dystopias, or cultural sci-fi, or one of them is military sci-fi with aliens… Science Fiction can be difficult to categorise :)
Contract Marriage Intro
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11 SEPTEMBER 2023
Article 17: Intro
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8 JANUARY 2024
And a fantasy-esque series of morality tales:
The Oracle at Toko-Ri
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1 MAY 2023
Without a Word
Without a Word is a historical fiction story set in 1808 and follows the struggles of a young woman, betrothed against her will to an older man. A Christian woman, and a man of very questionable morals.
Without a Word attempts to contrast Biblical advice against the advice of this age, even the advice of the church. It concerns a young, immature woman growing in her own Godliness through her obedience to an ungodly man. And who knows, perhaps she shall even win her husband.
