Take a Sip

Joan chuckled. “If that is your strategy, I believe your biggest flaw was revealing that plan to the potential customer.” She nodded in response to his request. “Very well then. I shall refer to you as Jonas, and you shall refer to me as Joan,” she replied with a smirk. Her eyes went to Jonas and Angus. The dog sniffed his hand momentarily before nudging the side of his head against Jonas’ hand. Joan smiled. “That means he approves of you, and now he wants you to pet him. He will pester you constantly if you don’t.” Angus loved food more than anything, which was only matched by his loyalty for Joan. However, affection was always a close second. She thought he was exploiting his position as a protector strangers wanted to please to ask for attention. “What business has you so keen on finding new customers constantly?”

“Not at all, for you see, I am just that charming,” Jonas smiled back, leaning forward to pet the dog’s head. “Angus, huh? You’re a sweet one, aren’t you? A regular ol’ softie, you are.” He never had an animal companion himself growing up, but he did know people who did, and had always enjoyed dogs especially. He squatted so he could be eye level with him and rub the scruff of Angus’ neck. “He doesn’t have to worry about that, I’ll definitely show this good boy some love whenever he wants, I sure will!” He looked up at Joan and grinned. “Ah, I thought you would never ask! You see, I, my dear Miss Fraser, am a winemaker. Well, to be truthful, my grandfather was one, my father is one, and I am learning. I would call myself an apprentice, but it is a family business, so apprentice seems too impersonal for it. Where are you from to be visiting someone here in the capital?”

“That is true. If I had, I might have not found such a kind soul to find me go on my way,” she teased playfully. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sommerkeller. You are truly my savior.” She reached down to pet Angus to put him at ease. “He decided one day to be my protector, and he hasn’t left my side since then.” His nerves were common for most new people who met Angus. She  quickly said her command in Gaelic to put him at ease. “He is very friendly when he knows you are. If you stick out your hand for him to sniff, he will know you are a friend, but then he will be constantly asking you to pet him or feed him. Don’t let him fool you. He is not starved for attention or food.”

“Kind? Oh no, this is all part of my elaborate plan to make you a paying customer down the line. Any kindness you receive from my person is a direct relation to that goal,” he joked in return, partially, anyway. “Please, please, call me Jonas,” he insisted, offering a hand to her. “Mister Sommerkeller is my grandfather on most days, my father on better days, and I love them dearly, but I would much rather just be Jonas.” They may be commoners all, but the elder men in his family left large shoes to fill regardless, and Jonas was hardpressed to live up to them, in his own mind. So better to just be himself. “A loyal pup indeed,” he noted, looking at the dog again and offering his hand to Angus in greeting. “Hello, new friend, am I safe to approach? Will you allow me leave to speak to your protectee?”

She chuckled. “I hope that you do not prove me wrong.” As he continued to rattle off, she realized how he had misunderstood her situation. “Oh…I am not…I mean I am a professional dancer. I have never been trained at any sort of performance study. Until you said it, I did not know such a proper education existed.” Esmeralda shrugged. “I am with a group of performers. We travel around the world and perform for the people. My only training is what they taught me as I was growing up.”

“If we meet again after today, you’re quite welcome to tell me if I do.” He listened as she spoke of her origins, or rather, how she came to be here at this time, and he realized that he misunderstood what she said. “Ah, see, I thought when you said trained-” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So how long have you been traveling with this troupe? Do you do performances regularly?” He looked in the direction of the royal palace, looming high over the hills near the capital. “Ever performed for the royals?”

“Thank you. I know the inn was at the capital city, so I am grateful that I am not in a different town.” It was also a relief that she wasn’t too far from her destination. “Normally, I would take myself, but my sense of direction is clearly not working quite well in this moment. I would appreciate the help.” Just then, she felt a pressure against the side of her leg. She chuckled to see Angus had decided to return to her. “Have you finished exploring?” she said to the dog, who was focused on the stranger. “I am Joan Fraser, and this is my dog, Angus. I promise he will be kind when he knows you are a friend.”

“Heaven knows how much of a problem you may have found ending up in a different town. It was most fortuitous you came in through the port, really.” He coughed out a small laugh and then gestured down the road. “Then allow me to be your guide on this fine day. Jpnas Sommerkeller at your service, Miss Joan Fraser.” He took note of the dog that approached and stared him down, having watched the canine sidle up to the woman as they conversed. “Angus, hmm? I was never a dog person growing up, never really had the chance to be, but I promise I shall be the soul of a gentleman around your charge, Angus.” He spoke the end of the line directly to the dog, crouching to be on eye level with him. “So that means he will not bite, correct?”

“I have met many people in this world who do not appear to have a soul. I know how to recognize one by now. You do not seem like the type.” She smiled. This was true. With all of the times her people had been antagonized, she felt like so many of them had no souls. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Jonas,” she replied with a nod. “I came just to take some time to myself. When you dance for a living, it is hard to find time to dance for fun, but it is important to remember why you love what you do.” 

As often was the case these days, since he was old enough, Jonas was responsible for the monthly deliveries to the royal family. The House of Hohenzollern was not a patron of his family’s business, so to speak, but they were one of the Sommerkellers’ staunchest supporters. They had not crossed the threshold to being official patrons, however, which is why the Sommerkeller family still stood on the fringe of nobility. At least, that is what his father told him. The intricacies made his head hurt and tended to annoy him so he did not bother to care to think on them often. He just knew that, no matter what they did, they were not nobility, at least not yet.

He just hoped that this time, he would not run into the Princess. She was still offended by his nature, but she could hardly blame him, at least in his eyes. She is a Princess, he a mere wine seller. It was not as if they would be a proper couple anyway. So her offense was nonsensical in his eyes. Either way, it would be better for both of them if she did not see him when he reached the palace. The fewer interactions they had, the better. As he rode up with his cart of wine barrels, he approached the palace gates and offered his papers to the guards. “Sommerkeller Vintage here to provide for the royal family once again,” he announced as he handed the proper paperwork to the guard who approached and then waved him on through, once he recognized the young man.

She looked up when she heard the man get her attention. It was a relief to see someone who might be able to help her. “A little,” she admitted with a soft chuckle. “I just landed on a ship here, and I am supposed to stay at an inn before meeting a friend.” She thought it would be best not to mention that friend was the princess. “It seems my map has been destroyed in the process. Do you happen to know where the Koenig Inn is?”

She looked uncertain and a bit haggard, but still optimistic, which was good. He offered a kind smile in return and opened his arms in welcome. “Welcome to the capital, then. Sorry about your map there, but I can tell you that the Koenig Inn actually is not that far. It is actually pretty close to here, one of the more upscale inns we have here in the capital.” Jonas waved an arm down the road. “If you like, I can show you how to get there, and tell you about anything else you may need along the way.”

She gave a soft smile as she approached the man. “You are a person with a soul. Therefore, you are someone, aren’t you?” she teased. “It is alright. I was simply dancing for myself.” It wasn’t a problem for her to stop. The fact that she was able to get a few moments to herself was more than enough for her. It was just the relief that she needed from the stresses of the every changing world. With every change brought the worry about how her people were affected. Esmeralda curtsied, unsure of his rank or anything. “I am Esmeralda, and who is my curious bystander?”

“I suppose you have a point there.” Jonas tapped his chin in thought. “Then again, how can you be sure I have a soul? I could be a soulless husk, wandering the earth in search of one to take for myself.” He waved his hands in a faux spooky manner. He wasn’t the most spiritual of people even on a good day, seeing life fairly blandly. That was hardly the point, though. Either way, he had to collect himself so as not to be rude. With an exaggerated bow, he smiled and introduced himself. “Jonas, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Esmeralda. No need to bow, though. As I said, I am no one. What brings you out here at this time of day?”

She removed her shoes, letting herself enjoy the grass under her feet. A deep sigh escaped her as she let the worries of fade away. The sun’s rays gave her the warmth she needed as she decided that she needed to do the one thing that always made her relax and be free: dance for herself. There was a tune in her head, and she used that to move her. With happiness in her heart, she danced in whatever way her body moved to the tune in her head. When she stopped for a beat, her eyes noticed another figure nearby. Scared of who it might be, she stopped what she was doing and stood up correctly. “I am sorry,” she panted. “I thought I was alone.”

Of all the things Jonas expected to see when he came upon the open field, a barefoot woman dancing was not it. He could not help but to stop and watch as she moved, her body a painting in motion, if such a thing could exist. She danced as if she had no stresses, no dilemmas, just her and the sky above her and the grass underneath her feet. He would have clapped if he didn’t feel as if he were interrupting something. “Oh no, please do not stop on my account,” he told her, shaking his head. “I’m no one anyway, just a curious bystander.”

enlightenedwomen​:

So far her decision to travel was not working so well. Somehow she had gotten lost trying to find the inn that she had planned to stay at. Since Angus had never been here either, he could not track anything to help find their way home. He stayed focus on looking for enemies or new scents. “You’ve done it now, Joan. You are lucky you have no audiences to attend until tomorrow.” Joan sighed and opened up her map again. The mist of the ocean from the boat ride over did more damage than she realized. The water was enough to blur some of the names and lines that indicated roads. Her brow furrowed as she tried to still read it.

@warofnationsrecords​

Jonas loved to take walks as it was easier to sell wine to people who he ran into regularly. Not to mention that it cleared his head from being behind wine presses almost every day. Pressing and distilling wine was stressful work, but it was also headache-inducing if one wasn’t careful. A regular break meant he could do more work each day and provide for the royal cellars, as well as his commoner customers as well. It was as he took one of his walks that he came upon a redheaded woman reading what looked like a troublesome parchment. “Having some trouble there, miss?”