next to the wild animals / ROMAN & VICTORIA
The sky above Victoria was a particularly perturbing shade of white-grey. She was stood on the outskirts of Braemer with her face tipped up towards it, regarding it with a small frown decorating her features. This sky presented her with a problem. Despite the lateness of the season, it was the sort of sky that threatened snow, which meant the blooming of the flowers would be delayed for another while, and Victoria was so tired of having to go about her day with no bright, pretty splashes of colour to liven the atmosphere. She blinked once, pensively, and underneath her adored fur wrap her hands tightened the covering reflexively, her body instinctively shivering at the thought of more cold weather. She was so sick of winter.
She knew the bluebells would be beginning to flower in the forest soon - in fact, she realised suddenly, doing some counting in her head, they probably were already poking their heads out. The snowdrops were out, after all. Victoria's face returned to its usual forward position as she considered this revelation with new fervour. She desperately wanted some bluebells now. The blue always looked so pretty woven into her hair, and it had been so long since she'd been able to dress her hair up with that kind of adornment. If she was braver she'd have been off into the forest in a heartbeat to search, but she was not nearly courageous enough to simply enter the trees. No thank you.
Newly determined, Victoria quickly turned to survey the area and find a likely candidate to persuade to accompany her. Her eyes zeroed in instantly on the perfect person: a tall man was making his way along the treeline, walking at the unhurried kind of pace that suggested he was not in the middle of anything important. Victoria sized him up hastily - he looked tough and strong, and she was beginning to be sure she recognised him as one of the miners, although his face was not particularly familiar to her. Her mind already made up, she picked the hem of her skirt up out of the mud and headed purposefully towards him. Her mind ticked over busily as she drew near, and eventually she thought she had a name to put to the face. It was a process of elimination, really - she was a sociable girl and knew most of the village by sight, and since she did not know this man it made sense that he was Roman Birch, a man who was generally regarded as reclusive and solitary.
This didn't faze Victoria at all, so she planted herself firmly in his path and tipped her face up towards him, giving him her sunniest, prettiest smile.
"I'm so sorry to bother you, Mr Birch," she said in her sweetest tone, "But is there any way I could persuade you to escort me into the forest for a brief moment? I'm so desperate to pick some bluebells, but I daren't go alone. My grandmother says there are all sorts of dangerous things in there. She says it's not safe for a young woman by herself. It won't take long, I promise." She clasped her hands earnestly in front of her, doing her best to look as entreating as possible. Oh, let him say yes! She did so dearly want those bluebells.
