He couldn’t remember a single thing that happened before the day before. He only knew that he was watching a movie before, or something of that sort. Judging from the open window across the room, it was early morning and there were not many people around. Even though he still had the awful headache, he knew that he couldn’t hide out in the little house forever. He had to find a way to get back to Florida and the rest of the guys.
Brian stood up from the bed, the floor boards creaking under his weight. He stretched his arms out and yawned, opening his mouth as wide as it could possibly stretch. He found that he was still wearing the same clothes that he wore when he was watching the movie with Nick that night; a t-shirt and jeans. ‘She has probably never even seen jeans before in her life,’ he thought with a chuckle. He didn’t want to wake her up so he opened the door slowly and a little at a time. To his surprise, she was already up and packing a bag.
“Good morning,” he greeted. She looked up from her packing and smiled. “Good morning, Brian,” she picked up her bag and hung it on her arm. She tilted her head to the side and looked at Brian, as if considering something. “I’m going to the market- would you like to come with me?” Brian grinned even though his stomach was rumbling. “I sure would!” he exclaimed. He wanted to see the outside world so badly- what it would be like and who the people were. Maybe just a little part of him wanted to see if this wasn’t a dream or not. Etienne grinned and took Brian’s arm. “It’s about time you got out of this stuffy cottage anyway! Just follow me and try not to get lost,” she said. Brian thought how much she resembled his own mother as she said those words, and suddenly felt homesick. It wasn’t like being on the road with the rest of the other guys; he knew that he would go home. However, in this situation, Brian was so unsure of everything and he didn’t know if he would ever see anyone again.
He followed her out the door, and the sight that greeted him was so majestically beautiful that his breath was taken away. A rambling brook flowed alongside the cottage, which was surrounded by an entire forest of trees. A small path aligned with small red and yellow tulips winded into the forest and disappeared. There wasn’t a sign of any industrializing, compared to the large cities that he was used to. As he trailed her down the stone steps and onto the path, he noticed the animals that stared at him, unafraid. A lone rabbit bounded across the path and disappeared into the trees. “Why do you look so astonished?” Etienne asked. Brian shook himself out of his trance. “Oh, well, I’m just not used to all this woodsy nature stuff. I mean, sure, there are forests and woods, but it’s just not like this,” he chuckled. She looked at him, unsure of what he was saying. “Well, the market is just down this road. I didn’t want to live in the city, near everyone else, so I moved out here. It’s pretty lonely, but I love it.” “You live by yourself?” Etienne shook her head. “Usually, my father lives with me. He did, until someone took over. He was taken in as a blacksmith to attend to the lord, one of the best in the town,” she said with a touch of pride in her voice. “What’s this lord stuff?” Brian asked. He knew it had nothing to do with biblical terms. Etienne shook her head. “I’m wondering if you’re actually from the same planet,” she laughed. “I’ll explain to you after we finish our shopping- we’re almost there, you know?”
Brian looked off into the distance and saw smoke drifting out of chimneys. All he could see were thatched roofs above the tall trees. It wasn’t until they had walked closer that he could see the bustling town. Women in long dresses held the hands of younger children as they wandered from stand to stand, examining the quality of the bread and meats. Men were waving their hands, shouting out prices and sales of their products. It wasn’t like anything that Brian had seen before. There weren’t any cars, no traffic, no unnecessary honking, no pollution! He nearly laughed out loud when he saw an aging man hobble past them, dragging a wooden wheelbarrow behind him.
“What’s so funny?” “Nothing. Really!” Brian assured her when he noticed the look that she threw in his direction. He was beginning to enjoy himself when he heard a group of loud neighs sound from behind him. Before he could say anything to Etienne, he saw that people began running into cottages and stores. He was so entranced by the large white stallions that galloped into the market square that he didn’t notice Etienne’s nails digging into his skin. When the pain finally began to take shape in his brain, he turned around only to see her eyes, filled with a mixture of fear and anger. “What is it?” he whispered. He had no idea why he was even whispering in the first place, but it seemed like the safest thing to do yet. “Brian...” she said hoarsely.
Brian turned back to the group of men on white horses that were trotting slowly down the road. They were heading in his direction, and they didn’t look oh-so nice. There was a man in the middle it all, dressed completely in black. The only thing you could see about him was his eyes, and despite the summer heat, Brian shivered.
Etienne stepped behind him, still clinging onto him like a little girl. The man dressed completely in black directed the horse in Brian’s direction, much to his dismay. He brought the horse to a stop with a vicious kick. Brian felt like doing the same thing back to the man. “Where are ya from?” he said, his deep voice vibrating menacingly. “You don’t look lik’ th’ rest o’town.” “He’s my guest, Charle,” Etienne came out from behind Brian. She was still clutching onto his arm however, as tight as ever.
The man, whom Brian assumed to be Charle, swung the horse around Brian and halting in front of her. Brian was facing the rest of the band, not wanting to look into their dark eyes. They glared at him with a passion. He gulped and turned around when he heard Charle speak. “Mademoiselle Etienne... What pleasure do I owe to see your gracious presence?” he hopped off the horse. Brian nearly toppled over as Etienne took a step back- right into him. “None at all, of course,” she said curtly. Charle looked up at Brian with his onyx eyes, brimming with hatred. Brian wished with all his might that he would wake up and find himself, safe at home. Never again would he criticize the hard to please critics in the music world- this was a lot worse.
“Ahh, well, you do know ‘bout your father?” Charle said with a glint in his eye. Brian detected a hint of a threat. “I do not know what you mean,” she said, looking away. How she hoped that he would decide to ride off soon; never returning. “You do know that he promised your hand in marriage, don’t you?” he asked. Brian looked at him in shock. He was the last person that he could ever imagine Etienne with. He was so... mean. There wasn’t another word to describe his personality; he was just plain contemptible. “I do not know of the news. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back home.” Etienne pulled away from both Brian and Charle. Charle’s gaze slowly returned to Brian’s, expressionless. He climbed back onto his horse and gave it another swift kick. The horse neighed in protest. Raising his hands towards the rest of his followers, he trotted around Brian, speeding up to a gallop once he was surrounded by the rest of the men again. He looked back once at Etienne before quickly disappearing in the dust they had unsettled.
“Oh my...” Etienne breathed. Tears were shining in her eyes as she stood there, pale and in shock. All the strength that she had shown earlier were gone and she was visibly weak. “Come on, let’s get back,” Brian offered her his arm, to which she gladly accepted. She leaned on him for support, still shaking uncontrollably. Brian hadn’t the slightest idea as to how to comfort her. ‘If only Kevin were here, he’d probably know how to calm her down,’ he thought with a sigh. They were away from the rest of the town, deep in the forest ten minutes later. She still hadn’t said a single word and Brian was getting rather worried.
“Hey, do you like music?” he asked suddenly. She looked up from his shoulder. “Music?” she asked. “We’re not really exposed to a lot of that kind of culture, but people sing around here,” she smiled meekly. Now there was something that Brian could definitely relate to. “Are you feeling a little better?” he asked. She nodded but still held on to his arm for support. “Can I sing to you?” Etienne stopped completely in her tracks. “Sing?” “Yeah, that’s what I do for a living... sorta... I sing.” “You mean like those folk songs?” Brian grimaced. This would be harder than he thought. “No, not really. Well...” he drifted off as they reached the front steps to her cottage. “Sit down,” he said gently. He sat down on the steps, pulling her down next to him. Even though there were noises all around them, Brian could still hear the lulling beginning of one of their songs, ‘All I Have To Give.’ The rhythm was still inside him, beating in time. “I don’t know, what he does to make you cry, but I’ll be there to make you smile... I don’t have, a fancy car. To get to you, I’d walk a thousand miles...” Brian closed his eyes, remembering the screaming of the audience that he knew so well. His vision was so vivid that he could still see the rest of the guys, dancing in time.
The melody was still in him as the notes came out, not from his vocal chords, but from his heart. “But my love is all I have to give... Without you I don’t think I can live. I wish I could give the world to you, but love is all I have to give...” He opened his eyes again, finding her eyes staring intently back at him. Brian thought her expression of complete surprise was amusing as he cracked into a gentle smile. “I told you I sang for a living.” She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ears, and looked away from him. “That was beautiful...” she finally answered. She looked at him earnestly. “That really was. You have some talent, Brian.” He smiled a half smile, enjoying the difference in reaction from his singing. This was something that he would like to get used to. “Come on,” he stood up, holding out a hand to help her stand. She took it, with a look of wonder still on her face. He climbed up the five steps and pushed open the door. “What’s a car?”