Author's Note: All characters, with exception of Anthony Briggs and his family, copyright of Hiromu Arakawa. I don't mean to claim them as my own, in this chapter, or in any subsequent chapter.
Gieseborough is a small village in the heart of England at the turn of the century, during the Industrial Revolution.
Chapter One: The Way Home
The setting sun embraced the little village of Gieseborough with a warm pink glow. It was the end of yet another sweltering summer day. All throughout the village, people stretched their tired muscles as they closed the day with a hard earned rest. Mothers called their children indoors, masters sent their young apprentices off home, and wives greeted their husbands at the door with a fragrant aroma of warm food. The bustle of the rustic town died down as night began its claim on the streets.
On the outskirts of the village, a farmer sat in the shade of his farmhouse, yawning. As was with most days, his back ached from constant stooping while working in the fields with his rake. The farmer sat facing the dirt road that led out of Gieseborough. It was quiet as ever. Gieseborough never had many tourists, for it was a simple town with little but peace and tranquillity to offer. If an adventurer wanted to see something exciting, he would head to the next town of Liesendale. Instead of farming grain and vegetables, so they said, Liesendale farmed in their ugly tin-roofed factories machines. Huge twisted pieces of metal that could do anything a man could do, but faster. The old farmer wrinkled his nose at the idea. What was wrong with the old fashioned way? It had, after all, worked for years.
The faint sound of hoof beats and a horse whinnying in the distance interrupted his thoughts. Alarmed, the farmer jumped out of his chair and peered down the dust road. Sure enough, a horse-drawn carriage was approaching the village, the orange sun as its background. Visitors at this time of day! It was lucky they managed to reach before darkness fell, or they might have lost their way. The farmer watched with growing excitement as the unknown tourists approached.
"Good old Gieseborough!" Anthony enthused, as the carriage climbed over a small hill, revealing the small village sitting behind it. "It may be old-fashioned in its ways, but it's still home!"
He turned to look at the young woman sitting next to him. She had her head out of the carriage window, a hand clutching her straw hat as the wind whipped her blond hair about her face. "What do you think, Elizabeth darling?" Anthony asked.
The blonde lady turned to face him, her brown eyes shining with joy. "It's wonderful! I've never seen such a quaint little village. Such fresh air!" she exclaimed, sucking in a lungful of the scented summer air.
Anthony chuckled at his fiancée's excitement. "You grew up in a city, Elizabeth, so it's something new for you," he explained. "But living in such a backdated place is really quite boring. If my parents did not still live here, I probably would never come back. But seeing as we're getting married soon, and they refuse to come to the city for the wedding…" He sighed, snaking an arm around Elizabeth to draw her closer.
"I'll do anything, just to be with you. Even if it means coming back here..." Anthony added, making a face. Elizabeth laughed, then frowned.
"I do wish you would call me Riza," she chided gently, "or at least Lisa or Eliza. Elizabeth just sounds so…formal." But Anthony wasn't paying attention. Looking out of the window, he had just spotted an old farmer standing by the side of the road and peering curiously at the carriage.
"Why, hello there, Mister Majhal!" Anthony called to the farmer, waving his hand in greeting. To the carriage driver, he said, "Stop a moment, will you?"
The carriage bounced to a jerky halt beside old Majhal, who grinned toothily. "Well, well," he said. "If it isn't young Master Tony Briggs! You've been away for what, five years, eh? And who's that pretty young lady beside you?"
Anthony's grin widened. "Mister Majhal, meet Elizabeth Heinswen, my fiancée," he said proudly.
Majhal's eyes widened. "Fiancée eh? You sure are a quick one, Master Tony! Gone five years, and back ready to be married! My, how you've grown!" Majhal smiled encouragingly, then pounded his hand with his fist, as if he'd just remembered something. "Oh yes! My wife Karin made some rose jam the other day, and I believe we can spare some. Would you take a jar to your dear mother?" Saying this, he turned into the house, and emerged a minute later with a tightly sealed bottle of jam. Anthony took the bottle eagerly and sniffed it.
"Ah, I've missed Karin's jam…" Anthony smiled fondly. "Thanks, Mister Majhal!" Waving goodbye, Anthony commanded to driver to move on. It was dark by now, and the village was glowing alive with candle light shining through every window. It was these lights that guided their way as they rode down the path into the heart of the village.
"My son! Oh, how good to see you alive and well!" Upon seeing her only child return, Mrs Briggs had lapsed into a state of joyful tears, hugging and kissing an embarrassed Anthony.
Anthony and Riza's first stop had been The Black Bear, the local inn, where almost all the villagers gathered every night to exchange gossip and have a drink or two. Anthony had told his parents to meet him there, but he did not expect everyone to have such an exaggerated reaction to his appearance after a long absence. Even his father could not stop smiling.
"Welcome home, son," Squire Briggs said over and over again, patting his son on the shoulder.
"Hey, Tony!" a loud voice from the back of the crowd called. Looking around, Anthony recognised Sig Curtis, the butcher, as the owner of the voice. "You haven't introduced your pretty friend yet!"
"Right!" Anthony grinned. "Everyone, this is my future wife, Elizabeth Heinswen–"
"Riza Hawkeye," Riza interrupted.
"– who prefers to be known by her nickname, Riza," Anthony finished. "We're hope to have the wedding here, maybe at the end of summer or the start of fall."
Alex Armstrong the bartender whistled in surprise. "You've grown up, young man!" he said. "I still remember that time you sneaked into the back of my inn to steal some ale!"
Anthony winced. "Yeah, I still remember the thrashing you gave me," he replied, as everyone roared with laughter.
Riza could not sleep that night. It was not that she was unused to the softness of the feather bed, or that she missed the night sounds of London. Shifting her posture on the bed, Riza thought back to her brief time in The Black Bear's bar. Everyone seemed so happy and positive about the marriage, and so friendly to her, even though she was a stranger. Some of the women had even offered to help make a wedding gown for her!
Yet, Riza felt she would never get used to the idea of getting married. Although she appreciated the villagers' enthusiasm on her behalf, she felt that she was not one to get married, and especially not in an arranged marriage.
A year ago, her parents had run into a great debt, and it was the young banker Anthony Briggs that helped them out of it. To show their gratitude, the Heinswens had offered their young daughter to him in marriage. It just so happened that Anthony was looking for a wife at that time, and had had his eye on Riza for some time, and so he had accepted the offer thankfully. No one had asked Riza's opinion on the marriage.
Riza sighed. She knew she could not play the role of a dutiful wife, not with her natural curiosity and in-born adventurer's spirit. She wish she'd been born a man. That way, she would be given free reign to roam the land, her wooden box camera around her neck, and a pen poised in her hand, ready to chronicle the world in word and picture. In fact, she already did that, as often as she could. She worked as a freelance journalist under the alias of Riza Hawkeye, a young British man who had a full time job as a book binder. The newspaper need never know that Riza was a girl, but if they, or her parents ever found out… Riza shuddered to think what the consequences would be.
Fluffing up her pillow, Riza lay down again. Perhaps the world of dreams was over, and it was time for reality of her sex to take over. But somewhere deep in her heart, Riza hoped some knight in shining armour would come and save her from the dreaded future.
Closing her eyes, Riza finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams riddled with a faceless knight on a wild, black charger, riding down a hill to snatch her out of Anthony's grasp.