A Quick Story

The sun was setting as two black horses pulled a black carriage with gold trimming along the well worn road. The driver could see the city in the distance. He sat back with a smile and allowed himself to relax a little. The master's daughter was almost home. Eager to get home himself, the driver spurred the horses on even faster with a shout.
He didn't see what spooked the horses. All of a sudden they reared back kicking their front legs and screaming. The sound was horrendous. The driver just had time to hope that he'd never hear that sound again before he was thrown from his seat. He landed heavily beside the road and never heard another sound again.
The horses veered off the road, dragging the carriage after them. Off the well used road, the carriage bounced crazily until it finally snapped free of the horses, bouncing sideways until it finally came to rest upside down.
Some minutes later one of the carriage doors was forced open and a dishevelled young woman, looking much the worse for wear after her misadventure in the carriage, toppled out. She landed face down in the soft dirt. She then shakily pushed herself up so that she was kneeling on her knees and dazedly looked around. She pushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes and almost fainted when she saw that there was blood on her gloved hand. She leant back against the carriage to try and steady herself.
"Driver!"
She waited for him to respond. He didn't.
"Driver!" She called out louder this time, starting to feel mildly annoyed that the driver hadn't yet answered her call. The fact that he could be dead hadn't even crossed her mind. Feeling pretty close to hysterics, she almost screamed for the driver, threatening this time that unless he answered her immediately he would lose his job.
Still no answer. But then,
"May I be of assistance, miss?" It wasn't the driver asking.
She looked up at the voice and saw a young, nicely dressed man smiling encouragingly and offering her his hand. Even in the dim light she could see that his eyes were almost an orange colour.
She accepted his offered hand and let him help her to her feet.
"I heard your shouts from the road and thought I'd better come and help." He explained, still smiling easily.
The young woman found his smile reassuring somehow. "Thank you. I'm sure my father will be pleased to hear about your help to me."
He just smiled before assisting her back to the road. Once there her took her arm and began leading her away from the city.
"Where are you taking me?" She demanded, alarmed. "The city is that way." She indicated the opposite direction they were going with her free hand.
"It'll take us hours to walk there. It'll be much faster if we go this way: there's a pub a mile back. We can send word to your father and wait for him there."
"I don't remember see a pub." She frowned, although allowing the stranger to lead her once again.
"Maybe you weren't looking for it." The young man smiled.
The young woman wasn't sure how long they walked for. But they walked long enough for her feet to start hurting in her shoes. She was about to start complaining about it when a dingy looking tavern loomed up through the gloom. The lights from inside glowed dimly through the windows.
Again the young woman felt a sense of apprehension and paused.
"Relax, it's a reputable place." The young man smiled again, correctly guessing why she had slowed down.
Although his smile once again reassured her, the young woman carefully looked him up and down. His dark hair was slicked back and carefully parted to one side. He was in a dark coloured silk shirt, which was tucked into charcoal grey trousers and was in carefully polished black boots that went up to just below his knees. She looked back up into his orange eyes. They matched his smile and twinkled warmly at her, encouraging her to trust him. She followed him into the tavern which she noticed was called The Jolly Hunter.
The inside was far more welcoming than the exterior of the tavern indicated; a large heart fire burned warmly in one corner and on all of the polished tables burned at least three large red candles. Many of the tables were taken by groups of people merrily talking as they drank and ate.
"The table by the fire is free." The young man nodded towards the fire place. "What's your father's name so that I know who to address the telegram too."
She told him her father's name before going to sit and wait for him at the table he had indicated. She nervously sat on the edge of her chair and watched the young man talking to the man behind the counter. After a few minutes, the young man joined her at the table carrying two glasses of red wine.
"While we wait for your father." He smiled, placing the glass down in front of her. She thanked him and politely took a sip from the glass. She didn't really want to drink with a stranger. No matter how nice she found him.
The young man fixed his eyes on her as he took a sip from his own glass. He then started asking her questions about her recent trip and her life. She found herself easily answering his questions. She didn't ask him any. She was surprised when she went to take a sip of wine and discovered that the glass was empty. She didn't remember drinking anything while she talked. The young man laughed when she expressed her surprise at this to him. He waved at the bartender who promptly brought over two more glasses to their table.
This time the young man regaled her with stories from far off lands. His eyes still never leaving hers, and she leant closer in to better hear his stories. A bell tinkled as the tavern door opened. She hadn't heard it when they had entered. The young man looked away from her towards the door.
"It looks like we part company now."
She followed his gaze and recognised her father's old cook, although she didn't know his name.
"Thank you for rescuing me and providing the most wonderful company while I waited for my father, Mister ..." She faltered, realising for the first time that she didn't know his name.
"I go by many names. But a lot of people know me as Adrian." He smiled, rising and helping her to her feet. He led her towards the open door that the chef was holding open for them.
The air outside was chillier than expected and the young woman shivered after being in such a warm building. Adrian guided her to the horse and buggy that stood waiting nearby while the chef clambered up into the drivers seat.
Adrian opened the door for her and allowed to place one foot on the step before pulling her closer to him than was proper. She found she didn't mind this. Her ran a finger down her cheek and under her chin, lifting her face so that she was looking into his smiling orange eyes.
"I rescued you and know everything about you except one thing," he said so softly that she could barely hear him. "What is your name?"
She told him.
As soon as he was certain that she was safely seated and comfortable, Adrian bid her good night and closed the door. She could hear him and the chef exchange a few words before the chef spurred the horse into action, and the buggy slowly rocked away from the tavern.
She looked out the side window, Adrian was standing with his hands behind his back. He smiled and waved goodbye just as she lost him from sight.

Shopping etiquette

So after braving the post Boxing Day sales crowds today I couldn't help but noticing that some (or a lot of) people clearly need to be reminded about some pretty basic shopping centre etiquette (which is even more important with large crowds).

For some reason many people seem to think that stopping in shop doors is perfectly acceptable. It IS NOT.

People also seem to think that stopping in the middle of the walk way and blocking the flow of traffic is also perfectly acceptable. It IS NOT.

A lot of people seem to think that just walking around in a daze and constantly getting in everyone's way all the time is also acceptable. Again, it IS NOT.

Another thing that people seem to think is ok is letting their brood of kids run feral and trip up everyone. It's not.

If people do any of the above they are fair game to an elbow in the ribs (it's the only way to let them know they're in the way) and an insincere apology (only if you're feeling generous though) that points out that the elbow could've been avoided if they hasn't been blocking the flow of traffic. Of course, elbowing the kids isn't acceptable (it's not their fault their parents let them run around like feral little animals), but if they're particularly bad don't try to dodge them if they're about to run into you. Let them run into you and bounce back. That usually means they'll avoid you from then on. Although that still doesn't help with their parents. My favourite way to let parents know their kids are being feral is to carry on just like their kids (minus the running everywhere). Do it loud enough with whoever you're shopping with and the kids are either told to behave or are quickly moved away (plus the whole "stop poking me!" "Stop walking into my finger!" Etc thing is fun).

But of course, if everyone simply remembered that stopping the flow of traffic is selfish and inconsiderate and actually controlled their kids better then the whole sales shopping experience would be so much more pleasant ... plus there'd be a lot less elbowing people and embarrassing parents with misbehaving kids.