This is a novel based on the songs by the band Florence and the Machine. This is my first draft of it so far. I haven't gone through and edited or whatever so feel free to criticize and nit-pick all you want. And if you're a Florence and the Machine fan too, feel free to comment on some story suggestions and please, PLEASE tell me what you think of it because I'm seriously thinking of sending this to Florence and the Machine. Ok, here's the story.
Ch. 1
“Bye Florence! Hope to see you next year!”
I turned waved goodbye to Stacy, smiling because I knew she’d be waving until she couldn’t see me anymore. I walked down the beaten road that thousands had taken to get to the festival, loving the jingling sound the coins made as I started walking home. The setting sun followed me with its orange glow. The dim sounds of laughter and music wafting after me.
Every year at the end of the fall, our city, Fahr, has a Harvest Festival celebrating the end of the harvest of that year. It lasts for seven days and there’s always lots of singing and dancing and drinking and eating. Everyone comes around to buy and sell their wares. I always love to look at the wares people bring to sell. The brightly colored, beaded purses, the painted clay pots that depicted scenes of heroes facing off monster and the beautiful new, clean dresses made out of such delicate material I always wondered what the purpose of wearing it because it had not practical use to them.
My parents were farmers and because they never liked going out among the crowds and people, sent me instead to sell our chickens, sheep, cattle and pigs. The Harvest Festival was the only time I was ever aloud away. My parents liked to keep me close. Especially after my father died, well, my true father. My mother had gotten remarried to a very mild-mannered man. He reminded me of one of our cows. Always doing what he was told to do and I swear he chews cud. She’s always worrying, telling me what not to do and what to do so I didn’t upset the demons and ghosts and the gods that were all around.
I met Stacy my first year there. Her father was a baker, the best in town. I had acquired a little change in my pocket to spend and my rumbling stomach and nose followed the delicious smell of sweet honey rolls ‘till I came to the front of his store. I hadn’t had any afternoon dinner yet and was quite hungry. The bakery was quite a big shop made out of a white terracotta stone. Two windows in front revealed all sorts of delicious baked goods and my stomach growled again. The sign above read “Annoris’ Best”, I walked inside and found the place bustling with people. There were tables everywhere; all filled with people, and the front was all aligned with people buying his goods and sitting down and eating them. I managed to squeeze in between two big, rough looking men. One of them looked at me and smiled leeringly.
“Well, what do we have here Jerry? Take a look at this pretty little thing.”
“I’ll say. Hey darling. How ‘bout I show you around? Take you for a ride?” Jerry asked coming down close to my face.
“Uh, no...no thanks,” I stuttered, cowering over the bench. “I’m just trying to get something to eat.”
“Ah, don’t be like that. Why don’t we buy you drink at ‘Dragon’s Inn? We can have a right good time you and me. How ‘bout it?” the first one asked moving closer in.
“Hey! The girl said she wanted to be left alone! Now get out before I force you to leave!” I looked up to see my savior was a girl with black hair tied back wearing an apron. She stood like an avenging goddess, hands on hips and eyebrows drawn together angrily. She couldn’t have been much older than me.
“Back off Stacy. We was just havin’ ourselves a little fun,” The first one said, hands up in defeat.
“Yeah, just a little fun,” The one called Jerry said backing away.
“Uh-huh. Sure you were. Now get out before I go and get my daddy.” With that the two walked out trying to maintain their smug and cocky composure but failing as they noticed everyone looking at them and guys even blatantly laughing. I looked at my fiery savior in awe. To have so much power that you can make two strong grown men leave like that…she must have had magic powers.
“I wouldn’t worry about those two anymore,” The girl called Stacy said, winking at me. “They’re just two dumb idiots. Now, what do you want? It’s on the house.”
“I-I couldn’t.” This girl just got stranger and stranger with every minute. I couldn’t possibly take anything for free!
“Don’t worry about it. It’s compensation for those two goons. Please, my treat.” At that time my stomach growled loudly again. Well…
“I guess….I am hungry.”
“All right then!” With that she gave me a plate and loaded it with all sorts of delicious pastries, some I wouldn’t even had had enough money to pay for. I picked one up trying to stop myself from drooling and bit in delicately. It was the best thing I had ever tasted! The sweet cherry sauce dribbled down my mouth as I devoured it and grabbed another one. Surely this was God’s food. Stacy just laughed and poured me a glass of water. I downed that and went for another one.
When I had first seen how much she loaded on my plate I thought I would never be able to finish it but when I had gotten done I was near the bottom of my plate. I sighed contently and laid back in my chair in complete full bliss.
“Did you like it?” Stacy asked, eyes shining with laughter at my state of being.
“Like it? Are you kidding this is God’s food!” I exclaimed worshipfully. Stacy laughed uproariously, “My father is the head baker, he owns this shop. He’s the best in the whole land of Fahr!”
I shook my head agreeing wholeheartedly.
“Oh, by the way, my name’s Stacy.”
“Florence.” I replied.
With that we became friends. She showed me around the fair telling me what places to avoid and showing me the best place that were hidden in the depths of the fair. Later, she got her father to sign me on as a part time waitress at his bakery. He didn’t always pay me in coins but his pastries suited me just fine as a payment.
I smiled at the memories, enjoying the feel as a gentle breeze started to flow. My long brown dress that I always wore rippled in the breeze, and loose strands of my slightly, orange hair blew across my face. My hair was the strangest of all the colors in Fahr. Everybody in far had dull hair and eye colors. Their hair was brown, black, or grey. Most eyes were brown otherwise it was grey. My hair color may have been strange but my eyes were even more outlandish. They were smoky grey and apparently the grey moved like a witch’s crystal ball or like actual smoke. I think that’s why my mother is always so superstitious about everything. She takes me as an omen, a bad omen.
“Florence! Wait up!” I looked back and saw Jason running towards me. Jason was the silver smith’s son. He was a friend of me and Stacey. This year he’d been acting strangely around me and I’d tried my best to avoid him. He made me feel uncomfortable and I didn’t know why. I asked Stacy if she thought Jason was acting strange and she’d said a little but he didn’t seem that different.
“Hey Jason. What’s up?” I asked. I didn’t understand this feeling of dread I had in my stomach. There was no reason for me to be feeling like this. He didn’t pose as a threat and hadn’t done anything to me.
“I um…I just wanted to say goodbye.” He said looking down nervously.
“Oh, okay. Well, bye.” I said waving and started to walk again.
“Wait!” I looked back impatiently.
“Well, I was wondering. If maybe….well…umm…I just wanted to say I really, really like you!” he blurted out blushing.
“I like you too Jason.” I smiled. See there wasn’t anything to worry about, completely harmless. He stared at me as if I was missing the point of what he just said.
“No Florence, I mean I love you. I was wondering if you wanted court with me?”
What? I was completely blown off, not expecting that at all. I liked him but only as a friend.
‘I’m sorry Jason. I just don’t feel the same way about you.” His face fell dejectedly. I turned and continued walking away, thinking about this last week how Jason had been acting. He’d been hanging around me almost to the point of clinging. Always carrying any stuff I bought and opening doors politely. He’d never done any of that in the past, come to think of it he never stared at me so much either.
I was startled out of my reverie by a loud crack. The cracking sound had sounded like nothing I had ever heard. I’ve heard bones crack and clay crack as it hit the ground but the closest thing this sounded too was the sound of lightening hitting a tree. And there was no lightening now unless a demon had caused it. Turning around I found the sound had come from an old, decrepit barn that was on the side of the road. The sun was low enough so that the barn was hiding it from view though light managed to stream past it lighting it with a ghoulish glow. I knew that barn. My mother had told me to never go in it because there were demons and ghosts inside it though I’d never seen or heard anything from that barn. I continued to stare at the barn. That noise could’ve been made by itself because it was slowly decaying but something told me that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t staring at the barn because I was scared. I’d never seen a ghost before or a demon, I was curious as to what one looked like.
Walking quickly, I stood in the yawning entry way, staring into the old barn. It was big with two floors. There was hay strewn everywhere along with dust. Fallen pieces of wood from the top lay strewn about aimlessly. I looked up and saw owls and bats up on the second floor. The place looked harmless enough. No demons or ghosts here that I could see. I took a delicate step inside and brought the other foot along. I was totally inside now. The barn looked enormous! I wondered who it had belonged too and what demon or ghost lived here now. I tried looking for what had caused the noise but couldn’t find anything that would make such a noise. That left the top part of the barn to be investigated. But how? Looking about I found what I was looking for. A ladder had been left leaning lazily against the wall inviting me to climb it and investigate it’s hidden treasures up top. I scrambled over pieces of broken wood and piles of hay to get over to it and stared up at it. Gingerly I place a foot on the first step and placed my weight on it. It stayed. Smiling with relief I climbed the ladder making sure to check each step before I climbed it. Luckily there had only been one that had given way but I managed to scale that. The top looked very similar to the bottom except there was a lot more animal dung.
Disappointed that I didn’t find anything exciting up here I started to walk around. The whole top floor was lined with a wood railing. Soon I learned that some of the pieces of wood lying on the floor had come not only from the ceiling but also from this floor. There were some gaping holes that had to be gingerly avoided as I tip-toed around making sure I didn’t disturb any of the wild life up here. They can be pretty viscous.
Honestly I was pretty disappointed that I haven’t seen any demons or ghosts so far. I really wanted to see one. To see if it was as scary and bad as everyone said. My whole life it’s been “fear the gods and all the other unknown beings or bad things will happen!” But bad things happen even if you do revere the gods just because of stupid people and their mistakes. You don’t even have to be stupid to make bad mistakes.
So, while I was sulkily kicking around hay, the demon or ghost decided to tease me with its presence again and I heard that same noise again, though admittedly louder. I figured the noise came down below and to the left of me. Walking over, I looked down over the railing and saw “something.” Gasping, I ducked down not wanting it to hear me. Too think that there actually was demon or ghost was shocking. I never actually believed it. But it looked strangely enough like a normal boy I determined looking at it through the bars of the railing. He was pretty muscular and tall with longish grey hair like the rest of the people of Fahr. He didn’t look like a demon. I expected a demon to have horns and to look scary. I wondered what he was looking for in the wood. He was probably using a special spell that told him whoever walked through his barn so he could catch and punish them. But that still didn’t explain the noise. I wondered if it happened whenever he left and appeared. How on earth was one ever going to be able to sneak on their victims when you were so noisy!
