The Traveler

by Xander Jade

  “Thanks, I think.”

  She giggled. “It’s a compliment. The ones that come here already have lots of women or they are just plain arrogant.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” I wasn’t sure if the rules about not asking a lady her age applied in this world.

  “I’ll answer that personal question only if you answer one.” I nodded and she continued, “I’m thirty-four. I’ll ask my question now. Where are your females? You should be guarded.”

  I laughed at her comment. “Don’t have any yet. It’s complicated, but that’s the truth.”

  Her eyes bulged and she stammered a reply, “Mister, you don’t have any protection? Why are you out by yourself then?”

  Gesturing to my weapons, “I can protect myself, but thank you for your concern. I’ve gotten that question numerous times already.”

  She seemed to regain her composure. “Dominic, it’s just unheard of that a handsome male such as yourself doesn’t have a family by now. Since that’s the case, would you mind if I boldly asked you something?”

  Shrugging, “Not at all.”

  “Would you mind if we courted?”

  Damn, that was bold. Of course, this whole world was run by females, so it was not so surprising. The males were coddled and protected it seemed. I looked at her closely. She was tall, with tan skin, light blue eyes and her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail that swished when she walked. She had just enough sass that made her someone I would like to get to know. “Sure, Isabella. I don’t know how that works though.”

  She smiled broadly. “It’s no problem. We just get to know each other better on the chance it could lead to marriage. I’m tied up for the next few days, but can I see you on Thursday? That’s one of my days off.”

  “That will be great. My mind has been jumbled the past few days. What day is today?”

  Isabella replied, “Sunday.”

  I nodded and being always practical, I said, “I’ll need to get more supplies by then anyway. Should I come here to pick you up?”

  Isabella had a mischievous look about her as she walked back into the store over to the counter, but she didn’t answer me. The two teens weren’t anywhere around, I assumed they were helping other clients.

  Isabella wrote up a ticket for the sale and had me look at it. “Alright, let’s talk about the price. That’s six gold, Dominic.”

  I shook my head and smiled, it really was some kind of game for these people, or in this world. “Two.”

  “Come on, I’m not making any money on this. You’re taking bread off my table, and here I thought you were a gentleman. Five.”

  Tilting my head to the side, I replied, “Nobody said I was a gentleman. Three and seven silver, you throw in some oats for the way home.”

  She narrowed her eyes and finally nodded. “Very well, but only if you take me out on a date.”

  I snorted, “Sure. Can you send this over to Brighton’s and have them get everything ready?”

  I handed over the money and Isabella nodded and took the payment.

  “Yes handsome, I’ll take care of it. Anything else?”

  I shook my head and told her I’d see her later.

  ~~~~~~

  When Dominic walked out of the store, Abby and Julia came back in and ran over to Isabella.

  Julia started talking first. “What’s his name? How old is he?”

  “Yeah mom, he was good looking,” Abby sighed wistfully.

  Isabella played it cool. “His name is Dominic. I’m not sure how old he is.”

  Julia shrieked, “What?! You didn’t ask him out?”

  Isabella giggled. “Of course I asked him out. He doesn’t have any women yet, which is quite odd.”

  “Really? You don’t mind if I tell mom about him, do you?” Julia asked in a low voice.

  “Of course not, sweetie. We’re both widows after all. She might’ve already talked to him since he bought some horses from Brighton’s.” Isabella smiled at her daughter’s best friend, thinking it would be great if Felicia and she were in the same family.

  Julia smiled broadly. “I’ll find out tonight and let you know.” She turned to Abby and asked, “Before I forget, we still on for tonight?”

  “Yeah, around seven.”

  Isabella got back to herself after daydreaming. “Alright girls, let’s get back to work before the boss checks on us.” The three walked their separate ways, all giggling.

  Chapter 5

  I strolled back up the path and stopped again at Branchet’s General Goods. Tom was at the counter; the same women were about in the store. Marsha was with Tom.

  “Good afternoon, Tom,” I called out.

  Tom looked up. “Hello, Dominic. What can we do for you today?”

  “I have another list of items to get.”

  I handed him the list, he gave it to Marsha after looking it over. After reading the list she said, “It’ll take about thirty minutes to fill this.”

  I nodded, holding in my smile. It would seem he relies on his woman to make sure he doesn’t make a mistake. Hmm… smart man. But can he actually do anything on his own? I handed him the payment, hopefully he could be trusted with that, then headed to get something to eat.

  I ended up at Ariana’s Home Cooking, getting a steak, veggies, and some ale. I left with a full belly and went back to see if my team was ready. The horses and wagon were in front of the entrance. I walked inside to talk with Felicia. Seeing her speaking to a brunette, I waited until she was done before getting her attention. She walked hurriedly over to me, beaming.

  “Welcome back, Dominic. Isabella came over and advised me about your purchase. Let’s go check out your team.” We walked out and visibly checked over the connections. Isabella had put the bag of oats in the wagon.

  “As you can see, we have taken care of everything. Is there anything else we can do for you, handsome?” Felicia put a hand on her hip and raised a brow, somehow challenging me on something.

  I checked her out again and knew that I would really like to get to know her better. “Well, how about a date? Unless you’re spoken for that is.”

  I raked my eyes up and down the sexy female. Her long, tan, muscular legs were only covered by a tight brown skirt, ending above her knees. Her red blouse only slightly held her big tits in, completing the ensemble.

  Felicia bit her lower lip, then she chuckled, “No sir, not spoken for. I was hoping you were going to ask me. But if you weren’t then I was going to ask you. Though I will let you know that I’m a widowed mother. Hope that doesn’t affect your mind any.”

  I didn’t care if she was a mother already, I just knew that this lady was nice and real friendly.

  “Not at all, Felicia. What days are you off?”

  She thought about it and responded, “My next day off is Saturday.”

  I paused for a moment and thought about the situation. As these two ladies both worked for the same people and things were bound to get out, I’d be better off being straight with them.

  “That will be fine, but I have a confession to make. Isabella asked me out as well. Will that cause a problem between you two?”

  She giggled and her eyes sparkled when she replied, “No. We’re kind of glad about that. She’s a widow too and also my best friend.”

  My brow rose up at the remark that they had already spoken about it. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you in a few days, Felicia.” I winked and got up on the wagon then looked down at her.

  She blew a kiss at me and smiled, “Can’t wait.”

  I took the team over to load up my goods. Tom and his ladies had the bags ready with sausage, cheese, white and brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, apple-cider vinegar, spices, vegetables, raw steaks, bags of hickory and mesquite chips, and tea and coffee. I also splurged and bought two pots, a pan, a skillet, and a case of jars. I planned on canning vegetables and pickling some. They loaded everything onto the wagon and Tom’s other wife, Dorothy, put the grilling crates on for my up
coming project. A smokehouse. Also, I ended up buying a couple fishing poles with full gear, the total costing me another seven silver. I then went to the feed store.

  In Crawford’s Feed Store, the women were filling orders while the man on the stool sat, filing his fingernails. Families came in to get feed, so I watched the men. They would let their mates take care of the heavy lifting, well, almost all of them. One blonde elf spoke with arrogance to a redheaded mage. He bet that he could lift more of the forty-pound sacks of feed onto their wagon. The mage took the bet and they each handed a gold to a mediator.

  This got me curious, men acting like they actually had a pair of balls. Yes! The males were trying! The elf started the competition, lifting only four and the mage only two. It was embarrassing, really. I sighed and shook my head in disappointment. What the hell is wrong with the males here?

  When it was my turn to order, I requested twenty bags of grain, ten bags of oats and feed for the horses, cows, and chickens I was going to buy. I also picked up different seeds and plants for my gardens. I would wait on the healing ingredients for now, until the vegetable garden took.

  When the ladies took my payment of four silver, they brought my purchases to my wagon. I declined help with the bags of grain and feed. The people that were around chuckled, thinking that I was going to be like the other two males. The idiots even wagered with each other that I couldn’t lift all of them.

  I smiled and said to a female elf with dark hair, “I’ll wager three gold.”

  She was the mediator. The crowd handed their coins over and most of them started snickering at me. I kept calm and waited. When all the bets were taken, I started lifting and everyone was chattering around me. But not long after I began, they stopped talking all together. I didn’t care what they were doing, my goal was to get finished and collect my money. Five minutes later, everything was loaded onto my wagon and strapped down.

  Wiping the sweat off of my brow, I looked around to see the crowd gawking at me. I sighed and stepped down from my wagon and went straight to the elf with the money. I put my hand out and she handed the money over without comment. I got up onto the seat and released the brake, then flicked the reins.

  I left the town not looking back and headed west to see about purchasing a couple of milking cows. It didn’t take long before I saw a fence that held cattle in, so I turned my team down the access road to the Anderson farm. A few minutes later, I pulled up to the house. An older gentleman and his women came out of the front door, holding rifles pointing down.

  One of the women called out, “Why are you here?”

  Though I didn’t like her tone, I kept calm. “I was told that you had some dairy cows for sale.”

  The male looked at the women, a graying blonde with gray eyes and a brown- eyed brunette, then visibly relaxed.

  The blonde spoke out, “Yes sir, we have some for sale. Please forgive us, we’ve had some rustlers lately. My name is Alina, the lady beside me is Ollie, and the gentleman is Russel. Welcome to Anderson Farm.”

  “No problem, my name’s Dominic and I just need two for now,” I responded with a smile.

  Alina replied, “Sure, I’ll take you to see them.” She turned to the male. “Russ, go back inside, we’ll take care of this. Check on Lucille and Bobby, please.”

  I watched the family and how they did things, I was seeing up close another male obeying the woman while the women took care of the sales and heavy lifting. I wondered if that was the way for everyone around here.

  Alina and Ollie gestured for me to follow them, so I flipped the reins and had the Jutland’s trail the two ladies. They stopped at the barn entrance. I stepped down and entered with them.

  “Mr. Dominic, these are the ones that are for sale,” Ollie gestured to the four stalls that were holding the bovine.

  I walked over and inspected the cows. “Is there anything special needed for their upkeep?”

  “No sir, just fresh grass, hay, or oats and plenty of water,” Alina specified.

  “Okay, thanks for that information. What’s the damage for two of them with their harnesses?”

  She looked at Ollie and laughed nervously.

  “Well, we need to get them out so we can put the next few in. We would take five gold for the two.”

  I thought I was going to spit something out, saying it was too much, but didn’t. In fact, my mind was telling me it was too low for having a supply of fresh milk every day. The two dairy cows normally would fetch eight to ten gold in pairs not counting the harnesses. I looked around and found the area, not rundown, but in need of some repairs. I knew that eventually my farm would need the other two anyway.

  The two females were glancing at each other anxiously, since I didn’t answer right away.

  Thinking of how much was in my pocket, I decided to make a deal.

  I laid out my offer, “Tell you what ladies, I’ll give you fifteen gold for the four bovines in front of me and their bridle kits with some fresh hay thrown in. What do you say?”

  Alina was breathless. She said in a low voice, “Sir, that is too much, way more than what we were asking. Why would you suggest that?”

  Shrugging, I advised, “You were selling them way below what they’re normally priced at. Thinking about it, I couldn’t do that. What do you think?”

  The two ladies suddenly had tears in their eyes and nodded. Ollie spoke out, “Bless you, sir. We will take you up on your offer and get everything ready for you.”

  I smiled and nodded as they started bringing the cows out of the stall and securing them to the wagon. After a few minutes, the ladies were done when they stacked two square bales on. Handing them the money, I smiled and flipped the reins to get the Jutlands going.

  I was out on the main dirt road and headed to the chicken farm, and hopefully done with this little adventure. At least until I got back to the cabin. Three miles later I came upon the access road and turned in. The chickens were out in their pens and I knew I was in the right place. I pulled on the reins to stop in front of the farmhouse. Two middle-aged females came out to greet me, one blonde and the other had brown hair.

  “Hello young man, what can we do for you?”

  I replied kindly, “I was told you have chickens for sale. Is that correct ma’am?”

  The blonde responded, “Yes sir, how many ya need?”

  “I was thinking thirty and one rooster. What would be the damage for that?”

  “It would run you three gold with the cages,” the lady that hadn’t spoken replied.

  I knew it was a good price, so I was quick to respond, “That’ll work ma’am. Can you put two bags of feed in that price as well?”

  It shocked them that I wasn’t going to try and bargain with them, and both broke out into smiles after that. The blonde said, “Yes, thank you. It will take around twenty minutes to round them up. My name is Arlene and this is Mary.”

  Pulling my pouch open, I counted out the coins and handed them over. The two ladies caged up the chickens quickly and I was off back to the cabin. When I got back, I went straight to the barn. After untying them, I placed the horses and cows in their stalls, unbridled, then fed and brushed them. Making sure the gates were secure, I closed the barn door and went back out to the wagon, running into Scar.

  I sighed, “Listen big guy, paws off the merchandise. You’ll get fresh milk everyday as long as you make sure nothing else comes around. Deal?”

  Scar growled and went to his place to sleep. I rolled my eyes and kept on unloading my purchases, placing them where they needed to be. I also stowed my winnings in my pouch. I’d profited fifteen gold.

  When everything was put away, I started a fire for some food. I picked up a steak from the cold room and threw it on the cook stove. It started to sizzle and I thought about the smokehouse. It would take a couple days to build it, but would help keep the meat from spoiling. I thought about the women I had met that day. Isabella and Felicia, both widows and mature women. I wasn’t sure how everything worked,
except for what I had read in the history of this world. What was the best way to approach this? The women were sure brazen enough. Of course I didn’t blame them since the ratio was one male to five females in this world.

  I asked aloud, “Wonder what kind of mages they are?” Shaking off those thoughts, I looked around the cabin. The place was in disrepair and needed fixing. Good thing I was building a new one. I thought about what needed repairing while the house was not ready. The barn would also need to be expanded for more horses and I could feel my money just flowing out of my pocket. I’d go ahead and replace the roof with the materials in the barn.

  Having your own place is swell, but not when you need to do repairs. At least with my apartment, that stuff was taken care of. I didn’t have to mow the lawn either. Huh. How was I going to do that? I didn’t have a lawnmower and I wasn’t sure they even had a gas-powered device in this world. I looked at the barn and chuckled, thinking about the animals in their stalls.

  I have my own type of lawnmower.

  Well, I made a decision. This was my home for now and I’d make the best of things while I tried to figure out what happened to me and how I got there.

  Taking the food off the stove, I ate in silence thinking of the best way to handle all that was needed. After some time, I cleaned everything up and went to bed. I trusted the panther not to disobey me and would see if my trust was warranted.

  ~~~~~~

  Julia came into the rooms that she shared with her mom at the boarding house, excited that a mysterious man was in the area. She had a ton of questions bouncing in her mind. Where did he come from? Why didn’t he have any women with him? Wonder what he’s like? All the other males she had been around were either pussies or arrogant pricks, some creeps even leered at her and Abby, wanting to know if they would join their families when they came of age. Even though the age of seventeen was the age of becoming a woman, she and Abby had no interest in joining a family. For one reason: they would be low on the hierarchy and would have to listen and obey the head of the household. The stories of some people she had listened to were just dumbfounding, even scary enough for her and Abby to dread the day where they would have to leave and be forced to conform to the ideas and commands of the family they were married into.