As would be expected of any well off child in the region, Anso and his sisters Julia, Marie, Anya and Magdalen received an excellent education. They learned Greek, Latin, French, Italian, in addition to their native Lenga d’oc. Anso was the oldest and his tutor claimed the brightest, so easily did he grasp the concepts of astronomy, medicine and philosophy.

But as bright as he was, Anso was easily distracted. Merí was her name, and Anso was six when he first saw her. Donát needed some hinges custom made for a new wine press, and sent Anso off with a message for the blacksmith. She was the blacksmith’s daughter, a redhead and older than he by a year. He didn’t know anything about girls, being six, but he found her fascinating.

He found her working the bellows for her father, and stumbled over his words. She giggled and ran over to fetch the note from him and gave it to her father. Covered in soot, her hair managed to shine through it somehow.

He thought about her often, though he tried not to these days.