#So it's mostly Marijn and Vajèn

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Ingestopt (tucked in) WIP excerpt

So this is a rough draft of my rough draft, I don't have much of a plot yet... There is an English translation below the Dutch bit, which continues below the cut. It's roughly 500 words. Most of the dialogue is in English either way, though. So as a challenge, see how far you get on dialogue alone ;) I switched which language is italized in the translation, so it'll be easier if you want to figure out which word means what on your own.

“Wat?” Marijn trok de dekens iets verder over haarzelf en Vajèn heen. Het jongetje kroop dichter tegen haar aan in zijn slaap, weg van de rots die ze als rugleuning gebruikten.

Julia prikte met een stok in hun kampvuur om het levende te houden voor de nacht. Ze keek uit over de heuvels. “They’re getting closer.”

Ze doelde op de zachte lichtgloed achter een van de achterste heuvels.

“You two should move on.” Julia pakte haar spullen bij elkaar. “They don’t know about him yet. You two should go find the vallei, I’ll go look for the artifact.”

Marijn stond op and wikkelde de deken om Vajèn heen voordat ze naast Julia over dezelfde gloed uitkeek. Ze had haar verteld dat het niet veel meerwaarde had om het woord vallei te vertalen, maar Julia deed alsnog de moeite.

“Nee. It’s too dangerous.” Ze snapte het idee wel, vechten was niet echt een optie. Voor Vajèn in andere vorm en Julia misschien, maar Marijn kon het vergeten. Ze had moeite genoeg om haar lichaam stabiel te houden.

“The oath.” Julia greep haar zwaard vast. “Unless the magical people in your dreams can come here and keep you safe.”

Marijn gaf Julia een sarcastische lach terug. Ze had de anderen al weken niet gesproken, het strand was leeg als ze er überhaupt al binnenkwam. Die hadden sowieso hun eigen problemen om op te lossen. “I still don’t think it’s magic.”

Julia haalde haar schouders op. “If it is you help me out in the bakery for a week.”

“Een maand en ik ben het met je eens.”

Julia stond even stil om na te denken. “All I got was month, but I can do a month. But I’m serious, I need to take it. I can pay that price.”

“Waag het niet,” Marijn moest moeite doen om haar stem zachtjes te houden. “If I get sick, or tired, or—”

“That is exactly what it’s for. It’s a shield. Things would never get so bad you wouldn’t make it.”

“Ja, voor mij,” gromde ze terug. Julia zou er geen woord van verstaan, maar dat boeide haar even niet. “Jij bent degene die in d’r uppie de halve wereld over wil gaan op zoek naar een mythe waar je niks vanaf weet, idioot.”

Julia pakte haar wapens bij elkaar. “Go sleep. Please. Let me take it.” Ze had dat verdomde zwaard al in de handen. “It’s now or a week from now, or a month, I will take it.”

Marijn pakte haar notitieboek en schoof het in het voorvakje van Julias tas. Zonder een verder woord te zeggen zette ze het neer naast het kampvuur. Dat Julia het vertelde was een beleefdheid, de ede zelf had als leuke bijwerking dat niemand haar het zou zien of horen nemen. “I want a sketch of your glowing sword. Or a picture, if you find a camera before you take it.”

Julia boog haar hoofd tegen dat van Marijn en zuchtte zachtjes. “Weltrusten.”

Marijn legde haar hoofd tegen Julia’s schouder. “Vajèn will be pissed.”

“Gift. In zijn tas. I will make it up to him.”

English translation:

“What?” Marijn pulled the blankets over her and Vajèn a little further. The little boy huddled closer to her in his sleep, away from the rock they used as back support for the night.

Julia poked the campfire with a stick, to keep it burning for the night. She looked out over the hills. “They’re getting closer.”

She meant the soft glow behind one of the the hills in the very back.

“You two should move on.” Julia gathered her things. “They don’t know about him yet. You two should go find the valley, I’ll go look for the artifact.”

Marijn got up and wrapped the blanket around Vajèn before looking out over the same glow. She told Julia, translating the word valley didn’t have any additional value, but Julia still put in the effort.

“No. It’s too dangerous.” She understood the idea, fighting wasn’t an option. It was to Vajèn in another form and Julia, maybe, but Marijn could forget it. She had trouble enough keeping her body stable.

“The oath.” Julia took hold of her sword. “Unless the magical people in your dreams can come here and keep you safe.”

Marijn replied with a sarcastic laugh. She hadn’t spoken to the others in weeks. The beach had been empty, if she got there in the first place. They had their own problems to solve, anyway. “I still don’t think it’s magic.”

Julia shrugged. “If it is you help me out in the bakery for a week.”

“A month and I’ll agree with you.”

Julia stood still to think. “All I got was month, but I can do a month. But I’m serious, I need to take it. I can pay that price.”

“Don’t you dare.” Marijn had trouble keeping her voice quiet. “If I get sick, or tired, or—”

“That’s exactly what it’s for. It’s a shield. Things would never get so bad you wouldn’t make it.”

“Yes, for me,” she growled back. Julia wouldn’t understand a word, but for the moment, she didn’t care. “You are the one who wants to go across the world all alone to look for a myth you don’t know anything about, idiot.”

Julia gathered her weapons. “Go sleep. Please. Let me take it.” She already had the damned sword in her hands. “It’s now, or a week from now, or a month. I will take it.”

Marijn took her notebook and put it in the front pocket of Julia’s bag. Without saying another word, she put it down next to the campfire. Julia telling her alone was politeness. No one would see or hear Julia take the oath, as a fun side effect. “I want a sketch of your glowing sword. Or a picture, if you find a camera before you take it.”

Julia bowed her head against Marijn’s and sighed softly. “Goodnight.”

Marijn dropped her head to Julia’s shoulder. “Vajèn will be pissed.”

“Gift. In his bag. I will make it up to him.”

#wip: ingestopt #excerpt wip: ingestopt #the title isn't definitive #but I do like it #I won't play around with languages much in this one #Vajèn speaks Dutch #and Julia will be gone for half the story because of that oath they argue about #So it's mostly Marijn and Vajèn #please drop into my asks about this because I want to infodump so bad #(I'll even do it in English ;) #translated writing