by S E Zbasnik
Shit. Grabbing at random, Hayley fished up some of the letters and plunged them into her pocket. Before anyone would think to try and yell at her to stop, she backed out into the mass of bureaucracy and faded from view. It wasn’t until she was nearly out of view of the main tent that Hayley paused and stared down at one of the letters she snatched up. Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe she could tell Gavin the truth, they were real busy and just told her to grab whatever and get out.
Maybe he wouldn’t care.
Trying to shake off the fear that she royally screwed up, Hayley slunk back to the tent. She expected to find the horse chewing outside and Gavin napping in, but when a red braid whipped through the air Hayley froze dead. Larissa stepped over the pile of armor, her perfect tongue tutting at the mess, when she reached over to pet Gringolet.
The horse that would glare at Hayley for walking funny, never mind even thinking of drawing close, shifted its head towards Larissa. Her palm smoothed up and down the nose, and that bastard lolled out its tongue to lick her. She giggled a moment before casting an eye to her knight and falling into formation.
His back hunched, Gavin staggered out of the tent, his eyes whipping first towards Gringolet. Upon finding his horse in fine sorts, he turned and a great smile broke out. “Frederick!” he shouted, both men lashing their right arms out for the other. They grabbed onto the upper forearm then tugged together for a half hug.
“Here I thought I wouldn’t be running back into you for another month at least,” Frederick called, his face as light as sunshine off a bubble.
Her knight sighed, “Strange times. I wish it were under better circumstances, but I am much happier for you to join us. Weren’t you out in the south…?”
“Helping to maintain the border, aye.” Frederick smiled wide, his arms slotting into an easy cross as he leaned. “Got the summons a few days hence. Had to skip out on training up my greenie here.” His chin jerked towards Larissa who was trying to be as pretty as possible while acting as if she had no idea people were talking about her. She even crossed her leg in front of the other one while twirling her staff around. That god damn staff.
“How is it?” Gavin asked.
“Ya know kids,” Frederick shrugged, “listen to everything they aren’t supposed to, and ignore everything they should.”
“I referred to the southern borders. There is talk that the Prestonions are pushing for a…”
Frederick held a hand up, easily silencing Gavin. “Nope, don’t worry your pretty face about it. All your hard work earning that fancy title is holding.” He smiled wide at what had to be his friend, and a blush rose upon Gavin’s cheeks. Swallowing, Frederick glanced towards the great hill where the fortress they kept surrounding rested. “For now, at least.”
“Aye.” Gavin bent his head, worry lines forming all along the sides of his eyes. “If we do not maintain order here, then…”
“Hey,” Frederick slapped his hands together, “where’s your little spitfire of a squire?”
Before Gavin could give his answer, Larissa snorted, “No doubt hiding in a sewer somewhere.” Hayley’s entire back bristled, her knight swinging his head towards Larissa for clarification. Last thing she needed, last thing she wanted was that viper giving away all her hard-wrought plans.
Picking up her feet, Hayley dashed towards the trio as if she’d been running the whole time. “Ser,” she called, rising up into attention and even finishing with a salute.
Gavin’s lip lifted in a half smile, his tongue rolling over his teeth before he sighed, “Squire.”
Smiling wide, Hayley moved to turn to Larissa, ecstatic to watch her face fall, when Gavin stepped closer. “Incidentally, when you salute, you keep your thumb out…like this,” he cupped his hand over hers, folding it properly. Hayley’s entire face burned hot in embarrassment. She could feel Larissa laughing behind her back, the girl not even hiding her chuckles at how badly she blew it.
“Well,” Frederick spoke up, “look at you, playing teacher. Got to say, I never thought I’d see the day.”
Gavin’s brows crinkled as he turned to the man, “Why ever not?”
It wasn’t to Gavin he leaned but Hayley, almost as if in a conspiratorial whisper. “Tell the truth, how bad of a teach is he? Have you up before dawn running drills until you can’t move? Polishing rocks? Walking about with buckets of water on your head?”
“He…” Hayley bit onto her lip hard, her toes curling in her shoes. She could feel Larissa glaring venom from how much attention her knight was showing Hayley. Ha. “He’s been pretty okay,” Hayley finished with, her eyes meeting Gavin’s. His face remained neutral at her admittance, but as silence pervaded she kept talking, “I mean, it could be worse. Lot worse.”
“Pretty okay, could be worse.” Frederick laughed while turning away from Hayley to Gavin. “I dare say that’s high praise indeed from a fifteen-year-old.”
“Fourteen,” she sputtered, causing all three to stare at her. “I’m fourteen.” Her knight looked cross, as if she shouldn’t have said anything. Larissa amped up her glower, clearly wishing she could whisk her knight away.
Only Frederick dipped his head to her and in a contrite voice said, “My mistake. You simply have a bearing older than your years.”
Hayley smiled stupidly at the compliment, her hands patting her hat in place. No one ever said that about her. She glanced towards her knight, but Gavin seemed to be glaring at space. His eyes weren’t focused on anything, but they looked as if he chewed upon a bitter root. Rather than spit it out, he focused his venom on Hayley.
“The missives you were sent to collect?” he thrust his palm out and she gulped. Sensing the reluctance, Gavin prodded her, “Or did you forget?”
Larissa snorted, enjoying Hayley’s lows as if they were her highs. Not having a choice, Hayley skittered forward, her hands digging into her pockets all the letters she snatched up. “No, I…” she lay each flat in Gavin’s palm, “here they are.”
His head bobbed for a moment before he, without pause, cracked off the first seal and began to read. All three watched him in silence, Hayley’s snarling face darting to Larissa. Both girls tried to will the other to death by glare alone. But even as she tried to murder Larissa by staring contest, Hayley waited on pins and needles to be reamed out by Gavin. There was no chance she guessed right on the missives.
The vellum rattled in the wind, Gavin lifting his head. He turned the page over, his eyes dusting down it, before he resumed whatever was inside. Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe the knights all got the same one in the end.
“Well,” Frederick slapped his hands together, “I best find somewhere to pitch my tent before all the good land is taken. Yours is done well,” he paused to stare up at the canvas, a hand rattling a pole. Turning towards Hayley, he gave a quick thumbs up.
“Yes,” Gavin scrunched up his face, clearly not happy about something. “Ah,” he bundled the missive behind his back. “Once you’re finished settling in…”
Frederick smiled. “Knight time at ol’ betsy?”
Her knight tipped his head and smiled wide. “Indeed. See you there?”
“As if I’d be anywhere else. Come on, squire. We better hurry before they stick us near a latrine hole.” Frederick easily stepped towards the south further away from the great hill. Larissa shot one last threatening look at Hayley before she trailed behind her knight.
Gasping out a held in breath, Hayley wiped at her forehead, glad that whole mess was over. She was about to turn when Gavin said in a quiet voice, “Squire…?”
So much for hoping he wouldn’t notice. She winced, her head hanging low.
Extending out the paper, Gavin asked, “What is this?”
“A letter?”
“A letter to whom?”
Crap. Totally wrong. “To…to you? I think. I thought. It was…there were a lot of…”
He didn’t yell, didn’t throw something at her, or shake her hard. Crossing heel to toe closer, Gavin turned the
page around until only a single scribble was visible right above the seal. “What does that say?” he asked, his voice neutral.
Gripping onto the paper, her eyes stared up and down the lines hoping some great secret would pop out. “K…knight-captain Gavin,” Hayley guessed.
“It is addressed to Catarina,” he explained, a finger following along each letter.
His mouth opened, but Hayley leapt on it first, “There were a lot of people around, in the tent, all snatching at vellum and…and I couldn’t, it wasn’t easy for me to. I tried to guess, but in the low light and…”
A hand pinched against the vellum, tugging it out of her fingers. She let it go, her eyes trailing the loss of something she’d never understand. Twisting it in his palms, Gavin’s eyes softened, his voice a whisper. “You cannot read.”
Her entire body burned bright red, the stigma rampaging up and down her flesh. “I can…I know, there are a few letters. Some of, my name. I can spot that, and numbers. Not all but…” Damn it. Shit. Hayley jammed the heel of her palm to her eyes, trying to cut off any threatening tears. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t let any of them see her cry.
“It is required of squires to read,” Gavin said slowly, each word plunging in like a nail. So she failed. She was always going to fail, but it wasn’t from her own choice. Nope. Once again Hayley wasn’t good enough. Once again she didn’t deserve it.
“Well,” he folded the vellum up, his fingers sifting through the stack. The edge of his lips lifted in a smile, “I shall have to teach you.”
Hayley whipped her head over at him, “Ser?”
“We’ll begin with the basics, the alphabet. You’ll have to forgive me, it’s been some time.” He chuckled to himself.
“You’re not kicking me out?” she gasped.
“Why? Your job is to learn, not already know everything. You’d be damn impossible if that were true,” he muttered to himself, but there was a flutter of laughter in that sentence. “We should have time before supper, but first…” he waved the pile of ill-gotten missives in front of her, “I need you to return these back to their rightful owners.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Sound it out,” the voice behind her shoulder ordered. Hayley blew a breath through her lips, her exhausted and bleary eyes scrunched up tight. The squiggles looked like the same smattering of lines. Twisting the parchment towards the light she popped her mouth a few times, then the answer dawned in her head like magic.
“Dog!” she said, turning towards the man who had kept his face locked down on neutral. At least the eyebrows were raised from their cloudy glower when they first began.
“Right, and the next word after.”
Silly her thinking that’d be enough for her to go free. She jabbed down the parchment, her finger trailing the loops he made in ink when she caught out of the corner of her eye Gavin’s head rising. Hayley dropped her work to watch a cluster of knights sashaying towards them.
“Told you,” Ser Frederick called, his hand extended far. Hayley took a quick peek around the man but there was no sign of Larissa. Thank the lord. “I told you, we have enough wine to drown a church, gambling of every variety a good lordly knight shouldn’t know of, some very heavenly bodies more than pleased to attend to our whims, and what is dear Gavin up to?”
Her knight’s lips cracked wide in a smile. “Evening, Frederick. Cal.” The men all nodded like broken necked birds before Gavin turned to the lone woman. “Ser Mayu.”
She wore the red banner, a lion blazing a path through a forest across her chest. Dragging a single finger back to the low knot in her jet black hair, Mayu smiled, “Been a while, Gavin.”
“Don’t worry, I yet limp from our last encounter.” He smiled as if it was a joke.
Mayu laughed as well. “My ailment is best not spoken of in polite company.”
Hayley’s eyes bulged, the hair on the back of her neck sticking up at the tension rising in the air. She moved to slot beside Gavin, as if she needed to protect him, when Ser Frederick slid in close. A hand curled around her shoulder as he whispered, “Don’t worry, little one. They merely met on the field of combat…”
“Jousting,” Gavin said with a tip of his head, “Mayu’s the best of the lot.” The woman smiled at the acknowledgement but didn’t race to downplay it.
Frederick continued loudly, “Not in the bedroom,” causing both Gavin and Mayu to roll their eyes and groan. “Least,” the voice in her ear dropped to whisper, “far as we know.” With that cryptic statement he slid away from Hayley, a finger laid next to his nose to seal in the secret.
“What brings you out here? Soliciting for the Earl?” Gavin asked, causing the knights to pickle their features at such a thought.
“We’ve come for you, toiling away as if his patron is staring over his shoulder. It’s despicable,” Frederick groaned.
“Pathetic,” Calvin added. He’d shorn his golden locks at some point, the hair circling around the top of his crown like a moat while the bottom section was shaved. “The damn dragons have already swept in to claim a full cask. It should be ours.”
“Drink, drink, drink,” Mayu grumbled, “that’s all you serpents ever concern yourself with.”
“What would you have us worry about then, oh great lady?” Frederick chuckled, his hands splayed out in a bow.
Her shrewd eyes cut over to Gavin. “How much glint did you bring?”
“Not enough for your blood,” he said, but his eyes gleamed at the thought. “Enough for a few rounds of dice. What of you Frederick? Shall you be joining in this time?”
The knight scoffed, his lashes blinking rapidly as his chiseled face lit up. “Against you two? I’d be better off stripping to my knickers now, thanks very much.”
“Oh,” Gavin nodded his head sagely, “I understand, there is a woman.” At the bulging words, Hayley’s entire face turned pink. Her knight wasn’t paying her any attention, his arms crossed as he laughed at his friend. The scraggly squire drifted on the edges.
Frederick giggled from the thought, a hand scraping over his hair. “Ripest fresh peach you ever saw. Been drooling for a taste since I spotted her with her bushel all hanging out.” His nose twitched a moment and he sprung back to Gavin. “Bet we can find you an apple. Or a pear? You need your load lightened, Ser Knight-Captain.”
She had no damn idea what they were talking about but knew it was dirty. The kind of dirty that’d cause pinch-faced housewives to swat brooms around and shout for people to get out of the way from overhearing. Awkwardness cinched tight to her gut, causing Hayley to shift uncomfortably. She feared her knight would chuckle and make his own fruit jokes but he looked off-put as well.
Before Gavin could give an answer, Calvin interrupted, “Hey, you better not be planning on the one I want.”
“Don’t worry, Ser Cal,” Gavin dipped his head low to the man in deference, “I know far better than to tread where you have been.”
“Ha,” the man snorted, clearly missing the dig as he stuck his hard chin out.
“If you’re all finished behaving like little boys who got a look up some girl’s skirt,” Mayu interrupted, shaking off the lingering smell of filth in the air, “I’ve had my eye on a new set of armor for sometime, and I’ll be damned if I miss out on draining all these greenhorns dry just for you to get your rocks off.”
“We would never interfere,” Gavin said, his hands parting the air. Mayu snickered, but she cast a cautious eye over Calvin then another to Frederick. The latter was quick, barely more than a beat before she turned to march away.
Calvin wandered behind her, not saying much beyond boasting about his record in the field. Before following, Frederick leaned towards Gavin. “Charming bunch really, I keep finding myself in the best of company.”
Her knight sighed, “Which is of your choosing.”
“We are all puppets to our urges. Now come along, all work and no play makes you dreadfully dull.” Frederick jerked his head towards the horizon and her knight no
dded along. The pair took a few steps before Hayley put down the parchment and moved to give chase.
“Ah,” Gavin turned away from his friend to eye her up, “this is not really the place for you, Squire.”
“Why not?” Frederick shrugged. “She’ll be entrenched with our lot soon enough, right?” His smile beamed at her causing Hayley’s gut to flutter. It was the first sign of anyone believing she’d make it.
Her knight, obviously thinking less of her than Ser Frederick, growled at the man. “She is young. Finish your work, then I suggest an early night. Who knows what will come tomorrow.”
Hayley’s mouth opened, the words begging to be unleashed. She wanted to go with, to watch and maybe sneak off a few coins when the knights were too drunk to notice or care. To see this peach woman that could entrance Frederick so. She had to be beautiful for someone like him to think it worth his time. But Gavin was glaring at her. Hanging her head, she glanced once at Frederick who shrugged with regret.
“Very well,” she mumbled.
“All work and no play…” Frederick repeated, clearly on her side. The only damn person, but Gavin nudged him on. Head bent to the ground, Hayley pretended to be shuffling about outside the tent while she listened to them. Not entirely out of earshot, Frederick began, “Truly, I need your help or Calvin will buy up every half-decent looker in the place.”
“I don’t have the coin,” Gavin sighed.
“Coin nothing. That face of yours, every woman will leap over top of themselves to get a tumble. Just pass a bit of that my way.”
Whatever her knight said faded into the air as the two of them walked towards what Hayley realized was a great bonfire. It lit up the inky sky, voices singing through the air in a great din. She couldn’t make out a word as all of the grown adults acted like inebriated donkeys while the “too young” had to stay back and sleep.
