A new Squire [Closed to Umberlee]

Her stomach had kept her short rest just that.  Hunger was dominant and yet, when she saw Marcus sleeping, she really did not want to move.  Off and on she drifted from sleep to mild alertness.  

It had been sleep that kept control when the stone came through the window.  She jolted awake but did not move until she heard him get up, and move swiftly and with his spear.  That is when she sat up, and then stood up, and then let out a curse as her foot found the rock and the bits of broken glass that came with it.  

"Is everything ok?" and even though she was asking Marcus, she looked down to her foot to see if indeed it was okay.  That is when she saw the parchment wrapped and tied to the rock. She bent down picked it up, and did no bother to look at it right away, but rather went to the door where Marcus had gone out.  With the aid of the moon she could tell he was not wearing much and she actually felt a blush kiss her cheeks.  "I...I will make tea." she stumbled over her own tongue, and indeed back tracked into the house, to do so.

She held the rock in her hand, not yet looking at it, and not at all suspecting it could or would be anything of or about her.  She found the broom and cleaned up the mess, and that is when she put it on the table.  Still not addressed, the rocks true damage was not yet known.

"Come inside Marcus, it happens." she called to him, pouring the tea in both their cups.  She looked at Iwin now who had not moved from the bed. "Some guard pet you be." she sneered at the goose and then her attentions drew to the rock and what was on it.

She opened the note and when she did, she felt her entire body go sharply crisp with anger and hurt.  The note held comment about what the man earlier thought her to be, and the one she hoped to become.  It made further reference to her character and she knew that if this was already this far, then the entire town would know or at least whisper of it.   She felt mortified.  She felt angry.  She felt like running away.   Again.

Umberlee took the rock, and the parchment with it, and threw it onto the kitchen fire.  It instantly set aflame, and she watched with trembling form it disintegrate into ash.  Her eyes danced with equal fire and her mind swirled with dangerous thoughts.  Temper was a dangerous weapon.

The moon gave some light but Marcus couldn't see anyone that looked like he or she was the culprit. But with the many houses, the high wheat and corn fields, and the many other objects around, it was easy to hide and sneak away. He stayed outside, holding the spear... not that he could really impale the perpetrator upon it, until it got too cold. After all, his pants and shirt were still next to the hammock.

Back inside he went. "I couldn't see anyone..." He said, the hint of an apology in his voice. "I don't know why this happened, some people just don't like knights and the law they uphold." He hadn't done much to upset people and Umberlee had only been here for a few days. Then he moved to get his pants and look a bit more decent in her company, but the rush of what had happened prevented him from feeling embarrassed yet.

Umberlee had walked to the window and back a couple times before Marcus came in and spoke.  She looked at him only for a moment, and her temper came quite through when she snapped at him "I did not ask why it happened. I could care less why it happened!!" she took her mug of tea, and she brought it with her to the bed.  She was sore, her body was aching and now so was her emotions and heart.  Why would anyone, why would he....  She could still see the mans face from the tavern and her stomach turned.  His pride had been hurt, and so he was attempting to hurt her own.  She wouldn't let it happen.  There was no one that knew what the rock held and said... save her.  She swallowed down the hurt and placed her tea cup at the foot of the bed.  She would find any more sleep and she had no idea her foot had been cut even.  The blood that came from it, did so without pain, at least less pain then that of the damage of the note.

Any apology Marcus felt for what had happened and for not catching the person who had done it, disappeared when Umberlee snapped at him. He was very ready to snap back at her, but he resisted and instead clenched his hand more tightly around the spear, to the point the wood was hurting his hand. Self control was important, but it wasn't easy. He was happy when she went back to the bed and he went back to the hammock.

It was hard to find his sleep again but eventually the new morning came. This morning there luckily wasn't a goose pecking at his feet, but still he was the first to wake. Marcus didn't know that Umberlee had already cleaned the glass shards and now that there was sunlight again he quietly snuck into her... his bedroom to clean. Before even realizing the glass was gone, Iwin already sounded alarm at the intrusion.

Umberlees dreams were restless.  Perhaps she should have been grateful for any sleep at all.  The dreams were haunting as the message truly disturbed her.  It was dizzying the way emotions could take over.  Hounding their control over almost every aspect of life.  She had been battling demons in her mind, lost deep in a sleep that gave Marcus enough cover he could very well have come into her room without her knowing....

But that was something she did not have to worry about because the loud alarm of Iwin honking and flapping his wings wildly had her up like a bat out of hell.  "W..what are you doing in here!!" she screamed at Marcus, holding the blanket up to her as if she had slept naked. 

She had not, and never had before, but the intrusion onto her caused her to feel vulnerable and exposed.  She did not even attempt to calm her goose down, and the bird continued to be flustered with Marcus being near her.  "Ye need something, get it and get out! Give me a damn bit o'privacy will ye? I know ye be not one to used te having women in yer room but ye offered me yer bed!!!! I will none have ye thinking ye can come in here like I am some.... some..... loose goose!!!" she hissed as her bird finally calmed when she reached for him to draw a long swift pet down his head and onto his back.

"I... just wanted... glass..." Marcus stuttered some, annoyed with the goose and that he had waken her. "I won't... again." Then he quickly left the room as by now he had noticed most of the glass had already been gone. The last few days hadn't gone well and he hoped that would soon change. He was not looking forward at enduring a squire for years that couldn't stand him.

Not much later he once again was working on her bed, but hopefully this would be the last time he had to work on this chore.

Umberlee collapsed into tears when Marcus was out of sight.  Perhaps it was emotional release, perhaps it was the rude awakening, or perhaps it was simply nothing at all.  She woke up feeling drained.  The nights interruptions were not very helpful for full restful sleep.  

She was hungry, and as soon as she got up to make something to eat, she cried out and fell down onto the bed again.  Umberlee cursed some looking down at her foot, and she found a piece of glass still in it.  She grumbled more, as there was blood stains on the sheets, and she felt the inflamed flesh around the intrusion already with infection.  

She wanted to be able to get the piece of glass out herself, but when she looked at her foot, she knew that was impossible without a knife or similar tool.  She resigned herself to needing to call out to Marcus and surrender her pride and ask for help.    So she did.  She hoped her Knight would hear her calling out to him.

Marcus rolled his eyes when he heard her calling out to him, wondering what she was going to blame on him this time. But he did get up and went inside. "What is..." He asked but stopped as he already noticed the wound on her foot. "May I..." He then asked and knelt down next to her.

"This doesn't look good..." He said as he too saw hints of infection, but he had very little knowledge of herbs to fix that problem. He left her for a moment to get a tool and then carefully tried to get the glass out of her foot.

Umberlee said nothing, as he entered, her own gaze directing him to the problem and she nodded softly when he asked.  Well of course you may, I called you, obviously...  She thought to herself but bit the words back with a lift of her chin.  She wrinkled her nose when he said it didn't look good, and she cringed when he took the knife to her flesh.  A swift sound of pain drew quickly from her mouth as he pulled the glass out.  "Thank'e." she muttered quietly while looking at her foot.  "I have ruined the sheets te yer bed. I will attempt te take the stain out o'them, but blood is none to easy to remove. I am sorry for that." she felt badly, and she meant her apology.  "I have to clean my foot, so I will bring them with me to the lake to clean.  Perhaps you will not mind if we have fish again this day." she offered, and cursed inside her mind as her foot really was troublesome and bleeding again. 

Umberlee still could not get the note out of her mind, and she felt so small and belittled it was almost humiliating needing his help.  She stood, and made no noise, as she left the house with the sheets, no breakfast and Iwin behind her.  At least in this realm he did not know what others thought of her.  Before long she was sure Iwin would be the only living creature to claim so.

Marcus really didn't care much about the sheets, but he got the sense that Umberlee wasn't paying much attention to his words so soon he just nodded to her comment about fish. "Just be careful..." He said, more out of habit than that he thought she would get herself in trouble. "I mean... Fish would be very nice, I will finish your bed." He promised her and indeed worked on that while Umberlee and her goose were gone.

As Umberlee arrived at the lake there were three boys playing there. They were still some distance away from her and simply playing with the water and chasing each other. There didn't seem an adult present but they just seemed to be having fun.

Umberlee and Iwin begun their morning by washing the sheets and soaking her foot in the cold fresh water.  She knew she had some herbs that would help with the healing, and she knew also that it really was not a big deal this note written by the dung-heap sorry excuse of a man.  She scoffed a bit as she watched the boys playing in the distance and took to beginning to fish.  She was sure Marcus had said he would finish her bed, and she couldn't help but smirk.  "See the one idiot calls me easy, and the next one can't wait te get me out o'his bed Iwin." she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kept close eye on the water. Hopefully supper would swim along soon.

Iwin's quack sounded a lot like a chuckle, but it was hard to be sure about his thoughts. The fish weren't too eager to take the bait, perhaps they noticed the presence of Iwin or more likely they were staying away from the shore because of the playing children.

Some time went by in which she fished and the boys played until Umberlee suddenly heard a cry for help. One of the boys found himself stuck in an area that was more swamp than anything else. He wasn't going under, but he was slowly going down...

Umberlee was getting frustrated with the way the fishing was going.  Still she did not mind being away from Marcus, and she really did not want to see the house with the broken window.  Every other moment it seemed to cross her mind, and she felt it almost out of control with the damage she allowed this jerk to bring.  Such thoughts were running rampant in her mind when she did hear the cry for help.  She looked immediately at the boys that were playing and she did not hesitate to go towards them and offer help.

"What be ye doing so close te the muck?" she started to say as she hurried towards them.  It was evident there was fear on the face of the boy stuck, and she turned to him keeping eye contact at all times.  She did not want to walk into the muck herself without a game plan.  There certainly was no point in both of them being stuck.  "Stay calm. I will help ye, and ye will be okay if ye listen te me." she promised him, and she looked at his friends. "Go find the man building a bed just past the well. Scream the closer ye get for help and tell him Umberlee needs him. Get him te bring his spear. Understand me?" she said and when those two boys went running towards their goal, she turned to the boy who was stuck. "I am coming in te help ye.  I dinnae wish te get stuck myself so it will feel very slow that I am coming. I want to be careful so we can get out o'this together ok?" she smiled at him.  "Ye know what, that is my friend there, Iwin the goose.  Just watch him.  Keep your eyes on him and stop trying to free yourself. Ye be making it worse really." she smiled still and slowly started to make her way to the boy.  "What be yer name?" she asked him as she really found it difficult to get through the thickness of the muck and vines.

The marsh was very treacherous with bits that looked just like grass but really were more mud and water just happening to look green, than solid underground. If one didn't pay close attention to their steps, they would indeed end up like the boy had and with his struggling he was only going down quicker.

"I... am Francis" The boy said as both his friends left to get Marcus. They were more careful now, but still in a clear hurry and it was more luck than their care that got them away from the lake safely.

After a while... it felt like ages... Marcus and the two boys showed up. While the story of the boys hadn't made much sense to him, they had managed to get him to understand that Umberlee needed his spear and needed him to come. But the situation made a lot more sense once he saw what was going on. His spear indeed proved more helpful under these circumstances than a sword would be.

It did feel like ages, and Umberlee was not as close to Francis as she had hoped, but she was close enough that the two of them could hold hands.  She struggled and felt the thickness of the muck and mud wanting to swallow her feet and legs up, but she refused to share her concerns either on face or verbally for Francis' sake.  "Please just remain still Francis. I will not let anything happen to you.  But the more you move, the more the mud wants to claim your legs." she smiled at him, and gave his hand a squeeze.  She continued to talk to the boy, mostly to distract him from wiggling and squirming though naturally he did so in panic at times.  She was able to finally get close enough she could hold onto his arm and that seemed to finally comfort him.  "How far are your legs trapped?" she asked and that is when she looked up and saw Marcus.  "Hes stuck pretty good, and I fear I will be soon also.  Standing still is the worst possible choice in this mess, yet moving seems te make it bad too." she called to him.

Marcus wasn't happy with the sight in front of him and was glad he had come in time. The boy was already quite deep in the mud although it was hard to say how thick the mud was at various layers. Most likely only his feet and legs were really trapped while above that it was watery enough. It surprised Marcus some to realize that the way the weight of water and mud pulled Umberlee's shirt... well his shirt... down made her really look 'nice', but there wasn't much time to think about that.

From the direction he came, it would be easiest to help Umberlee first. But both of them knew that the boy would panic if he was left alone in the mud, so Marcus carefully circled around them until he was at the side of the boy. The underground was softer here so he had to be careful himself but then he reached with his spear to the boy. "Grab this..." he spoke, hoping he could put enough strength in it to get the boy free without getting in problems.

There was very little Umberlee could do at this point, but she was immediately glad when Marcus arrived.  She told the boy countless times to calm down, and he seemed to listen mostly.  He focused on her more then even Iwin, and that was alright as well.  Umberlee coached further, when Marcus came closer with his spear, and she smiled as the boy held the wood shaft so tightly his knuckles were white. 

"Let him pull ye, do none squirm too much.  I am going to come closer if I can and help you as well..." So she did just that and helped the boy with his feet.  There certainly was a lot of muck and heavy vines beneath the water, and if she wasn't careful she herself would be stuck soon also.

For such a small kid, Francis was rather heavy to pull from the muddy water. Even with Umberlee's words, the boy tried to help some which only seemed to make things harder on Marcus. As Marcus held the spear and tried to free the boy, he felt the ground under him crumble and shift.

But suddenly the boy got somewhat looser and after that it became easier to help him. The higher the kid came, the easier it got. Still Marcus was worried about rescuing Umberlee as she was larger than the boy. But once the very mess boy was safely on land again, Marcus offered his spear to Umberlee. "Take it firmly and don't let go."

Umberlee was glad when Francis was no longer in trouble.  She did not find her body any calmer though until Marcus ensured the child was no longer in any dangers.  She seemed to feel a hundred times lighter once that stress was gone, and she had to hide back a chuckle when Marcus offered her his spear.  She instantly fought with one of two options.  The first being herself and being sharp with tongue to speak of something about him being a drowned rat hero, because she was far from stuck.  The second was to take the spear, and give him the moment, that he seemed almost wanting.  The look of concern in his eyes made her do neither, as she swam backwards away from the spear and towards the path she entered the muck.  

"I be fine Marcus, I am not some young swan that knows not how to respect the waters. Thank you though." she added, and turned exiting the water.   For the briefest of moments she too almost felt a sting of regret as very easily she could have let him pull her and he could have felt knightly.   Perhaps the first true act of him being a Knight she could have acknowledged.  

She left the water, her shirt soaked and clinging to her form.  She did not think much of the colour or the waters effects as she turned to face him once he also joined her on safe land. "Thank you for coming, I was unsure how it would turn out with him in a panic.  I did not wish to take chances.  Please make sure he gets home safely, and let his parents know he needs a reminder of the dangers of the waters.  I do not want to be made awkward by bringing him looking like this." she then looked down at herself and found the shirt was damaged by green moss and brown muck.  She looked perhaps a bit like a swamp monster herself and she blushed a deep red as it revealed a lot of what it should have hidden.  

Umberlee said nothing, called her goose, and walked as far as she could away from Francis, away from Marcus, and away from any feelings of awkward and embarrassment she created for herself.   She would find two fish for dinner, and she would return and speak nothing until she was spoken too.

And that is exactly how the rest of the day went.  She spoke not one word while cooking and preparing food for them, and she even took her plate outside on the porch to further distance herself from whatever it was that troubled her.

Marcus was somewhat disappointed, but also somewhat impressed, as Umberlee didn't accept his help to get out of the mud. He knew how hard it was to move in the mud and the strength one needed to get free. As she left the muddy water, the shirt really hugged her back tightly and Marcus realized he watched a moment too long as he could see how it was wrapped where the shirt ended. He was kind enough to avert his eyes once he realized.

He hardly looked at her when she turned to face him, not wishing to study how dirty the shirt had gotten. Looking away might not be the compliment her looks deserved, but it was the knightly thing to do. He nodded at her request and while she and Iwin went home, he brought Francis to his parents.

Inside 'their' 'home' the second bed had been placed indoors, the wood work was finished. Now it just needed some covers and softness to be used, so while Umberlee had her meal outside, Marcus finished that. Eventually he was the first to call it a night, not in the mood to endure Umberlee's silence and distance longer. And out of habit he reclaimed his old bed.

Umberlee had been outside for a long time. She had heard him move around, she had heard him finally make his way to bed as the house grew quiet again.  She had her pet sleeping at her feet, and the stars high in the sky when she finally made her way into the house also.

Umberlee groaned when she saw the bed in the open area of the living room.  She cursed inside, and also chastised herself for being selfish. Some people did not know beds, and here he had made her one to call her own.  Yet, she did not like how he got privacy and how she was exposed.  Certainly with her being the woman.  It did not seem proper.  Iwin just looked up at her, and she looked down at him.  

There were some sheets, and of course some comforts of straw under them.  She did not feel very grateful but rather grew more and more uncomfortable.  Perhaps because it was a gift, perhaps because she was exposed, perhaps because she really was unsure how to thank him.  
A moment passed by, she picked up Iwin, and put him on the bed.  He squawked and then jumped down.  She picked him up again, and once again, he jumped down.  They played this game five or six times before she too, grew impatient and went towards where she heard her Knight sleeping.  

She stood at the door, looking at him in the shadows.  She wondered what it would be like to one day share a bed with a husband.  She wondered what it would feel like to feel protective arms around her, a warm body and warm breath against her shoulders.   A touch from his hands brushing over her flesh in desire and love.  She smiled as she continued to watch him with these thoughts dancing in her mind.  He was facing her, his chest exposed from under the blanket that had been hers for the last few days and she looked puzzled.  He almost look peaceful and kind with no emotions and no dangerous eyes looking at and judging her. 

Umberlee had gone in with the intentions to tell him just how improper it felt to be out in the open as she was a woman.  When his sleeping form distracted her in a way life had never found her distracted before.  

She turned looked at Iwin, gave him a look of death as she stepped forward in the room of her Knight.   She gave him a hand signal-not like it meant anything to the bird- to stay, and she took another step.  She was very quiet. Dangerously quiet.  Her movements would not wake even a light sleeping person.  As she walked closer to the deep breathing man before she bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek.  

As she did so, she silently thanked him for the bed, and she thanked him for coming to the lake and she thanked him for giving her a house to be safer in.  

Just like that she quietly left the room, scooped up her bird and went to the bed that was awaiting her.  There she laid awake a long time, staring out the window at the now well risen moon wondering what the heck made her give him a kiss instead.....

Marcus didn't notice how she entered his room, nor how she kissed his cheek. He was asleep and sleeping in his own bed again gave him the chance to finally catch up on the sleep he had missed the previous nights. Perhaps the new bed would be equally good for his night rest, but he was used to sleeping here and if it was up to him he would continue to do so.

He woke some time later, still deep in the night. For a moment his fingers touched his cheek, but he couldn't tell a reason for that. It still bothered him how things were between Umberlee and him, and a little surprised that already he seemed no longer to care about having a squire invading his life. He would have to train her, but at the same time he feared doing so. What if he made things to easy? What if he made things to hard? He would have to come up with some plan.

Before he had such a plan, he fell asleep again and slept till the next morning came.

Umberlee was not too sure about the sleep she may or may not have gotten last night.  If it was sleep, it was not sleep to restore energy or mindset.  If it wasn't sleep then well it had best be nothing of a repeat in the future, else she would become a miserable pile of moodiness and mismanaged stress.  The moon was up, and the sun still slept, but that was fairly normal for her to see.

Slowly she got out of bed, slowly she stretched her body, which thankfully was recovered from the mill, from the lake yesterday and from the glass that had split its flesh as well.  She chuckled slightly when thinking of how hard life was for a goose, but knew every animal, every human, every situation was dealt with differently.  What was a stress to her, could be an easy fix to another, and vice-versa. 

She would have to find her words to offer her Knight a true thank you for making the bed, but indeed wondered how she would go about hoping for a more private arrangement.  It really couldn't be a good thing to have him walk in on her whilest she changed, or even during those most difficult days of the month when she just wanted to cry. Privacy was important to a human, and very much important to a woman.  

Umberlee moved around the house, making the kitchen warmer and the water boil.  She put breads and a bit of the left over corn on a plate for their breakfast.  She wondered if there were any apple trees around, as she would really love to surprise Marcus with a proper thank you and a gift of an apple tart for tonight.  

She took a glass filled with tea and she fed her pet.  She did not know if Marcus was sleeping still or not, but she did not see him.  All the better, she thought as she left the house in search for today's adventure...

While Umberlee was having her adventure, Marcus stayed in bed a little moment longer. When he did wake and left the bed, he saw that she was gone again. It was not really a surprise but at some point they would have to do things together. They would have to train and travel to learn each other and trust each other. He wasn't fully convinced that last part would ever happen, not with how things were going so far.

But after the early morning musings, he wondered what he was going to do today. The bed was done, flour had been made and children had been saved. Knowing it might be unwise to train with real weapons, he decided to make two wooden practise weapons instead and by the time Umberlee returned to the cottage, those were waiting for their first try out.

Umberlee and Iwin returned after a few hours. She was happily singing to them both, her successful find of a few apple trees setting her spirits to soar.  She could practically smell her apple tart on the way home, and knew that Marcus would be pleased and enjoy the treat.  She found that little piece of knowledge extremely satisfying, and she couldn't remember the last time she wanted to make someone happy.  She did however recall the last time she made one of these and who it was with and why.  The thoughts almost brought moisture into her eyes, as she forced them away to avoid that. 

Still she painted quite a soft picture, of a woman and her pet as they made their way up the dirt and stone path towards the cottage, and she just looked down at what appeared to be two wooden weapons and she groaned.  

Choosing to avoid acknowledging her recognition of them, she wandered into the cottage and set straight to making the tart.  The flour and water and other ingredients to make the pastry were clinging to her hand before long, and she always hated this part.  But thankfully it was successful and the bottom of the tart looked almost professionally made with her patience to perfect it.  

Deciding the day was too nice to be indoors to cut and peel all the apples she took them outside and enjoyed the sun and its bright welcome.   She was quiet on the outside but if minds could be read, there was always so much going on up there.  She was distracted a little with her pet who seemed interested in a bug that wandered freely along the path and her laughter could not be contained at the irritated squawks that came from time to time.  

Every couple of minutes she would look back at the two wooden weapons and she sighed.  It wasn't the fact that she was worried about the use of them, it was the fact she didn't want to be around him.

Making the wooden weapons hardly took any time, especially compared to the bed. So once they were finished Marcus had time to do some other errands before returning to the cottage. Even with all that had happened the days before, he couldn't help but smile as he spotted her. It wasn't all bad to return home to a girl, but he still could not imagine married life as something for him. And Umberlee absolutely couldn't not be considered as anything close as married life.

His smile grew as it became clear what she was making. He liked the taste of apples and he hoped it wasn't just for her and her goose. "Hello." He greeted her, the first time they spoke today. "I hope you enjoy your day so far. When you are done cooking, we are going to have our first training." He knew little about the difference between cooking and baking and worried more about the tone of his voice. Part of him felt like he sounded way too polite for a knight talking to his squire and at the same time he had the feeling he sounded way too controlling. Why couldn't things be easier.