I woke up, changed in my nightgown and tucked in under the sheets. The sun hadn't risen completely, so I took the last few minutes I had before the day officially started to enjoy the comfort of my bed. I was grateful for the fact that I didn't get woken up by the cockerel again, and watched the rays of sun dance against the walls of my room.
I smiled, already knowing today was going to be a good day.
Throwing the sheets off of me I hurried to get ready, freshening up and dressing into comfortable clothes again, wandering into the kitchen to see what Raisa had prepared for us today. I was rewarded with the smell of freshly baked bread and stew brewing over the fire pit.
"Smells amazing." I said, sliding into a nearby bench, crossing my arms in front of me on the table top.
"Thank you dear." Came the chirpy reply back from behind in the pantry. Raisa rounded the corner into the kitchen area smiling as if she was having the greatest morning of her life. "How are you feeling?"
I smiled back at her happiness, enjoying the atmosphere the day had brought about. "Good thank you. How are you feeling?"
"A little lady this morning aren't we?" She teased, winking at me. "I'm doing very well thank you for asking."
At that my stomach growled, obviously not in the mood for early morning common courtesy.
"Someone sounds hungry." Raisa eyed me, her signature hands-on-hips pose. "Did you even have supper last night?"
I bowed my head, feeling a little ashamed at not looking after myself like I should have. "I completely forgot, I was way too tired to even think of food last night." Looking up at her, another one of my innocent faces I pulled quite often.
She shook her head, skulking off into the pantry area again. She emerged soon after with a bowl of fruits and cream. "You better be glad it was milking day today, otherwise it would have been just plain fruit for you!" With another sly smile, she placed the goodies in front of me. I eyed it greedily, thankful for the fact that it had been milking day for the cows, and I started at one of my favourite kinds of meals.
"Slow down Laila, you're not having a race. And eat like a lady for once please." Still with her hands on her hips, waiting for me to comply to her demands.
I was still half way through chewing a chunk of apple I had bitten off that had a huge dollop of cream on it, grinning back at Raisa with a full mouth. She sighed again, walking off to finish her duties with her head shaking again in defeat.
I was just about to gorge into another bite when Rylan walked in like he owned the place.
"Who let you in?" I asked, carrying on with my breakfast regardless of the company.
"Why do I need permission to enter my second home?" He stated, reaching for a bunch of grapes, promptly popping a few into his mouth. "Can you eat any nicer?"
"Says the one who just stuffed his mouth with grapes before talking." I replied around another mouthful of apple and cream.
"Fair enough."
We enjoyed our little breakfast, trying to remember all the things we would need to haul with us for the day. Most of the tools we needed we would have to scout from Rylan's father, and quite possibly the village Black Smith. We decided that the best way forward would be to beg for the things first at Rylan's home before challenging the Black Smith to give up his things for free.
We scoffed down the rest of our breakfast and hurried over to where Rylan lived. Adjoined to his home were the training grounds for the guards fighting to become knights. We would sit many afternoons watching them clash swords, dodging and diving the onslaught of their peers. Sometimes we were lucky enough to see Rylan's father in action, proving the worth of his title of being one of the best knights in the land.
Today we weren't so lucky, but dashed up to the edge of the field anyway to see what kind of action we could catch.
"Hey you little rascals, what do you think you're doing?" The voice of Braden carrying over to us from the one of the nearby training dummies.
"Watching and waiting for you to mess up so we can enjoy your embarrassment." I perked up, enjoying the fact that I could poke fun at Rylan's older brother.
"Very funny Laila, I'm sure the court Jester would love to have you as a prodigy." He smirked, throwing one back at me.
I just rolled my eyes, squinting back at him. "Keep talking, maybe you'll talk that dummy to death." At this both Rylan and I laughed at his struggle to find a come back.
"Enough you two." Came a burly voice from behind us, forcing us to spin on our heels to look at our on-comer.
"Sorry Sir." I stood a little taller, feeling as if I should be at attention in his presence, feeling Rylan tense up next to me too.
He chuckled, the scars on his skin contouring the edges of his face giving it an almost sincere essence, stroking his beard as he spoke. "If only Braden would jump into action as quickly as you do."
"Father!" Came the whine of Braden behind us, sending a wave of laughter through all of us.
"Relax son, you take things too seriously sometimes." Sir Cederic replied, walking over to where Braden stood with his shoulders slumped. "Stand up straight. Hold the sword like you want to actually hold it."
Braden immediately jumped into action, stepping into a backwards stance, holding the sword in front of him with both hands.
"Now, do a side swipe, feint left and then an upward swipe. Go."
Braden took a deep breath and went for it, taking deliberate steps and making strong swipes, never breaking the flawless motion. The test dummy rocked on it's stand, a few new gashes to add to the collection.
"Well done, see you can do it, and one day Rylan will have to take lessons from you." He patted Braden's back, a grin spreading across his son's face. "Just don't forget your front ankle, unless you want to twist it clean off you better focus on working on your toes rather than your heels."
Braden nodded, his brow creased into concentration, and went for it again. We left him to it as he tried correcting himself, trying different combinations as well to fix his planted foot.
We walked into the house, welcomed by the delectable smell of soup being stirred up by Rylan's mother.
"Oh no," She began, folding her arms in front of her, smirking at the two of us. "What have you two done now? Isn't it too early in the day to start with mischief?"
Sir Cederic chuckled again, "My dear wife! You worry too much." And he kissed her on the cheek, holding her out at arms length. "Did you do something different with your hair Farah? It looks beautiful, as always"
She laughed, her husband's charm bringing the blush side of her out. "Please Cederic, it was the same when you left this morning." She turned to us, still smiling. "So what have you two got planned for today? Any mischief we should worry about?"
We both stood with our hands behind our backs, grinning back. "Nothing bad today mother, we promise!" Rylan beamed, his excitement getting the best of him.
"Oh but there are definitely plans, aren't there?" Sir Cederic chirped in, moving around his wife to peak into the pot on the fire, trying to steal a piece of meat bobbing near the top.
We snickered at him, Farah completely oblivious to the mischief playing out right behind her. This obviously wasn't helping our pleading cause as it made us look even more suspicious than ever. "What are you two up to?"
We smiled again, trying our very best to get our composure under control again. "Nothing bad mother, but we can't say anything about it."
"And why not?" Sir Cederic spoke around a piece of meat, soup running into his beard from his abrupt talking.
"Cederic!" Farah hearing something happening behind her and discovering what her husband had been doing the whole time, swatting at him with a dish cloth.
Rylan and I were in tears the way we were laughing at Rylan's father trying to dodge and get away from the dish cloth. He eventually grabbed the cloth, and in the same motion twirling his wife into an embrace, smiling broadly at his squirming wife. We could see how she gave up the struggle as she started laughing and kissed her husband fondly. "You hooligan, we're supposed to be interrogating the children now."
He straightened up again, trying to put on a serious face, pointing at us with a waggling finger, "You two better not be up to something." He smiled again, winking at us then. "What do you two need anyway? It's not everyday we get to be graced with royalty."
I blushed, not liking the reference to my bloodline. "We were just wondering if it were possible to borrow some tools from the shed? We only need a hammer and a few nails if there are any lying around we could have."
Sir Cederic began stroking his beard, his sign to thinking and planning. "There should be some I could give up, but the hammer will have to come back unfortunately. It is my pride and joy you know." Keeping a completely straight face.
"Let it go Cederic, the moment's gone." Farah smiled at him while she busied herself with the pot of soup again.
"But it is! I made it myself with these bare, clumsy meat stubs." He said over dramatically, staring at his hands in disbelief.
"They don't look swollen to you, do they?" He directed the question to me, shifting closer to me for a closer look. We all just laughed at him, enjoying his boisterous mood.
"Come now Cederic, let me feed you so you will leave these poor children alone." She placed a bowl of soup on the table, immediately followed by a happy clap from her husband that complied with no fuss at all. "Now you two, be careful with those tools."
We smiled and nodded, excited to have gotten away with it so easily. "We will!" We shouted in our hurry out the door and to the shed.573Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYnEM4aGf9
"Be sure to bring the hammer back!" Called Sir Cederic after us.573Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AySTFOxK3
We made good use of our extra materials. We managed to place the wood blocks to make the ladder on the trunk and got most of the foundation of the treehouse platform done. By the end of the day we were considering if we were going to leave it just as it was or try and mount walls and a roof to it all. 573Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJtaSgo7wf
It was way past our bedtimes by the time we hobbled into town, exhausted from the heavy lifting and building of the day. We hardly had enough energy to say goodbye to each other.573Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqZ80Hv92z
For another night in a row I simply passed out, clothes and all still on, falling into a deep dreamless sleep.573Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqzkbH8uPr
