The New Apprentice

Chapter Six: Fights, Bruises, and Mince Pie

Three months have passed since Will and my training began, and today is Harvest Day, a special holiday for everyone in the castle, all the crops having been gathered and stored for the winter. It's a time for celebration and a time when a traveling fair comes with tens of booths with games available to everybody for a coin or two. Other than the games, there are singers, fire-eaters, jugglers, and storytellers. For the children in the Ward, the Baron pays.

Halt, for the first time, has given in to tradition and let Will go.

I'm a different matter.

I was supposed to have run away, so if I ­am able to go, I'll have to come from a different direction and plan my arrival as if I really am coming from somewhere else. I discussed it with Halt and he said that as long as no one other than my ward mates see me, I should be able to go. I have, after all, been training for three hard months, six days a week from sun-up to sun-down in the art of stealth. Stealth, of course, is only one of the skills we've learned, but the only one I need in this situation.

So last night I went in the general direction of where I had planned to go three months ago before my apprenticeship. From there, I started riding towards the castle at dawn (which is when the fairgrounds start setting up) so that by the time I get there in two to three hours, the grounds will be well crowded, making my job of going unnoticed much easier.

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I finally get within eyesight of the castle grounds from the top of a hill and see that all is as planned.

I'm in my own version of a Ranger cloak so that if someone somehow sees me, they won't think I'm using Ranger gear. I've also used Maya's training and signaled for her to act like a normal but stubborn horse, so she won't throw a stranger off, but she won't move an inch, either.

A few days ago, Will had told me of Jenny's invitation to him for a gathering with the rest of our wardmates to share her famous mince pies. Word is she's already one of Master Chubb's best students and anyone within a one yard radius will get an earful of Jen's wondrous cooking.

After scanning the grounds a few times from the hill, I finally spot Jen, Alyss, George, and Will underneath an apple tree. Tug, Will's horse, is also there, of course. I softly nudge Maya's sides and we run down the huge hill together, and when we reach the bottom, I notice  that the whole grounds are on a downhill so I can easily keep my friends in sight although their figures are pretty small from this huge distance. Dismounting, I give Maya the signal to go for cover and when she reaches the outline of trees, I signal 'stay'. I start walking towards the grounds which is almost a half mile walk and then another half mile to get to my friends who are on the far side of the grounds.

I spot Horace's figure as he reaches the rest of my friends, but his body language is very... aggressive. I walk a little faster. Having suddenly joined the group, Jennyclasps her hands, but Horace's angry posture remains the same. George comes closer to Horace for a moment and when Horace shoves him, I realize that if this goes on, intervention will be needed. I whistle for Maya and she's at my side almost immediately. I mount and we take off running. I keep my eyes on the scene, navigating using my peripheral vision. To both my horror and relief, Will intervenes. Of all the people, the one with the most history with Horace and yet the only one physically capable of stopping him. Will may have been scared of Horace's strength in the past, but we've been trained just as hard as Horace. I have no doubt those two can set an equal fight, which, at the moment, is my biggest cause for worry.

I'm almost at the grounds now as the wind cuts through my face on Maya's back.

Horace shoves George a second time, making the latter crash into Tug and bringing the pony into Horace's attention.