In Another Era

Chapter 10: Little Angel

Chapter 10: Little Angel

Archie felt different the next morning. Lighter. As if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

He was humming as he tended to the horses, completing his work quicker than usual. Archie headed to the kitchen when it was time for lunch, a smile on his face as he did so. Francis, one of the chefs, rose a questioning brow when he saw Archie walk in.

"Someone looks happy today," Francis said. "Or are you drunk?"

"Why would I be drunk at noon?" Archie asked with a roll of his eyes.

The fifty year old had known him since Archie was merely a baby, yet he was accusing him of doing something so uncharacteristic of him.

"Ask Sammy that," Francis muttered, before tilting his head in Sammy's direction who was sitting against the wall at one corner.

Sammy's light blond hair was messy as usual, dark circles under his slightly red eyes. He looked paler than he normally did, making Archie curse internally.

"For the love of God, Samuel..." Archie sighed as he walked towards the blacksmith's son and one of his closest friends.

"Archie!" Sammy grinned as he tried to get up, stumbling when he did so. He raised his bony arms to hug the stable boy before almost tripping and falling onto Archie. Archie exahled deeply as he held the other man to stabilize him.

"What are you doing, Sammy? You know how Naomi feels about you being here," Archie questioned, scrunching his nose. "On top of that you reek of ale."

Naomi was the head of all the castle staff and did not appreciate it when people that did not work in the castle came in. That meant Sammy, who had been sneaking in ever since he was a kid. He knew almost all the guards and servants, and his charming personality and wide toothy smile made it so that nobody batted an eye when they saw him.

Well, all except Naomi who was extremely strict and always gave Sammy a piece of her mind whenever she caught him. Archie, too, had been on the hearing end of her harsh words quite a few times because of his dear companion.

"I missed my friend!" Sammy answered. "I haven't seen you in forever. Heard you went on a trip! How was it? What did you see? Who did you meet? Did anything fun happen?"

"Are you hiding out here so that your father doesn't catch you drunk before lunch again?" Archie rose a brow, making Sammy smile sheepishly.

He ignored Sammy's questions about his 'trip', not wanting to disclose any sensitive information about the bandits and especially his run-in with the seer. Archie had been trying exceptionally hard to suppress it from his memory. For the first time since they got back, last night was when Archie was finally able to sleep without having nightmares.

Most of the nightmares weren't even about the seer, but about being trapped inside his own body. His mind aware of what is happening but not being in control, just how it was when the little girl had touched him making him go inside the hut even though Kenric had tried to stop him. Even though he himself had wanted to stop. But his legs simply weren't listening to his internal screams.

"James bet I couldn't drink three mugs of ale while he counted till hundred so of course I had to accept the challenge!" Sammy said. "I'm a man of honor!"

"Man of honor, alright..." Archie muttered.

"And then he claimed I cheated so I had to do it again," Sammy grinned, before glancing at the chef. "But I'm okay! I'll be better if I get some food in my stomach though..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll fix you a plate too," Francis said. Francis was a good man, even if he had to take food out of his own plate, he would still do it with a smile to feed a hungry person.