Previous to Ever After

Six

After William changed into a black, long sleeve shirt, a wool vest, riding pants and boots he asked to see what I've packed in my satchel. I handed it over and he opened the flap.

"You're tiara?" he asked looking up at me. "Really?"

I shrugged. "My lady in waiting said it might come in handy."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "We're going to need a lot more than this."

He opened his closet and grabbed a pack as big as my whole back. He opened it and started to say the contents out loud.

"Matches, extra money, a map of the whole land, a water container, extra paper, a pen, and a compass," he said, looking around in the bag. Then he reached back into the closet and pulled out three, small glass bottles. He tossed them in the bag. "For the ingredients," he explained

I nodded and walked closer, peering into the bag.

"You're really prepared for these kind of quests, huh?"

"Yeah, my mom always says to be prepared for anything. I go on trips for her a lot, so I always have a pack ready."

I nodded staring at him as he bent back into the closet and moved some stuff around on the ground. I lifted an eyebrow.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"This," he said coming back out with a sword in his hand. "It was my dad's. My grandfather gave it to him when he was young. He never used it, but he gave it to me when I turned ten. He said it may come in use for me, where it never did for him. Maybe this is what he was talking about."

I stared at him as he tied the holster around his waist and slid the sword into its scabbard. He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, looking into the distance. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Like the biggest idiot I've ever seen," I replied.

"Is that a good thing?" he asked, grinning.

I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder. "Come on, wise ass, we have to get going." I started to walk over to the window but he stopped me.

"Wait, I should leave a note for my mother."

I walked over to him as he took out a piece of paper and a pencil and watched him write down a note.

Saw you were out of good silk. Went to Lambton to pick some up. Be back in three days. Love you.

He opened his door and walked to a room at the end of the hall. When he opened the door I saw Mrs. Porter sleeping soundly, alone in her bed. He placed the note on her nightstand. He looked over at her for a minute and then moved to pull the covers up to her shoulders. Then, he leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. I smiled as he moved out into the hall and closed the door quietly.

"Okay, I'm ready," he said as he slid his pack over his shoulders. He bent down and patted Max on the head. "See you in three days, boy, keep an eye on mom for me." Max barked happily and jumped onto William's bed, curled up into a ball, and went to sleep.

William walked over to the window and peered down. "Whoa," he said as he looked back at me. "There's a horse down there."

I laughed at him. "Well, duh, you didn't think we were gonna ride Max, did you?" The collie's head perked up at the sound of his name. "That's Wesley, my horse."

William laughed and hopped out of the window and landed beside Wesley. I climbed out and stepped onto Wesley's saddle. But my shoe slipped and I fell forward. "Gah!"

"Whoa, watch out!" William yelled as I fell on top of him. We both hit the ground with a hard thud. Wesley whinnied loudly, which sounded a lot like a laugh to me.