I Do [Warlock X Peasant]

Chapter 2

Harv made it home just as his mother had finished clearing the dishes from dinner. She greeted him with a warm smile but dropped everything the moment she saw him covered in soot and short one jacket.

"Goodness what happened?" She threw a kettle on and grabbed him a chair in the blink of an eye. "I know those parties could get out of hand, but-"

"It wasn't that. Just a fire." At the mention of destruction, he suddenly found himself surrounded by his brothers and father.

"How big was it?" Puck hopped up onto the table, only to be scooped up by his mother and set back on the floor. A whole captive audience, with the exception of Rhodri, who loitered in the doorway 'too cool' to show any interest. How could Harv let them down?

"Massive, taller than the clock tower." He tried to keep the tone light, smiling at his youngest siblings oohing at the prospect.

"The Hart Inn is not taller than the clock tower." Rhodri rolled his eyes.

"Hush Rhodri, your brother's telling the story." His mother chided. "You can tell your's next."

"Whatever." Rhodri leaned further into the doorframe but otherwise remained silent. Harv recaptured the little ones attention with theatric zeal.

"The whole inn was a burning inferno. Smoke climbed up the sky and people were bailing water as fast as the could, whole bathtubs full!" He continued embellishing details and carefully abridged the inn keeper's account. The last thing he needed was his father to rant about how modern technologies would spoil the masses and turn them wicked. When he got to the part where he found the victim still inside, he struggled to keep up the momentum. How could he explain what happened without earning too many questions? "I carried them out of the fire, just before the building came down. Boom!" Best to avoid it all together.

"You carried someone all by yourself?" Big asked in awe.

"Of course he did, your brother's strong." Roland caught Harv in a playful headlock and gave him a noogie. "Not as strong as me though!" Before the scuffle could get to rambunctious Clover clapped her hands and instructed the boys to wash up for bed. "That reminds me." Roland released Harv gesturing for him to follow. "Your mother and I had something we wanted to give you." Clover followed behind giddy with excitement as they lead Harv out into the yard and around the back. Next to the smithy was a small 500 square foot building. "Tada!"

"It's not much," Clover squeezed his shoulders, "but we thought, maybe, you two would appreciate having your own space." So that's why they were so insistent he go to town today. They must have spent all day and night getting this together to surprise him.

"Mom, this is too much." He didn't know what to say. "Really, you guys didn't have to, this must have cost a fortune. I couldn't-"

"If he doesn't want it, can I have it?" Rhodri shouted across the yard from the back door.

"Rhodri, we talked about this. Now hurry up, and get to bed." Clover folded her arms and gave him that look all mothers have when trying to beat their child in a battle of wills.