Retrace bxbxb

Hold Your Drink

A damp chill pressed up against Harper's left hand where it hung over the edge of his small cot. Unconsciously tucking his limb back on the bed, he settled back into a deeper sleep until he felt the nudge again, this time against his shoulder. His mind suddenly realized what was bothering him and he jerked backward, slamming his head against the wall. He yelped, drawing a surprised bark from the dog as it tried to climb onto the rickety bed with him. 

"Hey, out of here, you mongrel!" Came a rather stern female voice from above Harper. 

His best friend, Maria, hopped down from her bunk situated atop his and gave the beast a mighty smack on the rump. It didn't seem to matter to her that the dog could have outweighed her and responded dangerously. It turned to face her with its teeth bared, but she didn't back down as she scowled at the dog. 

"You heard me! Get out of here!" She yelled, putting herself between the dog and Harper. 

She was just barely Harper's height, but she stood tall and held the beast's gaze with her own dangerous glare until the giant monster slowly hobbled backward, then sauntered out the door with a gruff woof. 

Maria waited a minute before turning to crawl onto Harper's small cot. Reaching out, she gently touched behind his head, making him wince and hiss. "You've knocked your head good, Harp." She chastised as she sat back, allowing Harper to rub at the bump forming beneath his hair. 

"Mari, I told you to be careful calling me that." He grumbled right back. She giggled at his words before looking over her shoulder, then back at him. He took her grin as a hint that she'd already checked the room and that they were the only ones remaining. "I think you'll be fine, little Hari." 

Sighing, Harper gave his head a quick shake to finish waking himself up, then slid from his bed. Maria was the only person who actually knew that he was a boy, but to keep his ruse, she played along with the joking like a true master of the trade. 

She was close to his own age of nineteen, with a sharper mind than any he'd seen as of yet. "I'd bet that mongrel was lord Arthur summoning you for the day. You best be on your way and keep your wits about you, they are trouble." 

He didn't need to be told that twice. He knew the two would be horrible to manage this visit. They were already doing something they never had before; asking him to join them in the morning. Plus, they had brought a dog with them, and clearly planned to use it to their advantage considering they'd sent it after him twice already. 

Resigned to a day of stress and likely a late evening, Harper got himself busy cleaning himself up. There was a small wash tub near his bed that he used to rinse his face and wipe his body down after nudging Maria from the area and tugging a curtain to keep her prying eyes from looking. She wasn't adverse to sneaking peeks, which was how she had found out that he was a boy in his second year of service. 

"I swear you take as long as a girl to get ready." She fumed from the other side of the curtain right before he pulled it back to the side, fully clothed in his trousers and maid uniform. 

Maria gave him a look when she noticed him wearing his pants. "Are you sure that's wise, Hari? It's going to give them even more opportunities to try and get you to reveal that you're a boy. Please tell me you weren't wearing those last night when they arrived?" 

Harper felt his flush, giving her the answer to her question without speaking. Maria huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, it's almost as if you want other people to figure it out. You must keep yourself safe, and that means that you must remain as ladylike as possible!" 

He knew that she was right, but sometimes it was hard. He wanted to be able to be a boy once in a while, but he could never get away from the property, or at least away from others who worked there, to risk it. Pretending to be a lass was getting very, very confining. He wanted some freedom, even all he could afford of such a thing was to wear a pair of pants with his maid uniform.