Adventurous

How About Not?

Morgan woke to a pounding noise. Early morning light shone on her face from the small bedroom window. Not wanting to wake up and face another day's worth of idiots, she snuggled back under the covers. She opened her eyes as the insistent pounding continued and made her way out of bed. Realizing it was someone knocking on the door, she was glad that she had somehow neglected to change out of her clothes. Glancing at the sleeping form of her friend, Morgan decided to let her sleep.

As she made her way to the door, she brushed her hair back from her face and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Grabbing a honey biscuit, she opened the door and was immediately bombarded by a blast of trumpeting.

"A decree from the king!: this acreage is required for the construction of his lordship's summer palace as it exceeds the requirements of peace and tranquility needed for his excellency's fragile condition. You are requested to vacate the premises immediately. Failure to comply with his majesty's request will be met with dire consequences," exclaimed a small, red-faced man.

Morgan momentarily stood in shock as the man turned around to join the fancy entourage behind him. Shaking her head, she called out, "I believe you are mistaken, sir!" He turned around, aghast. "You just issued a demand, not a request."

"Well, peasant, a request from his highness is the same as a command. If you weren't too busy wallowing in poverty, you might know that," he spat back in reply, glaring.

"Listen here, you overly glorified pig! First of all, you have no right to be on my land, which is, in fact, not owned by the king, and second of all, 'tis not I that lives in poverty, but you, as you have the face of a churlish d—"

"Morgan, that is enough!" Linda grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the cottage as the king's men rode away. A small crowd had gathered to watch, but dissipated at a look from Linda. She turned to look at Morgan, who now stood sheepishly by the table.

"What was that all about?" she demanded.

"The king wants to take our land. And you know it's ours, papa ga—"

"I know papa gave it to us, but that's not what I'm upset about. You know better than to argue with one of the king's men. They only bring trouble," Linda explained reasonably.

"I know. They just infuriate me so much! I coul—"

"Calm down! Take a deep breath. Now, how are we going to keep them from taking our land?"