SafeGuard

Chapter Four: Outlaw's Wrath

That same morning, Nicholas awoke in William Piper's house in Gloria. The smell of a fire filled the house. A light layer of smoke roamed the ceiling above the fire. Nicholas wandered down the stairs with the light of the new sun barely showing through the covered windows. The cool wood floors surprised Nicholas. He saw William poking at the fire with his metal pike. The floors creaked as Nicholas touched the final step. William turned around quickly.

"Good morning, Nick." William said, with a smile.

"Good morning, Will." Nicholas yawned, rubbing his tired eyes. "Smells quite nice. Have you prepared a morning meal?" William laughed as he scrambled to his feet.

"I ran to the market early this morning. Mrs. Loris opens her shop very early in the morning. If you are not early to her shop you'll miss it for the day." He grabbed a plate of cooked pork and chicken. "She has the best meats in the Sothern region." Nicholas saw the glistening meat on the plate.

"You did not need to prepare a meal for us, Mr. Piper." William set the plate back down on the counter.

"It was no trouble. It is nice to cook for someone once again." Nicholas slowly sat on one of the arm chairs near the fire.

"Ounce again?" Nicholas asked, confused. "I was under the assumption that you had not hosted Guardians before."

"I haven't." He answered, softly. Shawn appeared at the base of the stairs, yawning loudly.

"Good morning, all!" Shawn said, as he strolled to the chair next to Nicholas. "The smell reminds me of SafeHaven." Shawn saw William pick up the plate behind him.

William excitedly raced to around the room. "I have prepared a small meal for you two!" He brought the plate full of meat to Shawn. Shawn poked the meat around with his fingers as they were still rather hot. Shawn bravely took a slice of chicken from the plate and took a bite.

"This is delicious!" Shawn exclaimed, with a full mouth. Nicholas chuckled quietly, shaking his head at Shawn scarfing down the food.

"You were about to tell me who you cooked meals for." William smiled somberly as he placed the food next to Shawn. "Did you have a woman in your life?" William took a seat opposite Shawn.

"I had two actually." William said, smiling. Shawn paused his bites and looked at William in awe. It had become very rare for a single man to merry two women. William finally noticed the accusations they made with his answer. "I once had a beautiful wife and daughter."

"Forgive me. I should not have pried!" Nicholas shook his head. William smiled and waved off the sorrow. Shawn put the meat back on the plate.

"My deepest condolences, Will." Shawn said stoically. "Loss of a loved one is hard to bare, loss of a child is unimaginable." Shawn sat back in his chair. "For you to open your lovely home after such a loss is remarkable."

"I had to take my mind and put it to good use." William wiped away a tear rolling down his face. "This was what came to mind."

"Can you share how it happened?" Nicholas's question shocked Shawn. William leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees. His fingers fidgeting together. "If you don't mind sharing." The story of William's passed had not been recalled in some time.

"My wife, Viola, was a beauty." He chuckled, remembering her face. "Helen, my daughter, saw barely over five years of life. Her giggles could stop a war, I tell you. We lived in Yorkshire then, just almost two years ago." He paused as the memory had not crossed his mind in some time. "Viola woke me in the night, saying she heard a noises from outside the window. When I came to the window outside I saw them. The outlaws threw torches on our neighbor's roof. Viola ran to get Helen. As I attempted to put the fire out across the street, I noticed my own home was on fire. Viola screamed my name!" The tears began to slowly roll down his face. He could remember rushing back into their home. The wall had collapsed in front of Viola and Helen's exit. "I managed to clear their path and bring them both to safety. But they were waiting. The outlaws in black grabbed my daughter from Viola and pushed me to the ground. A blade was put to my throat but Viola shoved the man into the fiery building. They grabbed Viola before I could get back to my feet. Helen was put in the carriage after Viola." William remembered being pushed down again as they rushed off. "I saw the arrows from another group fire among the carriages. They struck the outlaws and rammed the carriage into buildings and homes along the way." William remembered running after them. Flaming debris fell, causing the fire to cling to their carriage. William screamed out their names. The carriage continued out of Yorkshire, the horses outran William. "I saw the flames take the carriage." William collapsed in the street sobbing. "The home was lost, my family no more."