The Innkeeper

Chapter 7

The night was thankfully silent and Samuel got the rest he needed to feel rejuvenated for the day. He rolled over and pulled himself further under his blanket to enjoy the warmth before he had to get out of bed. His eyes regretfully opened and he watched the Ranger sleep for a few seconds before groaning and shuffling off his mattress. The floor might have been cozier. 

He found a new shirt, one of his dwindling supply, pulled his nightshirt off, and pulled the shirt on. He thought he felt eyes on his back but he had assured himself that the Ranger was sleeping, and he was moving around as quietly as he could. If Samuel had barely gotten any sleep lately, he could hardly imagine Mavis getting any sleep at all.

The innkeeper stretched his arms to wake himself up a little more and then turned to look back before leaving. He thought he saw Mavis' eyes flicker shut, although that had been a trick of the dim light. The Ranger was still breathing deeply and evenly in sleep. 

Samuel kept his eyes on the route to the club sitting behind the bar and he wondered if he should take it to the barn with him. A noise from behind him had him spinning around, and then cursing his paranoia. It was just Mavis, bow hung over his shoulder, looking way too awake and alert. Samuel ran his hands down his sides, Mavis' eyes following with a quirk of his eyebrow. 

"Going somewhere?" the Ranger asked, clearing his throat to get rid of the rough waking quality. Bella had told Samuel how much fun she had hearing his, but he had not seen the allure of a voice that made him sound like he had swallowed a couple frogs and had let them take over his speech.

"I can handle myself," Samuel complained. He didn't need to have a Ranger trailing after him all day, although he would enjoy the company. He had been lonely. Striker had visited for longer than a meal when he could, but he had his own work in the smithy.

Mavis slipped his bow into his hand and approached, dragging Samuel in by the curved end. "You'll thank me later."

"I'll thank you now if you muck out your horse's stall," said Samuel. "Stubborn mare."

Mavis frowned. "What's wrong with my horse?"

"She doesn't like to move. I think I've grown on her, but the beginning was rough."

"Did you try to ride her? Oh, Sam," the Ranger said. He laughed.

Samuel didn't get why it was funny, so he shrugged it off and decided to get started on his work. He grabbed a shovel and passed it to the Ranger. "Here. I'll get the feed."

Mavis accepted the shovel but then stood uncertainly. Samuel rolled his eyes and went to go move Juniper to a new stall to get his horse out of the way. The horse whinnied in protest before he was offered an apple. That satisfied him for the moment. Samuel went to move the Ranger's horse next.

"Oh, I got her, she'll move for me without bribes," Mavis said, stepping forward and letting the mare out into the general stables. He must have had a lot of trust in his horse because he didn't bother tying her up. 

Juniper was offended at his lack of freedom and turned his tail towards the other three of them. Samuel watched in fascination as the chestnut mare brought her head into Juniper's stall and appeared to taunt him in their horse language.

Mavis began shovelling out the stalls and Samuel squeezed by to put fresh hay and water into the respective troughs. They worked in silence for the most part, and then Samuel watched the Ranger work, looking away when his friend glanced over. 

"Hey, Mavis," he said, with a thought on his mind, "You said it's probably nobles doing this, but they would surely have better fighting techniques. The men we faced fought like farmers."