When We Were Younger

Her Faults

Arthur woke up the next day in a strange bed, then he remembered where he was. Arthur then got out of bed, turned on a light, and searched through his belongings for clothes. He dressed in a red buttoned down shirt, beige pants, his dark red leather spring jacket, and brown riding boots. He turned off the light and left the room. He stopped in front of Lilly's room and took a deep breath. He owed her an apology. Arthur knocked on her door but there was no answer. He knocked once more, but she didn't answer.

"She's outside trainin' the men," a woman said behind him.

He turned to see a graying woman poking her head outside the nursery. "Oh. Who are you?"

"I'm Aisling, the nanny."

"Ah."

She opened the door wider. "Would ya like tah see the children?"

Arthur smiled and nodded. He walked in to see Arthur Jr. and Aoífe playing on the floor with wooden blocks. Both the children looked at him and smiled. "Daddy!" they both exclaimed.

Arthur smiled again and sat down with them. He chuckled as they both hugged him. "It's as if they know me."

"They do. M'lady shows them a picture of you every day," Aisling explained casually.

This surprised Arthur. "She does?"

Aisling nodded. "Yes. In her...well, your pocketwatch, there's a picture of you, her, Brian and James."

"I'm sorry...who are Brian and James?"

"Her wolves." Aisling turned to face him. "I take it you haven't met them yet."

"No."

"Well, they should be outside trainin' just now, if ya wantah go see. Large buggers, they are."

Arthur kissed his children's heads and nodded. "Sure." Arthur rose up, left the room, and headed down the corridor to the staircase. As he went down, he saw people in the kitchen and smelled wonderful things coming from it. He realized he was hungry, so he poked his head in and smelled the scents of fresh bread, eggs, oatmeal, and meat being cooked. Breena, the lady that screamed at the sight of him, saw him and gave him a small curtsy.

"M'lord," she said.

The other cooks and chefs looked at him and either bowed or curtsied themselves and he blinked a few times. "Oh. Hello, um...I was wonderin' if I could have some food?"

"Of course, m'lord. Would ya like it in the dining room?"

"Actually, just some meat and bread will do, I think. Something I can carry. I'm, uh, wanting to go see my wife right away."

Breena handed him a big chunk of bread and some cooked venison. He thanked her, left the kitchen and headed out the front door. As he passed through the courtyard, he looked off in the distance at the amount of tents, fires, and people. Some were shooting bows and arrows, some were shooting guns, some were training in hand-to-hand combat, but there was a small section of knife wielders that Lilly was teaching. He approached the group as he bit into his bread and venison.

"...though we're dealing with werewolves, I just want to give you all some pointers to remember. This will also help you in case you get into a fight with another person. When engaged in close combat, at the very beginning, it is important to pull out your knife rather than your gun in case it turns into a scuffle," Lilly said, pacing back and forth with her hands behind her back. "Same applies here with werewolves who get too close for comfort. And always have the knife on your dominant side, unless like me, you have two knives."