Will and Rowan spent some more time sitting by the fire while the storm was slowly dying down outside. Their talks mostly revolved around the horses and their care. Despite his confident look, Rowan was a real worrywart. Since Will had started sleeping in the stables during the night, Rowan’s mind was more at ease these days. Will was trustworthy and a good worker. Rowan had often said this and this was something Will took real pride in.
Before moving to the stables recently, Will used to stay with Rowan and Mary. Will avoided his own home like the plague. He figured he’d go back once his step father Walter was done drinking and whoring his way into an early grave.
Rowan and Mary didn’t want Will to move out of their house, but they had 3 children of their own. Their eldest daughter Cara was 14 years old and had just begun an apprenticeship under the tailor to become a seamstress for the manor house. Will had suggested that it was a much better idea for her to practice sewing clothes for her pigs at home if she was going to be making dresses for lady piggy in the future.
Will figured it was getting crowded and it was time for him to move out of their home. Besides, if Cara really wanted to be a seamstress at the manor house, having will living in their house wasn’t going to help her chances. Once Will was dry enough, he proceeded to help Rowan with the preparations for receiving Lord Damien’s hunting party once they arrived.
It was about an hour before sunset that the hunting party finally arrived. Will had to focus completely on his jobs as he and Rowan had to handle about 25 horses. Rowan helped Lord Damien first while Will helped the captain of the guard. Your military standing in the Faustad household could be determined by the order in which you were attended to. The lower you were, the longer you had to wait for stable hands to notice you. Lord Damien and his personal bodyguards left the stables soon while most of the men tended to the horses themselves. Lord Damien didn’t look too happy, so Will had a pretty good idea that he wouldn’t be presenting king Alfred with lamian stag horns for the solstice feast like piggy claimed.
By sunset, the stables had emptied and only a few of the lord's men remained. At the end of one of the stalls, there stood a young man tending to his palomino horse. Will walked over there with a smile and said “Hey Geoffrey, How was today’s hunt? Heard you were chasing a lavian stag. Did you bring it back in that bag?” said Will pointing to the small saddle bag that was propped up against the stall. “Because I know it’s impossible that the greatest hunter in all of Lorraine would fail” Will said with an incredulous look. Geoffrey had often made the claim in Will’s presence that he was indeed the best hunter in all of Lamia, if not the best in the country of Lorraine.
Geoffrey laughed as he shook his head and spoke “This is exactly the reason why I didn’t tell you we were hunting for a lamian stag. I knew I’d never hear the end of it and for your information, I would’ve killed that daamn stag if it wasn’t for that storm rolling up on us”.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Of course you would have, I would never doubt the skills of the greeeatest hunter in the land” said Will with an expression of mock disbelief.
“Shut up. You can be a real arsewipe sometimes you know. Makes me wonder why I’m friends with you” said geoffrey punching Will lightly on the shoulder and laughing at the same time.
Geoffrey was a squire in Lord Damien’s service. Even though they were the same age, Will’s head barely reached Geoffrey’s shoulders. He had bright red hair on top of a handsome face and was built like a warrior. There were many girls in the village who swooned at the sight of handsome Geoffrey and he was Will’s best friend since he was Will’s only guy friend close to his age. Most of the people his age in the village avoided him as they didn’t want to get on Lady Mildred or piggy’s bad side, but this hadn’t bothered Geoffrey.
This was mainly because lady Milderd had little power over Geoffrey. He was a lordling in his own right. Geoffrey was the fifth son of Lord Cuthred and he had sent his son to his old friend Lord Damien Faustad to train to become a knight. Geoffrey was nowhere near the Cuthred family title and maybe Old lord Cuthred had hoped that his son and Lord Damien Faustad’s only daughter would fall in love. If that was the case, lord Cuthred was in for a huge disappointment as Geoffrey hated Lady Messenia almost as much as Messenia hated Will.
Geoffrey and Will became friends due to their mutual love of horses. Initially, Will kept a weary distance from Geoff as his only previous experience with a lordling was lady piggy. Naturally, Will didn’t trust him and was eager to avoid any contact with him. Then one day Geoffrey’s palomino mare had gotten sick. Geoff spent the entire night in the stable taking care of her and speaking comforting words to her. During that sleepless night, they had bonded and Will and Geoff grew to respect and understand each other.
Geoffrey, being born as the fifth son, nothing in life was just handed to him like it was for his eldest brother. He had to prove himself and earn a place for himself. Thus Geoff respected people for their abilities and not for their birth. When Will was brutally hurt by Walter 2 years ago, it was Geoffrey who set out to seek justice. It was only lady Mildred’s protection that kept his step father Walter safe from Geoffrey. At 17 years, Geoff already had the reputation as one of the strongest and fiercest warriors in Lord Damien’s service.
“How did you know we were hunting for lamian stag today?. We weren’t even told exactly what we were hunting for till we reached the edge of the outer forest.” Geoff asked Will.
“ Ah, I have highly placed informants inside the manor house” said Will with a mysterious air. Geoff’s raised eyebrows clearly indicated he didn’t believe Will.
“Seriously Will, How did you find out? Who told you?”
“I’ll give you a hint. Calling this person a piggy would be an insult to the beauty and intelligence of pigs”said Will.
Geoffrey chuckled but his expression soon grew a little more serious.
“So, Messenia came down to the stables today huh?”
Geoff knew there was only one reason why lady piggy ventured out of the manor to the stables. Will recounted everything that happened that day. When he got to the part where Messenia said she intended to marry prince Henry, Geoff was practically rolling on the floor with laughter.
Then Geoff told Will about the hunt that day and how he’d taken down 2 antelopes and very nearly missed the lavian stag. After the storm rolled in, they had to take refuge in a barn and there wasn’t enough light to continue the hunt after the storm. They talked a little while more and then Geoff said good night and went up to the manor for his supper. Will stood near Geoff’s palomino, stroking the soft fur along her neck. This horse belonged to the man who had single handedly rescued his opinion about the nobility. Will smiled at the thought and went back to master Rowan as he beckoned Will. Their dinner had arrived from the manor kitchen.