"Please, I beg of you", Geoff pleaded with an absolutely pathetic look on his face. He had lost everything while gambling… again.
"I told you last time that if this ever happened again, you'd be on your own. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to bail you out any more."
The naked writer glanced at the others, asking desperately with his eyes for support. None came. He lowered his gaze to the ground. Without another word, Will turned on his feet and left. Roland gave Geoff an apologetic look and proceeded to follow Kate and Will back to their tents.
Wat stayed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Geoff saw Wat pull the two men off to the side. They remained huddled together for a while. Geoff saw the two men exchange glances, then nod at Wat.
"Come on Geoff. Get dressed and then we'll go meet the others", Wat smiled as he tossed Geoff his clothes and sat down to wait.
"How did you- what did you say to them? What did you do to make them let me go? Oh, thanks by the way", Geoff smiled down at the redhead. "You certainly have a way with people." He smiled.
The duo walked the rest of the way in silence, enjoying the sounds of the tournament. They took a shortcut through a field of grassy knolls covered with goldenrods.
"Haha. The flowers are the same color as your hair", Wat commented. Geoff looked down to examine the beautiful blossoms.
"Yeah, I guess so."
Wat bent down and gently plucked the prettiest flower in sight. He then placed it behind Geoff's ear.
The taller man smiled again. "How does it look?"
Wat glanced down at the ground. "It- it's lovely."The older man grinned and they continued onward.
"Hey! How'd you get away?", "Never thought I'd see you again!" and "Geoff!" were the greetings that Geoff received when he stepped into the bar. Other remarks were made, but lost beneath the din.
"My squire in shining armor here", he nodded to Wat, "rescued this poor damsel."
"Well we're glad to have you back. A drink to celebrate?" Roland suggested.
"I have a feeling you'd have a drink no matter my answer." Geoff looked amused. The rest of the party burst out in merry laughter.
"Aye. Well then why bother with the details? HEY, FIVE BRANBERRY ALES OVER HERE!" Roland shouted over to the bar.
Beers were drunk, tales exchanged, and laughs heard. Sometime later, the five friends retired to their tents. The lights in Kate's tent were the first to be extinguished, followed by Roland and Will's.
Geoff glanced over at his tent mate. The redhead was busy digging through his trunk trying to find a shirt. The candlelight illuminated every muscle on Wat's smooth body. The writer was tempted to tell Wat to just forget the shirt. Unfortunately for the writer, Wat found what he was looking for and settled down under his woolen blankets.
"G'night Wat."
"'Night Geoff."
Geoff opened his eyes. It was too dark to be morning. What had woken him? he wondered. Something was missing. The lightly flopping tent opening caught his eye. Where was Wat? Stepping quietly out from the warm tent, the bitter cold of the August night snapped at Geoff's skin. A faint streak of red-orange against black disappeared behind a tent not too far away. What was Wat doing out here, especially at this hour? Geoff pondered, rounding the corner.
He could see Wat clearly now. The air was still and silent. The full moon made it all the creepier. And what the hell does he think he's doing, walking around in just a light tunic and pants in this kind of weather? It never occurred to Geoff that he himself was only clothed in a coat and pants. The silver moonlight revealed the squire's path.
Wat reached a tent, hesitated, but continued inside. Geoff kept walking, however, his breath hitched and his whole body froze when he realized which tent this was. It was the gamblers' tent.
Why did Wat come here? Oh no, he promised to pay them later if I was freed, didn't he? And he didn't want me to know of course, which is why he came here at this time of night. This is all my fault. The writer furrowed his brow in worry. I'd better stop him.
Geoff slowly lifted back part of the tent's opening, but what he saw within shattered him.