Catching Halt with his breeches down
Chapter 6
Evanlyn awoke the next morning with the normal knock on her door. She came out fully changed and ready to train but then the memories of the night before came back to her. She shuffled to the table. Sure Halt hadn't hit her that hard, but would he finish the punishment that morning. She sat down and looked at Halt who was drinking a mug of coffee. She waited for the yelling to start but nothing came just Halt looking over the top of his mug at her. She wondered if he was waiting for her to say she was sorry.
"About," She started but Halt held up a hand to silence her. He stood up from the table and poured her a cup coffee, then grabbed her some bread, and salted meat.
"I'll start the conversation alright, Evan. I want you to eat a little before I start asking questions." She nodded she wasn't going to argue. She didn't want to push him. After about five minutes Halt seemed ready to ask her whatever he wanted to ask. "Did Gilan tell you that I knew you where a girl?" She wasn't really sure what to say. He never really said it.
"He told me to hide that I was girl from people who weren't Rangers. When I arrived I thought you already knew. I guess he didn't want me to stay at the Orphanage anymore. If I'd known that he hadn't told you I would have." She muttered while running her fork though the remainder of her food. She watched him scratch his uneven beard.
Halt knew that she was half right. Gilan wanted her out of where ever she was living for a reason, but he also used her to catch him off guard. He never thought that Gilan would sink so low. He also wondered why Gilan wanted to get her out of that orphanage. "Evan, tell me something was it really that bad there? The ranger life isn't easy."
"I know that. It wasn't all bad when I was younger, I didn't think I wanted to be any where else that was till I turned seven. I went to the store to pick up some spices. I met three boys just outside the shop. They a couple years older then I was. I had seen them before but never really spoken to them before. They started to ask me what I had in the bag. I told them but they didn't believe me. So they started chasing me demanding I give them the bag. They caught up with me and beat me up to find the spices and nothing else so they dumped the continents of the bag on the ground and ran off."
"Why didn't you just give them the bag?" Halt asked. He could picture little seven year old Evan trying to escape from the bullies. The thought of it made him boil inside.
"It was the first time I had been allowed out by myself I didn't want to mess it up. I was starting to get up. I was about to cry, but it wasn't because of my battered body. I knew I'd only had enough to buy what I needed. I didn't have any money to replace all that had just been dumped. I sniffed loudly and started to brush the dirt off my skirts. Someone came up behind me and tap me on the shoulder and asked me what was wrong. I turned to face the stranger. He pulled his hood down to show his face. It was Gilan. I told him what had just happened. He told me to stay put and quickly went down the road and bought me a whole knew bag of everything I needed." Halt couldn't help but feel a bit of pride, Gilan's dept had gone down a little but not by much.
Evanlyn continued her story. "I thanked him over a dozen times then I hurried home to give them what they needed to finish the food. I arrived home twenty minutes later I than I was suppose to. I was punished. I didn't get to eat that night and I had to clean the dishes after the meal. The chicken smelled so good even after it had been picked clean."
"They didn't ask you why you where back late?" Halt asked.
"Yes, but they thought I was lying. Like everyone else they where wary of the King's Rangers. They thought I had made up some of the story."
"Which part?" Halt was getting more and more infuriated by the second but you couldn't tell from the look on his face.
"That the bullies dumped out the bag. They assumed I spent the money on something else and told the ranger that bullies had stole it so he would buy it for me instead. Soon the boys where after me everyday. I will admit I started some of the fights, but most of the time Gilan was the one that finished them. When Gilan wasn't around I would climb up an apple tree in a courtyard. It was the only place I could really escape from them."
"Why is that?" Halt wondered why the boys didn't just climb the tree or just cut it down."
"They tried to climb up after me but one of the branches broke and the boy got a broken arm for his trouble. Well they did get back at me for that, they said I pushed him. So I was punished for that."
"What did you get for that?" Halt asked knowing what he would do if someone under his charge broke another person's arm.
"I missed two meals and I had to make one of them but it wasn't too bad. If I make the food I don't really want it any way. I don't understand why they did it every few days. It was like clockwork. I knew what would happen before it happened. It was the same, well till this year anyway." Evanlyn had gotten to the point she really wanted to avoid. She didn't want to tell Halt about the marriage thing. She knew other places did it as well.
"Why, was this year different."
"When I turned thirteen they told me I had three choices. I would get married, joined the church, or get an apprenticeship. Joining the church was just out of the question for me. I had lived under the care of the church all of my life I was done with them. I couldn't really find someone who needed a girl for a apprentice, so I couldn't get an apprenticeship. So the nuns, kept trying to marry me off to every single man that passed though the fief."
"Which is why you where avoiding eye contact with the Baron."
"It would have been very awkward." Evan's eyes went to the window and she noticed how dark it was outside. "Oh, no. I didn't practice today!"
"Evan you are injured remember. You won't be practicing for at least a week with that arm." Halt said simply. "It's getting late why don't you head to bed."
Evan went to open her mouth but closed it because of the look on her master's face. She headed to bed. She couldn't believe that she had said so much more importantly he had actually listened to her. She wasn't used to that, the nuns had always called her a lair. When a man had turned her down, they said it was her fault or when a person wasn't looking for an apprentice it was her fault too. Halt just let her speak, allowed her to have her say before thinking about it. She fell on to the bed which was a mistake she had fallen on to her injured arm. She flinched and sighed. How was she suppose to pull a bow string if she can't even put pressure on it. She closed her eyes lost in her thoughts.
Halt didn't head to bed just yet. He had a great deal to think about. He knew Evan had left out a great many things today. The story she had told was full of holes and unanswered questions that he wanted to know. He wasn't going to push her though. He would let her get back on her feet before really getting the story out of her. If he couldn't get it out of Gilan. He decided that he was going to send Gilan a note. It simply said that if Gilan had some free time, Halt wanted him to come down a visit two weeks from now. Halt said he wanted to show how Evan had improved since he had last seen her. Halt didn't mention that the knew her secret. He would rather wait to see Gilan's face when she walked out in clothes that actually fit her right.
