things like eating. Chapters will be slow from now on. I'm working on two other stories in addition to this
and filling out applications for grad school. I'll try to have this finished by the summer though. Hope you
enjoy this new chapter of Piper in the Forest.
Chapter 7
The next day, Piper was up and about, but it wasn't
until another two days later, that Piper was finally
allowed to leave the Manor. Milly continued to
grumble and fuss over her as she walked out the door.
"Yeh really should rest one day longer. Yer not
well yet. Sarah, doesn't she look pale?"
Milly's voice faded behind her as she rushed off
towards the training field. It was actually kind of touching
that Milly cared about her so much. Piper would
never know who her mother really was, but sometimes
she felt like it didn't matter. She had Sarah and
Milly and, in his own way, the Sheriff to take care of her,
the guards to teach her, and Much to beat up. She
was actually quite lucky, she decided.
It was still early, so none of the guards were training
yet, but as she came within sight of the field, she noticed
that all of the guards were there. Bear spotted
her first, smiling quietly. The other guards turned one at a
time and smiled at her, warmly. "There she is." She heard Richard say. "We heard yeh might be joinin'
us today, girl. We have something fer yeh."
Walter emerged from the group with a bundle in his
hand. His weasely smile always put Piper ill at ease, but
she realized that it was just his way. He had had
a hard life, and he hid his pain behind a mask of sarcasm.
He handed the package to Piper. "This is compliments
of our good employer."
Piper unwrapped it, eagerly. She had never
before received a gift, and the fact that it was from the Sheriff
made even more exciting. It was a guards uniform,
complete with the dark gray tunic, black leather jerkin
and the badge that signified a guard's rank. By
the look of it, it was a little large for her and would hang
awkwardly, but it was her own uniform. She beamed
at the rest of the guards, but before she had the
chance to say anything, Richard and Bear took Walter's
place.
"That was from the Sheriff, Piper. And these are
from us." Richard held out a bow. It was newly made
and perfect. Piper's eyes grew large at the sight
of it. They grew even larger when Bear presented her with
a short sword. The sword was not new, and had probably
belonged to one of the guards previously, but it
was still an unbelievable gift. She took it from
Bear's hands and tested it's weight. It was heavy, but much
more balanced than the practice weapons she was used
to.
She handed it back to him and looked at everyone. "Thank you so much." She said. "I don't know what
else to say but thank you." She smiled and cast
her eyes downward in embarrassment.
"Well, we don't have all day. We have duties
teh take care of. Why don't yeh use the guard house teh change,
and then come join us fer training." Piper took
her gifts and ran eagerly into the guard house to change.
**********
Piper had never felt prouder. After a short
training session, she and the rest of the guards began the trek into
town. She was right. Her uniform was
several sizes too big, and looked awkward on her. When she dressed,
she found that a sheath and scabbard were provided for
her with the rest of the uniform, so now her short sword
hung at her side. At the insistence of the other
guards, she also carried her new bow and several arrows, since
she was the best archer among them. They told her
that she should always carry it with her. It might save one
of their lives some day.
Once they got into town, they split into smaller
groups. Piper went with Jeffrey and Walter to the tax collector's
home. They would accompany the tax collector during
his duties. Since the Sheriff began raising taxes, the poor
man had become very unpopular. He was the victim
of several attacks in the past week alone. The Sheriff thought
that it might be wise if he had some protection.
It seemed like a rather uneventful day though. While the guards were with the tax collector, no threats were made.
Most citizens greeted the tax collector with cold courtesy. Piper took the time to reflect on the current situation.
She always had a hard time understanding why so many
people could be so resentful of taxes. They all loved King
Richard and they all wanted to see him return. but they
didn't want to lend one sovereign to the cause.
She heard men talking in the Farmer's Dog when they
didn't notice her there. They were very courageous with
their opinions when there were no guards around and they
had some ale in them. They would practically shout
about the unfair taxes and the greed of the nobles that
set the taxes. Piper decided one night that these men talked
a lot, but spoke very little truth. Then at some
point during their ranting one of them would raise a glass and
bellow "To the Lionheart!" and a chorus of slurred,
muddled voices would echo as glasses went up. Piper merely
shook her head at this hypocrisy and went about her own
business usually.
By the time they were done with their rounds, Piper
was more tired than after a full afternoon of training. She
had never experienced tedium before and she didn't quite
understand it. She asked Bear about it back at the
guard house at the end of the day.
"Well Piper, we are men of action." He paused
for a moment, wondering if he might have offended her with
his choice of words, but when she gave no indication,
he continued. A soldier feels most alive when in the heat
of battle, and most wearied by peacetime. It may
be our job to maintain the peace, but people like you and me,
we hang ourselves with the peace we create."
"Well, how do you cope with that?" She could
already feel something inside of her struggling to breath.
While she had just been patrolling with the guards, she
had somehow managed to convince herself that once
she became a guard, things would be more exciting. Now however, she was beginning to realize that it was
not going to be the great adventure she had hoped for.
"How do I cope with it? Well, first of all,
peace never lasts long. Remember that. Never get comfortable
with the way things are, because they are going to change. But between those moments of change, I train more.
It keeps me focused."
Piper smiled. She loved to train. She
loved to fight. Perhaps that was the best advice she could get. She turned
to return to the Manor, satisfied with the answer she
received. Before she got more than a few paces though,
Bear's voice stopped her. "Piper, there are things
in this world that are worth more than fighting. They are the
things worth fighting for. Don't loose sight of
that." Piper nodded, not sure if she understood him. Couldn't
she just love fighting for fighting's sake?
As she walked back to the Manor that evening, she
took her time. The sky was darkening and the long shadows
were soothing, even if they were a bit cold for her sake. She watched in the dim light as her breath formed little
clouds and then drifted away. Did she have anything
worth fighting for, she wondered? What kinds of things
were worth fighting for? Her only family were the
people in Mark Manor. She respected and admired the
Sheriff, and was willing to fight for his respect, but
was that it? Was that all she had to fight for?
She stopped, took a deep breath, and smelled sweet
wood smoke in the air. She enjoyed the smell, and then
began to walk again, this time focusing on the feeling
of the frosted earth beneath her feet. She only had one
real friend; Much. Was he worth fighting for? He was certainly worth fighting. He helped her a lot in life.
He listened to her when she was frustrated and joked
with her when she was sad. He never thought less of
her because she was a girl. She knew that was a
rare thing. He never seemed to mind that she could pin
him to the ground.
She blushed and interrupted her thoughts before
they went too far. Of course he wouldn't mind her pinning
him to the ground. Through the blush she smiled. Truth be told, she didn't mind too much when he won
and pinned her to the ground either. Yes, she thought,
Much was definitely something worth fighting for.
She resolved to go see him the next day. She hadn't
yet told him about being made a guard and she missed
him.
**********
Piper awoke to thick fog outside and a damp chill
seeping through the stones of the Manor. She shivered as
she dressed, and made sure to throw on a wool cloak over
her uniform. She walked quickly through the dank
stone hallways of her home, trying to keep herself warm. The kitchen fires were burning strong when she got
there, and the first thing she did was hold her hands
near the soft orange glow.
"Here, take this." Sarah handed her a bowl
of porridge and walked away, too busy with her own duties for
pleasantries.
"Where's Milly this morning?" Piper asked. On a morning like this, Milly would normally be dominating the
kitchen, yelling orders to keep the fires going and the
food cooking.
Sarah brushed a loose strand of hair behind her
ear and sighed heavily. "Milly's taken ill. She's been ordered
to rest, and I'm taking her duties until she recovers."
Piper felt a chill that had nothing to do with the
weather worm through her body. "She will be all right though?"
She tried to sound casual, but her concern was apparent. Sarah wasn't looking at her directly in the eye, and
that made her more worried.
"She has a fever. The doctor has been to see
her. He says that she should be fine if she gets plenty of rest."
Sarah was obviously unconvinced.
Piper finished her breakfast in silence as Sarah
hurried in and out of the kitchen doing both her own chores
and Milly's. The food was good, but the young guard
couldn't allow herself to enjoy it. She was too preoccupied
with the woman who had taken care of her for so long. She allowed herself the luxury of worry while she ate and
while she walked to the training field.
Milly had been like a mother to her. It was
true that the older woman had, at times, made Piper's life very difficult,
but that was the role of any parent, or so Piper had
assumed. Although intellectually she knew it wasn't so,
somehow she believed that Milly would go on forever.
"Pay attention, girl!"
Piper nearly walked into Bear as she strode towards
the training field. His gruff voice jarred her from her thoughts
and she looked at him with a start. Then she shook
her head, banishing all thoughts of Milly from her mind. She
had work to do. Such distracting thoughts could
be very dangerous. Piper stepped onto the training field as a guard.
She was no longer the Sheriff's ward or Milly's charge,
or even Much's friend. All other obligations were cast aside
for the part of her which was always strongest.
Today she was sent out with Walter and Steven to
Sherwood's edge. There were some outlaws who were
threatening travelers in the forest. Although they
didn't expect to find the outlaws, they were to search for
evidence of their existence.
While Walter and Steven searched along the roads,
Piper ventured deeper into the forest on foot. She knew the
forest better than the other guards and was more likely
to be successful in finding campfires or the like. She was
also more likely to find her way back to the roads again.
She had been searching for a little over an hour
and had found signs of men traveling through the forest, but was
finding it difficult to track any of them. Whoever
these outlaws were, they knew what they were doing and they
didn't want to be found. Piper was getting frustrated
by her lack of success, when she heard something behind her.
It was a faint sound; one that anywhere else, she would
have ignored. But in the woods with outlaws and murderers
lurking about, the slight noise caused her to spin defensively
around and reach for her bow.
She hadn't had time to fully draw her sword before
she recognized Much leaning against a tree. Piper relaxed and
let out a sigh. "Don't sneak up on me like that." She scolded him.
"Wouldn't want to upset you." He replied humorlessly. It was then that she noticed a change in Much. He was
leaning against the tree, his arms folded in front of
him. The closed posture was very unlike him. Even more striking
were his drawn features. He had always been a thin,
wiry person, but now his features had taken a harder, more
angular turn, as though he hadn't eaten in a week. His eyes, slightly sunken, were lined and dark; the eyes of a man
who hadn't slept in a very long time. And there
was a calculating shrewdness in them that hadn't been there before.
Piper didn't know how to proceed. She always
knew how to behave around Much. She always felt comfortable with
him. But now it seemed that something had changed,
and she didn't know what. She had the sinking feeling that
even if she did know what was wrong, she would, for the
first time in her life, be powerless to stop it.
So she decided to ignore the uneasy feelings that were fluttering around in the back of her brain and act as if everything
was fine. "I was looking for you, Much."
Much tensed when she said that. "Really?" He stood straight up, his eyes locking with hers. He didn't move
a muscle.
Piper couldn't decide if he looked more like a deer about
to flee, or a wolf about to attack. The thought sent shivers
through her mind, but again, she ignored them.
"Yes. I have good news. I've been made
an official guard. It happened a few days ago. I would have
told you
sooner, but I got sick, and then I had my duties to..." She trailed off. Much hadn't so much as blinked. He stared
at her, his jaw clenched, raw fury barely kept in check.
"I'm so happy for you." He said in a monotone. Then he turned and began to walk away. Piper felt her whole
world crashing around her. She had completely lost
control of the situation. She didn't know how. She didn't
know how to fix it. Briefly, an image of a lake
of beef stew swallowing her up, flashed through her mind, but she
shook it away. She called out to his retreating
back.
"Much, wait! What's wrong?"
Much stopped short, his back ramrod straight. Then he turned stiffly towards her. There was an agonizing moment
when his expression hung between seething hatred, guilt
and grief. "Piper, it would be best for both of us if we
didn't see each other anymore. It was stupid of
me to ever think differently, and I apologize." He turned once
again to leave, this time deflated.
It only took a second for Piper to decide
what to do next. She leapt towards Much's retreating back, knocking
him to the ground. Now it was Piper's turn to be
furious. They struggled briefly, but Piper had the upper hand i
n this battle. She punched him in the face and
then pinned him to the ground, grabbing him by his shirt.
"You do NOT get to make this decision on your own. Now tell me what the hell is going on before I feel
compelled to beat it out of you!"
Much brushed her hands away. "We're enemies. Don't you know how stories go? You're one of the Sheriff's
m..." He was about to say men, but thought better
of it. "...guards, and I'm a...I'm an..." His voice failed
him.
Piper's eyes opened wide with realization. She jumped off of Much and stepped back in shock. He looked under
fed and tired. His cloths were covered in the dirt
of the forest and torn in several places, and he hadn't been in
town for at least the last few days. He had turned
outlaw.
Much rose to his feet, crossing his arms in front
of him again. "So you see, we can't be friends anymore. We
can't be...anything."
"How did this happen?" Piper asked softly. She didn't move towards him, but she didn't back away either.
She simply waited.
"How do you think it happened?" He began to
pace unconsciously. "I tried. I worked so hard, sometimes I
stopped eating and sleeping, just to make enough money
to pay the Sheriff's ridiculous taxes. But they're too
high. No one can pay them. He took my mill
and tried to arrest me, but I ran. I'm surprised you didn't know
about it."
Piper suddenly realized why Much didn't come to
visit her when she was sick. His world was being spun on
end. Everything that he knew was taken away from
him; everything but her. Now he was walking away from her.
"Good bye, Piper." He didn't look at her. He started back into the woods. She didn't want him to leave. He
was one of the few good things that had happened to her
in her life. She knew from her experience of becoming
a guard, that good things didn't come easily. They
had to be fought for.
"No!" She said firmly to Much's retreating
back. She marched after him, grabbed his arm and spun him to face
her. "You are one of the best things that has ever
happened to me, and I am not accustomed to letting good
things go. You may be to afraid to work through
this, but I'm not. I love you, Much."
Much started at this revelation. He looked
at her with wide eyes. Piper forced down the overwhelming panic
that she was feeling and continued.
"I know you've never heard me say that, and don't
get used to it, because I won't be saying it a lot, but it is
true. I know things are bad right now, but I can
tell you that what the Sheriff does, he has to do. Some day
Richard will return and everything will be right again. Until then, we'll just have to be careful."
Much said nothing. He just looked at her in
bewilderment and confusion. "You...love me?" He finally
whispered. Piper smiled and nodded. Suddenly
all the tension between them vanished. Much smiled back
and pulled her towards him. They shared their first
true kiss right there in the middle of the forest.