Two chapters in one day? More likely than you think


Will sat outside and watched as Alyss and Jenny decorated the tree with little wreaths and dry apples. It had been a few days since Horace managed to get the tree, and everyone had taken part in decorating it.

Will would lie if he said that he didn't feel a bit bad. Everyone had so far done wonderful jobs in getting everything they needed. Jenny got the wreaths at the cost of her own health (she was doing much better now, thankfully), Alyss managed to get candles from her own allowance, George got Christmas carols and they were all practicing with Mistress Aggie, and Horace got the tree. But him? Apart from practicing carols with the others and doing his share of decorating the tree, he had done nothing at all. Will felt useless. He was supposed to go ask in the kitchens if they would be so kind as to give them a roasted boar head, but that wouldn't come for several days. The boar head needed to be fresh, and Will didn't think they would start preparing the feast days ahead; the food would be spoiled. The only thing he had left was to just wait. It was becoming pretty boring.

Will sighed and moved from the spot away from the wind. If he was going to be this useless, he could at least help the girls to make himself feel useful.

It was a few days later when he could finally go to the kitchens. It was the day of the feast, and while his ward mates were taking care of decorating everything, he was tasked to go to the kitchens.

The boy went through the hallways of the castle that were swarming with people, feeling very small. It was an annual event, Christmas at the castle, and all people who meant something in the fief got together, it was no wonder that he was almost lost in the swarm of bodies. Once or twice, he was almost stepped on and he barely had the time to get away.

Finally, Will made it to the kitchen door. It was a massive door made out of wood, and he gulped. He knew Master Chubb. And he also knew that getting Master Chubb to do something was very hard to do. The head cook had his ladle with which he showed his dominance, and Will definitely didn't want to get a direct hit with it. The boy took a deep breath and straightened his shirt. Before coming to the kitchen, he made sure to scrub himself clean, and especially his hands. Otherwise, Master Chubb wouldn't even permit him to set foot in the kitchen.

Will knocked on the door. After several seconds, one of the apprentices opened the door.

"What do you want, boy?" he asked rudely. "Can't you see we're busy here?" With that, he started to close the door again. Will was quick to put his foot between the door and the doorframe so he wouldn't be able to close it in his face.

"Wait, please! I'm here to ask for a favour!" he called, hoping that the apprentice would let him inside. If he didn't, his mission would fail. Then, he would have to get back into the ward with empty hands and he didn't particularly fancy that.

The apprentice studied him with arrogance.

"Who do you want to ask a favour?" he asked, crossing his hands on his chest, a stirring spoon in his hands.

"Master Chubb," Will replied, hoping that finally, he would get inside. The apprentice shook his head.

"Master Chubb has better things to do than to deal with the likes of you," he replied curtly. Will frowned. How mean.

Fortunately, he was saved by a voice from the kitchen?

"Louis? Come back here, you're letting the soup burn!"

The apprentice, Louis apparently, turned around.

"But, Master Chubb, there's a kid here who says that he needs to talk to you!" Louis called back before a ladle landed on his head. Master Chubb appeared at the door.

"I said to go check the soup," he reminded him again and the apprentice stalked off, grumbling.

The man now stood in front of Will.

"You're one of the wards, right? What do you want?" he asked, measuring Will from head to his feet. Will nervously shifted on one foot.

"Well, we are trying to organise a nice surprise for Baron Arald and we were wondering if you'd lent us a roasted boar head?" Will said, trying to keep calm when Master Chubb's face became a frown.

"A boar head, you say? Boy, boar heads don't grow on trees! How many wild boars do you think we have?"

Will raised his hand.

"Euh… one?" he guessed and Master Chubb roared: "Of course we only have one! And that one is going to the dinner table for Baron Arald, not to the feast you gladly decided to make!"

Will shrinked back as Master Chubb raised his tone. A wild thought appeared in his head; maybe this was a punishment for all the pranks he's ever pulled on the other wards. Dealing with Master Chubb really wasn't easy, and he just got to know it the hard way.

"Now off you go! There's a ton of work to be done here," Master Chubb said, closing the door. Will hung his head.

A second later, the door opened. A young woman stuck her head out.

"I think that your idea to surprise Baron Arald is very cute," she said. "I know that it's not a boar head, but if you want, I can get you a roasted fish."

Will perked up a little, but then remembered Alyss' words. Baron Arald only deserved the best. No, a fish wouldn't do.

Will shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, but I can only return with the boar head," he said, looking down at his feet. A plan started forming in his head. Maybe, just maybe, he could sneak in when no one was looking? He was quite good at sneaking, it was one of his special skills that he liked to hone. How many times had he evaded Horace like that!

Will smiled to himself. Yes, that was a good plan. He would simply wait until everyone was gone, and then he would get the boar head. He was used to getting pies from the kitchen, even though they were only cooling down on the window. This would be a bit harder, actually sneaking into the kitchens, but he was sure that he could do it.

"Alright, if you say so," the girl said and closed the door. Will turned and went away, only to stop at the nearest curtain. That would provide for a good cover. He slipped behind the curtain silently and made himself comfortable. This could be a long wait.

As the time passed, Will eventually became bored, but he refused to give up. He had to do this. He told himself that he would manage this. The other wards would no doubt welcome him back even if he didn't get the boar head, there was no discussion about that, but Will had promised it to himself. No matter what, he would get it.

Eventually, most of the kitchen employees were out. It was time for lunch, after all, and they all needed to eat. Will's own stomach growled, reminding him of his hunger, but he ignored it. This was more important.

Will slipped from behind the curtain, keeping to the wall in case someone came. He was painfully out in the open there on the corridor, so he needed to move quickly. He stood at the door and quietly opened it, thanking the gods that they didn't creak. The hinges were well oiled, it seemed, and Will entered the kitchen and looked for a cover.

Seeing a small table, he quickly slid down to his knees and crawled to the table. He disappeared under the cloth just in time; he could hear footsteps.

"Why do the kids these days leave such messes?" a grumpy old voice complained. Will didn't recognize it; it must've belonged to one of the older cooks.

The footsteps stopped just next to Will's table and he held his breath. If he was caught here, he would be in for it. Technically, he shouldn't do anything in the kitchens, and after he'd asked if he could get the boar head… everyone would know just what he was doing there.

Will waited patiently until the cook went away again, and then he stood up and looked around.

There! The boar head was sitting on another table, all good and ready. It had a golden crust and Will's stomach once again growled hungrily. He swallowed all the saliva that was in his mouth and moved to take the boar head.

But, as he was standing next to the food, he realized that he wouldn't be able to take it away through the front door. He blinked, trying to figure out his next plan until his gaze landed on the window. Will smirked. He had one now.

He took the boar head to the window and leaped outside. Thankfully, the kitchen windows weren't high as it was the ground floor. Will could perfectly use it as his escape route.

Once outside, Will took the boar head and hurried to the ward. Still using the shadows to cover himself at least a bit, he arrived at a set table. It was covered with a white cloth, the plates were nicely arranged and there were vases with holly that weren't used in the wreaths. Two large wreaths also decorated the table itself, otherwise, the whole room was filled with candles and holly wreaths. Outside, the tree was also decorated. Will now triumphantly set the boar head in the middle of the table. Everything was prepared now.

The kids started cheering as Will did that. Finally, after weeks of planning and making sure that they had everything, the plan had worked.

"Yay!" Jenny called, excited. Alyss joined in with her laughter and even Horace and George looked extremely satisfied. Mistress Aggie came up to the children.

"Who wants to have the honour of going to inform Baron Arald?" she asked them. The children looked at each other and Jenny, Horace, and Will yelled: "ME!"

That was the furthest they've got. Then, the door swung open, letting cold air in, and in them, the big figure of Master Chubb thundered: "You little thief!"

Will immediately shrunk back. He didn't expect the cooks to find the boar head missing so soon. In retrospect, he probably should've anticipated that, but the 8-year-old didn't think it'd have such catastrophic consequences.

Mistress Aggie came forward.

"Please calm down, Master Chubb," she requested, her face unreadable. Will swallowed; this didn't seem well.

Master Chubb narrowed his eyes at her, but stood down, his face red from anger. Mistress Aggie then turned to Will.

"Will, would you like to tell us something?" she asked. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. Will looked down.

"Well… I asked for the boar head but Master Chubb didn't want to let me borrow it… so I borrowed it myself," he explained finally, refusing to meet her eyes. He heard the quiet gasps of his friends.

Master Chubb was once again red. "And do you know what we call that, boy? THEFT! It's called theft!"

At those words, Will shrunk back, hiding behind Mistress Aggie.

"Sorry," he mumbled, holding a fistful of her skirt and using it to cover his face. Mistress Aggie held up her hands.

"Please calm down, Master Chubb. I'm sure you can take the boar head back. What do you say, kids?"

The wards nodded hastily, neither of them wanting to get on Master Chubb's bad side.

"Sure!"

"Yep!"

"Definitely!"

The cook marched to the table, ready to take the food back when a quiet but clear voice made him stop.

"Or… you could hold the celebrations here."

Everyone whipped their heads to the corner where a small figure stood. Ranger Halt stepped out of the shadows, scaring the ward kids more. Even Chubb took a step back.

"R-Ranger Halt! I didn't see you there!"

Halt gave him a look, his brows furrowed. Master Chubb hid his ladle behind him.

"Hold the celebrations here? Sure, it wouldn't be a problem! I'm sure Baron Arald will welcome the change in scenery! Where will we seat all the people, though?"

Halt took a few steps towards him.

"I'm sure that no one would mind dining outside. We can get some more tables from the castle," he said, watching as Chubb paled.

"Outside? But that's… You can't expect his Lordship-"

"I can," Halt interrupted him, his tone firm. "I already took the liberty of informing him."

The ward children all looked at each other. They had no idea that Halt had already done that.

The Head cook narrowed his gaze.

"Very well, then. I trust that you're also taking care of the tables?"

Halt nodded.

"The tables are on their way down as we speak," he said, his tone remaining low. Master Chubb snorted but remained silent. He threw Will a nasty look.

"This time, you've been saved, boy, but the next time, I won't be so merciful."

With that, he turned and left the ward, slamming the door behind him.

Ranger Halt was the next to leave. He stopped and turned to Will.

"Today, you were lucky. But I might not be around to save you every time, boy."

Will gulped and nodded hastily, saying that he would pay attention the next time and definitely not try something like that again (at least not for the next couple of years). Ranger Halt swung his cloak and disappeared in one fluid motion.

As soon as he was gone, the ward kids hugged Will.

"We did it!" Alyss cried, hugging him tightly. Despite being crushed in bear hugs from all the other wards too, Will hugged her back.

"We really did," he replied, losing himself in the moment and enjoying just being there.

Everything was going according to the plan. Now, all that was left was to surprise Baron Arald.