"Why, hello there!" said a voice from above me. "I've seen both hen and mare in here, but not once have I seen a girl." He laughed.
I opened my eyes to see a boy, maybe fifteen, with dark blue eyes and light, almost blond, brown hair. He was in mud and dung-stained trousers and a dark green shirt. He was barefoot and leaning on the handle of a pitchfork. Despite his ragged and tattered appearance, I swore he was gorgeous.
"What?" I asked groggily while trying to rub my eyes my hands still tied. His hair was tousled and unkempt. He swept his hair out of his face and wearing a cocky grin. "I know what you're thinking." I began.
"All right, then, tell me what I'm thinking." He still smiled.
"You're wondering why there's a strange girl tied up in a barn and who she is." I replied, motioning my hands to show the rope.
"Close, but not exactly. I'm wondering what a pretty girl like you is doing in a place like this."
I couldn't help but blush a bit. He was so beautiful and called a lowly thief like me pretty. It was hard to believe, considering how most people react when they see me. "I'm a thief." His cocky grin did not change. "And I'm not pretty." I looked him in the face so he could see my eyes. He didn't take a step back or even gawk. He just stood there and smiled.
"And you've got pretty eyes," he replied. "What's your name?"
I almost forgot about that. What name would I tell this charming boy? If I say my real name, he may know of me and I will surely be hanged. I will take on a new name. Ellie? No, most people call me that already. Ellen? Too similar. Mess around a bit with it. Helen? That will do. A surname? Hmm… I looked around me. Mud? Maybe. Mudd? That will work for now.
"My name is Helen Mudd. And what shall I call you?" I asked.
"They call me Luke Miller, son of Matthew and Deborah. I have a sister and a brother who live in Locksley."
"If you're a miller, than why are you a stable boy?" It seemed like a good question to ask. "And I don't think this is Locksley, isn't it?"
"You're a smart girl, you are." He sat himself down on a pile of what I hoped was only hay. "You're right. This isn't Locksley, this is Bonchurch. And I'm not a miller, my dad is. I'm only here because there's some money in it, and I need to help my family. Ever since the Earl's last stable boy ran off, he needed a new one. I volunteered. It doesn't pay much, but it's better than nothing." He still smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"You seem a bit old to be a stable boy." I told him.
"Yeah, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, if you like." His expression never changed. "And I know why you're here." I froze. Of course he would know. A chambermaid tells a cook who would tell a laundress who would in turn tell a stable boy.
"Alright then, tell me why I'm here. Tell me about myself." I smiled to confuse him. "Show me what you've got."
"You're a thief," Luke began. He was painfully correct. "You came late last night, tried to steal some food from the kitchen, and were caught by Mary, a cook cleaning up for the night. She turned you in to the Earl and he had you cast out into this barn until he knew what to do with you." Luke's smile faded when he paused. "But he has made up his mind. You're to go to Nottingham at midday. You've got yourself a date with the Devil."
Damn! Damn it and damn him! Why can't he just let it go? Can't he se I'm just a starving orphan? He's a swine and because of that foul bastard I'm going to hang! Damn it all! I have to find a way to get out of this, I thought.
"Could you please help a poor girl by unbinding her hands?" I pleaded, showing big eyes and bound hands.
"Sorry, can't do that. Master's orders," he answered. "As much as I'd love to," He gave me a wink and continued to his chores. I settled myself into my corner and watched his morning go.
He shoveled hay and oats to several draft horses, cleaned out the stables, brushed every horse, slaughtered a chicken, took it outside (likely to the kitchen), and returned a while later with a wooden tray and bowl. On the tray was a chunk of bread and cheese, along with an apple. In the bowl he was struggling to steady, was a soup of chicken and vegetables. He sat down on an overturned barrel and set the wooden tray on his lap. I stayed where I was, it being extremely difficult to walk about while having my hands and ankles bound. It was even more difficult to watch him eat.
"You probably haven't eaten in days, have you?" Luke asked. He must have seen me eyeing his food.
"Three days, I think. Not since…Tuesday? It might have been Tuesday." I nodded.
"Hmm…" he mused. He thought for a moment, and did the unexpected. He tossed me his apple.
I crawled towards where the apple rolled. I grabbed it like a starving dog after a chunk of meat. The only thing I could do was to try to eat with my bound hands. And it was a pathetic sight, it was. I tried to eat the apple without dropping it, which was a challenge itself. I only dropped it twice, feeling much better after finishing it. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at my distress. I wanted to kick him from across the stable, but managed to scowl at him instead. He simply kept on smiling.
"You know, I don't have to eat this all by myself. This meal can be shared." He broke the bread in two, and the cheese in two unequal pieces. Luke then walked towards me and sat down directly in front of me, close enough for me to grab food off his tray, and not so close that it would be awkward. He then took my hands and put the bread into my palms. He then gave me the larger piece of cheese.
"Oh my," I breathed. "Bless you, Luke Miller. God bless you." I thanked him.
"Don't say that."
"Say what?"
"'Bless you'. It makes you sound like a crone."
"Oh, um…sorry, I guess." I stuttered. He smiled at me, and I returned the gesture. "Thank you, Luke." I repeated myself.
There was no reply. He let me east in peace. There was no conversation, we ate in silence - he to his stew and bread, and me to my bread and cheese. It was absolutely quiet, minus a hen clucking or a horse neighing. Until he said the strangest thing, "Robin of Locksley is back from the Holy Land. Mary, the cook, told me. She's the one who caught you last night. Apparently he was wounded in battle or something, and he came home with his servant to get better. He's a good man and should set Locksley straight." I smiled at the thought. Maybe Robin Hood could fix the whole county.
"Luke!" I heard a voice call from outside. A small, plump woman in a dirty blue dress and white headscarf, holding a basket of laundry, poked her head into the barn and said "Luke, get to work. The master's coming."
"Thanks, Sarah." Luke replied. He got up, grabbed a shovel and started mucking the horses' stable. "You've got yourself a date with the Devil." He looked at me.
A tall man in flowing green robes and slicked-back brown hair and a mustache walked into the barn. He stepped heavily, but stepped out of the way of a pile of dung.
"Boy! Did I not tell you to clean this up? Get to it!" He shouted. I looked down in both fear and humility. Luke turned and bowed to the Earl.
"Yes, my lord. I didn't see it, my lord. I'm sorry, my lord. I'll get to it now my lord. It won't happen again, I swear-"
"That's enough!" He raised his hand for silence. I shrank back into a corner. "Now, how has this little thief been?" The Earl asked.
"She's been babbling about how it isn't her fault, and she was starving, and how guilty she feels, and how much she's been praying for the Lord's forgiveness. I had to give her food to shut her up." I scowled at Luke, but he winked at me. What is he thinking?
"Hmm… how did you like your stay so far?" the Earl asked me. I froze. If I said something wrong, I'll surely be hanged. I looked up at him in fear and began to quiver in my corner. "Answer me!" he shouted. I thought he was going to slap me, so I hid my face. It didn't come, thankfully.
"I-I was in good company." I looked over at Luke. He stared ominously and mouthed what I thought were "a date with the Devil".
"Well, then. We must be going. You will meet with the Sheriff today. He won't be kept waiting."
"Will I be riding in the carriage, or on my own horse?" I asked shyly.
"There is a carriage outside, but you won't be in it." The Earl smiled and turned away to leave, watching his step closely.
"You know you're going to die today, right?" Luke asked with a grim face.
"Well, if I die today or tomorrow, at least I'll have started the day with a lovely boy." I smiled, and he attempted to return the face. There was fear behind both of our smiles.
"You! Boy!" The Earl turned to face Luke. "Tie up two horses to my carriage. And tie her to the back."
"Yes, my lord." He answered and grabbed a rope off the wall. Luke walked over to me, with the length of rope, tying it to my bound hands saying "sorry" every so often. The Earl left the barn. "I hope the Sheriff doesn't hang you." I hope so, too. He didn't smile. Neither did I.
Luke picked up the rope, and walked me outside to the carriage. My rope was tied to a hook on the back of the coach. He took the knife he used to cut the cheese with to cut the rope around my ankles. As soon as I was tied, the Earl shouted at Luke. "Boy! Get my driver!"
"Yes, my lord." Luke bowed his head and left. I stood outside for several minutes until the driver and horse were set to the carriage. When all was set and tied, the Earl stepped into his carriage.
"Driver!" shouted the Earl. "To Nottingham!"