Chapter 7 - The Cheerful Farmer
March 22nd, 1803
It was midafternoon when Arthur and Alistair left for Lovina's. Alistair had learned that Lovina's family owned the farm, the one he and Arthur passed when going into town. He heard Arthur swear, casting a glance over his shoulder he saw Arthur bent over, struggling to pull his foot out of the mud. It had rained the night before leaving the ground thick in mud.
"Ya need some help there, lad?" he called, a trademark smirk on his face. Arthur looked up at him with a scowl, his eyebrows furrowed.
"How kind of you to offer your services, but I will rather not rely on someone like you for help," the blonde spat, continuing to pull his leg.
Alistair scowled. "I'm trying to be nice, but I guess the English don't like that," he muttered to himself, walking back toward Arthur. The Brit didn't seem to notice Alistair sneaking up behind him as he quickly wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist. Arthur yelped in surprise and began to smack Alistair as he tried to free himself from the Scots grasp, swearing at him as he did.
"Calm the hell down ya little brat! I'm trying tae get you out o' the fecking mud!" Alistair growled, tugging the Brit upward with no success.
"You bloody Scot let go of me, I can get out of the god damn mud myself!" Arthur protested, continuing to squirm under the Scots grasp.
Alistair tightened his grip, "And look where that's gotten ye. Like it or not I'm going tae get ya out o' here."
He heard Arthur give a mumbled "fine" before his squirming ceased. "Are ye ready?" Alistair asked.
"Yes! Now get on with it already!" Arthur snapped.
Alistair pulled the Brit up with all his strength, the mud releasing its suction like hold with a loud squelch. The force knocked Alistair off balance. He staggered back as he tried to keep his footing but slipped, taking Arthur down with him.
Alistair landed in the mud, Arthur falling on top of him with a grunt. As they laid there, sprawled out in the mud, Arthur suddenly burst out laughing, rolling off Alistair and into the mud. His shoulders shaking along with his fit of laughter. Alistair stared in confusion. This isn't like Arthur at all, did the fall knock a few screws loose or something? he wondered.
"Lad are you ok? Yer not going mental on me now are you?" He asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
The Brit shook his head, "No, no I'm perfectly fine. I was just imagining Lovina's face when she sees us caked in mud. He looked down to inspect shirt, frowning slightly. "Oh god, it's worse than I thought. We are absolutely filthy!" Arthur exclaimed, gesturing to both his and Alistair's clothes.
"A little mud won't do ye no harm. Come on now lad we don't want tae be late," the Scot said, pushing himself up and moving past Arthur toward the farmhouse.
Arthur trailed behind him, his thoughts drifting. His daydreaming was suddenly cut short as he ran straight into something. Stumbling back he heard a deep growl, he now knew exactly what he had run into. Slowly he looked up, eyes meeting with an annoyed pair of dark green.
"Stop spacing out and watch where yer going, brat," Alistair warned, making sure his point got across before continuing to the farmhouse.
Arthur sighed and started following him again, this time walking beside Alistair so there was no chance of bumping into him.
Once at the farmhouse they climbed the front steps, Arthur knock on the door. There was a sudden crash inside the house and a few curse words thrown in. Then the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard, growing louder as it approached the door.
The door flung open to reveal an annoyed looking Lovina, "What the fuck do- oh it's just you," she sighed, resting her head against the doorframe.
"You could of made an effort to at least sound excited to see me," Arthur scoffed.
Lovina groaned, waving him off. "I'm too fucking tired to act like I give a shit about that."
Lovina raised an eyebrow when she noticed the men's clothes. "Mother of god, what the hell happened to you!?" she exclaimed, looking over both his and Alistair mud coated bodies.
"And you just noticed this now?" Arthur joked. Lovina's gaze flicked back to him, "Don't avoid the question," she growled.
Arthur was about to answer when Alistair interrupted. "This genius got his foot stuck in the mud and was making a big fuss about it. I graciously offered my help, but I guess he didn't want tae sacrifice the small amount o' pride he had left an' refused. I wouldn't take no fer an answer an' yanked him out o' the mud anyway. I may or may not have slipped in the process, dragging the brat down with me," he finished, a mocking smirk tugging on his lips.
Lovina snickered, "I like your style, Alistair."
"Don't compliment him you bloody git!" Arthur spat.
The Italian gasped, acting as though she was hurt, "You can be so mean sometimes, Arthur."
"Bugger off," he grumbled, attempting to enter the house before Lovina quickly blocked the doorway.
"Oh don't even think about stepping in my freshly cleaned house when the two of you look like that," she warned.
Alistair leaned up against the railing, "Well how are we going to wash up then?" Lovina now bore an evil grin, an idea came to mind.
"Oh don't worry I have an idea." Arthur instantly turned pale, he didn't like the sound of that. In that moment the Italian left her post at the door, grabbing both Alistair and Arthur's hands and dragged them down the steps to the back of the house.
At the back of the house was a large, wooden wash tub that was placed a few feet away from the house. Right next to it was a water pump that stood at about three and a half feet. Lovina released their hands and told them to start pumping water in the tub. The two men stared in confusion as they watched Lovina run off, disappearing into the nearby shed. Alistair shrugged, "Whatever you say." He stood beside the pump, pulling the lever up and then with more force pushed down. After a few more times he began to set a rhythm, sounding off each action in his head, up, down, up, down.
It had been a few minutes since Lovina left and Arthur was beginning to feel bored. Leaving his position next to the house he walked over to where Alistair was and sat in the grass beside the tub. Leaning over the rim of the tub he watched as the water slowly began to rise. Humming as he stuck his fingers in, the water feeling cool against his skin.
Alistair looked up from the pump to see Arthur leaning against the tub, drawing lazy circles in the water. Sunlight bounced off the surface of the water, reflecting ripples of blue against the Brits face. He looked so peaceful and innocent, something that was hard to come by now a days. Quickly he pushed away the weak sentimental emotions invading his mind, he couldn't let them get in the way. Not now.
A few metal clangs sounded from the shed, snapping Alistair back to reality.
The Brit jumped at the sound. "I'm afraid to know what she's looking for in there," he whispered, eyes now focused on the shed.
A smirk played at Alistair's lips, "Is little ol' Artie afraid o' a women?" the Scot teased.
Arthur shot him a glare, "Don't you dare mock me! I have a perfectly good reason to be afraid. After being around her for years I know exactly what she is capable of. You on the other hand, only met her yesterday so you have no right to make fun of me," he spat. "And my names Arthur not Artie!"
Before Alistair could put in another insult Lovina appeared from the shed, carrying three metal buckets. Alistair glanced over at Arthur who seemed to relax a little after seeing Lovina emerge, not carrying any sort of weapon... unless buckets counted, but don't sweat the small stuff.
"I was beginning to wonder if you were dragged into the depths of the shed," Alistair joked.
Lovina rolled her eyes, setting the buckets down beside the tub. Looking over at Arthur she scowled. "I don't hear any concern coming out of your fuckin' mouth. Some friend you are."
Arthur shrugged, "Why should I? You can handle yourself just fine." Alistair could tell he was joking, he wasn't so sure if Lovina could though.
His theory was confirmed as the Italians face started to turn an angry shade of red. "You little shit!" she yelled, filling a bucket with water and dousing Arthur with it.
Arthur was frozen in shock, his mouth a gape. Alistair burst out laughing, clutching his sides. "Oh god, you look like you just drowned!" Arthur however wasn't so amused. Grabbing one of the buckets he dunked it in the water. Alistair didn't seem to realize what he was doing until it was to late. A now dripping wet Scotsmen glared at Arthur.
"What was that? I think the same could be said for you," Arthur smirked.
"Ooo looks like Arthur took you down a peg or two," Lovina snickered. "Well I'll let you two work out your differences. If you two kids need me to dry off just yell or something." Waving a good-bye she headed toward the back door.
The two men looked at each other and nodded, both having the same idea in mind. Quickly filling up their buckets they made sure Lovina's back was turned. Alistair counted to three with his fingers, both throwing water all over the Italian.
The Italian shrieked in surprise and spun around to face them, beat red with rage. "You two are so fucking dead," she growled, chasing after them. Before long all three of them were drenched, clothes heavy with water. They now sat on the porch steps to air dry themselves.
"I'm glad my kids weren't here to see that. It would have been fucking embarrassing, I mean three adults throwing water at each other just looks ridiculous," Lovina sighed.
"The original plan was for Alistair and I to wash up, we just did it in a more child-like way," Arthur added.
"Thank you Arthur for those words of wisdom," Alistair mocked. Only to have Arthur punch him in the arm, and tell him to 'shut his bloody mouth'.
As they chatted there was the familiar sound of footsteps. To Alistair's surprise Lovina perked up a bit. As the footsteps drew closer Alistair was able to see who it was. The man had an olive skin tone, though darker than Lovina's, somewhat curly chocolate brown hair and a pair of bright green eyes. He also seemed to be carrying some kind of sack.
"Lovi~ I'm home~" the man smiled, waving in their direction. Alistair was blown away by how cheerful the man sounded. Who the hell can be that fucking happy? It's just not normal, it's probably just 'cause he's messed up in the head, he thought.
"What took ya so long, tomato bastard!" she shouted, getting up from her spot on the porch.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, "Lo siento. Lars was giving me a hard time, had to knock him out just to calm him down," the man said, not seeming to notice the two men on the porch. Hmm so he's Spanish... then I'm not surprised he's messed up in the head. The Spanish can be so weird at times. Alistair thought, shaking his head slightly.
Lovina looked like she was about to say something but stopped as the Spaniard's eyes turned dark.
The Spaniard glared and pointed at Arthur. "What is he doing here?" he snarled. The sudden change in the man's attitude caught Alistair off guard. He was curious how Arthur, of all people could flip the switch on this guy without even lifting a finger. He must have a grudge or something, Alistair concluded.
"Antonio calm the fuck down please, I invited them over," Lovina scowled.
"Them?" Antonio asked, now noticing Alistair.
"Yes Antonio there is another person here, or were you just too oblivious to notice his presence," Arthur mocked as he gestured toward Alistair. Antonio shot Arthur a dark look that could easily be translated to 'I will kill you if you don't shut up'.
Lovina face palmed and shook her head. "Arthur, you're not helping." The Brit put his hands up as if to surrender. "So onto the shitty introductions. Antonio this is Alistair, he's the one who's staying with Arthur. He's not like eyebrows over there, so I think you will get along." Alistair heard Arthur mutter something after the last part.
Antonio smiled at the Scot before turning to Lovina. "Can I introduce myself, I have a feeling you will insult me if I let you do it," he chuckled.
"Shut the fuck up!" she snapped. "Ugh! Never mind just get on with it."
"Thank you Lovi~ I guess I will start with my name then. My name is Antonio Fernández Carriedo".
A/N: So I am sort of back from my long hiatus :)
It still might be awhile until the next update since school is starting soon, but I will try my best.
Auf Wiedersehen für jetzt - Scottish Hills