Eight: LAD IN DISTRESS

#Wren

The noise was an unwelcome feature, then the smell of ale on every passing man. Why had I agreed to come? Surely I must have been out of my mind! I wrinkled my nose in disgust when yet another drunken stranger bumped carelessly into me.

"You look like you are about to die!" Hector laughed from beside me.

I looked down at his smaller form and frowned at the two, large mugs he was holding. He extended one to me and I shook my head vigorously.

"Relax, your grumpiness, it is just harmless apple cider. I got one for Henry and thought you would appreciate one too."

I accepted the mug and inspected it for finger prints and stains before bringing it to my mouth. But I could not quite do it, no matter how I tried. I sighed and lowered the mug, coming eye to eye with Hector's questioning look.

"You do not like apple juice?"

I shook my head, no, inwardly wincing at the lie.

The boy just shrugged, unfazed," We can get something else, then."

I shook my head again and he sighed. "You are not going to have any fun, are you?"

I looked around, what was fun about this place? Because I certainly could not see its charm! There was a stand of roasted corn over an open flame, with people just lining up to get one. The younger boys were lighting up their noisy playthings. The older men were drinking and dancing and making more noise than the children! No, there was nothing fun here.

"You are getting wrinkles from frowning so much!" Hector rolled his beautiful eyes, and I had to smile at that.

It appeared I was doing that a lot this night, smiling, and earlier, even laughing. Because Hector was amusing really. He was like a carefree child that said and did whatever came to mind, and I was beginning to enjoy that he was not intimidated by me. When Matthias had seen me here he had literally gaped, before laughing and waving at me. I had just frowned at him and walked away, deciding not to indulge the old man's amusement.

"Forget what I said about another drink, I am getting you some ale!"

I widened my eyes at that and glared at the boy, warning him not to try anything he would regret. He just winked at me before walking away. I sighed and looked away, rubbing my temple.

"What do we have here?" A voice said behind me.

I did turn around until Hector's voice said," Let me go!"

The man was filthy from head to toe, and his protruding beer belly was threatening to pop out a few buttons. He had Hector's left arm in his own right, and the boy was trembling before dropping the mug he held. He threw the other one in his right hand at the drunkard, making the filthy man grin and bare his yellow, rotten teeth. I grimaced and watched as the sneer grew on his face.

"Ya too pretty to be a lad, eh, I ought to make ya my little lass." He grabbed his short hair and tugged sideways, while Hector protested.

Hector made to shove him off but the man twisted his arm, making the boy cry out. I stepped forward and the man looked up at me. He was slightly shorter and had to raise his gaze. I glared at him and his brown eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Ya trying to scare me, eh?" He sneered, twisting Hector's arm even further as he tried to escape.

"I am not letting this one go! People come looking for fun here, well I just darn gone and found mine right here!"

He laughed and that made me clench my fists even more.

"Ya mute?" He narrowed his bloodshot eyes at me.

I grabbed the man's collar and looked him straight in the eye before he finally gulped.

"He yours, or something?" He spat.

I bit my tongue and let him go as he chuckled.

"I thought as much," he continued, turning to Hector. "I care not that he is a boy, he is pretty enough," he said, licking his chapped lips.

I looked at Hector's terrified face before throwing my first punch. I saw red, but I could not stop. Because I also kept seeing Hector's face in my head. Those bright eyes, filled with fear and helplessness. I had never thought I would see the day when Hector was vulnerable, but today I had. And that fueled me.

#Hazel

"Forget what I said about another drink, I am getting you some ale!" I teased.

Donoghue widened his eyes at my jest and glared at me with a warning look. I winked at him before walking away. Perhaps I would get him that drink after all!

"What do we have here?" A drunk man stood in front of me.

I rolled my eyes and tried to step around him as I held on to my mugs. But the man just grabbed my left arm hard, making me spill some of the juice.

"Let me go!" I screamed at him.

The man was dirty and he reeked of filth and ale! He held my left arm with his right hand, and my hand began shaking until I finally dropped the mug. I threw the juice in my other mug at the drunkard, making the man grin and bare his yellow teeth. He actually sneered at me!

"Ya too pretty to be a lad, eh, I ought to make ya my little lass." He grabbed and tugged my hair sideways, while I tried desperately to be free of his invasive grip to no avail.

He twisted my arm, making me cry out as I finally noticed Donoghue in front of us. The drunk's words to him were all a blur as I struggled to free myself.

"Ya mute?" He was asking Donoghue, before he grabbed the man's collar and looked him straight in the eye.

"He yours, or something?" He spat.

Donoghue let him go then as I looked on, helplessly.

"I thought as much," he continued, turning to me. "I care not that he is a boy, he is pretty enough," he said, licking his chapped lips.

I looked at him, no doubt appearing terrified before I saw Donoghue's first punch.

I watched on as he ploughed the man's face in. The other workers had finally gathered around and were cheering on, of course, men would always be men and sometimes adore violence. But they could not see what I saw, Donoghue was completely gone. Yes, he was mean most of the times, but he was not a bad person. And this man I was staring at was not the man I had begun to know. His eyes were as cold as ice and represented steel. They were no longer beautiful or hesitant, they meant to kill. He was angry, and I doubted it had anything to do with me anymore.

"Donoghue!" I called to him, praying he would stop.

He continued, another punch following another, and then another.

"Donoghue! Stop!" I screamed, knowing fully well I sounded like a girl right now, but I did not care.

All eyes turned to me and some of the men started snickering but I rolled my eyes and ignored them. I finally placed my hand on Donoghue's shoulder, making contact with an exposed part of his neck. I almost jumped back at the jolt I felt just as he turned to push me away. I fell to the ground and seconds later, Donoghue was looming over me with a worried look in his eyes. He appeared to be almost in tears and reached out to help me, only stopping when he saw the blood on his hands. I got to my feet and grabbed Donoghue's arm and thankfully he rose without a fight. The man seemed a giant now, I never would have been able to drag him away. The crowd parted as we walked through and we just kept walking until we got to the inn.

"I need to use your washroom, please."

The elder woman narrowed her eyes at me and shook her head.

"You ain't a guest, you ain't washing."

"You do not have a washroom for passing guests in the restaurant?" I asked, skeptically.

"The tavern one is it, darling." She sounded bored.

I sighed, knowing the men's room at the tavern would definitely be filthy. And I would definitely not be going inside there! I did not want to leave Donoghue on his own, not as how he looked right now, so I took out the few coins I had and placed them on the counter. And a smile emerged on her face.

"Will that be enough?" I asked impatiently.

"For an hour or two, yes. But this man of yours looks like a stallion, might have to pay a couple extra coins." She finished off with a wink and held out her hand.

I growled at her and she laughed as she got a key for us. "Might want to try a dress darling, men do not really fancy the stubborn, unrefined types."

She winked again and I groaned, grabbing the key from her and walking away. We walked in silence as we searched for the door with our key number, the least that woman could have done was show us the room! I opened the door and dragged Donoghue inside, but he shrugged me off and sat on the bed. I left for the washroom and brought back a basin with some water inside.

"Wash your hands, please," I said, holding out the bowl.

He ignored me, still staring at his hands. He was beginning to scare me now, but I just stood there, patiently. I kept talking, calling his name several times until he looked up at me. He just kept staring at me, with those piercing steel eyes, never uttering a word. I felt heat in my face and he finally looked away.

"Donoghue?"

He looked up at me and gave me a lopsided smile," The inkee-keeper thought you are a woman."

I laughed nervously and scratched my head, "I suppose I have that look about me."

He narrowed his eyes and studied me again carefully, making me slightly uncomfortable.

"Hmm, I suppose so." He said, but ended there.

"And you, apparently, look like quite the stallion," I wiggled my brows at him, hoping to get a laugh out of him.

He frowned and tilted his head," Wh-what is that even su-suppo-posed to mean?"

I widened my eyes, then shook my head, chuckling.

"And you own horses?"

He frowned at me even more and I waved my hand dismissively, "Do not mind me, let us just clean you up, alright?"

He nodded and washed his hands while I held the basin for him. The blank look was back on his face once more, his grey eyes just staring ahead. I called him several times before he finally looked up at me.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, "I hurt you."

"I am right as rain," I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Ce-certain?"

I nodded, "I am alright."

"Why are yo-you not sc-sca-scared of me?"

I grinned at him," Who says I am not?"

He shook his head at my antics and looked away again.

"What was that out there? Why did you lose control like that?"

He looked up at me slowly before answering, "He attacked you, and I co-couldn't let it go."

He clenched his fists and I drew back in surprise, he felt overprotective of me? Was that what that was about?

"You defended me, thank you." I said softly, to hopefully calm him.

"I am not a good man," he said in almost a whisper.

I shook my head vigorously, "That is not true; you just try to appear that way."

He narrowed his eyes at me before standing up," You know nothing!"

"I know that you continuously prove to-"

"No! Do not create some image of me that is not real!"

I knew he was angry when he did not stammer. I put the basin down and looked him straight in the eye, straining my neck in the process.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing! Perhaps you should take care of yourself more! Not look so vulnerable!"

I gasped, "So that was my fault?"

"Everything is your fault," he mumbled, and I reached out to touch his arm.

"We are not friends!" He shrugged me off and burst out.

"Then why did you come out here?" I shot back.

He just growled that he should not have, then shoved me out of the way before storming out. I sighed and threw myself onto the bed, placing my arm over my eyes. What was I doing here? Donoghue obviously had nightmares I did not want to unearth, but my stubborn mind refused to accept that. I did not even what outcome and ending I expected out of all this, but here I was, pushing anyway. And stupidly spending all the money I had so that he could clean up!! Because I had not worked a full month, Matthias had generously given my brother and me some pocket money instead. We would only begin receiving a wage the following month.

The old woman raised a brow at me when I returned her key, making me roll my eyes.

"I am not a girl," I growled, surprising myself with how much I sounded like Donoghue.

Her eyes widened at that then she smirked," Oh so you are one of those?"

"Not that either. I just wanted to help my..." what was he, a friend, my employer? "..Friend."

She sighed in obvious disappointment, "Well, your friend is lucky he is not this fast! But he is such a handsome devil, that he is!"

I bit my lip to hide the smile I felt coming on, then walked away to find my brother. He was with boys his own age, with this look of happiness about him. They were lighting fire crackers, rushing away before the tiny, explosive playthings popped. I stopped to just look at him, thanking God I had done the right thing.

"Henry!" I called out.

He heard me the first time, and ran to me.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Let us go home," I said.

:::::

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"Something happened with him again, am I right?" My brother stood tall in front of me.

I sighed," It is a daily occurrence, Henry, nothing to be alarmed about.

I wondered how he had not heard of the spectacle Donoghue had caused, but I was glad. I did not need him knowing that even as a boy, I was not safe. I ran a hand through my hair, I needed a haircut. And so did Henry, I looked up at him and frowned as we approached our door.

"There is something at the door," my brother rushed and crouched to pick it up.

"What is it," I asked, searching for our key in my pocket.

Henry shook the box as I unlocked the door, walking in after me.

"There is a note with your name on it."

I turned around quickly at that, a note, for me? From who? Henry handed me the note, which had Hector written in the most meticulous of hand writings.

"Secret admirer?" I looked at Henry as he wiggled his brows, making me roll my eyes.

I hoped what he was saying was not true, the last thing I needed was one of the girls eyeing me! I hesitantly opened the note and a smile broke on my face at the single word.

FRIENDS? It said.

I grabbed the box from Henry and opened it, revealing the most beautiful coat I had ever owned. And it was exactly my size. I closed my eyes and breathed it in, oh Donoghue. Friends it was.