Maybe He Won't Notice

"Hurry, get it in place before he wakes up," Ethyn tilted the table sideways to get it through the door.

"You know this will, uh, never pass inspection," Conall grumbled.

"You could have helped me more, you know." The boy tried to shift the blame.

"I'm a mayor and an innkeeper, not a skilled carpenter who can make magic in a few hours. Any way, you should be glad the local carpenter had any wood to spare at all. I would like to have seen you try to do this without the ready wood."

The pair lowered the table in place and pushed in the chairs. The surface had a lean to one side and the 'square' seemed to be wider at one end than the other. The men tilted their heads.

"It's close enough, wouldn't you say?" Ethyn stroked his chin. "Maybe Silver won't notice the difference," the young man said hopefully.

"Why do I get the feeling you had the same hope about the burned spot on the old table?" The mayor tried to brush off a rugged part of the table top and got a splinter. He winced, popping his finger in his mouth to suck out the sliver.

"Oh, you saw that spot?" Ethyn's ears reddened.

Conall spit out the splitter. "I saw it and smelled it. Much like this new creation, it was impossible to miss.

"I see. Well, then we best go and let Silver enjoy his new table whenever he wakes." Ethyn ushered the mayor toward the door.

"When you say enjoy…you, uh, really mean you don't want to be here when he finds what you built for him…"

The redhead cleared his throat awkwardly. "To-may-toe, Toe-mah-tow. Same thing!"

When Silver woke up after a few hours of rest, he felt refreshed. Normally his rest was very troubled, but with the biggest mystery of his life finally being solved, he found that his sleep was utterly peaceful.

The Guardian looked at the trunk at the end of the bed—Haven's things from before she left. A small smile came to his face. 'She doesn't need those anymore, you old fool.' He chuckled. 'That girl had all the finest things.'

Until he had actually seen Haven in the flesh, his mind had always frozen her as that bubbly, perfect little girl. Now he knew better. She was a bubbly, perfect young woman.

Coming out of the bedroom, the Guardian saw his newest piece of furniture. "What is that abomination!" He muttered angrily.

The two men had salvaged the legs from Silver's previous table and then cobbled together whatever wood they could find to make a new top. The boards were mismatched in color and surface.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the boy went begging for wood scraps!" The Guardian thought about it for a moment. "No, that's exactly what he did. There's no way he was able to plane boards and all that in so short of a time…" Silver pinched the bridge of his nose. "He isn't going to get away with that."

Leaving behind his somewhat avant-garde new centerpiece, the Guardian marched down the lane toward the mayor's home. Sage's house gave him the briefest pause, but he was too upset to stop.

"That man must think I'm stupid. A rabid wolf could build something better than that with his eyes closed." The Guardian continued to mutter as he neared the mayor's home. The more he thought about the sad excuse for a table, the angrier he got.

Silver was more than ready to give Ethyn a piece of his mind when he reached the mayor's doorstep. However, before he could knock, the door flung wide and three tiny beings tackled him to the ground.

"Got you, Uncle Silver!" The older boy called.

"Uncle Ethyn told us you were coming down the lane, so we decided to welcome you," the oldest child said as she laughed musically.

"You don't mind, do you?" The younger boy chirped.

Silver looked at her cheery young face that looked so much like her mother Lily. His anger faded. "It is nice to have a proper welcome. Too bad I have to settle for you munchkins!"

The Guardian scooped up the trio amidst laughter and childish squeals and carried them inside. Katherine and Lily along with their husbands were waiting inside. Aiden and Ethyn were also watching the raucous display of childhood enthusiasm.

Silver dumped the little people in a heap on the floor. They tried to climb him once again, only for the first to grab at his hood to receive a gentle shock of warning.

"Let the poor man alone," Lily told them, taking the hint from the magical cloth.

"They are fine," Silver handed the smallest of the children to his mother. "If I can't handle some roughhousing from these little warriors, how am I ever going to deal with a real problem?"

Silver's hood shifted toward Ethyn and redhead knew that he was the problem in question. The Guardian ghosted over to the knight's side so quickly that Ethyn barely saw him move.

"I know you sent the kids after me to soften me up…" he growled menacingly. "…well played."

The burden from Ethyn's face passed like a cloud beyond the horizon. The corners of his lips lifted.

"It was one of my more brilliant moves, I must say." He lowered his head. "I will get you a better table."

"You bet you will!" Silver slapped the man on the back. "You are soon to be a knight who will be renowned throughout the land. You can at least spare this old man a table from your fortune you will amass."

"What is this about a table?" Katherine asked. She had left and returned with a platter of dried fruit, bread and cheese and set it on the table.

"Ethyn was practicing his new warrior skills on my table and the table lost." Silver said blandly. It actually made the boy look better than saying that he started a fire, so the redhead simply nodded.

"I was a little overeager," he admitted.

After shaking Aiden's and Aristo's forearms, the Guardian scanned the room and realized that all of them had gathered there to greet him. "How are things at the inn?" he asked Katherine.

"I closed down the tavern for the evening. Since you couldn't be there for Ethyn's welcome home party, we thought that we would recreate the moment." Katherine responded, her eyes crinkling at her words.

"Closing down the tavern, eh? Taking after our dearest Sage, I see. Though closing twice in one week cannot be good business." Silver held up his finger in objection.

"With Conall's mayoral sum from the Baron, we do not need the money. And the food is too good to ignore when we are open," the stalwart woman said with pride. "Now everyone find a seat. We brought over the food over from the now-closed inn. I hope you all are ready to feast!"

The group gathered around the long table, which doubled for a meeting table during town halls. The children elbowed one another to sit by their uncle, but in the end the oldest let her younger brothers have the honors. The food, which was far more than the humble group could eat, was brought out and laid on the table.

"Tell us about your adventures, Uncle Silver!" the youngest child begged.

"Silver cannot always talk about the missions he goes on," Lily scolded the boy. "Forgive him." She tilted her head in apology.

"I will not tell you about my mission, but I will tell you a fantastical story about a man in a cloak who snuck into a castle. Remember this is a pretend story and probably does not have a single fact in it, alright?" The Guardian's eyes flashed silver. He retold the story of his entry and escape, leaving out the violent parts and the princess. The first was left out for the children's sake and the second was removed because he was not ready to discuss it.

When he finished, the children clapped and cheered. "I hoped the cloaked man left a token of some sort to mark his victory," the older boy said.

Silver blushed beneath his hood. "That would be very dramatic. You have been reading too many adventure stories. Your teacher must be very proud."

He looked toward Aiden and saw him nod. "Kai is the star student of the class. The school mistress speaks quite highly of him." The former soldier spoke affectionately about both the lady he loved and the student she complimented.

"Well done." Silver patted the boy on the back.

Kai beamed. "Thank you! Now, I would like a true story, please."

"I am not the person for that." Silver placed a bit of warm, sumptuous meat in his mouth. He had not realized just how hungry he was. "Give this old man a little time to eat..." he said with his mouth full.

"You aren't old," Kai arched his back, ready to push further. Then he saw his mother's warning glare and changed tactics. "Fine. Uncle Ethyn? Tell us again about you time at the castle. Especially the part about the princess."

Both Ethyn and Silver choked but for different reasons. The sputtering lasted until both could get a drink.

"I don't want to rehash all that just now. Silver is the only one who hasn't heard and I am sure he is too tired for all that..." Ethyn looked down at his plate.

"No need to be shy, my boy!" Conall pounded his fist lightly on the table. "We don't mind hearing it again."

"And I am well rested," the Guardian added, though his fists seemed slightly clenched. "Please tell me all about your time at the palace. And don't leave out the part about the princess. That seems like the best part."