Days passed before Silver saw Sage again. The Guardian walked by her house occasionally, but Sage was always at work. Silver dared not pass by the tavern; deep down he knew that looking for her was looking for trouble.
Finally, one day when Silver was walking with Ethyn after a hard day's work, Sage appeared ahead of them in the street. All thoughts of trouble fled from the Guardian's mind when he saw the beautiful brunette. Ethyn, on the other hand, openly cringed when he saw her, making an involuntary gag when she turned and sauntered towards them.
Silver scolded the boy as she approached, "Now we talked about this. Sage was very upset the last time you talked to her. This is your chance to make a better impression."
Ethyn held up his hands exasperated. "Like I said before, I never said that! Whether or not I feel that way, I would never say it to her face," he told the man, "Sage made the whole thing up!"
"It is not right that you should call her a liar," Silver wagged his finger in Ethyn's face.
"Go easy on the boy," Sage said, catching the last bit of conversation. "He is still young and an orphan. You cannot expect too much."
Instantly, Silver backed off. Ethyn's shoulders slumped. If Silver listened to Sage over him, there was little hope. "I may be an orphan but at least I do not lie to get people in trouble," the boy muttered. He kicked the dirt and stared at his shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the world. Sage smiled down at him but it never reached her eyes. She turned her attention on the Guardian.
"You are just the mysterious stranger I was looking for," Sage cooed with a wink. "I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner?"
Nodding, Silver's voice pleasantly replied, "Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing, but only if Ethyn can join us."
Ethyn and Sage piped in simultaneously, "No!"
"I can fend for myself," Ethyn argued.
"He should not have to listen to adults talk all evening," Sage contended. In a sweeter tone she added, "Why don't we drop him off at Lily's for the evening? Since the tavern is closed today, she's available. Lily just loves children…Not that I don't, of course."
"Of course," Silver agreed to both of her assertions.
Ethyn rolled his eyes. Silver's attention was so fully on Sage that Ethyn felt sure that even if it started raining cattle, the Guardian would not notice. The boy started to argue again on his own merits and capabilities, but Silver had decided.
"I am not going to leave you alone to wreak havoc on all of Rynnlee. Remember the incident with the baker yesterday?" The Guardian's eyes flashed.
"The bread was in the window. Haven't you ever heard of a free lunch?" Ethyn crossed his arms.
"That is bad enough, but then you thought it was not warm enough and tried to use his special oven yourself. I spent the rest of the day digging mud from the river to patch the crack you made in the oven's clay wall. You are very lucky it was fixable." The topic was still a sore subject. The Guardian had felt bad enough that he had even slipped the baker a few coins to lessen the baker's anger.
"But!" Ethyn wanted to tell him that the fault was in the baker's oven. However, he was not sure that was true nor did he think it would help his case. Silver cut him off before he got the chance to find out.
"I need someone to keep an eye on you." Silver dropped his crossed arms and added in a kinder tone, "Lily will be good company. If her husband is anywhere as sweet as she, you are in for a treat."
The boy sighed in resignation. "Fine. Anything is better than watching you and Sage. No one should have to suffer that abuse." Ethyn mumbled under his breath.
Sage's brown eyes darkened, "You ungrateful vagabond!" She took a step toward him.
"Better a vagabond than a jezebel," the boy shot back with a fiery glare.
Silver stepped between them and used his hands to separate the pair. They were coming close to blows, he feared. "Stop!" he said firmly, "I will not stand around and watch you both behave like this."
Averting her eyes, Sage's cheeks blushed crimson. She could not believe that she let Silver see this side of her. The brunette was usually so poised. This child was raking on her nerves, but she would not let him win. With her delicate hands, she smoothed her dress and regained her winsome smile. "You are so right. I do not know what came over me. Please forgive me. I forgot you were only an impudent child."
"What kind of apology was that?" Ethyn retorted. "You literally just name-called again." Ethyn threw up his hands in exasperation. How could Silver not see it?
The guardian's eyes narrowed. "That is not respectful, Ethyn."
"She started it." Ethyn pointed out in vain.
Silver held up his hand for the boy to stop. "I do not care who started it. I am finishing it. Apologize."
"I am sorry." Ethyn said with gritted teeth. His words were right, but his eyes shot daggers at the woman. 'Ignore it, or we'll be here all evening,' he told himself. Silver heaved a heavy sigh.
"And please do not call Ethyn names. He does not like it. Honestly, I do not either." Silver looked at the woman, hoping she would understand.
"I had no idea the boy was so sensitive. Forgive me, Young Man." Sage dipped her body in a sarcastic curtsy toward the boy. Then she batted her eyes at the Guardian. "A proper home will do Ethyn all the good in the world. I will be happy to help him find one."
"I have a home, thank you very much," Ethyn responded before Silver could.
"He is right," Silver agreed, clapping his hands to close the matter. "Now shall we be off?"
"Where? To my babysitter?"
Silver turned on the boy, and Ethyn knew his sarcastic words had been a mistake. "What did you say?" Silver asked carefully.
"Nothing. I will go quietly," Ethyn said, resigned.
Silver's shoulder's relaxed and clapped his young friend on the shoulder. "That is my boy."
After Sage went home, grabbed her shawl, and surreptitiously fixed her hair, the trio set off down the lane. Sage held fast to Silver's arm, and Ethyn sensed that he enjoyed her touch more than his gruff manner implied.
Lily lit up as she opened the door to her friends. "Come in!" she chirped excitedly, ushering them inside. "To what do I owe this wonderful visit?"
Silver cleared his throat, but it was Sage who began to speak. "Lily, Silver and I need to ask a favor of you."
Lily nodded with a gracious smile. "Anything."
"Be a dear and keep an eye on Ethyn for the evening. I told you about Ethyn." Sage nudged Ethyn forward.
"He has been staying with me," Silver added in explanation.
Ethyn waved shyly. "Hi."
Lily's face was openly pleased. Her lovely round face looked almost angelic as she bent over to look at Ethyn on his eye-level. "Hello Ethyn. So nice to finally meet you! I have heard quite a bit about you." She turned to Sage. "I would be happy to keep Ethyn, though I think he could take care of himself." Lily winked. "Perhaps we shall just keep each other company, hm?"
"Thank you," Sage and Ethyn said simultaneously, though for very different reasons.
"We will just be off then," Sage stated after a pause.
"Be good," Silver took two fingers, pointed to his eyes, reversed his hand and pointed to Ethyn.
"Do not worry about us," Lily responded. "We are going to have fun. You two enjoy yourselves!"
Lily's infectious energy softened Ethyn's heart, "I will see you later, Silver. Just do not forget about me!"
"I would never do that. Goodbye, Ethyn," Silver said tenderly.
"See you later, kid. Thanks again, Lily!" Sage said as she dragged Silver out the door.
Silence filled the air as Lily and Ethyn stared at each other for a moment. Then in a rush of energy, Lily surged forward and gave Ethyn a huge hug.
"I am so glad you are here. Here I was thinking it would be a boring evening. My husband, Aristos, will not be home for a long while; he is out hunting in the forest. I get so lonely when he is gone. And then you show up like a miraculous gift. So, what do you want to do?" Lily's eyes sparkled as she released the boy and waited for his answer.
Ethyn looked down and drew pictures on the dirt floor with his foot. He did not share Lily's enthusiasm. "I do not care."
"I know!" Lily stood quickly and went over to a shelf. Her home was quite small. A single room, it contained the cook fire along one wall, a bed along the opposite wall and a table on the adjoining wall in between. Along the interior walls, Aristos had nailed many shelves that had various odds and ends, one of which Lilly reached for now. It was a wooden box with a hinge at one end. When she opened it, it contained many wooden figures. Lily removed the contents and placed them on the table. The box itself swung open and flattened out. Ethyn noticed the new flat surface had many carved squares on top in varying colors. The sweet-faced girl motioned for Ethyn to join her at the table.
"Aristos gave me this game as a wedding present." Lily reverently told him. The gleam in her eyes gave Ethyn a warm feeling.
"You really love him, your husband?" Ethyn asked before he caught himself.
Lilly nodded slowly as her gaze seemed far off. "Yes," she stated simply. Then added, "I fell in love with him when we first met, and I choose to love him every day. He does the same for me. We are a team." Lily shook her head and came back to the present. "So, the game is called Knights and Thieves. Would you like to play?"
Ethyn's face brightened. "Can I be a knight?"
Lily laughed gently and touched Ethyn on the shoulder, "My little one, you can be anything you want."