Ethyn woke up with a pounding headache. After the mishap with retelling his version of events at the palace and then the messenger only making things worse, the young knight had found himself at a loss. It was all too much.
Trying to forget his misfortune, the green-eyed man had accepted a mug (or maybe two) of Conall's famous tavern brew. Ethyn realized his error too late. Having never indulged in strong drink, the stout liquor quickly flooded his senses. The rest of the night had been a blur. How foolish he had been!
Among other things, he couldn't remember how he had gotten in his bed. The pain in his skull as he struggled to remember was more than he could bear. Ethyn squeezed his eyebrows together as he grimaced.
"Never again," he muttered, his lips feeling unusually dry.
The knight pulled his hands from beneath the carefully tucked blanket and rubbed his temples. Through squinted eyes, he tried to focus on the now wrinkled sheet. Wait, who had tucked him in so neatly?
"Please have been Lily..." he groaned. Anyone else would be a legitimate reason to crawl in a hole and die.
"What about Lily?" Silver pushed open the door. The light from the window in the living space poured into Ethyn's bloodshot eyes.
The young man yelled before pulling the covers over his head. "I was not talking to you! And what gives you the right to come into my room?" he snapped.
Silver scoffed, "Your room? Ha! No, no. You are mistaken. This is my house and my room. The only thing that belongs to you around here is that forsaken table in the other room. You are welcome to take that with you when you go back to the palace."
Marching to the trunk in the room, the Guardian flipped it open, pulled out his soft-soled boots and slammed it shut. The bang startled the groggy Ethyn so much that he fell out of bed.
"Did you have to go and do that?" he asked angrily.
"I moved back in here after you went off to be trained and so my extra pair of boots are in here." He held up the shoes innocently, the lighting in his eyes streaking mischievously from the edge of his iris into his pupil.
"I meant the loud bang, Silver, and you know it." Ethyn disentangled himself from the bed covering, while scowling at the Guardian.
Silver's mouth formed a perfect ring as he nodded contemplatively. "Ohhh, that. Yes, I had to do that. Completely intentional." The dark-haired man picked up Ethyn's trousers off the floor and threw them at the redhead's face. "How else are you going to learn not to drink that poisonous swill? Just because Conall touts as being fine drink, that doesn't make it true."
Ethyn was slightly surprised by his words."Don't you drink it?" The young man wondered as he slipped the clothing onto his bare legs.
"No way! If it is forced into my hand, I will dump it out the window or pour it into Conall's cup when he isn't looking. All I need is to lose my head and share a secret or two that I should not. Being a Guardian requires a certain amount of decorum, after all." Silver nodded solemnly.
"Really?"
Silver cracked a smile so big that his face seemed to split in two. "I've no idea! I have never met another Guardian except Sage, and I do not think she is font of all knowledge on the subject, do you?"
"Sage is no sage," the young man responded.
"And you have no wit when you are in this state. I had hoped you would regain some of your charms once you sobered up."
"Do you mean I lost my charms last night?" Ethyn was liking this morning less and less. The more he heard, the worse he felt.
"Your charms and part of your dinner," Silver confirmed.
"Please tell me you are joking."
The Guardian continued on as if his friend hadn't spoken. "Katherine was very understanding about her favorite rug. She knows what her husband's concoction does to people who do not have the stomach for it. "
"Kill me now." The knight looked longingly back at the bed. Maybe if he laid back down, it would all turn out to be a terrible dream. Unfortunately, his friend and mentor was not done.
"I really should have taken you home then, but you insisted you were fine. That is when you began to regale us with all the lovely tunes you learned at court..." Silver smirked. He could see the confusion on the young man's face.
"I didn't learn any songs at court," Ethyn insisted. He scratched his head. 'What in the world is he going on about now? Is he sure he wasn't drinking as well?'
"You learned no songs at court? Are you sure? You sang so many. 'The Tinker's Tawdry Daughter' and 'The Lucky Miss from Enverness' were quite melodic though not well-timed." The Guardian began to hum a few bars, making Ethyn turn pale.
The young man had heard those songs from other trainees, but he had never participated in their crude jokes or games. His brain, however, had tucked away the catchy tunes in order to get him into trouble at the most inconvenient time.
Ethyn was mortified. "Were the children still there when..."
"No, Lily took them home when you began 'The Adventures of the Advisor who Knew No Shame.' It was a gripping tale, but not exactly child-friendly."
"You should have stopped me!" Ethyn stood up from the ground. His legs felt wobbly, but he tried to hide it.
"Next time you better stop yourself," Silver warned him, suddenly very serious. "I let you have your moment of weakness so that when you head back to court, you will be able to be at your best." His sharp words stung the young man, but he realized they were said out of care and concern.
"You are right, Silver. I do tend to let my emotions control my actions. I will do better." Ethyn closed his eyes, trying to block out the painful sunlight.
The Guardian took pity on him. "Come on, you fool. Have some cold water and porridge. We will get you fixed up and ready to go in no time."
"Ready to go where?" The young man tried to follow the Guardian's voice without opening his eyes. He groped until he found the doorway and eventually bumped into the table and selected a chair in which to sit.
"We are expected back at the mayor's house. Your 'party of one' meant I could not show you what I found on my excursion to the palace. We rescheduled that meeting for this morning." Silver walked over with a cup of fresh spring water and pretended to trip. The cold water doused Ethyn's head.
"Ah! That water feels like ice!" he cried, suddenly completely awake.
"That is compliment's of Sage's magical little iced box," Silver chuckled as he motioned to the corner of the room. "I know she said we could sell it, but I never have found the right buyer.
"You just like keeping it because it reminds you of her... and it keeps your meat fresh longer."
"Guilty on both counts," Silver admitted. He scooped out another cup of water from the bucket inside the box and handed it to the young man gently this time.
The icy water felt heavenly on the young man's dry throat. Coupled with the warm, savory porridge, Ethyn began to feel like a new man. With only a little help from Silver, he scarfed down the entire pot and still managed to scrape his bowl.
"Just like old times," Silver chuckled.
"I don't suppose there is any more. I'm still a growing boy," Ethyn protested as he patted his stomach.
"You'll grow wide if you keep that up." The Guardian thumped his companion gently on the back of the head as he picked up the dishes.
The young man shrugged. "We cannot all have your eternally thin physique."
"That's true...I do have a certain advantage there." The Guardian dumped the bowls into the dirty pot and turned around. "Are you ready?"
Ethyn raised an eyebrow. "Are you not going to clean the dishes?"
Silver shook his head. "Not while I have you around to do it for me." Holding out the pot, the Guardian smirked. "Unless you would like to put it off until later so you can reprise your aria of The Fairy and the Friendly Faun. Either way, please hurry, we must be going."
The young man took the pot and grumbled. "I'll sing a song. It's called the Guardian Who was Maimed by the Handsome and Totally Justified Knight."
Silver pursed his lips. "I am afraid I am unfamiliar with that one. I do hope the tune is catchier than the title. Afterwards I can hum my favorite song: The Knight who Lost his Trousers in the Village Square. What do you say?"
"...."