It was very early the next morning when Conall woke up. His wife prodded him, forcing him out of his comfortable bed.
"Time to get up. I thought we could go for a cool morning walk and then you could start helping me give the inn a fresh coat of paint. I heard that after last night's large intake of money, you were finally ready to get that little project done." Katherine batted her eyes at her husband.
Conall cleared his throat before embracing the woman he loved. "That sounds lovely, and I would love to, but we, uh, have no paint. Perhaps we can just climb back into bed and..."
Katherine kissed him. "I am so glad you like the idea! I meant to tell you that I had Ethyn mix all the paint before he left. We only need to walk the barn to get it. It will be like when we were courting!"
Conall's eyes opened wide. "There was never manual labor when we were courting...."
"Remember all the odd jobs you did for my father to get his approval?" Katherine's gaze became wistful.
"Oh yes, those...I remember." Conall could never forget the scar on his knee from when he tried to wash the family dog only to find out it was actually a wild wolf.
"It was a romantic time, wasn't it?" Katherine's eyes sparkled so much that the mayor almost felt bad denying her.
Although Conall believed that his wife wanted to spend time with him, a small part of him wondered if she was using all the love talk to guilt him into a grueling day of hot and sweaty work.
"So?" Katherine kissed her husband again and then tugged gently at his hand.
"I wish I could, my love, but I promised to write up ownership papers for Daisy and give them to Silver first thing this morning. Such a shame. We could have gotten so much done..." Conall pouted. "Maybe next week."
"Are you sure Silver is even up this early? And who do you plan to have write up papers so early in the morning?" Katherine narrowed her eyes at her husband as he stared innocently back at her.
"Silver is always awake. I am not sure he ever sleeps. And Aiden will be awake for his early morning regimen. I can get him to sign as a witness and then I only need to find one more upstanding citizen to finish the deed. I will be done in two shakes of a horse's tail." Conall could see a glimmer of hope as his wife's face softened.
"Good, then you can help me after you are done." Katherine clapped her hands and went to find a work dress to wear. "I will meet you at the inn in an hour."
The mayor realized his error. "Well I say it should be quick but, uh, that is assuming nothing goes wrong. I could take longer... Suppose no one else is up at this early hour..."
"I am sure you will find a way. It's one of the things I love about you." Katherine tied back her curly hair and headed out of the bedroom.
Utterly defeated, Conall could only nod as she left. After grabbing a biscuit from their kitchen, the mayor went out into the street to complete his task. Even dragging his feet, he found Aiden completing his morning run and they drew up the paper in record time.
The second witness was even easier to find than the first. The school teacher stopped by while they were signing and added her name to the parchment. "Have a nice day!" She kissed Aiden on his cheek as she moved back to her routine.
"Marry that one and quick!" Conall said. "Before her father starts asking you to do odd jobs."
"Her father doesn't live here, Mayor. Why would he ask me to do anything?" The marshal furrowed his brow and scratched his chin.
"Because you want to marry his...oh nevermind. Best of luck!" Conall saluted his friend with a weary shake of his head and moved back into the street.
"Maybe Silver will be in, uh, a bad mood seeing as he was all alone last night." the mayor muttered to himself. "Then I can comfort him, bring him some cheer. That should take a good hour or two. Katherine cannot be mad at me for helping a friend, and by then she will have roped at least a few other workers into helping her. I wouldn't be surprised if they are done before I get there!"
His mood vastly improved, Conall tapped on the door of Silver's house while assuming a solemn expression.
At first no one answered.
Knocking again, Conall received a groggy groan of frustration in response. "Go away!"
"Silver! It's me, Conall. I have the paper of ownership for Daisy. Signed and hand delivered, no less. The least you could do is open up!" The mayor was becoming frustrated.
There was movement inside house. A disheveled Guardian opened his door part way and adjusted his hood. "What do you want, mayor? You woke me from the nicest dream. Do you know how early it is?"
Conall was taken aback. "Were you actually sleeping? Here I thought you just pretended to rest for our benefit."
"Of course I sleep, you fool. I am still human...mostly." Silver's husky voice trailed off as he stretched. "I fell asleep doing some late night work..."
"Work? I would be happy to help. Katherine needs me at the inn, but this seems far more important. I could get us some breakfast and we can dig into whatever you have that needs my expert advice." Conall sniffed at the air.
A warm scent of cinnamon and sugar filled his nostrils, wafting out from the doorway. It had not been there a moment ago; Conall was sure of it.
"Breakfast has already been handled," Silver smiled beneath his hood.
"Did Katherine already send breakfast?" The mayor peeked around the Guardian.
Silver moved to block his view. "If I say yes, will you go away?"
"On the contrary, it is only right that I should stay and make sure the inn has provided the quality we are known for..." Conall licked his lips. The biscuit he had eaten seemed so long ago. His large belly was rumbling.
"Katherine didn't send any food. My breakfast is homemade." Silver's eyes flashed. "The papers?"
Conall sighed. From his satchel at his side he pulled the document with his signature as well as the scrawling of the two witnesses. "It just needs your name printed on it. I'll come in and make sure it is all done properly."
The mayor pressed his hand on the door, but it did not budge. "That will not be necessary."
Coming out into the street, Silver produced a writing stone and pressed the paper up against the wall of the house. Adding his own name to the list of others, he held it out for the mayor to peruse.
"Are we finished?"
There was nothing left to be done. Conall nodded solemnly. "I hope you enjoy your homemade breakfast, Guardian..." The mayor paused. "Wait! You just woke up?"
Silver pressed his hand to his forehead. "I think we have established that, yes."
Conall's eyes sparkled suddenly. "And yet breakfast is already being made?"
"Please don't read too much into this..." Silver placed his hand on the door to prevent the mayor's entry.
Conall chuckled softly. "I knew you were holding out on me! You have someone in there with you! Come on, now. Who is she?!"