Arden (Mages of the Flame #1) FIRST DRAFT

Part 4: Guardian of the Peace

It was customary for village announcements to be made at the end of the day to allow for workers in the fields to return, which meant Bronwyn had some time to prepare.

She began by hitching Shanks to the wooden rail by the water trough outside the blacksmiths forge. Iron tools like picks and shovels and plows were important and the big, heavy tools blacksmiths needed to produce, but other items, like the humble horseshoe, were no less important.

Bronwyn removed the saddle and pack from her horse and set them on the ground nearby. It was not going to rain today and they were safe enough in Ashdown, especially outside the Marshalls forge.

She unpacked the mailbag from the saddle and sorted through the few letters she had left. Ashdown was the last village on her circuitous route along the eastern shore, and sent and received the least mail. Most of the letters were simple messages, things that had to be said but carried no real urgency. But today she also had to deliver a request from a landowner who was looking to marry - that would be something for the Marshall to deal with. A bill of goods was due to be paid for the beehives provided at short notice last season when a tree crushed three after it fell in a storm, and the last was a petition she had circulated to all the villages in her care. This last letter would cause the most disruption. Fortunately for her she could delay this letter until she had made her announcements and delivered the latest news from Lorin. She was optimistic that the villagers would welcome the news this time.

Bronwyn tucked the letters inside her satchel, then untied and retied her hair to pull it away from her neck.

But that would all come later. First it was time for her to discharge another of her responsibilities as a Guardian of the Peace of Arden.

The Marshall of Ashdown was usually called upon for his smithing, but today he would be the farrier. He took his clinch cutter, hammer and pincers from the hooks by the door and walked over to the horse waiting patiently outside and staring at him with her big brown eyes. He squatted next to the foreleg Bronwyn had identified and felt around the hoof. Shanks obediently lifted one leg. Eric eyed it critically. It didn't look worn. It shouldn't have broken so soon. Shoddy workmanship. He checked the other three legs and came to the same conclusion each time.

"Well, well, well, it looks like someone is getting four new shoes today."

Shanks turned her head at the sound of his voice.

"Don't you worry about the cost," he winked at the horse. "The discount I give Bronwyn will more than offset the extra charge I make for Mages."

"Are you talking to your customers horses again, Eric?"

Eric looked around. Standing behind him, and obviously amused by what she had overheard, was a young woman in a long dress the colour of bluebells. Her perfectly straight dark hair hung loose, reaching down her back almost as far has her hands, which she had clasped behind her.

"What of it, Sophia? A horse is the perfect companion. They don't talk back."

"That's not a good thing. Where is the pleasure of a conversation when only one person is speaking?"

"It depends on who is doing the speaking. You're going to find this out soon enough once your school opens."

"Until I get some children my school is no more than an empty room."

"Did you know Bronwyn is here? She can deliver your letters when she leaves."

"She is? That's wonderful. I didn't know."

"She arrived this morning, no doubt bearing some of the gracious wisdom of our rulers."

"Give her a chance before you dismiss what she has to say."