Home of the Wild One

Chapter 6 - An Uncomfortable Breakfast

Sorry for the late update guys!

Kali awoke to darkness. Her dreams slipped from her mind as she began to face the problems of daytime. Lydia had recently knocked on her door, and Kali dragged herself to the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled on her work clothes. The thin dress fell to the floor and had an apron that wrapped around it. Dreading to start the morning, but unable to avoid it, she stepped out the door to the hall promptly and ran into someone.

It was unusual for anyone to be on this floor in the morning, so Kali had become complacent. The person must have been standing there before she had woken up or she would have heard them approach. Northerners were generally alert to someone approaching even when they were asleep and so she was even more startled when she ran into a taller body than a normal. His approach should have woken her and it worried her that it hadn't. He must be quieter than she had originally thought.

When she had run into the stranger her head had been down, so she could see he wore pants, but she didn't know for certain who it was until she looked up. She felt the urge to curse, but no proper Lady's maid knew words like she did, so she held her tongue. Niall stood above her. His hands came up to grab her upper arms as if to keep her stable. Kali couldn't stand to have anyone keep her restrained, so she moved back to avoid it. Unfortunately, she hadn't stepped far enough away from the door and his arms were quick.

When his hands clamped around her upper arms, Kali tensed. His eyes met hers and she yanked her right arm back, knocking her elbow against the door loudly. She winced at the noise and hoped she hadn't woken anyone. Niall misinterpreted her wince and immediately stepped back to give her more space, but kept his hand enclosed around her arm. With more space, Kali shoved past him and as she moved his hand was pulled from her arm. He turned and followed her for a few steps. Her back went rigid when she felt his presence approach again. She turned slowly and enunciated her words clearly.

"Do not touch me. Ever." She then moved, her irritation rising when she once again had to turn to face him as he continued behind her. "Why are you following me?"

"You promised to introduce me to the household. Don't worry; I won't touch you unless you fall or run into me again. I wouldn't want you to have to take time out of your day, so I thought I'd catch you early. I had Richard wake me in time." Niall had effectively weaved a web she had no polite way out of.

She immediately tensed when she realized how she had been acting to a visitor. If Rillia found out, she was as good as dead. But at the moment, there was a bigger problem. How could she avoid taking him to breakfast? It would be uncomfortable to have a Lord below stairs in the kitchens in the only place servants could talk freely. She would be ostracized just as much as he if he walked into that room, so she tried to find a way to distract him. She came up with nothing. Sighing, she realized she had to accept.

"Very well, Sir." She kept her back straight as she led him to the end of the hall and began down the servants' stairs. After a few steps, she realized she should have brought him down the main stairs, not the servants' stairs. With each of his steps the floorboards creaked because of his weight. Niall looked like he was built similarly to the men who worked in the House, but he was pure muscle. Halfway down the stairs, Kali heard the ladder to the small room in the attic clunk down to landing where most of the servants slept. Kali groaned in her mind. Richard called to her as he raised the ladder back into the small hole he'd claimed as his own.

"Wait, Kali!" When she turned, Niall was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She paid him no mind.

"Richard..." She had only said his name when he came down the stairs and ran into Niall's back. Niall stumbled but managed to throw his arms out and catch both of their weights. It was an impressive feat, as Richard wasn't a light man, also built with the muscles for forest work. Unfortunately, holding all of their weight suddenly bowed his back and his feet slipped down a stair.