Edward {ManXMan} ✔

Nineteen

Waiting was the hardest part. Weeks turned into months again and I found myself yearning for Edward to be home. Not knowing when the baby would be born was the hardest part. Though he sent letters, saying how much Rose was growing, how she was due at any moment. But even when the child was born. Getting Edward from there would prove to be something on its own. I would need to send a letter to him, saying he was needed in battle and hope he would be let go.

But I was hopeful. Edward was alive and I was ready and waiting for the day he would come home.

I looked towards Tsar, who was shooting an arrow at a target a good hundred feet away while Preston stood nearby, ready to retrieve it. Once I had realized his skills, I had talked with father about it and he had started training on Tsar nearly right away. Father had made no promises on making Tsar a knight, but it was promising that he was letting him get into the field, and he had even entered into a match that was due to happen in the upcoming weeks.

Preston was never far from Taz, which I was ok with due to the fact that we had to lie about who he was. News had gotten out about the raid, and news had also gotten out about how everyone in the raid had died from unknown men coming into the village and slaying them. We did not stay around once we had Preston to speak with anyone in the village, so our faces were not in the center of their minds when they started to emerge from hiding. Preston wasn't a bad person, not that I had really thought that he was, but judging on who is father was I was very wary of him. But he was a good person. He enjoyed walking in the morning, cooking, taking care of animals and he had a talent with horses.

"Me passion growing up was the animals in the kingdom. Fadder would get angry at mam when she took me to see 'em, but I would pester her until she took me. And I was the youngest, she couldn't say no to me chubby little face." He had told us one morning while petting a few foul on the nose. "Cats, dogs, cows, they all seem to take a liking to me." His eyes turned sad as he dropped his hand from the newborn. "But, an O'Malley must be a knight. It's our duty. You can be a father and caregiver after you finished your duty. Court a woman as long as ya like, as long as ya are a knight. I had snuck a kitten into the home when I was ten. Me brothers tattled of course. And father had tossed it outside. It grew up in the yard, of course, it never went far. Named him Munk. I'm sure mother is caring for him now. But I never got to raise him as I had wanted. Though I should be thankful. My older brother Jacob told me stories of our father killing pets if they entered our home. So I guess Munk was lucky."

"Being forced into something you don't wish to be is one of the things that makes you a man it seems." I mused with a sigh, I had been riding a horse when he started with his story but was getting off it now as I found myself unwell to finish riding.

"What makes you say that m'lord?"

I wanted to tell him, Preston had a trusting nature about him. The way his hair fell into his face, how his eyes always seemed to be examining everything around him. He always seemed to be learning new things. His eyes held so much in them. The curiosity, the fear. Trusting him would be easy. But I could trust him all I wanted, it did not mean he was trustworthy. I just shook my head, patting the man on the shoulder. It was one thing having Tsar in charge of him and knowing Taz had trust for him, but I still liked to keep him at arm's length.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Tsar hit the target and Ronald gave a little cheer for encouragement. I looked over to see he had hit his target with three arrows in the circle, all lining almost perfect with each other.

"My lord!" I heard calling from the castle, I looked over to see Alex, who had a piece of paper in his hand, holding it over his head as he ran forward. "It's from Edward." He said as he finally stopped in front of me, handing the letter, his feet bouncing back and forth as if he couldn't wait to see what the letter had said.

Though things between us had gone south, we still remained close, and I think he was starting to grow excited with the idea of someone else around. Another friend to join us on outings. And once Tsar told him that Edward enjoyed picking fun at him, well that just made it that much better for Alex.

The letter was short, not like those he has written before. This one was three simple words.

"It's a Boy."