[Folwren]

Despite the awful day, Cnebba’s answer amused Saeryn. She grinned broadly and under normal circumstances would have laughed, but matters had been too disappointing so far today for that. Still, Cnebba always said something funny with his attempts to sound grown up.

“Very well. Talk about kids’ things, but not in Flíthaf’s stall. I think he might get tired of so much company.” She unlatched the stall door and opened it to let the boys file out. As Javan passed her last, she grasped his shoulder and held him back while she fastened the door again. “Alright, Javan, tell me what’s up.” She hadn’t missed his downcast expression. The two younger boys huddled at the corner of the aisle, peeking around the stall corner to watch.

“If it please you, my lady,” Javan said, “I’d rather not tell you. You’ll probably hear it from someone else soon enough. You’ll be angry, like everyone else, and you won’t understand.”

“Try me,” Saeryn said. “If you’ve done something wrong, I’m the first person you should tell because I can help you more than anyone else. Plus, I can understand a lot. Trust me.”

“You can’t help me with this. Lord Athanar will be very angry and I doubt anyone will be able to stop him from doing whatever he decides to do.”

Saeryn looked quizzically at him and he looked at the ground. “Javan. . .what did you do?”

“I punched Ædre.”

Saeryn felt her heart beat a little harder just for a second. “Who’s Ædre?” she asked, but she had already guessed.

“Athanar’s daughter,” he said, meeting her eyes fleetingly, just to get an idea of her reaction. She had no reaction but shock for a moment, her mouth open a fraction and her eyebrows raised in surprise. “She was bullying Cnebba, see,” Javan said, “and I came up to stop her and she wouldn’t stop and . . . it just happened. She hit me and then I hit her. And now the whole mead hall knows, ‘cause it happened in the courtyard, where all the new men were, and captain Coenred came over, then Garstan and Stigend, and then Lilige, the maid, came and took Ædre to her mother. . .”

“Oh, no,” Saeryn finally breathed.

“I know. I’m sorry I caused trouble today. I was doing so well, Eodwine would have been so proud of me, and then I did this.” Neither said it, but they both knew how disapproving Eodwine would have been. “What will Lord Athanar do?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll see to it that it’s not terrible, or anything. Don’t look like that, Javan. Athanar won’t kill you, anyway. You’ve hit his daughter, you’re going to have to take the consequences.”

Javan squared his shoulders. “I know. I will.”

“That’s it, lad. Now come on. It’s best to meet the trouble halfway, rather than hiding and making them look for you.”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“No, I guess not, but it’ll be best if you make a clean breast of it to the lord and lady.”