Ebony

Ebony woke up the next morning cold and hungry. Her stomach moaned painfully and her limbs shook violently as she shivered. Some of her tears had frozen to her face. She sat up and looked around the forest, at first disoriented and confused. Then she remembered the events of last night and her heart constricted. There’s nothing I can do now, she thought sadly.

Ebony stood up awkwardly, her body was stiff from sleeping on the forest floor in the cold. After stretching she looked around again and wondered what she was going to do. She considered her possibilities. She could risk going back to the town to grab what she needed or she could make a journey to another town. But she didn’t know how far the next town over was. Ebony just didn’t know what to do. She was lost without her mother.

Ebony’s thoughts were interrupted by rustlings in the brush. She turns and sees a young man appears. He had a somewhat dirt covered face and his clothes were tattered and torn. He was a fugitive. Ebony gasped and backed away in fear.

However, he didn’t seem all that threatening. He looked at her with kind yet questioning eyes. She looked back with caution and a bit of fear.

“Who are you?” she asked warily.

“My name is Carter,” he replied with just as much wariness. “And you?”

“My name is Ebony.”

Carter relaxed a little bit. He seemed to understand that Ebony was no threat to him. Likewise, Carter seemed harmless, at least to Ebony. He did not seem interested in hurting her.

“You’re a fugitive,” Ebony stated the obvious after a moment of awkward silence.

Carter nodded. “I am and I have been for about three months now. Are you a fugitive too?”

Ebony shrugged, relaxing a little as well. “I guess I am now.”

This statement intrigued Carter. “What do you mean by that?”

Ebony sat down by a tree and patted the ground next to her to indicate to Carter to sit down. He obliged and Ebony began her story.

“My mom and I were gypsies and we have been since I was born. We’ve been travelling through England looking for work especially when it gets cold and we were doing that recently as well. We came to this town a few days ago.” She pointed in the direction of the town. “We were reluctantly admitted into the monastery and everyone hated us, as usual.”

Carter nodded as he listened to the story. He did not seem hateful of Ebony even though she was a gypsy. Instead he seemed sympathetic. Ebony continued.

“But there was this noble. On our way to the town a few days ago he nearly trampled us on his horse. And he stayed at the monastery as well. At mass he offered my mother help and he promised to take care of us. But she also offered her dinner at the local tavern. I was suspicious of him and followed them and spied on them. He was obviously drunk and tried to force himself upon my mother but she wouldn’t have it. And he stabbed her…”

This was where Ebony trailed off as her throat constricted with tears. Carter surprisingly put his arm around Ebony’s shoulders. Ebony paused and turned to him. He had a look of unconditional kindness on his face. This encouraged Ebony to finish.

“He killed her… And he almost got me too. But I ran as hard as I could until I got here and he wasn’t following me anymore. So now I’m here and I’m lost and I don’t know what to do.”
Ebony swallowed hard as she pulled her knees to her hid her face. Carter rubbed her back soothingly and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.

“I know exactly where you’re coming from, Ebony, I’ve been there. And I want to help you. Please let me help you.”

Ebony looked up to his soft brown eyes which seemed to be pleading to her. She was so shocked at the reaction she had received from this stranger she met just moments ago. But a feeling inside Ebony told her that Carter was different and that she should trust him. She decided that she had nothing to lose.

“Okay,” she agreed.

Carter smiled in response.

“But I can’t go back to that town,” Ebony continued. “The noble will kill me.”

“I can solve that problem,” Carter replied eagerly. “I’ll go to town for you and I’ll grab a few things. Then I’ll even escort you to the next town. Does that sound good to you?”

Ebony nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips. She was so grateful that Carter had come along. Her fortune seemed to be looking better.