Ebony

Carter explained to Ebony that he would leave for a few hours to get everything they needed for the trip and return by noon, maybe a little after. Ebony agreed to stay in the woods away from the town and even away from the road. Before leaving, Carter took off his tattered coat and wrapped it around Ebony’s shoulders. As soon as she began to protest, though, he interrupted her.

“I’m pretty perceptive,” he explained to her, “And I saw your shoulders shaking slightly. You’re cold. This is probably the first time you slept outside on a cold night and I feel bad about it. It’s awful, I know, so I want you to get warm. I’ll be back in a little while.”

He paused and hesitated slightly, as if he wanted to say something more, but he just turned and walked away.

Ebony sat against the tree that she had slept under the night before and shivered, but only slightly. Carter’s coat made a huge difference and she was starting to feel much warmer. Ebony looked around the forest with awe as she let her thoughts wander. She was very curious about Carter and why he was helping her. He was a complete stranger, and a fugitive to boot. He knew he had nothing to gain by helping her because she had absolutely nothing to her name except the clothes on her back. So why would he bother? Ebony decided that it was better not to question his motives and be thankful she had someone to help her out, at least for now.

It isn’t long before Ebony gets restless sitting beneath the tree. And just sitting there began to make her feel cold as well, despite Carter’s coat. So she stood up and decided to walk around the forest, but she would make sure not to go too far and lose her way back to the tree. As she walked, Ebony’s mind wandered again, this time to her mother. A pain stabbed her heart and hot tears pricked her eyes. Ebony couldn’t help feel that it was her fault her mother was dead and that she was now alone in the world. Although she couldn’t find as definite reason as to why that would be, she tried to form one within her head. I should’ve gone to the mass. Maybe then the noble would’ve stayed away. Or maybe I should’ve calmly persuaded her to stay home, or pretend that I was sick, instead of yelling at her… The more Ebony thought, the more the guilt weighed down her heart and mind.

Ebony wandered back to the tree and cried beneath it. This is where Carter found her a few hours later. Ebony looked up at the sound of his approach with tears still streaming down her cheeks. At the sight of her tears, Carter immediately ran to her side and held her in his arms.

To Ebony he felt very warm and very strong, but more importantly his presence was very comforting, more so than her mother’s even. Ebony cried a little harder at first, but then began to calm down as Carter soothed her and rubbed her back gently. She buried her tear stained face in his chest as her breathing returned to normal. Carter never asked for an explanation, and in truth never even said a word, he just let her cry until she felt better, and that was more than Ebony could ask for.

Once Ebony was calm again Carter showed her everything that he had gotten from the town.

“I have two small sacks of food,” he said as he showed them to her, “one for each of us. It should be more than enough. And I also got a bunch of warm clothes for each of us, but mostly for you. I can suffer a little.”

Carter smiled at her warmly which caused Ebony to smile as well. He was so gentle and kind that it sent butterflies of happiness fluttering in her belly. No one had ever been so kind to her before.

“How were you able to buy all of these things?” Ebony asked amazed.

“I didn’t,” he replied. He laughed at the astonished look that came across her face. “I stole it. Did you think gypsies were the only thieves in England? Think again. Almost everyone steals, in one way or another. Most gypsies and fugitives, however, steal out of necessity rather than greed, and all of this was necessary to our survival, especially yours.”

Ebony nodded in understanding.

“But I have something else for you, Ebony,” Carter continued.

He grabbed at something that was tied to his waste and for the first time Ebony realized that it was there. At first Ebony just saw a small sheath, but once it was fully revealed Ebony saw a hilt was at the end of it. Carter presented the sheath to Ebony who stared at it with her lips slightly parted in wonder. Slowly she pulled the sheath and the hilt apart and revealed a beautiful silver dagger with purple designs engraved on the entire blade.

“Carter…” Ebony was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. Words seemed to be insignificant in the presence of this magnificent dagger.

“I figured you needed a weapon,” Carter spoke at last. “This was the only one I thought would be fitting enough for someone like you. The blade really caught my eye, but the clincher was the wood the hilt was made of. It’s made of ebony.”

This caught Ebony’s attention. She looked up at Carter, who had a wide grin on his face. He clearly had been anticipating this the entire time. Ebony looked back down at the dagger and began to feel the smooth hilt. She suddenly felt like she was bonding with the dagger, like her soul was connecting with it. She felt one with the dagger.

“It’s beautiful, Carter,” she managed to say.

He mumbled something in response that Ebony couldn’t quite make out. But then he said a little louder, “But you’ll need practice with it first, and I have a friend the next town over that can help you with that. That is our current destination.”

Ebony sheathed the knife and tied it to her waist, as Carter had. Then the two helped themselves to some of the stolen food before beginning their day journey.