Oak—everyone there wore entirely black clothes without exception and there were no women at all. Unlike the men of the town, very few of them sported beards or long hair, seeming to focus fastidiously on keeping themselves well groomed, having everything combed and tucked into place. Most came and went wearing an entirely black cloak that covered black shirt and black trousers, so that they looked very mysterious, and they spoke little, although they were usually polite and well spoken when he did manage to wrestle some words out of them. Samuel was instructed to leave them be and not to bother them, which he thought was fine, because the few times he had tried speaking with the men, they had stared at him intensely—as if there was some bizarre object growing from the side of his head. They would always say very little and then find some excuse to send him away again.
There was always much work to be done at the Burning Oak, yet Samuel found the experience very rewarding. He actually took pleasure in keeping the stable neat and the horses well groomed and fed. The guests of the inn came and went day and night, so that he was often woken at all hours. But they were always polite and patient with Samuel when he struggled with the saddles and harnesses, even helping him when he faltered, which was quite often at first, for many of these horses were tall—great mountains of muscle compared to the stubborn ponies he was used to.
Samuel was sometimes given time in the afternoons to do as he wished and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he found himself with more time than he knew what to do with. Kans, somehow knowing when he was scaling the walls or adventuring within the branches of a tree, would scurry out from the inn and tell him off, saying how such conduct was intolerable. Unruly behaviour was scowled upon by the inn and its guests and so Samuel was forbidden to make noise or do anything that might disturb their thoughts. For a boy such as he, this meant anything remotely enjoyable.
Samuel had found a small box of chalk hidden away in the back of the stable and he pushed a few short pieces into his pocket. That afternoon, he sat by the furthest wall in the garden and drew simple pictures with his chalk on the smooth paving stones at the wall’s base. He thought it such a harmless thing, as he could always rub the marks away with his sleeve, but he was always wary of the guests, lest he should somehow disturb them. He drew people and animals and beasts that he had heard of; battles and castles and rivers and moats. Finally, as the afternoon sun waned and his hands and sleeves were white with chalk, Samuel lay beside his drawings and looked up at the sky. He had not been allowed from the confines of the inn for all his time here so far. He could often hear wagons and people passing by just beyond the wall, and longed to be away from the quiet, strange, black-clothed men and experience the colours and smells and sights and sensations of the town and the market place. Most of all, he missed Jessicah and her reassurance. He did not have to fear a beating from his uncle here, but neither did he have any friends to talk with. Along with the boredom, he found himself feeling terribly lonely.
As his thoughts turned to Jessicah, Samuel sat up and began dragging his chalk once more across the stones. He was surprised to look down and find that he had scrawled some letters and decided to see what words he could remember. He wrote ball and boy and dog and bone . He wrote three whole columns of the words he could remember, and then he began on the numbers, progressing from one to twenty, before a voice called his name from afar, and Samuel was up, scuffing quickly at the markings with his feet before running back to the stable.
Another guest had arrived and Samuel was summoned to care for the horse he had arrived on. Kans came to help him check the animal over and the rest of the afternoon was taken up with a
There was always much work to be done at the Burning Oak, yet Samuel found the experience very rewarding. He actually took pleasure in keeping the stable neat and the horses well groomed and fed. The guests of the inn came and went day and night, so that he was often woken at all hours. But they were always polite and patient with Samuel when he struggled with the saddles and harnesses, even helping him when he faltered, which was quite often at first, for many of these horses were tall—great mountains of muscle compared to the stubborn ponies he was used to.
Samuel was sometimes given time in the afternoons to do as he wished and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he found himself with more time than he knew what to do with. Kans, somehow knowing when he was scaling the walls or adventuring within the branches of a tree, would scurry out from the inn and tell him off, saying how such conduct was intolerable. Unruly behaviour was scowled upon by the inn and its guests and so Samuel was forbidden to make noise or do anything that might disturb their thoughts. For a boy such as he, this meant anything remotely enjoyable.
Samuel had found a small box of chalk hidden away in the back of the stable and he pushed a few short pieces into his pocket. That afternoon, he sat by the furthest wall in the garden and drew simple pictures with his chalk on the smooth paving stones at the wall’s base. He thought it such a harmless thing, as he could always rub the marks away with his sleeve, but he was always wary of the guests, lest he should somehow disturb them. He drew people and animals and beasts that he had heard of; battles and castles and rivers and moats. Finally, as the afternoon sun waned and his hands and sleeves were white with chalk, Samuel lay beside his drawings and looked up at the sky. He had not been allowed from the confines of the inn for all his time here so far. He could often hear wagons and people passing by just beyond the wall, and longed to be away from the quiet, strange, black-clothed men and experience the colours and smells and sights and sensations of the town and the market place. Most of all, he missed Jessicah and her reassurance. He did not have to fear a beating from his uncle here, but neither did he have any friends to talk with. Along with the boredom, he found himself feeling terribly lonely.
As his thoughts turned to Jessicah, Samuel sat up and began dragging his chalk once more across the stones. He was surprised to look down and find that he had scrawled some letters and decided to see what words he could remember. He wrote ball and boy and dog and bone . He wrote three whole columns of the words he could remember, and then he began on the numbers, progressing from one to twenty, before a voice called his name from afar, and Samuel was up, scuffing quickly at the markings with his feet before running back to the stable.
Another guest had arrived and Samuel was summoned to care for the horse he had arrived on. Kans came to help him check the animal over and the rest of the afternoon was taken up with a
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