Page 9 of Found at Sea
Something snapped in me in that instant. Never had I run from a fight before, but I didn’t instigate them. Even though I was smaller than most men my age, I stood my ground when confronted. However, a change began in me as I stared down the hateful man taken with drink. Perhaps it was because I knew my life there in Helmfirth was at an end.
Everything I’d come to know was about to change.
Ned couldn’t afford to keep me around any longer. The loft I’d slept in for many nights would soon be given to someone else. My home was no longer mine.
As the man reared back his arm to punch me, I smacked him in the side of the head with the metal pitcher. Ale splashed all over him, and he fell backward onto the dirty floor.
And then I ran.
The door was closer; however, I took the steps up to my loft. While I could do without most of my possessions, I had two I refused to leave behind: my lute and my small, leather-bound journal.
Racing into the room, I tore off my pillow case and shoved two changes of clothes inside, as well as the journal, before tying the top into a knot and slinging it over my shoulder. Adrenaline coursed through me so violently that my hands trembled and my heart pounded so hard I felt it in my ears. I grabbed my lute by its neck and cast a final look through the room before running toward the door.
“Little bastard came up ‘ere!” the man exclaimed just as the heavy thumping of footsteps sounded on the stairs.
After slamming the door, I grabbed the wooden chair from the corner and placed it under the handle. Opening the shutters on my window, I was greeted by the fresh air of night. The moon shone beautifully, casting a silver light on all of us below.
There was no time to admire it.
I looked down and was only briefly afraid of the height. It wasn’t too high, but high enough that it made me hesitate.
Bang.
The man was at the door, and from the muffled voices outside of it, he wasn’t alone. Another bang. The chair wouldn’t last long before they managed to break through.
After deeply inhaling, I tucked the sack under my arm to free up a hand, and I gripped the ledge, swinging one leg over followed by the other. The time for hesitation was long since passed.
Saying a silent prayer that I wouldn’t break a leg, I dropped from the ledge.
On impact, my legs stung, and I fell to my knees in the dirt. Fortunately, I’d kept hold of my lute so it didn’t break. I quickly stood, wincing at the sting in my legs, but not allowing it to stop me. If the men couldn’t break through the door, they’d go back downstairs and be outside in minutes.
I limped to the side of the tavern, concealing myself in shadow. My breaths quickened as fright set in. I needed to get even farther away, but I was stilled by regret from my decision.
What have I done?
Life as I knew it was over, and it was too late to turn back now. Ned wouldn’t want me in the tavern anymore, because I’d be too big of a target once word spread of the night’s incident. Men would constantly try to provoke me after that—and that’s only if the man I’d angered that night didn’t find me and kill me first.
I had nowhere else to go, and yet, I couldn’t stay.
Voices came from around front, and I straightened my stance. I tried to listen, but they were too far away for me to make out what was said. And they were getting louder as the men drew closer.
I had to move.
As gunfire penetrated the air, I jumped. The man was coming for me.
Making a split-second decision, I ran toward the hill I often visited during my free hours. To reach the hill, I had to go through a part of the forest surrounding the town. Even once I reached the wall of trees and entered the forest, I didn’t slow my pace. I’d only ever come that way during the daytime, but I knew it so well that I didn’t need light.
My feet knew where to go, having traveled that same path for years.
I loved the peace of my quiet location, but there was no peace to be found that night. All I felt was grief; an intense sadness for all I’d lost in such a short amount of time. As I trekked through the trees and shrubbery, the ground began to slant upward. Higher and higher I went, and my legs threatened to give out on me several times, but I forced myself to continue.
The town of Helmfirth faded as I came out on top of the hill. The moon was brighter now, and its luminosity reflected off the dark water of the sea. I looked out over the edge, seeing the jagged rocks below and hearing the waves softly crash against them.
Reaching my favorite tree, I slid down and sat beneath it.
No one would find me there.
Alone and safe for the time being, I let the tears I’d been holding at bay finally fall.
