Chapter 4

6 Years Old

Mother was in the dining room, making fathers dinner for when he came home. She had already fed me. She gave me an apple. It was the worst apple in the bowl but I should be thankful that I got anything at all. Mother doesn't feed me very often. I have to fend for myself now. I am a big girl. A lady. A woman and I can take care of myself.

I stepped into the dining room as quietly as possible and glanced at the table quickly. There was a plate covered in bread. Making sure that my mother was not watching, I picked one up and darted back to the hallway. Hah! Success! Kyra the Sneaky strikes again!

I darted down the hallway, dodging the furnishings and being as quiet as a mouse. I pride myself on how quiet I am. It was a skill I had to learn and it was a while before I figured out how to get around without being caught. And I didn't want to get caught.

When I get caught, mother locks me in my room for a few days without food or water and father punishes me. There was a lot of trial and error in the early days of sneaking around. More error than success but I never gave up and look how sneaky I am now!

As I was thinking, I made my way to the door, opening it quietly, I snuck out through the gap when it was big enough to fit me and I closed it again. I ran as fast as I could for if father came home and found me out and about, I would be in so much trouble.

I ran down past the path and into the cover of the trees across the road. I ran through them until I figured it was safe enough to stop. I almost fell over in relief. My pulse was quick and my breath was wheezy from the sudden exertion. I started laughing. Another successful escape.

I began walking again, occasionally jumping over fallen trees, rocks and logs. I stretched my arms out, jumping on top of a log. I liked to pretend that I could hover, fly even. I ran down the length of the log, laughing and smiling all the way. The outdoors are truly a beautiful place.

This was a familiar route for me. I almost always came this way when I made my escapes to go play. I was going to the pond. It was a nice secluded haven. There was a shallow pond on one side that was connected to a deeper creek. The area was hidden from view by the vast amount of trees that surrounded the place. The floor was covered in soft grass that felt like you were lying on a cloud when you lay on it and close your eyes and there is always a soft cool breeze that was constantly flowing through the place. It was truly an amazing area and it was mine.

I reached the entrance, running my hands along the bark as I walked past the two trees that seemed to almost shift into an arch only for me. This was my arch, my creek, my pond, my haven.

Something was different today though. I could feel it as soon as I stepped through the arch. I looked around. Nothing seemed to be different visually. Maybe the adrenaline was still in my system from escaping the house.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the pond. I dipped my bare feet into the water and watched the ripples roll over the water. As they reached the opposite edge, that's when I noticed him. A boy. He was hiding behind one of the bigger trees. Only the side of his head was visible. I froze.

"Hello?" I asked, shifting to the side to get a better view of the boy. He ducked behind the tree completely, shielding any view I had of him.

"I won't hurt you. You can come out." I coaxed, trying to get him to come closer.

Slowly and with many promises that I wasn't here to hurt him, he came out, cautious expression painted on his face.

He was grimy and covered in dirt. His complexion was pale although I could see that he had spent much of his time out in the sun. His hair was orange although I could only just tell because it was also covered in dirt. His eyes were a pale blue, grey when the sun hit them at the right angle.

He sneezed and I giggled. He ducked his head down, obviously embarrassed. I watched as his eyes landed on the bread I had brought. I had intended to eat it myself and feed some to the ducks if there were any here today, which there wasn't but that was okay. I could always take more another day.

I ripped the bread in half, holding out one half to the boy. I figured he could use it more than I could.

"Do you want some food?" I asked, nodding at the bread in my hands. He crept forward slightly. His clothes were ratty and stained with God knows what. There were stains of every size and colour. He must be one of the farming boys from down the road.

He took the bread and all but stuffed it into his mouth, closing his eyes as though this was the first meal he'd had in ages. This was entirely possible as the farmers were not very wealthy and often had to go without meals for days, weeks sometimes. All of their crops went to the King and the other wealthy people of Wessex.

I looked down at the rest of the bread and felt a little hesitation before giving in and giving the rest of it to the boy.

He sat down next to me and finished the bread. This time he ate it much slower. After he was done, we sat in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. There was no guarantee that he'd actually answer anyway.

"What's your name?" I asked him, turning my head to look at him.

"I don't have no name." He answered, looking sad.

"Surely you must." I said, my brow furrowing in confusion. I thought that everyone had a name.

He shook his head and sighed.

"What is you name?" He asked, turning to sit and face me. He looked genuinely interested in me and that was a stark change from what I was used to. It was nice.

"My name is Kyra." I replied, still confused about how this young boy before me did not have a name. Everyone has a name. Wasn't it a part of life? A part of who you are?

"Pretty." He answered simply, a hesitant smile on his lips.

"Do you want a name?" I asked, getting excited, ideas coming to mind. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay. I will list names and you tell me what you like." I said, taking my feet out of the pond and also turning to face him. I racked my brain for every name I could think of.

"Albert?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Arthur, Augustus, Callum, Edward, Edmund?" I listed more, marking them off on my fingers. He said no for each.

"Ecbert. Like the King?" He said no to that as well. I was running out of classic English names to offer him.

"Fredrik, Harold, Henry, Josef, Karl, Matthew, Phillip?" None of those were takers either.

We fell into silence for a while, thinking.

"Oh, I know. What about Harrison? It's not like any name I've heard of before. It's unique." I said, my voice raising in excitement.

"Harrison. I like." He said, smiling wide and showing me his teeth which were surprisingly clean for a peasant farmers boy.

"From now on you will be called Harrison." I beamed. He nodded.

"Am Harrison." I laughed, happy to see him smile.

I had never had a friend before and I hoped that Harrison would be the first. Even if a higher born lady like myself should never be caught with these kind of people - riff raff- as mother calls them. That wouldn't stop me. I am Kyra the Sneaky after all and I don't need to listen to any more silly rules or abide by the order of status.

"It's getting late, Harrison. I need to go. Mother will be wondering where I am." I said sorrowfully. I didn't want to leave so soon.

"That okay. Thank you." He said, standing up and dusting himself off. It did not do much though. He was covered in too much muck. I doubted that it would ever come out. He held out his hand for me to take and I let him pull me up.

"Shall we meet back here tomorrow? Same time?" I asked, looking over at him from the arch.

"Yes." He said before running through the trees the opposite way that I had come in through.

As I made my way back to the house, I figured everything might get better after all.

Authors note:

I would like to dedicate this chapter to problemsasf who has helped me through so much over this last week and the many weeks before. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for all you've done for me. I hope you like your character because he means a lot to Kyra just as you mean a lot to me.

I would also like to say that today marks the third anniversary of my beloved Grandma's death. I'm sorry I couldn't be there but I love you and I won't break my promise. I will sing that song for you even if it is a terrible song. I'll still sing it. I love you so, so, so much and I hope you are happy where you are now. I'll see you again, don't you worry.

As usual please leave a comment about what you think of this story so far. I do write this for you guys, after all.

Updated on the 24th of October.