Edwin, Stable Boy Turned Squire

The vindictive heat of the sun glared down upon the city of Tharros, leading to an extremely hot afternoon on the grounds of the Allister Estate. And in no place was the heat more unbearable than in the large wooden stable located in the hills to the west of the extensive Allister family vineyard. Edwin pushed the long strands of jet black hair away from his eyes and mopped the sweat off his brow before taking his pitchfork and spearing another patch of hay with it. The knights would be returning from their daily training exercises and if the stalls were not all properly stocked with food for all the horses, Edwin knew Stable Master Harding would give him a vicious thrashing. His eyes lingered on the barbed whip hanging eerily from the stable wall and, with a shudder, doubled his work speed.

A young man in his early twenties (although he himself only knew this as a rough estimate; Master Allister never cared to give him a proper day to call his own), Edwin had been working the stable since he was old enough to handle the workload. He knew this building like the back of his own hand; every plank of wood and rusted steel hinge was etched in his mind. He was better acquainted with the horses that resided there than the other servants working on the estate. His whole life was in this structure.

No sooner had he gotten the last stall stocked with hay, than he heard the familiar clopping of horses returning to the stable. He could tell by the sound of the cadence that Scout was leading the pack. He quickly stepped out of the way as the stable was suddenly filled with the sounds of horses stomping and men shouting.

"Here's a deal for you." One man in hefty armor laughed as he sat astride the ebony beauty Scout. "I will pay for the next round of drinks if you actually manage to hit the target while moving tomorrow."

"This from the bastard who can't get his horse to cross a small stream without bribing him with food?" The other knight scoffed as he sharply yanked Arrow's reins. "You are hardly in a place to be smug." This elicited some more laughter from the other men as they all returned the horses to their stalls. Edwin watched the men treat the poor horses roughly and tried not to show any reaction.

"You both need to take a long walk." A third knight said, hopping down off of Midnight's back. Upon landing, he made a funny face. He immediately lifted his foot and let out a string of profanity before turning angrily to Edwin. "Stable Boy!" He shouted sharply. "Get your useless ass over here!" Edwin felt some sweat run down his face and this time, it wasn't from the unbearable heat. His eyes darted over to the Stable Master Harding, who did not look pleased.

Slowly Edwin crossed over to the stall, where the knight (Sir Engeram, maybe?) was waiting impatiently. The look on his face could curdle milk. "You are supposed to clean these fucking stables before we get back." He growled. "That is your job, isn't it?"

"Yes. I cleaned each one." Edwin insisted. Sir Engeram immediately lifted his boot up so the young man could see the sole of it and the young man noticed the smear of brown along the bottom.

"Then why did I just step in a pile of fucking shit, you worthless cunt?!" The knight lowered his foot and grabbed Edwin by the collar.

"I...I cleaned each one, I swear!" Edwin said in worry. The other knights and even their squires were snickering at Edwin's reaction. Even though he was not small, as the stable work had given him broad shoulders and toned muscles, Edwin knew there would not be much of a fight if the knight wanted to start one; he was just a servant for House Allister and had no right to defend himself against a knight of Tharros. Sir Engeram could beat his face to a pulp and all Edwin could do would be to let it happen, as even lifting his fists to deflect the blows would be an act of **** against a member of the Tharros nobility. Edwin certainly had the scars to prove it.

"Oh, really." The knight sneered. "Maybe you need a closer look." He grabbed the back of Edwin's neck and threw him to the ground. Much to his chagrin, his face landed in the pile of horse droppings, eliciting more laughter from the assembled crowd. Edwin tried to lift himself up, but Sir Engream put his shit-coasted boot on the back of the young man's head and pushed him back down into it. "Do you see it now, fuck-stain?" Edwin did his best to nod his head until the knight lifted his boot. He then proceeded to kick the stable boy in the ribs, knocking him onto his side, before spitting on him. Edwin let out a loud groan and clutched his chest. He opened his eyes and looked over at Sir Engeram's squire, a young man named Philip. The squire gave Edwin a sadistic grin and held out his left hand to show him the brown mess coating his palm, cluing the stable boy in to how the droppings got in the stable. Edwin wondered how long during this hot day that bastard was carrying around the shit he used to get him in trouble.

"Maybe he should lick your boots clean." One of the knights chuckled.

"I don't have that kind of time." Sir Engeram snorted and turned to Stable Master Harding. "Make sure he gets properly punished and make damn sure your filth is in line next time."

"Of course, Sir." Harding bows. Out of the corner of his eye, he shot Edwin a murderous glance to let him know he would be getting a vicious lashing later. With that, the Knights all left the stable to return to their lodging. They would be staying at the estate for another three weeks for training and Edwin knew this was far from the last incident he would have to endure.

Once the men were out of earshot, Harding pulled Edwin to his feet. "Clean and groom the horses." He hissed. "Once you are done, report back to me so I can properly educate you on stable care. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Edwin said weakly. He understood too well. 'Educate' was Stable Master Harding's way of saying Edwin was going to be on the receiving end of some corporal punishment.

"Good. Now get back to work." He pushed the boy away and left the stables. Edwin sighed and wiped the remaining shit off his face. He slowly walked over to Scout and brushed his hand along the horse's nose. Scout snorted and rubbed back affectionately. Edwin grabbed the brush from the wooden stool it was sitting on and began to groom the willing horse. Every movement hurt his sore ribs, but he powered through it.

It was, after all, just another day in the Allister stables.