The following day, Silver sent Ethyn off to play with the local children on the town green. The boy had been reluctant at first, but decided to give it a try.

'He will have fun,' Silver assured himself as his mind drifted to another time. He pulled himself from his thoughts before sadness could take over. He had work to do.

The Guardian left his house and made a sharp turn up the road. He was headed to Conall's house for their first weekly meeting. Passing Sage's house on the way, the man slowed his pace slightly. The woman was sweeping off her doorstep with a long handled broom when she spotted him. She motioned for Silver to some closer.

"Good morning, Sage," Silver said cheerfully.

"Hello Silver," Sage answered with a deep sigh. Her normal teasing smile was instead a deep frown. It did not take a genius to see that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Silver came near. He reached out to pat her on the shoulder when Sage fell into his arms with a soft sob. Not knowing what to do with such emotion, Silver panicked. He ushered her into her house. He sat her in a chair and pulled another up beside her.

"That boy of yours…" Sage cried, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Ethyn," Silver corrected her. He produced a cloth from the void of his cloak and handed it to her.

Sage dabbed at her eyes. "Yes, Ethyn…he hates me."

"Oh Sage, no he doesn't…" Silver said hurriedly.

Holding up her hand, Sage quickly objected. "Yes he does! Did you see how he reacted to me last night?"

"No…"

"Well he hates me. I don't want anyone to hate me!" Tears ran down the woman's face as she held the handkerchief to her face.

'What do I do? Don't panic!' Silver was not used to these kinds of problems. "I will talk to Ethyn," he offered at last. "There must be some misunderstanding. He ran off to play this morning, but I will sit down with him tonight."

He was confused when his words did not comfort her. Instead, Sage let out another silent sob.

"What else is wrong?" Silver asked earnestly.

Sage allowed a dramatic pause. "I did not want to tell you this, but Ethyn came running by here just a short while ago. He told me that I am an evil witch who has cast a spell on you. He said I should never go near you again." The beautiful woman leaned over and wrapped her arms around Silver tightly. "How could he accuse me of such a thing? Surely your kindness has been misplaced."

Flushing deeply, he allowed her touch for a moment before clearing his throat awkwardly. "I will take care of it; don't you worry."

Sage pulled back from him and stood. Her face suddenly brightened. "You are wonderful. Thank you."

Silver shrugged. 'I guess that is all she needed.' Figuring his work was done, he gestured toward the door. "Well, I need to go. I have a meeting with Conall this morning." Before she could respond, he was through the narrow opening and disappearing in the street.

Continuing down the road, Silver became lost in his thoughts. 'I can't believe that Ethyn could be so heartless. Of course, I've only known the boy for a couple of days. He needs to know that he hurt Sage's feelings, and that is not acceptable behavior. If he is going to live with me, he must learn to be respectful.'

Silver concluded his musings as he reached Conall's house. He knocked sharply twice and once more for emphasis. Gilbert answered the door cautiously to peer at the visitor. Upon spying Silver, the door swung open, giving a full view of the room. Conall's house was the largest in the town, situated directly next to the inn. It doubled as the town hall; all meetings were held there. Conall sat at a long table with many other men from the village. The men of the town all turned, looking expectantly at the newcomer. 'I hate being late.'

Gilbert ushered Silver into a seat of honor and then took his place along the wall in case anyone else should knock.

"There you are, Silver," Conall said with a grin. His round cheeks resembled two ripe tomatoes. "We were beginning to worry about you."

"I got held up." Silver responded vaguely. He had no desire to air his personal grievances.

Conall waved his hand toward the green space beyond the inn. With his superior hearing, Silver could hear the children playing and squealing with joy. "The whole town has heard about our newest arrival," the mayor said.

No one could see the hooded figure raise an eyebrow. "You mean Ethyn? He's a good kid, and he is going to be staying with me for a while."

"Yes, Sage told us last night after she visited you," Aaron, one of the villagers, said with a smile. He wiggled his eyebrows at the Guardian.

"She has been visiting you a lot lately, hasn't she? People are beginning to talk. Might we finally hear wedding bells?" Barret teased. His round belly jiggled as he chuckled.

"I would stay away from her, Silver. She's trouble," Launce piped in. His deep voice lay in stark contrast to his thin frame.

Silver rolled his eyes. 'Small towns and their gossip...I hope Sage doesn't hear all this nonsense.'

A chorus of comments overlapped for a moment before Conall silenced them, "Silver's personal life is no business of ours. Honestly, you sound like a bunch of hens. Now, can we get down to business? There's no use wasting time."

"Alright…" was the grumbled reply.

"Before we, uh, begin new business," Conall stuttered, "is there any old business that still needs attention?"

The room remained silent. Silver had not only met but exceeded their most basic needs.

Conall continued, "Okay, on to current affairs: Aaron has a couple of pigs."

"That is no way to talk about his children," Launce interjected.

"Next thing you know, he will be calling my wife a porker…" Barret snorted.

"I mean she is known for her pigheaded nature, so he wouldn't be far off." Aaron elbowed his rotund neighbor with a grin. The room erupted in laughter.

Silver chuckled along with them. 'I had forgotten how entertaining these meetings used to be.'

"Gentlemen, uh, you know that is not what I meant. You couldn't be more wrong…" Conall desperately tried to defend himself, but his words failed under the continued jibs. He wiped his brow.

Seeing the poor mayor struggle, Silver finally held up his hand and spoke, "Men, can we please get on with this? I do have places to go."

The room became quiet again minus a few snickers so that Conall could continue. "All I was going to say was that we need a few men to help build a small fence so the pigs stop eating the neighbors' vege-tables." Conall took a couple of volunteers and then moved to the next issue. "Now that you are back, Silver, we want to make a brash statement to King Rhodri to tell him that we are not going to stand living in squalor any longer."

Silver tilted his head in disbelief. "What exactly do you plan to do?"

Conall smiled. "We want to make a raid on the castle: uh, rob them blind and maybe even take out a few guards in a battle. We know you have no love for the king's guards." Conall added with a meaningful look toward Silver.

The Guardian balled his fists. 'You have no idea. That is not a fury you should unleash.'

Conall continued, "Besides, we are still angry about the looting….I mean um….. extra 'tax collecting' they did when you left."

'I am sorry I left you.' "I am sure the king never saw a penny of the extra that was gathered." Silver added in a low tone.

"King Rhodri does not care about our trials," Barret stated, banging his large fist on the table.

"He does not care because he does not know," Launce countered with his hands raised in objection.

"Launce and Silver are right," Aaron agreed, "Baron Monte keeps all the profits from taxes and sends only good reports to the king. He uses the king's guard as his bully boys when we do not comply. What a coward!"

"Then we should attack the baron," Barret insisted.

Conall shook his head, "Baron Monte knows our position and does nothing. Only a decisive raid on the castle will bring the problem to the king's attention."

"No!" Silver yelled with a terrible force. The room fell silent as all eyes fell on him. Silver steadied his voice. "You will not raid the castle because it will only bring more terror upon us. We can take from those who have wealth around us just fine for now. When our need for food and money becomes greater, we will revisit this issue." There was a stunned silence for a moment. While Conall was in charge of the town, Silver's word was not easily discarded.

Conall nodded slowly and let the issue drop.

Silver stood. "If you will excuse me…please continue the meeting without me."

"Must you leave so soon?" Conall asked, surprised.

Silver's eyes flashed as he struggled to contain his anger. "I am afraid I must go. Good day, gentlemen."