Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:59:29 -0700
From: Dragonwriter <Dragonwriter@toshirodragon.com>
Subject: A Fairy Tale in Flight 3

Chapter Three - Mending the Clock Spring

	Morning found both, Bitte and I, feeling better than we had felt
for several days and after a quick breakfast, we raced to town. Bitte kept
watch for followers and though he saw no one, we couldn?t be certain that
no one, other than the porter, saw us leave. But after the humiliations of
the past week, I really didn?t care. Even though it was early, the smithy
forge was already gushing smoke out into the air and Tamas was at the forge
dressed in his grey linen shirt and heavy leather breeches. His braid was
coiled on his head, the tassel sweeping the back of his neck; I stopped in
the doorway and sucked in my breath, glad that the skirts of my doublet
covered my awakening cock. Kinna shouted to me from the bellows and Tamas
turned with a smile.

	He gestured for us to come in but remained at the forge front,
studying whatever was in the fire. I stepped into the smithy and circled
around to the far side of the anvil, where I could watch but be out of the
way. From where I stood, I could see two large pieces of thin-coiled metal,
several inches wide but very thin. The larger one curled fairly tightly
while the shorter piece curved in a loose arc, both were nearly buried in
the coal bed. Tamas peered into the fire again; he nodded to himself,
apparently pleased with what he saw.

	?We?re fixin? a clock spring,? he said straightening up. ?The
church clock mainspring snapped early this morn.?

	?So that?s why I didn?t hear it! I thought perhaps I just wasn't
listening,? I said surprised.

	?Nah, nah, nuttin wrong wi? your hearing, Father John came a-runnin
in at the crack of day, all in tears. Pulled me ri? outta my bed, he did,?
he grinned, thoroughly pleased with himself. ?We need to repair the old
spring for the poor Father, buying new ore is out o? the question, much too
expensive for the church. However, if I understood Master Colin correctly
this should fix it and send it back to chiming in no time.?

	Tamas looked confident that the repair would work, if he was
worried about whether he?d learned the necessary skills to repair the
spring, he didn?t let it show on his face. His whole bearing was different
now that he was Master: he?d always appeared self-assured and headstrong
but now that self-assurance was as apparent on him as a layer of clothing
was, now that his peers had acknowledged him as Master of his craft. He
moved with the grace of a man who knew he was the one in control and there
was a possessive air to him now. This is the Master of the forge now, it
said. The only bad side I could see was that his sexiness had tripled and I
was going to have a hard time keeping my hands to myself, while in the
forge. Tamas crossed the forge in three easy strides, cupped my chin in his
hand and tipping my head up he kissed me.

	?Good morrow, Nicco,? he said breathily against my lips.

	?Go-good morrow, Tamas.? I answered my voice breaking.

	?Tam, Ah think tis abou? ready,? Teru said from the forge.

	Tamas smiled at me and returned to the forge, where he pulled a
heavy leather glove onto his left hand. Heads together, he and Teru,
discussed the heat and the metal, while I stared ravenously at Tamas? broad
back, suddenly wanting him with a hunger that threatened to consume
me. Bitte brought me a stool and I perched on it precariously.

	?You?re going to stay for the show?? He asked with a grin. ?I
suppose he might take his shirt off if you ask him.?

	He grinned and dodged my half-hearted clout, but I really did want
to see Tamas without his shirt. I turned my attention back to the forge as
Tamas and Teru separated, Teru heading to the worktable, on the right side
of the smithy, where he hefted a sturdy file. Picking up a pair of tongs,
Tamas reached into the fire and moved the smaller piece of the spring over
to the side where it would stay warm but not get any hotter. Picking up the
other piece, he rotated on his heel to the anvil. Carefully, without
loosening his grip he switched the tongs to his left hand. Without looking,
he picked up a hammer from the row at his feet. I wondered if lining them
up correctly was one of Kinna?s jobs and what consequences there might be
if they were out of order. However, in studying the handles, I decided
Tamas probably knew by touch which hammer he?d grabbed.

	Carefully, he hammered the hot end, folding it back onto itself and
hammering it down again, making the end thicker than the rest of the
spring. In hammering the spring, he also straightened it out semi flat for
several inches, which I guessed would make it easier to reattach to the
other piece. Grasping the cooler part of the spring in his leather gloved
hand; he switched hammers to one with a smaller head. Artfully, he forged
the end into a crescent shape that was slightly bulbous on the end, which
made me think of the tadpoles in the castle moat with fatheads and narrower
tails. When he was finished, he handed it to Teru who took it to the table
and started to file the worked end. Tamas reached into the fire and pulled
out the other half of the broken spring. Hopping down from my stool, I
walked over to the workbench to watch Teru. He looked up at me and grinned.

	?Ah have ta geh off all tha fire scale, thah's this stuff what
sticks ta tha metal when tis been in tha fire. Tha metal won't weld tight
i' taint clean." He picked up the file and continued scraping. After a few
minutes, he rubbed it with a piece of pumice before filing it some more.

	Tamas appeared at his shoulder and took the spring. He studied it
closely before rubbing it with his thumb. Apparently satisfied, he handed
Teru the second piece of spring. I noted that the "head" of the tadpole was
swimming in the opposite direction from the first piece and they would fit
together snug as two kittens in a basket.

	"That was the easy part," Tamas said with a grin and a wink. He
walked back to the fire and leaned close to it again. Judging the
temperature, Teru whispered to me. Tamas made a slow-it-down gesture to
Noah, who slowed his pumping.

	Teru carried the two pieces of metal to the fire and with the tongs
placed them in the upper part of the fire, away from the tuyere, the
bellows nozzle on the side of the forge. Carefully Tamas covered them with
coals, except for a tiny like opening through which he could judge the heat
of the fire. The spring glowed bright red from the heat and Tamas called to
Kinna, who grabbed a small box off the worktable and hastily brought it to
his much-adored Master. Tamas pulled one piece of glowing spring out of the
fire, even from where I stood, I could feel the heat and I wondered how
Tamas could enjoy it so much. Kinna held the box up and Tamas reached in
pulling out a handful of a finely ground gritty substance, that I later
learned was a ground mineral that was common in Wallingfirth, being mined
near there, and sprinkled it on the hot metal tadpole.

	"Tis flux, keeps the metal sound," Teru explained. "An? keeps any
new scale from formin'."

	Tamas tucked the spring back into the fire in the same spot,
repeating the dusting with the other section of spring and Teru shoveled
hot coals over them once again leaving the tiny window for Tamas. Tamas
held out his right hand and swept it side to side over the coals. The heat
from the fire must have been horrendous but he never flinched and it wasn't
long before the metal started to change colors, red turning to orange and
then to yellow, fading to nearly white. The metal appeared to shimmer and
reminded me of melted butter left in the sun on a hot summer
afternoon. Something sparked and dropped into the fire, leaning forward
just a little I saw a couple tiny sparks, no bigger than fleas, popping off
the metal.

	"Move away Nicco, tis very hot," Tamas said briskly, his hand on my
shoulder and I retreated to my stool once again. "Stay there, dohn move a
muscle, Nicco, Bitte, there's no second chance with the weld, if I mess it
up, the spring is done fer."

	I shivered, suddenly quite nervous about being in the forge. Tamas
leaned over the fire again and my throat went dry at how desirable and
incredibly beautiful he looked with the shadows of the fire flickering
against his pale skin. His brow and jaw were tense from concentration and I
reflected on what a good look for him it was. He flicked a finger and the
fire seemed to retreat. He nodded and flashed a ghost of that cheeky grin
of his; I shifted on the stool trying to get comfortable with a rapidly
hardening cock.  Beside me, Bitte snickered and I shot him a piercing
glance, he gazed off toward the forge with an innocent look on his face. I
was debating on saying something to him when, across the forge, Noah shut
the door and barred it before crossing to the back door, beside me, and
shutting it. His face looked strained and I was suddenly sympathetic to the
lad, working under such a demanding Master. Kinna scurried about the forge
end of the smithy, moving everything that might be tripped over out of the
way. Teru brought Tamas a heavy leather apron and helped him tie it before
donning one himself. Standing in front of the forge, Tamas swung around and
stopped in front of the anvil. He glanced down at his right hand and set
his hammer in that spot on the anvil. Raising his head, he looked at me and
held a finger to his lips. Grinning, he silently mouthed 'no water' and I
flushed bright red, nodding fractionally, I willed my breathing to
slow. Tipping my head, I listened to his heartbeat pounding, confident and
self-assured with no trace of nervousness. He was truly the Master here.

	"Teru, Noah, the tongs," he said with a ?come here? gesture. They
hurried to his side each carrying a pair of tongs.

	Taking one set of tongs one in each hand, he reached into the fire
and pulled out the glowing pieces of spring. He spun sharply to the anvil
and rested the right hand piece, the straighter section, against it on the
flat, canting it upwards just a bit. Teru explained to me later that this
was to keep the join from losing heat when by coming into contact with the
cold anvil. Tamas lined the left hand piece up with the right one and
touched them together. I heard a sizzle as the two almost molten pieces of
steel joined together. Moving almost quicker than I could see, he handed
off the right tongs to Teru and picked up his hammer striking a gentle blow
on the weld. Just enough to "set" it, I learned later.

	A spray of sparks, molten flux and not quite dissolved scale
sprayed out from the weld in a shower of fire, that looked hot and hissed
as they hit the floor of the smithy. Now I knew why he wore the apron and I
suddenly had the urge to say a prayer for the future of that apron as the
sparks bounced off his lower abdomen and legs. Tamas struck another blow to
the metal, a more vigorous one, and then another continuing to hammer the
spring. He worked from the center of the weld outward, forcing the two
pieces to become one once again. The ringing blows echoed in my head along
with his heartbeat in a sort of song that I would be unable to describe to
anyone. But I knew for the rest of my life I would hear that duet of
thumping bass and clanging ring anytime I came near Tamas.

	Tamas held the piece up and studied it, before hammering it a few
more times. When he was finally satisfied, he returned the spring to the
fire. They reburied it under the coals and stepped back to watch. Kinna
sidled up to me and leaned against my leg. His small body was shaking from
stress and I stroked his hair softly. When the spring was just approaching
yellow, Tamas pulled it out again and with Teru's assistance holding the
tongs, Tamas forged it into a tight coil. Watching him hammer, I realized
that if he hadn't thickened the broken ends at first, they, by now, would
be thinner than the rest of the spring and in all likelihood would have
broken once again. I suspected this was an esoteric piece of knowledge that
one learned near the end of one's education in the ways of the smithy.

	Tamas heated the piece one last time and bent the pliant metal into
its final shape. Gently Noah smoothed the edges of a small rectangular cut
out in the end of the spring, Tamas watched without comment, content to let
his apprentice work. When it was finished, he nodded in satisfaction and
wiped his brow and grinning over the finished product at his
apprentice. Sweat, soot and something else that I suspected was metal
residue streaked all three men?s faces. Kinna sprang away from me towards
the forge. Tamas gestured to Noah and Teru, who carefully lifted the spring
and carried it to the forge. Kinna opened a small door underneath and they
slid the spring inside positioning it carefully under the fire above. Kinna
shut the door carefully and backed up from the forge to Tamas?
side. Absently, Tamas ruffled the boy's dark hair.

	?It has to cool carefully,? Tamas said, tapping the boy on the
nose.

	?Cool?? I asked. ?But you put it under the fire.?

	?Hai, it has to cool very slowly.? Tamas crossed the smithy floor
to me. ?If it cools too fast on the outside, the middle gets brittle and
it?ll break when put back in place in the clock. So we cool it under
there.?

	He let go of Kinna with a slight push toward the back door before
taking a wet piece of cloth from Noah. Murmuring quiet thanks, Tamas wiped
the soot and grunge off his face. I smiled in delight as his freckles
reappeared on his nose. He turned to his workers, all of which were wiping
down their own faces and hands.

	"All right, let's break for lunch and the spring should be cooled
and ready to install in the clock. Kinna stay close, you won't have the
chime to tell you when to return," Tamas said, wiping his forehead on the
scrap of cloth. I motioned to Bitte to join them and he left with
Kinna. Tamas stepped over to me, his hand gently gripping my bicep. He
leaned forward slightly, his head inclined towards me.

	"I must smell like a bull," he said softly.

	"Mmm, no," I said taking a deep breath. "I smell dragon musk and
hot metal. Very stimulating, very sexy."

	Tamas grinned and kissed me. I grasped the stiff leather apron
feeling the roughness against my hands. I tasted hot metal on his lips and
felt my knees wobble unsteadily. Tamas? hand slid down my arm and looped
around my waist. His other hand tossed the scrap of cloth on the worktable
before joining its mate on my waist, gently cupping my left buttock. Aching
need coursed through my veins and I moaned softly, considering trying to
throw him down right there in the smithy. Almost as if he?d heard my
thoughts, he raised his head and looked at me.

	?Yeh want me ta bolt tha back door again?? he asked his eyes
glinting with mischief.

	Blushing, I nodded and he grinned. He crossed the room to the rear
door and dropped the bolt down pulling the string latch inside.  Stretching
slightly, he hooked the open shutter of the nearby window and pulled it
nearly shut. The smithy became very dim, lit only by the glow of the fire
and a little sunlight oozing through slightly ajar shutters. He untied the
apron and hung it on a hook near the door. Turning around, he pulled his
shirt out of his breeches and tossed it on the back table. He crossed the
smithy to a large bucket which he leaned over and splashed water on his
arms, face and chest. He looked up and shook his head side to side. Water
trickled down his chest and evaporated with a sizzle. He grinned at me with
a leer and I decided that he was going to rib me for that bit of daftness
for some time. I stuck out my tongue and started awkwardly to unbutton my
doublet. Tamas crossed the smithy in a flash and gently pushed my hands
aside.

	?Let me do that,? he said softly. ?I do enjoy undressing yeh.?

	I blushed and watched his hands work their way down my front,
enjoying his graceful movements. Tamas bumped his forehead against the
crown of my head and when I looked up startled, he caught my lips in a
kiss. My hands slid helplessly down his arms, seeking a handhold, as I
struggled to stay on my feet. He finished the buttons down my front,
lifting my left hand to reach the buttons at my wrist, he turned his head,
and tipping my hand took my middle finger into his mouth. I moaned at the
feel of his tongue on my finger. He easily popped open the three small
buttons on my sleeve. Switching wrists, he sucked on my pinky; I moaned and
clung to his belt. Letting go of my hand, he caught me under the elbow as
my knees decided enough was enough and I started to sag to the floor. Tamas
caught the back of my doublet and I half slipped out of it. He wrapped his
arms around my waist and backed me up to the wall. My doublet finished its
journey to the floor and lay there unnoticed. Pressed to the wall, I had no
escape and for a moment, I was a bit nervous about being caught between the
solid plaster wall and the solid young smith. However, the anxiety
disappeared as he started kissing me again. I moaned softly into his mouth,
my arms wrapped around his neck. It didn?t take Tamas but a minute more to
finish undressing me. Still kissing me, he wrapped his arms around my butt
and lifted me into the air. Startled I broke off the kiss with a squeak and
a frantic tightening of my arms around his neck.

	?Nicco, wrap yer legs roun? me,? he said huskily.

	Hastily, I wrapped my legs around his waist. His belt buckle
pressed coldly against my butt and I groaned in pleasure at the pressure on
the sensitive nerves there. Tamas crossed the smithy in a couple strides,
still supporting my weight in his arms, to the back table and set me on
it. I squealed in surprise at the cold metal and he chuckled amused. Laying
his hands on either side of me, he leaned forward to kiss me. Heat radiated
out from his hands warming the table to a temperature that made me feel
slightly drowsy. His lips slid across my cheek to my jaw, sucking gently on
it. I moaned and cried out, my hands gripping his upper arms as I pulled
his shoulder to me and nipped at it. He sucked in his breath and tensed up
pressing his shoulder to my teeth. I had discovered quite by accident that
he actually enjoyed a bite or two during sex. It had puzzled me at first
but I quickly worked out the best ways to use it to my advantage. I sucked
the small piece of flesh between my teeth and Tamas? head rolled backwards
as he moaned in pleasure.

	?Ahh Nicco,? he groaned. I let go of his shoulder and leaned close
to his ear. A stray red curl tickled my nose and I caught it in my teeth
and gave it a gentle tug.

	?Tamas,? I whispered in his ear. ?Make love to me, I want to forget
for awhile my father, my brother, my station in life. I only want to know
the feel of your body against mine.?

	?Nicco,? he whispered huskily.

	Grasping my head, he pegged me in a kiss that felt like fire
flooding my body. Waves of heat and fiery passion swept through me and I
cried out as his hands caressed their way down my front. I fumbled
awkwardly at his belt, until one of his large hands covered mine and the
belt slid open almost as of it own desire. I pushed his breeches and hose
down frantically, my fingers catching in the hair curling over the edge his
braies. He hissed softly and untied his braies, sliding them off his
hips. Tamas reached over my shoulder and picked up a small metal pot, which
he set down out just outside of bumping reach. Tipping me back against the
wall, he leaned forward, with tongue, lips and fingertips teased my
nipples, belly and cock. I cried out and thrashed under him, twisting and
arching, my belly pressing up against him. He thumbed the lid off the small
pot and I smelled honing oil. His fingers teased at my hole and I cried
out.

	?Tamas, please, now,? I gasped.

	He grunted and slathered the oil on his cock. Pressing up to my
hole, he leaned forward and devoured my mouth once again. I moaned into his
mouth and pushed down until he was fully sheathed inside me. He made a
noise that was more like an animal snarl than anything I?d ever heard
before and started moving. I felt the rough wall scrape my shoulders and
smelled hot metal, burning wood and honing oil. Tamas? hands slipped
between the wall and my shoulders, at once protecting and pressing me
down. Somewhere far away, the fire popped and I heard a low growling animal
like noise. My heartbeat thundered in tandem with his heart and my back
arched as I felt my orgasm rip through my body. I cried out grappling at
Tamas? shoulders and felt his fingers dig into the soft flesh between my
shoulder and collarbone. Close to my ear, I heard another low growl and I
blinked in puzzlement.

	?Nicco, oh heaven Nicco,? Tamas groaned as his orgasm drove him
deep inside me and his back arched.

	We stayed like that for a few moments longer, but it was getting
close to the time when the others would be returning to the forge. Tamas
kissed me again and went to fetch the water to clean up. By the time, Teru
returned from town, we were cleaned up, dressed and Tamas, with Noah, was
checking on the spring in the annealing oven. Tamas looked Teru up and down
quirking an eyebrow at him. Teru flushed and looked away flashing a small
bite mark on his neck and I wondered if he?d been up to the castle doing
the same thing we?d been doing, with Mellys. However, I doubted he?d have
had time to go that far, which led me to ponder what excuse Mellys may have
offered Mother to allow her to run to the village. Tamas? shirt hid the
bite I?d put on his shoulder but still I couldn?t help blushing.

	"The spring is cooling nicely." Tamas said looking back into the
oven. "Looks like the weld will hold."

	"Was theh any doubt?" Teru asked with a grin.

	Surprisingly, Tamas blushed a fiery color of crimson from
embarrassment, for all his self-assurance, he was still unused to being the
man in control and the one whose judgments were followed and relied on by
others without someone with more experience offering advice first. His
embarrassment at the confidences of others was just another addition to his
overall sexiness. He rose to his feet and brushed his hands together as he
looked around the forge.

	"We have plenty o' work to keep us busy 'til the spring is ready to
re-install. Let's get goin' fellows!"

	He walked purposely to the front workbench, where a row of broken
farming implements was lined up awaiting repairs. I nodded and gestured to
Bitte to follow me, we'd crowded the smithy enough for one day and the
smiths had work to do, except Kinna, who would be napping in the house. He
would do the cleaning and small jobs in the evening before it got dark.

	I was hoping to sweet talk a little food out of Nayne since my
lunchtime had been taken up by her red headed son, not that I really
minded, of course, but my stomach was complaining. The afternoon sun shone
down on the courtyard warming the cobbles and my nose twitched to the
smells of warm stone and earth. A homey clatter of crockery in the kitchen
told me that Gisela had started cleaning the lunch dishes. A piece of song
drifted out the door and I smiled, maybe she still loved Tamas but she?d
shed her sullenness over the winter and was a much happier young woman
these days. I stopped on the threshold and breathed in the scent of food,
soap and something sweet I couldn?t name. Gisela looked up and saw me. She
nodded and smiled at Bitte at my shoulder.

	?Is there anything left to eat?? I asked.

	?Mistress put a pair o? covered bowls i? tha larder fer yeh and
Master Tamas, afore she went inta town,? Gisela said, jerking her head in
the direction of the pantry.

 	?Thank you,? I said,

	I glanced over my shoulder at the pantry door and saw Bitte,
already as tall as the older girl, hip resting against the counter, lean
forward to talk to her. I smiled and the thought flitted through my mind
that she might very well be his first experience with sex. I pondered what
I should do, if anything, about it as I entered the pantry. The pantry was
cool and dim being on the sheltered side of the house. I?d always liked the
pantries in the castle and as a child, they?d been a favorite place to hide
form my brother, Michael, and his fellows. Nayne?s pantry was as neat and
clean as the rest of her house and surprisingly well stocked. I hadn?t
really ever thought about it before but Tamas? ability in the forge must
bring in a nice income.

	The larder door stood open just a crack; studying it I decided it
leaned from either a bad hinge or a warp and I wondered why no one had ever
fixed it. Perhaps Nayne only thought about when entering the larder and
then forgot to mention it to Tamas later. I made a mental note to tell him
and offer to take it to Sayji or Will for repair.  Because there were no
windows opening into the larder, it was quite dark in there and I waited
for my eyes to adjust. Three wooden shelves covered the outside
wall. Dishes draped with cloth filled them and I wondered what might be in
each one. A well-carved thrawl, a stone shelf, made of a pretty
cream-colored stone and braced up by wooden trestles rested against the
interior wall, farthest from any outside heat. Meat and possibly fish would
be stored there, but I doubted Nayne would put our lunch there. Returning
to the outer wall shelves, I peeked under several cloth covers, placed over
the dishes to keep the flies and other household pests out. At the end of
the middle shelf, I found a pair of bowls containing thick bean and lentil
soup and a loaf of fresh bread. I called to Bitte, who came at a run and
carried one bowl and half the bread out to the kitchen.

	He reheated the soup by warming a handful round metal discs in the
warming pan placed in the fire. When they were quite hot, he tipped the pan
over my bowl, dropping them into the soup. Stirring the discs around heated
the soup quite nicely, after which he cleaned them and returned them to a
small basket on the hutch. Carefully, I carried the bowl and bread outside
in the crook of my arm. My usual place near the rosebush was dry and warm
from the sun and I sat down carefully to eat. The thick stew was seasoned
with pepper and butter and melted in my mouth. I ate it using the bread,
first, as a scoop and then as a mop to clean the bowl. When it was
completely gone, I stared at the almost clean bowl, I hadn?t realized I was
that hungry!

	Bitte appeared shortly after I finished to take my bowl and brought
me some ale to wash everything down. He carried the bowl into the kitchen
and returned moments later. He dropped to the grass beside me and laid
back, his arms crossed behind his head. I smiled down at him
indulgently. He was something far more to me than a mere servant was and I
treasured his companionship. I made a mental note to thank Tamas once more
for bringing him into my life.

	?You spend a lot of time with Gisela,? I said.

	?She?s lonely,? he answered, his arm covering his eyes so I
couldn?t read them. ?Her house was so full and she had lots of younger
brothers and sisters to take care of.? He turned his head and peered out
from under his arm at me. ?She works less here, but there?s no one to talk
to a lot of the time. So I talk to her.?

	?Hmm, that?s good.? I poked him in the nose. ?You remember what we
talked about in the archive??

	?Nicco!? His voice cracked in agitation and he flushed bright red.

	?All right,? I said with a grin. ?I just don?t want her taken
advantage of is all.?

	?Nah,? he said covering his eyes again with one arm. ?She?s had
plenty of offers from the village lads but she wanted Tamas.? He paused a
moment before going on, ?Gisela recognizes that Tamas isn?t interested in
her but it?s not so easy to stop liking someone. I told her not to let
anyone try to ?comfort? her and get her in trouble.? He chuckled and I
sorted at the old mannish attitude coming from a lad of barely fourteen.

	?She blushed bright red and stammered,? he grinned. ?But I think
she?ll be okay, she wants someone to love her and offer her a good house of
her own, so I don?t think she?ll fall for honeyed words.?

	?Well I hope not, she?s still a child,? I said suddenly feeling
much older than my twenty years.

	?Besides she?s much too concerned with not disappointing Mistress
Nayne, though she?s not that much younger than Nayne was when Tamas was
born, so I wonder how much disappointing there?d actually be..? His voice
trailed off and he was silent for several moments.

	?Oh and just between you and me,? he went on after a short pause,
?she really did love Tamas just for himself. Not because he could make her
life better but because he was so very nice to her when she moved here. She
was very scared and he helped her feel safe.?

	?Mmm, that?s good to hear,? I said softly looking across the
courtyard to the smithy.

	Bitte yawned and closed his eyes and in a few minutes, the regular
sound of his breathing told me he was asleep. I smiled at him again,
thinking that I had done a lot more smiling in the last year than I had
done in the whole of my prior nineteen years. I had this dark haired, black
eyed, unreadable child to thank for most of that, him and a tall flame
haired young man.

	With Bitte asleep and Tamas working, I felt somewhat abandoned,
which struck me as odd since up until a year ago, I had spent most of my
time alone. I hadn't brought my rucksack or any copying to the forge today
as my hand still hurt from hitting Lehi and I wondered what Tamas would say
when he finally saw the bruise on my knuckles. I leaned back and laid my
head on Bitte's leg, closing my eyes, I listened to the sound of bird song
alternating with the clang of hammer on metal in the forge. Far away, I
heard laughter, and the rumble of Tamas' voice. I would do whatever I
needed to remain here, I wasn't going to marry some elderly dowager, no
matter how much Father yelled. What I didn't realize was that Father didn?t
intend to yell anymore.


Chapter Three - Mending the Clock Spring

	Morning found both, Bitte and I, feeling better than we had felt
for several days and after a quick breakfast, we raced to town. Bitte kept
watch for followers and though he saw no one, we couldn't be certain that
no one, other than the porter, saw us leave. But after the humiliations of
the past week, I really didn't care. Even though it was early, the smithy
forge was already gushing smoke out into the air and Tamas was at the forge
dressed in his grey linen shirt and heavy leather breeches. His braid was
coiled on his head, the tassel sweeping the back of his neck; I stopped in
the doorway and sucked in my breath, glad that the skirts of my doublet
covered my awakening cock. Kinna shouted to me from the bellows and Tamas
turned with a smile.

	He gestured for us to come in but remained at the forge front,
studying whatever was in the fire. I stepped into the smithy and circled
around to the far side of the anvil, where I could watch but be out of the
way. From where I stood, I could see two large pieces of thin-coiled metal,
several inches wide but very thin. The larger one curled fairly tightly
while the shorter piece curved in a loose arc, both were nearly buried in
the coal bed. Tamas peered into the fire again; he nodded to himself,
apparently pleased with what he saw.

	"We're fixin' a clock spring," he said straightening up. "The
church clock mainspring snapped early this morn."

	"So that's why I didn't hear it! I thought perhaps I just wasn't
listening," I said surprised.

	"Nah, nah, nuttin wrong wi' your hearing, Father John came a-runnin
in at the crack of day, all in tears. Pulled me ri` outta my bed, he did,"
he grinned, thoroughly pleased with himself. "We need to repair the old
spring for the poor Father, buying new ore is out o' the question, much too
expensive for the church. However, if I understood Master Colin correctly
this should fix it and send it back to chiming in no time."

	Tamas looked confident that the repair would work, if he was
worried about whether he'd learned the necessary skills to repair the
spring, he didn`t let it show on his face. His whole bearing was different
now that he was Master: he'd always appeared self-assured and headstrong
but now that self-assurance was as apparent on him as a layer of clothing
was, now that his peers had acknowledged him as Master of his craft. He
moved with the grace of a man who knew he was the one in control and there
was a possessive air to him now. This is the Master of the forge now, it
said. The only bad side I could see was that his sexiness had tripled and I
was going to have a hard time keeping my hands to myself, while in the
forge. Tamas crossed the forge in three easy strides, cupped my chin in his
hand and tipping my head up he kissed me.

	"Good morrow, Nicco," he said breathily against my lips.

	"Go-good morrow, Tamas." I answered my voice breaking.

	"Tam, Ah think tis abou' ready," Teru said from the forge.

	Tamas smiled at me and returned to the forge, where he pulled a
heavy leather glove onto his left hand. Heads together, he and Teru,
discussed the heat and the metal, while I stared ravenously at Tamas' broad
back, suddenly wanting him with a hunger that threatened to consume
me. Bitte brought me a stool and I perched on it precariously.

	"You're going to stay for the show?" He asked with a grin. "I
suppose he might take his shirt off if you ask him."

	He grinned and dodged my half-hearted clout, but I really did want
to see Tamas without his shirt. I turned my attention back to the forge as
Tamas and Teru separated, Teru heading to the worktable, on the right side
of the smithy, where he hefted a sturdy file. Picking up a pair of tongs,
Tamas reached into the fire and moved the smaller piece of the spring over
to the side where it would stay warm but not get any hotter. Picking up the
other piece, he rotated on his heel to the anvil. Carefully, without
loosening his grip he switched the tongs to his left hand. Without looking,
he picked up a hammer from the row at his feet. I wondered if lining them
up correctly was one of Kinna's jobs and what consequences there might be
if they were out of order. However, in studying the handles, I decided
Tamas probably knew by touch which hammer he`d grabbed.

	Carefully, he hammered the hot end, folding it back onto itself and
hammering it down again, making the end thicker than the rest of the
spring. In hammering the spring, he also straightened it out semi flat for
several inches, which I guessed would make it easier to reattach to the
other piece. Grasping the cooler part of the spring in his leather gloved
hand; he switched hammers to one with a smaller head. Artfully, he forged
the end into a crescent shape that was slightly bulbous on the end, which
made me think of the tadpoles in the castle moat with fatheads and narrower
tails. When he was finished, he handed it to Teru who took it to the table
and started to file the worked end. Tamas reached into the fire and pulled
out the other half of the broken spring. Hopping down from my stool, I
walked over to the workbench to watch Teru. He looked up at me and grinned.

	"Ah have ta geh off all tha fire scale, thah's this stuff what
sticks ta tha metal when tis been in tha fire. Tha metal won't weld tight
i' taint clean." He picked up the file and continued scraping. After a few
minutes, he rubbed it with a piece of pumice before filing it some more.

	Tamas appeared at his shoulder and took the spring. He studied it
closely before rubbing it with his thumb. Apparently satisfied, he handed
Teru the second piece of spring. I noted that the "head" of the tadpole was
swimming in the opposite direction from the first piece and they would fit
together snug as two kittens in a basket.

	"That was the easy part," Tamas said with a grin and a wink. He
walked back to the fire and leaned close to it again. Judging the
temperature, Teru whispered to me. Tamas made a slow-it-down gesture to
Noah, who slowed his pumping.

	Teru carried the two pieces of metal to the fire and with the tongs
placed them in the upper part of the fire, away from the tuyere, the
bellows nozzle on the side of the forge. Carefully Tamas covered them with
coals, except for a tiny like opening through which he could judge the heat
of the fire. The spring glowed bright red from the heat and Tamas called to
Kinna, who grabbed a small box off the worktable and hastily brought it to
his much-adored Master. Tamas pulled one piece of glowing spring out of the
fire, even from where I stood, I could feel the heat and I wondered how
Tamas could enjoy it so much. Kinna held the box up and Tamas reached in
pulling out a handful of a finely ground gritty substance, that I later
learned was a ground mineral that was common in Wallingfirth, being mined
near there, and sprinkled it on the hot metal tadpole.

	"Tis flux, keeps the metal sound," Teru explained. "An' keeps any
new scale from formin'."

	Tamas tucked the spring back into the fire in the same spot,
repeating the dusting with the other section of spring and Teru shoveled
hot coals over them once again leaving the tiny window for Tamas. Tamas
held out his right hand and swept it side to side over the coals. The heat
from the fire must have been horrendous but he never flinched and it wasn't
long before the metal started to change colors, red turning to orange and
then to yellow, fading to nearly white. The metal appeared to shimmer and
reminded me of melted butter left in the sun on a hot summer
afternoon. Something sparked and dropped into the fire, leaning forward
just a little I saw a couple tiny sparks, no bigger than fleas, popping off
the metal.

	"Move away Nicco, tis very hot," Tamas said briskly, his hand on my
shoulder and I retreated to my stool once again. "Stay there, dohn move a
muscle, Nicco, Bitte, there's no second chance with the weld, if I mess it
up, the spring is done fer."

	I shivered, suddenly quite nervous about being in the forge. Tamas
leaned over the fire again and my throat went dry at how desirable and
incredibly beautiful he looked with the shadows of the fire flickering
against his pale skin. His brow and jaw were tense from concentration and I
reflected on what a good look for him it was. He flicked a finger and the
fire seemed to retreat. He nodded and flashed a ghost of that cheeky grin
of his; I shifted on the stool trying to get comfortable with a rapidly
hardening cock.  Beside me, Bitte snickered and I shot him a piercing
glance, he gazed off toward the forge with an innocent look on his face. I
was debating on saying something to him when, across the forge, Noah shut
the door and barred it before crossing to the back door, beside me, and
shutting it. His face looked strained and I was suddenly sympathetic to the
lad, working under such a demanding Master. Kinna scurried about the forge
end of the smithy, moving everything that might be tripped over out of the
way. Teru brought Tamas a heavy leather apron and helped him tie it before
donning one himself. Standing in front of the forge, Tamas swung around and
stopped in front of the anvil. He glanced down at his right hand and set
his hammer in that spot on the anvil. Raising his head, he looked at me and
held a finger to his lips. Grinning, he silently mouthed 'no water' and I
flushed bright red, nodding fractionally, I willed my breathing to
slow. Tipping my head, I listened to his heartbeat pounding, confident and
self-assured with no trace of nervousness. He was truly the Master here.

	"Teru, Noah, the tongs," he said with a `come here' gesture. They
hurried to his side each carrying a pair of tongs.

	Taking one set of tongs one in each hand, he reached into the fire
and pulled out the glowing pieces of spring. He spun sharply to the anvil
and rested the right hand piece, the straighter section, against it on the
flat, canting it upwards just a bit. Teru explained to me later that this
was to keep the join from losing heat when by coming into contact with the
cold anvil. Tamas lined the left hand piece up with the right one and
touched them together. I heard a sizzle as the two almost molten pieces of
steel joined together. Moving almost quicker than I could see, he handed
off the right tongs to Teru and picked up his hammer striking a gentle blow
on the weld. Just enough to "set" it, I learned later.

	A spray of sparks, molten flux and not quite dissolved scale
sprayed out from the weld in a shower of fire, that looked hot and hissed
as they hit the floor of the smithy. Now I knew why he wore the apron and I
suddenly had the urge to say a prayer for the future of that apron as the
sparks bounced off his lower abdomen and legs. Tamas struck another blow to
the metal, a more vigorous one, and then another continuing to hammer the
spring. He worked from the center of the weld outward, forcing the two
pieces to become one once again. The ringing blows echoed in my head along
with his heartbeat in a sort of song that I would be unable to describe to
anyone. But I knew for the rest of my life I would hear that duet of
thumping bass and clanging ring anytime I came near Tamas.

	Tamas held the piece up and studied it, before hammering it a few
more times. When he was finally satisfied, he returned the spring to the
fire. They reburied it under the coals and stepped back to watch. Kinna
sidled up to me and leaned against my leg. His small body was shaking from
stress and I stroked his hair softly. When the spring was just approaching
yellow, Tamas pulled it out again and with Teru's assistance holding the
tongs, Tamas forged it into a tight coil. Watching him hammer, I realized
that if he hadn't thickened the broken ends at first, they, by now, would
be thinner than the rest of the spring and in all likelihood would have
broken once again. I suspected this was an esoteric piece of knowledge that
one learned near the end of one's education in the ways of the smithy.

	Tamas heated the piece one last time and bent the pliant metal into
its final shape. Gently Noah smoothed the edges of a small rectangular cut
out in the end of the spring, Tamas watched without comment, content to let
his apprentice work. When it was finished, he nodded in satisfaction and
wiped his brow and grinning over the finished product at his
apprentice. Sweat, soot and something else that I suspected was metal
residue streaked all three men's faces. Kinna sprang away from me towards
the forge. Tamas gestured to Noah and Teru, who carefully lifted the spring
and carried it to the forge. Kinna opened a small door underneath and they
slid the spring inside positioning it carefully under the fire above. Kinna
shut the door carefully and backed up from the forge to Tamas'
side. Absently, Tamas ruffled the boy's dark hair.

	"It has to cool carefully," Tamas said, tapping the boy on the
nose.

	"Cool?" I asked. "But you put it under the fire."

	"Hai, it has to cool very slowly." Tamas crossed the smithy floor
to me. "If it cools too fast on the outside, the middle gets brittle and
it'll break when put back in place in the clock. So we cool it under
there."

	He let go of Kinna with a slight push toward the back door before
taking a wet piece of cloth from Noah. Murmuring quiet thanks, Tamas wiped
the soot and grunge off his face. I smiled in delight as his freckles
reappeared on his nose. He turned to his workers, all of which were wiping
down their own faces and hands.

	"All right, let's break for lunch and the spring should be cooled
and ready to install in the clock. Kinna stay close, you won't have the
chime to tell you when to return," Tamas said, wiping his forehead on the
scrap of cloth. I motioned to Bitte to join them and he left with
Kinna. Tamas stepped over to me, his hand gently gripping my bicep. He
leaned forward slightly, his head inclined towards me.

	"I must smell like a bull," he said softly.

	"Mmm, no," I said taking a deep breath. "I smell dragon musk and
hot metal. Very stimulating, very sexy."

	Tamas grinned and kissed me. I grasped the stiff leather apron
feeling the roughness against my hands. I tasted hot metal on his lips and
felt my knees wobble unsteadily. Tamas' hand slid down my arm and looped
around my waist. His other hand tossed the scrap of cloth on the worktable
before joining its mate on my waist, gently cupping my left buttock. Aching
need coursed through my veins and I moaned softly, considering trying to
throw him down right there in the smithy. Almost as if he'd heard my
thoughts, he raised his head and looked at me.

	"Yeh want me ta bolt tha back door again?" he asked his eyes
glinting with mischief.

	Blushing, I nodded and he grinned. He crossed the room to the rear
door and dropped the bolt down pulling the string latch inside.  Stretching
slightly, he hooked the open shutter of the nearby window and pulled it
nearly shut. The smithy became very dim, lit only by the glow of the fire
and a little sunlight oozing through slightly ajar shutters. He untied the
apron and hung it on a hook near the door. Turning around, he pulled his
shirt out of his breeches and tossed it on the back table. He crossed the
smithy to a large bucket which he leaned over and splashed water on his
arms, face and chest. He looked up and shook his head side to side. Water
trickled down his chest and evaporated with a sizzle. He grinned at me with
a leer and I decided that he was going to rib me for that bit of daftness
for some time. I stuck out my tongue and started awkwardly to unbutton my
doublet. Tamas crossed the smithy in a flash and gently pushed my hands
aside.

	"Let me do that," he said softly. "I do enjoy undressing yeh."

	I blushed and watched his hands work their way down my front,
enjoying his graceful movements. Tamas bumped his forehead against the
crown of my head and when I looked up startled, he caught my lips in a
kiss. My hands slid helplessly down his arms, seeking a handhold, as I
struggled to stay on my feet. He finished the buttons down my front,
lifting my left hand to reach the buttons at my wrist, he turned his head,
and tipping my hand took my middle finger into his mouth. I moaned at the
feel of his tongue on my finger. He easily popped open the three small
buttons on my sleeve. Switching wrists, he sucked on my pinky; I moaned and
clung to his belt. Letting go of my hand, he caught me under the elbow as
my knees decided enough was enough and I started to sag to the floor. Tamas
caught the back of my doublet and I half slipped out of it. He wrapped his
arms around my waist and backed me up to the wall. My doublet finished its
journey to the floor and lay there unnoticed. Pressed to the wall, I had no
escape and for a moment, I was a bit nervous about being caught between the
solid plaster wall and the solid young smith. However, the anxiety
disappeared as he started kissing me again. I moaned softly into his mouth,
my arms wrapped around his neck. It didn't take Tamas but a minute more to
finish undressing me. Still kissing me, he wrapped his arms around my butt
and lifted me into the air. Startled I broke off the kiss with a squeak and
a frantic tightening of my arms around his neck.

	"Nicco, wrap yer legs roun' me," he said huskily.

	Hastily, I wrapped my legs around his waist. His belt buckle
pressed coldly against my butt and I groaned in pleasure at the pressure on
the sensitive nerves there. Tamas crossed the smithy in a couple strides,
still supporting my weight in his arms, to the back table and set me on
it. I squealed in surprise at the cold metal and he chuckled amused. Laying
his hands on either side of me, he leaned forward to kiss me. Heat radiated
out from his hands warming the table to a temperature that made me feel
slightly drowsy. His lips slid across my cheek to my jaw, sucking gently on
it. I moaned and cried out, my hands gripping his upper arms as I pulled
his shoulder to me and nipped at it. He sucked in his breath and tensed up
pressing his shoulder to my teeth. I had discovered quite by accident that
he actually enjoyed a bite or two during sex. It had puzzled me at first
but I quickly worked out the best ways to use it to my advantage. I sucked
the small piece of flesh between my teeth and Tamas' head rolled backwards
as he moaned in pleasure.

	"Ahh Nicco," he groaned. I let go of his shoulder and leaned close
to his ear. A stray red curl tickled my nose and I caught it in my teeth
and gave it a gentle tug.

	"Tamas," I whispered in his ear. "Make love to me, I want to forget
for awhile my father, my brother, my station in life. I only want to know
the feel of your body against mine."

	"Nicco," he whispered huskily.

	Grasping my head, he pegged me in a kiss that felt like fire
flooding my body. Waves of heat and fiery passion swept through me and I
cried out as his hands caressed their way down my front. I fumbled
awkwardly at his belt, until one of his large hands covered mine and the
belt slid open almost as of it own desire. I pushed his breeches and hose
down frantically, my fingers catching in the hair curling over the edge his
braies. He hissed softly and untied his braies, sliding them off his
hips. Tamas reached over my shoulder and picked up a small metal pot, which
he set down out just outside of bumping reach. Tipping me back against the
wall, he leaned forward, with tongue, lips and fingertips teased my
nipples, belly and cock. I cried out and thrashed under him, twisting and
arching, my belly pressing up against him. He thumbed the lid off the small
pot and I smelled honing oil. His fingers teased at my hole and I cried
out.

	"Tamas, please, now," I gasped.

	He grunted and slathered the oil on his cock. Pressing up to my
hole, he leaned forward and devoured my mouth once again. I moaned into his
mouth and pushed down until he was fully sheathed inside me. He made a
noise that was more like an animal snarl than anything I'd ever heard
before and started moving. I felt the rough wall scrape my shoulders and
smelled hot metal, burning wood and honing oil. Tamas' hands slipped
between the wall and my shoulders, at once protecting and pressing me
down. Somewhere far away, the fire popped and I heard a low growling animal
like noise. My heartbeat thundered in tandem with his heart and my back
arched as I felt my orgasm rip through my body. I cried out grappling at
Tamas' shoulders and felt his fingers dig into the soft flesh between my
shoulder and collarbone. Close to my ear, I heard another low growl and I
blinked in puzzlement.

	"Nicco, oh heaven Nicco," Tamas groaned as his orgasm drove him
deep inside me and his back arched.

	We stayed like that for a few moments longer, but it was getting
close to the time when the others would be returning to the forge. Tamas
kissed me again and went to fetch the water to clean up. By the time, Teru
returned from town, we were cleaned up, dressed and Tamas, with Noah, was
checking on the spring in the annealing oven. Tamas looked Teru up and down
quirking an eyebrow at him. Teru flushed and looked away flashing a small
bite mark on his neck and I wondered if he'd been up to the castle doing
the same thing we'd been doing, with Mellys. However, I doubted he'd have
had time to go that far, which led me to ponder what excuse Mellys may have
offered Mother to allow her to run to the village. Tamas' shirt hid the
bite I'd put on his shoulder but still I couldn't help blushing.

	"The spring is cooling nicely." Tamas said looking back into the
oven. "Looks like the weld will hold."

	"Was theh any doubt?" Teru asked with a grin.

	Surprisingly, Tamas blushed a fiery color of crimson from
embarrassment, for all his self-assurance, he was still unused to being the
man in control and the one whose judgments were followed and relied on by
others without someone with more experience offering advice first. His
embarrassment at the confidences of others was just another addition to his
overall sexiness. He rose to his feet and brushed his hands together as he
looked around the forge.

	"We have plenty o' work to keep us busy 'til the spring is ready to
re-install. Let's get goin' fellows!"

	He walked purposely to the front workbench, where a row of broken
farming implements was lined up awaiting repairs. I nodded and gestured to
Bitte to follow me, we'd crowded the smithy enough for one day and the
smiths had work to do, except Kinna, who would be napping in the house. He
would do the cleaning and small jobs in the evening before it got dark.

	I was hoping to sweet talk a little food out of Nayne since my
lunchtime had been taken up by her red headed son, not that I really
minded, of course, but my stomach was complaining. The afternoon sun shone
down on the courtyard warming the cobbles and my nose twitched to the
smells of warm stone and earth. A homey clatter of crockery in the kitchen
told me that Gisela had started cleaning the lunch dishes. A piece of song
drifted out the door and I smiled, maybe she still loved Tamas but she'd
shed her sullenness over the winter and was a much happier young woman
these days. I stopped on the threshold and breathed in the scent of food,
soap and something sweet I couldn't name. Gisela looked up and saw me. She
nodded and smiled at Bitte at my shoulder.

	"Is there anything left to eat?" I asked.

	"Mistress put a pair o' covered bowls i' tha larder fer yeh and
Master Tamas, afore she went inta town," Gisela said, jerking her head in
the direction of the pantry.

 	"Thank you," I said,

	I glanced over my shoulder at the pantry door and saw Bitte,
already as tall as the older girl, hip resting against the counter, lean
forward to talk to her. I smiled and the thought flitted through my mind
that she might very well be his first experience with sex. I pondered what
I should do, if anything, about it as I entered the pantry. The pantry was
cool and dim being on the sheltered side of the house. I'd always liked the
pantries in the castle and as a child, they'd been a favorite place to hide
form my brother, Michael, and his fellows. Nayne's pantry was as neat and
clean as the rest of her house and surprisingly well stocked. I hadn't
really ever thought about it before but Tamas' ability in the forge must
bring in a nice income.

	The larder door stood open just a crack; studying it I decided it
leaned from either a bad hinge or a warp and I wondered why no one had ever
fixed it. Perhaps Nayne only thought about when entering the larder and
then forgot to mention it to Tamas later. I made a mental note to tell him
and offer to take it to Sayji or Will for repair.  Because there were no
windows opening into the larder, it was quite dark in there and I waited
for my eyes to adjust. Three wooden shelves covered the outside
wall. Dishes draped with cloth filled them and I wondered what might be in
each one. A well-carved thrawl, a stone shelf, made of a pretty
cream-colored stone and braced up by wooden trestles rested against the
interior wall, farthest from any outside heat. Meat and possibly fish would
be stored there, but I doubted Nayne would put our lunch there. Returning
to the outer wall shelves, I peeked under several cloth covers, placed over
the dishes to keep the flies and other household pests out. At the end of
the middle shelf, I found a pair of bowls containing thick bean and lentil
soup and a loaf of fresh bread. I called to Bitte, who came at a run and
carried one bowl and half the bread out to the kitchen.

	He reheated the soup by warming a handful round metal discs in the
warming pan placed in the fire. When they were quite hot, he tipped the pan
over my bowl, dropping them into the soup. Stirring the discs around heated
the soup quite nicely, after which he cleaned them and returned them to a
small basket on the hutch. Carefully, I carried the bowl and bread outside
in the crook of my arm. My usual place near the rosebush was dry and warm
from the sun and I sat down carefully to eat. The thick stew was seasoned
with pepper and butter and melted in my mouth. I ate it using the bread,
first, as a scoop and then as a mop to clean the bowl. When it was
completely gone, I stared at the almost clean bowl, I hadn't realized I was
that hungry!

	Bitte appeared shortly after I finished to take my bowl and brought
me some ale to wash everything down. He carried the bowl into the kitchen
and returned moments later. He dropped to the grass beside me and laid
back, his arms crossed behind his head. I smiled down at him
indulgently. He was something far more to me than a mere servant was and I
treasured his companionship. I made a mental note to thank Tamas once more
for bringing him into my life.

	"You spend a lot of time with Gisela," I said.

	"She's lonely," he answered, his arm covering his eyes so I
couldn`t read them. "Her house was so full and she had lots of younger
brothers and sisters to take care of." He turned his head and peered out
from under his arm at me. "She works less here, but there's no one to talk
to a lot of the time. So I talk to her."

	"Hmm, that's good." I poked him in the nose. "You remember what we
talked about in the archive?"

	"Nicco!" His voice cracked in agitation and he flushed bright red.

	"All right," I said with a grin. "I just don't want her taken
advantage of is all."

	"Nah," he said covering his eyes again with one arm. "She's had
plenty of offers from the village lads but she wanted Tamas." He paused a
moment before going on, "Gisela recognizes that Tamas isn't interested in
her but it's not so easy to stop liking someone. I told her not to let
anyone try to `comfort' her and get her in trouble." He chuckled and I
sorted at the old mannish attitude coming from a lad of barely fourteen.

	"She blushed bright red and stammered," he grinned. "But I think
she'll be okay, she wants someone to love her and offer her a good house of
her own, so I don't think she'll fall for honeyed words."

	"Well I hope not, she's still a child," I said suddenly feeling
much older than my twenty years.

	"Besides she's much too concerned with not disappointing Mistress
Nayne, though she's not that much younger than Nayne was when Tamas was
born, so I wonder how much disappointing there'd actually be.." His voice
trailed off and he was silent for several moments.

	"Oh and just between you and me," he went on after a short pause,
"she really did love Tamas just for himself. Not because he could make her
life better but because he was so very nice to her when she moved here. She
was very scared and he helped her feel safe."

	"Mmm, that's good to hear," I said softly looking across the
courtyard to the smithy.

	Bitte yawned and closed his eyes and in a few minutes, the regular
sound of his breathing told me he was asleep. I smiled at him again,
thinking that I had done a lot more smiling in the last year than I had
done in the whole of my prior nineteen years. I had this dark haired, black
eyed, unreadable child to thank for most of that, him and a tall flame
haired young man.

	With Bitte asleep and Tamas working, I felt somewhat abandoned,
which struck me as odd since up until a year ago, I had spent most of my
time alone. I hadn't brought my rucksack or any copying to the forge today
as my hand still hurt from hitting Lehi and I wondered what Tamas would say
when he finally saw the bruise on my knuckles. I leaned back and laid my
head on Bitte's leg, closing my eyes, I listened to the sound of bird song
alternating with the clang of hammer on metal in the forge. Far away, I
heard laughter, and the rumble of Tamas' voice. I would do whatever I
needed to remain here, I wasn't going to marry some elderly dowager, no
matter how much Father yelled. What I didn't realize was that Father didn't
intend to yell anymore.