A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 62  The Colour Red - Part 3

"Don't look at my mother like that, asshole," the girl said as soon as she was gone, immediately picking a fight with Beam.

Beam twisted his face in annoyance. "Like what?" He said, struggling to hold in the urge to sigh.

"Like you feel sorry for her. She doesn't need or want your pity. Besides, you should be more worried about yourself, you look like a mess," she said, jabbing a finger at him with so much venom that the fabric of her woollen dress shook from the force.

Beam didn't even bother to look down on himself. He was looking far better than he had previously, so even with Nila's aggressive assertions, he didn't feel more self-conscious than he otherwise might have, he just grew more irritated.

"I think I prefer dealing with Perth," he muttered under his breath, turning away, wishing he could just skip this house entirely now.

"What was that?" The girl said, frowning, either not hearing or not understanding.

"Oh, so you can hear?" Beam seized the opportunity. "Then do what your mother told you. You lose nothing from this, right? You get free wood and free food and you don't even have to rack up Favour points in return. You'd be stupid to refuse, wouldn't you?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him and tutted. "Boys like you who talk down to girls really are the worst. I can tell you've never had a girlfriend."

"…" Beam just blinked at her, biting back a response. The urge to start trading insults with her was definitely there, but he felt childish doing it, and he could see the little boy still looking towards him from further in the room, curious as to what his big sister was up to.

"Hmm…" The girl smiled in satisfaction, happy with her victory. "Good, well, since you know your place now, I think I'll do what I decided to do earlier and use you for all you're worth. Ah, but, don't misunderstand – we don't need food. I'm gathering that myself," she told him.

"You are?" Beam said disinterestedly, not caring. The less work for him the better. That was all he thought.

"Ah! Nila. You were going to hunt today, weren't you? And then you'll help me with my weaving once you get back? If you're going, why don't you take that boy along with you, so you can help him with the firewood whilst you're there?" Nila's mother shouted from further inside the room as she set up her loom.

"Geh," Nila made a look of disgust, her brown eyes twitching in annoyance. "I haven't even washed my face or anything yet… Besides, I was going to go just before sundown. The hunting's far better then," she complained.

"No! It's too dangerous to go when it's getting dark. Besides, we're going to be getting all this wood for free, the least you can do is help the poor boy," her mother said.

"But he's getting paid for it, he's not doing it because he's nice," Nila said back.

Beam was inclined to agree with her there. They owed him nothing, as far as he was concerned. "Your daughter's right, miss. You don't need to go out of your way to help me. I'm getting paid for this, after all."

"Nonsense," the woman said. "Even if you're getting paid for it, it's us who are benefitting from your work. If we don't contribute what we can, then why do we deserve to have people help us?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Beam couldn't say anything to that. Neither could Nila. They were both still young, after all, and an adult's authority soon won out.

"This sucks," Nila said, rubbing her eyes. "Well… I guess since I have to go, I'll work you to the bone. I'll make sure you get us only the very best wood. If you try and take back anything that isn't perfect, I'll throw it away and make you do it again," she threatened, before dipping back inside for a few seconds.

Beam just shook his head and started walking away. He'd brought his log sled with him, anticipating that he would have to get a lot of wood.

In truth, it was Greeves who had given it to him – for free, at that – saying he took it from some old man's house after he died, and it was such a piece of shit that nobody else wanted it, but it should at least help him with what he was doing, and that it most certainly did.

It was a sled – as the name implied – about the length of a man, with a few thick sticks bound together with cordage to form a trustworthy base and a handle at the front that a person could sit behind and drag the cart with, just like a horse might.

Thinking that, Beam realized it was basically that. It was a cart that could be pulled by humans and one without wheels. It looked pretty flimsy since it was made out of sticks, but it was surprisingly sturdy. And even though it was a pain to drag it on the uneven paths of the forest, once they escaped it, it made the trips far fewer. It always left him somewhat exhausted, but Beam had just started to view it as extra training.

By that sled was where Beam was waiting when Nila came rushing out of the house, bow in hand and a woollen scarf around her neck, looking for him this way and that. She narrowed her eyes when she spotted him standing there with his arms crossed.

"I thought you'd left already. That's a shame," she said as she came over.

"…Are you really hunting?" Beam said, looking at her outfit. She had a wool coat over her dark grey dress that went all the way down to her knees, and thick woollen socks underneath it. It looked strange seeing her dressed like that, like a normal village girl, only to have a bow in her hand and a knife at her hip, as though she really were a hunter.