After lunch, the boys headed back to their rooms. There was nothing much to do today but wait for tomorrow to come.

Thomas thought back to lunch. At one point or another, he remembered James mentioning that he, Hanley, Namuel, and Terrance were all in the same year: year 2. They were one year ahead of Thomas and would graduate to squire at the end of their fourth year.

Thomas decided to practice sword patterns, so he took his sword out and swung it around in the different forms like Liam and the other soldiers had taught him. He had just completed a complex pattern when a knock came at his door.

Thomas set his sword down and went to open the door. He expected to see James, or even Hanley or Namuel maybe, but instead he was faced with some kid that he had never seen.

“Um….” He said rubbing his arm. “I was wondering if you could help me with something. I’m sorry to bother you, but you seemed to be the youngest out of the pages, and most likely to help me. You aren’t as scary as the rest.” Thomas realized he was a young servant.

“I’m Thomas.” He said. “At your service.” He bowed to the kid who seemed shocked.

“Um…” he said seeming a little frightened. “Right this way.”

Thomas followed the boy out of the pages place, and out to the practice courts. Thomas looked around seeing if he could find what the boy needed. He walked right over to a tree and looked up. Thomas did too.

At the top of the tree was a girl of about 3 who was sobbing and hugging the tree as hard as she could. “How’d she get up there?” Asked Thomas.

“One of the older pages grabbed her while we was playing and took her to the top. He left her up there. I didn’t want to leave, but I can’t climb trees; I’m afraid of heights. The only thing I could do was hope I could find one of you folk who could go up and get her. I’ll pay you with my whole years wages.”

“I’ll get her out of the tree, but you keep the money, you probably need it more than I do.” The boy gaped at Thomas as he began to climb the tree.

It wasn’t very hard to climb the tree, he had the upper body strength. He was halfway up the tree when he looked down. The little boy now had several other servants around him. One was a girl around his age, and one was a woman who was wearing an apron. All three of them looked up at him with hopeful eyes. He would get her out of the tree.

Thomas got to the top of the tree and picked the girls vice like grip off the tree. He then picked her up and replaced her grip around his neck to where the girl clung to his neck with her legs wrapped around his torso.

“Hold on tight.” He whispered to the girl who continued to cry. Then he made his painstaking trip back down the tree.

By the time he reached the ground, the girl had calmed down enough to look up at him. He realized that she looked exactly like the boy who asked him to help her. Must be his sister.

The girl hugged him and said, “Thank you.” She whispered into his ear.

He quite liked the little girl, “Anytime little rose.” He said tweaking her nose.

By then, the mother had come over and grabbed her child out of Thomas’s arms. “Thank you.” She said reaching into her apron and producing a silver piece. “For your trouble. I wish I could give you more, but it’s all I have.”

Thomas reached out his hand and closed her own fist around the coin with a smile. “You need this more than I ever will. If you guys ever run into trouble with the pages, or any trouble at all, let me know and I will help you. You can count on me.”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. She pulled Thomas into a hug. “Thank you.” Thomas wasn’t sure what to do. The only person who had ever hugged Thomas was his sister Kyra, and even then, it wasn’t very often.

The woman pulled away and wiped her tears on her apron. “I never did catch your names.” Thomas said with a grin.

The woman smiled. “I am Nari. This rascal here is Shonac,” she said pointing to the boy who had retrieved Thomas. Then she pointed at the girl who is near Shonac’s age. “That’s Naomi, and the little one is Leni. And yours?"

“I’m Thomas, ma’am.” He said shaking her free hand. “Thomas of Thaxon.”

“I hope we meet again in the future.” Said the boy named Shonac. “But for now, I suggest you get to the mess hall for supper, or that duke will have your hind end.”

“That’s accurate!” Yelled Thomas over his shoulder, already on his way to the mess hall.