Darkwood (closed)

“I have a craving for some of your olives too. Maybe a few of them after I rest?” Dylan asked, knowing that Van would indulge her in whatever she wanted.

He had quietly been pleased when she had told him that she was expecting. She had never really seen the Italian get overly excited over anything, but he seemed particularly happy over this news. She gave his arm a squeeze and retreated to the studio, settling in her chair in front of the wide windows and the hearth that kept everything toasty warm.
 
Ballas was the first to come to join Dylan, padding along with his usual laziness til he came and jumped up into Ashien's usual chair across from her where he turned in a few circles before flopping down in a strange position that only a cat could find comfortable. Eventually footsteps sounded in the hall and the door opened up.

"Go on. Shove Ballas out of the chair if you like, he doesn't bite," came Kiva's voice, likely having come in and been asked to show Burke to the studio as the door could be hard to find. Ballas lifted his head to see the boy enter, Kiva closing the door behind him. Burke slowly stepped toward the hearth into Dylan's view, and stood quietly awaiting her word after he'd been told she wanted to talk with him. He stood straight and proper, his hands clasped before him. He seemed to know how to act around nobles despite his young age, no older than five or six. His manners were that of someone four times his age.
 
Dylan lifted her head from the chair as she heard Kiva's voice speaking in a soft tone and suddenly the door to the studio opened. She gave Burke a small smile as she saw him standing there, tall and at attention as if he were much older than his age.

"Come over here, little one. I think there's a few things we need to talk about before we figure out what the future holds." Dylan said, motioning for him to come close to her chair. "You'll have to forgive me. I've not been feeling well."
 
Burke approached a bit closer, but still seemed to keep a respectable distance. His nervousness seemed to have faded into stoicism almost entirely now. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured. Ballas, seeing the boy wasn't quite as interesting or fun as the children he knew from Inverness, curled back up after cleaning his face for a moment.
 
"Well, all I really know is that your name is Burke and you don't seem to have a home." Dylan said as the little boy stood a short distance away and watched her carefully. "Where did you come from, love? Are people looking for you that would need to know you're safe?"
 
"Kensington Home for Boys," was his simple answer for both questions. Kensington Home was a work house for boys, most of them hired out for dirty jobs around London for a few weeks til they were sent back and the establishment kept all the money, giving the boys a small takeaway when they came of age and were forced to leave. Most left with tough labor jobs to look forward to, and little to no experience with money, and no education whatsoever, not even very basic letters and math. Runaways were common as work houses were full of angry young men abandoned by society. Some were give up by their parents for bad behavior or lack of money, some were orphans, and some were runaways from home who ended up in the work house thanks to efforts to keep children off the streets for their own good.

Burke shifted a bit uncomfortably at the mention of his former home, and explained softly, "I was working for an old noblewoman and she passed away... I didn't want to go back. So I ran. The Overseer will be angry..."
 
Dylan listened as he spoke softly, telling her that he came from the Kensington Home for Boys, the workhouse on the outskirts of the city of London that housed boys from all around. It was a rough place and she always felt bad when she and Ashien would ride past the dark building on the way to other places. The children often were out front, ragged and exhausted, looking at them with a mixture of helplessness and hope that they might be saved.

"Running away from your problems is never the way to go, but I suppose in this situation, that can be overlooked." Dylan said softly as Ballas stretched in his chair, his front paws huge as he flexed his toes and then returned to his position.

"Do you have any family? How did you end up at Kensington?" Dylan asked him, knowing it was unlikely to get the full story out of him.
 
"The Overseer said a watchman found me in an alley when I was two, beside a teenage girl who'd died in the cold. Probably my Ma. He said she probably wasn't even fifteen yet." Burke's gaze remained trained on hers. Any sorrow he felt was carefully hidden, and it was clear that even so young, he understood the gravity of death and what he'd lost and why he'd ended up where he was. "Whoever my Da is, he probably doesn't know I exist. And he probably wouldn't care either. And that's fine, if he left her out there alone."
 
"I'm sorry to hear that, Burke." Dylan said in a soft voice as he told her about how he had been found and how his mother had died so young. "And I'm sorry that you have had to live outside for so long. It isn't fair to you as a young boy."

She sat forward in her chair, looking at him in the eye as she thought about what might happen next. "I think the fair thing to do is to keep you here until the weather breaks. You can work if you wish, but you do not have to. When the weather is better or when my husband gets home, we will go to Kensington and talk to the overseer. If things work out, we might have a place for you here at Darkwood."
 
Burke's brows furrowed in confusion at that as he stared up at Dylandra. "Why?" He shook his head quickly. "I mean... there's others. Who need help more than me. I'm okay on my own..."

Despite having accepted help thus far, he seemed resistant to the idea, either out of distrust for the world, or out of stubbornness. It wasn't clear which yet.
 
"But are you really alright on your own?" Dylan asked, tilting her head to consider the boy. "You nearly froze to death out there last night. Your fingers and face are still red from the cold and you've been in this house for hours now. Anyone doing well on their own is not forced to dig in the frozen dirt for rotten potatoes either."

"Sometimes in life, it's hard to accept help when it's offered. I would hope that a young boy such as yourself would see that he has limitations." Dylan murmured, knowing that her very well might disappear into the night again if he was given the chance.
 
"I was okay two days ago... But someone stole everything I had... I could've gotten it back..." he insisted quietly, but it was obvious he knew he was lying to himself. He finally relented, his shoulders drooping. "... Okay. What needs to be done around here?" He looked up at her once more. "No one eats for free."
 
"If that is how you wish to earn your keep around here, I will allow it." Dylan said, knowing that he would want to work his way into the staff of Darkwood. "However, there are a few things that I will insist upon."

"All young children that come to Darkwood are expected to have an education. You will be no different from my husband's squires in that regard. You seem to be brighter than the average child your age, so I think it would do you good." Dylan said as she set aside her blanket and stood, stepping towards Burke and gently touching his cheek, raising his gaze up towards her. "Half work, half study. Is that agreeable to you?"
 
Burke looked up at her like she was crazy at that suggestion. "But that's so expensive..." he murmured, knowing that normally only noble children had a real education. "I'm not fit to be a page or a squire... I can't even read." He was the sort of child who'd never been offered any opportunities or charity in his life, and was certainly never handed anything for free.
 
"Those are the rules." Dylan said as he panicked slightly. "My husband is very firm when it comes to education."

"Van and Kiva can help you find jobs to pay off most of it. I don't believe in working small children to the bone, so what they have you do might be lighter than you are used to. In the mean time, we will get you some new clothing and show you to a room here. I only ask that you not run away again."
 
Burke nodded slowly, though the worry on his features didn't go away. For a boy so used to everything being difficult, he wasn't ready to trust that things might be changing. "I'll go see what I can help with..." He murmured, nodding respectfully to her before turning back toward the door. "Um... thank you, Lady Ghis," he remembered, pausing to look back at her.
 
"You are welcome." Dylan said, giving him a smile as he went to leave.

She never corrected him nor insisted that he call her something else. She could see that he wasn't entirely comfortable with himself or the situation, so she let it be for the moment. Wanting to help him was her mission was at the moment, and she would continue to do that in any way that he allowed. If that meant, teaching him to read and giving him a job to do, she would do that.
 
Partly due to his ability and willingness to help, and thanks in part to the staff immediately accepting the boy as a member of the household, Burke quickly found a place as an assistant to Kiva in particular, learning about the horses and what Ashien did for the English military and crown. As groundskeeper and stable master, Kiva was usually alright on his own in the winter, but come the warmer months, he had a lot on his plate even with seasonal help. He was glad to know Burke might still be around to help later on, and glad for the help getting everything winterized and dividing up the load of looking after the horses.

Within the first day, however, Kiva began to teach Burke how to ride, knowing the boy could use the skill and could help exercise the horses later on once he was comfortable. From her vantage point in the studio, Dylan would eventually see Kiva riding around the grounds with Burke, giving him a tour of the outbuildings and the areas where Ashien trained his warhorses for combat, tournaments, and fine-tuned their control.
 
Dylan watched quietly out the studio window as Burke rode with Kiva, the little boy learning as fast as he possibly could. Her sketch book was left behind on her chair, her hand resting against her belly as she considered what had happened that day. She wanted Ashien home with her, if for the sheer fact that she needed his reassurance that she would be alright with this child. She didn't know if her letter had reached him, but she hoped that it had.

Turning from the window, she moved towards an unfinished canvas, looking at the painting that Ashien had been working on before he was pulled away. It was of her, asleep in their bed, with her golden hair fanned about her. He called it his masterpiece, the only painting he needed to ever make. She thought that he had been joking at the time, but when he was called away for war, she realized that it might be his last. That made her nervous, even more so when she found out she was pregnant. She just hoped that he came home soon and in one piece.
 
A few weeks passed, plenty long enough for her letter to reach Ashien even all the way in Lithuania and for a reply to come back. But no letter came. Instead, late one evening as Dylan prepared for bed, a familiar face arrived. Benjamin Rockford, Ashien's young squire, arrived one horseback looking exhausted and freezing. The snow had finally begun to stick, and after a mix of freezing rain and snow, everything was pure white including his riding gear despite his best efforts to brush the ice off. Kiva brought him inside to the kitchen where the hearth was still blazing, and it was little Burke who helped Ben set aside his gear while Kiva took the horse and got it dry and put away in a stable.

"Lady Dylandra," Ben spoke up through chattering teeth as she entered, rising to face her with a bow. "Lord Ashien should be a day or so behind me, milady. Lady Kayla insisted he return as soon as possible when he got your letter."
 
“I’m glad to know that he’s on his way hone, but worried that he’s out there in this weather.” Dylan said, looking over at Kiva. “Perhaps you can send a fresh horse and a few men to escort him home? The last thing we need is him to be trapped if the ice returns.”
 
"I'll go check at the barracks for some volunteers," Kiva said with a nod, heading back outside as Ben sat down once more to warm his freezing hands.

"He's made of tougher stuff than I am," Ben chuckled lightly. "He was out fighting and training in the snow and wind the whole time. We didn't have to go into combat much, but he's been training King Christopher in cavalry command."
 
“I have no doubt about that, especially after meeting his brothers, but it wokldndo me anworld of good to know that he’s safe out there in this weather.” Dylan said as she spied Burke standing off to the side, respectfully listening. “Burke, a mug of hot cider for Benjamin, please?”
 
Burke immediately headed for the cellar to retrieve a jug of cider and Benjamin watched the boy go with a raised eyebrow. "I don't remember him... If I may, ma'am... who is that? He doesn't look related to any of the staff."
 
“He showed up one morning. He was digging in the fields for food and nearly froze to death with the first freezing rain. He’s been here ever since. I’ll need to talk to Ashien when he gets here about what Burke’s future is.” Dylan said as Ben asked about the little boy. “He’s worked hard while he’s here. I think he’ll make a nice addition.”
 
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