I am an innkeeper’s daughter. I was born in an inn. I live in an inn. I will die in an inn.
I admit, this does not bother me. I love this inn. I don’t mind spending my life here. I have seen others’ lives, and I think mine is perfect.
My life is much better than it was when It happened.
It all started with my sister, Samantha, becoming a lady’s maid at the manor...
“Would you pass me that, mother? Thank you.”
“Will you be takin’ this?”
“No, I think not. My little sister can wear it.”
Samantha was packing. That made two. One had been Mary, the eldest. She fell in love with a cloth merchant, married him, and lived in a little house five streets away. Now little Samantha. Well, not little. Tall. Very tall. She was a year younger than I, but looked older. I, the elder, was the “ little sister”. She was tall, with a nice figure, and beautiful auburn hair. I was stocky, with dirt brown hair, and almost no figure whatsoever. I wasn’t ugly, but I wasn’t pretty, either.
In my opinion, all sixteen-year-olds should have amazing figures.
I wandered into the room. Samantha immediately told me to go get this and find that and don’t take too long. Mother told me that when I was finished, I had to go downstairs and help Father sign in guests.
I hurried to obey. In an inn, a person never has a spare moment, and no matter how horrible the job, it must be done now.
I got what my sister requested, gave them to her, and went downstairs. My father saw me, and said,
“Sign the guests in, will you? I have to go…” He ran towards the kitchen.
“Hey you! Yeah you! Hurry up!” It was a caravan driver. Drat.
“Yes, sir,” I said, taking out the leather bound book and a quill. Dipping the end of the quill in ink, I asked, “Name?”
“Joe Masterson.”
“How long will you be staying, Mister Masterson?”
“I don’t know. A horse lost a shoe, and it’s gotta be replaced.”
“Will paying when you leave suit you?”
“Yeah, sure. How much per night?”
“Depends. Low-class rooms are three silvers, high-class rooms are six silvers.”
He considered for a moment. “Low-class room for me,” he said finally.
“Very good, sir. Shall I show you to your room?”
“Yeah.”
I picked up his bag, took a key off a peg, and walked upstairs. I went to a door with a plaque saying “5” on it, unlocked the door, and set down his bag. I opened a window. Outside, I could hear my mother yelling.
“What’s that racket?” the caravan driver asked.
“My sister is moving out today. I’m sorry for the noise. She will be gone soon.”
The man nodded, and let me get back to work. Three merchant and a gypsy later, my mother came in. She glared at the gypsy, who quickly left. I don’t
know why the gypsy came in; ours was a respectable inn, and no respectable inn would let a gypsy stay the night. What would the neighbours think?
“S’mantha’s leavin’!” my mother said. “Go say goodbye, Gunhild.”
Gunhild. My name. My hated name.
My sisters were Mary and Samantha. My brother was Tom. My parents were Tom and Nancy. All decent, normal names.
And then there was me. Named after my Great-Aunt Gunhild, the first woman to become a soldier. A family hero. My parents had a son and a daughter; they could run the inn, and I would fight in the wars. Then Samantha was born. She could be a merchant. My parents had our lives planned out.
But we children wanted to choose our own careers. Tom became a playwright. Mary was a seamstress. Now Samantha was a lady’s maid.
And then there was me, still an innkeeper’s daughter.
My parents didn’t care too much. I didn’t cause trouble. It seemed that beautiful girls were attracted to lawbreakers and thieves. I had no intention of falling in love at all, but if I did, it would no doubt be to a well-off, law-abiding citizen. I could be happy like that.
I hurried outside to say goodbye to Samantha. She was just getting into the buggy that would take her to the nearby manor-house.
“Little sister!” she said, seeing me.
“Not so little anymore,” I argued. “I’ve grown an inch in the last year! Next time you see me, I’ll be taller than you!”
“Of course,” she agreed, hugging me. “You’ll visit?”
“Only if you do.”
“Alright, then. I’ll visit every other week. The weeks I don’t visit, you come see me. Deal?”
“If I can escape Mom, I will,” I promised.
After one last hug, she was gone.
Six months passed. Life didn’t change. My parents hired someone to help me. I couldn’t help but notice that Sabrina wasn’t beautiful either. Mary visited once a week. Samantha visited once every two weeks. I never had time to go visit her. Tom was too far away to visit. Life went on.
And the, one day, It happened.
It started with a messenger from the palace. This was a bit of a surprise, although not unheard of. Samantha usually came herself, but she might be
busy. It was the message the man was carrying that was strange. It said,
We regret to inform you that Samantha Scratch, a maid in the manor of Lord Alfred and Lady Lea, has gone missing, for reasons unknown. We will do
everything within our power to find her. Please except our condolences.
Lord Alfred & Lady Lea
My parents went into shock. I didn’t. Instead, I ran to the manor.
I managed to find Lady Lea. She was sitting in the drawing room, drinking tea. She invited me to sit with her, and I accepted.
She was glad I came, she said. She was worried about Samantha. She had liked Samantha, because Samantha was such a hard worker, and never complained, and was a nice person. Then Lady Lea told me something strange.
“I hope that man of hers doesn’t do anything rash.”
“What man?” I asked. I’d never heard of any man…
“The King of Thieves. The man she loves.”
“WHAT?”
“You didn’t know? Oh dear. I’m thinking that he might be behind this. You never can tell with thieves.”
I found out more about him. His name was Fred Graham, and he ruled the thieves of the city. He was drop-dead handsome, or so Lady Lea claimed. I could find him in a tavern known as the “Thieves’ Court”, wear the thieves, well, held court.
That night, I went to the tavern. I suppose I shouldn’t have been in that part of town. But I had to find out what happened to my sister.
All noise stopped the moment I entered. I guess I stood out. I wore a dull red wool dress, and soft leather shoes. My long brown hair was pulled back in a braid. The thieves all wore breeches, even the women, and their hair was short. There were a few women like me, but they were snuggling with thief men, and probably came here a lot. And then there were the women who wore low-cut, silky dresses, and were a bit odd…
“Can I help you?” The deep booming voice made me jump.
“Yes, um, I…” I trailed off. All I could do was stare at… him.
He was about six feet tall, with unruly curly black hair, and heavily tanned skin. His eyes were dark brown, and had a hint of mischief in them. He was smiling, which I was about to lean was his usual expression. He was ruggedly handsome, and seemed like a nice sort.
“I’m Fred Graham, the Lord of Thieves,” he said, smiling. “And you are?”
“Gunhild Scratch,” I replied.
My name startled him. “Are you by any chance related to Samantha Scratch, the lady’s maid?”
“Aye.”
“I see. Come sit with me, will you?” I nodded, and he led me to a table.
“Do you know where my sister is?” I asked, sitting down.
“Yes, I do. I believe a man named Bobby Mik kidnapped her.”
“Why would this Bobby Mik kidnap Samantha?”
“Sam is… Well, I guess you know she’s my girl?” I nodded. “Bobby Mik is a cutthroat, and he wants to be Lord of Thieves. There are two ways he can do
that: challenge me to a duel, or become my ‘heir’, and get me to resign. I think he kidnapped her, and will let her go once he’s the Lord.”
“Oh. Maybe… D’you think I- we- could rescue her?”
“Perhaps. I was about to go find her. You wanna come?”
“Sure.”
He led me out of the tavern, and through the city. Periodically, we would stop at a building, and Fred Graham would talk to someone. Slowly but surely, we managed to get directions to Bobby’s hideout.
We finally found the place. It was a ramshackle, abandoned warehouse. Upon inspection, though, it appeared to be empty. We turned to go.
And found we were mistaken.
Bobby and two thugs blocked our way. One thug held Samantha, while the other threatened her with a cudgel.
“Hello, Fred,” Bobby said, smiling. Bobby was something of a surprise. I had expected a cutthroat to be rough, ugly, and stupid, but while Fred was ruggedly handsome, Bobby was downright perfect. His hair was blonde and wavy, his eyes were bright blue, and he was clean-shaved. He wore a gorgeous black tunic embroidered in gold, a black leather belt with a gold buckle, black silk breeches, shiny black boots, and a stunning cloth-of-gold cape. He held himself erect, and looked every inch a king.
“Bobby, this is between you and me. Leave Sam outta it!” Fred’s voice broke. He was rather pathetic. I wasn’t quite sure what Samantha saw in him.
“Out of it?” Bobby’s voice was… cultured. He had endured some schooling, to be sure. A lot of schooling, I guessed.
“Just… Let’s talk about this, ok?” Fred looked desperate. Bobby smiled.
“I think not. Samantha is in no danger- at the moment. You have until tomorrow to decide whether your throne is more important than Samantha. If you
choose your throne, then… Let’s just say, Samantha will not be very comfortable, although I on the other hand-”
“You can be Lord of Thieves! Just… let her go!”
“I see I overestimated you,” Bobby commented. Personally, I agreed. Bobby turned to the thugs. “Release her.”
Samantha ran over and flung herself on Fred.
“Our business here is done,” said Bobby as he sauntered away.
Fred checked to see that “Sam” was ok. Then he started kissing her. Sensing they wouldn’t want me around, I left.
And that’s the tale of It, of my adventure. Not very grand. Not magnificent battles. Just the easy way. Just an average adventure.
The adventure of me, Gunhild Scratch, the Innkeeper’s Daughter.