The Witch of Camelot

Two....working and running....

Anyhow the pair of us sat and devoured half of our bread ravenously before slowing down and restarted our conversation. “So how’d you escape your father this morning?” I asked with a grin. Percy’s family comprised of his Grandparents, father, three elder brothers, two elder sisters, aunt and younger female cousin, his mother and uncle had both perished due to fever in consecutive winters. The deaths had been a blow to the family allowances but now with his brothers, Jonathan, Richard and William, all able to work, the family were facing fairly good fortunes once again. His two elder sisters both worked as maids sending home their earnings but only being allowed to visit once every three weeks and separately as the kitchen couldn’t do without both of them at once. His aunt kept their small cottage clean and performed all the tasks which traditionally fell to women. Percy’s father was forever attempting to get his youngest son involved with the family work, all five of his male relations who lived with him worked in the castles stables but Percy had no interest in that work whatsoever. More often than not he would slip from his families company and join up with either his male fellows or me depending on which he met first.

“Oh, well this morning they rose a little later than usual and so I managed to be up and out before they had woken, in their minds I may have already gone to the stable. They will not have looked for me, especially as they was late themselves.”

“They will not think you have gone to work early!” I laughed, “You never go to work! As soon as they see the boys walking without you they will now who you are with even if they cannot guess at where you have gone!” This was true off course. In time Percy would be questioned about his involvement with me but at that time our friendship was viewed as innocent and unimportant, though a little strange. After all there were very few girls my age whose parents would deem me a suitable companion and so I had found myself becoming friends with the person who I had first met on coming into Camelot.  It had been my first day, tired and worn trudging through the gate in desperate need to find my uncle. I was so young, and so afraid that I dared not ask any of the towering, terrifying men if they could direct me to cambers of the kings’ chief advisor. I was so ragged they probably wouldn’t have shown me anyway. After wondering around until about midday, hunger growling in my stomach I had found myself sitting on a kitchen waste pile outside the stables sobbing into my hands. That’s where Percy and William found me, took me in, cleaned me up, fed me and after finally, coaxing me to talk hurriedly took me to my uncle for comforting and safety. Since then they had been my adopted family and my childhood with them was at least a happy one in comparison to where I had come from.