A damp chill pressed up against Harper's left hand where it hung over the edge of his small cot. Unconsciously tucking his limb back on the bed, he settled back into a deeper sleep until he felt the nudge again, this time against his shoulder. His mind suddenly realized what was bothering him and he jerked backward, slamming his head against the wall. He yelped, drawing a surprised bark from the dog as it tried to climb onto the rickety bed with him. 

"Hey, out of here, you mongrel!" Came a rather stern female voice from above Harper. 

His best friend, Maria, hopped down from her bunk situated atop his and gave the beast a mighty smack on the rump. It didn't seem to matter to her that the dog could have outweighed her and responded dangerously. It turned to face her with its teeth bared, but she didn't back down as she scowled at the dog. 

"You heard me! Get out of here!" She yelled, putting herself between the dog and Harper. 

She was just barely Harper's height, but she stood tall and held the beast's gaze with her own dangerous glare until the giant monster slowly hobbled backward, then sauntered out the door with a gruff woof. 

Maria waited a minute before turning to crawl onto Harper's small cot. Reaching out, she gently touched behind his head, making him wince and hiss. "You've knocked your head good, Harp." She chastised as she sat back, allowing Harper to rub at the bump forming beneath his hair. 

"Mari, I told you to be careful calling me that." He grumbled right back. She giggled at his words before looking over her shoulder, then back at him. He took her grin as a hint that she'd already checked the room and that they were the only ones remaining. "I think you'll be fine, little Hari." 

Sighing, Harper gave his head a quick shake to finish waking himself up, then slid from his bed. Maria was the only person who actually knew that he was a boy, but to keep his ruse, she played along with the joking like a true master of the trade. 

She was close to his own age of nineteen, with a sharper mind than any he'd seen as of yet. "I'd bet that mongrel was lord Arthur summoning you for the day. You best be on your way and keep your wits about you, they are trouble." 

He didn't need to be told that twice. He knew the two would be horrible to manage this visit. They were already doing something they never had before; asking him to join them in the morning. Plus, they had brought a dog with them, and clearly planned to use it to their advantage considering they'd sent it after him twice already. 

Resigned to a day of stress and likely a late evening, Harper got himself busy cleaning himself up. There was a small wash tub near his bed that he used to rinse his face and wipe his body down after nudging Maria from the area and tugging a curtain to keep her prying eyes from looking. She wasn't adverse to sneaking peeks, which was how she had found out that he was a boy in his second year of service. 

"I swear you take as long as a girl to get ready." She fumed from the other side of the curtain right before he pulled it back to the side, fully clothed in his trousers and maid uniform. 

Maria gave him a look when she noticed him wearing his pants. "Are you sure that's wise, Hari? It's going to give them even more opportunities to try and get you to reveal that you're a boy. Please tell me you weren't wearing those last night when they arrived?" 

Harper felt his flush, giving her the answer to her question without speaking. Maria huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, it's almost as if you want other people to figure it out. You must keep yourself safe, and that means that you must remain as ladylike as possible!" 

He knew that she was right, but sometimes it was hard. He wanted to be able to be a boy once in a while, but he could never get away from the property, or at least away from others who worked there, to risk it. Pretending to be a lass was getting very, very confining. He wanted some freedom, even all he could afford of such a thing was to wear a pair of pants with his maid uniform. 

"Alright, no more dawdling. We don't want those problematic lords to send someone down to come fetch you, or worse, come get you themselves. Be on your way, Hari." She said as she began to lead him from the room. Right before they stepped out into the hall, she tugged him back inside and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Remember, keep your mind clear. Don't let them get the upper hand." 

Unable to hold back a smile from her support, Harper hurried up to the lords' rooms. He stopped at Rule's first, as it was the closet to the stairs. He was just raising his hand to knock on the dark wood when the door to Arthur's room opened and the large hound plodded out, followed by both men. The dog made for him immediately, freezing Harper in place as it stalked up to him and sniffed about his body, tail held high and rigid. 

"Good morning, little Hari. We were just on our way to fetch you." Rule said, the normal shine of mischief firmly twinkling in his dark eyes. "We thought that you might have forgotten."

I wish I could have gotten away with doing so. 

Hari waited for the dog to finish its inspection and turn away before he forced a rigid bow and smiled at the two men. "Good morning lord Rule and lord Arthur. I hope you two have slept well." He said as pleasantly as he could manage while trying to back away from the returning canine. 

Rule walked up to him first, ruffling his hair with a grin as he past. "Very well, thank you for taking such good care of us, little Hari." Arthur was right behind him, but instead of messing up his hair further, he reached for one of the braids that had remained the same since they'd first met and tugged on it lightly. 

His hair had grown out quite a bit and he'd had to rebraid sections, but he never allowed the length of the braid to change. It fell against his hair perfectly and almost disappeared into the dark strands that shared their color. It was a wonder so many people over the years had managed to pick them out so easily, as there were only three, and they were far from large. 

"When are you going to remove these childish things? They do not suit you at all and you never change them." 

Biting his tongue on a retort about Arthur's haircut gaining little variation over the years, Hari forced another smile and shrugged as he took just enough of a step back to allow the braid Arthur was holding to slip through his grasp. 

"I suppose that I just think of them as part of my personality. They do not stick out so much as to cause an issue in my appearance, so I see no reason to remove them." He saw no reason to tell the man the real reason why he kept his hair in such a way, that each braid was the last thing he had gotten from his ill sisters before they had passed years ago. Each had loved to braid his hair so he asked for each of them to do it one more time before their last moments. He had to help his last sister accomplish the task, as she was too weak to keep the braid together so that it would hold, but each time the wind blew through his hair, it was her braid that he saw as it swung before his eyes before silently tucking back into the darkness of his hair. 

He didn't seem convinced, but Arthur thankfully dropped the subject, as he always did, and strode past him. Hari wished that he could just go about tidying up their rooms, then get on with his days' work, but he knew that they expected him to follow, and he wouldn't risk them sending their dog after him when he didn't. Frowning,  he followed behind them. Both men walked with purpose and didn't check to see if he was following, they knew that he couldn't disobey them. 

When they came to a stop beside the stable, Harper felt his nerves rise even higher. The stable-hands were leading out a large bay mare first. The horse was surprisingly large and had quite an attitude, if its attempts to bite the poor lads who were trying to lead her was any indication of her temperament. It was no surprise to Harper when Rule walked over and gave the horse a strong pat on the neck. It snorted and tried to nip his hair, but he just headbutted it back and laughed. 

Lord Arthur's horse was next, and it was just as beautiful as Rule's. The beast was a brown so dark it shown black in the morning sun. It's head jerked up and down as it was brought out. The action would have looked unruly on another horse, but Arthur's made it seem almost majestic. 

When another animal didn't follow, Harper bit his bottom lip and glared at the ground. He knew that they would try to pull something, but he had hoped that it wouldn't be so soon. With a resigned sigh, he lifted his head and put on his best fake smile as he headed toward Arthur's horse. Rule would be less strict about whatever rules he might be given to follow while riding, but he also had seen the man ride before. He was insane. 

Arthur was already up in his saddle when he noticed Harper stop beside his gelding. His expression was mixed between annoyance and curiosity. "Pardon me, my lord, but I do not have a horse..." Harper stated nervously. 

When neither of them spoke for several moments, Harper took a small step back and shrugged. "I am afraid I cannot accompany you two, I apologize." Arthur's face remained stoic until Harper felt an arm suddenly grasp him beneath his arms and yank up abruptly. 

Thank goodness I remembered to wrap my chest and stuff it today. Sometimes he didn't bother, as he never gave himself much in the way of cleavage to avoid catching anyone's attentions, but as he was lifted up onto Rule's horse, he was relieved that the man shouldn't be able to tell the difference with such an abrupt action. 

Settling into the saddle in front of lord Rule, which he had to ride astride in order to fit, Harper steeled himself for the hell he was about to experience. His hands wrapped tightly around the horn of the saddle, knowing that it would likely end up saving his life as Rule nudged his horse into a walk. Arthur's appeared beside them moments later, the man's normal mask of annoyance or indifference gone, in its place, a small but rare grin. 

"Be careful, Rule, we don't want to bring her back to her master broken." 

The teasing tone to his voice had Harper pursing his lips and turning his attention to where they were going. He didn't want Arthur encouraging Rule, but it was inevitable that he would cause problems. It was Rule. He was likely just waiting to be out of view of prying eyes before he allowed his horse to unleash her spirit. The thought of riding on the beast when it went crazy wasn't appealing in any way. 

"Where are we going?" He asked when they past the front gates of the property and began heading toward the tree line leading into the forest. Thankfully, there was a path through the woods, but Harper still wasn't interested in being at the mercy of Rule and his horse while riding through it. 

Unfortunately, when Rule spurred his horse on into a gallop, Harper got his answer. They entered the forest within minutes, Arthur and Rule seemingly racing as they kicked their horses to speed up. The animals didn't appear to have any issues going as fast as their masters wanted, as they fought neck and neck even as the trail began to get slightly overgrown. It would have been easy for a single horse to race through without much effort, but two, side by side, were causing plants overreaching the trail to whip at their clothing and faces. 

Harper was just trying to avoid some of the larger branches when he felt a large hand grasp his face and tuck it back against Rule's chest. The other man hunched over him as he urged his horse to move even faster. Harper's heart thundered in his chest in time with the beast's hooves, wishing that the two would stop. He had rarely ridden a horse, and never had he felt the need to make one move so quickly. 

He was exhausted from sheer worry by the time the two lords finally reigned in their horses. Without even thinking, Harper swung his shaky leg over the saddle and grabbed the horn, ungracefully lowering himself down to the dirt road beneath him. He stumbled backward, falling with a squeak of surprise. When he hit the ground, however, relief flooded him and he just lay there, panting quietly up at the rising morning sun he saw through squinting eyes.

"I think we wore her out already." Rule's cocky voice chimed in the warm air. 

A large shadow blocked out the sun, allowing Harper to open his eyes fully to inspect what had done it. Arthur's horse leaned down toward him at the same time his dog padded up and began sniffing at his face. Remembering the beast's previous attitude, Harper quickly got to his feet, glad that he was no longer shaking from the crazy ride. 

Arthur dismounted next to him as Harper looked about, curious as to where they'd gone. It appeared to be a small village. He had likely visited it once or twice with a few other servants on an errand, but his memory was too fuzzy to remember specifics. 

While the two lords tied up their horses and began walking and conversing, Harper followed a few steps behind. He was still wary of their dog, and wanted to make sure that it, too, was in front of him. He was so focused on the beast that he nearly walked right into lord Rule's back where the two had stopped before a small restaurant. The smell coming from just inside was heavenly, and also made Harper remember that he had missed breakfast. His stomach rumbled loudly as he followed the men inside. Their dog, thankfully, laid own outside to wait until they were finished. 

Inside the small building, worn tables and chairs were placed uniformly about the room to give space for servers to walk safely. There were quite a few people and the sound of their conversing made it hard to hear any specific conversation. Harper intended to wait at the front of the restaurant, or even outside, while the two men ate because he was a servant and was not permitted to share their table, but when they started being lead away, Rule stopped and glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. 

Harper licked his lips nervously when the man hurried back to him and leaned in far too closely to speak to him. "Why are you not coming? Surely you're hungry?" It took Harper a moment to regain his senses in the boisterous place in order to reply correctly. 

He clasped his hands in front of him and gave a slight bow. "I do apologize but I am not permitted to dine with lords. I do hope that your meal i-" Rule evidently had no interest in hearing his logical excuse, because he just rolled his eyes and grabbed Harper's wrist, tugging him into the restaurant without bothering to consider his drowned-out protests of worry. 

"I got her," Rule said as he pressed Harper's shoulder down until he was forced into the seat across from Arthur. Rule took the one to his right, completing the triangle seating at the table. Large mugs of alcohol were placed in front of each of them. Arthur and Rule both took long drinks from theirs, but Harper eyed his wearily. He could not afford to lose himself in spirits. In fact, he'd never drank at all. 

But how can I get out of drinking it without insulting them. They bought it for me. 

Hesitantly, he reached up and grasped the large mug. Bringing it to his lips, he sipped it slowly, noting that both lords were watching him. Thankfully, a waitress came over a few moments later and they ordered from the simple offerings the place prepared. 

Once the woman left to fetch their food, Rule leaned forward on the table and gave Harper his full-on heart-racing smirk. "So, Hari, are you going to tell us that you're a boy yet?" 

Harper spit out his drink. Thank god he'd missed both lords, but his face flamed as he set his drink down and hurried to wipe the damp table. "I'm terribly sorry." He sputtered as he finished cleaning, then set the small cloth back into his pocket where he'd pulled it from. 

Rule had leaned back by the time Harper had settled back in his chair, the look on his face even more conniving. "Well?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Harper swallowed, then shrugged. "I apologize, my lord, but I cannot be anything other than what I am." The answer wasn't what either Arthur or Rule likely wanted to hear, but it also wasn't lying. Not that he hadn't before, but he highly disliked doing so if he could help it. 

"I see." Rule mumbled as he took another long drink. Before they could continue speaking the waitress returned with large plates of food. 

Both Arthur and Rule got some sort of meat dish with potatoes that made Harper's mouth water, but he had remembered right before giving his order that he was a lady and needed to act like one. And besides, meat was always more expensive than simple baked goods, and he surely couldn't afford to pay them back for anything more than what he'd gotten. Which was a small pastry with some scrambled eggs. 

He fought himself not to dig into the food and did his best to copy the lord's pace with eating. He finished much quicker, however, because he hadn't gotten nearly as much. Harper fought himself to keep his eyes from their plates as he took turns staring at his own empty plate and the patrons milling about the room. A small band had started playing and the area a few tables behind the lords had been converted into a tiny dance floor. There were only a couple of people on it, but everyone seemed to be having quite a good time. 

Harper watched an older couple dance for a few songs before returning to looking down at his empty plate. Only, it was far from empty now. His eyes darted up to both lords, but they were still digging into substantial portions of their food. Neither even spared him a look. Dropping his gaze back down to the beef and potatoes on his plate, he awkwardly picked up his fork and began to eat. He had wanted to appear ladylike and not eat a large portion of anything, but his stomach was still very much hungry. Harper would thank them later, he decided, when both men could actually hear him without having to shout.        

They ate for a good while, taking their time and drinking quite a bit more than Harper had hoped. Even when they slowed down, they continued to get him more. Since they had bought him food, he wasn't going to not drink the drinks they bought him, too. He just hoped that his stomach, and mind, would be able to handle the alcohol. 

(Quite enjoying these guys and their randomness, but I'm sure that it's clear they're plotting something, the buttheads. I think Rule is still my favorite just because of his bluntness, too lol)