Baas moaned as he bopped up and down Donkey’s back. He laid draped over my thighs, on his stomach, and pested against me with his hiccuping breath. Because of his weight, I kept sliding down, and my grip of Donkey’s neck was tenuous. My fingers were laced together around the poor animal’s neck, cramped and as immovable as the jaws of a fighting dog. The tension turned into pain shooting up my arms. I wouldn’t hold long like that, and then we would both fall off and break our necks.

“I give up.” Baas huffed, almost vomiting as he banged back down on his stomach. “Our life is not bad. Stop!”

“Shut up, if your brain stopped working.”

“Food, roof and fine clothes!”

“Shut up!” I yelled louder.

“And people love us!” He yelled back louder, a giddy laugh escaping him as blood pooled to his face, “they love us all night long!”

“Take that back!” Now I was getting offended.

“We get fire in winter for our toes and fat bed warmers, freshened up every hour or so.” He kept laughing.

I shivered thinking of the flacid white skins brushing against ours. We had to get away. We had to get away or I would commit a crime. I would do something horrible either to them or to myself. It didn’t matter which - but something was going to break.

“You’re delirious. We’ll get sold to the plantations to die of exertion at 30... If the pox doesn’t rot our insides first.” 

“I’m going to die now if you don’t slow down!”

Baas protected his face with his folded arms, avoiding the gravel shower as best he could and tucked his knees to the flanks of Donkey not to fall. I barely saved his head from a ramp as we took over a group of ridders, but I didn’t slow. We had taken too much time in the city already. My throat throbbed with the fear of missing out. We had to make it in time.

“Saabeth!” He screamed, feeling the hooves of a horse close to his legs.

I swore as my fingers came undone and started slipping along Donkey’s brittle grey hair. I clutched at his neck, digging in and he reared. Baas and I screamed, but held on. The house was in view.

My heart skipped a beat.

But one of the two carts from Lord Gomond’s house was already gone, and the carriage sitting his servant was on the move. My heart sunk. We couldn’t be too late. Dark bruises already bloomed on my brother’s back, visible where his shirt had untucked from his breaches. 

This was not how it ended.

“All I wanted to say was-” Baas’s sentence was cut by the shock of air whooshing out of his lungs each time he landed as Donkey galloped. “-was, don’t be hard on yourself if we- don’t make it- As long as we’re- together. Life is bear- bearable.”

This was not the end.

I thumped down, kicking the flanks of Donkey and bit my tongue as he came to an abrupt stop. Baas and I were catapulted forward. We held on with the tip of our fingers, barely staying on, inches from tumbling over Donkey’s head. He kicked and bucked some more. We had no grip left. We fell. Hard. On the beater earth road.

In the distance, horses were already kicking a dust storm under the Lord’s carriage. Baas clutched at his cheek scraped raw. But instead of yelling he was inspecting me, making sure I wasn’t hurt. I let out a howl of despair. Crows rose in the rising evening, heavy wings flapping noisily and two mournful cries shattering the air. 

The horse’s glopping gait stopped. A head came out of the carriage’s window. There was no mistaking the red beard. He tapped the side panel of his ride and in seconds it turned around and headed for us.

I let out a small hiccup. Had we made it?

Red-beard looked down at us from his open carriage door. Baas lifted his bloody face.

“Any broken bones?”  Red-beard asked.

“No, we can work. We make the best lace in this town.” I said in earnest.

“Show your fingers.”

We held up our hands, wincing at our muck covered palms. We certainly didn’t look our best. Red-beard got out, looking down at us, leaning towards my brother’s cheek. He lifted Baas’s face up to the lowering sun. 

“Small flesh wound. That pretty face should be perfectly smoothed over by the time you serve the ball.”

He nodded and pulled a girl out from the cart behind. Aggy froze. Her pretty face took on a hurt look, with eyes too large and a frown slowly descending on her brow. She shook her head as soon as she recovered, but Red-beard had already dragged her down on the path. My heart hammered my chest. Had we made it? 

“Tell your mistress I’ve found my missing twins. I’ll send the extra cost tomorrow.”

Aggy looked down at her simply shod feet and quickly nodded. She was getting back to the hell house. As a second rate girl that’s all it would ever be. Numb, she quickly walked off, Donkey’s lead wrapped in her hand. 

We had made it, at the cost of Aggy’s seat.

My skin was cold as we climbed with Baas, legs hiked high to reach the top of the cart’s barrier. Baas couldn’t manage it and I pulled on his arms with all my might. He collapsed on the floorboard. I hugged him gingerly, afraid to hurt him and the other saved girls silently made a circle around us, standing against the wind. We were on our way to the manor, to prepare it for a ball, and maybe we’d never have to go back to the mistress. Maybe Lord Gomond would always need lace and would keep us to serve him. We had a chance, and yet my heart didn’t feel lighter.