Just as much as Tambor’s appearance had surprised Her, so now did the signs of the castle’s interior dismay Kellina.
“HOME SWEET HOME.” The words came unbidden, but floated clearly through Her mind. She looked around for the source and the only one near her was the once again diminutive blue dragon.
“Was that you?” she asked.
He turned and winked one green eye at her, “TALKING IS TIRESOME. I FIND MENTAL COMMUNICATION EVER SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT. I’M GLAD YOU CAN HEAR ME. NOT ALL HUMANS CAN.”
“Oh, I see,” She thought back. “Home sweet dilapidated wreck would be somewhat more accurate an assessment, my blue friend. It will take an army to make this dump livable.”
“OH, IT WILL BE WONDERFUL IN NO TIME … YOU’LL SEE!”
Kellina looked at him, nodding in disbelief, walking further inside, peeking into rooms off the main entry hall. Over her head hung a long neglected chandelier of what appeared to be brass and crystal. She wondered idly who would be unlucky enough to garner that little piece of reworking, but continued her exploration of the entry hall. There was a central stair case that led upward and branched off in opposite directions, dust caked stairs held a hint of former glory but were long chipped and faded with disuse. She wondered if they were even safe to climb and would need some brave soul to check that before anyone used them regularly.
Though dirty, the windows appeared to be sound, although the treatments hung in faded tatters from rusted or tarnished rods. While the exterior of the castle had held not one visible square corner, as was the custom, the interior held the conventional corners, walls, and doorways. She thought it odd, but perhaps the builders of the structure wanted the appearance of fragility when in actual truth the castle was as strong as needed to guard the Shire and village.
A set of double hung oak doors to the left of the stairway opened to a vast chamber she assumed to have been a hall for entertaining guests at balls and banquets. Two enormous stone fireplaces dominated the far wall, appearing to her as gaping mouths demanding to be fed.
There was still some furniture here and there, most of it unusable in their present condition. Tables lay on their sides, chairs broken and overturned, and the chandeliers hanging in severely damaged conditions that belied stability of any kind. They would have to be taken down and replaced, or what was left of them would. They gave the appearance of wanting to loosen themselves from the fastenings that held them, and she was careful not to walk directly under any of them.
Leaving that chamber, she moved around to the room on the right side of the stair case, also behind what were double hung oak doors. The doors lay on their sides, off their hinges, as though ripped aside by some unseen assailant. She stopped and closed her eyes, laying her hand on one of the doors. Instantly, long distant images rushed through her mind of screaming women and shouting, fireballs of assaultive weapons, and the energy of brute strength invading the space before her.
Pulling her hand away, she opened her eyes and breathed deeply, letting the images and the energies they carried sink back into the soil beneath her. What wounded Kaia’s children could only be healed by Kaia, as her mother had often told her. How impatient she had been! She shook her head at the memory now, of the petulant child with crossed arms and scowling visage, stomping her feet in rebellion.
Attempted, always … successful, never … every lesson met with the same resistance and every lesson learned with the same reluctance. She had done her lessons with all the enthusiasm of a condemned prisoner approaching a gallows, but she had done them. She had learned them. She had put them to memory and used them countless times since she had grown to a young woman. Her mother, bless her, had never once mentioned her past rebellious nature or used it to chide her. The memories of women were like that, she knew now. Cast in iron are the memories of the heart’s joys, and fleeting as shadows are the memories of the heart’s aches.
This room, whatever it had been, had seen the worst of whatever had happened here. Charred beams echoed of a fire, and the window at the far end of the room was shattered as if hit by the fireballs she had seen so clearly. Fortunate that the builders had the foresight to build of Kaia’s strongest stone … only the wood had burned. The floor was charred, but solid, and what furniture had been was demolished.
Gazing around her, Kellina could not help but wonder at what had happened here … when and by whom and for what purpose? She would have words with Michon when next she saw him. He might have warned her of what she would find here.
She went back outside and looked around what seemed to have been the entrance courtyard – the only way into the shire was through the castle gates, which had long fallen from disrepair. Or from attack, she thought, remembering the room on the right. She looked over to those windows and saw that something had indeed entered with extreme destructive force – shattered shards lay scattered as if they had exploded upon the impact of whatever had been launched against them, stone and casings were charred from some source of intense heat.
Tambor, once again the normal size for a dragon, waited outside as she wandered around the entire courtyard and at last she turned to him.
“It’s a mess. I would think my Lord would have forewarned me,” Kellina’s voice was weary and disheartened.
“IT HAS BEEN MANY YEARS SINCE HE HAS BEEN HERE, LADY, AND HE WAS YOUNGER THAN YOU WHEN HE LEFT. SOME MEMORIES FADE WITH TIME, ESPECIALLY IF THEIR OWNER WISHES IT SO.”
She nodded, “I will grant you that. Still, this is so … overwhelming … what was he thinking to send me here with it in this condition?”
Tambor chuckled, “WOULD YOU HAVE APPRECIATED IT MORE HAD IT BEEN RESTORED WHEN YOU ARRIVED? HOW THEN WOULD YOU MAKE IT YOUR OWN? HIS PARENTS FOUGHT THE LAND ITSELF TO BUILD THIS SHIRE. REALLY, LADY, YOU SOUND SO … SPOILED …”
He was expecting the huff of indignation and the sound pelt of a shoe against his clawed foot, “TRUTH STINGS, DOES IT, LADY? I THINK HE THOUGHT YOU MORE THAN UP TO THE CHALLENGE OF RECLAIMING THIS SHIRE, AND I AM INCLINED TO THINK HIM CORRECT.”
Kellina considered another attack on his foot, but her own still hurt from that first time. She sighed and nodded quietly, “I will not disappoint, then. Perhaps you could clear the way on what used to be the entrance road to the castle, my friend? It looks too overgrown for the caravan to make their way through it successfully.”
Tambor glanced down the road leading up and saw that it was indeed heavily overgrown with shrub and brush, through which the caravan would have to hack their way if they were to reach the castle. He motioned for her to stand back, and shielded her with one wing. She peeked around the edge of scaled protection to see him inhale, close his eyes, and let loose the most incredible flame that she’d ever seen.
Like a river the gold and amber flames flowed down the roadway, consuming everything in their path. She had ducked back behind her protective shield when the flames became too intense, but looked back when Tambor again folded his wing up onto his back.
“THAT SHOULD DO NICELY,” He thought.
It took some time for the remainder of the caravan to arrive, but she heard them approach through the gates that guarded the castle and the village beyond. Since the gates were severely damaged and lay forlorn on the ground, so there was at present nothing to hold anyone back from entering the Shire at will. That would change soon enough, she promised herself.
Nonetheless, she was relieved to see them approach and hear human voices again. It had been some hours since Tambor and she had arrived, so she knew another camp of sorts was in order for the coming night. Kellina braced herself and went out to greet the young Captain Payne, up front and obviously in a fine temper.
Dismounting, the Captain bowed stiffly if somewhat graciously, though her voice was tense, “Milady …”
“Rise, Captain, I see you have all arrived safely. Without incident, I trust?”
“None at all, Ma’am,” replied the Captain, nodding toward the castle, “Milady …”
She looked at Payne, whose face and eyes flushed with smouldering anger, “Yes, Captain?”
“Really, Milady, what WERE You thinking, taking off like that?”
“Excuse me?” She couldn’t believe the tone being used.
“Milady, do you not think Lord Michon would have all our heads if any harm befell you? Taking off like that .. showed the highest disregard for your safety and our heads! Don’t ever do that again!!”
Kellina looked at the Captain, whom she sincerely liked, and decided to make an example of hir. Others had grown silent as they beheld the display, and she noted Ahren to the rear of a small group, head down as if she had failed her duty in some way. Instantly, Kellina knew that Payne had held the boi responsible. In the same instant, She knew she could not allow Payne to become a bully.
Quietly, she spoke, “Captain, do remove your helmet, please.”
Obediently, Payne exhaled sharply as if annoyed, and placed her helmet under her arm. Kellina stepped forward. She turned to another guard, “You, your gauntlet please.”
The guard stepped forward, bowed, and removed the gauntlet from his belt, handing it to the Lady.
“Thank you,” she smiled.
She looked back to the Captain and, without missing a beat, brought the gauntlet up full force across Payne’s face.
Surprise caused the Captain to fall to one side, attempting to regain her balance, when the gauntlet struck her again and dropped her to the ground. Every attempt to rise was met with another blow, till at last Payne remained on hir knees. She looked at the ground, defeated. In this humiliation, she knew at last she had been far out of line to address the Lady as she had in front of the entire assembly, and that this was necessary in order for the Lady Kellina to establish Her authority.
Payne moved slowly, but decidedly, lowering herself further in the direction of the ground. On her stomach, she moved forward and gently kissed the foot of the Lady. Then she put her arms out to her side and lay still.
No sound could be heard. Every eye was on Lady Kellina and the Captain. After several minutes, she spoke, “You may rise, Captain.”
Slowly, Payne arose and faced the Lady, going down on one knee before Her, “I am most sorry, Lady. It will never happen again.”
The Lady nodded, “I trust that is so, Captain. Now, replace your helmet and rise … we have much to discuss.”
“How … how do you find the castle, Lady?” Payne spoke softly.
She shook her head, “I fear we will have to make camp in the courtyard and surrounding grounds. I am unsure of the stability of any part of the castle, and until it can be assessed suggest we remain outdoors.”
Payne nodded her agreement, “A wise plan, Ma’am. By your leave, I shall convey your wishes to the others. At sun up I will assign a squad to assess the safety of the castle structure, if that meets with my Lady’s approval.”
She nodded, “Excellent, Captain. And now, if I could have my tent assembled so that I may rest …”
Later, by the fire as before, she yawned and stretched from weariness. A female guard nearby looked over, “Are you well, Lady Kellina?”
She nodded, rising, “Quite well, just weary. I shall retire for the night. See to your post.”
To her surprise, the young guard turned to her, “If you will permit me, Lady Kellina, I shall accompany you to your tent. This environ is still unknown to us, and dangers may lurk of which we are unaware. Lord Tambor is a most wonderful guardian, but even he in all his strength cannot see all things.”
Unable to argue with the wisdom of the young woman’s logic, Kellina nodded her assent. They walked in silence to the tent, where Ahren stood waiting. Seeing the guard, she came up to them at once.
“Milady, is all well? Why have you need of a guard?”
She shook her head, “I’m well, my dear Ahren, truly. The young lieutenant is merely being cautious, and wisely so in such an unknown place as this.” She turned and nodded, “Thank you, err … your name? I don’t recall you giving it …”
“Lieutenant Eliwayne, Milady,” she said, bowing.
Kellina smiled, “Very well, Eliwayne, you are dismissed. See to your post as assigned by Captain Payne.”
“At once, Lady Kellina, as you will,” and with another bow, Eliwayne turned and left them.
Ahren moved to hold the tent flap open as Kellina went inside, turning to smile at hir just briefly, “Thank you, Ahren, now get some sleep. Find someone to take your place.”
Ahren bowed, “Yes, Ma’am. Right away, as you will.”
Inside, Kellina again simply lay down in her riding garments, pulled the covers over her, and doused the light. In the darkness, she thought the idle pre-sleep meanderings of mind that often accompany the weary. She knew a bath was in order, and soon.
Where it would happen she had no idea, but from Tambor’s back she saw that two rivers converged near the castle, and she was certain a bath might be possible in some secluded spot along the shore. Then she needed her bed … two nights in a tent had left her tender back somewhat aching.
It had taken the longest to heal after that Night … torn ligaments and muscles took time to mend. It was weeks before she could move without pain, and then the realization of her condition brought even more anguish. So reluctant was she to tell Michon that he had been forced to bring in a soothsayer to give her a potion, compelling her to reveal what she was hiding.
Then when she had healed sufficiently, he devised a ritual of healing for them both, culminating with the planting of his seed within her, claiming the child as his own. She did not weep at the memory this time, but smiled at the warm remembrance of it, her hand going to her abdomen as sleep finally claimed her.
The following morning, Captain Payne reported to her during her breakfast that her guards had checked the castle stem to stern and, with a few exceptions, had found it to be structurally sound.
Kellina was glad of it, and gave the order that unpacking was to commence as soon as morning meal was done. Tambor, true to his self-proclaimed role as guardian, was present as crates and boxes began to move into the long abandoned structure. The Lady smiled at the blue presence.
“And where did you flit off to last night?”
“I HAVE A CAVERN DWELLING BELOW THE CASTLE, LADY. AFTER MY SURVEILLANCE OF THE SHIRE LANDS, I RETIRED THERE FOR THE NIGHT. AND AS GUARDIAN OF THE SHIRE, I AM HERE TODAY IN CASE I AM NEEDED.”
Kellina watched as dust swirled with supplies, furniture, and belongings being brought in. She coughed and cast a dubious glance at the dragon beside her. Noting her glance, Tambor merely shrugged. She glanced down to the floor, and bent to wipe away dirt and debris with her hand. A faint pattern appeared, and she turned to one of the guards nearby.
“You there! I need a sturdy cloth …”
“NEVER MIND,” thought Tambor, who turned and swished the soft underside of his tail across the floor several times. A finely detailed floor of cross grained inlaid woods was revealed even as Tambor yelped and jumped, flinging his tail harshly.
“OUCH!”
The Lady, who had moved clear of the tail and the resulting dust cloud, moved over to view the problem. Tambor shook his head and pulled his tail back. Kellina looked at him, crossed her arms, and said firmly, “Give me that tail, lizard!”
Reluctantly and slowly, the tail came back toward her, lifted slightly.
Bending down, Kellina could see the shard of wood that had imbedded itself into the soft underside flesh of the dragon’s tail. Calling for a healer, she knelt down and looked at Tambor, who obliged by lifting the tail gently into her lap. She was glad he was small now … normal size would have crushed her.
The healer arrived and, seeing the Lady in attendance on the wounded, opened her tool pack for Her to use.
Tenderly, Kellina used some clamps to pull on the shard, which stayed fast.
Realizing more stern measures were needed, she pulled harder while moving the shard against the direction of entry and pulling. The healer saw the action, and placed her hands on either side of the wound to stabilize the flesh.
Slowly, it came out, along with the dragon’s blood. Seeing the depth of the wound, she took a needle and sinew and began stitching. With each stitch, Tambor flinched and whimpered softly.
The healer did her part by running the calming energies she knew the wounded dragon needed in order to stay still, as Lady Kellina was tending the wound herself.
Once stitched, she applied a dressing and bound it around the tail securely.
“I’m afraid you will have to remain small while it heals, my Lord Tambor,” she said softly, putting away the tools used and closing the healer’s pack, smiling Her thanks. The healer nodded and bowed her head.
Tambor nodded and moved aside as Ahren, standing nearby, helped the Lady to her feet. As Tambor ambled off, he called out in an offended tone over his shoulder, “And I am not a lizard!”
She smiled, handed the healing bundle to the healer, and moved to continue her examination of the stair rail, also of a dark, rich wood. The steps appeared to be some kind of polished stone … marble perhaps. Hard to tell until they were thoroughly cleaned.
A sudden scream brought her head up abruptly and She ran toward the back of the stairs and through an entrance to the kitchen.
On the floor lay one of her maids, a young woman named Louise.
Immediately the healer came forward while Kellina looked around the room to find what had caused Louise to faint. Detecting an odor of decay in the room – living decay – she looked at the faces around her to verify it wasn’t Her imagination. She walked past Louise to move to the other side of the huge island in the center of the room. Gasping audibly at what she saw there, she reached out to grasp the edge of the island to steady Herself. Instantly Ahren was at Her side.
“Milady … what is it? Are you all right?”
She pointed, then turned from the decaying human remains leaning in a sitting position against the stove. Mostly skeleton, it wasn’t possible to determine a gender from what was left. A lone rat gnawed without concern at what was left on the hips. Tambor came around the corner and made a face.
“EWWWWW.”
“You didn’t do this, did you?” the Lady asked him, and regretted the question as soon as she saw the wounded look on his face. Now she had succeeded in offending him twice within an hour.
“My dear Lady,” He said haughtily and with every ounce of wounded pride he could muster, “if I were at all inclined to consume humans, or even dispatch them, none of you would be here right now!”
She nodded, “Of course. I am sorry to have offended you. However, that still leaves us with a dead body and no explanation of how it got that way or why it is decomposing on the kitchen floor!” At this point she rolled her eyes and turned, “And would someone PLEASE remove that rat, and take the body outside to one of the other buildings?”
At the tone of her voice, Ahren stepped up, “I will take care of it, if it please You, Milady.”
She looked gratefully at Ahren and motioned to two guards, “You and … you … help Ahren take care of this. If Louise can be moved, let’s get her into another room away from this stench.” She turned back to Ahren, who was already removing the now deceased rat, “Open all the doors and windows, please, and oversee to the cleaning of this room.”
Ahren stopped to bow, discreetly putting the rat behind hir and out of the Lady’s view, “Yes, Ma’am, right away.”
The Lady smiled ever so slightly to herself as she followed the procession back into another room. Louise had regained consciousness and was protesting in vain at being carried. Looking back briefly at Ahren, who was already assigning tasks and telling the guards to get a stretcher to take the body outside, she thought briefly, “That one is a keeper.”
“INDEED,” came Tambor’s reply.
She looked at him, “Do you always eavesdrop?”
“NO, ONLY WHEN I DON’T DELIBERATELY SHUT OUT THE THOUGHTS OF THOSE AROUND ME. THERE IS ALSO THE RARE OCCASION WHEN I WILL NOT READ SOMEONE.”
“Does that happen often?”
“NO, ONLY WITH DARK MINDS.”
“Dark?”
The dragon looked at her evenly, growing ever so slightly to meet Her at eye level, “EVIL, MY LADY. EVIL MINDS ARE TOXIC … POISON TO OU… MY KIND. I DO NOT READ THEM. NOW, YOU MUST EXCUSE ME, LADY, AS THE GUARDIAN OF THE SHIRE, I MUST BE ABOUT MY DUTIES. WHO KNOWS, I MAY FIND ANOTHER CORPSE OR TWO …”
She didn’t smile in return, “If you do, please incinerate them so no more of my maids have fainting spells.”
Tambor bowed, “AS YOU WILL IT, MY LADY, SO IT SHALL BE.”
As Tambor ambled back out the double front doors, lifting his tail gingerly over the wooded floors, the Lady turned back to the room where Louise was resting on a pile of comforters. “Are you feeling better,” She asked.
Louise nodded, “Yes, Ma’am. I’m fine, really. I’m sorry for making such a fuss.”
The Lady’s hand fell gently on the young woman’s shoulder, “It’s quite understandable, Louise. If I can faint at the sight of a dragon, you can faint at a rotting corpse.”
Louise laughed, “A rotting corpse being nibbled on by a mangy, disgusting rat.”
“You fainted because of the RAT?”
Louise nodded sheepishly, “I’m terrified of them.”
The Lady chuckled and turned to the guards bringing in boxes and chests, “Ok, I need a detail of ten … no, twenty … no … thirty guards … NOW!!”
In no time at all they were assembled before her. She groaned a little inwardly … her Lord had assigned mostly men in spite of the fact that this was to be a women’s shire. Time enough to deal with that little problem, “Now, I want this Castle combed from the highest turret to the lowest dungeon … every rat, insect, or other vermin found are to be removed from the premises immediately. Is that clear?”
“What if we find other … bodies, Milady?” asked Captain Payne, whose short red hair was peeking from beneath her helmet, damp with sweat.
“Call Tambor. He’ll take care of it. Now, go … and be thorough! If I find so much as a roach when you’re through, you will sleep in a pit of them.”
As the guards dispersed, the Captain assigning areas of the castle to each group, Kellina wandered back out toward the stairway and absently began to climb the steps. Her hand slid along the smooth wood of the railing as she reached the second floor landing, images once again floated toward her.
This time, children laughing, one sliding down where her hand lay now, and happier days. The castle had known love.
Faded, tattered draperies hung from windows fogged over with ages of dirt. Within the stone supporting structure, the faded wallpaper spoke of a grander time for the castle. To Her right and left were stairways that continued upward. The landing stretched to either of side of the stairways, with a hall in the center of each.
“Great,” She thought, “I’ll never run of out of guest rooms.”
Dirt, dust, debris, and cobwebs covered everything she saw. She decided to follow the stairway to the right and came to the third floor landing.
Doors again lined the walls with a hallway between them. The wallpaper here was as faded as the other, but of a different pattern. The floor also was of a different inlay than either the main or second floors. She marveled that whoever had designed this Castle had put much thought and care into the effort, as well as money. She wondered how long it had been here … who built it … what had happened … and why it had lain so long abandoned.
Her hand followed the pattern of the masonry on the stairwells as she climbed to the next floor, and to the next. There she paused to sit on a worn bench next to a window covered in grime. She wiped away some with Her hand and looked out at the surrounding grounds, grown over and untended. She leaned wearily against the window and sighed.
“Oh My Lord,” Kellina whispered, “I hope I don’t fail your trust in Me.” She jumped as a tiny flutter rippled her abdomen, and put her hand to it. A second flutter made her smile.
“So you are letting me know you’re here, little one! And just as I needed to know if your father’s trust in me is well placed.” She stood and went down the hall to her right, ignoring finally the next flight of stairs. At the end of the hall on her left was a huge wooden door with iron plating and hinges. She patted her tummy as she reached for the handle and turned, “Let’s go, little one.”
The door gave way reluctantly and long unused iron hinges creaked loudly in protest. It opened to a large empty chamber covered in the same dirt and cobwebs of every floor she’d been to, and yet it appealed to her.
As she came further in, she saw to her right what appeared to be a toilet, with an enormous claw foot tub near a window, and an ample wardrobe area off to the left. To her left was a fireplace and hearth of hewn stone that rose to the ceiling. On the far side of the room, near the windows that opened to a balcony, was a small chamber, most likely for an attendant.
The windows were double-hung doors paned with colored glass scenes. She looked closer at the handiwork and saw that the scene panes alternated with panes of different roses, and that the scenes depicted dominance and submission themes. One was of a young woman kneeling, head down, and blindfolded. Another was of a wooden cross complete with chains and bindings. Yet another was a candle dripping wax. She pulled the doors open and stepped out onto a large stone balcony that went the length of the room inside. Back inside, she continued her exploration of the chamber.
Huge windows provided ample light, or would once clean. She closed her eyes, imagining them crystal clear and hung with richly brocaded drapes. A door at the far end of the room revealed an adjoining chamber, somewhat smaller than the main one.
She smiled, “A perfect nursery, my little darling.” Other than the door to the soon to be nursery, the room held little at this end so she felt it would be well suited to other décor once she found a suitable submissive. She sighed. Lord Michon had been generous in allowing her to experience some of those appetites on his submissives, and it had proven quite intoxicating to her.
It had surprised her, the intensity of her reactions to a helpless but willing body waiting before her … sounds of moans and cries and sometimes screams coming from tender lips as she worked the instruments of her choosing on their flesh. She loved to push them … see how far they would go for her … and in so doing, find their own inner strength and peace.
Shaking her head, she moved on. Near the door to the nursery was a slightly hidden panel with a carving of a dragon in flight. The tail was slightly out from the surface, and when she pushed on it, the panel slid open to reveal a narrow spiral staircase leading downward. She suspected it might lead to Tambor’s lair, and made a point to ask Him about it. Not knowing the condition of the passage or the length, she decided to wait until it could be examined and determined to be safe.
A commotion out in the hall drew her attention and made her move toward the door as Ahren, the Captain, and two other guards entered. Upon seeing her, all bowed respectfully. Ahren, she noted, went down on one knee and held the position while the Captain and the guards resumed their standing positions.
The Captain spoke, “Milady, we were concerned about you when we couldn’t locate You. Are you well?”
She ignored the Captain, and looked at Ahren, who was still kneeling, “You may rise, Ahren.”
The boi stood, but did not respond with other than a nod in the Lady’s direction. The Lady turned back to the Captain.
“I am well, Captain. As to my whereabouts, I see no reason to inform anyone when I’m exploring my home. This is going to be my chamber. From henceforth, no one is to enter here without knocking and waiting permission to enter. I want two guards posted at the door at all times once the room is cleaned and furnished.”
The Captain, unused still to the authority of one she knew to have been a submissive, hesitated about three seconds in acknowledging the Lady’s command. It was about two seconds too long for the Lady.
“Something wrong with your hearing, Captain?” She asked, tapping Her foot.
“No Ma’am,” the Captain flushed a bright crimson.
“Your voice, then?”
“No, Ma’am.”
Kellina waited as the silence became heavy as the beams in the ceiling over their heads. She stood still, Her usually soft hazel eyes becoming hard as the Castle’s stones, and met the Captain’s gaze. Slowly the young woman lowered her gaze and dropped to one knee.
“It will be done as You command, my Lady.”
“Then you may see to your duties, Captain.”
The young woman rose, bowed deeply, and left the room with the guards. The Captain turned to them once in the hallway.
“As commanded, you two will take the first watch at her Ladyship’s door.”
“Sir …” one said.
“Yes?”
“Are we going to put up with her putting on airs like this? After the way she treated you yesterday?? She was a sex slave for heaven’s sake … even now we hear she’s carrying Lord Michon’s bastard.”
The Captain moved quickly. One second the guard was standing, the next he wasn’t. He was laid out on the floor where the Captain’s blow had landed him, her sword at his throat.
“Get your things and return to the Shire of the East as this man’s prisoner. You are hereby stripped of your rank and position. Upon return to the Shire of the East, you will surrender your uniform and weapons to Lord Michon, and submit yourself for disciplinary action. I’d pray if I were you … His Lordship doesn’t take kindly to treason.”
The Captain met the gaze of the other guard, who had paled, “Do you as well question the Lady’s right to rule this Shire?”
The guard shook his head firmly and the Captain nodded, “Then go, and be sure to send two honorable guards for tonight’s watch.”
The guard saluted, “By your command, Captain.”
Watching them go, the Captain shook her head as the Lady came to the door with Ahren, having heard the entire event, “I’m worried about that being the surface of an iceberg.”
The Lady nodded, “I trust your ability to command, Captain, have no doubt of it. Your position here is firm as long as you wish it.”
The Captain smiled and bowed, “Thank you, Lady Kellina, I shall endeavor to honor your faith in me. Until your chamber can be made ready, will you come downstairs? We have prepared a temporary room for your night’s slumber.”
She nodded, “Indeed yes. I am very tired. It’s been a very long day.”
Tags: creative writing, dragon, dragon heart, dragons, fantasy, Lynn Kupfer, S. Ranea Wright