With the supreme effort of nearly two complements of guards and several maids, the chamber was ready that night. Kellina supposed that it could likely be more accurately called morning, but she was too weary to argue the issue with anyone. There was no sun in the sky, and the twin moons hung as silent beacons in the night.
Ahren had to finally ask the Lady to please come supervise the installation of the furnishings. Not only was she afraid to place anything in the room without approval, but she had no experience with such things as the Lady’s enormous bed when a sleeping bundle had most often been hir furniture, and the outdoors hir ‘chamber’. It seemed odd now, to have a place to be and belong, yet Ahren was still too busy to ponder it for long.
Finally, Kellina surveyed the work with no little amount of appreciation. The floor, comprised of stone tiles of varying shapes and sizes in different shades of gray, maroon, and browns was so clean it actually glistened in the light from the fireplace. The velvet drapes she had brought with her from Shire of the East both to save money and because she so very much loved them – now they hung easily from the high windows and draped to the floor with a pooled elegance. The deep maroon caught the colors of the floor nicely, and she had arranged things to catch this tone.
Her bed, an enormous king sized canopy style in deep mahogany, was placed against the main wall between the dressing room and the small antechamber. Now covered with her beloved comforters, pillows, and sheets in shades of rose and mauve that complemented the maroon tones nicely, she felt somewhat at home within the room. Her chaise was near the fire atop a white fur rug that His Lordship had given her after a particularly intense scene they had shared. She smiled at the memories held by this rug … oh my, if only it could speak! But, she mused, better that it could not.
And now here was Ahren, bringing some refreshment from the kitchen. The boi had suggested installing a small area for preparation of refreshments near the fireplace, a brilliant addition the Lady agreed, but it would not be ready for use for some time. Kellina had to admit, she more and more liked this mysterious one she had chosen … so much yet she did not know about hir, though. Where was she from originally? Who were hir family?
She accepted the cup of steaming cocoa gratefully and smiled. Time enough for questions later. At this moment, she was exhausted.
Ahren had set the tray aside and knelt quietly by the chaise, hir blue eyes gazing serenely forward and hir hands folded in hir lap. Back straight and firm, the position was very much to the Lady’s liking … the young woman’s own strength of will held in reign as she kept vigil in a state of submission. If the boi had any thoughts, she did not utter them. It spoke of some kind of training at some point … but where, when, and by whom? Kellina knew Ahren had to be near exhaustion, but there was one thing she needed to ask before dismissing hir.
“Ahren,” She said softly.
The boi looked up, “Yes, my Lady?”
“Have you had a chance to speak to the Captain regarding the prisoner?”
“Only briefly, Ma’am … the guard remains defiant, belligerent, and quite vocal.”
“Doesn’t like his new quarters, I take it?”
“Captain Payne said the brig was pretty run down, and quite infested with a variety of living creatures, none of whom the guard seems to appreciate. He is residing in the one solid cell the Captain could find, and sports a bruise on one jaw for trying to once again turn on the Captain before going into the cell.”
“Truly? I wouldn’t think a woman could land a blow that hard …”
“She didn’t, Ma’am … she hit him with the iron door to the cell when he ran at her. His jaw might be broken, he’s been much quieter.”
“Hmmm,” the Lady mused, “Check on that in the morning, will you? I don’t want him suffering from any injuries before the platform is finished.”
Ahren nodded, “Of course, Milady.”
She nodded approval, “Now, sweet one, I know you are beyond exhaustion. You are free to retire for the night, Ahren.”
Ahren bowed, rising to leave, “Ma’am. Yes, thank You, Ma’am.”
Now that she was alone again, Kellina gazed once more approvingly at the chamber … although the far end was still empty of furnishings, it did hold empty and still full crates of her belongings. In time, all would be unpacked and put in good order, leaving the space at the far end of the chamber empty once more.
She sighed. Time enough for that, she mused, when I decide exactly which way I am going with it. Her desk stood adjacent to the windows that opened to the balcony outside her room, and as yet remained empty of contents. She wanted to have another chaise placed out on the balcony for when weather was nice and she could sit and enjoy a good book. She also planned to have a cushion made for Ahren when she was in service … the floor was simply too hard to expect the boi to kneel upon for any length of time.
She had decided the standard for the Shire was to be a gold field with a blue dragon in the center – time the castle once more had a standard lifted high to fly in the wind. She wondered to herself if there were others like Tambor, and if so, why hadn’t she ever seen or heard of them?
She finished the cocoa and set the cup on the side table.
Removing her robe, she climbed into the familiar covers and, falling back onto the pillows and cushions, she closed her eyes and slept. She knew Ahren was just down the hall, as she had insisted the boi should reside on the same floor as she – proximity lowered waiting time when the Lady was impatient.
For hir part, Ahren had accepted the Lady’s wishes without protest. At Shire of the East, she had been staying in the main servant quarters. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept in a room she could consider ‘hir own,’ a chamber all to hirself, and knew that hir old sleeping bundle would not do for long if the Lady saw it.
Unlike the Lady’s chamber, Ahren’s was still somewhat dirty and in need of some repairs. Time enough for that later, for when she lay down in her bundle weariness flowed over hir as another covering. Not wanting to ask of the Lady with everything still in a state of upheaval, she fell asleep musing on how to build a bed and other furniture pieces for hir room, and, as sleep took hir, wondering idly how Lord Michon would react to the returning guards.
*******************************
Ahren might well have wondered, for upon the return of the guards to Shire of the East three days later a small explosion might well have been heard all the way back in the newly reclaimed Shire.
Lord Michon, by nature an early riser, had been up since dawn and was in the same sour mood he’d been in since Kellina left. He supposed in time he would become accustomed to her absence, but there was no remedy for it yet.
No one pleased him, it seemed, and servants were keeping a wide berth between themselves and the glowering Lord they generally adored without fear. At his desk writing, he glanced up in obvious annoyance when a servant informed him of the arrival of the guards.
“What? Now what?” He stood and stomped past the servant, who managed to keep out of the way and follow her Lord downstairs without making a sound. He reached the landing outside and surveyed the guards, one in the forefront in irons. He walked over.
“What happened?” He asked a guard next to the one in shackles.
“Insubordination, my Lord. He challenged the Lady Kellina’s orders, and cast slurs on her character as well as her right to rule the new Shire.”
Turning His attention to the shackled man, he asked, “Is this true? You did this, knowing the trust I placed in all of you to watch over and protect her while the Shire is being set up?”
Now, before his Lord, the guard was humiliated and ashamed, nodding, “Aye my Lord, I am guilty of this man’s words. I did so question and slur the Lady Kellina’s name as well as that of her unborn child.”
Michon‘s jaw clenched, “What exactly was said about her and the child?”
The attending guard took a deep breath, “He questioned taking orders from one of your Lordship’s sluts and implied she is with child, carrying your bastard, my Lord.”
Not often given to impulse, Lord Michon’s hand now moved so swiftly the attending guard barely had time to move out of the way of the flying fist that landed on the offender’s jaw and knocked him to the ground, causing several nearby guards to move quickly aside.
“You dare slur the name of my most favored one and our child, who will be heir to both Shires and all they contain?”
The guard, knowing Lord Michon could easily kill him, kept his face to the ground and begged mercy, “F … Forgive, my Lord … please, have mercy … it will never happen again!”
Days of frustration came to a head and unleashed on the pitiful guard, Lord Michon’s booted foot landing hard against the man’s abdomen, “Oh no, it will not, my man, “ He looked at the attending guard, “You, get another man and take him to the flogging pole in the outer courtyard and bind him there. Then assemble all you can find in the courtyard.”
The other guard nodded and bowed, nodding to another guard, who moved forward immediately, “Aye, my Lord, at once!”
They pulled the other man to his feet, none too gently, half dragging him away, sobbing and begging, “No, my Lord …. Pleeassseeee nooooooo.”
Lord Michon, his attention now on the other guards, asked, “And what of the lot of you? Wherefore are you here?”
One stepped forward, bowing, “It was Daniels, my Lord. He struck Ahren for an accidental offense, and so incensed Lady Kellina that she ordered an assembly of all guards. Once assembled, we all were asked to swear allegiance to the Lady and the Shire in blood, or to leave immediately. The female guards all remained, and a good third of the male contingent.”
Michon looked over the group of men, two thirds of the three hundred men and women he had sent with Kellina to see to her safety, “Blood? Am I to assume, then, that every one standing here refused?”
The guard flushed and looked at the ground, coughing uneasily, “Aye, my Lord. To a one.”
Michon moved forward until he was inches from the man’s face, “Look at me.”
Slowly, the man’s head came up, fear obvious in deep brown eyes that still met those of Lord Michon, “Yes, Sir?”
“Why did you refuse?” Michon’s voice was quiet. Ominously quiet. Not a man in the group before him dared move, speak, or even breathe more than needed. They knew they were in danger for their lives. When the man did not respond immediately, Michon repeated the question, just as quietly.
“Why did you refuse? Tell me. You swore such an oath to me when you came into service in this guard, did you not?”
The man nodded.
“Then I am curious. Your oath to me was to obey all commands, even unto death, in service to me and this Shire. Am I correct?”
Again, the guard nodded, unblinking. His eyes held his Lord’s evenly, his breath now shallow and slow.
“Then tell me, when commanded to go with Lady Kellina to the new Shire, and serve her as you would me, that you refused to swear allegiance to her and that shire? It cannot be that you thought I was in error to send her there? Or that she is unworthy to rule when I have said she shall do so? Or that her child is any less heir to all I have without marriage?”
His eyes moved briefly over the group of men before him, and then back to the guard. He waited.
The guard was silent, perspiration forming on his forehead, as he considered the response for which Lord Michon now waited. If truthful, he would likely lose his life. If untruthful, he would still lose his life for there was no good reason for what Lord Michon clearly saw as disobeying a direct order.
He took a deep breath. “My Lord, I did so swear to obey your commands and to serve this shire, even unto death. I failed to obey my Lord’s command to do the same toward the Lady Kellina and the new shire to which you have sent her. There is no reason beyond my own bias against the Lady Kellina’s former role in this shire, and my view of her as indeed unworthy to rule.”
Michon was quiet still, unmoving, his breath slow and even. Outwardly, he was the epitome of self-control. Inwardly, a war raged. The man deserved punishment for disobeying an order, this much was certain. It was also certain that every other man with him shared his feelings and had refused for close to or exactly the same reason. Having them all put to death would be a waste.
Still, there needed to be an example set, and a choice given. Michon was known to be firm, but fair, in his dealings within the Shire and without. He would not alter that reputation now.
Finally, he spoke, “I see. You disobeyed because she was a submissive and you saw her as unworthy to rule, although I’m sure you and the others here have other terms besides those which I have used. Words such as ‘whore’ and ‘slut’ and ‘bastard’ for the child. Well, of course, you are men of the sword and used only to coarse words. Such is the way of the warrior. I, too, have other terms for ones you used.
Failed? You chose treason. Biased? I think you a bigot and miscreant. So too do I think of any of you who disobeyed my order and have returned here in shame and dishonor. Daniels at least acted honestly, if dishonorably. You, however, have need of education in the ways of the women in my service. Where is Daniels now?”
The guard swallowed hard, “The Lady has him in custody, my Lord, awaiting punishment.”
“What punishment?”
“She is having a platform built, much like the one in Your Lordship’s courtyard, for a public flogging that is to continue until Daniels apologizes to the Lady and to Ahren. He also tried to attack the Lady and Captain Payne, my Lord, when being sent out to the brig.”
“He WHAT??” Lord Michon’s control was gone in an instant as he became livid, “Bring my horse!! At once!!”
One of the other guards moved forward and bowed, “At once my Lord, if it pleases you.”
Lord Michon nodded, “Go!”
He turned back to the remaining men, “So some did stay … did obey her as they would have me … is this so?”
A different guard stepped forward slowly, “Aye, my Lord. It seemed that the Lady desires only women in the new shire and if men are there, they are there by her consent only so long as they live in complete honor. She had Captain Payne put out a call for women guards and soldiers to come forth for training in the new Shire.”
This, at least, brought a fleeting, small smile from Lord Michon, “Did she now? It would appear her Ladyship is taking over nicely,” his eyes went back to the guard in front of him, “for one so unworthy to do so.”
The guard swallowed hard, but remained silent.
Michon saw no reason to delay any longer, “Do you still swear to obey my commands, even unto death?”
The guard nodded, “Aye, my Lord.
Michon stepped back five measured paces, then turned again to face the man, his voice now hard and louder with each word, “Then follow my command – for the crime of treason and disobeying a direct order, fall on your sword!”
The man hesitated, but only a second, realizing Lord Michon was offering him a more honorable death than that which he deserved. Slowly, pulling his sword out and putting the point to his chest firmly, his eyes met those of Lord Michon one last time, “Thus I do obey my Lord in blood and honor!!”
The guard then fell forward with a lunge, the broadsword he carried piercing through his body with a sickening sound. The body lurched with death throes as he lay on the ground, and then was quiet.
Lord Michon stepped forward, rolling the man over with his boot, and pulled the sword from the body. Dripping with the dead man’s blood, the sword was lifted up for all to see.
“The same fate to any man here who fails me in even the smallest matter!! All of you are confined to quarters till my return. Now get out of my sight!”
A small cloud of dust was raised as the remaining men fled the presence of their Lord, who turned to one of his aides.
“Dursten, it is best to see for myself. Please advise the Captain of the Guard to find five honorable men to accompany me, and be sure they are given mounts. So help me, any more offenders will die on the spot!”
Dursten nodded and turned to obey, running past others as he did so.
Michon turned to the still trembling girl behind him, whose eyes were locked on the dead man on the ground, “You, pack me a small satchel to take along … usual items.”
The girl brought her eyes up, curtsied and spun, tripping in her haste to obey. Instinct overturning ire, Michon reached to help her up, realizing with chagrin that perhaps he’d been a bit harsh of late. The girl was comely, flaxen hair tossed loosely about her shoulders as she stood up.
He held her hand gently, “I am a dolt. There, child, are you harmed?”
She shook her head, gazing up timidly through dark lashes. Her eyes were green and filled with uncertainty, even shying from him as his hand went up to brush her hair away from her face. More gently yet, he asked again, “Are you harmed, sweet one?”
She shook her head slowly, “No, my Lord, I think not, just shaken a bit. By your leave, Sir, I will attend to your orders.”
He gently ran one finger along her chin, lifting it to see her eyes more clearly, and nodded, “What is your name?”
“Christine.”
“Well, then, Christine, off with you, and be quick.”
The girl curtsied shyly and moved quickly ahead of him as he went back into the Castle. Moving through the entry hall, he glanced up at Christine as she moved up the stairs toward his
chamber. Smiling briefly as he watched her lithe form ascend the stairs, he continued out to the courtyard, where his countenance was once more stoic and severe. The guard had been bound to the flogging posts as ordered. He addressed the guard standing nearest the post.
“Cronstone, strip him naked, and give him only water until my return. At that time, every female submissive in my Shire shall have a turn at flogging him. When they have finished, we will pour honey over him and let the insects and birds have him. So shall be the fate of any who dare offend the Lady Kellina or the child she carries.”
Cronstone, known better about the Keep as Cron, bowed in acknowledgement, Michon spun on his heel and went back into the Castle. Provisions had been quickly packed by the kitchen staff, and Christine brought out a fair sized satchel with clothing and toiletries he would need. As he took it and placed it on the back of one of the horses, he turned to smile at her, taking her hand to kiss it softly.
“Well done, Christine.”
At her blush, he chuckled softly as he mounted his beloved Belvedere, the chestnut stallion stomping impatiently. He turned to his aide, once more standing near, his orders having been carried out.
“Watch over things while I am gone, Dursten … I do not know the length of my stay as yet.” He nodded in the direction of the body, “Have that seen to, will you, my man? Have the body impaled outside the guards quarters where they can see it.”
The man, gray at the temples and of a moderate build, bowed gracefully, “Of course, My Lord, all will be as you order. Go safely and see to her Ladyship’s well being. All will be as you are leaving it upon your return.”
Nodding, Lord Michon turned His beloved steed in the direction of the new Shire and headed out, waving as he left. The chosen guards fell in behind him, their steeds keeping pace with his.
Alone with their own thoughts as they rode, not a one of them envied either of the two men who were to be punished and all but one held a new measure of respect for the Lady Kellina and her new Shire.
That one, known as Saul, rode to the rear of the group. None thought anything of it, for Saul kept to himself more than most, and was in service to Lord Phalon.
When Dursten had come looking for five honorable men, it was an opportunity to follow through on a request his liege Lord had made of him earlier -to find a way into the newly reclaimed shire, keep his eyes and ears open, and report all to his liege Lord regularly.
Now Saul rode silently, recalling the sight of the dead guard being carried away, and mulling over his own role in the game of wits and power he now saw developing between Lord Michon and his own liege Lord Michon’s brother, Phalon. He had to be cautious, or his fate would be the same as that of the hapless idiot who so willingly fell on his sword.
It would be difficult. Saul, for all his silence, was usually anything but cautious.
Tags: creative writing, dragon, dragon heart, dragons, fantasy, Lynn Kupfer, S. Ranea Wright