Queen of Rebels

by Karim Soliman

  21. MASOLON

  Sleeping on a bed was surely better than on a cold floor.

  Masolon must have been lying on this mattress for long. Sunlight was already creeping through the small round window. The evening had barely started when he had gone to bed and. . .

  Blast!

  She was next to him, her naked ivory back right opposite to his eyes, the woolen blanket covering the rest of her body. They had not done what he thought they had done, right? He recalled that he had been drunk last night. Both of them had. All she had needed was his help to return to her chamber. And as far as he could tell from his faint memories, he had managed to. . . help her.

  Masolon grabbed his breeches from the floor. By the other side of the bed lay her undergarments scattered over Doly's purple dress. This is not right, Masolon thought as he put on his tunic and left the chamber. To be honest, he was not sure how he felt right now. For certain it was not joy—most of last night's events had faded as if they had never existed in the first place. Guilt? It was Rona's bloody mixture that had overwhelmed his senses and his will. It was her who had insisted that he must drink it. If there was someone to blame for last night, it was definitely Rona.

  "Maybe it was you," Masolon muttered, knowing that he would not receive a reply—which was not something he might complain about anyway. Doly, Rona; they were all his fault.

  Admit it, Masolon. You wanted that body the moment your eyes fell on it.

  It was back. The voice. After more than a year of silence, it struck him right in the head. While there was something quirky in it, the voice sounded much like his.

  "You are back, then."

  I did not go anywhere. I was just watching.

  "You were not just watching. You ruined my marriage, you bastard."

  You chose a girl you never loved, and now you blame me for it?

  "You kept bringing her into my dreams." Masolon clenched his fists, hoping he could punch that demon in the face. "You kept reminding me of how weak I was."

  You still yearn for the Murasen girl? She let you go so that she could marry the king of Murase and become his queen.

  Masolon never wished that his demon had been a real man like he did at this moment. He would hammer his head with his fist until he could not breathe anymore.

  Like you did to Ramel?

  "What do you want from me?" Masolon clawed at the table, looking right and left in anticipation for a faint chance that his demon might show his ugly face. "Why do you not just go away and ruin someone else's life?"

  I ruin nothing. It is you who make the move. I just open the door.

  Open the door? For what?

  Too soon for you to understand.

  No further elaboration came from his demon, and Masolon was not surprised at all. His demon was messing with him, like it always did. All these mishaps in his life were nothing to that cursed creature but a joke.

  Rona was waking up; he heard the sounds of faint movement coming from the bedchamber. Sitting by the table, he waited for her, but she did not come out. Probably, it was his hunger that made him grow impatient. And he was hoping she could handle the potatoes and the onions better than him. She should be starving as well, he thought.

  Without saying a word, she strode right toward the bathing chamber and slammed the door behind her. While he was thinking if he should knock on the door and tell her that the tub needed to be filled with water, the door of the bathing chamber was pushed open. Now wearing her washed white gown, she dragged her feet into the hall until she stopped by the bag he had brought yesterday. "What do you have for breakfast?" She barely looked at him when she asked.

  "All that is in the sack."

  "Onions for breakfast? Haven't you brought bread, cheese, or eggs?"

  She is mad, but at me or herself? "I get them fresh. That is why I did not bring them yesterday."

  "Yesterday is over," Rona curtly said. "Now go and fetch us something to eat. My stomach has been empty for almost a day."

  "That would not have happened if it were not for your amazing mixture."

  She glared at him, wagging her finger. "What happened yesterday was one huge mistake. Is that clear?"

  "Your mistake," Masolon clarified.

  "My mistake or yours, you understand what I'm talking about, you bastard," she snapped.

  "What makes you think you can insult me?" Masolon countered. "You are in my house, so at least show some respect."

  Rona inhaled heavily, her hands on her waist. "Just bring us the food."

  "You have a full bag of it already." Masolon waved an arm toward the sack thrown on the ground.

  "What am I supposed to do with raw potatoes?"

  "I am sure you have heard about something called: cooking."

  "You may ask your wife of the purple dress to do that for you." She gnashed her teeth.

  "And you may order your page to fetch you breakfast."

  "Are you out of your mind? You are the one who keeps me prisoner here. Do you plan to kill me of starvation in your house?"

  Masolon sighed as he pushed to his feet. "Alright. I will go fetch us breakfast. Would you please cook these potatoes and onions for lunch?"

  Rona peered at him, her eyes glowing with fury. A harsh reply was coming to rebuke the bastard for asking the queen to cook.

  "We can have a better lunch if you bring us meat."

  * * *

  Masolon was waiting for the baker to get his bread done when Edd called out for him. The slender, blond lad scurried toward him, his quiver and bow strapped to his back. "We need you beyond the wall now."

  Masolon hoped it was not something urgent. His empty stomach was growling, and he had a mad starving queen back in his house to return to. "What is it this time?"

  "Suspicious movement in the woods." Edd looked hurriedly around. "Is your horse nearby?"

  "Home." Masolon sighed. "Can you be more specific about that suspicious movement?"

  "We cannot tell without venturing into the woods." Edd lowered his voice when he added, "And you know, we cannot venture into the woods without you."

  The lad did not wish to ruin the reputation of the dauntless Brave Lads, Masolon reflected as he glimpsed the two girls coming to the baker.

  "I will bring the horse," Masolon promised, "after the bread is done."

  "You are not serious, are you?" Edd was astonished. "We have an urgent situation, and you worry about bread?"

  "I am starving, kid." Masolon had not told anybody yet about Rona's location, but it should not be too hard to guess. "You go, and I shall join you shortly after I get my bread."

  Whether Edd loathed it or did not understand Masolon's response to the call of duty in the woods, the lad had nothing to change the Demon's mind with. "Don't be late," was the last thing Edd said before he left.

  Masolon's bread was ready a few minutes later. The fresh scent was so hard to resist that he could not stop himself from devouring two loaves on his way to get fresh meat from the farmer living next to Smit. But upon realizing he almost forgot that Edd and the Brave Lads were waiting for him at the wall, he headed back to his house. Hopefully, the suspicious movement was just a lone deer wandering the woods. It would make a great lunch with the potatoes and onions Rona was supposed to cook.

  The house was quiet when he entered. "Your Grace?" He warily approached the open door of the bedchamber, but she was neither asleep nor anywhere in the chamber. The bathing chamber was vacant as well. Where had that mad girl gone? Had she not understood what he had told her about the good people of Herlog and their eagerness to behead her?

  Now he had a real urgent situation. Hurrying outside to mount his horse, he spied her coming from the other side of the house. "What on earth are you doing outside?"

  "I needed chamomile to soothe my nerves." Rona showed him the flowers she was grasping. "You are back sooner than I thought."

  "They need me at the wall right now, so I just brought the bread. I will get the meat when I come back. Would you
do me a favor and stay inside the house?" She must have been too drunk to remember his warning yesterday, Masolon presumed. "I do not want anybody to see you."

  "Why?" Rona furrowed her brow. "Do you think your folks are so dumb that they don't know I'm here already?"

  "For certain, they doubt so. But I see no reason to give them a clear answer." Masolon gestured to the door. "Now please. . ."

  Rona folded her arms, looking him in the eye. "When are you going to contact Gramus?"

  "Soon."

  "When is soon?" The way she curled her lip betrayed her dissatisfaction with his answer. He wished he could be more specific, but he could not admit to her that he had no idea how he would do that if her general did not return to avenge his broken pride. Sending one of the Herlogan lads to the castle of Subrel meant sending him to a certain death.

  "Let me talk with the fellows here and see what we can do," was the best he could offer for the time being.

  "Very well." She gave him a smile he did not like before she went back inside his house. Masolon stood for a while, trying to deduce what might be troubling her mind right now. Was she still thinking of last night? It seemed it had cost him whatever little trust he had earned since he took her away from the mill.

  Masolon rode his horse hurriedly to the wall, where the Brave Lads were waiting for him. Five of them mounted their horses, including Ted and Edd. "Where is Ben?" Masolon looked for his most capable lad.

  "Asleep. His night watch was yesterday," explained Ted before he nodded toward the wooden gate of Herlog. "We ride after you."

  Masolon barely recalled an occasion in which the lads accompanied him without Ben. "Where to?"

  "North. This is where the horses were headed to."

  "Horses?" Masolon glanced at Edd. "How many? Did you see them?"

  "No." Ted shook his head. "We just heard the hooves." The lad harrumphed, exchanging a quick nervous look with his mates. "Sorry to disappoint you, Masolon. We couldn't tell for sure how many men we might encounter."

  "That's why we called you." Edd's tone was thick with guilt. "We can't do this without your help."

  Now the blond lad admitted it loud and clear since there were no girls around.

  "At least you can tell me whether we are chasing around six horsemen or sixty." Masolon sought an answer from any of the five lads, but all he found was perplexity and uncertainty on their faces.

  "I'd say ten," Ted decided. The dark-haired slender lad had enough reason to be the second in command to Ben.

  "So, you believed we were outnumbered before we went behind the gate," Masolon scoffed.

  "We are not. We have you."

  An hour passed and Masolon had not found a single track on the muddy ground. It must have rained while I was asleep last night, Masolon thought as he nudged his horse onward, Ted and the other five lads following him. A passerby should have made a hole if he had made one step here yesterday. "Are you sure the horsemen were heading north?"

  "Why? Can you not see anything on the ground?"

  "That is one reason why I am asking. I also wonder why Rona or Wilander would send their troops north while the battle should be in Subrel."

  "Maybe it's a scout or a messenger," Edd suggested, Ted giving him a cold look as if he had said something foolish. Masolon had not thought of Ted as a fearful leader for those lads.

  "We have ventured enough to the North." Masolon wheeled his horse.

  "Where to, Masolon?" Ted asked. "We are not done yet."

  "Whatever went North is now far away from us, thus out of our reach and no longer our concern. We should search in the range surrounding our perimeter."

  The lads nodded and hummed their approval, looking impressed much to Masolon's surprise. They should not be so if they had enough common sense.

  They spent another hour circling the walled village. All Masolon found were some old traces that probably belonged to that band of Di Galio’s knights that had been asking for Rona yesterday. "That is it for today," Masolon announced when they reached the edge facing the river. He should not be that late coming back to Rona if he wanted his lunch.

  "What about those we are looking for?" The way Edd glanced at Ted made Masolon a bit suspicious. When would anybody wait for Ted's opinion in the Demon's presence?

  "You may continue your search if you want." Masolon peered at Ted and Edd. "Ten horsemen, huh?"

  Instantly, Edd evaded Masolon's studying look, his hazel eyes seeking Ted as if he was looking for his help. "We were not sure of that, I told you." Ted cleared his throat. "But I heard the rustling of the trees myself when I was on duty."

  "I thought you heard horse hooves, not rustling trees." Addressing Ted, Masolon kept an eye on Edd. The blond lad's nervous facial expressions were too obvious to miss.

  "Both." Ted made some effort to keep his composure, Masolon could not deny. "Hooves and rustling and indistinct clamor. Probably, armors."

  Masolon gave Ted his full attention, his eyes fixed on the lad's steady face. "What is this farce all about?" Masolon slowly asked. "Because I smell something wrong here."

  "I might have been confused." Ted shrugged. "But I know I heard some clamor coming from the woods."

  "You did not bring me beyond the gate of Herlog for some clamor, Ted," Masolon reminded the lad, his tone growing harsher. "You brought me because you needed to track those horsemen, who were around ten by the way."

  Their silence made Masolon grew uneasy. What was their stupid game? Were they betting on who would be able to drag him outside Herlog? Or were they just ashamed for their incompetence as watchmen, who were supposed to keep their eyes and ears open? "Curse you all!" Whatever their reason was, Masolon was mad at them for wasting his time. He still had to pass by that man living next to Smit to bring Rona the meat she was supposed to. . .

  Blast! Rona! A wild idea crossed his mind. "You did not stall me on purpose, did you?" Masolon wagged a firm finger at the two lads. Their answer was silence, and their silence confirmed his doubts. "You did that for Maat, right?"

  "Every day his murderer lives tears his parents apart," Ted replied finally. "Justice needed to be served, Masolon."

  22. MASOLON

  His house was at the north-western part of Herlog, only half a mile away from the side facing the river.

  Masolon rode through the village, men and women stepping aside to evade his galloping horse. Those worthless fools! He never thought the Brave Lads would betray the man who had made heroes out of them. Before he came, they had been just a bunch of peasants who feared the horses the brigands mounted. If it were not for him, they would have never dared to touch a real blade lest they cut themselves. I will make them regret it. But first, he must reach Rona before they execute her.

  When Masolon made it to his place, he dismounted, not even bothering to tie his horse. The door was open already, no sign of force on the knob or the windows. "Rona!" he yelled, hurrying inside, but she was not there, neither in the reception hall nor the bedchamber. "You bloody fools!" He hammered the wall with his fists when he found the bathing chamber empty as well.

  Masolon hurried out of the house and ran all around it, but found nobody. Having no particular destination in mind, he swung up into the saddle and rode through the streets of the village. It was not too long when he encountered a dozen of Maat's relatives, his father and uncle included, which did not seem like a coincidence. Armed and furious, they were already heading to Masolon's house.

  "Where is she, you bastards?" Masolon bellowed.

  "You dare to insult us, you filthy-mouthed rascal?" Maat's father growled.

  "Where do you keep our boy's murderer?" the uncle added.

  "Your women will not stand losing more members of your miserable family." Masolon drew his greatsword. "Whatever game you are playing, it is a really foolish one. Better surrender the prisoner to me."

  "Weren't two days of entertainment with her enough?" one of Maat's young relatives taunted.

  They are really eager to
die today, Masolon thought as he inhaled deeply. "Go to your mother's lap, boy. There may be blood here."

  "Masolon! Stop!"

  Sprinting, Ben came from behind Masolon, his sword strapped to his back. "Everybody, stop this nonsense!" He waved to Maat's people as he stood in the middle between them and Masolon. "What's the matter with all of you?"

  "You knew about this?" Masolon snarled at Ben.

  "Not more than you know." Ben gestured to Masolon with both hands. "I just heard the fuss in the village." He turned to Maat's folks. "Please, stand down and go back to your homes."

  "Step aside, kid," Maat's father demanded. "Nobody is going back home today until we watch that whore die."

  They were going too far in their ploy, weren't they? Was their success in luring him outside the village not enough for them?

  But what if they did not have Rona for real, and Ben was not part of this farce? Blast! She has escaped.

  Unless someone else had found her before him and Maat's family. . .

  Wheeling his horse, Masolon left Ben arguing with Maat's folks and headed to the only place he could think of right now. If she is not there, then she is gone, he thought, ignoring Maat's father and uncle who called for him to come back and stand his ground like a man. Were they serious?

  Masolon dismounted when he reached Smit's house. He hurriedly knocked, and shortly the old man opened the door. "Please, tell me she is here," said Masolon.

  "So, they are not the only fools who believe I'm helping you hide her," Smit lightly scoffed. "Come." He beckoned to Masolon as he went inside, his calmness giving Masolon a glimpse of hope.

  "So," Masolon followed him, "you know where she is?"

  Smit threw himself on the nearest chair. "Of course not. The only one who should know her place is you. Did they search your house as they did here?"

  "Actually, they broke into it." Masolon fidgeted. "You think Ben might have. . ."