Once Upon an Autumn Eve fs-3

by Dennis L McKiernan

  “What of his son?” asked Twk.

  “Him, too,” said Luc, shrugging. Luc then turned to Liaze and asked, “Is Guillaume yet alive?”

  “Oui,” she said, “or at least he was two moons ago, for he is the one who asked Iniqui to locate you.”

  “Iniqui?”

  “Oui. She is the witch who bore you away, and-” Of a sudden, Liaze’s eyes widened in revelation. “Oh, now I understand.”

  “Understand what?” asked Gwyd.

  “The meaning of Luc’s title,” said Liaze. “Luc, not only are you a comte, you are le Gardien de la Cle — the Keeper of the Key.”

  “Key? What key?”

  “You wear it about your neck, Luc. It is the key to the Castle of Shadows beyond the Black Wall of the World. That is what Iniqui was after, for with it she would set free her master Orbane.”

  Gwyd sucked air in between clenched teeth, and Twk cried out in alarm. “She would loose that monster upon Faery again, lass?” asked Gwyd.

  Liaze nodded. “She was one of his acolytes.”

  “Dead and gone,” said Twk, glancing at Jester, the rooster scratching away at the cold soil. “Two are left.”

  Luc sighed. “You need tell me the whole of this tale. But first I would ask this: where lies this blue chateau, this lake of the rose?”

  “Ah, that,” said Liaze. “I know the way there from here, for I rode o’er it with Lord Fear and the Wild Hunt on the way to this black mountain. I marked it well, the way between, and I will take you there. But, heed me, Luc, you are yet weakened by your ordeal, and until you are fully recovered I would not have you face the one who seeks your death.” Liaze pointed back in the direction she had ridden to get to the mountain and said, “There is a town across the border yon, and there we will stay until you once more have your strength and are ready to face this usurper.”

  Luc smiled and said, “As you will, my princess. As you will.”

  Two evenings later they rode into the town, Liaze on Pied Agile, Luc on Nightshade, and Gwyd and Twk on two of the four geldings, for they had found the one that had been lamed-now fully recovered-placidly grazing on the shores of the lake near where they had left him.

  They took two rooms at Le Renard Noir-the Black Fox-the single inn in town: Gwyd and Twk and Jester in one; Liaze and Luc in the other. They took warm baths, and Luc shaved, for he now had two days’ growth of beard; while he was enspelled on the black mountain, his whiskers had grown not at all. Afterward, they ate a sumptuous meal, and Gwyd and Twk both imbibed heavily of wine-Gwyd three bottles and Twk several thimblefuls-and they had to be borne to bed.

  That night as well, though Luc yet felt the ordeal of his ensorcellment, he and Liaze made sweet and gentle love. “ ’Tis a bewitchment of a different kind,” said Luc.

  They stayed at the Black Fox for an entire fortnight, and every day Luc took to the yard behind the inn and drilled with his sword-his movements like those of a dancer, or of a feral cat, graceful and powerful, whether measured or rapid, whether slow or swift.

  And many of the townsfolk came to watch, for they had never beheld a true knight ere then, and they ooh ed and ahh ed to see him at swords and long-knives.

  Some tried their hand at staves and quarterstaffs with the chevalier, but always they ended up in the tavern, holding aching hands and arms, ribs and heads, and drinking to his health and his prowess.

  And for the full of the fortnight, they ate well, and drank good wine, and rested and recovered, though Gwyd was more likely to need his recovering every morning after an evening of imbibing.

  On these eves as well, Liaze played Gwyd’s silver harp in the common room, and she sang the songs she had sung to the specters of the men of the Wild Hunt, and townsfolk came to hear those songs as well.

  Gwyd, too, played his harp, and his nimble fingers made lively songs all the livelier, and townsfolk called for more, and some even thought to pay him, but he would accept nought, for such came perilously close to an expression of thanks, and he did not wish to leave the comforts of the inn. Instead, acting upon Liaze’s advice, the citizens would buy themselves a drink, and just happen to set it near the Brownie and then promptly forget about it, and not know whose drink it was when the Brownie asked.

  And every night of the full of the two weeks, Liaze slept in Luc’s arms.

  But at last Luc said, “Let us be on our way to Chateau Blu, for I am fully recovered.”

  They tried to pay their bill, but the innkeeper would take nought, saying, “The extra trade while you were here more than made up for your keep.”

  And so, on the dawn two days after the full of the moon, they set out for Luc’s demesne.

  Some twelve days after, they rode to the outskirts of the village of Fleur Rouge, there on the Lake of the Rose, and Liaze led them to the Widow Dorothee’s cottage, for Leon had told the princess where it lay. As Liaze dismounted she said, “Let us see if she will take us in until we can execute our plan.”

  A woman with dark copper-blond hair answered their knock, and her eyes flew wide at the sight of them, especially of the Brownie and a Pixie riding a rooster. Once they had introduced themselves, she smiled as if she held a secret and said her own name was Dorothee, and she welcomed them in, Jester included. Even as they stepped into the front door, and the widow bustled off to make tea, they heard a back door bang shut, and a heavily bearded man strode into the parlor, a load of wood in his arms. And it clattered to the floor in his surprise, and he exclaimed, “Luc!”

  It was Leon.

  “Armsmaster,” cried Liaze, just as surprised as he, “what are you doing here?”

  “Waiting for you, Princess. Waiting for you to bring Luc.”

  39

  Chateau

  The next morning, Liaze rode Pied Agile along the briar-covered, rose-bearing lakeshore and toward the causeway leading over the water to the Blue Chateau. Gwyd and Twk and Jester, all three on one of the geldings, rode at her side. Liaze had in her possession a letter of credence bearing King Valeray’s signature and seal; she had as well a letter penned by Leon and a note penned by Luc.

  Arcing about the opposite shore of the lake, rouge cliffs loomed upward a hundred feet or more, their color reflected in the lucid water. And in the middle of the lake blue stone ramparts stood in contrast, the chateau a walled fortress, the battlements crenellated, with towers at each corner.

  “It must have been built during dire times,” said Liaze.

  “What, m’lady?” asked Gwyd.

  Liaze gestured at the chateau. “ ’Tis more of a bastion than a comte’s manor, hence it must have been erected in perilous times.”

  “Or built by someone quite fearful,” said Twk.

  On they fared, and they came to the causeway and turned onto it. A pair of drawbridge towers stood halfway along the raised road across the lake, the bridge itself down. Two warders, playing at cards at one of the towers, looked up as the horses came onto the stone pave. They set aside their diversion and stood as Liaze neared, and when the horses clopped across the bascule, one warder held up a hand to stop them. Liaze drew Pied Agile to a halt before them, Gwyd halting the gelding as well. The two guards looked on curiously, especially at Gwyd and Twk and Jester.

  “What be your business, my lady?” asked one of the guards, presumably the senior of the two.

  “I am Princess Liaze of the Autumnwood, and I have come to call upon Comtesse Adele.”

  Both warders bowed, and the junior guard asked, “My lady, is this your entire retinue?”

  “Indeed it is, for I need none other than my mage to protect me.”

  Somewhat apprehensively, the guards took a step backwards and glanced at Gwyd and Twk, no doubt wondering which one might be the spellcaster.

  “Pass, my lady,” said the senior warder, and he and his companion stepped aside.

  On beyond the two towers with their great counterweights rode the princess and her attendants: a Brownie, a Pixie, and a chicken.

  They
came to the main gate, where once again Liaze explained just who she was, and she and Gwyd and Twk and Jester fared into the passage under the walls and through the twisting way, machicolations overhead from which burning oil would flow down upon invaders, should they breach the outer gate.

  They rode into a blue-grey flagstone courtyard, and attendants took their horses, the lads’ eyes flying wide in amaze at the sight of the Brownie and the Pixie, Twk now astride Jester.

  Liaze handed her letter of credence to the majordomo, and his gaze widened to see King Valeray’s signature and seal, a signature and seal crafted that very morning by Gwyd, the letter of credence itself written by Liaze.

  The steward bowed obsequiously. “Princess.”

  Liaze canted her head slightly in acknowledgment, and, with a faint imperious tone in her voice, she said, “Would you convey my greetings to the comtesse, and tell her that her distant cousin has come calling.” It was not a question.

  The steward’s eyes widened slightly, almost as if in furtive avarice. “Indeed, my lady,” he said, and he snapped his fingers, and a moment later an attendant appeared. The majordomo penned a note and, together with the letter of credence, he gave them to the lad and sent him running to the comtesse’s quarters.

  The steward then stepped aside and made an “after you” gesture and said, “If you would, my lady, the hunt room is open.”

  He led the princess and the Brownie, and the Pixie on the rooster, to a chamber off the great foyer. It was an intimate room, with dark red velvet-clad furniture set close for conversation ’round a fireplace. A wide tapestry hung along one wall, showing a running stag and hounds baying, with horses bearing men with bows and spears racing after. It reminded Liaze of the tapestry in the glamoured inn of the Wild Hunt.

  The steward tugged a bell cord, and when an attendant appeared, he said, “Tea and biscuits and clotted cream for the comtesse and her guests.”

  After the attendant had gone, he turned to the princess and bowed and withdrew.

  A time passed, and then a lavender-gowned lady came into the chamber, followed by a maid bearing a tray with a tea set and scones and milk and honey and clotted cream thereon. Both of the women momentarily paused just inside the doorway, each startled upon seeing a Pixie riding a rooster, and a tatterdemalion Brownie. But then they came on inward.

  As the maid set the service down, the lady said, “That will be all, Charlotte.”

  “Yes, Comtesse.”

  As the maid stepped from the room, the lady, puzzlement in her indigo gaze, turned to Liaze.

  “Cousin Adele,” said Liaze, stepping forward and embracing the comtesse and kissing her on the cheek. And then she whispered in Adele’s ear, “You have the same eyes as Luc, and he is not far.”

  Adele drew in a sharp breath, but then she frowned and slightly shook her head and glanced toward one wall. Then she in turn whispered, “They can hear but not see.”

  They stepped away from one another, and Adele asked, “Tea, Cousin?”

  “Please,” replied Liaze, resuming her seat. “For my attendants, too.”

  “And a few crumbs for Jester, if you will,” said Twk, dismounting.

  “What brings you to the Blue Chateau?” asked Adele, as she poured and served.

  “I thought to catch up on old times,” said Liaze, looking at Gwyd and then Twk and frowning and touching a finger to her lips then glancing toward the same wall the comtesse had indicated.

  “And how is your pere?” asked Adele.

  “He is well,” said Liaze. “Queen Saissa, also. They send their greetings.”

  Of a sudden the door opened, and a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes entered the chamber. Adele stood and said, “Liaze, this is my husband Guillaume. Guillaume, Princess Liaze.”

  Liaze held out a hand, and Guillaume took it and bent over and kissed her fingers. “Ah, Adele, you did not tell me you had so lovely a cousin, a princess, no less, a daughter of King Valeray.”

  “Oh, didn’t I?” asked Adele innocently.

  “Non,” said Guillaume, a bit sharply. He turned to Liaze, a predatory smile on his features. “Perhaps, my lady, one day you will introduce me to your sire. I am certain that he and I have much in common.”

  Not likely.

  Liaze smiled and said, “One day I hope to introduce you to him I hold most dear.”

  Guillaume smiled and nodded and said, “We must speak of this at dinner. But for now, I have pressing matters, and you and Adele must have much catching up to do. If you will excuse me?”

  Liaze nodded in acquiescence, and the vicomte stepped away.

  When the door shut behind Guillaume, Liaze handed Adele the letter from Leon and the note from Luc. And the princess kept up a running patter of inconsequential things, as Adele read Leon’s words and then Luc’s. The comtesse pressed the note from Luc to her heart, and, tears in her eyes, looked at Liaze. And she carefully folded the note and letter and slipped them into her gown, and then became engaged in the chitchat for a candlemark or so, she and Liaze making up a history as they went. Gwyd and Twk merely listened, the Pixie drinking tea from a thimble, and Jester continuing to peck at crumbs tossed to him by the comtesse.

  Finally Adele said, “Would you like to see my gardens? The flowers are lovely at this time of the season, especially the roses.”

  “Oh, please, let’s do,” said Liaze.

  They stood and Twk hopped aboard Jester, and together they went from the chamber and down several halls to come to an outside door, where they stepped into a sunlit garden, flowers abloom. A small flagstone area lay in the middle of the plot, with a fountain centered and a bench at hand for resting. And as they moved toward the bench, “Eyes are watching,” said Adele, “but they cannot hear.”

  “Come, we will take our rest, and I’ll have Twk and Jester put on a show,” said Liaze.

  “Right,” said the Pixie. “Jester has always wanted to fly, we’ll give it a go.”

  Liaze and Adele took seat on the bench, and Gwyd lifted Jester and Twk to the rim of the fountain.

  Twk glanced at Liaze and nodded, and he whispered a word to Jester, and the rooster crowed and then took off flapping madly, Twk yet aboard the now-squawking bird.

  And as the chicken fluttered and yawped, Liaze and Adele looked on and laughed, but their converse was anything but humorous.

  Liaze said, “Luc has come to claim his birthright.”

  “He is near, you say?” asked Adele.

  “Both Luc and Leon. They are with the Widow Dorothee.”

  “If he’s come to claim his demesne, Guillaume will not go willingly,” said Adele.

  “Then Luc will challenge him to trial by combat.”

  “Oh, no,” gasped Adele. “Guillaume is a mighty fighter.”

  “You have not seen Luc,” said Liaze. “He is perhaps the finest champion in all of Faery.”

  “Oh, Liaze, I would give almost anything to be rid of Guillaume, but not my son.”

  “You cannot flee?” asked Liaze, pointing as Twk and Jester ran across the garden, the chicken yet squawking, Gwyd hooting behind.

  “I am a prisoner in my own house,” said the comtesse. “And, and..” Her words fell silent.

  “And what?” asked Liaze.

  “And he forces himself upon me,” said Adele, her eyes brimming.

  Even though Liaze gritted her teeth she reached out and took Adele’s hand. After a moment she said, “As Leon asked in his letter, are there yet men in the manor whom you can trust?”

  Adele took a deep breath. “Some.”

  “Can you put them on the gate and the walls tomorrow morning?”

  “Tomorrow morning?”

  “Oui, for that’s when Luc will come.”

  “I, I-” Adele took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Oui, I will have them in place as the morning guard.”

  “Bon!” said Liaze.

  That evening Liaze, in a borrowed gown, took dinner with Guillaume and Adele and Gustave, Gui
llaume’s son, a beefy man, shorter than his sire and heftier. Gustave sat across from Liaze, a barely concealed leer upon his lips. And it was apparent Guillaume intended to make a match of these two: after all, having a princess as a daughter-in-law would certainly boost his career toward the dukedom he so desired.

  But Liaze deftly deflected every attempt, and finally Guillaume asked, “Are you betrothed, my lady?”

  “Oui, I am,” said Liaze. She looked across at Guillaume’s son. “You are what, Gustave, two or three summers past your majority?”

  Gustave, ire on his face, jerked a nod her way.

  “Well, the splendid man I am betrothed to just came into his majority a few moons ago.”

  Adele’s eyes widened at this revelation, but she said nought.

  “And who is he?” asked Guillaume.

  “A comte,” said Liaze.

  “A comte?” said Guillaume. “Who?”

  “Oh, Vicount Guillaume, the banns are not yet posted, for I would first have my sire give his approval, and so I will not yet tell my truelove’s name.”

  “Ah, then,” said Guillaume, casting a significant glance at Gustave, “you are not yet formally betrothed, for a king must be notified and the banns nailed up before it is official.”

  “Oui,” said Liaze. “Still, my heart belongs to my lover.”

  “Your lover?” said Gustave.

  “Oui, my lover.”

  The rest of the dinner went poorly, with Gustave slamming down his tableware and storming out, leaving Guillaume enraged by his son’s actions, and Adele and Liaze smiling behind their napkins.

  That moonless darktide, in the candlemarks ere mid of night, from the parapets of the Blue Chateau, a rooster crowed. Odd, this was, or so thought the inhabitants of the manor, for it was not to announce the coming of dawn, nor was it within the daylight marks; instead, the call came in the mid of darkness when only the stars shone down, and that was odd indeed. And the cock’s crow echoed from the rouge cliffs and resounded o’er the crystal waters of the Lake of the Rose, and on a distant shore, Leon turned to Luc and said, “All is ready, my comte.”