by Clark, Lydia
“The pirate, Pellesi, has escaped by the aid of his men and some other mercenaries. I am rounding up my troops. We will have them captured soon.”
Ellington continued, “I think a round of whippings would suffice in the common for all to see after that display that ruined the jousting match and the celebrations of the day.”
The king walked about the room, hands clasp behind his back, deep in thought. “Ellington, what charges were brought against Captain Pellesi?”
“Why, fraud and deception. You already know this. Why do you ask? You agreed and ordered his arrest.”
“No, Ellington, I don’t remember what his charges were, what was his fraud? His deception charge?”
“Bad cargo, you know this?”
“What made you so sure that his cargo was bad?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. It was nothing more than bags of rat poop.”
“What would you say if I told you that the so called rat poop wasn’t rat poop. What would you say if I told you that rat poop was a shipment more valuable than salt from the mines or this here tea I’m drinking?”
Ellington’s eyes grew wide. “I’m absolutely sure that the shipment was rat poop. We burned it all for fear of a plague running through our kingdom.”
“You never showed me evidence that the shipment was rat poop.”
“Since when do I need to prove anything to you?”
“I am your King, have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t forgotten. But I am your elder and a council member. I have every right to overrule any of your decisions, even the decision to take that vagrant who claims to be your long lost son, into the family. You can’t be serious. A Vagrant can’t be king. The people will not follow him. He has no education. Not even any fighting skills.”
“Ellington, you know nothing about the boy, nothing at all. I know for a fact that he is my lost heir. Vagrant or not, it doesn’t matter. He is my blood and that is all that is needed to pass the crown on to him.”
“He is only half royalty blood. I’m full blood. I should be crowned instead, and you know it.” Ellington stood within inches of the King’s nose.
It would be a mistake on the King’s part to back down. “You will never be crowned King - Ellington.” He stepped closer invading Ellington’s space forcing him to step backwards.
“Then my lands will not support the crown any longer.” Ellington rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, drawing the attention of the guard at the doorway.
“Escort Ellington from the castle. And make sure he takes all of his men with him too.”
The guard drew his sword, keeping it ready to strike if Ellington decided to put up a fight.
Treachery in the castle. The king wondered how long it had been going on. How long had that goblin, Girdy, known about Ellington’s plans.
Something nagged at him about Captain Pellesi. He needed to get to the buccaneer before the duke found him. He was certain Ellington planned on killing the captain. Did the captain know other secrets about Ellington? Could that be the true reason behind why he had kept him locked up?
The king continued to ponder over the events of the past that Ellington had his hands in while he made his way to the Keep. The captain of the guard was busy oiling his blade.
“Conrad, I want you to take some of your men and see if you can find Captain Pellesi. Hopefully, you can get to him before Duke Ellington. I believe he wants him dead. When you find him, I want you to bring him to the castle for questioning. Don’t treat him like a prisoner.”
“What if he refuses? What then? Do I bound him in order to bring him in?”
“No.” The king thought for a moment. “No, don’t bring him in. Meet with him in private. Warn him that the Duke wants his head. Then tell him that I want to meet with him. I believe he has answers to questions I need to be answered. I promise to meet with him in secret. Can you do that?”
“Aye. I know who to take with me.” Conrad stood, sheathing his sword. “There has been talk about the castle about Duke Ellington.”
“So you say. How long has this talk been going on?”
Conrad avoided eye contact. “I can’t say. It would be treason for me to do so, by speaking ill of the Duke.”
The king clasp his hand on Conrad’s shoulder in the manner he would to a good friend. “Conrad, you wouldn’t be speaking treason. Duke Ellington has withdrawn his support from the castle.”
Conrad’s eye went wide. “He will be rallying his forces soon.”
“Conrad, are you still with me?”
“Aye, your majesty.” He dropped to one knee. “Forever and always, you are my King, and I will forever stand beside you.”
“Good. Find me Pellesi before Ellington takes his head.”
Chapter 29
Treea fell onto the floor with a force of the hand of Lieutenant Dorian. This time she was in a dirty cell in the basement of the tower. No chains. No bedding. It was damp, cold, and dark. The only light filtered through a small hole in the door, that was coming from a single torch outside her cell.
No sound, except for that of water dripping from the ceiling on the other side of her cell. That would mean that if she could find the drip then there would be some water to drink. If she wanted to keep her strength for as long as she could, she would need to stay hydrated.
She didn’t really want to call on the sea goddess. Being underground, they would know without a doubt that she was a witch. Treea wanted to escape, not be burned at the stake.
Because she had all the time in the world, she began to slowly grope about the room. At first she found nothing but mud, then her hands found a skull. It had been there for sometime. Animal or human? Animal - maybe a rat. Rat’s could feast on her, or - she could feast on them if no one brought her any food.
Move on - A piece of wood. A small broken board. Why a board would be found in the cell with her, she couldn’t fathom. It did have a sharp edge to it. A possible weapon. She stashed it by the wall near the skull.
Now her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. A bucket - in the middle of the room. A sniff told her it had once held excrements, maybe blood.
Could someone have been beheaded in this room? Ghosts? Treea believed in ghosts. She wasn’t afraid of them, but just the same, she took the board and scratched a pentagram in the mud in hopes of it keeping her safe from harm. Hopefully, no one would notice.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Treea rushed to a corner away from the door. The board hid behind her back.
Keys jingled in the door opening the lock. Moisture had taken its toll on the hinges. “Oh beautiful, I’m here for you.” Lieutenant Dorian waved the torch about the room in search of her. “Oh, there you are. Don’t be afraid. I’ve come to take you from here. I know of a place much nicer. Cleaner - with food and no rats.”
Treea waited. She waited for him to get closer. When he reached for her arm, she thrust with all her might, that board that she held behind her back, right into his chest, as close to his heart as she could aim for.
Her attack was a surprise that she took full advantage of. She pushed him out of the way, ripping the keys from his hand. The torch had fallen on the floor, this she retrieved. He staggered to follow her, but his wound made it hard for him to continue.
She pulled the door shut behind her, leaving him in the darkness. Following the stairs, she extinguished the torch before she was half-way up the stairs. Taking great care with the door, as silently as she could, she let herself out while the guard was away from his post, chatting with another comrade.
In the courtyard, soldiers spared against each other for practice. Several laughed when an opponent fell to the ground at the efforts of the other. Apparently he wasn’t very good.
Treea was at odds. She needed to cross the courtyard without being seen. A woman, the chambermaid, walked past her in a hurry. The only thing Treea could think to do was to follow her as though she were with her to aid her fetching the water from the well. For
tunately, the maid never noticed her.
Bushes clung tight to the wall where the well was located. This was where Treea disappeared behind the foliage, waiting for a chance to escape undetected. The sun would be setting soon. Hopefully, they wouldn’t discover the missing man in the dungeon before she made it to safety.
Forget being burned at the stake for being a witch. Instead, she would be either hanged or beheaded for killing a man.
During the past days, Treea kept thinking about Dale. Had he forgotten about her? Did he really intend on entering the jousting match to save her from the Duke?
Had the king actually believed his story about being a long lost heir?
What about the Duke? Why did he want to keep her captive?
Did they kill her Pop for escaping or had he managed to get away?
The answers to these questions would have to wait. All she could do was hope for the best. Right now, she needed to find safety. The ship wouldn’t be the place to go. It had been torched in the harbor the night the Duke’s men captured her. If her pop saw his ship, he would probably cry. Would he whip her for it?
Young lady, you take what you get. If you get out of this alive, be thankful he would be alive to give you a whipping.
Imagine if he learned about her and Hurley? Talk about being in trouble. She wasn’t sure what he would do if he found out.
Before she knew it, darkness crept across the sky. She had to make her move. It was now or never.
Foot traffic continued to leave the castle keep, crossing the courtyard. Treea had to slip from the brush without looking as though she were a fugitive. Blending in took a lot of effort on her part.
She needed to match strides as she broke from the bush, or they would notice where she came from.
The main gate was still open. Hope shook every nerve in her body. A large group of citizens was leaving the grounds. Somehow she managed to slip in with them and look the part of a servant. She didn’t smell any better or worse than they did, thank the goddess for that.
A single torch bearer led the way to the edge of the town, the town where Treea met Dale. It was also where her ship had been a blaze in the harbor thanks to the hands of the Duke.
The dark alcove of a side street offered her sanctuary. No one noticed her missing. Somehow she needed to get off the street before daylight. The last thing she wanted was to be seen by someone loyal to the duke. This point, she couldn’t trust anyone. There was no telling how much hold he had on any of the townspeople.
Even the innkeeper couldn’t be trusted. The stables would only provide safety while the sun was gone. Riders would be in and out of the stable making it impossible to hide.
Where else could she go?
If only her ship were still in one piece. She needed food and water. A bath would be nice since she stunk like a pig. Her hair, still pinned up on the back of her head, was quickly growing into a thick mat from caked mud.
Yellow eyes appeared out of nowhere. The scent of maple and apple filled her nose. Sickly sweet odor wanted to make her empty stomach turn. Treea was found quicker than she had imagined. With a start, she almost reached out to grab the attacker by the throat while a gasp started to escape her lips in automatic response to being surprised.
Thick, calloused fingers covered her mouth causing her hand to reach up to pull away while the attacker hushed her to silence. Whispering, “Quiet you, or you’ll get us both killed.”
The attacker then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the building behind her through a locked door. Treea followed in silence. Did they know who she was? Who’s side were they on?
A single thick candle lit a room at the top of the stairs. One bed, one table and one chair adorned the room. The attacker directed her to the chair. Was she about to become gagged and tied?
The plate of food sitting on the table was pushed in her direction while the attacker filled a tin cup with some sort of liquid. Treea was afraid to speak. She didn’t want them to know that she wasn’t some sort of a homeless beggar she appeared to be.
The candle was moved to the table. It brightened the room showing the goblin standing before her. Girdy. Treea knew Girdy and Girdy knew her. “How?” Treea began to ask.
Girdy once again hushed her and pointed to the food and drink on the table. Food that wouldn’t be poisoned nor drinks that would be tainted. The goblin was a good friend of her Pop’s.
Why she had even bothered to try and ask was beyond her. She knew that Goblins had a knack for knowing the unknown. One of the reasons why the creatures were so mysterious.
Treea continued to eat in silence. Watching, waiting for an explanation to come forth from the Goblin’s lips.
The goblin produced a long black cape, giving it to Treea. “Wear this. We are riding out of here before they come for you.”
Treea didn’t argue. She knew better and that cape did more than hide her features. No one would know who was underneath it unless they made her remove the hood. A part of her feared that the goblin would turn her into the Duke. Another part of her continued to trust the goblin she had known for years. Why else would she feed her? A starving prisoner lacked strength to battle off any attacker.
Two horses waited behind the stable in the dark of the night. No moon. No light. Not even a torch. All they had were the stars above to guide them and a rope joining one horse to the other - lead.
After a couple of tries, Girdy helped Treea up onto the horse. The food and drink had not yet repaired her strength. It had been a few days since she had a restful sleep. As soon as she was mounted, the animal lurched forward, being led by the lead.
When Treea realized they were going in the direction of the castle, she wanted to bail off the horse. The duke was probably waiting for them around the next bend. How could she have trusted the goblin so easily? Hadn’t her pop taught her anything?
The gate to the castle grew closer. “I can’t go there. They’ll kill me.” Treea tried to unleash the lead on the horse’s halter. The clip would not open. They were even closer to the gate.
“Quiet!” Hissed the goblin. “You’ll get us both killed.” They stopped by the side of the road on the edge of the woods. “I’ve been ordered by the King to bring you to the castle for safe keeping. Lucky for me that you managed to escape. Unlucky for you that they discovered the corpse and the symbol etched in the mud. The duke was going to behead you. Now, it will be the death by fire.”
“Do you want to live, or burn?”
Treea didn’t think she had made that pentagram that noticeable. But then again, they probably had searched the cell for clues as to how she had managed to escape. What did the King have planned for her? The goblin did say safe keeping didn’t she?
“Let’s go before they see us.” Girdy whipped the horses around and broke out into a trot, almost unseating Treea from the sudden gait change.
“You there, halt!” Ordered the gatekeeper as they entered inside the castle grounds.
Girdy showed her yellowish teeth with a snarl. “I bring the package to the King as ordered.”
“Girdy, I didn’t know it was you until now. Proceed. Leave your horses with me, I will see that they are tended to.”
“Conrad, thank you.” Girdy dismounted and helped Treea down off the horse. “I would close the gate. They know the package is missing.”
“Damaged?”
“The damage was done to Lieutenant Dorian.”
“There will be hell to pay for that damage. I’m sure he got what he deserved.” Conrad held the leads to the horses, handing them off to a stable hand appearing out of nowhere, hidden by the darkness.
Girdy didn’t bother to reply. The goblin continued on into the Keep while Treea followed close behind. Apparently she knew the castle well. They passed through many doors Treea had never known existed.
Finally, they entered the bath house. Handmade marble pools glistened in the torchlight of many torches hanging on the walls around the vast room. Only one of the pools contained
water that steamed in the cool air.
“Bathe yourself. I will be back to take you to a room for your accommodations. Don’t speak to anyone or risk the Duke knowing you are in the castle. Clothing on this bench is for you. I will be back soon.”
The whole day had Treea off kilter. First the joust match, then her Pop showing up for the contest. Then the Duke holding her kidnapped in his dungeon. She never once suspected the goblin Girdy to have the access she had to the king’s castle.
How many years had she and her Pop known the goblin who she thought was just a waitress at the Inn where her Pop had been arrested? She wondered what her Pop knew about Girdy, was the goblin a spy?
Treea continued to wonder about the day’s events while she stripped down naked to enter in the warm water of the pool. It felt good on her bruised, cut skin. Even though her cuts stung, she welcomed the pain. She was alive.
Chapter 30
“What do you plan to do with her?” Conrad asked while he poured the king and himself a glass of wine. A table covered in fruit, cheese, and drink had been set up by the servants outside the stable, allowing the King to observe Dale’s riding lessons. Later would be fencing lessons with Conrad, and the king planned to continue his observations.
“First I’m going to question her. I want to know why she had a change of heart and let him,” the king pitched his thumb in the direction of Dale while he spoke quietly, “go?”
Squinting slyly at Dale, Conrad replied, “You do know what he was doing for a living?”
“No, I don’t. He hasn’t talked much about himself. He mostly talks about his mother, as though he is trying to prove her existence. The more he talks, the more I become skeptical that she still lives. Especially when he talks about her in the past tense.”
“I do know him. He’s been living a pretty shady lifestyle.”
“You don’t say? How so?”