They reached the front door, the guard knocked, the door swung open, the Dukes butler, a very finely dressed middle aged man opened the door.
“Yes, what is it?” said the butler looking down his nose, “These men are here to see the duke, they have business from town” said the guard, “Fine, fine, now go away, before you stink out the whole house” said the butler waiving his hands at the guard.
The butler showed them into the house, “I do apologise, those guards are disgusting men, but they do serve a purpose I suppose” he said.
The inside of the castle was like nothing they had ever seen, it was opulent, the floor was polished stone, the walls covered in paintings from different artists spanning hundreds of years, beautiful tapestries to keep out the winter drafts and animal head trophies the evidence of an accomplished hunter.
Before them was a large staircase with soft red carpet lining the steps, the staircase led directly up and split in two directions at the top.
The duke, as he was known, stood at the top of the stair case, still in his nightgown he looked down at them, with a half dressed women under each arm, Nathan had made a point of staying away from this place, the Duke had no royal blood, no Nobel linage to speak of, but he had money and power which was a curious thing for these times, and it made Nathan very nervous.
“So, what business does a derelict and a Negro have in my house?” said the Duke, “Go back to the bedroom” the Duke said to the girls waiving his hands.
As the duke walked down the stairs the breeze blew open his gown, he was not wearing any clothes underneath, money and power certainly don’t buy you class thought Nathan.
“Well, do either of you speak?” asked the Duke, “Richard sent us here” said Nathan as Marteen handed him the list. The duke sniffed the air, “What is that foul smell?”, “One of the guards sir” replied the butler, “I told you not to let them into the house, their stink gets everywhere” the duke growled.
“Curious, that he would choose this day to come to me” said the Duke, “He said the list was already paid for in full” said Marteen, “My word, it can talk” said the Duke, “Yes, yes he has paid for these items, but with the events that are unfolding as we speak, well I’m afraid it’s kind of a moot point” said the Duke.
“I don’t understand” said Nathan, “I guess it’s just a case of the wrong place at the wrong time” said the Duke, he walked back to the staircase turning his back on them, the front door opened and two guards walked in seizing them, pinning their arms behind them,
“I really don’t like brining unpleasant business into my house, why don’t you save us all a little trouble, come work for me” said the Duke, “Let us go!” said Nathan, “Or die in the dungeons, your choice, take them to holding” said the Duke, “I’m sure they’ll come to see things my way” continued the Duke with a smile, “Everyone always does” continued the duke walking up the stairs, the two women rushed down to meet him, “now we really need to do something about these clothes” said the duke as he tore them off the women, the women coved themselves with their hands and ran for the bedroom, the duke chased after them like a giddy school boy.
Nathan and Marteen were dragged through the castle, the guards grip like a vice.
Down a long hallway to a door at the end, inside the door an old set of stairs plunged down into darkness, the butler lit a torch on the wall and lead them down, as Nathan was forced down the stairs the butler looked curiously at something on the top of Nathan’s neck, it was barely visible through his hair but there was a small birthmark, it was in the shape of an eagle, it looked like a tattoo but it was not.
At the bottom of the stairs was a few dank empty cells, wet and dark, the two were forced into the first of them, the door slammed shut behind them.
“Oh, I do hate all this unpleasantness” lamented the butler as he peered at them through the bars, “I’m afraid I must do what a good butler does” he said before turning and leaving with the torch, plunging the cell into darkness.
Chapter 2
Right Under His Nose
The duke was gently woken from his slumber by the touch of a beautiful woman’s hand, she gently caressed his face. He opened his eyes to see her sitting naked on his chest, another women was kneeling beside him sucking his hardening cock.
“Now this, this is a fine way to be woken” he grinned reaching out and fondling the woman. The duke’s bedroom was a large round room, at the top of one of the towers. There was a single window with a balcony and a large fire blazed in a pit at the centre of the room.
The door to the room swung open, the butler carried in a feast.
“Breakfast is served” said the butler averting his gaze, “Can’t you see I’m occupied here” said the duke, “I’m afraid the morning waits for no man” quipped the butler, “And besides, you explicitly asked me to wake you at dawn, regardless of what you were” he cleared his throat, “doing”. He placed the tray on a table.
“Would you like to join us” asked the duke, the butler looked down his nose and shook his head in distaste. The duke pushed the woman off him and stood up, “Hand me my robe”, the butler wrapped the robe around the duke’s naked body.
“In all the years you've worked for this house, I’ve never seen you with a woman, or a man for that matter, you don’t even take advantage of those servant girls you have down there” the duke said rudely, “I was raised to abstain from such things” said the butler. “How awful” said the duke as he tore into his breakfast, looking back at his bed were the two naked women laid watching him.
“I didn't say you two could stop” said the duke, the women started kissing each other, the duke smiled with delight, “You have a meeting with the captain down stairs in five minutes your grace” said the butler , “Tell him I’ll be down in a minute, I’m almost done here” said the duke. The butler shook his head and left the room.
The duke looked back at the women, he looked down at his food, then back at the women, “I can eat later” said the duke as he threw the plate to the ground and leapt onto the girls.
The duke was many things, intelligent, sadistic and humorous but an enduring or accomplished lover he was not, he finished his business quickly without thought to the pleasure of either woman. He demanded the two women continue to pleasure one another while he dressed, his penis starting to stiffen again as he watched, “make sure you’re like this when I return” He sneered as he turned for the door, a look of pleasure on his face.
The duke closed the door and walked purposefully down the round staircase, heading directly to the entrance to the main hall, the duke pushed the large wooden doors open a grim expression on his face.
In the room were half a dozen soldiers, at the front of them was the most feared man in these parts, Garam.
Garam the cruel, as he was known, he did whatever the duke wanted, with extreme force, if he only knew the power he had, he would rule, luckily for the duke, Garam was loyal, his family had been serving the dukes for generations.
The duke put his arm on Garam's shoulder, “It’s good to see you friend” he said, in a respectful tone not afforded to many others.
“Today is your favourite day your grace, your horse is waiting” he said, “Ah taxation day, is there anything more enjoyable” replied the duke, “Aside from sex with a dozen women. Garam smiled, “One is more than enough for me”, “I do admire your devotion to your wife Garam, I couldn’t be faithful to a woman for more than an hour, much less years” The duke laughed turning for the door.
The duke made his way outside, the soldiers fell into formation behind him, they were a well-trained army, the butler waited at the entrance to the castle with a young girl, a pretty little blond girl, no more than thirteen years old, she held the dukes horse by the reigns.
The duke climbed aboard his horse and looked down at the girl, “What’s your name, you look familiar?” said the duke.
“Ingrid” whispered the girl, Ugh, what and disgusting name, how do I kn
ow you?” asked the duke, “My mother is Charlotte” said the Ingrid, “You’ll have to be more specific, said the duke, “She’s in your chambers as we speak your grace” replied Ingrid, “Ah” the duke said slyly looking her up and down, “be sure to be in my chambers with her when I return” he growled turning his horse and trotting away.
“Don’t worry my dear, he comes home so drunk he won’t even remember your name” said the butler, the girl walked away, the butler took a large breath watching the duke ride away.
***
For many years the duke had been taxing the town to within an inch of its life, the soldiers had become quite efficient at closing down the town so that the people would be forced to pay, the tax collection had become more regular of late, the town’s population dwindling, the duke was not open to the idea of reducing his income.
As he approached the town the soldiers rode their horses in all different directions blocking of all the exits, Garam pulled a horn from under his robe and played a loud tune, the duke hoped down from his horse and landed on the muddy street, he looked down and turned up his nose, “Every time, every bloody time” said the duke shaking off his feet, “I’m so tired of this villages stench wafting over my castle” said the duke.
The duke wandered in and out of stores as he made his way down the streets, he took what he pleased as the villagers lined up to pay their taxes, he reached the end of the street and looked up at Richards store, the door was locked, with a closed sign on the front,
He pulled and pulled at the door but he could not open it, he turned to face one of his soldiers behind him and without saying a word the soldier quickly smashed the door to pieces, the duke stepped over the rubble and as the dust cleared he could see Richard standing in the corner of the room.
“Why are you not outside paying your taxes” said the duke.
“I have already paid your grace, I was just returning to close for the day” said Richard, the duke walked around the room, inspecting Richard's items, sitting on the table was the list that Nathan had left for Richard, the duke picked up and looked at it curiously.
“What is this?” asked the duke, “It’s nothing, just a list of things for one of my customers” said Richard, “There is something about this hand writing, I have seen if before” said the duke, “Where is this man?” asked the duke, “I sent him to your castle yesterday to pick up some items from you, I have not seen him since” said Richard.
The duke put the letter in his pocket and walked out the door, Richard followed, “Your grace” said Richard, “I was wondering” continued Richard talking a deep breath, “I was wondering, when I would be receiving the items I paid for” the duke continued to walk away, “I recall no such payment” said the duke dismissively.
Richard followed as the duke walked back through town, the line had grown longer, at the head of the line Garam sat at a table taking the taxes, the duke looked down at the collection box which was looking quite sparse.
The duke sighed, “After all the years of protection I have given your little village, this is how you thank me” said the duke, “Your grace, there is no more money” said Richard rather boldly, Garam stood up and grabbed Richard by the neck lifting him from the ground.
“No, no, put him down Garam” said the duke, “There’s no need for that”, Garam dropped Richard to the ground, he grabbed at his throat gasping for air, the duke brushed the dirt of Richards shoulder, “Come on, up you get” said the duke, “I’m not an unreasonable man, if there’s not enough money to go around then that’s just what it is”, smiling at his people.
“Of course if there were less people there would be more to go around” he sneered, turning to face Richard, his smile gone, he pulled a dagger out from under his tunic and swiftly stabbed Richard in the neck, Richard dropped to the ground cradling his neck as the blood spurted out.
“Burn it, burn it all”, the duke yelled, maybe next time I come to town I will be treated with the respect I deserve”. He climbed up onto his horse as the soldiers went about lighting the town on fire, the people screamed and ran to collect their possessions, the smell of smoke and the sounds of screaming quickly filled the air.
“Until next time we meet” said the duke with a smile, he turned and rode away, the fire raging behind him.
Richard lay dead on the muddy ground, people trampling his body as they ran for their homes, his blood mixing with the mud turning it into a dark red slush.
Chapter 3
A New Friend
The claustrophobic confines of the tiny cell were taking its toll on Nathan, his behaviour was starting to become erratic; he was pacing around, touching the walls.
Marteen sat staring at the floor trying to ignore him.
“Can you please sit down” said Marteen abruptly.
“I have had some bad experiences with confined spaces” replied Nathan, “Calm yourself, we may be here for a while” Marteen sighed.
Nathan sat down near a wall, twitching and rocking as he peered at Marteen through the darkness, “Maybe if we talked that would distract me”.
“What would you like to talk about” Marteen asked, “I have two boys back home, sometimes it helps when I talk about them, do you have children?”, “I had two, children” said Nathan abruptly. “What do you mean had, are they no longer with us?” Marteen queried, “Their still alive, kind of” said Nathan. Marteen frowned not understanding, “My two boys are the most beautiful boys you will ever meet, strong and smart” said Marteen proudly, Nathan smiled relaxing a little.
“You said they’re back home, where is that” asked Nathan, “Far from here I’m afraid, I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing them any-time soon, I’ll have to make do with seeing them when I close my eyes” said Marteen, “I find the hardest thing is trying to remember” said Nathan.
The door to the cell swung open, the light from a torch blinding them, The Butler and Ingrid entered carrying small trays of food, “Here you go,” said The Butler placing his tray on the floor, Ingrid tripped over spilling food all over Nathan.
“I’m so sorry” she said as she cowered, “It’s okay” said Nathan taking his tunic off, on the base of his neck was a birth mark that looked like an eagle, the butler looked at his tattoo, “Why didn’t you tell me you were a member of the nine?” said the butler, “A what?” replied Nathan, The Butler pulled his shirt down and turned, he revealed a tattoo on his neck that was almost identical to Nathan’s, “Come quickly, before the duke returns”.
Without hesitation Nathan and Marteen quickly got to their feet and followed him out, they scurried through the Castle, The Butler knew all the secret passageways, they walked around countless corners, eventually they reached a long narrow hallway lit up by a series of burning torches, at the end of the hallway a set of stairs led up to a trap door in the roof, The Butler stopped at the base of the stairs.
“This is as far as I will take you, above here is the dukes personal hideaway, he rarely comes here, wait until dark, then leave, head north east until you reach the cliffs, there you will find the ruins of an old castle, I will meet you there in seven days, at first light” said the butler.
The butler unlocked the hatch above, he opened up the door, foul smelling dusty air burst out, Nathan and Marteen covered their faces, gagging on the stench.
The room was completely dark inside, Nathan hesitated, “Go, quickly” said the butler, he took a burning torch from the wall and handed it to Nathan, the pair cautiously walked up the stairs, the butler quickly slammed the hatch behind them and locked the door.
The room was small, quite claustrophobic, there was a single door at the front, the light peeked it’s way in through the cracks, the walls were made of stone and covered in shelves, each shelf was laden gold, silver, precious jewels and paintings, this was the dukes secret war chest, all the things his family had plundered over the years.
As Marteen and Nathan looked around the room they realised how far the dukes power stretched, there were items he
re from all corners of the lands, “Why does one man need some many things” asked Marteen, “He doesn’t” Nathan said pushing a bunch of items aside so he could sit down.
Marteen made his way through the room, looking at all the items, he took some gold coins out of a bowl and put them in his pocket, “What are you doing?” asked Nathan, “Compensation, for the time he has taken from me” said Marteen with a smile, at the bottom of the bowl was a small disc shaped object, it was different to everything else in the room, it was only an inch thick, dark grey in colour and smooth all round, the only markings were small engraved dots running around the edge of the object.
Nathan got up from the floor, he stared at the object, it was strangely familiar to him, he took it from Marteen, “What is it?” asked Marteen, “I’m not sure, but it looks familiar” he mused putting the object in his pocket and sitting back down.
“We should wait for night fall before we leave, I suggest you get some rest, we have a long trip ahead of us”.
The day past with barley a sound, only the chirps of birds and the rustling of small creatures.
Nathan and Marteen managed to get some much needed sleep, now they waited nervously at the door, for the sun to set.
As the last flicker of light faded from around the door Nathan slid the bolt across and heaved on the solid stone door, the night air was cold, it hung over the ground, around them stood dozens of gravestones, they looked around realizing that the room they had been waiting in was a tomb, in the middle of a graveyard.
There was an old story told at local bars about this cemetery, years ago this area was a school, one year a fire tore through the field, killing the teachers and all the children, people say that the children still walk these fields, praying on visitors in the night, even Nathan knew this story, he had seen a lot of things in his time alone in the forest and he had learnt not to push his luck.
The Constant: Episode 1 Page 2