“Where? Should I begin skinning you alive? I am very good at it.”
Erik looked scary—big, covered in blood—and Schaltz’s spirits broke.
“In the hold! They are in the hold!”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Erik silently nodded to his people, pointing in the direction of the hold.
“Get them out of there.”
Two Virmans leisurely proceeded with the order.
***
Richard and Jess had spent the previous two hours in complete ignorance. They heard the battle noises and screams coming from above, but had no idea who was attacking or who had won or what it meant for them.
There were more questions than answers, and the waiting was extremely painful. Therefore, when the cover of the hold opened, and a huge Virman jumped down, Jess could not believe his eyes.
“Your Highness? My Lord?”
The questions were purely rhetorical. The man freed the prisoner’s hands and pointed at the rope.
“Can you climb up?”
Jess would have climbed onto the moon to get to freedom, not to mention a rope, but his hands hadn’t yet recovered, so he began actively moving them, ignoring the unpleasant and painful tingling.
“Where are you from?” he asked.
The Virman squinted. He didn’t like Jerisson. He had begun to dislike him much earlier, disapproving of Jess’s treatment of his wife. The man would have happily said something nasty to him, but one doesn’t get to hell ahead of the commander.
“We are the people of Erik Thorsson. Our commander will explain better. Are you all right?”
“Quite so.”
Richard looked calm; Shaltz and his men had only wanted to kill them. Things like that happened. They were saved—all the better. Now, they needed to warm up their arms in order to get out of that prison.
“That’s good. Will you let me help—”
The Virman began helping the prince. In around three or four minutes, Richard felt fit to climb up. The soldier hurried them on.
“Get out of here. This bowl of a ship is decently destroyed and might soon go down.”
He didn’t have to invite them a third time. Jess was the first one to climb out; he looked around and saw corpses and blood—and a couple of Virmans, smirking. A devastating sight—nothing made sense and no one was going to give an explanation. One bully with an axe especially stood out.
“Earl Earton?”
“At your service.”
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, yes. And you? What is going on here?”
Erik stood straight.
“We are at the service of His Majesty Edward the Eighth. The ships over there are the Virman Embassy. We were asked to meet you and escort you to Laveri. As soon as we saw what was happening, we intervened.
Richard shook his head, trying to somehow put together what he was hearing with reality.
“You are—”
“Erik Thorsson. At your service, Your Highness.”
“Richard of Ativerna,” Richard bowed properly. “I express the deep gratitude of myself and my father for saving us.”
Erik squared his shoulders even more.
“Your Highness, any honest man would act this way.”
Richard answered something eloquent. Everyone was pleased with themselves. Jess looked around. The Virman ships, the remains of the embassy cargo in the water.
“What about the people?”
“We managed to rescue a few. As for the rest…”
The movement was quite eloquent. Jess clenched his fists.
“Bastards! What is the matter with them?”
Ivar smiled.
“You can ask this nit.”
He stepped to the side and revealed Schaltz. Ivar barely managed to hold back the highborn earl. Otherwise, the young lad would’ve destroyed the commander in the blink of an eye. They needed the commander alive for interrogation. With this in mind, the Virmans stopped Jess, calmed him down, and examined him for bruises. They asked the young man if he wanted to speak to the rescued, as well as give them first aid, or at least take their armor off them.
In a word, Jess was given a task and promised that the villain wouldn't escape him until the time of interrogation. In the meantime, they would tie him up and put him somewhere comfortable. Those reptiles often tried to commit suicide to avoid execution. Schaltz did not have such a prospect. The Virmans were experts at capturing prisoners.
***
In the evening, Richard tried to question Erik. The Virman ships temporarily landed on the shore, and everyone settled down for the night on the comfortable beach. They made a fire, fried some meat, shot a couple of birds. The prey was tiny, but having just come out of the battle, the men wanted entertainment. Erik rolled out a couple of barrels of wine—enough for several swigs each, but too little to get everybody drunk.
Richard and Jess were given the best spot around the fire, and the men quietly talked about their own business.
“Schaltz is a nit! So many people died!”
“Yeah. Only twenty of them were saved.”
“Including Falion. Pikes don’t drown in water, even the old ones.”
“He is grateful to the Virmans now.”
“Me, too. After all, we owe them our lives. My father will treat them better now.”
“He already does. It was him who asked them to keep an eye on us and escort us to the capital.”
“True! How does he do it? I wouldn't have managed!”
“My uncle is still strong, you’ll have time to learn.”
Richard shook his head. Erik sat beside him.
“Your Highness, My Lord, how do you do?”
“Call me Jess, leave out the titles,” said the earl. “After all, I owe you my life.”
The Virman hesitated but eventually went for a handshake.
“Erik. A free captain.”
Jess nodded. A ship captain, especially of the old type, was on par with any nobleman, equal to a leir or even a baron.
“It was providence itself that led you to us. I am forever indebted to you.”
“Providence is only our foresight and our actions.” Erik smiled. “We create our own destiny.”
He really wanted to drag the earl’s grimacing mug over the rocks, for everything good and bad he had done and hadn’t done for his wife. But he couldn’t. That would make it worse for Lilian, so he kept quiet.
The crew also knew about everything and kept silent.
“Aldonai is watching over our fate.”
Richard smiled. He could see that his words had nothing to do with theology. Erik answered with a smile.
“Sometimes I feel sorry for your Aldonai. Our gods divide responsibility between each other, but yours has to do it all alone. It must be hard for him.”
Heresy? You bet! If Erik dared to say that in front of a pastor, his words would be met with the yelling “anathema” or a two-hour lecture about religion. Pastor Vopler was particularly annoying with the latter. But the Virmans endured. The man wasn’t evil; he was harmless and believed in what he was saying. Why kill him for it? Let him drizzle on.
Richard appreciated the Virman’s honesty and grinned.
“Leave the Aldons to argue about the gods. We are the Earth’s children. I once more express my gratitude to you.
“Erik,” Jaimie never stood on ceremony with people when it was about medicine. “Where are you?”
“Can’t you see?”
“Order your men to let me see Schaltz! He is wounded, but they wouldn't even let me close to him!”
“And rightly so. He’ll be fine.”
“What about blood infection? Do you want to deal with a man in delirium? I don’t!”
“I don’t need him at all! It’s the king—”
“You will explain it to the king, uncombed savage!”
“Shut up, you toddler. You still have milk on your mustache,” retorted Erik without a trace of malice. He a
ppreciated Jaimie and didn’t pay attention to his rude remarks. It was clear that the lad was asserting himself. Why not? A quarrel here, a lesson there—that’s the making of a man. He was a promising doctor. Richard raised his eyebrows when he saw the baron sapphire around Jaimie’s neck.
“Excuse me, and you are?”
“James, Baron of Donter, Your Majesty. Forgive me my rudeness, but the patients come first.”
“Donter?” Jess raised his eyebrows, but Jaimie went on.
“My Lord, I also ask you to forgive me. I will speak to you later after I attend to the wounded. Will you let me see Schaltz, Erik?”
“Go on. My men will go with you. And don’t you dare unchain the creature!”
“What if I need to dress the wound?”
“Think with your head, Jaimie! He will soon die anyway when His Majesty finds out all he needs from him. Why waste your time on him? Make sure he’s alive, that’s all.”
The man sighed. Erik was right. The Virman wasn’t going to let him dwell on his mental torment. He called forth his men and sent them off with Jaimie to the commander.
“Is it possible to interrogate him now?” Jerisson was impatient. He was curious as to why they had carpeted them.
“It’s best not to,” Erik said. “Everyone is tired and angry. What if they get carried away? Leave it to the executioner, he will give him a shake and find out what we need.”
“Do you know anything about the conspiracy?”
Erik shook his head.
“People say that Leir Tremain uncovered it. I am only carrying out his orders.” The Virman was good at putting on an act of ignorance.
The Duke of Falion approached Jess and Richard. “Your Majesty, I am happy to see you well and alive.”
“Me, too, My Lord. How do you feel?”
“To be honest swimming in the freezing water at my age left me expecting the worst. If it wasn’t for Jaimie… He rubbed me with some ointment and gave me a peculiar potion. It tasted like wine but ten times stronger. I feel great, only not without a little headache.”
“Have you tried to question anyone about the conspiracy?”
Falion shook his head negatively.
“I thought it could wait. We still have a long way to Laveri. But now everyone is worn out and tired. There are a lot of wounded; the Virmans suffered heavy losses.”
“That's also true,” the prince admitted. “We will have time. Who else survived?”
***
In the morning, Richard and Jess decided to bombard Jaimie with questions. They were disappointed. The ships had enough wounded to keep Jaimie busy. He was constantly running around and had no time for chatting. The only thing they managed to find out was that Jaimie wasn’t a medicus but a student of the famous Tahir Djiaman din Dashar, as well as information about his legitimate barony. The rest was a mystery.
Richard and Jess weren’t stupid and saw that the Virmans were hiding something from them. They were tormented with questions.
Erik noticed this but had no intention of enlightening them. He considered this harmless moral terror a kind of punishment for the way Jess treated his wife. As for the prince, it was better to stay away from the crowned individuals. The tiniest mistake of etiquette could be costly. No, thank you! We did our job, we rescued the prince, and now we back off.
The lads weren’t happy about this attitude, but all the cards were in Erik’s hands. The ships were heading at full speed toward the capital.
***
Funerals are always dreary and tiresome, even if the dead are strangers, let alone those I once knew. Let’s face it, they died at my hand—the Ivelens. Loran, the Duke of Ivelen; Peter, the Marquess of Ivelen; Amalia, the Marchioness of Ivelen; Cecilia, Jess, and the youngest girl. Lily kept forgetting her name.
It is painful to read it, so much PAIN! If it weren’t for me…
Yes, as hard as it is to admit, their blood is on my hands. I played Sherlock Holmes and forgot that life is not a game. Their death is my reality.
The faces of Loran, Amalia, and Peter were deformed by pain. The faces of the children were calm. Lily hoped that they had died a peaceful death.
And yet, she was Lady Macbeth. “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Lily looked at her hands.
“My Lady.”
Lily smiled at her friend.
“Hans, I am so happy to see you! At least one dear person…”
Hans looked at her with sadness. The choir sang. The nobles who had attended the funeral whispered to each other. The Ivelens would soon be put into their caskets and laid to rest in a familial crypt in Ivelen. The funeral service was held publicly, to destroy any doubt about their deaths.
“Where are Roman and Jacob?”
“We are looking after them.”
Lily sighed. She had no idea what to do with these two little worms. They squeaked, they demanded. But what do they want? As it turned out, the solution was easy. Two were enough. However, Lily did not stop at that and made all medical students do infant practice. They had to learn to feed, bathe, and swaddle them. Why not? As for me, I have no maternal feeling toward them. I don’t even find them cute! They will get all the care in the world. They will have teachers, get a proper education, but not my love.
“I feel guilty,” Lily quietly confessed to Hans.
The look in his almond-colored eyes was calm.
“Me, too. We weren’t the ones who started it.”
“No.”
“It wasn’t you who forced the Ivelens to betray, intrigue, and participate in conspiracies. You were a victim and were forced to swim out of the whirlpool. As for me, it’s my job to defend the Crown. Why should I feel guilty?”
“Because we are alive, and they are dead. Because children suffered…”
The singing stopped. Hans squeezed the countess’ wrist in a friendly handshake and let it go.
“Let’s talk in the evening.”
Lily nodded and went to say goodbye to the Ivelens. She and Alicia were among the only relatives at the funeral. Jerisson was absent, and the king was unwell, so the two of them attended instead. They had to put a small cypress branch on each coffin, make the circle of Aldonai before they closed the lid, and listen to condolences uttered without any special feeling.
Lily wasn’t grieving, and the same went for Alicia. Those who had come along for the gossip were aware that there would be none. Everything was proper and peaceful. At the sight of the peaceful face of the youngest girl, the surging guilt overwhelmed Lilian once again but retreated soon after.
***
“No, the children did not suffer. So what?”
Hans settled comfortably in the armchair by the fireplace. Lily and Alicia were sitting beside him. There was no one else there.
“They were just children. They weren’t guilty of anything—”
“Is that so?” Hans’s eyes turned into slits. “They weren’t ordinary children, but the legitimate heirs to the throne, who benefited from the conspiracy to become successful. Do you think that if Jess Jr. was asked to choose between Miranda and himself, he would choose her?”
“It’s wrong to judge like that.”
“I am telling you the truth. These children were already poisoned by the chimera of power. Believe me, they have died their best deaths.”
“They died!”
“Fine, what would have happened if they had stayed alive?”
“They would have grown up, gotten married—”
“And sooner or later would have been found by the emissaries of Avesterra, who would have made an offer they would not have refused. Devastation, war—how many other children are you able to sacrifice for the lives of these children?”
Lily covered her face with her hands.
“It's inhuman, Hans.”
“Life does not always allow us to remain human. Sometimes we have to get dirty to protect the safety of those we care about.”
“This dirt can touch our own child
ren.”
“It can, but not necessarily. I did my duty, and so did you. Don’t try to look for justification.”
Lily cast her eyes downward.
“Amalia was my daughter, but that didn’t stop her from sentencing you to death, along with her brother and her niece.” Alicia looked calm. “Do you think she would have spared me?”
“She loved Edmund.”
“I also loved Jyce. But I don’t have corpses around me. There is a line that one mustn’t cross. Otherwise, the fire would consume them. Those who seek revenge are the first ones to die.”
“The children—”
“Roman and Jacob are alive. If you want to expunge your non-existent guilt, take care of their good upbringing.”
Lily sighed. Hans’ look showed that the man sided with Alicia.
“I will try.”
“You can do it, Lilian.”
“I hope I won’t have to inform my husband about everything.”
“Don’t worry.” Alicia’s smile was poisonous. “There will be a lot of those who will inform him—in fact, too many!”
***
Bit by bit, Edward recovered. Lily didn’t have to watch him day and night by his bedside anymore. The medicuses were outraged, but couldn’t do anything. The king had created an alternative guild for Lilian. It was Lilian and Tahir who saved the king, not the guild medicuses, who tried to cure him with pumping and bathing. Let them taste their own medicine until the end of their days!
Life returned to normal. They hadn’t caught all of the plotters yet, but they would sooner or later. Loran Ivelen turned out to be a very resourceful individual. He had stored materials for blackmail on every participant of the conspiracy. Overall, there were around twenty people involved, mainly from the upper-middle class. There was one duke, a couple of earls and a few barons, who had a lot of ambitions but very little money and brains.
The gentry was composed of complex structures—relationships, connections and money ties—like one big fungus. Lily didn’t even try to figure out its intricacies. As for Hans, he was a royal representative and swam in it like a fish in water.
The Price of Happiness: A Strong Woman in the Middle Ages (A Medieval Tale Book 5) Page 14