Underneath, she drew a stick man with a giant circle near his mouth. She wrote “Arrago” under the stick figure and “pie” underneath the circle.
***
Tuesday, 5am
Arrago laughed at Bethany’s drawing. Apexia forgive him, but fuck it all. He liked her too much to play cold and aloof.
I’ll do it for two beef pies and a fruit tart.
Underneath, he drew three circles to emphasize the point.
***
Wednesday, 5am
Arrago was disappointed to discover Bethany hadn’t replied to his message. Had the line been drawn and he’d crossed it, not realizing?
“Master Arrago, sir?”
“That’s me.” Arrago looked up to see a grubby servant holding a basket...and the delicious scent of meat wafted from the basket.
“I was asked to deliver this to you at five sharp,” she said.
“Thank you. Oh, I should pay you.” Arrago glanced around the room before remembering there was money in Bethany’s top drawer.
“Not needed, sir. The lady paid extra for the delivery. Where should I put this?”
Arrago took the cloth off the top of the basket and was hit with even more deliciousness. He carefully took the warm pies out and put them on his desk. “Thank you so much!”
“I was also supposed to give you this.” She handed him an envelope. It read:
As ordered. Also, I have two bottles of good claret that Jovan hasn’t found yet. I plan to drink them tomorrow and catch up on my paperwork. You’re welcome to help. Bring food. B.
He smiled. He put the letter in the diary and wrote:
I’d like that, Bethany.
Knight’s Day Off
(Takes place during Blaze)
Some of you have already read this story, while this is a new one to many of you. Poor Bethany works so hard and I thought she needed a weekend off to relax with her friends. However, whenever you get the Tranquility Trio together, trouble is nearby.
This was perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had writing Bethany. Sure, there’s the blood and gore, which is always fun and dandy, but I never get to enjoy true comedy with Bethany. This was a real treat for me to write and I hope you enjoy.
Lady Champion Bethany focused all of her willpower into not tapping her foot, thumb, or any other tappable part of her anatomy. Mother Aneese, the revered mother of the faith, prattled on about something uninteresting, in a low monotonous voice that could’ve sent an insomniac into hibernation.
Of course, the temptation to tap and twitch would have been less if Jovan, Lord Protector, hadn’t kept bumping his knee against hers. He was even jumpier than she was. She gave him a sidelong glare. He made a parroting motion with his hand before rolling his eyes. His thumb went back to tapping out a staccato on his thigh.
“Finally...” the old elven woman said, and Bethany let out an audible sigh of relief that drew everyone’s attention. She gave them a rueful grin.
“And finally,” Aneese repeated, her tone laced with annoyance, “The Honourable Liaison Relas will be arriving from Wyllow tomorrow. I recommend Lady Bethany be assigned to—”
“Not me,” Bethany piped up. “I have three days off, starting right after this meeting.”
“As do I,” Jovan chimed in. “Lord Kiner does, too.”
Aneese scowled. “Lord Allric, you allowed this?”
“I forgot about Relas.” Allric gave the Honoured Sister a shrug. “I already approved their time off.”
“Deny it. There are things more important than getting drunk in brothels.”
A contemplative expression came over Jovan’s face, and Bethany grinned at him.
“I am sorry, Mother Aneese,” Allric said and, though he apologized, his voice was like bedrock. “They have earned the time off.”
“Yes, yes.” Aneese waved off his comment. “They have been working very hard, unlike the rest of us who do not get a day off in the service of the Gentle Goddess. After all, Lady Bethany has an aide, Lord Jovan has three, and Lord Kiner’s training responsibilities are spread between several junior knights. Yes, they are overworked indeed.”
Bethany kept her sharp retort to herself. Arguing would prolong the meeting, thereby prolonging the time between herself and three full days of uninterrupted freedom. She would not let her tongue get in the way. If she had to, she’d bite through it until it swelled so much speech would be beyond her.
Bethany, Lady Champion, was about to have three days off and no one, and no thing, was going to stand in her way. Least of all her own tongue.
“I will look after Relas,” Allric said.
“Hurmph.” The old elf crossed her arms. “I suppose the head of the Silver Knights and myself would be a better greeting than the rag-tag mess Lady Bethany and Lord Jovan have turned into.”
Bethany clamped down on her tongue.
“It is unfortunate that Father Torius is not here this week,” Aneese mused. “The head of the faith and the head of the Silver Knights would be an excellent show.”
“We must make do with what Apexia has given us,” Allric said and Bethany saw the corner of his mouth quiver.
Bethany’s mouth, likewise, struggled not to twitch in the face of Allric’s sassing of the High Priestess.
“Anything else?” Jovan said, his foot now tapping against the wooden floorboards.
Allric actually smiled this time. “If there is nothing else, Mother Aneese?”
The old elf sighed, but shook her head.
Both Jovan and Bethany jumped to their feet, though they resisted rushing off and waited for Aneese to pull her crippled form from her chair. Sure, they were in a hurry to escape their duties, but Aneese was an old woman.
With a final contemptuous glare, Aneese left Allric’s study.
“What are your plans?” Allric asked.
“We’re heading to Eve’s tomorrow morning,” Jovan said.
“Why so late?”
“Eve is away, so there’s no point going early,” Bethany replied. “Besides, I don’t know about Jovan and Kiner, but I need a break. I plan to sit in my room and do nothing.”
“Nothing?” Allric said, amusement in his voice.
“Nothing,” Bethany confirmed.
“Who will look after Arrago’s training?”
“Quartermaster Rho and Erem agreed to take turns.”
“How is training going?” Jovan asked. “Kid couldn’t handle a sword in class.”
Bethany fought to keep her tone neutral. In truth, she was enjoying Arrago’s company a little too much. A short vacation away from him was exactly what she needed. “Arrago isn’t going to be winning duels anytime soon, but he’s learning.” A beat later she added, “I have to confess, I’d keep him around even if he wasn’t learning. He’s the best aide I’ve ever had.”
Allric laughed. “That’ll wear off.”
“Did you know he kicked me out of my office to clean it?” She smirked. “It was kinda funny.”
“You didn’t kill him?” Jovan asked, mirth in his voice. “You’re getting soft.”
Bethany smiled. “Now, if you will both excuse me, I have a glorious evening planned, doing absolutely nothing.” And with that she turned and left Lord Allric’s study and headed out into the corridor.
She found it hard to keep the smile off her face. Three days off! It had been months since she’d had three full days and she planned to make the most of it.
Bethany waved off requests to stop and chat, with “Talk to me in three days!” Most of the senior knights knew about her time off. She, Jovan, and Kiner tried to take their time off together whenever possible. They were the Tranquility Trio, after all. People expected them to cause trouble on occasion.
But tonight she was just Bethany, who needed to make a birthday gift for Jovan’s mother, and who wanted to sit quietly on her behind for an evening. And eat. And sleep. Perhaps dream about sleeping and eating.
“Bethany!” A familiar voice called out behind her.
>
Bethany turned to find her aide, Arrago, rushing toward her, a basket of scrolls in his arms.
Arrago was a tall man, pretty much her own height, who always looked like a rakish rogue-in-training. He wore a lot of brown, which nicely matched his tan skin. His brown hair was cropped short, but not too short, and was constantly tousled. He had a contagious smile, something she was becoming very aware of.
Contagious smile or not, she wanted to be rid of him. “Arrago,” she said.
“I know,” he said with an apologetic tone. “I know. Time off. The Assistant Post Master said these are for your eyes only, though.”
“The scrolls can sit in a stack in my study.” She glared at him. “Before you, no one ever expected me to sign anything for a good month. Since you’ve been meddling with my paperwork they expect me to do things immediately. It can wait.”
“But—”
“They can deal with me not signing anything for three days.”
Arrago moved the basket to redistribute the weight. “But—”
“No,” she said firmly. “I’ll see you in three days.”
“But Bethany—”
Bethany spun around. “What part of ‘no’ are you not comprehending?”
Arrago flinched.
“You’ve been hounding me ever since I made you my aide. You’ve shown up at mealtimes, senior staff meetings, training formations. I’ve even caught you lurking in my corridor waiting for me to leave my bedroom. I’ve let you, and not strangled you for it.” Then she said, in a pinched tone, “No more.”
Arrago’s cheeks drew in before her eyes, as if he’d sucked in a breath and was chewing on the insides of his mouth to keep from talking back.
The part of her that had been enjoying being around Arrago the Aide a little too much would not let her leave things like that, so she added, “I do appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Arrago.”
Arrago gave her an inscrutable look.
“Seriously, you’ve been the best aide I’ve ever had. And now it’s time to get out of my sight.” She followed it up with a shooing gesture. “Be gone.”
“Fine,” Arrago spat. “Go enjoy your day off.”
“Three days,” Bethany corrected and turned to walk away, ignoring the muttered “Stubborn wench” that escaped Arrago’s lips.
Bethany glanced over her shoulder at his very fine form in his snug brown trousers and brown tunic. He had a great ass. Oh, yeah. She really, really, really needed some time away from him.
With that encounter over, Bethany weaved her way through the corridors of the great temple to the isolated wing that housed her room high in the tower. Most of the vowed knights, plus higher ranking priests and nuns, had apartments near hers. Bethany’s thigh muscles burned by the time she reached her room, but less than they used to. All of the training with Arrago had been doing her good, putting her back into fighting shape. Not that she’d ever completely gotten out of it, but constant training had ramped up her stamina once again.
She went through the wooden door that separated the stairwell from the hallway, and was faced with Kiner standing at the far end of the corridor, beside the door to her room. She frowned and walked toward him. Hers was the largest room on the floor, one of the few that actually had a balcony and a window; the rest were a part of the tower’s rock face.
“Go away,” Bethany said as she approached the man loitering near her door.
“Sorry, Bethany,” he began, though he did offer her a sheepish smile. “I just—”
“I’m serious, Kiner. Go away.”
“I need somewhere to hide,” he said with a grimace.
She cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms.
The door to the corridor creaked and Kiner dove, literally dove, into the water closet that some of the priests shared on her floor. Bethany stared at the toilet’s carefully closing door, before turning to the red-faced, brown-robed figured at the other end of the corridor. The young man wheezed so hard that Bethany feared he was going to vomit all over the floor.
“You!” She shouted. “Who are you?” She pointed and took several long strides to the priest initiate. “This is a restricted area.”
“Oh shit,” he squeaked.
Bethany resisted a snort. “Speak.”
He raised his hands and cowered. “Please don’t hurt me, Lady Bethany.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. She didn’t even have a sword in her hands. She motioned for him to uncurl himself and tried to keep her voice terse but even. “Why are you here?”
“I’m looking for Lord Kiner,” he said, still cowering, though he had at least removed his hands from his face. “Mother Aneese sent me to find him.”
Bethany’s mouth quirked and she couldn’t keep the mirth from her tone. “Why?”
“Um,” the man said, bewildered that her demeanour had changed, “the elven diplomat’s ship just docked.”
“He wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow night.”
“Good wind?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What does this have to do with Kiner?”
“We couldn’t find Lord Allric. One of his aides said he’d gone into town to meet with the Captain of the Guard, so Mother Aneese needed a representative from the Knights to meet the diplomat.”
Bethany rubbed her eyes. “So she sent you to round up someone?”
He nodded. “I went to Lord Jovan’s office first, but he was drunk.”
Bethany looked away to hide her grin. Their meeting had ended less than thirty minutes ago; there was no way he was drunk. What a coward. “So now you’re after Kiner?”
He nodded. “Mother Aneese said not to ask you, since you were...” His voice trailed off. “She said not to ask you.”
“Lord Kiner is not here. Go find Lord Erem; he loves doing this kind of shit. Tell him I sent you.” Erem hated diplomatic tasks, but he owed her after beating her in three temple betting pools.
“Yes, Lady Bethany,” the man said, bowing deeply before turning to run off.
Bethany waited until she couldn’t hear his pounding footsteps before saying, “You owe me.”
The water closet’s door creaked open. “Thank you so much.”
Bethany turned. “Good bye.”
“Oh come on! Aneese will never accept Erem. She can’t stand him. She’s going to keep looking for me.” He shook his head. “Bloody Jovan!”
“Drunk,” Bethany snorted and opened her door. “Eventually someone is going to clue in to that one.”
Kiner began to step in behind her.
“What are you doing?”
It took him a beat before he spoke. “You aren’t going to hide me?”
“Absolutely not. This is a big temple. Go pray somewhere.”
“Aneese has spies everywhere!”
Bethany shrugged. “That’s what you get for being good.”
Kiner looked as if he was going to hurl himself off the nearest cliff.
She sighed. “Tell Arrago that you need to hide. He’ll cover for you.”
Kiner just stared at her. “You are seriously kicking me out?”
“Kiner, you are a grown up. I’m confident that the big bad priestess won’t be able to catch you. And, if she does, I’m sure you’ll survive. We’re all leaving in the morning. It will be fine. You’ll see.”
Kiner glared. “I can’t believe you’re throwing me out.”
“Life is cruel, Kiner,” she said and slammed the door on him, latching it shut.
She scowled and leaned against the door, listening to Kiner’s fading footfalls. Then she let out a sigh of relief. Silence. No talking. No thinking. No anything.
She sniffed the air, and then her tunic. First, a bath.
Bethany lived in the tower with the upgraded sewer and water system, where there was running hot water and flushing toilets. Not in all of the rooms, of course, and the water wasn’t always hot. And the pipes made a lot of noise and sometimes smelled. Still, it was better than having a troop of ma
ids walk up the stairs anytime she wanted to wash.
Bethany, of course, got the best room in the tower. Allric’s wasn’t even as nice as her’s. Well, that’s what Jovan told her. She’d not actually seen his newly renovated apartment. Of course she would be given the best room. Normally that got under her skin, but as the water knocked and boomed and splashed into the marble tub, she was very grateful for the occasional extra privileges she received as the daughter of a goddess.
Bethany stripped out of her baldric: a sash that hung across her chest displaying her war medals and denoting her position as a Silver Knight. She peeled off her trousers, tunic, and boots. She unbound her breasts and lowered herself into the steaming bath – and yelped so loud that they probably heard her on the bottom floor.
The water was near boiling.
“Oh come on!” Bethany whined, glaring at the pump as if it would make the water cool down. It didn’t.
She let the tub continue to fill. It would eventually cool. She grabbed a cloth from the basket of towels in the corner and dipped it in the water. It was hot out and she was dusty, sweaty, and sticky. She needed to scrape the first layer of grime off her body.
Once mostly cleaned and feeling somewhat alive again, Bethany heard someone pounding on her door.
“Bethany!” Jovan shouted from the other side. “Apexia’s tits, let me in! Bethany!”
Bethany grabbed her tunic, now wet from washing, and held it up against her torso as she rushed to the door. She flung it open.
Jovan pushed her aside as he, Kiner, and Arrago plowed into her room.
“Shut the door! Hurry!” Jovan snapped.
Bethany stood there, dripping wet, staring at the three of them. “Excuse me?”
“There’s no time for this!” Jovan elbowed her as he shut the door and latched it.
Bethany staggered and she dropped the tunic. Arrago flushed scarlet and looked away. Bethany felt heat rise in her cheeks and grabbed the tunic to press it back against her. If she pulled it on, it would cut off just short of the crucial bits of her anatomy that she most wanted covered from Arrago.
Embarrassed at being stark naked in front of a man she...well, not had feelings for... but did think was a nice man, she lashed out at them. “Why the fuck are the three of you in my room?”
Interlude Page 3