Crimson Guard

by Rebecca Challoner

  "She killed one of the assassins. Helped us capture our prisoner even when you were shouting accusations at her."

  "Only because she didn't want to die herself. Anyone would have done that." Rema muttered, clearly not ready to admit defeat.

  "Listen to yourself Rema. She has proven herself. She has risen to the challenge you delivered and shown us all she is trustworthy. You're holding onto some preconceived idea of her and it's time you got your head out of your ass-"

  Having heard enough of this conversation I made sure to make my footsteps sound louder, stopping their heated exchange.

  I made it to the bottom of the stairs as both of them turned to look at me. I made sure to meet their gaze with an innocent expression, as though I hadn't overheard them. I didn't want Rema to feel like she had to apologise or become friends with me when she didn't want to. If we were to overcome this obstacle of distrust, it would be for genuine reasons, not because she was forced.

  I heard Axel's footsteps descend behind me and I moved out of the way for him before turning back to face Volorn.

  "How is Averil?" I asked Volorn, trying to remove the strained atmosphere as Axel came to stand beside me.

  "She fine now the healer has seen to her."

  "And what she found out?" Axel asked.

  "The traitor is someone we all know." Volorn grimly replied, "Including you Fawn."

  I felt my brows rise, "I don't know anyone who resides in the capital with the exception of the Crimson Guard."

  "So you would think. However, when we reach the Palace you will find a familiar face seated among the nobles." Volorn face twisted into a bittersweet smile, "Captain Harrian Wildecrest."

  I felt my mouth drop in astonishment, "Wildecrest? But he's been in a position of power for years! He is one of the Kings most trusted advisors!"

  "Indeed. Which is perhaps why we haven't made as much progress in the war as we liked." Volorn replied bitterly.

  "Captain Asspants. I should have known." Axel replied, running a hand through his hair in agitation.

  "After seeing the face of the assassin Fawn killed, I suspected he was involved but I guess I was in denial until Averil confirmed it," Volorn sighed in distress.

  "Who was the assassin I killed? It certainly wasn't Wildecrest, I would have recognised him immediately." I queried.

  "He was Wildecrest's bastard brother," Rema supplied in disgust, "Wildecrest's father wouldn't claim him and allow him to inherit any of his fortune, so instead he paid him to do most of his dirty work. Once their father died Wildecrest inherited the noble title whilst his brother, Dagar, took over the underground connections. One above board and one to do the unlawful work. Now it seems both were dirty."

  "I always thought Wildecrest was a megalomaniac but I never thought he would betray his country." Axel spat.

  "But why? What's in it for him?" Rema questioned, stupefied.

  "I don't know but from what Averil saw, it seems his wife was in on it too."

  Shock rippled through me at the news I was hearing. Even after all the research I had done on the Wildecrest family, I was caught completely unaware by their betrayal. I never would have guessed. My mind spun back to the moments I spied on them and gathered information and something niggled in my thoughts.

  "The lovers that Jaeda met, what if they weren't lovers meetings as I and Tawney had originally thought? What if she was meeting the enemy?" I wondered.

  "Perhaps. It would be a good cover-up. The open secret of her affairs certainly made it as though no one could question Wildecrest about it in case he was unaware of her deception. No one dare question her about her affairs as it is not done and it's her husband's place too." Axel mused.

  "Wildecrest would report of our war plans to Jaeda. She would then meet her 'lovers' who were our enemies and pass on that information, in exchange for what?" Rema followed.

  "I don't know. There has to be something in it for him that we are all unaware of."

  "Who's Wildecrest and the assassin's contact?" Axel asked rubbing his hand over his jaw.

  "A chief officer and spymaster in the Ethian Court called Kedar." Volorn replied, "I got the impression he was a close contact to Etha's royalty."

  A brief silence settled over us as we thought of the implications. I don't think we ever expected to have a traitor in as high a position as Wildecrest was. Especially one with a connection as equally as high in Etha's court. Orbain has well and truly been infiltrated and all our secrets exposed. We were defenseless.

  All of a sudden I was afraid. Afraid for my country, my friends, my home. Who knew what information the enemy had, what plans they had come up with to defeat us now they knew of our own. We could be overrun at any moment.

  My gaze caught Volorns grim ones as the implications caught up with me. I tried to settle the panic that started to overcome me. We had time. We discovered the truth. We could overturn this twist of fate.

  Suddenly capturing Tawney's killer no longer seemed vital. I closed my eyes and silently apologised to Tawney.

  I promised one day I will find your killer. I will avenge you. But I need to save my country first.

  "Why did the assassin kill Simond?" Rema's hard voice cut through my thoughts.

  "Simond discovered Wildecrest was a traitor. Wildecrest passed on some information about a group of enemies. Simond and Tam were sent with a small troup to eliminate the threat, only to be ambushed."

  Volorn's jaw clenched in anger as he continued, "We lost men due to the deception. But Tam and Simond managed to prevail. They managed to capture one and were interrogating him. That was the last correspondence I received from Tam. My guess is discovered Wildecrest deception. Somehow Wildecrest found out before Simond could return and dispatched his assassins."

  "What about Tam? Is she safe? How do we know that assassins haven't reached her too?" Rema worried, unconsciously biting her lip.

  "We don't." Volorn sighed, rubbing his forehead, "We are just going to have to trust in her skills and hope she's okay until we hear from her."

  Rema opened her mouth as if to ask another question but stopped when Volorn lifted his hand, "No more questions, we are already late for this meeting."

  "But how are we going to prove that Wildecrest is a traitor? It's our word against his." I asked.

  Volorn looked at me, a slight smile tilting his lips as Averil descended the steps holding a red dress, "I have a plan."

  Chapter 23

  "Well, I never thought I would have to masquerade as Jaeda again," I grumbled next to Averil in the carriage that pulled us along towards the Palace.

  Averil chuckled, "I don't envy you," gesturing to the cleavage the red dress showed. Although the dress covered more than the one I wore when I first shifted into Jaeda's form, it was still scandalous for elite society. Exactly as Jaeda liked it. Unfortunately for me.

  Volorn carefully laid out his plan. Axel, Rema and himself would ride ahead and ask for private council with the king. Whilst they were revealing Wildecrests deception to his royal self, Averil would fill me in with the details she had found in the mind of our assassin, who it turned out had been called Raymar. Once we arrived I would make my entrance as Jaeda and demand Wildecrest's audience in another room under the guise of urgent business. I would then lead him into a room next to theirs where they could overhear our conversation and I would trick him into confessing or revealing his plans.

  The plan seemed simple enough. But the simplest of plans always seemed to go wrong. At least my experience of simple plans did.

  My gaze caught the buxom bosoms barely confined in the dress as I let out a sigh before returning my attention to Averil.

  Now her wounds had been cleaned up, she looked in much better health. "Is there anything else you can tell me about what Jaeda knew about Raymar?"

  "Jaeda would be the one to meet Raymar and pass on the information that Wildecrest collected from his meetings. This would be every two weeks or so, the location varied depending on where Wild
ecrest resided."

  Averil shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Although we guessed she used the guise of a lover to get away with secreting him information...it seemed from Raymar's memories that it had not been a guise."

  "What do you mean?" I replied, confused.

  "Well.." she drew out, "Raymar and Jaeda had actually become lovers," Averil replied, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue.

  "Oh god," I replied, a sick feeling in my stomach. It was one thing to give your enemy information but to sleep with him too? "Did Wildecrest know?"

  "I'm not sure. Raymar didn't think, nor care if he knew. But if actually he did know or not, I don't know." Averil apologetically replied with a shrug.

  "Did Jaeda know the information she was passing along?"

  "Raymar didn't think so." Averil supplied, "The information was always sealed in envelopes that were never opened and she would repeatedly ask what was in them."

  I raised an eyebrow. Interesting. "Okay, so what should I say to get Wildecrest to confess? If Jaeda was unaware of the information she passed on then it's not like I can confront him with any of his plans."

  Averil sat in silence for a moment, thinking of the best way to trick Wildecrest into confessing. "Jaeda's supposed to meet Raymar today. Roughly about now in fact. So whilst the real Jaeda is waiting around to meet Raymar, Volorn is sending Thorlan and Zan to arrest her. But you will enter the Palace, demand to see Wildecrest and tell him Raymar hasn't turned up. That you suspect he is going to dispose of him. Anything you can think of to get him talking." She replied.

  "Okay. Yeah. Good plan." I nodded, internally giving myself a pep talk. You can do this. You can do this.

  "You can do this Fawn."

  For a moment I thought I had carried on the mantra in my mind but when Averil slowly clasped my hand in hers I realised she had spoken out loud.

  I smiled back at her, "Thank you."

  "I have complete faith in you. We all have faith in you to do this. We will expose Wildecrest for the traitor he is and we will come up with a plan to save Orbain." She squeezed my hand tighter as she passionately spoke, "We have survived 20 years of war so far, we will continue to fight for longer."

  As she stopped speaking the carriage rolled to a stop outside the Palace and I forced myself to take a deep breath.

  Averil sat with a look of deep focus for a moment before turning to me, "Okay. They have managed to separate the King in his personal office next to the Council Chambers. You need to get Wildecrest into the hallway outside the office or into the library next to the Kings office. They are on the left side of the castle, the second door of the council chamber."

  I gave her a stiff nod and I repeated her instructions in my mind.

  "Remember not to get overwhelmed. Jaeda has been here before and is comfortable in luxurious surroundings. Good luck."

  With one last deep breath, I pulled myself out of the carriage and looked up the multiple marble stairs that lead to the Palace entrance. Pristine white marble columns lined the walkway to a beautifully carved metal door, which multiple guards stood at attention.

  I steeled my spine and walked towards the doorway with purpose. My hips gave a slight sultry rotation that I associated with Jaeda from my weeks of studying her and I relaxed my expression into one of slight amusement, as though life was my own personal playground.

  I purposefully ignored the guards as they opened the grand doors into the palace and continued on my stride forward until a butler met me.

  "Lady Wildecrest," he bowed at the waist in a careful and concise manner, "how may I be of assistance?"

  "I would like to be brought to my husband," I commanded.

  "My lady, I believe he is currently in a council meeting."

  "It is urgent. I need to see him immediately."

  "I will inform him right away my lady. If you could wait here a moment."

  He gestured to a small line of chairs before turned on his heels and departing between another set of impressive doors. I settled myself onto one of the chairs whilst internally panicking.

  Oh no. What if Wildecrest refuses to see me? I had assumed that I would be able to walk straight into the palace and see him, say what I had to say and capture him.

  "Jaeda? My lord, what are you doing here?" A female voice rang through the air, making me freeze up in shock. I turned to see the face of an unknown elite gazing upon me. She had a shock on ruby red hair, artfully piled on top of her head in delicate curls. The rest of her features could have been considered plain, with the exception of her full lips which were painted to match her vibrant hair, showing off stark white straight teeth that curved into a dazzling smile.

  I straightened from my seated position, stretching my smile wide and reaching my hands out to clasp the woman's in mine as though I was delighted to see her, "Oh, how wonderful to see you! I was just on my way to see my husband. Something urgent has come up and I'm afraid I really need to see him."

  "Nothing too terrible I hope." The woman leaned in closer and whispered into my ear, "Not another one of his mistresses making hassle again I hope?"

  I was taken aback by her forthrightness and it took a moment for me to think of a reply that would work in my favour. I decided to don a brittle smile and quietly replied, "No matter what I do, I can't seem to manage to get him to be more discreet. This one is causing a lot of notice and I won't stand for it."

  The woman crafted her features into one of faked sympathy and I couldn't help myself from feeling both disgust and relief that I didn't have to associate with women like her.

  "Oh, my poor dear." She squeezed my hands, "You give him hell and be sure to tell me about it next time we meet."

  I gave her a warm smile before replying, "But of course I will darling."

  I started to lean away from her, her overly floral perfume making me nauseous just as her gaze drifted downward, no doubt taking in scandalous attire.

  "What a lovely necklace you have. I haven't seen that necklace since the Princess wore it." She nearly exclaimed in delight.

  I froze in place, my fake smile etched into place like it was made of ice. "I'm sorry?"

  "That necklace. The last time I saw it was when Princess Eone wore it all those years ago before she was murdered." She eyed it critically before tilting her head to the side, "How in Orbain did you manage to obtain it?"

  I reached up to the necklace that rested against my collarbone and touched the warming gem with my fingertips. I almost forgot I wore the necklace that Tawney gave me... One that was apparently a family heirloom. One that apparently belonged to Princess Eone.

  Not now.

  I let out a careless laugh, as though what the woman said meant nothing to me, "This? This was a gift my husband gave me to make up for the fact he had taken a new mistress. Knowing him it's probably a fake."

  The woman gave a tittering laugh back, "Men. They believe jewellery will make up for anything don't they."

  I laughed along mechanically with her, trying to block out the barrage of thoughts threatened to overcome me, just as the butler returned with a bow.

  "Lady Wildecrest, sorry to interrupt. Lord Wildecrest has granted you permission to enter the council chamber. If you could please follow me."

  I gave the women a bright smile before squeezing her hands in farewell, "I will see you soon, my dear."

  She returned my smile with a bright beam of red-painted lips and replied "I can barely wait," as I turned and strode towards the doorway the butler was waiting nearby.

  As I followed the man through the doorway I let my mind wander to the shocking new information that had unknowingly be given to me.

  Was this really the Princess Eone's necklace? I reached up to grasp the necklace just as it gave a pulse of warmth as if to answer my unspoken question.

  If so then did that make her my.. Mother? How was that even possible? She supposedly died before I was born. Murdered by an Orbainian assassin. It couldn't be possible, could it?

  Tawney said his
murderers were after the pendant, could that be why? Did they want the Princesses necklace returned? Why, if it was just jewellery? Why go through such lengths to obtain it?

  Volorn said he would investigate the pendant and why assassins came to kill Tawney. Did he know? Was he aware that this was Princess Eone's necklace and did he believe Tawney claim that I was a relation to her? That she could possibly be my mother?

  My mind was filled with questions but I quickly reached up to unclasp the necklace and twist it around my wrist, hidden underneath the sleeves of my dress. If a courtly woman recognised it here then I couldn't risk anyone else recognising it. Not after someone went through so much trouble to try and receive it before.