by Alexis Ward
“Well this is highly unusual.” I whispered to Sasha. She nodded.
“Yeah. What do you want to do about her?” Sasha asked.
“Me? Why am I making all the choices?” I said.
“Think of it as being groomed for your future position as King, if you must.” Sasha paused. “Milord.” she said as she rolled her eyes.
I sighed. “I think--” I paused as the scarred dirty woman on the bed woke up and looked straight at us. She quickly sprang onto all fours and spun about to face toward us, glaring at us silently. “Uh… hello there. This isn’t your house.” I said, hoping that she would explain it from there.
“What? You here to try and kill me too?” the woman snarled. Her eyes wandered from my rifle, to Sasha’s knife, and then back to me.
I shook my head and set my rifle down against the wall, where it was out of her sight, then put up my hands. Sasha followed my lead and put her knife back into its sheath on her belt. “No, not at all. Just trying to figure out what happened while we were away. Hoping you could explain some of that. Since you’re the only one who stuck around. I’m Clive, and this is Sasha.” I said, trying to make my voice as calm and soothing as I could.
“Feera.” she paused for a moment. “I’m going to grab my clothes now.” I nodded, she reached down over the edge of the bed, and grabbed the pants and shirt there, then quickly put them on. She stood next to the bed, still turned toward us. “So, some fuckers wearing green and red tried to kill me last night. They were skulking around here, maybe looking for you guys. Dunno. I was eating a deer out near the back of the house and they spotted me. Didn’t want to give up my kill so I fought them. Fucker the others called Sebastian got me good, after I broke some arms and twisted some heads. They ran away back to their pretty little town, and I kicked down the door to this place cause it was convenient and I needed to sleep off the pain.” Feera said. Her voice was shaky, but she seemed more angry than upset. She clenched and unclenched her hands as she spoke, like she was ready to pummel anyone who dared get in her face.
“Okay. Feera. Well, that’s a strange story. But I do know a jerk named Sebastian. No friend of mine there.” I said slowly. Sasha raised her hand. I nodded to her.
“You’re not human, are you Feera?” Sasha asked. Feera guffawed.
“I’m human enough right now, but you caught me there. Werewolf and proud of it. Got a problem with that, either of you?” Feera stood with her hands on her hips. Her wide, shapely hips. I wondered how she would look if she weren’t covered in grime, or clothes.
I shook my head. No time for that kind of thinking right now. “Not at all. I hope.” I looked to Sasha.
Sasha shrugged. “Not an issue with me, as long as you’re the kind that doesn’t go all wild and bloodthirsty when they transform.” she said.
Feera shook her head, and her tangled brown hair swayed from side to side around her face like a curtain. “Nope. Natural born werewolf. Full control. I ain’t one of the cursed kind. So… can I leave now or what?” she asked.
“Leave to where, exactly? If you’ve gotten on Sebastian’s bad side, I doubt he’s going to just give up on making life harder for you.” I said.
Feera snorted. “Let him try. I’ll make sure he doesn’t walk away with a pulse next time.” she said boldly.
“Murder in my lands is not something I can just let slide, unfortunately.” Sasha said.
“Your land? Land can’t just ‘belong’ to people. If it did, why would you let scum like those assholes from last night wander around freely?” Feera said as she clenched her hands again and took a step toward Sasha. Sasha rested on hand on the handle of the knife on her belt. I stepped between them before the situation escalated any further.
“Slow down, both of you. We’re working on fixing things so he can’t come around anymore. If you’ve been around that long, you know the old castle about a day away from here? We’re repairing it, going to fortify it too. Then we can patrol the woods, and nobody we don’t approve of will be able to roam freely.” I said.
Feera took a step back as I stepped forward. “Huh. And where would I fit in as someone who lives around here?” she asked.
I shrugged. “That depends. Are you going to be helpful, or are you going to be in our way?” I said.
Feera scoffed. “What’s in it for me?” she asked.
“You look like you could use some first aid, some better clothes, and maybe some warm food? That could all happen today, and if you stuck with me, I’d make sure you were taken care of as long as we were…” I paused, searching for the right word. “Allies. Allies is a good word.” I said, thinking back on my time with the goblin queen.
Feera eyed me. His gaze felt fierce, like she was sizing up whether she could overpower me, or eat me. She licked her lips, just a little. “That sounds nice. I don’t need it, but it’d be nice. What do you want from me?” she asked.
“Straight to bargaining. I like how forward you are. Right now the castle project is well, understaffed. I presume you are strong, you fought off Sebastian and his men. Would you fight for me if called on? Your ability to turn into a wolf might be useful as well. I’ll think about it. When there’s not fighting, simply travel with me when I ask you to, otherwise, lay back and enjoy your coming life of luxury. I presume even just out of my share of the wealth, I can easily support yet another person?” I looked to Sasha to confirm that.
She nodded. “Though from what I recall, werecreatures do eat quite a bit. But we should be able to handle it.” she said hesitantly.
I nodded. “So what do you say to that Feera? Try it out for a few days, if the arrangement isn’t to your liking, we can negotiate, or you’re welcome to go back to living out here, as long as you don’t interfere with me and mine.” I said.
Feera nodded. “Agreed. Food and first aid first, now, probably. I could use more sleep.” she said. For a moment she seemed unsteady on her feet, then she sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I’ll work on cleaning up the kitchen, if you can handle things from here Sasha?” I asked. She nodded and then started to dig through her backpack till she retrieved her first aid kit. I set about reorganizing the kitchen while she stitched up the long cut on Feera’s back.
We stayed two nights at Sasha’s cabin so that Feera could recover a bit more. She spent most of her time sleeping in her room, but assured us that she would be able to move about soon. Sasha and I busied ourselves packing up everything we intended to take with us. She retrieved a sled out of the shed which we slowly piled high with the most useful and valuable objects in the cabin. Especially knowing that Sebastian had found the place, better to not leave anything behind that would tempt him or others to burglary.
Despite all of that effort each day, Sasha took full advantage of the fact that she had me all to herself at night. Sex with her was a pleasing and familiar diversion. If Feera heard us at night, or smelled us the morning after, she didn’t say anything about it. Dawn of the third day, Feera was awake and moving, and we set out back toward the castle, each of us taking turns pulling the sled of supplies.
Back at the castle, the walls were looking just a little bit healthier. I made sure everyone was properly introduced, then enacted the next phase of the plan. We hadn’t nearly run out of funds yet, though seeing the source of the gemstones beneath the castle was tempting. I had a hundred percent confidence that there were more to be had, as Sasha assured me, so I left it to be explored later. Instead, I left the sled of supplies to be handled by Tabitha, Marybeth, and a squad of goblins, and I set out for the town of Doubel with Sasha. Feera stayed behind with Tabitha and Marybeth, to rest her injuries. It was time to buy weapons, hire mercenaries if any could be found, see if anyone was around that might teach me how to use a sword, and lastly, we now had a more personal matter to settle with Sebastian. Sasha assured me that even at worst case, she could probably have him fined for trespassing.
After a few days, we arrived in Doubel. Despite the light drizzle
of rain that had persisted throughout the morning, the streets were busy with people as usual. Our first stop was Duriet’s shop. The most noticeable thing was that Duriet himself now wore fine, clean clothes, a vest over a pristine white shirt, and fine dark red slacks. Even his black leather boots had been polished to a near mirror shine. His beard had been smoothed and combed flat, ever strand pointing uniformly downward. He smiled as he saw Sasha and I enter his shop. “Ah. My favorite new customers. Got any more of those peculiar stones you need moved?” he asked.
Sasha shook her head. “Unfortunately no. But we do have plenty of regular old money, if that still interests you. I’ll let Clive handle the particulars.” she said as she wandered off among the crowded shelves of the shop. Duriet looked to me expectantly.
“Ah, right. Firstly, do you know if the King’s representative will be arriving in town any time soon?” I asked. Duriet shrugged, and held out his hand, palm up, then wiggled his fingers at me.
“You’re a bit new to this eh? My memory might be jogged if only I had a coin or two to get the juices flowing.” Duriet said. I dug a couple coins out of my pocket at dropped them into his hand. “Ah, there’s the stuff. Rumor around the taphouses is that there’s a very important person coming in the next few days, probably tomorrow. Can’t be missing out on the Winter Festival, you know.”
“Actually, no, I don’t know. New in town, remember?” I said.
Duriet clicked his tongue. “Ah, right. Well, I’ll tell you that one for free, just cause it’d be easy for ye to find out regardless. Winter Festival lasts a week, everyone from the outlying villages comes up to Doubel, sometimes the Baron Hightower even puts in an appearance himself. It’s prime business time, if you need things bought, sold, you’ll find it during Festival time. One for every season.” Duriet explained.
“Interesting. I’ll see if Sasha is agreeable to staying for a day or two later. So, lastly, I’m looking for a sword, and someone to teach me how to use it.” I said. At this, Duriet cocked an eyebrow up at me and looked at me intently for a moment.
“Are ye now? I mean, I got lots of swords around. Browse the shelves and take your pick. As to a tutor, well, fresh outta luck there. I ain’t much good with weapons. Maybe look around for someone at the Festival?” he said as he motioned to the shelves with one hand. I moved to go browsing, but stopped, as one final question occurred to me.
“Ah, actually, one more thing. You mentioned that your cousin had been studying weapons similar to mine, yes?” I said. Duriet nodded. “Think you could convince him to visit me? I’d like to collaborate with him. Feel free to sweeten the deal by telling him my rifle is in working order, and I’m willing to pay his expenses.” I said.
Duriet clapped his hands then rubbed them together. “Oh ho. And I assume there will be no issue with me taking a cut of that transaction, as the very necessary middleman?” he asked. I sighed.
“I get the feeling that’s the only way you do business. So yes, no issues on my end.” I said.
Duriet smiled wide. “Excellent. Then I’ll see what I can do and get back to you with a timeframe. In the meanwhile, go find your sword and your lady, and enjoy the coming festivities.” he said. I went and did exactly that.
A short while later, Sasha and I left Duriet’s shop a small bit poorer, but not enough to really make a difference, in my estimation. On a belt at my hip was a shiny new sword. Duriet had called it an estoc, a shorter type of rapier, good for deflection and stabbing strikes. That was all he knew. I picked it because it was small and light, mainly. It didn’t seem that hard to use in theory. Grip the handle, and poke the pointy bit into your foe. How hard could it be?
Sasha and I stayed in the same Inn as our last overnight visit. The next morning, the Winter Festival had begun. Mostly this meant that carts weren’t allowed on main street, every conceivable bit of space that wasn’t used as a walkway had some kind of merchant’s stall set up in it, canvas tents supported by wooden struts, holding up bits of snow, which still spilled down softly from the sky. There was a constant conflicting chorus of shouting, conversations, and the loading and unloading of goods. Occasionally faint strains of music would filter into the chaos, echoing forth from one drinking establishment or another, trying to draw in more patrons.
On every corner stood at least one guard in green and red, wearing light plates of metal armor. Often they came in twos and threes. It was almost predictable that after wandering around sampling the sights long enough, we would run into Sebastian, who was busily chatting away with three other men dressed in Hightower’s colors. All that chatter stopped when he spotted us from across the crowded street. Sasha and I both noticed this. “What would you like to do?” she asked as they started to cross the street toward us.
“Again, we haven’t done anything specifically wrong. If anyone has transgressed, it would be them, especially after the scrap they had with Feera.” I said. And as they got closer, it was clear that some of them had been in a fight recently. They looked bruised, generally, and one man moved with a limp. Sebastian himself had the makings of a nasty scab visible just above the collar line of his tabard. I put on my best ‘nice to see you again but I don’t like you’ smile. “Hello again Sebastian.” I said dryly.
Sebastian did not smile. Just stopped a few paces away with his men fanned out behind him, and crossed his arms over his metal breastplate. “Hello again Clive. And Viscountess Trevarthan. Allegedly. I suspect that the King’s representative will be along any day now, if what my Baron has told me is accurate. Perhaps he will even put in an appearance himself. How have you both been?” his words sounded innocuous enough, but the tone in which he said them dripped with hostility.
“Fair. You’re not looking so good yourself. I hear you’ve been mucking about in my Lady’s woods again.” I paused. Sebastian didn’t react, his face carefully held in neutral. “After she told you once to leave. And it looks like there was a bit of a scuffle. Someone broke into her cabin as well.” I said. Sebastian dropped his arms to his sides, and his men shifted their stances slightly, as though expecting a fight.
“I don’t suppose you have any proof of these allegations. Even if I were there, and that land did belong to her, as you both assert, it wouldn’t hold up under the iron law.” Sebastian said. I shrugged. Honestly, I hadn’t seen much ‘law’ in these parts, other than the one concerning ‘he who has the most men and weapons makes the rules’. Or something to that effect. As I thought through what my next words would be, the blasting sound of a trumpet broke through all the other noises around us. A loud and clear voice rang out amongst the crowds.
“Princess Yennette has arrived! The Winter Festival can now commence in earnest, with royal supervision.” someone shouted, some distance away. There was a shift in the crowds as people turned towards the voice, vying to see past one another and catch a glimpse of this latest development. One of Sebastian’s henchmen pointed his thumb in that general direction.
“Uh, boss. We should probably get in position for that. Right?” he asked.
Sebastian nodded and a smile slowly spread across his face. “Yes. And I bet the Princess can make an official ruling on this whole land claim controversy. How about we put the issue to rest for good and ask her?” he said as he eyed Sasha and I.
Sasha smiled back at him, but her eyes were narrowed slightly as she glared at him. “Sounds fine by me.” she said. I shrugged.
“Shall we then?” I said. Sebastian and his men started to wind their way through the crowds, toward the center of the commotion. Sasha and I followed a long, a comfortable distance behind them. After some time we emerged from the crowd into what appeared to be a small public park, teeming with people. Standing on an open top carriage was a middle aged woman with her black hair in a braid that went down to her lower back. Atop her head was a modest silver tiara, studded with tiny white stones that sparkled, even in this cloudy, snowy weather. Standing next to her was an imposing barrel chested man, he seemed fit, and a bit olde
r, his dark hair was streaked with grey. A loose ring of guards in green and red surrounded them, facing outward, preventing the crowd from getting too close. It was clear that the woman was the Princess, from the crowd’s muttering, and the man next to her was Baron Hightower.
Sasha and I watched as Sebastian got close to one of those guards, muttered something in his ear, then slipped past and approached the Baron and the Princess. He went to the Baron’s side, and the Baron knelt down while Sebastian whispered something in his ear. Then the Baron stood, got the Princess’s attention, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, then with a slight wave she summoned a man who carried a trumpet to her side. She whispered something in his ear, and then he moved a few paces away and his voice boomed out across the crowd, “Tomorrow, the Princess, acting as a representative of the King, shall hold a small court around noon, to resolve some local issues that require the King’s attention. Continue with your festivities, that is all.” he concluded.
