Part 4 Chapter 7

CHAPTER 30

 

 

B

evil’s office is a mess. The table is on its side, everything on it is around the room, lying chaotically on the floor bunched up near the walls. Both chairs are broken, their legs torn off. The shelves are empty, everything on them is on the floor as well, and some of the books have pages torn from them.

  The office has been this way since Bevil learned of Kaila’s death and Sertia’s subsequent escape. No one knew until the morning, when two guards went down and opened the door.  They found what they thought was Sertia laying on the bed facing away from them. But when they turned her over and found Kaila lying there instead of Sertia they ran out to shout it to the others around them. I was later in the day that they found out Kaila was dead and not just covering for Sertia.

  One by one everyone in Tov’ra is informed of Sertia’s escape. There is outrage when they hear it, but not of Kaila’s death, barely anyone cares about that.

  Bevil has not seen Moira; he isn’t looking forward to it. Since she knows now of Sertia’s escape she also knows of Kaila’s death and how she got into that cell. She knows who let her in.

  He decides to go see Moira before she is forced to find him. The more time it takes to find him and in this mess, the angrier she might be. So it is better to do it now. He clambers out of his office, kicking away anything in his way. He slams his door closed and walks off.

  He searches first the throne room, then the main dining hall, then the gardens. All of them are empty. Finally he goes to her bed chamber and knocks on the door. He hears nothing so knocks again louder. He still hears nothing and is about to walk away when he thinks she may be in there, his hand is ahead of him poised over the door handle. He thinks it over then finally decides to go inside.

  Moira is there standing near the bed facing him. She looks sad, but also relieved.

  “I guess you heard,” says Bevil already knowing the answer.

  Moira nods. Since she looks relieved Bevil thinks he might not get punished for letting Kaila into the cell, in fact he might get some reward. He walks closer cautiously. She stands still, watching him with that sad but relieved look on her face.

  “Is there something I can do?”

  She shakes her head, “I’m just glad this thing with Sertia is over.”

  He stops a few feet from her and wonders that since neither a reward nor a punishment is coming he should just leave. He gives her a bow and turns around and walks back to the door.

  “Wait!”

  He stops again and turns back to her, she is still next to her bed but her arm is now raised to chest height, the palm is open but he can tell it is pointing directly at him. He looks at her innocently.

  “Please stay.”

  He smiles and she smiles back. He walks to her and takes her hand, cradles it in both of his and kisses it.

  “Now all I want is my sons to return.”

  Bevil stops.

  “Olraym, our future king….”

  “…don’t forget my eldest, Thorne.”

  With all that has been happening in Tov’ra he has forgotten about Olraym and Thorne. He is afraid of what they might say or do if they find out about him and Moira, him and their mother. Olraym might be angry but won’t do much more than talk to Moira about it. But Thorne, he would definitely do something about it. He might do nothing, maybe warn Bevil at first, but sooner or later he would get rid of Bevil swiftly.

  Then Bevil thinks of Olraym and his strange vanishing, for a reason Bevil cares little about. But he does about Thorne and his reason for following Olraym. It could be exactly what he said it is or it could be something different.

  He thinks on the different reasons Thorne followed Olraym and quickly comes to one in particular: to kill Olraym and take the crown. Bevil knows Thorne is capable of such a thing, but also that Olraym is as good if not better with fighting in any situation than Thorne. If he is right Thorne might be the one to die. This could solve many of his problems.

  He quickly decides not to tell Moira of his thoughts on her children, ‘no need to worry her any further’. Besides he has no proof of any of this. He kisses her gently on the mouth, and then once he gets another reassurance from her than she is fine he leaves. He goes back to his office knowing he will have to clean it and get replacements for anything broken.

  When he opens his office door and stares objectively at his mess he finds it is not as bad as originally thought. True several things are broken and there is barely a space on the floor without something on it that shouldn’t be, but most of it can easily be cleaned and replacements are easy to find.

  It takes him a long time but finally he finishes, his office looks just about right but for a few thinks that need replacing. He is surprised no one knocks or just enters during his cleaning. But no one does. He then goes to the large kitchens where those who served with Kaila are cleaning and preparing meals for the royals. One by one he interviews them in the form of a nice private chat away from the others’ prying eyes about Kaila and her late night visit to the Highguard cell. He talks to the chefs and leading servants first then those working under them. They each tell a slightly different story about Kaila. About how she worked, what little she said to them, how she looked in their eyes. It is different from each servant but what is exactly the same for all of them is they believe it was Bevil who allowed her visit. At the end of each interview he tells them more than anything not to tell anyone about it. Moira may know but the fewer the better. When he leaves he gives them all a comforting smile and a ‘’thank-you’.

  He leaves the castle itself this time and walks out to the barracks. With Sertia’s escape all knight and guards inside and out of the castle are all talking about it. How horrible it is, how saddened they are at losing several of their brothers in the process. Self-gratifying each other by telling those around him what they would have done if they were there.

  Lord Kworln lets him enter. They shake hands and he congratulates him on getting this position. Kworln thinks his sentiments have come a little late but he just nods and says nothing.

  They talk of small business at first. They talk about the events of the last week. How they feel about Gremborlin’s death. Bevil doesn’t say anything about his time with Moira or what they have done. He doesn’t mention Olraym or Thorne either. Kworln doesn’t mention them either so Bevil thinks not to try.

  Then finally Bevil mentions Sertia’s escape. The room is silent. Kworln has been informed and from the look in his eyes Bevil knows he still is angry about it. He hates the fact it happened with him in command and like Bevil before he is waiting for a strong angry word from Moira or maybe a demotion to be removed from his recent position or from being a knight altogether. Or a punishment like what they intended for Sertia.

  Given how relieved Moira looked Bevil guesses she will be lenient towards him though a small punishment will be met to please the angry people of Tov’ra. Bevil hopes it is not too bad, something simple that won’t hurt Kworln or the knights too bad, but will keep the citizens of Tov’ra from getting angry and start a revolt.

  Bevil mention the possibility of sending some after Sertia. He tells Kworln that a small number could maybe track her down and return her. Kworln gives it serious thought and that smile that spreads and the glint in his eyes tell Bevil he is enjoying the prospect that she could be forced back into Tov’ra to meet her death. But the look disappears as he shakes his head then tells Bevil it is impossible. It will only happen if Moira desires it, which Kworln thinks unlikely, and Sertia has had too much of a head start already. Not to mention they have no idea where she might be heading to.

  The two talk more of Sertia’s escape then quickly move on to other things. It lasts for another half-hour then Bevil leaves. He is glad to be out of there, he could feel Kworln’s anger over losing Sertia and some of his men radiating off him like heat waves.

  When he arrives back at the castle a servant gives him a message, and says it is from someone Bevil knows. The message is: ‘The Fair Maiden’. It is obviously from Miantha, and it is obviously about Sertia. But evil wonders what it is exactly she and Dow want from him.

                       

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Dow stands to the side of The Fair Maiden’s front door watching for customers. She entices men passing by with a smile and a gesture inside, those walking with women hide it and continue on as the women give Dow a glare that says ‘stay away from him’ but Dow can see they are enthralled by her, they will be back later.

  At the sight of Bevil coming from a distance Dow enters the brothel. Inside are fewer customers than normal which Dow accustoms to Sertia’s escape. They’re all too upset and angry about it to come to brothels and seedy taverns. At first Dow was worried this will hurt the business, but Miantha hasn’t been concerned. She always has had a brave face. And her strong will and her brave face have been infectious to all in The Fair Maiden. 

  Dow passes by the w****s and walks to the office and meets with Miantha. She tells Miantha of Bevil, which makes Miantha smile, and she tells Dow to sit at the reception desk. After a few works of comfort from Miantha Dow does as asked then in moments hears the front door opening and Bevil walking in. The two look each other in the eye for a moment then Bevil walks up to her. She stays seated until he stops in front of her with the desk between them; she stands and greets him kindly.

  “I got your message.”

  “Dow nods and points to the office door, “she is waiting for you in there.”

  Without waiting Bevil goes to the door, knocks once, and opens it. Dow sits back down and waits. She can hear mumbling from the office, but not much else. Then suddenly she hears a shout, sounds like Bevil, he is obviously angry and Dow can tell why.

  Ten minutes later Bevil comes out of the office, he looks angry and storms out. The girls watch him then turn back when the door slams closed. Miantha walks out soon after and Dow sees she has a smile on her face. She obviously had some fun at Bevil’s expense.

  Soon they hear a noise and both turn. One of the customers is starting to get rough with a girl. He is a thin man, young but has a strong feel to him. His hands are all over her as is his mouth and she is trying to fight him off. Other girls are watching then turn to Dow, who is now looking angry.

  Dow stands again and rushes over to them. As she reaches them the girl pushes him away and he gets mad. Just as he is about to strike her his arm gets caught in Dow’s hand. The room is filled with shocked silence as all eyes are on Dow. The angry man glares at Dow for a moment, but at seeing her own glare makes him rethink and calms him down. He lets the girl go and she backs away until she is behind Dow.

  “Yalise, what is going on here?” Dow asks the girl with gritted teeth.

  The girl, Yalise, is shaking all over and is unable or unwilling to answer. She is scared of the man, and Dow can see why. The man’s name is Toryel. His father is a royal guard and Dow knows what will happen if a royal guard is angry, especially if they are angry because their sons are hurt. His father would come either alone or with a small group of friends when only Dow, Miantha and the girls are inside. She doubts they would kill anyone but they would do everything else, and they know how to torture people for hours, maybe days, without killing them.

  But at this moment Dow doesn’t care. Whenever she sees one of her and Miantha’s girls being hurt she just starts seeing red. As much as Dow, Miantha and their girls know about what will happen because of royal guards, all of them know what Dow will do if they hurt her girls. 

  “What is going on?” she asks again, again through gritted teeth but this time to Toryel.

  His eyes that were filled with anger and self-confidence are now looking slightly afraid. No one but his father has ever spoken to him in such a way. He closes his eyes and when he reopens them he has a confident look that some think is real, but Dow knows to be a fake. She stares back without blinking until he breaks and looks away. 

  Toryel stares around the room as if wondering if someone might help him. But when his eyes meet theirs they look away.

  “Answer me!” she says forcefully which makes both the girl and Toryel jump.

  The girl takes a step closer to Dow from behind. Dow thinks she is about to whisper in her ear but when she talks it is loud enough for most to hear.

  “At first we were having fun,” the girl gestures to Toryel, “we were talking, mostly about him, about his life and his father and all that. Then everything changed, he started talking about what happened to Princess Sertia and her escape. Then he starts getting angry and he takes hold of my hands too tight. I ask him to let go but he doesn’t and all of a sudden he starts going after me and-”

  “That’s where I come in.” Dow finishes for her. The girl nods.

  Dow’s anger is now so much she feels she is about to strike him as hard as she can, but suddenly a hand on her shoulder stops her. She looks back and Miantha is behind her, it is her hand on Dow’s shoulder. Miantha looks at her and gives her a smile, a smile that says ‘calm down’, but also says ‘this is so much fun’.

  When she looks at Toryel again he is embarrassed. This makes Dow feel better, but only somewhat, not enough to let him off the hook so easily.

  “Get out.” Dow says in a calm even tone of voice.

  Toryel looks at her insulted.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You come in my place of business and think you can do what you want? My girls may pander to your whims but you have no right to do anything that will hurt them, IS THAT CLEAR!” that last part she shouts loud, making sure all hear her. “Get out now. If you come back we may decide to serve you, but anymore of this and not even your father can help you.” 

  He stands there and turns into a child, standing there shifting from side to side staring down at the floor. Tears are close to falling from his eyes. He suddenly walks out and slams the door closed.

  Yalise mouths ‘thank-you’ to Dow, who nods in a ‘your-welcome’ gesture then Yalise leaves through the door to the set of rooms. A few of people watch her until the door closes quietly, then most turn back to Dow while the rest look around at nothing. Though they are only masking the fact that they still want to hear what is going on.

  The shocked silence continues for a moment with all eyes on Dow. She takes a deep breath and relaxes, then turns around and walks back to her reception desk. Miantha walks her with and when Dow sits down Miantha leans down.

  “Did I do something bad there?”

  Dow starts getting worried; she thinks she may have gone too far.

  “No, honey, you did nothing bad.”

  “Dow nods and tries to relax more.

  “You’re getting so good at that, we should do this more often.”

   Dow smiles and nods, she has calmed down a lot. Miantha kisses Dow on the cheek then walks to her office. The crowd stares at Dow for a beat then turn back to face each other. The silence is slowly replaced by mumbled talk though not about what has just happened, then an occasional bout of laughter from both the girls and the men they are around, soon there is no evidence anything has happened in The Fair Maiden at all.