Chapter 20: A Traitor's End

When I made it safely back to my own forces, I took a moment to thank the four quick-thinking crossbow marksmen.

When I entered my tent, the first thing I did was pull the black hood off, then let my batmen strip my armor off. Then I bathed. Whatever you choose to call my existence, one thing is certain. When I exert myself over time, I perspire. And it doesn't smell any better on me than it does on any other person. When I was finished, I dressed in linen trousers and soft leather boots. I was sprawled in a camp chair when I heard her enter the tent. I kept my eyes closed, wondering what she wanted, and what she would do if she thought I slept. She stopped in front of me.

"What can I do for you, Cynthia?" I opened my eyes and looked at her.

"They said you killed Salazar. Did you really?"

"Actually, no. I fought with him, but some of my soldiers actually killed him." I sat up and pulled another camp chair closer, and bade her sit. As she struggled to get into the chair, I leaned over, caught her by the arm and lifted her easily into the chair, then waited as she turned to face me.

"They also said he turned into a monster before you killed him. What kind of monster was it?"

I sat back with a sigh. "He was already a monster, Cynthia. Only a monster could have done what he did to you. But yes, he turned into a beast, a wolf creature. I think most people call them werewolves. I was taught of them by the name garou."

I sat up and looked at her closely, cupping her chin in my hand and studying her face. "How do you feel, by the way?"

She shrugged, as children were wont to do. "I'm feeling fine. Well, actually, I'm hungry and bored. Aren't there any other children here?"

"No, no children in camp except you. Do you have many friends in the castle? We can invite some of them to come with you to my house when we finish here." I whistled sharply, and a servant hurried into the tent. "What would you like to eat, Cynthia?"

"May I have an apple, and some cheese?" She asked me hopefully. I nodded to the servant and indicated with my hands that the apple was to be sliced and cored. He nodded and slipped out. "No, I don't have any friends in the castle. If they didn't ignore me, they were mean 'cause they knew daddy was mean to me."

"I'm sorry. But there are lots of children in my castle, and I know they'll make you welcome." I thought about it for a moment. "Unfortunately, I don't thing we brought any of the dogs with us this time, either" I noticed a frightened look on her face, and she sat back in her chair. "You don't like dogs?"

"NO! Dogs are mean and bite and growl and try to get at me. Salazar always made me watch whenever they fed the dogs, and told me when I was bigger; he'd feed me to them. He said I'm too small for now, though."

"Salazar isn't going to feed the dogs anymore, Cynthia."

She nodded, then perked up when the servant handed her a small plate with an apple neatly sliced and a couple of chunks of cheese. She ate hungrily, and I watched with amusement. "Didn't Kaylene feed you breakfast?"

Cynthia shook her head. "No, she was still sleeping when I got up. So I got dressed and came outside. I saw you come in here and wanted to talk to you, but I was scared to disturb you. Then I heard others talking about the fight, and they talked like you weren't mean like daddy and Salazar. So I came in when no-one was looking, so they couldn't chase me away."

I nodded, and looked at her closer. She was wearing the dress from yesterday, and when I thought about it, I realized it smelled of fear and pain. I also realized that when she'd crawled into the chair, I'd unconsciously noticed only the top button was done. Her feet were bare, and her hair looked like she had tried to brush it half-heartedly. Basically, she looked like a ragamuffin.

And then, almost as if summoned, I heard Kaylene outside frantically asking the servant if he'd seen Cynthia. I knew he'd told her she was inside when Kaylene dashed in.

She sank to her knees before me. "Your Grace, I am so sorry! I slept right beside her, I was sure I would waken when she did! I was so worried when she was gone!"

"It's alright, Kaylene, she's here and safe. No harm was done."

Kaylene turned to the girl, and I watched the child looking around frantically as if seeking a way to escape. "You!" Kaylene launched herself at the little girl. A look of terror filled the girl's eyes as Kaylene grabbed her, but quickly faded to confusion when Kaylene hugged her tightly. "Please, Cynthia, don't wander off on me! You scared me to death when you weren't in bed when I woke up! I didn't know where you'd wandered, I didn't know if you'd fallen in the river, or gotten hurt by the horses..."

The girl looked at me over the woman's shoulder, then awkwardly patted her. "I'm sorry, Kaylene. I didn't want to disturb you. My nurse always hits me when I wake her up. I didn't want you to be mad at me for waking you up."

Kaylene sat back with a snarl and looked at me. I could see a killing hatred for this "nurse" in her eyes. Fortunately, Cynthia hadn't noticed, and Kaylene calmed before she turned back to the little girl. She kneeled before the child and looked her in the eye. "Cynthia, I promise never to hit you. I certainly won't hit you for waking me up, or any of the other things every child does or needs." She looked at the leftovers she'd spilled on Cynthia's lap when she'd hugged her. "I definitely won't hit you for wanting breakfast!"

She picked up the last few slices of apple, then offered Cynthia her hand. "Come on, we'll feed these to the Duke's charger, Horatio, then we'll go get a bath."

The girl scooted off the chair and took Kaylene's hand. "After bath, can we go see the river? I like rivers! And then can we see the horses?" I watched them walk away, still discussing the activities to come, then gave another whistle.

When the servant entered, I spoke: "Find Mystique, and have her attend me."

A short time later, Mystique sat in the camp chair that had so recently served Cynthia. "The preparations go well for the attack?" When she assured me they were, I turned to the matter I'd actually summoned her for. "I know this is unusual, but I desire it. Tonight, I want someone to find clothing for Cynthia inside the castle. She can probably tell you where her bed was, but I'm strongly suspecting you won't find anything decent there. I want a half dozen nice dresses that will fit her with minimal adjustment. Oh, and if your searcher does find Cynthia's room, and finds a nurse there, I'd be pleased if the nurse died, either "naturally" or a suicide is acceptable."

When I later saw Cynthia wander by with Kaylene, she was wearing one of my tunics like a dress, and I suspected Kaylene had needed to hem it quite a bit even for that.

It was the night of the attack. We had a waning moon, and although a new moon would have been preferable, the heavy cloud cover was good enough. My forces that were not already inside the castle were ranged to either side of the gate, hugging the castle walls in their pitch-black cloaks and hoods. Carlton finished placing the containers that held a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter against the gate. The squad that would make the first entry pulled back as he put spark to the coated twine that ran to the containers through hollowed bamboo tunnels.

The night lit up as a fireball shattered the gates of Castle Gaiford. We swept in and easily overcame the stunned and dazed guards we met at first. I knew we were technically outnumbered by 2 to 1, but surprise had taken a good part of the advantage from the defenders, and when Terrence's forces found themselves trapped with attacker to the fore and behind, they yielded quickly.