Chapter 4: Not the Best Outcome

They returned to the inn and Bridgette spent most of the day in her room, contemplating things. She could only speculate; she couldn't be sure.

That evening they rode escorted by a young man far more polite than the earlier messenger. They were led through the palace. The man who was introduced to them as the seneschal, bowed to King Jotan.

"My lord has commanded that principals may remain armed but their retainers, sir, may not." The dwarves surrendered their weapons, and the seneschal's minions took them away.

Bridgette plucked the man's sleeve. "Most of the seats at the high table are filled. Are we the last guests to arrive?"

The man bobbed his head. "Yes, my lady."

Her gripped firmed on his arm. "King Jotan, please, come with me." She walked forward and stopped a half dozen paces from the high table.

"I asked King Kiril for a peaceful dinner where we could relax from our journeys. I'm told that it will be easier to stop the sun in its tracks at noon tomorrow.

"If I can't stop that, I intend to make sure there isn't any blood shed today. That will come soon enough, and blood will be shed in more quantity than for a thousand years. Humor me, honored kings, and nobles."

She turned and handed the seneschal her staff. "King Jotan, your hammer."

Jotan grinned and let his hammer fall to earth. "There is a leather thong on the handle. Grip it by that. Do not grasp the handle. I don't want to create a mess in King Kiril's hall. It's hard to sweep up such fine ash, and it will make people sneeze."

King Kiril stood and drew his sword. He didn't brandish it, but simply laid it with the hilt towards the seneschal. A young woman, older than Bridgette, leaned close to an older man, whispering urgently. The older Ilona, Bridgette thought.

He did the same as King Kiril, then the others followed suit.

"Lady B, come sit next to me," King Kiril commanded, and she ascended to the high table to take her seat. King Jotan and Gesand sat at one end. She saw Jotan's glance. He was telling her not to make an issue of it, she was sure.

More over, as she approached her seat, Arwen rose and dipped in curtsey to her. There were indrawn breaths.

Arwen looked regal; of course she had practiced that for far longer than any had lived.

"I finally realized who Lady B. is, this afternoon. She is the most powerful wizard to walk Middle-earth since the Istii. Moreover, I have been at odds with her family since before any of your great, great, great grandfathers were born.

"As a feud, it was simple pique. A relative of one of Lady B's ancestors did something I didn't approve of. And yet, I'm as sure as I can be that one result of this council will be the same result. Only more so, because it is among men.

"How can I be angry for someone who did something that will be proposed here? Most likely by myself? That is simple foolishness.

"Sit, Lady B, at my family's table. Be welcome you and all of yours."

The conversation during the meal was hushed, mainly to do with requests for this and that. At the end Bridgette stood. "I can see it on the faces at this table. Kings and nobles, send your retainers away. I will start with a repeat of my tale, and then, unless you want the world to flow away from you, pay heed! Make no decision in haste or in the heat of anger."

Commands were given and retainers were led away, then Bridgette ran through her story again. This time, she did things a little differently. "I've done this a couple of times now, and before the main concerns were what to do at once about Prince Kirilin. This time I'm willing to answer questions."

"You know a very great deal of what Prince Kirilin's plans are," King Menethil said.

"I've heard it said that if you believe you are about to die or if you are dire danger, your whole life flashes in front of your eyes. I've never been that scared, but Prince Kirilin was. I saw a mélange of faces and actions he'd done in his life. I saw him contemplate where his plans had misfired. Some of those memories were particularly intense. He killed his mother, for instance, because no matter what he tried, he couldn't make her forget what he'd done to her for more than a few minutes at a time.

"He could, however, make her unaware of where she was -- so he had her walk over a cliff. He remembered Princess Ilona, the first time he took her, the time he forced another on her ... It took but an eye blink, but it's seared into my memory."

Arwen stood. "It would be easy to let Lady B. continue -- but this isn't her fight, it's ours. She has suggestions for how to go about this, but in our hearts we know what has to be done.

"As unpleasant as it is to contemplate, King Kiril and King Menethil need to declare the marriage of their son and daughter null and void. King Jotan should concur. If it takes three kings agreeing to void a marriage, there won't be many who apply.

"Then we need to do something about Kirilin. At the very least, he has to be formally cast out of our family, his titles, honors -- and appointments removed. Lady B. has said that he intends to use the people of Minas Ithil as hostages. He intends to force them to defend the walls of the city, let us kill them, and then flee with a few followers.

"A thousand years ago orcs besieged this city. They broke down the main gate. They used a particular kind of battering ram, and scores of devices to shield that ram. It can't be done quickly, but we need to fashion another such ram and set of shields. We need to send arrows with messages into the city, telling all that flee that they will not suffer any punishment for the evil deeds of their leaders. We must empty that city as much as possible, before the final in-taking, and be ready to spare any who surrender.

"One day we'll break down the gate at Minas Ithil, and allow the people to escape, and then finish with the Kirilin's remaining loyal men. We should set patrols roaming the hills and plains around the city, to try to find a hidden exit. I realize that it unlikely we will find it in time to prevent an escape, but we should have patrols in such strength that we can rush enough men to intercept and destroy Kirilin."

Bridgette saw it; for a second she didn't realize what she was seeing, then a man in heavy armor, his sword raised over his head, raced out of the shadows along one side of the room, heading for her. Her reaction startled her. She watched the man coldly, ignoring the gasps from the high table.

The man swung a mighty vertical blow and Bridgette stepped aside and the blade whizzed by a few feet away. Not hitting his target had upset his balance. A simple tug saw him sprawl face down on the stones of the floor. His sword went skittering away. Determinedly he pushed himself to his knees. Bridgette laughed, moved to one side and pushed with her foot against his side. He rolled to one side, and tried to maneuver so he could try to stand again.

Another push and he was on his back. She walked a few feet, picked up the sword and turned to the man on the ground. She took a step and put the point of the sword and lifted up the helmet.

It was the young man from earlier. She held the point near his unprotected face. "I do think you should stay put, young fellow." She turned to the high table. "King Jotan, we need your hammer again, by your leave, King Kiril."

She turned to the young man. "Put the ring on the ground. It you use it, you'll die a second later, before you have a chance to move. Surrender the ring, and you'll see the dawn." She doubted if he'd see it for long, but that wasn't her affair.

She could see the speculation in his eyes. She moved the blade closer, lightly touching his nose. "The ring, or we'll take it from your cold, dead body. It makes not a whit of difference to me." Still he hesitated and she laughed. "Decide very quick. I'm but a feeble, helpless woman and this is a very heavy sword. I feel it starting to slip..."

He pulled the ring out, attached to a chain, and flung it away from him. Guards had been called, and they ringed Bridgette and the young man on his back. King Jotan's hammer was brought by a minion who carried it with exaggerated caution, by the thong. He set it down and backed hastily away. Jotan grinned, and then saluted Bridgette with it, before preparing to strike.

"Lords and Ladies," Bridgette warned, "look away, close your eyes and over your ears." Still, while she looked away, she didn't cover her ears. The young man futilely groped for her leg, to upset her while she had her head turned. In turn, she pinked his nose.

"Listen to me, you," she told him after the echoes of the thunder died away. "That was the death of one of the nine great rings, once held by the Nazgul, then Sauron and lately come into the hands of Kirilin. It is inconceivable that he told you to take it off -- you were to kill someone -- probably his wife -- then try for others, while invisible. Instead, you let personal vengeance sway you from your orders; worse, you wanted me to see you, to know who had killed me.

"One of our greatest philosophers said that the mark of idiocy is when a man tries the same thing repeatedly, gets the same results and wants to try again. You are an idiot. Your master will kill you or King Kiril will kill you or King Menethil will kill you. I'm reasonably certain that any of the men ringing you at this moment will kill you, given the command.

"You are a dead man. The only thing left to you is how you die. Trying to salvage what you can of your honor, or dying without any, killed by a chit of a girl who bested you barehanded while you were armed and armored. I do not think that's how you want to be remembered."

She waved to the guards. "Those of you who come to take his armor off -- be unarmed. He will try to have you kill him, because he is too cowardly to do it himself. Come and remove his armor, when you have no weapon he can grab."

The removal was roughly done, and in a moment the young man was jerked upright. Bridgette drew her own self up. "King Kiril, I've given enough commands in your hall. Now it's your turn."

"Tell me what Kirilin's plan was," the king commanded.

"You're not my king!" the young man said, and spat on the ground. One of guards backhanded him, splitting his lip. The young men just grew more defiant.

Bridgette sighed. "King Kiril, a moment. This is a request. Undoubtedly your men can take this fellow away and question him, getting the answers you want. It will take hours, perhaps days. I submit we don't have time. I look like a young, innocent woman. I'm sure that you've noticed that that perception of me is in error in many ways. Sir, I beg your leave. Have someone bring a mop bucket, full of plain water. King Jotan, if you would, I could use a hand."

"Of course, Lady B."

He moved and stood next to the young man, while someone was sent to fetch a mop bucket.

"Young man, I'll ask you nicely once, what King Kiril asked. What are you master's plans?"

The answer was rude obscenities, followed by, "You are a woman; you won't shed my blood."

"I suspect in a minute you will find that cold comfort. I intend to spill some mop water. King Jotan, if you would, he has a hank of nice thick, long hair. Take a grip on it."

"You don't frighten me!"

"Little boy, you should have paid more attention to the stories you were told when you were younger. Jotan, hold his head in the bucket until I tell you to pull him up."

The king did; the young man struggled, but against the strength of dwarf, it was futile. Long before he was in trouble, Bridgette nodded to Jotan, who hauled the young man up.

"You don't frighten me!" he shouted, still defiant.

"The king of the dwarves holds you. If I don't -- he should frighten you. The next time he will hold your head underwater until you no longer breath. I will then try to revive you -- alas, it only works four out of five times. Once you are breathing again -- assuming you are still alive -- I'll ask you again. Tell us anything other than the truth and you'll die again. At some point, you'll have died once too many times or will have told the truth. One last time -- your master's plans?"

Again he spat. "King Jotan, this must be carefully done. Watch me closely for my signal. I want to kill him a lot of times. Now."

The young man managed about forty seconds before a blob of air was expelled from his lungs as he tried frantically to breathe. She counted to ten, and then motioned to the king to pull him forth. She wasn't about to use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him, so she kicked him in the gut. He spewed water out like a fountain, and started gasping.

"Now, I'll ask you again. What are your master's plans?" she said levelly. The room was quiet enough to have heard a mouse fart.

"No!" he said vehemently.

"You are dead, remember me telling you that? You violated your oath to your king..."

"He's not my king!"

"You violated your oath, then. Worse, you were bested by an unarmed woman twice on the same day. You lost your master's ring. Your one hope is a quick death; tell the king what you know and throw yourself on his mercy and a quick death."

"No! Never! I'm dead anyway, all you can do is kill me!"

Bridgette sighed. "All I can do is kill you," she agreed. "I've done it once. King Jotan, again."

As Jotan started to force the man's head down to the bucket the boy screamed, "I'll tell! I'll tell!"

There tumbled from his lips the story of Kirilin's plot. He was to have killed King Kiril and his oldest son, all while invisible. He was to have tried to kill Lady Ilona and her unborn child, and then he was to have gone to Kirilin in Minas Ithil, who was awaiting the news on how successful his assassin had been.

When he finished, he looked around, "Now, kill me quickly."

The King of Rohan stood. "You came here to kill my daughter and grandchild."

"She's unfaithful and the babe is a bastard."

King Menethil turned to King Kiril. "I agree with the Queen Mother. The marriage should be dissolved. And if it pleases you, the child declared not a bastard."

King Kiril nodded. "Agreed. I agree with you. King Jotan?"

"I agree to both changes as well."

"The marriage is dissolved; it is to be treated as if it never happened. The child is the legitimate issue of the Prince of South Ithil. Is South Ithil's honor satisfied?"

Prince Andan of South Ithil rose. "You have granted me and my family a boon we had no right to expect. Honor is served."

Everyone was distracted, Bridgette saw it out of the corner of her eye as the boy twisted loose from Jotan and came at her, swinging wildly. She wanted to laugh. A clown-punch! So, since it was, she treated it as such, she grabbed his elbow as he fist passed harmlessly two feet from her and pushed a bit. He swung further around, and she planted a boot on his bottom and pushed. He staggered and fell on his face.

Jotan laughed. "Stand back, Lady B! I'll give him a gentle tap with my hammer!"

He was back on his feet, coming at her again.

"I've never killed anyone, Jotan," Bridgette said sadly. "Just the little deaths I gave him earlier."

He punched, a short straight right that would have connected with her chin if she hadn't pushed the blow offline, with a simple high block. Then she slammed her elbow into his Adam's apple; he died drowning in his own blood, gurgling in horror.

Bridgette look at Jotan. "Now I have; I'm not better for it, I think."

"He wouldn't stop coming, Lady B. You gave him a lot more chances that I would have."

Bridgette turned to King Kiril. "At home, mop buckets can only be used to interrogate prisoners on the personal order of our king. I've usurped your authority, sir. And your justice."

"No offense is taken, Lady B. That method of questioning -- I have never seen its like. It's effective?"

"Yes, King. Like I said, my king reserves it to himself to order."

"If he has a problem with this, send him to me. I will explain. King Menethil -- are you satisfied with justice here?"

"I'd have preferred it to be much slower. Still, we learned a lot and I doubt if Kirilin is going to be pleased at losing a second great ring. Daughter, how say you?"

The younger Princess Ilona stood. "I am a mother-to-be. I wish to bring life into the world, not extinguish it. That being said, he had designs on my child's life. I do wish Lady B. had killed him a few more times first." She spat in his direction.