NaNoWriMo Novel 2008

01

2009-10-30T20:20:00.001-04:00

"You will not bring up your objection again," said Margrave Uradel. He backhanded Ranee to emphasize his statement as if yelling his demand would not be enough to make his point to his only daughter.

Ranee wiped the blood off of her split lip with one hand and the tears from her cheek with the other. Her father's mood this evening did not match her meager courage. She should have been more careful in watching him during the evening meal and she would have seen that he had consumed more ale than usual. Their guests did make put the Margrave in a favorable mood either. She only had herself to blame for her beating which she had to admit was lighter than she had expected once she realized her father's mood.

"Get yourself to your room and repair yourself," he said. The Margrave grasped Renee's chin in the rough grip of his fingers. "You know I dislike seeing you in a dishevelled state when we have guests." He let go of her face. "It is well for you that Baron Briefadel is satisfied with your looks, such as they are." The Margrave snorted into his ale cup before he gulped a mouthful of the brew. "You should be thankful that he does not know of your willfulness. It is a very unattractive trait, especially as you are not beautiful enough for a man to overlook such behavior."

When her father turned away from her to get his cup refilled, Ranee backed out of her father's room. He would forget about her soon. Ranee had seen her father's latest woman lurking in the doorway of his bedchamber. Ranee did not recognize the woman. Her father must have brought her to the keep from another town. He must have gone through all of the women in their own hamlet.

The woman had an eager look on her face, whether it was from the Margrave's treatment of Ranee or from anticipation of her father's attention, Ranee did not know. All Ranee knew was that she would have some peace while her father was being kept busy by his newest wench.

Ranee made her way to her room by passing through the kitchens. She had not eaten much at the midday meal. When her father was home, the Margrave insisted on meals heavy with fatty meats in bread trenchers and supplemented with heavy dark ales.

Cook always put more delicate vegetable pies and fruit tarts aside for Ranee. She made small pastries that Ranee could hide in her pockets and smuggle to her room. Cook had a daughter, Cate, that Ranee had helped hide from her father's attentions when Ranee was six and Cook's daughter was fifteen. Since that time when Ranee had shoved Cate into her clothes chest to keep Cate from the Margrave, Cook had made sure Ranee never went hungry, even during those times when Ranee's father kept her from table as punishment.

Once when Ranee was twelve, she spent three days locked in her room because she had dared to come between her father and her mother. The Margrave had appeared in her mother's solarium one afternoon, still clothed in his battle wear, covered in dirt and blood. All of the women in her mother's entourage removed themselves from the room, leaving Ranee sitting next to her trembling mother.

"Get out, girl." The Margrave approached Ranee and her mother. When Ranee didn't move, her father shouted so loud, Ranee felt the vibrations of his powerful voice within her lungs.

"Move or feel my mailed hand upon your body."

Ranee rose and her father grinned until he saw Ranee move in front of her frightened and immobile mother. Ranee watched as her father's brows drew together and his eyes squinted and her bared his teeth. He was upon them in two huge strides, his arm swinging back and forward, light glinting off of a metal covered finger. Her father hit her on the side of her skull just above her ear, knocking her back into her mother's lap. Her mother pulled back dumping Ranee on the floor and pushing Ranee away with her feet. Ranee crawled away in time to miss the kick of her father's booted foot.

When she reached the curtain hanging over the door she pulled herself up and looked back into the room in time to see her father grab her mother's hair in one hand and the neck of her bodice in his other hand. He pulled down on the neckline, ripping her mother's dress and exposing her mother's breasts. The Margrave bent his wife backwards taking one of her breasts in his mouth. She let out a weak cry until the Margrave flipped his wife over, raising her dress above her hips and over her head. Ranee heard her mother's muffled sobs and her father's laughter as she escaped her mother's solar.

Her father had come looking for her when he was done enforcing his will upon his wife.

"I own you and your mother," he said. He punctuated each word with a stroke of his riding whip on her back. "You will stay, alone and without food, in your room until I leave again in three days' time." He threw her to the floor. At the door, he turned back to her.

"I will punish anyone who brings you food." He smiled at her. His smiles broke her heart because his face was so beautiful when he smiled but she knew there was no warmth in him, smiling or not. "I know how much you care for the servants. Just remember, their punishments will be far worse than yours." He posted a guard outside her door and the only one allowed in was the chambermaid to clear the chamber pot each day. The chambermaid brought Ranee pasties from Cook secreted in her pockets. Ranee tried to get them to stop, but they would not. Ranee was grateful to them, but spent three days terrified that they would be caught.

Once Ranee was allowed out of her room again, she learned that her mother had to take to her bed because the Margrave had caused her to miscarry a child no one knew she was carrying. When he found out that his wife had been pregnant, he beat her while she lay defenseless and already weak. He beat her until her face was unrecognizable. She remained unseen for two months by everyone accept her closest women. When she finally emerged, her eyes were hooded and she seemed always to be on the verge of falling asleep. Cook explained to Ranee that her mother had begun to drink special teas throughout the day that dulled the senses and kept her in another world within her own mind.

Her mother had never given Ranee much care and attention but from that time forward, they saw each other rarely and no longer spoke to one another. Her mother's women stayed far from Ranee, too, blaming Ranee for the Margrave's last brutal treatment of his wife.

The Margrave for his part, never went near his wife again. He began bringing woman to the keep whenever he was in residence. They never stayed more than a few days and they never came back more than once and they were never in any part of the keep but her father's rooms. Sometimes when one was visiting, screams could be heard and everyone knew the Margrave was in a foul mood. That was when everyone took special care to never look the Margrave in the eye and to stay out of his way if they could.

At seventeen, Ranee rarely made the mistake of attracting her father's negative attention anymore. She had mistakenly read his mood this day. She thought that the representatives from her future husband would put her father in a good mood but obviously she had misread the Margrave. Ranee simply wanted time to get to know her future husband before marrying him. She hadn't even met him yet, although her father said Baron Briefadel had seen her. Considering the way her father felt about her, she should consider herself lucky that The Margrave had not promised her to some old toothless man. She had heard from others that Baron Sucat Briefadel was a young, healthy and attractive twenty years old with a large land holding. She was told that most women found him quite handsome in appearance. She should know better than to push her father for some sort of gentle sentiment and count herself lucky that she would not be bedded by some wrinkled elderly gent or a hideously fat man who would smoother her with his love making.

She knew her father was eager to get his hands on the Baron's land. The Margrave was so sure he would be able to control the Baron. Part of the Margrave's plan was for Ranee to captivate her new husband on their wedding night. He had sent one of his women to her on the night of the previous full moon to explain to Ranee exactly how he expected Ranee to captivate the Baron. Ranee was shocked and horrified when the woman showed her the trick her father expected her to use. Ranee could not bring herself to go near a broom handle from that moment on. But this was nothing compared to her father's questioning of her about what she had learned. She had tried to keep her eyes closed during his interrogation, but he would have none of it.

"Do not be a simpering maid like your worthless mother," he said.

"If she had been more of a whore, we would have had more children and I would not have had to beat her so often." He smiled to him self, looking all the world as if he were remembering fond moments of the past.

"Open your eyes, girl. A man likes to look at a woman and see she is enjoying having him within her. I tell you this for all of our benefit." He cupped Ranee's chin in the palm of his hand, for once not hurting her in the process.

"If you can use you tongue for something other than speaking your marriage may be a good one." The Margrave rubbed her lower lip with his thumb, slowly inserting it between her lips.

"Show me what you have learned." He spoke so softly, Ranee wasn't sure she had heard correctly, until he shoved his thumb further into her mouth.

"Do it now." This time he spoke quite clearly.

Ranee ran her tongue around her father's thumb, her face burning, her eyes looking into his until he pulled his hand from her and shoved her away from him.

"Get out," he said. He turned his back to her and she wasted no time in leaving his presence.

In her room, thinking about what her father expected of her, she began pacing the space she called home. If her choices were between becoming a body barely alive like her mother or becoming a whore like one of her father's women, she thought she could find herself a better choice. She began grabbing a few of her clothes together and tied them within her warmest cloak. Anything had to be better than the life she currently had or the one her father was selling her into. She would wait until the candles were dowsed and the fires banked for the night. Then she would leave through the kitchen, grabbing some traveling cakes and dried meat and leave under cover of the keeps many shadows.

Ranee laid down to get some rest in her warm room, probably the last warmth she would have in a long while.

She woke to the sound of the dogs fighting in the hall, which often happened when the day guards came in the rest the space in front of the fireplaces from the hounds. It was later than Ranee wanted to leave. She gathered her bundle and quietly made her way down the back stairs. In the kitchen, she tied hard cakes and dried meat into a piece of cloth and added them to her bundled. The food would be as valuable as the few coins she had managed to gather over the years. She took four meat pasties putting two in each of her pockets. These she would eat over the first two days of her escape.

She unlocked the outside door of the kitchen using the secret key Cook had for the door. Only the keep's chamberlain was to have keys to the outside doors for the safety of all enclosed in the keep but Cook had a special relationship with the chamberlain. He had given her an extra key to make her life easier. Ranee hoped Cook would be up early in the morn to lock up and hide her key so Cook would not get in trouble.

Ranee kept along the keep's wall, going slowly and listening for every sound. When she finally reached the end of the building directly across from the field leading to the forest, Ranee felt a cold wet touch on her hand. She yelped at the unexpected feeling and looked down to see one of the keep's many dog's sitting at her feet. He was sniffing at her skirts, a low growling in his throat. Ranee slowly reached into her pocket, hoping she had enough pasties to keep the hunting dog busy while she dashed across the field to the waiting darkness of the forest. She threw one of the pasties back towards the way she had come. The dog did not move. She threw a second after the first, followed by the third and then the forth. Finally, the hound trotted off after the food as if it knew exactly how many pies Ranee had. So much for the nice food for the start of her journey.

Without giving the pies any further thought, Ranee pushed herself away from the keep's wall and ran. She ran like she had never run before. She ran as if her father was just behind her. She had no doubt's he would follow as soon as he discovered her gone.

02

2009-10-30T20:19:00.002-04:00

Ranee made it to the first tree at the same time she heard dogs barking back at the keep. She hoped it was from the dogs fighting over the pastry she had thrown for the dog that met her when she was leaving. She did not have much time to wonder what the sound meant. She took one brief moment to catch her breath, then went into the forest, trying to hide herself among the shadows. She knew her way well from the many times she had hidden from her father's wrath. It would not take her long to reach the stream she would enter to hide her scent from the hunting dogs.

The loss of the pasties was a hard blow to her morale, making her feel lost at the very beginning of her escape. She would not eat anything until tomorrow evening. She tried to think of a plan while she made her way to the stream but nothing came to her mind. She had no real idea of where she could go. She had rarely gone anywhere other than the area around her home. She would not expect any of her father's serfs to take her in and shelter her. That would be too dangerous for them all.

There were blue berry bushes near the stream where she was going to enter it. She took the time to eat several handfuls of the sweet fruit before stepping into the cold water, rushing water. She knew that if she went upstream she would reach the keep of their closest neighbors. Normally, she would avoid going in that direction but she thought her father would expect her to go in the direction where fewer people would be so she would go towards their neighbors but skirt around their holdings, staying far enough away to avoid them but close enough to confuse anyone following her.

By the time she reached their neighbors' holdings, her feet were numb and her legs were tired. She stepped out of the creek where the women came to wash their clothes. She needed to find somewhere to hide herself very soon. The sun would be breaching the horizon soon. She would hide in the wash house. The smell of the aging urine would be strong enough to mask her smell. A day of discomfort would be a small price to pay for her freedom.

Ranee crept up to the building. There was no lock on the door because no one would want to steal anything in the building as it only contained barrels of urine fermenting in the building with no windows. While the liquid was valuable for bleaching the woolen garments everyone wore, it wasn't valuable enough to take. Not to mention the foul stench. Ranee almost threw up when she first went in.

She covered her mouth and her nose with her shawl. She made her way to a back corner and scrunched down behind a large covered barrel of piss. There was enough room for her to lie down. She rested her head on her bundle. It was warm in the shed so she needed no cover. Despite the horrible smell, Ranee fell asleep from her exhaustion. It was Sunday, so she knew no one would come here today to do any washing. Only the most necessary work was done on Sundays and washing was not one of the chores that needed to be done. She slept all day, not stirring until a mouse ran over her out stretched hand resting in the straw covering the floor.

She couldn't bring herself to eat in the shed. The smell was too bad and made her stomach queasy. Ranee squinted through the boards of the building and saw no light outside. She rose from the floor and crept through the dark room. She knocked into one of the barrels and a wooden bucket fell to the floor. Ranee stood still, holding her breath for several heartbeats. When she heard no other noises she continued more cautiously towards the door. When she reached it she edged it open and looked out.

Full night was upon her and no one was about. All was quiet and still. She left the shed and went around the corner and stepped into another body. She was grabbed around the waist and a hand was clamped over her mouth. She couldn't see the face of her captor but she could tell the person was a man who was much larger than she was.

She was dragged back to the bleaching shed, and pulled inside. She struggled to free herself but only ended up getting herself thrown to the ground, the wind knocked from her lungs as the body of her captor covered hers, his hand never leaving her mouth. Ranee attempted to kick the man or knee him in the groin but he wove his legs around hers so she could not move. She tried to open her mouth enough to bite his hand but his hand was so large it kept her jaw closed shut. He was so heavy upon her she could not breath.

Ranee tried shift her head around to loosen his grip but only succeeded in getting a look at the door to the shed. She saw a flicker of candle light and the face of a woman in the door way. Ranee grunted at the woman for help but the woman only fled when she saw Ranee covered by the male bulk. Ranee's eyes must have given some warning to the man because be looked away from her for a second which was long enough for Ranee to get her mouth free and she began to scream with all of her might.

"Stop screaming," the man said into her ear. "You will get us caught."

Ranee just continued to scream.

The man got up from her, grabbed her while she kept screaming and slung her over his shoulder. She stopped screaming when his shoulder made contact with her stomach but she soon was back at it. The man smacked her on her butt which surprised her into silence.

"Thank God," he said. "They are bound to find us with all of the noise you are making."

"Good." Ranee manged the one word between the jolts of her ride on the man's shoulder.

He came to an abrupt halt and Ranee found herself swaying on her feet looking into the face of her captor. She saw fire light dancing in his eyes. He spun her around and she was facing a group of men with torches, her father in the front of the pack.

"We have found the kidnapper," said the Margrave, "and found your prize, Baron."

A man a good two heads shorter than her father stepped forward with his torch held in front of him. He came within an arms length of her, wrinkled his nose and stepped back again.

"She stinks," he said. "Where did you two bed down, cousin? A pig sty?"

The man behind Ranee stepped forward into the light.

"We did not bed down anywhere, Surat." The Baron's cousin moved closer to his relative. "We just bumped into one another."

"Liar," said the Margrave. "Who is this man, Baron?"

"This, Margrave Uradel, is my cousin, Hyd, and I am not surprised he has tried to kidnap my bride."

03

2009-10-30T20:19:00.001-04:00

"I do not know this woman," said Hyd, "and I did not kidnap her. Tell them." Hyd addressed Ranee without looking at her.

"Yes, daughter, tell us what happened," said the Margrave. "Be not afraid to tell us this man abducted you." Ranee's father did look at her, quite closely. "Any other explanation would be unimaginable, would it not?"

Ranee noticed her father's hands balled into tight fists as he moved half a step closer to her. The chords of his tendons jumped and moved under his skin, betraying his anger and his tension. Ranee knew if she did not give her father the correct answer, his fists would showed her his displeasure in a very physical way.

"Margrave Uradel, why don't I handle this situation," said the Baron. "Your daughter will soon be my wife." The Baron plucked some straw from Ranee's hair. His upper lip curled slightly and his brows drew together. He moved away from Ranee.

"I suggest your lovely daughter be cleaned and clothed and fed and then we can meet under more favorable conditions." He nodded to a someone standing behind Ranee and Hyd.

When Ranee turned to see who it was, Ranee saw Hyd staring at her. A woman took hold of Ranee's arm and steered her away from the others.

"You, dear cousin, will be held in the cellars until we settle this matter." Ranee did not hear anyone respond and the woman with a grip on her arm was pulling her along so fast, Ranee stumbled across the ground.

"Slow down," Ranee said.

"Surat wants you cleaned up," said the woman. "You are not fit to be around other people. You stink."

Ranee jerked her arm from the woman's grasp.

"I can walk on my own."

"You can't even escape your father for more than a day."

"How?"

"I followed you from your father's keep. I know you were running away." She reached to grab Ranee's arm again, but Ranee avoided her.

"Who are you?"

"I am not surprised you don't know me. Why would a spoiled girl like you notice a mere servant?" The woman smoothed her hands down the bodice of her dress.

Ranee looked more closely at the woman, squinting through the darkness, the woman's gesture triggering a memory of someone she knew.

"I've never heard your voice before," said Ranee.

"Why should you? It would not be appropriate for someone like me to talk to you."

"What is your name?"

"Jyll, but do not think knowing my name will make us any closer." Jyll reached for Ranee again and got her wrist. She held on tight and pulled ranee along behind her.

"Sucat wants you cleaned up and I always give him what he wants."

Jyll's grasp on Ranee was unrelenting. They got to the hall and Jyll dragged Ranee into the bathing room off of the kitchen. Jyll told a sleeping scullery to bring in hot water. Jyll began yanking Ranee's dress over her head. Ranee struggled with Jyll, but Jyll was quite strong and was able to get Ranee's clothes from her, both her over dress and her chemise. Jyll threw them at a second scullery that arrived.

"Get the tub filled and bring some strong soap," said Jyll. She ordered the sculleries around as if she had been here many times before. Jyll turned to Ranee.

"You get clean. I will get you some fresh clothes." Jyll left the room.

The sculleries scurried around the room hurrying to get their orders filled. They did not look at Ranee's naked body. Ranee stood in a corner hoping they could get the tub filled quickly so she could get in. If she was honest with herself, she would admit she dearly wanted to get her hair clean and even she could tell she smelled awful. Her brief brush with freedom did not go well, but she did not believe that was her fault. If she had not run into the man called Hyd and he had not molested her, she could have gotten away. Why was he out near the building she was at? Was he following her, too for some reason?

Jyll came back into the room with a bundle in her arms. She placed the clothes on a table. Jyll went over to one of the sculleries and look in the pail the girl was carrying.

"This would go much faster if you actually put some water in there." Jyll slapped the girl who was only about twelve years old. The girl dropped the bucket, sloshing water water on Jyll's dress. Jyll hit the girl again.

"You are worthless," said Jyll, her face close to the child's. "You can be sure I will tell the Baron about your behavior. Be prepared to go back to shoveling dung."

The girl burst into tears and ran from the room, leaving her bucket and the spilled water for the other girl to clean up.

"Do you often make promises for the Baron?" said Ranee.

"You will find I have a special place in the Baron's life," said Jyll. "It would be best for you to understand this now."

Jyll stood in front of Ranee, her hands on her hips.

"I am more beautiful than you are," said Jyll. She lifted some of Ranee's hair.

"Your hair is a plain black." She combed her fingers through her own hair. "Mine is a beautiful golden red and thick and curly. I am tall and well rounded. You barely reach up to my chin."

Jyll stroked Ranee's neck, down across her collar bone and over the top of Ranee's breasts.

"Your skin is soft but you have had a soft life." She pinched Ranee's left nipple.

Ranee backed away and covered what she could of her naked body with her hands.

"That will be over when Sucat marries you. You will know your worth then." Jyll tested the water in the now full bathing tub. "Get in and get clean for your future husband." She shoved Ranee towards the tub.

"My father is the Grand Duke. If my mother had been a little higher on the social ladder, not the wife of a serf, Baron Sucat would be marrying me and not you."

Ranee stepped into the bath, losing some of what Jyll was saying when she ducked under the water. She had no idea what to think of what Jyll was saying to her but it was obvious the girl knew the Baron well and seemed very comfortable in his hall. If the Baron really thought as highly of Jyll as Jyll seemed to think, she would be a problem in Ranee's new household. She was sure she would not be given another chance to escape her fate. When she rose up from the water, Jyll was still speaking.

"He may marry you but it is only for your title. He knows your father is after his land but no one, not even your father, can out wit him." Jyll was rummaging through the clothes she had placed on the table, holding each dress up for inspection. She chose one and turned back to Ranee.

"Hurry up," she said, "You have wasted enough of every one's time already. Sucat will be waiting in the hall."

"The Baron allows you to use his given name?" Ranee stood and stepped out of the bath. The scullery handed her a towel.

"Thank-you," Ranee said to the girl, who smiled shyly in response.

"Get out," Jyll said. She kicked one of the water buckets at the girl, who ran out of the room.

"Get dressed. Comb out your hair. I will be back shortly after I see to the Baron's afternoon repast."

Ranee watched Jyll leave. Ranee recalled seeing her at her father's keep when they were younger, but did not recall ever seeing her during the last few years. Jyll must have come to Baron Briefadel's keep then. No wonder Ranee did not recognize her at first. If Jyll had spent the last three years in the Baron's bed, Ranee cold well understand why the girl felt secure in her position. This would definitely be a challenge for Ranee. Even though they were the same age, it seemed Jyll had far more knowledge and experience than Ranee had.

A male servant knocked on the wall just outside of the washroom.

"The Baron waits upon you mistress if you are now ready to be seen."

"I am ready if you will show me the way." Ranee padded down the hallway in her bare feet, following closely behind the man who was sent to fetch her. He showed her into the main hall and left her standing before a seated Baron Sucat Briefadel, her future husband and Jyll, who sat at his right hand. The room was empty except for her and these two.

"You smell much better," said the Baron. He took a sip from his wine cup and stroked Jyll's cheek in an affectionate way.

"Since we are to be married tomorrow..."

"We are not to marry for three fortnights," said Ranee.

"Do not interrupt me again," said the Baron. "Learn your manners now and you will find life much easier for yourself." He drained his cup and Jyll refilled it.

"Jyll, as you see, has a special place in my home because she knows what I want from her. While I will want different things from you, it is still possible for you to live well here, if you, too, give me what I want." He took his time sorting through some dried fruit and nuts in a bowl in front of him. When he found one to his liking, he chewed it slowly savoring the morsel.

"We will marry on the morrow. Your father and I agreed it would be best, although we each thought so for different reasons. You see, I know my dear cousin did not kidnap you or molest you. He would never do such things. But you will say he did and Jyll will be a witness to my cousin's foul deeds."

"No. I will not lie. He will be punished. How can you want that for your cousin."

"You will say what I tell you to say. You think what your father has done to your mother was bad. Yes, everyone knows how he treats her but believe me that will be nothing as to what I will do if you do not obey me. I have much better ways to hurt you and give myself pleasure at the same time. I love an unwilling partner." The Baron rose from his chair and approached Ranee. When he raised his hand to touch her hair she could not help but flinch from him. He wrapped his fingers in her hair, tugged and pulled her close to his face.

"You will do as I say. I am good at hiding the bruises and I will not allow you to lose yourself in potent herbs." The Baron yanked her closer and brutally kissed her, biting down on her tongue. Ranee whimpered in her throat.

"Do you understand me?"

She nodded her head.

"I will make it easy on you." He clapped his hands together and two soldiers appeared.

"Escort my bride to my chambers and make sure she does not get out and no one gets in, for any reason, until I come back."

One soldier moved to each side of her, each taking an arm and steering her to a set of rooms at the top of the stairs above the main hall. They escorted her in, left closing the door behind her. When she cracked the door open and peered out they had stationed themselves on each side of the door, their lances blocking the exit.

04

2009-10-30T20:18:00.002-04:00

Baron Sucat Briefadel left the hall to the care of Jyll.

"Get this room ready for my wedding, my sweet," he said. "I will return shortly with the priest and the Margrave and such witnesses as are needed." He kissed Jyll gently.

"You continue with your affections and loyalty to me and you will get everything you deserve."

"I remain your faithful and ardent subject."

The Baron went to the church to prepare the priest for a difficult bride. Once he had the priest convinced to proceed with the ceremony in the church's best interest, he felt his biggest hurdle was over come.

He found the Margrave in the guest hall with one of the Baron's serving wenches. The Margrave was amusing himself in the girl's ample bosom.

"Ah, my future father-in-law," said the Baron. "You have found the lovely Maria. I can tell you find her charms as alluring as I did."

"My explorations of this wench and several others I have noticed is as of yet incomplete," said the Margrave. "I hope I am not being disturbed in my quest for no good reason."

"The marriage of your beautiful daughter and my self will begin in two bells. You should gather those of your party you wish to witness the great event."

"You are certainly eager. Quite wise of you to progress with haste."

"After the nuptials have been performed and the marriage consummated, of course, we will be holding the trial of my dastardly cousin. Once that matter has been settled, we will celebrate our mutually beneficial agreement."

"I am looking forward to all of your planned festivities," said the Margrave. He went back to fondling Maria's breasts which he had never let go of while talking to the Baron.

The Baron's final visit before heading back to his hall was paid to his cousin, Hyd, who was spending an uncomfortable time in the Baron's cellars. The Baron dismissed the guards while he interviewed his cousin, the last Count Stahl.

"My cousin," said Sucat, "How do you fair?" Sucat looked through the small window in the cellar door. He could see his cousin sitting on the floor with his wrists and ankles chained together making it impossible for Hyd to stand or even to sit up straight.

Hyd looked up when he heard his cousin's voice, straining his neck to appear more comfortable.

"All is well by me," he said. "How are your plans progressing?"

"I would say I am doing rather well in this game we play." The Baron opened the cellar door and stepped into the room and stood over his cousin, forcing him to really stretch to look up.

"Yes, you do seem to have the upper hand at the moment."

"I believe I have won this time, Hyd. I can see no escape for you this time." The Baron chuckled and kicked at a mouse that got too near his boot.

"I will be married to the Margrave's daughter within the hour and so I will be higher in status than you, as it should always have been. Then, once I have bedded the wench and proven she was no virgin in my bed, I will convene your trial for kidnap and rape and have you hung, thus inheriting your lands and more importantly your fortune."

"I know not of the girl's virginal condition, but she will say I did not kidnap her or molest her."

"If she were in any condition to testify, it may be possible she would say those things. But as her husband, I will let everyone know that she is in no condition to speak before the court, which I assure you she will not be when I am done. She is quite willful and needs a lesson in a woman's proper behavior." The Baron paced around the cellar room, circling his cousin.

"I will tell everyone that she said you did kidnap her and that you did assault her."

"To what purpose?" said Hyd. "I did not even know the girl"

"Why out of your insane jealousy towards me."

"No one believes I am jealous of you. More like the other way round."

"They will believe whatever I tell them," said the Baron. He continued walking around Hyd, kicking straw at him occasionally.

Hyd did not bother trying to look after Sucat.

"I suppose you are the judge in this case."

"Naturally, as we are on my holdings."

"Your verdict will not stand."

"I have a witness to the assault."

"Who?"

"Jyll saw you attack her future mistress."

"Your whore will be witness against me," said Hyd. "I see you have truly taken great care in this plot to rid yourself of me and take my wealth."

"I do believe I have won," said the Baron as he walked from the room and closed the door.

He called the guards back to insure his prisoner's safe holding.

When he went back into the hall, he found the tables arranged and laden with bowls of fruit. Fresh herbs and flowers were thrown into the rushes on the floor, their fragrances rising to the Baron's nose as he walked to the wash room. There he found Jyll, naked in a tub full of hot water, one leg draped becomingly over the edge. The Baron removed his clothing and joined her in the tub. Despite his agitation that all go well and his need to burn some of that energy off in the usual way, Sucat was very gentle in his love making with Jyll. He whispered kind and romantic words to her, telling her she would soon have a Margrave's daughter at her beck and call. He needed to do all in his power to keep Jyll happy and content for a little wile longer.

Once he had his cousin's property, he could get back to his preferred behavior. He had used so much self control where Jyll was concerned, but that would soon be over. He had been cultivating her adoration for several years and soon his patience would pay off. Once his plan was complete, he could show this haughty bitch what his affections really entailed.

He was getting overly excited just thinking about it. He took several deep breaths and slowed down so as not to frighten her at the critical time.

When they were done having sex, Jyll washed the Baron, rinsed him with lavender water, combed out his hair and helped him dress in his court clothing. She did all of this naked, using the only goods she had to keep him attracted. He left the wash room, walking with a happy, assured gait.

Jyll took he time finishing her own grooming. She sat naked before the fire, leisurely combing out her long, curly hair, brushing the tips against her lips and dreaming of what it would be like to have a Margrave's daughter to torment. Sucat had a special dress made for Jyll for this occasion. Jyll had never had a dress she had not made herself. This was the beginning of being treated like the Lady she should have been. As the daughter of the Grand Duke, she should have been held in higher esteem than the Baron and the Margrave. She cursed the fates that had given her a low born mother. With her looks, Jyll could have been a queen if it weren't for her mother. Jyll finished dressing. Things would be different from now on, now that Sucat and her had completed his plan to the Baron's delight and satisfaction. She went out into the great hall to supervise the servants who all knew where Jyll's place was in the Baron's affections.

The Margrave Uradel was already seated at the head table as the guest of honor. His entourage was also seated and they all had drink in their cups. The priest had also arrived and was standing off to the side, not wishing to be connected with the ribald jokes and heavy drinking that the Margrave participated in. The few of the Baron's closest associates and advisers were also in attendance. They were not drinking yet. They knew the Baron wanted them sober until all was settled. Their celebrations would be held much later.

At the sound of a shield being struck by a sword, the assembled party rose from their seats and all faced the stairs leading from the upper floors. The Baron was escorting his bride down the steps. The priest came forward as did the Margrave. Two of the Baron's advisers came forward as witnesses. The Baron leaned into Ranee and whispered something into her ear. She nodded her head, nearly falling over in the effort. Her father laughed and the Baron held her tighter.

The priest began the reading of the ceremony. When he asked his questions, the Baron spoke loudly and clearly in response but no one but the the immediately nearby could hear Ranee's answers. Jyll knew that the Baron had planned on drugging Ranee to make sure she cooperated during the marriage ceremony and he must have done so as her head would lean to the side and she would slump against the Baron until he pushed her back upright.

When the priest announced them officially married, the Margrave clapped his new son-in-law on the shoulder and went for his drinking cup.

"May your marriage be fruitful to us all," he said. He drained his cup in one gulp and called for more. He never even glanced at his daughter.

The priest left as fast as he could once his duty was done. He never looked at the bride either.

Sucat signalled to Jyll, who came over to the newly wed couple. Sucat and Jyll helped Ranee upstairs. With Jyll standing in the room watching, Sucat undressed his new wife, placed her on his bed and climbed on top of her. When she cried out in protest and pain, he covered her mouth with his hand. When she struggled to be free of him, Jyll helped to hold her down.

Ranee kicked and attempted to scream even though she knew no one would come to her aid. She was able to get one of her hands free and she scratched Sucat across the cheek. Jyll grabbed her hands and held them down while Sucat finally penetrated Ranee's maiden head. Once done, Sucat ordered Ranee off of the bed. She huddled in a corner near the fireplace while Jyll stripped the bloodied sheets and tossed them in the fire. Jyll covered the bed with unstained sheets. Jyll tossed Ranee a shift to cover herself. Then Jyll and Sucat had sex in the bed leaving fresh, unbloodied signs of sex on the sheets. Then Jyll left to call the witnesses to the room.

When they came to inspect the signs of the consummation, the Baron sat in his chair with Ranee sitting quietly on his lap. When he poked his dagger in her back, she dutifully smiled for their guests. Once everyone was satisfied with their look at the sheets and outraged at the lack of blood and Hyd's role in the matter, and complimenting on the Baron's forbearance in taking damaged goods, everyone left for the hall again.

"Go to bed, wife," said Sucat. "Your role this day is complete."

Back in the hall and seated at the head of his table, Baron Sucat gave the signal to have his cousin and prisoner brought before him for trial. Jyll gave witness that she saw Hyd attacking Ranee in the bleach house. Sucat asked the assembled guests if any of them had seen blood on the bed's sheets and of course no one had. Sucat asked his father-in-law if he thought his daughter would disobey him by running away. The Margrave could conceive of no such thing. The prisoner was given no opportunity to speak.

"As much as it pains me to do this, I fear I have no choice," said the Baron. "For your abduction of an innocent maid and because you raped her and deprived me of my pure bride, I sentence you, Hyd, Count Stahl, to death by hanging. Your sentence to be carried out this very evening."

05

2009-10-30T20:18:00.001-04:00

Before he was even removed from the hall, the revelling began. Wenches squealed as their bottoms were pinched by men when they were served their ale if they were soldiers and wine if they were titled gents. The alcohol was flowing fast and free. Hyd had no doubt he would be hung but judging by the amount of ale being sloshed around, he did not think it would be tonight.

Hyd, unable to stand on his own from the beating he had received upon his cousin's orders, was dragged off and locked back in his prison.

His bruises and injuries did not show as they were to his back and ribs. His cousin, Sucat, during his morning visit to Hyd, had ordered the guards to beat Hyd while he was bound and defenseless. Sucat had stood by telling Hyd about his plans for Hyd and Ranee, going on in detail about how he planned to rape Ranee as he was sure she would not go willingly along with his plans. He talked about how he preferred to dominate women who fought him and that he was getting quite expert at it. Sucat watched his cousin closely as he was kicked and beaten about his ribs and stomach, back and thighs, chuckling to himself as several blows landed to the genitals. While the blows were severe, Sucat did not allow too many as he wanted Hyd to be conscious during his trial.

He lay in the filthy straw on the dirt floor, trying to figure out how he was going to get away, thinking that this time there may not be a way. He felt bad for the girl who had gotten caught up in his feud with Hyd although he realised she was a pawn in Sucat's plans to get more property and gold. His bravado could only get him so far. In the shape he was in he could barely move on his own and putting on a brave front before the assembled judges had taken all of his energy. Well, he could at least rest for the night.

His guards were grumbling about how unfair it was they were missing the celebration. They talked about opening up his cell and beating him more because it was his fault they were not upstairs drinking with their fellow soldiers. Hyd didn't think he could survive another beating, especially from four very angry and sober men. He went off in his mind, thinking about home when he heard the keys scrapping on the lock. Perhaps thinking of better times would dull some of the pain he knew was coming but he wouldn't count on it too much.

He was dreaming of a hunt they had had not too long ago, as he heard Eadward,his groom who was also his best friend and illegitimate half brother, calling hello in the distance. He sounded drunk but Eadward never drank. It was this conundrum that brought Hyd back to reality.

Hyd heard a voice in the hall calling to his guards and the voice did sound drunk and it did sound like his brother Eadward but the guards were answering back as if they knew him. The beating must have damaged Hyd's brain after all, because now he heard Eadward's voice drunkenly singing a lewd song and his voice was joined by two other voices that also sound familiar. The song broke off and Hyd heard Eadward's voice call to the guards as they got closer.

"Brothers in arms," said Eadward's voice, "we have brought you ale from the celebration. You are to go up to the hall and enjoy a bit of fun for a spell while we relive you."

It sounded to Hyd like the men had fallen into the guards as there was a loud thud against his cell door. Then Hyd heard the guards shout but they were cut off by the sound of breaking pottery and flesh being pounded by flesh.

Hyd could only listen as his chains and injuries would not allow him to stand to look through the small window of his cell door. There fighting went on with calls for aid from the guards quickly drowned out by the sound of bodies hitting walls and steel scraping steel. Hyd nearly went mad with not knowing what was happening in the passage outside of his cell. He dared not hope that some how Eadward had discovered he was being held prisoner and he had come to rescue Hyd with some of his men.

Soon the sounds of fighting ceased to be followed by grunting and the sounds of scraping and dragging. Lying on the ground, Hyd rolled to his side and looked at the door. Eadward's face appeared in the small window space. Hyd had never been so glad to see all of that crinkled red hair in his life. Bits of Eadward's beard poked through the window as he grinned at Hyd.

"We've come to rescue you, dear brother," he said. "Get thee to thy feet."

"I can't" said Hyd, "I am trussed like a pig to the slaughter."

"Hindering my efforts as usual." Eadward laughed as he unlocked the door to the cell.

"You do like to make me life interesting." Eadward came in to the small room, his large bulk taking up space in the most comforting way. He helped Hyd to sit up, Hyd grunting in pain.

"See here," said Eadward, "Have you gotten yourself beaten again by that rascal of a cousin of ours?" He unlocked Hyd's manacles at wrist and ankle.

"I know you are the better man, but sometimes it just does not look like it."

Hyd glared at his brother. As glad as he was to see him right now, Eadward sure could be annoying. He laughed at everything although he found so very little really funny. Hyd supposed it was Eadward's way of dealing with the the problems that had always seemed to come up for them. Eadward told jokes and funny stories to make light of their troubles.

"Help me up," said Hyd. "It does seem that I am always at Sucat's mercy in one way or another, but we don't have time to talk about my short comings now. He intends to hang me as soon as he can manage it."

"Well, then let us be gone from this place." Eadward reached under Hyd's arms grimacing as Hyd winced in pain. He lifted Hyd's shirt and gasped out loud.

"Leave it for now," Hyd said. "The bruises and broken bones will heal. A snapped neck is forever."

Eadward had brought John and Stephan with him to aid in the rescue. As Eadward freed Hyd and helped him out of the cell, John and Stephan gagged and tied the four guards and dragged them into the cell. They locked the door and collected the guards weapons and followed Hyd and Eadward out of the cellars. They moved slowly because of Hyd's injuries and they expected to be stopped any moment by other guards.

The court yard was silent in sharp contrast to the loud noises coming from the hall. The doors to the hall stood open to the night and the light from the fires and the candles and lanterns pooled at the foot of the steps leading into the hall. They heard minstrels playing harps and pipes. Men shouted for more ale and more meat and they were answered by the laughter of women who sounded as drunk as the men.

Their horses stood just around the corner from the hall entrance in an alley way between the hall and the building that housed the cellars and other storage areas.

They were just entering the alley when a pair of soldiers with a buxom wench sandwiched between them came staggering out of the hall and headed in their direction. It was impossible for Hyd to hurry. His injuries did not allow him to move normally. He had to hunch over to walk. He was sure ribs were broken, but the sound to the soldiers coming towards them added some urgency to his step.

By the time he reached his horse, he was sweating and shaking. He had no idea how he was going to get up on the nag. He stood by Steel's smooth grey side, gripping the horse's mane tightly to keep himself from falling. The huge war horse did not move a muscle. He simply looked back at his master and waited patiently for Hyd to decide what he would do.

"You've got to get up on that horse," said Eadward. "The guards are almost upon us."

"I don't think I can manage," said Hyd. It cost him to admit that he was too beat up to go on.

"Leave without me."

"I think not, brother of mine. If you do not get your arse on the horse, I will tell you my latest yarn and you will die from the pain of laughter."

"Please do not torture me so. I have been through enough for one day. The three of you will need to help me, if I am to get up on this beast of mine."

Hyd grunted with effort and pain as Eadward, John and Stephan pushed and shoved and lifted Hyd up his horse. Eadward was pushing Hyd up, leveraging his shoulder under Hyd's ass when the soldiers and their girl rounded the corner. Hyd sort of sat on Eadward's shoulder while John and Stephan waited for the other men to notice them. They were so busy with their hands and mouths on the wenches breasts that they only looked up and saw Hyd and his group when the woman let out a squeal of surprise.

The two groups stood staring at each other for several breaths and then the soldiers attempted to sober up enough to release the woman, who feel on her butt in the mud. She screamed in indignation while the two soldiers pulled their knives from their belts. They had left their swords in the hall, not thinking they would need them when they went a-whoring.

John and Stephan engaged the soldiers while Eadward gave a great push on Hyd's backside and shoved him up on his horse. John and Stephan were not having any problems with the soldiers as they were so drunk they tripped over them selves but the woman had begun screaming in a half hearted way and she was scrambling to get up and make a run for it. The bulk of her body and the bulk of her skirts hampered her progress but if Eadward didn't get to her soon, they would be caught.

Just as he got close to her, she yelped and tried to turn and run but the soldier Stephan was fighting tripped over his loose breaches and stumbled into Eadward who fell on top of the escaping wench knocking her over backwards into the mud once again. Eadward landed with his face between her breasts and the struggling soldier splayed across Eadward's back.

The woman had stopped screaming. Once Eadward was able to dislodge his face from her cleavage, he could breath again. John and Stephan gagged and tied the two soldiers and placed them in a corner. Eadward heaved himself off of the wench and helped her up. She tried to pull him back into her bosom and he called for some help from his compatriots. They stood back laughing at him until the woman decided they were laughing at her and she began screaming again. Eadward jumped on her covering her mouth with his hands. John and Stephan finally came over with a gag and some rope and added the woman to the pile of the two soldiers.

Hyd looked on, his smile more a grimace, because he hurt himself when he laughed at his three rescuers. They brushed themselves off and caught their breaths.

"You find us most entertaining, do you brother?"

"I believe you will have another great tale to tell, Eadward."

"Let's not think on that now," Said Eadward. "We have wasted enough time with these follies."

Eadward, John and Stephan mounted their horses and pulled their heads in the direction of the fields they need to cross to make their escape.

"Wait," said Hyd. He moved closer to Eadward. "We have to rescue the girl."

Eadward narrowed his eyes as he looked at Hyd. He shook his head, his bushing red hair, mustaches and beard trembling with his unhappiness.

"Don't look at me like that," said Hyd.

"What girl?" Eadward's voice was low and rough. He was not happy. They had been so close to escape.

"The girl that Sucat married and raped on her wedding day."

"Oh, that girl," said Eadward. "Why is there always a girl?"

06

2009-10-30T20:17:00.002-04:00

"Why do we need to rescue this girl?" asked Eadward.

"We can not leave her to Sucat," said Hyd. "He told me he raped her after they had married and that he enjoyed hurting her."

"If they are married, there is nothing you can do."

"I can't leave her. I think she was trying to escape when I ran into her in the laundry shed. It's my fault she was caught."

"Do you even know her name?"

"What do names have to do with anything? Let's get her and go."

"Where is she being held?" asked John. He sat patiently on his horse. He was used to these kinds of escapades that Hyd and Eadward got themselves into. He just wanted to know what the plan was going to be. His stomach was grumbling. He hadn’t eaten since morning, being called from his woman’s bed by Eadward’s need to rescue his brother. John and Stephan were close friends with Hyd and Eadward. They all grew up together on Hyd’s father’s estates. He had never known a titled man who willing embraced his illegitimate brother the way Hyd did. Hyd even had Eadward’s mother running his household.

Eadward looked at Hyd.

"You don't even know where she is, do you?"

"Well, not exactly."

“So how do we find her?” Eadward didn’t bother to argue with Hyd. Eadward wanted to find the girl too. Both he and Hyd liked rescuing people in trouble but they especially liked taking things or people from their cousin Sucat, Baron Briefadel, just to add piss to his pot. Sucat had never acknowledged Eadward as a family member, so of course Eadward could not like, let alone love Sucat the way he did Hyd, but Sucat’s cruelty and constant trying to get the better of everyone made Eadward hate him. He would do whatever he could to mess up Sucat’s plans.

“Would he not keep his new bride in his rooms?” said Stephan. “At least for tonight while guests and strangers were about to witness the proceedings.” Stephan liked a bit of mischief too. His wife liked a good story when he finally got home. She didn’t care much if he went off on his adventures. He brought home enough gold to keep her happy, they got on well when in bed and the rest of the time they left each other to their own devices.

“A good point, Stephan,” said Hyd. “See, Eadward, already our plan begins to take shape. We have a place to look. Let us proceed.”

“Hyd you are in no shape to go a-rescuing,” said Eadward. “You can barely stay on your horse.”

“I must go. She has never seen any of you before, but she has seen me.”

“Is this girl someone you know?”

“No.”

“When did she see you, then?”

“She saw me when I was arrested.”

“That aught to give her a sense of confidence in us then.” Eadward took the reins of his horse. “Let’s find a place to hide the horses while we go get your girl. Then we’ll go in through the kitchens and find a way up to the master’s rooms. Let’s hope the revelers are drunk enough to cover us as we make our rescue.”

Hyd groaned as he lifted his leg to get off of his horse. Eadward, John and Stephan looked on with smiles as Hyd fell to the ground. Hyd thought he even heard some snickers from the trussed up soldiers and their doxy. The laughter hurt more than the actual injuries.

They led their horses around the back of the hall and tied them to a post they found by the back entrance to the kitchens.

It was decided that Stephan would go in first since he had a certain way with women. They all seemed to love him on sight. He entered the kitchens. Hyd, Eadward and John waited by the entrance. It wasn’t long before Stephan was poking his head out of the door and waving a quail leg at John.

“Hungry? Betsy has some good victuals in here waiting to be savored.”

Stephan ducked back in not waiting for them to join him. They were right behind him. Upon entering they were surrounded by scullery maids and under cooks and Cook. The women stood looking at the men as if they had never seen any before. They were given meat and drink, stewed apples and fresh bread dripping with sweet cream.

“What’s going on?” John asked. He was having a hard time talking properly because he had so much food stuffed in his mouth.

“They are just happy to be around some men who are not trying to grope them all of the time,” said Stephan.

“I wish my stomach didn’t hurt so much,” said Hyd. “This food is really good.” He smiled at Cook who came over to him and touched his ribs. He flinched and let out a yelp.

“Take off your shirt, sir and I will bind you,” said Cook. “I have been treating ailments most of my life.”

While the other three ate their fill, Hyd took Cook up on her offer. It might mean the difference between getting caught and getting safely away. Cook had one of the sculleries rip up cotton toweling into strips that Cook wound around his ribs. She bound him up tight making it a bit hard for him to breath deeply but the pain lessened a lot.

By the time she was done, the others had finished eating. Stephan was off to the side talking to one of the housemaids. She was smiling at him like he was her long lost love. He stroked her cheek and gave her a chaste peck on the cheek, then joined John, Eadward and Hyd.

“The girl, Ranee is her name, by the way, is in Sucat’s chambers. He has her locked in and the doors are guarded by two very sober soldiers. Sindee says there is a back stair to the upper floors just behind the pantry. It leads first to the privy, which she says has a secret door into Sucat’s private bed chamber. Sindee says it is never guarded because only the sculleries use it as a short cut when carrying out the ashes when cleaning the fire places. Sucat doesn’t even know it’s there. The help does not carry for their master. He is harsh with them. They like to make life difficult for him, too.”

“We will not get them more involved than they are now,” said Hyd. “Once we are shown this door, no one is to be around us so he can not blame them.”

The four men pulled their knives for weapons.

“Sindee, can you show us the way?” said Stephan.

The house maid led the way up the back stairs. They moved quietly up the steps in single file with the young dark haired girl holding her skirts so she would not trip and fall. When they reached the top they entered the hall door to the privy. The privy seats, four in all, ran along the outside wall of the room, the chutes emptying out over a half moat. To the left of the seats were shelves where Sucat’s tunics and leggings were stored, the smell from the privy protecting the cloth from moths.

Next to the shelves, they could just make out the lines of the secret door. Sindee showed them how to press on the door so it would open. Stephan kissed her on the forehead and sent her back down to the kitchens. They popped open the door and entered Sucat’s bed chamber.

Ranee stood over by the main door to the room with a ceramic jug raised to throw but she had expected men to enter from the front door and not from a side wall.

She lowered the jug but did not move or speak. She just stared at the four large men who invaded what little space and peace of mind she had left.

Hyd moved forward and she recognized him as the man who was accused of raping her.

“Have they let you go?”

“Not willingly,” said Hyd. “Come, we must leave this place, quickly and quietly.”

“No,” she said and moved back a step.

“You do not want to leave this place?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you do not want to leave or yes, you want to stay?”

“What are you two saying?” asked Eadward. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Just dress and gather your belongings. We are leaving.”

“These are my only clothes and I have no belongings.”

Stephan ducked back into the privy and came back with a tunic and leggings. He walked over to Ranee and handed her the clothing.

“Put these on quickly,” he said. “We must be off before anyone comes looking for you.”

She did not ask for the men to turn around. After what she had already been through, she had no more modesty left. She pulled the leggings on under her sleeping gown. She turned around and pulled the gown off over her head and replaced it with a soft wool tunic brushed into a smooth cream color.

She found a pair of light boots warming by the hearth. They were a bit long but they would protect the soles of her feet. She had no idea where she was going but any place was better than here.

Hyd went over to the hearth mantel, lifted something from its surface and placed it in the pouch at his waste.

“Are we ready, children?” asked Hyd. “Well, ready or not, we must be off.”

They all went back out the privy’s secret door, Ranee in the middle of the line: John, Stephan, Ranee, Hyd and Eadward. Eadward closed the door quietly and followed the rest of his group into the hall. They made it into the kitchens without incidence.

They stopped long enough to take the bread and cheese Cook had wrapped up for them. Cook also gave Ranee some roasted meat since Ranee had not eaten since yesterday. They went to the back door to the kitchen to leave, exiting in the same order that they left the bed chamber, Eadward last in line as before.

“Well, if it isn’t the pretender to the family.”

Eadward turned around to the voice of Sucat.

“Cousin,” said Eadward, adding a pronounced sneer to the word.

“Do not call me that.” Sucat screamed, spittle flying from his mouth and rolling down his chin.

07

2009-10-30T20:17:00.001-04:00

Hyd poked his head back in through the kitchen door.

"Ah," he said, "I thought I heard the wail of a little child."

Sucat's throat tightened. The veins on the side of his neck stood out in twisted chords and his face became a bright red.

"I think our cousin is excited to see us," said Eadward.

"You may be right, brother. He looks over-come with emotion." Eadward nudged Hyd with his shoulder. "Let us relieve the tension by leaving his exalted presence."

While Hyd and Eadward were talking and toying with Sucat, the kitchen staff were quietly sneaking out of the room, looking for a place to hide and hoping Baron Briefadel had not noticed any of their faces.

Sucat moved further into the kitchen and attempted to draw his sword but he stumbled from too much drink and struggled to pull the sword from its scabbard wasting time in his clumsiness. He lost further time when Hyd and Eadward pointed at him and laughed.He began bellowing for his soldiers to join him in the kitchen.

Hyd and Eadward turned and ran.

They ran out of the kitchen and into the court outside its door. John and Stephan stood holding the four horses. Ranee sat on top of Hyd's horse, waiting. When Hyd and Eadward showed up outside running to their horses, the other two men mounted theirs and began heading out, followed by Eadward. Hyd took a little longer because Ranee was on his horse. He attempted to get in front of her but she had moved forward, grabbing the reins like she knew what she was doing. He had no time to think of it now. He jumped up behind her and they both kicked the horse into action as Sucat and a couple of his soldiers ran out of the kitchen door.

Ranee, Hyd, Eadward, John and Stephan rode out of Sucat, Baron Briefadel's keep through the open gate way behind the kitchen area and into the woods surrounding the Baron's holdings. Hyd, sitting behind Ranee on his horse, Standard, led the way through the forest. He had played in the area as a child when Hyd and Sucat's families thought they would be close relatives. Of course, the boys knew they would never be friends let alone close and loving cousins.

Hyd was older than Sucat and Hyd had Eadward as an acknowledged brother, even though Hyd as the legitimate son had no reason to be close to his father's bastard, but Hyd's mother, Lillian, had died of the sweating sickness when Hyd was less than six months old and he was taken care of by Maryn, Lillian's personal maid. Maryn and Lillian were close in age and close as people. They grew up together. After Lillian's death, Maryn and Hyd's father, Allan fell in love but could not marry because they came from vastly differing social levels. Maryn became pregnant and Eadward was born two years after Hyd was born. Allan always acknowledged Eadward as his son and the two boys were raised together as equal brothers and while Allan could not marry Eadward's mother, Maryn, Allan never married anyone else and remained faithful to her until his death. Hyd always considered Maryn as his mother and she runs his household at Stahlheim. When Allan died, Hyd became Count Stahl and therefore higher in status than Sucat, who was only a Baron.

Sucat, the current Baron Briefadel, has many brothers and sisters, all illegitimate and none recognized by Sucat or his and their father, Franck, the former Baron Briefadel, who died from falling from his horse when he went out riding and hunting alone, which he had never done before. Sucat inherited allot of land but no gold so he needed to find a way to get some money. It took him a while to convince Ranee's father, the Margrave, to allow Ranee to marry Sucat because he was of a lower status, but Sucat finally convinced the Margrave by saying he would take the Margrave's name and Sucat's land would go into the Margrave's family.

Sucat only recognizes his half brothers and sisters to let them know they are nothing to him or anyone else. He has them working at most of the worst jobs on his property and he regularly punishes them. They all hate him and have been plotting ways to revenge themselves upon him over the years. There is no big plan most of the time, they just quietly do their best to make sure things do not go smoothly without ever doing anything that will get them into real trouble. Some have occasionally run off to Hyd for protection and he finds new places for them to go. Most do not want to actually leave their homes though so they just make Sucat's life miserable in any way they can.

Like now, when Sucat and his men are trying to chase after Hyd, Ranee, Eadward, John and Stephan, Sucat is finding that all of the horses have been put out to pastures in the far fields because he had told his half brothers, who are grooms for the the horses, that they would not be needed for the rest of the night because of the marriage celebration. The only animals close by were two pack mules. Because he was in a hurry to be after his escaping cousin and new wife, Sucat did not take the time to beat his animal handlers now. He sent them off to the pastures with curses and promises of terrible punishments to come.

Sucat marshalled his men, Ranee's father, the Margrave Uradel and the other guests who wanted to go on a real hunt for desperate prey. At this point, he would be happy to kill all of the escapees and their helpers. He could kill Ranee now because she was his legal wife and therefore his property to do with as he chose and part of the marriage contract was for Sucat to be the Margrave's heir until Ranee had a child, so if Sucat killed Ranee now he would be the one to inherit the Margrave's wealth when the Margrave succumbed to death, which if Sucat had his way, would not be very far into the future.

Since Sucat and Hyd were the last in their familial lines, they only had each other to inherit if one of them should die and since Hyd was now a convicted law breaker and now an escapee and a second time kidnapper of Sucat's wife, with lots of highly placed witnesses, Sucat could hunt and kill Hyd without impunity and Sucat vowed to enjoy every minute of it. Sucat would pay Hyd back for Hyd having a loving father and step mother, even if they were not legally married to each other where Sucat's father and mother were both cruel and brutal and promiscuous, never faithful to each other or their son.

Eadward he would kill just because Hyd loved him as a brother and always treated Eadward as an equal. Eadward always made fun of Sucat in ways that Sucat never understood because Eadward was always smarter than Sucat, not to mention better looking and nicer to everyone so they liked him better even though he never had any money or property of his own.

And the other two, John and Stephan, Sucat would kill just for being friends with Hyd and Eadward. He would do them first so that Hyd and Eadward would feel the pain of their loss, then he would kill Ranee followed by Eadward and last he would torture Hyd, then kill him. Sucat's mouth watered with the thought of revenge, a dribble of spittle rolling down his chin in anticipation of all of the pain he would cause before the night was over.

By the time Sucat had finished with his wonderfully satisfying day dreams of the death and destruction he would create, his men had brought his vicious hunting dogs, leashed with metal and thick leather straps because he starved them between hunts, and the horses had been retrieved and saddled. He was helped on to his horse by his groom because he was a bit short and had a hard time climbing into the saddle on his own.

Sucat had his huntsman give the dogs Ranee's wedding dress to sniff and the shirt he had stripped from Hyd's back before he whipped him so they could get a hunting scent. Sucat was not in a big hurry because he knew his dogs were starving and would not stop until they found their prey so that they could get a decent meal. The dog's were stretching and straining at their leashes, barking and biting at each other to be on their way. Sucat's guests who were joining the hunt were laughing and taking a few more swallows of ale, in a jovial mood from this unexpected entertainment to the party. Nothing was more fun than a hunt for desperate people.

The soldiers and guards in Sucat's entourage were dead serious about this business. They knew that if they succeeded they would receive a reward, however small it may be but they also knew that if they failed the punishment would be painful and severe.

Captain Kennard was the leader of Sucat's guards. He planned on being the one to hand Hyd and Ranee over to Sucat personally. The captain would be the one, as usual, to capture and subdue the escapees. Once the captain had them secure, Sucat would come in and administer the torture when he was sure that the prisoners could do him no harm.

Finally, the search party was ready. Sucat had his fancy sword strapped to his belt and he rode off in the lead, flanked by Captain Kennard on his right and two other personal body guards on his left, all three just back far enough to let Sucat feel like he was leading the charge on his own but close enough to do his fighting for him if it came to that.

Jyll had come out from the kitchens with camping rations for Sucat, meat pasties and fruit wrapped in leather sheets. Sucat's guards gave each other looks because the knew the rations would not survive the trip in any form that could be eaten properly or last the time that would be needed to recapture the escapees. Sucat leaned down in his saddle (almost falling out in the process, to the quickly stifled gawgaws of his guests) gave Jyll a grope and a deep wet kiss, with promises to her that she needed to hear but he had no intentions of keeping.

The group of about twenty men in total left the yard like a parade troupe on faire day, a small core of revelers surrounded by their stern faced body guards. The dogs and their handler were in the lead running down the trail of the hunted. Their scent was easily picked up and the men on horses followed close behind the dogs.

There was a brief point as they entered the woods where the dogs seemed a little confused but the tracks showed that the fours horses split up and each took a different path. The dogs soon got back on the main scent. Sucat was most interested in catching Hyd and Ranee. He knew they were on the same horse because he saw them ride off together. He was very confident that he would have them soon because Hyd, the fool, had allowed Ranee, a woman, to take the horse to lead. What an idiot, to allow a woman to be in charge of a horse in a life and death situation. Sucat would never make such a mistake. Hell, he never would have stopped his escape to free a woman. Woman were easy come, easy go, but his cousin was a dunce when it came to woman and children and the old and the sick and all those kinds of people that just sort of clutter up the world for valuable men like himself. A few of those people could be useful on occasion but mostly he'd just like to kill them all.

08

2009-10-30T20:16:00.003-04:00

The dogs had a clear scent to follow and they went at a fast and steady pace. The trees in the forest were fairly thick and close together so the men on horses had to go slowly in the beginning when they entered the woods and it was not long before most had dismounted and followed on foot leading their horses.

The trail left by Ranee and Hyd was not hard to follow. They had stayed on their horse to get away faster and crashed through the trees, breaking branches and crushing bushes under the horse's hooves. Sucat really did not need the dogs to find Hyd and Ranee but he liked the idea of the snarling animals tracking them down and the fear the dogs would give them when Ranee and Hyd were caught and cornered by the beasts.

Sucat and his group travelled until they could not see any more because the light had faded faster in the woods than out in the open. They had left the keep in the late afternoon, not planning to be gone more than a couple of hours but it seemed that Hyd and Ranee had a longer head start than they first had anticipated. Sucat decided to stop for the night and make camp. He did not relish the idea of sleeping out in the open with out his usual camp equipment but they had come too far to turn back for the night. He had the food that Jyll had packed for him so he would be eating well and the others could fend for themselves or go hungry until morning.

He ordered the huntsman to go on to see if maybe he could corner Ranee and Hyd. It is possible they would have stopped by now too and they could be caught unaware. They both must be tired after the day that they both had endured. They would need to sleep soon to rest up. Hopefully the dogs would get them before morning and Sucat could just go in to clean up.

Some of Sucat's soldiers went hunting for game while others went looking for firewood while Sucat's wedding guests milled around waiting for someone to wait on them. A fire was quickly started for Sucat. He sat down near the blaze and began to open the food packet Jyll had packed. She sure was useful sometimes. The Margrave and a couple of other guests came over to share Sucat's fire and they thought they would also get some of his food but Sucat had no intention of sharing. They could wait for the game. Sucat opened the packet and found the meat pasty soggy and falling apart. He got gravy and sauce all over his clothes as he tried to eat it, most of it falling through his fingers and falling on the ground. The fruit Jyll had packed was crushed and mushed. Perhaps Jyll was not as helpful as he had thought.

He was no longer as happy and jubilant as when he had started out. The ale he had drunk earlier had caught up to him and he had a long hard day himself. He wanted to catch those annoying bothersome people that were making his life difficult. He should be enjoying comfort and new found wealth not sitting on the cold ground around a meager fire with no food. He was down right cranky and Ranee and Hyd would pay, dearly.

His soldiers would take care of his horse and the others could take care of themselves as best they could. He did not care. He bellowed at the nearest soldier to put more wood on the fire and make sure it did not go out during the night, then he rolled himself in a blanket and laid down by the fire and fell asleep. He slept through the night without being bothered by anyone or any thoughts.

When he woke in the morning, he was even crankier than when he had gone to sleep. The ground was hard and he was hungry and cold and damp from the morning dew. His crew had managed to capture some game during the night and had cooked it so that there was meat for the morning but it was bland with no flavorings and no bread or the fruit compote he liked to have to break his fast. He took the choicest parts of the rabbits roasting on the fire, fresh from the pit. Once he was done eating he made everyone break camp right away. He wanted to be off and get the chase over.

The dogs and their handler had not come back so they must still be on the trail of the fugitives. Hopefully they had been caught and cornered and were just waiting to be punished. The troop moved on, Sucat's guests even more unhappy than he was. The Margrave and his companions decided to turn back to the keep. That was fine with Sucat. Then he would have no worries about how to treat Ranee when she was caught. He could get rid of her without any witnesses that would care what happened to her.

The party moved more quickly through the woods because they now just wanted it over. It was a hunt and not a party and a slight drizzle had begun to fall.

In a couple of hours they had reached the spot where the dogs had stopped. The huntsman had them ranged around a horse that was tied to a tree, munching on the grass at its feet. The dogs were quiet but watchful. They had been sitting there guarding the horse since sunrise and by now the horse was used to them and ignoring them for the time being. It had strained at its tethers when the dogs had first come upon it, attempting to rear up and escape.

Sucat went up to his huntsman who could not leave his dogs without letting them loose which would be dangerous for them all.

"Why have you stopped?"

"They are here near by the horse. I thought we would stop here and wait for you. I knew you wanted to be the one to catch them. The dogs tell me they are not far."

"Can you get the dogs to corner them without the dogs making noise and alerting Hyd and the woman?"

"I will tie up all but my best dog and we will go to the spot where they are hiding. We will go slowly and you and a couple of men can follow. I think that would be the best way to capture them."

"I will be the one to decide what is best," said Sucat.

"Yes, of course, Baron."

The huntsman stood by quietly while Sucat decided what to do.

"You will tie up all of your dogs except your best one," Sucat told the huntsman. "We will follow behind you until you are sure of their location, then we will go in for the kill, so to speak. We will of course try to take them in for the King's justice in his court, what with Ranee being a Margrave's daughter and my wife. Hyd is also a peer of the realm so I guess he should get special consideration also but he has been found guilty once already. Still what can it hurt to be sure of this latest of his evil deeds."

The huntsman called over one of the biggest and strongest of Sucat's soldiers to hold on to the leash of the biggest and most vicious of the dogs while the huntsman took the other dogs over to a thick branched bush. He securely tied up the dogs and ordered them to stay. He also warned those staying behind to stay very clear of the dogs and not to look at them or talk to them.

The huntsman took the leash back from the soldier and waited for Sucat and the others who would join the final search to get organized. Sucat chose Captain Kennard of course and the two guards who rode at Sucat's left on the ride into the woods. They were his best and strongest men and had never failed him in the past. They tied up their horses and gave their instructions to the other soldiers. No one was to allow Ranee and Hyd to escape if they should happen to get past Sucat, Captain Kennard, the other two soldiers, Gregor and Konard and the huntsman, Heinric.

After taking allot of time getting organized so they could hopefully get this over with soon and get back to their warm and dry beds before the end of the day. Heinric, the huntsman and his dog went first. They moved quietly, the dog not making any sound as it sniffed through the grass and low lying branches. Sucat, Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard stayed back so that they did not make any noise to spook their prey or get in the way of the dog doing its job. They held back so that soon Heinric and his dog were out of sight in the underbrush.

Sucat had his sword drawn but was just sort of following Captain Kennard, who along with Gregor and Konard were more alert. They heard scrambling in the bushes far ahead of them, like running and falling and then they heard the dog let out a couple of barks and fierce growls, Heinric yelled a couple of quick commands and then there was silence.

Captain Kennard had begun running towards the disturbing sounds as soon as they had begun. The others were close behind him as they burst through the trees into a clearly and found Heinric and his dog dead, their throats cut, their blood leaking out into the ground. Ranee and Hyd were across the clearing running away from them. Sucat screamed when he saw his huntsman and his dog laying dead in the field. His rage was so great he grabbed the crossbow from Captain Kennard and fired at Hyd. The arrow struck Hyd in the back in his right shoulder. Captain Kennard, Konard and Gregor looked at Sucat in amazement because he was not known for being a good shot.

Hyd stumbled from the impact of the arrow hitting him. He turned slightly and looked behind him. Ranee ran back and pulled on him to hurry. She yelled at him to run. Hyd saw the men chasing them hesitate on the other side of the clearing. He used that brief moment to get up and start running, pushing Ranee ahead of him.

He heard Sucat yell again behind them and the men take off after Hyd and Renee. Hyd could not believe the burning pain in his shoulder or the fact that it was his cousin who had shot him. Sucat had to have special people around him when he went hunting because he could never hit the game so the other men would shoot the animals and pretend it was Sucat who had made the kill and here when it really mattered most the Baron finally got a shot in where it counted, at least for him.

09

2009-10-30T20:16:00.001-04:00

Hyd was glad that Sucat and his men had left their horses behind. If they had been mounted, Hyd and Ranee would not stand a chance to escape. They were also lucky that Ranee had agreed to wear a tunic and leggings. It turned out she was able to run for long periods without stopping unlike most women, or rather ladies, that Hyd had come across before. It was a good thing that hyd had spent time in these woods when he was a child and his father brought him here to visit his cousin. Hyd knew more about these woods than Sucat did because Sucat always prefered his comfort and would not spend too much time living rough.

Hyd took Ranee's hand and pulled her along after him. She asked no questions. She just kept running away from Sucat. Hyd pulled Ranee into a creek that was at the bottom of a ravine. They started running up stream where Hyd knew the stream went around a bend. If they could get there fast enough perhaps Sucat, Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard would not see which way they went and they would have to slit up, increasing the odds that Hyd and Ranee would be able to escape.

Hyd and Ranee made it around the bend and stopped to take a short break, splash some water on their faces and take a couple of sips from the stream. They were both very hungry since neither had eaten now in two days plus they had not slept well during the same amount of time. They would need a place to rest and eat very soon or it would not matter where they went, they would be dead anyway.

Of course, Hyd needed to do something about his shoulder wound. He still could not believe that Sucat of all people had managed to shoot him. Hyd's shoulder throbbed with pain. The arrow head had gone all the way through the soft flesh between the shoulder and his arm socket, the arrow head sticking out through the front of his body and the feathers sticking out of his back. He would have to get Ranee to break the ends off of the arrow and pull it out so that he could have her pack and bind the wound. If it was not taken care of soon, it would get infected and he would die from that instead of lack of food or lack of sleep.

The last few days had not been the best of Hyd's life. He was not sure how they had gotten so messy. Actually that was not true. He knew where his problems came from. His cousin was greedy and wanted everything and it did not matter to him how he got what he wanted. Hyd should have let him die when they were children and then he would not be here now and he could have saved Ranee her troubles too.

Hyd and Sucat were close in age, they were cousins, the last of their lines, so their fathers thought they should spend time together even though their fathers, first cousins, could not stand each other themselves, but nobility had certain obligations. Every three months or so they would visit each other rotating which estate they would be at. The visits usually involved Hyd protecting others from Sucat's cruelty. Sucat always played the high and mighty, punishing some one for some imagined slight. When Sucat came to visit Stahlheim, he spent allot of time taking his frustrations out on Eadward because Hyd and Hyd's father Allan loved Eadward as did every one who came in contact with him.

Once when Hyd and Sucat were twelve, Sucat and his father had come for a visit for five days in the summer. Stahlheim always had particularly good hunting on the grounds. Hyd, Eadward, John and Stephan were told by Hyd's father Allan to take Sucat with them went they went hunting. The boys did not want to take Sucat because he complained all of the time about how uncomfortable he was and he always talked about how bad things were at Stahlheim compared to his own home. Also he could not hunt. He could not shoot an arrow straight. He even shot his own trainer once. Usually he just dropped the arrow a few feet in front of himself because he could not draw the bow back far enough.

The boys reluctantly set out on their hunting trip. The weather was fine as it usually was in June so it was not long before they were all in good moods despite having Sucat along. They just ignored him, which made him really mad, so he became even more obnoxious. He decided to focus all of his hate and bad behavior on Eadward, who was the youngest of the group at ten years of age, but also the one who was always in a good mood, laughing and telling funny stories. Eadward was also the best rider and the best shot in the group. He had a natural talent when it came to any kind of physical endeavor and Sucat hated him for that and the fact that Allan had acknowledged Eadward as his son and Allan allowed Eadward and his mother to live in his house as full fledged family. Sucat also could not stand the fact that Hyd did not hate Eadward for sharing his father's love.

Sucat denigrated the clothes Eadward wore even though they were the same clothes Hyd wore. He told Eadward he was not a real son and could never inherit and that when Allan died Hyd would throw Eadward and his mother, Maryn, out of his house. He spent so much time and energy trying to upset Eadward that he was not controlling his horse properly. He moved in a way that upset the horse and it got out of his control and took off into the woods at a rapid pace, breaking through branches, the last of which knocked Sucat in the head and unhorsing him.

Sucat laid on the ground, unconscious and breathing shallowly. The boys, being young and wrapped up in the great dislike of Sucat, were very tempted to leave him, hoping he would die but of course, Hyd, the conscience of them all, had Stephan get Sucat's horse, then they loaded Sucat on the horse's back and took him home. The damage was not as great as they had at first thought and once he regained consciousness Sucat tried to blame his fall on Eadward saying Eadward had prodded Sucat's horse but since that was not true the others were witnesses to what really happened and told everyone it was because Sucat could not control his horse.

That was the year when the visits between the cousins became fewer and shorter and Sucat's father, Franck, insisted that Eadward not be allowed around his son, which was fine with everyone. Hyd did his duty on the visits, spending time with Sucat alone so his brother and his friends did not have to put up with Sucat's bad behavior.

That was the first time Hyd wished that he could not always do the right thing but his father had taught him that as difficult as it seemed to make things, doing the right thing really was the best choice. Hyd had to go by what his father had taught him. Even though Allan had tragedy in his life like the loss of his beloved wife and not being able to marry the second woman he found to love, he had died a very happy man, with two fine sons that he was very proud of, so Hyd always did his best to do what his father would do.

Because to his father's teaching, Hyd believed that even this situation would work out some how for the best but in order for that to happen he had to keep moving and find a way to hide and regroup with the others.

Ranee, as well as she had done on their escape, was looking very tired. She tried to keep up but she would not be able to hold out much longer. Hyd could not believe how she had helped him take out the huntsman and his dog when they were attacked in the clearing. Heinric, the huntsman, had sent the dog after Hyd first. Hyd was wrestling with the killer animal when Ranee grabbed the dog by its crest, pulling back its neck so Hyd was able to cut its throat. Heinric screamed in anger and pain and pulled Ranee off of the dog and punched her in the face, trying to attack her further. Hyd pushed the dead dog off of himself and rose to get Heinric off of Ranee. The fought but it did not take Hyd long to stab Heinric and kill him. That is when Sucat, Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard entered the clearing and Sucat got off his lucky shot.

Hyd stumbled in the creek, encouraging Ranee to move on. Hyd knew there was an escape route not far away if only they could get to it before Sucat and his men caught up to them. Hyd needed to pay attention and concentrate just a little while longer. He stumbled again, this time from exhaustion and pain and hunger and desperation. He was not sure if he could keep going. He struggled to rise, looking up to see where Ranee was. She had turned when he had fallen this second time. She looked at him with such sadness and resignation that it almost broke his heart. She smiled, a cute little dimple showing in her right cheek. He noticed she had bright green eyes. He never really had a chance to look at her before.

Amazingly, they had never met before. Her father, the Margrave, had kept her hidden well, saving her for some profitable sale. Hyd did not think the Margrave would find he had made a good deal this time. Hyd was sure Sucat would have some surprises for his father-in-law that the Margrave would not like.

Ranee sat down in the water facing Hyd. He sat down in the water too. Ranee splashed water up on her head, hung her head briefly, than lay back in to the water. Hyd stared at her wondering if she had finally given up, but she sat back up, her long hair the color of mink wet and tangled all around her. She pulled it all together and threw the twisted chord of hair over her shoulder. She looked at Hyd, her bruised left eye crinkling up and she laughed, one bark of hysteria escaping her lips. She covered her mouth then burst out laughing in earnest. Hyd could not help joining in. He fell over backwards into the water splashing until he was completely wet.

"We did pretty could together," said Hyd.

Ranee nodded and sighed.

"This is all my fault," said Ranee. "If I had just accepted my duty and obeyed my father, none of this would have happened."

"This was not your fault. You should not have been forced to marry Sucat. You were right to try to get away. This was your father's fault and Sucat's fault. They are in the wrong, not you, not me."

Ranee shook her head, her shoulders slumping.

Hyd took a deep breath.

"This is not over," he said.

"You two are caught."

10

2009-10-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

"Is this you escape plan, because some how I do not think it will work." Eadward walked over to Hyd and gave him a hand to help him stand up.

"Nice epaulet, brother."

Eadward walked over to Ranee and gave her his hand. She took it and stood.

"I think we should leave," said Eadward. "Sucat and Captain Kennard are not far behind us. They are a bit slow because Sucat did not want to get wet but he did not want to be left behind so he is having Captain Kennard carry him on his back."

"Our cousin is just odd," said Hyd, "which is even more reason to get away."

"The cave is just around the bend. Stephan and John are waiting for us."

Hyd took Ranee's hand and led the way. Eadward took up the rear. Now that Eadward had joined them, Hyd felt some hope again.

The three continued walking in the creek, following its path around a bend to the mouth of the cave from which the creek emanated. Stephan and John stood by the opening on dry ground leaning against the rocks that surrounded the hole in the mountain.

They stood up when they saw Hyd, Ranee and Eadward.

"About time you decided to join us," said John.

"We were about to go in without you," said Stephan. "Your mother's special recipe is calling to us."

"The cave is still stocked from our last visit," said John, "and it looks like you will need an extra dose of Maryn's medicine. There may even be some dried, cured meat left, too."

"This reunion is very sweet, my fellows, but let us save it for when we have the time to enjoy it," sad Eadward. "We need to get secure so that we can take care of Hyd's shoulder."

"Yes, we noticed the addition to your dress," said John.

"Who gave you the gift?" said Stephan, "Captain Kennard would be my guess."

"Actually, this was a special treat from my loving cousin."

"Leave it to you give get caught by Sucat's lucky shot."

"Stop picking on Hyd," said Eadward. "I am sure he feels bad about all of this."

The men all laughed, including Hyd.

Ranee collapsed. She started crying.

"We are in so much trouble and you four stand around telling jokes to each other." She sobbed into her hands. "And now I am crying like a small child."

Hyd knelt down beside Ranee.

"You are right, we should act more concerned, but we joke because we are confident we can escape this mess," said Hyd, "and there is nothing wrong with crying. Eadward cries all of the time."

The men broke up laughing again as Hyd helped Ranee to her feet and she joined in their laughter.

"Rest time over," said John, as he turned and entered the cave.

"I will go next," Hyd said to Ranee. "You hold on to the back of my tunic and not let go. We will not be using light until we get to our hiding place and it is a long walk."

Ranee grabbed the back of Hyd's shirt. He grunted when the fabric tightened around the arrow still in his shoulder. Ranee loosened her grip then let go when she turned at the sound of someone splashing in the water behind them.

Hyd, Ranee, Stephan and Eadward turned to see Captain Kennard come around the bend of the creek with Sucat on his back. Captain Kennard pulled up short when he saw the group.

"Do not stop," yelled Sucat. "Get them."

Captain Kennard shrugged Sucat off of his back, dumping Sucat into the water. He took off running after the group of escapees as they laughed at him and turned to run into the cave to get away. Captain Kennard bellowed as he splashed through the water after them. Several feet into the cave Captain Kennard stopped because it was so dark he could not see his hands in front of his face.

He was quiet and stood still for several minutes. He could not hear any sounds up ahead in the dark tunnel. He would have to go back and get his fellow soldiers and gather supplies. They would need torches if they were to go through this tunnel. He would have to see if he could find anyone who knew the caves. A guide into the tunnel would be helpful. even though this cave was part of Sucat's holdings he doubted if the Baron had ever been here before let alone gone in to the cave.

Captain Kennard turned and went back the way he had come. He used the light from the opening as his guide. He had expected to see Sucat when he got out but he could not see the Baron when he exited the cave. He searched around trying to find him. He found Sucat coming out of the bushes. Sucat's clothes were all wet and he was muddy.

"You idiot," said Sucat, "look at me. I am cold and wet."

"I tried to catch them."

"But you did not, did you?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No, Baron."

"That is better."

Captain Kennard stood in front of Sucat, the Baron Briefadel, at full attention, staring just over the top of the short man's head. Sucat stamped his foot like a small child.

"Well, do something," he said.

"What are your orders?"

"Find them."

"How, sire?"

"If you do not get busy, I will have you flogged in public when this is over. Go find the others and bring them back here so we can get these annoying fleas out of my hair."

"Yes, sire."

Captain Kennard turned from Sucat and retraced his path through the creek on his way back to his men.

Sucat began searching for fire wood. He was all wet so he had no idea how he would start a fire but he would have to prepare. He could not believe that Hyd and his friends were getting the better of him. Sucat needed to calm down and think so he could catch them. He had taken them for granted, underestimating their stamina, especially the girl's. Sucat thought his new wife would have slowed down the escape, but she was keeping up with the men.

Sucat needed to think about the people involved. He knew Hyd and Eadward very well having spent much time with them growing up. He did not know Stephan and John as well but he knew them well enough to know that they were very loyal to Hyd and Eadward and that they were all very good friends and would not leave each other for their own escape. He did not know Ranee at all and had severely underestimated her abilities.

It was clear to him now that Ranee was physically strong, mentally determined and maybe smarter than the average wench. He might even consider keeping her around later. He had enjoyed bedding her. Her struggles and fight had inflamed him, but if he kept Renee he did not think he could keep Jyll too. Another thing he would need to think about. He needed to stop fantasying about his women and form a plan.

By the time he had gathered a large pile of wood, he thought he had a good plan. He sat down by his pile of wood and waited for his men to return. It was now late afternoon so he knew that they would need to wait another day before he could go after Hyd and his group but one more day would not matter for his plan. He was so happy with his idea, that he even allowed himself a smile. He could just picture Hyd and the others, cold and hungry, hiding in the dark and with Hyd in pain from Sucat's well placed arrow shot, it made Sucat all the more happy. The longer they were in misery the better Sucat's plan would work. He lay back on the ground and closed his eyes to wait and he pictured Hyd's situation in his mind.

John was the first to reach the back cave which was well hidden from the front entrance of the cave. The men had found this tunnel system when they were children and were forced to visit Sucat. They had used there tunnels to hide from Sucat and gain some free time from him and their duties. They had used the back cave off and on as they grew older to take time away from their responsibilities. They kept it stocked with supplies that they could use in emergencies and for quick get aways. He found their stash of flint rocks and tinder and struck up a flame that he could use to light a torch.

That one torch he used to light the others in holders around the cave. By the time they were lit, Hyd followed by Ranee, Stephan and Eadward entered the stone room. They all collapsed on the wooden benches that the men had gathered over the years. Stephan, who was seated next to a water barrel that was filled by a dripping from the cave wall, ladled water into mugs and passed them around to everyone. John reach in a cask placed next to him. He broke the hard shell of the salt and dug in the cask to pull out salted mutton strips. The group sat silently chewing on the dried meat and drinking water.

"I think I need something stronger than this water," said Hyd. "I would like to get rid of my cousins gift soon."

Eadward took Hyd's now empty water cup. He pulled a sheep's bladder from a peg in the wall and poured the cup half full of grain alcohol and added some water. He gave the cup to Hyd who drained the cup in one long gulp. He shuddered from the drink but it gave him a warm feeling and the pain in his shoulder began to ease.

11

2009-10-30T20:14:00.002-04:00

Hyd had a second cup of alcohol, drinking it quickly so it would have the fastest effect. It would take away the pain in his shoulder and it would also help him get some much needed sleep which he would have a hard time doing with the way his mind was trying to figure a way out of their situation.

"Someone is going to need to get this arrow out of my shoulder," said Hyd.

Eadward, John and Stephan looked at each other and at Hyd, none of them willing to give it a try since Hyd had hit each of them before when he had been hurt and they were away from home. He did not mean to hurt them but it was a natural reaction he seemed to have when he drank too much to dull the pain, which is why he rarely drank more than a few mugs of ale.

After several seconds of watching each other, the started to laugh.

"Do you remember that time you broke your leg when you were fourteen and we were out hunting?" Eadward held his head with both his hands and flinched away from Hyd.

"My head hurt for a whole month when you kicked me after I tried to set your leg and bind it so we could go home."

"You almost dislocated my jaw when I tried to hold you down that time you cut your ear," said John.

"You were the one who cut my ear, though," said Hyd, "so I do not feel too bad about hitting you."

"I was only trying to teach you how to use your sword and since no one has been able to cut you again I would say that I succeeded."

"There is that," said Hyd. He smiled at John to show that he was never really ever mad at him. He looked at Stephan.

"I am not going near you," said Stephan.

"It was not that bad," said Hyd.

“You bit me,” said Stephan. He rubbed his left forearm, grimacing.

“Is it still sore?” John laughed at his friend, remembering when Stephan was bitten by Hyd. They had gone to purchase some sheep in Wales to renew their stock and make the wool in their herd more marketable. They were on their way back, having a hard time keeping the sheep in control. They had bought two rams that were trying to dominate the ewes on the trail. Stephan and Hyd were working on the leather lines that had the largest of the rams tied to a tree for the night. Hyd was trying to tie off a knot when the ram shook its head violently at Hyd, gouging him with a horn. Stephan grabbed the offending horn as Hyd went to put one of the leather lines between his teeth to tie the horn secure. Hyd missed the leather tether and bit into Stephan’s forearm.

When they finally returned home, Stephan told the story to the Jester, the musician and actor that lived on Hyd’s holdings and Jester performed a skit at Hyd’s birthday celebration reenacting the incident. No one laughed louder than Hyd.

“Fine,” said Hyd. “I will do it myself.”

Ranee coughed. She coughed again, only louder when the men did not pay attention to her. Still they ignored her.

“I know I am only a woman,” she said. Anger and frustration making her sound harsh and shrill to her own ears, but the men finally looked at her. She took a deep breath.

“I can do it,” she said.

“Do what?” asked Eadward.

“I can remove the arrow and bind the wound.” She sat on a back bench, her back straight, and her hands lying demurely in her lap. Her clothes were damp, ripped and torn, her hair loose and tangled, with grass and leaves tucked in various strands. Dirt smudged her cheek and she had scrapes along her chin. She looked at each man directly in the eyes, her chin raised in defiance.

“No offense, madam,” said John, “but it is not that easy to mend a wound.”

“Why is it that when someone is going to offend, they begin by saying ‘No offense’?” Ranee looked at Stephan, waiting patiently for him to answer her.

He looked at her, smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“I apologize,” he said, “but here will be allot of blood when the arrow is removed.”

“And the arrow will not be easy to take out, either,” said Eadward. “You will need to…”

“Break the back part off of the shaft and pull the arrow through the front,” said Ranee. “I have done this before.”

“When?” asked Hyd.

“My father does not think much of women,” she said. She hung her head and was quiet for a while. The four men in the room watched her, waiting for her to continue at her own pace. They were used to listening to women. They all respected Eadward’s mother, Maryn, a great deal. They considered her smarter than most men they knew. And John and Stephan had mothers and sisters who they loved and respected.

“My father only has two uses for women. Mostly he believes women are for his entertainment.” Ranee blushed, red tinting the tips of her ears and the tops of her cheek bones. She did not look up. She spoke to her lap.

“He also believes women of use as pawns in his political and financial maneuvering. This, as you know, is not unusual for most men of a certain class.”

“Not all men think as he does,” said Hyd. Eadward, John and Stephan agreed with him.

Ranee looked up at the four men, trying to gauge which kind of men they were. She had never met any men of title who thought or felt differently and could not believe these men were different, but they waited patiently for her to continue and they did not tell she was wrong. They looked at her like they really wanted to hear what she had to say.

“I fit into the second category as far as my father was concerned,” she said. “I know of other girls who are not so lucky.” She blushed again, but part of the color was from anger this time. She had a friend who had killed herself when she was twelve because her father used her in a wifely way.

When Ranee looked at the men she saw that they were angry too, their jaws clenching as the ground their teeth together. Ranee shook her head to clear her thoughts of bad memories so she could continue.

“As long as I looked good and acted demurely around him or prospective husbands, he left me alone. I spent much time quietly lurking in corners trying to learn things from others. Our priest took pity on me and secretly taught me to read and write and use numbers. He said a woman should know these things so she can run her household properly. No one but he knows I can do these things. My father would have him beaten if he ever found out regardless of him being a priest. Preston, our priest, taught me how to keep secrets and become and very good actor. He saw how my father treated my mother and thought it very wrong.”

Tears rolled down her face, but she did not wipe them away. She stood up abruptly, taking two steps towards them and wringing her hands together.

“You can not tell anyone,” she said. “Preston is still my father’s priest. My father would kill him if he found out, after torturing him to find out what else he had taught me or any other women my father owns.”

“We will not tell anyone,” said John. “Who could we tell? We would be shot before we could speak.”

“You are safe with us,” said Stephan and he laughed because none of them were safe right now.

“Women are not possessions,” said Eadward.

“What world do you men live in?” asked Ranee, “because it is not the same one I occupy.”

“You are right,” said Eadward. “Our world is different than most, but you would like it, I think.”

“And you might be right, too,” said Ranee. “But I am not and so I do what I need to do.”

“As we all do,” said Hyd. “And right now we need to make do also. What else, besides monkish knowledge do you know?”

“Hyd’s drunken side is coming out,” said Eadward. “I apologize for him.”

“I do not need you to apologize,” said Hyd. “I need to know if she…”

“My name is Ranee.”

“I need to know if Ranee can help me or not with the arrow.”

“I can help you,” she said, “and I think it time that we start and I will talk while I work. You have been in pain long enough and we must take time to rest soon, if we are to escape this situation and you have no other volunteers, from what the others have said.”

“Ranee speaks truly,” said Eadward. ”You should just be a man about it.” He handed Hyd another cup of the alcohol. “Drink and be merry.”

Hyd swallowed his third cup, handed the empty container back to Eadward and nodded to Ranee.

“Preston made sure I met different people on my father’s holdings,” said Ranee. She walked over to Hyd and stood in front of him, looking at his shoulder without touching him.

“I need a knife, some rags for packing and some rags ripped into strips,” she said over her shoulder. “Will you hit me when I take the arrow out?”

“I do not hit women,” said Hyd.

“According to your men, you can not help yourself.”

“They are not my men. Eadward is my brother and John and Stephan are my friends, so I can hit them whenever I please. But I do not hit women.”

“He will not hit you,” said Eadward. “No matter how much pain he is in or how much he has drunk.”

John handed Ranee his knife.

“Fill the cup with more of your brew,” said Ranee.

“I have had plenty to drink. I can not feel my shoulder any more.” He laughed. “I can not feel my toes.” He giggled.

Ranee laughed at him.

“You will not be drinking any more. You have had enough,” said Ranee. “I will be using the liquor to pour over the wound and the knife. It will prevent the wound from festering.”

Ranee poured some of the alcohol over the knife. She then used it to cut his tunic from his shoulder. She was careful not to get near the arrow so it did not move in the wound.

“I learned the herbalist’s art from a woman who lived in the swampy area near the bogs. She had eight children from eight different men. She was one of the happiest people I have ever met. She taught me while she taught her oldest child, a daughter, how to find herbs and make her medicines. She also taught me how to treat various diseases and ailments and wounds, most importantly how to prevent wounds from festering.”

Ranee took two wadded up pieces of cloth and soaked them in the alcohol. She handed the cup back to Eadward to be refilled.

“One of you will need to hold the back of the arrow shaft and one of you will need to hold his shoulder.”

John and Stephan stood behind Hyd. Eadward handed the full cup back to Ranee. Hyd’s head bent forward, his chin resting on his chest, his eyes closed. The alcohol and the sound of Ranee’s voice were putting him to sleep.

Ranee nodded to John, who then held Hyd by his uninjured shoulder and his right bicep. She nodded to Stephan who stood at the ready to hold the back end of the arrow shaft. She held the cup of alcohol over Hyd’s right shoulder.

“You may not know this,” she said, “but my father has the best horseman in the region. Horses being more important than any other animal or people for that matter, my father made sure his horses always had the best. Our horses are sold to those who want the best horses and the king rides one of our war horses in battle.”

Ranee nodded to Stephan who took hold of the arrow as she poured the alcohol over Hyd’s shoulder. John held on tighter as Hyd woke from the pain of the liquid flowing into the wound and tried to flinch away.

Ranee took a strong hold on the front of the arrow as Stephan snapped the shaft. She pulled the arrow out of Hyd’s shoulder, dropped it to the floor of the cave and packed the open hole in Hyd’s shoulder on both sides with the alcohol soaked rags. Hyd bellowed from the pain, his body rising up and straining against John, but he never made a move towards Ranee. She pushed both hands together increasing the pressure on Hyd’s shoulder.

“Hand me the strips of cloth,” she said.

Eadward passed her the cloth. She wrapped Hyd’s shoulder tightly, tying it up so the knots were not on top of the holes in Hyd’s shoulder. Hyd passed out with a sigh.

John and Stephan picked him up, carried him to a sleeping bench and covered him with a wool blanket. Ranee picked up the arrow pieces and put them in the corner with the other trash. She dipped some alcohol into the cup, added some water to the top of the cup and sat down. She sipped the liquid, grimacing.

“That is nasty stuff,” she said.

“True, but it keeps well and has many uses,” said Eadward. “You were telling us about your father’s horses.”

“Really about Wayn, his horseman.”

John handed Ranee some dried meat.

“Eat,” he said, “It goes well with the drink.”

“Wayn is also my father’s surgeon. He is a big man, strong, since he is also a blacksmith. He makes fine intricate work in metals and he makes small fine stitches in flesh. He too dislikes the way my father, and men like him, treat women. He taught me that the stitching I learned could be used to repair flesh.”

“You have had interesting teachers,” said Eadward.

“I learned fast, too, since I could never be caught doing these things or the others would pay dearly for my knowledge.” Ranee yawned.

“You and Hyd have had a rough time of it,” said Eadward. “It is time for you to rest. John, Stephan and I will stand guard and pack for our escape and make plans.” He took the cup from her hand and handed her a blanket. Ranee lay down. She was asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

12

2009-10-30T20:14:00.001-04:00

Sucat sat shivering by his pile of firewood when Captain Kennard returned with the other men. It was almost dark.

Captain Kennard gave orders to have the camp set up. The first task to be done was to get the fire going because Sucat looked like he was ready to explode which would not be good for any of them. At the very least, he would get in their way and at worst he would order some beatings. The Captain vowed to himself that he would get away from here when this was done.

One of the men gave Sucat some dry clothes. He changed into the tunic and leggings, complaining about the poor quality of the fabric and how it scratched and itched his skin. The man stood by picking up Sucat’s wet clothing when he dropped them on the ground.

“Get me something to eat,” said Sucat. “Put more wood on the fire.” Sucat warmed himself while the others worked. He was handed some cold rabbit meat, an oak cake and a bladder of ale. He paced in front of the fire as he ate and drank. When he was done, he ordered another man to bring him blankets. When they were brought, he wrapped himself up and lay down.

“Keep the fire going all night,” he said. “I have had enough of being cold.” He leaned up on an elbow.

“Captain Kennard,” he said, “Have the men ready in the morning to get these bastards. I am weary of this game.”

Sucat snored during the night as the men prepared for the hunt in the morning. The men took turns sleeping and keeping guard although they did not expect any attacks from anyone except maybe some animals. Captain Kennard thought there might be bears in the cave. They could not find anyone in the area who knew anything about the cave. The only person who may have known was Heinric, Sucat’s huntsman, but he was dead by Hyd’s hand.

Captain Kennard was sure he could track Hyd and the others but it would have been nice to have some help. He was getting too old for this sort of thing. Sucat’s little feud with his cousin Hyd was a waste of time and energy. Captain Kennard knew both men for all of their lives and while Sucat was cunning in a self absorbed selfish way, Hyd was the smarter one and the better man. If the Captain thought there was any way that Hyd could escape this situation the Captain would help him and hope that Hyd would take him in his employ. Captain Kennard had enough of torturing and abuse of the innocent so that first Franck, Sucat’s father could get what he wanted and now Sucat, being well trained by Franck, was following in his father’s footsteps. The only difference between Franck and Sucat was that Franck liked to do most of his dirty work himself where as Sucat liked to watch more unless his victims were very securely tied but even then he never wanted to do anything that required him to use too much energy. Captain Kennard could never respect a man who had pain inflicted on people by others. That kind of laziness did not sit well with him.

Captain Kennard got his rest in the last shift before sunrise. He did not sleep until he knew all was prepared. There was fresh game roasting on spits over several fires, oats stewing in a pot and the men organized and ready to hunt for Hyd, Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee. Torches were primed and stuck in the ground and several lengths of rope were knotted and coiled to be used to mark their passage through the caves so they could get in and get out again.

When the sun rose, Captain Kennard was up. He fed his horse and made sure he was tied securely to the tree. Captain Kennard had brushed his horse down the night before. He would not need the horse in the search but he would need it to get home. He had a portion of the oat porridge with some roasted rabbit and ale. All of the other men were up, packed and fed before Sucat even opened his eyes.

Sucat rose slowly, complaining about aches and pains from sleeping on the ground. He went and relieved himself in the bushes. When he got back he was handed his food to break his fast. He complained about the food’s flavoring or lack of it and its poor quality. While Sucat ate, Captain Kennard told him about his plans for finding the fugitives. He told Sucat that Sucat could be second in line when entering the cave, just behind the first torch bearer. Sucat blanched when Captain Kennard told him about entering the cave. He was afraid of the dark and small places.

When Sucat was a child, Franck, his father, would lock Sucat in the dark damp cells with chained prisoners so Sucat could know what it was like and to develop in Sucat the desire to make sure Sucat would never want to be in a cell belonged by anyone else. At first, Sucat would scream and cry to be let out, but he learned the more he cried, the longer his father would keep him in the cell. It did not take him long to learn to be quiet. Then he would huddle in a corner. Still his father kept putting him in the cells. When Sucat began harassing the prisoners who were chained and locked in with him, Franck would let him out. The more pain Sucat inflicted on his cell mate the faster he was released. When he killed one prisoner after torturing him, his father stopped locking him in the cells. Sucat was fifteen the last time he was in his own dungeons as a prisoner. Within the year, he had his father killed and Sucat was the new Baron.

“I am going back to the keep,” said Sucat. “I will prepare the cells for them and have the scaffolds ready for their hangings, if they are alive when you get them out.”

He brushed off his clothes and farted.

“Give me your horse, Captain Kennard, since you did not think to have my horse brought.”

“Your horse is lame, sire.” The Captain knew that Sucat could not ride the Captain’s horse but the Captain’s horse was well trained so if the Captain put Sucat on the horse’s back it would not unseat him. Of course, it was always possible Sucat would fall off of the horse’s back on his own and break his neck. Captain Kennard smiled at the thought.

“Quit dawdling, Captain. You are not in my favor as it is.”

Captain Kennard ordered one of his men to escort Sucat back to his hall and then return to maintain the camp while all of the other men hunted for the escapees. Captain Kennard brought his horse to Sucat and helped Sucat onto the horse’s back.

“Bring the fugitives to me before one more day passes or you will regret it with your life. I am done with this game. I just want to enjoy my newly acquired wealth.” Sucat looked down at his man. “And Captain, if my, um, darling wife should not survive her ordeal, it would be sad and I would certainly mourn her passing, but it would be understandable that a delicate flower like her would not live.” Sucat smiled at Captain Kennard.

“Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, Baron Briefadel, we understand each other quite well. I will produce the proper outcome.”

“Good. Perhaps you will be able to redeem yourself.”

“I can only hope.”

Captain Kennard tapped his horse on the rump and Sucat and his escort headed home.

Captain Kennard turned back to his men. The camp had been organized for their leaving. The captain would not leave anyone behind. The man with Sucat would come back to keep the camp site safe and ready.

Captain Kennard lined up his nine men, giving every other one a torch. They lit them with the flames from the camp fire. The men without the torches took up the lengths of rope. The first rope man would tie the rope to his waist and let out the rope as they went into the cave. As that rope was let out to its full length the next rope man would start letting out his rope. Captain Kennard hoped they had enough rope. He had no idea how far the tunnels went into the mountain. They would take extra torches and leave them along the way. If need be he hoped they would be able to follow the lights back out.

“I will go first. We need to get these people and get them back to the Baron. Capturing them and securing them are the most important things. Once we find them you need not worry about hurting or even killing any of them. The Baron will forgive us for not allowing him his usual satisfactions as long as we bring the bodies back. He will not care too much about their conditions. I want to be in my bed by tomorrow night as I am sure is the same for you all, so pay close attention and let us get this finished.”

Captain Kennard took his own torch, lit it and went to the head of the line of men.

“Let us go,” he said. He led the way into the cave.

13

2009-10-30T20:13:00.002-04:00

The space that made up the entrance to the cave was just high enough for Captain Kennard to stand up straight. When he raised his arm, he had no trouble touching the palm of his hand to the cave’s ceiling. It was cold stone but not damp or covered with any lichen. The walls on either side of him were only a couple of paces away. The cave was not large. The floor beneath his feet was covered in rubble and small rocks, not sand. He saw no animal tracks. The rocks were disturbed only by the passing of people who did not try to hide their travel through the cave. Since there was only one way to go it did not matter if they left a trail.

Captain Kennard moved on. He reminded the men behind him to be quiet, as any sound they made would be likely to travel loudly through the tunnel. His whispers were amplified where they were now.

They proceeded through the tunnel behind the cave. The tunnel began off to the left at the back of the cave slightly hidden by a protruding outcrop. The tunnel was two men wide but it got lower so that the men had to hunch over a little as they walked deeper under the mountain.

As they went further along, the walls got damp. Their feet got wet from the puddles that formed in spots along the way. The torches wavered from a breeze that wafted around them bring cold air past them and making them shiver. So far they had let out two lengths of rope and the way ahead was dark and quiet. Captain Kennard could not see any light ahead of him.

They went on for another length of rope where they came to a point that split the tunnel in two directions. Captain Kennard had no idea which way to go. He bent down with his torch to see if he could find any marks on the ground that would give him a hint as to which way Hyd, Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee had gone. The floor here was solid, clear rock, dry and unscuffed as far as Captain Kennard could tell in the poor light. He decided to try the tunnel to his right hand. They could always turn back and try the left tunnel if this one did not lead to their prey.

They did not have enough rope to split up and search both tunnels at the same time. As they went another two lengths of rope, the tunnel got more narrow and the ceiling lower. Captain Kennard decided the others would not be crawling through the tunnels. They must have taken the left hand tunnel.

Just when Captain Kennard was going to tell his men to turn around they heard a moaning sound coming from the tunnel ahead of them. His men started mumbling about hauntings and ghosts when a gust of wind struck them, putting out their torches.

“Do not move,” said Captain Kennard. “If you panic you will be lost.”

Captain Kennard took a deep breath.

“Turn around, hold on to the tunic of the man in front of you. Using the wall to your left and the ropes we left behind us, slowly follow your way back out. Move. We lost allot of time and now we will lose more going back to get our torches relit.”

The way back out was more slow going than the way in had been since they were completely in the dark. Several of the men stumbled over rocks they could not see. One fell and slowed them even more. By the time they finally got out of the mountain the sun was beginning to set. Captain Kennard could not believe that what seemed like a brief trip in the tunnels could have taken them all day. Now another whole day was lost.

All of the searches went off in the woods to relieve themselves after a whole day of holding their water in the cave. The man who had taken Sucat home and come back had used his time wisely. He hand rabbit stew cooking over several strong fires with bread he had brought back from the Baron’s hall to go with the stew. Captain Kennard would eat and decide if they should stop for the night or go back in to the cave. The darkness of night could not matter to them in the cave, since the cave was dark day or night but the men were tired so maybe they should rest for the night. Captain Kennard did not want to lose another day.

His men were hardy and strong. They could go a day without sleep. It was more important to catch Hyd, Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee and get back home. They would go on tonight and maybe they would get lucky and catch the fugitives by surprise. Unless the left tunnel went all the way through the mountain and exited out the other side. If that was the case, they might never catch them Captain Kennard did not want to think about that. If the five people they were looking for got away, Captain Kennard did not want to think about what would happen then. He would have to leave the country if he could not bring them back to Sucat. One on one, Captain Kennard could deal with Sucat, if they dealt with each other as men. But Sucat, as a Baron, held power that his stature could not disguise.

Sucat could have him arrested, whipped, beaten, anything and Captain Kennard knew that Sucat would not care that Captain Kennard was his illegitimate half brother. Granted, Captain Kennard had come farther and held more respect than any of Franck’s other illegitimate children even with his brother Sucat but Captain Sucat had no illusions about his place in the world. He was glad he had always planned to escape Sucat. He had been stashing what little gold and silver he could gather over the years along with supplies. All he needed to do was get through this episode successfully and then he would leave. Enough was enough.

“Eat up men,” said Captain Kennard, “but not so much that you get sleepy and sluggish. After a brief rest, we will go back in and get these people who are keeping in misery.”

No one grumbled or complained, they just ate and drank and took care of their immediate needs. Some looked after their horses. A few took the opportunity to close their eyes and rest. When the sun had completely set and the camp was in full darkness, Captain Kennard called his men to attention. They took their torches and coiled rope as before. They lit the torches, formed their line again and went back in to the cave.

They were more confident in their travels this time having been most of the way before. They moved faster but were as quiet as before. They reached the area where the tunnel split in two different directions. Leading the way as before, Captain Kennard headed into the left hand tunnel. There was a constant flow of air coming from this tunnel. The flames off the torches danced in the breeze.

Captain Kennard still could not see any light at the end of this tunnel, but when he held his torch up it did not look as though the tunnel got smaller, at least for a good stretch. This tunnel was dry and the floor was smooth and clear of debris down the center as though the floor was cleaned and the stones swept to the sides.

They reached another spot where the tunnel split in two different directions. They were almost out of rope, too. There was only one coil of it left. Captain Kennard went into the right hand tunnel and got down on his knees. The floor of the tunnel had stones on it from wall to wall. He stood up and went into the left hand tunnel, got down on his knees again and looked at the floor in this section. Here the center of the tunnel looked as if it too had been swept clean. Even if they ran out of rope and the torches blew out again as long as they kept going left they would be able to get back out again. When they had their last coil of rope completely unfurled, he had his men sit and rest for several minutes. They shared a bladder of watered ale, not drinking too much because there was no place to comfortably relieve themselves and the smell might attract an animal or give away their position. They chewed on some dried meat to keep their energy up.

It was time to get moving again. Before he rose to go on, Captain Kennard thought he heard voices coming towards them from deeper in the mountain. He signaled his men not to move or make any sort of sound. He held his breath and strained his hearing for several long heart beats. All he knew he heard for sure was the sound of the air flowing through the tunnel, but he was sure he had heard a voice before although he could have been hearing things in his anxiety to find these people and get all of this over with.

He signaled the men to move on and to keep absolutely silent. He could feel in his bones that they were getting closer. They moved on feeling the sides of the walls to keep their balance. Captain Kennard felt the nature of the air flow change and it seemed to smell different. The tunnel felt like it turned more and more to the left but there were no more splits in the tunnel. It continued on in a single tunnel.

Captain Kennard stopped dead in his tracks, the man behind him bumping into him, when they clearly heard a man’s laugh coming from the tunnel ahead of them.

14

2009-10-30T20:13:00.001-04:00

Hyd slept soundly for many hours, at least through one whole day. They knew a day had passed because there was a shaft that went from the outside of the mountain down into their cave. The shaft was just big enough to let in fresh air and a small stream of light when the sun was in the exact right position overhead.

Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee slept and woke in several shifts while Hyd slept all the way through. Ranee checked on him each time she woke. His head remained cool which was a good thing since it meant there was no infection setting in. No fever, no festering wound. They put more blankets on him to keep him warm, since they did not want to start a fire and take the chance of giving away their position.

They wanted to let Hyd sleep even more but time was running out. They needed to get moving soon. They could not take the chance of underestimating their pursuers. While they thought Sucat, on his own, would not be able to catch them, they felt Captain Kennard was hot on their tail.

They used their time in the cave to eat and drink and rest. They raised a blanket up as a screen so that Ranee could go behind it and relieve herself. She also took the time to get out of the dirty torn tunic and leggings. She washed herself with some of the water and a bit of cloth she tore off of the bottom of the tunic. She was very sore from the bruises she had received from Sucat’s rape of her.

Eadward had pulled some stored clothing from a trunk and she put them on. The cloth they were made from was heavier than what she had on before and she was grateful for that as she was cold from the shock of her ordeal over the last couple of days. She really did not believe they would get away but she liked this time with these men. They seemed like they really liked and cared for one another. They told funny stories of their life together and these stories told her how close they were to each other.

Ranee wished she had people like that in her life but the closest she got were with Preston, her father’s priest, Wayn, her father’s horseman and blacksmith and Sara, the daughter of the woman who had taught her healing and herbs. But while there were times when these people and she felt some comfort with each other most of the time she spent with them involved too much anxiety that they would all be caught and punished by her father.

These men seemed to like her even though she was a woman. They trusted her to take care of Hyd properly and she did not have to explain every move she made. Her actions and decisions were questioned. When they were eating or drinking, they offered her the first portion. They did not leer at her, even when she was not looking. She never turn to find them staring at her as if she were a morsel of meat that they could consume. She could get used to being with people, men, like this but she knew better than to hope for something she was never going to have.

She was now married to a cruel, mean man who could, would, did do whatever he wanted to her and there was nothing she could do about it. He could beat her in front of others and no one would lift a hand to stop him. She was his wife and his to do with as he wanted.

She would just enjoy this time she was having now for it would end soon. She came around the blanket wall and sat down with the others. She used her fingers to comb out her hair, untangling it and taking the leaves and twigs out of the sections she combed out. When she sat down, Eadward went behind their makeshift screen to relieve him self. When he came out again, he went to the trunk he kept pulling things out of and took out a brush and handed it to Ranee. It had a smooth thin handle made of oak. The bristles were made of boars’ hairs.

While she brushed out her hair in long slow strokes, she looked at the men around her. Eadward, who she now knew was Hyd’s half brother, was the tallest and thinnest of the four men. He also seemed to have the most difficulty keeping still. He moved around the cave room looking in wooden crates and boxes they used for storage. As he opened a crate, she smelled the lavender they put in them to keep away bugs and other pests. His hair was long and a strawberry blonde. He kept it in a single braid tied with a leather strip. He pulled out a shiny copper plate that he burnished with his tunic sleeve. He looked at himself in mirrored surface, made a face, stuck out his tongue at his reflection then handed the round platter to Ranee. His eyes, bright blue, were shiny with his mirth. He was very good looking and Ranee could imagine many women swooning for his attention, even though he would never have any land or money.

Ranee looked at her own reflection, briefly, because she did not like what she saw. She finished brushing out her hair and put the brush next to the mirror. She divided her hair into two sections and she began braiding her hair. When she got one plait done, John handed her a length of red ribbon. It surprised her that they would have such a feminine thing in this cave. John sat nearest her. He was the quietest out of the four men. He was also the largest. The hands holding another red ribbon were huge and looked very powerful. He had red hair and green eyes. He smiled shyly at her, crinkling up the skin around his eyes and dimpling his cheeks. She was not sure but she thought he was the married one of the group. She imagined his wife being quite happy and content with him.

Ranee finished her second braid and John gave her the other ribbon. She tossed her braids behind her back.

“Lovely,” said Stephan. He sat back, looking the most relaxed of all of them. He spent his time cleaning the knives and swords they had with them. He had already cleaned them all twice and now he was just sitting and waiting. He was the shortest of the group, but broad, and he was still taller than her new husband or even her father. He too was blonde but his eyes were a soft smoky grey. Despite the fashion of the day, Stephan’s hair was cropped short, well above his collar line. He looked at Ranee often but it was more like he was trying to figure things out about her instead of leering at her.

“I suspect that you have not been told how pretty you are,” he said. “You are very pretty, even in men’s clothing.”

Ranee felt her cheeks get warm and she put her hands in her lap and looked down at them.

“Do not get all missish on us,” he said. “We all like a pretty woman, but I think you are smart too and that is even more interesting.”

“You are making the girl nervous,” said John. “I do not think she is used to people speaking their minds about anything, so stop scaring her.”

“I am sorry,” said Stephan. “You remind me of my sisters who also very pretty and quite smart. I am their only brother and so we have always spoken freely to one another. I did not mean to offend you.”

“You did not offend. I am not used to such attention.” Ranee got up to check on Hyd and to get the attention away from her. He was sleeping peacefully. His skin was still cool when she touched his cheek which had fine golden stubble on it. His hair was the same golden dark blonde hair. He wore his hair long too like his brother. Ranee got the brush and tried to comb out some of the tangles in his hair and get out some of the grass still stuck in it. She sat next to him with her back to the rest of the men, who watched her take care of Hyd. They smiled at each other.

They were all thinking the same thing. This woman would be a good match for Hyd. Unfortunately, she was married to Sucat. It was quite unfair of fate to treat them all so badly but none of them worried about fate. They all got along so well because they each believed that they had more control over the world than mere fate would allow. They did not agree with the Church’s thought on predestination. While God might know everything that would happen they were sure He gave them plenty of wiggle room.

Stephan began singing a little tune as Ranee continued to brush out Hyd’s hair. She had not seen Hyd’s eyes before. She had been too busy to notice. She wished he would open his eyes so she could see what color they were. Maybe they were the same color as his brother’s even though the hair color was different. She had a strong urge to bend down and kiss his mouth.

The song Stephan was singing sounded like a lullaby but she did not recognize it or the language he sang it in. His voice was deep and low and smooth. She felt her eye lids droop. The singing and the gentle movement of her brushing of Hyd’s hair was making her drowsy. She closed her eyes just for a moment.

When she opened them again she found Hyd looking up at her. His eyes were a bright green that startled her. She could not take her eyes from his. She did not notice right away that he hand put his left hand on her arm and that he was moving his thumb in little circles on her wrist. Neither had noticed that Stephan had stopped singing.

“Our little boy is awake,” said Eadward. He walked over to Hyd and Ranee. He noticed that Hyd held Ranee’s hand but he looked away quickly so he would not embarrass Ranee.

“You are looking better, brother,” he said. “We have been here for almost two days. Do you think you can move? We really should be going.”

Hyd sat up. Ranee tried to get up so he could move but Hyd still held her hand.

“My shoulder is sore but it does not hurt too badly. I just need some food and drink and maybe a splash of water in the face and I will be ready to move.”

“I should repack your wound,” said Ranee.

“It does not seem to be bleeding right now so I do not think we should take the chance,” said Hyd. “From the burning I felt last night I think you poured enough alcohol in it to keep it clean. We will just go with that.” Hyd brushed a stray lock of black hair out of Ranee’s face.

“Thank you for all of your care. I have been hurt often enough to know you did a good job.” Hyd lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a light kiss across her knuckles. Ranee got a chill and shivered. Hyd smiled at her, his green eyes bright and clear.

“Please help me up,” he said.

Ranee rose and pulled Hyd up. She suspected he could get up perfectly well on his own, but was looking for an excuse to keep touching her and she did not mind.

Hyd let go of her hand. He stepped behind the hanging blanket and relieved himself. When he came out from behind the curtain he was toweling off his damp hair and face. He took the tunic Eadward handed him and asked for Ranee’s help to put it on. He seemed to be moving just fine but was looking for reasons to keep Ranee near by and touching him occasionally.

He ate the dried meat John gave him and drank some water to wash it down. As he was finishing a second cup of water, he heard a noise in the tunnel. They all stopped moving to listen. They heard the sound again. They all grabbed their prepared bundles, Hyd took Ranee’s hand and Eadward blew out the candles. As they were plunged into the dark they definitely heard men’s voices coming to them from the tunnel.

15

2009-10-30T20:12:00.002-04:00

Sucat rode Captain Kennard horse back to his keep. The ride was not a comfortable one. Captain Kennard’s horse was big, bigger than any horse Sucat usually rode. He almost fell from the beast three times but he held on to the horses black mane with both hands and gripped the horse’s sides with his knees. The man Captain Kennard had sent to escort him home was a man whose name Sucat did not know and it would be a name that no one else would need to know. The man was useless. He rode ahead of Sucat and never looked back, not even when Sucat called out in alarm the times he almost fell from Captain Kennard’s horse.

Sucat thought it might be time to do some cleaning out of his troops. They needed a new lesson on who was in charge. He would begin with this man ahead of him whatever his name was.

He would do something about Captain Kennard, too. He always told his father that it was not smart to give him a position of any kind of power, but Captain Kennard was Sucat’s oldest brother, Franck’s first born son and he had been so excited with his first that he treated him better than the other children. Sucat also thought that Franck had wished that Kennard had been a legitimate son. He was big and strong and he looked like their father. He was good at so many things, like riding and hunting and shooting and sword play. Sucat hated him and he was sure that Kennard hated him too even though he never did anything to show it because Kennard was very smart too.

While he lived, their father, Franck, had given Captain Kennard many gifts and he had done it publically so that Sucat could not take them away when Franck died. The horse Sucat was on now was one of those gifts. The horse was one of the war horses breed by his wife’s father. Franck had also given Captain Kennard his sword and knives, all of very good quality that a man like Captain Kennard would not normally be able to afford for himself. Their father had also given Captain Kennard a solid gold torque and Sucat really wanted it but Sucat had not been able to find a way to get it from Captain Kennard. And until now, Captain Kennard was too valuable to have killed but Sucat felt that his useful was coming to an end.

Sucat was also sure that Captain Kennard was stealing from him too but Captain Kennard was too smart for Sucat to catch him. He ways fairly certain that his kitchen staff gave Captain Kennard extra food. He was very well feed and healthy. Captain Kennard did not do much drinking and Sucat never heard that he used and abused the wenches even though Sucat knew that many women wanted the Captain. Sucat could tell from the way the women followed the Captain with their eyes and by the way they smiled at him when he looked at them but Sucat never heard that Captain Kennard was ever with any of the women of the keep. That certainly was not a behavior he inherited from their father.

Sucat hated Captain Kennard for so many reasons. Captain Kennard had thick wavy black hair and dark grey eyes. He was tall and strong and he still had all of his teeth. Sucat’s hair was already thinning and it was a mousy brown that sort of just lay on his skull. His eyes were the same dull color brown as his hair. He was short and thin with narrow shoulders. He looked just like his mother, who Franck hated. The only thing that Sucat liked about the way he looked was that so many people underestimated him because of the way he looked. He liked taking people by surprise. Many people were shocked when they found themselves caught in some web he wove.

Sucat and his escort rode in to the yard of Sucat’s hall. His guide did not wait for a word from Sucat. He just rode off to the stables. Sucat would definitely make the disrespectful bastard pay for his treatment of Sucat. But that pleasure would come later when he had more leisure.

For now his pride was soothed when Jyll came out of the hall and called for people to take care of Sucat’s needs. Looking at Jyll always made him feel better. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen with long curly black hair, darker even than his wife’s hair. She had dark blue eyes that looked black when she was aroused and wanted him. She had large soft breasts and wide luscious hips and thighs that held him tight when he was inside her. He was getting hard just thinking about her and by the way she was looking at him he thought she could tell that he wanted her.

She called for women to fill a bath for him. She called for men to help him from his horse and take it to the stables. She called for others to prepare him food and drink. She came up to him and she smiled as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him so he could feel her breasts pressed against his chest.

She took his hand and led him into the hall. They passed by his guests sitting in his hall. He did not think about them as Jyll pulled him into the bathing room next to the kitchens. He was so excited by her that he almost came before she got his clothes off but she knew of ways to hold him to prolong the ending. She pulled his shirt off then kissed him. Women came in to the room with buckets of hot water. They ignored Jyll and Sucat. One of the things Sucat like best about Jyll was that she liked having sex with him whiles others tried not to watch. She set up many situations where they would be watched.

She pulled Sucat’s leggings off of him. She pulled him over to a table, pulled up her skirts and leaned over the table, her bare ass open for his enjoyment. He moved up behind her and slammed himself into her. She laughed and called out his name. He pounded into her over and over again. She called for him to do it harder. He screamed out as he came and he fell over her back when he was done. She did not move until he got up off of her. She smoothed down her skirts. She had a very satisfied smile on her face.

Jyll helped Sucat into the tub which was now filled with hot water and herbs. The tub was so full that several people must have come and gone during the time he was screwing Jyll. He would have to see if there was not some way he could keep her around for awhile. She was a difficult one to handle. She had the ego and attitude of her father the Grand Duke but she was a bastard after all and she had her father’s urges too which made her fun but dangerous. It was said that the Grand Duke was losing his mind from the pox disease. He took his relief on any woman or man that took his fancy.

Jyll brought a small table over near the bathing tub. On it she placed some fresh bread with sweet butter and fruit compote melting on the top. There was also warm roast mutton, his favorite meat and a large pitcher of chilled ale. She brought over a stool and sat. She hand fed Sucat small bits of each food. She poured him a cup of ale and held it too his lips so he could drink.

She waited until he said he was full. Then she took away the food and drink. She came back and began washing him. She did not worry about getting wet. Her tunic stuck to her breasts outlining her large jutting nipples. Sucat reached up and pulled her breasts out of her top and sucked on each one in turn. While he worked her nipples Jyll washed Sucat’s back, his neck, behind his ears and under his arms. She bent down and cleaned between his legs. He was hard again. She stood up, took off her clothes and climbed into the tub with him. They spent another hour at sex play. When he was clean inside and out, they dried off and dressed.

Sucat went into his hall to see who was still around, eating his food and drinking his ale and wine. Jyll had the bathing room cleaned and put to order. She put on dry clothes and went out into the hall to see if Sucat would need her for anything. She found him sitting at the head of his table. She went to sit at his right hand but he moved the bench so that she could not sit. He looked at her and shook his head in the negative. She blushed in anger but held her temper in check and left the room. She took her anger out on a young scullery maid who did not move out of her way fast enough as she Jyll went into Sucat’s bed chamber to ready it for the night. Somehow she would make him pay for these slights he visited upon her.

Sucat had seen how angry he had made Jyll by not allowing her to sit next to him in the hall but he could not allow such a public show of equality. He could not allow a bastard, regardless of how highly born or beautiful she might be. Sucat was not royalty and could not afford to acknowledge Jyll for anything more than what she was to him, a wench to be used as he saw fit. He would need to find a way to make it up to her though because she was more than useful and he still needed her for many things. He would show her a more private form of esteem. Right now he needed to put on a show for his father-in-law and other guests. He wanted to send them all home now but he had to keep them around a while longer.

Sucat would play the happy easy going host until Hyd and Ranee were brought back. Once this business was done he could get these men out of his hall and life could get back to normal only better. Maybe his father-in-law could have an accident before his guests all left. Now would not that be wonderful.

The evening supper was now being served. Jyll had come back down from his bed chamber her usual smile upon her face but Sucat was not fooled by that smile. He could tell she was still unhappy by the way she ordered his staff around. She even smacked several of them for small errors that only she could see. Sucat did not say anything to her or correct her in any way. He did not mind if Jyll abused any of the women. He actually liked watching her when she hit others. It was one of their little games that they liked to play.

Sucat ate his fill and drank to quench his thirst but he did not take too much food or drink. He needed to keep his head for a while longer and he had feelings to mend. He stood when he was done. He said his good nights to his father-in-law and his other guests. He called for Jyll to come join him. She looked up at him in surprise but she came over to him when he signaled for her to join him. He took her hand and they went up to his bed chamber to the sound of laughter and bawdy jokes. He did not mind. He would allow Jyll to spend the entire night with him in his bed. He had never allowed her to stay before. She would see it as a sign of his regard. The men below would only think he was getting a night of play. This was a good way for Jyll to be happy again.

16

2009-10-30T20:12:00.001-04:00

Sucat spent most of the night sleeping. He was very tired. Jyll kept trying to have sex with him but he kept putting her off. He had plenty of time for that but for now his mind needed sleep so that he could think properly. He told Jyll that he was honoring her by allowing her to just sleep with him. He told her how much he appreciated all of her help and work and that he wished she was the one he could have married. He told her many pretty lies that did not matter to him but they made her happy and satisfied. He allowed her to hold him as he fell asleep.

By morning he was very well rested. He was anxious to be up and out of bed even before the sun shone through his windows. He did not normally rise so early but he had gotten some ideas while sleeping and he wanted to put his plans into action before anyone was up to notice what he might be about. He told Jyll to stay abed and enjoy the luxury of sleeping late in his feather bed. He told her he would send a woman up with food for her to break her fast. She smiled sweetly at him, no longer mad at his previous slight.

Sucat dressed quickly and went downstairs. He went into the kitchens where the household was awake and already working. He told the cook to send food up to Jyll in his bed chamber. She paused briefly but then moved to obey. He took some bread fresh from the oven and went out back. He went to the stables and found his father’s youngest son who did not even know yet that he and Sucat were brothers. He gave the boy a piece of his bread and sent him on an errand. Sucat sat on a bale of hay to wait, munching on his bread. It was not long before the boy was back with an answering message.

Sucat gave the boy the crest he had left. The boy ran off to eat it alone. Fresh bread was something the poor hid from each other. It would be a long time before the boy would get more.

Sucat went out of the barn and towards the field where he would meet his personal assassin. He never saw the man until he was right on top of him, literally. The man was lying in the tall grass looking up at the sky. He did not get up when Sucat came near him. Sucat stood with his back to the hall. If anyone looked in his direction it would look like Sucat was surveying his property.

The assassin asked Sucat who he wanted killed and how. Sucat told him he needed his father-in-law killed before he left to go back home and it needed to look like an accident and it had to happen in front of plenty of witnesses. Sucat did not care how it was done as long as it was not done in front of Sucat so Sucat could not be blamed. They agreed on a price which was very high but soon Sucat would have plenty of gold. The assassin was another person Sucat would need to eventually get rid of.

He went back to his hall to break his morning fast with the rest of the men. He made sure there was plenty of ale and wine on the table. His father-in-law, the Margrave, drank heavily. Sucat steered the conversation towards hunting, one of his father-in-laws favorite things, almost as popular as wenching. The Margrave announced his intention to go hunting after the morning meal. With as much as the Margrave was drinking he might just fall from his horse and break his neck without anyone’s help.

The men called for their horses and their bows and arrows. Sucat said he needed to stay behind because he felt sure that Captain Kennard would be returning soon with Hyd and Ranee. The Margrave said he felt Sucat was competent to handle it all. He nearly fell getting on his horse. The party rode out of the yard, singing bawdy songs.

When they were gone, Sucat called for a messenger to go out in the woods along the path he had traveled to find the cave and get a report on Captain Kennard’s progress. The man went off in a hurry to do Sucat’s bidding. It would be several hours before the messenger returned with news.

In the meantime, Sucat would go visit his mother. She lived in a house at the back of his property. Despite how much he hated his mother he could not get rid of her. Sucat walked behind his hall and over to his mother’s house. It was a stone building with two floors. She had two women who were in Sucat’s employ that kept watch over Elisabett, Sucat’s mother. They were under strict orders from Sucat to never let Elisabett escape.

Elisabett had the pox and it made her crazy. At first Sucat had believed that his father had given it to her but Franck did not have the pox. His mother had gotten it from some other man. He suspected that she had gotten it from the Grand Duke. Sucat hated his mother for being a whore and he kept her as healthy as possible so that she could suffer as long as possible. He liked watching her drool on herself. He liked watching her pull her hair out. He liked watching her try to hump her furniture.

She had never tried to protect Sucat from his father. There were even times when she directed Franck’s wrath towards his son so that Franck would leave Elisabett alone. There were times when Elisabett beat Sucat herself. She liked to spank his bare ass with her hand. She would pull his leggings down, lay him over her knees and paddle him with her open palm.

Sucat entered his mother’s house which was kept dark because the light bothered her eyes. He kept the front door open to let in the light. As he stood there, his mother moved up to him, her hair tangled and wild. Her chemise hung loosely on her body, the neck line low and falling off of one shoulder. She did not recognize him. She thought he was a man coming to visit her. One of her women arrived in time to pull her off of her son. She moved Elisabett back to sit on a chair. Sucat stood in the doorway watching his mother across the room. She babbled incoherently. Her keeper handed her a cup which Elisabett threw on the floor. The woman slapped Elisabett. Sucat smiled. This was what he had come to see. He enjoyed watching the low born women slapping his mother or pinching her when she misbehaved. They learned a long time ago that they could hurt Elisabett and Sucat would not mind, especially if they did he so he could watch or so he could see the bruises. After watching his mother being abused for an hour he felt calmer and went back home leaving his mother to her fate.

When he got back to his hall, he sat in his chair watching the activity around him and waiting to see if any of his plans would come to fruition today. The afternoon moved slowly. He could not think of any thing else he should be doing right now. He needed to remain visible to everyone just in case.

The sun was moving steadily down towards the horizon and Sucat was beginning to give up hope. He got up and went out back to the outhouse. While in there he heard noise and commotion coming from the hall’s front yard. Something was going on but he took his time finishing up his business. Now that something was happening he was not in a hurry.

To make it look good though he went running when he heard someone yelling for him with panic in their voice. He ran around the corner of the hall and into the yard. There he found horses and men and women milling around in confusion. When someone noticed he had arrived they called him over to a body lying on the ground.

His father-in-law lay on the ground, blood coming out of his ears and nose and mouth. He was barely breathing. As much as he did not want to do it, Sucat ordered the Margrave to be brought into the hall. He had a pallet placed on a wide bench in front of a fire. He had to make the care of his father-in law look good. He could not believe that the man was not dead. Just his luck that he would now be responsible for the care of a sick and injured man. Sucat called for his doctor to be found and brought to the hall. While they were waiting for the doctor he had Jyll clean the man up. The Margrave groaned a few times but never opened his eyes. His breathing was shallow. He stopped breathing several times but started up again.

The doctor arrived and took over the Margrave’s care. He did what he could but there was not much that could be done. Blood kept flowing from his mouth.

“I believe he has bleeding inside that I will not be able to heal,” said the doctor. “The best that you can do is keep him calm and warm and hope for the best.”

The evening meal was quiet and subdued. Sucat, happy with his father-in-law’s injuries because he knew he could not last long, had to act sad and concerned. He talked about how much he liked the man and that he could not believe he would lose another father. The guests who had gone out on the hunt told Sucat that the day did not go well. The Margrave had too much to drink at the morning meal and it had given him a headache that seemed to distract him from what he was doing. He was trying to dismount his horse to go in the bushes when a boar broke through the bushes startling all other the horses. The Margrave’s foot got held up and he fell from his rearing horse falling onto a rock at an odd angle.

The men went off to their pallets early for the night. They all planned to leave in the morning. With the Margrave ill, no one would be reveling so there was no point in staying. Sucat was getting his way once again and his plans were coming together. He posted people to watch over the Margrave for the night. He told Jyll it would not look good for her to sleep with him this night with his father-in-law ill. He sent her off to her own pallet. She was disappointed but she saw his reasoning.

Sucat went to his bed happy with the way the day had gone. He slept well and peacefully. Before the sun rose one of his men came up to get him. The Margrave had died.

17

2009-10-30T20:11:00.000-04:00

Sucat rose from bed at the news that his father-in-law was dead. He was appropriately sad and distraught when given the message. He dressed, taking his time. The Margrave was not going anywhere so he did not need to hurry. He smiled to himself while he was alone. All he needed now was to get rid of his wife and everything the Margrave had would be his. He could let the Margrave’s wife live with his mother. That might be fun to watch.

Today was the day when Captain Kennard would bring the others back, he could feel it. Just a few more hours of pretending to be the sad mourner for the Margrave and then he could have fun getting rid of the others if Captain Kennard did not do it for him.

Sucat went downstairs to find people standing around and not knowing what to do. He ordered the Margrave’s body taken to the chapel to be cleaned and placed for viewing. Once the body was removed, he had a light meal prepared so his guests could eat, then pay their respects to the margrave’s body and then be on their way.

He could not wait for them all to be gone. He said words of sympathy and understanding, talk about how much he would miss the Margrave and worried about how he would break the tragic news to Ranee. He said he was sure this would be too much for her on top of everything else that had happened to her.

When the meal was over the men packed their belongings together and placed them outside so they could be put on their horses which waited calmly in the front yard. The men walked silently over to the chapel for a short memorial service. They stood in the chapel as the priest said prayers for the repose of the Margrave’s soul.

After the brief ceremony, the men went to their horses, mounted and rode out. Sucat let out a sigh and smile. He turned to go back in his hall. Jyll stood in the doorway watching him. She saw everything and Sucat did not like that. There was always one more problem he had to deal with but this problem would need to wait.

Now he just needed for Captain Kennard to get back with his prisoners. The messenger Sucat had sent out yesterday came back just before the injured Margrave was brought in. The message told Sucat that Captain Kennard was in the caves looking for Hyd, Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee. The messenger did not know more than that. Sucat decided to take a nap since he had gotten up so early.

Captain Kennard had spent the night traveling through the tunnels with his men. They had reached the room where Hyd, Eadward, John, Stephan and Ranee had spent their time but they had found the room empty. It took a little time for Captain Kennard to find the way the five had escaped.

When Hyd had heard the sounds coming from the tunnel system, they grabbed their gear and weapons and put out the candles. Hyd had taken Ranee by the hand. They moved around the wooden cases stacked on one wall and into another tunnel that took them in the opposite direction of the noises they had heard.

They had to move in the dark so that they were not seen. They had not often gone in this tunnel. It was their escape tunnel just in case they other direction was blocked. The last time they had gone this way had been more than a year ago so they had to go slow.

Once Captain Kennard found the other tunnel they moved after the escaping group quickly. His group was able to go faster because they had light. He wanted to catch up to them soon. He had enough of these dark damp places. He thought he heard the five up ahead of him. He went faster, his men moving right behind him, keeping up with him.

He saw the light from the tunnel’s exit highlight the five escapees ahead of him. He dropped his torch and ran after them. His men followed close behind. Just before they reached the tunnel’s exit, Ranee stumbled and fell.

18

2009-10-30T20:10:00.001-04:00

Ranee’s leggings were too large for her and they kept sliding down her hips and legs. Hyd held onto one of her hands as they ran to escape to the tunnel’s back opening. She held her leggings up by the waist with her other hand. She could see the light from the torches carried by Sucat’s men behind them. The men called out for Ranee and her party to stop, that they were soon caught. The men yelled curses at them. Ranee was frightened, her heart pounding and her breathing labored. She was tired and exhausted. She wanted to stop but knew she could not. She did not want to go back to her old life. And she did not want to be the one who got Hyd, Eadward, John and Stephan caught. If they had not taken the time to rescue her, they could have gotten away safely. So she forced herself to keep running.

She saw the light from outside and thought they had almost made it to freedom. She turned to see how far away their pursuers were behind them. Her grip on her leggings loosened and the leggings slipped down her thighs and wrapped around her knees, hobbling her and causing her to trip. Hyd’s grip on her hand loosened and she fell. Hyd stopped to help her up. Eadward, John and Stephan had to stop until she was back on her feet. Ranee whimpered in frustration. They lost precious time. She looked behind her and saw the torches being thrown to the ground and the chasers running faster. She cried out for Hyd, Eadward, John and Stephan to leave her behind. Hyd pulled her to her feet, nearly carrying her through the rest of the tunnel.

Hyd, Ranee, Eadward, John and Stephan get to the tunnel’s back opening and enter the woods on the other side of the mountain. Their only hope now was that they knew this forest better than anyone else, this being the very back end of Hyd’s holdings. Legally since this was Hyd’s property, they should be immune to capture but they were outnumbered and had no witnesses to protect them. In the cave room they had decided that they would split up when they got out of the tunnels. Hyd would take Ranee and with Eadward they would head to the northern route to his keep. John and Stephan would take the southern route back home. They thought this would confuse the pursuers and give them the best chance of escape. Plus if one group was captured maybe the other group could get the rest of Hyd’s men and mount a rescue.

The men gripped hands and forearms as a form of solidarity and encouragement, and then the group split up. They all took off running, Ranee still trying to keep her leggings up. It was using up allot of her energy. She thought if she could get the leggings off she could run faster. She pulled on Hyd’s hand to stop him. He tried to pull her to keep her going but she pulled her hand out of his. She got the leggings off of her body, the tunic she had on long enough to be a short dress the hem reaching just above her knees. Ranee wrapped the leggings around her waist and tied the legs together like a belt. Then she took off running in earnest. Hyd and Eadward took off after her, Hyd taking the lead so that Ranee would know which way to go. Ranee was running twice as fast as before using both hands and arms to pump more energy into her run.

Tree branches and leaves whipped them in their faces as they ran through the woods but they did not care. All that mattered was escape. There was the house of Hyd’s game warden not far from where they were. If they could make it there they would have Bucc, Hyd’s game warden and Bucc’s three huge sons, Darby, Oisin and Raleigh to help them. They just needed to keep running, but they could hear the men chasing them following them closely behind. They had no way of knowing if the group behind them had split up or if the entire force had gone after them. They were not even sure how many men had come to search for them. These were all things that really did not matter and thinking about them just used up more energy.

They ran down the hill towards Bucc’s house. As long as he was home they stood a chance. Hyd could see the building down below but he could not see any smoke coming from the chimney. They house looked quiet and empty. As Hyd, Ranee and Eadward ran into the clearing around the game warden’s house, men came into the clearing from left and right cutting off their escape. Hyd, Ranee and Eadward came to a stop. They looked behind them, but found that way blocked by men behind them.

Hyd and Eadward put Ranee between them as they stood back to back and they raised their swords to fight the men surrounding them. They counted a total of nine men around them, led by Captain Kennard.

“Give me a knife,” Ranee said, “so I can help defend us.”

Hyd gave Ranee one of his knives.

Captain Kennard did not have his men rush Hyd, Ranee and Eadward. He knew that Hyd and Eadward were excellent fighters and now they were desperate and they had a desperate woman with them. He also knew that the two men would try to protect Ranee before they protected themselves so he decided to focus his men on attacking Ranee and hope that Hyd and Eadward would make a mistake trying to save and protect Ranee.

When entering the clearing, Captain Kennard had worried that the house would hold some more men to come to Hyd’s aid. Captain Kennard knew that they were on Hyd’s land so he had to get his prisoners into custody quickly and get out of there. No one seemed to be in the house so they finally had some luck on their side but they would need to take quick advantage of the situation.

“Surrender now,” said Captain Kennard, “and the woman will not be hurt. Fight and there is no telling what may happen to her.”

He could see that Hyd and Eadward were considering his words. But Ranee said something to the two men in a volume that Captain Kennard could not hear. He saw Hyd and Eadward smile at whatever she had said.

“It seems the lady would rather fight and die,” said Hyd, “than go willingly back to her loving husband.”

“And who could blame her,” said Eadward. “Have you seen Sucat’s hair?” Eadward laughed at his own jest. Hyd and Renee smiled. Even several of Captain Kennard’s men chuckled. Hyd and Eadward were well known and well like by Captain Kennard’s men, even by himself, which was a shame because they had a duty and obligation to Sucat that could not be ignored or put aside. It would be so easy to just let Hyd, Eadward and Ranee escape but the punishment to Captain Kennard and his men would be severe and Captain Kennard had no intention of being punished or abused for anyone regardless of how much he liked them.

Captain Kennard signaled for his men to advance on the three people huddled in their center. The swords clashed together, metal ringing in the forest, the sound dampened by the trees.

Hyd was hampered by his wounded right shoulder, his loss of blood, his torture by Sucat, his lack of decent food and sleep and by his fear for Ranee. He was cut several times by swords getting past his sword. He was getting tired and running out of energy.

Ranee cut men with her knife, ducking under Hyd and Eadward to slash wrists and hands to wear down their enemies and distract them. It was a good plan but she was not an experienced fighter and she was exhausted from the trials of the last several days. More often than not she got in Hyd’s and Eadward’s way causing them to pull back on their thrusts so as not to hurt Ranee.

Eadward was able to disable three of Captain Kennard’s men, but now Captain Kennard focused his own effort and attention on Eadward. Captain Kennard was a big strong man and a very able fighter. He put all of his energy in wearing Eadward done. He had men flanking him who harried Eadward from left and right. While Hyd and Ranee fought behind him, Eadward fought Captain Kennard. Eadward called taunts to Captain Kennard and they two men fighting him. Eadward knew the three men well.

On Eadward’s right was Gregor who he drank with often. They were the same age and always had a rivalry for women. Both were good looking and good natured so they were both even in their competition for wenches. But no matter how Eadward taunted Gregor with their good natured game for women, Gregor would not be distracted. Gregor knew that Eadward was a serious fighter who would kill Gregor if it meant protecting Hyd, Eadward’s brother, regardless of how much Eadward might like Gregor.

On Eadward’s left was Konard. Konard did not like Eadward. He was jealous of him. Konard was ugly and morose and people were afraid of him. He did not make friends easily. He wanted to kill Eadward and he put all of his hatred and strength into defeating Eadward. He wanted to be the one who killed him so that he could be rewarded by Sucat. Konard knew how much Sucat hated Eadward and thought Sucat would well reward the person who killed him.

Hyd and Eadward were excellent sword fighters and their lives depended on the outcome of this fight so the fighting went on longer than the numbers warranted. One of Captain Kennard’s men cut Ranee when she had tried to stab him with her knife. She cried out in pain. Eadward swung his sword towards the man who was attacking her. His side was open and unprotected to Captain Kennard and he took advantage of this opportunity stabbing Eadward and brining him to his knees.

Hyd turns to help his brother and he is overrun by Captain Kennard’s men from behind, who swarm on top of him and one of the men hit Hyd in the head with the flat of his sword knocking him out. Ranee is the last one standing and she swipes at several men cutting them but Captain Kennard reaches her and punches her in the face. She falls to the ground, dropping her knife, her fingers numb, her mind and body exhausted. She closed her eyes and passed out.

19

2009-10-30T20:09:00.002-04:00

Captain Kennard took a deep breath. He finally had Hyd, Eadward and Ranee subdued. John and Stephan had escaped by going off in another direction but Captain Kennard did not care about them. He had the most important people to Sucat. Now he just needed to get them off of Hyd’s land and take them back to Sucat.

They needed to get away from this place before the people who lived in the house came back home. Captain Kennard was not sure who lived there and although they were not home now they could not be gone long. The house and land around it was well maintained, trees and pushes cut back around the house to form a yard where the grass was kept cropped to form a lawn.

Captain Kennard sent out two scouts to get their bearings and figure out the best way to get back to Sucat and Briefadel keep. They could go back through the cave and tunnels but he and his men had spent enough time in there and it would be slow going with three injured prisoners and they needed to get back as quickly as possible and the tunnels would just slow them down further.

Their best bet was to either go over or around the mountain that contained the caves. Captain Kennard thought their best plan would be to head north, which Captain Kennard thought would be further from Stahlheim center, Hyd’s keep. They should be able to hug the base of the mountain and find a trail or road that would lead back to Briefadel.

While Captain Kennard waited for his scout’s to return, he had several men tie up his prisoners. Then he sent his men to make a couple of poles they would use to carry Hyd and Eadward back to Sucat’s keep. Hyd and Eadward were too large and too strong to take the chance of allowing them to walk, with the possibility of escape and both men were injured so the walk would be slow going. Captain Kennard would have them tied to poles like game caught on a hunt. This would be the most secure and fastest way of hauling them home and the experience would further wear them out and be very humiliating which Sucat would like. Ranee could walk with some sort of dignity. She was Sucat’s wife after all and the daughter of a Margrave. Captain Kennard would let Sucat deal with her as he wished.

Hyd, Eadward and Ranee’s weapons were piled together by a tree far from the prisoners. Captain Kennard looked over the swords and knives. No wonder they had been able to fend off their attackers for so long. The weapons were of excellent quality, strong and sharp. Captain Kennard picked up a knife that would match the sword given to him by his father, Franck. He missed his father. For some reason that no one knew, Franck had always treated Captain Kennard differently than anyone else, even better than Sucat, his only legitimate child. Franck never abused Kennard and he gave him gifts that no one could take away and he never let Sucat treat him badly either. It was not until Franck had died that Sucat was able to treat Captain Kennard the way he had always wanted to treat him. Captain Kennard always suspected that Sucat had someone caused the death of their father but there was no way to prove it and Sucat was now Baron Briefadel so there was nothing to be done anyway.

Ranee was the first of the prisoners to regain consciousness. She struggle to sit up, her hands being tied behind her back making it difficult and painful. Once sitting up she tried to pull the tunic she wore down over her legs when she saw that several men were leering at her. Captain Kennard ordered his men to avert their gazes and get about their work.

Unlike his brother or his father, Captain Kennard did not like to treat women roughly. He decided he would help Ranee put her leggings back on. Besides thinking it would make her more comfortable and easier to deal with, he did not think his men needed the distraction of a woman’s comely naked legs. He walked over to her, grasped Ranee by the arms and stood her on her feet. She tried to knock him down by jamming her shoulder into his stomach. She knocked the breath from him and tried to run, but he caught her by the back of her tunic, lifted her from the ground and flung her back to where she had been sitting. She spit at him in defiance.

“I want you to put your leggings on,” he said. “Unless of course you want to travel the country side with my men looking at your naked body.”

He stood over her, fists on hips, feet spread apart. She lunged up off of the ground trying to head butt his groin. He stepped out of the way just in time, and then swung at her with the back of his hand, knocking her onto her back. He may not like to abuse women as a pastime but he would be damned if this girl would get the better of him.

Captain Kennard called three men over to them. He ordered them to hold her arms and legs. They snickered and made crude comments as she fought and struggled with them. She was able to get one free of the man holding her arms and she bit the man who had let her go. He cursed. Captain Kennard yelled at his men to be quiet and hold her tight. Captain Kennard untied the leggings from around Ranee’s waist and struggled to pull them up first one leg and then the other while Ranee kicked at him as each leg was freed to get the pants on her. Unlike other women Captain Kennard knew, Ranee did not waste energy crying or screaming, she just fought with all of her remaining strength. He had to admire her continuing fight.

When he had the leggings pulled up to her waist he noticed how big they were. He called for more rope, pulled her to her feet again and used a length of rope as a belt to tie the pants up tight around her waist. Captain Kennard sat Ranee back on the ground. She had finally calmed, running out of energy. Captain Kennard used another length of rope to tie her feet together.

The scout who had gone south, returned to say that they should not go in that direction. As Captain Kennard suspect that way lead further into Hyd’s territory. The carrying poles were now finished and laying next to Hyd and Eadward. Both men were still unconscious. Ranee lay quietly on her side next to them, listening to Captain Kennard making his plans with his men.

Captain Kennard decided their only choice was to go north. It was now past midday and they could not wait for the northern scout’s return. They would meet him on the way. Captain Kennard had Eadward and Hyd tied so their hands and feet were in front of them. Then he had the poles threaded under their tied wrists and ankles, one man to one pole. Ranee was stood on her feet. Captain Kennard would keep Ranee with him. He did not trust his men to watch her properly. Most would either underestimate her of succumb to some ploy on her part.

He tied a noose around her neck that would tighten if she tried to run from him. He held the end in his left hand, his sword in his right. He ordered four men to take hold of the carrying poles and lift them to their shoulders. He had two men lead, and then he and Ranee were next, followed by the two men carrying Hyd on his pole then the two men carrying Eadward on his pole and then one man at the very end. If they were attacked the men carrying the poles could just drop them and begin to fight. The group set off.

The line of men kept close to the base of the mountain. If they kept the mountain on their left they would eventually come to a road that would take them back to Briefadel. Eadward did not regain consciousness. His sword wound had caused him to lose allot of blood. He was still alive though, so Sucat would still be able to exact some sort of revenge against the man.

Hyd woke with a groan while they were on the trail back to Sucat. In between grunts of pain as his shoulder was jarred, he tried to talk Captain Kennard into letting them go, using all kinds of enticements and bribes such as a place in Hyd’s guard and household, but Captain Kennard knew none of that was possible for him. Sucat would never rest if Captain Kennard defected from him and yet remained so close. Sucat would spend much energy in getting his revenge.

The northern scout joined them not too long after they had begun their trek. He told Captain Kennard that they were not far from the road, but they would have to take a slight detour as there were four large men up ahead hunting and the scout had recognized them as Bucc, Hyd’s game warden and his three sons, Darby, Oisin and Raleigh. Captain Kennard stopped for a brief rest and to tie gags in the Ranee’s and Hyd’s mouths so they could not call out for help from the hunters.

They set off again. When they reached the point where the scout had seen the hunters, Captain Kennard had everyone slow down and move as quietly as possible. The men listened intently for any noise coming from the woods. A stag broke through the trees on their right. The men took cover, hiding from the hunters that they knew would soon follow the large buck. They waited, Captain Kennard lying over top of Ranee so she would not move and alert the hunters.

Bucc and his sons ran after the deer, crashing through the woods, chasing the animal. The were so focused on the animal, they had no idea how close they were to the captured Hyd. They ran off after the buck, leaving Captain Kennard, his men and his prisoners far behind. They waited until they were sure the hunters were far away.

As Captain Kennard rose from Ranee, she reached towards him and pulled the knife he had taken as a prize from his belt and swung it at him. She was able to cut a slice through his tunic and cut his skin. He swung at her knocking the knife from her tied hands. He pushed her roughly to the ground and retrieved the knife. His men expected him to hit her again but he tugged on the rope around her neck instead pulling her to her feet and cutting off her air supply.

“I admire your fight, Madame,” he said, “but I grow weary of all of the trouble you have caused me. The next time you attempt to escape, I will kill one of the men.” He pulled tight on the rope, pulling Ranee’s body into his and her face close to his face.

“Do you understand me?”

Ranee could not breathe. All she could do was nod her head.

“Good,” said Capitan Kennard. He loosened his grip on her rope and she gasped and gulped air into her lungs as the group began to move on.

20

2009-10-30T20:09:00.001-04:00

Captain Kennard and his men reached the road at mid-afternoon. Ranee gave them no more trouble other than stumbling occasionally from exhaustion. Hyd stopped talking, hanging from the pole being to painful on his wounded shoulder. He concentrated on staying conscious, which was not easy as his wound had started seeping blood and he was becoming weaker by the moment. Eadward had regained consciousness only once, groaning in pain and then passing out again. At least Hyd knew that his brother was alive.

They had come out of Hyd’s holdings and entered the road on Sucat’s property. They moved more quickly now that they were out of the forest with no trees to hinder their progress. Captain Kennard moved the men who had been leading the line to the back of the line to cover their retreat, in case any of Hyd’s men shoulder some how find them and follow. He had one man run ahead to announce their coming and to have horses brought to make the last part of their journey go faster. He wanted to be back at Briefadel before nightfall.

The man returned with reinforcements and extra horses. Captain Kennard mounted his horse and had Ranee handed up to him. He placed her in front of him, taking up the slack on the rope around her neck. Hyd and Eadward were left tied to their poles. The poles were now between horses. The party set off and the jarring of the horses was painful in Hyd’s arms and legs. He could not help crying out in pain. Eadward, still senseless, made no sound. Ranee, exhausted, fell asleep, her head slumping on Captain Kennard’s chest.

Captain Kennard, his men and his prisoners returned to Briefadel as the sun was setting and without further incident. They rode into the yard in front of Briefadel hall to find Sucat waiting on the steps to the main door.

Captain Kennard woke Ranee and handed her down to a waiting man who had to hold her up or she would have fallen. He dismounted and took her by the arm leading her to her husband. Captain Kennard handed Sucat the end of the rope that was around Ranee’s neck. Sucat smiled at her and she shivered. Sucat tugged on the rope until Ranee fell to the ground at his feet. She sat there, head bowed in subjugation. Sucat used his free hand to stroke her hair. He grabbed a handful and forced her to look up at him.

“You look a bit worse than the last time we had seen each other,” he said. “No matter. I did not marry you for your looks.”

He bent down to her and kissed her on her bruised and swollen mouth, shoving his tongue between her lips. She gagged and turned away from him, retching what little she had in her stomach. He laughed at her and pulled on her rope.

“I quite like this lead you have made for my wife, Captain Kennard. I thank you for the gift.”

Sucat held tight to Ranee’s leash and turn his attention to what was happening in his yard. He watched as Hyd and Eadward were lowered to the ground by their poles. He enjoyed the sight of his cousins being trussed like animals. Neither man was conscious. He ordered men to toss buckets of water on them to see if they would revive. The water woke Hyd and Eadward up. They lay on the ground groaning.

Sucat waked over to where Hyd and Eadward lay on the ground. He had to pull on Ranee’s rope to get her rise and to follow. She stumbled and fell and he made her crawl behind him. He stood over Hyd and stared down at him. He placed his booted foot on Hyd’s wounded shoulder grinding his heel into the spot where the blood had soaked through the bandage. Hyd ground his teeth in pain but did not cry out. Disappointed, Sucat went over to Eadward, pulling Ranee behind him on her hands and knees. Sucat kicked Eadward in his side where he was wounded by the sword. Eadward paled and passed out. Hyd yelled out and tried to rise but he was kicked down by men near him. Ranee began to cry.

Captain Kennard stood by and did nothing. He knew things would get worse for the three prisoners.

Now, all of Sucat’s people stood around the yard, watching. Jyll had come out of the hall, watching the spectacle with a smile on her face. Sucat reached down and lifted his crying wife to her feet. He walked Ranee over to Jyll and handed Jyll Ranee’s rope. He kissed his mistress, then kissed his wife. Ranee tried to turn away but Jyll held her rope tight causing blood to flow on her neck. Sucat bite Ranee’s lip then force her to her knees.

He turned back to the yard and addressed his people.

“I am Sucat, Baron Briefadel, and I rule here absolutely. My every wish is law. See these people here and remember how I deal with people who fight and disobey me regardless of who they may be.”

He pointed to Hyd and Eadward.

“Take my prisoners to the basement and chain them in separate cells.” He stood next to Jyll with Ranee between them. He stroked Ranee’s hair.

“We will deal with them in the morning, meting out their punishments all day long for all of the trouble they have caused me.”

Hyd and Eadward were dragged out of the yard, all of the people looking quietly on, no one able to move or do anything. They were all afraid of Sucat’s cruelty.

Sucat ordered everyone back to their work. He called Captain Kennard over to him.

“Send your men to their food and rest, Captain,” he said. “It took you a long time to resolve this matter, but I do like the outcome. You may go, too.”

Sucat stood watching as everyone dispersed. He waited until the yard was empty, then he told Jyll to have his dinner prepared. She did not wanted to leave his side, but after a harsh order from him she went off to the kitchens to make sure the food was ready for him and his men.

When everyone was gone, he squatted down next to Ranee and wiped the silent tears from her face.

“Things have not gone as you would have liked, have they my wife.”

Sucat kissed Ranee’s forehead. She flinched back from him. He slapped her.

He kissed her on the cheek that he had just slapped. She tried to turn her face. He slapped her again.

“Do not ever turn away from me, wife. You are mine to do with as I want. Learn this now or your life will get much worse very fast.”

He kissed her on the mouth. Ranee forced herself to remain still.

“Ah, very good,” said Sucat. “You are learning quickly. It will not be long before you are begging for my attentions.” He grabbed at her breasts. Renee tried to fight him off and he laughed at her. He pinched her nipple hard and she cried out in pain as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Enough of our little play, my dearest. I am hungry.” Sucat stood up straight and pulled on Ranee’s neck rope so that she stood too. By pulling and jerking on the rope, he led her into the hall. Many of his men were already there waiting for him to enter and sit so that they could all be served the night time meal.

Sucat slowly walked his wife over to the head of the table and his chair. He moved the bench next to him away from the table and made Ranee kneel next to his chair. He sat down, keeping a hold of the rope around her neck. She swayed as she kneeled next to him. He announced that his men could sit. Everyone was very quiet. He knew it was because they were all afraid of him and he smiled. He called for the food to be served.

He had the cooking staff make a feast for this night. He had known in his gut that Captain Kennard would be returning this day and Sucat wanted to celebrate the capture of Ranee, Hyd and Eadward and the death of Ranee’s father, the Margrave. Ranee still did not know that her father was dead and he relished the thought of telling her. He knew she would not mourn his passing as he had not been a loving father but he knew that Ranee would realize that all of the Margrave’s holdings would pass to Sucat. As part of the marriage contract Sucat had become the Margrave’s male heir and while Sucat could not become the next Margrave as Sucat was not born royal, he would acquire all of the Margrave’s land and gold. Sucat no longer needed to keep Ranee alive. He had what he wanted. But he would keep her alive as long as he found her entertaining like he did this day. She had allot of fight in her and a strong will. Sucat would enjoy breaking her spirit before he killed her.

He was served his favorite foods by Jyll but Sucat ignored her. He had his new pet and he would tease Ranee by waving bits of food in front of her face. After the first two times when he had acted as if he was feeding her but then he pulled the food away she no longer tried to eat the food he put in front of her mouth. When she tried to turn her face away, he slapped her. She knelt by him, face forward, stomach grumbling with hunger. By the end of the meal, she had collapsed to the floor and would not rise no matter how hard he tugged on her rope.

He called Jyll over and had her force ale into Ranee’s mouth. Then he had Jyll put meat and bread on the floor and had Jyll force Ranee to eat the food off of the floor. Ranee fought Jyll but she did not have the strength to fight for long and she was so hungry that she gave up and ate all of the food placed before her.

When Renee was done eating all of the food on the floor and Renee had forced her to lick the spot clean, Sucat ordered everyone to their pallets for a good night’s sleep. He had many plans for the morrow’s entertainment and he wanted everyone well rested so they would not yawn through the day. He pulled Ranee’s rope and had her stand. He took Jyll by the hand and he led both of his women up to his bedchamber.

He had Jyll tied Ranee to the bed with her noose and he had Jyll tie her hands and feet behind her so she could not escape. He wanted to spend the night raping Ranee but she was too dirty for him and he was horny and cleaning her would take too long. He would save that pleasure for tomorrow night. Ranee lay on the floor at the foot of his bed.

Jyll began undressing him in front of Renee. When Renee closed her eyes so she would not see what they were doing Jyll kicked her and told her to keep her eyes open. Jyll and Sucat had sex in front of Ranee and she tried to block it from her mind. When they were done, Sucat told Jyll to leave. She argued with him and he slapped her, telling her never to talk back to him. He wanted to sleep alone with his prize at his feet and he did not want to share this time with anyone. Jyll left very angry and the way Sucat treated her especially in front of Ranee, but she kept quiet. She would pay him back somehow at another time.

When Jyll was gone and the door bolted from the inside, Sucat picked up a knife and went over to Ranee. He stroked her cheek.

“I forgot to tell you a bit of news you might find of importance, my dear.” He sliced her leggings up the side of her body and turned her so that he could slice them open on the other side. He turned her on her back. She was too tired to struggle in any way.

“You father, the Margrave, died today.” Her eyes opened wide but she did not say anything. Sucat cut open her tunic up the front. He pulled all of the clothes away from her, leaving her lying on her back, naked.

He stood over her looking down at her.

“So you see you are completely at my mercy.”

Sucat grabbed his penis and began stroking himself. He came all over her naked body.

“Completely at my mercy,” ha said.

21

2009-10-30T20:08:00.002-04:00

Ranee finally passed out. Being naked and cold could no longer keep her awake. Sucat slept in his bed, mumbling about his plans for the following day, but Ranee did not here any of his plans.

When the sun shone into the bedchamber’s windows, Sucat woke, got out of bed and stood naked over his wife’s body. He began stroking himself again and ejaculated on her, waking her from her exhausted sleep when his semen hit her skin. She cried out involuntarily, trying to shield her face from him but unable to move. He laughed at her, overjoyed by the power he held over her.

He left her laying on the floor and called for Jyll to prepare a bath for him. He would look his best today, wearing his best cloths. He was lord of this manor and he would let everyone know by appearance and deed. While hot water was brought up to his bathing room next to his bedchamber he went and relieved himself. When he came back into his sleeping chamber he found Jyll pinching and poking at Ranee as if she were a bug.

Sucat slapped Jyll away from his wife. Only he would determine how Ranee was tortured and he would not allow Jyll to indulged herself without his say so.

“You are not to take it upon yourself to touch my wife,” said Sucat. “Never forget that she is my wife and well above you. You may only touch her by my permission. Get out and bring me my food that I may break my fast.”

Jyll scrambled out of his way as he try to slap her again. This was not working out they way she had planned and the way he had promised her. As she went down to the kitchens to get Sucat’s food, she mumbled to herself about the things she wanted to do to him to pay him back for all of these slights. If he thought he could get away with this behavior for long, he was sadly mistaken.

She gathered together roast meat and fresh bread with butter, stewed fruit and milk laced with honey. She put these things on a tray and took it upstairs to Sucat’s bedchamber. By the time she got back upstairs, she had calmed her appearance and made her plans. Sucat would show her respect when she was done with him.

She placed the tray on a table and went to check on his bath. The tub was almost full. Sucat sat at his table and ate the food Jyll had brought. He would need to do something about her soon. She was forgetting her place in the world and becoming dangerous. Knowing her she was plotting revenge even now. When Hyd and Eadward were dead by the end of this day, and he was sure he had Ranee subdued, he would kill Jyll. He thought he would strangle her while they were having sex. He liked the idea of killing the whore as she came, spilling his seed into her dead body.

Things were coming together for him. He looked at his wife. Her skin seemed to have a blue tinge to it. That could be from the many bruises she had or it could be because she was cold, He did not want her dying just yet so he called to Jyll to bring a blanket and cover Ranee up. Now that he had decided how to kill Jyll, he was amused by making her do things for Ranee. He would play with Jyll’s mind this day, keeping her off guard, alternately making her wait on Ranee and then allowing her to abuse his wife for his pleasure.

He finished eating and went in to his bath. As he walked by her, he saw that Ranee had her eyes closed, probably sleeping again now that she was warmer. He left her alone in his room knowing she was tied securely to his bed. He took a long bath. He had Jyll wait on him, having her wash his back and hair. She tried to entice him but her ignored her, knowing it would further throw her off balance and infuriate her more. This was a dangerous game he played with her but he knew she would not live to see another day so he could afford to live on the edge where she was concerned.

When he was clean, he stepped out of the tub, had Jyll dry him with soft cloths and put a long tunic over his body. Many times she tried rubbing herself on him and he was tempted to take her but he was saving himself for something else. He told Jyll to have his tub emptied and refilled with hot water for Ranee. He told her to make sure to put lavender and rose petals in the water. He wanted his wife to smelled good and he wanted to ease her aching body so she was ready for the rest of the day’s festivities. He also told Jyll to have more food brought up, this time for Ranee to eat.

He went into his bedchamber and gently woke Ranee up. He untied her feet and help her to stand. She was weak and she had to lean on him to walk. She tried not to touch him but she could not help herself. Sucat took her to his chair and sat her down. Her hands were still tied behind her back. He made sure the blanket was still wrapped around her. He put more wood on the fire himself, poking at it so the flames rose and warmed Ranee up. He wanted for her to get more comfortable and feel better so the things to come would cause her more pain. Jyll came into the room with the tray of food. He had her put it on the table and told her to leave and close the door behind her. She scowled at him but he did not notice. He only had eyes for Ranee. He brought another chair next to her and move the little table so it was near by.

He tried to feed her but she turned away. He wanted to force her or hit her but he controlled himself. He wanted her to give in to him right now.

“You must eat,” he said. “The food is good and I know you are hungry. I will not allow you to starve to death. Besides you are too healthy for that. Eat while you can. You will need your strength. Who knows, there may come an opportunity for you to escape my clutches. I doubt it but one never knows about these things.” He knew she would take his bait, hope always being there when one started to feel a little better.

She finally accepted the food and drink he gave her. He fed her choice bits of meat. The bread he gave her had lots of melting butter on it. He fed her slowly so she did not get sick. She could not eat much after going hungry for so long but she had some of everything and he would give her more later. He gave her ale to drink. She asked for water but the ale would make her slightly drunk and easier to handle.

By the time he was done feeding her, Jyll told him the bath was refilled. Sucat called up guards around the doors. He untied Ranee’s hands and took the noose from her neck. Her skin was in bad shaped all over her body and she had many bruises. He was tempted to stay and bathe her himself he was so excited by her injuries. But he kept a couple of women there to do the job gently. He made Jyll leave knowing she would never be able to resist hurting Ranee further. He made himself leave, too. And as hard as it was for him, he did not even touch Ranee before he left. He would save everything he had for her for later.

He made sure the guards understood the pain they would receive if they allowed Ranee to escape and then he went away to check on his other prisoners. He could let some of his pent up frustrations out on them.

The women Sucat had left to help Ranee bathe would not look at her or talk to her. They could not believe the way she looked and they did not want to embarrass her further by staring at her body. They went about the room with their heads bowed. They let her take care of herself.

Ranee dropped the dirty blanket on the floor. She could not look at herself either. If she saw her body and went had been done to it she thought she would begin crying and never stop. She needed to take every opportunity to regain what strength she could. Sucat was right and she needed to take what she could. She knew why he said it but he was right none the less.

She would take what she was given in an effort to escape or die trying. She would not continue to live as his slave. She was not her mother. She would fight to escape with whatever strength she had left. If she could not escape soon she would find and way to kill herself or have someone else do it for her.

She stepped into the tub. The water burned her open wounds. But when she got used to the water the herbs soothed her cuts and bruises. She sank down under the water getting all of her wet including her hair. When she came back up the women Sucat had left to tend her were there with soft. The lathered up her hair and gently cleaned it. Their hands were soft and their touch light. They tried to untangle her hair as the cleaned it. She sank under the water again to rinse out the soap. When she cam back up again one of the women handed her a soft cloth with lavender soap on it. She washed her body herself feeling where all of the cuts and bruises were. She was tired she wanted to give up but she could not bring herself to do it just yet. When she was done cleaning herself she stood and the women poured severally pitchers of warm clear water over her to rinse off the rest of the soap.

She stepped out of the tub and they toweled her off with large soft cloths. The room had a large fire burning in the hearth. They took her over to it and sat her on a stool. Each woman took up a comb and standing on each side of her, they began coming out her hair. By the time they were done combing her hair was almost dry. Then they stood her up and rubbed warm lavender and rose oil on her skin. When they were done, she felt much better and stronger. They took her back into Sucat’s bedchamber and left her alone. She ate the rest of the food that was left on the table and drank the rest of the ale. Now she was very tired. She waited for someone to come back into the room but she was left alone.

She searched the room for things she could use as weapons. She was sure Sucat had left her alone as another way to torture her. Not knowing what was happening or when he would come back, giving her the false hope of finding a way to escape and it was hard to fight the despair she felt but she could not pass up the opportunity. She might not get another.

She had kept one of the combs from the bathing room. She did not think it would be missed. It was made of bone, the teeth sharp and uneven. It also had a protruding end that was used to part the hair. She could hide it near her and use it as a knife. It was also possible that if someone saw it they might not think of it as a weapon although she doubted that.

She searched the room, memorizing where each thing was that she could use. She did not take any of them as she was sure Sucat knew where each thing was and he would notice right away if something was moved. She thought this because Sucat had left a knife in plan sight in the room. She did not think he was that stupid but she knew he thought her that dumb. So she just marked its position in her mind, along with the ceramic mug and pitcher she could use over someone’s head, the rope she could use to strangle someone and a few other items she thought would make good implements. All she needed now was to remain free to use them and that would be her biggest challenge of all.

She had the room’s layout memorized. Now she need some rest to get back some strength. She crawled into the bed, getting under the soft down blankets, her comb under her head and fell asleep.

22

2009-10-30T20:08:00.001-04:00

Hyd woke up in a cell in the basement of Sucat’s keep. He had been there before only a few days earlier although it seemed like years. He was chained tightly, unable to move, but he was alive. So far so good. His shoulder hurt and kept him awake. He had no idea how he would get out of this situation this time. If he was unlucky, Sucat would just have him killed but knowing his dear cousin, Sucat would not be able to resist punishing him and Eadward first and he would want to do it in public. His cousin’s vanity would be the only thing that would save them. Of course it was always possible that John and Stephan had escaped and were mounting a rescue even now but he could not count on that. While he had not seen them captured, it was possible Captain Kennard’s men had caught them and killed them before they could reach Stahlheim.

As he lay there he thought about Ranee and what she might be experiencing. She had fought strong and hard with them. He liked her. It was a shame the way things had turned out. She would have made him a good wife. The last he had seen of her before he passed out she had defiantly tried to fight off Sucat’s kisses in the court yard. Each time Sucat had slapped her she had raised her chin for more. She was a strong intelligent and beautiful woman. He sure would like to find a way to safe her from Sucat. He laughed out loud. The sound echoing in the basement. Imagine a man chained and jailed still thinking he was going to save anyone. His audacity amazed even himself.

He heard a noise from the cell next to his once the sound of his laughter had died down. It was quiet but he was sure he heard his brother’s voice. Hyd crawled over to the wall from where he heard the sound and called to his brother.

“Are you still alive?”

There was a cough and then he heard Eadward curse.

“I guess that was a yes then.”

“This sucks, brother,” said Eadward.

“I would agree with you.”

“Any ideas?”

“Not yet,” said Hyd, “You?”

Eadward grunted.

“Now that we are both conscious, I suggest we conserve our energy until we see what the day will bring our way.”

They lay in their respective cells watching the sunlight move across the walls. It was reflected light so they really had no idea what time of day it was but they could use it to mark the passage of time and distract themselves from their own thoughts.

Hyd knew his cousin, Sucat, Baron Briefadel, would not be able to resist the opportunity to come down into the cells and gloat. All they had to do was wait and before too long he would be there and then they would have some idea of what Sucat’s plans were for them and then they could make their own plans. Hyd lay on his side counting the stones in the wall. He was hungry. He was in pain. He was trying not to piss himself but soon he would not be able to stop himself. The trick would be not feeling humiliated by it. He knew he would not be able to hold out much longer so he decided to make the decision on his own to do it now rather than wait until his body betrayed him.

One needed to take whatever control one could of their situation. Maintaining some sense of power was important. He felt better even though he was laying in his own piss. And of course, it was at this time that Sucat chose to come into the basement. He had an uncanny ability to sense these things but that came from the years of abuse he had received from his father and his mother. He was an expert at inflicting pain and humiliation after being raised on both.

Sucat said something to Eadward that Hyd could not hear but he did hear Eadward call Sucat the son of a poxy whore and a dung collector. Sucat called for the cell door to Eadward’s cell opened. Eadward always knew what to say to get Sucat upset. It was well known that Sucat’s mother was as randy as his father had been and that she was infected with the Great Pox. It was rumored that Franck was not really Sucat’s father because he did not look like him in any way but because he was the only legitimate issue his father accepted him. Eadward’s cell door was opened and Hyd heard enter the room and begin kicking Eadward. Eadward grunted and laughed and Sucat became even more infuriated.

“You will not be laughing when I have the skin on your body stripped from you in the courtyard today.”

Sucat left Eadward’s cell and called for Hyd’s cell door to be opened. When he entered Hyd’s cell Sucat kicked him in the ribs. Hyd heard a commotion in Eadward’s cell but he could not tell what was going on over there as Sucat was walking around him and babbling something about how they were going to pay.

“You smell like piss,” said Sucat.

“You smell like a prostitute,” said Hyd.

Sucat kicked him again. Sucat’s kicks were easy to endure. Sucat really was not very strong but by antagonizing him Hyd might get some information. Sucat was usually easy to bait especially when he thought people were laughing at him and Eadward and Hyd were always laughing at him. They had stopped feeling sorry for him many years ago when they say him torturing small children and animals. He would not stop and seemed to get great enjoyment from the practice. When they caught him they could not do anything to stop it and he had just begun hiding it better.

“I thought I would come down here and tell you some stories,” said Sucat. “Stories that you would find entertaining. Well, maybe not so much entertaining as interesting. Yes, you will find these stories interesting.” Sucat leaned up against the wall facing Hyd. Sucat watched Hyd’s face.

“As you may know,” he said, “I have a new wife. Well of course you know this. You have spent much time with her. I have spent time with her also and I have to tell you I am well satisfied with her. I will keep her around for a while. I had not originally intended to keep her but it turns out she is quite a bit of fun, is my Ranee. And now that her father has left this world. Oh, this would be some news you have not heard. The Margrave loved to hunt. Did you know that? He also loved his drink and of course women. He loved his women so much that if I did not know for a fact that my wife was a virgin when I took her I might think that the Margrave had used his daughter but apparently that was one vice he did not have. I wonder why as I do not think he was very moral. But no matter. On the morning he died the Margrave had drunk much wine and ale. He was quite drunk but he insisted on going hunting and what do you know. He fell from his horse and died. I mean he really did fall from his horse all on his own. Not like my own dear father who I am sure you suspected I killed. I can tell you now as I do not think it matters anymore but I did have him killed. One needs to take these matters into ones own hands, do you not agree. And as Eadward pointed out earlier there was some question as to whether he really was my father any way. We are all much happier and better off this way. Well I am anyway.” Sucat laughed at his own joke.

“Are you listening?”

Hyd nodded. He wanted to keep Sucat talking. Sucat had sent the guards away. So the only people in the basement were Hyd and Sucat in Hyd’s cell and Eadward in his cell. He was not sure but he did not think the guards had closed Eadward’s cell door before they left and if this was true he hope Eadward could find a way to escape if Hyd could keep Sucat busy and talking. Hyd thought he heard some faint sort of scraping noises coming from Eadward’s direction.

“Do you really think the dung collector was your father? You have that sort of dung color about you.” Hyd braced himself as Sucat came over to him and kicked him again.

“You laugh now but I guarantee it will not last much longer.” Sucat went back to lean against the wall. He felt very secure in his dominant position.

“You should not be laughing now but you never did know when someone had the better of you. Now the full force of how I have bested you will be shown to you. I killed my father, Franck, and became Baron Briefadel and inherited these holdings. Unfortunately my father was not the best of managers. I needed more and now I have it. My marriage contract included a clause in which I would subject myself to the Margrave, taking his name, becoming an Uradel, becoming the Margrave’s male heir. He of course thought to get my land through my children but it is mine now that he has died. I had planned some sort of accident for him but he did me the great favor of killing himself all on his own. All in all, he was better to me than my own dear departed father. And then there is my lovely tasty wife. At first I did not think she would be an asset but I have to tell you she has turned out to be quite a delectable part of the deal. She fought very hard on our wedding day. I had to have her held down to complete the act she fought and struggle against me so hard. Jyll rather enjoyed the task. You know Jyll so I can imagine that you can imagine how much she enjoyed holding Ranee down while I raped her. She has taken every opportunity to hurt Ranee since, so much so that I have had to keep the two apart for awhile. I am saving Ranee for some very special pleasures I am thinking about for this evening after she watches you whipped raw, strung up by neck, gutted and ripped apart by four horses. Oh sorry I have let out the surprise. I meant to keep it a secret. I do apologize for ruining the anticipation. Oh well it can not be helped. Now where was I? Ah yes telling you about my wife. Right now she is being cleaned. She was quite dirty when Captain Kennard brought you all in so I could not bring myself to mount her but she was useful none the less as a receptacle. Once last night and then again this morning when I woke. She did not care for the experience much. To tell you the truth I think she wanted me inside her instead. What do you think, cousin?” Sucat paused in his monologue to look at Hyd.

“trying not to think of it I see. Well I guess I can understand that. I bet you became fond of her while on your little trip. Yes, I can see that you did. Well, not to worry. I will make sure she is well used by me and I will be sure to think of you as I use her. Does that satisfy you? No? Pity for you. I quite like the idea.” Sucat went over to Hyd and grabbed his hair forcing Hyd to look at him.

“I will pound myself into her everyday, many times a day until she can not stand it any more and she tries to kill herself and I will not make that easy. And I will say your name in her ear as I take her from behind and when I no longer want her I will throw her in this very cell, naked, without food and no one to come to her and the only thing she will have to comfort her is a knife. And once she takes her life, I will leave her abused body for the animals to desecrate. How do you like that picture? Is that one you can not ignore?”

Hyd spit in Sucat’s face. Sucat struck Hyd. Hyd’s nose began to bleed. Sucat went back to his place at the wall.

“Once you are dead, all of your holdings will be mine. The first thing I plan on doing is killing Eadward’s mother. I think I will have her raped first. Of course I will not do it. She is too old for me but be sure that she will be raped repeatedly.”

Hyd closed his eyes. Sucat was getting to him. He did not know how much more he could take. He was afraid for Maryn. He was afraid for Ranee. He was afraid for all of the people he cared about. He hoped that John and Stephan would be able to get everyone away so that Sucat could not hurt them. Hyd was tired of this game.

“I see you finally understand how things are going to be. Good. If you had accepted the way things were sooner maybe you could have saved some of your people but now all of their deaths will be your fault.”

Sucat smiled at Hyd, who had tears in his eyes.

“Sentimentality is not a good thing in a man,” said Sucat. “You should have learned to harden your heart years ago.”

Sucat left Hyd in his misery. He closed the door placing the wooden bar across it. He was so satisfied with his work on Hyd that he did not noticed that Eadward’s cell door was slightly open, let alone that the bar did not have it locked. He went up the stairs and into the courtyard where he had earlier told his men to set up the posts to which Hyd and Eadward would be tied when they were whipped. The courtyard was ready.

It was time for the mid-day meal. He ordered a tray sent up to Ranee. He did not go up himself yet. He did not trust himself to wait with her he wanted her so badly. So he ate his meal in his hall with his men.

He was so happy with the way things were going that he allowed Jyll to sit next to him so she would forget his earlier slights. He allowed himself to drink several mugs of ale. He did not eat much food as he was so excited about the afternoon’s coming events.

After the meal was finished he had his people called to the courtyard for their entertainment. He was sure he would be the only one to really enjoy what was coming but the anxiety and fear of his people would be part of what he would enjoy. He had two women go upstairs to dress Ranee and escort her to the courtyard with the guards. He had his large chair placed in the courtyard in a place where he would be able to see the whipping posts and all of the people who would be standing around watching. He went out and sat in it to wait a mug of ale in his hand to sip while everything else was prepared.

The women who came upstairs to dress Ranee found her asleep in bed. They woke her. She sat up startled, not recognizing where she was. When she was fully awake, they dressed her in her wedding dress and combed and braided her hair. She asked them why she was being so well groomed. They looked at each other, then one of the women, speaking quietly so as not to be overheard by the guards outside, told Ranee what was to happen this afternoon. Ranee listened quietly, betraying no emotion. She stood as still as a statue while they finished her grooming. When they both turned away from her for a moment, Ranee put her sharp comb in her bodice. When she was fully dressed and groomed they escorted her to the door where two guards waited. They went downstairs, a guard leading the way with Ranee next followed by the second guard and the two women taking up the rear.

They walked into the courtyard where Sucat sat in his chair waiting. He had Ranee’s noose in his lap. When she was lead over to him, he stood and put the noose over her head and around her neck. He sat back down. Ranee stood to his right. Jyll took up the place to his left. He allowed her to stand there. It would not be much longer and he would be rid of her.

When Sucat determined that all of the people were present he told his guards to bring up the prisoners. It seemed to take longer than it should have to bring them up. Perhaps they could not walk. Sucat waited a bit longer. Just when he was ready to send down more men to set what the problem was, Hyd, smiling from ear to ear, was led into the courtyard. Sucat waited for Eadward and his guard to come too but only a second guard came.

The guard leaned down to whisper in Sucat’s ear. Sucat, his face red, his breathing labored, jump up from his chair and began bellowing for the men to begin searching for Eadward. Some how the man had escaped.

23

2009-10-30T20:07:00.000-04:00

Men ran in all directions. Sucat handed Ranee’s rope to Jyll. Sucat went up to Hyd and punched him in his grinning face. Hyd laughed at him.

“Tie him to the post,” he said. “We may not have Eadward but we have you and you will get twice as many lashes since your brother is not here for his own.”

Hyd was taken to the post. His tunic was ripped from his body and thrown to the ground. His arms were attached to a rope that went through a metal ring at the top of the post. He his were pulled up over his head, his back stretched tight, his muscles rippling from tension.

Sucat called over the man who would whip Hyd. The man had an ugly disfigured face. He had been abused his whole life for his hideous appearance and it had made him hateful and cruel. On top of this, Sucat made sure the man had drunk his fill during the morning as drink made him even meaner. He was strong, the muscles in his arms and his shoulders thick cords, built from years of digging ditches. He hated everyone so he would be the perfect person to whip Hyd. He would take all of his anger and frustration out on the man in front of him.

The whip the ditch digger would use had six straps of leather tipped with metal studs. He sold with the whip hanging down, gently moving it back and forth. He stood near Hyd with his back to Sucat.

Sucat had not calmed down yet. He paced back and forth in front of his chair, waiting for his men to come back with Eadward or some report as to how he had escaped or where he had gone. He mumbled to himself, cursing, spittle flying from his mouth and flecking his shirt. He ignored what was going on around him until he heard Ranee cry out in pain. He looked up to see Jyll pulling on the noose around Ranee’s neck choking her and chaffing the raw skin there. He took the end of Ranee’s rope from Jyll and whipped Jyll with it.

“I am tired of you ruining things for me.”

He whipped Jyll again, the tip of the rope nicking her in the eye. She flinched, blood ran down her face and she ran off to the hall. He hated her so much. She was always getting in his way, taking what he wanted for himself. He could not wait to kill her. He jerked on Ranee’s rope and she fell into the dirt. He cried out in frustration and helped her up. She tried to get his hands off of her. Now she was dirty ad he was angry with her. He could tell that she had not believed he was being nice to her so he quite pretending. He pulled on her rope until she followed behind him. He walked over to where Hyd was tied to the whipping post. As he got closer, he could hear Hyd talking to the ditch digger. He thought Hyd may have called him by name but that could not be possible. How would Hyd know his ditch digger’s name? The man shook his head in the negative and stepped away from the approaching Sucat and Ranee. He stood back, head bowed, as Sucat walked up with Ranee in tow. Sucat went in front of Hyd with Ranee beside him.

“I will have Eadward found,” said Sucat. “You should smile too broadly over this perceived victory because it will not be long before you see it for the defeat it really is.” Sucat reached up and pulled on the rope tied to Hyd’s hands. Hyd was stretched so far he had to stand on his toes. Sucat held Hyd’s rope in one hand and Ranee’s in the other. When he tugged on Hyd’s rope he pulled on Ranee’s rope. Her noose tightened around her neck. She coughed as she choked and struggled for breath.

“Do you remember the stories I told you in the basement about my wife?”

Hyd did not respond. Sucat grabbed one of Ranee’s breasts and twisted. Ranee could not cry out because she could not breathe but she looked at Hyd as Sucat looked at Hyd. Hyd only looked at Ranee. Ranee shook her head willing Hyd not to respond to Sucat’s taunting.

Hyd looked away from her trying to look at the ground and block everything from his mind. He could tell Sucat was doing something to Ranee but he refused to look. There was nothing he could do right now any way and by getting upset he would only cause Sucat to do progressively worse things to her. Somehow Sucat had gotten Ranee on her knees below Hyd and he closed his eyes so he could not see her face. She made no sounds regardless of what Sucat did to her.

Sucat grabbed Ranee by the hair and attempted to drag her along the ground but he was not strong enough to pull her so he stopped and made her stand up. He pulled and jerked on her rope and she had to follow of be strangled to death.

None of his men had come back. He wanted them to find that bastard, Eadward. He wanted Hyd to see Sucat kill the person Hyd loved most. He wanted his men to see that Sucat had the power to kill anyone. He wanted them all afraid of him. But he needed to do something in the mean time to burn off some of this energy. He called for more ale. A maid ran to get a pitcher of the brew so maybe Sucat would calm down. Perhaps if he got drunk, he would be calmed and they could all go home. Their worst fear was that he would turn on one of them before he could let his anger out on Hyd or Eadward or Ranee.

The maid went into the kitchen for the ale and say a jug of alcohol sitting near by. She poured some of the alcohol in the ale pitcher and then filled it up to the top with ale. Hopefully he would get drunk very fast and pass out and hopefully he would not notice that she had put the stronger spirit in with the beer.

When she came out of the hall, Sucat was sitting in his chair, Ranee on the ground and he was using her as a foot stool, her cheek in the dirt. The maid hoped this would work. She did not think anyone could take much more of this. Children were standing in the crowd crying, their anxious parents doing their best to keep them quiet so that Sucat would not notice them.

Sucat held his cup out as the girl approached with the ale jug. She poured it full and he gulped down the contents. He stuck out the cup again when it was empty and she filled the cup again. He stared at Hyd’s back as he drank, talking under his breath. He could not tell the best way to break his cousin but he needed to break Hyd. He needed to Break Ranee too. Some how they were able to communicate with each other and he hated them for it. They were able to give each other strength. It was not right. It was not fair. Ranee was his. Hyd could not have her. Sucat would see to it that Hyd would never have Ranee. And he needed a way to humiliate Ranee. She was entirely too proud. How she had gotten that way he could not tell but he must make that pride suffer and die. He signaled for a third cup of ale. He was beginning to feel much better and he had an idea.

He told some one to go find Jyll. She would love this. There was a barrel in front of Hyd. Sucat got up and jerked Ranee to her feet. They went to the spot in front of Hyd and he had the barrel rolled closer to Hyd. The people had been standing in the courtyard for three hours now. They were so anxious now that any action would be a relief to them.

Sucat stood Ranee facing Hyd. He grabbed the neckline of her dress and ripped it down the front exposing her breasts. She held her chin high and stared off into the distance. The crowd gasped. Sucat pulled the dress down here back and it hung in shreds to her waist. Hyd watched. Sucat had his attention now. Sucat took Ranee over to the barrel and bent her over it, her exposed stomach and breasts pressed painfully into the wood. He ran the rope from her neck down the barrel to her hands and used it to tie her hands and he wrapped the rope around the barrel’s base around her ankles and back to her hands. He had her tied securely by the time Jyll was brought to him in the courtyard.

Sucat touched Jyll gently on the eye where he had hurt her earlier. She tried to pull away but he held on and kissed the spot.

“I am sorry for my previous treatment of you. I have been upset because my plans have gone awry and I took it out on you. That was wrong and now I will make it up to you.” Sucat drained his cup and called for more. He swayed on his feet but he felt good. The maid rushed over and poured more drink for him. He leaned into Jyll and kissed her on the mouth. Maybe it was his imagination or perhaps it was the drink but he thought maybe she was not as enthusiastic in returning his kiss as she had been before. No matter. She would enjoy her treat and so would he. Sucat pointed to Ranee tied to the barrel. He removed the leather belt he had buckle around his waist. He handed it to Jyll and nodded towards Ranee.

Sucat called over the ditch digger.

“You will whip Hyd each time my Jyll beats Ranee with my belt.” Jyll turn to look at Sucat. She could not believe what he was saying. He nodded to her.

“Yes, my love,” he said. “You may beat my dear, dear wife.” Sucat laughed. He was so happy now. He loved everyone. He stumbled as he walked to Hyd.

“Ah, my dearest cousin. I have really loved this game we have played all of our lives but sad to say it is almost at an end.”

Jyll turned from Sucat to hide the disgust she felt at his drunken behavior. She stroked Ranee’s soft smooth back. She went to Ranee’s head, grabbed her hair and pulled her head up. She kissed Ranee on the mouth, her tongue darting in and out. The crowd gasped and Sucat turned to see what had caused their reaction.

He laughed with pure joy and moved so that Hyd could see too. This was the way things were meant to be. He no longer remembered that Eadward had escaped. He only thought about the show that was about to begin.

Jyll let go over Ranee’s hair and her chin bumped against the barrel. Jyll moved back behind Ranee running her hand along Ranee’s back so she would be able to compare the difference when she was done.

“Do not use the end with the buckle,” said Sucat. “I do not want her to die just yet.”

Jyll grabbed a hold of the buckle and got a good grip on the belt. She looked at Sucat waiting for his signal to begin. The ditch digger looked at Sucat waiting for his signal to begin.

“Let’s see who cries out first and then who passes out first,” said Sucat. He nodded to Jyll.

Jyll’s arm swung back and lashed forward followed along by the wide leather belt. The belt whistled through the air. The courtyard was so quiet that when the leather made contact with Ranee’s back it sounded like thunder echoing in the sky. Ranee’s body jerked but she did not make any sound.

Sucat was disappointed that Ranee did not yell out from the shock of it. She slumped on the barrel breathing as deeply as her restraints would allow her.

He nodded to the ditch digger who swung back his arm and let the whip in his hand fly. There was a loud crack, Hyd’s body jerked and blood sprang out on his back. Before the ditch diggers hand had come to rest, Jyll swung her arm up again and landed a heavy blow to Ranee’s back. In the blink of an eye Jyll swung back again and slammed the leather belt down on Ranee’s back again. Jyll went to swing again but Sucat ran up to her and pulled the leather belt from her hand.

“You ruined things again,” said Sucat. He swung the belt at Jyll and missed because he was so drunk. She laughed at him as he tried to hit her again. He nearly fell over.

It was getting very dark in the courtyard, the sun had gone below the roofs. Sucat and Jyll were arguing, he trying to hit her and nearly falling over. She laughing at him and taunting him, calling him names. The people started to quietly leave. The ditch digger dropped the whip and left.

Sucat lunged at Jyll and grabbed her hair. They were struggling together the drink he had consumed making him stronger than usual. He had a hold on her hair when his men finally returned from their search. They found the courtyard empty of all but Sucat, Jyll, Hyd and Ranee.

Sucat and Jyll stopped fighting when Captain Kennard and the others came up to him to report. At first Sucat had forgot what they had gone looking for. He did not care right now. He ordered guards placed around Hyd and Ranee.

“Leave them as they are for the night. And if you men allow them to escape I personally will castrate each and every one of you.”

Sucat pulled Jyll by the hair. She followed along behind him calling him names. As he pulled her hair with one hand he beat he with the belt in the other hand. He beat her the whole way into his hall and up the stairs to his bedchamber. He called for more of the ale as he went. When he got in the room he flung Jyll to the floor and tried to kick her. She fought back, trying to get a hold on his ankle and tip him over. The maid came in with another pitcher of the spiked ale. She placed it on the first surface she could find and ran back out. Sucat had thrown a small table at Jyll breaking it over her back just as the maid escaped.

The maid told everyone in the kitchen what was happening upstairs in the Baron’s bedchamber. The word spread fast and everyone went into hiding but it did not matter because neither Jyll or Sucat called for anyone.

The table breaking over Jyll knocked her out temporarily. While she was unconscious for a brief while, Sucat took his knife and carved his initials on her cheeks. When he was done he went and got himself more to drink. He sat on his bed with a full mug of ale and looked down on his handy work. She would not be so proud any more. He drank down his mug of ale and poured himself another. He nudged Jyll with the toe of his shoe. She did not move.

Sucat fell off of his bed onto Jyll and he passed out. When she felt like she was suffocating Jyll finally revived. Her face burned. She reached up and touched her wet painful cheeks. When she looked at her hand it was covered in blood. She pushed and shoved Sucat off of her and sat up. He moaned in his drunken sleep.

Jyll left his room and went into his bathing chamber. She found his polished copper looking glass and looked at herself. She began screaming and could not stop. Her beautiful was cut and ruined, blood streaming from the letters carved on her cheeks. She ran back into Sucat’s bed chamber and kicked him over and over again. He would not wake up so that she could exact her revenge. She took the knife that had fallen to the floor when he had passed out. She ran out of the room, down the stairs, into the main hall, out the front doors and into the courtyard.

The guards around Hyd and Ranee took one look at Jyll and were scared. They were sure she was a banshee come to claim them. The three men looked at the wild haired apparition with blood all over her face and close and turned and ran. They were strong men and able fighters but they knew you could not fight and enraged spirit.

Jyll ran over to Ranee and pulled on her hair. Ranee looked up in the crazed woman’s eyes, saw the knife in her hand and thought Jyll would slit her throat. Instead she bean hacking at Ranee’s hair. Jyll grabbed a handful of hair and sliced it off. She grabbed another lock of hair and cut it off. As she chopped off Ranee’s hair said the word ugly over and over again. When she had cut off all of Ranee’s hair Jyll grabbed the rope around Ranee’s neck and pulled it tight. Ranee could not breathe. She struggled against Jyll’s hold but could not fight her. Just as Ranee was about to pass out, Jyll sliced through the rope with the knife and left Ranee gasping for air.

Jyll went over to Hyd. She ran her hand down his torso, repeating the word ugly.

“You did not want me because I am ugly,” she said. Hyd turned his head to look at her and she screamed. She swung the knife at him hacking at the rope that held him aloft. Finally she cut through his rope and he fell to the ground, his legs unable to support his full weight.

Jyll ran off yelling the word “ugly” as she went. Her screams echoed in the courtyard and were held between the buildings by a fog hovering near the roof line.

Ranee pushed herself off of the barrel when she was able to breathe again. She did not know what Jyll had done to Hyd but she needed to check. This maybe the only chance that they had to escape and they needed to take it. Her back burned from the lashings she had received from Jyll. Her body ached from being stretched over the barrel and countless other abuses. Her clothes were falling off of her but she could not let modesty stand in the way of freedom. She had no modesty left anyway. She stood up and turned around. She had a hard time getting her body to obey her mind.

Ranee saw Hyd laying on the ground. At first she thought he might be dead but then she saw that he was breathing his chest rising and falling however shallowly.

She stumbled over to him and collapsed beside him. He rolled over and looked up at her.

“Are you too hurt to move?” she asked.

“No, I think I can managed if I try hard enough.” Hyd smiled at her. She smiled back. They looked at each other like two simpletons.

“Then we need to go. Our luck can not hold out much longer.” When she stopped speaking she heard a sound behind her and she turned to find the ditch digger standing there, a sword in one hand and a knife in the other. She cried out in alarm, put Hyd reached out his hand to calm her.

“He is a friend,” said Hyd. “He will help us.”

The ditch digger came over to Hyd and Ranee. He took the shirt off of his back and handed it to Ranee. She stood up and put it on over her head to cover her chest.

“Thank you,” she said. The ditch digger barely looked at her. He had dropped the weapons to take off his shirt. Now he bent over to help Hyd stand up. Hyd was a little shaky on his feet but his legs were beginning to adjust.

“Ranee, this is David. As I said he is a friend and he will help us hide until we can figure out how to escape. Which way, my friend?”

Hyd picked up the sword and knife. He handed the knife to Ranee. David took off in the direction of the stables and Hyd and Ranee followed. Before going around that building they heard Jyll’s voice yelling the word “ugly” off in the distance.

24

2009-10-30T20:06:00.000-04:00

Jyll ran through the night, scaring anyone who heard her screams. She ran through the fields past farm houses yelling the word “ugly.” The animals in their pens shied away from her passing. Children cried in their beds. Parents did their best to comfort their frightened children. Grown men hid their heads under their pillows and prayed to their various goods that the banshee would not come for them.

Jyll ran between the main hall and the stables. The soldiers hid with the horses hoping they would disguise the men’s scents so the crazy demon woman could not find them. The women of the kitchen staff pushed the long heavy working tables in front of the doors to the kitchen and each woman armed her self with a cooking knife in one hand and a large meat fork in the other. The huddled together for support and a shivered each time the haunted spirit screamed.

Sucat was the only person who slept through the passing of the demented being. As she went screaming and yelling around Sucat’s holdings terrifying the people and keeping everyone awake, she sawed off hunks of her own hair and sent the strands flying in the wind. She made several circuits of the area passing through each spot more than once.

When she did not encounter any people she remember where this horrendous night had begun. She was in a farmer’s field when she remember Sucat and what he had done to her once beautiful face. Now her outside was as ugly as her insides. She could not bear that he had made her so that all would know. He needed to pay for what he had done. She forgot that she had begun to punish him by freeing his prisoners. They were long out of her broken mind. All she could focus on was hurting him personally and that required that she do him physical harm. She looked around her trying to get her bearings.

When she saw which way the hall lay she headed in that direction. Now she began calling Sucat’s name. She began quietly, drawing his name out in a long siren’s call.

“Suuuuuu-cat.” She called his name in a sing song that was more frightening than her screams had been before. She sang his name, changing the inflection, first loud then soft, accenting the beginning of his name one moment and the ending the next. She called his name like she was calling a lover. She called his name like she was searching for a child. She called his name like she was calling for her dinner. All that heard her cringed in fear.

She entered the hall calling his name. It echoed in the empty room making her song even more eerie.

Jyll went up the stairs, going slowly, sneaking but no one was there to stop her. She did not give a thought to why the place was deserted. She did not care. She just liked to creep. She went up the stairs climbing part of the way on her hands and knees. At one point she thought of herself as a stalking cat looking for a mouse and she purred Sucat’s name.

She reached the second story but did not go through the bathing chamber. She did not want to go in there. There were looking glasses in that room and she did not want to look at her ugly face. If she saw her ugly face she would know how ugly she was inside. She could no longer live with how ugly she was but first she had to kill the man who had shown her and the world just how ugly she was. Ugly, ugly, ugly. The word rolled around in her mind and she had to make it go away so she started singing Sucat’s name again.

She went down the hall past the door to the bathing chamber and enter Sucat’s bedchamber from the outside door. He still lay on the floor where she had left him earlier and he snored. His snoring made her angry and she hit him on the back with his belt that she found laying on the bed. The buckle struck him and he stirred in his sleep half waking. She hit him again, harder, and this time he woke with a start and a yelp of pain.

He pushed himself up, shaking his head to clear the drink from it. He stumbled over to the wash basin and splashed his face with water. He felt horrible. He could not remember ever drinking so much. He still felt very drunk. He had already forgotten that Jyll was in the room with him, until she hit him again with the buckle of the belt. He yelled out a curse and turned towards her.

“What the hell is wrong with you, woman?”

When he saw her face, he blanched and swayed. He did not recall cutting her until he saw her again. They stood looking at one another for several minutes, neither moving.

Jyll began singing Sucat’s name again. Every third time she would add the word “ugly.” He let her go on for a while but it was getting on his nerves and he yelled ay her to stop but she just smiled and kept on singing his name. He reached behind him and picked up the first thing his hand touched. He wrapped his fingers around a small flower vase, brought it around and threw it at Jyll. She ducked, came back up and swung the belt at Sucat again. He reached behind him and grabbed an ink pot. He threw that at Jyll, the ink flying out as ink the pot went through the air. She ducked again and the ink pot shattered on the wall behind her. This time she lifted up the knife in her hand. He had not seen it before and now he became scared as the whipped the leather belt she held in one hand and swung the knife she held in the other hand. Sucat called out for help but no one came.

Jyll laughed at him. She could smell his fear. She had him cornered between the bed and a table. She continued to sing his name. The belt just missed him several times. She played with him laughing as he ducked out of the way of the swinging belt and the flashing knife.

He tried calling for help a couple more times.

“They are all hiding,” said Jyll. “They are afraid of me. Are you afraid of me? You look afraid of me. You should be afraid. I am going to kill you for what you did to me.”

She moved closer to him and the belt’s buckle nicked his shoulder.

“After you cut my face I ran out into the courtyard and set Hyd and Ranee free.”

Sucat turned red in the face with anger.

“I only just remembered that. Does that upset you? I am glad.” Jyll looked away from Sucat.

“I cut off all of her hair before I cut the ropes holding her prisoner. Then I cut the rope holding Hyd tied to the pole. You guards ran away from me. They are afraid of me too. Everyone is afraid of the ugly, ugly hag.”

Jyll began to cry.

“No one loves me because I am ugly. Everyone is afraid of me because I am ugly.” She dropped the belt as she sobbed out her pain. The knife was hanging loose in her hand.

Sucat rushed her, ramming his shoulder into her stomach and knocking her to the floor. The knife flew from her fingers and slide across the floor. Sucat and Jyll wrestled with each other. She rolled him over and sat on his chest. She punched him in the face and scrambled to reach the knife.

Sucat grabbed her ankle and pulled her to him. He climbed on her back and pushed her face into the floor as he went over her to get the knife. His fingers touched the hilt. He thought he had it when Jyll bit him in the leg. He kicked at her, hitting her shoulder with his heel. He pushed off the contacted and propelled himself forward, reached the knife, wrapped his fist around it, got up on his hands and knees and turned around.

Jyll got up on her feet. Her face was bleeding from the cuts on her cheeks and from her nose which looked like it might be broken but she showed no signs of stopping. Sucat was sure she was insane now, all rational thoughts gone. He got to his feet and faced her, both of them breathing heavily.

She started calling his name again. She danced a little jig as she sang. She twirled around and around and then she lunged at him, trying to get the knife from him. She pulled back and came at him again. She moved away from him again. He held the knife out in front of him. He weaved and swayed. He was still drunk and his head hurt. Jyll ran at him and impaled herself on the knife. She hugged Sucat and would not let him go. He tried to push her away but her fingers clawed at his shirt. She smashed her face into his trying to kiss him but he turned his face away from her. Her eyes were opened wide like a frightened animal.

Sucat felt her warm blood soaking into his clothes. It seemed like all of her blood was draining out of her as she clung to him. As her blood flowed from the knife in her gut, her fingers began to loosen one by one. Finally she closed her eyes, let go of him and slid down his body to the floor at his feet. She had slid off of the knife. He still held it in his hand. He dropped it on top of her lifeless body.

He went into his bathing chamber. He threw up all of the excess alcohol in his belly and lots of sour noxious bile came up. It burned his throat and mouth. He stripped off his blood soaked clothes and cleaned some of it off of his skin. He threw up again, this time only gagging as he had nothing left to heave up. He took a pitcher of water and poured it over his head hoping it would make him feel better and clear his thoughts. He took a towel out of the wardrobe and wrapped himself in it.

He went back into his bedchamber. He needed sleep. He did not look at Jyll’s body. The dead did not bother him but he was afraid seeing her blood would make him want to retch again.

He climbed into bed, covered himself up and closed his eyes. It was then that he remembered what Jyll had said about Hyd and Ranee. Was it really possible that she had set them free? He did not believe it but he would need to check. Just not now.

His head was pounding so hard he thought it would split in two. It would be soon enough to check once he had some sleep and he felt better. He could smell Jyll’s blood in the room. While it did make him feel more ill, it also gave him comfort. He buried under his blankets to block the smell and keep warm. He had begun to shiver from the pain in his head, the smell of the blood, the burning in his belly and exhaustion.

All he knew right now was that he had taken care of another one of his problems. Jyll was dead never to trouble him again.

25

2009-10-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

Sucat woke to light shining on his face. By the look of the light it was mid-morning and no one had come to check on him or wake him or bring him food. He felt horrible. His mouth was dry and it tingled. His head ached and his body was sore. There was a funny sort of smell in the room that made his stomach turn over.

He flung the covers back off of him. He was naked and there was blood on his skin. He looked around his room and saw the furniture disturbed and turned over. He saw the ink on the wall across from the bed and shards of broken pottery on the floor.

He saw Jyll’s feet protruding beyond the foot of his bed and he recalled stabbing her last night. She was dead. Then he recalled that she had told him she had cut the ropes binding Ranee and Hyd.

He dressed quickly pulling on the first pair of leggings he could find and a tunic laying near by. He did not notice the clothes covered in Jyll’s blood. He just needed to know if he had lost his cousin, Hyd, and his wife, Ranee, once again.

He ran down the stairs and through the hall and out the doors into to the courtyard. He never even noticed that no one was about. All he saw was that the barrel was empty and the pole stood alone. He could not believe that they had escaped him once again. He shook his fists to the sky and yelled out a curse.

It was not until then that he realized no one was around. He stood in the courtyard calling for Captain Kennard. Captain Kennard did not come. He called for Gregor and Gregor did not respond to his calls. Next he yelled for Konard and like with the others he got no response. His men had deserted him. No matter he would find others. He had gold now. He could buy soldiers. He could buy anyone and anything.

He went back into his hall and called for a serving wench. None came. He went to the kitchens and found them empty. When he bought his new soldiers he would have them hunt down all of his serfs and have them killed. He rummaged through the kitchen looking for food. He was hungry. He found roast meat and some stale bread. Fresh bread had not been baked this morning. He drank a mug of ale and felt better. He went out back to the water barrel stripped off his clothes and climbed in to clean himself. The water was cold and it cleared his head. He got out and did not worry about walking around naked. He did not put his close back on since now he saw the blood all over them. He walked into his hall without clothes.

He went up stairs and dressed more carefully this time. He would ride over to the Margrave’s holdings and get men from there to help him hunt down Hyd and Ranee. He would also hunt down his brother, Kennard and kill him. He had suffered his presence on this earth long enough. He would also find that bastard, Eadward and kill him too. No more fooling around with revenge. He would just kill them all and begin anew.

Once he was dressed, his hair combed and his sword strapped to his side, he went downstairs and out of the hall to his stables. There he found that all of his horses were gone. Now he would need to walk. He hated walking. He would rip someone’s legs off for making him walk to Uradel.

He set out on his way. Each step he took making him madder and madder. He plotted all of the different ways to have people killed. And even though each thought gave him pleasure when it came time for it he would just have each one of his enemies run threw with a sword.

The walk to Uradel would take him most of the day. He had hoped he would find a farmer with a horse he could take but they were no where to be found either. He would have settled for a plow horse or an ass, but all of the animals had disappeared, too.

In late afternoon, Sucat reached Uradel. The place was quiet. It seemed as deserted as Briefadel had been when he had left there. No animals were in the fields. The farmers were missing. None of the serfs were about the yard. He could not imagine where they all had gone. They should be working making his new holdings profitable for him. He had many people to punish in the near future, many lessons to teach. He walked through the yard calling for people. No one came to him.

He looked into the stables. Here he saw horses. Oddly enough he thought he saw Captain Kennard’s horse. He also thought he saw Eadward’s red horse. But he must be seeing things from his long walk. It was not possible that Captain Kennard or Eadward were here of all places. He went in and looked more closely. Yes, that was definitely Captain Kennard’s horse. And that one over there was Eadward’s roan. And in the back stall he saw Hyd’s big black beast. This was strange. He looked into each horse’s stall and found only animals, no people.

He went out of the stables and looked in the black smith’s work shop. The fire was burning strong but this building was empty, too.

He left the smithy and crossed the yard and headed to the great hall. The doors were closed. He walked up to the building and the doors slowly swung open, each held back by a squire.

“About time someone showed themselves. Where is everyone?”

They did not answer him but gestured for him to enter the building. He walked in and found the hall full of people. They turned towards him when he walked in. The men bowed and the women curtsied as he walked down an isle they made for him. He smiled at them. This was a reception he liked. Each person there treating him with the respect he deserved. As he went forward people backed out of his way as if they were afraid of him. He was happy with their behavior.

When he got closer to the front of the hall, he saw Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard. The men were blocking his way to the main table and they did not move. They also did not bow like the other men had done. They stood in front of him, arms crossed and looking at him as if they were in control. Sucat looked behind him and saw that the people in the hall closed in behind him. They no longer looked afraid of him. They no longer looked at him with respect. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Something was very wrong here.

He went to pull his sword from his belt and his arms were grabbed by men on each side of him. He called out in anger and alarm but no one heeded him. Captain Kennard stepped up to him and took his sword and his knife from him. Once he was disarmed the men who had grabbed his arms let him go. It was then that Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard moved and Sucat saw Ranee sitting in her father’s chair.

Her hair was short, cut in choppy chunks that stood up in some places because it was so short. Jyll had told Sucat that she had cut of Ranee’s hair but he did not believe her and so he was shocked when he first saw Ranee. Once he got past the look of her hair which was the first thing he had noticed upon seeing her, he looked at her face. She had a black eye and her cheeks were bruised and swollen and cut. Despite how bad she appeared she looked at Sucat with her chin raised. She was defiant. She sat forward in the chair no doubt unable to sit back because of the injuries on her back she had received at Jyll’s hands. The look in her eyes as she looked at Sucat was cold.

Sucat looked to Ranee’s right and saw Hyd standing behind her chair. He stood straight and tall, his sword at the ready. He had a black eye too. On Ranee’s left stood Eadward. He was bent over slightly, favoring the side in which he had gotten stabbed, but he held his sword at the ready too and Sucat did not doubt that he would be deadly if he needed to be.

Ranged behind Ranee, Hyd and Eadward were more of Hyd’s loyal men. Each of them had their swords out, waiting.

Captain Kennard, Gregor and Konard moved to the left and it was here that Sucat saw his people. His cook was there and the ditch digger whose name he still could not remember. His bastard brothers and sisters were there each one smiling at him and he shivered. He was very afraid now.

He looked over to the right and this was where the Margrave’s people stood. He had hoped to get some help from them but they looked on with dispassion and boredom. There was a woman there that looked like Ranee and this must be Ranee’s mother. Thinking of Ranee’s mother made him think of his own mother and he wonder if she was still being watched by her keepers. He looked back to where his people stood and he saw both women who were charged with taking care of guarding his mother. He raised an eye brow to them in question and they both shook their head. He assumed that meant his mother was now dead too. All of his family gone. He looked at Captain Kennard and his other bastard brothers and sisters but he no longer believe any of them were really related to him as he now accepted that Franck was not his real father. He did not look like any of them. His father’s line would go on.

Ranee stood up in front of her father’s chair. Hyd looked at her and moved slightly as if he would help her but when she was able to stand on her own Hyd relaxed and moved back into position. She stepped forward, moving slowly and carefully.

All of the people in the hall turned toward her except Hyd and Eadward and the men behind her. They watched Sucat. As did Captain Kennard. He moved a couple of steps closer to Sucat.

Ranee looked at Sucat for several minutes without speaking. Her quiet was making him very nervous. Finally she blinked and spoke in a clear calm voice.

“You are not my husband. You entered the marriage contract under falsehood and forced your way into the agreement. Our marriage has been ruled null and void and you are accused and convicted of the rape of a royal maiden. The punishment for this offense is death.” She took a breath to steady her voice.

“You, Sucat, are a murderer of so many people. There are dozens of witnesses to all of the people you have murdered. You have judged and found guilty. The punishment for murder is death.”

He tried to speak but he could not find his voice.

“Your property is forfeit and upon your death will be claimed by your cousin, Hyd, Count Stahl.” Ranee walked up to Sucat and kissed him on each cheek and stabbed him in the heart.