Sigilian 7

Tomas stared at the man with the scarf until he turned and rode away again.

It was not in his imagination, it was not coincidence anymore.

That man was following him for reasons unknown. As if he did not have enough to worry about with the gloomy castle, aggressive guards, and mysterious betrothed.

Hearing someone enter the room he turned and stepped back inside.

“If you’re here with my belongings you can just leave them at the foot of the bed. If you’ve brought water to wash up then that is even better”

He began to pull his shirt off when his visitor coughed.

Pulling his shirt back on he turned and saw a woman. She was tall, and slim, pretty in a harsh and unforgiving way. She had long blonde hair tied into a braid and a mouth that was fast becoming a frown.

“My apologies. I was told that a servant would be arriving with water to wash up with. My name is Tomas Bern, it is my pleasure to meet you…?”

He half bent in a bow, but the woman interrupted him.

“You’ve blood on your face. And you’re rather ugly. Why do you wear the eyepatch? My cousin won’t like that”

“Your cousin?”

“I am Guinevere Glante. Juniper is my cousin. And you are her betrothed? I must say, she has had all the luck around here.

“Until now”

A small smirk flitted across her face as she began to circle him.

“You’re skinny. Too bony for her taste by far. And you look like you’ve been fighting. She won’t like that either. Do you have a backbone? Will you refute anything that I say?”

Tomas straightened and looked the woman over.

“If we are judging the other based on appearance alone I have quite a few things to say about yours.

“Or, rather, I would were you not the cousin of my betrothed. I do not wish to make a negative first impression, and so I won’t offer any of the dozens of small criticisms that I could. Do you have anything else to offer? Or are you here only to insult someone who has done you no harm and who yet bears you no ill intent?”

“So you either have a backbone and do not wish to exercise it, or you are as spineless as you seem. Either way, you bandy words well; perhaps too well for my cousin’s liking”

“Ah. So, let me see. I am possessed of a quick wit, and may be a liar who has no backbone, or a mild mannered and honest man who has one. I am ‘ugly’ and wear an eyepatch. I am too skinny, yet am still willing to fight to defend my honour. And she would dislike all of these qualities? From your description so far she would far prefer an obese lazy and stupid man who is a coward and shows it, or is rude and shows it. He must also never fight himself, using only patsies and middle men to carry his words to the enemy, but those words must not be too long or too well thought out lest…what?”

“Lest he trip himself up with his own cleverness and insult me before he realizes what he has done”

“And so the cousin is indeed a fake as I had suspected”

“That is correct. I am myself possessed of a quick wit and a faster tongue, and I do not appreciate it when others try to bandy words with me. I enjoy it less if they stand a chance of getting the better of me in an exchange”

“And so you resort to telling them that you are a cousin who does not exist?”

“Oh, no, Guinevere exists. She is just absent, and not at all like me. Too stupid and fat to pull off something like this. But for those who don’t know her I can pull the impersonation off quite well”

Tomas and Juniper stopped circling each other. He paused for a moment and then motioned to the chairs.

“Fair Juniper, I apologize for my rude behaviour and for this rough start to our acquaintance. I wish to start again, if at all possible, and try and forget the rude and maybe ill considered words that I have said”

“No. I have told you what I think of you. You’re bony, and ugly, too smart and too violent. I don’t want a man who doesn’t fight, I want one who doesn’t get himself dirty while doing so. And your clothing is too fashionable, too colourful; you cannot outshine me or else it will never work.

“Which is again another reason why you cannot be smarter than me. It does not work that way, since you would again be in danger of overshadowing me. And as for you being too skinny I do not want a fat husband either. I want one who is muscular and handsome, well built and not in danger of being blown over by a slight breeze.

“Now do you see why we are completely incompatible?”

Tomas shrugged and sat down.

“I don’t care if we are completely incompatible as you say. I had never much planned on being in love with you anyways. And, I do not wish to be on this island, or in this castle with its too few windows and creepy atmosphere. I always wished to be destined for bigger things than this, marrying the third child of a small time Duke in order to strengthen political ties between our islands.

“However our families have decided that we are to be married. And we must do our duties by our families, and get married. We do not have to be happy in our marriage, and once we find a vocation of some kind and get a home we do not even have to talk to each other. I am more than happy to leave you to do whatever you wish. If that includes talking to me, then I shall be there so that you may talk to me.

“But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we get married in order to strengthen the ties between the Free Lords, Rin, and Destria. Because if we do not then there may be a war. I’m not if you know the political situation within Rin at the moment but-”

“But I do not care. If your islands get annexed by Destria or get crushed by the Laeros, I really don’t care. So long as you get out of the castle sooner rather than later”

“Did you not listen? I cannot leave! We are betrothed, and it is our duty to get married!”

Tomas was standing again, and shouting.

“There might be a war if we don’t! I’m not sure how high tensions are, but this could be the thing that tips them over breaking point! Do you understand me? This could break the peace, and if Destria declares war on Rin or withdraws their support then Lomwar can attack us! And if they attack us we won’t be able to defeat them, not without Destria.

“And even if at that point Destria decides to enter the war once we are losing by that point it’ll be too late, and by the time they mobilize their forces Rin will have been conquered.

“Which means that Lomwar, Laeros and Zarg can annex Krovat. With Krovat annexed Destria will have no allies. And while the three may need to take some time to build up their forces again they will be able to strike directly at Destria without fear of interference from Rin. And Destria may be formidable with its Great Fortress and floating border towers, but even its military might is not enough to repel a three pronged attack or a direct attack by the combined might of all three nations.

“Destria will fall and your way of life, and mine, will end!”

He turned and motioned for the servants in the doorway to come in.

“Put that basin in the washroom, now. Don’t just stand there, move!”

His voice building to a roar again he spun back around to face Juniper.

“If you really do not understand this then I will try even harder to maintain our engagement. I apologise, but I must say that in this I hope you do not get your way. I will protect my family in this, I will protect all families, prevent anyone from losing loved ones to a pointless war that could have been avoided!”

Struggling to compose himself he pulled off his shirt and eyepatch, dropped them on the chair and marched into the washroom. Pushing the maid out of the way he plunged his head into the basin, soaking for as long as he could hold his breath before pulling it out, taking another, and dunking it in again.

Finally feeling slightly calmer he snatched a towel from the maid’s outstretched fingers and began to dry himself off as he walked back into the sitting room.

“Juniper, I apologize for my earlier outburst. I think that-”

As she turned to look at him she screamed and scrambled backwards to the balcony.

“What?”

She covered her eyes as she screamed at him.

“Your face! The bloody hole in your face where your eye should be! Put your eyepatch on now!”

Shrugging he did so, tying it tight so that it would not slip. Perhaps that would explain the maid’s reaction.

He so rarely did not wear an eyepatch around those who did not know him that he had forgotten their reactions to his face.

Because of the way his eye had been ripped out his eye socket was a mess. In order to stop the bleeding the doctor had needed to cut away much of the bone around his eye socket. As such it was not so much an empty socket as a ragged looking half sphere taken from his head.

He had never understood why the doctors had done such a truly ugly job of it. His parents had explained it having something to do with their hurry in stopping the bleeding, and something about the Sketching gone wrong, but he did not really care. He didn’t need it to be fixed since he wore his eyepatch, and he didn’t want it fixed since he did not wish to suffer any pain that was not necessary.

“I’ve put it back on”

Juniper pulled her hands away and resumed her regal posture.

“And that is one more reason why we cannot be married. You are to never remove an eyepatch while in my presence again. Do you understand?”

“Is that a condition for our marriage?”

“No, it is a rule for the remained of your thankfully brief stay in this castle”

“I shall do my best to abide by it”

The sitting room and landing outside were now full. The two maids and three porters with his belongings blocked the entrance from the eighth person trying to enter the area.

“Master Bern? Lady Juniper?”

Drake had returned.

“It is time for dinner, if you would be able to come down post haste. The Duke and Duchess are already waiting”

“What about my brothers Steward?”

“They are, as usual, late. I have already been to remind them, and am going to go remind them again”

“Excellent Steward. You may do that now. We shall be at the table as soon as possible”

As Drake hurried off to find her brother again she turned to Tomas.

“Get dressed. But don’t bother unpacking. I’m going to talk to my father as soon as I get down there and have this arrangement called off. He’ll listen to me”

She hurried out of the room doing her best to act like she was not waiting for the porters to move his luggage out of the way.

“You can put those in my chamber. And don’t drop them please”

He folded his shirt and draped it over the back of a chair.

He would need to find something else to wear for dinner, which meant, since those in his carryall were dirty from the trip, waiting for the porters to bring his luggage in and finding something in there.

Luckily he had packed his best things on the top.

Hurrying downstairs following the maid he arrived in the dining hall in time to see Juniper storming out.

A tall and proud looking man stood at the table’s head, a woman seated beside him. He had hair swept back, graying at the temples. Wide shoulders and large biceps showed that he was familiar with fighting. His face was currently a stern mask devoid of emotion.

The woman had long blonde hair like Juniper’s, but with a few white lines in it. She had a face that was crinkled with smile lines.

“Sir? Ma’am?”

Tomas stepped into the room carefully, worried about disturbing the two when they looked so serious. And they had no doubt just heard a great number of bad things about him.

“Tomas Bern”

“Yes sir?”

“You have said mean things to my daughter. They are, to hear her tell it, unnecessarily cruel and unprovoked. You lost your temper and yelled at her and then terrified her. You will explain yourself”

“My apologies sir. I am not sure what you have heard from her, but I shall give my side of the story. She told me that she did not wish to marry mr for many reasons, which I acknowledged. I responded by saying that it was our duty to our families to get married, whether or not we wished to. When she refused to accept that I was not going to give up I explained my reasons, especially including the political situation in Rin. When she still did not even acknowledge the reasons and stated that she would be happy is Rin was conquered and burned so long as I left this castle I lost my temper and shouted at her. I apologize again, and realize that I should not have done so. There is a better way to talk to people than shouting at them, and-”

“No. You’re wrong about that. Thats the only real way to talk to Juniper. Sit down Tomas, if I may call you that. I hope that my daughter has not given you a negative opinion of the entire house”

“Not at all sir”

“Tomas. You don’t have to call us sir and ma’am. We are after all to be family”

The woman moved her chair so that the three could face each other more easily.

“My name is Anwen, and my husband is Carian. Please, sit down. I think that the three of us need to talk about Juniper, and your betrothal”

Still wary, but somewhat reassured by their reactions Tomas pulled out a chair and sat.

“Our daughter is somewhat troubled”

“And troublesome. Tomas, you know the political situation. You grasp that. You’re a smart man, obviously. Juniper is not very politically astute”

“No, she is not. And she can be very pushy and bossy. When she wants something she will try her hardest to get it”

“However, in this she will not get her way. There is not a chance that she was going to dissuade us on this issue, no matter what. You could have been a horrible man who she would have suffered unduly with and we still would have had to go through with the betrothal. The fact that you seem instead to be conscientious, loyal, and wise greatly eases my conscience”

“Our daughter will not take this well Tomas. You will be the target of much of her anger the next few days. But do not hate her for it. She just resents the fact that from a young age she has had her fate predetermined. She never wanted to be married to someone in order to preserve a treaty. She wanted to be free to do whatever she wanted with her life. To tell you the truth, no matter who you were, had you been the person she told you was the perfect match for her, she would have rebelled against it, and rejected him. She hates everything to do with her predetermined fate”

Tomas nodded slowly.

“I understand. I do. I myself have in the past aspired to more than this. However, I began to look at it as more than most will ever get to do. I get to avert a war and save countless lives through this act. And it is not like this marriage will define my life. I have options. I can travel, still join an army, train to be a Knight, become a merchant prince, explore the Northlands if I wanted. This marriage does not trap me as much as I originally feared, as much as Juniper seems to think it will trap her”

This was not an entire truth. While he did not feel entirely trapped by the marriage he still felt that his options were limited and that he would not be free to do what he wished to with his life.

But he did not have to tell the two that.

“You are much wiser than most men twice your age Tomas. If we can convince Juniper than I would be honoured to have you as a son in law.

“As for our sons I am sure that you will meet them soon enough. They are good men, and I am sure that you will get along with them”

“I hope to do so. Are we doing something else at the moment, or shall we wait for them to come to dinner?”

“We’ve cancelled the dinner. With our daughter in her rage we cannot have a true family dinner and the cooks will need to prepare her an individual meal anyways. It is easier if they prepare all individual meals. We’ll have something sent up to your room”

“Thank you” He stood and bowed to them “If you don’t mind then I’ll take my leave. I have to unpack my things”

“Of course”

Tomas turned and walked back down the cold draughty hallways. Perhaps his stay here would not be as bad as he thought. But then again, perhaps with Juniper in the picture, it would.

Sigilian 6

Tomas stood at the foot of the drawbridge. He had changed into his best, had cleaned himself at the inn and done his best to stay clean since, and had donned a new eyepatch that was more aesthetically appealing but not yet comfortable.

Making sure it was fastened he hefted his carryall and nodded to the coachman.

The trip to Hamelford had been uneventful. The caravan had been well guarded and after one attack by bandits was run off by a crossbow volley and Tomas himself charging the front rank and tearing a man’s throat out with ease they had not seen any more action.

Either there had been no more bandits in the area or those who were there had heard word of their strength.

Either way, they had been avoided.

The only worrisome event was a man who he kept seeing. Black trenchcoat, red scarf, and a face that always happened to be in shadow. He had been behind them on horseback for a while, and then fallen behind after they had been attacked by the bandits.

When he re-appeared watching Tomas from across a busy street he had at first been surprised that he had not fallen to the bandits.

His second though had been that the man was in league with them, perhaps as a spotter of some kind, and he had tried to fight his way through the crowd to find him.

By the time he got to where the man had been, he was gone.

Tomas had forgotten about the man until he had found a red scarf caught in the lid of his trunk upon arriving at the castle. His trunk had been sealed and locked the entire time; nothing should have been able to get stuck in the lid the way the scarf had.

But he had to put all that out of his head right now. He was going in to see his betrothed now, he needed to focus.

He stepped forwards onto the drawbridge and advanced to the gates where two guards stood watching him from.

“Who’re you?”

“Tomas Bern. I am betrothed to Lady Juniper Aveu Glante”

“Ah. You. The little Ladies Lordling. We’re supposed to let you in”

“But, you know, I don’t think we feel like it, do we?”

“Nah, not really”

The two guards sneered, their helmets casting their eyes in sinister shadows. Hands tightened on the hafts of halberds, threatening their use if he did not do as they said.

“And you can’t do anything to us or else risk offending your betrothed”

“Not that he has any chance of not doing that anyways. Whats an ugly mug. You’d think he was a tavern brawler, not some lordling fit to marry her Ladyship the Pain in the Arse”

Tomas’ fists tightened, not of their own will, but so that he would not be tempted to Sketch. If he was he knew that the guards would be dead before they could blink, and he would never be allowed to marry Juniper.

He would do his family a service and allow them to insult him.

“Yes, I am indeed in a bind here. I cannot be allowed in now, or I will report you for what you have just said, and for delaying me. However, I cannot turn back as it is my duty to my family to go forwards. We are clearly at an impasse. The best solution I can see would be if you both accepted my oath that I will forget what I have heard here just now in exchange for quick and safe passage inside”

The guards glanced at each and their sneers grew wider.

“Nah fancy sir with your words and jests, I don’t think we will let you through easily. We could not allow one so ugly into her Lady Light-Tree’s presence. Why do you wear that eyepatch? To hide a hole you got in your head from peaking where you shouldn’t have?”

“Yah, because thats the closest he’d ever get to a woman, peeping at her from afar. Not even a whore would go near him with that face”

“Gentlemen. Or, no, sorry that is not right. Men? Nay, still to high born. Sons of sows? No, that does your mothers a disservice that they do not need; they have suffered more than enough by birthing you two”

He began to gesture with his right hand as he tucked his left behind his back and began to surreptitiously Sketch from muscle memory.

“How about beasts? No, but that implies that you at least have instincts for self preservation, and that you can be tamed. I don’t think that you two can be tamed. And all you seem to be able to do is insult, and, based upon your comment about those women who are forced into selling their bodies, I presume that the two of you visit the houses that employ them regularly? Which tells me that neither of you can land a woman of your own. Perhaps all your comments so far have been mere projections of your own insecurities onto me? And perhaps there is a reason you cannot find a woman. Since you so clearly enjoy each others company, perhaps that enjoyment extends to after your shifts end, perhaps extending to one of your bedchambers? Although that assumes that you are able to feel emotions at all. Which brings me back to fitting names for the two of you. Lice? Annoying yes, can sting, yes, but lice are more troublesome than the two of you. Mosquitos? Mites? What is there that lives only to fulfil its own pleasures, cannot be reasoned with or tamed, cannot be said to share intelligent conversation and are indeed happier in a rum soaked tavern than anywhere near a courtroom?”

Tomas pretended to puzzle over it for a moment, raising one finger to stop the two visibly fuming men from speaking.

“Ah-ha! I have it”

He had in fact known the comparison he would make from the very beginning of his rambling insult.

“The two of you are as a pair of mushrooms, those small ones that look like tiny balls? You know the type, the ones that don’t even taste all that good if you eat them but aren’t poisonous. Entirely nondescript but for their nondescript nature”

He Completed and waited for the two to react.

“You done your speech Ugly?”

“If you are talking to me, then yes, although I have already told you my name is-”

“Shut up. We were going to let you through in a moment and forget everything, but you’ve taken it too far”

The one on the left doing all the talking was clearly the spokesperson of the two, but the shorter one on the right seemed to carry himself with more deadly grace, the better fighter.

“And now I will pay?”

“And now you’re gonna pay!”

He lunged forwards with his halberd, point first. Tomas saw through the obvious ruse and the other guards’ intent to trip him.

It worked better that they did, so he let his legs be swept out from under him with the shaft.

Falling with a thud and letting the air woosh out of him he made sure to hold their attention, trying to hide the Sigil for as long as possible.

It did not work.

“The hell…?”

“He’s a Sketcher!”

The one who had tripped him spun his halberd around to try and finish the job but Tomas was quicker.

Grabbing the halberd as it went by he let it get most of the way around before jerking it in the other direction.

The man didn’t react quickly enough to let go and was flung into his partner by Tomas’ superior strength.

As the second man fell Tomas spun around on his left palm, scissor kicking the legs out from under both.

And before they even began to fall he had sprung to his feet and brought his elbow cracking down into the back of the shorter one’s head.

There was a crack and then another when the man’s nose splattered on the wooden planks. The taller man was still toppling backwards so very slowly and so Tomas helped him.

Snatching the halberd of the shorter man as it bounced up on its first clatter he lay it across one knee. The hatf went between the guard’s legs with the blade out the other side.

One palm pushing down on the blade brought the haft up to catch in the poor guard’s crotch. But Tomas didn’t stop pushing then, only intensifying the pressure so that the weapon would act as a lever before it inevitably snapped.

The guard was flung up into the air, face still barely registering the surprise before it began to register the pain and fear,

Not wanting to kill the man on the landing Tomas tensed and jumped, spinning in midair.

The guard’s eyes widened as he saw the young lord coming, To him, the angel of death was arriving to finish the job. Instead Tomas planted his boots in the man’s middle and kicked off, altering both their trajectories enough that the guard landed in the moat with a splash as Tomas touched back down on the drawbridge.

Remembering the first crack he rushed the the first guard and, dismissing the Sketch, began to Sketch a variant of the Sigil, one for healing. He did not want to go to such lengths to save the other while the first one died by his hand.

Finishing the Sketch, he poured the healing energies into the unconscious guard. A sudden ragged intake of breath told him that he had been successful.

And checking over his shoulder he made sure that the one he had launched was making his way to the shore.

The only issue now was that his clothing had gotten a bit dirty from the fall. But he did not have any time to change; he had bought himself entry with battle and so he had better make use of his purchase.

He brushed off what dust he could reach, straightened his eyepatch once more, and stepped inside.

As he walked down the corridor he tried to compose himself.

The guard’s words had struck a chord. He knew that he was not beautiful or handsome. He knew that he would never be one to make the ladies swoon. He was altogether too slim and almost bony to match the physique of many of the knights.

And he had his scars…

He had earned them. He had tried to save his cousin Aline from death. They had been on the mountains and she had slipped when the hillside collapsed. She had caught herself on a branch and held on as tightly as she could, but it too had begun to rip free of the hillside.

Two years younger than her he had at first panicked, and then ran forwards, desperate to help. Scrambling down the slope he had bruised and cut himself, but that did not matter, only saving Aline, only saving the girl that he loved and looked up to.

He had almost reached her, was extending his hand for her to grab when the hillside gave out and the tree ripped free. The roots pulled out and whipped forwards, scratching the side of his face and all down his arm. They had been jagged and sharp, and one spur had stabbed into his eye socket and left with most of his eyeball.

He might have had a chance to have the flesh healed without scarring if he had returned to a Sketcher right away, but he had instead gone to see if Aline was ok.

He had been left with the scars as a reminder of his failure to protect, to save, his family.

He would not fail them again.

He came to a stop just inside the main doors. Placing his carryall on the ground he looked around.

Nobody was there to greet him. Perhaps they were busy? Should he call or look for a bell to ring, or a string to pull to alert them?

Before he had the chance to do anything like that a side door opened and a small man bustled out.

“Master Bern, Master Bern, it is good that you have arrived. I am glad that the gate guards did not give you any trouble. Those two are difficult, but the Duke keeps them on as they are the sons of a friend”

Ah. And that prevented him from having any kind of good relationship with the Duke.

“I would not say that they didn’t give me any trouble Mister…?”

“Drake sir. Drake the Steward. And they did give you trouble? Oh I hope that they didn’t hurt you at all! Did they, oh no, I think I see a tear in your shirt. Did they put that there?”

“Mister Drake, they may have. They tripped me, knocked me down. It may have happened then as I did not have time to get up gingerly and spare my shirt. However, I would not worry about reprimanding them, if that is anywhere in your thoughts; I do not like to be insulted and like less to be attacked. They are both outside now. The shorter one may require further medical attention, and the taller one will need to dry off before he rusts”

“Master…what did you do to them?”

“I repaid them their harsh words in blows of my fists and their own attack tenfold. I believe I broke the nose of the shorter one and I cantilevered the other into the moat. May I see my rooms now?”

Tomas was ready to leave and ignore the issue of the gate guards when Drake began to laugh.

“Ah, Master, that is most amusing. The Duke will be most pleased”

“Pleased that I assaulted two of his soldiers?”

“Yes. He dislikes them immensely. As I said he only keeps them on as a favour to his friend. If you stay here long and perhaps continue to discipline them they will perhaps leave of their own accord. That would be a happy day indeed”

Tomas nodded, slightly confused by the result, but understanding the Duke’s predicament. He had likely agreed to help his friends without foreknowledge of the men’s buffoonery. Having agreed to help them he could then not turn the guards back onto the streets.

The only question was, who was the Duke dealing with that they needed jobs for their sons as guards, not in the family business, or in training as potential heirs?

“And my room…?”

“Ah, of course Master Bern. My apologies for keeping you waiting”

Drake hurried off back down the corridor he came out of. The castle was gloomy, slightly damp, and dark, narrow arrow slits providing the only light in the hall.

“This castle was originally built during the Succession Wars, after the fall of Deros the Grand. With the Torin Islands divided for the first time in centuries the smaller families, the Dukes, Lords, and even merchant princes set their sights on the throne, whether that of the Islands as a whole, or of a smaller piece of land. Starting by stealing the Sigils from Deros’ shattered Mosaic they incorporated them into the first Sigilians. Many of those old houses have died out, but some still exist today. House Glante and House Destral are two of the ones that have survived.

“House Glante decided early on that they were going to support their longtime allies bid for the throne. At the time House Glante was not a house, but a single Knight, Star-Bright Glante. He don’t know if that was his real name or an assumed one, but it is what he went by. The Family has tried to stay true to his name and name themselves in a glorious way.

“But, the history. As House Destral expanded their territory outwards they needed new keeps and strongholds. Unfortunately it was impossible to build a new stronghold in this area as this keep stood. It was the base of operations of a minor merchant lord in league with their chief rivals, the Lords Ascendant, a council of three lords who were-”

Tomas tuned out the steward. He was not trying to be rude, but he did not care. He knew that he should try and listen, try and learn about the family of the woman he was betrothed to, but he could not stand to listen to the prattle.

Star-Bright? What fools decided that that was the name of their ancestor let alone that they must follow his stupidity in naming?

He knew that he should be more charitable to the family, but he was done being charitable with them. He had not imagined his life going like this, not imagined himself ending up marrying into some insane House that named their children ‘Glowing bush’ in order to honour the stupidity of their ancestor.

He had wanted to be someone, someone important, and someone powerful. That was what he had dreamed of as a child. Being someone who mattered to the world, who did important things.

But he had failed his family once already with Aline’s death. He would not fail them again now.

“-Star-Bright charged in, sword held high as the cavalry swirled behind him. Since he had torn the gates down from the inside the cavalry had fought their way in and joined him. While they set to work killing the remaining guards that Star-Bright had not himself killed he took the three best fighters and most loyal men, and rode straight to the central hall of the keep”

Drake had not noticed his lapse in attention and had kept the story up as he climbed a set of spiralling stairs. Remembering the outside appearance Tomas assumed that he was to be billeted in the west-most tower of the keep itself, likely reserved for guests.

“-And he swung his sword down, crashing through the man’s defenses. With that, he killed the current ruler of the keep, but that was not enough for Star-Bright, oh no, you see-”

Glancing out one of the arrow slits Tomas confirmed his guess. They were indeed climbing up one of the towers of the keep, although it was apparently the one at the north-west corner rather than the south-west like he had though. Odd because he hadn’t seen any staircases leading from that hallway up to that tower, although maybe this was a direct corridor.

“-He rode out the very next day, the bloody head grasped in his hands as he charged the flank of the Council’s army and-oh, here we are. Your room Master. To summarize the Keep was awarded to the House for exemplary service. We’ve been the Crown’s loyal supporters ever since”

Drake unlocked the door and ushered Tomas inside. He found himself in a well appointed sitting room. Open doors led into a bathroom, a bedroom, and onto a balcony. The room did not appear to have been used in some time, but had been well aired out and cleaned for there was no dust and did not smell musty.

“You can put your carryall down here now and freshen up. I’ll have your other things brought up along with some fresh water so that you can wash your face, ah, it looks like you’ve a bit of blood on it from the fight, well, it’ll soon come off. Please, make yourself at home, unpack your bags, enjoy the room. The Lady Juniper will send for you when she wishes to meet you, hopefully before dinner. If not then someone will come to bring you down to dinner in the Dining Hall with the Duke, Duchess, Lady Juniper and her brothers the Lords Aeron and Aiden. Is there anything else you needed just now?”

“Nothing, thank you. I’ll settle in while you send for those things”

As Drake hurried out Tomas took another moment to look around.

The rooms did not look lived in. They did not feel welcoming. The whole castle did not feel welcoming. It was not just the guards; it was the feeling of the building itself.

It was cold, and dark, forbidding and gloomy. He was not surprised that the family with names about light and stars had not built such an abode. It was too grim, too military to be welcoming.

And above and beyond all that something else felt wrong. It may have been in the silence of the courtyard or in the actions of the guards. It may have been Drake’s abundance of chatter and cheeriness and his efforts to distract Tomas from what was around him.

But it was most of all just a feeling in the back of his mind. There was something wrong here. And as much as he wanted to do his duty to his family he did not want to stay here a minute longer than necessary.

Placing his carryall on a chair he walked out to the balcony. Out here at least it did not feel as stuffy, nor was it as dark. In fact the only good thing about his rooms were that they had large windows. Perhaps they considered a room this high to not be threatened by archers. Or perhaps they didn’t care if their guests were killed. Either way, though he usually preferred candlelight, in this castle he was sure he would soon grow to appreciate what natural light he could get.

Leaning on the rail and looking down he almost fell over the edge in surprise.

Far below, and a few hills away, a man in a black coat with a red scarf sat atop a horse.