The Montfort carriage arrived not a minute past seven. I had woken up an hour prior to get ready. I didn’t have much to do, just bathe, eat breakfast, and participate in morning prayer. I sat in the prayer room, curled up under the small marble statue of the saintess, sitting right next to her left foot. I glanced out the window, the weak morning sun just barely rose. An old hobbit of a man bursted into the room, his long beard dragging on the floor as he approached.
“Lady Catalina, a carriage is waiting for you,” he reported, cocking his head out the window.
I stared outside again, though this time I could see the boxy outline of a carriage staring back at me at the corner of my eye. The Montforts sure were punctual.
“Alright, I’ll get going then,” I stood up, smoothing over my humble black dress and adjusting my veil. We exited the prayer room, down a long hallway and into the main foyer. Nuns walked about, arms linked as they whispered amongst themselves.
Rufus escorted me out the monastery, holding the door for me.
“After you, lady.”
“Thanks,” I said, stepping through. I descended down the steps, stopping in front of the carriage.
“Lady Catalina of Opal?” The coachman inquired, lowering the reins to turn to me.
“Yes, that is me,” I nodded, reaching for the handle of the carriage. I opened the door cautiously, half expecting Nicholas to be in there. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, stepping into the carriage. Once I was sat on the velvety seats, I pulled the door close.
“The young lord requested a speedy arrival, so the ride might be kind of bumpy,” the coachman warned, starting up the horses.
He did not lie. They took many empty, pebble back roads instead of the main roads that ran through the town square. I was slightly disappointed, people watching brought me some entertainment on carriage rides. The change of scenery was nice, though I was scared that the desolateness of the backroads might invite thieves and robbers. I arrived in one piece, and in record time to the noble district. Most nobles didn’t live too far away from the square, close enough to go there by foot, but far enough that the poor were out of their sight. The Montfort house looked particularly different compared to all the other manors around.
Its paint looked fresher, the house looking more lively, even with its darker color palette. The bricks were a pale gray, standing out against their red neighbors. The Montfort manor was fenced off, its tops spiked. The coachman pulled into the manor, the gates drawn by some guards.
It stopped at the entrance, a large archway, rose petals withering. The carriage stood still for a moment. I shifted, sliding myself across the seat to reach for the door to see what was happening outside. The door suddenly opened, and Nicholas stepped inside.
“Good morning, Lady Catalina,” he greeted, taking seat across from me. His hair was parted down the middle, cropped just above his ear though some stray locks fell on his eyebrow. He wore a black uniform, decorated with medals across his chest, his sword drawn at his side.
“Good morning, Sir Nicholas,” I replied.
We sat in awkward silence for a moment. His eyes were trained on me, and I couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. He cleared his throat and spoke up.
“Thank you for accepting my request. It’ll mean a lot to my men.”
“It’s no problem. I’m always willing to help,” I assured.
He turned, staring out the window. I was almost about to shut myself out as well, but I needed to inquire more about Alexandra.
“I received a letter from Alexandra.”
He raised his head slowly, eyes trained on mine.
“That so?” He sighed, anticipating the worst.
“It was an apology for her actions. I found it very noble of her to do that,” I replied, staring at him to see how he would react.
He stared at me again for a moment, resting his hand on his chin.
“I’m glad she’s owned up to her actions.”
I nodded in response, and he turned to the window. I did so too, letting the city lull me into thought.
It seems he didn’t expect that from Alexandra either, so she wrote it on her own accord. But why? From how he reacted, he hadn’t thought her capable of that. What caused her to have a sudden change of heart? What could she be planning? I’d kill to get inside her head and figure out what’s going on in there.
The carriage came to a stop, jolting me up from my train of thought. Nicholas shuffled out, using his back to hold the door open while extending his hand to me. I slid my palm into his, using him as support to exit the carriage.
“Where are we?” I asked, glancing around. The walkway we were on lead to a platform and it led to a canopy-like building. All it had was a roof and metal pillars holding it up. There were some light post scattered about, though none were on. It was bustling with people walking about, chattering amongst themselves.
“We’re at Stanford station,” Nicholas said, walking forward towards the crowd. It was only then that I was able to see the train tracks at the bottom of the platform, my eyes trailing its length, before returning back to Nicholas. He made his way to near the end of the platform, sitting down and gazing ahead without much care for what I would do. I simply stood awkwardly next to him. He picked up a newspaper that was abandoned on the bench, sprawling it out.
“You should sit,” he said, not bothering to look up from the paper.
“I’m fine standing,” I replied, looking at the time table to see when the next one would arrive.
“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug, flipping to the next page.
Our awkwardness didn’t last long, as a new figure approached us. He was tall, and fairly muscular. His dark curls brushed out of his face as his bronze skin glistened in the daytime. I remember him. He was at the tea party. He was the one who called Nicholas back into the game after he had taken me to the butler.
“Hello, Lady Catalina. It’s a pleasure to see you. I’m Charles,” he greeted, reaching for my hand bringing it up to his lips in greeting.
“Hello to you, Sir Charles,” I smiled back.
He dropped my hand, walking up to the bench. He sat down next to Nicholas, sprawling his hand around his neck playfully.
“Too full of yourself to greet me?” He teased with a wolfish grin, bringing Nicholas closer. Nicholas didn’t bat an eye, his eyes still glued to the paper.
“No. More so I’m already tired of putting up with you,” he replied with a small shrug.
“Oh, you know you can’t live without me,” he retorted, snatching the paper out of his hand. Nicholas scowled, brows furrowed.
“I was reading that.”
“Too bad,” Charles replied with a shrug.
The two didn’t get to banter for much longer as the train pulled into the stop, screeching loudly as its wheels slowed. It came to a stop, its doors drawing open as people poured out. Nicholas stood up, adjusting his tie as he walked towards the train. Charles followed behind, placing the paper down on the bench. After they had walked a few steps, I was left there considering for a moment if figuring Alexandra out was worth the risk. It’s not like I would see her, not today at least. But maybe getting closer to Nicholas would give me an indirect way of finding out more about her?
“Are you coming, lady?” Charles asked, peering over his shoulder.
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I paused for a moment, hesitating before spinning back on my heel and following after them.
“Yes, please wait up.”
We boarded onto the train, stepping inside. We walked down the carpeted wagon, furnished with seats and windows. We reached a small hallway with doors, and he opened the first one to his left. It revealed a large room. It had couches at its sides with a large table in the middle. At the corner sat the lady from the tea party, the one who was to my side. She wore a beautiful mustard dress, with long bell sleeves, she seemed to be busy staring out the window.
“Good morning, dear sister,” Charles sat next to her, smiling.
“Morning Charles,” the girl turned to face him, returning the smile.
Nicholas and I shuffled into the opposite seat. He let me sit first, cramping myself up to the window so that there would be a decent amount of space between us.
The girl's eyes departed from her brother’s and landed on me, she stared at me with those same big, innocent eyes from the party.
“My, where are my manners? This is the second time we’ve met and I have yet to introduce myself,” she sighed, putting a hand up to her forehead in disappointment.
“I’m Lady Anastasia. I was to your left at Lady Antebellum’s tea party,” she added, now placing her hands at her sides.
“Yes, I remember you. I’m Lady Catalina,” I greeted back with a small smile.
She turned to face Nicholas, greeting him.
“Hello Lord Nicholas. I’m glad you could join us today.”
“Thank you for letting us tag along,” he replied.
She turned back to me, staring at me for a moment before speaking back up.
“It's a shame we didn’t talk much that day. I would have loved to get to know you.”
“The other ladies were so engrossed in their conversation I couldn’t do much else but listen.”
She sighed, crossing her legs.
“Still, I should have made an effort to talk to you, Lady Catalina.”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Charles called, glancing in its direction. The door was slid open, and a man in a uniform stepped inside. He had a silver mustache, tipping his hat at us.
“Please pass up your tickets,” he said, tipping his hat towards us.
Charles smiled. “No need for that. I’m Charles Stanford.”
The ticketor smiled incredulously, raising an eyebrow.
“Right. Pass up your tickets or I’ll call the guards.” He doubled down, shoving it in his face. I suddenly remembered we didn’t purchase any tickets.
Charles frowned, shuffling around in his pockets before pulling out a golden card. He handed it to the man, who snorted.
“That’s not a ticket,” he scoffed, reading the card. His face went pale, and he quickly bowed.
“I’m terribly sorry, Lord Stanford. This won’t happen again.” He quickly shuffled out the booth, though he stopped in his tracks as Anastasia called after him.
“One more thing, bring us some tea.” The man nodded meekly, moving on to the next booth.
“Since when was the staff so unfriendly?” Anastasia complained, rolling her eyes.
“We ought to do some quality control,” Charles agreed with a sigh.
The rest of the train ride was spent chatting with chatter. Anastasia and I spoke for the majority of it, sipping on tea. Eventually, the train came to a halted once again, the screeching still as loud as it was when we were at the station.
“This is our stop,” Nicholas said, standing up.
“Leaving so soon?” Charles teased, getting up with him.
I followed after him, standing up and smoothing my dress.
“Take my card with you. I don’t think you bought a ticket back,” Charles said, giving him his card with a handshake.
“How will you get home?” Nicholas asked, taking it with hesitation.
“Anastasia has one, so we’ll use hers.”
“What would you do without me?” Anastasia sighed playfully.
“Probably pay for a ticket,” he grinned.
The pair stood back in the wagon, as Nicholas led me out the station and into another carriage.
“The Montfort base is quite far,” I remarked idly, once again being helped by Nicholas into the carriage.
“We are at the Northern border, closest to Tarik. It is a great distance away from the central capital,” he replied, stepping inside with me.
I stared out the window, taking in the North. There were tall mountains, disappearing into the clouds. Their peaks were covered with white snow draped over them like a warm blanket. The trees here were completely barren husks, the branches naked, devoid of leaves. The grass on the ground was dry and yellow.
I want to ask him more about Alexandra. But how can I ask about her strange behavior without drawing attention to myself? To the people here, I've been abandoned in an attic all my life. I should have no way of knowing Alexandra’s true, selfish self. But I need to know more. If she begins acting out of line, then I lose my advantage of knowing how the story goes.
Before I could say anything more, we arrived at a stone wall.
“This is as far as the carriage can take us. We must continue on foot,” Nicholas explained, stepping out of the carriage.
“Is it far?” I asked, stepping out with him.
“No. It’s just beyond that wall,” he confirmed, leading the way. We stopped at a gate, the two soldiers guarding it bowing.
“Welcome back, Commander Montfort,” they greeted, opening the gate.
He gave them a two finger salute in reply, leading me into the base. Inside its walls, men sprawled about. Some were working on weaponry, hacking away at swords. Some ran around in training. As we walked, men stopped to greet Nicholas, parting their way as they led us up to a building. It was a long brick building, its windows covered in dust. He held the door for me, and I stepped in, it was full of men in cots, covered in all sorts of wounds. The metallic smell of blood filled my nose, and some nurses walked about, tending to the soldiers.
As soon as we walked in, however, all the men turned to me. Their eyes landed on me, their gaze softening as they saw me.
“It’s the saintess,” one of the nurses whispered in awe,curtsying.
“The saintess is here?” Another one said.
Nicholas continued to walk forward, stopping in front of one of the cots. There laid a man, covered in bandages. His head, torso, and legs were wrapped up, the bandages red and leaking.
“Commander?” The man croaked, groaning as he shifted to see him.
“Don’t move, Schreave. That’s an order,” Nicholas huffed, his brows furrowed. For a moment, I could tell his gaze softened as he looked at the injured man.
“Lady Catalina, if it’s not too much to ask, please perform some miracles,” he said, turning to me. His eyes examined me carefully, almost as if watching my every move.
It’s not a little favor to perform miracles. It sounds outrageous to anyone but me. But I am blessed, afterall. My time at the cathedral has made me quite used to people asking for the impossible.
I clasped my hands together, closing my eyes.
Please divine deity, heal this man from all pain. Let him live his life like nothing happened, and ease all his worries.
I opened my eyes, the man’s groans ceasing. I always find myself catching my breath before they confirm that my prayers were heard.
“I don’t feel anything anymore. Thank you so much, divine saintess,” the soldier breathed, his hand reaching to hold mine.
“It’s only right to use my power to ease your suffering,” I replied, gaze soft.
One by one, Nicholas led me down the row of cots and had me heal the men there. It was the same each time, I performed a prayer, the men were healed, we moved on to the next cot. I expected him to take me down the opposite side, though he led me back outside instead.
“It’s getting late, and we might miss our train back,” Nicholas said.
“I’ve only healed 12 men,” I protested, turning back to look at the other men that were suffering.
“Yes. You’ve healed 12 of my best men, that is more than what I could ask of you today.”
The ride back home was much more awkward than the ride there. We had Anastasia and Charles to fill the room with lively chatter, though now it's back to Nicholas’s awkward staring.
As we reached back to the capital, he walked me up to the monastery.
“If it’s not too much to ask, can you come with me to the base again?”
I paused, staring into his eyes as the sun set behind him.
“I suppose I could.”