Leomi Lance watches as Elizabeth Vil makes her way out of the Temple, glad that she could find a way out for her this time but anxious about the future.
She gazes at the small woman, thinking that she isn't going to let go of this third chance, after losing the first and shredding the second one into... nothing, she can still almost hear the madness and tears in Jessica's voice as she left her behind.
She swallows her guilt and turns to Edusa, a young Lady who is overly concerned with how she appears in the eyes of others but is loyal and has similar ideals to Leomi's own.
“Follow Elizabeth, make sure she doesn't spot you. I expect a report by tomorrow morning.” She orders.
“What if I lose her?” Edusa asks.
“Then find and question Sergeant Idali.” She replies.
Lady Edusa departs, rushing out at double speed to catch up with Elizabeth. Leomi turns to overlook the core of her faction. A disparate assembly of Nobles from both the Izla and the mainland, none older than twenty.
“I apologize for my reckless actions.” She speaks up. “Thank you for coming to show your support. I hope you'll agree to keep quiet about what happened here, you didn't see Elizabeth Vil in the Temple.”
“We follow you because you aren't like the rest. It would be hypocritical to abandon you when you act differently, even if we don't understand.” Lord Nathan speaks up. A tall young man with auburn curly hair and a closely shaved nascent beard.
His words are echoed by the rest. Leomi smiles thankfully, relieved that they still have her back. She doesn't know what the repercussions will be at the Headquarters' meeting tonight, but she expects to be criticized for getting caught in an ambush meant to eliminate the rebel discreetly.
“Are you certain that she isn't a danger to Meria?” Nathan asks.
“Elizabeth is alone, hiding out with a... Anyway, she can't affect the war by herself. Tactically insignificant, but strategically important to keep a communication channel with the Rykz open.” Lady Lance replies. And personally irreplaceable, she adds within the confines of her mind. “She won't do anything that will result in heavy peasant casualties, she poses less of a threat than the mainlander faction.”
“Do you think that they truly tried to take you out, like Edusa suggested?” Lady Amelia questions, a shade of worry covering her deep blue eyes.
“No. The assassins were as surprised to find me there as I was to be ambushed.” Leomi says. “Sergeant Idali knew I would be there so they must have caught onto Elizabeth on the way to the tavern, they were barely in position to attack us when we left the building.”
“Something must be done about this. Caeviel is weakened by such blatant actions. This woman should be put on trial, not murdered in a dark corner.” Nathan says, disgusted.
“We will, Nathan.” Lady Lance says, straightening her back. “We will reform this Kingdom, I promise you. But we are still young and they do not take us seriously yet, we must prove ourselves to Nobility at large. Our influence here comes from Duke Meria and the fact that we are united compared to the rest of them. We remain a small faction within Caeviel, we must be patient and grow with time and success.”
“It took me a while to accept that Nobility is so fractured that we would not unite even in the face of an overwhelming threat.” Amelia sighs.
“I must go.” Leomi speaks up. “Tonight's meeting will be difficult, I'll have to make concessions.”
“Is she worth it?” Nathan says, curious.
“I don't know.” She admits, sighing. “But I need her.”
“You still haven't asked about that other woman?” Ulnar, the oldest Lord here, breaks his silence.
“It's just... it didn't feel like they were together. Elizabeth was... staring at me the whole time.” Leomi replies hesitantly, blushing at the memory.
At how she couldn't turn her eyes away as Elizabeth's fingers played with that woman and brought her to a climax, how Elizabeth exposed the woman's intimacy for her to admire. She thinks that the moment was about them, their meeting, not that woman's pleasure. Lady Lance feels her sex moisten but Ulnar's voice pulls her out of the recollection.
“You need to ask.” He presses.
“I will.” Leomi groans. “Let's go.”
The group of young Nobles heads out of the Temple. They are greeted by a small crowd. People cheering at the sight of her. Lady Lance stops short, surprised by her own popularity when it had been waning after the Duke's actions.
“Citizens of Izla Meria. Thank you for your concern.” She shouts clumsily. “I promise that by tomorrow, peace will be restored in your streets! But it is not enough. We must unite and stand against the invaders. Take up arms and show them that Humans stand up and fight when threatened!”
The improvised speech feels awkward, however, the people respond well to it, cheering for her and for Izla Meria. She makes her way to the three carriages that her faction took to get here, climbing inside.
Leomi wishes she could do more for them, but knows that she doesn't yet have the power to change centuries of tradition and habitual exploitation by Nobility. She's seen much since escaping the Rykz, witnessed the truth in Jessica's and Elizabeth's words, the arrogance and entitlement in their behavior.
Countess Lance ponders. Duke Meria himself, a man who believed that a ruler needs to act with circumspection and a light velvet touch, abandoned all his ideals when he felt that his position was threatened by low-born immediately after being challenged by Nobles who supported him. He reacted violently, like a child throwing a tantrum.
She looks out of the window while the carriage speeds along the avenue towards the west wall and the headquarters located at the base. Defending Meria is almost hopeless, but it isn't impossible.
She thinks that if they hold long enough for King Cenwalh's army to reinforce the coast, they'll be able to start ferrying troops over. When that happens, Elizabeth will agree to turn on the Rykz and with her fighting prowess, redeeming herself in the eyes of Nobility won't be hard.
At worst, she can take that damn mask off and let E.Vil disappear, finally reveal that she is her Jessica. She pauses at the thought, shaking her head to push it away. Lady Lance berates herself for slipping into that delusion once again, she cut the arm off herself and she knows that the sweet girl would never behave as ruthlessly as Elizabeth has.
The two carriages following the one she took take a turn north, taking the youths back to their manors. Her carriage keeps going until it reaches the headquarters and the driver stops near a few others.
The structure is a large stone structure with dozens of banners hung on the front. Lady Lance steps out of the vehicle and heads inside, making her way towards a chamber on the ground floor, next to the conference room.
She locks the door behind herself and quickly undresses, throwing her torn bloody shirt and damaged cloak aside. She admires her small round breasts for a few seconds, something she would not have done before she met Jessica who seemed so captivated by them and Elizabeth whose wandering hands made her feel so desired.
The Countess then uses her knickers to wipe her desire off her most intimate place, enjoying a small shiver that courses through her at the contact but not allowing herself anything more as she has little time before the meeting.
She opens a dresser and picks out a white and blue tunic with a matching pair of pants, deciding to wear the Duke's color to remind them all that she is his representative.
She looks through the drawers until she finds the one containing underwear. She swiftly puts them on and then the clothes. Leomi exits the chamber and makes her way to the meeting, taking deep breaths to strengthen herself.
She believes that Count Odo will make use of what happened to make a move, and the fact that she was with Elizabeth means that she'll lack the support to push back.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
She finds Commander Morgan, a Count by title only with no land to his name, inside the conference room. He is standing at the head of the large rectangular table in the middle, the man is in his thirties and wears a military uniform but no weapon, as those aren't allowed inside the headquarters.
There are runes engraved in the walls, forming a construct that serves to disrupt flow enough that it becomes nearly impossible for someone to assemble them in a coherent shape outside of their bodies, which prevents anyone from using anything other than internal constructs.
To Morgan's left is Count Odo, wearing a deep black tunic with the white galley of his crest ornamenting his chest. The man's family turned their castle into a port city, building a small patrol fleet to protect merchant vessels and turning criminals into galley-slaves to lower their costs.
A dirty business for a base man, Lance thinks while hiding her disgust and schooling her expression into a Court smile. The other Nobles in the room are Counts who have little say in military matters and stand near the walls as witnesses.
At least they didn't speak their opinions when the Duke led, now they take every opportunity to push their subjects into positions of power within the command structure.
“Glad you could make it, General Lance.” The Commander speaks up.
He is technically her second, but effectively the one in charge, her rank above him has more to do with politics than a de facto position. Morgan is an experienced veteran who led many skirmishes against both pirates and bandits in Caeviel.
“An eventful day for you, isn't it, Countess Lance.” Odo speaks up with a smug smile. “I hear you had a close encounter with a crossbow bolt. Coincidentally just as the rebel, Elizabeth Vil, was about to be put down at last.”
“Such is not the Law, Count, and you would do well to remember. I find it odd that the dead assassins' clothes and weapons simply vanished. Perhaps whoever was behind it is afraid of the repercussions of his actions.” She replies, glaring at Odo to restrain herself from wiping that arrogant expression off his face with her fists.
“Ah, the Law. Very well, did you arrest her? When is the trial?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Elizabeth Vil left the Temple before we could apprehend her.” She replies slowly.
“How fortunate for her, and for you I suppose.” He says, voice dripping with malice.
“What do you mean by that, Count Odo?” Morgan asks, frowning, as everyone in the room leans in to listen in more closely.
“It is curious to me that every move made by this Red Dwarf seems to benefit our General. How we still hear of them meeting each other even after the rebel's deception was exposed.” He replies, insinuating that the two are cooperating.
“I am ensuring that your reckless actions do not break the truce.” Lance speaks up, overwhelming the tide of commentaries on the spectator's lips. “Elizabeth has not reported the attempts on her life to the Rykz, and will not do so. The truce holds, no thanks to you, Odo.” She spits out.
“I am simply trying to eliminate an internal threat so that we can focus on these creatures, Lance. This truce is a sham that these insects are using to gather their forces, it should never have been agreed to!” He replies venomously.
“You go too far, Count Odo.” Count Urnan speaks up. “It allowed us to retreat in order and prepare appropriate defenses.”
“But he makes a good point, Countess Lance. You are too close to this low-born rebel.” The Count Thrin says in a weak voice due to his advanced age.
“I request direct command of my soldiers, along with any company of peasants attached to my section of the wall.” Odo suddenly speaks up. “Our faction has little confidence in how Duke Meria and his representative Countess Lance are handling these matters. This attack and General Lance's injury reminds us all that we are mortals, unlike Emperor Rasaec, we would all feel better if the command structure was split, it would mitigate the fallout if one of us were to fall in battle.”
Leomi looks around and inspects the faces of every Noble present, trying to gauge their stances. She meets calculating expressions and calm eyes. She knows that Count Urnan will support her, but Thrin won't.
The rest are more volatile, they supported her but remain distant and place their own interests above Meria's needs. They are likely to allow this simply because his faction is essential to holding the walls and with what happened this afternoon, his argument makes some sense.
“If you allow this, he will break the truce as soon as they enter catapult range.” Lady Lance argues, trying to sway them.
“We are ready. Further delay will only benefit them.” Odo counters calmly.
Leomi seethes, they accepted his attempted murder without a word and now they'll agree to this despite how obvious it is to her that he only wants Meria to last long enough for the King's army to reach the coast.
He has too much confidence in his fleet and hopes that Port-Odo will grow as a military dockyard if the Rykz take control of the Izla. He's playing his own mainland faction by doing this since they want to fight the war here if possible, but they're too far to control his ambition.
“I move to allow Count Odo direct control over his troops, but no other divisions.” Count Thrin says, coughing.
“Seconded.”
“Agreed.”
“Denied.”
“Denied.”
“Agreed.”
“Agreed.”
“Agreed.”
“Agreed on the condition that Commander Morgan retains oversight.”
“That is satisfactory.” Odo nods.
“Your soldiers remain bound to their barracks, Count Odo. I will hang any that I find looting the city, you have my word on this.” Leomi utters coldly.
“The motion passes.” Morgan says. “Now that this is behind us, I have a few things to report. John, if you will.”
Lance pulls a chair and sits down, sighing as a butler walks up to the table and unrolls a large map that he spreads over the wood, using paperweights to hold the corners in place.
They down on the city of Meria, drawn in black over white parchment. Morgan starts placing small red pawns on the western wall, and then brown wooden blocks where the catapults are being deployed.
“We've finished engraving the runes for the flow array that will detect their sappers if they try to dig under the wall's foundations, it will be activated twice a day, at noon and midnight.” Commander Morgan reports. “I expect the Rykz to use siege towers and ladders to assault Meria, the best case scenario for us would be that they attempt to bombard us with trebuchets as we are confident in our wall's ability to sustain such an attack.”
“I suggest focusing on their flanks to channel them into a corridor where we can rain arrows over them and concentrate our soldiers. Cough. In the places where their siege engines lands.” Count Thrin says. “We cannot count on peasantry to hold. They should be used as emergency fodder to call upon when we have no other choice.”
“The Rykz' strength comes from their flawless discipline and reaction times, they will endlessly refill their ranks as we take them out. Do not overestimate the effectiveness of arrows against these opponents, their scouts' natural armor will only be pierced by straight shots and their warriors carry metal shields that will not break under the shredding constructs we typically use to shatter wooden shields.” Lady Lance speaks up.
“How do you propose to resolve that?” Count Odo asks, taking a seat himself.
“We shouldn't focus our fire at all, instead, I propose that we stagger our catapults' aim.” Leomi stands and holds her hand out. John gives her small wooden black pyramids that she lays in front of the catapults. “Imagine that those are siege towers. If we knock those on the flanks, then we'll end up with a heavy concentration of Rykz around the middle of the wall, it'll be very hard to sustain that pressure and it plays to their strengths of constantly reinforcing their ranks. On the other hand, if we take out one if two along the whole line, we will disperse their troops and be able to react to sudden pushes by using the troops in-between each catapult to reinforce those weak points.”
“That's a good plan.” Count Odo nods. “But it hangs on our ability to accurately land these shots.”
“We will be using constructs to guide our aim and correct the projectiles' courses.” Commander Morgan says. “However, I fully expect that the Rykz will have countermeasures.”
“We can focus our fire on the towers that we miss, it will take them a while to get past our firing arcs, I'm confident that we can achieve reasonable success and use Templars or Nobles to reinforce the areas of the wall where they successfully deploy multiple towers.”
The conversation lingers on as Commander Morgan advises and they debate the deployment details. Lady Lance follows most of his suggestions and Count Odo follows along, apparently satisfied with the independence he obtained and serious about holding the walls... at least as long as it suits him.
Countess Lance leaves the headquarters exhausted, climbing into the carriage to be brought back to the castle. She thinks back to Count Odo's move with anger, that the man can be rewarded for his despicable actions is a sign that the current system isn't working, that Nobility is eating itself and dragging Caeviel down with it.
The driver passes through the castle's gates and drops her off in front of the Keep's doors. She heads up to her apartment in the main wing, too tired to pay close attention to the servants but making the effort to salute them anyway.
Leomi's room is bare of most decorations, she wasn't able to recover her belongings when Castle Lance fell. Her state of mind before she met Elizabeth was too unstable to put her heart into creating a place for herself, and after she has been too busy with her duties.
She sits down on her bed, taking her clothes off. In front of her is a small bedside table, on it is the dagger that Elizabeth used to reach her heart and a tiny vial of a sleep-inducing potion. It hadn't worked for her before the battle in the plains, it simply worsened her headache.
Lady Lance takes hold of the vial and drips a tiny drop of the liquid on the dagger's tip. She places the weapon right over the tiny scar, and pricks the skin until a trickle of blood flows out. She then brings the point to her tongue and licks it clean.
She lays down on the bed, slipping under the covers while still holding onto the weapon, closing her eyes and falling into slumber, bringing the images of Jessica and Elizabeth to mind where they superpose by themselves.
--- --- ---