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Chapter XII : Commitment
Earlnight of Terminus, Thirtieth Day of Harvestmoon
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Rosa arrived at her father’s house, still locked arm in arm with Bram. She never wanted the moment to end. It felt almost disappointing when her lover withdrew to open the door. It was late at night, and Lila awaited them in the foyer. This was odd, since the scullery maid usually retired by earlnight.
Bram was in the process of removing his coat, when Lila curtsied and trotted over.
“M’lord.” She greeted him first. Then, “M’lady.”
Rosa noticed something curious, almost like the maid was uncharacteristically nervous.
“I ch-changed the sheets and t-turned down yur pillows. Just like ya asked, M’lord.”
Bram seemed to recognize the maid’s behavior. He looked at her strangely. “Thank you, Lila. That’ll be all.”
The response was clearly intended to be a dismissal, but Lila didn’t take the hint. Instead, she drew a deep breath, as if bracing for something. “Also, I laid out clothes for yur travels, just like ya told me, M’lord. For yur mission. Early tomorra.”
Rosa watched the color drain from Bram’s face. But it was quickly replaced with red. Lila must have let slip what he had told her in confidence. And it was clearly not an innocent mistake. The girl knew exactly what she was doing.
The Knight closed in quickly, his fist poised and threatening. “What in the Burning Pits is wrong with you? I told you to keep my arrangements private!”
He almost looked ready to strike. Lila cowered like a little mouse.
Rosa took her cue and gasped. “Another mission so soon?” She summoned her tears and sobbed. “How could you?”
She fled up the stairwell before Bram could respond.
“Rosa, wait!”
She raced to her bedroom, while her Knight tried to keep up. He hollered curses at the maid while he stomped up the stairs.
Rosa ran past a wide-eyed housemaid on her way through the hall.
“Get out of the way,” Bram yelled as he struggled to catch up.
Rosa looked over her shoulder and saw the housemaid leap into an empty room to avoid getting trampled. Rosa squeezed through the door of her bedroom but hardly had a chance to latch it before Bram forced his way through.
She backed up several steps and whispered. “Keep going!”
He nodded and raised his voice to almost comedic levels. “Don’t question my duty, Rosa. This is all the damn maid’s fault!”
“You leave her out of it,” she screeched, playing along. “You’re never around, and I have needs!”
“I’m a Gnostic Knight,” he roared, almost cracking a smile. “Get used to it!”
She put on her best angry voice. “Then you had better get used to being alone, because I’m done with you. I was a fool to think you could change. Now get out!”
She grabbed a perfume bottle from the nightstand. “I said, ‘Get out!’”
In the heat of the moment, she threw the bottle. It struck the wall next to Bram’s face and shattered, leaving a cloud of peppermint in the air. Fragments of glass rained down, catching moonbeams as they tumbled. A stain remained, smeared across the ornate wallpaper.
She wondered if she had gone too far. It was a spur of the moment decision. Purely improvised and well beyond what she and Bram had rehearsed. But it felt authentic.
Meanwhile, she saw a fire in her lover’s eyes and hoped he hadn’t taken it personally. He pointed his finger menacingly. “Don’t worry. After tonight, you’ll never see me again. Never!”
He grabbed the bedroom door and tore it off its frame. The whole thing! His strength was incredible. The old wood splintered, and tiny chips rained down to join the glittery shards of glass. They almost looked like they were meant to be together.
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Rosa’s chest thumped with excitement.
Bram’s anger faded. “That wasn’t too much, was it?”
She let out a pent-up breath and whispered, “No, it was perfect. Get over here!”
She waved him over, and they both hovered by the window. Outside the manor, a pack of servants fled the house, shuffling their feet as quickly as they could down the garden path.
Bram chuckled. “You were right, Rosa. They really were just acting on your father’s behalf. All these years, I can’t believe I never noticed.”
She was relieved to see them go, but even more grateful that Bram had witnessed a fraction of the torment she had been forced to endure. She appreciated his effort to act out a fictitious argument. The ruse was horrifying, yet thrilling, and it successfully scared the house servants into giving them some privacy.
“I think that’s all of them,” she calculated as the cook and butler slowly disappeared from view. “If you think gossip travels fast among bureaucrats, wait until you see how quickly it moves among house servants.”
Bram’s grin slowly faded. “I did this to protect you. Perhaps my concerns are ill-founded, but I know I have enemies. And if they think we’ve left on bad terms, they’ll be less likely to use you against me. I couldn’t leave Angkor, knowing you might be in danger.”
She agreed. “We did the right thing, Bram.”
He seemed less certain. “Still … it’s a risky move. It’ll be more difficult for us to live together if things ever go back to normal.”
Rosa turned away from window and confronted her Knight. “Just think about what you told me. Things aren’t going to be normal for a long time. If ever.”
On the way back to the manor, Bram confessed what had happened the last few days. Rosa had no doubt that Virgil Garvey’s plans were larger than just one sunstone. There was a reason why he relinquished the artifact to King Richard, and it wasn’t just because he was a loyal subject. She knew there had to be more to it.
Bram sighed. “No, you’re right. It’s just … there’s not much I can do right now. Richard expects me to leave for Kitezh first thing tomorrow. Even if Kane and I were to retrieve the sunstone successfully, we’ll be out of contact for a week, at least. I don’t think you should do anything out of the ordinary until I get back.”
Rosa shook her head. “But that’s just what Virgil wants. You say he stormed out of the audience chamber, but what if it was all for show? What if he talked Richard into giving you that assignment just to get you out of the way for a week?”
Bram looked torn. “I don’t know, Rosa. What purpose would it serve? If you think Richard questions my loyalty, why send me on this mission at all? His ultimate goal is to gain all four sunstones. Commanding his Gnostic Knights to retrieve them stealthily makes good sense. The alternative involves going to war, which would be counterproductive. As soon as the world learns what they’re capable of, they’ll be nearly impossible to obtain.”
Rosa thought about it. “The sunstones can grant a layman unfathomable magical powers, but that’s still just a means to an end. We need to know what they plan to do with these powers, and that starts with Virgil. What else does he know about these artifacts? Based on everything you’ve told me, he doesn’t strike me as particularly loyal, so why give Richard the sunstone, after all the trouble he took to seize it?”
She started pacing as she thought of more unanswered questions. “Do they work the same way when scholars use them, or are they only intended for laymen? Also, how come so many scholars have failed to find these powers over the years? It’s not like they haven’t tried, and the sunstones have been around for a very long time.”
She thought of something else. “I remember what you said about the bizarre instructions Virgil gave to you, but why would imagining a lock and key make any difference? And why you? We need to put these clues into context. It’s a puzzle with too many missing pieces, and only when we put it together will we know what to do.”
Bram shook his head. “I’m glad you’ve thought it through, but searching for those answers now is too dangerous. Virgil has access to powerful magic. And if he finds out you’re snooping—and he will—he won’t hesitate to hurt you.”
Her shoulders sagged. “I know. You told me what he did to you and your crew in the Minoan temple. I don’t know what he used to get around a mirror-enforced AMF, but clearly he has tools at his disposal that we don’t understand. I just need to know more ….”
A thought occurred to her. “Wait! I don’t need to snoop around directly. He must have found the information somewhere, and the most likely place in Angkor would have been the Archives.”
Bram looked skeptical. “I’m not sure what you think you can find in that old library, but I know the palace monitors it closely. Even if they don’t suspect you at first, they’ll come after you as soon as they realize you’re looking for information about the sunstones.”
Rosa crossed her arms. She knew far more than Bram about this subject. “First of all, the Archives is more than just a library. It’s one of the best places in the world to find old tomes, magical records, and journals. Many of them haven’t been read in decades, or even centuries. Who knows what they contain? As for how it’s monitored, I know someone who might be able to help me access them, after-hours. That way, the palace won’t know I’m there.”
Bram’s eyes were shimmering pools of pride and worry. “Just be discreet, Rosa. For Gaia’s sake, I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
She wanted to reassure him, so she took his hands and held them gently. “I promise to be careful, but I need you to know, Bram … I’d do anything for you.”
Bram’s eyes fell to the floor, so she gripped him even tighter. “Listen. Whatever Virgil and Richard have planned: aided by the sunstones, it’s bigger than both of us. It could affect all of Angkor … or the world! We can’t just let it happen.”
He let out a deep breath. She had never seen him so anxious. “I know.”
She leaned over and kissed him. The moment their lips touched, it was ecstasy.
He seemed to relax. “Alright, you win. I’ll complete Richard’s mission and do as he asks. Meanwhile, after the stunt we pulled, you should have some cover to investigate. Just … be careful. Please!”
“I promise.”
There was nothing else to say. Their eyes locked, and she lusted for him. She pulled him close, and they embraced. Overcome with passion, they made love, and she felt closer to him than ever before.
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End of Arc I : A Prelude
… To be continued in Arc II: The Journey Begins
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