The Lord Son's Travels (12 page)

Chapter 12

The next
day, as they rode in the first blush of sunrise, Adrien poked the half-dozing
Elenna in the back then motioned to the west.
 
A few thin columns of smoke rose lazily above the trees
where the moon had recently set.
 
"The town of Falmat," he explained.
 
"We will there by morning."

This
announcement met willing ears.
 
"Great!" she exclaimed sleepily.
 
Brendan nodded his agreement.
 
The list of things he wouldn't do for a tall cup of ale was
shrinking rapidly.
 
He had been
traveling now for over three weeks of never-changing road, and the monotony was
wearying.
 
Even Elenna was starting
to become kind of dull.

"Will
we actually stop in this place?" he asked his friend.

Adrien
nodded.
 
"This is the center
of this fief.
 
We will stay a day
or two to hear what news we can."

"Me
too?" the stranger among them asked eagerly.

"You
especially," he answered.
 
"You will be our disguise." Elenna frowned to herself,
watching for signs of life from the approaching town through the frame of
Madoc's ears.
 
Adrien frowned too
as he felt her stiffen.
 
He knew
that she was aware they were traveling ‘under the hood’.
 
She had never demanded to know why, for
which he was grateful.
 
He hoped it
would last.
 
"Do you still
have that dress I brought you?" he asked suddenly.
 
She assented.
 
"Good.
 
When we stop this morning, you will put it on."
 
He studied her for a second from his
seat behind her back.
 
She felt his
eyes, and turned in the saddle the best she could to face him.
 
"Fix your hair, too. You'll be the
Lady Elenna."

"What?"
exclaimed both of his companions.

"Lady
Elenna of some unheard-of fief in Allè-dôn.
 
Accompanied by her guard and servant."

Brendan
protested, "But no one will believe her a Lady!"
 
Elenna turned slowly to glare at him,
one eyebrow perched high. "You know what I mean.
 
She has no knowledge of the proper way of a noble."

"Neither
do most of the nobles," Adrien commented dryly.
 
"She can pass for a minor Lady of a very irrelevant
House.
 
Good enough for a small
city such as this."

Brendan
sighed.
 
"What would a Lady be
doing riding through an Outland city?" he demanded.
 

"She
travels to attend the School at Evendor," Adrien answered smoothly.
 
Brendan fell silent in
understanding.
 
Elenna observed the
conversation volleying back and forth between them.
 
She caught the main gist of the discussion, though some of
the terms were unfamiliar.
 
She had
grown used to their strange accent, and had started subconsciously aping it
herself.
 

"So
I'm dressing up and playing high society?" she asked Adrien.
 
He nodded.

"Yes,
my Lady," he answered
 
"Let us hope we gain some useful knowledge with this charade."

"I'm
ready," she announced.
 
Elenna
stepped out from the grove of gopher trees she had used as her dressing room,
and waited for their reaction.

Finally
she was done.
 
Adrien glanced up
from his concentration on the knife he had been sharpening.
 
Elenna swept a few bits of pollen from
her shoulder, obviously uncomfortable in her switch to formal dress.
 
Luckily it seemed to fit her well
enough. The wide skirt covered the toes of her old boots, the only footwear she
had to wear.
 
Her hair had lost
some of its charcoal coloring, but was fine enough to fool those who kept at
the proper distance from a noble Lady.
 
He expressed that she would blend in well enough.
 

Brendan
glanced up, and smiled broadly.
 
"My Lady!" he called out jovially.
 
Elenna moved gingerly, lifting up the hem of her skirt so she
wouldn't catch on a stick and tiptoeing past the sooty firepit.
 
When she stood in front of the soldier,
she curtsied as deeply as she could, laughing at his pomposity.

"All
the Ladies should be so fine!" he exclaimed with genuine approval.
 
Then he twirled her around, making her
laugh as she spun.
 
“May I escort
you to the promenade?”
 
Her cheeks
flushed with pleasure as he led her about the campsite, in an exaggeration of a
stroll about the Courtyard.
 

"Thank
you, my Lord!” she exclaimed cheerfully.
 

Brendan
returned to his cooking, and announced that their meal was ready.
 
She accepted a bowl of the same old
stew and searched in despair for a clean seat.

"Come
here, Elenna," Adrien requested.
 
He motioned to his blanket laying folded up at his side.
 
She sighed and sunk down next to him.

"What
do you want?" she asked.

"Just
a few words of caution before we leave," he said.
 
"We must count on your discretion
today, just as you have counted on ours.
 
I understand this will be a strange place for you.
 
All I ask is a silent voice and open
ears."
 

"Adrien,"
she leaned forward towards him.
 
He
glanced up again from his sharpening to find two green eyes boring into
his.
 
"What did you guys
do?
 
Why are you in hiding?"

Adrien
grimaced involuntarily.
 
"You
don't need to know..."

"Yes
I do!" her eyes remained locked on his.
 
He couldn't turn away from her penetrating stare.
 
"If you hurt someone, I will not
help you.
 
And if I found out
you're a pair of murderers or ..."

"Treason,"
he said finally.
 
His voice rang
out cold and clear, sounding harsh to his own ears.
 
"Treason against the Lord King of Allè-dôn.
 
But I will not be accused of a crime
such as you say.
 
I hurt no
innocent people, nor have I spilled blood of any from my land."

"Okay,"
 
Elenna backed down against the
vehemence of his answer.
 
"I
had to be sure, you see."

"I
understand," he replied, sighing.
 
"I would wonder the same."

"Great,
I'm glad that's cleared up," she said after an awkward moment.
 
"So I understand correctly, any
sight of soldiers from your homeland is bad?"

"Very
bad, Elenna.
 
They'll haul us back
in chains."
 
Brendan sprawled
in the dust in front of them, clutching a cup of water.

"What
did you do to the King?" she questioned him.
 
Adrien’s raised eyebrow
was enough
silent
warning to give his friend pause.

"Ask
us later," Brendan told her.
 
"We should be going now, if we want to reach the market at its
busiest."
 
He jumped up and
offered Elenna a hand from her seat on the ground.
 
Adrien slipped off to don a change of clothes as well.
 
He had kept one clean outfit in reserve
during their riding for their arrival in town.
 
His new clothing felt loose; a by-product of their hard
traveling.
 
He borrowed Brendan's scabbard
and strapped it around his waist, the hilt even with his left hip.
 
Over this he wore a brown cloak in the
same shade as his blouse.

"Why
are you wearing that sword?" Elenna inquired idly.

“I can't
wear Arèal of course.
 
And all
Lady's guards are armed." Adrien answered.
 
"You can ride Madoc alone, correct?
 
I'll take Baldwan."

She
asked, "What about Brendan?"
 

Brendan
piped up gaily with his response, "At your service!”
  
She went to swing up on Madoc at
usual, but waited when Brendan shook his head.

"Don't
sit as you normally ride. That is not a Lady’s way," he instructed.
 
He tapped on her left leg.
 
"Both legs meet on the same side."

"Sidesaddle?"
she moaned, but complied with his request.
 
It was awkward and hard to balance her weight
correctly.
 
For a second she missed
Adrien riding behind her as a safety net.

"Is
that what you call it?" he asked.
 
"My sister tells me it is most uncomfortable, but it is the proper
way for a Lady.
 
We wouldn't want
the goodwives of this fair city talking about you in an unflattering
manner."
 
Adrien trotted up
next to them on Baldwan and made a comment about departure.

Elenna
glanced at him, then down to the standing man.
 
"What do you ride?" she asked.

He shook
his head, smiling.
 
"I
don't.
 
Servants never
ride."
 
Adrien took the lead.
 
Elenna watched incredulously as Brendan
strolled beside her, carrying his pack over his shoulder.
 

"Weird
place," she muttered, then gently urged on her mount.

Chapter 13

The ride
into town only took about a half hour, even at their slower than normal pace.
 
The road widened as they approached the
city.
 
The woods slowly retreated
until they were surrounded instead by carefully attended wheat fields.
 
Farmhouses began popping up into view,
their residents either working the fields or inside with housework.
 
Elenna eagerly observed a woman hanging
laundry on a rope strung from the side of her house; from her distant view it seemed
like the woman was singing at the top of her voice.
 
The wind brought echoes of a clear pleasant song.
 
Elenna perked up in her seat, anxious
to reach the town and see more.
 
Beside her small company and a few passersby, the only humans she had
seen for weeks had tried to kill her.
 
She wanted newer and friendlier encounters.
 

The road
turned and the view changed.
 
They
now could see a cluster of
 
wooden
structures in the bottom of a valley, just a few minutes’ ride ahead.
 
A few other roads snaked out of the
town and disappeared into the hills surrounding them.
 
The buildings were at most two stories high, with thatched
roofs and chimneys sticking out haphazardly.
 
Most had no windows upstairs, with only a few small glass
panes on the main floor.
 
The walls
were all a dirty whitewashed hue, many in need of serious repair.
 
The streets of the town were extremely
narrow, with packed dirt roads crisscrossing in a haphazard geometric pattern.
 
Poles had been planted on a couple of
street corners, with glass globe oil lamps at the top to provide lighting.
 
The city had an air of ennui, like
nothing of any interest had happened here for a long long time, and had never
been expected anyway.
    

"Exciting
place," Elenna muttered to Brendan, who had taking a marching spot next to
her mount.
 
He nodded in agreement,
disappointed himself in the town.
 
They descended the final slope into the main city. The few citizens who
were out in the streets glanced at them curiously as they passed.
 
A small passel of children gaped
openly, following them for a few feet as they continued into the heart of
town.
 
The men kept their eyes
firmly in front, but Elenna twisted around in her seat, trying to spy
everything she could as they continued.
 
She had pulled up her hood as a precaution.
 
From beneath its hem, her eyes gleamed with discovery.
 

They
trotted down the main street of the city to the center.
 
She could almost reach out her hand and
touch the buildings on either side as they passed.
 
The residents watched her with almost as much interest as
she showed them.
 
They were dressed
in the same style her company wore in their
day to
day travels.
 
She didn't see any
bits of bright color in their wear nor any white.
 
Women wore their hair pulled up into thick buns at the nape
of their necks, sometimes with kerchiefs tied around their heads.
 
Their dresses were similar to Elenna's
in style, but much coarser material and with less embroidery.
 
Most of the people were dark in hair
and eyes but with pale skin.
 
None
of the men were armed with swords, though the hilts of knives sometimes poked
out of the waistbands of their britches.
 
The men were much more reserved in their observance of the
strangers.
 
While some of the women
would point and motion to their friends, the men would content themselves with
a glance from the corner of their eyes.

"Good
man!" Adrien called to one of these citizens idly leaning against a
wall.
 
He perked up, and approached
the party cautiously.
 
"Where
would I find a quality inn?"

"There
are two, Sir," the man glanced at Elenna's finery.
 
"One fit for a Lady such as you
accompany.
  
The Loyal Pig,
Sir, would be two blocks ahead of you."

"Our
thanks," Adrien replied, and tossed the man a coin. The man looked down at
the currency, and bowed vigorously.

"Many
thanks, my Lady," he called out happily.
 
He backed away, smiling, as the company started up again.

"Hey,
Mr. Moneybags," Elenna pulled up next to her guard.
 
"Let's leave a little for us,
please."

"We
have plenty of gold," Adrien whispered in return.
 
"A little generosity will open a
few closed mouths."

"You're
in charge," Elenna replied calmly, and fell back a few paces again.
  
They approached the center green
of the town where the daily market was encamped.
 
The majority of the townsfolk were there, shopping or
gossiping with their friends.
 
More
than a few eyes turned to them as they approached.
 
Adrien ignored the attention, and lead them to the front of
the inn.
 
The Loyal Pig faced the
green from the western side, dominating the block with its relative
magnificence.
 
It was the biggest
structure in view at three stories tall, with a wooden instead of cheaply
thatched roof.
 
The entire front of
the building was lined by a wooded porch, now filled with chairs and observant
old men.
 
The stables were off to
the right in a separate structure.
 
Adrien led them to the main porch steps and alighted.
 
He motioned for a young stable boy to
take the reins, then rushed over to offer a hand to Elenna.
 
She was grateful for the help.
 
Dismounting in that monster of a dress
wasn't easy.
 
She ended up sliding
down into his arms, to the amused, and suddenly knowing eyes of their
audience.
 
He gently set her to the
side, making a mental note to soon teach her the proper dismounting technique,
as Brendan began unlashing the saddlebags.

"Nice
place," she whispered to Adrien.
 
He remained silent, offering her his left arm.
 
She placed her hand on his forearm
,
as
he formally escorted her up the stairs into the lobby of the inn.
 
Brendan followed behind with the
bags.
 
All eyes were on the Lady as
she stepped into the inn on the arm of her rigid guard.
 
Anyone who had criminal notions pass
into their heads quickly discarded these ideas when they noted the swordbelt
wrapped around the guard's waist, and the hardened set of his eyes.
 
The fair-haired servant following them
looked like he would be handy in times of trouble, too.
 

"Welcome
to my humble establishment!"
 
The innkeeper bellowed, arms outstretched, as they entered the lobby.
 
She looked around with a sense of
familiarity.
 
Her hometown had a
lot of historical buildings from the 1700s that had been preserved; the style
of the chambers were similar to what she remembered visiting on school and
church trips.

 
He bowed low in front of Elenna, then
quickly to her companion.
 
"Your presence honors us, my Lady!
  
I am ashamed at the meagerness of my offerings, my
Lady, but you are welcomed to all I have..."

"We
need lodgings for two nights," Adrien cut off his speech.
 
The innkeeper shut his mouth, smoothly
hiding his annoyance at the interruption.

"Very
well, I have a serviceable chamber for the Lady, though it will not be the
luxury to which she is most certainly accustomed.
 
For yourself and the servant, we have rooms..."

"My
room shall be next to the Lady's," again Adrien broke in.
 
The innkeeper pursed his lips.
 
In the tradition of inns across the
Eastlands, unmarried men and women always slept in separate areas of the inn
for propriety's sake.
 
He could
only imagine what his wife would say to these arrangements.
 
"My Lady is under my protection and
I must remain close by."
 
The
innkeeper paused, until Adrien discreetly patted the money-bag hidden in his
pocket.
 
That sound, he figured
correctly, would smooth over any delicacies on the part of the owners, and he
would be close at hand to keep Elenna out of trouble.
 
Though he never planned to reveal this impropriety when one
day he told the tale of his adventures Outland.

"Then
it will be so," the innkeeper agreed smoothly.
 
"My men will take your servant to his quarters.
 
I will show you to your
rooms."
 
Some of the boys
lollygagging about the lobby stepped forward to take their saddlebags from
Brendan, who winked as he followed another boy to the servant quarter's door.
 
The innkeeper muttered a few directions
to the oldest of the young men, who then disappeared through another door
leading to the kitchens.

"Follow
me!" the innkeeper barked cheerfully to the remaining companions.
 
He crossed the lobby to the remaining
door.
 
Behind them, the boys lugged
the heavy saddlebags and murmured guesses about their contents.

This
passage led to the common room of the inn.
 
It was a typical common room, not unlike the interior of
Bendelbert's establishment.
 
"We have a private dining room for my Lady," the innkeeper
informed them over his shoulder.
 
Elenna nodded, trying to catch every detail she could on her fast
trip through the inn.
 
They crossed
the common room to the flight of rickety wooden steps leading up to the
sleeping chambers.
 
Upstairs was a
plain hall lined with four simple wooden doors.
 
The innkeeper stopped at the second door on the right.

"This
will be my Lady's" he informed them.
 
"I shall place your guard across the hall.
 
Would you like for me to assign a boy
to help you?"
 
Adrien refused,
as the innkeeper already suspected he would.
 
He hid his smirk with a smile.
 
"Very well, my wife will send a lady maid to help you
with your unpacking, my Lady.
 
Please find comfort here."
 
Finally he left them alone.
 
Elenna leaned against the door with a sigh.

"I'm
a little sick of the 'my Lady' routine," she said, rubbing her temple.

"Good,"
Adrien replied.
 
He motioned her to
step to the side and opened the chamber door.
 
Elenna's eyes lit up when she saw the huge soft bed
dominating the room.
 
She rushed in
and flopped ungracefully onto its down-stuffed softness.
  
After glancing up and down the
hall to ascertain they were unwatched, Adrien entered as well, quickly shut the
door behind him, and planted himself in front of it.
 

"Oh,
this is much much better than another night on the ground!" Elenna moaned
with happiness, lying spread-eagled on the bed.
 
Adrien kept his eyes focused on examining the rest of the chamber.
There was a small glass window in the far wall with a set of faded curtains
half-blocking the late morning light.
 
Next to it was a chest of drawers, made from the same dark
wood of the bed frame.
 
In the
other corner, next to a small wooden table holding an empty water pitcher and porcelain
bowl, was a large empty metal bathtub.
 
“Oh, I can take a bath!”
 
she proclaimed with profound joy at the sight.
 
“Heaven has answered my prayers!”
 

"Sit
properly, woman," Adrien ordered as he moved to take in the view out the
window.

"Why?"
she asked, obeying reluctantly.

"Because
I must depart quickly and I have things I must say to you first.
 
Tidy up and meet me in a quarter of an
hour in the private dining room.
 
Speak to no other person if this can be avoided.
 
I will be in my chamber if there is any
difficulty."
 
He hurriedly
picked up his bags as she watched in confusion.

She asked,
"What's wrong?"

He
straightened his shoulders.
 
"We’re already providing suspicion due to our room
arrangements.
 
If we would be
discovered together in this bedchamber, my Lady’s virtues will be regarded in
very unflattering terms, as well as my own, and that would make our tasks much
more difficult here."

"Oh,"
was Elenna's reply, blushing deeply as she recognized his meaning.
 
Adrien retreated to his own room across
the hall, which was identical to the one he had just vacated.
 
He stuck his bag under the bed, then
stretched out on the admittedly comfortable bed for a few minutes of peace and
quiet before the main business of the day.