Chapter 7
1687 Words
CHAPTER SEVEN
Father Collins left me to my thoughts, and I found them to be a bit jumbled. Then there was that familiar creeping voice.
What are you doing here? Go to the king! He’ll help you get home! These people can barely provide you with clothes, much less get you out of this mess!
I glared up at the ceiling. “I’m not leaving them.”
So, you want to stay stuck here forever, is that it? Because that’s all you’re asking for by staying here!
I growled and jumped to my feet. Suddenly being alone wasn’t as alone as I wanted, so I stalked over to the door and peeked my head out. The soft murmur of voices not far off caught my attention. They were the good father and Ros, and they sounded irate.
I slipped out of my room and tiptoed down the hall to the corner that led to the nave. Not daring to risk being seen, I pressed my back against the wall at the edge of the corner. Their shadows, courtesy of the sunlight that fell through the high windows, danced along the wall opposite me as I held my breath to listen.
The shorter shadow shook his head, and Collins’ voice matched the movement. “You cannot take her, my son.”
Ros stretched up a hand and waved it at the walls. “She can’t stay here forever because you can’t hold off Corvinus forever. Besides, she should know about the world she’s supposed to be saving, right?”
Collins bowed his head and sighed. “What you say is true, but I fear your heart does not believe it.”
Ros leaned back and dropped his arm to his side. “What does that mean?”
Collins lifted his gaze to his protege. “You are not in search of enlightening her, but in receiving her help to free my brother.”
Ros stiffened and there was a short pause between them before Ros’ subdued voice replied. “Maybe I’m just trying to do both.”
Collins set a hand on Ros’ shoulder and gave him a bittersweet smile. “You forget that he is not only my brother in the cloth, but my brother by blood. Were I sure of the success of such an admirable venture, I would give you my blessing. However, both you and I know that Caligo Castle is not a fortification easily broken into nor escaped from. What you seek to do is worthy of praise, but foolhardy in mind.”
Ros shrugged off his hand and shook his head. “Then call me a fool because I mean to go in there and save him.”
Collins frowned. “Then you go alone, good sir, for I will not allow you to take her there. She has a greater destiny to fulfill.” Ros opened his mouth, but the good father shook his head. “I will hear nothing more on this subject. She will remain here.” He slipped past Ros and strode away in the direction of the nave.
I made to do the same in the opposite direction, but Ros’ voice made me freeze. “You heard everything.”
A sheepish grin slipped onto my lips as I stepped out from my hiding spot. “Just the last bit.”
Ros folded his arms over his chest and lifted his eyes to the stained-glass windows high above us. The pictures in the colored glass depicted winged men in bright skies and centaur-like creatures in shadowed forests. “I suppose Father Collins is right. It isn’t safe for you to be anywhere but inside these walls. You’re being looked after for more than yourself.”
“But I don’t feel like that should be true,” I insisted as I moved to stand before him.
He dropped his gaze to me and lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
I swept my arms down my body. “Look at me. I’m just a plain old woman who just happened to have some bad luck on her way home from work. There’s nothing about me that’s so important that everyone should make a fuss over me. I’m just me.”
He tilted his head to one side to study me. “Then does that mean you want to go outside?”
I cast a furtive look at the glass. “I guess, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for out there any more than I know what I’m doing in here.”
A sly crooked smile slipped onto his lips as his brilliant green-blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Well, what the good father doesn’t know won’t hurt us, right?”
I bit my lower lip. “I guess that’s true-”
Ros reached for my hand, but hesitated. His eyes lit up. “That does remind me-” He reached into his pocket and drew out a pair of thick leather gloves. “These are for you.”
I took the gloves and looked them over. They had been crafted from a smooth white pelt and sewn together by a master. I slipped my hands into them and flexed my fingers. The tips flopped about, and the palm was a little looser than was comfortable, but they stayed on.
Ros smiled down at me. “They were fitted to my hands exactly, so it’s no wonder they don’t quite fit you.”
“I think they’ll work,” I assured him as I wiggled a little more before I dropped my arms to my sides.
He held out his hand to me. “Should we try?”
I looked at his hand and winced as I recalled what had happened the other night. A thought struck me, and I swept my eyes over the area.
Ros lifted an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“I’m looking for a bucket of clean water,” I told him.
He chuckled as he dropped his hand and jerked his head down the hall. “We’ll try this later. For now, let’s go show you around.” He didn’t wait for a reply but strode past me and around the corner.
I hurried to keep up with his long, eager strides as he led me to the rear of the church where the linen closet was located. “But where exactly are we going?”
“I know just the place to catch your fancy, whatever that may be,” he promised as we reached the rear of the building.
Ros opened the door that stood at the very end of the hall and the way opened onto a covered walkway of flagstones and thick stone columns. A small dirt road ran along the side of the church and stopped at a pair of double wooden doors at the far end of the building. Barrels and wooden crates stood beside the doors, either emptied or recently arrived.
A large stable was kitty-cornered to the doors, and its own portals were thrown wide open to reveal a long central aisle with a dozen stalls on either side. Many of them were occupied by plain but sturdy brown steeds, and hay littered the floor as a few of the brothers moved to and fro giving the animals care and attention.
Opposite the rear of the church stood the wall of a neighboring brick building, much like a workhouse in its simplicity, especially as there were none but a few high and narrow windows that looked out on the church courtyard. Together the two buildings stood on a short brow, and the road which led up to the stable was enclosed on either side by the brick building and a low wall that kept up the side yard of the church. The road led down to the street, an avenue hardly wider than itself and lined with brick and stone homes that were so close many of them shared walls.
Ros guided me down to the street but paused and looked in either direction. The uneven street led up a slight incline to our right, and down to a five-cornered intersection to our left. A labyrinth of streets led in every direction until they disappeared around some different-angled corner. No two buildings were alike either so the streets matched the dwellings in their eccentricity.
I noticed that more than one of those buildings was covered in a thick layer of vines and moss. “How old is this city?”
Ros shook his head. “Like most of the capitals in the kingdoms, nobody’s quite sure. Some have guessed it to be three thousand years old, others assume it's older. Come on.”
We hurried out onto the street and made our way up. Soon the church was blocked by the neighboring building, and I began to grow conscious of being out in the open. Ros must have felt my reluctance and eased himself into a gentle stride.
He flashed me a wide grin. “Don’t worry too much. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I looked down at my attire and winced. “Are these the best clothes to be out in?” When I looked up, I found him staring at my face.
“I think the rest of you more than makes up for the plain attire.”
A blush accented my cheeks, and I turned my face away to pretend to study the buildings. “So, um, you’re not from around here, but you know your way around?”
“I’ve been here before,” he confirmed as he guided me through the zigs and zags of the complicated city. There didn’t seem to be any set business district, as shops popped up as though sprung from the ground between two homes. “I have to admit that even I still get lost every now and again.” A little bit of color drained from my face, but he laughed. “But not to the bay. That’s a little too big to miss.”
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