Good old service.
“Excuse me O Majestic Lion.” said the bishop. “But where are the maids of your castle? I normally ask two of them to fetch me my scripts.”
What kind of person would I be if I told him that the cute maids that helped him out were dead and murdered that the hands of my wife?
An honest one? I didn’t really know the fallout of such news
“You will have to ask the queen I think she had business with them.”
It wasn’t a lie, and it was the truth.
The old bespectacled man huffed in frustration before bellowing with a surprisingly rich baritone.
“Fleur Secundus! My scripts! I need them!”
The faithful women who I had detected at my age stood with a practiced calm.
I could almost smell her anxiety at being ordered.
She wore a calm white, nearly cream, only small flecks of blue like specks of paint trickled across the frumpy robe of a nun.
“Go help her, I only need one scroll and she’s going to fall down the stairs if she tries to bring them all.” The Pontifex said casually.
I really had no idea what was going on in this castle. Nobody feared the king would chop their head off.
A good thing? A bad thing? Yesterday had shook me. I had suspected a banal happy kingdom. A peaceful shire instead of the fever dream of dark fantasy. I guess the shire was dark fantasy… sort of.
It was scoured in purifying flame eventually.
The same could not be said for every innocent corner of the world.
“Which script?” I asked
The Pontifex laughed. “Doesn’t matter! Haha, just get one!” He didn’t whisper, such nihilism confused me. Was there an authority besides myself these people disrespected?
Something to do was better than act a fool in the pews.
I followed the girl in white outside and she was already marching up the wooden stairs. Around the side of the tower. The sun was intensifying this bright and cloudless spring day.
“Only one script the pontifex says.”
She acted like she had not heard me.
I walked briskly to the first step.
Gosh a cloud in the sky would be nice.
“Hello!?”
But she had already disappeared into one of the upper rooms. The stairs beyond turned to stone.
Heh… I uh… wouldn’t trust stone stairs like that.
I followed her up the wooden stairs and hesitated at the transition to stone. A brittle material, full of cracks these people likely didn’t see, cracks I couldn’t see. You would not hear stone fail, it simply would cleave away under unexpected weight.
Nevertheless, ‘Lion of Brilliance’ meant that I wouldn’t fear a simple fall.
But forty feet up? More?
Nothing to be done, simply step up the stairs.
I turned and opened the little door to a small cloistered building. How far up was I?
No railing behind me, I almost fell off
My queen appeared before me in the shade of the open door holding a chess board as if a smiling cartoon character.
New outfit…
Pale white leather on the shoulders, loose fitting trousers, a simple riding button up, maybe a size too large.
All a blazing white, even in the shade. Only her dark auburn hair and the greenery of the internal keep offered rest for the eyes in the face the sun’s reflected of brilliance. And beyond, the darkness of messy little church scrolls and papers.
That and the chessboard she held in one hand. Her hands clad in white riding gloves. I couldn’t tell the material.
The queen’s face was dimly obscured by the contrast as most of her inviting body remained indoors. I could tell she wore a twisted smile of predatory confidence.
I’m not one to hate on the confident but it was in poor taste given the context. I would never know again the more wholesome smile I had known only sixteen hours ago.
“I need to confirm your move.” She almost whispered.
I wanted to tackle her and mangle our bodies on the ground.
Might even be fun.
How many stories up were we? If we died together maybe the kingdom would have a fun story.
I moved F two to F four. My hand left the piece.
“Happy?” I asked.
“You forgot to make a move during breakfast my silly lion!”
“Do you ever make a move?” I asked.
“How often do you chase nuns?”
I rolled by eyes.
“No matter, she’s going to be busy soon” the queen eyed the chessboard and with a brief nod indicated the nun rustling through the papers behind her.
“Anything else O Dove of…” creamed leathers? “….My Heart.” Lame…
“With love my dear king!” She teleported away.
The little church girl burst into tears. She only had one scroll, very good.
“Can you…” she sobbed.
“Give this to the.. Puh… po… puh…”
“The pontifex?”
She nodded and approached me with the scroll. I was intensely aware of the fact I was standing on a supreme safety hazard. Imagine the winter, Ice and cleavage on crumbly stone, no railing.
“Of course.” I shuddered.
And so I did, I stepped inside, presumably onto safer ground than the spiral of stone steps that jutted from the edge of the outer tower.
“Will… will anyone remember me?” She asked as I turned to walk back down with dread.
I didn’t know.
“Are you the pawn of F two?”
She sobbed again.
When it rains it pours I suppose. Fluer secundus? Her name was F Two.
“I’m more than a pawn. Why would you be so mean?” She sobbed.
Of course she was more than a pawn but really I wasn’t ready for this even if I was responsible. What did this, admittedly cute, girl want from me?
“Well I can’t take back the move. I’m sorry to make you cry.”
“It’s ok O lion!” She smiled through the tears. “We shall make you proud.”
I looked down and focused on the ground. One step and then the other, I began to jog confidently as I reached the lower wooden steps.
I made it to the sweet earth and stepped aside for the little nun of blue and white.
“And you got out of my way!” She smiled again. She was right behind me, tears still streaming down her face. “Do old lions forget anyone?” She asked, pausing squarely in front of me.
“I don’t know.” I answered.
“Well please don’t I don’t want to get lost out there at Felix Quator! If I don’t make it back after the war tell the pontifex it’s a dark place and he won’t find me!”
She choked again and trundled to towards the keep gate.
How and why did that sweet girl become qualified to be a pawn?
And I hope she quits crying. I see why someone sent her to church.
Should I loan her a horse? Could she ride a horse?
“Good Maam” I called “Do you plan on walking? Can you ride a horse?”
“No! And tis my duty!” She called back.
Ok I wasn’t going to question it, people had their reasons. I summoned a few draft horses anyway. I have my reasons.
I returned to the church pews and handed the pontifex his unbound scroll.
“Good morning folks!” The pontifex’s outside voice erupted over the several dozen observers.
“Today is a day of elucidation! As are all days for the radiant kingdom! The light shines bright and we stand in no shadows!”
I sat in a pew at the front and got a good look up the tube of mirrors.
The pontifex’s observed his opened scroll.
“Our noble king and queen are masterfully seizing space upon the battlefield this instant! And with their wisdom the shadow of our light shall recoil under the harsh gaze of knowledge.
The queen appeared next to me, and with a banal smile leaned into my body taking a deep breath of the tunic at my chest.
“Where is your favorite fur coat?” My queen whispered innocently.
I put my arm around her and pulled her close.
I guess this is what we did in church. Something seemed wrong. This wasn’t how church worked.