Arc 6: Chapter 24: Lull
Beatriz placed the paper on my desk. Her hand trembled only a bit as she pulled it away and took a step back to stand at attention.
I sensed this wasn’t one of my usual reports. Something about the guardswoman’s demeanor tipped me off. Without reading it, I placed my quill down and folded my hands.
“I wish to resign,” she said in a voice I guessed was firm only with effort. “If I have your leave, Ser.”
She was clearly afraid of my answer. It made sense. Beatriz had been given into my command as a punitive action, and that wasn’t something one generally just quit. She’d also seen some frightening things the last two weeks. I’d been at the center of most of them.
“Very well.” Without reading the form I signed it and handed it back. “Do you know where you want to go?”
She hesitated, clearly shocked by my easy acceptance. “I have family out in the countryside,” she admitted cautiously, as though afraid of some trap. “I’ll probably go home for a time, and then…”
She glanced down and shrugged.
I nodded. “I wish you luck. If anyone gives you trouble about leaving, I’ll deal with it.”
Beatriz took the form, sketched a hasty salute, then spun on a heel and started towards the door. It had been days since the coup ended, but the bloodstains and remnants of the warding circle on the floorboards were proving difficult to wash out.
She paused at the door and turned to look at me, an odd expression on her face. I watched her, waiting for her to muster the courage to say what she wanted to.
“Working with you has been the most terrifying experience of my life,” she told me. “You got Mallet and Penric killed, and they were both good men.”