Medalon

chapter 39

News of the riot at the mines reached the Commandant’s house early on the morning of Fourthday. R’shiel was woken by the sound of raised voices and the pounding of hooves in the street. Teggert pushed open the door to their tiny room off the kitchen and ordered R’shiel and Sunny to get up and come help in the kitchens while Wilem and his officers held their council of war over breakfast in the dining room. Still rubbing the sleep from their eyes, the two young women hurried into the kitchen. As Teggert issued orders like a little general, he told them of the riot – how the miners had barricaded themselves in the main pit – and the rumor that Captain Mysekis and several other Defenders were dead. Dace had been right, she realized as she lugged the heavy iron kettle to the fire. It was a pity Loclon was assigned to the town and not the mines. Getting up this early would have been worth it to hear that he had been killed.

The racket woke the whole house, and once news of the riot reached Crisabelle, she went into a spin, declaring that she was about to be murdered in her bed. In a rare display of temper, Wilem turned on her and told her that he was too busy to concern himself with her right now and that if she didn’t like it, she could visit her sister in Brodenvale and stay there until the damned summer, for all he cared. Wailing like a banshee, Crisabelle fled to her room, screaming for R’shiel to help her pack, making sure that everyone within earshot knew that she was leaving and Wilem would be lucky if she ever came back. The Commandant ignored her and turned back to the business at hand. It was dawn when Wilem thundered out of the town. Fetching and carrying for Crisabelle, R’shiel barely even noticed he had left but for the unusual silence that descended on the house. Of Mahina there was no sign. She had either slept through the entire ruckus, which was unlikely, or chose to remain uninvolved.

The confusion of Crisabelle’s departure, hard on the heels of the Commandant leaving for the mines, made the morning fly. Once she had made up her mind to be gone from the Grimfield there was no stopping her, and R’shiel was quite astounded to see how determined the normally absentminded woman could be. The free servants of the Commandant’s household were hastily given a holiday, and only R’shiel and Sunny were to remain in the house while Crisabelle was away. As Crisabelle clambered aboard the carriage she was still yelling instructions at R’shiel and Teggert. The cook and the convict girl nodded continuously. Yes, Teggert would empty out the pantry before he left. No, R’shiel wouldn’t let any thieving whore from the Women’s Hall into the house. Yes, the stove and the chimneys would be cleaned before the summer. No, Teggert wouldn’t forget to be back in time for her return. Assuming she did return. Wilem had some apologizing to do before that would happen! The orders went on and on, until the driver climbed into his seat and Crisabelle finally gave the order to move out. R’shiel watched the carriage disappear from sight with a sigh of relief.

Teggert went back inside as soon as the carriage moved off. R’shiel waited a moment, just in case Crisabelle thought of something else and ordered the driver to turn around.

“Prisoner!”

R’shiel turned slowly toward the voice, schooling her features into a neutral expression. She had hoped that Loclon would accompany Wilem to the mines, but one of the captains had to stay in the town until he returned. With a sinking heart, R’shiel realized it might be days before the Commandant returned, depending on how well organized the prisoners were.

“Yes, Captain?”

Loclon dismissed the corporal he was addressing and walked toward her, blocking her way back into the house. He must have been here since early this morning, waiting.

“You are to report to Sister Prozlan for reassignment.”

“Mistress Crisabelle said I was to remain here.” Wilem was barely gone. Crisabelle’s carriage had probably not even left the walls of the prison town yet.

“The Commandant isn’t here, and Crisabelle’s orders aren’t worth a pinch of horseshit,” Loclon reminded her. “I am in charge at the moment, and I’m ordering you to report to Sister Prozlan for reassignment.”

“Crisabelle said I was to remain here,” she repeated. Reassignment meant more than losing the protection of the Commandant’s house.

“Are you defying a direct order, prisoner?” Loclon asked. He took a step closer, and she couldn’t help but take a backward step. The low fence surrounding the Commandant’s house pressed into the back of her knees. “Do you know what the punishment—”

“R’shiel! Get in here at once! I want my tea!” Mahina was leaning out of the upstairs window, her expression thunderous. “Captain! Haven’t you got something better to do than annoy my servant? Off with you!”

Without another word to Loclon, she fled inside to safety, aware that this time she had been very, very lucky.

R’shiel spent the remainder of the morning tidying up after Crisabelle. Mahina made no further comment about Loclon. She promised R’shiel she would see her at dinner, but in the meantime, she was off to have lunch with Khira the physic, who was, according to Mahina, the only woman in the Grimfield capable of holding an intelligent conversation.

Sunny announced that she was going back to bed, once they finished. The court'esa was not used to getting up in the early hours of the morning. She was not particularly pleased with her new position. R’shiel was a little hurt that Sunny had not been more appreciative of her efforts to free her from the Women’s Hall. Sunny’s face was still bruised, but the swelling had gone down. Maybe, in time, Sunny would learn that there was more to life than being a court’esa, although R’shiel was not hopeful. Sunny simply believed that you should just go with whatever life threw at you and if there was a profit in it, so much the better. But she didn’t argue the point. Sunny was already asleep by the time R’shiel finished clearing away the table from lunch.

R’shiel knew that with a skeleton force left to guard the town there would never be a better chance for escape. The sky was dark with thunderheads, and another storm was threatening as R’shiel let herself into the yard to collect more wood for the stove. She glanced up at the sky with satisfaction. A few more hours and she would be free of this place. In the meantime, she decided to follow Sunny’s example and get some rest.

It was going to be a long night.

When R’shiel woke it was dark outside. Cautiously, she went to the door and opened it a little. The kitchen was dim and deserted. Gathering up her few belongings, she slipped out of the room softly, so as not to disturb Sunny. She stopped in the kitchen long enough to gather up a loaf of bread, half a wheel of cheese, and a thin paring knife, which she secreted into the side of her boot. She let herself out of the kitchen and ran down the muddy lane, away from the Commandant’s house.

The ominous sky rumbled as she ran, jagged lightning illuminating her path. R’shiel reached the end of the lane, crossed the street and then stopped, glancing around the square. Announcing itself with a fanfare of thunder the storm unleashed itself over the Grimfield, the rain lashing the shuttered windows in its fury, bouncing off the cobbled square like muddy glass marbles. She had only taken two or three steps when she froze at the sound of horses. Quickly jumping back into her place of concealment, she held her breath as two Defenders trotted by, hunched over their saddles in the downpour.

“No one would be out in this!” the nearer one said. He was yelling at his companion to be heard over the storm.

She stayed hidden until they had crossed the square, trying to decide which was the safest route to the South Gate. Should she risk the square, and being seen, which was by far the shorter route? Or stick to the back alleys and take even longer, further increasing the risk of being discovered? R’shiel wavered with indecision for a moment before deciding on a simple mathematical fact. The shortest distance between two points was a straight line. The square was completely deserted now, the shops shuttered against the storm. Even the Defenders’ Headquarters building on the opposite side looked dark and abandoned for the night. The less time she spent getting to the gate, the better. Besides, the majority of the Defenders were at the mines with Wilem. There were not the men to spare to guard the town effectively.

R’shiel turned out of the lane and headed across the square at a dead run. Drenched to the skin in seconds,