Chapter Fourteen
“… even if I had known my own death was approaching, I would not have changed my actions for better or for worse. For a bright, shining moment, I saw my fate and I welcomed it….”
The Chronicles of Sir Sean de Lara
“But why do you wish to see the king?”
Father Simon asked the question gently. He was still trying to figure out why this foolish young girl had returned to the Tower on the eve of a siege. All was smoky and apprehensive in London at this time, but Alys seemed oblivious to it. In fact, she seemed almost defiant.
“Because my sister is here,” she insisted. “I must find her. Perhaps the king will know where she is.”
An odd gleam came to Father Simon’s eye. “Is that why you have come? To find your sister?”
Alys nodded firmly. “She… well, she was quite upset over… well, it does not matter what she was upset over. She has come back to the Tower to find Sean de Lara.”
“How do you know?”
“Because there is nowhere else she would go.”
Father Simon gazed at her a moment; she was a pretty girl, not nearly the beauty her sister was, but pretty nonetheless.
He was still having trouble with the concept that she had come back to the Tower in the midst of a building battle to look for her sister.
But, then again, her sister had done the exact same thing so the priest should not have been surprised.
It seemed that all the St. James women had somewhat of a foolish streak in them.
After a long pause, the priest puffed out his cheeks and sat heavily next to her on the narrow pew. Alys watched him anxiously.
“It is not necessary to see the king,” he said quietly.
“But…!”
He cut her off. “Your sister is here. I saw her myself not two hours ago.”
Alys’ eyebrows flew up. “Where is she?”
Father Simon debated how much to tell her. He opted for all of it; she would find out that her sister had married de Lara soon enough.
“I am not sure at the moment,” he said in a low voice. “But she married Sean de Lara two hours ago and he took her away. I do not know where he has taken her.”
Alys’ mouth popped open with astonishment. “She married Sean?”
“I officiated myself.”
Alys suddenly leapt up and began jumping up and down. “You must find her. You must find them both!”
Father Simon rose and put out his hands in an attempt to soothe her; she was certainly an excitable girl. Noisy, too. He shushed her.
“I will do what I can,” he assured her. “But you must remain here and not leave this place. It is not safe for you on the grounds. Do you understand me?”
Alys was still jumping around, though trying to contain herself. She was exhausted and agitated, now with the added excitement of her sister’s marriage. She could hardly stand still.
“Aye,” she insisted hurried. “But you must find Sean.”
Father Simon nodded and put his hands out to her again as if to wordlessly caution her. His expression told her much. Alys stopped jumping and watched, wide eyed, as he made his way to the chapel door.
The priest opened the door carefully, peering outside into the darkened courtyard. It was dark and relatively vacant. Seeing that the soldiers were upon the battlements and focused on the city beyond the walls, he slipped from the door and shut it softly behind him.
He stayed to the shadows mostly, making his way towards the east side of the fortress.
He wasn’t sure where Sean would be with his new wife but he suspected as far away as possible from the king, which meant he would not be in the Tower.
The priest wasn’t really sure where he was going as he moved across the mud of the ward.
He was almost moving aimlessly, pondering which direction to take. But soon he had his answer.
The Shadow Lord was unmistakable as he crossed the compound.
He did so without his usual stealth, as he had no reason to skulk in the shadows as he normally did.
Tonight, he was allowed to move in the open as a major battle loomed outside of the walls.
Father Simon recognized Sean right away and headed towards him, picking up his pace as he crossed the gently sloping bailey.
They were to the north of the White Tower, the half-moon glow hidden behind the great turreted top.
All was silent and still for the moment and Father Simon was trying to decide how to tell Sean of Alys’ appearance; surely the man would be enraged by the foolish behavior and Father Simon didn’t want a brotherly beating on his hands.
But just as Sean passed the mid-way point of the Tower heading towards him, all hell broke loose.
It started as a loud crash when the door leading from the Tower suddenly slammed back on its hinges.
As Father Simon watched in horror, soldiers poured from the door and leapt down the steps, rushing in Sean’s direction.
Sean didn’t seem overly surprised by the sight; in fact, he was rather calm as he unsheathed his sword and the tide of men rushed at him.
But the men pouring from the Tower were too great in number and in a matter of seconds, Sean was overwhelmed.
It was as if he was literally swallowed alive.
His body vanished in a sea of mail and men.
Father Simon scattered, not wanting to become upswept in the ambush overtaking de Lara.
He threw himself against the outbuilding lodged against the north side of the wall, hiding like a coward as he watched Sean battle for his life.
Whoever had arranged the ambush had not taken anything for chance; they knew the Shadow Lord well.
De Lara could have handled a dozen men quite easily, but there was at least triple that number descending on him.
Father Simon could no longer see him in the dark, jumbled mass of men but he could hear sword against sword.
There was still a fight going on somewhere in the middle of the throng.
But the priest was positive that de Lara did not have a chance of survival.
He was sure that he had just witnessed the Shadow Lord’s demise.
Shaken, Father Simon fell back into the shadows and rushed away from the fighting.
The chapel was his only safe haven and he raced for it, hoping he would not be followed by the blood thirsty soldiers who had de Lara in their grasp.
By the time he reached the chapel, he burst into the warm hall as if the Devil himself was chasing him.
Alys both heard and saw him charge in. The panting had been a dead giveaway that something terrible was amiss.
She further watched as the man hurriedly retrieved a large wooden bolt from the corner and threw it across the door to secure it.
He was breathing heavily to the point of gasping and Alys approached him timidly.
“What is wrong?” she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know. “Why did you come back so soon?”
Father Simon’s hand was over his mouth in horror as he leaned against the door, beads of sweat upon his pale forehead. But his gaze found Alys and, still horrified, he went to her and grabbed her firmly by the arms.
“We must find your sister immediately,” he hissed, taking her by the hand and dragging her towards the altar. “She is in great danger.”
“Why?” Alys demanded, half terrified and half outraged. “What has happened?”
Father Simon did not want to tell her. He did not want her to panic. He already had far more panic than he could handle.
“Ask no more questions,” he told her, throwing open a small door that was in the vestibule behind the chapel. “Keep your mouth shut if you want to live.”
Wide-eyed with fear, Alys wisely did as she was told.
The small door led to a narrow staircase that sloped slightly before ending in another small door.
This opening led to the cloister behind the chapel where the priests lived.
Father Simon yanked Alys through the darkened corridor and into a building smelling of stale air and body odor.
But they did not stop there. They continued through the building and exited the other side where they found themselves on the north side of the inner courtyard.
Father Simon was heading for the buildings where the nobles were usually housed, buildings he suspected where Lady de Lara would be.
A wall separated him and Alys from Sean’s battle and he kept his ears peaked, listening for any sounds of a struggle.
But he could not hear any. Everything was strangely silent.
His attention refocused to the lady in his grasp, knowing he had to find her sister and get them both out of the Tower.
He could not wait for direction from the Marshall; as far as he knew, the man was conferring with the allies laying siege to London and out of reach.
He would therefore have to depend on his own instincts in handling the fall of the Shadow Lord.
Their network of intrigue was crumbling.
God help him, he could still scarcely believe it.
He had to get to Lady de Lara before the king did.
Yanking Alys behind him, he tried to stay to the shadows as he made his way to the east side of the Tower.
The Flint Tower was closest and he headed towards it; a safe, dark haven in the midst of the hell going on around him.
Next to the Tower were the buildings that housed the visiting nobles.
He could only guess that was where Lady de Lara was located; if she wasn’t, then he was at a loss to know where she would be.
He began to pray very hard that his assumptions were correct.
There was little time to go hunting for her.
Behind him, he could hear Alys panting with fear.