5. Broken
”He is a handsome man, is he not?”
”Yes, beautiful girl, he is indeed one of the most handsome men in the province, I would say.”
Matron Laira was weaving flowers into my hair on this, my wedding day. She had chosen a blue-grey gown with woven silver metallic trimmings imported from Benezia. A special touch, she had added her own embroidery, white shildra blossoms draping in bows over my shoulders. I looked at my reflection in the seeing glass, scowling only slightly as I appraised my appearance. The beauty of the dress only served to highlight how plain I felt in contrast.
If I had a choice, I would”ve waited to marry, but I didn”t. Mother and father had been gone a mere three months, and our world was reeling from the aftermath of the chaos brought down upon us by the Grengen Horde. Our city, Fellabrik, had begun to heal, walls rebuilt, homes repaired, and a familiar rhythm to life and commerce had returned. The beating heart of the city was weak, but we were alive. We survived.
While my father had tried to teach me everything he knew about his craft before his untimely death, I was still not ready to take the reins of his merchant empire. There were laborers and tenants who needed tending, and I wasn”t up to the task. I told myself it was quite impossible for a 16-year-old girl to do what needed to be done. This didn”t make me feel any less of a failure.
Needing to steady the situation of all the people who had depended on my father, I had turned to the best option to establish stability and pledged myself to a man who could offer it. Baron Archon Fretherin had initiated this courtship prior to the attack on our city. I had not met him during that time, but I knew he was wealthy and one of the largest landowners in the area. Every advisor told my father this was a good match. Now, with me as my father”s heir and his wife, Archon was poised to become the most powerful man in the city.
When we finally met, he was charming and attentive. His face was pleasing to look at, framed by waves of light brown hair that fell to his shoulders. I had to admit to myself that his smile did send a vibration through my stomach. He seemed to be the answer to every problem I had. I pushed aside all reservations because I believed it was what needed to be done for the people who depended on me to bring life back into a normal cycle. They needed a return to normalcy after all the horror and bloodshed.
But as the day approached, my apprehension grew. I didn”t know why I was not giddy at the thought of marrying Archon. I told myself it was simply because I was inexperienced with love. Determined to do my duty and be a good wife, I was confident in my ability to run my household. I knew I would be capable of that, at the very least.
Archon”s unmarried sister, Vindre, who lived with him, would certainly be a help on this front. I envied her. She was graceful and delicate, her darker brown hair always plaited in a fashionable coiffure. I wondered why she had never married.
”There you go, my darling Elledandrie, all done. You are as bright and beautiful as your mother was on her wedding day.” She was being too kind. My sister was the image of our mother, not me.
”You have been with my family a great while, have you not, Laira?”
”Oh indeed, I came from your mother”s house with her to your father”s. I wish she could be here to see how lovely you look. Come, let me see you.” She turned me toward her, brushing off a strand of her white hair that clung to the fine woven linen of my gown with her aged hand.
”Will you come with us to the Keep? I know Gingel would miss you so.” She nodded.
”I will be helping transition the staff Baron Fretherin is not bringing to his household into other positions and will oversee the dissolution of your father”s estate before I join you.”
That thought brought me a little comfort, having a familiar face among the servants, someone who knew us, knew our parents. Matron Laira motioned toward the door.
”Come now, we must be off. Your new life awaits.”
The wedding was not a large affair. Some low-level nobility from the area who could spare time from reconstruction made up most of the guest list. I was glad not to have a large affair. Frivolity made me uneasy. When it was finished, Gingel and I, with a modicum of our belongings, were carted off to Archon”s stronghold, where we would now live.
While his keep was not as refined in its construction as our home, its sheer size made up for it. Perhaps too big. Overbearing. A chill swept over me as our carriage passed through the massive gates. The point of no return.
Stop. Get yourself under control.
Dinner had been a quiet affair, and my anxiety grew as night approached. I understood my role and the mechanics of the marriage bed, but that understanding did not bring relief. I hoped he would be kind and gentle. I tried to delay the event by telling Archon I needed to see my sister settled in her new room first. He kissed me on the forehead.
”I know this is new for you both. Take whatever time you need. Our room is right across the hallway.”
His kiss sent a shiver of sensation rippling through my body. He was everything I should have wanted. I still took my time to help Gingel unpack her dresses and settle in for the night.
”Do you have to go? I do not want to sleep alone tonight,” she asked, a glistening in her eyes reflecting the single candle next to her bedside. We had been bedfellows since our parents had been killed, afraid to be away from each other. She looked up at me with eyes that I could never deny. I was convinced that she had a double helping of all the good parts from both of our parents.
”How about this? When Archon falls asleep for the night, I will sneak back here for cuddles. Would that help?” She nodded and snuggled into the coverlet. She was only two years my junior, but her artless manner seemed to keep her childlike. As she closed her eyes, I smoothed her golden waves, clearing them from her perfect face. A knot in my stomach began to tremble, but I was determined to get through tonight.
Once Gingel was asleep, I left and walked woodenly across the hallway to ”our room.” I half hoped I had taken long enough for Archon to fall asleep, but in this, I was disappointed. He sat on his bed, facing away from the door.
It was a less than awe-inspiring room, which seems strange. The rest of the Keep was well-furnished, giving the impression of wealth. Gingel”s guest room was barely furnished as well, but I did not take that as unusual. A Baron”s chamber should have been more richly adorned. It was nothing like I imagined. It was sparse, save for a large carved wooded bed with elegant bedding. I moved to the foot of the bed, unsure of the next move. I slid my hand over the Benezian silk coverlet.
At least I will sleep comfortably.
Archon stood and turned toward me. He had a strange look about him, unsettling as I couldn”t tell what it meant. I did read that it was not the manner of the sweet, understanding man that left me to tend to my sister. As he drew closer, a smirk corrupted his face. He stopped before he got to me, leaning up against the bedpost.
”Good evening, little wife,” he said in a lascivious tone. I tensed, a feeling of utter dread resting like a hand over my throat.
I said nothing, but I could feel my face radiating with hot humiliation, blood drumming in my ears.
”Do not toy with her, love. Be done with it quickly. I wish to retire for the evening.” My humiliation shifted to confusion. Vindre, his sister, sauntered in from an adjoining room. I felt like a finnmaus trapped in a box with two kikatarn.
Vindre was recklessly playing with a small dagger as she approached her brother. She folded herself into his embrace and began kissing his neck.
Confusion was now panic.
”I do not understand. What is this?” I asked Archon, though I had already assessed that Vindre might not be his sister after all.
”Miss Elledandrie, meet my actual wife. I couldn”t very well gain your fortune unless I were unwed, so sister dearest she became.” Vindre handed him the dagger as they embraced and kissed wantonly. I should have fled right then. My heartbeat was slamming into my chest as if to move me to action itself. I realized too late that they were going to kill me and spin some tale to explain away my disappearance. Gods knew what they had planned for Gingel.
The thought of Gingel across the hall, helpless and alone, finally spurred me to action, and I bolted for the door. Not quickly enough. Archon had moved quicker than I expected, throwing himself against it just as I opened it. He backhanded me, and I stumbled back to the bed. I tried to climb over it to get some distance between us, but he grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me back to him.
”Let me have a little fun first,” he said as he looked over at Vindre for approval. She snorted but did not stop him. He then made a simple mistake. Setting the dagger on the bed next to him, he pinned me down with his hands around my neck. ”Don”t fret, love. You will not be awake for the next part.”
Think, think, think. You have to get out of this. The knife…
My mind retreated back, a memory of practicing with my first blade, afraid of it because I didn”t really know what to do. It took time and practice to make it an extension of my body, to wield it without harming myself. Father had been an excellent swordsman, and I was fascinated to watch him practice and train his merchants. He objected at first, but I was glad I had convinced him to teach me.
Archon did not seem to be comfortable wielding the blade. Otherwise, he never would have put it down. Clearly, he believed that simply having a blade would be enough to accomplish his deed. He was, after all, a man. Vindre had a petite, willowy figure, which might have accounted for his carelessness. Being accustomed to a weak woman might have added to his overestimation of his abilities. His strength and weight did give him an advantage over me. However, I had the skill and the will to use it.
He tightened his grip, and I closed my eyes. I brought my hands up and jammed my thumbnails into the tops of his hands with every ounce of strength. Surprising him, he moved back just enough for me to bring a leg up and kick him backward. Archon sprawled on his back, hitting the floor with some force.
I found the dagger in the folds of the bedding quickly. Vindre screamed his name as I leaped off the bed with his dagger and plunged it into his heart. Time slowed its pace as I sat there upon his chest, staring at his handsome face, now twisted into a grimace of horror.
Vindre took my hesitation as an opportunity to rush me, but the deed was done. We tumbled off of his dying body. I quickly stood up and made for the door again.
I spilled into the hallway, slamming into Gingel”s door. Entering the room with a gasp, I bolted the door behind me. My only hope was that Vindre would be too concerned with Archon to pursue it.
”Gingel, get up! We have to leave now!” I pulled the coverlet off of her as I grabbed the first dress I saw. ”Get dressed quickly!” Gingel was groggy, but she had not been asleep for long.
”What!? What happened?” She stammered. I put my hands around her face and made her focus on me.
”I”m afraid we”ve been tricked, and Archon intended to kill us. We need to flee. Do you understand?” I said in slow, simple speech. She nodded, and I pulled her out of bed.
As she dressed, I unbolted the door and looked out the hallway. No servants had been alerted. I could hear Vindre wailing in the other room, but it was not loud enough to sound the alarm. I wondered if this was the guest wing and if their true master room was in a different part of the house. That would explain the furnishings and lack of servants.
Perhaps they did not want me to bleed out in their own room.
”I am ready,” Gingel said, eyes glinting. Grabbing her hand, we quickly and quietly crept to the end of the hall to the servant”s stairs. I didn”t know where they led, but it seemed the best choice. We surely would encounter someone returning the way we came. I pressed a finger to my lips to shush her as small hiccuping sobs echoed down the hall.
As I had hoped, the stairs dropped us into the scullery. I stopped us just for a moment and listened for any movement of the servants. We were yet undiscovered. Gingel pulled back slightly.
”Elle, what are we going to do?” Her bottom lip trembled. Still sleepy, she wiped her eyes.
”I don”t know. But we need to leave here now.”
”Can”t we go home? Surely, we would be safe there.”
The thought had crossed my mind. Two girls on foot would be no match for mounted guards, who would no doubt be dispatched to head us off. They”d get us before we made it there. Even if we somehow arrived first, what chance would there be for a sixteen-year-old girl to prove her innocence? Vindre, no doubt, would paint me as a murderer. It would be her word against mine. I”d be hauled off and imprisoned, leaving Gingel alone with Matron Laira, but for how long? I couldn”t trust that anyone would be able to keep her safe.
No. she”s my responsibility. We need to disappear. Don”t we?
”I don”t think we will be safe anywhere here. The only family we might have is on Ord. I know I can bribe one of Father”s merchants to take us across the waters safely, but they”d turn me in in a heartbeat once a bounty on me materializes. We could walk from there, maybe hitch a ride with a merchant traveling north. It could work.” I held her face in my hands. ”You know I won”t let anything happen to you, right?”
Gingel nodded. I gave her a quick hug and then surveyed the room. I made haste to grab a burlbag and filled it with foodstuff from the larder. There wasn”t much of a plan, and I didn”t know exactly where we were going to go, but we needed to eat. Satisfied that we had enough for a few days, I searched the cookroom for anything I could sell to get us coin. The gods smiled upon us, presenting an excellent stock of rare and expensive medicinal herbs available for the taking. I stuffed another burlbag full.
We donned two soiled cloaks hanging at the courtyard”s back entrance and made our escape into the night.