Chapter 29
As Rowan galloped down the hill to intercept the carriage, I hung back a safe distance in the trees.
My hand reached into my cloak and gripped my dagger, as I found a small comfort in the calming presence of Jenny who simply grazed without a care.
I craved her innocence. You really have no idea what's about to happen, do you?
I peered through the bushes, watching, recalling the conversation I'd had with Rowan on our way down the hill.
Just before we'd made our way down, I pulled out spyglasses Fern had sent us with.
"Everyone except those three are traitors," I said, pointing at the company of guards.
Some of them I knew from the list and profiles Edith had uncovered, and some of them carried the trademark "Black Dragon" tattoo somewhere on their bodies.
"That one. With the gold pauldron, we need him alive," I pointed.
Riding out in front with a black steed, the man carried an aura of a leader. His name was Frederick, one of the key leaders under the head guard, Alaric. There was a select few we needed alive in order to question, and the rest were all grunts.
Rowan nodded. "As you wish, my lady." He drew his sword, which glinted in the sunlight, freshly polished. It wouldn't last long, I thought wryly. Because besides Frederick and the loyalists, every single one of the guards needed to die. Four people. Dread settled in my gut.
A second cart trailed behind, carrying servants and supplies.
Because they possessed no fighting skills, and were likely just hired or had no implication to the Black Dragon, the servants and the carriage drivers would need to be questioned and proven innocent.
The most important part of this whole operation was keeping them from running away.
Next to my dagger, my hands clenched around the throwing knives, which Rowan had given me a crash course on. I'm not even sure I know how to use them properly, I swallowed, looking down at them. Nevertheless, if they were needed, I would have to use them.
For the guards, there was no hope of survival.
As the carriage approached, Rowan rode his horse onto the road, hood pulled low over his head.
His sword was clearly visible. Like the grim reaper going to settle a life, he was a menacing sight.
The thought struck me that I was glad to have him on my side.
As Rowan halted and dismounted, the company of guards grew visibly nervous, and the leader shouted something I couldn't quite hear. All eight of them gathered together and formed tight ranks around both of the carriages, with the servants in the middle.
We had the element of surprise. They had no idea what was coming.
In a flash of green Aura, Rowan advanced toward them. Like lightning, he dashed around the carriage, swiftly dispatching four of the eight guards before I could even blink.
The guards faltered for a moment, before yelling broke out. It was scary how fast he moved—I had no idea the depths of his true power.
"He's an aura user!"
"Protect the duke!"
They scrambled to reform their ranks as the servants panicked, though thankfully, didn't run away. The company leader with the golden pauldron held his ground, facing Rowan with his sword drawn.
With incredible swiftness, Rowan knocked the man off his mount and subdued him on the ground. The three remaining guards shifted, readying their swords. "Do not move!" Rowan shouted. "Or I will kill him."
The knights looked amongst each other, then obeyed. One of them stepped forward. "Who are you?" His voice wavered with rage. "What–"
Before he could utter another sentence, I stepped out of the bushes toward the carriage. Gracefully, I removed my hood and straightened out my hair, revealing my face. A face they instantly recognized.
"Lady Rosaria, what are you—" The guard faltered.
I heard a noise coming from inside the carriage.
My father opened the door, despite his servants' protests.
"Guards? What is going on out there? Why are you–" His gaze settled on me.
"Rosaria? What on earth are you doing here?
" His face paled as he saw the blood on the ground, and the heads of the fallen knights.
I dismounted Jenny, my gaze grave. "Father, I have urgent news. Please, let me explain." I gestured toward Rowan, who was still pinning the guard to the ground. "Rowan, subdue him."
"You bastard, don't listen to her, Duke, she's—" Before the man could protest, Rowan shoved a cloth up his mouth and tied his arms behind his back. The guards stiffened.
"Don't worry, Rowan is my knight," I started, looking at their worried gazes. "And those four slain... were all traitors."
The words settled heavily on their ears, and their eyes widened. My father's hands trembled. "Rosaria, what—"
A yell broke out from amongst the servants. Three shadowy figures ran off into the woods like wolves. Rowan looked at me, and I nodded. In a flash of green, he was gone.
"Gather all the servants, and have them set up a tent," I told the remaining guards, then looked at my father. "I have so much to tell you. A lot has happened in your absence."
The guards nodded gravely, and one of them paused, trembling as he looked down at one of his fallen comrades in disbelief. Then, he turned away.
____
All eleven servants, three guards, and my father gathered inside the tent, along with Rowan and I. I stood before them, summoning up every ounce of confidence I had. Just like I practiced.
"I'm sure you all are startled, but as I said before, and I am not lying—there are traitors in our midst." Gasps rang out through the whole tent. The guards cast hostile glances at Rowan, and then one of them looked at me.
"Lady Rosaria, how can this be? Surely this rogue has deceived you!" He pleaded. "Our comrades—"
"---were traitors." I said, blankly. "And I can prove it."
Father looked at me, confused. I pulled a bloodstained letter out of my pocket, the one Julian had deciphered. "Father, did you encounter anything in the mines that has to do with a black dragon, by chance?" I asked.
Recognition crossed father's gaze, and he looked among the guards. "Now that I think about it, we did," He nodded. "Where the mine had collapsed, there was an image on the wall. A dragon."
I nodded to Rowan, who grabbed the head guard of the company, who was tied up and protesting.
He ripped off the man's sleeve, his armour already removed, and the company gasped.
On his shoulder, plain as day, was a tattoo.
A dragon tattoo, to be exact. "Look, the man who is standing before you is a traitor!
" I exclaimed, pointing him out. "Check every one of the men out there who was slain, and you will find the same mark.
I believe they were sent to deceive you, father. "
I turned my gaze toward him. My father looked on in disbelief. "Frederick, is that really true..." His voice faltered, then he brought his hands to his head, gaining a moment of composure. "Alright, Rosaria. I'm ready to listen. We can talk about your methods later. Now tell me, what do you know?"
I handed him the letter. "Read it," I said. "Julian and I discovered this letter. We believe it is connected to the traitors and their plans."
My father's eyes scanned the note. "Rosaria, I don't understand. None of this makes sense. This looks like a regular letter," He looked up at me.
"That's the point," I said, tapping the letter. "The truth is in the hidden meaning."
I handed him a second note, which read the words of the letter, uncoded.
"We believe they speak in some sort of code to each other, and I think Julian has discovered what it meant," I said.
"These vile traitors, these black dragons, have infiltrated our duchy, and have been stealing supplies right out from under us!
" I raised my voice, so that everyone in the tent could hear me.
Frederick, who had been struggling against his bonds, spat out the cloth. "Lies, lies, all of it!" He screamed. "That bitch is a little she-devil who is poisoning your ears, Duke! She is the one who is a traitor!"
In a wild attempt, he broke free of his bonds, lunging toward me before I could react. I saw the glint of a blade in his hands. No... I gasped.
But before the blade could touch me, the man dropped to the ground, coughing, writing in pain. His chest impaled by Rowan's sword. His green eyes looked at me, then winked. My heart pounded in fear, then settled in relief.
In his dying breath, the man coughed up blood then wheezed, "you may think you have the upper hand," He spat blood at my feet, "but a little rat like you... you will never defeat us..." His eyes glazed over as his muscles twitched.
Everyone in the tent stood, trembling at the sight.
Steeling my resolve, I stood up. "Do you need any more proof?
" I raised my voice, gesturing at the dead man in front of me.
"They are evil. And they will not stop until every last one of us is placed under their thumb, or dead.
.." I warned, my eyes glancing over all of the servants and guards.
Rowan swiftly wrenched his sword from the man's chest. "Make no mistake, each one of you that isn't loyal will meet the same fate," He said coldly, looking over the crowd who shivered under his gaze, "If you do not reveal everything you know now."
There was silence for a long moment. Even my father, who was usually loud and boisterous, was grave as he read the contents of the note. He stared down at them as if in disbelief, then at his guard Frederick, whom he thought was loyal, that now lay dead on the ground.
One brave servant raised his hand. "I..." His voice trembled. "I saw one of the servants moving a cart of goods one time, and I thought it was strange. He told me they were spoiled, and not to question it." He offered.
That seemed to set off a cascade. The rest of the servants nodded in acknowledgement.
"He was one of those that ran off," another servant confirmed.
"One time, they had me helping sort the new arrivals, and told me to throw out perfectly good items. They just told me not to question it," His gaze furrowed.
"I... I received extra pay one time," A servant admitted, "for disposing of some ledgers."
One of the guards who had been silent until now, spoke up. "The way Alaric runs things is different from the previous head of the guard. He's been slacking on our training, and I've noticed gaps in the schedules. Some guards will disappear for hours... on special 'business'," he remarked.
One by one, each of the servants marked their disbelief, and shared their stories. Everyone knew there was some sort of corruption going on at the manor, but no one was brave enough to bring it to light. Until now.
One of the guards came forward, kneeling. "I am sorry, Duke, that I did not speak up sooner. I have failed you." he bowed his head. "I swear my loyalty to the Dukedom, and to you, Lady Rosaria."
One by one, each of the guards and servants came forward, swearing their loyalty. In this world, that was their bond—anyone who broke such loyalty was a liar, and their life was marked by misfortune. To each one I nodded.
"Very well then. Gather the things, we leave at once. This traitorous rebellion must be quashed, it must no longer be allowed to take root in our lands."
As the servants left the tent, my father's gaze was troubled. He had not said a word this whole time, and his face was ghostly troubled. "Rosaria..." he held the note loosely in his hands, his other hand on his chin. His blue eyes looked up at me, pleading. "Tell me it's not true."
I lowered my head. "It is true, father. Clara, Vince, Alaric, all of them... have deceived you," I sighed. Then, I raised my head. "But, there are many loyalists. Gareth, among them."
"And my gardeners?" He asked slowly.
"All innocent," I nodded, a smile breaking my grave demeanor as Duke Leeland breathed a sigh of relief.
I glanced at Rowan, who stood there quietly at the entrance of the tent with his hands behind his back.
For a moment he looked almost... regal, like a proper knight, and then I remembered who I was talking about.
"We have a plan, Father. We cannot allow them to send word to the rest of the group, or we are the ones who will be crushed. "
My father nodded, looking at the note, and then at the blood which stained the grass where Frederick had died. There was something in his gaze that I couldn't make out until now... and it was genuine rage. He looked up at me, his gaze softening. "Well then, my daughter. Let's hear it."
I explained the plan to Duke Leeland, as he nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, yes... I suppose we must do that," He nodded. "However, I have one suggestion..."