The carriage rocked and bucked its way down the rutted and muddy road out of the farmhouse. Lady Beaufort sat across from the two girls facing them, her hands neatly folded in the lap of her dark blue dress. Kailynn found herself admiring the white lacey gloves that the Lady wore. Looking up Kailynn realized that the Lady was studying her closely.
"Kailynn, do you remember your parents?"
"A little, Lady Beaufort."
"Call me Sera, all my friends do."
"Yes Sera."
Annie sat wide-eyed next to Kailynn just absolutely about to burst with questions. The Lady Beau... Sera noticed and smiled at her.
"Annie, are you alright?"
"Yes Sera ma'am."
Sera smiled again and then leaned back her head and laughed aloud. She had a full melodious laugh that made you feel like you were in on the joke.
"Annie, you and I are going to be great friends," Sera wiped a mirthful tear from her eye, "I imagine that you both have questions. Let's hear them, one at a time please."
Kailynn spoke first. "How do you know my parents and why do I not know you?"
"I knew your real parents many many years ago. The Tamien's are a good family and I have no doubt that they would have brought you up correctly like your parents would have wanted. But after Richard and Tessia disappeared, you did too. I didn't even know Richard had a brother until last month."
Kailynn sat with her hands clutching a ridge of fabric in the lap of her pinafore. "You said my real parents..."
"Yes, the Tamien's are not your blood family, I have no doubt that they cared for you," Sera rushed to say, seeing the tears welling up in Kailynn's face, "Your true family is still out there. Believing that you are being well taken care of. Not basically a slave to the brother of the man they entrusted you to."
Kailynn's throat was closed shut, she couldn't say a word. She closed her eyes and a tear escaped down her cheek. Annie scooted a little closer to her and put her arm around her. "I'm here with you Kailynn, I'll be your family. I'm not goin' anywhere."
Sera reached over and unclutched one of Kailynn's hands from her dress. Kailynn just squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. Sera held her hand, "Kailynn, I have been looking for you. Many people are in fact. Those that love you and those that want you for other reasons."
"Why? I'm nobody." Kailynn sniffed hard, the color coming back to her face. "I don't know you or if any of this is even true. Why are you saying all of this?"
"Kailynn, it's not my place to tell you everything. But I can say that there are some people out there who love you very much and want you to be safe."
Annie squeezed Kailynn's shoulders protectively. "But, ma'am Sera, we don't even know where we are goin' or if you are one of those that love 'er or just want 'er."
Sera released Kailynn's hand and lead back against the supple dark leather seat back of the carriage. "Why don't we wait and see which? Or would you rather go back to being a servant that maybe gets to eat?"
Annie stiffened. "We are gonna see. Do you have any food where we are goin'?"
Kailynn's stomach growled. She looked out the window of the carriage. Sera thought to herself, I can't believe how thin they both are.
"Driver!" Sera called out, "Please stop in the next town at an inn."
"Yes ma'am!" The drivers answer floated back mixed with the sound of the horses hoof's squelching in the thick mud of the road. "Quick stop ma'am? Or, for the night?"
"For the night."
"Yes ma'am. There is one ahead in about three miles or so."
"Perfect." Sera looked at the two girls in their servant uniforms. "When we get there we will see about some new clothes. After a meal of course."
The girls just stared at her. Sera cleared her throat. "Young ladies usually say thank you."
"Thank you!" The girls chorused.
❧
Sera smiled at the rough looking man who opened the door to the inn for them. "Thank you sir! What do we say girls?"
"Thank you sor!" Annie piped up. Kailynn was simply too enraptured with the smells coming out of the door to even notice as she was ushered inside. The inn was bigger than the farmhouse with three floors that all opened in the center all the way up to the dark heavy wooden beams that supported the roof. The brown flagstone floor was worn smooth from decades of boots and feet and the intricately carved tables and chairs indicated that this was a higher end establishment. Hanging chandeliers made of antlers and horns from great beasts hung on heavy chains from the roof and the overhangs from each floor.
But the smells, now that was something else Kailynn thought to herself. The scents from fresh bread, broiled fish wafted through the room and to her nose. The thick bubbling stew in the cauldron style pot hanging in one end of the large long fire pit in the center of the room added its own flavor to the air along with a gentle bubbling sound as it simmered. A handsome young man of at least twenty appeared from behind the bar counter with a long handled wooden ladle to stir the pot and ladle out two bowls full. His darker complexion suggested that most of his time was spent outdoors, the muscles rippling in his arms under his rolled up shirt sleeves confirmed that hard labor is what occupied his daily work routine.
He strode with an easy grace over to one of the tables and put down the bowls in front of two men. One of the men was leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the table as he picked his teeth with a dagger. His long greasy hair hung back over his chair almost to the floor and his outdoors man clothing was ill-fitting. The other man was better dressed in a bard's tunic with a simple white shirts and brown trousers. He had kicked off his brown leather boots and was busy tuning a stringed instrument of some type.
"Here you are." The young man stood there after placing down the bowls, clearly waiting on something. "That will be two crowns."
"Good sir," The bard didn't even look up from his instrument as the man with the dagger addressed the young man. "Do you know who that is?" He gestured with the dagger at the bard while making dead-eye contact with the young man who had just served them.
"No, and I don't care. It's two crowns or I take the food back."
"He is the Bard of the West College." Dagger man continued. "You will have your money soon enough."
The Bard looked up at the young man and smiled faintly. "Indeed you will! Very soon. Well, as soon as I get this blasted thing in tune! Aha! Here we are!"
The Bard stood from his table and strode to the center of the room. Sera ushered the girls to a small side table mostly out of sight and motioned to the young man for three bowls. He inclined his head and turned to walk back to the pot. The Bard strummed his instrument to get the attention of the sparsely populated great room.
"The Ash Crown King." The entire room went quiet.
"Isn't that song illegal?" A voice rang out from one of the back tables but was quickly shushed by someone.
As the Bard launched into his song about an ancient king that freed the land from an evil wizard only to be cursed in the wizards final moments breaking the kings line. The young man delivered the bowls of stew as the girls listen raptly to the melodious felony being committed. It celebrated the women of the line who were entrusted with keeping the story of the Ash Crown King alive. The song then called out that the kings of the land have changed, but they do not have the right to rule as that right belongs to the the ancient kings line.
As the Bard strummed the final strings of his song, an argument over whether the song was true or not turned into a fist fight. The Bard serenely sat at his table and began eating his stew. The fight began to escalate and then in burst the town guardsmen. The man with the dagger seated at the table with the Bard sighed and slowly stood. He stretched out his arms and twisted back and forth as if warming up for exercise.
"Alac," The bard jerked his chin at the guardsmen who were being informed as to what had started the fight. "Don't kill any of them. They are just doing their job."
Alac, the dagger man, put both hands on the table and leaned toward the bard, "Bard, I don't tell you how to sing. You don't tell me how to protect you, ok? I have my orders."
"So be it. I just didn't feel like running all night again."
Alac sighed. "Fine. sleeping in a bed does sound better than in a field again."
The Bard simply nodded as he kept eating. He noticed the girls staring at him and Sera giving him a stern look. He winked at the girls and nodded to Sera as Alac dropped his long coat on the floor revealing two swords, one on each hip. He had two daggers sheathed over his shoulders and slipped brass knuckles on as he stretched his neck side to side. The guardsmen looked clearly uncomfortable.
The most senior ranking town guard approached, staying well out of sword reach. "You are the Bard of the West College?" He addressed the Bard around Alac who stood in his way, blocking the path to the Bard. "You sang the banned song?"
"That I am and indeed I did." The Bard smiled at the guardsman. "If you have an issue with that, take it up with my associate, Alac."
The guardsman paled. "Alac the Deathdealer?" He eyed Alac and backed up a little more. Alac grinned wickedly at him.
"That what they call me around here?" Alac chuckled, "I kind of like that one!"
The guardsman backed up a little bit more and swallowed hard. " Deathdealer or not, it is illegal to sing that song Bard. You need to come with us to see Lord Waghts."
Alac, flexed his arms back over his head. "Bard, they are making it hard not to have to kill them. You sure I can't kill just one? What about that little one over there?" Alac jerked his chin at a young guardsman standing in the back of the crowd.
Bard stood wiping his mouth. "What if I sing another song? Then we can all say I sang that one and we can forget that a different song was even sung?"
"I-I-I don't know if we can do that." The guardsman looked nervously back and forth between Alac and The Bard. "You should come with us, I-I-I think."
"Excuse me gentlemen!" Sera chimed out from their table. Every eye in the place turned to her including Kailynn and Annie. "We have young ladies present! Perhaps it would please you and your Lord Waghts if we found a blood free solution in their presence?"
The Bard bowed in Sera's direction, "Of course Lady Beaufort. May I say you look as lovely as ever?"
"You may not!" Sera shot The Bard an icy glare. "Do not tempt me to withdraw my objection Bard."
The Bard grinned wickedly at Sera. "Please excuse my boldness Lady." He drew out the pronunciation of her title.
Sera stiffened at the spine as she turned slightly to look at Alac and the guardsman. "I think it wise if we forget the whole matter if Bard here agrees to not sing again tonight."
The Bard blinked as Alac tilted his head back with a loud and boisterous laugh. "Now that Lady Beaufort, would be something to hear from The Bard! Silence!" Alac laughed again even more loudly. His laughter echoed from the rafters and over the balconies bringing even more people from their rooms to peer over the railings down into the great hall of the inn.
The guardsman smiled at Sera nervously and looked back at Alac and Bard. "So, no more singing?"
The Bard looked angrily at Sera as Alac wiped tears from his eyes and sat back down at the table. "It would appear so. As the Lady wishes."
The guardsman looked relieved and motioned to his men to follow him as he led them outside. Kailynn snuck a look at Sera. She looked positively angry. Her eyes flashed as the Bard strode up to their table. "Well, I didn't see that coming Sera."
Annie's mouth dropped open at the familiar use of Lady Beaufort's name.
"Well maybe if you weren't so intent on bringing more attention to the situation," Sera hissed, "maybe we wouldn't need to get you to shut up!"
Kailynn coughed in surprise. The Bard's eyes flicked over to Kailynn. He studied her for a moment, then his face looked genuinely surprised. "That's her. Isn't it? It's really her..."
"Who?" Kailynn looked at Sera and then back to The Bard, "me?"
"Not here!" Sera hissed again in a low voice. "Are you really that dense?"
"Easy Sera." The Bard motioned at Sera with a sweep of his hand to the table where Alac sat eating. "Nothing is going to happen, okay?" He turned back to Kailynn. "Where have you been?"
"Home?" Kailynn just looked confusedly at Annie. "I've been home."
The Bard whipped his head over to look at Sera. "No. She doesn't know? I thought Richard was supposed to..."
Sera stood abruptly. "Ladies, we are going to our rooms now."
"Sera ma'am, I'm not finished eatin'." Annie held up her bowl.
"Annie, take it with you dear." Sera motioned for the girls to leave the table ahead of her. After they had passed her, Sera leaned down to The Bard, "She thought Richard was her father."
"Shit." The Bard sat back at the table. "Shit."