The Lady Knight

Chapter X: Thoughts and Truces

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Perched on a bare branch precariously, hidden among the shadows provided by the dark, dark night, he fixed his gaze firmly on the scene behind the window of the Prince's bedchamber in Louvre.

He watched silently, as the Lady Knight demonstrated how to prepare the disgusting concoction that was the Prince's antidote, to an insipid-looking woman beside her, who seemed to be struggling to catch all her speedy instructions.

A slow, malicious grin spread across his lips.

So this is Lady Theodora, he noted in amusement. If she had not seemed as if she was about to throw up, the way she was currently viewing the vile antidote, she could have been a pretty little thing. She certainly had her womanly attributes.

She was the kind of woman his Master would love to amuse himself with.

Smirking, he made a mental note, there and then, to inform him about her. The Lord knew how much stress his Master had been under for the last few months. He deserved a respite from it all.

With that thought, his gaze reverted to the Lady Knight.

Dark circles surrounded her hazelnut brown eyes, indicating that she had not had a moment of peace in a very long time. Her plump, pink lips were turned down in a permanent frown, and her deathly pale skin was tightly stretched over her cheekbones.

Haggard, would be the simplest word to describe her.

Every few moments, her eyes snapped to the unconscious Prince in fear and anxiety, even as her lips moved rapidly to spew out instructions to Lady Theodora. It seemed as if she was expecting him to spasm and perish any moment.

Good, he thought with satisfaction. He had achieved his purpose, his Master's purpose.

After all, she had seen what he could do. Despite all the obstacles she had set in his path, he had managed to murder Lord Lucien within a heavily protected dungeon, and he had escaped unnoticed and alive. In addition, despite all the protection the Manor and the Lady Knight had provided, he had almost killed the Crown Prince.

Now, at least, the Lady Knight would be more wary, more afraid of him.

And mayhap, she would learn to connect the dots, take these warnings more seriously and stay out of his Master's affairs once and for all.

It did not matter that the servant whom he had bribed into poisoning the Crown Prince's dinner - who was currently being held in the Louvre Manor's guest chambers by the Captains - might blurt out the truth.

It did not matter at all.

That greedy pig had hardly seen his face when he had paid him a sack of gold coins at the tavern for his job. He had, with much foresight, taken care to wear a hood to cover his face to prevent recognition by the servant.

In any case, the servant had been so intoxicated then, that he had doubted that he would recognize him even if he had not worn a hood. There was no way his identity could be discovered now.

Indeed, he would never be caught in this lifetime. In all truth, the servant would most likely be the one to suffer the punishment intended for him, and be forever silenced by his grave.

It was an unfortunate turn of events, but a necessary one. The servant was merely a pawn to be sacrificed in his Master's chessboard of a greater, more significant game.

Lives must be lost, people must suffer, and his Master's most loyal followers must sacrifice.

All for the greater good of Monrique.