Colette's Covenant

Shame of the Fallen

Shame of the Fallen

The smuggler's room hid Colette and Nicolas for two days. By then, a larger room had been set up in the attic of the inn that they could rest within instead. It came with a proper bed with pillows that propped up Colette who was quite unhappy about being forced to sit still for hours on end. It also came with the benefit that Cupidon could bring in the resistance members he spoke of to meet her and receive orders.

Nicolas always escorted them down. Colette thought he was being polite. She had no idea that he was making contingency plans since she refused to do so. Since his orders never flew in the face of hers, the resistance members never questioned them. After all, he was a high knight and her second in command, surely, he was doing this with permission.

Cupidon informed her that, of the gates available along the wall, there were two likely candidates that she could use for her army to enter. With the correct application of force and a bit of an explosion, she could destroy the hinges upon the large ground gate, usually used to allow large cargo to be brought inside.

Doing so would draw a great deal of attention, however it had the benefit of allowing her entire army to enter all at once. They would immediately find themselves in a fight with the Gascony troops who would be made ready by the falling of the gate.

Her second option was the smallest of the gates. It wasn't as well guarded because it was only big enough for one, maybe two people to pass through at a time. It wouldn't take nearly so much force to break that one open, so she would be able to do it in secret. However, her army would only be able to leak through in twos at best.

They knew, thanks to the resistance's spying, and based on the orders that Nicolas had left them with before climbing over the wall, that her troops had lined up outside. They were within range of the ballistae at the top of the wall, but Firmin had yet to order an attack. They couldn't breach the sealed gates, they were solid metal, so he saw no reason to waste the ammunition. Especially not on a fighting force that was already crippled to begin with.

Nicolas much preferred the second gate. Colette, of course, liked the first one. It was just another thing that they argued about, and another argument that Nicolas lost.

He recognized that look in her eye. As she laid in bed, all four of her extremities bandaged and forced to remain still so they could heal and her midsection burning and aching from the stab wound, she would look out of the high, circular window placed at the far end of the attic. It was too small to see into, it really only served to allow light to enter the space. She could only see the rocky face of the mountain from where it was facing, but she stared out of it with that look on her face.

It was the very same expression that Nicolas had first put on there when they had begun sparing together. That look she had given him when he had driven her into a corner and forced her to confront, for the first time in her life, the prospect of defeat.

Scared. Wild. A little apprehensive, but still very determined. Like an animal pushed into a corner and being forced to fight for its life.

It was that look that really worried him. If she had been facing this with her usual boundless confidence and energy, he might be more comfortable allowing this to happen. But seeing her laid up in bed, uncertain but struggling to hold onto the desperate belief that she had never lost and therefore couldn't lose was what made him go behind her back.

When he escorted the resistance members down through the inn, he would relay his alternative orders. Nothing that flew in the face of what Colette commanded. He wasn't trying to sabotage her efforts. On the off chance that this could work, he didn't want it to be his attempts to protect her that led to her downfall.