The Robber Knight's Love

47. The Mercy of Impending Slaughter

Ayla stared at Reuben, and everybody else in the room stared at him with her, their eyes no longer full of hope, but incredulity.

“You,” she declared, “are definitely not well.”

Reuben rolled his eyes. “That's not the entire plan, of course.”

“There's more?” Burchard snorted derisively. “Let me guess... We lend the enemy our weapons so they can kill us more easily? Or why don't we just smash the castle to bits ourselves? That would save the Margrave so much trouble!”

The look Reuben threw the steward was enough to make him shut his mouth.

“My plan does not involve destroying the castle,” he said through gritted teeth. “But it does involve something I dislike doing almost as much.” Ayla felt him fix his gaze on her. “Are you willing to hear me out, Milady?”

Ayla was by no means as confident anymore that this plan of Reuben's was their salvation as she had been a few seconds ago. But she nodded nevertheless.

“To the very end,” she said, quietly.

“Then follow me!” Taking her hand, Reuben pulled her toward the door of the room. “I cannot explain from here. We must be on the castle wall for you to understand.”

Ayla let herself be pulled along willingly. She would have followed him all the way to Thule as long as he didn't let go of her hand. Yet his route didn't take them nearly as far. He merely marched to the inner wall, and there, at the gatehouse, nodded to one of the guards posted at the entrance to the tower.

At this miniscule gesture, the guard jumped away as if stung by a viper. “Yes, Sir? I’m yours, Sir! Ready to serve, Sir!”

Ayla smirked.

“What?” Asked Reuben, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Seems you have the soldiers well in hand already.”

He shrugged. “They obey my orders. But it is you they are willing to die for.” One corner of his mouth quirked up in a devilish smile. “Can't say that I blame them.”

Ayla didn't get a chance to reply to that. Reuben barked an “Out of the way!” at the soldier, who jumped aside like nervous grasshopper. He pulled her into the tower and without stopping picked one of torches from the wall that even during the day illuminated the gloomy interior. They began to climb the spiral staircase, and the sound of feet behind them told Ayla that the other four were not far away.

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs and stepped out onto the wall. A couple of guards kept watch there.

“You!” Reuben gestured to them, and they blanched, taking a step back. “Yes! I mean you, puny codpiece number one, two and three! Go take a leak somewhere!”

They hurried away, along the allure.

“Why did you do that?” Ayla demanded to know, her cheeks flaming.

“Send them away? You’re the lady of the castle. You need to hear my plan first. If you approve of it, I want all the soldiers to hear of it at the same time. I don't want false rumors to spread.”

“That wasn't what I was talking about!” she hissed. “Why did you call them... well, whatever you called them!”

“Puny codpiece?”

Her cheeks flaming still brighter, she nodded.

“It is an endearment among military men,” he told her with a diabolical smirk.

Ayla narrowed her eyes. Somehow, she found that hard to believe. However, the arrival of Burchard and the others saved Reuben from further inquisition.