The Wolf and the Snake (English version)

Chapter 35

With about fifteen sergeants, the count of Provence took the road to Marseille at dawn. In vain, his palace was carefully searched to find Ada. He also sent men to scan every square, alley, and house in the city. But it's almost certain that Ada has joined her husband, except that the seneschal is probably already dead.

And the pretty widow will never know that Sordello's mission was to kill him.

The count has ridden like the Devil to reach the communal palace as soon as possible.

There, Gilles de Trazegnies, a faithful follower since the cruel war in Flanders, immediately announces to him that the seneschal and the lord of Baux have gone off looking for Ada. The Fleming added that the young woman had been assaulted and seriously wounded on the port by a despicable rascal disguised as a troubadour.

The Capetian is beside himself when he yells at the Fleming to bring him Sordello bound hand and foot to be flayed alive. Then, with a troubled mind, entangled between his vilest desires and some resemblance of morality taught by his mother, Blanche of Castile, the count goes to the port himself.

Reyn and Barral spent hours searching the bottom of the cliffs without seeing a trace of the missing woman.

They recognized the count of Provence running towards them, escorted by some sergeants.

The lord of Baux observes his friend, staring at the Capetian with a flash of anger in his eyes.

"Don't forget that to confront him is to confront the king and his other brother," he says, hoping that Reyn can hear the wisdom of his words.

But like all Marseillais, Barral is aware of the horrible rumors about Ada and the count.

"She must be wounded and taken refuge in the semi-submerged caves, accessible only from the sea," the Capetian mutters, jumping off his horse.

He hates the way the little vassal from Champagne stared down at him without a word, without the least respect due to a prince.

"I'll offer a reward to whoever finds her," he mutters again before slipping away.

He leaves for Aix with a gloomy face. He discretely retrieved the ermine-lined cloak and thinks with emotion that it could have warmed the unfortunate young woman when she needed it so much.

In the following days, adventurers from all over Provence, lured by the large sum promised by the count, relentlessly scoured the land and the sea in search of the missing woman.

Of course, comments are going well.

Marseille residents are familiar with these sumptuous landscapes where the waters and the sky magically meet. So they think that the lady didn't fall off the cliff. After all, some mountain goats can climb down the steep rocks to the bottom without breaking their bones.

With God's help, perhaps a lady could accomplish the same feat.

Marseille's hospitals were searched from top to bottom by order of the count but without result. Sordello has strangely vanished into thin air, too. There is a price on his cursed head, and first, the Capetian have planned that the executioner will cut out the tongue of the troubadour, then gouge out his eyes. And finally, the tanner of Marseille will nick the troubadour's feet to proceed very slowly to flaying.

This kind of show always delights the populace and makes them forget the ideas of revolt for a while.

In the communal palace, almost everyone knows that the count and his seneschal will soon confront each other. Faithful as a shadow to the Capetian, Gilles of Trazegnies watches Reyn closely. The Fleming has the reputation of being a formidable fighter, and Reyn has realized that he will have to eliminate him to get to Charles.

Crushed by grief, waiting for news and praying for it to be good, Reyn drinks more than he should. And as a valued friend, Barral accompanies him to the tavern.

"She can't be dead!" the seneschal keeps repeating. "It happened in Egypt, and she survived."

"What do you mean?" Barral asks, intrigued.

"She came back," Reyn murmurs mysteriously, his eyes full of hope.

In Provence, Barral heard some fantastic stories. In his childhood, his mother told him that golden-haired enchantresses have tiny wings on their backs. There are also these graceful and immortal nymphs, undoubtedly escaped from paradise. They protect miraculous springs and rise from them as if purified, healed of the most serious wounds.

Barral also knows a giant salamander, evil and monstrous, living in fountains. It's a horrible snake with wings, coming out from under the rocks.

But his friend's wife probably has nothing to do with these creatures. The lord of Baux has his idea about the exact nature of the beautiful Ada.

She's undoubtedly a magician with immense powers.

Servants of goddesses, these enchantresses can master the sacred forces of life and death. Moreover, Barral remembers that Ada was bewitching in Aix and at the communal palace.

However, he's careful not to express his thoughts to his friend.

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