Devoted Nobility

Chapter 21

Sophia

I went back to my room, too afraid I might run into Alexander, or Matthew, anywhere else. My heels clicked on the floor as I paced around my room. Only after a few minutes did I notice that my closet door was opened. Was a maid putting in fresh clothes? She should have made her presence known as soon as I entered per protocol.

I slowly walked towards it. I suddenly felt as though I wasn’t alone in my room. I continued to step closer to the door when something crashed to the floor. I looked behind me. Next to my desk lay a quill in a puddle of ink from the shattered ink well. They couldn’t have just fallen off the desk. The balcony doors were securely shut so it couldn’t have been the wind.

I began to step towards the desk when a pair of hands grabbed me from behind. One was over my mouth and the other was around my waist. I tried to scream for the guards, but my sounds were muffled by the attacker’s hand. My arms were trapped by his other arm, stuck at my waist. He began to drag me when there was a knock on my door. My assailant stood still, but didn’t release me. There was another knock, this one more fervent.

“Sophia? Are you okay?” Alexander called through the door. I tried to scream but it was still no use. He spoke again. “I found your guards bodies at the end of the hallway. I know your mad at me, but if you’re alright say something, anything.”

This was when the glove over my mouth was useful. I prayed he wouldn’t give up and assume I wasn’t here. He didn’t. Moments later he kicked the door in. It went flying off of its hinges and crashed to the floor. Alexander drew his sword from its holder on his waist.

I thought I was saved until the man holding me pulled a knife and held it to my neck. Alexander held his sword out in front of him and slowly walked towards us. My breaths were unsteady as they came out. I was well aware that I could be dead at any moment. When Alexander was just feet from us, my potential killer spoke up.

“If you take one more step, I’ll kill her.” He growled.

Alexander stopped walking. “Let go of her Roberto.” Roberto? I now knew who was holding me. Roberto De Souza was the Portuguese herald who had been staying here while negotiating a trade deal with local fishermen.

“She is a threat to my country and must be eliminated. I tried to be nice and drug her so her execution would be painless, but unfortunately that didn’t work. I must now resort to war tactics to ensure it is taken care of.” He explained.

“You are not protecting your country if you do this.” Alexander looked at me, his eyes strong. It’s as if he was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t know what. “I will go to war to avenge her. You may be able to take swipes at Spain, but do you really want to try and take one at England? We both know your entire country could become ours. Think about it.” Alexander didn’t have fear in his voice either. He was confident that I would be okay. That made one of us.

Roberto pulled the knife closer to my neck and moved his arm up to get a better grip on me. I gasped as I felt the cool metal of the knife touch my skin. It didn’t cut me, but just rested there. I knew that one swipe of his hand would end my life.

Alexander raised his sword higher. “Don’t do it. You can walk out of here alive, but if you hurt one hair on her head, you won’t live to see the sun set.”

“But as long as this vermin dies as well, I will rest in peace.” He gestured to me. Alexander’s face turned furious. He looked at me again. This time I knew what he was trying to tell me. I took a deep breath and nodded.

All of a sudden everything was moving in slow motion. Alexander lunged towards Roberto who pushed me to the ground. A sword fight ensued between the two of them. Luckily Alexander had the upper hand. I was too afraid to watch the battle and turned the other way.

I did my best to block out the noises around me as well. I focused on the quill and the shattered ink well on the floor. The light from the windows made the black ink appear blue. The entire feather of the quill was soaked in this color. It was weighed down by it and was becoming plastered to the floor.

I jumped when I felt a hand touch my arm. I was relieved to see that it was Alexander. I was only vaguely aware of Roberto’s body lying on the floor behind us. I was more aware of a large cut near Alexander’s left shoulder. He leaned down to me.

“Are you okay?” He said, putting his hands on either side of my face.

“I’m fine. What about you? What happened?” I asked worriedly.

“He got a lucky swipe.” We both laughed. But on the inside I was contemplating my options.