Midnight in Montgomery

A/N: This is based off the song Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson. I got the idea from listening to the song all day… Well, I guess the only other thing I have to say is that this is told from Oscar's point of view.

--

I stood in front of a large oak door belonging to a small wooden cottage on the outskirts of Melior. Close by, my horse whinnied nervously, shaking his mane. I glanced at him for a second and then turned my attention back to the house in front of me.

I had just knocked on the door, and was currently waiting for my friend to answer. You see, after leaving the Royal Knights, Kieran had decided to move out here to become an, err…cowboy, pretty much. The decision had taken us all by surprise, and for months afterward, the whole royal palace laughed over it. Kieran leaving the knights? It was impossible--it had always been his dream.

In fact, the man had always scolded me for leaving the knights at one point. Was one of Crimea's most faithful guards actually going to leave her service to become a mere cowboy?

What surprised us more was that he had actually gone through with it. He claimed to be tired of all the fame he received, but I knew better. His heart had been broken, and he couldn't stand to see her face anymore. The way Marcia treated him was despicable, and I made a point to tell her that too. She only shrugged it off and went on with her duties.

I released the grip I had placed on my hat as the wind slowly died down. I then rapped at the door once more, but upon receiving no reply, I turned around.

The sight I was faced with next surprised me greatly. Standing behind me was Kieran, cowboy hat and all. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he spoke to me, his haunted eyes glowing.

"Friend it's good to see you, it's nice to know you care."

I grabbed my hat once again as the wind suddenly picked up. I blinked and then he was gone. That was strange…was he actually there in the first place?

I looked around the place, but there was no sign of him. My horse neighed loudly and looked up at the star-filled violet sky. I shook my head. This all had to be my imagination…

I remounted my horse and took his reins in my hands. If I hurried, I would still be able to catch that show in Melior--my whole reason for coming out here. As I urged my horse forward, I could almost swear that I saw some type of shadow out of the corner of my eye. I laughed to myself nervously. My mind was definitely playing tricks on me now.

--

It was the next morning when we heard the news. The commander of the Royal Knights, his sister, the lady Astrid, her husband, and I all sat in a small room off one of Castle Crimea's main halls. Lucia and Astrid chatted quietly while Makalov laughed at something Geoffrey was saying. Typical, the man was now always trying to get on the commander's good side.

I just sat there not speaking to anyone. Instead, I occupied my time by staring at the freshly painted white walls. It was recently that the queen had tired of the plain brick that made up the walls on her castle. She had ordered the knights, including her husband, to redecorate--a task which Geoffrey didn't really favor. Had it not been for pleasing his wife, he would have ignored the order and left things as is.

We spent the whole day spreading the paint over the walls. Duke Renning was quite upset that all of the castle's guards were completing what he considered to be a petty task, rather than protecting the queen.

I was startled when I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder. I looked up to notice the Lady Lucia glancing at me with concern in her eyes. Astrid had now joined in the men's conversation and was laughing along with Makalov.

"Sir Oscar, is something wrong?"

Her blue orbs chilled me to the bone.

"No, Milady, it's nothing."

She opened her mouth to speak again, but at that point Duke Renning rushed in. We all looked up at him, noting his worried expression. He leaned against the doorway and nodded to us, still attempting to catch his breath. Geoffrey raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Milord, is something the matter?"

"Yes, Geoffrey. You must all come quickly. Kieran…he's dead."

The women gasped as we all jumped out of our seats. Astrid glanced at us, fear in her eyes.

"How could this happen? Why would…"

The woman looked as if she would faint, making everyone give her worried looks. Renning placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lady Astrid, if you wish to not join us, you could remain here with the queen."

"Thank you, sir."

The former prince then looked at Lucia.

"Lucia, you may remain here as well."

"Milord, I do believe I will be fine. You act as if I've never seen someone that has died before."

I chuckled. She wouldn't remain here if her life depended on it--especially not with the men telling her what she should and shouldn't do. I suppose that was one thing that set her apart from other women, the noble ladies especially.

The laugh I had just released caused many suspicious looks to be given to me, but I merely shrugged them off. I surely wasn't about to tell them of my thoughts of Lucia; if her husband found out, I would surely be fried.

--

"He's definitely dead," the raven-haired sage stated as he checked for Kieran's pulse.

Nearby, Renning, Geoffrey, and I stood. The others had disappeared to look for anything suspicious. Lucia returned shortly, pulling Makalov along with her. Soren glanced at his wife.

"Did you find anything?"

"Aside from some footprints in the dirt, no. Well, that and a certain someone attempting to steal from Kieran's home…" The azure-haired swordswoman looked at the man she currently held by the shirt, an annoyed expression on her features.

Inwardly, I laughed. Makalov was surely never going to hear the end of this…

"He's dead…he doesn't need any of this!" the sword-knight exclaimed.

The woman grabbed the man's ear and glared at him.

"You aren't supposed to steal from the dead…especially not when you're supposed to be an honorable knight. What would Astrid think of this?"

"Well…I…umm…"

"Okay, Lucia, that's enough."

Her brother took Makalov from her care and glared at him himself. The man was sure to get a good lecture from the commander when we got back to the castle. Soren cleared his throat, pulling us all back into the reality of what had just happened.

"While we all know that Makalov is a no-good drunk, shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters…like the reason we're here? You know, Kieran's death…"

"Yes, of course. So, what can you make of it?"

"Well, Duke Renning…it seems that he's been murdered. Yes, I'm quite certain of that actually."

Everyone stared at him in shock. No one spoke for the longest time, but finally Lucia commented on what her spouse had said.

"Murdered? I thought you had said he was just in an accident from drinking…"

"That was the original thought, but as I examined the body, I noticed a small stab wound on his chest. It was done so carefully that it had been overlooked at first. It couldn't have been done in a bar fight or anything, it's much too professional looking. It's possible that one of our own knights could have done it."

Geoffrey glanced at his troops that were on sight. He cleared his throat and began his long speech.

"If you believe that that is the case, I will surely investigate to see whether or not any of my troops were around here. If it is found that one of them did commit this crime, they will surely be punished. To think that one of them would actually murder our former second-in-command…it's tragic."

"It's only a thought…really, anyone will some skill could have done this. I do appreciate your concern though. Lucia and I will be sure to keep a look out for anything suspicious, right Lucia?"

Her husband stared at her, but the woman only looked towards the ground on which I stood. Soren waved his hand before her face and she seemed to snap back into reality. She then turned to me.

"Oscar, where were you before you showed up at the show in Melior last night?"

I was shocked by her question.

"I stopped by here to see Kieran, Milady. He wasn't home though. I suppose now I know why…"

Soren noted my comment.

"His body was found in front of the cottage. If you were here, you would have had to see it."

"N-no, it wasn't…" I trailed off.

"Oscar, he's been dead for at least a couple of days. The body had to have been here the whole time--I can't imagine the killer risking coming back out here to move it, especially not out in the open like this."

Lucia then looked at me.

"So is this why you've been acting oddly all day?"

"N-no, Milady. I-I had no idea…"

"If that is so, why are you so skittish now?"

"I-I…it…"

Renning stepped up behind me.

"Oscar, I'm afraid that we'll have to take you into custody."

He then placed my hands behind my back and took out the handcuffs that were formerly clipped to his belt loop. I didn't understand any of this. Could they honestly believe that I was the one to murder Kieran?

--

I couldn't believe any of this. They had actually found me guilty of murder… I hadn't done anything, but my attempts to clear my name did nothing to help me. They believed that they had all the evidence that they needed. I had been at the murder site after the crime had been committed.

Somehow I had managed to get a sentence of life in prison rather than death. Though I must say, it honestly wasn't much better. The whole entire day I was confined to this small cell, with no light except for that which was provided by a small window in the corner of the cell.

During the day there was no point in looking out of this window; there was nothing to see. However, tonight, like every other night I spent here, I stared out the window. The darkness seemed to have a calming effect on me, so I honestly couldn't complain. Tonight a full moon shone brightly above while stars outlined the purple sky. I guessed that it was around midnight.

As I stood looking out at the landscape, I felt as though I could hear the clopping of horse's hooves. That couldn't be right… But as much as I tried to deny it, the louder the noises became. In the distance, I could make out small figures. As those figures came closer, I realized that they were actually stray horses. So I was right, but that was odd…why would they just be stray horses?

Then, another figure appeared. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw Kieran standing there. In his hand, he held his cowboy hat as he twirled a lasso in the cool night air. He winked at me before the wind picked up and he once again disappeared.

I stood there in amazement. Honestly, I didn't know whether or not any of that had actually happened. I could now hear multiple dogs howling somewhere off in the distance. I shook my head; I was hallucinating.

But no matter what, I couldn't get his image out of my head. I imagined his cowboy hat, shiny boots, and lasso. The horses were also strange, and if I didn't know better, I'd say that there was the faint smell of whiskey in the air. But the oddest thing of all were his eyes; those haunting eyes pierced my skin. Those eyes…

--

Elsewhere, the sound of laughter could be heard as two wine glasses clinked together. The two beorc whom the laughter belonged to were seated at a small round table covered in a white table cloth. The man grinned and then spoke.

"Well, I'd say we did fairly well, taking out both Kieran and Oscar. Don't you think?"

"We certainly did, Soren. Now we won't have to worry about either of them again." She laughed and then added, "It's amazing how you were able to cover up the evidence so well."

"Hmm…it's almost as if it was magic."

They both laughed cold, chilling laughs.

"We surely did fool everyone, didn't we?"

"Yes, Lucia, I'd say that we did…"

--

A/N: Well, this was originally supposed to be a Western…didn't really turn out that way. I'm actually fairly pleased with how it turned out, which is a tad surprising. Speaking of surprising, I hope that the end came as a bit of a shock…I tried not to make it too obvious, though I think I did almost give it away at one point. Ah well, review if you actually want me to know what you thought of it…