Cullen was hanging by his feet when I found him. I had feared it would be too late to save him from the people who lived in the forest. The Dark Ones are dangerous and don't value life in the same way that most do.
They worship dieties I don't understand. They practice dark rituals that include human sacrifice. No one who ventures into the forest is safe. An unskilled and unarmed boy like Cullen, never had a chance against them.
I cut Cullen down, knowing that it would displease the Dark Ones, but I didn't give a damn. Cullen was a young man whose only fault was being manipulated by the Royals around him. He was Mary's subject, and as such, he deserved to be sent back home to Scotland for a proper burial.
I was preparing Cullen's body to be hoisted onto the back of my horse, when I heard the approach of a horse. I ducked quickly into nearby shrubbery, my hand on the hilt of my sword, heart pounding, and prepared myself for battle if the need arose.
I think Francis and I were both startled to see one another. He had come into the forest after me at Mary's request as well. I tried to get Francis to help me with Cullen, without letting on how I had found him, but Francis was too observant.
He saw the blood on Cullen's face and knew the boy had not only been hung upside down, but had his throat slit as well. He demanded to know what was going on, as he knew, like I did, that Cullen's death had not been at the hands at any of our father's men.
As I was trying to convince him that I would tell him everything once we were out of the forest, rustling leaves alerted us both that we were not alone.
Francis's hand went immediately to the hilt of his sword when I informed him that the dark figures surrounding us were not our father's men. He hissed at me to draw my sword, but I ignored him.
Instead I drew my dagger and slashed it across my left palm. I hissed at the instantaneous pain that sliced through it, but ignored it. Walking slowly, I sprinkled my blood onto the ground, and began to chant. The words were foreign and rusty on my tongue, but I did not let that keep me from saying them.
I could feel Francis's eyes boring into me, as if I had suddenly sprouted another head, and my voice faltered for a moment, but then with resolve, I finished the chant. Suddenly the rustling leaves and flickering lights of the dark figures surrounding dissipated. I breathed a sigh of relief. Francis and I were safe
Francis and I were both solemn as we rode back to the castle. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts, and neither seemed to want to break the silence between us. At least, until we were finally alone again.
Francis peppered me with questions. Who were the people in the forest? Was it they who had killed Cullen? What had I chanted? Why had I chanted it? Was I a believer like them?
I did my best to answer him. I made it clear that I was Catholic like him and our father. That I had learned the words of the chant somewhere and hadn't been sure they would work, until they did.
He said he believed me, but I'm not sure he did. I do know that we were both changed by what we had seen and heard in the forest this night.