Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.
Summary: The wrath of Dame Sepphora was made all the more fearsome by her zeal to protect the innocents.
A/N: This is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe and contains the details of what happened when Kat (here referred to by her chivalric title of Dame Sepphora for the most part) was in Redhaven before she returned to Narnia in Don't Judge a Book, which was mentioned but not fully detailed. However, this story can be read without reading Don't Judge a Book first (you'll probably want to read it after this one, though).
Additional story warning: This story is rated a high 'T' and is very dark, particularly in the first few chapters.
Zeal to Protect: A File from the Desk of General Oreius
Part Three
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The day after the raid was filled with tending to the young ones who had been rescued from the house. Dame Sepphora preoccupied herself with aiding the healers (both our two healers and the three of the best healers in Redhaven) in tending to the children and cataloguing injuries. Lieutenant Lonn was charged with sending soldiers from our party to accompany the soldiers sent to take the lords and merchants of Redhaven who were known or at least suspected of being involved in Fyren's dark trade into custody. The official reason was to provide an additional show of strength, though Dame Sepphora had confided to Lieutenant Lonn and me that our soldiers were to ensure that no one bribed or blustered their way out of an arrest. I would have accompanied my fellow lieutenant, but that was not possible since little Rosaleen had refused to allow any of healers near her unless I was present. Dame Sepphora deemed it would be less traumatic for the child if I remained.
It was well, though, that the little one seemed unaware of my distress on her behalf as the healers treated her. I suspected it was because I was a Satyr since every time she glanced up at me when the healers asked her questions regarding the injuries she sustained she seemed to take comfort. She reminded me very much of my daughter and couldn't be much older than her, no more than six or seven years of age. Finally, as the older matronly healer who had introduced herself as Mama Moa finished tending to the child's injuries, she nodded to Jayr who had been documenting the injuries and Rosaleen's answers. "That is the last of it. Now, dearie, you just need a nice bath to put you to rights."
I stood and nodded to Jayr as he stored away his notes, quill, and inkwell in his satchel. The Kangaroo healer's nose twitched when Rosaleen threw herself at me, clinging to my hand with a desperate expression in her brown eyes. "No, don't go away! Don't go away!"
Jayr hopped closer as I knelt in front of the child. "I am not leaving, little one. But, you need a bath now and I won't be far."
Rosaleen flinched when Jayr placed his forepaw on her shoulder. The Kangaroo nosed her hair, tutting softly, as he spoke, "Do not be afraid, little joey. I am certain the Lieutenant will stay close at hand."
Seizing the idea, I nodded toward a stool that was a little ways off. "He's right, Rosaleen. I will just sit on that stool and wait for you to finish with your bath, all right? I promise I will just be on the other side of the privacy curtain the whole time."
Mama Moa nodded, "A right seaworthy idea, dearies. Now, let's be about this bath, dearie. You'll feel much better when you're scrubbed and brushed, dearie, believe you me."
Rosaleen hesitated a moment more then she reluctantly allowed Mama Moa to take her by the hand and lead her to stand next to the slightly steaming tub that had been prepared during the healers' exam. She looked most forlorn when the matron pulled the privacy curtain in place. Jayr tutted again and rocked back on his tail, "The little joey will not be able to tolerate it if you leave the room, Lieutenant. I need to see about the next joey, the silent one. Hopefully, I will find a way to determine how he prefers to communicate." With that, the Kangaroo hopped off and I turned my attention back to the task at hand.
Sitting on the stool, I listened as the matronly healer clucked her tongue and water splashed and poured. Dame Sepphora had already indicated that she hoped to return as many of the children we rescued to their proper homes as possible and I felt that whatever information the child could tell me about her life before she was forced into the nightmare we'd just rescued her from would be vital to finding her family. However, Dame Sepphora had also cautioned us all against simply asking question after question. Therefore, I chose to treat the situation as though I were playing one of the learning games with my daughter. "Rosaleen, did you know that I have a family?"
It took a moment but I heard her soft query just above the sound of splashing water, "You do?"
"Yes, I have a wife and a young daughter. Their names are Ione and Iris. Iris is around your age, I think."
"How old's she?"
"She is six."
"I'm five summers."
I already knew…I had already seen that a number of the children rescued had been barely old enough to be apart from their mothers, but I had not- I had not expected to hear that this child was younger than my own. I sat there in a forced silence as I struggled to keep the fresh wave of fury from revealing itself. I heard the child speak but the words were nonsense to me. Still they helped me to exercise tighter control over my emotions. "What was that, little one?"
"Do they look like you?"
I chuckled, "No, they are not Satyrs. They are Nymphs."
"Oh." She fell silent for a long moment then offered, "My Momma's Meila. Daddy sayed she was the purtiest pearl in the whole seas."
Meila. I could find out what happened to her family much easier with a name, but it would be even better if I could locate her father as well. "What is his name?"
"Cap'n Lear."
"Does he have his own ship?"
"Daddy got eaten by the seas and he couldn't come home anymo'e. Momma cried fo' days and days. What do they look like?"
"Who?"
"Nymphs."
I would have to work my way back to gathering more information about her mother. "Well, Nymphs look rather like you and Dame Sepphora physically, but their hair and skin can be very different colors. My Ione is a Naiad, a River Nymph, so she has blue skin and hair. Iris looks very much like her mother, so she also has blue skin and hair."
"Are they good swimmers?"
"Yes, and they love to swim. Do you like swimming?"
"Daddy sayed I swimmed just like a fish and I could swim all the way 'round Muil once I got bigger."
Rosaleen had obviously been in a safe, loving home on the island of Muil, so how did she come to be in Fyren's house of depravity on the island of Brenn? Before I could decide how to ask her, I saw Dame Sepphora emerge from one of the other curtained off areas. I do not think she saw me at first as she stopped, head bowed, and covered her face with her hands then her shoulders shook. She started when Rosaleen called out, "Mr. Goat?"
No, the child had never been around Satyrs before…or even Fauns. She poked her head out, wet hair plastered down, and gave me a relieved look before she shuffled out, wrapped in an overly large towel. "I thought you'd gone away."
Lifting her onto my lap, I glanced over her head at Dame Sepphora but the only sign of her was the door closing in her wake. "Ahem, Rosaleen, my name is not 'Mr. Goat.' My name is Alaois."
Her brown eyes widened and she searched my face anxiously, looking for anger I think, but then she relaxed. "I'm sorry, Ah- Ahli- I'm sorry."
"AH-leesh is how my name is pronounced, little one. And you are not in trouble, but be careful not to call any Satyrs or Fauns you meet 'Mr. Goat.'"
"Yes, sir. AH-leesh. Mr. Alaois? Can I go home now?"
I patted her back. "Soon, Rosaleen."
Dame Sepphora returned shortly carrying a basket full of clothes and such for the children. By the time, she reached Rosaleen there was no sign of any emotion in her face save a gentle kindness that beckoned those who saw it to trust her. She offered Rosaleen a simple blue frock with matching ribbons. As the child scrambled back behind the curtain to change, Dame Sepphora gave me a serious look. "Be careful when making promises to these little ones, Alaois. You may not be able to keep them."
I nodded, "I have done my best to avoid promising more than I can give."
Dame Sepphora said nothing more until Rosaleen returned, looking even more waifish now that a layer of dirt no longer disguised the bruises and scrapes on her face and neck and the dress hung loosely on her emaciated frame. I could not help but think my wife would have loved to sit the child down at our table and feed her until she no longer looked so fragile that a strong breeze might shatter her. Dame Sepphora crouched in front of her as she sidled up to me, once again clinging to my hand. "Rosaleen. I need you to answer some questions for me, honey. Do you think you can?"
Rosaleen's wide eyes darted to me and I nodded encouragingly, "You will be safe if you answer the questions, little one. I will make sure you stay safe."
Dame Sepphora added in a very gentle tone, "And you do not have to answer the questions if you don't want to, honey. All right? If you're scared or just don't feel like you can tell me, all you have to do is say 'stop' and we'll stop right there, all right?"
Rosaleen's gaze darted from me to Dame Sepphora as she licked her lips nervously. I thought she would refuse to answer any questions at all, but then she surprised me. The child showed courage beyond her years as she nodded very slowly, "All right. Can Mr. Alaois stay with me?"
"Of course, he can, Rosaleen." Dame Sepphora waited until the child scrambled back on to my lap before she asked, "Are you ready to hear my first question?"
Rosaleen glanced over her shoulder at me before she turned back to Dame Sepphora. "I think so."
"All right, can you tell me how long you were at Fyren's house?"
The child tensed immediately and her fingers twisted in my fur again as she ducked her head then whispered, "Seven moon cycles. Momma was going to make a cake for my birthday, but the bad men came and hurt Momma then they took me away. Momma wouldn't get up, she didn't get back up. They sayed I was purty and fresh and Fyren was happy. It hurt. It hurt always and always." The child took a shuddering breath then plaintively whispered, "I wanna go home. I want my Momma."
I patted her back in an attempt to comfort and calm her. "Don't worry, Rosaleen, don't worry, we are not going to let anyone hurt you like that again." I could not promise she would see her mother again. It sounded as though Meila had died when Fyren's men kidnapped her daughter, but I would find out for sure before I punctured the child's hope in such a way.
Dame Sepphora crooned comfortingly, "I know you do, sweetheart, I know you do. And, Alaois is right; we're not going to let any bad men hurt you like that ever again." She reached out and gently stroked Rosaleen's drying hair. "Do you want to hear another question or would you like to stop?"
Rosaleen sniffled, her fingers still twisting in my fur, as she asked with a painfully clear tremor in her voice, "Do you have lots more questions?"
"No, honey, I only have one more question, I promise. Do you want to hear it or would you like to stop now?"
"One more and that's all."
"Deal." Dame Sepphora held out her hand, allowing Rosaleen to clasp it then trace the scars marring the center of her hand. "I need your help, Rosaleen. I need to know if you would be willing to come with me and Alaois and two other children, Heron and Shiri, to see if you recognize a man from Fyren's house. You would be hidden, so he would never see you or even know you're all there watching for him. All you would need to do is tell Alaois if you recognize him or not. But, you do not have to do this, if you do not want to, sweetie. No one will be mad at you if you choose not to, all right?"
Rosaleen continued to examine Dame Sepphora's scarred hand, her little fingers pausing at the center of the scar as she asked, "How come you got a star in your hand?"
"Someone…a very bad man hurt me when I was young, but I survived just like you did."
Rosaleen shifted on my lap then let go of my fur and touched the silver ring encircling the base of Dame Sepphora's right thumb, "Did you sayed if you knew the very bad man?"
"Yes, I did. I was the only one who could tell people he was the very bad man who hurt me and others too."
"Heron and Shiri are the big kids. Heron's nice, he sayed he'd take us all back home once he finded a way past Fyren's bad men. Shiri's nice too. She sings purty lullabies when we have bad dreams. Are they gonna sayed if the man's a bad man?"
"They are. So you don't have to feel bad at all if you don't want to see if you know him."
Rosaleen traced the outline of Dame Sepphora's scar again. "Will Mr. Alaois stay the whole time?"
Dame Sepphora nodded even as I answered, "Of course, I will, little one. And, if you change your mind and want to leave, I will take you away from there at once."
Rosaleen nodded slowly. "I wanna help Heron and Shiri. I can sayed if the man's a bad man."
Dame Sepphora finally curled her fingers in, closing over Rosaleen's hand, and smiled gently. "You are a very brave little girl, Rosaleen. Thank you for helping."
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A/N: Please Read and Review! A breather chapter before we dive back into the darker and grittier chapters. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.
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