"My love, what is wrong?" Walter asked as he shut the door.
Paige smiled back at him.
"I had summoned Sylvester up here to talk to him about why he had done what he had. I wanted to understand how he could give Necromancers such leniency. Talking with Lisa I was sure she needed answers as well as to voice her feelings so I allowed her to sit with me and talk to Sylvester over what has happened. She is just trying to work her way through the emotions involved." Paige told him.
Walter nodded as he stepped around the loveseat. He stood before them and then crouched down in front of them.
"Lisa, it breaks my heart to see you like this. Tell me, what it is that I can do to ease your suffering." Lord Walter asked softly.
Lisa shook her head.
"I can't ask it my Lord, it is unfair and you can't do it." Lisa said as she forced herself to sit back and tried to stop crying.
"If I made it command would it help you to tell me?" Lord Walter smiled.
Lisa gasped.
"You wouldn't be so cruel as to do that, would you my Lord?" Lisa said panicking.
Lord Walter shook his head.
"But I would still have your words Lisa. You have been a trusted and beloved aid to me and now my family. I owe you greatly. Speak, disclose your mind." Lord Walter said as he reached up and sat his hand on her shoulder.
"I am so conflicted my Lord. I'm so angry at Sylvester. His betraying you, and all of your subjects by breaking one of your most sacred laws. For protecting a virtual stranger in your lands, a Necromancer, over all of us who he knew suffered at the hands of Necromancers. By his silence he enabled this man to attack and harm you. And yet what I am most furious about is the position he has placed you in my Lord. You have never had to sentence one of your subjects to death before and now your very first one will be a dear friend as well. I grieve so hard for you my Lord. I know you can't do it, but if you could I would ask you to spare him, so you could spare yourself." Lisa cried out as she threw her arms around Lord Walter's neck and continued sobbing.
Lord Walter frowned as he looked up at Paige with a question in his eyes.
Paige smiled.
"I didn't say anything Walter. I wasn't about to give Sylvester one minute of peace of mind before you made the announcement tonight. Lisa hadn't come to a point I felt I could interrupt her sorrow before you arrived." Paige answered him.
"Lisa, the Lady Paige and I went to my Mistress and she invoked the wise Lady. I pleaded with her to grant Sylvester a pardon. She was moved by my heart as I am with yours. She granted Sylvester a pardon but he will be punished for what he did. He will journey to each of the six towns of the lands and he will spend one month in each. And either by using arcane magic or the sweat of his brow, he will aid the townspeople before journeying to the next. We'll be having a dinner this evening to address it with the governors of my towns and to make it known what has happened and what will happen because of it. As a member of the citizens of my land I wish you to be there. You are welcome to select any dress in the Keep's inventory to wear and keep as a gift for all you do for us." Lord Walter told her.
Lisa had sat back as he told her what had happened and she was completely overwhelmed and she hugged him again.
"I told Lisa if she wanted I would like for her to come with us on our tour of the towns." Paige told Walter.
Walter nodded.
"I am most agreeable to that. Our pace will be relaxed and easy as we'll be taking extra people and wagons with us." Walter told her even as Lisa sat back up.
"I would like Happy and Allie to come with us as well." Paige told him.
Walter nodded.
"I am agreeable to that. That would mean Sir Cabe and most likely Toby would want to come." Walter told her as he stood.
Paige made a face.
"Fine, if we must take Toby with us." Paige said finally with a smile on her face.
"Go select the dress you would like to wear Lisa and come back up here with it. We'll go through my jewelry and find you some pieces to adorn you with that will match it. And I think I'm going to have to do some work on your hair as well." Paige told her as her eyes grew speculative even as she considered all of the pieces she had.
"Thank you my Lady." Lisa hugged her quickly before she got up and left.
As the door closed behind her Walter took Paige into his arms and they kissed. Their lips had just parted and their tongues touched when they heard first Daithi and then Aine begin crying.
Lord Walter laughed.
"I'm beginning to suspect a conspiracy among our twins my love." Walter told her as they both turned to go into the bedroom.
"They have no concept of that my love, they just know when their bellies are empty or when they are wet or uncomfortable." Paige told him even as she linked her arm around his.
The rest of the day was spent in preparation for the dinner that evening. Lord Walter used one of the spare suites nearby the master chambers to bathe and get dressed so that Paige could work with Lisa. Most of the governors arrived a little early and tried to get Raynold to tell them what was going on but he was steadfast in refusing to give in to their queries. Lord Walter too refused to grant them an audience before dinner.
It wasn't until the governor of Brightsong showed up that they found out why the dinner had been called so hastily. When they finally arrived in the great hall they all had anger on their faces and each glared at Sylvester and pointedly ignored him as far as conversations went. Happy's anger lashed out at them over it. Sylvester was still her friend and she wasn't letting anyone give him crap without a response from her, at least until Lord Walter handed down his sentence. They might have been Lord Walter's governors but she was his oldest friend and they weren't willing to stand up against her at this time so they backed off their attitudes.
Each time Happy thought about what was to come, tears welled up in her eyes. She had no biological family as far as she was concerned, only those she had chosen to be family. And while she had always considered Lord Walter something like an older brother, friend and confidant, ever since that night that Athena spoke through him it had changed her. Along with Lady Paige now they were more like step parents who loved her and she loved them dearly.
Lisa showed up at the entrance finally. While she had made the journey through the main hallways many times this was the first time she did so dressed so richly. Lady Paige had done her hair in an intriguing layered look and then secured it with a very expensive hair clip. She had on one of her yellow diamond necklaces and matching earrings. They complimented the green dress that had a plunging neckline she loved and had been the deciding factor in her choice of dress to wear.
The usher extended his arm and Lisa inhaled deeply trying to calm her nerves even as she smiled. She reached out and put her hand on his arm and he led her to the table. She swallowed hard as she was lead to sit next to where Lady Paige sat at the table. Every head had turned so they could watch her approach. Most of the men stared in appreciation and Happy's eyes were opened wide as she leaned towards Toby.
"Is that Lisa?" Happy asked quietly.
Toby frowned as he looked back at Lisa.
"You mean the woman who takes care of our Lord and Lady? I don't think so. Why would she be here? Not to mention how she is dressed. There is no way she could afford even one of the earrings." Toby whispered back.
Happy started to respond when her eyes went large seeing Lord Walter and Lady Paige step into the hall and she stood up quickly.
Everyone looked over and saw the Lord and Lady as they paused for a moment as everyone looked at them. Everyone quickly stood up with Happy.
Lord Walter walked at that measured pace he was known to have as he escorted Paige to her chair. He gave her a tender kiss before he held the chair out for her to sit. As he helped her scoot in the women all sat back down. Walter stepped to his chair and gestured and all the men sat down before he sat down.
Lord Walter first said a prayer over the meal and giving thanks to the wise Lady for all she had done for them and saw them through. The table was near to capacity; with all of his company including Raynold and Amanda, along with the governors and their spouses the table had 27 people around it. Linda had several servants to help serve everyone and clear the used dishes. The conversations started with Lord Walter letting them know that the topic of why the dinner was called would be discussed after dessert. But from the looks they directed towards Sylvester he knew that they already knew part of the reason.
As everyone finally finished with their meals Lord Walter cleared his throat. He first introduced Lisa.
"This young lady to the left of my bride is Lisa of the house of Stewart. She is the one who cares diligently for my family and I, we are honoring her tonight for all she does as well. We asked her here as a representative of the citizens whose voice is sometimes unheard by those who make the decisions. And next to her is the Mistress of my private temple." Lord Walter gestured towards Lisa and the temple Mistress.
Lisa blushed having all that attention thrust unbidden upon her. The Mistress was use to being the center of attention because of all of her time in the service of Athena.
Lord Walter then introduced his parents and sister and explained what the wise Lady had allowed to happen with them before moving on. Next he introduced Allie, Amanda, Veronica and Sir Frederick.
"From the looks on your faces I can only surmise that you have already heard part of the story as to why you are here. Very well, earlier this day as my Father and I were fishing in Lake Athena I was attacked by a Necromancer. But thanks to the swift actions of my Father my wound was bound. His call for help brought a patrol that wasn't far away. They killed the Necromancer and they were able to get me on Selase who helped get me to the Keep. Thanks to the power of Allie and her sister Amanda the stump of my arm and the arm itself, were kept viable. Toby cared for the ends of both with his medical knowledge and skill. Then with the Mistress's power granted by Athena my arm was restored as you can see." Lord Walter flexed his right arm.
The governors and their wives had all gasped at how bad Lord Walter had been hurt.
Walter took a drink of his wine.
"It came to light that this John had been known by Sylvester and that he knew John was a Necromancer. To spare me the pain of conducting a trial of a friend, Sylvester waived his right to a trial and submitted him self for punishment. The typical punishment for Sylvester would be execution, but at my request, my Mistress cast a Commune and the wise Lady came to us and has pardon Sylvester from that punishment."
There was quite a stir at that revelation by the governors, as well as Happy punched Sylvester's shoulder as she was so glad that he wouldn't be killed for his actions after all.
"The wise Lady as ordered a different punishment. Once I conclude the investigation into this John to find out what others knew. Sylvester will be making a pilgrimage. He will travel from the Keep to Harris first, with a detachment of guards to keep him safe, and at her request, my Mistress here. Once there he will work for the citizens of Harris. The citizens are to bring to the Mistress petitions of what they would like Sylvester to do. She will judge them and then assign Sylvester to those tasks the wise Lady approves of."
"On my own authority, I am ordering that he will have to sit each evening for an hour with those citizens that wish to share their story about what they have gone through because of Necromancers. He will stay in Harris for a month. After which he will travel to each of the other towns and stay in each town for a month performing whatever tasks people need and listen to their own suffering of Necromancers. Be it magically or by his muscles he will perform all tasks given to him by my Mistress. In addition, when he leaves here to go to Harris my family and I will be going with him. We'll be going to the other four towns so that they can meet my bride and children. It has been over a year since we married and most of the citizens haven't met her yet. As well as I haven't visited in a while and I want everyone to know they are all still on my mind each day."
"Are there any questions?" Lord Walter finally finished.
"Tabling the matter that we are here for, is this Lisa, the young lady that you rescued from Dusksong's tragic days?" The governor of Terrance asked.
"I am sir." Lisa said as she nodded.
He nodded as his wife spoke.
"My heart goes out to you young lady for all you and those souls had to endure. I think Dusksong was the worst hit of us all in those dark days. My husband and I are so pleased that you have been able to make a new life for yourself. Perhaps if you are not involved with anyone when you have time off you could come to Terrance, we'd like to introduce you to our son." His wife told her.
Lisa smiled.
"Thank you, that is very kind. I don't often take time off from my service to my Lord and Lady and their growing family but when we arrive in Terrance I would be honored to meet your son." Lisa told her.
Greetings! Hope this finds you all doing well! I am doing okay. Still having some sleep issues but yesterday saw the most productive day writing for me in a long time, just over 3k words which took this chapter to over 6.6k words. A bit too big as I told Lucy and Susan so I planned to make it 2 chapters and maybe more as the story has been screaming the last 24 hours. This morning before getting out of bed I wrote another 2300 words for this story. And it still isn't to the point I can call it over. There are definitely 3 more chapters.
Lucy - Thank you! And you have no idea how right you are about Megan originally she was going to cause a scene at the table over Sylvester's punishment, or at least that is what "I" thought...how wrong I was. I believe it will be in chapter 16, though I haven't tried to split 16 up yet. She picked a bad time to become defiant, I'll leave it there for now. lol
Railman - Thank you! Backstory is my middle name! lol
Guest - Thank you! Glad you are enjoying it! I'm doing well.
Susan - I know, 2500 words give or take isn't a lot and at times is a mountain! lol Was John that evil, that is a very good question. I trust the sneak peek answered the question if John really is that evil! hehe He'd invoked a power some time back to determine when Lord Walter would be most vulnerable and then waited until that day came. Sadly for him, like wishes he should have invoked that power to determine when the best chance to succeed would have been. Most vulnerable doesn't mean the most likely to succeed. Alone time you say? They do have some alone time after the dinner but they only told me it happened, they didn't go into detail over it. lol Though I noticed in one of them an error I'll have to correct before posting it.
Margaret - Sly was just very naïve in that way. He always wanted to give people the benefit of doubt. Needless to say by tomorrow morning, he won't be trusting people as much and if he finds out they are Necromancers, he will be a force to reckon with over it. Does it have a happy ending? I think over all, all of my stories have. Farewell was a bittersweet ending. I believe this one will as well.
So anyway, hope you enjoyed it. So at this time we're looking at Thursday as the last chapter to this story, provided there are no surprises. Which means Saturday, if it all goes well, "The Masked Calculator" will be arriving! lol
To the Adventure! -Tim