Lord Walter sat in the chair before his bride's vanity. Selase had moved into the bedroom from the balcony feeling his heaviness and nuzzled against him.
Lord Walter smiled as he reached out and stroked her beak and head.
"The wise Lady is about to inflict all of my people with the raw pain I've had etched into my soul over the course of fourteen years now girl. I know why she is doing it but it is such a private thing that I don't want it revealed. People will look at me differently and I'm not sure if I will like that. It is just easier to bury it down deep and know that others wouldn't know that burden I carry." Lord Walter told her.
Selase gave a slight screech.
"I wish my bride was here, she could tell me what you just said." Walter smiled.
"My Lord, is everything okay? Is there anything I can do for you?" Lisa asked as she heard his conversation with Selase.
"No Lisa, just long thoughts about what is to happen shortly. I was just telling Selase, or trying to that I really didn't want anyone to know my pain." Lord Walter smiled at her at the door.
"I understand my Lord, it was certainly over powering last night, I can understand why you didn't want it shared. But I believe it will bring my neighbors renewed belief in you caring about what happened to them and respect for you. You wouldn't believe some of the things I heard this morning as I went home to change clothes. Thank you for last night my Lord, it was so very thoughtful of you to include my feelings in the discussion. I need to ask you, you wouldn't be offended if I don't like this son of the Terrance governor would you?" Lisa asked.
Lord Walter smiled and shook his head.
"You are free to like and seek out a life with whoever you wish Lisa. I will support you no matter what, at least as long as it isn't a Necromancer and the wise Lady approves. But I might have to act instead as a protective Father." Lord Walter winked to let her know he was teasing somewhat.
Just then the three of them looked to the balcony door as it stood open from Selase walking in and heard the collected cries of the various members of the Keep.
"It has begun." Lord Walter sighed.
Suddenly in every mind through the lands of Scorpion Keep a voice rose up even as that pain struck each one.
"For too long my children, you have grown complacent in your lives. You forget who I am, I am Athena, the wise Lady. And your thoughts against my knight anger me. This is punishment as well as education for those thoughts. For those who haven't harbored such thoughts, this seems abrupt and unfair. But it is required for you to know what my knight has taken willingly upon him so you live in lands protected from Necromancers. What you feel, this is just a taste of the pain he has willingly put up with over the last fourteen years. It is the pain of just one of the wounds inflicted upon his body and soul."
"His pain however has been amplified each time he has had the foul touch of necromantic magic used against him. It is a pain that does not go away. It will mar his soul for far longer than the grandchildren of the children of the youngest of you will live upon this earth from this moment until their passing. For souls were never designed to need to be healed. Never question Lord Walter's position or his care of you, or your fears. For he bears this pain so that all of you may live free of Necromancers in his lands."
"For you innocents, this pain is now over, but you will continue to hear my words."
Happy had held Toby's hand even as he squeezed hers and struggled not to cry out under that pain. Already that pain had lasted more than twice as long as it had for Sylvester and the others last night. Allie sat comforting Sir Cabe even as Amanda gave comfort to Raynold. Ralph sat staring at everyone and the faces they made even as he heard cries echo through the Keep. Finally after nearly a minute following the last word of Athena that pain began to recede from everyone but the five governors. Despite the intensity of that pain Athena's voice and words continued to echo in the vault of everyone's minds.
"A mistake was made by someone in his company and it has been rectified by my forgiveness, not Lord Walter's. Anyone who continues to live in his lands and harbors such vile thoughts about my knight will find themselves subject to living the rest of their lives with this pain as I will divert some of it permanently away from him and onto you."
"For the governors, except the governor of Harris, you will experience this for the next hour as punishment. The governor of Harris alone was the only one who carried out my Lord's orders and sent word out to advise his subjects of what transpired yesterday. Your thoughts and actions disgust me. And you thought by hiding cowardly, that it might earn you a reprieve. Had you just done what you were told, this would be over already." Athena's voice echoed out across the lands.
"I don't understand Mom, why did the wise Lady do this to most everyone?" Ralph asked as Veronica sat hugging him following the last of the wise Lady's words. As everyone suffering under that pain had scared him.
Paige felt Walter's mood changing a bit so she abandoned her original thought to go to him and looked at Ralph.
"Sweetie, a number of people had some bad thoughts about your Father. And those thoughts angered Athena. So she decided to let everyone she deemed appropriate, to know, just what your Father has gone through for all of them over the years. There's nothing for you to worry with over it. Unfortunately she put some people through it that didn't deserve it, but she's the wise Lady and I'm not, so it must have had a purpose as well." Paige told him as she moved over to where he sat with Veronica.
"So she's not going to do it to me then?" Ralph asked with a bit of relief.
"Heavens no Ralph, she's looking forward to the day that you earn your tenant ring and begin going out into the world to help people." Paige told him as she bent down and hugged him tightly.
Lord Walter walked through the Keep quietly. He didn't want to call attention to himself. He'd considered just taking breakfast in their rooms but figured Paige might not appreciate that. He was grateful he hadn't run into anyone so far but he wasn't looking forward to turning the corner and stepping into the great hall. He kept trying to psyche himself up. Not knowing who all was affected by what Athena had done he wanted a good layer of lordly persona over him.
"But see, that's the whole crux of it. And why she had done it. Our Lord is human like any of us, but he is also the vessel she pours so much into. She doesn't waste her time on things if she can't see them redeeming themselves. Our Lord has never failed her. And to have so many people mocking him quietly, behind his back or in the silence of their minds really upset her. Of course she didn't want any of us here to have to feel that pain. But with Megan disrespecting him, in the wise Lady's eyes, it lit the fuse. She was pretty close to doing it anyway. The only one of the governors she has a good opinion on after last night is the governor of Harris." Lord Walter heard the temple Mistress say.
"I get that but how will the people in town know that she's been respectful but Aaron Springs hasn't been?" Toby asked.
"You mean besides that she said she was? That's easy. For the next month everyone will see on the forehead of each person a light of sorts. The darker the light the more guilt they have in saying or thinking ill. Take our Lady here. Look closely for a moment at her forehead. You can see a pure white. But look at Megan's and you see light grey. Allie and Veronica have a rose colored light, where Amanda's is darker red." The Mistress told them.
"Wholly smoke, why didn't I see it before? And why is Allie's light rose colored?" Toby asked.
"You weren't looking for it Toby. And I commend you, for yours is fairly white itself. I'm impressed." The Mistress grinned. "Veronica reveres Dionysus, Allie and Amanda reveres Mielikki, so they were not subjected to the punishment. But Allie and Veronica's are that shade because their thoughts are fairly pure, where as Amanda, while always respectful, she sometimes disagrees in ways that aren't appreciated. And it won't help if someone tries to hide their forehead."
"Dad!" Ralph exclaimed and ran over to Lord Walter as he stepped into the great hall.
Lord Walter smiled down at him and grabbed him up and hugged him tightly with his eyes closed. Relishing in a few moments before he'd have to look into the eyes of his family and friends and see the pain they'd suffered.
Paige grinned and moved over quickly and wrapped her arms around both of them and turned a few steps until Walter wasn't looking into the room before she stopped and kissed him deeply.
"Good morning to you my love." Paige greeted him.
Walter smiled looking into her eyes as well as seeing he was looking back into the hallway.
"Good morning to you, my Lady, my love, my bride." Walter told her as his left arm slipped around her and hugged her tightly to him.
"I thought you might like an extra moment before facing everyone." Paige leaned into his ear as she whispered.
Walter nodded.
"Thank you." Walter whispered back.
"Did you know the wise Lady was going to do what she did today Dad?" Ralph asked looking at his parents.
Walter blushed just a bit and Paige kissed him.
"It is okay love they know it wasn't your doing." Paige whispered back.
"I had heard the wise Lady last night as well Ralph so yes I knew. Have you eaten yet?" Walter nodded as he asked.
"Yes sir, I'm glad you came down before I had to leave for school." Ralph told him.
"Well I might just take you to school myself this morning. My temple Mistress and I have to go into town to conduct some interviews." Walter told him as he turned carrying Ralph and walking with his other arm around Paige's waist.
"Good morning my Lord." Happy said walking up to him.
"Good morning Happy, family and friends." Walter greeted them all.
"Good morning my Lord." Most everyone greeted him.
"Oh Raynold wanted to know if you knew about the change I was making for Lisa." Paige told him.
Walter looked at Raynold as he nodded while holding Paige's chair.
"Of course I am Raynold. Whatever my bride wants or wants to do we shall do. Her word is only second to the wise Lady's." Lord Walter told him. "I thought you already understood this Raynold?"
"It's just that this change could cause problems with others who work for you my Lord. I just wanted to be sure you understood that." Raynold told him.
"Then they are free to seek out other employment. My bride was quite correct when she pointed this out last night. Lisa should have already been assigned living space within the Keep. Whatever rooms my Lady wants her to have, she shall have." Lord Walter told him even as he sat down.
"Of course my Lord and Lady, your wills be done." Raynold said before turning to leave.
"Before you go Raynold, I'd like to take a moment to just say to you all, I'm sorry that things happened and the wise Lady caused those of you she did to feel that pain. It is not something I ever wanted to share just the knowledge of it existing. And perhaps it is my fault that Sylvester didn't fully understand the full nature of necromantic magic. If I had shared with you guys on any one of the many adventures we've shared you'd have understood why I was so strongly opposed to them." Walter told them all.
"Do not give it a second thought my Lord. You have no blame in this. The wise Lady listened to the words and thoughts and rendered this judgment against those whose guilt she couldn't stand. As for the rest, I guess she just wanted to be sure we knew why you felt the way you do. Veronica, Allie and Amanda along with Ralph and Happy seem to be the only ones to be sparred." Sir Cabe told him.
Walter frowned as he looked at Paige.
"Please tell me she didn't make you feel that pain my love." Walter said quickly.
"She offered me the opportunity to experience it my love and after talking with Lord Markus I took her up on it." Paige smiled and shook her head.
"Lord Markus? But he has been gone from this life for almost five years now." Walter told her confused.
"I know love, now isn't the time. Tonight when you come home we can talk about it. I have a pretty remarkable story to share with you." Paige told him.
"Mother was telling me she is going to go with Sir Frederick at least for the first month, during Sylvester's service to Harris." Paige told him after they ordered breakfast.
"Indeed, Harris is a good town normally. Though I might recommend you stay clear of a dress shop called Bella's." Lord Walter told her.
Paige frowned as the name seemed familiar.
"Why do I know that name?" Paige asked.
"She was the proprietress of that clothing store who bared her leg in front of me." Walter whispered into her ear.
Paige let out a good laughed and nodded.
"How could I have forgotten that?" Paige grinned and kissed him soundly.
"You really should go check out some of her clothes. Make sure you ask for Irina's after you're done and get the full treatment, Sir Frederick will appreciate it." Paige told her Mother while grinning at Allie who sat smiling but shaking her head.
Lord Walter returned to the Keep that evening after he concluded that day's investigation with his temple Mistress. So far he was happy with how things turned out in regards to John. No one interviewed honestly had no idea he was really a Necromancer. And none of them could believe he'd done what he had. He returned with Selase while the temple Mistress rode in a carriage Raynold had sent down to get them.
Lord Walter walked into the great hall and saw his family and friends there waiting. He smiled seeing his Father holding Aine as she slept. Veronica had Daithi with her.
"Good evening my family." Lord Walter said softly to avoid waking the twins.
Paige smiled as she stood. Ralph launched himself out of his chair and into his Father's arms.
"Welcome home Dad." Ralph said simply.
"Thank you my son. Did you have a good day at school?" Walter asked as he hugged him.
"We mostly had recess today. Mistress Florence wasn't feeling too good and the lady that came to sit with us decided we could do what we wanted, for the most part." Ralph told him.
Walter smiled as he took Paige into his arms as she walked up to him.
"I suppose whatever it is you want to tell me has to wait until we're alone upstairs?" Walter asked after they broke their kiss.
Paige just nodded even as she yearned to tell him.
Dinner was good but after waiting all day Paige was nearly bursting at this point to tell him the news. As Lord Walter asked Linda to thank the cook Paige ignored the conversations and grabbed Walter's arm and pulled against him. Walter laughed gently even as they stopped and picked up the twins and retired to their rooms.
To say Walter was floored at Paige's news was an understatement. He was also slightly angered that anyone in his lands could ever believe such a thing. He was sad to learn that if it happened that their daughter would never believe she was his. He immediately sent word to Raynold that he wanted to see Debra as soon as possible. They spent the rest of the evening as a family with Ralph and the twins after having Ralph come join them.
Louise walked into the great hall the next morning with Sean as normal and she smiled at all of Walter's company and exchanged pleasantries. Louise looked over and saw a young woman about Happy's age sitting before the fireplace. She walked over to her.
"Good morning. I'm Louise, Walter's Mother." Louise greeted her.
The young woman stood up and extended her hand.
"I'm Debra, Lord Walter sent for me." Debra told her.
"Oh, if you'd like I could go up and see what is keeping him." Louise offered.
Debra looked horrified and shook her head.
"Oh no, I wouldn't ever presume to have someone do that. His time is far more valuable than mine." Debra told her.
Louise just smiled.
"Would you care for some breakfast with us?" Louise offered.
"Thank you for offering but I'm fine." Debra smiled and shook her head.
"You might as well sit down and enjoy some food. Mother doesn't like sending anyone away without feeding them. I trust you remember my bride, the Lady Paige." Lord Walter said as he walked into the great hall with Lady Paige carrying an old suitcase of some kind.
Louise smiled at her son and daughter and then her eyes saw the case.
"Oh praise the wise Lady. Is that my keepsake box?" Louise gasped out.
Lord Walter nodded.
"It was the only thing Lord Weir let me keep after rescuing me. I'm sorry, I had completely forgotten about it until late last night." Lord Walter told her as he held the old case out to her.
Louise's hands shook as she took the case and clasped it too her tightly shaking her head.
"Thank you Walter, so much of our family history is in this box. I'd thought it lost long ago." Louise told him before she sat down before the fireplace. She opened the case and quickly began going through the contents, tears running down her cheeks the entire time.
"Of course I remember your lovely bride my Lord, it is so good seeing you both again. I can only assume you have a new commission for me?" Debra asked as she stood there watching them.
Lord Walter nodded even as he pointed at the table.
"Take a seat and enjoy some breakfast while we talk." Lord Walter said it giving her no way to refuse as he turned with Paige and escorted her to the table to sit.
After he prayed over the coming meal Lord Walter looked at Debra.
"Simple put I want to commission several family paintings. The woman to your left is my bride's Mother Veronica. I would like for you to create one over arching painting that will have my bride and I in the center, Ralph between and in front of us. One twin to be in each of our arms, my parents, sister and her husband to be to my right, my bride's parents to her left. Then behind them I'd like their parents and then their parents. Whatever resource material we have for them will be provided for you to work from. For those that we don't have photographs of, I hope the memories of our parents can help with that. My bride also told me she has reconsidered her opinion on the subject of more children and so we'd like you to leave room to add them at a later date." Lord Walter told her.
"Oh Walter, that is so kind of you. I've got several photographs of most of them, though I'm not sure the condition of them. I'll go check as soon as breakfast is over." Veronica told him.
Lord Walter nodded.
"I'd like seven of them, one for each town hall and one for here in the Keep. I'd also like to commission several smaller ones of each family grouping." Lord Walter told her.
"It might take me a long time to get all of that done my Lord. Did you have a certain time frame in mind?" Debra swallowed hard as she mentally went over everything.
"I have no idea how long it takes for something like this Debra, so I am open as to when they can be done. Accuracy is of course a higher priority than speed. And cost is not a factor. Whatever you need you shall have. Raynold has already been notified and will provide for it." Lord Walter told her.
Debra nodded.
"Well I believe once we have all the resources and descriptions or photographs, it will probably take me two to three months per large painting. The smaller groupings would go quicker. I don't mind doing these but if you'd like to send for some of my competitors to get some of them done quicker I'd understand." Debra told him.
Lord Walter shook his head.
"My bride is most impressed with your skill as well as you know that I am. And she said you were the only choice in the matter." Lord Walter told her.
Debra nodded.
"I've got a painting I'm currently working on, is it okay if I finish it? It shouldn't take more than a week, maybe ten days at the most." Debra told him.
"That is more than okay Debra. Thank you for agreeing to do this." Lady Paige told her.
"Mother, didn't you tell me that Grandma Agnes had red hair? Walter was telling me last night his Mother's Grandmother had red hair. I don't think I remember anyone else ever having it." Paige asked Veronica.
Veronica nodded.
"Oh my yes, her hair was red like fire and she had a mean streak in her a mile wide to match it. She'd hit you with a switch faster then you could blink an eye. I remember getting in her cookie jar once and that stick hit the back of my legs before the cookie left the container." Veronica told her.
"Red hair is it? You should have seen my uncle Patrick, the one I was given his name for. He looked like a tree in autumn." Sean spoke up.
Walter frowned.
"I didn't know Uncle Patrick had red hair? I didn't even know anyone in your family had red hair." Walter said surprised.
Sean nodded.
"You didn't know my great Grandparents." Sean laughed. "My folks always told me since your Mom had red hair in her family and I did too that it was possible our kids might have red hair. So don't be surprised or suspicious of our daughter if you have a red haired child in the future boy."
"Nothing like that would ever enter my mind Father. In my bride I have nothing but confidence and trust. And if it did, you have my permission to punish me." Lord Walter laughed.
Lord Walter looked at his bride and smiled.
"Well now that that is settled my beautiful bride. I've got to get down to the town to continue all of these interviews." Lord Walter told her as he kissed her hand.
Greetings! Hope this finds you all well! "The Masked Calculator" is finished, so it will begin Wednesday, it continues my "I Only Stat Facts" storyline. After it I'll be posting "The Littlest Knight" story, it is part of the "Knight's Tale" storyline. And then we'll see where I am after that!
Lucy - So glad you enjoyed it! Yep, I've got a feeling Raynold is going to be toeing the line a lot! lol
Railman - Good, glad it is clear now. Yep, love is a fickle thing it seems.
Susan - So glad you enjoyed it so much! Walter took it pretty good. He wasn't happy Paige took the opportunity but he knows he would have done the same if the roles were reversed. lol Though I'm not sure that applies to child birth pains. LOL
To the Adventure! -Tim