Chapter 31: Plans

The cheers from the city were the first indication that something was going on. Renee leaped up from the unconscious knight's bedside, and ran to the casement window, throwing the shutters open to see out.

The castle was built at the top of a hill, and the city sprawled out below her. Bright sunlight was glinting off a forest of spears and polished armour; although she knew that Richard had had to leave some knights at the border, there was enough metal on the ones with the king to make an outside observer think there was more men than there actually were. She lost no time, turning away from the window and racing for the front hall.

King Richard frowned at the closed castle drawbridge, but was reassured by the presence of the Guardsmen hurrying to lower the massive slab of wood that made up the drawbridge. And when the bridge finally did fall into place and she rode through he was met in the courtyard by the Queen and a handful of assembled nobles. Renee cried out, "Welcome home!" and went to one knee. Richard ignored everything but the sight of his kneeling wife. He ran to her, gripped her shoulders fiercely as he drew her up from her position, and crushed her in a hug. "I was worried," he said into her ear as they shared what, to everyone else, looked like a kiss. As loud cheering broke out, he whispered, "Sir Logan got through?"

She kissed him back, whispering against his cheek, "Yes, he did. He was exhausted when he got here. He's been asleep the last three days. The Healer says he'll scar from the torture he's been through, but he'll be okay…when he wakes up. Richard…the traitor; who is it?"

Richard shook his head. "I know not," he said quietly. "We need to talk. Come." He turned to the assembled company. "We are sure Our knights would like to refresh themselves and rest from the journey. We have much to discuss with Our Queen; so make yourselves at home." The Knights dismounted to the accompaniment of hearty, tired cheers, and started to remove various pieces of armour, handing them to the squires, while the palace staff hurried to unload the wagon that held Richard's camp cook.

Renee started to lead Richard upstairs, but he shook his head, instead taking her down to the healer's wing. "Which room is he in?" he asked the Healer.

"This way," the man said, leading him down a little-used hall and to a room at the end. "In accordance with Her Majesty's wishes, he has been dressed in Guard colors and his identity kept secret. He has also been asleep these last few days, so it has not been hard. Very few people know he is here at all."

The Healer opened the door to the room, and Richard and Renee stepped in. Logan was still sprawled out, asleep in the bed, his snores filling the room. The healer smiled. "Sir Logan, you have visitors." He reached down and gently shook the knight's shoulder. "Wake up."

Logan felt the shaking on his shoulder, and began to fight his way up through the layers of sleep fogging his mind, only too glad to leave the dreams behind. In those dreams a voice cried out for help, begging him to come back, and they were disturbing his sleep because he felt like he had to find the owner of that voice.

Almost as soon as he opened his eyes, the dreams fled. Instead, he found himself looking into two pairs of kindly brown eyes, one woman and one man, and both people had gold fillets around their brows. "Yer Majesties," he said weakly, trying to get up. But he was miserably weak, and barely able to push himself up.

Richard held up a hand. "Please, Sir Logan, do not try to rise. Lie quiet. I merely asked the healer to wake you so that I might find out the full story from you. We had not sufficient time before at Argonne Keep; we have plenty now. We are back at the castle, and it is safe from invaders. Now, please tell me your story, from the beginning."

Logan lay back against the pillow. "Julian was the traitor among the knights. Just as the first battle was endin', when Gallas blew the trumpet fer his side ta retreat, Julian come up behind me an' knocked me out. He grabbed my horse's reins and hauled me off the battlefield, takin' me into the woods on the far side o' the field. I 'spect that he had some kinda prearranged signal with Gallas, or maybe he saw Julian leavin'. I don't know.

"Anyway, Julian led me off. My squire saw us leave. Apparently he'd been lookin' fer me in the aftermath o' the battle. He followed Julian an' me. When Julian made camp that night, after he'd fallen asleep Lee untied me an' we tried ta make our escape. Julian caught him an' threatened ta kill him if I didn't return. So I got off the horse and came back." And now wished he hadn't, but that wasn't a detail he wanted to share with the King. "It took three days fer Julian ta take us ta Gallas's keep; Gallas met us there. He made better time comin' off the battle front than we did, 'cause Lee had ta walk. Julian dragged him behind his horse most o' the way." Fresh in his mind was the picture of Jubilee panting in the dust behind Julian's horse, sagging in her bonds and almost dead on her feet. Logan shuddered. She was a girl…no woman should be treated thus. And how had she borne it without weeping and complaining, as most women would have? She'd been stoically silent through most of the long, torturous walk. Silent, even, when she'd been dragged.

"Gallas met us there. Julian told him who we were, an' told Gallas we was a 'present from the Duke'. He had us taken down ta the dungeons. They stripped us an' shackled us." Beside Richard, Renee's gaze sharpened, and she looked hard at him. He didn't understand her look, and she said nothing, so he continued with his story. He wasn't about to tell everyone that 'Lee' was a girl. He'd be laughed at for not realizing it sooner. She was his squire, wasn't she? "Gallas had me tortured that first day; he wanted ta know where the borders was the weakest, and what yer plans were. He also wanted ta know who else in the castle was the Queen's spy." He grimaced. "I didn't know any o' that. I told him I didn't know any more'n Julian did, an' that as far as the Queen's spies went, I didn't know what he was talkin' about. I didn't tell him that Lee was yer spy, Your Majesty. They'd'a tortured him. I dunno how the kid hid yer ring; I didn't see it when they stripped us, but he musta hidden it somewhere on him." The girl was clever, for a girl, at least. "They took me back ta the cell at suppertime. Gallas wanted to be present at my torture so he could catch anything I might say in the middle o' all the pain." And such pain! Logan remembered screaming as the iron bar bruised his kidneys. He'd come so close to telling them Jubilee was the spy at that time. If he had been capable of putting coherent words together, he would have, to stop the pain. But the agony had been overwhelming, and he'd been unable to think or speak.

"So they tossed me back in the cell…" Logan paused as his mind dredged up a memory. Jubilee, that night…after all the harsh words he'd said to her, after he'd screamed at her about betrayal, she had sat there all night while he lay feverish from pain and weak from blood loss and agony, and had used scraps from her own uniform to wipe the blood from his body and clean him off. She'd sat all night with his head in her lap, stroking his hair as he moaned, giving him water when he needed it, soothing him and singing to him when he cried with the pain. She had cared about him. Truly cared. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have done that, after all the things he'd said to her. The thought disturbed him more than he cared to admit, so he put it from his mind. For now. "The next morning, sh—Lee told 'em ta take him, not me. An' Julian told me Gallas was too busy ta attend ta me today, an' he took Lee instead. I didn't see Lee after that fer almost a week. Durin' that time Gallas took me back ta the torture chamber four times. I came back from one session with him an' there Lee was. Julian brought him down ta taunt me. The boy struck a deal with Julian; probably offered ta become Julian's squire, 'cause he was dressed in fine clothes, an' looked bathed and rested." Anger filled his voice and thickened his words. "I told the boy I didn't wanna see him anymore, 'cause he was a traitor and had gone over ta the enemy. I threatened ta kill him if I ever saw him again."

Logan paused. "I didn't see him again fer a couple o' days. One night I heard a commotion in the dungeons, an' other prisoners suddenly started ta run past my cell. Lee unlocked my cell, told me that sh--he had my horse saddled an' waitin' in the courtyard, and gave me some clothes ta put on. I thought maybe he might be tellin' the truth this time, 'specially when he gave me that little spy's ring. I figured that if Yer Majesty gave it ta him, ya musta decided that he was trustworthy enough ta use as one o' yer spies. I took the ring, put it in my pocket, an' followed the boy out o' the prison block. There was a horse outside…but as I mounted, a whole buncha Gallas's soldiers came out after me." He bit his lip in anger. "It was a set up. Had ta have been. The little traitor set me up to get caught again. An' when he realized I knew bout it, he drew a sword an' tried to fight the soldiers. While they was busy with him, I fled. Finally dropped at some farm woman's doorstep, an' she took me in, disguised me, let me rest while her man doctored up my horse same's they did my hair, and gave me some food. After that, I just rode straight fer Argonne, didn't stop nowhere."

Richard sighed and took up the thread of the story for Renee. "When he got to camp he told us that during the course of his questioning, Gallas let slip his plans. While I was busy on the battlefield, the traitor in the palace would tell you I had died, and you would go into seclusion to grieve. He would take over the castle and secure it for Gallas. By the time I came back they intended me to be left with nothing; no throne, no kingdom, and no Queen. I urgently needed to get a message to you; Logan was the only one I could spare. The losses on the battlefield were heavy." He kissed Renee's cheek. "He got here in time to warn you, and because of him I still have my lands, my Queen, and my crown. Sir Logan," he said, "I owe you a very great debt. Be assured, when this is over, I shall repay you in full. What has happened to your brave squire?"

"Left him back there pretendin' ta fight the soldiers," Logan growled. "Never wanna see him again."

The King frowned. "Sir Logan, I think you might be angry about something, because what you have said… it isn't reasonable. Why would the boy betray you? If he wanted to set you up for a disappointment, try to make you think you could get away when you couldn't, why have your horse saddled and waiting? Wouldn't it have made sense to try to escape on foot, and be captured later? For that matter, maybe it would have been more expedient never to do it at all. Might you perhaps be wrong? If Renee gave her spy ring to the boy, it means she trusted him."

Logan sighed. "I been askin' myself that all the way here, Yer Majesty, an' right now I can say nothin' but that I don't know. It seemed simple at the time, but some of it don't make sense now I think 'bout it. I wish the boy was here ta ask."

The Healer popped his head in. "Your Majesty, the rest of the castle and the Lords' Council are demanding to know why you're here instead of consulting with them. What shall I tell them?"

"I am coming," Richard said, standing up. "Sir Logan, we will talk later. Renee, come with me, please." Logan closed his eyes and sank back into the bed.

The Healer came back moments later. "Sir Logan, now that the need for anonymity has passed, you might be more comfortable resting in your room. Patients have come in the wagon train with the king; every bed is needed."

Logan grinned as he swung his legs carefully over the side of the bed. He was still weak, but witht he help of the pain-killing brews the Healer had been pouring into him, he could keep the pain under control."So I'm getting kicked out, eh? Don't worry, I'll leave peacefully." He gathered up his clothes and straightened the bed before he left.

He was resting comfortably in his room later when he heard a gentle knock on the door. "Come in," he said, wondering who on earth would be disturbing him at that hour.

The door opened, and Vincet came in, holding a sword. "I thought I'd return this to you," he said quietly. Logan took it, and realized it was the short sword he'd given Lee. "It's…"

"Lee's sword, I know," Vincet said quietly. "He left it sitting beside me on the battlefield when he found me wounded. It was an accident, I think. I swore I'd keep it until I saw him again, and give it back to him. But since he's not with you…" Vincet swallowed hard. "Logan, what happened?"

Logan sat down and told the other knight what he had told the King. Vincet sat quietly as he finished, and there was silence for a while. Then, "So you didn't actually see the boy die," Vincet said quietly.

Logan shook his head. "No, but trust me, he's most definitely dead," Logan said.

"How do you know, if you didn't see it yourself?" Vincet said angrily, getting up to pace the room. "You have a life debt owed to the boy, Logan. If he wasn't dead when you left him, then you abandoned him to almost certain death. And that means I'd have to call oathbreaking on you, and I'm going to have to fight you."

"I've broken no oaths!" Logan half-rose, indignant. That was the one thing he'd been certain of; he hadn't broken his oath. "The oath is null!"

"Why?" Vincet spun on his heel, turning to face Logan. "Because Lee is a girl? Yes, Logan, I know about that. I found out the night after she pulled your drowning body from the river!"

Logan sat down on the bed, stunned. "What?"

Vincet flung himself down on the bed in the opposite corner of the room. "It's true. I was on guard duty that night. You were sleeping. The boy came out of your tent and went to wash the mud and grit out of his clothes at the creek, and then stripped and stepped in to wash himself. And I saw Lee wasn't a 'he', Lee was a she. And her name was Jubilee. I sat and talked to her for a while. I know about her secret, Logan."

"Then you know the life debt was sworn to a boy named Lee, not a girl named Jubilee. And since Lee doesn't exist, the life-debt is null." Logan sat back.

"Not true," came a deep voice from the door. Neither man had noticed, while they had been talking, that the weaponsmaster was standing in the opening, arms crossed, looking stern. Logan leaped to his feet. After the King and Queen, the Weaponsmaster was the one man the Knights respected above any other person in the castle. "Sir!"

"Sit down." The Weaponsmaster walkedin and closed the door. "I was walking by, and I heard. Let me have a few words with you." He looked at Vincet. "Both of you."

Logan sat down on his bed, and Vincet sat on Lee's bed. The Weaponsmaster sat in the chair and looked at them both. "I always thought there was something odd about that boy," he said mildly. "Too pretty to be a boy. Well, at least now I know my instinct was right." He sighed. "Logan, I take it you didn't know until you were captured, right?" Logan nodded. "It must have come as a shock. You probably wondered how you'd managed to not notice after all this time with the boy, eh?" Another nod. "What happened? Not the whole story, just what happened while you were imprisoned." Logan told the story of his and Jubilee's imprisonment, this time including the horrible moment when he found out his Squire's true identity, the dim recollection he had of Jubilee stroking his hair that first terrible night after he'd been tortured, and then Jubilee's desperate cry when he had started to ride away without her.

Vincet was staring at Logan when he finished. "You blind, stupid fool," he said bitterly. "You absolute, blind, stupid fool."

Logan bristled, but Vincet rushed on. "She didn't make a deal with Julian to save her skin, she did it because she was trying to save both of yours! She slept with him to get his guard down so you both could escape! And you left her there!" He got up and paced frantically around the room, cursing under his breath. When he turned to face Logan, his eyes were hot. "And you left her back there, knowing she's going to face death."

"She conspired with Julian. Julian will protect her." Logan crossed his arms stubbornly.

Vincet's fist came out of nowhere, and crashed against Logan's jaw. Logan fell backward on the bed, hitting the top of his head against the wall as pain erupted in his jaw. "Hey!" he said, startled.

Vincet stood there, looking down at Logan, fists clenched. "You fool," he repeated bitterly. "Your anger's blinding you to the truth. Do you honestly think Julian's going to trust her after what she did? She's going to be put back in the dungeons, and tortured. Horribly. What they did to you will be child's play compared to what they'll do to her. May have done already. Julian holds grudges, Logan. Listen. A few months back, he told a serving wench at the Hunting Horn Tavern he wanted her in his bed that night. The girl was still a virgin, she said no. Julian lost his temper. He broke his chair when he shoved it over, and he picked up a broken leg off that chair and marched her upstairs to the rooms. We heard a lot of screaming. When he finished with her two hours later, he came down and gave the tavern keeper three gold pieces to pay him for the chair, the drink, and the girl. We went up with the tavern keeper to see what happened." Vincet swallowed hard. "He raped her, Logan. Raped her and beat her with the wooden chair leg so badly she lost a few teeth. And her leg was broken. She'll walk with a limp for the rest of her life because of Julian's temper. But he carefully left her insides uninjured. He could have killed her, but he didn't. He maimed her. Now what do you think he's going to do with Jubilee, now that he has her and has an entire torture chamber to use on her?"

Logan looked at Vincet. "He wouldn't." He shook his head, feeling like he was drowning. "He wouldn't. He couldn't. He's a knight. He's sworn to protect women and children."

"Tell that to the girl who walks with a limp and a malformed leg, and who now has no hope of a future because of him." Vincet said tonelessly.

The guilt Logan had been feeling suddenly crashed in on him. "Oh God." He buried his face in his hands. Over the past few days, while he had been sleeping and recovering, had Jubilee been executed? "I hope he killed her quickly," he said, his eyes haunted as he looked up at Vincet.

Vincet cursed. "Logan, he's not going to let her die," he said angrily. "Don't you understand? From what you've said they were talking about, Julian was supposed to become a Duke as the price for delivering you to Gallas. He's going to be so furious at the loss of that promised power he'll keep her alive just to torture her for being the cause. He'll turn her life into a living hell, and he won't let her die to escape it. Because you left her there."

Logan buried his face in his hands. "What have I done?" he moaned. In his mind's eye, he saw again the blue eyes looking up at him from the bank of the river. He heard again that voice saying, 'I lost everyone I ever cared for once, I couldn't let it happen again.'

"I have to go get her. I have to bring her back. I swore a life-debt to her, I have to find her." He rose unsteadily on his feet, his face white with shock, and reached for his sword. The weaponsmaster put out a hand, catching his sleeve. "I have to go!" he said, suddenly frantic. "Let me go!"

"Not until we've put together a plan," came a new voice from the door. Female, this time. The three men looked up, and saw Renee standing in the doorway. "I heard. Sir Logan, I knew her identity also. Which is why I will supply what you need to rescue her. She is my spy, I am also responsible for her. She cannot stay where she is. If she is still alive, we have to get her out. Sit down, and let us talk."

They sat down.