One more chapter tomorrow...
guest and Toni: Thanks for commenting, guys, I am glad someone missed me, its been damn quiet. Lol...
"Believe me, every heart has its secret sorrows, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad."
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion
Pepper quietly let herself into the guest room. She had returned to the Keep two hours ago, with the unconscious dark-haired woman and the village doctor in tow. Tony was still in the Village with Tigliath.
While taking the young lady into the Keep, Pepper had gotten a good look at her face and had been shocked to see, it was someone she knew.
With Magdalene's help, they had placed her in a room and the doctor had given her a thorough inspection.
The lady's name was Callgenia. As children, she and Pepper had studied and played together. When she had become a young woman, she had been appointed as a junior lady-in-waiting to Queen Helen, Pepper's mother.
How did she escape from Cumbria? And find her way here, so far away from home? Poor thing being chased by those ... creatures...
After checking Callgenia, the doctor had said that she was suffering from frostbite in her toes and fingers. She also had a number of bruises and small cuts all over her body. Then the doctor had taken Pepper aside and had informed her that Callgenia was severely traumatized from her ordeal and most probably, would not make it through the night.
While he had done all that he could, her heart was too weak. There was nothing more that could be done for her.
But Pepper was determined to save Callgenia at any cost. She had let the woman sleep, while she had told Maggie about what had happened on the Boglands.
Now she sat beside the bed and watched the young woman sleep. Pepper gently took the woman's hand in hers and held it, studying the faint rise and fall of the Callgenia's chest.
She's become so thin... and haggard...
Then the woman stirred in her sleep, eye lids fluttering wildly and murmuring.
Pepper bent and stroked her forehead, trying to soothe her. "Hush Callgenia, it is alright, you are safe now."
The woman tossed fitfully and opened her eyes weakly.
She blinked up and stared at Pepper, her brown eyes unfocused. "What... Virginia... I found you... oh finally..."
She tried to sit up and Pepper helped her by propping the pillows behind her and helping her up.
Callgenia sat up weakly and coughed. Pepper handed her a glass of water and raised it to her lips, helping her drink.
"Your Highness, I am so happy..." she whispered faintly, her eyes blinking at Pepper. "I am so happy, I found you... do you remember me?"
"Of course I do, Callgenia." Pepper replied slowly. "Do not strain yourself. We can talk once you have gained strength."
She smiled weakly at Pepper. "Your Highness, I am afraid... I won't make it. I feel..." she closed her eyes tightly, alarming Pepper who grasped her hand.
"I feel so cold. Endlessly. But I must..." with visible effort, she opened her eyes, "I must tell you..."
"The room is cold. Let me toss another log on the fire."
"No, Your Highness, it does not matter. The cold has seeped to my bones. I will never feel warm again. I know this to be true for I have seen this death in others."
"Callgenia, please..."
"Your Highness, let me tell you about Cumbria... I must before I can't..."
"Yes but please, no titles. Call me Pepper... you used to call me that..." Pepper sat on the edge of the bed.
Callgenia leaned back and said in a whisper, "That was before... before you became the Queen...I... I feared you were dead, my lady. The Wizard... he... he is a horrible man..."
"Stane." uttered Pepper tightly.
"Yes... the day your mother died... we saw you taken away... and the next day, you escaped and came to us... I remember..." she squeezed Pepper's hand weakly.
"But the aldermen turned you away and you left..." She looked down at the bed sorrowfully. "The Wizard was so angry that you escaped. He came to the town and had all the aldermen burnt alive in the town's square."
Pepper gasped in horror.
"And then he... he ...", she covered her face with her hands and said in a muffled voice, "he put some sort of spell on all of us."
Pepper narrowed her eyes. Claudia's body guard had said the same.
"What sort of spell?" She asked gently.
Callgenia said sadly, "We weren't in our senses. Our minds weren't our own. And day and night, we worked like dogs. Tilling fields, making food and other menial activities. All to take care of The Wizard's soldiers."
Pepper gulped and asked, "Does he have an army?"
"He has a small one. Weird creatures, not from this earth." She crossed herself faintly. "The devil himself is in Cumbria."
She looked at Pepper sorrowfully, "We did not know what we were doing and what we weren't. The last conscious memory I have, is the day your mother died. After that..." Callgenia shook her head sadly. "I get flashes of my old life sometimes. Being free to do as I please. Having a mind of my own. Walking in the sunlight, with my friends."
She smiled at Pepper. "Spending time in the company of your mother. I miss her. She was a good, just ruler and she took care of us. She died for us."
Pepper felt her heart constrict painfully at these words. My mother took care of her subjects. And she died because of me. Now there is no one for them. Because of me. Then she straightened. Not now Pepper. Focus on what Callgenia is saying.
"How did you escape?" Pepper asked out loud.
Callgenia sighed loudly and looked at her hands. "Somehow my consciousness came back to me. I found myself lucid and ... I was... I was in..."
Her eyes filled with tears and Pepper asked with concern, "What...where were you? Tell me please."
"I was in the Wizard's bed! My clothes were torn and on the floor!" She covered her face with her hands. "I do not how long he... what he was using me for..." she cried in anguish. "I do not know what he has done to me!"
Pepper sat back, breathing hard. She let go of Callgenia's hand because her palms were tingling and warm.
"There is more..." Callgenia looked at her with despair. "I got out of the bed, looking for something to wear. And then I saw pieces and scraps of clothing strewn all over the floor. Torn dresses, shifts... even shoes!"
She ended in a whisper, "Suddenly it was very clear what the Wizard was doing with the women of Cumbria in their senseless state."
Pepper closed her eyes, trying to take in all what Callgenia was saying.
I feel like crying and burning something at the same time. Stane, I knew you were evil but...
She opened her eyes and Callgenia said, "I do not know what brought me to my senses. But I did not waste time. I knew I had to get out of there! So I left his room which was on the topmost floor and I made my way down to the toilets, just like you did."
"The sewers." Pepper whispered.
"Yes and from there, I swam down the river that the sewer opened into and managed to leave the Castle and the Town. But I was still not in the clear."
Callgenia looked away from Pepper. "I do not how, but I managed to avoid the numerous patrols that roam around Cumbria. I snuck around mostly at night. It took me two days to leave it completely."
"Two days!" exclaimed Pepper. "How did you survive? What did you eat?"
Callgenia shrugged. "Berries mostly. Once I caught a rabbit and ate it raw. I was desperate. But I finally managed to make my way to the outskirts."
She looked at Pepper with a smile. "When I crossed the border, I was so happy. I felt as if I was free. Even though I was freezing and starving and I had to put more distance between me and Cumbria. And for a day, I had some peace. Then..." she swallowed hard and whispered, "Are they all dead?"
For a moment, Pepper was nonplussed. "I am sorry, who are all dead?"
"The beaked ones ... are they all dead?"
Pepper said firmly, catching Callgenia's hand tightly. "Yes, they are, I told you, you are perfectly safe."
She nodded, unsure, as if she felt Pepper was humoring her. "They came at night. Silent and beaks clicking. Something told me to climb a tree and wait. And sure enough, I saw them in the darkness."
She started to shudder. "Horrible things. Yowling and whooping... I let them pass."
Callgenia started to mutter to herself. "I saw them pass me... but they must have hung back. Smart things... waited for me to leave the forest and then..." she shuddered again.
Pepper repeated firmly, "Callgenia, they are dead. All of them."
She nodded and then looked straight at Pepper, catching her hands in her cold ones. Pepper looked deep into dead tired, brown eyes, puffy and surrounded by dark circles.
Callgenia whispered slowly, "I left my mother and brother behind... I just left them. I was so desperate to get away..." A tear trickled down her cheek, "I did a horrible thing but I just wanted to get away... to be free... finally I am free..."
Pepper swallowed hard at the depth of despair in the eyes searching hers. "Yes, Callgenia, you are..."
"And I... I am never going back... never, The Wizard will never get me back..." she whispered determinedly, her brown eyes flickering. "He won't get me..."
"No he won't," whispered Pepper, pulling the blankets up to cover Callgenia better. "You are safe here. Sleep now. Rest. Tomorrow you can see the sunshine again."
She felt her throat close up at the way Callgenia's face lit up at the mention of sunshine. "Yes... sunshine...", she closed her eyes, "I have a lot to look forward to."
Pepper yawned herself and then stood up, only to feel Callgenia tugging on her hand. "Please, Pepper, please stay with me for a while..."
Pepper smiled and sat back down. "Sure I will."
She sat quietly as Callgenia drifted off to sleep. She was feeling mighty tired herself, so Pepper leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Just for a minute. Just for a minute. Tony will come soon and I will wake up...
One minute she was dozing, the next she felt a gentle hand at her shoulder, shaking her.
Pepper shook her head and opened her eyes slowly turning upwards. "Tony..."
Then she saw it was Magdalene looking at her sadly. "What is it, Maggie?" Pepper whispered but she knew what it was.
She slowly turned to the bed. Lying there peacefully, eyes closed, was Callgenia, her hand touching Pepper's. She wasn't moving and not a sound came from her.
Pepper stood up and gently placed her hand on the woman's wrist. Then the crook of her elbow. Then she moved the back of her hand near Callgenia's nose. No signs of breathing or movement.
"How long was I sleeping?", Pepper asked in a hushed voice.
"An hour, I think." said Maggie gently. "You couldn't have done anything, ma'am, she was too weak. The cold, the fear, the exhaustion... her heart just gave out."
Pepper felt Magdalene clasp her shoulder in silent comfort. She just looked down at Callgenia's peaceful form.
I could not save you. You came all this way here and I could not save you. I could not save anyone from Cumbria but myself.
Pepper tightened her fists so hard, that her nails dug into her palms.
"Rest in peace, sweet Callgenia...", she whispered out loud as she raised the blanket to cover the woman's body and head.
Then Maggie blew out the candles in the room and they both left.
It was ten at night when Tony tiredly rode into Stark Keep. He quickly unsaddled Balthazar and gave his horse some food and water, settling him in the stable.
Then he entered the main house and walked to the kitchen. Magdalene and Jarvis were quietly eating. He smiled as he sat down at the table and Maggie handed him a plate of hot meat stew.
"What a day... phew... thank god, it is nearly over." He picked up his spoon and dug into the food with gusto.
Then Tony suddenly realized that Pepper was not there. He nearly stood up when Jarvis said, "Sir, Lady Virginia is in her room."
"Did she eat?"
"Yes she did." Jarvis looked at Maggie and then Maggie asked gently, "How is Tigliath? Virginia told us, he got cut pretty badly."
Tony sighed. "That he did. He needed stitches. So I couldn't bring him home." He finished eating and said, "I must go see Pepper now."
Magdalene caught his hand and said quietly, "The young woman you saved, my lord, I am afraid she has passed away."
He stood still. In his mind's eye, he saw the dark haired form on the white snow. "Oh... I... thank you for telling me."
Tony quickly bounded up the stairs and went to Pepper's room. He knocked on the door and at her soft, "Enter", he stepped in.
Pepper was in bed, face turned away from him. He said apologetically, "I am sorry, I did not know you were sleeping."
She did not look at him but murmured slowly, "It is alright, Tony. I am just tired that's all."
Tony really did not know what to say. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and said, "I heard that the girl died."
"Yes..." Pepper said blankly, no trace of any emotion in her voice. "She was too weak and couldn't recover. She died in her sleep."
Tony wanted to ask Pepper to look at him because he hated talking to someone whose face was turned away.
He said quietly, "What about her-"
Pepper said quietly, "I will ask the village undertaker to come by and arrange for her to be buried in the town lot."
He nodded and then blurted out, "Pepper, are you alright? I mean any injuries or... you fell off your horse pretty hard-"
Again she cut him off numbly, "I'm just tired, Tony. I hope you are alright. We can talk tomorrow."
He understood the dismissal and turned to leave. As he put one foot out of the door, Tony said softly, "Good night, Pepper."
But she didn't answer him. He stepped out of the room and as he closed the door, he felt very uneasy.
"Why didn't Pepper want to talk to me? Could it be she's upset about the woman dying? Then why won't she tell me?"
The Dragon stirred sleepily. Well, Anthony, maybe she needs some time alone. To process it. You should sleep too. It has been a long day. For both of you.
He was in his room now, half shrugged out of his coat. "But Dragon, I do not want to sleep. I feel very wide awake."
Then Tony snapped his fingers in glee. "I know what! I can work on my lattice Arc! Yes!"
He quickly pulled his coat back on and stepped out.
"Now Dragon, since Pepper is sleeping, you will be the one who I bounce ideas of. You can help me with your insights!"
The Dragon sighed loudly and hissed dryly, Oh what an honor... I can hardly contain myself.
