Ch. 11
Dagonet looked at Rose expectantly and she quickly led him out of the inn and down the muddy road which led to the stable. The dilapidated barn stood near the entrance to the small, shabby town and, to Rose's and Dagonet's dismay, was watched over by two Roman soldiers who did not seem very happy.
Rose could hear Dagonet mutter something under his breath but she didn't dare ask for what he said. His anger against the Romans seemed to rage as much as his brother's; although he kept it more to himself than the out-spoken Bors. Giving him a look to warn him to not cause any trouble, she cautiously walked over to the stable's big wooden doors.
"And where do you think you're going?" One of the two Romans that stood there stepped in front of Rose blocking her path to the inside. The other one gave her a push out of the way.
Rose sighed and tried to rebalance herself. "It's a stable; not private property." She replied calmly.
Dagonet remained silent.
The soldiers laughed. "And you think I'm just suppose to let you in?" the one who pushed her asked.
Rose bit her lip, but remained collected. "My horse is in there," she lied. "I need to get it to go to the next town. To see my mother; she's sick." Rose added the last part in hopes of getting the soldier to sympathize with her.
It didn't work.
While the one Roman shoved her again, the other, who seemed a bit more cooperative, asked a question. "Who's he then?" The Roman indicated to Dagonet who had yet to say a word.
Rose paused, thinking furiously. "He's riding with me; to keep me safe." She said hopelessly. It was now a lost cause.
The Roman bent down so close to Rose, she could smell his terrible breath of rotting teeth, moldy bread, and ale mixed together. "I think you're lying." He said giving her a smirk.
"We are knights on orders from the Pope." Dagonet finally said something and Rose had never felt so grateful. "One of our group is missing and we want to check to see if his horse is still there. If it's not, we will need to send a search party out."
The Roman leaned back to a normal standing position and looked slightly worried. The other one let out a bark of a laugh and he now moved in on Dagonet. "Did he have a hawk with him?" he asked sneering happily.
Dagonet glared at him in return and it was Rose who answered. "Yes, yes he did. Where is he?"
The Roman snickered again. "We took care of him, we did. Wandering about the town at night. He deserved what he got."
"What!" Rose cried out.
Dagonet suddenly decided to let go of his anger. He grabbed the Roman soldier and shoved him up against the stable door. The Roman wasn't laughing anymore. "What did you do? Where is he?" Dagonet demanded.
The Roman glowered at him and the other one started yelling at him for what he did.
When it became clear to Dagonet that the one he held would not give him any answers, he turned to the other soldier. "Where is my knight?" he declared.
The soldier looked worried. "Harol," he said pointing to the other Roman, "drugged him. He was out cold when I came around."
Dagonet raised a questioning eyebrow and Rose started pacing anxiously.
The Roman continued. "He took him out in the woods. About three miles from here, east. I don't know what he did after that."
Rose's eyes grew huge and she looked at Dagonet. "Dead?" she asked.
Dagonet didn't even respond. Instead, he unsheathed his sword and put a swift end to Harol's life.