Robert gazed wearily at his Uncle as he led them towards the small library within the church, the smell of parchment and ink wafting into their noses and the warm light of the wall-mounted torches bathing them in warmth.
"Uncle…Why have we come here? What can you possibly show me in here?" Robert asked curiously, seeing the merry form of his uncle search through the numerous tomes that dotted the worm eaten shelves.
"Well, let me ask you this Robert…What do you know about your grandfather? John Boland?" Percy answered back, his grubby, stubby fingers tracing along the dust coated books.
"Not much…I mean I know he fought at Agincourt against the Dauphin but that's all I really know…" The teen replied, an curious look on his face as he watched Percy's eyes light up as his fingers traced a particular book.
"Well, there's a reason me and your father told you so little…You see…He wasn't the man you thought he was, not exactly…" Percy's hands pulled back the book and for some…unprecedented and unpredicted reason…A loud...click sounded out, the noise reverberating off of the walls…Then came the sound of ancient bricks grinding against each other…
Then the bookcase seem to move as well, as if it were on some kind of rail, it slid in opposite directions, one side to the left, the other to the right like a hidden doorway… And what was this mechanism hiding? It was a trapdoor…Worm-eaten and coated with dust…But it still seemed functional…Perhaps…
"You see, your grandfather…My father didn't work for the crown. Not in the way you'd think anyway, he was a blade in the crowd shall we say? Hiding in plain sight…That kind of thing…He was remarkable at it as well…He caused problems for the Dauphin aaaall across France…From Calais to Paris itself."
Percy bent down and pulled open the trapdoor, the creak being unpleasant enough to make even the most hardened ears bleed.
"Hmmmm…Probably need to fix that…Anyway let's go, no dawdling nephew." His jovial voice spoke as he clambered down a wooden ladder and into a pit 10 meters deep into the earth.
Robert gulped slightly, seeing how the light seemed to fade away instantaneously into the inky depths…however he swallowed his fear and slowly clambered down the ladder, wincing with every step he descended which gave a small creaking sound…
He felt relief wash over him when he finally felt his feet touch solid rock…But then the confusion set in…Where exactly was he?
"This way please Robert…Down this tunnel if you may…I need to show you something."
His eyes turned to Percy who was facing down a long, narrow and torch-lit corridor…Said corridor seemed to go on…and on…and on…
Percy beckoned him, ordering him to follow him and they walked down the tunnel…The sound of their footsteps reverberating off of the walls.
"You see…He worked for an underground organisation. An organisation that has worked from the shadows since the rise of Rome. And it still works to this very day from the shadows…Nothing is true…Everything is permitted, that was their motto."
"But Uncle…How exactly do you know this, how come you never told me or Anne about this? If this organisation is so important then why do you stick to the shadows?" Robert asked, however Percy's response was the opposite of what he had expected to hear.
"It's because they're assassins Robert…It wasn't the life your father wanted for you…But I think different."
The words seemed to echo across the narrow corridor, not another sound could be heard other than the sound of their footsteps and the crackling of wall mounted torches, the orange glow of the flame bathing them in a warm light.
"Assassins? You mean, cloak and dagger, black robes and backstabbing attitude assassins I've heard of from those old fairy tales? You're really going senile aren't you?" Robert spoke, refusing to believe that such a claim could possibly be the truth.
It was ludicrous! Absolutely ludicrous! His father and uncle assassins? It was arguably the most hair-brained, senile, dim-witted, asinine, inane, risible, farcical and downright ridiculous things he could have possibly heard.
"Am I now nephew? Then please tell me, did you ever wonder why I was left to care for you and Anne while your father was busy? Did you ever wonder how he got that mysterious slash mark across his face?" Percy responded, a sly grin spreading across his face.
Then the cogs of Robert's mind slowly began to turn…It made sense…All of the questions he had asked were always met by a "Not now" or "Later" not to mention his father always appeared to be sweaty and sometimes with a multitude of bruises… He could also say the same for Percy…However then it began to make sense…
"Oh…Oh…I s-see…" he chocked out…His face as pale as mid-winter snow.
"Do you know…Well that's good because we're here. Now stay quiet and allow me to do the talking, I don't want to go to bed tonight with one less nephew than I woke up with."
The pair approached a large, worm eaten wooden door, the knob and hinges showing visible signs of age, rust clinging to them like barnacles to rock…Percy suavely approached the door, Robert doing so with an air of anxiety on his face, the sound of a very heated debate occurring from what lay behind.
"It is the duty of the Brotherhood to attend to the needs of the crown, it has been like this for centuries! We swore an oath of loyalty to the king, no matter what! Henry may be very different from his father, but all he needs is an heir and hopefully we can get back on track again." Growled an extremely aggressive voice.
"An heir?! The bastard can't even lay with his wife without help! He's an overly pious, foolish and insecure monarch who destroyed all his father had created. I say out with him!" another voice bellowed with vigour, he sounded wiser than his years to say such a thing.
"Ever since William of Normandy took the throne from Godwinson in 1066, The Crown and the Brotherhood have worked hand in hand, are you fools really willing to spit in the face of your own ruler?!"
"Worked hand in hand?! And how did that happen Thomas?! The Normans raised our hideout in Northumberland, killed two thirds of our entire organisation and made the survivors swear loyalty to him or be destroyed along with their families. And then pillaged, looted and raped their way along the rest of the North, including those he promised to protect! We owe the Crown nothing!"
It was certainly a very heated debate and Robert wouldn't have been surprised if he began to hear the clash of swords or the sounds of a conflict. But it never came as soon enough Percy swung open the door, the hinges letting out a god awful shriek, the door slamming against the wall.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm yourselves."
As Robert peered in, he got a good look of the two men who were arguing. The first of them was a giant of a man, six feet and several inches surely. His head nearly reached the ceiling, his blue eyes shone in the dark like caged stars, his face was scruffy and weather beaten, his skin scarred and pockmarked.
A great mane of long, shaggy, dirty blonde hair erupted from his head and a large semi Norse looking moustache hung above his lip, his torso was hidden under a thin steel cuirass that glinted in the torchlight, a painted white rose emblazoned on the left of the mans breast, and his legs were covered by thick fur legwear and large boots. A snowy white hood was pulled down and hung around his neck.
The second of them was shorter in stature, a long bark coloured beard emerging from his shrouded face, hidden under a velvet red hood, the said hood was connected to a billowing robe that enveloped his entire body…He looked…sounded and felt…mysterious…Like Robert knew him…but not from where…or when.
"Percy Boland…I see you've clearly come out of your early retirement to tell us something...And who is this boy of yours, you know we don't tolerate intruders, now speak before we turn both you and him into mincemeat." The giant growled with venom dripping his voice.
"Calm yourself Harold. I don't seek trouble, not again and the boy is my nephew. The boy has shown a remarkable talent for getting himself into trouble…But he has to be one of the most cunning and sneaky little devils I've ever met, and that cunning I believe could be used to benefit the brotherhood." Percy spoke with a large air of confidence.
Suddenly both eyes, including Robert's which were wide with shock, however instead of executing his threat…The giant's sizeable brow furrowed and he asked in a calmer voice.
"Is he now? Well Percy…Keep talking…"