Gerard couldn't sleep. His mission has just become infinitely more troubling than being responsible for finding his cousin. It seemed two of his most trusted friends were involved in an elaborate plot to kidnap her, though he was at a complete loss as to why they would do such a thing. His Smurf companions denied that this could be true. They pointed out that there was no logical reason to commit a serious crime or put the Princess in serious danger. They had argued about it into the night.
He decided to take a walk to the castle's chapel to clear his thoughts. He asked Clockwork to come with; Gerard hated being alone after a childhood of neglect and imprisonment. The castle was silent, for the most part. Rain pounded on the roofs and ran down the cisterns and gutters, drowning out most noise. The guards would not be on high alert tonight; no one would be foolish enough to be out and about.
The chapel was usually abandoned in broad daylight, as no one in the estate seemed very pious. Still, it was peaceful, boasting a lovely statue of the Blessed Virgin and Child and glass windows.
It should have been empty, but it wasn't. A tall woman in a wimple stood before the statue, waving her fingers across what looked like a square black mirror. There was a burning white stick in her mouth, filling the air with pungent smoke, and her features were alien. She was dark like a Moor, with black almond-shaped eyes. Clockwork began clicking and gesturing wildly. Gerard took him in his hands and cleared his throat.
She spun around wide-eyed, then quickly hid the mirror in a pack by her side. Judging by the fine cloth and cut of her dress, she was perhaps a minor noblewoman, but Clockwork was right, there was something wrong about her. Women were rare enough in this castle, much less well-dressed noblewomen.
"I'm sorry, I thought everyone was asleep. Do you live here?"
"Me? Uh, no. I'm a visitor. Unofficial visitor. On the down low, y'know?" The woman took the stick from her mouth and stared at it nervously.
"I know what's low?" Her answer made no sense. Clockwork eyed her suspiciously.
"Where are you from, then?"
"Oh," she laughed nervously, "that's complicated. I'm from another country, far away. You've probably never heard of it." She put the stick back in her mouth, and pulled her bag close to her, fiddling with the ties on it.
"Who might you be? You're not the Lord of this place, are you?"
"No…no I'm also a visitor. Don't you know who I am?"
"Not a clue, mate. Should I? You look all swanky, but you're just a kid."
Gerard was taken by surprise. Foreign or not, most people wouldn't dream of being so disrespectful when addressing him. Just a kid?
"I'm King Gerard the First, and I rule a kingdom south of here. I…don't believe I caught your name, Lady…"
"Gerard the fir….Oh! Oh yes, but you're so young now!" she laughed again. "You're going to lead armies into battle someday? Oh, Lord!" It was starting to irritate Gerard.
"Mesa. Mesa Ryu." Rather than curtsey or show any embarassment for being so informal before a king, she blew a puff of smoke to the side presented a hand, like a man showing he was unarmed.
Gerard hesitated, then clasped her hand politely as possible.
"And that's your little robot friend. Yes, I've heard of you both. Amazing!" she moved in for a closer look at Clockwork.
"I don't believe you stated your business here, Lady Mesa Ryu…"
"I'm a student. Doing research. You never said what you were doing here, either."
"I...shouldn't have to explain my business, but since you asked, I'm only here so long as this storm lasts. I'm looking for my cousin, the Princess Sabina. You're a traveler, you haven't heard anything of a red-headed woman accompanied by a brown haired squire, have you?"
It was worth a try asking. He was desperate for news of Sabina that didn't come from the shady characters who ruled this land, even if it was from this bizarre person.
"Can't say I have, mate. But I haven't been here for long, and I don't plan to stay. Just here to do my research, y'know?"
"I…suppose?"
Mesa leaned against a column, deep in thought.
"Sabina…Oh, her! Yes! I know about her. You're going to want to go get her. Before your pals here do."
"What do you know about the men here?"
"Just that you can't trust them. They're bullshitting you. There's war brewing."
"How do you know that?"
"Can't say. Not allowed. But you need to leave as soon as you can. Go get your cousin, but don't take them."
Clockwork clicked and pointed at her. She looked at him eagerly.
"He wants to know why we've never seen you before, and why you called him a 'robot," Gerard said. "And what's this about me leading armies?"
"I called him that, because that's what he is. It's like, what we call them in my language, y'know? And I already told you, I'm not here to stay. I've got work to do."
"With all due respect, you're not making much sense, and the things you say that do make sense are rather shocking."
"Well, you don't have to trust me. But I wouldn't recommend trusting these dudes. Not at all. Someone else is pulling the strings here, mark my word. Lots of interesting stuff going on right now."
Mesa hoisted the bag onto her shoulder and disappeared around a corner. Lightning flashed, momentarily filling the room with light. Clockwork hopped from Gerard's hand. Gerard grabbed a torch from a scone and they both followed her, only to find an empty alcove and the smoldering end of the white stick on the floor.
The rain continued to fall steadily the following morning. Gerard told the rest of the Smurfs about his strange encounter the night before.
"No, I've never heard of a Moorish Sorceress called Mesa Ryu. Or robots or dudes, for that matter. Very peculiar!"
"She kept asking me if we knew things, but she said she couldn't tell me how she knew the things she knew. I've never met anyone so strange, not even Maenad."
"But do you trust her?" Asked Papa Smurf. He didn't know if he would trust such her, especially since she probably was a sorceress. But he knew Gerard couldn't trust Gerlach at all.
"Hmm. Consider this. She appeared in the chapel. Maybe she was sent?"
"Given her foul language, I doubt that very much."
"Would you rather accept Gerlach's version of what's going on?"
"No. No, in my heart I believe our friends are innocent of wrongdoing. Something else has to be going on. Has the ribbon found her yet?"
"We need to check. If it has, we can leave as soon as possible."