xxii.
The next couple of days were bustling with activity as barons and battlemasters from all the fiefs came to castle Araluen. They had decided it would be better if they kept Maiah from them for the time being in case they decided to put her through hard interrogation on what she knew. Despite her urge to get out and see what was going on around her, Maiah followed Halt's advice of staying indoors as much as possible though couldn't help staring longingly out the window. Along with his advice—which later she realized was more of an order said in a subtler way than she was used to—came being trapped in her room and away from the goings of the castle as they got ready. She had expected them to keep her around longer though now they seemed to have forgotten about her. If she was lucky, Halt would come in and have dinner with her in her chambers when he wasn't too busy to remember he had to eat; she appreciated his company but it was a quiet meal since there was little going on outside of war preparative and he would easily avoid her questions.
Eventually she had convinced him to let Nox in though at the same time they had to be careful no one else would see him when the cat went outside to do it's needs. With Nox with her, the imprisonment was more bearable if not enjoyable. They had managed to let her in and out through the window from where it climbed down the walls at night and went to the forest to hunt. After a few hours it would climb up again and curl up at the feet of Maiah's bed until morning when she heard the maid coming to set the fire and bring her breakfast.
Other than Nox and Halt, she didn't get any visitors, which in part was good as it let her relax for a while. She couldn't remember the last time—ignoring her trip across the sea and the few days before Will found her—that she had been without anyone watching critically her every move every minute of the day. Initially it had been somewhat strange to not have to watch what she did-not that it took too much to do certain things a special way; Prowessa had made sure those little details became subconscious. At the same time, she partly enjoyed her solitude though couldn't help wondering if her confinement had anything to do with not being exactly what the rest of the war council were expecting from a messenger.
She was finishing up dinner on her own on the fourth evening of the council when she heard something coming from the window. Nox was out and it could have been her, but she rustling seemed too heavy and clumsy to be the cat. Grabbing the first thing that she found, her knife belt, and pulling up her cowl, she made her way to stand Behind the couch in her small adjacent living room from where she had a plain view of the window and plenty of room to maneuver her escape or her offense.
With every second that passed she could feel herself tensing up as the grip on the hilt of her knife strengthened and her knuckles whitened. Clearly the person outside was having a hard time climbing up the rock wall and upon closer listening Maiah realized there were in fact two individuals outside, one significantly larger than the other as his steps were heavier and clumsier. When she finally heard them close enough to the window, she lowered her head so that she couldn't be seen though it also meant she couldn't see. They slowly pushed the window she had left open for Nox and jumped inside looking around as they did so. One of them cleared his throat while they looked around. They were cloaked and had their back to her so that even when she looked over the rim she couldn't tell who they were.
One of them was shorter and more slender than the other bulkier shape, and even though she had a small suspicion of who they could be, she couldn't put her guard down in case they weren't. She couldn't think of a reason for them to enter through the window anyways, and they looked anxious and unsure, like if they had never been there or weren't sure where the individual they were looking for was. Furthermore, how could they climb up this high unless they had done such thing before, and she doubted their positions allowed them to.
"Um, Ma…?" The larger figure started though cut the sentence midway. Turning to the shorter one, it whispered, "Is that how you would say it? Are you sure—"
"Don't be silly. She has to be here." The larger figure looked around uneasily though Maiah was still unable to see who it was. "They're all just sneaky like that. Maiah?"
She shrank even lower at the sound of her name and gripped the hilt tighter. If she didn't strike first, when surprise was still on her side, she would regret it when they did. She felt her muscles tensing up as she got ready to pounce. The grip on her weapon loosened to allow her flexibility and agility. She took three deep breaths to steady herself, all the while keeping her eye on the two strangers as they looked around the room for her. With footing as light as air, she landed behind the smaller figure which turned when it felt the presence behind a little too late.
Before Maiah could complete her swing, however, her short knife met the upward thrust of steel. The surprise of the counterblow rang up her arm as she had not positioned the weapon to deflect it and made her stagger back a few steps. It took her just a second to regain her bearings and get back, but it had been enough for her opponent. Without losing a step, he pushed forward, skillfully getting on offensive and making her retreat until she was just a foot away from the small tea table.
Mostly, she told herself, it was the surprise that was making him gain on her. However, part of her knew it also had to do with the fact that his weapon was larger, and that she hadn't really seen the technique before. You didn't come all this way to get killed by a swordman who can't even make a quiet entrance, she yelled at herself once again imagining Prowessa's disappointed smirk as she said it. After one last thrust from his part, she ducked, rolled, and before he could turn around she unsheathed the longest and sturdiest blade she had on her belt. She didn't have to look down at her waist to know which to grab, it came naturally, and the adjustment between the two weapons was minimal just like was their purpose and she had been taught to do. It wasn't as long as his nor as strong, but she could maneuver much better and with the shorter and longer daggers was able to stop his blows head on.
She had to admit he was skilled and, despite his size, agile and quick on his feet; but her size did give her a slight advantage. Also, unlike Prowessa, he seemed to keep by the rules and even the smaller cloaked figure seemed to understand the duel was between the two of them. Maiah appreciated it, although it did make her slightly nervous, but decided she would need all of her concentration on the current issue and only in case it happened would she need to worry about fighting two of them.
She wasn't sure how long they had been going; the only way to get an idea was by the ragged breathing of both. She couldn't really think of another time something of the sort had happened since Prowessa, who was the only one she knew could actually keep her on the edge of her nerves, would have done some dirty trick to win by now, and everyone else soon gave up or, in Alia's case, she allowed them to win. The man, on the other hand, seemed to be able to match her lightness and speed—not to mention her clean game—and she began wondering if it would ever end.
It did. In challenges like the one she was in, fractions of seconds made the difference between victory and death. As if to mock her, however, this time it was both for both. At the moment she squatted to avoid the blow horizontally, the trajectory changed. A sharp slash across her shoulder blade told her the steel had found its target. At the same time, she felt her own blade make contact just above his knee-cap.
"Horace!"
She had only seen them once and never really formally introduced. She didn't remember the name nor really made connections. Nevertheless, she came out of her attacking mode. Obviously, it took him longer to follow.
Horace grabbed the traitor by the shoulder and threw her back so that she was looking up at him. Pinning her down with his bleeding knee over her chest he kept the tip of his sword right under her chin. Only a few times had he met anyone who could keep up with him like she had done; and that scared him. He had to admit for a second he had thought it would never end; true, towards the end they weren't as fast as they had been, but the uncanny part was that they had both tired at the same pace.
"Horace."
It took him some time to realize they had been calling his name. He looked up, without taking his sword from where he held it, and blinked a couple of times to get the sweat from his eyes. When he finally made out the figure standing by the door and recognized his friend he felt some relief. At least now he would be all by himself trying to save Cassandra—not that she needed that much protection.
"Stand up." Will said walking among the turned over furniture and setting a few things upright again. "Come on now, get off her."
"But…Will, she's a traitor." He said, his eyes wide with disbelief. Had she really tricked every single Ranger into believing she was on their side? "She tried killing Cassandra. If I hadn't—"
Will looked at the pair at his feet like if they were young children. He was calm despite the bloody mess that was Maiah. Anyone else would have probably freaked out over her but she looked calm enough herself and something told him not all the blood pooling around her was really hers. Everyone was quiet until she coughed weakly.
"Horace, really. Stand up." His friend tried arguing but eventually gave in, not without a sour look. "Are you two okay?"
Both nodded as Horace stood up straight, his sword ready. He did have a slight limp, but the wound wasn't deep and it was more of a sting—like a bad paper-cut. Maiah's wasn't much worse, though it took her a little more effort to sit up mostly because of the heavy pressure on her chest since her ribs were still a little sensible from last time she had broken them.
"Now would you explain what is going on? Because obviously you were not just practicing."
He had just finished when Horace jumped into a long, confusing, and emphatic description of the events beginning with how Cassandra had asked him if they could go see Maiah and ending with Will arriving and stopping him from giving the traitor what she deserved. Of course, he added long sentences of babbling and worthless details, but Will was able to get the main point. It didn't escape his notice Maiah sat quietly on the floor while Horace told his side of the story, not even defending herself when he pointed at her and accused her.
"do you have anything to say at all?" Will asked when Horace finished and she still hadn't spoken on her behalf.
"I didn't know—"
"She jumped behind me and was about to stab me!" Cassandra interrupted. "She was going to kill me in cold blood. We were here to try and get her—"
"With all due respect, Your Grace," Maiah said still from the floor. "I could not see who had come into the room. Both of you were cloaked and whispering as if trying to kill me."
"And who else would you think would come and try to kill you?" Cassandra snapped before either Will or Horace could intervene.
"I'm sure at the time there are a few, though of course not as many trying to kill you. No one would be that important of course."
"Don't try to be funny. You would have killed me if Horace hadn't been here."
"Because I did not know that was you." Maiah said. She had tried to keep her anger from bursting out, but this girl was just as stubborn as Alia sometimes. "You came in here and whispered and looked for me with cloaks and then said something about how I had to be here. 'They're all just sneaky like that'. What am I supposed to think about that?"
Cassandra gapped for a second before finding how she could counter it. "You could have waited to see what was going on."
"And wait until they killed me? When two strangers walk into a room through the window you just wait and see what they will do; because that's not suspicious."
"And how else do you expected anyone to come in? Only Halt comes in through the door."
"Well, I would expect you, as the princess, would be able to get past all the guards and come in through the door."
If Will and Horace hadn't been there, Cassandra would have jumped at the smart cookie sitting below her. How dared she speak to her like that? To humiliate her?
"I think she does have a point there, Cassandra." Horace said quietly, flinching when she shot him daggers with her eyes. He took a few steps away from her before adding, "I mean, we were a little too sneaky and suspicious."
"Sneaky and suspicious?" Will said incredulous. "I understand suspicious. But sneaky? As in, sneaking in without anyone noticing?"
"Um, maybe not with Ranger skills but…alright I guess we weren't sneaky at all."
"Were they?" Will said turning to Maiah.
"Well, they were a little too noisy but—"
Will's bark of laughter interrupted whatever point she was going to give in favor of Horace and Cassandra. Soon enough, Horace joined in though Cassandra stayed with her arms crossed over her chest wearing on her face an expression that told Maiah she didn't think it was funny at all.
"I actually came up here because Halt told me I would find you here." Will said when he finally recovered. When Horace made an expression of disbelief, he explained, "He saw you 'sneaking' out the back door and later climbing up the wall. I am sure he'll keep your secret though."
"Told you we should just use your power over the guards." He finally mumbled to Cassandra.
"You know that wouldn't work." She snapped back, though slowly a smile formed around the corners of her mouth. "And it would take away the excitement."
"I am obliged to agree with that." Will chuckled. He was always glad Cassandra wasn't one to take long in forgetting her anger even if she was spoiled and bossy; most of all, she seldom held any grudges. "Should we get this place cleaned up and look at those cuts?"