New Old Hell
Part 5
By Rondabunny
To the readers: I'm really sorry I didn't continue the story for a while. I was busy writing other pieces. I hope you enjoy the next chapter and more to come.
In the morning lady Rahl asked for the sorcerer who was serving in the palace. He was a young man skilled, though. He already healed her before the wedding and now he observed even more bruises and love-marks on her body.
"Heal me and after that go to Mistress Denna and heal her properly. We are leaving today," she said nonchalantly as everything was in order and torture was just an ordinary thing. Actually, it was going on for years, but to be tortured by your own husband wasn't the option women liked so much.
The sun was already high in the sky when two women dressed as peasants on simple draught horses left the D'Hara's palace and headed to Jondralin. Their dresses were made of rough but good fabric of navy color. Both of them had hoods to protect from rain and long cuts along the hips in order to ride comfortably the horses. The low neckline of the dress was covered by white, ruffled undershirts. Tight pants fitted their legs and short leaver boots finished their fashion style. The skirts of the dresses were made so that agiels could be hidden quickly inside the slash pockets.
For several hours they travelled through small villages deep in their own thoughts. When the sun was at the eastern part of the sky women entered the wood and Cara offered to stop near a spring and eat something as it was the second part of the day and they hadn't even a crust of bread since morning. Suddenly a gang of man appeared from behind the tree trunks and approached them.
"Nice to meet you, ladies," said one of them.
The Mord'Siths notices their clothes were remade for the battle. They were armed and each of them looked at two women as at their prey. The bold one couldn't wipe a smirk from his face when he saw such pretty peasants.
"Where are you going?" He continued. Two of the men went behind Denna's back and one was already at Cara's right side. They were taking them in a ring.
"We are going to Midlands," Cara responded analyzing the situation. These men didn't seem to be very polite. She recognized the outlaws with no chivalry code.
"What for? I don't see any merchandise you're going to sell," he looked critically at the horses which drank water from the spring.
"We are just poor peasants. We travel to find a job for this season." Cara found an explanation.
"You look pretty good, the clothes are not worn or old. You have good horses. Why are you looking for another place?" The man didn't want to subside.
"Curiosity killed the cat, I suppose," the Mord'Sith pronounced. Her right hand was already caressing agiel inside the pocket. Denna also gripped one analyzing who would be the first to suffer. "Why are you here, guys? I don't see any purpose for you to be here either," she retorted smiling evilly at him.
"We are woodcutters, came here for the wood," told one of them with a smirk and showed an ax at the side of the hip. It was a war ax not for cutting woods.
"I think we already found two good timbers," echoed the tallest one and the company started thrilling with laughter.
The leader of the group came closer to Cara.
"You are too pretty for a peasant girl as well as your duenna here," he touched her chin and then her lips with his crude fingers. Darken Rahl also had a habit to caress her skin like that.
"I'm not a girl, I'm a fierce woman!" The Mord'Sith exclaimed and poked agiel into his face. The man squealed breathlessly, his eyes went mad and after this brief touch he was lying on the ground unconscious. Cara struck the man at her left side with another agiel turning to one at her right. Denna kicked one at her back on the crotch and slapped another one with the agiel. In ten minutes all unlucky fellows were on the ground tied together to a tree with gags in their mouths.
"Let me kill them!" Denna said in rage still not calmed down after the fight.
"No, who is the sheriff of the town we passed?" Lady Rahl asked instead.
"I don't know, as you said we passed it." Denna hissed.
Cara rolled her eyes: "Never mind." She opened her travel bag and fished out the journey book, a quill and a small bulb for ink which she filled with blood that was dropping from one of the man's squashed nose. She wrote her husband to send a patrol to this forest and to clean it from unnecessary, presumptuous bastards. She finished the note and closed the book.
"I'm starving. Let's eat something." She proposed to Denna.
It was like old days when she was travelling with Kahlan, Richard and Zedd. She never travelled with Denna before. They were really different sly and skillful Denna and tough and straightforward Cara. They shared only agiels and fate of being dragged from their families in childhood and tortured till breaking down and becoming crazy of pain in order to use it against rivals of Darken Rahl a lot of suffering to please one man, though.
"A coin for your thoughts," Cara asked her very sullen and silent companion.
"It's too much for my thoughts, lady…" Denna wanted to say lady Rahl but Cara stopped her.
"Don't use the name instead rumors get to the castle much quicker before we do. I'm Cara Mason. I never wanted to be anyone else ever. So, what is eating you inside out. You seem to be too concentrated today." The Mord'Sith took a bite of meat and gulped some water from the water skin.
"Why did you take me?"
"Denna, we have been always competing with each other at school. You were my idol. I adored you wanted to be like you to have your wit, your charm and skillfulness until that night. You know," She sighed remembering her first night with darken Rahl and then continued, "All this year you wanted to subdue me, to make me beg, to make me feel miserable but you were the only one person who was with me the whole time. Agiel is a tricky weapon. It causes pain to the pray as to its bearer, of course, not the same amount but still. Every day while you were torturing me you were exhausting yourself. I saw how skillful you are and how much you can bear. Lord Rahl made you his right hand on purpose. You were the best. Now I want the best on my side. It's that simple."
Denna kept silent. What could she say to that revelation? After a short break they mounted their horses and went further through the wood. It was dark when they came to a small town. The moonlight lit the road. It seemed strange that there was no light in the houses or even the tavern that they approached. The women left their horses in the yard and went to the tavern to find that the door is closed although they heard noise inside. The sun blinds were sealed so you wouldn't know if the candles were lit inside. Denna knocked on the door. Suddenly all the sounds inside the tavern died. She knocked harder but nobody answered.
"Hey, open the door. We travelled all day long. We need some food and shelter. A storm is coming!" she cried. Only silence and a gust of wind responded them.
"What should we do?" The Mord'Sith asked her companion.
"We definitely have to find a shelter. The wind becomes stronger and it started raining. Let's try nearby houses maybe somebody will have compassion on two tired strangers." Cara said it loudly for whoever was in the tavern to hear them but nobody responded.
They tried nearby houses but people either told them to get away or didn't answer at all.
"Strange place," Denna hissed. She was tired and rain began pouring heavily.
All at once they heard a child crying nearby.
"Hey, little one, why are you here all alone in the night?" Cara asked a small boy with sandy hair. He was about 6 or 7 years old.
"I was playing all day and didn't notice how it became dark. People don't let me in their homes and I live in that castle over there." He pointed with his small hand at the castle the towers of which rose far away in the outskirts of the town. "But I'm afraid to go alone in the dark," he continued sobbing.
"Shhh, it's ok. We'll take you there," Cara said to the boy and gave him her hand. "What's your name?"
"Christian," replied the boy in small voice.
"I'm Cara. Oh, you're freezing," She mounted her horse and covered the boy with her cloak. His hands seemed cold as ice that Zedd made for them in hot weather.
"Maybe it's not a very good idea to go there in the night?" Denna retorted looking skeptically at the castle, the only one with dimly lit windows in the whole city, and at a couple sitting on the horse.
"We can soak under the rain or go to the castle. It's up to you." The Mord'Sith proposed.
Denna paid her mistress a dead look and followed her.
The castle looked old and abandoned. The garden, to which the gate led them, became overgrown with grass. The walls were covered with ivy and everything spoke about the greatness of the past.
A female servant opened them the door to a wonderfully decorated hall, though the decorations were old and somewhere moth has already started eating the gobelin tapestry. A young woman greeted them and the boy ran to her.
"Christian, where have you been?! Your father went out to look for you! I was so worried! Don't ever make me worry like that!" The woman scolded her son. "Who should I be grateful for returning my son home?" She addressed to two blonde women.
"I'm Cara and this is my sister Denna. We are going to the Midlands to find work there." She told the owner of the house.
"I'm Melisa Locket. I'm so glad that you found my boy." The lady curtsied. The Mord'Siths did the same in return.
"Why are people in the town so inhospitable? Even the tavern is closed." Denna asked the woman in an old fashioned but very neat dress.
"Robbers, they came in the night from the forest steal things and sometimes even kill people. It's not very safe to walk in the night. I'm so glad that you found Christian. What can I do for you?" She smiled at them. The boy has already disappeared upstairs.
"It was our pleasure to bring him home," Cara said.
"We would like to eat something and to have a rest," Denna interrupted.
"Sure. Helen, show ladies their rooms and bring them from the kitchen something to eat. I think, it's too late. I'll put my son to bed." She went upstairs.
After several minutes the maiden opened the door to a room.
"This is a room for one of you and let me show you another one." She just turned to leave the room.
"We'll stay here together," Cara said. "The bed is enough for two of us to sleep in."
"But it won't be very comfortable. We have enough rooms for both of you." The maiden protested.
Denna didn't understand Cara's intention but played along.
"Oh, don't worry. We used to sleep together since childhood. It's more convenient for us to be together. Do you mind?" The Mord'Sith looked at a very confused woman.
"No, of course, not. I'll bring you the food." She disappeared in the darkness of the corridor.
"What is it all about?" Denna turned to face her mistress.
"We are in a big trouble," Cara whispered in a low voice and took of her cloak. "Do you remember this castle?"
"No, I was in Yolking before but I don't remember it." Denna shook her head.
"I also was here. The castle seems old but neither of us remembers it."
"What do you want to say?" Denna looked a little bit taken aback.
"Did you see how the child greeted his mother?" While Cara was talking to Denna she was changing her clothes to more comfortable pants and a shirt.
"What do you mean?"
"He ran to her but he didn't hug her. She curtsied instead of giving us her hand."
"So?" Denna started to understand what Lady Rahl was talking about but she didn't want to acknowledge the truth.
"We are in a haunted house."
"It's rubbish, a scary story adults tell children to make them sleep at night." The blonde woman disagreed.
"Since Lord Dracul ruled this world a lot of scary stories became true," Cara reminded the horrors they saw during the rule of a horrible half god.
"Our agiels are useless against spirits. We should leave this place right now." Denna tried to figure out what to do.
"It's too late. I don't think this house lets us go in the night. We have to survive till morning." Cara looked at the sister of agiel.
"But how?" Denna asked.
To be continued…
I'm looking forward to your feedback. If you have any ideas how it should be continued, please, you may give me some hints.