We were sitting around one of the many fires set up inside the Fort, eating hot stews and drinking meads. Anna and I were not much of drinkers, so we settled with spiced honey meads watered down with warm water. I had appropriated thick wool blankets and covered her from the chilly air, and she seemed to fare better now. The color of her lips had returned, and her curious eyes darted around, listening in to the noble men’s conversations.

“So, in essence, nobody knows where Hugo ran off to?” The Comte summarized the situation with a sigh. “That does not bod well.”

“Indeed, My Lord.” Victor nodded. “If Baron Hugo spreads the words, our esteemed Seigneur would be known across the kingdom as the one who stood up against and survived the Archbishop’s wrath.”

“All eyes would be on Montclam. And then, trouble would come.” The Comte commented and glanced at a frail middle-aged man sitting next to him. It was the Seigneur of Montclam. The Comte had sent his men out to fetch the Seigneur from wherever the hiding place. The Seigneur came alone and was delighted by the sight of Baron Hugo’s army gone. He was, nevertheless, still shaken by the whole ordeal.

“My Lord Comte, although we have overcome the hardship this time, for which I am forever grateful, I am afraid Montclam cannot weather another storm like this.” The Seigneur sighed and continued. “What few men I had lay slain in the mud outside the Fort. My manor has burnt down, and my people are scared they have refused to come out of hiding despite Your Lordships outstanding victory today.”

“The Seigneur would be under continuous threat by the Prince Charles’ faction.” The Vicomte summarized.

Anna had been listening, and she nudged my ribs with her elbow.

‘Seigneur,’ Anna spoke through me, ‘I remember fondly of your generous gifts and kind words during many of your visits to my father’s manor.’

“It always is my pleasure, My Lady, to see the delighted face of such a radiant child.” The Seigneur, a good neighbor to the Roseland, nodded with a reminiscing smile. “My. The young Lady has grown quite a lot, though I believe a few more pounds on Her Ladyship would do wonders.”

Anna blushed shyly and continued.

'It pains me to witness the Roseland’s friend in peril. Seigneur, I, on behalf of my family and the Barony, offer you and the people of Montclam a refuge in my land.’

At first, the Seigneur of Montclam was taken aback, but after a brief moment of mulling over the generous offer, he bowed gratefully and thanked profusely. With that, the deal was sealed.

“Splendid!” The Comte exclaimed. “Now we are assured of the Seigneur’s safety, onto the next issue; what now?”

“My Lord, if I may?” The Seigneur spoke up. “Baron Hugo’s Bourg is to the southwest of Montclam as we all know.” He paused and surveyed the noblemen gathered around the campfire. He continued.

“But to come here, the Baron would have to pass my good neighbor Forez between Bourg and Montclam.”

He picked up a small twig of wood and begun to draw the map of the kingdom on the ground. There was a piece of land belonging to the Seigneur of Forez, almost the same size as Montclam, if the Seigneur’s accuracy in drawing was to be believed. To its southwest, it bordered the Barony of Bourg, Hugo’s land. Its south and east were fenced off by the wild forest that spanned all the way to the south of the Roseland. The Seigneur drew a straight line from Bourg to Montclam, cutting through Forez.

“I see…” Victor the Vicomte mumbled, getting the implication.

“If the Seigneur of Forez were on the Prince Charles’ faction, surely we would have seen his banner among Hugo’s army.” The Comte pointed out.

“My Lord Comte, I assure you Seigneur Forez has pledged his allegiance to His Royal Highness Prince Louis. I had the pleasure of convincing him to do so.” The Seigneur of Montclam spoke proudly, but then his face darkened. Nobody needed to say anything. Baron Hugo would not have left Forez in peace while passing through.

“I fear for my good friend…” The Seigneur trailed off.

The Comte of Armas closed his eyes in deep thoughts. We sat and waited. Surely the wise old man would know the best course of action. It did not take long for him to reopen his eyes.

We were heading southwest. To Forez. 

###

“My lad, René. Of the Tavern,” The Seigneur of Montclam called me out before heading back to where his people were hiding. “I am relieved it is you accompanying the young lady.”

I bowed humbly. He silently observed me for some moments and added.

“As I recall, the young Lady listens to your words, René.”

“Seigneur’s words flatter the lowly me.”

He patted me on the shoulder and got on his horse. Before leaving for real, he faced me once again.

“It is the tenth month of the year. What was the color, again?”

“Red, my good Seigneur, but please worry not. Many of Montclam know the path by hearts.”

He gave me a nod of appreciation and set off into the darkness, accompanied by a trio of armored knights as his escort.

I returned from the Fort’s gate to the small tent that I had pitched by a campfire. I crawled inside and found Anna soundly asleep on her bedroll under multiple layers of wool blankets. Her lips were slightly ajar, and her cheeks were rosy from the warmth. Her left hand was sticking out from underneath the blanket twisted in a very uncomfortable-looking angle, so I gently turned it in a more relaxed position. In her sleep, Anna reacted to my touch and squeezed my hand for a brief moment. It was still a bit early in the night, but Anna was a girl who slept early and woke up late.

It seemed she had managed to take off the metal armor herself as the pieces were nicely stacked on one side. I felt a bit proud of her. ‘My. She did it herself!’ I lifted up the blankets to peek inside and was relieved to find she was still in her leather shirt and trousers that were worn underneath the armor. Usually, Anna would sleep in just a simple linen shirt and nothing more, but I had warned her the men would frown upon a young lady presenting herself in such a state. I touched the leather clothes, and they were still somewhat damp from all that rain earlier today, which was a big no-no, but I had no other option. I couldn’t risk being caught in the process of stripping a sleeping girl, especially when the said girl was a Baron’s precious daughter. Anna herself generally did not mind showing me her body, for I bathed her until one day last year when I noticed the first stubble of maturity. The people of the La Rose manor knew of this, but these men in the Fort… they would surely get the wrong idea and execute me on the spot.

I grumbled and sighed upon finding Anna had moved my bedroll from the outside and laid it next to hers. Were we alone, I would sleep in the tent next to her. But that would give the men a wrong impression. So I had told Anna I was to sleep outside, in front of the tent. She hadn’t said anything then, but it seemed while I was gone she moved my bedroll inside as a protest. ‘How cute,’ I scoffed and rolled up my bed as quietly as I could. ‘Maybe I should get her a teddy bear…’

I lied on my back outside our little tent, my eyes darted between the stars in the sky, for I had trouble falling asleep. The chill of the night and the warmth from the fire made me drowsy, but the sleep came rather slowly. I thought about what happened today. I re-watched Sieur Henry praying for his dead peers; he was so sincere I hoped God would listen and relay the prayer to the relevant goddesses.

I thought about mother and father. They were likely worried sick. I was sure father had never seen a battle. But then again, he had experienced the pain of losing sons and daughters during the epidemic. He could probably relate to the sorrows the fallen’s moms and dads would surely feel.

I thought about the Baroness and the people of the manor, too. I imagined they, too, were worried. And in some days, a stream of refugees from Montclam would emerge from the swampland and would surely tell the story of the horror happening outside the Roseland. As my train of thought reached this point, I became really worried about Her Ladyship the Baroness. I knew her well, for she was, in all practical sense, another mother to me. She was a remarkably strong woman and would never show her fears and worried face to anyone. Still, I had seen her breaking down, a bumbling mess of a scared mother covered in tears and snots begging on her knees for her daughter to please stay. It took a divine effort to convince the Baroness to finally let Anna go. But how would she handle the news which the people of Montclam would bring?

Then I thought about tomorrow; Forez. I had no idea what Forez was like. My geographical knowledge of the kingdom stopped at the Roseland and its immediate vicinity and a bit of Montclam. Anything beyond was a mystery to me. I wondered. As far as I knew, the kingdom was in the middle of a civil war. But how did the Comte and his army travel all the way across the kingdom? How did Sieur Henry come from the west? Surely they must have crossed some frontlines where fierce battles were happening? What the heck was going on?