Page 33 of Madness

One man pulled himself away from the wall and stood directly in front of our cart as I pulled the horse to a stop. “Name and reason for visit?”

“Milo Piercing, I’ve traveled from the Obtune Court with a Nymph that King Ottack would like to place in King Windre’s care.”

That makes it sound like she’s here for a vacation and not the punishment she will undertake.

The guard grunted walking a few feet to glance in the back of our open wagon before he motioned to his friend to open the gate. “Men will greet you at the door and bring you back to King Windre.”

I mumbled my thanks, slapping the reins and urging the horse forward. Red had grown particularly quiet. I dared a glance at her. Blood had drained from her face, leaving her paler than I’d ever seen her. Yet she kept her arms folded stubbornly over her chest. Her nails dug into her skin, likely to leave red-crescent moons behind. The wagon lurched forward and her bottom leg began bouncing.

The courtyard before the castle was marred by several devices—none of which looked like fun for the participant. Beams were nailed into the ground, ropes splattered with red lay between them. Even the grass was stained with blood. It gave me an oddly familiar feeling of being home in my queen’s own torture rooms. All different methods were available before we even made it into the castle. A few racks for stretching a victim's body, quite a few knee splitters, more than ten pillories to secure waiting victims, and even a tall, wooden box with its doors open and fitted with a number of spikes to penetrate the sufferer.

“There’s still time to turn this cart around. You don’t have to do this.” Her voice was hoarse and she spoke quickly. “Whatever it is that you want me to do, I’ll do it. You want me to cry? I can fake a tear. You want me to beg? Hell, these knees have grown used to being pushed to the ground. We can turn around, right now.”

“No, we can’t.” I turned forward, refusing to meet her red-rimmed stare. Red didn’t beg, she didn’t bargain. Yet I could feel the fear radiating off of her as if she was the sun on a particularly hot day.

“Fine,” her pleas turned into a snarl. “Then what kind of price do you think King Windre would pay to hear that you’re King Ottack’s spy. Not only that, but you have an alliance with a far away queen, and now you’re here to sniff out his court. What would he pay for that information, Milo? What would he pay?”

And there she was with her quick and spiteful tongue. If sugar couldn’t get her far, she knew that her menace could, but it wouldn’t do the trick on me. My back practically cracked all the way up my spine with how fast I twisted, and my fingers dug into her cheeks as I pulled her to my face. Our wagon rolled to a stop in front of the waiting steps. A guard had already descended to meet us.

“You listen here; you’ll shut your fucking mouth right now if you know what’s good for you. Keep your tongue tamed and you won’t make it worse than it already has to be.” She didn’t flinch as I spoke, but I could see the slightest tremble in her lip and water already building along her eyelids. Red wouldn’t cry though. She would find a way to suck those tears right back up into her head and use the moisture to spit at me.

Pushing her away from me, I turned to the guard. “We are looking for King Windre, he should be expecting us.”

“Right this way.” The guard offered me his hand to help me out of the cart.

Already irritated, I waved him away and pulled Red forward. She stumbled out of her seat, the wagon tilting as all the weight shifted to my side. I didn’t bother to be gentle with her now. The time for coddling her was over.

“Move it.” I pulled the chain through my hands, stepping down and dragging her with me. To her credit, Red didn’t say a word. I’d expected more of a fight, but maybe she was waiting a little longer for that. Only time would tell.

Her restraints rattled behind me as I led her through the tall black door and into the silence of the castle. The sensation of being watched prickled the back of my neck. I watched the guard’s back as we trailed him. He pushed through a final door, revealing a man reading while he ate from a tray of plump fruit. A dark red robe hung from an indistinguishable frame but the long braid that hung long past his shoulders was enough to tell me this man was well trained in battle. The quiets sob came from the corner of the room where a Nymph sat without chains on his arms and legs, but rather around his scabbed neck.

“King Windre,” I bowed low, dragging Red down with me.

The pages of his book slammed shut loudly, the Nymph in the corner flinching. “You’re late.” He lifted his menacing stare to me.

I shifted under his scrutiny. “My apologies, someone tried to make a few escapes.”

“No wonder King Ottack needs my help,” King Windre spat. He stood, the long braid flicking against his back like a horse’s tail. “You can’t even keep one Nymph tame enough to get here in time. King Ottack said in his letter that you should have arrived this morning. I don’t like to be kept waiting.” His voice dropped an octave, and that alone made me feel like my stomach was being filled with stones. Then his hands settled on his waist where a whip waited on his belt.

I pressed my lips together. I would take my own advice and keep my mouth shut.

King Windre sighed. “Take responsibility for every time they step out of line. How many attempts did she make at escape?” His gaze traveled up and down Red’s fragile body a sneer spreading over his features.

“Two,” I said quietly. Had this been under my queen's command I might find myself under the torment of his whip. It was an embarrassing failure on my part. I should have been able to contain her. I should have had this handled. Had I somehow learned to let my guard down when she was around? I liked the way Red entertained me with her quick wit, almost as much as I hated her unruliness.An ache built in my chest. No matter how I wished to rub my hand against the pain I stood still under his relentless gaze.

“Twenty-five lashings then.” He pointed at the guard still waiting at the door. “You may leave.”

My eyes flicked over the expensive unblemished furniture. “Here? Aren’t you worried you’ll get blood on the carpet?” My boot kicked at the rug in the middle of the room. Shelves were filled with various books all around us and even those were in range to get some sort of splatter. And that looked like a very expensive carpet.

“Don’t worry. She’ll get it cleaned up after.”

King Windre pulled a whip off of his belt and handed it to me, with a small smile. His whip felt different but familiar, the handle surprisingly not as worn as I had expected. He must have seen it in the twitch of my brow.

“My whip is replaced monthly, if not quicker. I like a sturdy handle.” King Windre tilted his head, running his finger along his short beard. “Sit the Nymph down.”

I pulled at the chains but Red didn’t move. Her legs were stiff and her arms held close to her body like a statue. The only thing that moved was the rapid up and down of her chest as panic raced through her mind.

It was better if she learned now. With more force, I wrenched her toward me. My hand met the back of her sweaty neck and I pushed her down to her knees.

---