Chapter 24: Requiem

“Lady Ren, you asked me to wake you earlier today. Is this okay?” Amy said, pulling the drapes open to let the morning light flow in through the windows.

I flinched at the sudden light, and then covered my face with a pillow. Then a thought hit me. It was a requiem day. Moonlight Hearts has a Seven Day week, but only a one-day weekend: called the requiem. Most shops closed on a requiem day. And most servants had the day off. Amy was one of those with the day off. In-game, the player could use Requiem to buy gifts for their suitors.

“Amy, you don’t have to act as my maid today,” I said, peeking my head out from under the pillow.

“I’m not. But you asked me to wake you earlier so that we could get to Myrddhin house for brunch.”

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Eight in the morning.”

“Come back at quarter to ten.” I said, covering my head with the pillow once more.

“Well, if you don’t want to see my new outfit, that’s fine.” Amy said.

I snapped my head up and blinded myself by staring straight at the window. I heard Amy giggle as I clamped my hands over my eyes. I felt the bed shift and realized that Amy had climbed on the bed with me. I removed my hands, but the light was still too bright to open my eyes. I could feel the bed shift as Amy crawled towards me on her hands and knees. I dropped my hands to the bed to steady myself. And I felt Amy’s breath against my face.

“I can’t open my eyes yet.” I said, ‘It’s still too bright.”

“Oh dear, you must feel so vulnerable,” Amy whispered.

“Oh, now you’re toying with me.” I whispered back.

“Maybe.” I could feel Amy’s smile, even with my eyes shut.

And then I felt a gentle kiss on my forehead that tingled out, making me shiver. She kissed her way down my face. The rain of delicate kisses set me squirming. She kissed my closed eyelids delicate as a rose petal on a pond. She dropped a little peck on the tip of my nose. As I was starting to shudder from her kisses, Amy pressed her lips to mine. As she did so, she pushed me backwards. I landed on my back, and a second later I felt Amy pressing down on me with her own body. And again, she pressed her lips to mine. This time, I felt her tongue penetrate my mouth and I arched my back, pushing us both into the air. Amy continued to kiss me and explore me with her tongue.

Nerve endings were alive across my body. Every sensation felt heightened. I could feel her legs shifting against me. I felt her dress as it bunched between us. I felt the pressure as our hips pressed together. I felt our breasts through her blouse and my sheer nightgown as they pressed against each other. I reached down and grabbed her ass. Amy jerked as my hands touched her, and she moaned.

She wrapped her arms around my ribs. And we continued to kiss. We pressed and rubbed our bodies together. As we continued to kiss, Amy lost her balance and tipped us onto our sides.

I heard the grandfather clock chime nine in the morning. Amy broke the kiss and I felt her pull herself up.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that was longer than I thought it was. Where did time go?” She said.

“You stole it with that tongue of yours. Or was it my innocence you stole?”

“Ren, I love you. But you have no innocence to steal. I know how many men have been in this bedchamber.”

“But how many women have been in my bedchamber in that capacity before you?”

“Oh,” Amy sounded surprised, “Was I your first?”

“You were the first woman to steal this body’s innocence,” I said. It was true, or I assumed so. I couldn’t imagine the rival engaging in any same sex flirting, much less anything physical.

Amy clapped her hands. “We should get you dressed, Ren. The sooner we get you dressed, the sooner you can be kissing the Countess Fiona.”

I felt conflicted about her saying that. But she seemed happier than she had during our talk yesterday. I opened my eyes. The light was tolerable now. I looked toward Amy. She wore a knee length pleated skirt in hunter green. She wore white and pink striped calf length socks. The socks looked modern with elastic in them. I wasn’t surprised by that. With the modern lingerie I’d noticed earlier, the designers didn’t seem worried about things of that sort. Finally, she wore a white blouse with dark green and pink pinstripes. The blouse had cap sleeves and ruffles on the shoulder seams and collar. She also wore silver stud earrings and oxford shoes.

“You look like a tryst at a spring picnic. You combine sexy and cute in ways that do things to my heart, and other places.”

Amy burst into a sunbeam bright smile.

Amy wasn’t on duty today, so I selected my clothes and dressed myself. I chose a pine green off-the-shoulder A-line dress. I picked the dress because the color matched Amy’s skirt as close as I could manage. At ankle length the dress was shorter than my evening dresses. This would make walking outside the bar and the ballroom easier. I looked at myself in the mirror. I liked it, but it needed something. So, I added a gold sash around my waist. I pinned it in place with a cameo pin depicting the hunting dog of House Octavian. I put on my pinet heels, and I was ready to go.

We set out for House Myrddhin by carriage again. Quincy again hung his head out the window. But this time the journey was uneventful. As we approached the gates, I noticed that somebody had removed Aunt Cecile’s carriage from the road. Inside the walls of Myrddhin House, I saw the carriage. Several men worked on repairing it. They had already fitted a new axle.

On the second-floor balcony I saw Fiona. She sat on a wicker chair, reading a book. She dressed in black breeches and boots. She wore another poet’s shirt; this shirt was a bright scarlet. Again, the shirt hung open. And again, the ruffles of the shirt did the majority of the work to conceal her body. Only the shine on her silver hoop earrings drew my eyes away. She noticed the carriage and waved. Then she stood and headed inside. By the time our carriage had come to a stop, Fiona and Vincent were standing at the entrance. Vincent had dressed in a fawn frock coat and matching breeches. He wore leather riding boots of a rich raw umber brown. He wore a cream linen shirt with a starched imperial high collar.

“Ren. Amy,” Fiona smiled, as she approached, “It is good to see you this morning. Ren, you look ravishing. Amy, you look delightful, so enticing.”

“Thank you, your excellency.” Amy curtsied.

Fiona waved her hand at Amy, “No. That will not do. You are among friends here. Both of us know that you are Ren’s other paramour. And with us, you are an equal. You will call us Fiona and Vincent. You may call him Vince if you wish to make him squirm. Amongst ourselves we can pretend there is no such thing as rank or title. Please.”

Amy stood open mouthed. She didn’t respond. Fiona stepped forward, took my hand, and delivered her almost kiss, “Ren, beloved.”

Then she turned and took Amy’s hand. Amy gasped as Fiona brushed her lips across the back of Amy’s hand. Fiona straightened, “Amy, beloved of my beloved.”

I noticed as Fiona stepped back, that both Amy and Fiona were blushing.

Vincent grinned, “I can kiss your hands as well if you like. But I understand that might not be as special.”

I smiled and held out my hand. “It would be an honor.”

Vincent’s grin widened and he stepped forward and took my hand. He tipped forward at the waist in a crisp bow. He paused for a moment and brushed his lips over my hand. I didn’t feel the electricity that Fiona’s kiss generated. But I felt flattered by his performance. He managed to make me feel as though I was worth doing this right. “Ren, my friend. It is wonderful to see you today.”

He turned to Amy and repeated the process. But where I had felt honored, Amy felt more. She blushed and was breathing a little heavy as Vincent’s lips brushed her hand. “Amy, it is wonderful to make your introduction.”

Fiona noticed Amy’s reaction, “Good is he not?”

Amy blushed.

“He is diligent in everything he does,” Fiona said, “Everything.”

Amy looked away. I noticed Vincent blushing at Fiona’s words.

“Should we get to work on the problem?” I asked.

We moved inside to the drawing room, once again cleared of any other members of House Myrddhin. I noticed new vases. Somebody had placed vases full of red roses on the tables. The room was resplendent in crimson blooms. I noticed that the roses seemed to be from two different plants. Some of the roses had a true scarlet hue and a loose arrangement of their petals. Others were a darker red with a classic rose petal arrangement. The room was alive with the scent of roses. Memories of moments with Fiona washed over me. Standing in this room was like bathing in Fiona’s perfume.

Fiona saw me looking, “Do you like roses? I had hoped you would.”

“They’re breathtaking,” I said. “Are there two different types of roses here, or am I imagining it?”

“You are not. My gardener loves roses and collects varieties. The name of the lighter rose is The Lady in Red. The name of the darker one is Deep Secret. These are my two personal favorites.”

She paused and shook her head, “No, that is imprecise. These are my favorite roses from among the red varieties. My favorite variety of rose is the Black Velvet Rose. But black roses have meanings that I would not want to imply with the present company. So, I chose the red roses.”

“Been paying attention to the symbolism of flowers then?” I remembered my conversation with Vincent.

“My mother told me that romance was a subtle war. I do not believe it is a war. Or at least it does not have to be a war. But in my experience, it is subtle. And I am not good at subtle things. So, I study. And I learn.”

“Were these for me then?” I asked.

Amy smiled, “She’s courting you. Of course, they are for you.”

Fiona shook her head, “They are for the both of you.”

Amy stopped walking, “You had me in mind when you did this?”

“Yes. I hope you do not object. But I wish to include you wherever possible. I thought the names of the roses spelled things out quite clearly.”

I looked at the roses again, and then at Fiona’s scarlet shirt. Lady in Red and Deep Secret. The roses were meant to be herself and Amy!

A tear rolled down Amy’s cheek and then the floodgates opened, “Thank you. Thank you so much!”

I wrapped an arm around Amy, “Are you alright?”

“I’m so alright,” Amy said between sobs and sniffles, “I expected to be hiding in the corner until called upon. And instead, there are flowers picked for me.”

I embraced her, and we stood while she gained control of her tears. Vincent and Fiona had sat down, and we joined them around a coffee table. Fiona had taken the far left of a loveseat. As we approached, Fiona patted the space beside her. I sat down next to Fiona. Amy began to walk to a nearby wing chair. Quincy settled onto my feet and was asleep and wheezing gently in seconds.

“Amy, there is space here.” Fiona said.

“Are you sure, Countess Fiona? I’m sorry, I mean Fiona.”

“As your friend, I insist. She is yours more than she is mine at the moment.”

Amy dropped onto the love seat beside me and placed her hands on her knees. Her eyes were still wet with tears. But she was smiling.

“Now, let us come to order and begin our business,” Fiona said. “We face a conspiracy between members of house Octavian and Hyperborea. They are aiming to lead military action against Ys. What goals should we pursue?”

Vincent tapped his cheekbone, “We need to avert a war. Everything else is secondary.”

I shook my head, “We need to avert a war and protect Lynn.”

Vincent looked at me, “And if we can’t protect Lynn without causing a war?”

I didn’t answer.

“We heard some of your conversation with Lynn behind that pillar the first day we met.” Fiona said. “We know how much your cousin means to you. But Vincent is correct. I respect your loyalty but stopping the war must take precedence.”

“I can’t do that,” I said.

“I am not suggesting that we do not try to save Lynn. I am not suggesting that we abandon her. She can be second priority. But her safety must sit behind the goal of preventing war. Lynn believes this. And I agree with Lynn in this. I sympathize with your concern. And I promise we will try.”

“I can’t do that.”

Amy patted my shoulder, “Fiona isn’t asking you to do that. At least, I don’t think so. She is saying our plan must do that. Am I right Fiona?”

Fiona shrugged, “I cannot change your priorities Ren. I need your support of whatever plan we confirm. But I will not stop you from acting beyond that to try and save Lynn. Once war is averted, I will help you.”

“Fine, let’s move on,” I said.

“Ren. Will you accept the plan when we confirm it?”

I closed my eyes and looked away from Fiona, “I will.”

Fiona nodded, “I choose to trust you, Ren.”

I buckled into myself. I dropped my head to my knees and covered my ears with my hands.

“Ren,” Vincent said.

“Wait,” Fiona interrupted. “Give her time.”

I felt tears coming, and I couldn’t stop them. I struggled to gain control of myself. I knew what I needed to tell them. But I couldn’t speak through the sobs. I gulped air and focused on calming my breathing.

“I need to tell you why,” I managed in a halting voice.

“You don’t,” Amy said. “If it’s this hard, you don’t.”

“When we were sixteen.” I said, “We were at a party. An older girl approached us. She wasn’t a girl. She just looked young. She was almost thirty. Somebody told me that later. I wanted so badly to impress her. She gave us something to eat. Not food. It was a drug, or an alchemical thing. She said it would send us to amazing places.”

I paused and took a breath.

“I don’t know what it was that I ate, even now. It sent me places. They weren’t good places. I was falling through horrors. I’m not going to describe them. I’m trying not to remember them. But I was falling forever, and things were there. And I couldn’t escape. I have never been as afraid, before or since, as I was then.”

I could feel myself crying again. I hiccupped. I tried to speak but found I couldn’t. Every time I opened my mouth, a sob escaped. Quincy woke and nuzzled my leg, whining softly.

Amy clung to me. She held me and whispered, “I’m here. You’re not alone.”

Fiona touched my cheek, “You do not owe us this explanation. If it is too difficult, then let it be.”

“I was lost in a hell more real than anything I could imagine,” I continued, my voice still shaking, “And then I heard a voice.”

“It was Lynn?” Vincent asked.

I nodded, “She didn’t eat whatever it was I had eaten. She was smarter than I had been. Because she didn’t want to kiss that woman, whereas I did. Hormones can be dangerous at that age.” I chuckled.

Amy nodded, “I’ve done foolish things to impress teen sweethearts more than once.”

I continued. “The woman who gave the stuff to us had vanished when she realized what the drug was doing to me. Lynn told me later that she left the party, ran away. But I wasn’t alone. Because Lynn called out to me. She told me that she was there. And she took my hand. And then, I wasn’t falling. I was hanging over the abyss, but Lynn had me. I had stopped falling. Her hand was my lifeline. She stayed with me for hours. She never let go of my hand. Her voice and her hand were all that let me survive the hours I spent in that hell. She kept me sane. She kept me alive. I am certain that I would have died in that place without Lynn to hold me here. She didn’t just save my life; she saved my mind and my soul. She didn’t let go of my hand. So, I’m not letting go of her.”

Fiona sighed and put her arms around me, “We will work around your need to protect Lynn. We must prioritize Ys. But we will leave space in our plan for you to protect her.”

“That’s all well and good, but we don’t have a plan yet,” Vincent said.

“Well, let us start with the plans we do have.” Fiona said, “Because there is already an active plan on the field. Lynn is trying to protect Ys by marrying Wulfric and tying the two nations together.”

“Is she hoping to make him a better person?” Amy asked.

“I hope not,” I said, “That never works. Poison him instead.”

Fiona shook her head, “You said Wulfric is a werewolf. His mystical nature will prevent any poison from killing him. He may not even notice that you attempted to kill him.”

I reached into my chatelaine bag, and drew out the Silver Potion, “Are you sure?”

“That is clever,” Fiona said. “Boil him from the inside out.”

Vincent tapped his temple, “Is it necessary to kill Wulfric? Is it helpful to kill Wulfric? That might enrage the Hyperboreans.”

Amy raised her hand, “we could capture Wulfric and threaten to harm him if they go to war.”

“That’s good,” Vincent said.

Fiona shook her head, “It is good in the short term. It would be good to bring a nation to the negotiating table. But it will engender resentment. And then this will repeat with some new plan.”

“We should talk to his Grace: the Duke Delmar,” Amy said. “As a duke, he has access to more information and better resources.”

“But his actions will be seen as the actions of Ys itself." Fiona said. "Whereas, at worst our actions will be seen as the actions of my little county. The same applies to Vincent. He isn’t the ambassador. So, he only speaks for his own holdings.”

“So, what do we do?” Amy asked.

Glass shattered to my right. Quincy exploded into a barking fit. We turned to see a man standing in front of a now broken ground floor window. He held a war pick. And he dressed in brigandine leather armor and a sallet helmet that covered the top half of his face.

“What do you do? The seer comes with us. The rest of you die.” He declared.

Werewolves streamed through the damaged window.

“Is everyone in Hyperborea a werewolf?” I asked.

Fiona stood. She drew her flintlocks and shot the two lead werewolves. The bullets struck one between the eyes and one in the throat, “Vincent hold them! Amy! Ren! Into the next room! Now!”

“Quincy! Here!” I yelled as the tiny dog snarled at the approaching werewolves.

I pushed myself to my feet. Amy grabbed me and put my arm over her shoulder. Together we stumbled towards the door. I couldn’t see if Quincy had listened to my command.

Vincent didn’t have a weapon that I could see. He charged the next werewolf in line. As he passed a coffee table, he grabbed a flower vase and shattered it against the Werewolf’s jaw. The werewolf recoiled and Vincent drew a concealed dagger. He rammed the dagger into the werewolf’s eye. Then he hammered on the back of the dagger with his other hand until the werewolf stopped moving. Fiona had killed another werewolf with her pepperbox pistol. And she had already killed two more with throwing knives. She threw a roundel dagger to Vincent, and then drew her saber and skinning knife. Werewolf after werewolf fell before her. Vincent was doing okay as well.

We closed the door. I collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. Amy pushed a cabinet in front of the door. We could hear the sounds of battle. And we would feel the impact of something hitting one of the walls. Quincy was nowhere to be seen.

I listened, wondering how many werewolves they had sent? How many werewolves did they have? Lycanthropy was a mystic disease, infectious and hereditary. But it wasn’t common. Most people infected by lycanthrope died without treatment. Only some one percent transformed into werewolves. I didn’t know how likely it was to inherit lycanthrope from a parent. It couldn’t be common though. Werewolves had been a boogeyman of Hyperborea since time immemorial. So, I could believe that they had a higher concentration of werewolves to draw on. But they must have run through their reserves with this attack.

And then the door burst in. The cabinet tipped forward and wood flew in all directions. A ten-foot-tall werewolf stepped into the room. He moved with a halting gait. I did my best to scramble backwards away from the hulking monster.

The Werewolf grabbed Amy by the wrist and yanked her into the air. Amy screamed. And then the thing’s head jerked. I looked and saw something behind the werewolf’s head.

And then I recognized her.

Fiona stood on the werewolf’s shoulders. She arched her back and pulled on her garrote wire. The wire wrapped around the werewolf’s neck. The Werewolf’s pelt sizzled and steamed where the wire bit into it. The beast staggered. It stumbled. And then it fell. Fiona did not let go.

I looked and realized that the garrote was digging in. It was sizzling through the neck. It took more than a minute before the garrote beheaded the werewolf. It was only then that Fiona relaxed.

“Silver braiding over the base steel,” She said. She wiped the garrote clean on a rag she had produced from somewhere.

Amy pulled herself to her feet and embraced Fiona, “Countess Fiona, you saved my life!”

Amy kissed Fiona on the cheek, and I saw Fiona blush.

“Thank you!” She moved to kiss Fiona again. And this time Fiona kissed her back on the lips. They held the kiss as I watched. I felt heat rising inside me. I flushed, but I couldn’t look away. They broke apart and looked away from each other.

“That was inappropriate of me. My apologies.” Fiona said.

“I started it,” Amy blushed, “I’m sorry too.”

Fiona looked and saw me staring, “I am sorry Ren. I seemed to have borrowed your mistress. I hope you do not object.”

I felt something clench in my stomach. But I answered, “I didn’t complain. I got to watch, and you did save her life. I understand the emotions flying about after something like that.”

“I appreciate your understanding,” Fiona said.

“Thank you, Ren. You are so understanding, “Amy said.

I examined my thoughts. What I had seen had aroused me. But it also worried me, what if I became unnecessary? What if they forgot me?

Then Vincent staggered in with Quincy bounding about his feet, “I’m going to need some help. Fiona, do you have any healing salves and a purification potion? I don’t want to die or start howling at the moon."

"Of course, I do." Fiona said.

"Thanks. How are you, Fiona?” Vincent asked.

Fiona looked over, “I am unhurt. Thank you for asking.”

Vincent looked at Amy and me, “Any injuries that broke the skin?”

I shook my head. Amy looked at her wrist, “I’m good,” she said after a minute of searching.

“Persistent, aren’t they?” I said.

“We must be more so.” Fiona answered.

“Well, the good news is that they can’t match you in combat.” Vincent said, “Also, they can’t have many more werewolves, can they?

“Werewolf or human, it’s a matter of time. It’s simple,” I said. “The point is that if they send enough, even Fiona can’t stop them all.”

Fiona nodded, “But each one I kill is one less weapon in their conspiracy. So, I will consider that a win for the moment.”

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