Captive of the Crimson Countess, Chapter 8: The Barghest and the Hunter

Blair stayed in her room and slept from the witching hour until dawn had broken into morning. She didn’t love the idea of working on less than a full night’s sleep. But the countess might not move around during the day. That meant Blair would not squander that time. She dressed herself in full hunter garb, armor and weapons ready. And then she headed to the dining hall. 

Blair found the dining hall empty, save for Nadia. The Thulean princess sat at a table nibbling at some egg-toast and apple pancakes. She looked up and her gaze met Blair’s. Nadia looked away and down at her meal. 

Blair grimaced at this. Was Nadia mad or something else? It didn’t matter. Blair had decided to befriend Nadia, if nothing else. And if possible, Blair would become more than friends with Nadia. Blair found herself blushing at her own thoughts. She put her expression in order, and then approached the table.

“May I join you?” Blair asked. 

Nadia’s head jolted up. For a moment she said nothing, staring at Blair with wide eyes. Then she recovered herself and spoke. “Of course, if you would like to share space with me, that is.”

Blair sat down and removed her gauntlets. “The countess would play word games and taunt me. Hester would throw herself at me. And the other girls would gossip to and about me non-stop. You’re actually interesting. You’re a pleasant conversationalist. And you’re stunning. Yes, I’d prefer to sit with you.”

Nadia choked on a bit of pancake, and then recovered with a cough. “ Most girls don’t talk to me after Hester has given them the warning speech.” 

“If I listened to warnings, I wouldn’t have ended up in the mountains of Agartha hunting slavers.” Blair answered. 

“Is that what you were doing?” Nadia said. 

Blair considered, and decided not to bring up Ash yet. “Pretty young girls have been getting kidnapped off the streets of Ys. My grandmother is handling it through diplomatic channels. I got impatient.”

Nadia raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that the countess was hunting so far afield.”

“I don’t think she is. Slavers have figured out there is a market in the Agarthan mountains for girls of a certain standard. I followed the trail back to Castle Crimson.”  

“I keep being impressed by your bravery and your skill.” Nadia said. 

“I’m an inexperienced fool. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a skilled hand with a saber and a pistol. But I’m impulsive. I know I am. I wouldn’t be here and imprisoned if I weren’t.”

“What will your family do? Will they send search parties?”

Blair wrestled with her thoughts, and then nodded. “I ordered my squire to stay behind. He will tell grandmother if I take more than three months. Which I've already done.”

Nadia’s face lit up. “You mean a rescue? What will they send?”

“Knowing my grandmother, a hunting party of her more skilled monster hunters.” 

Nadia sighed. “A hunting party? They would need a battalion to lay siege to the castle.”

“The monster hunters of House Wander are the best in the Boro Sea.” Blair said. “I have no doubt they could enter the castle and lay waste to it. The problem is that I don’t see them arriving in time to find anything but my corpse. What about you? Shouldn’t both Agartha and Thule be looking for you?” 

“I am certain that both Agartha and Thule believe me dead.”

“We’re on our own then,” Blair said. 

“I can think of worse people to be alone with.” Nadia said, smiling at Blair. 

Blair coughed and asked, “Where is everybody?”

“Most girls go to bed at dawn and sleep late into the day.” 

“Not you?”

“I do. But not last night. Last night I couldn’t sleep.”

“Why not?” Blair asked.

“I made a fool of myself. Hester got the better of me. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“Hester fought dirty.” Blair said.

“But she wasn’t wrong. The guards do listen to me on small things. I could convince the countess to feed from somebody I didn’t like.”

“But you haven’t done that.” Blair said. 

“I know that. But how do you know?”

“Because, Hester wouldn’t still be walking around with blood in her veins, if you had.”

Nadia cocked her head and then burst out laughing.

“Oh dead gods! I could have had her killed, couldn’t I?”

“And you haven’t.”

“Does this mean you trust me?” Nadia leaned forward. 

“It means I want to trust you. And you’ve given me no reason in your behavior that I shouldn’t.”

Nadia frowned for a moment, then recovered. “You’re so pragmatic.”

“That would be my monster hunter training. I don’t know how grandmother manages her spouses. I have no head for romance.”

Nadia giggled. “A natural talent then?”

Blair felt herself going red in the face again. 

“Apparently,” Blair managed to squeeze out. 

Nadia grinned. Blair thought she looked hungry. The princess put a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Well why don’t I teach you a little about romance then?”

= = =

Nadia felt as though she were floating as she led Blair through the rest of their tour. Blair wanted her. Nadia felt certain. Blair felt hesitant, and for valid reasons. But Nadia believed she could overcome those objections. And so they walked through the castle. And Nadia prattled on about the symbolic language of flowers. She talked about how ladies in Agartha would communicate interest with their fans. She talked about how grateful she felt to be sent to Agartha, where women had the same rights as men. She gossiped about the other girls, and tried to not get catty as she did. 

Hours slipped by, and Blair did not seem bored or tired of Nadia’s presence. The day grew late and the other girls began to emerge from their rooms. Nadia made a point of clinging to Blair’s arm when they passed Hester. For her part, Hester glared at Nadia, but said nothing. 

The other girls stayed away while Blair walked with Nadia, as Nadia had warned they would. But again, Blair seemed not to mind. And again, Nadia felt elation. Blair asked about the other girls, but not in the ways that other new arrivals asked. Blair didn’t care who was sleeping with who. She did not care who was looking for somebody new. She asked about where they were from. She asked about their skills. Could any of them use a sword? Could any of them fire a pistol, or even use a hunting bow? Nadia could tell that Blair was trying to prepare to face the countess. And Nadia hated the thought of that confrontation. She couldn’t see Blair surviving that encounter. Nadia did her best to banish such thoughts from her head. But they returned each time. 

She couldn’t imagine Blair would survive long, given the hunter’s plan. And Nadia knew that getting attached to a girl guaranteed a quick death meant more pain and anguish. But she couldn’t help it. The more she knew about Blair Wander, the more Nadia wanted Blair. Nadia wanted Blair to save a certain Thulean princess. She wanted Blair to carry her off into the sunrise where immortals feared to follow. She knew this fantasy wouldn’t last, but she clung to it as she clung to Blair’s arm.

= = =

Blair struggled not to blush tomato red as Nadia clung to Blair’s arm and nestled in against her as they walked. Nadia radiated joy as they wandered the halls. Blair felt certain that Nadia had been lonely and starved for touch. Blair felt a sense of guilt for flirting with Nadia. She felt as though she shouldn’t lead the other woman on as she was doing. Blair was enjoying the process, she had to admit. But she didn’t feel she was being fair to Nadia by deceiving her. 

Nadia was talking about two girls who had recently had a lover’s quarrel when Blair heard something. It was the rattle of chains and the baying of an enormous hound. Blair slipped from Nadia’s grip. She placed herself between the princess and the sound, saber already in her hand. 

“That’s a barghest,” Blair said, not looking back. She kept her eyes fixed on the corridor, watching for signs of movement. 

Barghests were black hounds the size of draft horses. The beasts could turn invisible. But the sound of chains followed the barghest when they went invisible. Still, Blair hated fighting barghests. 

“That will be the other hunter,” Nadia said, putting a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “She’s been at this for weeks.”

“Who's been at what for weeks?” Blair asked.

“It would be easier to show you.” 

Nadia led Blair down a few corridors to a courtyard with a heavy metal cage sitting at the center. The cage was circular with a corridor leading back to a passageway deeper into the castle. 

Inside the cage, Blair saw Ash. Blair’s sister held a boar spear. Blair watched. And Ash swung the spear to meet the charge of the great black hound materializing before her. The hound impaled itself on the spear. The crossbar prevented the beast from reaching Ash. The spike on the butt of the spear bit into the cobbles on the floor of the cage. And Ash held the spear as the barghest struggled.   

Blair gasped, but caught herself. “Who’s that and why’s she fighting a barghest?”

"She’s a new girl who wouldn't play nice. Not as new as you. The countess has her fighting to the death every day. She hasn't lost yet. But they don’t heal her wounds after battle. And she’s starting to slow down. I don’t think she’ll last much longer. It's only a matter of time before she falters or makes a mistake. And when that happens, she’ll die."

Blair took two steps to the edge of the stairs leading down to the courtyard. Nadia clutched Blair’s wrist with both hands. Blair looked back. Nadia stared at Blair with furrowed brow and worried eyes. Blair looked back to the cage. 

Ash hadn’t seen her yet. Blair wondered, should she let Ash see her or not? She didn’t know. Would Ash blow Blair’s cover? Was the cover actually doing anything in the first place? 

“Ah, the disobedient one.” 

Blair spun back to see the countess looming behind Nadia. Blair resisted the urge to step between Nadia and the countess. 

The countess glided past them and gazed down at Ash as she beheaded the barghest with her saber. 

“Don’t you worry little hunter. This only happens when girls don't understand how things work. And all it would take for this one to end things would be to submit to me.” 

Blair pursed her lips, “I thought your excellency liked girls who didn't submit?”

The countess shook her head. “I like girls who try to escape. I like girls who try to kill me. But they must do so in a civil fashion. This one refused to pretend to be an obedient prisoner. Every girl intends to escape. But I expect them to show good sense. I expect them to be polite and play my game. This one refused to do so. And so you see the consequences.”

Blair watched her sister slump against the bars of the cage. Blair tore her eyes from Ash and looked at the countess. 

“I hope I prove entertaining for your excellency.”

The countess glanced from Blair to Nadia. She smiled, exposing the unmistakable fangs of an elder immortal. 

“Oh, this is already very entertaining.”