A Time to Kill

The town was barren when we left the tavern. It no longer had the bright, airy feeling of twilight, instead it had the cold and heavy fog of a funeral, dead and haunted. Not even the whores in yellow were about.

I shivered and reached for Diogo's hand. Oswald wasn't the only thing giving me goose hairs on my arm. He looked down at me, but let me take his hand anyway. I leaned into his solid warmth and yawned.

“That man gave me the creeps,” I whispered to Diogo.

He shook his head. “I wish I had taken a better account of those jewels. We practically gave them away.”

I shrugged. “It’s not like we were in a great negotiating position….And he knew it too. Want to bet that some ‘accidentally’ went into Oswald’s pocket?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

We walked on in a comfortable silence. One of Diogo’s better virtues. He knew when to shut up and when to speak. We were nearing Vanna’s house when it occurred to me that we hadn’t asked the state of the manor.

“I wonder what he meant when he said the manor is in disarray?”

“I don’t know, my lady. Perhaps it is just old and in need of repair.”

“I hope not, I am exhausted. I just want to get back to camp and sleep for the rest of the week.”

Diogo stopped abruptly. His sharp eyes focused on two figures in front of Vanna’s house. One was of course Vanna but the other was a tall red-haired man wearing a white tunic over mail. My heart sank.

Diogo put his hand on my hip and pushed me towards the forest. “Fuck, one of your Fathers men. Fuck, go back. Back!”

The man’s name was Cadwgan and he was one of the finest swordsmen in my father’s guard. He was also as mean as a snake and horny as a goat. Vanna was tough, but she didn’t stand a chance next to Cadwgan.

He towered over her while she leaned back, her arms crossed over her chest. The further back she leaned, the closer he leaned into her.

I dug my heels into the grass.“No! We can’t leave her! She helped us….She saved Burga. You have to DO something, Diogo.”

“Are you fucking….Jesus Maudrun...She’s going to tell them where we were. Jesus. Go the fuck back. We have to find another way back to camp.”

His gaze darted to the dark forest.

I tugged on his arm. “Did you not hear me? She saved Burga!”

Diogo looked between us, gnawing on his inner lip. His indecisiveness made me angry. I yanked his knife of its sheath. If we killed him now…..

I hissed. “If you won’t do something, I will! I will kill him if I have to.”

Diogo grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. “No, you will not. You do not know what it’s like to kill a man. Nor will you. Not to mention that he would kill you first.”

I stamped my foot on the ground. “I am the one he’s looking for. He would let his guard down and then I could--”

“--what? You could what? Could you stab him? He’s your fathers man. If you kill him you will not only have aided in a rape---aye a rape, isn’t that what he’s calling it?--but also murder. Can you live with that?”

“I can! And it’s not murder if it’s in self-defense!”

Diogo tried a gentle approach. “Maudurn, there is nothing you can do…”

I laughed cruelly. “Do nothing? Do nothing? And let an innocent girl take our fate? Can you live with that?”

Diogo watched Cadwgan run his hand over Vanna’s face. She visibly shuddered, pulling back, but there was no where for her to go. Diogo flattened his lips into a thin line.

He snatched the knife from my hand. “Go hide in the woods, Maudrun.”

“No, I’m coming with you!”

He grabbed my elbow and dragged me to the edge of the forest. “No. No you are not” He looked around anxiously. “You will wait here. You will not go anywhere. You will listen to me, this time. I cannot be worried about you or I will die. And my lady, I don’t want to die today.”

“I can’t just stand here. I’ll go for Alfonso!”

He grabbed my arms. “No. You won’t. Who knows where the other men are? As I said before, I cannot worry about you.”

His eyes were wide and crazy, searching mine. “Okay. Okay. I will wait here. I promise.”

He reached down in his boot and pulled out a small knife which he slapped in my hand.

“Just in case,” he said wryly. “Just don’t stab yourself with it.”

“That was one time!” I hissed, but Diogo was already walking towards Cadwgan.

I hunched down, the better to see Diogo. Cadwgan was a big man. Much bigger than Diogo. I just prayed Diogo was fast with his knife.

Diogo called out to Cadwgan, who turned around. Vanna took several steps backwards and fell hard on her rump. Cadwgan and Diogo ignored her, circling each other. Cadwgan drew his sword, and Diogo held his knife out. I didn’t know much about sword fights, but only an idiot would realize how underarmed Diogo truly was. I found myself breathing heavily, my breaths puffing out in short balls of fog. It was cold for an April evening. Oh please let Diogo be alright. Please.

It was so dark, it would be so easy to make one misstep and be sliced through with a sword. Diogo was fast, but that sword was so long. He could only duck and dodge for so long, never mind getting a hit in. They circled each other, each waiting to make the first move.

Cadwgan slashed at Diogo, who was quick to avoid the sword. Unfortunately, it put him further away from Cadwgan, making it impossible for him to get a hit in. A slightly hysterical sob escaped my lips, but neither man heard me.

It wasn’t long before Cadwgan was overtaking Diogo. I looked down at the small knife in my hand. It would be just enough to distract Diogo and get him killed. Even though he told me not to, I had to get Alfonso. I had no choice. If I ran into another of my father’s men, so be it. I would do anything to save Diogo. I jumped up and ran in the direction of our camp.

“Alfonso,” I screamed. “Alfonso!”

Ahead I saw the dim glow of a campfire, three shadowy figures and a dog gathered around. They all turned to look at me as I crashed through the thicket of trees and bushes. Alfonso took one look at my face and stood up.

He caught me by the shoulders. “What is it Maddie? Are you hurt?Where have you been?”

“I promise I’ll explain later,” my voice was shakier than I expected. “You have to trust me now and come with me.”

I grabbed his sword from the ground and thrust it in his hand. “It’s Diogo. My father’s man Cadwgan found him. Please help!” I tugged on his arm, pulling him in the direction of Diogo and Vanna.

Felipe and Faustino exchanged glances.

“Go,” said Felipe. “I’ll stay with the ladies.”

Alfonso looked between us with his eyes narrowed. He consented to let me drag him back into the forest.

“What happened?” He asked as he followed me. Faustino wasn’t far behind.

“One of my fathers men was, well going after this girl and Diogo and I stepped in.”

“What? Why would you do that?! You’ll get us all killed damnit.”

“She saved Burga….I wanted to save her. This way!”

I heard Alfonso growl behind me, but I didn’t care. Vanna and Diogo were far more important than my husbands delicate feelings. Yet another fuck up. When was my choice going to stop affecting those around me? I dug my nails into my palms as we ran. When would it end?

“Jesus, Maudrun, slow the fuck down. It’s dark as fuck.”

I didn’t dare slow down. I couldn’t. I barreled through the forest. The trees whipped past me. I even outpaced Alfonso.

“Just ahead!” I panted.

Alfonso grabbed my hand and yanked me back. I stumbled back into Faustino, who steadied me.

“Wait here, Maddie.”

“Of course.”

Faustino drew his sword and creeped behind Alfonso. I snuck closer, watching with bated breath, hoping against hope that Diogo was still alive. I wanted to look but I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to see someone else killed because of me. Diogo couldn’t be another Marcos.

I heard Alfonso curse in Portuguese and Faustino gave a shout of….laughter? What the fuck?

“Maddie, come here!” Alfonso called. His voice was almost...cheery?

I stepped out of the forest to a scene from a comedy.On the ground lay Cadwgan in a rather large pool of blood. Diogo stood beside him looking incredulously up at Vanna…

“I don’t think we have to worry about him anymore,” Faustino said.