An hour later, Luneta and Rhience came to the village the woman had told them about and rode toward the castle that rose from its center. As they passed through the town, villagers lined the streets, hissing and calling out insults at them. Some threw rotten food. "I wonder if they treated Ywain like this," Luneta said, hunching slightly as something unidentifiable but very soggy arched high above her head.
"Don't bother ducking," Rhience said softly. "Either these townspeople are the worst shots I've ever seen, or they're taking great pains to miss us. This is all for show. And no, I doubt they threw things at Ywain. Would you pelt a knight who had a lion at his side?"
Once they entered the castle, though, they received a very different reception. A slender servant in a lush velvet livery met them in the courtyard, favoring them with a deep, obsequious bow and bidding them welcome on his master's behalf. "My master begs your pardon for the churlish behavior of the villagers," the servant said smoothly. "He has warned them, but truly they are like children."
Luneta glanced once at Rhience, who only smiled sardonically. "It must be a sad trial to your master," he said. "I should be surprised if he ever has visitors, with such rude villagers at his gates."
The servant bowed again. "Indeed, it can be very lonely for my master, ruling such simple-minded people. But he loves his subjects and remains with them always."
"Admirable," murmured Rhience. "I'm sure that my lady here, Lady Luneta, should like to meet this noble landlord. What is his name?"
"Sir Garius, and he will be in raptures to meet the Lady Luneta," the servant said, his face a mask of empty politeness. Only his eyes seemed alive, as they flickered over Luneta's and Rhience's gear. "I see that you carry a sword, friend," the servant said to Rhience. "Is that usual for jesters?"
Rhience smiled, his face as bland as the servant's. "I carry it for show when I accompany Lady Luneta; I should hardly know what to do with it if she were to be in danger."
The servant nodded with satisfaction, then snapped his fingers. At once two grooms appeared and took their horses' reins. Luneta and Rhience glanced at each other, then dismounted and watched their horses being led away. Rhience's sword was still on his saddle, and Luneta's magical supplies were still in her saddlebags. She felt suddenly vulnerable and moved closer to Rhience as the velvet valet bowed them through the great door into the keep.
They came into a vast entrance hall, evidently the heart of the castle. The walls were lined with doors, all closed and barred, and from the center of the hall rose a great stone staircase. The servant pointed at two chairs, and then, to Luneta's surprise, disappeared.
"I almost felt more welcome in the village," Rhience commented. "For all his smiles, this gentleman is hardly pleased to see us."
"Do you think Ywain is here?" Luneta asked.
"Let's look," Rhience replied, walking to the first of the closed doors, removing the bar, and pushing it open.
"I'll try upstairs," Luneta said, running lightly up the steps. At the top were more barred doors and, branching off to either side, dark corridors. Luneta checked first behind the doors but found only dusty, unused bedchambers. Then she turned down the first corridor. In this hall, there were no doors, barred or otherwise, or windows. Luneta decided she would turn back once it got too dark to see, but just before the darkness became absolute, the passage ended at a very solid oaken door. Like every other door in this castle, it was barred, but this time when Luneta removed the bar and pushed, it didn't budge. This door was evidently barred on both sides. She was just about to return to Rhience when she heard a faint sound from the other side of the door. Luneta concentrated her inner ear at the door and listened: inside a woman was sobbing.
This was no solitary woman locked in her room, though. Something in the echoic quality of the sound indicated that the weeping woman was at the other end of a large room, and as Luneta listened, she heard another woman's voice, trying to comfort the crier. Then a man's voice broke in, gruffly telling them both to be quiet, and all sounds stopped. As Luneta looked uncertainly at the door, Rhience's voice came from the end of the hallway: "Luneta! I've found him!" Almost reluctantly, Luneta returned to the top of the stairs, where Rhience and Ywain awaited her.
"Luneta," Ywain said, with an anxious smile. "I must apologize to you. It was very rude for me to slip away so suddenly from Laudine's castle. Are you angry?"
Her mind still occupied with the crying woman, Luneta at first didn't understand what he was talking about. "Oh, that," she said at last. "Don't be silly. You were quite right. I was making plans for you and Laudine, and I shouldn't have been."
"Whether you know it or not," Rhience said wryly, "that's a magnificent concession for Luneta. To admit that she might not have known what was best for someone ... an incredible display of humility."
"Shut up, Rhience," Luneta said automatically.
Ywain smiled and changed the subject. "Rhience says that you've come looking for me, but he didn't have time to tell me why."
Luneta briefly remembered Philomela's legal problems and the trial by combat, but she put them from her mind. Glancing again down the hallway behind her, she thought furiously. "Come back down to the entrance hall. Let's not let that servant know that we've been looking around."
"Why not?" Rhience asked.
"They're hiding something. Come on," Luneta said, hurrying down the steps.
"What's the matter?" Rhience asked when they were at the foot of the stairs.
"Where did you find Ywain?" Luneta asked.
"That doorway there leads to another room and then to another room beyond that. Ywain was in the third room."
"Actually," Ywain said, "I was kicking my heels in this hall until half an hour ago. Then that oppressive servant bustled me away."
Luneta nodded. "That must have been when they saw us approaching through the town. They moved you because they didn't want us to meet."
"But why wouldn't they?" Rhience asked. He was watching Luneta's face closely.
"For the same reason all the peasants are supposed to discourage visitors," Luneta said.
"Oh, were they rude to you too?" Ywain asked. "Wasn't that horrible? I've never known such an ill-mannered populace. Why, if I hadn't had Lass with me, I think they might have even attacked, they were so beastly."
"They wouldn't have attacked," Rhience said.
"Where is Lass?" Luneta asked quickly.
"She's in a room near the stables, with my gear. The servant said that his master's daughter is afraid of large animals."
"Your weapons are there, too?" Luneta demanded.
"Yes, of course," Ywain said. His brow knitted. "Why?"
"Then we have no weapons at all," Luneta said.
"Do you think we'll need any?" Ywain asked. "I mean, the people outside were nasty, but it's been pleasant here in the castle. We may have been in some danger out there, but surely not here."
"There was no danger out there," Rhience said. Quickly he repeated to Ywain what the old women had told them. "If anyone's found being nice to a stranger, his lands are confiscated," Rhience concluded. "Or, if it's a woman, something else was to happen. Do you remember what, Luneta?"
"The woman said that she'd be forced to sew with the prisoners," Luneta said slowly.
"That's right," Rhience said. "I didn't quite understand that bit."
"Me neither, but I wish I'd asked her," Luneta said. She told Rhience and Ywain what she had heard through the door at the end of the corridor. "They've got some secret here that they don't want anyone finding out. There are women being held captive behind that door."
"Which explains why they discourage outsiders," Ywain said.
Luneta nodded. "And why they took our weapons from us and shut Lass up and tried to keep us apart."
Ywain frowned. "You don't think they mean to kill us? To keep some secret? But that servant was so polite."
"Once we're here, what would be the point of being rude?" Luneta replied. "Better to be nice, take our weapons away, and then get rid of us at their leisure."
"What should we do?" Rhience asked.
Ywain smiled suddenly, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, if I'm about to be murdered, I'd like to know why. Let's go back to that door, Luneta."
Luneta led them back upstairs. Ywain's step was jaunty, and he whistled softly as he walked. Luneta realized again that danger only made her cousin cheerful, and she shook her head. At the door, Ywain felt all around the edges, then said, "Hinges on the inside, so it opens that way." He dropped to his knees and pressed his mouth to the crack beneath the door. "Knock on the door for me, will you, Rhience? Hard."
Rhience glanced at Luneta, shrugged, and then began banging on the door. At the first knock, Ywain began growling something indistinguishable in a gruff and impatient voice. Then he listened at the opening. "Do it again," he said.
Rhience knocked and Ywain gave his angry growl four times before Luneta heard hesitant footsteps coming near. Ywain leaped to his feet and said, "Stand back from the door." A moment later Luneta heard the unmistakable sound of a bar being drawn from its place, and the door moved.
Ywain threw his body against it, thrusting it wide open. Inside, Luneta had the vague sense of a huge torchlit room, but her eyes focused on the thin figure that was falling away from the door. Ywain leaped forward, then checked his attack. At his feet lay a terrified-looking woman.
"I'm so sorry," the woman whispered. "I'm so very, very sorry. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have startled you like that!"
Ywain extended his hand to her. " You shouldn't have startled me?" he asked. "I should have thought it was the other way around. Do let me help you up, madam. I beg your pardon for knocking you down."
"Oh, no, you mustn't think of that," the woman said. She looked as if she were blushing. "I'm sure I brought it on myself." Looking away from Ywain's extended hand, she climbed to her feet without assistance.
"Permit me to introduce myself, madam," Ywain said, sweeping a courtly bow. "I am called the Knight of the Lion, and these are my friends Rhience and the Lady Luneta."
The woman bobbed a curtsy and looked at the dirty floor at their feet. "I'm very sorry that it took me so long," she gabbled self-consciously. "It is most unfortunate that the foreman should have stepped out just at this time, and of course we aren't used to new ladies coming in by that door, but I was afraid that the Brothers would be displeased with us if we kept them waiting, and truly you did sound very angry to me." The thin woman peeked up for a moment, then looked down. "Where are the other ladies?"
"There is only one lady with me," Ywain replied.
The woman looked at Luneta a gave a tremulous smile. "Welcome. You know, I didn't think it was already time for the regular thirty. You must be a special case. Let me show you around. I've been here the longest so I'm usually the one who does that."
Luneta was just about to ask the woman to explain what she meant when she heard Rhience say, "By all the gods!" and she looked up.
They were standing on a wooden landing at the top of a stairway, about midway up the wall of the largest room Luneta had ever seen outside a cathedral, and on the floor of the room were dozens of women sewing by torchlight. Three or four looked up at them, but most of the women simply hunched over their work.
"What is all this?" Luneta asked breathlessly.
"This is the workshop where you'll be working, of course," the thin woman replied, taking Luneta's hand and leading her downstairs. "You come at a good time. We've just had a place come open."
One of the women who had looked up spoke in a restrained but very clear voice. "Why don't you tell them why the place came open, Dorothea?"
"Sophia," the thin woman said sternly. "If I were you, I'd concentrate on my work. You're hardly healed from the last time you were found dawdling."
The woman called Sophia ignored the thin woman and looked at Luneta. "One of the workers died yesterday. Her name was Arivelle."
"Of course we're very sorry for poor Arivelle," Dorothea said, "but she was a very slow worker, and her unfortunate fate is a reminder to us all that if we simply do our best here, we can all live very happily."
"Very happily indeed," Sophia repeated, without expression.
"What is all this?" Luneta asked again, but this time addressing her question to Sophia. "Why are you all working here?"
"Don't you know?" Sophia asked. Luneta shook her head. "You mean that you haven't been brought here to work with us?"
"No," Luneta said. "We're travelers from outside this land who found our way to this castle and discovered this doorway."
Dorothea gasped and turned nearly white. "Oh, no! Please go away! If you're found here and the Brothers hear that I let an outsider into our community..." She trailed off, evidently unable either to imagine or to express the fate that would befall her.
"Where does that door lead?" demanded Sophia.
"Into the castle, up to the entrance hall," Luneta replied.
"No, Sophia! Don't even think it!" Dorothea said vehemently. "If you run away, the rest of us will be beaten! You know the rules."
"What if we all run away?" Sophia asked.
"They'll catch us!" Dorothea said despairingly. "The Brothers!"
"Are you prisoners here?" Luneta demanded.
Speaking simultaneously, Sophia said, "Yes," and Dorothea said, "No." Sophia gave Dorothea a weary look, then turned to Luneta. "Yes," she repeated. "We're all from the Isle of Wight. Ten years ago, the lord of this land, Sir Garius, fought a war against our king and defeated him, mostly because two monstrous fiends fought for Sir Carius, two brothers who are like demons of Hell. No one could stand before them, and our king surrendered. The terms of peace permitted our king to keep his throne, but every year he has to provide thirty women to serve Sir Carius here in Diradvent."
"Diradvent?" Ywain interrupted suddenly. "Is that the name of this land?"
"Yes," Sophia replied. "You've heard of us?"
"Everyone at court knows about Diradvent embroidery and clothing," Ywain said. "It is the finest in England and is much in demand." He looked around. "And this is where it is made?" he asked, horror in his voice.
Dorothea, who had been clutching her hands anxiously throughout this exchange, was suddenly distracted. "Oh, ladies! Did you hear that? Our embroidery is famous!"
Sophia ignored her, as did the other laboring women. "This is where it is made," she repeated softly. "We sew here ten hours at a time, then sleep for five hours, then start again."
"Fifteen hours is not a full day," Rhience pointed out. His voice was quiet.
"Day and night mean nothing here," Sophia replied. "I haven't seen the daylight since I came, three years ago."
Ywain was still gazing around in horror. "Your king sends thirty of his subjects, thirty women, to work in this hole, so that he can keep his throne?"
"That's right."
"Is a throne worth trading away your own soul?" Rhience whispered.
Ywain continued, "And he's done this for ten years? Three hundred women?" Sophia nodded. "I see less than a hundred here. Where are the rest?"
"These are all that live," Sophia replied simply. "We are fed poorly, and if we do not sew well, we are beaten."
Dorothea interrupted suddenly. "But you don't tell the whole story!" she snapped. "Why should we not sew our very best for the kind master who gives us food and shelter? And at least it is work that is suitable for us!"
"I see nothing suitable here," Ywain said.
"I only mean that sewing is what women are good at. We are asked to do only what we do well. And as for the food, women don't need as much as men. Only those women who have overly high opinions of themselves think that we're ill used." Here she looked pointedly at Sophia.
Luneta stared at Dorothea. "Do you defend your captors?" she asked.
"I am not a captive," Dorothea said proudly. "I am very comfortable with my lot here and do not ask for anything more."
"Don't think too harshly of Dorothea," Sophia said quickly, before Luneta could respond. "She's been here longer than any of us, the only survivor of the first group that came ten years ago. Whatever she says, she has survived."
"But I won't much longer if you're found!" Dorothea said urgently. "I opened that door only because I thought it might be the Brothers, but now you must leave!"
Ywain looked at Sophia. "Will you come with us?" he asked.
Sophia hesitated, but only for a moment. "Not unless everyone leaves with me," she said. "Dorothea was right. If one escapes, everyone will be beaten, and some here won't live through another beating. Can you get us all away?"
Rhience said, "We can't even guarantee we'll get away ourselves." Ywain started to speak, but Rhience said, "I know, Ywain. But the only thing to do is to leave for now. It sounds as if these Brothers are the key. Get rid of them, and we can come back."
Ywain nodded slowly. Luneta turned to Sophia. "You can trust this knight," she said. "He won't leave until you're free or he's dead." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Neither will I." Then she and her friends went back up the stairs, barred the door behind them, and returned to the entrance hall together. No one spoke.
"Sir!" the velvet servant exclaimed as he came into the entrance hall and saw Ywain sitting with Rhience and Luneta. "I did not think to find you here!"
"Oh, no," Ywain replied blandly, "but I grew bored in that other room and found this lady and her friend. We've had a very pleasant visit while we waited for you to return."
The servant gave a forced smile. "I'm delighted to hear it," he said. "Indeed, I was just coming back to introduce you to each other, as would have been proper."
"That's so kind of you!" Luneta said brightly. "And will you now conduct us to your master? He seems such a fine man, to stay here ruling over his surly people!"
"Indeed," the servant said with a bow. "If the three of you will follow me."
He led them up the stairs and down the opposite hallway from the one leading to the women. Unlike the other passage, this hall was well lit and lined with doors that stood open, revealing several opulently furnished salons and sitting rooms. Sir Garius seemed able to afford the very best. At the last door, the servant stopped. He spoke briefly to Ywain, making sure he had their names correct, then opened the door and said, "My lord and my lady, may I present to you the Knight of the Lion, Lady Luneta, and their companion, Rhience the Fool!"
Luneta followed Ywain into the room and, to her surprise, saw not only a kind-looking old man with fine white hair but a brightly smiling girl of about her own age. The girl saw Luneta, and her eyes sparkled with delight. "Oh, Father! Look! The Lady Luneta is just a girl like me!"
"Remember your manners, Floria," the white-haired man said indulgently.
"Oh, dear, my tongue has run away with me again," the girl said, blushing prettily. "I do beg your pardon, my lady, but we have so few visitors, and most of them are so old and fusty that I couldn't help being delighted to see someone near my own age!" Floria leaped to her feet to sweep a curtsy and then stopped as her eyes fell on Ywain's face. "Oh, my!" she said, suddenly wide-eyed and breathless.
Ywain bowed. "Lady Floria, is it?" he said, smiling. Glancing at him, Luneta realized that even through his beard, Ywain was quite good-looking.
"Oh, my!" Floria said again.
The white-haired man rose to his feet. "I hardly need say so, but we are also quite unused to having handsome young men to visit." Floria turned bright red but didn't take her eyes from Ywain's face. "I am Sir Carius, lord of these lands, and I am honored to greet you all."
Luneta could only gape at them. Was this gentle old man the one who had imprisoned three hundred women, killing more than half of them with cruel labor? She glanced at Rhience and found him looking at her, equal amazement in his eyes.
"We were just about to go to dinner," Sir Carius said. "I would be honored if you would join me. We are thin of company this evening, I'm afraid, and it will be a simple family gathering—just the five of us."
"We would be honored, Sir Carius," Ywain said. "But surely you were not expecting us and have not prepared for three more guests."
"I believe there will be enough," Sir Carius said placidly. Then he led them through a side door into the most extravagantly decorated dining hall Luneta had ever seen. Every wall was covered with brilliant tapestries, and the little bit of wall that showed between the hangings glowed with gilding. The long banquet table was covered with food, more than five people could eat in a week. The plates were of gold, and the goblets of purest crystal.
"Come sit beside me, Lady Luneta!" Floria called out. Luneta sat in the place that Floria had indicated and was immediately swept up in a flood of chatter.
"Floria!" her father said gently. "You forget yourself again. You will give our guests a very odd opinion of our manners here in Diradvent."
Rhience chose a place directly opposite Luneta and said, "Indeed, it is pleasant to meet someone so courteous here. I must confess that we saw little in the way of courtesy from your people."
Sir Carius nodded, a picture of benevolent tolerance. "We are a small land and have been beset by enemies. I'm afraid that it has made the people suspicious, and in their simple boorishness they treat outsiders ill. But"—he turned his attention back to his daughter—"the doltishness of our people is no excuse for us to talk our guests' ears off at dinner, my child."
Floria blushed, stammered an apology, then turned her attention to the dinner. For this Luneta could hardly blame her. Their meal was sumptuous beyond words. Luneta had thought that Laudine lived luxuriously, and she had reveled in the banquet at Camelot, but she had never even imagined such extravagance as she found here. Servants in silk and velvet hovered at their elbows, ready to refill every glass or whisk away every dish at a moment's notice. Luneta could not enjoy it, though. All this luxury, she realized, must have been paid for by the labor of those women down the dark hallway. Remembering them, Luneta could only be amazed by the casual indifference that Sir Carius and Floria showed to their opulent surroundings.
After dinner, Luneta was swept away by Floria to a private bedchamber where, evidently, Floria would be permitted to "talk her guest's ears off," which she did. For nearly three hours, Floria talked almost without stopping, while Luneta could only listen with incredulity to her cheerful, artless prattle. Luneta decided that the bubbling Floria could not possibly know about the prisoners whose labor allowed her to live in such style. If she did, she could hardly be so brightly cheerful. The only time that Floria stopped talking was when she discovered that Luneta, instead of being Ywain's lady, was his cousin. At that welcome news, her mouth dropped open and her eyes shone. "Do you think he liked me?" she asked suddenly, before bursting into embarrassed giggles.
Luneta blinked, swallowed, then managed a faint smile. "I really couldn't say," she was able to reply. Floria launched into a rapturous appraisal of Ywain's beauty, and Luneta could only shake her head. They had determined earlier in the evening that only a few months separated them in age, but in some way that Luneta couldn't explain, Floria was years younger than she. At last a bell rang somewhere farther down the hall, and Floria broke off. "Oh," she said breathlessly. "That's Father ringing for bedtime prayers. I must go. Will I see you tomorrow? We have private mass in the chapel every morning at nine. You'll be there, won't you?" The bell rang again, and Floria gave a little squawk and rushed from Luneta's room.
Luneta listened at the door until Floria's footsteps had faded away, then waited another ten minutes. There was no sound. Apparently when Sir Carius called for prayers, he meant it. She crept from her room and began listening intently at every door she came to. She heard nothing until suddenly, from the room at the far end of the corridor, there were voices.
She stopped moving so as to listen more closely. A gruff, gutteral voice that she didn't know was saying, "They have to die, of course."
"Could it not wait for a few days?" came Sir Carius's voice, no longer quietly assured but faint and trembling. "At least let the girl live for a while. My daughter has no friends."
"Your daughter has more gold than Queen Guinevere," a third voice interjected. "Let that be enough for her. We can't let any of them live. Wendel says that at least one of them had been wandering about the castle, and we don't know what they might have found."
"But—"
"You'll do what you're told," said the first voice. "Tell them you're taking them to mass in the morning and lead them out to the courtyard. We'll handle it from there."
"Yes, sir," Sir Carius said, faint and weary-sounding.
These must be the Brothers, those demon men who had inspired such fear in Dorothea, Luneta thought. She heard their steps moving toward the chamber door and realized suddenly that she was in plain sight of anyone stepping from that room. Leaping forward to the next door, which providentially was unbarred, she opened it and slipped inside. Then she froze, seeing a fire burning in the hearth, but a moment later she relaxed: by the fire were Ywain and Rhience. Holding a warning finger to her lips, Luneta listened at the door until the Brothers had left Sir Carius's room and passed by. When at last their heavy footsteps had faded, she turned to her friends. "They're planning to kill us in the morning," she said.
"You heard them?" Rhience asked.
Luneta nodded. "Sir Carius will get us up for mass tomorrow, lead us out to the courtyard, and these Brothers that everyone's so afraid of will be waiting."
"I'll need a weapon," Ywain said, his eyes bright. "My sword is in the little stone building just east of the stables."
"They'll have it locked," Rhience said.
"Maybe I can open it," Luneta said. "Let's go try, at least." Then she froze and put her fingers to her lips again. Someone was padding softly down the hall. She pointed at the door and the others nodded. Then, while they waited, they heard the gentle scrape of a wooden bar being dropped into place outside the door. They were barred in. Luneta looked around quickly, but there were no windows. The soft footsteps whispered away.
Rhience sighed. "And we only have two beds," he said. Neither spoke, and Rhience shrugged. "Never mind. I like sleeping in chairs."
After a brief conference, they came up with a plan, such as it was. As soon as they reached the courtyard the next morning, they would rush for the stone storage room and try to get Ywain's weapons. There was a chance that a sudden dash would take their assassins by surprise and give them some time. Having come to this decision, Ywain chose a club from the woodpile by the fire. It wasn't very long, but it was as thick as his wrist and seemed strong. Then, with a carefree smile, he turned in and was asleep immediately.
"He's enjoying this, isn't he?" Luneta asked.
Rhience nodded. "He'll do what he can to avoid fighting now, but when he can't escape it, he embraces the challenge. He's born to fight."
"Insana," Luneta said.
"Insanus," Rhience corrected in a stern voice. "One must use the masculine form of the adjective when speaking of a male lunatic. Now do it right."
"Insani," Luneta said. "Masculine plural." Then she went to bed.
Sir Garius led them down a narrow stairway, apologizing as he walked ahead of them that Floria wasn't able to join them. "She's hardly ever ill," he was saying, "but she looked so pale this morning, I felt she should stay in bed."
More like you didn't want her to see us being murdered, Luneta thought briefly, but she was too busy listening ahead of them to dwell on Sir Carius's lies. At last, as they approached a door leading out to the courtyard, she heard what she was after, faint rustlings of clothing and shuffling of feet. She leaned close to Ywain and whispered, "They're on either side of that doorway."
"I'll just go ahead of you here," Sir Garius said, his voice shaking slightly, but Ywain reached out swiftly and grasped him by the collar. Taken completely by surprise, Sir Carius made no sound as Ywain dumped him unceremoniously behind them and then with a powerful shove propelled Rhience and Luneta before him out the door and into the open courtyard.
The Brothers must have been waiting for Sir Garius to come out first, because they didn't strike. Rhience and Luneta sprawled face-first into the dusty yard, but from the corner of her eye Luneta saw that Ywain had already spun around like a cat and smashed his short cudgel against one of the Brothers' shins. An amazingly large shin. A howl of pain broke the silence, and then the other Brother brought a heavy axe down on the spot where Ywain had been a moment before.
Luneta became aware of Rhience shouting in her ear. "Quick, Luneta, to the storeroom!" he called, and Luneta turned away from the battle to race after him. He led her to a small stone structure, just where Ywain had said it would be, and they tugged at the door. It was locked.
"I'll go get my sword," Rhience shouted, racing into the stables, but Luneta barely heard him. Instead, she went to a small barred window to the left of the storeroom door and peered in. For a long moment she could see nothing, but when her eyes adjusted to the gloom inside, she made out the shape of Ywain's sword against the far wall. The sounds of battle grew closer, but she resolutely ignored them. Reaching her hand through the bars, she uttered a sharp command, and Ywain's sword leaped from its scabbard and flew across to her waiting grasp. Drawing the blade through the window, she whirled around to see Ywain backing slowly away from two of the largest men that Luneta had ever seen. Both carried halberds that would have been too long for most men but that looked small in their massive paws. Their cruel faces grinned with anticipation as they raised their weapons to strike.
"Ywain!" Luneta screamed, throwing the sword to her cousin. The Brothers halted their advance for a second when she screamed, and Ywain snatched the sword deftly from the air and struck. He dived forward and to his right as his sword flashed, which placed one of the Brothers between him and the other. Both Brothers were frozen for a moment, as Ywain landed, rolled, and sprang back to his feet, and then Luneta realized that the first Brother was staring stupidly at the stump that had been his forearm. His hand, still clutching the halberd, lay in the dirt at his feet.
As one, the Brothers began screaming with berserk fury and threw themselves at Ywain, but he had the open courtyard behind him now and, being faster than his pursuers, was able to stay out of their reach. Rhience came panting up out of the stables. "My sword is gone," he said, "but I found your saddlebags. Is there something in here you could use?"
Luneta shook her head numbly. She had no weapons among her magical supplies. But at that moment a low growl from behind her cleared her head. "Lass!" she said. The lioness was locked in the storeroom. "Stand back!" Luneta shouted, rummaging in her bags. A moment later, she produced a clay flask filled with white powder. Dusting the storeroom door with the powder, she called in a firm voice, " Attun nurah!" and the door burst into white flames.
"Not bad," murmured Rhience's voice in her ear. "Can you do that with damp wood, too? Sometimes on the trail I have the deuce of a time—"
"Stand back, I said," she snapped. Waving her hand again, she called out, "Tal shemayah!" and the flames stopped abruptly. All that was left of the door was a smoking black hole ringed with a few charred fragments of wood. Then a long, tawny shape flew through the doorway and streaked across the courtyard toward Ywain and the Brothers.
The next few moments were a flurry of sound and motion. As Ywain told the story later, he had been penned into a corner and was about to be killed when Lass came to his rescue. Luneta didn't remember Ywain being so hard-pressed, but she always let Ywain tell the story his way. What was certain was that Lass struck one of the Brothers on the back, ripping with her claws and slashing with her great fangs, making that Brother bellow with surprise and rage and turn sharply around. Immediately, Ywain sliced off the head of the other Brother, and a few moments later, both Brothers lay dead in the courtyard.
Suddenly trembling and weak, Luneta sank to her knees, unable to tear her eyes from the monstrous bodies of the two horrible Brothers. "It's over, then?" she whispered.
"Not yet," Rhience said, gripping her shoulder reassuringly. "You stay here with Ywain and Lass. I'll be back in a few minutes." He strode across the courtyard to the front door that they had entered by the day before and disappeared inside. Ywain rumpled the lioness's ears and scratched her head, then the two of them walked back to Luneta.
"Are you hurt, cousin?" Ywain asked, seeing her kneeling in the dust. Luneta shook her head and smiled. Ywain grinned back at her. "Thanks for the sword—and for freeing Lass. It was looking a bit grim there." Taking Luneta's hand, Ywain raised her to her feet.
"No one else could have won such a battle," Luneta said.
"Of course not," Ywain replied. "No one else has a lion."
"Lioness," Luneta murmured.
The doors of the castle burst open and Sir Garius and Floria rushed out joyfully. Gazing with delight at the prone figures of the two Brothers, Sir Carius said, "The Knight of the Lion! Such a battle! Sir, I am forever in your debt! Ever since those two demon spawn came to this land, eleven long years ago, they have held me in their power. They sent me to war against my wishes! They have kept me and my daughter veritable prisoners in our own castle! I dared not cross their will in anything! But you have delivered us! Sir Knight"—Sir Carius took a deep breath and lifted his chin—"In return for your bravery, I offer you the most precious gift I could ever give! I offer you my daughter's hand in marriage!"
Luneta blinked and looked at Floria, but the blushing girl was gazing limpidly up into Ywain's face and was clearly not at all averse to her father's plan.
"But I don't want to marry your daughter," Ywain said simply. Sir Carius and Floria looked stunned, and Ywain continued, "I ask a different gift instead."
"What is that, Sir Knight?" Sir Carius said, his voice far more restrained.
"Set your prisoners free," Ywain said.
For a long moment, no one spoke, and then Sir Carius replied in a mild voice, "Prisoners? I have no prisoners."
Ywain's tone grew harder. "The women who live as slaves in your castle, sewing the fine products of Diradvent."
Sir Carius smiled, but without enthusiasm. "Oh, the workers! But they aren't prisoners! Why, those women are artists who have come to us to ply their skill! They are free to leave whenever they wish!"
"Sir Carius," Ywain said sternly, "they live behind barred doors in darkness, working as slaves. I gave you a chance to prove yourself a man of honor, and if you had agreed to let these poor women go, perhaps you could have claimed that you never meant such evil. Then you would have appeared a coward but not a villain. You refused, though."
"But all our land's prosperity comes from the women's wares! The well-being of all our people!" Sir Carius exclaimed. "Before the Brothers came, I was a poor baron, barely surviving off the rents of our land!"
"Nevertheless, you must set the women free," Ywain said.
"I won't!" Sir Carius declared.
"Never mind, Ywain," Luneta said, chuckling suddenly. She pointed at the main entrance of the castle, where Rhience had suddenly appeared. He had the slender servant who had met them the day before by the scruff of the neck and was dragging him along, while behind him strode the woman Sophia, followed by a flood of ragged and emaciated women. The women blinked and gazed about them as they stepped into the light, but they stayed behind Sophia and Rhience.
"Lady Sophia," Ywain said, as Rhience and Sophia drew near.
"I am no lady," Sophia replied. "I am a miller's daughter."
"Do not contradict me, Lady Sophia," Ywain said. "Welcome back to the world of the living."
Sophia shook her head slightly, but only said, "World of the living, indeed. Until now, we were like the dead, in a tomb. This is no less than a resurrection."
"Please, Father," Floria said suddenly, ignoring Ywain and Sophia. "Aren't the women going to sew for us anymore?"
Luneta looked uncomprehendingly at Floria. She had known all along about her father's slave labor.
"No, they are not," Ywain replied firmly.
"But, won't that change everything?" Floria asked, her eyes wide with sudden worry. "I mean, will we still have nice things?"
Luneta, Rhience, and Ywain stared at Floria. At last Ywain said, "Not the same ones, at any rate." Then, in a ringing voice, he declared, "I claim this castle by right of conquest! I have slain the true rulers of this land; now it is mine to do with as I will!" He raised his reddened sword in the air and called out, "Does anyone dispute my claim?"
Floria tugged on her father's sleeve, but Sir Carius stared at the ground and said nothing.
Ywain turned to Sophia. "Lady Sophia, yesterday you had a chance to leave your prison, but you stayed to protect others. This was the act of a great queen. I give this castle, and all its lands, buildings, and treasures, to you. Do with it as you deem best."
"No!" cried Sir Garius in a wrenching voice.
Sophia ignored him and nodded gravely at Ywain. "I accept," she said. Turning to the other women, she shouted, "You are free now! Whether you wish to go or stay, I will see to it that you are cared for!" A few ladies cheered, but most seemed too weak. They could only smile.
"And what about Sir Carius and his daughter, my lady?" Rhience asked.
Sophia considered them for a moment, then said, "You must leave this land. You may each take a horse and whatever you can pack in one bag, but do not return."
"You are too generous to them, my lady," Ywain said, his voice harsh. "Sir Carius is no less a murderer than the Brothers, even if he was just doing as he was told."
Sophia shook her head. "They are losing everything that they care for. It is enough."
Sir Carius stamped his foot and said, "This is not lawful!"
Ywain turned hard eyes on the old man. "Accept the grace that has been offered you. Go pack your bags or leave without them."
Slowly at first, then with sudden frenzy, Sir Carius turned and ran back into the castle, doubtless to fill a bag with gold and precious gems. Weeping with anger and frustration, Floria ran after him, screaming as she ran, "Why didn't you stop them? I don't want to leave the castle! Why didn't you do something?"
Rhience shook his head sadly. "Whatever they take away, they'll spend it in a month, and then they'll never let each other forget that one time they were rich. It would almost be kinder to kill them now." Then he shook the velvet servant, whom he still held by the collar. "And what about this miserable worm?"
Sophia hesitated, and Ywain said, "May I make a suggestion?" Sophia nodded, and Ywain rumpled Lass's ears. "My friend here is hungry. This fellow promised to feed her last night, but he did not. I would imagine that she could finish him off by evening."
The servant gave a yelp, wrenched himself free from Rhience's grasp, and sprinted toward the castle gate.
Sophia watched him run until he was out of sight, and then looked at Ywain and Rhience. "To say the truth, we're all hungry. Is there any food in this castle you've given me?"
Rhience chuckled. "Is there any food?" he repeated. "Just come with me to the kitchens and see."