Chapter 11

Part 3

The Nun and the Rebel

- Elly -

With stoic calm Elly went about placing the little belongings she had brought from her aunt's place into her half of the single wardrobe that would be her own from that day on. Then she stepped back and let her eyes wander through the small chamber.

Bleak walls, two beds, both smaller than the one she'd had back at home, with too worn sheets, one shared desk and a chair for sitting at, which she didn't trust to carry even half her weight with how many times it seemed to have been repaired already.

She had cried and screamed and even begged to go back home again instead, but her aunt had not been swayed and Elly hadn't had it in her to try her luck on her own again. She had been too scared of being alone. She still was.

A soft knock sounded from the door and without waiting for an answer it was pulled open.

"Hello there," the girl with a tooth gap at the door said. She was dressed in the nun's apprentice robes, same as Elly, simple black dresses with long sleeves.

"Good day," Elly said.

"Uh, how polite," the girl said. "My name is Sarah, pleasure to meet you."

"Elly."

"Hello Elly. Too soon to ask you what crimes you committed to end up at the end of the world?"

Elly grimaced. "Yes."

"Don't fret about it. We are all the same here," the girl said knowingly. The compassion in her voice ached in Elly's heart. "Want me to show you around the buildings of the convent?"

The head nun had given Elly a tour upon arrival that afternoon already, which had taken about ten minutes and been rather uneventful. Everything in and around the convent was fairly grey and empty. Living quarters, church halls, kitchen and dining room, all equippedonly with the bare essentials. Gloom and hopelessness creeped out of everycrack in the building's walls.

"I'll have to go make my pledges as soon as I am done here," Elly declined politely.

"Alright then. But if you need anything let me know."

"Thank you."

The girl closed the door behind her. Elly stopped at her task, fighting back tears, then she shoved the last piece of clothing she would never wear again into the wardrobe and forced it shut harshly.

A string of unfortunate coincidences. Bad luck. Nothing more.

Elly sniffled, forced herself to some determination, then found her way down to the main hall of the church, where the elder nuns welcomed her for the ceremony.

It wasn't anything fancy, as Elly had expected. There was no music, no crowd, no nothing. Besides Elly it was three nuns and an old book she placed her hand upon while reading the few lines from it. An older nun spoke a prayer and then it was over.

For the end of her life Elly had expected something more, something meaningful, anything.

But it wasn't.

Just like she herself was not meaningful.

***

After a wash with freezing cold water Elly prepared herself for bed. Her arms were sore and blistered from the chores the head nun had made her do. Cultivating a garden or anything was close to impossible in those harsh mountain regions. And although she was used to hard work, that night Elly felt exhausted beyond reason.

"Ready?" Sarah asked upon arriving at the door. Her face fell to a frown when she mustered Elly in her night gowns. "Nobody told you?" she asked then.

"Told me what?"

Sarah smirked. "That we do not take our pledges that earnestly here. Come on, we are heading to town."

"To town?" Elly repeated as a question, but did not receive an answer. Despite protests and reasons Sarah nudged her to come along.

Little later Elly trotted after the small group of girls over the frosty path towards the few houses down the mountain. She shivered and pulled her worn coat tighter.

It was too cold for autumn in the mountains.

Her eyes clung at the church, that stood tall like a fortress and dark like a grave. She felt a little bit less safe with every step away from her new home. It was not as bad as she had expected it to be. Her life had been ruined by men and money. In that place neither of that mattered, and leaving it she felt almost certain something bad was lurking in the shadows just waiting to jump out to take away what little peace she had found yet again.

"I think I should turn back. I am tired," Elly tried.

Sarah gave her a knowing smile and hooked her arm to Ellys. "You'll have fun. Don't worry. "

Elly shook her head. She didn't remember the last time she felt like fun. Elaina had always been lots of fun. But look where life had gotten the both of them.

According to her old friend's last letter, the girl had been brought to her husband's extended family after the encounter with the Count where she had to take care of children that were not her own and scrub bathrooms for a noble family without getting paid.

The girls entered a small establishment rustling with noisy people. Dim light cast flickering shadows over dark wooden tables loaded withglasses and dirty plates. Men with grim faces sat together, others laughed overwomen with indecent dresses. The place reminded Elly of the Old Hilker's bar she had fetched her father from a few times, and she could have sworn one man at the bar looked just like him.

Her heart ached with the want for her home. She never should have left it. If she had just known then what she knew now.

"We shouldn't be here," Elly whispered to Sarah. But the girl acted like she didn't even hear her. They settled at an already occupied table in between some boys who seemed to know the young nuns all too well.

"Why do you think that?" Sarah said when Elly wasn't expecting an answer anymore. "Because your family told you so? Because the snob societies think so?" The girl glimpsed at Elly with a wicked grin. "To hell with them all." Sarah rose a half empty cup obviously belonging to somebody else. "To hell with all the prejudices and the snob society's rules!" she yelled through the group and earned herself agreement.

Elly wondered how the girl with the tooth gap knew such fancy words, for all she knew Sarah was a farmer's daughter who couldn't even properly read.

But somehow Elly couldn't entirely disagree. Who had even decided that being anything but a housewife was something to be frowned upon?

Then again, she would have rather been a housewife. She had always enjoyed cooking with her mother and taking care of things at home. She shouldn't have been so curious. So headstrong.

"Listen, I heard the kingmaker is in Aranfell," one of the boys on the table said. He was a sturdy guy, most likely a wood worker Elly assumed, with short brown hair and obvious little talent for shaving. "I say we go see him tomorrow. Maybe there is some truth to the rumours."

"What is a kingmaker?" Elly asked Sarah when a noisy discussion broke out. Some voices yelled agreement, others found creative excuses why they were busy that day.

Sarah laughed. "Not what, who. People say he is a man gathering followers for a rebellion."

Elly pulled a face. She'd had enough of all the things people said and she supposed rebellions nothing good. She couldn't even put to words how much she regretted her own rebellion.

"You favour the King's rule?" a slim guy to Elly's left said. It took her a moment to realize he was talking to her.

"I favour keeping my nose out of things where it doesn't belong," she said. Her father had told her plenty times, maybe it was time she started following his advices. Although, he might not have been a wise man.

The slim guy pulled his lips to a boyish grin, making him look much younger than he probably was. "A good girl, aren't you? However did you end up at that convent then?"

Elly folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them, not quite sure what to answer. "A string of unfortunate coincidences," she mumbled. She could not help but wish she had never met the Count though. What if he truly was a demon and this was the way his magic worked? Would he continue travelling the lands and cursing innocent girls like herself in that manner?

Was he still in Castermere?

"I am Pete. Pleased to meet you," the guy said and reached out for a handshake. Elly stared at his long fingers. They looked like he had never worked a day in his life. Much like a noble's. No, even the Count had more cuts and scars on his knuckles.

Pete resumed talking without expecting much of a response from Elly. She was thankful she did not need to think of appropriate things to say herself.

"Oh, stop it already," Sarah eventually cut in. "He is such an idiot. Don't listen to a thing he says." The girl nudged Elly's side.

The man shrugged and gave an obviously false smile.

Elly nodded, not quite following. She hadn't actually paid attention to anything he had told her.

"It is all just a matter of perspective," he whispered to Elly. "I think you shouldn't believe a word she says."

"A matter of perspective," Elly repeated. The simple sentence drilled holes into her mind.

Life isn't all about what other people think of you.

That's what the Count had said to her. Anger rose as it lately always did at remembering him. And she remembered him more than she liked, thought about their few meetings more than she liked.

"Even my father says so, things were better when we were still at war with Sovania," Pete continued his argument with Sarah.

"Your father is an idiot as well. He only says so, because he never had to fight at the front lines," Sarah said. "My father did. He lost three brothers and his right leg! Nothing is better about war."

Elly tried to remember how things had been back then, but she had been too young, and her father had never been away. The old Baron had fought hard to keep his lands and men as far away from the troubles as possible, people said. Supposedly he had been friends with the late King and been in hisfavours.

"And what do you think is going to change?" Pete snapped, what pulled Elly out of her memories.

"Oh, for starters he's gonna get rid of all the idiots like you!" Sarah yelled.

Pete snorted.

***

- Jake -

Sir Evermount led Jake through one of the old buildings he owned. Jake had not been eager to, but the man was too proud of his former glory to deny him his need to display it.

"The shop has seen better days, but it is all still as it was before shutting down. It should be up and running within a few days," the man said and stroke a hand over his too long beard. His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"I need a more precise time span than that," Jake said and held back with putting his worries to words, that nothing in this run-down place would run anytime soon. It had been seven years since the war with Sovania had ended. Seven years since any weapons had needed to be manufactured in the blacksmith shops Sir Evermount had made his fortunes with.

And the time showed. Tools were rusty, windows were cracked, water dripped into an oven like it was a well.

"Two weeks, a month tops."

That was a lot more than a few days. Jake supressed an angry sigh.

"From the moment on you pay, that is," the man said and stopped to regard Jake with slim eyes.

"Money will not be an issue," Jake lied. He had still not reached an agreement with the young Earl and the gold he had swindled from the Baron was running thin just by keeping up the appearance.

"You keep saying that, but from what I can tell, you lack everything but ambitions. War isn't an easy business."

"War shouldn't be business at all," Jake snapped. "And we are not going to war."

Rutger put a hand on Jake's shoulder. It instantly replaced the fire in his heart with ice and he clenched his teeth.

"Whatever you say," Sir Evermount said and gave Jake and Rutger a suspicious look. He returned to walking ahead, explaining the mechanics of making weapons and the resources he would need for that, Jake had already prepared for. After all, they couldn't buy the amount of goods necessary from just anyone without word getting around and rising suspicion where they could have none if Jake planned to succeed.

"Half up front and half at completion," Sir Evermount demanded the terms of payment. "And of course, whatever is necessary for the repair of the shop."

"That was not the deal," Jake said. Nathaniel had handled that part of the communications so far. He knew he could trust the demon on such matters, and such matters only.

"Well, it is now. Take it or look elsewhere for your business."

Jake straightened his shoulders. "We both know you need this more than I do," he said. Not entirely a lie, it would have taken plenty of time and effort to look for another supplier of weapons, but not impossible. Whereas Sir Evermount's coffers were even emptier than Jake's and without an income he would have to start selling property rather soon, if the man wanted to keep his living standards for him and his leeching family.

"Fine," Sir Evermount pressed out.

Jake nodded Rutger they were done talking. "I'll be back with the money. I suggest you start preparing," he said before leaving the blacksmith shop.

Cold air, gloomy twilight and trees with dead leaves awaited outside. For a second Jake longed for the warm spring in Burgate when hope had been ins grasp and he had managed to forget his worries over a game of chess in pleasant company. When that careful smile and those curious eyes had been all that mattered.

The wind picked up and Jake blinked the memory away.

He and Rutger walked back to their horses in silence, which wasn't unusual since Rutger didn't talk, but sometimes he had a way of making the absence of sound scream louder than any voice possibly could.

Jake chose to act like he didn't feel it and focused on the convent up on the mountain ahead. From afar only the bell tower was clearly visible. On a better day the sight would have given Jake comfort, hope maybe, but right there he just saw another thing beyond himself.

Another mistake he had made so many years ago he was still trying to fix. Another thing he quite likely could never fix again.

Jake glanced at Rutger. The scar peeked out below his hood.

How many years had Jake spent hating the man? How many years had he spent hating himself after that fight?

If Jake had been just a little bit more rational, just been a little less jealous of Rutger, neither of the men would have been out of the castle that day.

Everything would have been different.

They could have fought for their family's lives.

Or they could have at least died with them.

***