Episode 48

The system of power turns like wheel

You can rise to the top through money or steel

You could lift up others or leave them in muck

But it’s the poor who will suffer when the wheel becomes stuck

If the problems aren’t met with any solution

The wheel must turn in bloody revolution

The vermin will rise as the predator sinks

Let’s see then if the fox can outsmart the lynx

In the pouring rain, near the eastern gate, the mural of Lilian and Fritha stood tall and shimmering in the moonlight. There was no mistaking the likeness. But what did it mean? A thousand questions ran through Lilian’s mind but before she could speak any out loud a voice from behind them caught her attention. It was deep, and serious.

“You there!” Lilian, Peter, Serena and Fritha all turned at once to see two soldiers walking towards them. The one who had spoken, continued, “it’s nearly curfew. You should all be indoors…” he stopped mid sentence and mid stride. His eyes widened as they flicked between the mural and Lilian’s face. “Twelve hells,” he muttered.

Lilian, sprang to action. Splashing through the puddles she was beside the soldiers before they even had time to draw their swords. Lilian used a modified 7th stance, 2nd movement to jump the last few feet and kick the first soldier's right hand so that his sword went back into its scabbard. This meant she could twist easily around and block the other man’s sword from striking her. She managed to catch his arm, twist his wrist and slap the blade clean out of his grip, sending it crashing and splashing to the floor. She could sense their panic, their inexperience and she took full advantage of both. The first soldier was still fixated on getting his sword out, believing this would save him, but Lilian kicked it back in, this time catching the man’s left hip crease, causing him to stumble back. There to grab his coat was Fritha. Lilian saw the terror in his eyes as she yanked him backwards, forcing him to ground. She bared her teeth as she stepped on his shoulder and stood over him. The second soldier was also on the floor, scrambling in the muck to find his sword. As soon as he managed to clasp its handle however, Lilian's foot was on the blade, trapping his fingers against the paving stone. He looked up at her.

“You won’t get away with this,” he said through gritted teeth, “we’ll notify the Empress.” Lilian wasn’t sure how to respond to this, so she simply said,

“Good,” before performing a 1st stance, 3rd form twisting punch to his chin, and knocking him out cold.

The first soldier was still stuck under a 180 pounds of feihnhoud, wriggling and writhing to try and break free. Lilian bent down to pick up the sword at her feet and approached him.

“Get this beast off of me…” she heard him say from beneath layers of wet, black fur.

“Fritha, enough,” ordered Lilian. Fritha stepped away but as the soldier went to stand, he was met by the tip of his colleague's sword, touching his throat. He froze.

“Stay here for ten minutes,” said Lilian, “don’t follow us.” The grown man swallowed and nodded slowly. Lilian, her gaze still fixed on his eyes, bent down and finally took his sword from its sheath.

“Please,” he said, “they’ll dock our pay.”

“Then you should quit,” replied Lilian, before turning around and breaking into a run, a sword in each hand. She waved at her friends to follow and a few minutes later, they were navigating the backstreets of Old Town, looking for shelter.

“Impressively handled,” said Peter as he overtook her and began guiding them to the inn. Lilian had acted mostly on instinct, the mural still troubling her conscious mind. She snapped back to reality and slid the swords into a gutter. “It’s just here,” she heard Peter whisper up ahead. As they turned the corner, Lilian smiled in delight. The inn Peter had been leading them to was none other than The Greedy Goose, the first inn Lilian had stayed at after meeting Katherine. Her heart swelled with happy sadness. She thought of Katherine and her kindness and remembered the warm welcome The Goose had given her and Fritha. The feeling cut even deeper when compared with these cold, strange circumstances. Peter pushed the door open and Lilian was glad to see that the fire was lit. The room was quieter than she remembered, but a friendly face popped up from behind the serving counter as they entered.

“Good evening, you’re just in time. We were about to lock the… oh my stars.” The woman, who Lilian remembered was called Beatrice, stared at their group, dumbfounded.

“Hello Beatrice, it’s been some time.” It took a few seconds for Beatrice to find her voice.

“It’s Lilian, isn’t it? And your strange dog. You stayed here nigh a year back,” she came out from behind the counter, “oh it’s all anyone’s talking about. People been coming here just to sit where you sat. I tells em you sat all over but they seem to like this table here. Look, the wood is still chipped from where Fritha chewed it.” She gestured to a battered table leg in the corner. Lilian was still very confused.

“Beatrice, we couldn’t stay the night could we?”

“My dearest girl,” replied the landlady, “you stay as long as you like! Amount o’ business you brought me these past weeks I should think you and your friends can stay for nought. Aye you keep your purses where I can’t see em, your money ain’t no good here. Sit, sit by the fire, I’ll fetch some stew to warm your cockles and souls.” The three friends exchanged looks of confusion and went to sit by the fire.

The heat was a welcome relief from the bitter rain. The party removed their cloaks and hung them by the fire, Fritha flopped down onto the rug by the hearth and Lilian, Peter and Serena sat and waited on the large sofas nearby.

“Right, seeing as no one else is saying it, I’ll go ahead,” Serena piped up, “what on earth is going on?” Peter shrugged.

“Some kind of martial law by the looks of things. Although what Lilian’s got to do with it, I’ve no idea.” Just then, Beatrice came back holding a tray with four bowls on it, filled to the brim with a sweet smelling broth. She set the tray down and took a bowl to Fritha while the others thanked her and reached for theirs. Lilian breathed in the sweet scent before eagerly tucking in. It tasted divine, the sweetness of the vegetables perfectly balanced by the salted beef. Lilian nearly burned the roof of her mouth in her eagerness to devour the meal. After a few bites, Lilian came to her senses and finally asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Beatrice,” she said, her mouth full of carrot, “Can I ask: What’s going on?”

“What do you mean my love?” said their hostess, as she went about pushing a few seats under tables.

“Well, why are there soldiers everywhere? Why is there a curfew and why is there a massive painting of me and Fritha on the wall by the easter gate?” Beatrice chuckled,

“Not just that wall my darling. Oh… oh o’course, you been gone. Hm…” her face contorted into a look of concentration. “Well, oh seven heavens, where to begin…” She pulled a chair towards them, sat down, and took a deep breath.

“I suppose it started that day of the fire. Everyone heard about it. The Weardian headquarters burned down, nigh on exploded judging from the people who saw it. People started asking what happened, officially it was a spark from a fireplace, but that stank of lies. Little spark exploding a whole building and everyone in it? Codswallop. But then, the other story began to spread. The one of the little girl with red hair. The one with the strange beast always by her side. She was seen there, she fought the weardian, she exploded the building and freed all of them imprisoned inside. Of all the brave men in this city, it was a young woman who freed us. People rejoiced, started painting your pictures, singing your praises. They’d come in here and sit over there just to be where’d you’d been. Our liberator. Resist, was the word. And now it had meaning. The rest of the Weardian were chased away, and Freedos was ours again. Only the Empress, she didn’t like that. She called the army back from the front and now we’ve got curfews and checkpoints and soldiers breathing down our necks. But the word lives on. Resist. We whisper it like the breath that fans the flames. Little acts of bravery where before there was only cowardice. You’re a hero, Lilian, an inspiration, and Liebling knows we needed one.”

Lilian had stopped eating. The story was only partly true. Lilian had been there but she’d had nothing to do with the explosion. She felt like correcting Beatrice but something in her expression stopped her. Despite the rain, despite the curfew and military presence, Beatrice looked genuinely happy. Thrilled even. Her face was the picture of hope and Lilian didn’t have the heart to take that away. She looked over at Peter and Serena who both looked how she felt. Their eyes were wide in shock and amazement. Lilian had only one thought which she spoke aloud once Beatrice had finished her story,

“I need to see Cromwell.”

They spent the night in the Greedy Goose’s comfortable rooms. Lilian insisted on having the one she’d stayed in when she’d first arrived, despite Beatrice’s protestations that she have the largest room at the inn. Serena gladly accepted that offer on her behalf. Lilian found the little bed and enjoyed reminiscing about the day she’d met Katherine and how she’d discovered the vial of Lunar Essence hidden in Kissandra’s blade. Her head was full of memories and questions, but sleep quickly drove them out.

The next morning they donned their hooded cloaks and bid farewell to Beatrice and her husband. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. Lilian decided to wear her hood up, not wanting to risk her red hair giving her away. It was still early when they left The Greedy Goose so the streets were still relatively empty. They were heading for Mr Twitchett’s basement and so took the small winding, cobbled streets up through the Old Town. They passed more graffiti on the way, words like ‘resist’ or ‘smash’ and even one that said ‘she fights for you, so fight for her’ with a picture of a red haired girl beside it. At one point, they turned off the main road only to look back at Serena, standing still and gazing up the hill.

“Serena?” Peter approached her. She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes.

“I should be heading back. My footman went ahead of us so mother will be expecting me.” Her tone was hesitant. Peter glanced back at Lilian before going over to her. He said something in a low voice that Lilian did not catch. It was clear from her body language that Serena was extremely reluctant to leave them. The world of the nobility, lavish as it was, held sour memories and a bitter future for her. Lilian was about to go over and explain that all of that would change within the next few days. They were going to topple the Empress from her throne and the poor folk of Freedos would get a say in how things are run and how they are treated. The nobles would need to get used to some changes, but all would be better in the end. Lilian took a step towards Peter and Serena, she even started to say something, when she froze. Peter had taken Serena’s waist and pulled her close to him and before Lilian could utter a word, they were kissing. Lilian, not knowing what to do, looked down at Fritha. The feinhound looked as bewildered as she was. The kiss did not last long, but Serena was smiling when it finished. She broke away, waved at Lilian, muttered a promise to Peter and with a whirl of cotton cloak, she was gone.

Peter walked slowly back to where Lilian and Fritha were standing. His face was red and grinning.

“What?” he asked.

“No, nothing. I just… no no. Shall we, um, keep going?” she said.

“Lead the way,” he gestured forwards and they resumed their journey, “sorry if that was a shock,”

“No need to be sorry, I was just, yeah I didn’t think you two. It’s good though, she’s great and you’re… yeah you’re great so. Great!” Lilian felt her cheeks flush, she was not familiar with the world of romantic feelings. Peter smiled.

“You didn’t realise while we were in Zandt...” Lilian thought back. A few things quickly fell into place in her mind, but she had to admit that she had been so preoccupied with her own feelings that she had not noticed those of her friends. They laughed at her obliviousness and shared fond memories of their time in the sandy city. Ten minutes later though, they were at Mr Twitchett’s basement and the conversation turned to more serious matters.

“Do you think he’s in?” Peter asked as they approached the trap door.

“Only one way to find out.” Lilian stomped on the door three times, stood back, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Peter grew impatient.

“It might be open.” He took a step forward and grabbed the metal ring that was bolted to the wood. To their surprise, the trap swung open in a wide arc. There was no light coming from inside. Lilian felt Fritha wriggle past them and failed to grab her before she headed straight down and disappeared into the darkness.

“Lady! No!” Without another second’s hesitation, Lilian went after her. It was rare for the lights to be off and for the trap to be unlocked, but Lilian had to put her trepidations aside lest Fritha come to harm. The stairs creaked under her weight and Lilian squinted into the darkness.

“Hello?” she said, “is… is there anybody there?” Suddenly a bright light filled the room. It was so sudden that Lilian instinctively went into a guard position and shielded her eyes from its source.

“Lilian?” a familiar voice spoke her name and once her eyes had adjusted Lilian saw the dark form of Mr Attorcop walking across the basement floor towards her.

“Cromwell!” she beamed and jumped the last few steps towards him, crashing into him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Fritha clanged some happy chimes and the trio were reunited.

“It’s good to see you,” said Mr Attorcop.

“And you,” she released him from the hug and examined his face. It had only been a few weeks, but he seemed markedly older than when she’d left. His eyes were framed by a few more lines and his cheeks seemed thinner. But he was smiling, and so Lilian was happy. “What are you doing in the dark?” she asked.

“A security measure, I’m afraid. We can’t be taking any risks these days.”

“We?” Lilian looked past him and saw Katrina and William, beaming and waving.

“Mum!” Peter dropped his bags to the floor, ran past them and went to hug his mother. Lilian greeted William and then looked past him, expecting to see someone else.

“Where’s Katherine?” the happy atmosphere was punctured by the question. William shared a sorrowful look with Mr Attorcop.

“Why don’t you take a seat Lily,” he said in his most calming voice, “we have a lot to tell you.”

Peter was sent to fetch food and when he came back with an armful of sandwiches, pies and sweet breads, the group caught up. Lilian told them about what they had been doing in Zandt, with Peter adding the occasional detail. They mentioned their new found friendship with Serena, but nothing more. Mr Attorcop was keen to know more about her and congratulated them on finding an ally in the nobility. Lilian saw her more as a friend than an ally, but ever since coming back to Freedos, things did seem a little more military than usual. On that note, Mr Attorcop informed them that the army had been called in a couple of weeks after Lilian had left the city and after the Weardian had given up their positions as guardians.

“It was a harsh measure, but one we knew The Empress was capable of,” said Mr Attorcop, “While on the one hand it makes life difficult for the citizens of the city, it does help us a little.”

“How’s that?” asked Lilian,

“It tells us that she is desperate. She’s playing her last card. If we can beat it, then we can win.” Lilian nodded, sagely. She wanted to ask how they would go about doing that, but one burning question still hadn’t been answered.

“Where is Katherine?” she turned to look at William, his face fell at the asking.

“There were still some Weardian left after… After what Zadoch did. They knew that they couldn’t catch and keep a member of the holy solar order, let alone one as high ranking as Zadoch. They also knew that he would not have done what he did without having been asked. Witnesses saw you and Katherine there and so it didn’t take them long to figure out that it was she…” he trailed off and looked down at the floor. Lilian protested,

“But, she didn’t know, she was worried about me, not about…”

“It didn’t matter,” William cut her off, “members of the order cannot act without being asked. Zadoch acted as he saw fit but it was Katherine who bore the brunt of the punishment. She was arrested by a man called Taymore Brown. A captain of the Weardian.” The name wrung bells in Lilian’s head.

“Taymor… Brown? That’s Katherine’s surname.” William nodded.

“Yes. He’s her husband.”

Lilian’s stomach dropped. She’d seen him on the office floor of the Weardian headquarters. The man with the stern, angular face. Even then she knew that she recognised him. But he wasn’t some officer she had seen patrolling the streets, he had been with Katherine the day she had met her. Lilian had seen them together whilst trying to steal a loaf of bread.

“He’s her husband?” she exclaimed. William nodded.

“They didn’t talk much, even before the arrest but still, I think it broke his heart to do it.”

“So, where is she now?” she asked. Mr Attorcop took over.

“She’s being held in the tower.” Lilian had never been to the lonely, desolate prison on the marshes north of the city. It wasn’t the kind of place you visited as a tourist. She thought of her friend in a cold and damp cell, afraid and alone. Anger bubbled up inside her.

“If I ever see Zadoch again I’m going to thump him.” Mr Attorcop looked at her sternly.

“I highly advise against that. But yes, he would deserve it. However…” Katrina interrupted her friend.

“Don’t start with that Cromwell.”

“All I’m saying is, think of where we would be without him. Lilian might be dead and I would surely still be in a Weardian cell.” he looked back at Lilian, “Katherine is strong. We will find her, you have my word.” Lilian bit her tongue. She would have to be patient, something she had never been very good at.

“So,” she said, shaking off the creeping feeling of hopelessness, “what do we do now? What’s the plan? Oh, and why are there pictures of me all over the city?” Mr Attorcop leaned back in his chair and smirked. It was that annoying smile he used whenever he knew something you didn’t.

“Yes, that was partly my doing.” Lilian didn’t understand.

“You painted them?”

“Goodness no,” he replied, “I’m a terrible artist. But one thing I am good at, as I told you when we first met, is the manipulation of power. I knew that if we were to succeed in this endeavour, we would need the people’s support. And what better way to get that than to give them someone to fight for.” Lilian was beginning to understand. Mr Attorcop continued. “A few stories in the right places and word of your exploits quickly spread. You’ve become a bit of a legend while you’ve been away. And I’ll admit, I’m rather proud of the work.” Katrina scoffed,

“I said he should have asked your permission first.” The two friends looked at each other and Katrina relented, rolling her eyes at Mr Attorcop’s self assurance, “but I’ll admit it is rather clever. We knew the Empress had you in her sights already. This way might make it a bit more difficult for you to go about the city unnoticed, but it protects you from her as well.”

“How?” asked Lilian.

“If the whole city loves you and the Empress harms a hair on your head then she would give them further reason to despise her. What Cromwell has done is trap her. I would respect the tactic more if he wasn’t so smug about it.” Lilian smiled at her mentor. Of course it had all been his doing. Not only that, but he’d done it, in his own twisted way, to protect her. “As to your earlier question, we do have a plan and the sooner we act on it, the better…” At that moment a sound from the back of the room drew Lilian’s attention away from the conversation. She looked up to see where it had come from. It was a scratching, rattling noise and the others had noticed it too. Mr Attorcop put a finger up to his lips, signalling for the group to keep quiet. Lilian searched the darkness at the other end of the basement and her eyes fell on the small door in the far wall. She had almost forgotten that it was there. They had never managed to get it open in all their time there and Lilian had just assumed it would be more storage space. But right now, someone or something was in there, and it was twisting the handle to get out.

Lilian stood up and walked towards the door, readying her feet and fists for a fight. There was a loud click and the little door swung open.

“Hello? Am I too late?” A familiar voice came from beyond the door and soon after a friendly face appeared. Lilian was shocked and delighted.

“Genevive!?” The young noblewoman stepped into the basement and smiled.

“Hello Lilian! It’s so good to see you.” Lilian ran over to hug her. She was wearing high waisted cotton trousers and a pink shirt and she was carrying a rather large bag which she had to set down before hugging Lilian back.

“How did you…?” Lilian gestured to the door in confusion. Mr Attorcop explained,

“I managed to get it open a few weeks ago. It was a corridor that lead to nowhere. I did some construction work upwards and popped up in a small park a few hundred feet away. We’ve been using it as an entrance.” Lilian smiled, “it was actually Bried who gave me the idea. I knew she had someone watching the trap door so we needed another way to access the space. I’ll show you where it comes out later.” Lilian half expected more people to pop out of the wardrobes and desks but she was content with her seeing her new friend.

“I have so much to tell you! I made friends with Serena Bellaswan. You remember her from the party?”

“Oh yes I remember, and I can’t wait to hear all about it. But first my dear…” Genevive reached down and grabbed the large bag. It was black and tied together with thin rope, “I have something for you.” Lilian stepped back in confusion.

“For me?” a pang of guilt hit her suddenly. She hadn’t brought back anything from Zandt, they had left in such a hurry, souvenirs had not been on her list of priorities, “I’m sorry, I haven’t got you anything.” Genevive waved the comment away,

“Oh, don’t worry about that. This is more of a practical gift anyway, come.” She took her over to one of the large tables by the wall. Judging by the way she hoisted the bag onto it, its contents were heavy. Lilian was curious.

“Genevive made herself known to us soon after you left, she has been an incredible asset to our cause.” Mr Attorcop explained.

“Oh I’m just doing what anyone would do in my situation,” she replied. Mr Attorcop shook his head.

“You’re too modest,” he replied.

“Well, let me show you what I’ve made and then we will judge.” The others gathered round while Genevive undid the strings and unfolded the bag. The material spread across the table revealing several objects kept inside. Light reflected off them and onto Genevive’s face.

“There, what do you think?”

Lilian examined the contents of the bag with rapt attention. In front of her, broken down into various elements, all shimmering silver polished to a shine was a suit of armour. Her eyes widened as she leant forward to examine the details. The breastplate was the largest item. Smaller than most she had seen and mounted on boiled leather it looked like it would fit her form perfectly, once the straps connecting it to the back piece had been tightened. It was layered to allow for movement making the lower half look like scales or interlocking reptilian plates. There were leg braces, anklets and wrist guards too. All these were decorated with beautifully intricate swirls and shapes. Lilian recognised some symbols from the Stave Church walls in Benlunar, and knew that Genevive would have taken the time to research the art of her hometown. Her vitals would be protected but her joints would be free to allow for more movement. The most arresting item however, was the helmet. Lilian reached out and picked it up.

“Well… do you like it?” Genevive sounded nervous. Lilian wanted to speak but was having trouble finding the words.

“It’s… it’s incredible.” She was turning the helmet around in her hands, examining every detail of the animal it resembled. Should she put it on, her face would look out through the jaws, her chin protected by the strap of beaten silver teeth. The creature’s expression above was a perfect mixture of fierceness and serenity. Fritha appeared beside her, curious to see what everyone was looking at. Lilian brought the helmet down to show her.

“Look Fritha. It’s you.”