"If I were here on the King's behalf to test your loyalty I would not have approached the subject as I did. As far as proof, I can offer none other than my reasoning." She stopped to look at him, and also noticed the other men were starring as well. She hoped that they were completely loyal to their lord.
"I left the castle to search for someone to help because in all my years there I have never met a more cruel man. He takes pleasure out of others torments and only sees to please himself. Unfortunately, with the King in his current position he only sees the strict formalities that the general puts on during their meetings. Also I know he is trying to poison the King."
Artemis left out the fact that she was the bastard child of the King. Her servant life came from her servant mother. She also failed to mention just how sick the King had become.
Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Oh really," he said with interest. Trying to poison the king? Well now, that was certainly devious, and he had heard rumors himself about the general. so perhaps she was telling the truth. And that, that was an interesting prospect in and of itself.
"I see. And I suppose I have something you need, if you have a plan. You know as well as I do that the King isn't very likely to listen to me," he replied.
Due to personal issues, my computer time will be drastically reduced. I will try to post when I can, but for the foreseeable future, I will be pretty much unavailable.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. - Farragut.
Sufficiently advanced Magic is indistinguishable from science - The inverse of Clarks Law.
Artemis shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Well it's not that I'm looking for money or anything. I was just a servant and know little to nothing about war." Sitting there explaining her lack of planning she really felt dumb for seeking his help at all. He was probably hoping for some extreme plan where she basically guides his blade between the ribs of his enemies, but she had no such thing. "I know my way around the capital city and castle. Other than that I don't know what to do. I just came to look for someone that might know what to do."
"As far as the King, he's not the one I would be worried about. It's the men that have began to take over the Kingdom right under his Majesty's nose." She still left out that the King had been bed ridden for a few weeks now, and she planned to keep it that way.
Thomas set to thinking. "So, perhaps a small force could get in and do the things that might need doing. I doubt the King would listen to me without more proof, since I very much doubt that he would simply listen to a peasant like you. I will need to think this over." He fell silent and moved back up to his original spot.
After a few more hours, they arrived at his manor, from which he ran his duchy. The people were hard at work, and only spared him a few glances as he returned. He didn't need to bask in their attention, since his style was more preferable in the shadows. As long as they respected and feared him, he knew he didn't need to watch them, and his ego wasn't big like some others to need their constant attention.
He hopped off his horse and handed the reins to a stablehand as his adviser came up to speak with him. Before they got started on recent happenings, Thomas pointed to Artemis. "Get her cleaned up and get her some food. We will be talking later," he said to the adviser, who nodded.
Due to personal issues, my computer time will be drastically reduced. I will try to post when I can, but for the foreseeable future, I will be pretty much unavailable.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. - Farragut.
Sufficiently advanced Magic is indistinguishable from science - The inverse of Clarks Law.
The rest of the journey to his manor was spent in silent debate. Artemis prayed she hadn't made a mistake and also prayed that if she had that she could keep her life. When she dismounted she found that the side saddle had only made her sore in different places than before.
When Thomas pointed at her and ordered her care she felt slightly insulted. As if she were already a possession that he could just do what he pleased with her. Then again he knew he was only trying to take care of a potential guest or ally.
Following the adviser she quickly got embarrassed and flustered. She was taken to a bath chamber where a couple maids aided her, and scrubbed her body and hair for her. Afterwards she was met with a new and clean dress, with a vibrant blue color and pearl colored lace trimming. Her long hair was combed fixed properly. The maids even tried to put makeup on her, which she outright refused to let them do. "No, I don't want those paints on my face. I feel like I can't breath!" She told them and covered her face to hide from the brushes.
Winning a small victory, she was a finished product, without makeup, but looked like a proper lady and not a ragged traveler.
Thomas had returned to the Great Hall of the keep, to hear updates on how the Duchy was doing. Pretty much everything was running smoothly, which was one of the reasons why he had chosen to take the trip now. There were no pressing problems, and none had been expected to arise. The only one that had had been Artemis, but he knew the advisor hadn't known about that until he had been told. Thomas trusted him fully, having made sure that he was loyal a long time ago. The man would not betray him.
After a bit, a servant came in to tell him that Artemis had been taken care of by the maids. "Good," he replied nodding. "Bring her to my study. We have some things to discuss." Plots like these were best not made in the open.
He walked to his study, which contained old parchments, and some hand carved wooden furniture. Sitting at the desk, he waited for Artemis to arrive. While waiting, he began looking for any maps of the King's castle he could find.
Due to personal issues, my computer time will be drastically reduced. I will try to post when I can, but for the foreseeable future, I will be pretty much unavailable.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. - Farragut.
Sufficiently advanced Magic is indistinguishable from science - The inverse of Clarks Law.
Artemis was kept in the room she had been dressed in until the maids and servants found out what they should do next. Then the word came that she had been summoned to his study. "That's a promising place." She thought to herself. At least it wasn't outside. Outside anything could happen and be easily cleaned up afterward. Although she knew that if he hadn't killed her already for treason that he probably wouldn't, she couldn't shake the nervous feeling she had. Of course as a servant in the castle she rarely spoke to anyone with a higher rank than the cook. She just received orders from other servants and fulfilled them without question.
As the maids led her down the hall she observed the tapestries and paintings hanging on the walls. Each one was beautiful to her, and she wanted to stop and observe them, but she was promptly reminded of her slow pace by a jab in the back from a particularly old maid.
Finally reaching the study a guard that was stationed outside opened the door and announced her presence before she was allowed to step in. She smoothed the skirt of her dress out once more before walking forward. Inside she blinked for a second from the number of lanterns that lit the room. It was normal for there to be much more lighting where one would write.
Thomas glanced up from the paper he was looking at as Artemis was brought into the room. The maids had done their work well, and she now looked more presentable than when he had found her in the woods. He motioned for her to take a seat as he went back to the map.
"So, we need to be rid of this general for the good of the Kingdom. Only, he will probably be well protected, making some sort of removal difficult, which leave showing the king what he really is like, which may be difficult as well, since the general is obviously good at making sure the King doesn't find out." Thomas went to thinking of possibilities.
A question popped into his mind. "You wouldn't happen to know any secret routes into the castle, would you," he asked.
Due to personal issues, my computer time will be drastically reduced. I will try to post when I can, but for the foreseeable future, I will be pretty much unavailable.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. - Farragut.
Sufficiently advanced Magic is indistinguishable from science - The inverse of Clarks Law.
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