Falaise

Prattling In The Cart

Buggy didn't sleep well that night, understandably. He laid awake, staring at the stone walls, thinking about the man's words. He hated to play into the stranger's hands, but he couldn't stop the thoughts from running through his mind.

He wasn't that surprised by the idea of people coveting his possible place on the throne of England, even though the method of hiring a killer was surely quite extreme. But what he was mostly surprised by was the speed at which the assailant had been sent. Buggy had barely finished his announcement, and he'd known for a fact that he had been one of the first to be brought up to date on Roger's death.

It meant that the person behind this attack had been engaged by someone close to the royal family. And if it was the case, then it meant that it was someone Buggy knew.

Sure, he had a few enemies, people he hated, and who hated him back. But people wanting to see him dead? Ready to pay someone for it? Surely, there couldn't be that many. He hoped so.

A knock on his door took him out of his thoughts, and he groaned as he was forced to get out of bed. A long day awaited him.

______________________

Crocodile and Mihawk were briefed about their evening duty in the early afternoon.

Just like children, they were told what to do and not to do, how to ensure the safety of the Duke, and how they should act during a reception.

None of them paid any attention to the briefing, Crocodile barely concealing his irritation at being treated like a newbie. As if it was his first job as a knight, as he had any need to prove his worth when his name was known across the seas.

Mihawk took great pleasure in seeing the other man's irritation, pretending to listen to the briefing while he only looked at Crocodile and listened to his aggravated sighs.

If the head guard noticed anything, he didn't mention it. All day long, people kept talking about the importance of this reception, about how it would be Buggy's first public appearance ever since the announcement of the King of England's death, and how it could be significant in the securement of his possible position in the succession.

Despite their best effort to not pay any attention to the chatter around them, the two men still learned interesting information regarding the whole situation.

Indeed, as much as they had known that, with Buggy announcing the King's death before anyone else, he was a close relation, they didn't expect him to be a potential heir.

They also learnt through whispers in the corridors that it would also be Buggy's first public appearance outside his own castle in a full year. This had been a surprise, as being seen in public and networking was an essential part of the noble life. It seemed that the young Duke had been shunned by a majority of the high society not long after his appointment as Duke of Normandy.

Had he done something to offend these people, leading to his almost complete exclusion and isolation inside his very own castle in Falaise? It was something they probably couldn't have an answer to, even if they asked the main interested party.

By the middle of the afternoon, both men dreamt of only one thing: finally being in the moving cart on its way to Lisieux. Heads buzzing from having heard the same speech on a loop the entire day, they sought silence and peacefulness before the inevitable racket that would be tonight's party. They both knew that they could easily shut Buggy up with a few rough stares and have peace during the entirety of the journey.

The latter showed up not long before they were supposed to leave, looking anything but thrilled at the prospect of having to attend a social gathering. The squire and valets had prepared the horses and the cart while Mohji had been, quite needlessly, supervising the whole thing.