Rebirth (Trinity Blood Fanfic)

Chapter 9: Chamberlain

2 weeks later

It was early morning, just after the dawning of the sun and the sky was still stained with light peach stripes in a periwinkle blue sky. Leon lay in the shade of a large tree, a large grey fedora covering his face. From time to time, the sound of small mumbles could be heard replacing the long-winded snores. Hugue couldn't complain about the snoring though because he had been made aware that his own snoring was much worse.

Hugue was lying against the wheel of the wooden wagon, the mode of transport that he and Leon had been using for the past two weeks. It was humble enough to help them pass through discretely if needed.

Hugue had a small roll of parchment in his hand where the names of various villages around the country of Albion were scrawled. Two had already been scratched off and he read the next name underneath the 2 strikes: Chamberlain.

He raised an eyebrow and looked up, searching his mind for any knowledge of the place. Hugue lost his concentration though when Leon let out an exceedingly loud snore, tilting his head back causing the hat to fall off his face. Leon's face was revealed from behind the fedora and his mouth was wide open, a sliver of drool moving down the side of his mouth.

Hugue snickered and picked up a small stone from the grass beneath him. He aimed it at Leon's face and flicked his wrist, watching as the small pebble bounced squarely off Leon's cheek. His face twitched and the sleeping man slowly opened up his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of his lashes. Hugue maintained an innocent look on his face while Leon straightened himself up.

Leon stretched out his arms and looked at his companion who was perusing the parchment carefully.

"So, where to next Captain?" Leon asked with a yawn as he sloppily wiped off the saliva from the side of his mouth.

Hugue stared at his partner, shaking his head in disgrace. Leon raised an eyebrow at him so Hugue replied. "Uh, Chamberlain apparently. It should just be a few miles down the road. What do we know about the village?"

Leon leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his knees as he looked far into the distance in thought. "Chamberlain? Er, I don't know much about it apart from the fact that they have some pretty girls."

Hugue gave his friend an indignant look before pulling out the palm hologram disc from his pocket. "Apparently every village has pretty girls according to you." Hugue said in a low voice but loud enough for Leon to hear. He heard Leon grunt in affirmation before he pushed a button in the center of the disc. A beam of blue light emitted and within a few moments, the figure of a young woman slowly began to pixelate until it was identified to be the holographic image of Kate.

"It's a bit early for your report isn't it?" Kate said robotically. She looked as though she was sitting in an invisible chair and Hugue imagined her sitting at the desk in the Nightroad's chamber.

Leon looked up at the image and smirked. "He just wants to see your stunning face, Kate. He misses you dearly." Leon gushed flirtatiously and the sound of a distant snicker could be heard.

Kate looked behind her and rolled her eyes at the Duchess who had joined her in the room. Hugue on the other hand seemed to be unamused despite the slight flush in his cheeks. "Er, actually Kate, we were hoping to get some information on a village called Chamberlain. Unfortunately, neither of us know much about it." While Hugue explained, Leon had stood from beneath the tree, holding his hands together and stretching himself with a groan. In fact, it was a very loud groan.

Hugue looked at his companion strangely but was distracted when the image of Duchess Seth Nightroad appeared in the hologram. "Chamberlain? Oh, they are not much fun down there. They're actually quite a bitter bunch and I think that may be due to their stolen livestock and harvests. Well, actually it's all just a matter of bad luck I think. They haven't had a successful harvest in the past couple of years and livestock doesn't seem to stay alive there anymore. Esther sent supplies for them to try and get them back on track but that didn't seem to work for them either," Seth explained but Hugue was still puzzled.

"So why have I never heard of this?" Hugue asked, leaning forward in anticipation. Chamberlain was starting to sound interesting.

Seth placed a finger on her chin as she thought for a moment. "I'm not so sure. Anyway, the good news is you'll definitely find some excellent potential soldiers there. It seems they've done well to fend for themselves, meaning they're all seasoned animal hunters or blacksmiths and the like," she said excitedly but Hugue still had his doubts.

Leon, on the other hand, was intrigued. "Chamberlain huh? Sounds like fun."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hugue and Leon were on the road for almost 4 hours before they finally reached Chamberlain. The village was certainly dull but it seemed that everyone was busy doing something productive. Even the children were helping in daily chores. One interesting aspect of living that the travelers observed was that no citizen went around without a weapon, including the young ones. Hugue was shocked to see a toddler walking around with wristbands embedded with wooden spikes.

"Nice place," Leon said under his breath as they searched for a place to stay.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Saville pushed through the doors and entered the dining room of the manor. Seated at a long dinner table was none other than the Lord Alfredo Templar, the Leader of the High Coven. A plate of bloody raw meat was placed before him but it seemed that he had not touched any of it as his knife and fork were clean.

Upon her entry, Alfredo wiped his lips with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. He beckoned her with his finger to come forward and she obeyed immediately, bending on one knee before him. Alfredo admired the soft wavy dark brown locks that flowed from her head. He ordered her to stand.

"What news of the Captain and his friend?" Alfredo asked curiously.

"They have reached Chamberlain my lord," Saville said with her rich French accent.

Alfredo gazed at her, squinting slightly. "And you are not with them because?"

Saville hung her head shamefully as she answered. "Chamberlain's been sealed my lord. I cannot get in."

She anticipated punishment from him and waited for her consequence. When it did not come, she looked up just in time to see him stab the meat with his knife. His face became eerie with malice as he slowly lowered the knife's jagged edge into the meat, watching as the blood seeped out the edges. He smiled with evil intent.

  

"Perfect."