Medice Ceres

Chapter 19

Ceres dipped her head. "Madam Devere, thank you for your part in my rescue. I shudder to think what would have become of me otherwise. I misjudged you at first. For that, I apologize. You provide a safe place for your girls, those that have nowhere else to go. Like a family, I suppose."

Devere took up Ceres hands. "Perhaps so, a family of sorts. And I misjudged you. You be indeed a kind soul, my Lady."

Devere's thin white sleep gown flared as she turned to Waithe. "And you Waithe, do not make me wait so long before you return again." She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, then yanked him to her, pressing her lips against his for a deep lingering kiss.

Waithe regained his breath and bowed his head to her. "We are indebted to you, my dear Madam."

She smirked. "Very much so and I expect to be repaid with your presence. Now go save the Realm."

With that, they mounted and rode off into the dark night, only the stars and a sliver of a moon providing illumination. Branches and brush overhanging the dark seldom-used trail made progress slow. Eira leaned back against Waithe as she slept in the saddle.

Ceres said, "That was some kiss Waithe. So where did you sleep these last two nights?" 

While too dark to tell, he knew Ceres had a smug grin on her face. "Well, Madam Devere asked me to keep her warm at night."

She laughed. "In the heat of late summer? I may be unknowing of such things, but not that much so."

"Let it just be said that she be a dear friend of mine and that our relationship is, well, complicated."

"Oh, my dear scandalous protector!"

Waithe changed the subject. "It be fortunate that the Medice Guards did not take away our horses nor my blades. But what of your purse and the coins it held?"

"I did not think to ask that it be returned when we left that wretched prison. The money you extracted from the greedy Duke be lost."

He sighed. "An irony that. But alas, we dare not spend coin at a tavern or roadhouse. Regardless of the false rumors spread that we head back south, the Guard will have eyes out. We shall he sleeping on the ground for many nights."

"Waithe, I felt so afraid that all was lost in that lonely jail, and that I would never see you or Eira again. I shall be happy to sleep on the hard ground under the stars near you both."

"Aye, my dear Ceres. We make for Krinn, the capital of Woest where I once served in the army. There I have other friends, ones less complicated, that would help us."

*****

"There we may find shelter and assistance in your quest." He pointed at a sprawling estate surrounded by rock walls along the banks of the river.

"The house of Lord Girald? You know him?"

Waithe replied, "Aye, we fought side-by-side in the wars. His wife, Lady Jenn, be a dear friend. I knew her in my youth, well even before they married." Ceres narrowed her eyes at him. He lifted his hands and smiled. "Not in any scandalous way, I assure you, my suspicious Lady."

The estate had not the intimidating high stone walls of the Overlord's castle but seemed impressive in its own way. It featured many buildings, none more than two stories tall and some connected by passageways. They were constructed of an eclectic mix of building materials that featured the varied lands of Woest: limestone from the Grand River valley; red sandstone from the desert hills to the west; lumber from the northern highlands; and colorful granite from the mountains to the northwest.