"Outwitted (part 24)" an original work of fiction for #365daysofwriting challenge

This is today's offering (day 201) for @mydivathings' #365daysofwriting challenge (click here to see her current post)

Today's picture prompt (below) is a Photo by Yash Raut on Unsplash

I stayed in the Inn for a month or so, until I was fit enough to take a carriage back to the City. In the first few days, after my arrival, as they came to remove my chamber pot, or sweep the room, I heard the serving girls talk of a “Great Evil” that had been committed up at the castle. They didn’t seem to know details -other than, according to the village gossips, it involved magical creatures from the Other Place - and as I watched them leave, carrying my pot of piss, I wondered what they would say if they had known they were carrying the effluent of Great Evil.

If Grevyl, or my sister, knew I had survived, and was holed up in the Inn just a few short miles from their home, they did not show their hand. The serving girls did not talk of the occupants of the castle - at least not the ones that still lived - aside from once, when Grevyl was referred to as “such a poor old man”. Somehow, the pity they had for him, made me hate him more.

For the first week, or two, I did not move from my bed. I barely had the strength to eat and drink - although I forced myself to do both. I did have plenty of time to think. And to plan.

I did both.

When I was well enough to sit for periods of time I called for paper and pen. I wrote a brief note to Piggs outlining what I needed. Another letter to the bank to free up the money to pay for it.

Kleeps, the owner of the Inn, seemed unique in that he was the only person I had met in recent years that seemed sorry to see me go. Obviously, I knew it was my money he would miss, not my sparkling conversation, but I was strangely sad to leave.

The journey down to the city was uneventful, and I arrived at dusk. The windows to my house (formerly that of Pewds) were dark, cold and unwelcoming. I did not have a housekeeper - I trusted no one with keys to my property - so had no one to instruct to set a fire, and light the oil lamps. When I arrived at the front door and it swung open at my touch I knew something was very wrong.

“Hello?” I called, feeling like a stranger in my own house. I felt suddenly foolish for announcing my presence to a waiting robber or murderer. I was still weak and was reluctant to use the power, any unnecessary use could potentially set my recovery back weeks. Perhaps I should leave. Get word to Piggs, get one of his goons to come and help.

“Hello, brother,” Mathilde stepped out of the shadows. I stepped back, holding on to the door frame fearful I might fall.

“Hello, Mathilde,” I said, hoping my voice sounded steadier than I felt. “How nice of you to pop by. If I’d have known I’d have made provisions. At least lit the fire.”

Mathilde smiled, her teeth glinted in what little light there was. She clicked her fingers and a fire ignited in the hearth, oil lamps flickered into life on the walls. A clever trick, but if it was meant to impress me it failed. We were both beyond petty street magician tricks, and her actions disappointed me.

“Thank you,” I said coldly. I entered the room, closed the door and removed my cloak. “I assume you have not just come by to inquire about my health. What do you want?”

“I am glad to see you are looking so well, brother,” she said. She sat down, in what was once Pewds' old chair. On the table beside her, a wad of my papers, and a glass sat on the table beside her, half filled with what looked like my finest whisky. “I was worried about you for a moment.”

“Your concern is touching," I nodded at the papers on the table. "Found what you were looking for?”

“Please don’t try to pretend you are the victim here,” Mathilde said, her smile as cold as her voice. She picked up the glass and took a sip. “We both know that these papers were stolen from my house in the Desert Lands, and - I assume - what you have in your bag there,” she gestured with her glass, the liquid sloshing slightly as she did so. “Is the codes you needed to make sense of them.” She took another sip. “You could have asked, you know?” she said, her voice soft, gentle almost. “I would have given you all the information you wanted. I never meant to keep it a secret. Not from you. You didn’t need to steal it. You certainly didn’t need to kill for it." Colour seemed to drain from her face, and she raised the glass to her lips once more, before repeating, "You could have asked.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I had thought of Mathilde as a sort of adversary for so long now, that it had never occurred to me to ask her for what I wanted. To cover up my lack of response I strode over to the cabinet where I kept my whisky, took a glass and poured myself a decent measure, my back to Mathilde. I took a sip. And then another.

“So, what do you want, Mathilde?” I said, eventually, turning to look her in the eye. “If you don’t mind me having access to your secrets I assume you are not here to take them from me. So what is it you want?”

Mathilde looked a little upset. Did she expect me to thank her? To hug her? To shower her in kisses and tell her I was sorry? If so, she was to be disappointed!

She took another sip, and then placed the glass down next to the papers. She stood up, and for a moment I thought she was going to come to me and take me in her arms. To tell me she loved me still. That she forgave me. That she had made a mistake in leaving me. But she just shook her head, sadly.

“I just came to warn you, little brother,” she said.

“Warn me?” I laughed. “Big sister has come to tell me off, is that it? Aren’t we beyond that?”

“Yes,” she said, and I thought I could see a tear glisten in the corner of her eye. “Your actions have taken us way beyond that point.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “I came to tell you, you need to leave. You are not safe here. And don’t attempt to go home to mother’s either. You are a wanted man, brother. The King has placed a large sum on your head. Most of the crooks in town - in the entire country - are looking for you, eager to get their hands on the King’s gold. You are not safe in this land.” She walked through the door, and then stopped. Turning she said, “I suggest you leave tonight. You’ll find all you need on the table.”

I watched her walk out the door. Going to the table, I placed the glass down, next to hers. Looking at the notes, I saw that she had translated all of them. I would not need her code book. Her instructions on how to travel - to transport as she called it - using the power were clear, and - now I saw them in black and white - perfectly obvious.

I ran to the door, to do what I was not sure. To stop her. To thank her. To shout at her. To tell her how much I loved her, or hated her, or resented her, or admired her, or missed her? I didn’t know.

By the time I had followed her she was unable to hear me anyway: she had begun the spell. She stood beneath the trees, the stars shining brightly above a perfect blue circle of powerful light behind her silhouette.

And then she was gone.

...

The next part (25): https://steemit.com/fiction/@felt.buzz/outwitted-part-25-an-original-work-of-fiction-for-365daysofwriting-challenge

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misterakpan (61) 6 years ago

Another excellently written part. I enjoyed reading that and I will keep an eye for the next ones. Keep them coming.

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felt.buzz (75) 6 years ago

Thanks so much for your encouraging words! Really appreciated! :)

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curie (76) 6 years ago

Hi felt.buzz,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.

Thank you so much! I have a big smile on my face! What a lovely weekend gift! :)

simgirl (64) 6 years ago

Wow! That was good!!!

Thank you! :)

mother2chicks (61) 6 years ago

Loved this writing. Imaginative, detailed and fun to read. So glad to see you continue to do such fine work. 🐓🐓

Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment! The encouragement really helps! :)