The Vampire & Her Witch

Ashlynn smiled openly as she listened to the Hanrahan pipers and the Soft Paw drummers playing merrily as they marched. In the distance, she could still hear laughter and excitement pushing up against the grim sense of dread that had settled over the city after Rastlan’s clash with Isabell at the gates.

It would take time for the opposing sides of the Lothian’s endless wars to come together. Time, and a long series of deliberate efforts to bridge the gaps. At the moment, Dirar’s delegation from the Southern Steppe had gathered on one side of the bailey while the local lords all but pressed themselves into the stone walls on the other.

Several people worked hard to avoid the gazes of their ’neighbors’ across the way, but once Ashlynn had introduced the barons of the march to Dirar, Rastlan’s gaze had never once left Tybal Aleese’s face.

After the defeat that Isabell had handed him, Ashlynn was certain that the captain of Dirar’s Stone Guard would be even more determined to claim victory in a challenge against the Aleese. She shuddered to think about how badly things would go if neither side had the good sense to back down when it was clear they couldn’t win, but stopping them from clashing would only deny them the chance to put the old hurts behind them.

In the coming days, she imagined that there would be a number of duels fought in the courtyards of Lothian Manor and she told herself firmly that she would only allow it if she or Heila were in attendance to tend to the wounded. Some things couldn’t be healed, but at least she could try to prevent a loss of life that would only inflame a grudge that needed to die.

Thankfully, Sybyll seemed to have accepted Ashlynn’s request to set aside minor grievances in order to bring an offering of musical unity to the gathering, and Ashlynn smiled warmly as she walked forward to greet the Crimson Knight.

”Hello, Teacher,” Ashlynn said, placing the fingertips of her sword hand lightly on her chest and offering a slight bow before Sybyll could kneel before her. ”It’s good to see you again.”

”Ha!” Sybyll laughed in a short, sharp burst of genuine mirth at the way Ashlynn had welcomed her. ”I knew ye’d put an end ta’ that Lothian brat, one way or tha’ other, wit’ or wit’out me lessons. I’m glad ta’ have helped enough ye’d still call me teacher after all that, an I hope ye made it right painful fer him ta’ lose.”

Along the wall where the local lords stood, Ashlynn heard several of the knights swallowing heavily and a few of them whispering as they learned at last who had taught Ashlynn to fight like a knight.

”...no wonder she was so ruthless with Lord Owain...”

”...swear that’s the armor of the Crimson Knight, you think I’d forget? Twenty years isn’t long enough by half...”

”... me, she’s a woman! This whole time...”

”It seems like your reputation precedes you, Dame Sybyll,” Ashlynn said with a warm smile as she led Sybyll and the two young women following behind her to the group that was preparing to receive Nyrielle.

”Is that why I canna’ see Baron Valeri Leufroy?” Sybyll said. ”I were lookin’ forward ta’ seein’ his sorry face again. He didn’a die fightin’ fer that sot Owain, did he? I’d have hated ta’ miss it.”

”He’s not dead,” Ashlynn said with a heavy sigh. ”But he is missing. His daughter is watching from the wall, and she’s a pleasant one I’d almost call a friend. Certainly a friend of my sisters and a friend of my friend,” she said, making certain that Sybyll understood the boundary line she was drawing.

”Are ye’ warning me off o’ Valeri then?” Sybyll asked in a tone that remained mild but had gone slightly cold.

”Adala wouldn’t, so I won’t either,” Ashlynn said, shaking her head. ”Just see that any business you have with him leaves his children untouched.”

”So that’s how it is,” Sybyll said, nodding with a smile. ”That I can accept, easily enough. But what of this wretch?” Sybyll asked as she came to a stop before a slightly harried-looking Hugo Hanrahan. ”He looks right miserable an’ worked ta’ tha’ bone. Ye want him put down? I can sharpen me axe, just say tha’ word.”

”Careful, Cousin,” Hugo warned before Ashlynn could respond. ”Now that she’s won her duel, her Dominion hardly needs a tutor anymore. Her calendar and her ledgers are another matter entirely, so unless you want to take over my duties, you should safeguard my life.”

”No! Hugo?” Sybyll said, appearing before him in a blink of an eye. Her hands fell on his shoulders like heavy sacks of grain, and she quickly turned him around to have a good look at his back. ”Ye have, ye’ve grown a real spine since first we met! Look at ye,” she said, spinning him around again. ”Workin’ hard at Lady Ashlynn’s side. Yer’ father would spin in his grave if he saw tha’ use ye’ve put yer talents to.”

”He’d wring my neck and demand I repay him every sovereign spent on my studies if he could rise from the grave,” Hugo agreed with a slightly awkward smile before his face grew a bit more serious. ”Did you give him a grave, or a place in the crypts?”

”No,” Sybyll said harshly. ”An’ I ripped out Aiden’s monuments and ground ’em ta’ dust. They’re not ta’ be celebrated, remembered or mourned. Not in me home, so long as I rule. Look ta’ yer mother, lad, that’s where tha’ love lies. Yer father weren’t worth yer tears or yer respect. Don’t let his death scrub clean the stains on his name,” she said firmly.

”I know,” Hugo said. ”I said my last words to him and I stand by them now. His death changes nothing, and the last thing you need is for the gaggle of us to be gathering in your keep. Any luck finding my half-sisters?” Hugo asked, changing the topic slightly. ”It might be too soon...”

”I might have something to help,” Ashlyn said, hoping to relieve some of the pressure she felt accumulating on Hugo’s shoulders as he faced the cousin who’d executed his father. Both cousins were trying to find their way forward, and there was little enough love between Hugo and his father to begin with, but there were limits to how much he could plaster over and pretend it didn’t hurt.

”The person who helped your father arrange new homes for his unwanted daughters recently gave me a full confession and meticulous notes,” Ashlynn offered. ”If it can be of any help,” she started, only to be interrupted by a thunderous noise.

– HAAAAAARRRRUUUUUMMMMM! –

– HAAAAAARRRRUUUUUMMMMM! –

”We’ll talk later,” Ashlynn promised, giving Hugo a brief, gentle touch on the forearm. ”For now, it sounds like Nyri has arrived...”