As Felux escorted Delrik to Sutter's cell, he reported, "Sir Kevler found him trying to meet Tilda outside town nearin the woods. Tilda claims he's also the same man bribing her fer information at the manor gate. I donna know his plan but we'll be findin it soon enough."
Delrik weighed the situation carefully. Felux was catching on, which might put Delrik in a precarious position. Delrik commented, "Well done Felux. You never do fail me, do you?"
Felux narrowed his eyes at Delrik and said, "You've never given me a reason not to."
Arriving at the cell, Delrik dismissed Felux, saying, "You're excused. I wish to speak to Sutter alone."
"Naw," Felux stated.
"Excuse me?"
Felux said, "Whatever he says involves Tilda and I want to know."
Sometimes Felux could be so obstinate and it irked Delrik. Incredulous, Delrik said, "What is it with you and this obsession you have for that maid?"
Delrik's jaw dropped as Felux said, "We'd be courting."
Delrik responded, "You're joking. That's unacceptable."
"It's not fer you to decide," Felux said as he relaxed into his dangerous loose stance. He might have seemed harmless, scratching his ear as he was, but Delrik knew better. When Felux took that stance, he was ready to pounce into action and rip apart anything that stood in his way.
Through gritted teeth, Delrik said, "Break it off with her."
Felux smirked, "You jealous?"
Delrik demanded, "Get out!"
"We can spar this out later if you'd rather."
"Sir Felux, you are a knight to the Duke of Arquix. Remember your place."
"Lord Delrik, you're the ruler over this dutchy. Remember who you serve."
Delrik and Felux glared at each other, both challenging the other to make the first move, when a voice came from the cell, saying, "The romantic tension is killing me. Everyone said it was a one sided love affair with Felux pining for the Duke. Turns out, they're both swooning."
Felux turned his anger on Sutter, "What'd you want with Tilda?"
Sutter snickered, "You jealous I might take your girl?"
Felux reached for his knife when Delrik stopped his hand.
Delrik said, "Felux, you're not thinking straight. I'll handle this."
Glaring, Felux didn't move.
Delrik said, "I know what I'm doing."
Years of trust built between the two. It wasn't often Felux took a stand against Delrik, but Felux knew that Delrik took it seriously when it did happen. While they might have different priorities, Felux could trust that Delrik wouldn't cross any boundaries.
Felux let his hand drop and said, "I'll be waiting by the door."
Delrik watched carefully as Felux made his way out of the dungeon.
Sutter was standing now, a broad smile creasing his arrogant face. He said, "That was fun."
A crack was heard as Delrik reached through the bars, grabbed Sutter by the collar, and slammed him against the cell bars.
In a low menacing voice, Delrik breathed, "Don't fail me again."
Smiling wickedly, Sutter said, "I don't intend to."
Delrik threw Sutter back and flung him the keys before stomping off.
༻✧༺
Cosaria and Tilda were in the garden, covered in dirt and grass. Cosaria had been reading tons of books on plants and Tilda had suggested she try her hand at gardening.
Tilda was showing Cosaria how to weed, saying, "See those are weeds. No. No, the other ones."
Cosaria wasn't really getting it.
In the bushes, unbeknownst to either, Sutter hid. He laughed at remembering the wild goose chase he had sent Felux and the Arquix knights on. Sutter had fabricated reports of a new breed of monsters coming from the west mountains. As required, the commander had gone himself and taken a dispatch of his best knights. With Felux out of the way, now was the perfect opportunity to corner Tilda.
Tilda sighed as Cosaria showed her the mud ridden hands she had been digging with.
Tilda said, "I think we got a trowel in the shed. I'll go get it for you."
As Tilda made her way into the garden shed, Sutter snuck in after her and closed the door. He was done playing nice and letting this commoner maid lead him around. This time, he would get what he came for.
Brandishing a knife, Sutter said, "Fancy meeting you here."
Tilda turned and cried, "Help-!" as Sutter covered her mouth.
In moments, Tilda was tied up and gagged on the ground. Sutter pressed the knife to her throat, enough so that she could feel the blade, but not enough to draw blood.
Tilda took deep breaths and shut out her fears. She had to calm down and think rationally. Her life depended on it.
Sutter said, "Call for help and you'll get a knife to your throat."
Slowly, Sutter took off Tilda's gag and said, "Here's how this is going to go. You tell me Delrik's secret and I'll let you live."
And then I'll get killed by Delrik for exposing his secret. Wow, what a real win-win scenario. Tilda thought, sighing. I wonder how long I can stall.
Tilda said, "I get that you think I know something and it's fun, really, but I don't understand why you think I have information. I'm a maid for pete's sake, not a messenger falcon. Lady Cosaria's maid to be exact. I'm not going to know jack squat about Lord Delrik."
"Don't lie to me," Sutter threatened.
Tilda said, "Then you tell me, how am I supposed to give you information that I don't have?"
Sutter hesitated and doubted, What if she doesn't actually know anything and I was set up? Delrik was known for cruel and unusual methods to get what he wanted.
Tilda felt she was gaining the upper hand. If only she could find out who was behind this mess.
Tilda said, "You're the guy who's been tailing me, right? What makes you think I know anything at all?"
Sutter paused. No. This wasn't a fool's errand. Delrik had been serious about uncovering what this girl knew and after everything he'd been through, Sutter felt entitled to the knowledge.
With a voice like silk, Sutter said, "Oh, you know something alright. And whatever it is, I'll get it out of you, one way or another."
He couldn't prove she was lying, but he could extort her loyalties.
༻✧༺
Cosaria had washed her hands in the little stream that flowed through the garden. She said, "Tilda's not back yet. I hope she's okay."
When the worry began to bubble to the surface, Cosaria set out to find Tilda. She walked around the garden and cut through a grove of trees looking for the shed. When she spied some servants she asked for directions to the shed. She waved goodbye as she followed their pointing.
When she arrived at the shed, there seemed to be something eerie in the atmosphere. Cosaria called, "Tilda? Tilda, are you in there?"
Inside the shed, Sutter glared at the door. He didn't like how public this confrontation was becoming.
Struggling against her restraints, Tilda worried Cosaria would come inside, get caught up in the trouble, and make things worse. It was too dangerous.
Tilda said, "Don't come in! I'm fine, Lady Cosaria, wait for me out there."
Cosaria called, "What's taking you so long? Are you alright?"
"Oh, I just got tied up," Tilda said, "That's all. I'll be out in a minute."
Sutter refocused his attention on the maid. He might have laughed, if he hadn't been thinking about how to turn the situation to his benefit.
Cosaria's meek voice had an unsure quality when she said, "Okay…"
Tilda let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in.
Sutter grinned, having developed an idea, he said, "Maybe your life doesn't mean that much to you. But maybe hers does."
This comment was not appreciated by Delrik, who had been leaning against the wall of the shed, monitoring the situation. His eyes sharpened as he tensed his muscles, ready for action.
Cosaria called back, "Tilda? I heard a voice."
"Let's bring her back, shall we?" Sutter spoke as he brought the knife to her throat again.
"Scream," he commanded.
Tilda clenched her teeth as tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to die. She had to fight the panic. She kept thinking, If he cuts my throat, then I won't be able to scream. It was an absurd thought, but it kept her brain thinking rationally.
"SCREAM!"
As Cosaria heard the order, she said with a frightened voice, "Tilda???"
That's enough, Delrik thought as he moved from his position at the side of the shed.
Delrik said, "Cosaria."
Sutter halted immediately, but kept the knife to Tilda's throat.
Cosaria was whimpering as she said, "Delrik. I think there's someone in the shed with Tilda."
Delrik spoke clearly as he said, "If there is someone in there, I'd recommend they leave before I open this door."
His face turned angry red as Sutter sheathed his knife and worked his way to the window.
Delrik continued, "I might just have to kill any intruder I find."
When Delrik opened the door to the shed, Tilda sat on the ground with her hands tied behind her back. Cosaria rushed in and began untying Tilda as she said, "Are you okay?"
Once free, Tilda gestured to the window saying, "He went that way."
"Indeed," Delrik said, glancing lazily at the window.
Tilda rubbed her hands on her throat to check if any blood had been drawn. Her hands were clean when she asked, "Aren't you going to go after him?"
Delrik said with an air of indifference, "I'm securing your safety first."
Tilda scoffed, "Are you kidding? When have you ever cared about MY safety?"
Cosaria said, "Don't say that Tilda. Delrik cares."
"About you maybe. He doesn't give a crap about me."
Delrik looked down on Tilda curiously as she got to her feet.
Tilda asked, "Why aren't you going after him?"
Delrik glanced away.
"You know him," Tilda realized as her eyes went wide, "You're working together. No, better yet, he's working for you. You hired some guy to threaten me?"
"It was a test," Delrik said, confused at the feeling of guilt growing in his gut.
"A test? You're kidding. I get that you've probably got some paranoid past that gives you every reason not to trust people but… screw you. I don't care."
Her pulse raced as Tilda thought back on every encounter she had had with that strawberry blonde scoundrel over the past week. Turned out, it was all at the command of Duke Delrik.
Delrik frowned at Tilda, saying, "I don't approve of your relationship with Felux."
Tilda shot back, "I don't approve of your relationship with Cosaria. But who cares. It's none of my business and it's none of yours. The only problem here is that you're a control freak."
Delrik's voice was like ice, "You shouldn't speak to me in such a way."
"Yeah, I shouldn't," Tilda said incredulously, "You hired a guy to threaten me, what's next, you're going to hire a guy to kill me?"
Cosaria whimpered, "Delrik wouldn't do that…"
Never taking her eyes off Delrik, Tilda scoffed, "Yeah. He wouldn't do that. Yeah, sure. I trusted him. That's why I told him what I knew. He's made it ever so clear I can't trust him."
Delrik said, "I don't need trust."
Tilda rolled her eyes, saying, "Yeah, cause you have control. Where's Felux? Was he involved?"
Delrik smirked, "Of course not."
"Does he know? Does he know what you've been doing?"
In his high and mighty attitude Delrik said, "Not at all."
"Yeah. I guess you don't need trust. Not even from those closest to you."
"You told me you would accept your fate. Whatever it was that I decided."
That's right. She had said that. Well, it turned out, she had been wrong.
"Screw you," Tilda barked as she stormed towards the door.
Cosaria followed after her, saying, "Tilda!"
Delrik gasped when he saw Cosaria leave. Her pained expression sent needles pricking at his heart as he said, "Cosaria, I-"
"Don't talk to me," Cosaria said, "I'm also mad at you."
In the garden, Cosaria caught up to Tilda. Tilda stopped walking when she noticed that Cosaria was copying her stomps.
Tilda asked, "Lady Cosaria, do you even know why I'm mad?"
Cosaria thought for a moment then said honestly, "…No. Not really."
Tilda palmed her forehead.
Standing alone in the shed, Delrik was experiencing a new emotion. It seemed to match the description of shame he had seen in the face of guilty prisoners. It was unnerving.
He wondered aloud, "Have I… made a mistake?"