Act 15.

The two women walked back toward the castle leaving the horse behind. There was nothing, other than the horse, left behind by their attackers.

When they emerged from the forest, the body was still there, in his near sitting position, with his eyes staring off into the sky.

Linda walked over and closed the man’s eyes.

This was not the first time she had seen a dead body. She remembered back to the first time she had ever seen one. She had shacked up with a older boy she had met when she first took to the streets. He had been the first one to treat her nicely when she had started out. They grew closer and together they found a cheap place to live.

But although she had left her home voluntarily, not wanting to be where she was not wanted or loved, he had not.

He had been caught one to many times doing coke, and his parents had thrown him out.

When the two of them met, he told her he was getting off the stuff.

Linda had believed him. And any time she found out he had gone back, he would swear to her it was the last. She had genuinely loved him then, and so she kept believing him, even though deep down she knew he couldn’t keep his promise.

Until the day she woke up and found him slumped over the kitchen table. His eyes staring off into nothing.

She had been curiously numb at the time.

Someone she had cared very much for, was laying there dead in front of her and she couldn’t even cry.

At the time she felt that she must be the most hard-hearted bitch around.

Now she realised why.

Deep down, back then, she had known that he had loved the white stuff more than her.

She had stopped loving him long before he died, she just hadn’t know it at the time.

Since that day she had seen others die. Some she cared for, others not.

And since becoming Queen’s Champion, she had been forced to kill to save others.

Each death was different.

Each death brought sorrow, pain or nothing at all.

Now she only felt sorry for this man who, in the minds of those that hired him, was nothing more than and expendable object.

A small sigh overcame her.

She felt Margaret’s hand on her shoulder and turned to see the concerned look on her friend’s face.

"Are you going to be all right?" asked Margaret.

Linda smiled back.

"I’ll be fine." she answered. "Thanks for worrying."

"It is just that you were very quiet for a moment there." said Margaret. "I had never seen you like that before."

"It’s all right." said Linda. "I was just thinking back to a memory of my previous life."

The two searched around the area, and the body, for anything that may yield some information as to who was behind this and why.

The man had nothing on him except his bow and arrows. His black garments were of a plain cotton, found anywhere.

They picked up the few arrows that were laying on the ground around them.

These too were all black.

Linda snorted.

"Black clothing and black arrows. Who are these guys? Ninja?" she said.

"What’s a Ninja?" asked Margaret.

"Ask Mikako." said Linda, and chuckled at her own joke.

Margaret gave her that look that said.

‘Sometimes you just really live in a world of your own, don’t you?’

They gathered up what they could find.

They left the body where it was. They would let the king’s guards come and examine it and then take care of it.

As they started back a small contingency of men and a couple of guards emerged from the castle.

Margaret looked at the group and said.

"It’s Master Findlay."

The mage walked up to the two warriors followed by his two apprentices and two of the castle guards.

His two apprentices looked around as if they were worried that arrows would fly at them.

Linda knew his two apprentices by name only. She had never really tried to talk to them and they always seemed in awe of her and so never approached her.

Mildred was a half mage like her teacher and slightly older than Linda. She had the mousy brown hair, and the stalky body of the farming family she had come from. She never really lost her country ways and sometimes that got her into trouble in the court when she was not as refined as she should be in the eyes of some of the nobles.

But she was good, and so Findlay would hear nothing against her, saying her abilities outweighed her awkwardness.

Sheldon, the other apprentice, with his pointed nose and blue eyes and the chiselled, unmarked, looks of one who has never worked in the sun, was only a quarter mage. He was slightly younger than his co-apprentice. But he was born into a noble family, and they used their influence to get master Findlay as his teacher.

The court mage had been a little miffed at this turn of events, but took it in stride.

Linda liked Findlay.

His slightly wrinkled face was always smiling when she came to visit. His brown eyes always seemed to have a shine in them. His nose, however, was a little large for his face.

Right now, though, he was not smiling.

"From your attitude, I gather the danger has passed, but you did not get the results you wanted, Lady Knight." he said when he was close enough.

His eyes went to the body nearby.

"You are correct." said Margaret. "Our would be assassin has been silenced and his silencer has escaped."

"He left behind one horse, just through those trees." said Linda.

"But he is hobbled by a magic rope that has no knot."

Findlay nodded.

"A simple trick but effective."

He turned to Sheldon.

"Go and remove the binding and bring the horse back."

"Why me?" he asked "I am not the one accustomed to go trudging around the forest."

A scowl crossed Mildred’s face.

"Besides." he continued, seemingly clueless to Mildred’s reaction. "It may not be safe. How can we be sure there are not anymore brigands out there?"

"You may take a guard with you." answered Findlay. "And you will go because I told you to."

The guards looked at each other. Clearly neither wanted to be the one to accompany the young mage. Finally a decision was arrived at, and one of the guards moved off to go with Sheldon.

Sheldon was unaware of the goings on of the guards, seeing as they were just servants and beneath his notice.

Linda could see that Mildred, however, had seen it all and a smug smile had crossed her face.

Linda caught Mildred’s eye and winked in a conspirital fashion.

Mildred blushed and turned to pay attention to her master who was talking.

"Come along." he said. "Let us see if we can’t find something that regular senses cannot."

"Yes master." replied Mildred.

The two mages and their guard moved away from the two women.

"Think they’ll find anything?" asked Linda.

"Probably not, but there is always a chance." Margaret answered.

They turned to walk back to the castle and saw that Patrick and his guests, with accompanying guards, were walking toward them.

"Can’t he just wait like a good boy?" said Margaret.

"Well, what was that about?" asked Patrick.

Margaret was about to answer when the princess, seeing the arrows in Margaret’s hands, gasped.

And then she fainted.