Tuesday Tales – Smooth

Hello again and welcome to another Tuesday Tales!  This week’s word prompt is “smooth”.  We are back with Thatcher and Miranda in The Thirteenth Knight.  Miranda is looking for more clues to assist Thatcher.  Will Brunon find her?  Let’s find out…

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A couple days felt like an eternity.  Miranda shuffled down the hall escorted by two of Brunon’s men as she returned to her bedchamber.  It was another disastrous breakfast.  She was unsure where her betrothed and his men learned their dining manners.  She was sure the swine in the village she grew up behaved better at the breakfast table than they did.

She closed her bedchamber door and took her seat at the window.  She waited silently, reading the book she had snuck from the palace library, until she no longer heard sound outside her door.  Brunon’s men never had the patience to stand guard.  What harm could such a little woman do?

If they only knew.

She dug in the back of her wardrobe for her quilt and tugged on each piece of the courtier’s uniform.  She winced.  If didn’t smell wonderful when the courtier gave it to her.  It’s scent was getting worse.  She would have to find a way to wash it before too long.

Miranda opened her door and glanced both ways before stepping out.  Her footsteps were light as she pressed flush against the smooth, cold stone walls, attempting to make herself invisible as she made her way to the knights’ quarters.  She slipped inside Thatcher’s bedchamber.

New maps were pinned to the wall.  The lavender crystals continued to cast an eerie glow.  Miranda scanned the maps carefully.  She tore them off the wall and tucked them in her jacket.  She spun towards the door then stopped.

She frowned puzzled as she stared at the purple crystals, stepping closer to get study them.  Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the black shadows flicker in the smooth stones.  She stared for several moments, struggling to figure out what they were.  The only thing she could surmise – the shadows looked somewhat human.

Miranda tiptoed out of the room then raced down the hall.  She stopped in the throne room before the roaring fire in the fireplace.  A sly smile spread across her lips as she pulled free the maps and tossed them into the flames.  She jumped as she heard a voice behind her.

“What do you think you are doing?” Brunon demanded.

Miranda fell to her knee as she hid her face in her cloak.  “My lord, I have come to report.  I have seen King Thaddeus and his men with my own eyes.  They were heading to the northern lands to regroup and plan an attack.  They intend to recruit villagers there to fight with them.”

She kept her eyes to the floor as the room fell silent.  Brunon’s voice cut through the tension.  “What are you doing at the fire?”

“Warming myself, my lord.  The trip has been cold.”

“What is your name, boy?”

“My name is Ewen.  I am please to serve you, my liege.”

Miranda felt a hand on her shoulder.  “Rise, Ewen.  The northern lands you said?”

Miranda stood, keeping her cloak over her face.  “Yes, my lord.”

Brunon snapped his fingers at his men.  “Prepare to ride.  Travel north.  Destroy them.”

The men bowed in reply and stormed from the room.  Brunon clapped Miranda on the shoulder.  “Good work, Ewen.  With loyalty such as yours, you may serve as one of my men soon.”

“Thank you, sire.  I look forward to the day.”

Miranda suppressed a giggle as she watched as Brunon swept from the room.  Now that Brunon’s men were heading north, she would head south.  And before long she would be with her Thatcher again.  Even though he does not know it is me.

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