The Forgotten

Suzy and Rolf sat in their room for several hours after Lynden had left. They said very little while holding hands and staring at the blackened wood in the fireplace.

After the flames dimmed, Rolf was the first to stand, walking over to the table, grabbing two plates. He piled each high with slices of beef, cheese, grapes and a large chunk of bread on the side. It was the leftovers from the kitchen that day that they both looked forward to.

He walked back over to the fireplace and handed Suzy a plate along with a glass of water he poured into a silver goblet that they had taken from the dining hall after a party. It wasn’t the first time they liberated something from the dining hall, and if it was ever questioned they would claim it broke in the festivities.

She started eating from the plate, almost immediately after being given the food. Taking several bites from a slice of beef and bread, she said, “What can we do Rolf?”

“We’ll go about our normal days and do as we normally do, gather news and intelligence then feed that onto Lynden where we can come up with a plan together.”

“It will take too long. You know as I do, we only ever get half the story and even getting that much usually takes weeks.”

“I’ll take a look at his documents tonight, try and gather what news I can.” Rolf said, though his face was already going white at the thought of being caught.

“No Rolf, he’ll find out. He always does, sooner or later he’ll punish you.”

“I’m the only one that could do it, providing nobody spots me going near that side of the wing we will be fine.”

“That won’t be possible, and you know it. Even when he’s not there, he has guards at his door night and day.”

Rolf shrugged before replying, “Maybe if we gave them a reason to leave their post? Lynden wouldn’t mind us using his name, would he?”

She smiled at Rolf, “Well, it wouldn’t be a lie that he was in the castle and well he can take care of himself.”

The afternoon passed without incident and early that evening Suzy ran up the corridor of the west wing of the castle. Ornate red rugs with yellow tassels were lining the centre of the walkway, while paintings of the royal family and battles that they had fought were hanging from the walls. She always thought it amusing that there were no adult portraits as the king had never gone to battle himself, only getting others to do his dirty work for him.

Muttering under her breath, Suzy said, “It wouldn’t be so bad if history forgot him.”

She turned the corner to see two black-clad guards. They were about seven feet tall with thick shoulders and bulky chests. With only green eyes visible behind there helm, they wore the same black armour as normal guards but had gold crests rather than the standard red. Armed with large two-handed swords on their back, they also held kite shields with sheathed longswords at their waists.

Thinking it was strange that the men were armed just like the old general she called out, “Lynden! He’s been spotted in the castle!”

While usually not moving an inch unless provoked, they responded to that name without question. Lynden was a wanted man. Myval wanted him dead soon after leaving his service. The king doesn’t tolerate disobedience. Lynden knew secrets that no other man did and most importantly, he still held the loyalty of many men in the king’s service.

The two guards turned in the direction that Suzy pointed out. She’d never seen them move before and thought they’d be stiff, though how wrong she was. Their swiftness was disturbing.

Leaving the door unguarded, Rolf came from the other direction, making his way to Myval’s quarters. He let himself in the room with a key he had, one of few keys gifted to palace staff. A risk to enter, but Rolf knew he had to help and so pushed his fear aside.

He made his way to the polish oak desk in the corner of the room, surrounded by two great bookcases stretching up to the ceiling. Two torches encased in glass to prevent embers spitting over the papers were next to the chair, though unlit, it was proving difficult to go through the documents. Rolf only brought a small lamp, so he was relying mostly on the moonlight that was shining through from the far side windows.

Minutes pass by with Suzy becoming more and more anxious. The guards have left, but it won’t be long before they return after failing to find Lynden or they just give up and come back.

It dawned on Suzy that other than being a lookout they had no way to contact one another, so if the guards did return Rolf wouldn’t know until he poked his head outside the door. She started rubbing the palms of her hands, something she has grown accustomed to when getting stressed. Always aware she does it but seemingly powerless to stop.

Rolf’s forehead started to form small drops of sweat that were falling down his head, hitting the tile flooring. Moving the files to one side, he realises that he hasn’t put them in any order, something Myval is a stickler for doing using his own coding system that is unknown to most.

Time seemed to slow but finally he found the prisoner report in his desk draw, not yet opened with a complete wax seal on the front. Sparing no seconds, to read it, he jammed it into his jacket pocket along with a couple of other papers referencing treasury figures and army numbers. Though the missing papers would only inconvenience the man for a day, Rolf decided he might get a little revenge back if he is going to know that someone was here. He picked up a few of the letters, then a handful and set them alight with the lantern.

Rolf silently walked up to the door on tiptoes. He decided not to wear shoes as he thought he would have the best chance of being quiet with them off. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he slightly opened the door to reveal no guards are still standing there.

Pulling the door open, he notices a frantic Suzy whose wide eyes peered around the corner then back at the door. With a nod from Suzy, Rolf bolted.

They both ran down the corridor, taking a left at the end to bring them to a small servant tower. The perfect getaway they thought as they opened the doorway and slipped into the dark unlit passageways of the servants’ corridors.