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Fingers dug into the mortar cracks between the bricks, and the toes of his boots likewise, Kain looked down to find Cecil staring up at him, trepidation etched into his sworn brother’s face.
He heaved a gentle sigh.
Carefully.
It wasn’t that far to the ground.
Looking up, he blinked the grit out of his eyes and fixed his sight on Rosa. Whatever she might have felt about this plan, she held her concerns much tighter in check than Cecil did. Another handful of feet, and she reached out the window for his hand, giving him an anchor to haul himself into her window.
Unwinding the rope he’d coiled around his waist, the two of them worked to tie it off to the post of Rosa’s bed, and threw the rest out the window.
Although grimly determined, Rosa still paused at the window to regard the distance.
“It’s not that far,” Kain assured her, with a glance to the door. “C’mon, hurry.”
Taking a breath, she gripped the rope tightly in her hands and bounded out the window, twisting to land her feet against the wall that she might ease her way down it. Once Cecil had caught her at the bottom, Kain untied the rope and let it slip to the ground before following it out the window.
He landed well enough but heavily, and coughed to catch his breath. Cecil gripped his arm on one side, Rosa the other, and the two of them helped him to his feet.
“Do you always have to be so dramatic?” Cecil asked him, voice low but in good humor.
A couple of staggered steps, and the ache began to fade. Kain shrugged Cecil off as their escape hit a stride, and, as though sensing he no longer needed her support, Rosa let go of his arm.
***
They lounged about the reservoir under the starlight, in the comfort of each others’ company. Kain had propped himself against the wall, shoulder-to-shoulder with Cecil, while Rosa sat with her arms loosely about her knees to one side.
Cecil’s eyes remained on the moons, where one eclipsed the other in the depth of the sky. Kain thought to nudge him out of his reverie, but didn’t.
“You heard the story of the ghosts that are supposed to haunt this place?” he asked.
Rosa raised her head, turning her gaze his way. Rousing, Cecil glanced at him sidelong.
“Everyone’s heard that story,” he said.
“I haven’t.”
Both of them glanced at her, and Rosa shrugged, and emphasized, “I haven’t.”
Kain sat up a little straighter.
“They say a girl drowned here,” he told her. “It was an accident – they say she was heartbroken after her lover took another, and the stars reflecting on the water soothed her spirit. But one night it was cloudy and dark, and she slipped and drowned.”
“It turned out, she was mistaken. Her lover had been faithful all along, and he came to visit the reservoir every day to sooth her spirit. On certain nights, you can still see them together.”
When Kain didn’t add anything more to it, Rosa bit her lip. “That’s a sad story.”
“That’s not quite how it goes,” Cecil said, nudging Kain’s shoulder.
“Well maybe I was trying to not scare anyone.”
Glancing between them, Rosa blinked. Cecil scratched the back of his neck as he explained, “The lover moved on, and girl turned into a wicked monster and drowned him. And anyone else that would come near. The sages purified the pool, but it’s said she still appears on some nights to beckon the unwary.”
Rosa’s gaze was drawn towards the pool. The three of them sat in silence as the moments ticked by, and no monstrous lake hag appeared.
“Maybe the stars aren’t right,” Kain suggested.
“Or maybe it has to be overcast,” Cecil surmised.
“Or maybe you’re both making it up.”
She got to her feet, and started towards the stairs.
“I think she’s spooked,” Kain remarked.
Cecil rolled his eyes, and slapped his shoulder. “I think your storytelling skills could use work.”
Kain hrrmphed as they stood to follow her. She was already a ways down the path when they reached the bottom of the stairs, and he watched her stride ahead of them.
“We should go on an adventure.”
“An adventure,” Cecil scoffed.
“Yeah! An adventure, like the knights of old. Battling dragons and archfiends and the like.”
“We have duties here.”
“The castle will keep running without us,” Kain stated, matter-of-fact. “I didn’t say we’d be gone forever.”
“And where are we going to find archfiends?”
“So far,” Kain defended, “it’s an idea, not a plan.”
“Rosa, what do you think?” he called ahead. “Just the three of us, camping out under the moons.”
She turned, a whorl of skirts and cloak. “I think you can keep the archfiends, but the rest of it sounds fun.”
Cecil’s face grew contemplative at that, as though giving it a second thought, and Kain clapped his shoulder.
***
The tavern was still rowdy, even at this hour of the night. Packed full of off-duty soldiers posted in the town, mercenaries, and adventurers.
Real adventurers.
They were barely seated when the trouble started, with a trio of sturdy men in well-worn armor who had followed them in.
“Hey that there’s our table,” the largest of the growled.
Cecil was on his feet. As was Rosa. Kain lingered at first, and followed suit.
“I’m terribly sorry,” Cecil assured them. “We don’t get out here, much; we had no way of knowing.”
One of the other men made a grab for him and shoved him as they pushed their way past, as though to make him hurry for some perceived slight. Only the grab snared his cloak, and as he spun to catch his footing, his hood fell.
Silvery white hair tumbled down his shoulders, stark and shimmering even in the dimly lit mage-crafted lanterns of the tavern.
A stunned silence struck the man who had shoved him, and rippled through the tavern as half of them recognized the King’s heir, and every last one of them recognized the abrupt shift in mood.
“Ah. Milord Harvey...” the adventurer prostrated himself, apologetically enough, “Forgive me, I did not realize it was you...”
With a sigh, Kain threw back his own hood. Rosa left hers; she moved to stand close to them. He reached for her hand, and squeezed it reassuringly before letting go.
“Buy us a round, young master – for the good of kin and King and country!”
It was a soldier on the sidelines who had broken the uneasy silence, and he raised his glass their way encouragingly.
“Sure,” Kain’s voice cracked. “Why not?
Cecil nodded, and raised his own.
“A round for everyone, on the Crown!”
A cheer went up across the tavern – to the Crown. Rosa flitted through the crowd as Cecil and Kain found themselves steered towards a larger table to be seated among a troupe of older soldiers and mercenaries. She seated herself comfortably between them, and Cecil leaned forward to peer around her at Kain
“You really think this is a good idea?” Cecil hissed, as a serving lad sped their way and full pints of hearty ale were offloaded in front of them and everyone else.
Kain forced a smirk that twisted grimly at the edges.
“Oh, we’re dead, either way – may as well live a little, first.”
***
Scaling the wall the second time took him a fair bit longer, for all that it wasn’t nearly difficult at all. Once he’d got through the window, he hauled the rope up, Rosa clinging to it and all.
She smiled at him gently when he reached for her hand, and blinked in surprise when he turned it to kiss her palm.
With a tipsy swagger, he started backwards towards his exit, and Rosa’s face fell.
So did Kain.
Right out the window.
Cecil was, at least, there to break his fall, and the next Kain knew he was staring up as Rosa poked her head out the window to peek down at them from above.
He wasn’t sure why she was worried.
It wasn’t that far to the ground.