CHAPTER 793: FAMILIAR FACES

While Virve charged the defenders on the wall, Ollie dashed for the manor, clutching his wounded side and gritting his teeth in pain as he ran. The wound might not be life threatening, but it was serious and left unattended, he was sure it would become much worse.

"By bark and leaf, and sap that flows,

Restore my flesh as sweet life grows."

The words that slipped from Ollie’s lips as he ran were simple, and the healing they brought was rudimentary at best. The bleeding stopped as his skin and muscles knit back together, but the wound itself was still very tender, and if he pushed himself too hard, he could easily tear the flesh open again.

Heila could have done better, even with the little amount of time Ollie allowed himself to focus on healing, but he quickly shoved down thoughts about his own inadequacies to focus on the mission at hand. Once he reached the manor, he would need to be calm enough to project an air of confidence, or things could become complicated very quickly.

Entering the manor through a side door, Ollie’s feet carried him almost automatically in the direction of the kitchens and the servants’ wing of the manor. The stone walls of the Villa felt strangely warm, even on this cold, wintery morning, though after a few steps, he realized it wasn’t the Villa that was warm... it was his memories of the days spent here that were warm.

The work in the Villa had always been hard, and there were never enough hands to get all of the work done, but at the time, he’d always felt excited to be selected as one of the servants who would spend the warm months of the year in the secluded summer villa. In the Lothian Manor, he was one of dozens of kitchen boys, and the Master of Kitchens rarely let him do any real cooking, but out here, he’d been one of a few, and he felt like he could stretch and grow in this place.

Of course, the Summer Villa wasn’t very impressive compared to the grandeur of Lady Nyrielle’s ancient fortress, and he learned more in a single day in Georg’s kitchen than he might in an entire season in the Summer Villa. He couldn’t deny that he had grown far beyond this place, and it felt... smaller now. Almost quaint compared to the life he’d been living. But still, it was the place where his journey had truly begun, and even if it would be the last time he would ever walk these halls, he couldn’t deny that it felt... good to return, one last time.

As he rounded a corner, the sounds of scraping wood against stone filled the air, and Ollie blinked several times in surprise at the sight of two laborers and two maids struggling to drag one of the heavy banquet tables down the hall toward the manor’s main entrance.

"You there," Ollie said, drawing himself up to his full height and relaxing his shoulders, assuming a commanding posture that Thane had drilled him on almost as much as his lessons on fighting in armor. "Drop the table, barricading the doors won’t help you at all."

"Your, your lordship?" One of the burly men said, blinking in surprise to see an unfamiliar knight walking the halls of the villa. "But, your lordship, the demons..."

"A few tables stacked in front of the door won’t save you from them," Ollie said confidently as he approached the group of servants. The maids, he recognized, or at least he thought he did. Tipfany was the shorter of the two with mousy brown hair tied in a tight braid, while Mina was an older woman, well into her thirties, who had been present at the Summer Villa every year that Ollie had been sent there.

"Tables won’t save you, but I can. Tell me something," he said, trying to maintain the air of a knight who was accustomed to giving orders to subordinates instead of one who made requests of their friends and neighbors.

"I haven’t ever seen the Villa staffed this late in the year," he said, speaking from experience. "How much of the staff is still here? Not the soldiers," he clarified. "Just the house staff."

"A dozen between the chamber and scullery maids," Tipfany said quickly, though her eyes kept darting from Ollie to the doors at the far end of the long hall where the sounds of battle could still be heard. "The stablehands, kitchen staff, and everyone else, um... two dozen more?" she said uncertainly.

"Three dozen or so people then," Ollie said as his mind began racing over the implications of bringing so many people back to the Vale. They had brought enough soldiers to ride herd on the soon-to-be captive servants, along with enough carts to transport them, but there were a few things they’d be short on with so many people in two.

"You two," he said, pointing at the pair of maids. "Go spread the word among the staff to join us in the kitchens as fast as they can come. I’ll explain everything once you’re all there."

"You two," he continued, turning to the burly men he didn’t recognize without giving the women a chance to respond. "Go to the lower larder. Fetch two each, sacks of flour, casks of pork or beef, wheels of cheese, and baskets of tubers. Pile them up at the west service door, but do not go outside! Do you understand?"

Dealing with their past several groups of involuntary guests to the Vale had taught Ollie that, even if they prepared to feed their guests, they might not trust food provided by ’demons.’ Once they reached the carts, he would have Constable Daithi to help reassure their new guests that they could trust the people of the Vale, but he still expected many of them to retain some reluctance.

If they brought their own food from the Villa, however, he should at least be able to get them a dinner when they camped for the night and a breakfast in the morning before they made it back to the Vale. After that... things would have to come with time.

"Y-yes, your lordship, we understand," Tipfany squeaked in a voice that was very small and timid.

Suddenly, a deep, anguished cry resounded from the bailey outside the manor. The scream was so loud and strong that the glass windows of the villa rattled, candles and lamps along the hallway flickered, and a rain of dust fell from the rafters overhead.

"Virve," Ollie whispered, dropping his hand to the hilt of Frost Fang and half turning to rush back to the battle in the bailey before he forced himself to stop. She’d pushed him away because if he didn’t act quickly, the common people in the Villa might attempt to flee, and anyone entering the bailey ran the risk of getting caught up in the battle and losing their life before Ollie had a chance to save them

They hoped that the common folk would have the sense to hide or at least to remain in the fortified villa, but once panic set in...

Glancing back at the servants, he found both maids cowering under the heavy table they’d intended to use to barricade the door, and even the men looked uncertain, caught between a desire to protect the women near them and the intense fear brought on by Virve’s bellows of rage and pain.

"Go," Ollie said, more sharply than he’d intended to. "Go quickly!"

"Your lordship," one of the burly men said. "Perhaps I should go with..."

"No," Ollie interrupted, shaking his head as he turned toward the kitchens. "They can fetch the staff, you need to fetch supplies, or everyone will be very cold and hungry tonight before we reach safety. So go, and come to the kitchens once you’re done."

"Yes, your lordship," all four of them said moments before rushing off to complete the tasks Ollie had given them. It wasn’t until several minutes later, as they were rushing to find the other servants in the manor, that Mina began to frown.

"Tipfany," the older maid said, looking at her frightened younger companion. "That knight... do you think he looked familiar?"

"You’ve served at the Villa more often than I have," the young woman said, failing to understand how the handsome young knight’s identity could be important at the moment. He was already sweeping in like a hero from a fairytale, rescuing them just as demons were about to destroy the villa. What more could they ask for? "You probably saw him at one of the banquets..."

"No, I think it’s something else," Mina said, taking the stairs up to the second floor two at a time as they raced to alert the remaining staff, and hopefully Lady Ashlynn as well. "I don’t think I’ve seen his coat of arms before... I’d remember someone with a pot on their shield, but..."

"But nothing, it’s not important right now," Tipfany insisted before she began to shout. "Everyone! Everyone, come out! There’s a knight come to rescue us! Run to the kitchens, help has come, so hurry!"

"I’ll go get Lady Ashlynn," Mina said, putting aside the question of the red-haired knight’s identity. Tipfany was right, they could ask their rescuer his name later, once they were all safe. For now, they had to escape the demons, or it wouldn’t matter if he was one of the Royal Princes posing as a common knight. The most important thing was to follow his orders now and ask questions much, much later.