PELAIR. The Gems of the Golden Serpent.

4. Brannan

The nearly deaf sound of cautious footsteps emitted a soft and barely audible echo that bounced off the dark walls that led to the room. The staircase was very steep. It had been built long ago as an escape route, in case of an attack by a potential aggressor though unlikely, given the desirable and strategic location of Castle Kaffre. The landing between each floor was narrow and curved, and its outer flank gave way to a window that looked out to the moat that surrounded the imposing stronghold. A faint glow from the reflection of a full moon, which could hardly filter its light through a persistent blanket of fog, dimly lighted the narrow passage. A distant murmur of voices got him on alert and, in turn, increased the level of anxiety and anguish that tormented his mind.

"Who would command the presence of these guards to the access to my room in the middle of the night?" thought Brannan while lowering the haste of his stride, praying that the information he received was not right. "It is just probably palace gossip prompted by envious evil minds," thought the young man.

Slowly and with increasing caution, he came the nearest to his bedchamber to almost stumble upon two unsuspecting guards who chatted quietly.

"Poor fool" "commented one of the guards while tiptoeing a bottle into his mouth and emitting a guttural sound accompanied by a strong tremor as he swallowed the tangy brandy that it contained. "He is just a poor and ignorant boy," he said while savoring the contents of the bottle.

"Don't dare to drink it all, you idiot," claimed the other guard turning to his companion. "It's cold, and we don't know how long we'll be here."

"Bah!" replied the first one, hurrying a second swig.

A sharp blow from a hunting hammer put immediately out of action the entrusted guard that sat just around the catwalk overlooking the staircase landing. The other man, dormant for the strong drink, barely had time to react, only to follow the fate of his companion.

"I should have killed those traitors," reproached Brannan to himself, even though he knew that those guards couldn't help but to obey whoever ordered this watch.

Then, the young man grasped the handle of the heavy wooden door that led to the rear entrance of his room. He just thought about the surprise his beloved wife would get to see him, imagining the joy that both would feel and share after a year of separation. Turning the knob slowly, he pushed gently inwards just one bit, taking a step in, guided by the glow of the full moon that partially illuminated the stay.

"Damn," he swore as he tripped over a stool that was inadvertently left aside near the entrance. A lantern that was on its top fell to the ground with a thud. Just at that moment, a gust of wind came fully into the room through the open window, making the heavy drapes that protected the stay from the weather to wave, letting the light of the moon cast a faint glow that lighted the chamber.

"Who's there?" asked a hoarse male voice. A silhouette rose from the bed that was on the other side of the room.

Brannan's heart stopped for a moment, feeling dreary to hear in his room the voice of a man.

"Please, don't let it be true!" he told himself bitterly.

"Sshhh love. It's just the wind that wants to make our company," said the seductive voice of a woman imprisoned under the silhouette, emitting a purr that went in crescendo, while the man writhed performing the ancestral rite of sharing pleasures.

Brannan's deception deepened further at recognizing with certainty that unmistakable female voice. Blinded by pain and agony, he drew his sword to face the perpetrators of this vile betrayal.

The man lying on the bed arose, and swiftly took the unsheathed sword he had left beside the bed, just in time to encounter the violent thrust Brannan threw unabated. With a deft flick of his arm, the man got to his feet and took a rapid look at the angry face of whoever attacked him. His powerful torso shone with sweat, as he just emerged from the height of the lovemaking exercise that he enjoyed so peacefully moments before.