The Kingdom of Talador

Chapter Eighty-Two

Rowan of Monalin

Rowan wasn't happy with any of this.

For one thing, she felt betrayed by the king of Mointeach for treating Trutha like a porcelain doll. That man deserved nothing less than to rot in a cell right next to the assassin but nooo apparently he had to have a room, even if he was...technically locked inside of it and supervised by knights.

But still!

Standing outside of Lord Trutha's door was a surprisingly familiar face, but Ro was less than happy to see him, considering he was guarding a fuckwad. When the knight saw her, however, he smiled and dipped his head. "Evenin', m'Lady~!" he greeted cheerfully. "My, y'look a far shout than y'did last we met. An' here I thought y'were a peasant!"

Ro sighed, crossing her arms. "Hello again, Sir Rian."

William furrowed his brows, and then looked at Ro. "....You've met?"

She nodded. "At the tournament." He was of Clan O'Callahan, a Clan her parents respected, and she wanted to trust him, but he was here guarding Tierney Trutha on King Ruarc's orders. As far as she was concerned, he'd betrayed her too. "I see yer guardin' a rapist murderer today," she snarked at the knight.

The man exhaled. "I know what sort of a man Lord Trutha is," he responded quietly. "An' I'll be true, I'm not surprised by this situation at all. But I've orders from my king t'make sure 'e isn't harmed unnecessarily. Yer brother's a knight, m'Lady, is he not, if I recall correctly?"

"Aye," Rowan responded, not changing her stance or expression.

"Then you understand my duty t'do as my king asks," he said imploringly. "I want t'see justice done, fer whatever crimes have been committed, believe me. But I can't jus' defy orders."

Ro flicked a hand in understanding, letting Will take over. "I trust one of my own knights has told you we have Trutha's assassin in custody," he said. "The assassin has agreed to identify the lord and prove his guilt." Then he gestured at the door behind Rian. "If you don't mind...?"

Rian licked his lips in thought, before stepping aside. Before he opened the door however, Will turned to stand in front of Rowan, and put his hands on her shoulders. She could predict what he was about to say, and was proven right. "Ro," he murmured. "I want you to stay out here."

She scowled at him. "No."

"Rowan. Please." There was concern in his gaze. "I don't want a man like this near you. He's not in a cell. And I have no idea how this will go."

This did not convince her. "I followed ye to a dragon cave," she started. "I beat my brother, your knight, in a swordfight. I heard the bowstring that would've ended yer life. I shot the assassin out of a tree. I interrogated his arse, an' now he's terrified o' me. I have a dragon princess as a friend. An' I didn't need no protectin' on our way back from Monalin. If you don't think I can handle the arrogant highborn fook that even put me in this world, then you don't know me at all."

William sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. "Well. It was worth a try," he chuckled half-heartedly. "Just...for my peace of mind...stay behind me. Please?"

That was something Ro could agree to. "Aye," she replied, rolling her eyes. Will leaned back and turned to step towards the door, which Rian then opened for him. Rowan followed closely, and though she instinctively attempted to move beside Will, he kept her back with an arm. Damn it.

Rian shut the door after them, but they didn't dare enter the room any further than necessary. Thankfully, it wasn't just Mointeach knights here; opposite the foreign one was Sir Charlin, and with her hands on his back, Ro felt Will's tension release ever so slightly.

Sitting in a chair, looking rather irritatingly comfortable, was Lord Tierney Trutha in the flesh. He was heavyset, and had this perpetually smug look on his face. Ro felt the urge to storm up and punch it right off. "Lord Trutha," Will greeted flatly.

"Prince William!" Trutha replied, making to stand up, but both Charlin and the Mointeach knight shoved him back down again. He looked displeased by that, but didn't make a comment. "I trust yer here t'tell me what the hells is goin' on?"

"Indeed," said Will, feeling safe taking a step forward, having seen both knights, not just his own, actively restrain the other man. "I have a reliable source that tells me you are the one that sent an assassin to not only murder myself, but my brother Henry as well."

"Preposterous!" the lord retorted, rolling his eyes. "An' pray tell, jus' who might this reliable source be, hm?"

"That isn't quite your business just yet," William said. "But I can tell you that lying is pointless. I know why you want my brother and I dead. You think our sister is your daughter, isn't that right?"

The lord stared at Will for a few moments, a slight sneer on his face. "All I know," he murmured. "Is that I've got a redheaded lass muckin' about this castle. I dunno shite about no assassin." Then he spied Ro and gave a nod towards her, smirking grossly. "In fact, I think I may be lookin' at 'er right now. Evenin', Princess~."

William was understandably not happy with that, and to be frank, neither was Rowan. The prince put a hand on the hilt of his blade and took another step towards the lord. "You do not speak to her. Do you understand?"

Trutha laughed. "Aye, but that didn't answer me question did it?"

"I ain't yer fookin' daughter," Ro spat, unable to hold that back. Seamus is my da. Seamus is my da, she told herself, taking a deep breath. Not. Him.

Will stepped back again, though he didn't turn, and merely held the hand that wasn't on his sword back to Rowan. She moved towards him and put her hands on his back again. "She isn't your daughter," he confirmed. "And neither is Princess Faye."

The distinction seemed to catch Trutha's attention. "Oho, s'now there're two little gingers muckin' about? I wasn't told I had twins."

"Take him," William barked, fed up with the lord's games. The two knights both reached for Trutha and hauled the man to his feet. "You and I are taking a little trip downstairs," Will stated, a little aggressively. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."

Sensing that she should vacate before the bastard got too close to her, Rowan stepped back towards the door and opened it, to see Rian talking to Seán. At the sight of her, her brother's eyebrows shot up, and he pulled her away from the door. "Ro?! The fook y'doin' in there?!" He hid her behind him as Trutha was brought from the room, William exiting soon after. "He didn't hurt ye, did 'e?"

"No," Ro muttered in response, moving away from him. "But I'm about t'hurt him."

Seán nodded at the retreating party and asked, "Where're they takin' 'im?"

Rowan crossed her arms and started after them. "Dungeon," she responded simply. Then she tossed over her shoulder, "Y'boys comin'?"

"Like I'd miss this," Seán replied quickly.

She stopped and turned back around to look at Rian, who had also started to follow. She nodded at the room the lord had been in and said, "Say; didja bring 'is bow?"

The knight furrowed his brows. "No Mointeach leaves home without 'is bow."

Rowan grinned a grin from the hells. "Bring it." She was going to love finding out just what these foreign knights considered...ethical.