Brian's Adventures Ch. 13

"She's clean, no mark." Jealile said bringing herself back to reality, pulling the Commander's pants back up.

"Bunch of Perverts!" The Commander snorted as we all let go of her and she stormed towards the ladder, looking a little flushed.

"Have you ever heard of the Mistress of Tania?" I called out to her quickly and she stopped in her tracks then slowly turned to face me.

"You've got one minute." The Commander said with a stern face, no less insulted but at least listening.

"I'm sorry it had to be that way." I said in a calming tone as I raised my hands in a gesture of peace and calm, trying to relay our friendly intentions. "We do need to talk to you about something vitally important, about The Mistress." I finished calmly.

"We had to be sure you weren't a Disciple." Treabilla said as she stepped forward a few steps.

"Disciple?" The Commander asked with a confused face for clarification.

"That is what the followers of The Mistress are called." Treabilla answered respectfully. The Commander nodded and it was clear that she was at least interested. "Every Disciple is marked with a tattoo on the upper thigh, and that is what we were looking for." Treabilla said in an equally calming gesture.

"I've never heard of this, how do you know so much?" The Commander asked with an accusatory snort.

"Because I used to be a Disciple." Treabilla said as she dropped her pants once more. "This is the tattoo we were looking for." Treabilla said as she pointed to the tattoo on her upper thigh.

The Commander dropped to her knees and examined the tattoo in great detail for a moment. On more than one occasion I saw her gaze glance over to Treabilla's panty covered pussy. Only once did I see her lick her lips while she examined the 'tattoo'. After she was satisfied she stood up with a puzzled and flushed look on her face. She looked at each of us to see if we were joking or pulling her leg, but found only solemn faces.

"Okay, you've got my attention, what's going on around here? I want some answers!" She said after a short pause.

We sat down and told her everything we knew about The Mistress, along with everything that had happened to us up until that point. It was a long discussion and she had a number of questions of her own which we did our best to answer. Once it was over she looked like she was lost in thought over all the news that she had just received.

"That is quite a tale, do you have any proof?" The Commander asked as she leaned in to look at the group in general.

"My attacker last night left this. "I said as I handed the dagger and the note that was left by the Disciple.

The Commander looked over both items carefully and finally looked up to speak. "Forgive me, but this could be anyone's" The Commander said holding up the dagger. "As for this, anyone could have written that, one of you even." She said indicating the note. She had removed her armour during the discussion and was comfortably sitting against a pile of hay.

"Woravia, you have known Yeoline and I for some time now. You know that I would never lie to you, especially about something like this!" Jealile pleaded with her old comrade in arms.

"But you are telling me that this old wives tale does exist and has control of the Guards! Felleona is a friend of mine! I've known her for a long time and I can't see her being controlled by anyone!" Woravia said with stern disbelief, clearly she didn't want to accept the news of her Captain and friend anymore than I did.

"She is a close friend of mine as well, closer than anyone maybe. Perhaps she is fighting that control; perhaps she is not as much of a Disciple as she once was, I don't know. But the fact remains that she can't be trusted until we know the truth!" I said with an ardent plea. "She is a dear friend of mine, and I wish it weren't so but at the very least we must suspect her orders." I said and Woravia sighed a heavy sigh and looked at Jealile, then Yeoline and finally at myself.

"I understand, I like it less than you do but for now, lets suppose you're right. What do propose we do?" Woravia looked suspiciously at me.

"We know that she will be here some time in the near future to meet with me. For some reason she has need of me, but for what I don't know." I said and paused to think once more of what that could be. "We'll gather as many of your Guards as we can be certain of and set a trap for her when she contacts me." I said plainly to Woravia gauging her response.

"A good plan, it would be good to catch her, to put and end to her troubles once and for all." Woravia said and fell silent for a moment, thinking to herself. "Where did you say you were heading?" Woravia asked with curious intent.

"Kincaid, I have been awarded it and was on my way to settle it." I replied as I looked at the sparkle in Woravia's eye.

"That's where The Rebels are! The troubles in Greatfoot are due to the rebellion of the Kincaid Quad!" Woravia said as she leaned in and she looked at the puzzled faces of the group. "Haven't you heard of the troubles of the place that you are going to?" Woravia asked everyone and paused at Jealile.

"We've heard that the Guards were ordered out of first Kincaid and then the whole Quad but we were told no reason why." Jealile explained to Woravia with a puzzled look. "Do you know more?" Jealile asked with great interest.

"Well, we knew of some troubles in the Kincaid Estate for some time now. The Guards have been massing in Greatfoot quietly, so as not to arise suspicion, arriving in plain clothes. We were not quite ready to move in on the Quad but things have escalated when a Guard was killed. An emissary was sent to find a peaceful solution to the situation but they were killed; she was a friend of mine." Woravia said with a pained look. "After that the lockdown was called and the whole Quad was encircled and nothing has moved in or out yet. Messengers are ridding to all the barracks with desperate pleas to send all available Guards. I myself have committed myself to sending what I can." Woravia said with a heavy heart and grim look.

"How do you know this? Could this not be a ploy of The Mistresses?" I asked Woravia curiously.

"I have heard it from the Commander of the Greatfoot detachment and the flags have also warned of trouble in Greatfoot. While I don't know her as 'intimately' as you would like, I can safely say that she is not under any control. If Felleona is controlled as you say, then it could happen to anyone." Woravia said with a heavy sigh. "It could be a ploy to lure troops away from this town for your meeting but I doubt it." Woravia said with a doubtful shake of her head.

"What do the Rebels look like?" Treabilla asked with great interest.

"I have not seen them, but I have heard that they are clad in black cloaks and little else. Nobody can see any of their faces because the top portions are covered by some kind of mask. They are skilled with a bow as well as a sword." Woravia replied and all of us fell silent and wore a grim look and sighed heavily.

"Disciples." Treabilla replied looking at Woravia with a pained look. "If it weren't for Brian, I could be one of those Rebels! We must do something to prevent this bloodshed. They're just . . . misguided and not in control of themselves. They should not die for The Mistresses crimes! We must stop this madness!" Treabilla said with a desperate look to everyone in the group. "We must!" She asserted with conviction.

"We can't give up this opportunity to catch The Mistress." I said assuredly. "I would love to go to Greatfoot and do what we can to prevent the senseless slaughter but we must remain here! We can't be in two places at once you know!" I said in frustration and my words rang out in the empty loft as the group fell quiet for a moment.

"Yes we can." Rialtige said with a mischievous smile.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused yet curious.

"Well, I mean we plan on having Guards here to jump her anyways right? So why not have them dress up as us in the mean time? That way we could sneak out of town unnoticed and press on to Greatfoot and see how we can lend a hand sorting out the mess." Rialtige said with a proud smirk.

"It could work, but we would need someone who could pass for me. Not to mention we would need to talk to Brealla first. After all it is an imposition on her family." I said tentatively, and looked over at Woravia and said cautiously, "It could work."

"Don't worry about Brealla, I'll fill her in myself." Woravia said with a smile of her own.

"She seems nice and all but can she be trusted?" Jealile asked tentatively, after a brief pause.

"Oh yeah, she's fine." Woravia replied assuredly with a dismissive smile.

"Um . . . exactly how certain are you?" I asked as delicately as possible.

"Well, she is my Fellowife so I can say with assurance that she is clean." Smirked Woravia as she looked at everyone. "I was wondering what was going on when you brought me to my own stables Jealile!" She chuckled heartily and the rest of us looked shocked.

"Did I forget to mention whose house this was?" Rialtige added with a smirk of his own.

"Bless you dear Brother, you are a first class shit disturber!" Woravia laughed as she shook her head.

"Brother!" We all shouted in shock!

"Did I forget to mention that as well? My, my, where is my head?" Rialtige said with a look of regret and a disgusted sigh, but a badly hidden smirk was underneath it all.

"If she is your Sister, why didn't you go get her then?" Jealile huffed with disgust.

"She wouldn't have the time of day for me with something like this, besides it's more fun this way!" Rialtige laughed and the rest of us tossed things at him for a moment before breaking into laughter ourselves.

"So what exactly is the plan then?" I asked as we all calmed down from the laughter.

With that we spent the next hour or so talking about how we could pull off this feat of being in two places at once. Many ideas were discussed and tossed around but in the end we ended up with a workable scheme. It was a bold plan and a bit complex but in the end it was the only one that we thought had a chance for success.

Brealla and her family stored our equipment in their cellar and the wagon was loaded with empty chests to look the part. All of Woravia's Guards were checked under the guise of a medical exam that Shelea gave. We got extremely lucky and only one Guard was identified. From her description I guessed that she was my attacker. She was left alone but sent to Guard one of the distant corners of town or sent out on patrol more. The other Guards were told of the plan and watched the Disciple/Guard closely. The hope was to keep the appearance that everything was normal. Once the Mistress was captured she would be arrested as well. We knew that if she didn't report positively to The Mistress, that The Mistress wouldn't come.

Our duplicates were selected, coached and they even wore our clothes to further look the part. As for us, we were all outfitted with Guard's uniforms, weapons, armour and horses. We left town in the early hours of the next morning after an ever so brief sleep in that loft. We were part of a column of twenty Guards that left that morning for Greatfoot.

Woravia was left with at least as many Guards and some of the townsfolk were deputized. In short twice as many Troops were under Woravia's command after we left than before we came to Greenglen. She was not going to let The Mistress get away and was looking forward to questioning her personally. The key to the whole thing was not to make it look as if anything was amiss and somehow that had to be achieved. With the extra activity of the Festival, our activities easily went unnoticed, or could easily be explained away. On the surface it looked like only a handful of Guards remained, and the town an easy target for capture. The look of a sleepy town that nothing happens in was kept up. Only the most trusted of townsfolk were checked then let in on the plan and deputized.

Anonymity for us was key and we kept to ourselves and did little to make ourselves stick out on that long ride. We ate on the ride, eating mostly bread and water from waterskins, stopping only to let the horses rest. We rode late into the night, finally stopping when it was clear that neither the horses nor ourselves could go on that night without rest.

It was not lost on me the irony of my wearing the uniform of a Guard. I was wearing the symbol of law and order on and island that had wanted me dead when I arrived. I chuckled to myself a few times on that ride over that point. When we rested we behaved like any other Guards would in case Disciples watched us on our ride or while at camp. The whole troop took turns at watch and we were no different.

Jealile and I slept apart but next to each other, after all appearances had to be kept up. It was the same with Treabilla and Yeoline; they kept close to each other but also distant. We slept in and amongst the other Guards, again wanting to blend in and not be recognized. For if we were spotted anywhere outside of Greenglen the trap would fail and that we couldn't afford. There were a few stolen moments of kisses and the odd time Jealile would remark how I desirable looked in that uniform. We planned on keeping the uniform as a memento of our journey, for me to wear in a 'more intimate' setting.

The Guards we spent time with on that trek across Tania toward Greatfoot were some great people. I remember more then a few happy moments on that ride. I grew to hate and distrust the Guards less and less on that trip. It was not right of me to harbour ill feelings toward the Guards but can you blame me? The way these people treated me when I first arrived was not right, but they were only doing their jobs, I see that now. However, from their ranks I also discovered Pellenica, Valencia, Yeoline and of course my beloved Jealile.

Felleona I still hoped for a happy resolution to, I wanted to believe so badly that she was not a Disciple but I had no other evidence to go on. While she had not done anything outright to betray me, I could not dismiss the fact that she bore the mark of The Mistress. I hoped that there was a similar story to Treabilla's for the mark to be there but something told me that was not it. Something about Irillises conversation told me that Felleona was struggling with divided allegiances. I knew her well enough and could see her trying to walk the fine line between betraying either of her loyalties and remain neutral. Eventually she would have to choose where her loyalties truly lay. I only hoped that when that finally happened we would be on the same side. Have you ever loved someone and then had to go to war against them? It was not a pleasant thought, then or now and cannot imagine a more heart-wrenching thing to do.

The next day we pressed on as long as this first day's ride and pressed on to the next town. We were fortunate enough for the Commander of the local detachment of Guards to put us up. That night our Band of Misfits was given one of the outer buildings to ourselves so we slept in a real bed that night. There were two floors and the flat roof in each of those square buildings. At night you need to set two watches instead of one, one on the bottom floor and one on the roof to look for outside trouble.

I should have hit the sack and got some well-needed rest, however I knew that other matters needed to be tended to. Jealile and I had already talked and decided that at the first opportunity we would take the time to talk to Treabilla and Yeoline quietly. We wanted to bring things in the open and discuss them but naturally Rialtige and Shelea didn't need to be involved in such matters. With that in mind it was decided that I would take the first watch on the roof and she would take the first watch on the first floor. Treabilla would relieve me and Yeoline would relieve her, that would give us a chance to talk to them privately and one on one.

At the appointed time Treabilla poked her head up through the hatch in the roof as she came up. Jealile had woken up both Treabilla and Yeoline up to take the next watch. As Jealile went back downstairs with Yeoline to talk, Treabilla came up to the roof to relieve me.

"How's it been?" Treabilla asked as she came to stand near me.

"Quiet." I nodded. "Peaceful, you can actually hear yourself think for a change." I said as I leaned on an elbow and turned to face her.

"We all need some of that." She said as she did likewise and we stood there leaning against the half wall, facing each other.

"In all this rushing about, we don't always get the chance to say what we'd like." I said with a warm smile to Treabilla and she returned my smile with a loving smile of her own.

"I know what you mean." She said as she looked out over the darkness of the open fields of a nearby Estate.

"I never got to tell you how truly glad I am that you're here with us . . . with me." I said as I looked at her and lightly brushed her shoulder while smiling warmly at her. "I wouldn't want to be on this journey without you."

"Where is all this coming from?" Treabilla said as she looked back at me with a slightly suspicious look; I looked down and sighed before answering.

"That first night in the hayloft, Jealile and I saw Yeoline and you getting intimate." I said and waited for her to freak out or make some other outraged gesture but she didn't, she just looked at me and a smirk grew across her face.

"How much did you see?" She asked with a curious gleam in her eye.

"All of it." I said and paused to take a breath to steady myself. "And some conversation that perhaps I shouldn't have." I said and again waited for her reaction but again it was quieter then I expected.

"I knew you saw us eating each other out, by that point you guys were not too sly about what you two were up to." Treabilla said with a smirk and a wink in my direction, I slightly blushed at being caught. "I didn't know you heard us talking though." Treabilla said as she fell silent, not able to look at me.

"You have to know how much you mean to me?" I said as I moved closer to her to put my arm around her but our armour clanged and got in the way. "Damn armour!" I said as I hurriedly took it off before holding her as I had intended. "I do care for you, I never stopped caring." I said with a sigh and looked out over the field.

"Then why did you stop showing me? When I went back to my Father, you avoided me, and were colder to me when we were together. Even now on this trip you act as if nothing ever happened between us, like I mean nothing to you, what happened?" Treabilla said as she turned to me with wet eyes that begged me to help her understand.

"Treabilla, you have to understand." I started to say as I turned her to face me but her armour was bulky and got in the way of our desired closeness.

"Damn armour!" Treabilla said as she removed her armour and snuggled back into my arms.

"Treabilla, you are Lochel's Daughter! The eldest daughter of the leader of Tania! I am an Outsider? What chance do I have to be with you? I didn't want to love you and then watch you go off and marry some Councillor's son!" I said as I turned away and sighed in frustration.

"But you are not an outsider anymore, you are an Estate Master. Or so you will be soon enough. That is not a lowly position you know! I can't help the fact that you I love you Brian, but I do. If you do not return those feelings then don't be cruel and just tell me so plain enough without all these theatrics." Treabilla huffed and turned away from me once more.

"Treabilla, I do love you. Don't you know that? I never thought I was good enough for you. I didn't want to hold you back, that's all." I said with regret and shame, after all what place did I have to marry the Director's Daughter!