Brian's Adventures Ch. 16

Tightening The Noose

On the march back to Greatfoot I could tell that most of the troops were happy to be on their way to a hot meal and a soft bed. Some felt as Chezeleste did, that they were leaving unfinished business behind them and regretted leaving under such circumstances. Others simply didn't care one way or the other, to them this was simply another order to follow, another place to march to. But mostly it was a quiet march with a bunch of tired and weary guards that could definitely use a warm bed and hot meal. Nobody was openly complaining about the march, though some of them regretted leaving before seeing the rebels dealt with.

Chezeleste did not like the march one bit and I knew that. She was pleasant on the exterior however, even if she was bothered on the interior. I respected her professionalism and decorum around the troops and the fact that she did not openly cross me in front of anyone. It would have made my job to lead her troops harder if they were torn between respecting her and their duty to me as Captain. I understood why she was upset and I too felt like I was leaving behind some unfinished business. There were loose ends at Kincaid that we would tie up before long, but other matters needed tending to first.

Felleona needed to be dealt with and I had no intention of letting her slip away from me. While she was my friend and someone whom I thought I knew well, I could not let my personal feelings interfere. It was my job to see justice done and treason of the Captain of the Guards was no small matter. More than likely I knew it would end up with her head on the block for what she had done. I also knew that she would not give up easily and her years as Captain would make her a formidable foe. I still hoped to talk to her and find a bloodless solution to this whole mess. I hoped that she could be brought from under the Mistress's spell; I hoped that her life could be spared.

I knew Chezeleste would understand my reasons for secrecy and discretion once she knew the true reasons for the changing of the Guards. Once I knew I could trust her, I would let her know whom we truly faced. I felt as if I could trust her but I had to be careful, my instincts had been wrong before. As a Commander of Guards and a lieutenant, she needed to know what lay ahead of us. I needed her input on the situation as well as her knowledge of Kincaid and the lands surrounding it. I needed to be sure of her loyalties first and foremost as too much was at stake. All of Tania as a matter of fact could suffer if I was not careful. That thought never left my mind as I weighed each and every decision that I had to make those days. It was a heavy burden to bear, knowing the fate of a nation rested on my shoulders.

Once back at Greatfoot we escorted the Guards over to where Felleona's Disciple/Guards had been separated from the rest of the Guards. We had them stay in this area and told them not to leave this area until told to do so. We then informed them that it was for the "medical exam" that they would be going through in the next few days. With a little puzzlement they accepted this odd order and obliged with little fuss. Some wondered what it was all about but none the less with the Guards, discipline was not a problem it seemed.

Over the next few days we ran them through light drills, giving them ample time to rest and relax. They had earned a good deal of rest and I saw to it that they were given plenty of that. Not to mention however that we needed to separate the Disciple/Guards from the true Guards. The "medical exams" went as quickly as possible but these things take time, as you can understand. Eventually however, all the Guards were checked and the Disciple/Guards were locked away. I remember well when the final tally was brought forth to me a few days after the "medical exams" had been completed.

Treabilla entered my office first and looked quite distressed at the news she brought. Pelluluka came next and looked concerned, but not overly so. Shelea was right behind her and also looked a little worried, but kept to herself so as to let the others take the lead. All three women bore grim news; that much was certain by the looks on their faces. At that moment I did not welcome their presence, though normally I would have cherished it. I wanted no more ill news, for I had already had my fill of troublesome tidings. However, dismissing the messenger no more deals with grim news than walking away from a loved one moments from their death.

"Good morning ladies." I said with a forced smile, trying to keep an upbeat mood in the room.

"Good morning Captain." The three women replied calmly yet with a drained tone.

"Doesn't seem so looking at the lot of you." I sighed, starting to give in to their black mood that started to hang over the room. "What news do you bring?" I asked not knowing if I wanted that question answered or not, though pressing on anyways into seemingly dark territory.

"The exams are completed, and we have some results from our initial reclamation efforts." Treabilla said with no lighter of a heart or look on her face.

"How does it look?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, hoping for some measure of good news.

"Well, not good frankly." Treabilla sighed and started to crumble under the weight of news she held in.

Treabilla sank into the nearest chair and a tear ran down her cheek. She buried her face in her hands and started to sob. In an instant I rushed to her side and put my arm around her, to comfort her as her friend and betrothed and not her Captain. She gripped me tight and held onto me, not wanting to let me go, finding some measure of comfort in my arms. Pelluluka and Shelea also rushed to her side and tried to comfort their friend and fellow Guard.

"It's alright honey." I said soothingly as I stroked her hair while she rested her head on my shoulder.

"No it's not!" Treabilla sobbed while not lifting her head from my shoulder. "So many of them! Too many of them!" Treabilla sobbed snapping bitterly at me through the tears and cries of sorrow.

"C'mon sweetheart, how many are there?" I said as I held her still, stroking her hair in a soothing manner.

"Seventy! There are seventy of them!" Treabilla snapped with a frustrated cry. "Most of them are hard to deal with! Most of them don't want to change!" Treabilla sobbed with an especially bitter round of tears as she clutched me tightly.

"Don't think of the numbers dear." I said as I stroked her back while she rested her head on my shoulder. "Just work with them a few at a time."

"So many of them! I don't know if I can handle all of them!" Treabilla said angrily with a tear stained face.

"Just let us know how best to help these women, if you need others to help you that can be arranged. I don't expect you to personally work with every Disciple on Tania!" I said looking into her eyes as she lifted her head off of my shoulder. She then looked me in the eyes with fear and apprehension that lingered there, almost untrustingly, sceptically.

"That's what I've been telling you." Pelluluka added tenderly, let me know what to do, how to help them.

"You're doing too much on your own." Shelea said as she stroked Treabilla's back in a soothing manner.

"I suppose you're right. I just don't want to fail them." Treabilla said as she sobbed into my shoulder once more and my heart started to crack at the sound of it. "If we can't undo what the Mistress has done then they are all doomed! I'm trying so hard not to fail them because I know what it means to fail! My failure is their death!" Treabilla said with still great fear and sorrow as she thought of what my happen if she fails.

"You won't fail dear." Pelluluka said tenderly and paused for a moment. "You helped me sort a lot out." Pelluluka said in a quieter tone. "You helped me see things much more clearly. You helped me become more like my old self once more." Pelluluka said and waited for Treabilla's eyes to meet hers before she continued. It only took a moment before the two were looking deep into each other's eyes. "Thank you Treabilla, I won't forget what you did for me. Let me help you, help these women." Pelluluka finished and waited for Treabilla to respond.

"Yes, let us help you help them." Shelea said in a soft, concerned tone.

"We all want to help these women but we need you to take the lead in this area, we need you to teach others to help these women. You can't possibly do everything yourself." I said and Treabilla sighed as she looked into the faces of the three people that looked back at her with friendly smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, all of you." Treabilla smiled for the first time since she walked into the room.

"Now what do you think we can do today, to help them?" I asked in a positive tone and a warm smile that I hoped would be contagious.

For a moment the room fell silent as Treabilla pondered and was lost in thought over my question. However she was not as worked up or excitable as she had been recently. In fact she seemed to calm down more the longer she sat there thinking over what could be done for these women. By the end of it her tears had stopped flowing and her spirit seemed more at ease yet she still held me tight.

"Well, I suppose we could split them up, some of them are showing some signs of promise." Treabilla said with a calmer tone to her voice as she loosened her grip on me but still held me in a familiar, almost intimate embrace.

"Yeah." Pelluluka added in a cheery tone. "That way the grumps won't spoil the chance for the ones that want to change."

"Exactly! Now we're talking." I said with the similar pleasant mood, hoping to brighten the air in the room. "What else dear? Anything else that you can think of?" I asked Treabilla again with a happy and pleasant tone, and slowly the mood lightened.

"Well, we might separate out the ones that want to change but are reluctant to change." Treabilla started out and looked at each of us with slowly returning composure and confidence. "There's not much we can do with the ones that flat out refuse to change at all." Treabilla finished, again looking to the rest of us for approval of some sort.

"Yes, those are the ones that chose to follow her, or that have been following her for so long that they can't see any other way to be." I said regretfully. "Perhaps in time we may be able to help them but if they are not willing to change, then there is little we can do." I finished with a saddened tone and regretted even their loss of life.

"You're right, but lets hope that those numbers will be relatively few." Pelluluka said with a quietly strained tone in her voice though trying to keep positive.

"We probably should get the ones that want to change doing something positive as soon as possible." I said with a thoughtful look, though the idea only just had hit me and I threw it out there before I had a chance to think it over myself.

"What do you mean?" Shelea asked curiously.

"Well, I mean why just have them locked away when they could be doing something positive. Any kind of work that can be done while they are supervised would let them feel a part of the group. They may even work along side some other guards to further show them how to behave." I finished with a look that told everyone that I was curious to see if my idea was sensible or silly.

"Yeah, kinda like what you did for me." Treabilla said with a reminiscent look that then led into an inspired look with a smile to match. "By having them work with others we can trust, they can learn how to be people again." Treabilla said with a smile but the two other women didn't quite understand.

"Explain." Pelluluka asked with a raised eyebrow of interest.

"Don't you see? By going through the motions of 'normal behaviour' they can remember what life was like before The Mistress. As long as they're in smaller groups and outnumbered by the healers or Guards, it should work!" Treabilla said with great excitement and relief and was greeted with a smile from the Pelluluka and Shelea.

"I see!" Shelea said with a similarly excited grin on her face.

"Perfect!" Pelluluka added with a knowing smile.

"At any rate Treabilla, the Healers will take a greater part in all of this, after all shouldn't healers help with the healing these women?" Shelea said with confidence though still looking back and forth between Treabilla, Pelluluka and myself for agreement. "I mean, they may not be physically hurt but quite clearly they are mentally and emotionally hurt." Shelea said and again paused to see the nodding heads of those around her.

"Those are the wounds that indeed are hardest to see and take the longest to heal." Pelluluka said with a far off, saddened look about her as she remembered something that made her sad and chilled her soul.

We all guessed that she was remembering her time with Felleona with mixed feelings and was not entirely healed from that experience. Time would work its magic I guessed and soon enough all would be well with her. However for now the wound was still fresh and tender it seamed. I for one wanted to steer clear of the subject for some time, out of respect for her privacy and peace of mind. However that was not the only opinion in the room that day it seems.

"Do you mind telling us about your experience with Felleona?" Shelea asked tentatively and curiously.

"Well I don't know what to tell you." Pelluluka replied looking a little flustered and embarrassed to have it mentioned so soon after going through it.

"It's alright, you don't have to talk about it if you're not ready." I said as I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled at her with a comforting smile trying to convey my offer of friendship and concern.

"Oh yes of course, I didn't mean to pry." Shelea said with an embarrassed look about her. "I only asked because I thought it might help us understand what happened to these women. How did they get like this? Why would they choose to follow her?" Shelea said explaining herself a little better and for a moment the room was silent as Pelluluka pondered Shelea's words.

"I understand." Pelluluka nodded with a troubled, yet understanding look about her as she found her way to the nearest chair and sat heavily in it. "I guess it all started not long after she arrived. The Captain, I mean, the 'Former Captain' started to make friendly gestures toward me soon after her arrival." Pelluluka said cautiously and fell silent.

I could see that most of her focus was deep in her own thoughts, not really concentrating on the words that came out of her mouth. Almost as if she were trying hard to remember everything and was relating what little nuggets of information that she remembered, when she remembered them.

"Go on." I prodded as Shelea and Treabilla sat back in their chairs yet I leaned against the desk nearest Pelluluka.

"Well, when she first arrived she kept wanting to do things in an odd way, organize guards into new units that made no sense, strange things. Out of character things, I questioned her a few times on them and each time she tried to dismiss me saying I didn't know what I was talking about." Pelluluka started out talking in the same far off manner but continued in a more animated style. "I've been a Guard long enough and I know how to run a squad of Guards and what she was doing made no sense!"

"What happened next?" Shelea inquired, trying to keep the tale moving along.

"I remember one time in particular I had been asking her a great many questions about what she was doing with the Guards. I had been pressing her more than usual that time and she seemed to warm up to me. She told me that she respected my opinion, wanted to know more about what I thought." Pelluluka started out and fell silent for a moment.

"Sounds promising, what happened? Was your opinion sought out for other decisions?" I asked curious to know how things turned sour if they looked so promising at that point.

"Oh yeah." Pelluluka huffed with now wet eyes. "She asked me to consult with her on some important matters later that day." Pelluluka said with a slightly sarcastic, yet mostly straight tone.

"That's good." I said plainly.

"In her quarters later that night." Pelluluka added with a raised eyebrow.

"I see." I replied with a raised eyebrow of my own.

"I told myself that she just needed the privacy for the important matters we were to discuss." Pelluluka started out but a tear came to her eye and she started to choke up and words became more difficult.

"It's okay." Treabilla said as she moved closer to Pelluluka and put her arm around the troubled woman.

"Well, she starts out by promising me a promotion and that I would take on more important responsibilities and so forth." Pelluluka said while forcing herself to continue. "She then proposed a toast to my new promotion." Pelluluka said with a sad sigh. "I guess I was too distracted by my views of promotion and advancement to notice the odd drink she held in her hand." Pelluluka said and fell silent as a solitary sob came from her and Shelea and Treabilla did their best to comfort the woman.

"It's okay." I said as I held her hand on her leg in an effort to comfort her. "Just tell us about the drink." I said with a smile on my face as her eyes met mine.

"Well, I remember that it was a dark brown colour with little silver specs in it. It tasted like dirt and tree bark mixed together. Perhaps a slightly sweet taste to it; just a hint mind you." Pelluluka said and paused, looking reflective for a moment. "I remember she tossed something in her mouth before she took a sip of the stuff. Immediately after she took a sip then I took a sip, all the while she looked me deep in the eyes." She finished with a silent, far off look and fell quiet for a moment.

"Then what?" Shelea asked curious to know all about this drink.

"Everything gets hazy after that." Pelluluka said with teary eyes as her emotions got the better of her.

"It's okay, it's over now." Treabilla said as she held the woman closer to her.

"All I really remember is wanting to please her." Pelluluka said with a sigh and paused. "I just remember having this overwhelming feeling that having her approval was the most important thing. It was like I needed to know that she was pleased with me, I couldn't stand not to have her happy with me." Pelluluka finished and looked at me for a brief while.

"I understand." I said with a friendly smile.

"When you confronted me about her, part of me believed you, it made sense to me. But mostly I knew that I couldn't betray her, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make her upset with me, I couldn't stand that." Pelluluka said with a sigh and was genuinely saddened but couldn't cry anymore. "It was some time after she left when I came to my senses and couldn't believe the things that I did." Pelluluka finished and looked at me with a piercing look of pain.

"I can relate." Treabilla said with a saddened yet strangely reminiscent look about her.

"I just fell apart I guess." Pelluluka said with a mournful sigh and hanging of her head.

"You've been through a lot and everyone understands that you still have some things to work out." I said with tenderness as I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I am still affected by my experience with The Mistress." Treabilla said to Pelluluka with a saddened look as their eyes met. "It will get better, I promise." Treabilla added with a warm smile and Pelluluka responded with a similar smile and for the moment all seemed better.

"Clearly you were affected by that drink Pelluluka, so you are not responsible for your actions!" Shelea said calmly yet firmly. "I will see what I can do to discover exactly what was used. Perhaps then we can come up with an antidote for it." Shelea added assuredly with a pleasant tone of voice.