{ valixnce }
It was not often that Catherine, as Queen Regent, traveled with less than a full regiment of soldiers. These were troubled times, and with King Charles still only a boy, the safety of his mother was of paramount importance. But the day had dawned bright and clear, the breeze seeming to call Catherine’s name, and she found herself unable to resist.
Word was sent to the royal stables to have her horse readied, and in the late morning she had ridden off. She had selected the four best riders out of the royal guard to accompany her and limited the party to them. A larger escort would, after all, slow her down, and today the Queen had the need to feel the wind in her hair.
It only took a servant and a bribe to roll the plan into motion. The servant had been in her castle for years, but wealth could steer any mind if it was ravenous for it, and what servant would not care for a pouch of coin that could feed a family for an entire winter? He was the son of one of the Queen’s guards, a young man who would listen to his father talk on days when his breath smelled strongly of ale, and remain out of sight and within earshot of the knights who guarded her. When he saw them prepare the horses, he went to his room, locked the door and poured water into a small, wooden bowl.
A face rippled like a mirage in the clear liquid. “She’s leaving, Sire,” he whispered. “Small party."
**
Leo was a loyal knight of England, though his lack of family riches left him in less than ideal situations when wanting to court women or even gain the respect of his fellow knights. When he was approached by a man with a proposition leading to not just money, but land and title, it was hard to refuse. Surely it would be difficult and perilous, the knight had nothing else to live for, so had no issues dying for his country if he failed.
They had dressed him in tattered expensive garb and was sent with a man in a wagon smelling sharply of blood. When they were just close enough to their destination, they halted the wagon, and the man began to dump bodies on the street, killed not an hour before. Leo knew little of how the plan was to be laid out, and he clutched the bloodied sword with clammy hands as he watched how they were strewn about around him.
"That all of them?” Leo asked as the man rummaged in a bag left on the wagon.
"Yes. Ready?“ The man asked as he approached him with an exquisite-looking dagger.
"As I’ll ever be.” He closed his eyes and bit back a scream as it was lodged into his thigh, scraping against bone. Falling to his knees, he braced himself as the man grabbed his collar and clocked him in the eye, hard enough to bruise.
"Don’t let us down, boy,“ he said, mussing Leo’s hair once before heading back to the wagon.
Leo heard the horse galloping away as he eyed the seal of England on the cloaks of the corpses around him. Pain roared through the wound, but he knew pulling out the dagger would only make things worse, so he lay back amongst the bodies. This had better work.
When he heard horses approaching, he opened his eyes. "Wh-who’s there?” he groused, “H-help–”
