*
Devon led Layna down the hallway towards the staircase that led to the lower levels. The lower levels that were off-limits so that no one would know what went on there. Layna didn’t want to find out first-hand what did. She implored Devon to let her go, but he remained deaf to her plight, and continued stoically down the stairs into the dank dungeons below. Layna had never before set foot in the lower level, and had never wanted to. This had been where the bar fight man had been led not so long ago. She spared a split-second to wonder what had become of him, but his past hardly seemed relevant when her own future was so uncertain.
As they descended into the bowels of the manor, the walls seemed to close in around her. Terror spread through Layna, and her breathing became shallow and wavering. When they reached the bottom, Layna tripped over the uneven ground and landed heavily on the floor. Gasping in horror at a deep red stain there, she snatched her hand away from it and hastened to right herself. Devon shoved her against a wall and ordered her to put her hands up onto it.
Slowly, with shaking hands, she complied. She closed her eyes tightly as he groped her in the guise of checking for anything that she could use to escape. He brought his body close to hers, and buried his face in her hair. He inhaled deeply. She could feel him pressing against her, and a tear squeezed out. She braced herself for whatever he planned on doing next.
Loud footsteps echoed down the stairs, and Devon turned hastily to see who was intruding. “Don't you touch her,” Gryffon growled at him.
Devon took an involuntary step backwards as Gryffon continued his momentum from his descent straight towards the smaller man. “You have no right to be down here,” Devon shot back at Gryffon, but he made no forward advance.
“And you have no right locking up innocent girls when we both know what really happened,” Gryffon retorted, shaking his finger inches from Devon's face. “We both know Layna didn't do anything and if you so much as lay a finger on her I will rip you apart. You hear me?”
Devon's gaze darted to Layna and back to Gryffon. Layna could almost see the wheels turning, debating whether or not it would be worth it for him to start something with Gryffon. Evidently he decided it would not because he dropped his eyes and said gruffly, “She needs to be locked up until she can be taken to the Court of Common Pleas.”
“Fine,” Gryffon spat out. “But I'm not leaving you alone with her. I don't trust you any more than that witch upstairs.”
Layna stood glued to where she was standing. The wave of relief crashing over her from Gryffon's sudden appearance was so great that she suddenly felt lightheaded. Blackness washed over her view. The last thing she saw as her eyes rolled back into her head was the ceiling rushing away from her.
When she awoke, she was curled into a ball on a bed of straw facing a stone wall. Slowly she turned, and her fear returned in full as she realized she was inside a cell. She scrambled to her feet and let out a strangled cry of despair. Her outburst startled Gryffon, who was sitting on a chair next to the cell. He reached out a hand, and rested it on her shoulder through the bars.
“Shhh,” he soothed. “You may have a bit of a bump on your head. You caught me off-guard there when you fainted. I was only able to break your fall a bit rather than catch you as I would have preferred.” He gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her shoulder once more.
“Thank you,” she whispered, hoping that the two simple words could relay to him just how much his coming down here and saving her from Devon had meant to her.
“It's the least I could do,” he said his lips tightening around the edges guiltily. “After all, your troubles no doubt are a result of my seeking out your company. Besides, you owe the thanks to your friend Katrina, she saw you being dragged down here and rushed to tell me.”
He smiled ruefully at her and she tentatively smiled back. “What's going to happen to me?”
Gryffon's eyes darkened and he growled his distaste at having to relate bad news to her. “Unfortunately, Jezebel is a higher noble, and for some reason the court equates nobility with rightness. Their words carry weight with the Justices. But in this case especially, her word is no better than any other two faced liar's, noble or not. Which is why,” he glanced around quickly, “I’m going to break you out of here instead. Devon has made it clear that Jezebel didn’t give him any specific date that he had to bring you to the court by, nor a condition you had to be in when he brought you, and he’s commented more than once that he intends on,” he paused, apparently unsure what wording would be least upsetting to her, “playing with you first.”
She sank to the ground of her cell and held her knees, rocking back and forth. “Oh god.”
“Don’t worry though,” he added hurriedly, “I have at least enough influence that I demanded he bring you to court immediately, and depending on the outcome of that will determine my next plan. Going to court actually brings with it a level of safety, having you in their books will document the situation. It will be much harder for them to say you just turned up missing. And while I’m here, at least, Devon won’t dare touch you.”
“Please don't leave me,” she whispered, staring straight ahead. She tried hard not to think about what could happen to her if he did, or what might happen to her in the future even if he didn't.
“Never,” was his answer, and they passed the rest of the night in silence.
Layna awoke the next morning, surprised that she had been able to sleep. She saw that Gryffon was bent over the chair at an odd angle and was snoring loudly. Despite her predicament, Layna couldn't help but smile at him, and she reached an arm out to poke him awake. She did not envy him the stiffness he was going to have from sleeping in such an awkward position.
He let out a grunt and jerked awake, immediately reaching a hand up to his neck. “That's gonna hurt,” he moaned. He rolled his head from side to side, and grimaced. “What am I talking about, it hurts now. Ow.” He gave her a lopsided grin and asked gently, “How'd you sleep?”
“Surprisingly alright,” she answered with a shrug, “but now I'm awake and yesterday wasn't just a bad dream.” She lapsed into silence for a moment, wallowing in her sorrows, and then whined, “How can she do this to me when I didn't do anything wrong?” Tears threatened to spring to her eyes again and she fought to control them but couldn't. She burst out sobbing and Gryffon tried to comfort her through the bars of the cell.
“Shh,” he consoled her, “it'll be okay. Most likely they’ll just give you a fine and then she’ll have to release you. We’ll just have to make sure that you disappear before Devon can get his hands on you again once we’re out of the safety of the courthouse.”
Layna tried to ease her sobs and finally gave a great big sniffle. She rubbed her nose on the back of her sleeve and sighed heavily.
Devon came down the stairs just then and stopped on the bottom step, looking ready to bolt if Gryffon caused any problems. “Time to go,” he stated flatly, watching for Gryffon's reaction. When all he got was a curt nod, Devon came forward and pulled a key off of his belt. He undid the lock to Layna's cell and pulled the creaking door open. “Come on,” he said gruffly to Layna. He reached out a hand to grab her arm.
Gryffon intercepted it and said warningly, “She can walk just fine.”
Devon grunted noncommittally, but pulled back his hand and moved aside so Layna could come out. She did so hesitantly, trying not to even brush up against the awful man. They made a solemn procession through the halls, and Layna caught sight of Katrina, who gave her a sympathetic smile and mouthed, “Good luck.”
It was some consolation to Layna that at least the other servants seemed to know the truth, or even if not, supported her regardless. She still felt as though she might throw up at any second.
They rode in silence to the Hall of Justice where Layna and Gryffon followed Devon to the court official. Devon checked her in, “Layna
Nyx; damaged her mistress’s, Lady Jezebel's, property and her mistress seeks compensation.” The man scribbled this down on a slip of paper, and then briefly turned to Layna to ask how she pleaded.
“Innocent,” Gryffon cut in for her. At Layna's nod, the official made another note before waving them towards the next room. Layna was taken into custody by the court's guards, and Devon left her in their hands while he went to let Jezebel know when she would need to make her claim.
Layna sat nervously, feeling her whole body shake uncontrollably despite the warmth of the room. Gryffon put a reassuring arm around her and she melted into him, resting her head on his shoulder, oblivious to its societal inappropriateness. After what seemed like hours, they were told it was time for her to enter the courtroom. Layna was led to a small table before the Justice, while Gryffon was asked to sit on the benches behind.
Jezebel swept into the room carrying a folder full of papers, not bothering to look at Layna or Gryffon. She took her seat at the other table, ignoring the attendant who tried to pull out her chair for her. She tapped the folder on the table twice before setting it neatly down and folding her hands on top of it.
The robust man who served as the Justice of the Peace sat in a throne-like chair on the dais in the front of the room. He peered up at them through his spectacles at Jezebel’s appearance, having previously ignored Layna’s own entrance.
“Ah, Lady Jezebel,” he acknowledged in recognition. “How wonderful to see you. You'll have to pass along my thanks to your father for having me to dinner the other night.” Jezebel beamed at him, her arrogant stance seeming to intensify. Layna's heart sank.
The attendant rushed forward to hand the Justice a document. He took a moment to review the contents, and then addressed Jezebel. “Please state your grievance.”
Jezebel stood and opened the folder. “I have a list of books that the accused has borrowed from me. Not one of them has been returned in the same condition that she took it in. I let the other incidents slide because she seemed, at the time, to be a good maid and I do have a soft spot for the lesser fortunate than I. However, the latest - which I have in my possession for your viewing - was returned to me with every page ripped out. I take this as a blatant disregard for me and my belongings. This was the last straw which has caused me to have to take more aggressive action towards her. There have been previous incidents as well, including extensive damage to the furniture in my sitting room. These damages ultimately resulted in me needing to replace the whole set. I have just recently done so, and the cost to me personally was quite significant. A large wine stain has appeared on my library carpet as well, which I suspect she is also responsible for – probably from wine stolen from my stock for her personal use as she has seemed rather inebriated on many occasions. Several witnesses will concur that I rarely drink wine myself, and I certainly wouldn’t do so in my library.” Layna looked around and noticed for the first time that three of Jezebel's friends, including Renee, had taken seats in the back. Jezebel concluded, “I have here a list of damages and their costs, which I respectfully ask the court to make her pay.”
The attendant moved forward to take the offered paper up to the Justice who looked this over as well. “This is quite a list,” he commented before turning his attention to Layna. “And what is your response?”
Layna's throat had closed up and she was barely able to squeak out, “I didn't do any of that, she replaced the furniture on a whim, I-”
“-And did you borrow these books?” the man interrupted, reading a few of the titles to her.
“Well, yes,” she answered truthfully. “But I didn't ruin them!”
The Justice did not respond but instead asked, “And are you responsible for the cleaning of these rooms?”
“Yes,” Layna confirmed again. “But nothing was wrong with them.”
“So you're saying that this lady - who, let me remind you, is your superior- is a liar?”
Layna knew better than to answer 'yes' to that question and simply hung her head, awaiting the Justice's decision. He thought for a few moments. “Hmm,” he said finally. “This is a rather large sum of money you realize, Lady Jezebel. One of her stature cannot possibly be expected to come up with it. Are you interested in keeping her in your household as repayment?”
Jezebel answered at once, “I wish to terminate her employment, but would compromise by being able to make an example of her to the other servants. I would accept a ruling of thirty days in my cell as punishment to deter the other servants from similar behavior if she cannot come up with the sum. I would be taking a substantial loss monetarily, but I think it’s worth it to see that justice is served to those who are deserving. And have it be a lesson for her and any others who would so disrespect me.”
The man nodded and pounded his gavel. “All right then, Ms. Nyx, I order you to pay the Lady Jezebel a sum of fifteen hundred silver coins or serve thirty days under her supervision.” The Justice gestured for them to leave the room.
The moment that the door closed behind them, Jezebel turned to Layna and gave her a nasty smile. “You stupid little slut,” she said vindictively, “I hope you enjoy Devon’s hospitality.” She laughed at her and whirled away from them, basking in her glory.
Devon moved forward and handed a paper to Gryffon who had come up behind Layna to support her, and then followed his mistress out. Gryffon unfolded the note and read it quickly. “Apparently you're not the only one who's overstayed their welcome. Jezebel is requesting that I remove myself from her household at once and has asked the court to confiscate my belongings to repay what I owe her.”
“You owe her money?”
“Why else did you suppose I was still there? It didn't take long to figure out the type of person she was. But by then I had agreed to repay her by acting as her liaison for the manor's trading. Along the way she convinced herself that I was courting her, and that's the story that she spread around. I eventually just got sick of correcting people.”
The ride home passed in a blur, though at least one of the court’s guards accompanied them instead of Devon, giving Layna some respite from thinking about him. Gryffon kept up a stream of optimistic comments, but they fell on deaf ears as Layna continued to contemplate her bleak future. She found that Gryffon had nowhere else to go either, as he filled her in on the events leading up to his becoming Jezebel’s houseguest. Unless they really did just run off into the wilderness, their options were very limited. And that was assuming that she survived her thirty days at all, which seemed like a lot to assume. Maybe Gryffon really would be able to break her out. She didn’t see how though. And if and when he did? She could return home, but disliked the idea. Especially as it would put her parents in danger. If her talent was ever discovered, no doubt her parents would be punished along with her if she was living with them. She had no desire to bring trouble to their door.
They reached the manor just then, and Layna noticed a commotion at the gates. Her mood dropped even lower as she realized what it was. Devon dropped a bag of what she assumed were Gryffon’s belongings outside the gate in the dirty snow and gave him a smirking look before heading towards them to escort her back to the cell.
Then suddenly the world around her exploded. Smoke billowed up from nothing and enveloped the entire front yard. Layna heard a loud smack behind her followed closely by a grunt and a thud of something heavy hitting the ground. Layna put her hands over her head and ducked, peeking out around her arms to try to see what was happening. She thought she caught a flash of someone who looked very familiar racing around the manor to the right. Devon followed closely on their heels.
Someone grabbed her roughly by the arm and her heart froze in her chest until she heard Gryffon’s urgent whisper, “Come on, let’s go.”
She followed him obediently around the opposite side of the manor that Devon had just rushed around, and he ushered her inside a
waiting carriage. He threw two suitcases in after her and then slammed the door. Layna heard the slap of a hand again the horse and it neighed its indignation. Its footfalls echoed off the cobblestones, slowly at first and then faster and faster.
“Are you alright deary?” asked a voice. As Layna’s eyes adjusted to the dim light in the carriage, she could barely make out a figure sitting opposite her. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“I think so,” she answered, taking a moment to take stock of her situation. Physically she was alright…
“Excellent. I would imagine you might have quite a few questions at the moment.” Layna finally placed the voice. “Mila?”
The woman chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised child, I’m not too old for a good escape yet!”
“How –“ Layna started, but wasn’t even sure how to form the questions.
“It turns out your benefactor there is quite resourceful, and it didn’t hurt that you have no few friends within the manor. Your Gryffon contacted me as soon as he realized what was going on and we made plans to extract you. Luckily, your friend Katrina is a very remarkable young lady, and it was her who came up with the distraction idea for Devon. I could easily create the smoke which made seeing difficult while Gryffon knocked out the guard, then we concocted an illusion to make Katrina momentarily look like you – long enough to get Devon to follow her around the corner where she had already planted tracks for him to follow. When he came around the corner, all he’d find was one of the maids pointing him in the direction the fleeing girl had supposedly gone. Then it was a simple matter of me picking you up while Gryffon went back to tend to the guard, as if you had eluded him as well, and leaves Katrina looking like she aided in your attempted capture. She did ask that I pass along the sentiment that she would miss you terribly, but promised to visit when it was safe. She also that she packed as many of your things into Gryffon’s bags as she could fit without being caught.”
“Wow,” was all Layna could respond at first, until part of what Mila had said hit home with her. “Wait a minute, you said that Katrina said she’d come visit me? Visit me where? I have nowhere to go.”
“But of course you do, my dear. You’ll be coming to stay with me. I have lots to teach you.”