012 – Death and Defilement

Rose left the kitchens, muttering about the ridiculousness of someone refusing her help. She had forgotten the bad weather and that the sun had yet to rise. She plowed out into the rain, splashing mud.


Once in the center of the yard, she stopped and cursed her stupidity. Wet from head to toe and now dirty, too, she felt lost. She needed an occupation to dispel her mood and her feeling of uselessness. She slogged through the slush to the well by the barn. The least she could do was haul buckets of water to fill the trough. The rain would not be enough and she could pay Huard back for the deeds he had done to help her.  


She pulled on the rope holding the bucket in the well. The Great Dane, Prince, approached her from around the corner of the building and stood behind her as if guarding her. She had forgotten about the big, black dog, but now thought of his protectiveness fondly.


As Rose brought up the first bucket of water and poured it into the stone basin, most her amarulence over being dismissed by Cook began to fade. When she dropped the bucket back in the well, the rest of her bitterness went with it. She began to hum to herself as she continued to work. She lost herself in her thoughts. The sun began to peek over the bailey walls.


A big, white horse came charging passed the well, taking Rose by surprise. Startled by the closeness of the beast and its wild ride past her, she barely moved quick enough to prevent being trampled. She fell into the trough.


The mud from her dirty feet defedated the water in the basin. The water would be spoiled until the dirt settled. It would be a long while as Rose thrashed in the water from the shock of falling in. By the time she hoisted herself into a sitting position with her head above the water, she heard the yelling of several men, a dog barking and horses neighing.


No one came to her aid.


Rose looked over her shoulder. She saw Prince being chased by a couple of knights, while Prince tried to bite a man sitting on the ground who was trying not to be trampled by the white horse. One of the knights grabbed the reins of the horse and pulled it away from the man on the ground. Complete chaos reigned. It increased as people from the kitchen came out to look. 


One knight leveled a cross bow with a nocked arrow at Prince. The dog yelped as the arrow, let loose, grazed Prince’s left hip. The dog ran off as the assectation of another arrow occurred. A third arrow followed the second, glancing off of the barn wall.


The knight with the crossbow bent down to help the man on the ground rise. The knight held out a hand to him.


“Are you hurt, Prince Otho?” asked the knight.


Prince Otho stood. He grabbed the crossbow from the knight. He shot the white horse through the neck. The knight holding the horse’s reins barely had time to move before the animal dropped to the ground and legs kicking in the air.


“I want that dog found and killed,” said Prince Otho. He threw the crossbow and strode from the yard.


The sun breached the bailey walls.