THIRTY-FIVE - Rhoswen

Rhoswen heads into the city to stand up to Silvan.

Rhoswen reached the front gate into the city.  She stepped under the stone arch, the wall standing as an impenetrable barrier to her own safety.  Once she finally managed to start the spread of Silvan’s news, it had spread quicker than a raging fire through the Outskirts.  People were already beginning to gather to celebrate and wait for Xanthus’s return.  Except that none of it’s real.  I have to try to change that.  If they find out I lied, even if I didn’t mean to, they’ll kill me.

For all she knew, the guard at the gate had heard the rumors by now as well.  She assumed it would be best to leave Phineas’s son behind, to give her a better chance of being allowed into the city.  So she left the child with Antigone, assuring her that she would be back and everything would be well.  It hadn’t been an easy decision, and it hurt her to leave him, but she had no choice.  If she were going to trust anyone to take care of him, it would be Antigone.  And if all went well, she would be able to return and collect the baby before the Hunt ever returned.

But she would never accomplish anything if this guard wouldn’t let her through the front gate.

“Please, I must speak to Silvan.  I’m a friend, and this is important!” she pleaded, but the guard stood firm.

“Unfortunately, nobody from the Outskirts is allowed to enter the city until the King returns.  Xanthus was very clear about that.  Go back to your home and wait.  With any luck he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You don’t understand… my life is in danger!”

“You and everyone else.  I told you, there’s nothing I can do.”

“I’m not just anyone, okay?  I’m important.  Silvan came out here earlier today to speak specifically with me.  He…” what would he believe?  What can I say that will convince him? “…he asked me to report back to him before Curfew.  He said it was vital that I do so.”

The guard looked her up and down.  “So you’re the one Silvan keeps heading out to visit.  I can see why.”

For a moment, she was offended�"until she realized she might be able to use this to her advantage.  He likes what he sees.

She moved in close to the bars and put her hand gently between the man’s legs.  “There are things I can do that no one else can.”  She opened her eyes wide and looked up at him with a sly smile.  “Don’t you want to find out what they are?” she whispered.

“I… can’t,” he said, but his eyes were closed.  He no longer believed the words he was saying.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Hoyt,” he said with a heavy sigh.  His spear wavered slightly and slipped out of his hand, falling to the ground with a soft thud.  She rubbed her hand more vigorously, causing him to take a short, quick breath, and then she pulled away, smiling.

“Why did you stop?”

“Hoyt.  I could do so much more from you if these bars weren’t in the way.”  And she waited.

Ten minutes later, she was putting her clothes back on while Hoyt lay panting on the ground in the gatehouse.  Men are far too easy.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked.

She ignored the question.  “Is there any chance you might know where Silvan is?  Can you point me in the right direction?”

“Are you going to do that for him, too?”

“No.  I told you, I have something important to talk with him about.”

“You aren’t the one he returned the baby to, are you?”  He squinted his eyes.  “You don’t look like you just had a baby.”

“The baby wasn’t mine, but he belongs to a friend of mine.  My business is… related.”

“I can’t keep all this straight anymore.  All these babies coming and going, people telling me to keep it a secret, other people already knowing all the secrets… and it all comes back to Silvan!”

“That’s exactly why I’m here.  I need to straighten it all out.”

“Well, if you figure it out, fill me in when you get back here.”

Her patience was beginning to wear thing.  “Silvan!” she demanded.  “Where is he?”

At exactly that moment, a roar came from outside the city gate.  Hoyt quickly sat upright and began pulling his armor on.  “Did you hear that?” he asked.  “What’s going on out there?”

“I�"” she began, but Hoyt was already dressed and pushed past her.  She followed him out of the gatehouse and looked out into the Outskirts.  Dozens of people had gathered, all holding infants, shouting into the city.

Hoyt turned to look at Rhoswen.  “I think you should probably go,” he said.  He made his way to the gate to open it, but when he turned around, Rhoswen had already begun running into the depths of the city.  “Hey!” he called after her.  “Get back here!”

But she knew he wouldn’t follow, not with the mass of people gathered outside the gate.  He had to stand guard.

Now the only problem was that she had no idea where to begin her search.  The city was a big place, and she had never been inside before.  The front gate was the closest she had gotten, usually during the distribution of food after a Hunt.  If she needed something more, she could easily obtain it from one of the men in the Outskirts.  And when she sought to help people feel better about their lives, there was no need to enter the city.  The people there were happy enough.

The first step was finding someone who might know who Silvan was.  Any form of guard was off the list.  The ones guarding the wall would surely force her to leave the city.  She was lucky enough to be here in the first place.

She walked past a building where she heard the familiar sound of metal beating against metal.  That must be an armory.  Surely someone inside has made armor for Silvan at some point�"he’s one of the King’s Guard.  It was her best lead so far, so she knocked on the door.

The sound of metal stopped from within.  There was the distinct shuffling of a large person getting up and coming to answer the door.  It flung open, revealing a beast of a man covered in black soot and sweating profusely.  He smelled even worse than most of the people she saw every day in the Outskirts.  It was so overwhelming that she almost forgot the reason she had knocked.

“What do you want?” he asked, peering down at her through squinted eyes.

“I�"” she hesitated for a moment too long and the man let out a sigh.

“Come on, speak quickly,” he said.  “I have a lot of work to get done before the King’s return.  You don’t look like you need any armor.  What are you doing here?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know a man called Silvan?”

The man’s expression shifted from curiosity to disgust.  He spat on the ground at her feet.  “Of the King’s Guard?”  He spoke the name with disdain.  “Sure, I know him.  Who’s asking?”

“I need to speak with him about… a private matter.  It’s urgent, but I don’t know where to find him.”

The man looked her up and down and then smiled crookedly.  “You’re too good looking to be dealing with scum like Silvan.  Why don’t you come inside?  I have a few urgent matters you could attend to as well.”

Every man only wants the same thing.  Anger welled up inside of her, but she buried it and tried again.  “Can you please just tell me where I can find him?”

His face crumpled into an ugly frown.  “I’m not going to hurt you, woman.  I just thought you’d prefer a better sort of company.  You could do a whole lot better than that man.  I haven’t underestimated a person since I’ve known him.”

“He’s not my�"I mean, we’re not together, if that’s what�"”

He waved an arm in the air in front of her.  “You could have just said that you’re spoken for.  I do just fine without you.  If you want Silvan, just head toward the castle.  His door has a golden spear on it, the sign of the King’s Guard.  You can’t miss it.  You might have to try a few doors first, but one of them will be him.”

“Thank you,” she said and turned away.  The door slammed behind her and she unclenched her fists.  Do all men think of nothing else besides womanly pleasures?  We’re in a crisis here and all anybody can think about is their own satisfaction.

She walked a bit further and, just like the armorer said, she saw the golden spear.  Somehow this whole thing is going so much better than I thought it would!  Now all I have to do is talk to Silvan.  If I can convince him, my troubles are over!  She made her way to the door and pushed it open.

“Silvan!  It’s Rhoswen.  Are you here?”  The only response she got was the crackling in the fireplace.  If there weren’t someone still in the house, wouldn’t they have put the fire out?  Maybe wasting firewood is more common inside the city.

“Is anybody here?”  She opened a door to find a small, empty bedroom with a thin, single bed pressed up against the wall.  How nice it must be to have separate rooms for separate people.  I can’t remember the last time I slept alone.

She shook the thought.  Focus.  You need to find Silvan.  They’ll never forgive you otherwise.  She left the room alone and went to the room on the opposite end of the house, again finding nothing inside but a bed and some clothes.  There was a spear leaning against the wall�"one of the signature weapons of the King’s Guard.  She definitely found the right place, but apparently she had just missed Silvan.

If he’s not here, then where is he?  Maybe this wont’ be as easy as I had hoped. But maybe this wasn’t Silvan’s house.  Maybe this was a different member of the King’s Guard.  Before giving up, she should at least check the other homes.

She made her way for the front door and stopped, looking at the fire.  That fire could warm three different families in the Outskirts for a whole night.

She walked to the fireplace and saw the small water bowl sitting next to it.  She poured out as little as she could onto the fire, smothering it.  Smoke billowed out into the house and she walked out the front door.

She turned and looked at the massive shape of the castle looming in the distance.  Her heart began pounding in her chest.  If she was discovered, she could be exiled.  I have to work quickly.  I’m not even allowed in the city until Xanthus gets back.  Being this close to the castle and the King’s Guard… it’s too dangerous.

She swallowed hard and began walking towards the next house with a golden spear on the door.  Whatever happens, I can’t say I didn’t try.

She took another step and her right foot skidded on the stone; it was covered in something wet and sticky.  She threw her hands out in front of her to stop her face from slamming into the ground.  She caught herself just in time, but was now lying in a pool of something wet and slimy.  What is this?  She lifted her fingers to her nose to see if she could tell what the liquid was.

She sniffed.  It wasn’t anything from the sewage ditch.  She quietly thanked the Dome for that.  She rubbed two of her fingers together.  It was too sticky to be water.  So what is it?  She stood up slowly and followed the trail up the street, anxious to find the source.

Then she saw it.  A body lying crumpled in a heap on the ground in the middle of the street.  Her heart skipped a beat.  Someone was dying.  Without thinking, she ran to the person’s side and knelt down beside him.  What happened here?  The blood is pouring all the way up the street!

She rolled the body over to see if she could find the wound and try to slow the bleeding.  The man’s face rolled into the torchlight coming from above them.

And this couldn’t possibly be any worse for Rhoswen.  There, lying in a pool of his own blood, neck sliced open from front to back, was Silvan.

There was nothing she could do now.

She screamed.