Chapter 59 Belief and Family
Great Tower.
Lupita and Marco spent an hour with Olivia then returned with Tatiana. They found a room to talk.
Marco: I think everything is ready. The blond is going to help us. I must help them against some assholes but we will be free.
Lupita: The girl needs someone. I do not think I can leave.
Marco: My mother and Vega will not survive without me.
Lupita: I understand. I do not have a family. Nobody needs me except a man who has a hard cock.
Marco: You have the heart of a Pegasus. If you stay, they may kill you.
Lupita: Then I earn my death with my pwn decision.
Marco: You obey rules that others do not. Why?
Lupita: When I was five years old, I saw Pegasus high in the sky. My heart was filled with happiness I had never known. When I follow the beliefs, my life always improves.
Marco: You treated a bad man like he was family, and he raped you.
Lupita: I treated a thief like family, and now he is my best friend. That boy brought justice to my rapist. Thank you for being the best part of my life.
Marco could not speak.
Gunther waited beneath the windows of the sunroom. He watched as the two opened the window and climbed down to the ground.
Gunther: Hello. Where is the girl?
Marco: She is staying. We must hurry.
The three of them ran along a dirt path that circled the castle. They came to a small door that Marco recognized. It was the same one the old man had entered through. Gunther led them through the door and down some less traveled corridors until they reached the rooms of the high-ranking servants. Gunther stopped and indicated that they should be quiet. After a few moments, they continued through the dark corridors.
Gunther whispered: Yegor, this door?
Yegor: Yes. If it is locked, how do we get in?
Marco pulled two forks wrapped in a cotton napkin from his shirt. He knelt down, inserted a fork into the lock, and tapped it lightly up and down. He listened with his eyes closed. Then, he bent the prongs of the fork into a specific shape and inserted them. He closed his eyes again and moved them carefully. After a minute, he used one to open the lock with a metallic sound. He opened the door and the young men entered. He closed the door and locked it manually. The three of them were left in complete darkness. Gunter took out a small candle and a match.
Gunther: How does a person learn to do that?
Marco: A person does not eat for six days.
Gunther: Ah. What do we do?
Marco: We wait and listen. When we hear footsteps, Gunther will be in this corner and Yegor in the other. I will be here, behind the door. He will come in, close the door, and I grab and gag him.
Marco: Gunther, take the candle he will be holding. Yegor, take his dagger and put the point in his face.
Gunther: Gut. Frieder and two others will be waiting for us.
The stone nest.
White Stockings and Snowfall returned to the nest with messages from the nobles. Without the Master Rider, the riders recognized the authority of Marcela. She held no real office, but her wisdom and her love for them were more important than a title.
Marcela: Everyone, help the Pegasi and riders. Elicio, do you want to run down?
Elicio: Yes, Mistress Marcela.
Marcela: Take them directly to Count Esteban. Just his hand, understand?
Elicio: Yes, Mamacela.
Some men laughed. Elicio started calling her that from his second day of training. The fifteen-year-old boy descended the stairs.
Chambers of Esteban.
Tatiana: What are we going to do?
Esteban: I do not know. Without Danilo, it is difficult. The support is almost even, and now we know that Puerto Blanco wants to snatch the throne for the young count.
Tatiana: What happens if we change our support towards him? We know Marisela is already on his side. If we join forces with the fleet, Valero might give in.
Esteban: I doubt it. It is possible to use the information against Heinrich. If I arrest the count for treason, he could be forced to use his soldiers to help us.
Tatiana: Do you want to arrest another boy?
Esteban: No.
A knock on the door interrupted them. Tatiana responded and invited Elicio into the room.
Elicio: There are many messages for the Count. And I have a request for the High Priest.
Esteban: The priest is busy.
Elicio: Count, this is a matter for the riders. It is impossible to deliver the message to anyone else.
Tatiana: The young man is right. I can accompany him to visit the priest.
Esteban: If that is what you think, Boy, what is your oath as a candidate rider?
Elicio: I will serve the kingdom as a messenger and guard its secrets, even under torture. If the secrets are in danger, I will guard them with my dagger plunged into my heart.
Esteban: Do you believe in your oath?
Elicio: Yes. I have nothing but the nest. It is my family and my life.
Esteban nodded to his wife, and she got up and left with the young man.
Danilo was sitting on a bench, staring at the wall behind Clemente. His mind seemed to be in a dream. Clemente slept after the stress of transferring the ritual to the other priest.
Tatiana: Danilo, there is a message for you.
Elicio entered and handed him a small parchment. The younger priest read it. He tried to smile, but his eyes were sad.
Danilo: Tell Nestor that I agree. Do you know what this says?
Elicio: No, Lord Priest. The mother of the nest did not tell me.
Danilo: This day needs good news. You will be introduced to Red Sunrise as a passenger. If she accepts you, you will soon start riding as a rear seat.
Elicio smiled the biggest smile of his life.
Clemente woke: What family do you come from, candidate?
Elicio: None, sir. I am an orphan from a holy house in West Gate.
Danilo: Noble families no longer send their children to the nest. They serve as squires for the Blue Knights. The nest was almost empty when I took up my post.
Clemente: Are they all like him?
Elicio: Yes. We are from neighborhoods and streets. But we are brave.
Clemente: Tell me.
Elicio: Nestor is the Master Rider. Ernando comes from a fishing family. Floriano is a bastard son of a woman from a farm. Corsino entered the nest one day and a Pegasus chose him. They have parents who work in kitchens or stables.
Clemente: And the candidates?
Elicio: Luis is like me. Volker is the son of servants from Puerto Blanco. And Chara is the girl rider.
Clemente: A girl? Certainly, it is a new day in the nest.
Elicio: Our family is proud of her.
Tatiana: Enough. We must go.
In the mind of Clemente: A brave woman. You will soon call her to me.