Blake Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Part 4: The Palace

Part 4: The Palace

 

In equal part utterly shocked and powerfully impressed by her best friend's actions, the Quenby made a series of half sentences that emitted her awestruck disbelief as they strolled out of the building through the back entrance. In a mood, Blake took little notice. Once they were outside, the pair noticed two gentlemen were quarrelling as if they meant to fight.

'Sir! You have insulted my honour!' one exclaimed. 'By sneezing on my petty coat, you have not only disgraced yourself, but you have made a mockery of my custom designer's work!'

'Sir! Where my folly was accidental, your stepping upon my shoe was most certainly not! In all my years I have never met such a vagabond as yourself!'

Seeing the Crown Princess approaching, the pair instantly ceased their dramatics and bowed.

'My sincerest apologies your royal highness.'

'A thousand sincerer apologies your majesty.'

She shrugged as she walked by. 'Don't stop on my account gentlemen, at this moment I am in no position to start objecting to violence.'

Thus, leaving the men bewildered, the two made their way to the carriage and were driven back to the palace, Quenby gibbering excitedly while making jabs with her fists.

 

'My god that as wonderful, entirely reprehensible and completely status shattering, but by my blood I shall cherish the image of the demon's fall for the rest of my life. Hah! I can see her rancid face being bloodied now. I never dreamt you possessed the strength to knock her out cold!' she shrieked, seemingly elated by excitement.

Blake sighed in a sad manner. 'I'm glad you got something out of it Quen, I fear I shall thoroughly regret the decision in days to come.'

'Oh you shall, and insulting the entire ball like that. Why it was the most outrageous thing I have ever beheld in my life. Never the less, you have done me a great service, and I shall do my very best to soften the sharpened tongues that will seek to slice at you tomorrow. Take heed though, I am no fairy, a vast many will strike true.'

'I know, I know...' she exhaled, rubbing her knuckle. Though after a moment, she smiled slightly. 'At least I have earned myself some reprieve from further attempts at coupling.'

The Lady laughed. 'Damn and be damned you are the most queer girl in Christendom.' She kissed her friend on the cheeks. 'Never change.'

 

After Quenby was dropped off, Blake mused in a melancholy manner at her being goaded into making a scene by Ion, and after tossing and turning the issue over in her head for some time: surmised that she would worry about it the next dawn when the occurrence was a memory and not the action of the day. Manfred received her at the door with a knowing eye, undoubtedly having heard the news through a call from one of his many butling friends, and did what butlers were known best for.

'A bath has been ran, your bed clothes had been put out and a hot chocolate has been prepared your royal highness.'

'Thank you, Manfred. Now if you don't mind, I am very tired.' she said, trying to quiet him before the occurrence, but he'd obviously planned the remark ahead of time; altering it multiple times in case of several dismissing remarks on her part.

'I trust you shall not bludgeon me for the pillow's roughness.'

She scowled. 'Butler's aren't hired for their snide you know.'

'No,' he chuckled with a curtsey 'that comes free of charge.'

In a gloomy mindset, she went off and washed herself before pulling on her bed clothes and sinking into the hot chocolate. Her servant's remark having broken her resolve to ignore the scandal she had committed until the next day, she brooded on her deed. 'Things would be far worse were I male.' she consoled herself. 'My attack would have been taken as a pretence to civil war rather than a mere social outrage.'

With this truth on her mind, she blew out her candle and snuggled up to her teddy bear, Giles. In times of crisis her love for the stuffed animal increased tenfold, for even after her most heinous sins, Giles would never judge her. 'Silly girl.' she murmured before nodding off.

 

Her dreams were turbulent, filled with angered faces and pointing hands, the figure of Ion laughing at her in their midst. It was due to these troubled nightmares that Blake was somewhat happy to be awakened, though to her surprise it was the sound of sweet music, not the stern voice of her mother: that pulled her from slumber. Intrigued, she brought herself up, someone was playing a lute, and if her ears did not deceive her: the strum seemed to be coming from the balcony. Cautiously she got up, lit her candle and ventured towards the moonlit space, someone had opened the glass doors that separated her room from the outside. Thus, her curiosity peaked, she pulled away the blinds and revealed the bard.

The man sitting atop the balcony wall, oaken lute indeed in hand, had donned himself in silver from head to foot. His suit was silver, his rings were silver, his hair was silver and indeed, the mask that covered the top of his face was silver. Blake didn't need to think hard to detain that the handsome housebreaker was Lord Silver.

'Hail, princess.' he spoke in a melodic tone. 'I trust my tune delivered you sweetly from your dreams?'

Most girls of the royal's age would have consented to the fact with a smitten blush, Blake dodged back behind the blinds and emerged with Excalibur in hand. 'State your intent in assaulting the hold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha or by the powers invested in me by God I shall see you bleed upon this sacred ground.'

Silver's grin was without limit. 'To exchange a few words with you my fiery princess, see how my hands are raised in surrender? I mean the hold of Saxe-Cogurg-Gotha no harm.'

She kept the legendary blade level. 'You broke into my chamber door. That is assault.'

'Truly, you wound me your royal highness. I merely lockpicked it open so you might better hear my song. No permanent damage has been done.'

'We shall see about that, rake.'

'Rake?' he repeated, putting his hand upon his chest. 'My dear maiden, are you familiar with who I am?'

'Aye, Lord Silver. A rake by all accounts, and your conduct here proves it.'

'My word, the way you speak it seems I have been defeated before the battle has even begun.'

'Quite, so prey tell: what reason exists that challenges my notion to call the guards on you?'

'None, save your curiosity for my being here. I would sate it if you would let me.'

'How can I be sure this is not some assassin’s ploy?'

'Oh, how you wound me double fold. But see my attire, and these pockets here, I have no space to conceal such a weapon to inflict death upon your dark angelic form. You have me entirely at your mercy.'

For a moment, she considered this, and deeming it plausible that the eccentric man merely wanted to talk, she waved the sword of the stone. 'Go on then, what dost thou want?'

Hearing his, he smiled and put his hands together. 'My infinite thanks, truth be told this is all rather improvised. I had devised to apprehend your attention in a far more elaborate manner but your actions at Lord Damsen's ball rendered my original plan rather useless.'

'The bottle of blood thrown at the carriage, that was you wasn't it?'

'Quite right, my apologies if it scared you however I wished to summon your interest in the most effective manner possible. I trust you initially believed the Renegades had committed the crime?'

'More or less, yes.'

'Good, then at least that part went according to plan. If the schedule had followed suit I would have ordained to set off several other happenings during the ball, before revealing myself in your carriage when you went home. However your early departure left my would be spectacle some what uprooted. The way you struck down the demon for insulting your friends, it bamboozled me, to be frank. I had entirely expected you to be another palace doll, I was pleasantly surprised to find you had some fire in you.'

You were at the ball?'

'Watching from the shadows, yes. In that moment of passion I was bound with a new found respect for your royal highness, and vowed never again to plague you with such tricks. Thus here I am, speaking to you plainly.'

'Yet you are not speaking to me plainly, you have not yet told me why you stalk me so.'

'But of course, the issue at hand. Put plainly, I am acting as an agent of the forgotten. Those infinite masses you call subjects are crying out in hunger, and none of their masters are answering. In a few years you will possess the power to change that.'

'Hold on, you are not allied with the Renegades are you?'

'Not as such, I operate as part of a larger group in which the Renegades have unfortunately become the strong arm of. We are known as the Mass, and we represent those who have been misused by their betters.'

Blake cocked her head. 'You are a Lord of the British Empire yet you act as if you were the meanest slave ever known, how do you justify this juxtaposition?'

'All the wealth I can afford to give away to help the hungry, I give away.'

'And the wealth you can't afford to give away?'

'That, I have used to better myself, and in so doing rise to the higher echelons of English society to spread the Mass' message, I wager speaking with you has marked me reaching the apex of that task.'

'So it would seem. Though your cause is noble, you must comprehend it will never yield fruit. Even if every gentleman and lady did as you did, giving up most of what they had to buy their fellow man food, it would still not be enough to sate the country's hunger. We are undergoing a nation wide famine.'

'True, but then the empire's many overseas campaigns drain what resources that should be used to aid the suffering here. I mean no disrespect to your royal highness, but many blame your father for this error, myself included.'

Slowly, she lowered her sword. 'So, those are the bones of it are they?'

He nodded. 'I realise this is a great deal to address in one night, so I would be more than content if you would at least consider what I've said.'

Smiling a little, she placed the tip of the blade on the ground and began to spin it from it's hilt. 'Very well, though in the long run it makes little difference what I think of things. Even were my position Queen of the Empire, my command would still be secondary to that of my King.'

He put his hand to his chin. 'Indeed...'

Blake raised Excalibur once more. 'No.'

'Your majesty?'

'Take heed Lord Silver, your ideals may be good enough, but I know your sort. I don't doubt you gained your title by robbing noble maidens of their father's moneys.'

'Heavens, you really do think me for a rake.'

'Am I wrong?'

After a moment of silence his mouth creased. 'You are not wrong. I personally see myself as following in the latter day saint's footsteps: Robin Hood.'

'The archer didn't break maiden's hearts.' she said with some scorn.

'No, he killed the King's men. I have not the stomach for such things.'

Her frown increased to a grimace. 'How decent of you. Tell me, how did you come upon this balcony?'

'By rope and hook.'

'Good, then you can get off the same way.'

'Have I offended you, princess?'

'Greatly, you seem to see no fault in helping one group under discrimination at the expense of another.'

'Come, I see plenty fault in it, but it is a necessary evil.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'No evil is necessary, no vile deed can be justified by a cause, no villains can be made a hero by general consensus. I now see why you valued me hitting Ion, you have been inflicting suffering on women in a more deceitful, yet a no less damaging way for a long time. By gaining your admiration I see that my action was wrong. I will think of what you said on the masses, but I will not suffer the presence of a noble rake any further. So if you will, get off my palace.'

Her words rendering him silent, he bowed and did as she commanded, combining himself with the grapple with a snap, before lowering to the ground beneath and escaping into the night.

Taking a breath to relieve her stress, Blake hunched and looked to the sword. 'I wonder if he could tell I didn't have the faintest clue how to use this thing?'