Race against Time

"To what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit my lady"

"Well I..."

He waves his hand around dismissively. Cutting me off.

"I'm sure we can discuss it over a nice glass. Let's have a drink shall we"

A skinny maid comes in with a wine bottle another follows her behind with wine glasses.

I watch as the red sparkling liquid flow into the wine glass. Observing it like this I can't help but compare it to a fast flowing river. A river of blood.

The Baron takes a large swig from his cup and lets out a large belch.

"Aaah! This beauty is from the Southern Province. A real treasure I tell you"

I guess the rumors did hold a bit of stock. That the Baron is a man who loves his liquor. Let's see if the one that follows suit is true as well. That he can't handle his substance.

Let's just get this over with I don't want to be around to verify that one myself.

"I heard you had a little fight with one of my servants"

"My lady I'm sure you must be mistaken. I have done no such thing"

So far so good.

"My sources inform me that a servant of mine was assaulted by you and that he's being held here. I'm here to collect him"

He takes the time to think back almost like recalling a forgotten memory.

"Now that you've said it I do recall dealing with a rather rude peasant a while back. The vile creature dared to hit me so I dealt with him nothing more"

"No! That isn't true..." Sophia interjects. Small beads of tears hanging onto the corners of her eyes threaten to spill over. Her cheeks are a bright red. It must hurt her to listen to this.

"You insolent fool are perhaps implying that I am lying?! I shall have your tongue for this insult" The Baron huffs angrily.

"Sonya please be more mindful of how you speak"

"You ought to clip those wings she's sprouting before it becomes a serious problem. Now that i'm willing to let bygones be bygones"

He's surprisingly more polite than I expected. I figured I was dealing with someone more of a scum bag. But I can't be too hasty in judging him.

"I'll see to it. Now back to what we were discussing. I'd like to hear the full side of the story from you"

"From me my lady?"

"I didn't stutter did I? I want a full recap of what exactly happened"

Visibly distressed he refuses to make eye contact with me.

"I was at the docks supervising my men. When the nobody showed up and started lecturing me on how to do my job. But I was having none of it. Told the punk to scram if he knew what was good for him. Next thing I knew the bloody bastard started attacking me. I fought back with the help of my men. Taught the stupid bloke a lesson he'll never forget"

"So where is he now?"

"Huh?!"

"I'm asking you were the boy is. As I said before I'm here to retrieve him"

Here's to hoping he's still alive. I don't how Sonya will react if he's dead. I'll have more early morning sobbing to put up with.

"Of course my lady. Bring out the brat in the cellar"

The maids bow their heads and leave the room.

The only thing disrupting the silence we're in is his raspy breathing.

"If I may ask my lady. What was a servant of yours doing all the way at the docks"

"It's embarrassing to admit but I'm afraid I've been robbed"

"Goodness what a terrible thing to happen to a lady of your age"

"That boy is the one who stole from me. I lost some lovely jewels because of him. He most likely thought he could sell it at a higher price there"

"I can relate to you. You give the filth a chance to become something more and then they stab you in the back. Trust me when I say this is like second nature to them"

"I just want my prize jewels back. And he'll be a good example for the rest of them to learn from. When I'm done with him"

The doors swing open and two men drag in a man who's bruised and battered. He's bleeding from multiple cuts and lacerations all over his arms and legs.

I can't tell whether he's conscious or not. They toss him on the floor and his body falls down with an stomach churning 'thud'  My chest tightens in horror and disgust. How can he do this to another human being?! More importantly how will Sonya react to....

"Brother are you ok? Oh my goodness what have they done to you" She reaches down shaking his body.

"My lady might I inquire about the other one. What's her issue"

My mind is a bit muddled and dazed by what I've just seen but I pull myself together.

"An accomplice to the crime. He's still alive right. It'd be a shame if he were dead. Would defeat my entire purpose of setting an example"

I walk over to Sonya who's shaking the body fiercely. I reach down and grab a hold of his wrist.

Please let him still have a pulse. Please let him still be alive.

I can feel it. It may be light and faint but it's definitely there.

"Looks like we've got a fighter over here. He's still alive"

"Well I'll be damned could've sworn he was dead two days ago"

"Thank you for your help. I'll deal with him from now on"

"As you wish my lady. David you and Tear carry the wretched thing away"

The two hulky men walk over to us and grab him off the ground. Sonya is about to protest but I give her a glare that shuts her up. I just want to get as far away from this man as possible. He's dangerous and ever fiber of my being is telling me to get out of here before it's too late. They drag him out of the room with Sonya closely following behind them.

I take one final look at the Baron before leaving the room.

The two men drop him in front of the carriage and leave. The coachman flinches at the sight of the body.

"What the devil do you think you're doing just sitting there. Get the man inside" Sonya shouts at him.

As if suddenly snapping out of a trance he jumps off to lend her a hand.

Grabbing both of his arms they manage to haul his body into the carriage.

"Take us back to the manor"

Inside the carriage Sonya's a sobbing mess. The carriage sets into motion and soon the baron's estate is behind us. Hopefully that's the last I'll ever see of it.

"My lady  please we need to take him to a hospital. I don't think he can last much longer"

"I can't do that.."

"My lady please help him"

"Calm down and listen to me. We can't take him to the nearest hospital or any in this region, we risk putting him in danger. The Baron might have people there. If his grudge runs deep enough. He'll have him killed" Another report I got about the Baron is that he holds grudges all the commoners he had scuffles with all ended up dead.

She pauses as the color drains from her face. The true horror of the situation at hand sinking in.

"Our safest option is to take him back to my mansion I'll call a doctor to treat him. Let's just hope he can hold on"

I hit the roof of the carriage three times.

"Let's pick up the pace" I shout.

To think that this novel actually has scenarios like this. Underneath that sappy and fluffy romance novel, I simply can't believe something like this can happen.

The sound of a whip can be heard cracking as the carriage speeds up. Jostling its passengers in the process.

I just hope we can make in it time.