10 The Lesley Locket III: The Ruby Promise
~The Hunting Grounds of Lord Rev's Estate, Linne, the Rhône~
Ulla heard the swift grand carriage before she even spotted the ornate scarlet red and gold enameled carriage dragged by twenty-six stallions. She gazed at the insignia emblazoned on the carriage and its decoration as she frowned slightly. She raised her mud caked fingers to shield the sun and recognized the gold symbol of the Holy City. Though she was but a peasant girl she recognized the oddity of this outdated mode of transportation. She was aware that ships were normally used by the important members of the Church and the nobility. Carriages, like the one before her, were typically used by noble women who accompanied their husbands in sporting and game hunting and the Holy City was never known to use them.
As they raced on the unclod path, Ulla saw their disregard for the peasants who were gathering by the road, dangerously close to the large spokes. She noticed they were heading toward the town of Linne and wondered aloud what the Church was interested about in that small yet charming town. However, she did not have long to contemplate this thought for she saw an arrow flying towards her direction.
"Ulla!" her sister shrieked.
But nearly simultaneously, Ulla heard from an alternate direction, the sharp authoritative command.
"Fais attention! Pass auf!"
Before she could even feel fear grip her heart, she felt the wind knocked out of her as her arm and leg crashed onto the dark grass. Ulla opened her eyes and they widened in shock as she saw a richly dressed young girl sprawled on the dirt, her silk clad ankle was naked and shoeless and twisted in an unnatural position.
Ulla gasped aloud as she rushed to the lady's side and marveled at her finery as she turned her over to help her rise. The lady, the Countess, winced in pain as she rolled herself onto her back with Ulla's help. Ulla was relieved to find her alive and with that ease she observed the lady's face more closely.
Though she was wincing with pain, Ulla could see the haughty patrician elegance and beauty underneath and was impressed with her thick blood colored hair. As the lady opened her eyes, Ulla admired her gold-flecked emerald eyes and envied her glittering pallor.
Parmalis could see Ulla examining her face and raised her brow in confusion.
"I am dreadfully sorry my lady, please forgive me!" Ulla exclaimed with embarrassment.
"S'il te plait, aide-moi…" Parmalis extended a pale, ring-decked hand.
"What?" Ulla frowned for she didn't understand the words of the young noblewoman.
"Excuse-moi…kannt du mir helfen? Please help me sit up."
"Of course, my lady. I want to thank you…if it weren't for you my lady, I would…I would…" Ulla did not desire to finish that sentence.
"You need not thank me….do you spot my slipper nearby?" Parmalis looked about vainly.
"No my lady…" Ulla continued to stare at Parmalis with wonderment, "How did you get here so quickly? You came faster than the arrow--"
Parmalis winced a little when Nuit, her vassel, swiftly appeared to her side and raised her effortlessly into his arms. His dark navy eyes glittered angrily as he turned expressionlessly to look at the poor peasant girl pressed on the dirt.
"Nuit, I think I may have sprained my ankle…" Parmalis informed her guard.
Ulla raised her hands to cover her ears as she heard a large hunting party thunderously approach their location. Her eyes widened even more as she saw the parade of extravagantly dressed noblemen and she blushed when the most handsome nobleman appeared to approach her. The Marquis Lesley, Phaeln, however passed by her as he jumped off his horse and encircled Parmalis into his arms.
"Parmalis! Nuit what happened to her?" the typically refined Marquis was flustered with nervous worry.
"Phaeln, relax. I just fell. C'est tout…that's all," Parmalis calmly smiled as she kissed her brother's cheek.
Ulla looked at the beautiful siblings with amazement when she was roughly forced to her feet by darkly dressed guards. Lord Rev, the host of the hunting party and the Lord of the Rhône, rushed beside the Marquis.
"Is this the peasant girl? Rise, girl, you must unfortunately pay for your crime..." Lord Rev gravely started.
"S'il vous plait, please, Lord Rev, I don't think that will be necessary. She must have been frightened as well. Right Parmalis?" Now free from worry, the Marquis gently smiled at Ulla and his sister, who was back in Nuit's arms.
The Countess smiled at her brother but then turned to look at the charming face of the peasant girl. Ulla's amber eyes glittered with tears and desperation and Parmalis was about to console her but in an instant she clutched Nuit's neck tighter as if she saw something terrible. Nuit sensed her fears and discomfort and looked at his mistress silently, gripping his hold a little more firmer to reassure her of her safety.
"Non Phaeln…Lord Rev, il est droit…he is right. She…she was the reason I'm hurt. You must lock her up…" Parmalis's pale visage turned even paler as fear clouded her eyes.
"Parmalis, she is only a year or two older than you! I will not see a child imprisoned," Phaeln dismissed his sister as he tried to reassure Ulla with a kind smile.
"Phaeln, I beg you…I must insist that she be given the proper punishment." Parmalis pleaded desperately as she burrowed herself deeper into Nuit's arms.
"Parmalis! I will hear no more of this. Let this incident pass, Lord Rev, and you child please forgive the Countess, she must be feeling ill from her ankle," the Marquis concluded the discussion decisively.
"Phaeln!" Parmalis pleaded to her brother.
"Parmalis, I command you to hold your tongue," Phaeln firmly silenced his sister.
The Countess shut her lips, swallowing her desperate pleas. She looked at Ulla with fear and hatred in her eyes before she buried her face into Nuit's shoulders. A wave of worry passed across Nuit's face as he held his mistress and he dutifully followed the Marquis and the Lord's party back to the main house. But he turned once to glance again at the young peasant girl and wondered why the Countess anxiously saved her before desperately asking for her head.
The Marquis was deeply disappointed at his sister's behavior but he was more startled and confused about the events that led up to his disapproval.
"I am surprised at you, Parmalis? What on earth were you thinking of?"
"I am scared of her, Phaeln…she is the reason I'm going to die." Tears pooled in Parmalis's eyes as she whispered her fear.
"What? Did you hurt your head? How on earth can that peasant hurt you my sweet sister. That little peasant girl has no power or influence. Besides she is in Linne," Phaeln was puzzled by his sister's distress.
"I just know it…I will die because of her. I don't know how, why, or when but I know that it will be because of her."
Tears dropped from her emerald eyes relentlessly and her intensity unnerved the Marquis. He swept his sister up into his arms and kissed her forehead affectionately. She began to cry even more heavily and he continued to hold her. Her treatment of her statement as fact frightened him for he realized that she wholeheartedly believed that her life was in danger.
"I am sorry Parmalis. I know you are scared…but I wish that you understood how I would never let anything or anyone harm you. You will die peacefully as an old old ancient woman, surrounded by a dozen grandchildren," he softly reassured her.
"I'm sorry Phaeln…I know that you think that I am being silly…I will apologize myself to her."
"That would be a lovely gesture after you frightened the poor creature so."
She smiled as she left his arms to join the peasant girl but Phaeln turned to his wife the former Cintanian Infanta, Téresitte, with a frown. She had silently witnessed the event and had continuously been praying for discretion.
"What do suppose I should do?" Phaeln inquired.
"Pray to God, that no one else hears about this," his bride gravely answered.
"Do you suppose there is something to it?"
"We must make sure that there is nothing…and there will be nothing," Téresitte stated as she tightly gripped the Marquis's hand.
Meanwhile, Ulla cowered as she was forcibly taken to the young countess's audience. The poor girl desperately wished that the Countess did not change her mind but all Ulla could do was wait for her reaction.
She was surprised to open her eyes to the Countess embracing her warmheartedly. The pretty lady smiled as she unclasped a ruby pendant before pressing it deeply into Ulla's palm.
"I am sorry that I suggested such a horrid thing to you. Please accept this necklace as my apology," Parmalis smiled sincerely.
"My lady! Countess I shall treasure it forever," Ulla could hardly believe the gift.
"And…" Parmalis interjected.
"Yes?"
"Can you promise me one thing?"
"Anything my lady."
"Can you pretend that we never saw one another…this all never happened. Can you do that for me?"
"My lady…"
"Just pretend you don't even know that there is a Comtesse Lesley. Please?" Parmalis pleaded earnestly, with tears in her eyes and Ulla nodded vigorously.
"Anything you desire my lady I will follow."
"Thank you. I will trust you." Parmalis smiled with relief.
The young girl brushed her grimy hands across the sparkling blood red ruby at the heart of the pendant before she raised her head to see the radiant countess ride away into the heart of the sunlight. Parmalis turned to look at the peasant girl again and Ulla smiled as a reassurance. The noble lady broke into a smile as well and Ulla sighed as she saw the luminous sparkle that shined off her skin. She thought to herself how the countess was lovely in a strange, almost frightening manner. Her hair was like sparkling blood, quite like the ruby she gifted her. As the party disappeared into the horizon, Ulla wondered how she could ever forget such a face.
