Lord Bryvin's Man

Writers: Eimi
Date Posted: 3rd May 2019

Characters: Kiomo, Xelfin
Description: Kiomo goes to Xelfin with news that could prove a plague on both their houses...
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 2, day 8 of Turn 9
Notes: Precedes "SSH: Dire News"

Kiomo slipped through the door, a bundle of cloth stuck under one arm. He closed it with a shuddering sigh as he leaned back against the door to close it. After taking a couple deep breaths, his eyes darted over to the drudges huddled in a group in the opposite corner of the room. They were speaking in hushed tones and shooting questioning glances his way. He jammed his hand into his vest pocket and fished around until his fingers found a cold metal key. Turning quickly, he shoved it into the lock and turned it until he heard the telltale click.

"Clear the room. Everyone out," he said with a jerk of his head towards the door leading out of the lady's private chambers. "No one is to come in or out of this room without mine or Lord Xelfin, is that understood."

"Yes, sir," came the chorus of muttered replies, the drudges eyes wide with surprise at his sudden order.

"Why are you all still standing there? Clear the room," Kiomo said again, his voice carrying the full wait of his authority, and to his satisfaction he watched as the gaggle hurried for the door.

"All right, Kiomo, get it together," he said softly to himself after the last laced skirt passed out of sight and the room was left completely to him. His heart was pounding as he paced the room, gathering the ends of frayed thoughts together. "You can fix this. You can fix this. Faranth, how do I always get myself into these impossible messes?"

Garnet Valley was starting to look not half bad in his memories all of a sudden.

Kiomo stopped his pacing. Closing his eyes, he drew in a long slow breath through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth, repeating the process several times. Finally, his eyes opened with calm, steely resolve. It was time to move.

Clutching the cloth tight to his body, he walked through the door the ladies had so recently retreated through. They had not moved far along the corridor, but had instead continued their gossiping halfway down the passage, but at the sight of him emerging, they scampered off. Looking the other way, Kiomo noticed a guard sitting a respectful distance from the door looking at him curiously.

"You," Kiomo said as he walked up to the man. "You are the guard assigned to Lady Xeladrie's door."

"Yes, sir," he said, standing to his feet at attention.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You are Lord Bryvin's man, sir."

Kiomo nodded. "That's right. And now I speak with his authority and that of your Lord Xelfin. I charge you in your Lord's name not to let any pass in or out of that door without my or Lord Xelfin's express permission. Not man, or woman, common or of the Blood. You are not to leave that door unless another comes to take your place and you will be sure they understand my instructions. Is that understood."

"Yes, sir!" the guard barked, giving a smart salute.

"Very good." Kiomo brushed passed him heading towards Lord Xelfin's office at a steady clip. "And _stand_ your post. Don't let me catch you sitting again."

~~~*~~~

"Kiomo of Sunstone Seahold, sir," the Lord's assistant announced as he opened the door to allow his counterpart to come through.

"Ah, yes," Xelfin said as he set his hide aside with slight annoyance. "To what may I owe this unexpected visit?"

"May I speak with you alone sir?" Kiomo asked, casting his dark eyes to the assistant still holding open the door. "I would speak with you about some private business."

"Very well," Xelfin said with a wave of his hand and his assistant disappeared. "Surely Lord Bryvin is not blaming Turquoise Hold for my daughters lengthy recovery. Her health and the health of her daughter is our highest priority and I promise Lord Bryvin that they will be returned to him..."

"There's no time for that now," Kiomo said, cutting off the Lord. He pulled out the folded sheet from under his arm and opened it flat out with an audible crack. "Look at this."

Xelfin was too shocked at what he was seeing to be angry at the man's rude behavior. His eyes grew wide even as his face paled. He recognized the color of darkened blood easily enough. "Is that... Xeladrie's..."

"If only it were," Kiomo muttered with a shake of his head. "It is that of her child. My Lord, your granddaughter is dead."

"What? But how? When?" Xelfin was on his feet and walking around his desk to examine the cloth in complete disbelief.

"I have come from her rooms just this very moment, my Lord. The body is already cold. I would say that she breathed her last this morning."

"I must to go..." the Lord said, trying to sidestep the Lordling only to be stopped with a firm hand to his chest.

"No, my Lord, you must not," Kiomo said, staring him straight in the eye.

"How dare you," Xelfin hissed, batting at the hand that now curled into his tunic.

Kiomo dropped the sheet and stepped forward, pushing the Lord back towards his desk. "Forgive me, my Lord, but it is for your own good and that of your Hold. You must listen to me now before you bring shame down on Turquoise Hold, not to mention the wrath of Sunstone."

"What are you talking about, wrath and shame?" Xelfin growled, finally prying Kiomo's hand loose from his tunic. He certainly was not used to being handled in such a way and the heat in his eyes warned of serious impending retaliation if Kiomo's explanation didn't satisfy.

"Wake up, Xelfin." Kiomo pointed once again to the sheet. "Your daughter hasn't been right in the head since that child was born and you know that as well as anyone. Look at the blood! She has killed her own child. Lord Bryvin's child! We are not talking about some drudge's baby, but your own flesh and blood! You think a daughter committing suicide is embarrassing? How about one practicing infanticide!"

"How can you be certain she killed the child?" the Turquoise Lord asked, though his eyes were now fixed on sheet as Kiomo's words sank in.

"Do babies just bleed, Xelfin? Can a child that young even move enough to self injure, let alone bash their own head in? This is just the sheet the child was wrapped in! Do you want to see the wall?"

"Enough," Xelfin growled, throwing his hands up to stem the barrage of disturbing images in his head. He walked over to the sheet, looking down at the telltale stain. "I must go to my daughter."

"No," Kiomo said hurrying to place himself between the man and the door. "That is the worst thing you can do. You must listen to me now Xelfin. Bryvin will not take this lightly. His daughter has been murdered. He will want justice at the very least, but I fear he will settle for no less than vengeance. Think about what that will mean for _both_ our Holds!"

The Lord stood quietly for a long moment, imagining the consequences this could mean for his Hold and his family. Finally he asked in almost a whisper, "Why can I not see the proof with my own eyes?"

"Because then you will be witness. You must remain innocent of the gory details. Leave that to me. What have I to gain by faking the death of my master's child? You, on the other hand, have everything to lose. And you can bet Bryvin will come after everything."

"Then what is to be done?" Xelfin asked with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

Kiomo straightened his back, and the calm returned to his voice. "Do you have a healer that you can count on? Or at the very least can be bribed?"

"I believe I know a man," the Lord nodded.

"Good," Kiomo said. "Inform him that the child died in her sleep. Such deaths are not unusual. This caused Lady Xeladrie an extreme amount of distress. For her sake, the child was removed and dealt with quickly. The healer is to write a report saying the child died of natural causes, and that he is a witness to the child's death. To protect the mother from further psychological harm, the child is to be quickly removed and buried at the Lord's request."

"And will it be dealt with?" Xelfin asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Yes," Kiomo nodded. "The body will be taken away and all traces removed from the room of any kind of foul deeds. I will request dragon transport back to Sunstone, and on the way, drop the child /between/ so that no body can ever be found."

The Turquoise Lord just nodded his head. It sounded like as good of plan as any.

"But before I inform Lord Bryvin," Kiomo said looking back over his shoulder towards the Lady's chambers, "we must deal with Xeladrie."

Last updated on the May 3rd 2019

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Lord Bryvin's Man