As he had guessed, people were afraid of them. One look at their faces and they would whisper the word demon and quickly hideaway.
"How many people live here?" Cuyler asked Henry, but the man didn't give him a straight answer as if he feared Cuyler was trying to measure their manpower.
Muffling a sigh of frustration, he smiled and tried again. “Do you have slaves here?”
“Yes, we do. Most of the castle’s servants are slaves.” The man replied.
“Where do you buy them?” Cuyler asked, feeling a bit more optimistic.
"Most of them were born as slaves; the others belonged to enemy villages we defeated in battle. But there is a slave market a couple of days from here." Henry explained. "They are usually peasants that owe money to their lords, and they decide to sell them to recover the money owed.
“I see.”
A loud gong resonated through the small village. “It’s lunch time. We should return. Lord Arryn will be waiting for us.”
Cuyler nodded and followed the man back to the castle.
“What do you mean I can’t go to the main room for lunch?” Kaylein asked her mother, almost shouting.
“These people are too strange. Father Francis says they are demons sent by the devil. Either way, your father has decided neither you nor your sisters are to go downstairs while they are here.” Her mother warned her. “Muriel and Guinevere have agreed, and I want you to promise you will follow your father’s instructions this time.”
“But why? It’s unfair.” Kaylein insisted.
She was so curious about the strangers she couldn’t wait to see them. One of the maids had described to her the one that seemed to be their leader, and her description had only spiked her curiosity even more.
“We don’t know these men’s intentions.” Her mother replied in a cold tone. “They could start a war right in the middle of lunch.”
“If that’s so, why did father accept to receive them?” Kaylein asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“They offered to pay for their stay. You know very well we could use the money,” Her mother admitted.
“Father’s excuse for not letting us downstairs is silly. Ten unarmed men would never try to fight against an army of over a thousand armed men,” she protested once more.
"My dear, if you had seen these men, you wouldn't be saying that. Just one of them seems powerful enough to destroy us all," her mother assured her, with a slight shudder.
“Oh, mother… you’ve heard father Francis way too much,” Kaylein teased her.
"Just remain in your room. At least, until your father decides he can trust them enough." Her mother insisted before she left her room.
Frustrated, Kaylein paced her room until her maid, Millicent arrived with her lunch.
“Tell me, did you see them again?” she asked the maid.
“Yes, milady, they are all gathered at the table eating their meals. I was able to look at them through the kitchen door.” She explained, putting her lady’s tray over the small table prepared for it.
"Take off your clothes," Kaylein ordered as she started to take off hers.
“What? Milady, have you lost your mind? Your father will punish you forever if you disobey his orders,” the girl tried to convince Kaylein.
“I don’t care. I’m sure he expects me to disobey him, after all, I always do,” Kaylein replied, already in her undergarments. “Give me your dress, now, Millicent,” she ordered, knowing the girl didn’t have a choice.
“I’ll have to go and warn your mother, milady, please…” the girl begged, though she knew nothing would stop Kaylein. She knew her too well.
“Of course, you aren’t. I’ll make sure of that.” She helped the other girl to take off her brown dress, hating the coarse fabric it was made of, but going downstairs with her own clothes would attract unwanted attention.
She knew for a fact; people never looked twice to a servant. She gathered her long golden hair with a couple of pins and put in Millicent's coif, making sure she had covered all of her hair. She was the only person in the whole village with blond hair, and if it showed, they would know it was her.
“Please, milady, don’t do this. You’ll get us both in trouble.” Her maid begged, but she didn’t listen.
Instead, she grabbed a long strip of white linen she used to tie her big breasts when she trained with her swords, and with a wicked grin, she tied the girl's hands to her bed post and covered her mouth. "Like this, you won't be accused of helping me." Kaylein said, with a naughty grin, before she turned around and disappeared out of the room.
Carefully, Kaylein went downstairs, avoiding being seen by anyone, as she headed straight to the kitchen. Like Millicent had said, she would be able to have a good view of the main table from there.
In the kitchens, there was so much hustle, no one paid attention to her, so she carefully sneaked to the door and looked out.
Cuyler and the others arrived at the castle's main room, just as everybody was taking a seat around the tables that had been installed in the room. Apparently, most of Lord Arryn's men and family ate at the same time. He invited Cuyler and his men to take a seat at his table, and he did so.
Soon the food was served, but they waited for Lord Arryn to start eating before they did. They hadn't seen many people eating on the images recollected by the bird cams, and they didn't want to make any mistakes that could cause them problems. He could feel the wary look of the man identified as Father Francis on him and his men.
Lord Arryn started eating, and they followed the example. The food was a bit different from what they were used to but was palatable.
It was a great feast, and Cuyler was sure that was in their honor. Lord Arryn wanted to impress them.
They were still eating when he caught her scent. He had been looking for her the whole time but hadn't even been able to perceive her scent. But now, his nostrils flared, and his heart stopped for a moment just to start beating faster. His eyes were drawn to her immediately, and her beauty, even hidden underneath what he had concluded to be the servants' uniform, was overwhelming.
She realized the minute he saw her. Their eyes locked together and he froze.
Kaylein stared at the table for a moment before her eyes were drawn to one of them in particular. He saw her too, and when their eyes locked together, her heart seemed to miss a beat, before it started roaring in her chest.
Taller than all the rest of the men, even the ones with him, he was impressive. His platinum hair fell to his shoulders, and his gray eyes had a metallic shine she had never seen before. But it was the ridges on his forehead and temples that surprised her the most. They looked like a perfect lineup of small round beads that left his forehead and temples and disappeared into his hair. There were four of them, two on his forehead and one in each temple. Strangely, instead of making him look scary or unattractive, she decided they made him look more handsome. But, now, she could understand why Father Francis had described them as demons.
“What are you doing here, girl? Why aren’t you working?” the housekeeper’s voice sounded next to her, startling her and the spell was broken.
With her head down, to avoid being recognized, Kaylein muttered, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith.”
“Take this to the main table. Those men eat as if there was no tomorrow,” she grumbled, putting a tray with vegetables in her hands.
“Yes, Mrs. Smith.” She nodded, trying to think of a way to evade such a task.
“Take it to the strangers’ leader. He seems to be hungry, judging by the way he’s looking over here,” the woman ordered, returning to the kitchen.
Kaylein closed her eyes desperate as she realized the woman was referring to the man she had been looking at.
This time, her father was going to kill her.
Taking a deep breath, she kept her face down, as she crossed the room with the tray in her shaky hands, praying no one would notice her.
She could do this, right? All she had to do was put the tray on the table and disappear back to her room before anyone noticed what she was doing.
With no further delay, she took the tray and put it on the table, right in front of the man.