Chapter Twenty-Two
A loud series of knocks sounded on the thin wooden door, echoing into the small room of the inn. “Libelle! Lady Libelle!” A young voiced called.
Libelle rolled over in the bed, grumbling in her slumber. “Eskil, get that will you?”
She heard a throaty groan, and in the chair across the room her companion stirred in his sleep. She looked up at Eskil who was rubbing his aching head, with a sigh he pushed himself up and walked towards the door and opened it. Vigdis and Brynhild stood in the doorway crying.
Libelle sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes. “Girls? What is it?”
Vigdis sniffed, “its Ingrid. She didn't come home last night!”
“We can't find her anywhere!” Brynhild said.
Libelle stood up, standing beside Eskil who glanced at her curiously. “Have you asked around?”
They both nodded. “No one has seen her, not since last night by the fire.”
“Could she have gone elsewhere? I mean, with a man?” She doubted it, but felt it needed to be asked.
The girls glanced between each other and then shook their heads. “No, I don't believe so. Not after… everything that happened.” Vigdis said.
Libelle motioned for them to come into the room, and they walked past them to sit on the bed. She shut the door, Eskil returning to his chair to close his eyes as he felt the ill side effects of the alcohol. “Tell me what happened last night.”
Vigdis took a slow breath, “After you two left, we danced together with Lord Gaalin for quite some time. Eventually we exhausted him, and he sat down for a drink. Brynhild wanted to eat in the inn, but Ingrid said she would stay with Lord Gaalin. When we came back, Lord Gaalin was still sitting but Ingrid couldn't be found. He told us she came looking for us, but other than that he didn't know where she went off too.”
Brynhild cried loudly. “I’m worried something happened to her.”
Libelle sighed heavily. “I’ll help you look for her. I’ll speak with Gaalin as he is the last one to have seen her by the sounds of things. Wait here with Eskil please.”
The girls nodded at her.
“Eskil, keep an eye on them.”
He gave her a weak wave, and she exited the room. Her manservant had rented a room down the hall, and he better still be there she cursed. She knocked heavily on the door, a sleepy groan came from the opposite side. She knocked again, this time the shuffle of bed linens was heard and a pair of footsteps moved to the door.
It creaked open, and Gaalin stood there wrapped in a sheet. He rubbed his eyes, his silver hair disheveled around his shoulders. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” He grumbled.
Libelle rolled her eyes, “We need to talk.”
He looked up, realizing it was his lord who knocked on his door. He straightened up, “Right now?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“Uhm, can it wait a moment?”
“No.”
He gritted his teeth, and Libelle heard another shuffle come from behind him. His eyes widened and he froze, “Who’s at the door dear?”
Feminine hands wrapped around his waist and he looked away from Libelle when an attractive woman peeked her head around his arm. “Who’s this?” She jealously asked.
Libelle rolled her eyes again. “Get rid of your woman. We need to talk. You have five minutes.”
The woman scoffed, offended and about to say something when Gaalin shut the door. Libelle leaned against the wall as she heard the two begin to argue behind the door, something along the lines of the woman wanting to know who Libelle was, and wanting Gaalin to return to bed. Gaalin lost his patience with her, and snapped at her.
“I’m telling you, you need to leave. Get dressed!”
“No, I don't want to!” Her voice turned seductive. “We had such a wonderful night last night, why don't we continue?”
The door flew open, Gaalin now wearing pants and the woman still wrapped in a sheet. He pushed her out the doorway, tossing her clothes with her. She screamed at him when he pulled Libelle into the room by her wrist, slamming the door behind her. He sighed heavily.
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
She shrugged, “A man has desires. It’s no surprise that you’d have them as well.”
He awkwardly brushed his nose and looked away. “What is it you needed to talk about so urgently?”
“Ingrid is missing.”
He stared at her blankly for a moment. “The young blonde haired lass?”
“Yes. Her sisters came pounding at my door looking for her, she’s been missing since last night.”
He shrugged, “She could have gone off with someone.”
“I highly doubt that. After what those three went through together, I don't think she would have gone off with a man. Neither do her sisters.”
“May be sleeping off all the ale she drank last night somewhere. She had quite a lot to drink.” He said crossing the room, collecting his shirt.
“If that’s the case I would like to find her.” Libelle said coolly.
“My lady, what concern is it to you if some lass wanders off by herself?” He asked, pulling his shirt over his head and looking at her over his shoulder. “It’s not like you owe them something.”
“Your right, I don't owe them anything. However I do consider them friends, and when my friends need me: I will be there for them.” Her eyes went cold for a moment.
“Do you know anything Gaalin?”
“Why would you say it like that? No, I don't know anything. Last I saw was her wandering off into a crowd saying she was going to go find her sisters.”
“You let her go alone?”
“I’m not her babysitter.”
Libelle stared at him for a moment, analyzing his tense expression and his defensive responses. She sighed. “Finish dressing, and join me downstairs. I am going to gather the guards and form a search party.”
Gaalin flinched at her words, he looked like he wanted to speak but he held his tongue. She shook her head, disregarding her thoughts and leaving his room. She returned to Eskil and the two sisters, instructing them of her plan.
It was nearing dusk and everyone within the search party was exhausted. The groups of civilians who volunteered to look had slowly begun to dissipate and return to their homes while the guards continued their search at the order of the King’s lord. They had searched every inch within the city, and now they searched on the outside of the city walls.
Libelle stood beside Eskil and Gaalin, talking with the two guards who had been searching the fields by the stables. “You haven't found anything yet?” Libelle asked. “The girl could not have vanished into thin air.”
“I agree.” Gaalin said, “She has to be around here somewhere. Have the guards checked with every home?”
The guards nodded, “Every home, twice now. No one has seen her.”
Libelle sighed exhausted, Eskil patting her shoulder with a faint smile. “It’s alright, we’ll keep looking for her.”
She nodded at him, looking over her shoulder as the sisters slowly walked up to them. They were growing wearier and were becoming more tired. Libelle spun around when she heard a man's shout.
“We found something! Over here!”
They all began running in the voices direction, moments later Libelle skidded to a halt and her stomach rolled. “Gaalin…” She whispered.
Gaalin spun around and caught the sisters in his arms before they could see the mutilated corpse of their sister Ingrid. “Don’t go any further girls, you don't need to see this.”
Vigdis shrieked. “Ingrid!”
“Gaalin, get them out of here.” Libelle said over her shoulder.
The sister’s began crying at the glimpse of their sister, resisting Gaalin’s hold on them with little luck. He picked them up by their waist and carried them away from the scene as fast as he could while Libelle stared down at Ingrid. Eskil’s hand gripping her shoulder when he sensed her rage, she wanted to scream.
“Libelle,” He started to say.
She shook her head, approaching Ingrid’s body. She knelt beside her and began to examine her injuries. Ingrid was nude, her dress torn to shreds beneath her. She was covered in large gashes and animal bite marks all over her body. Between wounds, large amounts of blood, she was covered in bruises. The guards who found her had their helms removed, one vomiting into the grass.
“You found her, just like this?” She asked.
“Yes.” They said, avoiding staring at her.
“The Edinburgh guard needs to begin looking for a murderer.” She sighed.
The guards looked surprised at her statement, “A murderer? Why?”
She pointed to the injuries. “Ingrid wasn’t killed by animals.”
“How do you know?”
“See these wounds? These bruises,” She sighed. “-they're hands. She was grabbed and dragged here, and here. The gashes here weren't made by any animal, it was with a blade. The rest of these wounds, the bite marks, happened after her blood had stopped flowing. There's no blood flow from them.”
“What happened to her then?” One of the guards asked.
Libelle sat down in the grass and covered her face with her hands, “By the looks of her injuries, the blood… Ingrid was raped, dragged across the ground, and strangled. While her body was still warm, the killer carved into her with a blade and tried to make it look like a beast killed her.”
Eskil looked at her confused. “How can you know that?”
She smiled weakly, her eyes becoming glossy. “I’ve seen my fair share bodies.”
“Thank you for your help lord, we will take it from here.” The guards said as several more guards approached Libelle from behind. “Please, tend to her sisters.”
Libelle nodded, accepting Eskil’s offered hand and stood up. She walked slowly by his side towards Gaalin who was sitting on the ground with Vigdis and Brynhild crying in his lap. He looked over his shoulder at them as they got closer.
“Was that her?”
She nodded, “Girls… I’m sorry that was Ingrid. She’s…”
“She’s dead!” Brynhild cried. “Ingrid is dead because of you! If it weren't for you, if you didn’t have us come to this city, Ingrid would still be here!”
Libelle looked down at her feet, Brynhild's words hurt yet she understood why they were said.
Vigdis pulled her youngest sister to her chest, “Shhh, it's not Lady Libelle’s fault.”
“I'm sorry.” Libelle said.
Brynhild wailed louder, Vigdis trying to console her. “What happened to her?”
Gaalin stood up, removing his coat and wrapping it around the girl's shoulders. Libelle watched him solemnly, sighing again before she spoke.
“She was murdered.”
The girls surprise was very clear, “She was… murdered? No! How? Why?!” Brynhild cried out.
Libelle didn't want to go into the details she had discovered. “I don't know why, but the guards will organize themselves and find the one who did it.”
She couldn't stay here, she couldn’t handle the girls right now, and she wanted to leave. Gaalin seemed to read her mind, and he stretched his neck. “I’ll stay with the girls, you head home my lady.”
“Is that okay?” Libelle asked.
“Lass, can I escort you back to your home?” He asked them.
Vigdis nodded, “Yes, thank you Lord Gaalin.”
Libelle stood silently as she watched the girls stand up and walk beside Gaalin back towards the city gates.
Eskil’s hand gently rubbed her lower back, “It wasn’t your fault Libelle.”
“I know. I just can't help feeling…”
“I understand. Come, let's get you home. The guards will take care of everything else.”
She nodded and followed him towards the stables.