Purple Monster

They left the Abbot in somber silence, they didn’t go straight to their cells instead they stopped by the dogs, they all seemed fine. ‘We’ll have to wait a bit longer though as some posions take a while to work,’ she said. The others nodded – of course somethings are more toxic to humans than dogs – but they couldn’t really afford to be thinking like that. Also they may just of given the creatures too small a dose or the posions could work by building up in your system over a time. All these things were posibilities and thye should have thrown the food away but they could face starvation without it.

Especially as the King appeared to be thinking of closing down all Monastic education. They could well find themselves wondering as vagabonds in a country where such a drifiting life was illegal and could well lead to death. They started packing their belongings, Matthew and Luke had relatively little were as Henry had a ton of stuff. This was a good thing however as it made food concelement easier. They stuffed it all in amoungst the ‘princes’s’ belongings and took some of the lugagged each. Apart from what she had concealed on her person, ie her ‘religous relic’ she had the nice set of cloths the old priest had given her and very little else.

They were moved up to a set of cells, still doubles but with no adjourning annex. They were all sad about that from a sneaking in to talk to each other after nightly confinment but Matthew actually looked very relieved to her. Everytime she turned his eyes were bright and dark and boring into her. She felt him cleaving away the lies to the essence of who she was, it was disconcerting and she was sure she kept blushing. The Abbot had already given them a disapproving look, her gender would be relieved if they descided to punish a pair of young men who they belived to be being inappropraite with each other.

Matthew had been stealing his dark glances at her giving them away as lovers even if her gender was concealed. That could be just as dangerous as being denounced as a witch – she would have to have words with him. Although weather he could be counted on to keep her secret was something else. The darkness she saw was hate mixed and confussed, not just the adoration he had shown her the night before.

They set the new cells up and the Abbot summond them back to his chambers. ‘The cells are surrounded by other inhabited rooms, and it is too high up – I have told only a few trusted people that you have been moved. Novice Matthew I must reprimand you for the use of your teeth on the Secretary.’ The man looked stern but she could see he was trying not to laugh at Matthews horrified and worried look.

‘I.. I didn’t mean too but he was was pinning me down and saying that he would burn them as herratical devil worshoping witches spawn your Grace.’ Anger had crept back into the young mans voice even as he tried to sound humble and chastised.

‘The Secretary is of an old school of thought and one that will pervade our world for a while yet young man. Feverent passion will always seek to supress and anger will only drive the beast to knew atrocities.’ The old man inclined his head to Matthew. Matthew blushed a deep colour she hadn’t thouhgt his pallid skin could achive.

‘You will have to do a stint in here as the Secretarial aid I am afriad.’ The Abbot said solomly.

‘But thats a privaliaged position!’ Matthew squeeked.

The Abbot nodded slightly reprovingly, ‘You have shown great skill at research and number keeping especially since your Latin has so drastically improved,’ the Abbots eyes lingered briefly on her and she blushed, ‘I think you must have been teaching yourself as you tutored your young friend here.’ She felt a shudder, the Abbot was looking at her as if he knew all about her and she felt a strange tug inside of herself, she wanted to confess here and now to being a girl and to being unnatural and of all the things that boiled up in her gut. She put a lid on the pot knwoing a confined explossion would take longer but would ultimately be worse.

He smiled benignly at her gave MAtthew a few instructions on when and where he was to start and then dimissed them all. The confussion was palatable in the group as they trudged back up to thier rooms. ‘Why’d he do that?’ Henry asked.

Secretarial aid was an important job and not one you would give to a novice – especially when said novice had had a physical argument with the actual Secretary. ‘He already has two aids,’ said Luke suddenly they all stared at him. He shrigged under their curious looks. ‘The Secretary picked them out himself – I think at least one of them come from his old Abby.’ A worm of suspicioun tickled coldly in her mind.

‘That… is… interesting…’ Henry said frowning slightly – obviously she wasn’t the only person to think so. Their chores were cold and concentration was hard, they just wanted to hack some theories into existance. Finailly they were released from their tasks, cold and miserable – they checked on the dogs – all of whom where still fine and headed back up to their rooms.

An age was spent trying to get life back into their hands before they could start the scribing of the day. Matthew had to head off for an induction that evening, she sat alone and cold in the dimely lit cell – it was bigger than the one they’d had previously, it was not a novice cell and probably if things had been different the Abbot would have put them all in one room but she had an unnerving feeling that he could tell when people where involved with each other. MAtthews stares were enough to give it away to even the most emotionaly retarded person. When she thought about it that had been the case for weeks, he alwasy knew where she was in a room, alwasy postioned himself so part of him was touching her.

He had been so ungainly about it that she hadn’t even noticed it. It had started shortly after the marrage of the village girl had been announced.

She stared at the oolitic stone, the walls were made off, like lots of little honey coloured beads she had some vague memory of being wowed by the mysterys of such stones, now she looked at it and saw a vague warm sea, shallow and calcium rich. She srugged the recollection away. Few people where interested in the bones of monsters and the like found in the Earth. Remnants they said from the Flood. She smiled sadly at that.

She felt she almost knew the trueth but it evaded her grasp.

Henry and Luke had hovered around her, until her mood had driven them away, Henry had wanted to leap about pretending he was running the culprit through with a sword until she had snapped at him. He had no idea of the brute force needed to hack into a body – he’d never even butured an animal. He didn’t know how the blade would stick of how you would have to twist and break the bone that had bit the blade. Broad swords were out of fighting fashion now but she remebered wealing them and the strain on her muscles even using them two handed.

New weapons were appearing but agaiin the nagging fear – she had seen these things before, seen the smoking muzzels and smelt the coldness in the air. She also sensed deep inside that the cannon, the flint locks were somehow primative. She would never tell of these things, she remebered the result of showing how leavers worked.

Her mind was dangerous and it had already cost lives and yet she couldn’t seem to help it, the world was full of things that could be improved so easily and machines, machanical solutions just appeared in her head. It was so easy, she watched them all toiling away and she just wanted to improve the plough but feared the concequences. Better farming would mean more food but it would also mean less jobs and things were a bit percarious as it was.

Often she felt nothing but a loathing for those around her, the sheep following blindly, the sheep who like her were doing the best they knew to survived. Her gut flipped at the thought of how she had been in her time the opresser – always the self interest, always the urg for survivial, she was no noble creature her survial was paramount to her.

Well most of the time…

Matthew returned looking agitated and tired. He threw a suede pouch onto the wooden bunk – they were a luxury compared to the heat sucking stone slabs they had had in the old room.

‘The Secretary is a complete idiot, he is a marked traitor and he doesn’t even know the Bible he preaches so from,’ Matthew was ridged and jurky with the anger. ‘He is partitioning the Abbot too have you struck out of the Monestry can you believe that and Henry too.’ his eyes were liquid pools as he looked at her, ‘I can’t… I wont lose you. If I have to live as a hermit it the woods I’ll protect you!’ she almost chocked on that, he was going to protect her? He was full of venhem and angry strength but he was a gangly reedy underfed man. He hadn’t even filled out, he had no shoulders yet.

‘Carm down!’ she hissed, he slumped down next to her, ‘I’m sorry, but what are we going to do?’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked quietly, he had skipped all the normal romance stuff it seemed, not that she minded but his reaction really was abit over the top.

‘Well if I keep… touching you,’ he said lamely, ‘you’ll get pregnant wont you!’ his voice was tinged with panic.

She crumpled to the seat herself. ‘No I wont Matthew, I’m sorry,’ she’d gone small.

He looked at her with bright intense eyes, ‘What do you mean – do you have some of those herbs becuase thats what Elizabeth was using.’ She shock her head.

‘Matthew I’ve been married… more than once nad I’ve never had a baby, They say I can’t have them… I don’t bleed.’ she looked away from him, feeling the familiar sting in her eyes. She was used to this conversation, used to the ringing and telling silence used to being cast aside.

‘You’ve been married?’ he asked quietly. She nodded.

‘Where’s your husband?’ he asked a slight edge of panic in his voice.

‘Their dead MAtthew.’ Sorrow filled her, but she felt a relaxing in his tension.

He put his arm around her jingerly like he thought she would hit him. ‘I love you.’ he whispered. She gave up resistance and slumped into him. To her disgrace tears oozed out of her eyes, they were so warm and he was so warm. She buried her face into him.

‘How old are you?’ he asked gently.

‘I… don’t… know…’ she answered, he collected her too him, needful energy corsed through him, it was painful. He kissed her tears away, the sweatness of him, coursed through her and she responded with hunger. Then he was groping and they were being drawn into each other. Kissing on the edge of the bed when the door swung inward.

Posted: Friday, November 27th, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
Categories: Uncategorized.
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