Tales from the Black Rose Keep
The Wardsman’s Wife
Welcome to the Keep. This is my home, my heart, my life now. I came here willingly, knowing what it meant to live here. I knew what people were going to think of me if I became a resident of the keep. I didn’t care. I came here because the man I loved was here, and I wanted to be with him. He served the Lord of the keep. Allow me tell you our story.
He had been with His Lordship since His Lordship, was young. They were once friends, despite the differences in their age, before the Lord has to take the place at the head of the family, and was no longer free to be friends with those who were “mere servants” as his mother was so fond of saying.
When his Lordship took his position, his first official act was to make sure my husband’s father had taken him as his apprentice. My husband’s magic skills far exceeded that of anyone else in the keep. So, his Lordship felt that he would make a good wardsman one day, and his father agreed. So, despite his advanced age for apprenticeship, he became his father’s apprentice. My husband proved to be a good student, and learned quickly. This impressed his Lordship, and made him quite pleased with his old friend.
As time went on, and a few years passed, his the old wardsman passed away, and my husband was made the wardsman of the keep. He enjoyed the challenges he faced as such, and worked hard to please his master. One day, however, a young woman came to the keep, and managed to get through some of the wardsman’s wards. She walked right through some of them, right into the throne room where his Lordship was meeting. She apologized, and left immediately, saying naught but that she had been told that she could find the master of the keep there, not that he was busy, and that she needed to speak to him when he had a chance. When he was done with the meeting she interrupted, he tracked her down and took care of the business she brought him. He then asked this young woman if there was anything she had to go back for any time soon. When she told him that there was nothing, he asked that she remain with them for a few days, and also explained why he wished her to stay. She agreed.
So the young lady stayed at the keep, and worked with the wardsman, to help him improve his wards on certain parts of the keep. If she could get through them, then they needed to be worked on. The more time they spent together, the more they grew to care for each other. The young lady had been at the keep for a mere fortnight when the young wardsman asked her permission to speak to her father. When she gave her permission, they went to his Lordship to ask his permission to leave that afternoon for the trip.
His Lordship granted his permission, and they left the keep. It was a short trip to her home, a mere three hours by horse, and they arrived just before the evening meal. Her mother was happy to see her home, as was her father. The wardsman asked her father if they could speak privately, and they walked away and talked for a while. While they were gone, the lady confided in her mother that she was sure that he was asking her father for her hand in marriage.
Her mother was not as happy as she had hoped she would be. She was nervous and worried about her little girl in that place. She said it had been ok as long as it was a temporary visit, but her mother didn’t want her to live there. It was so far away. What would she do there? How was she going to live? Her mother had heard awful things about his Lordship and the way he treated his servants.
She tried to explain to her mother that his Lordship wasn’t what everyone said he was. He would never be described as a warm and generous man, but he was not the cruel, evil monster that he was made out to be by those in the surrounding villages. He was just and fair, and would not tolerate the violation of any law. His punishments were swift and fitting to the crimes. And he always treated his servants well. As a matter of fact, the wardsman had been a very good friend of his when they had been younger.
In the end, she managed to convince her mother that she truly loved this man, and she wanted to be with him. And that his Lordship was not an evil monster, so her mother consented to the marriage. Her father had consented right away, because he could see how much the wardsman loved his little girl. So the wardsman left his beloved with her parents, and went back to the keep to get permission from his Lordship to wed, and to have the wedding at the keep.
His Lordship gave full permission for both. He admired the lady himself, She was the only woman he had ever met who was not afraid of him, nor did she want to bed him. She was a good match for his old friend. Like an older sister to him, much like his wardsman had acted as an older brother for so many years.
The keep was thrown, full scale, into preparations for a wedding. Flowers were brought in, as the only flowers grown in his Lordship’s gardens were black roses, and the lady did not feel that would be the best symbol for her marriage to the wardsman.
People were amazed at the way this woman could talk to his Lordship. Whenever anyone else spoke to him, they were quiet, and polite, and obeyed his every command without question. If he told her to do something, she would look at him and tell him either to do it himself, or that she’d get to it when she had time. She had a wedding to plan after all. And he would laugh at her. No one in the keep ever heard him laugh.
When the day before the wedding arrived, his Lordship had a carriage sent for her parents, so that they could make the trip to the keep, and be well rested for the wedding the next day without having to worry. When they arrived, he was waiting on the front steps to greet them, and to welcome them to his home, The Keep of the Forlorn Rose, more commonly called the Black Rose Keep. They were welcome to stay for as long as they liked. A set f chambers had been set up for their stay, and it was near where their daughter’s were, at least for that night, after which she and her husband would assumedly be moving into the suites they had been offered, which would give them room to start a family if they so chose.
Her parents were relieved and calmed by this greeting from their host, and had to agree with their daughter that he seemed to be a decent man. They asked to be shown to their chambers so that they could freshen up. A servant was called, and they were told that if they would like, his Lordship would be having a drink in the library when they were done. They thanked him, and went off to freshen up and rest some before dinner.
The next morning was a flurry of activity. The bride was readied in her dressing room, her train smoothed, her veil adjusted to perfection, her hair brushed and curled and piled atop her head in the latest fashionable style. She was a truly beautiful bride.
As she came down the carpet that had been laid from the drive to the garden, she looked as though she were floating. Guests swore that they heard angels singing. Her father smiled at her as he took her hand.
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The Woman in the Garden
As I stumbled along, shaken and disheveled from my attack, I came upon the most beautiful garden I had ever laid eyes upon since leaving my own. It was all roses, like my own sanctuary, blooming beautifully. The heady scent from it overwhelmed my already exhausted body, to the point I had to rest. I followed the sound of water to a large fountain with benches where I sat to rest.
As I sat, a man approached me and, with a very concerned look on his face, asked if I was alright. I said I was, so he left me, and came back a few seconds later with a man dressed in formal clothing. I told them that I merely needed respite, and that I would be moving along shortly, for I feared I was being followed by those who had assaulted me earlier. The man dressed in formal clothes told me that so long as I remained within the grounds of the garden I would be safe from harm, and asked me to remain where I was, he would return shortly. I told him that I required nothing, and would be fine after a few minutes rest. He merely shook his head, repeated the command to stay where I was, and walked away.
He returned a short time later with a gentle looking woman, who had brought along a cloak and some bandages. He told me that she was his wife, and that she would take care of my wounds. She looked at me, and told him to have her maid draw a bath, and to find clothes for me. I told her this was truly not necessary, but she would not be deterred. She washed the wounds on my face, and bandaged my feet, as they were blistered and sore from walking and running so far thorough the forest without my shoes. She asked no questions, but told me that I would be welcomed at the keep. There was a ball going on, and one more guest would not be noticed. I would have a safe place to sleep for the night.
The kind woman introduced herself to me as nothing more than the Wardsman’s wife, and told me that if anyone questioned me, that they were to talk to her. She took me up to the keep, and lead me through a rear entrance, up a flight of stairs to a room with a bathing tub in the center of it. There was steam coming off the top of the tub, and she told me to remove what was left of my clothing and get in. I did not argue with this woman, as I got a sense that it would be fruitless. I sat down in the warm water and she began to scrub me from head to tow. I felt as though this was somehow wrong,, that for some reason I should not be making her act like a mere servant. I made as though to speak to her, and she cut me off saying she was glad she could help me, and that she had a feeling it would be repaid, many times over.
When we had finished my bath, she led me into another room where clothing had been set out for me. There was a dress of the most luxurious cloth I had ever seen, and the most beautiful shade of purple. The wardsman’s wife said she felt the color would go well with my beautiful auburn hair. I felt odd about putting the clothes on, but she insisted. So I dressed, and she fussed with my hair. She pulled it up on top of my head, and curled it, so that it fell in ringlets around my face. I had never felt so beautiful in my life.
When she decided we were ready, we left the room only to find her husband standing outside the door. When he saw me, he said that the Master would be greatly pleased by me. His wife smiled and nodded. I didn’t know it then, but she was counting on it.
We walked down the main staircase and into the great hall. There were candles everywhere, music and people dancing. But as we came down the stairs, everyone stopped what they were doing, and stared at us. The musicians stopped playing to gape as well. A man at the far end of the hall came towards us, and bowed before me. He introduced himself as the lord of the keep, and asked if he might escort me into his little party.
I agreed, and he laid my hand in the crook of his elbow, as was polite and we walked into the ballroom. Although he had done nothing out of place, I was not sure what I thought of this man. I felt I knew him, but I was not sure how.
