~Cole's POV~
Ah~ What a good night this was tonight, fresh meat for supper, along with a pint of Ale something he hadnt ever been allowed to drink before, but had quickly taken a liking to since swearing himself to his lord the Baron.
Even the way people looked at him now, unlike when he was just an orphan, the respect and fear he received for just being a knight was addictive.
Even just now he had returned from the town and displayed his power and majesty to the people once more, bringing to him and his liege lord more prestige that would make this insignificant townspeople bend the knee faster, allowing his lord to rise up, and become more powerful than that waste of a lord Count Reign who'd refused to take him in as one of his knights.
Cole stepped through the gate entering the estate grounds, his fingers still tracing the slick wet blood on his gloves, enjoying the feeling of toying with someone elses life force in the palm of his hands.
Uncaring that his armor was bathed in the blood that was starting to dry in the crisp night air, his boots clicking against the stone pathway, the sound carrying much farther than it should have.
"Hah." he scoffed. "They're probably all asleep, i suppose i did stay out a bit to late playing afterall."
It was indeed late, very late. The night was already more than half over, and the inky blackness of night was already starting to come undone far off in the distance of the horizon as the light of the sun began to push it back.
He approached the barracks, and entered the communal room lined with beds, this was his temporary posting until he had proven himself enought to be graced with his own personal room.
His postion being that of a knight but internally within the estate he might be considered more of a squire at the moment, but as he entered the other beds were all empty, causing him to frown in confusion.
Then as if struck by an arrow he straighened up right, they had brought back that girl earlier in the day... damn she was a handful, kind of reminded him of Alison in a way, but she had pissed him off royally when she kicked him in the balls when he tried to lay with her after returning to the estate.
After that he'd gone out to recevie healing and wander around to clear his frustrations, but that could only mean the others had gone to take his place, passing her around until she had no value remaining, probably an empty shell by now with a broken soul incapable of fighting back or resisting anylonger.
In other words, there was no more fun to be had there, tommorow he'd need to look around town to find another girl to take in her place.
Stripping off his armor and clothes he did a modest washup from a washbasin of cold water sitting next to his assigned bed, giving a quick wipe with a cloth which was then tossed into a corner.
This was enough for him, he'd get a proper wash in tommorow, by getting one of the servant girls to give him a proper rubdown, for now, he needed sleep more than anything.
And so the rest of the night passed in silence as Cole drifted off to sleep, content and happy within his own bed, dreaming of conquering future battlefields and rising up the ranks of the nobilitiy until even the king had to bow his head and hand over not just his pricess but also his queen to him.
~
When morning came, Cole was rudely awakened by the sound of a horn blasting out through the air.
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Cole who had been dreaming of being on a battlefielding slaying the demonking, was greatly shocked to awaken and believe he was indeed on that battlefield and about to be charged by the enemies ranks.
But after disgracing himself as he struggled to free himself from his bed, only resulting in crashing onto the floor.
The Barracks door was kicked open and a stream of armored knight with swords drawn entered the room.
From the hearldy shown on their tabards it was clear these were not the Barons knights but rather the knights of Count Reign... but what were they doing here? They had not rights to invade a nobles lands.
"KNIGHT COLE!" One of the approaching knights practically shouted out from behind his helmet, his blade levelled to be pointed right at Coles heart as he lay upon the ground.
Cole was without weapon or even armor to resist so he just raised his hands in a sign of surrender.
One of the other knights quickly moved forward and clasped his wrists in irons before hauling him to his feet, quite roughly at that.
The captain's gaze meanwhile had dropped to the blood covering Cole's armor as it sat upon the stand, then to the washbasin which was tinged pink from the blood mixed into the water, and then lastly to the discarded cloth which was like everything else stained with blood.
"You are under arrest for the murder of the Baron, his knights, and servants, how scum like you could manage to sleep peacefully after such an atrocity is beyond me." The captains decree landed but Cole could only look on stunned at what he'd heard.
Dead?
The baron is dead, as are his knights... but im one of his knights and i'm alive, this has got to be a joke.
Seeing Cole almost in a delirious state the captain signalled his men and two of them dragged Cole out fo the barracks, while the others began to search, stopping when another body was found and bringing it out to join the others.
The surviving servants were being escorted into the courtyard, and as Cole was brought out he was greeted with a daunting sight.
The green grassy grounds and stone pathways he had already come to know like the back of his hands were quite a bit different here this morning, the grounds were painted red with blood, as if a great battle had taken place here recently.
On one side of the courtyard, body after body was placed laying in a row while on the other side roughly a dozen of the servants stood many unable to look at the dead, and devastation around them, others openly weeping, though exactly why no one knew.
The moment they saw Cole being led over to then his wrists clasped in irons, their expressions changed, one servant immediately pointed at him. "It was him!"
Cole's eyes widened hearing this woman accusation, him, him who?
Another servant nodded frantically setting off the others to break from their various states and come to, before as a group agreeing with the accusation of the first.
"He's a monster!"
"A murderer!"
"He killed them!"
The words they were spouting started off only revealing his earlier crimes but before to long they shifted and began to lay blame for the current situation at his feet.
Cole stared at them in disbelief. "You idiots! I didn't—"
"Enough." A knight holding his stated angrily before dirving his armor fist into Cole soft belly.
Gaha!
What little there was in his stomach quickly found its way out into the open air, ending with him coughing violently in resposne.
Cole struggled. "Let go of me!"
Bam!
A second blow landed and try as he might this time he failed to stay concious as the scene before his eyes quickly shifted to black.
Cole had been arrested, taken away by the knights of Count Reign, and labelled as an Oathbreaker, who had killed his liegelord and almost his entire household.
For a knight there was no greater sin.
Morning came quietly, after the turmoil filled night, he almost thought he would be waking up to an army being set upon him for what he had done.
But seein how he was seeing the ceiling of his inn room, it was clear at least for now, nobody knew it was he who had done what he had done, or knew where he had gone.
Pushing himself upright, his body protesting as it ached from having slept on the floor.
But as he sat upright his gaze drifted over to the bed, more specifically to the figure laying peacefully atop the matress, wrapped in blankets.
The innkeeper's daughter, she had been through... well i didnt know what she had been through but at the very least she had been beaten pretty badly, and yet even then could look so peaceful as she slept despite the pain she must be feeling.
She wasnt sleeping straight like he'd placed her on the bed last night, having curled up a little bit into the fetal position for security, but the look of anguish on her face had shifted to one far more peaceful.
"~Mmm...~" a sort of melodic moan sounded out and it was clearly coming from her, almost as if she could tell even unconsciously that someone was looking at her.
A second later her eyes fluttered open and her green eyes locked with my own brown ones as we just stared at one another.