undecided endings part 15

     In the room, I saw a large bed, whereon laid the lady of the house.  The lord and Adela stood on either side, restraining her while she thrashed violently.  Adela's pack lie at the foot of the bed, a mortar and pestle sat on the end table, near the bed.  The lord looked distressed, but as they looked up at me in surprise I realized something was not right.
     I froze in my tracks and stood there, unable to speak or make anything of the situation.  They looked at me in shock.  Even Adela seemed surprised; something I had never seen before.  The moment seemed to drag on, and I was immensely grateful when their attention turned from me, and back to the thrashing woman.
     "Ciara, get over here and help hold her still!" Adela yelled as she and the lord wrestled to keep the lady down.
     I instinctively did what I was told, and found myself by the bed where Adela had been a moment before, holding the lady's arms and legs down as best as I could.  The lord looked pleadingly at Adela, who had taken the  mortar and mixed a pinch of the fine powder in it into a nearby bottle of wine.  She shook the bottle, and poured a small bit into a jewel-encrusted goblet.
     "Are you certain this will work?" the lord asked, clearly concerned.
     "It is her only chance," Adela replied.  And with that, she went to the lady's head, and poured the wine down her throat.  The woman sputtered and choked as the liquid went down her throat, but when the glass had been emptied, she calmed and we were able to release her.  The lord looked on at his wife as she lay still on the bed, eyes closed, and breathing shallowly.
     "Will she be alright?" he asked, his face haggard, and voice soft.
     "She will be fine," Adela assured him, gathering her supplies, "She just needs rest… lots of rest."
     I stood silently at the foot of the bed, trying to make sense of what had just happened, hoping Adela wouldn't ask why I was there, but knowing she inevitably would.  She busied herself with her herbs while the lord paced and wrung his hands and rambling on about things I did not understand.
     "How could this happen…?" he muttered, "After all these years… After all I have done… I can only thank you enough for having been here, Adela, I do not know what I would have done if you were not.  I just do not understand why this has happened…  I certainly hope you take me up on my offer.  I would make it greatly worth your while…"
     "Enough," Adela said, "I accept your offer, but there are a few things I would still like to discuss, just not now."
     "When?" asked the lord, looking at her pleadingly.
     "Tonight," she replied, "After the festival is over."
     She finished packing up her things and turned back to the lord.
     "She will be fine," she said, nodding slightly toward the lady, still lying unconscious on the bed.  "I will be back to check on her tonight.  For now, I have my own problem to deal with."
     As she said the last bit, she looked right at me, and the fear I had felt before I burst into the room seemed nothing compared to what I felt then.  She hoisted her bag over her shoulder, and headed toward the door, grabbing my arm on the way and dragging me along behind her.
     I was not particularly looking forward to the conversation that inevitably waited back at the inn, so I kept my mouth shut as long as I possibly could.  Which was all of about the ten seconds it took to cross the sitting room and past the guards in the hall.  As soon as we turned the corner and began walking down the long hall that led to Katherine's quarters.
     "I imagine our young illusionist is here too?  No doubt, this scheme was largely his planning…"
     I followed along behind her, knowing she would have figured that out.  She stopped and spun around so quickly I almost ran into her.
     "Well?" she demanded.
     "W-what?" I stammered.
     "Rowan!" she said.
     "Oh!  Rowan!  Yes, he's with Katherine."
     "Just as I thought," she muttered.
     I quickened my pace to match hers as she stormed down the hallway toward the guards that stood outside of Katherine's room.  They looked at us suspiciously as we approached, but as we drew nearer, their eyes grew wide with recognition.
     "What can we do for you, Lady Adela?" asked the guard on the right.
     "Step aside, gentlemen," she said, menacingly, "I have business inside."
     "Certainly," said the man as they both stepped away, "Is there some sort of trouble?"
     "Oh," she said, pushing the doors open, "there's going to be."
     With that, she burst into the room with much more authority than I had when I had done the same several minutes ago.  I slunk in behind her, and hoped to go unnoticed through whatever came next.
     Over all, the ordeal was quick and quiet.  The shock of her sudden entrance had silenced everything within the room.  Rowan was lying on the couch, his head propped up with pillows.  Katherine sat on the edge of the couch near his head, holding his hand.  They both looked up when we entered, and I saw panic register in Rowan's eyes.  He immediately began scanning the room behind Adela, and I realized he was probably looking for me.  I stepped out of the shadows and caught his eye.  He looked slightly relieved, but threw a questioning glance to Adela and looked back to me.  I waved slightly and shook my head, signaling him not to put up a fight.
     "You," Adela said, pointing at him, "Come with us."
     Katherine began to protest, but one stern glance from Adela silenced her.  Rowan sheepishly joined us, and she pointed out the door.  And with that, she marched us out of the room, down the hall and stairs, out the door, down the path, through the gates and back to the inn, with only the sound of our footsteps and the knowledge that somewhere along the line, we had been completely off to keep us company along the way.