The Vampire & Her Witch

Chapter 1733: Preparing The City

Ashlynn wasted little time once Jocelynn’s carriage and the Sacred Sapling had vanished through the gates of Lothian Manor. She’d spent the entire night with Marcel, Ignatious and Isabell, planning to handle Lothian City in the days leading up to the arrival of the Eldritch forces, and there were a number of plans that needed to be put into motion this morning.Soon, the knights of Dunn and Blackwell would begin moving through the city, carrying orders that bore the seal of the Lothian Marquis. As distasteful as she found it to use her identity as Owain’s lawful wife, for the moment, orders bearing the Lothian seal would be accepted by the sheriff, his constables, and more than a hundred soldiers who manned the outer walls in a way that her own seal would not.

For the next few days, Ashlynn intended to maintain the fiction that all was well within Lothian Manor. Almost everyone in the city knew that Owain intended to convene the Lothian Court after his coronation, and that he would be preparing the march for war. For the next handful of days, if the manor went quiet, it was unlikely to draw much suspicion, but quiet wasn’t the same as silent.

"The manor has been silent for a full day after the ’Grand Ceremony,’" Marcel had explained. "Sending Lady Jocelynn out along with the sapling is sure to draw some attention, but we should prepare some kind of explanation for where she’s going so suddenly and why."

"She’s headed west," Ashlynn replied. "Tell Liam to ride openly at the head of the column. If people ask, tell them that the Marchioness is going to see the damage done to Dunn in the recent raids personally, to express the sincerity of the march to care for the people who suffered."

"That feels a bit... thin, Ashlynn," Isabell cautioned. "Especially while the townsfolk still think that you died at the hands of ’demons’ on the frontier."

"It doesn’t have to convince people for long," Marcel countered. "People can be suspicious but if you give their minds something to latch on to, whether it’s silly or not, they’ll argue about what you told them instead of inventing something on their own, like the notion that she’s being sent away before an attack reaches Lothian City."

"The fact that she’s going west is actually a point in our favor," the vampire spy added. "If she were seen fleeing east, people would be more nervous. It’s a thin lie, but it doesn’t have to hold for long. I’m more worried about how we’ll stop panic from overwhelming the city when armies start to arrive."

It wasn’t the Eldritch way for visiting lords to slip in unannounced. High Lord Dirar was certain to make a scene with his arrival, and because his arrival would be a spectacle, Nyrielle couldn’t afford for hers to be any less impressive. But Lothian City had never received anything like a visit from an Eldritch High Lord and the chances that the people mistook a peaceful procession for an invading army were far too high.

"I can’t do much until the day everyone arrives," Ashlynn said. "I’ll need to make some sort of proclamation; I can work on the details with Ignatious and Aubin," she added, nodding to Ignatious. "If we can gather up the most ardent among the faithful for a service in the Great Temple, I think that will help... They can hear an explanation from Aubin and the temple is enough of a fortress to keep them bottled up if need be."

"I think we can do a bit better than that," Ignatious said. "Because of the ’Grand Ceremony, ’ the Midwinter’s Night vigil was never held at the Great Temple. Brother Aubin can have his priests spread the word that the vigil will be held the night before Mistress Nyrielle and the rest of our guests arrive."

"The sort of people who would stay up all through the night for a service at midnight and at dawn are likely the sort of people you’d most want to keep from greeting our guests," Ignatious said. "And holding the service overnight will let me share some truths with them as well. I cannot promise miracles," he added with a helpless shrug and a slight smile. "But Brother Aubin and I will do our best."

"I like the way you think, Ignatious," Isabell said, nodding in approval. "And that certainly handles one kind of problem. Containing zealots will help to prevent an outbreak of violence. But it does little for ordinary panic. Once a crowd becomes a stampede fleeing for the opposite gate, countless people will be trampled underfoot," she pointed out.

"I know," Ashlynn sighed as she imagined the disaster that could follow. "I’m hoping we can prepare the city to anticipate the arrival of allies without telling them exactly who to expect. I want them looking forward to this arrival, and for that, I want to make use of a few ladies of the court."

"Oh?" Marcel said, leaning forward in his chair. "Do tell, what have you come up with for our precious little hens?"

"Shopping, mostly," Ashlynn said. "Morwen, Eira, Adala, and Charlotte have all proven themselves reliable, as has Lady Mairwen along with the other ladies of Dunn. I think, if I can send enough seeds out with reliable escorts, they can spread two rumors at once for me."

"First, a bit of complaining from Mairwen that her husband is busy in sealed meetings all day will do wonders to convince the people that nothing unexpected is happening in the manor," Ashlynn explained. "And second, a bit of excitement from the younger ladies that an ’important lord’ will be arriving soon with a force to fight at our side will help to plant a seed."

"Ashlynn, it’s almost cruel the way you’re taking advantage of the men of Lothian," Isabell said with a surprisingly youthful giggle. "The poor dears are so used to looking down on noblewomen as little more than their husband’s accessories that half the taverns in the merchant’s quarter will be full of jokes about silly girls trying to impress a foreign lord by midnight."

"I know a few drunkards who can help with that," Marcel said with a smile broad enough to reveal his fangs forming on his lips. "Men who will swear they saw the banners of the Second Prince, Count Rhys Blackwell, or even Duke Argidir of Keating himself when they passed through Otker just a few days ago. Lords well worth buying a new scarf or dress to impress," he added with a sly wink.

"I’ll take every bit of help you can find," Ashlynn said. "And if anyone else has ideas over the next few days, please let me know. Once Nyrielle, Sybyll and Dirar arrive, there’s nothing we can do to stop the spread of the news, but if we can prevent an outbreak of violence in the city... I’ll take that as a victory."

Now, as Ashlynn rushed to set the last of her plans in motion, her steps quickened in a way that had nothing to do with the sense of urgency she felt for handling Lothian City. Because, as soon as she finished meeting with the ladies whose help she’d need, she intended to make her way back to Jocelynn’s chambers for some much-needed sleep, and an even more desperately needed encounter in her dreams where Nyrielle was already waiting for her...