TogetherBeforeTheLordDraupaudIndex | HomePage | GameLogs | ClearwaterGameLogs | Together before the Lord Draupaud Lord Draupaud turned his head slightly to look at her. "No," he said. "No, it wouldn't matter. These things ... cannot be changed. And it seems they cannot be ignored either." He turned and watched the three approach - Derron, Niko and his son Ranulf. Ranulf shrank back a little, and the men with him realised that he was shaking with dry, tearless sobs. Derron followed Niko and the boy, but remained silent. At last they stood before Lord Draupaud. For a long moment he was silent and then he said, "Has he confessed?" Ranulf gavce a strangled gasp. Surprise showed on Niko's face, but he kept his peace, waiting for Steward Thorne to answer, as was his right. As did Aerin, though she gave Lord Draupaud an astonished look when he asked the damning question. Derron's eyes narrowed as he looked at Lord Draupaud. He was silent, mulling his options, and finally said, "Does it matter if he has or not? Would you change your pronouncement in any way?" "It depends," said Lord Draupaud, "on why he did it. But probably not a great deal." He swept them all with his cold eyes. "Well?" He glanced down at the boy, then returned his gaze to the father. "I leave it to him. The boy is becoming a man." If Lord Draupaud wished to punish Derron for keeping silent, he would accept it. Ranulf was cowering back, half-hidden behind Niko. Finally, he stuttered out. "I did it. I killed her. It wasn't the Septa." Lord Draupaud did not even look at him. "And why?" There was a long pause. Tears were starting to trickle down Ranulf's cheeks. "Because she hated me!" he burst out. Niko wished, not for the first time, that the Maester was here. But Holdfast was a long way away- and it seemed that this would be resolved before he returned. There was a long silence. When Lord Draupaud spoke, his voice was remote, as though he spoke from far away. "Niko, take the boy to his room and lock him in. Make sure that the window is barred too so that he cannot climb out. Have the guards help you. You, girl, go and find your father. Tell him to attend me in my office. And no word of what has occurred here to any save him. Steward Thorne, come with me." And he turned and began to stride back to the castle. "What's happening?" asked Ranulf desperately. "What will he do?" Derron shrugged but added softly, "I don't know. But I'm proud of what you did, lad. I'll do what I can." With that he hurried to catch up to Lord Draupaud and followed him to his office. "I do not know," Niko said truthfully. This was a sad situation all around- Niko didn't know if any answer would have been good enough for Lord Draupaud, but that one definitely wasn't. "I would advise that you do just what he has said though- tell this to noone else. It will make things... harder if you do." Along the way back to the main portion of the manor, Niko seconded two guards, and headed towards Ranulf's room. "The young Lord attempted to take his own life- grief at the manner of the passing of his mother," he explained with a pointed look at the boy. He certainly looked morose enough to play the part, though his grief was inspired by other factors. "Lord Draupaud wants him detained for the time being, until he can decide what to do. We must secure his room- especially the windows- and his person against any other contact that could... upset him." Taking Ranulf back to his room, Niko stood watch over the boy while the guards scoured and secured his room. Then Niko took Ranulf for a tour of the room, making sure the job had been done correctly. "Whatever happens," Niko said after sending the guards out, "you did the right thing. Confessing that is. Stay strong, and the end will come soon enough," he added. Ranulf looked up at him, his face pale, accentuating the darkness of his eyes. "My end, d'you mean? When I am killed?" "No," Niko said, "not 'your' end. I cannot say I know the mind of your father, but I am almost certain that you will not be killed.," he said matter-of-factly. "I mean the end of this situation, when you will learn what lesson is to come from all of this, and grow from it. You must learn from this- it can't all be for naught," he stressed. Then he left the boy, locked in and guarded, after admonishing the guards to watch closely, and headed back to Lord Draupaud's office. When he arrived there, the door was closed. Derron's understeward, Linnel, was waiting on the bench outside, a sheath of papers in his hand. "Good Day," Niko said to the man, even as he drew nigh. "I take it Lord Draupaud and the Steward are in closed session? Did they say they were not to be disturbed?" Linnel shook his head. "I have the funeral arrangements, but they have other matters to discuss first, it seems. If you know what those are, you should probably knock." Niko nodded to the man, and considered. Though he had an idea of what was going on, should he knock? Did he even want to? After only a moment's pause, he stepped to the door and knocked. "Enter!" called Lord Draupaud. |
