"Hey,you don't have to be scared,I'm not going to hurt you" said the soldier as he lowered his sword gently.
Sister Nadia flickered, almost taking a run for it but something held her back,the words of the soldier sounded somewhat true to her.
"My name is Charles but you can call me Charlie, I'm traveling north away from this madness, the killing, the bloodshed,i just can't with it anymore".
Sister Nadia stood still, staring him dead in the eye .
"You can come with ,you and your baby could use the protection " Charlie offered as he gently walked past Sister Nadia who with a nod ,followed him silently, farther into the thick forest.
*****
Back at Hietcliff Castle,the home of King Leopold ,a ceremony was being prepared for the welcome of Archbishop Baldwin has since the night of the massacre of the nuns gained the nickname"slayer of witches",his actions and to some glorious deed had travelled beyond England ,Rome and across Europe, leaders of various empires sent their letters of deepest respect, advocates of the witchfolk went into hiding,the killing of the nuns was a big blow on their faces.
They were killed,not without a common trail and nothing was done about it.
It dawned on everyone that the life of a witch or even a mere accomplice worth nothing to the ruling class .
"All hail the mighty slayer,my good friend" King Leopold teased as he got down from his throne to welcome the Archbishop,the men in the kings court were amazed, never has the king stepped down from the throne to welcome anyone, whispers filled the court
"I think it's an extension of friendship","maybe it's admiration","naa,it's definitely fear,the Archbishop is more popular than the king , and I'm sure that scares him"... members of the court had different opinions on what might have promoted this extremely warm welcome.
The king led the Archbishop to the seat nearest to him on his right hand side and as he sat down,the entire court went silent.
"Today,we celebrate the braveness, courage, integrity and most of all the virtue of this man of God,whom the almighty sent to us in this trying times to get rid of the insects that plagues our society in the name of witches,so now ,let's raise a toast to this great man, Archbishop Baldwin " the king said as he raised up his cup and the rest of the Court did same in uniformity.
This kind of recognition from the king, placed any individual it was given to in the heart of the empires politics and with this singular act by the king, Archbishop Baldwin became one of the most powerful men in England and beyond.
***
"Finally!!!!!,...take the habit off,i think we're close to crocktown,it's a home for protestants,a nun won't survive a minute here"Charlie urged sister Nadia as they approached the district of crocktown,at this point,they have walked for close to a week, forest to forest,it was almost like a miracle.
"You want me to be naked?" Sister Nadia
hesitated.
"There must be something you wear under that clock of yours ?,you know what, nevermind,you could use my cloak,tie it around your neck,i promise i won't look" Charlie said as took of his clock ,handed it over her and slowly turned around so she could change .
"I'm done"
Charles turned around,his face lightened up,never had he seen such a beautiful woman,the habit must really hide the beauty of the these nuns, placing his hands on Sister Nadia's soldier he said.
"You know you haven't told me your name beautiful " he said smiling.
"It's Sister Nadia ",..... okay but in this town you will have to drop the title, you're just Nadia now".
Nadia nodded in agreement, and they both continued their journey ,Lilibeth still wrapped around Nadia shoulders,the district was just three miles away ...
****
"Your majesty, can i speak to you for a minute?" asked Archbishop Baldwin.
"Yes of course my dear friend... what wou...", replied the king.
"In private"Archbishop Baldwin responded almost immediately, cutting the king short .
The king gave him a stern look, obviously offended that Archbishop Baldwin cut him short whilst he was speaking . His face finally let out a smile,he stood up,the rest of the court followed suit , watching in amazement as he held Archbishop Baldwin's hand as they left the court and into the king's private chamber.
"Well get on with it Archbishop"the King motioned Archbishop Baldwin to speak.
"We_we_ might have a problem your majesty,i might have gotten rid of a necessary evil but the motive behind their actions is till out there on the loose,....see there is a tale of the birth of a great with,a descendant of Lilith herself who would bring the great evil with her into the world, and I'm convinced she was birthed in the convent on the day of the execution,i have been tracking the astrology of her predicted birth for decades but for some reason,she was nowhere to be found in the convent when we got there, neither did we see her mother who is most likely a nun from the congregation". explained the Archbishop,with fear of what the king's reaction might be.
Smiling the king said "i understand your fear my friend, killing the nuns was the first step,now you live the rest to me,my soldiers will find the witch baby and her mother even if they ran to the near ends of the earth".
****
"What are you lot here for,state your business " asked the gate keeper at crocktown".
"My wife and I are travellers,we need a bed to sleep and some food, we're hoping your town could help us,you can see my wife just put to bed a week ago". Charlie pleaded.
"I'm going to let you in because of your baby and young maiden, don't go in there commiting some crimes,you hear me lad?", said the gate keeper as he reluctantly opened the gate.
As they walked into the town,time seemed to have stopped moving, everyone in the town stopped to look at the new guests arriving,it was a small town, just about 300 people, everyone knew each other.
Charlie and and Nadia were creeped out but they kept going farther into the town then came the voice of a woman from across her inn's window.
"Are you lot looking for a place to stay,i have a room free , and it's cheap,you can pay even with jewelry"
Charlie and Nadia exchanged glances as they slowly walked into the inn,well , what choice did they have.
Bang,Bang, Bang!!!!, came a loud knock on the room Nadia and Charlie were sleeping in.
"Open the damn door"came a loud voice from outside .
Charlie rose in shock,he urged Nadia to move to the edge of the room as he walked slowly closer to the door...