 His usual shift had come to an end but Flynn was under no illusions; his day was far from over. The castle buzzed with activity. The kitchens were alive with heat and scurrying scullery maids whilst craftsmen marched around the inner courtyard carrying long cuts of timbre or burdened with heavy tools. A group of servants were wandering down towards the castle's lower field with great colourful tent canvases carried between them, whilst lords rode around the training yards on their fine horses, or practiced at the quintain in the tilting yard. Royal events always managed to bring a renewed energy to the castle and its residents, but they also meant extra work for the guards. Security became far harder when no one was where they were expected to be.
"I'm going to head back to my office, Matthew," Flynn told his sergeant as he signed his name at the bottom of yet another document as another delivery of goods was brought in through the main gates on a wooden wagon. "I'll be working on my shift report for at least half an hour, so if you need anything just come and grab me, okay?" Matthew nodded. Flynn whistled for Denahi who had just stuck his nose in the pile of straw that had just arrived, sniffing for anything suspicious. Wagging his tail he bounded across the cobbles to his faerie's side.
"See you in a couple of hours then, Sir," Matthew grinned, showing off a set of brilliantly white teeth.
"I'm counting down the minutes, Matt," Flynn called back over his shoulder as he sauntered back towards the castle, with Denahi ranging out before him, "counting down the bloody minutes."
As Flynn wandered the familiar corridors he paid little attention to his route. His mind occupied itself by everything he would need to see to before the joust the next day. When he had finished running through that list he turned his attention to everything he would have to do during the event. He was glad he had possessed the foresight to book the day after off so he could catch up on some much needed rest. Denahi paused at the corner of the corridor to sniff enthusiastically at a tapestry of a young woman feeding flowers to a unicorn whilst Flynn continued on past him. Unfastening his sword belt the young captain began to wrap the length of leather around his scabbard. He arrived at the door of his office just in time to hear a strange voice coming from inside.
"We take threats like that seriously round here," Flynn said in a low voice as he stood framed in the doorway. His left hand clutched his scabbard whilst his right had taken up a loose hold on the grip of his weapon. Flynn held his shoulders stiffly but did not plant his heels as he looked the young woman up and down. His blue eyes widened as he raised his eyebrows at her. It didn't all quite add up. The office window was firmly closed and nothing had been disturbed on the windowsill. This meant that the woman was either extraordinarily athletic or had entered the office through the door. Flynn couldn't think of any reason why any self-respecting would-be assassin would knowingly choose the captains' study as their base of operations. It was also generally acknowledged that assassins did not communicate in silly voices. His shoulders relaxed a little as he moved further into the room.
"Who were you talking to?" Flynn asked, "and how?"
F L Y N Nghosts running through my nights |
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