Because of the Night

It was definitely a collaboration of wits. Leif paid attention to the details. It was what made him a prized companion, despite his antics. He had been in residence for over a year at this point and everyone had become accustomed to being wary of anything that seemed remotely suspicious.

It had taken months of planning and careful choreography on Leif's part. He also enlisted the help of five other companions, two of whom were still directly involved in the Order, and the last key member: Laurie.

Sir Glen had nearly a hundred entire barrels of wine moved into his cellar that late fall after the harvest. And over fifty empty barrels. It was the empty barrels that caught Leif's attention.

It took nearly five weeks to take the empty barrels, which were unmarked, and remark them as filled. Catching moments between activities and duties, they rotated down into the cellar and marked the barrels.

The empty barrels were to be hoisted against the ceiling in the dining hall and dropped on cue. However, due to being caught for another antic, Leif was unable to actually supervise the placement of the barrels, he might have noticed that the barrels selected were filled with wine.

Before his annual ball, Sir Glen caught Leif by the scruff of his neck, as he paraded out with the other companions on loan to the guests that night.

"I've paired you up with Lady Daire tonight Leif. I trust you will be ever vigilant and keep her foremost in your thoughts tonight. She is quite a bit older, and will not tolerate you as much as I do. One toe out of line Leif, and I will leave you in the stocks for a week. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Sir Glen."

"Good. Now square up your shoulders, Lady Daire likes her companions that look impressive." Sir Glen left out that Lady Daire would probably prefer a Chippendale night to Leif, but Leif would have to do for the time being. He swept his hair in one direction with a well meaning hand and then shoved him back into the mass of companions.

"Leif!" Jacob called Leif over to the corner. "I've got the barrels up while you were -er busy with Sir Glen's attention." He whispered.

"Okay, well, wait." Leif calmed his partner in crime down. "Stay with your companion."

"Ah, there you are young Leif." A woman approached the small gathering. Jacob fell dutifully into the shadows as the Lady Daire assessed Leif.

"Well, at least Sir Glen chose me a looker." Though much older, Lady Daire walked in heels and robes as if she were still very active in caring for companions.

Leif pulled a pink rose from an arrangement and presented it to Lady Daire.

"Very clever. Sir Glen has roped you in well. You have impressed me. If your manners are as good as your skill in the dungeons, I think you will make a very good companion. I will test you there tonight." She tipped his chin with a manicured finger. "You will beg for everything you get tonight, and enjoy it."

She motioned him to follow her, he submissively fell in step, and his interest peaked over the older woman.

Dinner was uneventful, and Lady Daire mindless stroked Leif's hair that evening while sipping after dinner coffee. Leif closed his eyes; enjoying the circular massage that Lady Daire was using to tease him with. Jacob mistakenly decided that Leif's distraction was the perfect signal to release the ropes that held the barrels over the table.

Leif had a chance to barely open his eyes as the barrels headed in the direction of gravity and cover Lady Daire with his body as the filled barrels landed on the table in an orchestrated crash sending dishes, wine, and even some startled guests into the air.

Drenched and dripping in wine, coffee and even some remains of dinner, Sir Glen pushed himself from the table and marched over to Leif who was calming Lady Daire down from hysterics. Plucking the companion by his tunic from her side, he marched right out of the dining hall, Laurie at his heels.

Sir Glen reached the voyeurless dungeon room where a small steel cage sat.

"I was planning to use this with Jacob next week, but I believe you will be better suited for breaking this in." And with a heave, Leif tumbled into bottom of the cage, the door groaning shut.

"I'll deal with your cohorts later. I know you had help with this one." Sir Glen slammed the door to the room shut and locked it with his master key.

Sir Glen shook his head and returned to his guests upstairs. Sir Marcus clapped Sir Glen on the shoulder.

"Sir Glen I only have one bit of friendly advice for you. No matter how hard you try, sometimes you can't keep the truth from coming to the surface. But I would like to say remarkably, for a companion who screwed up as badly as that boy of yours did, he did protect Lady Daire quite selflessly."

Sir Glen turned to look at Sir Marcus. It took endless will power to keep from laughing in the man's face as a bit of fettuccini hung from Sir Marcus's mustache. Laurie quietly reached up with a handkerchief and removed the offending bit of noodle. Sir Marcus smiled in shock and chuckled.

"You have to admit Sir Glen, as horrible as this little catastrophe was, no one will ever forget tonight."

Sir Glen groaned. The theme he had chosen for the night's events was, regretfully, 'Unforgettable'.

"If you'll excuse me Sir Marcus, I must see to the other guests." And with a forced smile Sir Glen was off to see that his other guests and their companions.

It was quite some time for Leif to sit brooding in the cage wondering what would be in store for him.

-Would Sir Glen take me to Sir Xavier?- He shuddered at the thought. Without a doubt, he had royally screwed up this time. He was also seething mad at Jacob. The barrels were not supposed to come down tonight. What made the useless nitwit capable of such a horrific plot? For all his anger, Leif also knew he had fostered the behavior in the innocent Jacob.

Sir Glen had made himself known as an even-tempered man. Punishments equaled the crime, and Leif often found himself licked by whips, though never as severe as Sir Colin had been. Leif was grateful for the skill Sir Glen took over Sir Colin: Sir Glen was able to contain his lashes in the same area. Sir Colin was lucky if he ever hit the same part of Leif more than once.

The dim light from the hall of the dungeons blinded Leif as the door flew open, Sir Glen stood in the doorway, his robes billowing about him.

The door shut with a solid echo and the cage door was opened.

"Get out here." It was a blanket order, void of emotion. Leif crawled out apprehensively, tipping his head only high enough to see Sir Glen sit on a stool in the room.

"Leif, I tried for the life of me I did try." He began with a sigh. "Who told you that this was calling?"

Leif only shook his head. "One day I was an outsider, the next, I was Sir Colin's."

"Sir Colin was very wrong. I didn't think he could be this wrong."

"If I might Sir Glen, what are you talking about?"

"Leif, you are not a companion, you should have never been brought to a conclave to be taught, particularly by Sir Colin. Now while your behavior is reprehensible, I think your energy would be better placed elsewhere. I'm going to have you moved from the Order hall Leif, and you will join me in a room across the hall."

"I'm still lost."

"You are not a companion Leif. You have many of the finest qualities of a companion, but you seem hell bent on being the careless scoundrel. You've misjudged yourself Leif, and in doing so, encouraged others to get the wrong impression about you. I see through all your escapades Leif, you're not happy here, yet you are a leader among them all. When you're controlled, you only seek one way: the way out. You don't find pleasure in serving, but tonight when you realized that a grievous error had been made, you thought of only one thing-your duty to Lady Daire. I have a hunch and I think that you will be better off for it."

"Now as for your punishment- I believe the dining room needs some cleaning. I expect you to be finished before morning." Sir Glen left the dungeon room unlocked, and seemingly disappeared leaving Leif to wonder what exactly did Sir Glen have in store for him.

Leif grew under Sir Glen's instruction over the next three months. So everyone was utterly shocked when they found his room empty one morning. Sir Glen said not a word about the missing member of the household. Only to Laurie after a week had past did he say, "I hope he knows what he is doing out there."