2. In the fire's glow.

You must M'Lady, they look to you now." her maid said quietly behind her hand.

After a moment, the meaning of the gentle words made Angelica nod, barely perceptibly, in reply.

I have been such a fool Angelica chided herself.

They would keep singing as long as she sang. Nothing less was expected. As kind as Father's rule had always been, disloyalty was a universally fatal crime. There was a place for dissent: standing before Father in his Open Court, anyone of any rank could speak their mind freely, without fear of punishment. Father even gave gold coins to common folk who spoke their mind about anything he got wrong; Angelica knew as she had often hidden behind the tapestries to watch. Father knew that she knew, of course. All could attend the Open Court, even her, but Father's Guard still knew who was where in the room.

Her mind was racing now. The current song was mere lines away from completing the second to last verse, a pleasant silly song about family enjoying their Baron's cider on a festival day.

As the ragged verse completed, and the final one in which their dog runs off with the sausages began, she still had not worked out what to say. Her mind spun: Father always had such careful diction, he even hired scribes to write things down as he mulled over the perfect phrase. She knew that as well; she had learned to write on the back of the vellum his drafts were scribed upon. She smiled at the words of the song. It was up to the part where the shrubland wildcat stole the sausages off the dog and jumped up on the roof. No! I must think! On no, the penultimate line. The wildcat shared them with her kittens while the dog watched. Traditionally at a real Baron's festival, everyone would laugh now the song was done, and throw any leftover food to their pets.

Instead, they all fell silent, and looked to her for the next song.

I can't be as Father. Angelica decided.

Her eyes flicked rapidly about those nearest to her. Expectant faces young and younger illuminated by the light from astern. Deliberately, recalling that she had ordered them to 'look and remember', Angelica turned her back on the bright ribbon of yellow and orange on the horizon and looked much more carefully at those on the deck. Her maid moved as well, discretely emphasizing the change.

The creak of the ropes, the slap of waves against the heavy wooden hull, and the quiet breathing of so many aboard were all she could hear now. The silence had quickly passed to the fishing ships that were with them. Their skippers had done superbly at bringing the little squadron in close. None wanted to be alone. Not tonight.

She felt the weight of eyes upon her and nearly panicked. Then she remembered Mother's advice. Stand up straight and breathe. Think.

About her there was a clear space of three paces containing none other save her maid and her guard's officer. The soldiers were casually but unmistakably placed around in a circle to be able to block anyone who might rush at Angelica. They were still armed and armoured. A smile flickered across her lips and vanished promptly as she banished it. As young as they were, even with the fury and tragedy on the horizon, the guards faced out to their duty.

Flashes of ideas raced across her thoughts, quickly incinerated as she discarded them as quickly as they appeared. Mother and Father always made this look so easy. What do I say? her mind swirled.

Without thinking, she walked forward, past her officer. "Excuse me please" she said as she put her hand on the arm of a soldier to move him aside. The young lad spun at the touch but recovered his composure rapidly, stepping aside and looking quickly to his officer who subtly signalled 'do nothing' to him with her off hand.

I still have no idea what to say ... I'm the dog looking up at the roof, the wildcat has my dinner...

Angelica knelt down before a girl sitting on the deck who was cradling a child of perhaps three summers. "She's shivering" Angelica said calmly to her "where is your cloak?"

Face red from sobbing, the girl began to move to kneel in turn before Nobility, but quickly froze as Angelica placed her hand on her shoulder to stop her.

The girl met Angelica's gaze, her spirit undimmed by the sorrows. "We don't have one" she said plainly. "Never had one. Da never let us go out in the dark, or the snow. Isn't safe."

Idiot. Angelica chided herself.

"You mend nets?" Angelica asked gently.

"Yes M'Lady." the girl smiled with genuine pride. "Like Ma an' Da."

Angelica could see the girl struggling to hold back tears.

Like Ma and Da did before they died.

Angelica unclasped her heavy wool cloak, and cured herself a twice fool. The fishermen mend their nets when it is too cold or too dangerous to go to sea, and they do that inside sheds. Of course their children don't have cloaks, they never go outside when its horrid out - they mend nets instead.

She stood and wrapped her heavy cloak around the girl and her sister, and walked back to where she was before, turning again to face the people looking at her. She shivered, the cold beginning to find its way through the neckline of her dress, and involuntarily put her hand where she was cold.

I still have not thought of anything to say ...

Stand up straight and breathe. Think.

She drew in a breathe, and looked about her again.

Why are they looking at me like that? Their faces... they are different somehow ...

The officer turned and smiled. "By your leave M'Lady?" and she unclipped her own heavy cloak and at Angelica's gentle nod moved aft to a trio of small boys who were huddling together near the transom, almost hidden in the heavy shadows.

Pride?

Yes, ... no, wait .. was that it?

Hope.

Stand up straight and breathe. Mother was right, of course. She had never been truly alone in her life, from the moment she was born. Even the captain of her guard was a woman, so she could stay as close as was needed. Hers was the blood, but she did not need to do this alone.

Her job was not to lead. Her duty was to give the people hope, and let her ministers and officers do theirs. While she stood tall, so did her people. If she lost hope ...

She felt an arm about her shoulders; the touch and scent so familiar she did not even flinch. She smiled gently, turning to silently thank her maid as she stood close and shared her cloak so it covered them both from the chill air.

Angelica could hear talking and movement all about the ship, and from the other boats, as her people began to look to each other's keeping.

"Look on the bright side" a young man's voice called from one of the packed fishing ships "at least save on lantern oil tonight."

After a moment of stunned silence, the utterly awful joke had everyone laughing until they variously came up with even worse jokes or simply huddled together and listened, taking comfort from the mere fact that they were alive to hear the words. The sailors flung phrases between the boats as they struck up a dark game of trying to make the worst pun or joke possible about what was on the horizon.

Angelica remained standing, shifting between looking about her and watching the horizon burn.

What should I say?

After a time, her officer returned, no longer wearing her armour. The rest of the guards had likewise shed their heavy plates and chain shirts, still obviously armed but in their quilted gambesons. They had their kettle hat helmets on loops opposite to their sword, and their chain coifs were in their packs that sat in two neat rows, one on either side of the small empty area around Angelica. They wore their heavy leather and wool coifs still, better to keep the cold out, but she noticed many were without their cloaks. Actually, precisely half she finally realized. One of the young soldiers noticed her gaze and turned, saluting and dipping his head in respect. Angelica did a double take, drawing in her breathe sharply. The so familiar device of her Mother was on every gambeson. Of course it would be... yet she never consciously thought it would be her arms.

"I am sorry, we have not been introduced. I'm Angelica." she said breaking her trance and extending her right hand to the young officer who was standing politely by.

The officer was good, reading her intentions perfectly, and stepped forward and grasped Angelica's arm in a military greeting, each grasping the other's forearm and looking locking eyes. "Tori-Anna. M'Lady".

Tori-Anna then released Angelica's grip, smoothly stepped slightly to her left and offered her hand to Angelica's maid.

Grasping arms in the same way, her maid replied "Olga". The two sized each other up with discrete professionalism, but Tori-Anna quickly stepped back to not crowd Angelica.

Tori-Anna looked carefully again at Angelica, and with a discrete nod to Olga withdrew silently. The officer knew well she was not the best one to help her Lady deal with the look combat experienced soldiers recognized all too well.

"In the name of your Father" is what Olga had said in the castle ... now as then, Angelica would not question his orders, nor indeed her Mother's. As she watched the light on the sails gently shift between yellows, oranges, and reds, she still held out hope that her parents lived. She knew it was a mere childish wish, yet she refused to soften her icy grip on the tendril of hope.

Whatever unnatural horror had swept over their home, Mother and Father would never flee while their people could not. Yet the fire had neither swept rapidly on nor abated in any way.

The words came quickly, etched so recently forever upon her soul. The Duke said that the gates of hell are open.

Perhaps they had won.

No, the light would be dimmed.

Perhaps the castle yet stood. After all, fire was nothing new in war. Castles were built to resist lit oil pots flung up by catapults or fires set against the walls. The stones themselves were over a pace thick at the top, more than three at the base.

They could have made it.

Surely they made it.

Angelica's eyes flicked back to the horizon and the colours boiling slowly against the heavy grey clouds of ash above. A surreal and entrancing storm of light overwhelming the very black of night.

Angelica felt Olga hug her gently but firmly against her side, the movement hidden by the cloak they shared.

I am such a fool..

Tears began to well in her eyes, and Angelica searched out an embroidered handkerchief to dab them.

I must be strong. I must not cry. People are looking to me.

"You will not be able to face tomorrow if you don't let it out" Olga whispered. "Your mother made that for your last name day didn't she?" she asked tenderly.

Angelica stared at the cloth, dumbstruck, then held it close. It still carried Mother's scent.

There was no stopping the tears now.

Olga held the younger girl as she wept, pulling her in close in a proper hug. Tori-Anna silently stepped closer and rearranged Olga's cloak to better cover Angelica's back. It would not do for their charge to get cold and take sick.

Satisfied all was in hand, Tori-Anna walked to the transom and stared at the horizon in silence. The boys were hesitant at first, but one found the courage to tug on the hem of her officer's sash, looking up with large, pleading eyes. "Come here" Tori-Anna knelt, and opened her arms wide, the boys mobbing her in response, desperate for comfort and shelter from the crushing loneliness and grief.

Angelica forced her tears down for a moment, and whispered urgently to Olga "I still haven't worked out what to say!"

Olga smiled and replied "your actions spoke for you", and bracing for the tears sure to follow added gently "just like your Mother."