Brian MacMillan

12 Eleanor and de la RocheFoucauld

BM Eleanor and de la RocheFoucauld

Eleanor and de la RocheFoucauld

… Outtake … Eleanor with hand maiden ælf Ithilæn

“Tell me true.”

The Lady Ithilæn scowled. She said,

Why do you hate me?

How do you know?

“You are le Duc de la Rochefoucauld’s niece.”

The young woman looked at the Lady Ithilæn. She was wearing a blue velvet dress with simple but elegant lace trim, and a high collar. Her tight blemishless skin, and slender, almost child-like body looked ageless. Not young. The maid thought, Of course she knows how I feel. She’s a witch.” The child crossed herself and said a quiet prayer to the Virgin Marie, her namesake.

Eleanor looked on, detached. There was so much about humanity she detested, but she forbade herself to engage. Engagement brought out her humanity; corrupted her ælfen nature.”You admit you hate me?”

“You know I do. Why do you ask?” Why converse at all? she thought. You can read my mind, witch.

“That’s a trivial question, girl. Not one living thing wants to be hated, certainly not me. My motive is clear. But your motives are not. Why you you hate me?”

“Your really don’t know.” The girl laughed. “Of course. You’re too great to know.” Knowing her mind was being read made it easier to speak freely.

“What don’t I know?”

“What happened to my family after Gisors?”

“Gisor was a great French victory.”

“Philip Augustus did very well out of that battle.”

“Yes?”

The maiden raised her supplicant head. The Norman’s still hold my uncle. They captured him on the first charge. He was half-way to Caen by the time the Normans had lost. Along with a dozen valets, poor cousins. Her brother.”

She stopped and let her emotion wash over her. It was not pain for the grief of her uncle, who she understood was chained in a dungeon, living on mouldy cheese stale bread and rats, should he capture them. She had no love for that man. He treated his own prisoners the same, even worse. Her grief was for the servants King John was executing to make the Duc pay his outrageous ransom.

Take time to envisage the outcome.

Eleanor experienced this all through one vision (her visions are only present and past. Dmitrius’ visions are only of the future). The scene was the arrival of John’s present. The delivery was presented as a gift of state. With pomp. … The messengers quaked as they spoke. They knew how offensive the gift was. The bodies they presented were all cleanly killed and washed when delivered. John was not a savage, just greedy. [Despite the talk of his apostasy he always allowed his victims – the servants at least – a Christian burial.] The main feeling was through emotion.

“Why hasn’t the family paid?”

“King Richard asked for more than we had and now King John wants more.

“Why won’t they just offer King John all they can afford. He will surely take it. He needs gold.”

“They don’t want to. They’d rather he died in captivity. That’s why they’re going to let King John kill my brother.”

“I understand why you hate King John. And your Aunt. And your Uncle. But why do you hate me?”

“Then freely I will speak. I hate you Lady Ithilæn. When you fall – and you will because all the barons hate you – I will be tortured and I will confess to whatever lies they tell me to. To cover up their sins they’ll declare that I am a witch and burn me to death with young wood. That is the fate of unlucky women like me.”

OR

“I hate you Lady Ithilæn not because of who you are but what you are. My brother will die. My maid’s are dead. I will die. Killed for being loyal. Killed for being disloyal. I’ll never win. That’s the way it is with the high-born, playing your games through proxies.”

Dmitrius steps out of the shadows. “I will free your uncle.”

Why are you doing this? Eleanor thought.
I have foreseen. This maiden has a role to play.

He sent her his vision. – Penelope being helped by the maiden (she needs a name!).

John arrives. LRF

If the archers came closer than … they would turn and start firing on their own.

Tell me what you feel. Don’t worry. I will not kill you. You have a role to play. I have foreseen it.


In the presence of the Ring her human nature was strangely mute. She felt only calmness and detachment when presented with harm her class did. She hated feudalsim, and how it trapped her into roles and hierarchies. She made so few decisions, was so barely an agent. “Is there anyone left to rescue?”

“You mean aside from LRF?”

“We cannot rescue him. That would alter the timeline.”

“What?”

“Who can we rescue? John must have his prisoners with him. He can’t wait for his gold.”

“My brother. Maybe that great hero can rescue my brother? Can he? Do you know? You can foresee …”

“I don’t know”, Eleanor snapped. She was awesome in her fury. The LRF maid cowered.

Dmitrius stepped forward from the shadow of the tapestry. “I will go.”

“Have you foreseen?”

Yes.

Tell me more.

No.

“Thank you hero.” Her voice had lost its sarcasm. “Let me tell you what my brother …”

“Think about him.” She did, and then Dmitrius knew.

“Will you succeed. Perhaps you can foretell like the Lady?”

“I can only tell you this much. If I succeed your brother will live.”

Tell me what happens. The Lady implored.

No. To me you only have one fate. I cannot risk you having another.

I know I can escape my fate.

Perhaps.

Weak encouragement.

This is hard enough. Don’t taunt me. Eleanor you cannot escape your fate. You are a tragedy.

Eleanor lost her control and the Ring made its move.

Kill the ælf. Take me. The Ring pulled into the air toward Eleanor. She leaned toward it. Her human nature overwhelmed the aelven …

Penelope steps out of the shadows. She observed the battle and realized she had a role to play. She added her force to Dmitrius. The Ring faltered and then was contained. It fell back onto Dmitrius’ neck. Eleanor relaxed.

But the air remained tense. Penelope was shocked. Eleanor had been in thrall. Dmitrius had been in thrall.  She looked at herself in the mirror. Have I been tempted, she wondered. Did I succumb?

“No. NO! I can tell you nothing or everything an you cannot escape your fate. I don’t see a good path for you. I do see worse ones.”

In the heat of the exchange neither had noticed the spell the Ring had cast over the conversation. There was only one question. Would Eleanor become enthralled.

The LRF maid broke the silence. Not a word had been spoken for thick slow minutes. “May I speak?”

The Lady calmly replied, “You are from Caen. Return there. Take these. ” She had a small treasure chest, which she kept beside her bed. She opened it and withdrew two satchels, one tied with red thread, the second with purple. “Come closer, no one must hear.”

“Penelope?”

Lady Ithilæn nodded.”

“How do you know?”

“I have foreseen it.” — Dmitrius? Eleanor?

“And if I spend the money in the purple bag?” It was a stupid question. The Lady was a witch. There was no question about denying her will.

The Lady replied, “You are already cursed. If you do this the curse will be revoked.

<!– Although Eleanor’s anger was directed ælf to human, its intensity came from her human side and was intense as a form of self-hatred. –>


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