As Andressa watched with great anticipation, something happened that she didn’t foresee– the bishop, who had already taken wine out of the Communion cup meant for the masses, also took several swallows of the spicy wine in the chalice meant for the nuns. Then, he handed it to the Mother Abbess. Given that only four people were to drink from this chalice, the Mother Abbess didn’t want to waste the good wine and she, too, also took several healthy swallows. It was passed to Sister Petronilla, who drank her share, and then Sister Agnes, who drained it. There were even dregs in the bottom that she sopped up.
All of it, gone in an instant.
The bishop took the chalice back and wiped it out, handing it back to the priests who had been helping him. Andressa moved out of the shadows, grasping at the wine pitchers that were sitting near the sacristy, including the poisoned wine. She disappeared back into the Ambulatory and stayed out of sight as the bishop gave the final prayers and blessing, offeringmore prayers to St. Blitha on behalf of the king before finally dismissing the mass.
With the mass ended, people began to rise from a kneeling position. The strains of soft conversation began to fill the church, but Andressa could only see part of the action in the sanctuary as the bishop came away from the altar to speak with the king.
Knowing the man had ingested the poisoned wine, Andressa continued to watch him, wondering how quickly the poison would take effect. She’d put so much of it in the wine, but no one seemed to be reacting to it, causing her to wonder if she had done it correctly.
God, what if I was wrong? What if I failed at this and now nothing will be solved, and no one, not even I, will be avenged against these murderous nuns?
What if…?
Suddenly, something happened out in the sanctuary that caught her attention. The Mother Abbess was moving for the door that led out to the cloister, but she wasn’t moving very well. She seemed to be staggering a bit before finally coming to a halt, her hand to her head as if she didn’t feel well.
There was a bit of commotion around the Mother Abbess as she held her head and finally put her hand to her lips. Sister Petronilla was looking to the Mother Abbess in concern, and trying to help her walk, but she, too, seemed to be unbalanced. She went to grab at the nearest solid structure to steady herself, which happened to be a table, and she ended up pulling a very fine cloth off of it and onto the floor.
She went down with it.
Now, people were noticing. Over by the king, the bishop was suddenly unsteady on his feet and as he pitched to his knees, the king’s personal guard rushed forward to take the monarch away, far away from whatever delirium was happening. Theyhad no idea what was going on, only that the king shouldn’t be anywhere near it, so John hustled out of the church to the cries of “curse” and “the Devil’s work”. The last anyone saw of him, Alexander and Sean, in full personal guard regalia, were dragging him out by the arms.
The shouts were echoing everywhere.
Save the king!
As John was whisked way, some men remained in the church; Andressa could see them from her position back in the Ambulatory. She could see William, Christopher, David, Gart, and a few others, watching the bishop fall to the ground with the inability to breathe. His body was also shaking uncontrollably. Up near the altar, all three nuns were down, with the Mother Abbess on her knees as Sister Agnes lay on her back a few feet away, gasping for air.
If Andressa had wondered if she had, indeed, succeeded in her task, the evidence of her success was now before her. Oddly enough, she felt very calm as she watched the scene unfold. She was still holding on to the king’s pitcher and the nun’s pitcher with her good hand, and with the nun’s pitcher being less than half-full, she didn’t want anyone else ingesting the poisoned wine. It had accomplished its task. Pouring the poisoned wine into the dirt of the Ambulatory, she headed out into the sanctuary.
William and Christopher were standing over the bishop as the man writhed on the ground, while a few terrified nuns who had entered the church when they heard the shouting now stood over the Mother Abbess and the two writhing sisters. Andressa walked into the light, watching the women as they lay dying, feeling nothing more than a sense of closure. For all of the evil and pain they inflicted, and for the men and women they’d so gleefully killed, it was retribution.
It was justice.
“Andressa?”
She heard her name, turning to see Maxton approaching her from across the sanctuary. He had his men with him, following him, and they were all looking around with great confusion at what was happening. When Andressa saw him, tears came to her eyes and a smile to her lips.
Her salvation had arrived.
“Andressa?” Maxton said again, hesitantly, as he came near her, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her arm. “What has happened, love? Did you have a hand in this?”
She sighed faintly, her gaze turning to the Mother Abbess and the two sisters on their backs, now surrounded by a few nuns that were trying to help them. Not strangely, they weren’t trying very hard. They were mostly looking at them. She shook her head, knowing any help for the nuns was futile.
“I gave them the poisoned wine meant for the king,” she said simply.
Maxton’s jaw popped open in shock as he looked to the writhing bodies on the ground. “You did this?” he gasped. “Youpoisoned them?”
She nodded. “They wanted me to kill the king,” she said. “I would not do it. I switched the wine so they were the ones to drink the poison. It is their own wickedness that brought this upon them. Years of pain and torture, years of men and women who could not fight for themselves… yesterday, I fought back when they tried to beat me, and these are the results.”
She lifted her bandaged hand and, in that instant, Maxton understood what had happened. He looked at her in utter astonishment.
“Revenge,” he muttered. “You did this for revenge.”
She shook her head slowly. “Nay, Maxton.Justice.”
“And the bishop?”
“He happened to drink wine that was not meant for him.”
