Dr. Thornton looks up from his medical text as one of the Lady's men opens the door. Without protest he obeys his order to come with him. As he gets closer to the scene, he can smell the stench of death. Ah no...

He hurries ahead of the guard, coming on to the scene. With a doctor's detachment he looks at the corpses. His eyes full of sorrow at their deaths, still he was curious. He had never seen wounds such as these.

"May I examine the bodies? I have never seen such a... I do not even know a word for it. Massacre, comes to mind."

Molly walks over and joins Joseph and Freddie. She could tell Joseph didn't want to go into details abot his past, and now was not the time to push someone. Freddie, however, was a different case; she'd seen him around town, usually utterly filthy and being pesky. But his mother was no where to be found, apparently, and Molly had never seen her before, so she could only assume she was one of the bodies. Molly knelt down and patted his hair. "Hey Freddie, it's okay honey. It's okay..." She did this as soft as she could, fighting back her own tears.

Jolie woke up to the pounding on her door when the soldiers came to get her dad but for some reason they both forgot about her. So JOlie took her time getting dressed and getting ready for the day and then proceeded on her own to the gathering. Upon seeing the gruesome sight she immeadietly gasped in horror and fetl herself become sick. After regaining her compusre after a few seconds she seeks her father and rujns up to him an dhugs him "My God, Father, the people..., I can't believe..."

Now he is totally confused. As long as he remembers, no one really payed much attention to Freddie, aside from his mother. He doesn't remember his father who according to his mother died in a war.

Now there are two people sitting next to him trying to talk to him. The woman is trying to soothe him. "Do either of you know where my mommy is? I can't find her and the soldier won't tell me."

Then he remembers the dead "animals" in the town and as an inquisitive child he asks, "Why are there all those dead animals in the road? Isn't it a waste?" Little does he know what horrors will be told to him.

Brother Morris looks up, fighting back tears. He lifts his eyes from the torn remains of a young woman to the stunned people still standing.

My duty is to the living. The Lord will see to the dead.

He stands slowly, then walks to Freddy, Molly and Joseph. "Come, my children. You do not need to be here right now. Freddy, I will look for your mother. Go with Molly and Joseph. I will come to you if I find anything."

Lady Melaina calls out, "No one goes anywhere!"

She adds, "I do not see Lord Robert's remains among those scattered about. Everyone else appears to be accounted for, living or dead. If he is alive, he must be present. We will wait until we hear word."

Brother Morris storms through the crowd, coming as close as possible to Lady Melaina. "Have some pity," he hisses. "That boy's mother could be lying ten feet from him, torn asunder. Don't add to this day's pain."

Hearing the word mother, Freddies ears perk up. "You know where my mommy is? I can't find her and there are too many people. And no one is telling me why there are animals in the street! I wanna know."

Lady Melaina looks down at the boy. "You're wiser in the ways of consolation than I am, friar, but the truth of the day is so tragic that, even if I could bear to tell it twice, I would not inflict a second hearing on any of you. We stay, and we wait. If anyone wanders off, we could all be in grave danger."

Lord Robert, his face ashen, approaches those who are assembelled. He bows and makes the appropriate respectful gestures to the Duchess and simply says, "I am sorry for my delay, milady. I have spent part of this morning in prayer, and another part reading through the King's Orders and my own reports, hoping to find something to help. My entourage has been dispatched to aid your local guard in securing the area."

Drawing her away from the crowd, Lord Robert hands over a thick stack of documents, and a roll of parchment, its broken seal having once been that of the King. "This is the report of what happened in my lands, and the orders I had recieved from the King. I do not think he had sent these this far west yet, and thought you could use them."

Lord Robert heads back to the crowd, finding his brother and his brother's family. Tears well in his eyes as he remembers the horrors he has seen, and realises his niece will see them as well.

"That is everyone, then?" Lady Melaina asks. The knights nod.

She skims Lord Robert's reports, then sighs. "This confirms it."

She turns to the gathering, and raises her voice.

"Today, we have all suffered a great tragedy, and it is tempting to look at the disaster around us and conclude that, grief-strickent though we are, we are fortunate to be alive. Sadly, this is not the case.

"The carnage you see around us was caused by werewolves. These creatures do in fact exist, friends.

"The worst of it is, the wolves are among you. In a group of survivors this size, history would suggest that three of you are possessed by unholy spirits that will cause you to change in the night and kill innocents.

"There is only one way for you to protect yourselves, friends, and that is to destroy these demons when they are in their weak human guises. You know one another well enough to figure out who is or is not herself, and if the Lord can guide the votes of the College of Cardinals, he will guide the votes of His children as they do battle with demons.

"By sundown tonight, I expect each of you to tell me who you suspect is a wolf. Whoever reaches a majority of votes will be killed. If a majority cannot be reached, a plurality is acceptable. In the event of a tie," she meets Lord Robert's eyes at this and holds up a coin, "The King will decide."

Lady Melaina gazes at her people. "If you have any questions, feel free to address me. Otherwise, yoiu are free to go about your business as best you can, considering the circumstances. However, NO ONE is to leave the village. My men will be stationed to ensure that this village remains in isolation."

Freddie thinks he understand what the woman just said. He looks around once more and still does not see his mother. He turns to Joseph, "Does this mean Mommy is dead? The womans words were hard to understand." *His eyes begin to fill with tears int he way only a little kid could.*

Rodrick is greatly relieved at the sight of Jolie, and returns his daughter's embrace. "Hush, my dear. We're both safe, and you haven't left me. It will be all right now, Papa's got you...

"You came from the direction of our house," he says in an authoritative, but still thankful voice. "But you weren't in bed when I lay down last evening. Where did you sleep last night?"

Excusing himself from Ritzy and Grammy, Martin makes his way to speak with the dutchess. "Your Grace, if I could have a moment of your time. I was wondering to the disposition of the slain. With the plague here will you be interring them in the hallows beside the church or will you be disposing them by other means? After all, If it's the former, I'll have long days and nights ahead of me indeed."

Brother Morris' face falls. Damn, I didn't mean for the child to overhear that.

He turns to Martin. "The church yard is too small. It wasn't meant to hold so many people at once. We'll think of something else, hallow a new grave, something..." He trails off, walking over to Freddie, where he kneels down to look the boy in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, my son. Honestly, I don't know. If you'll wait here, I'll see what I can find."