Between Two Fires

Matthieu wakes up in middle of the night. A monk appears, and Matthieu follows him to a house. In the house, a woman serves Matthieu food and wine. A child, apparently a daughter of the priest, tells him that he must kill Delphine. Michel appears and gives him a sword. Suddenly, Matthieu is standing over Delphine with the sword. Even though he believes he is dreaming, he resists the temptation to stab Delphine. When he puts the sword down, the monk forces his fingers down Matthieu’s throat and makes him throw up the food and wine. Then the monk disappears. Matthieu lies down again, and Delphine says that she dreamed that someone made him kill her. Matthieu promises that he will never hurt her.

The next day, the travelers stay at an inn. They meet a traveler named Rinaldo Carbonelli who is from Tuscany. Rinaldo tells them that he is traveling to his wife and comes part of the way with them on the road. Once they reach the river flowing toward Avignon, Rinaldo leaves because Delphine tells him that he will die if he comes with them. A few weeks later, Rinaldo reunites with his wife.

Thomas pays a group of pirates to take him, Delphine, and Matthieu down the river. One of the oarsmen tells Thomas that he was at Crécy and that his name is Guillaume. A few days later, the captain decides to kill the passengers, but Guillaume defends them. During the fight, Delphine screams for Thomas not to kill anyone, but Thomas kills the captain and throws him into the river. Delphine tells Thomas that they will pay for the captain’s death.

After a few days, the travelers run into a dam made of dead animals and people. Thomas notices that all the bodies in the water are headless. Suddenly a gelatinous head flops onto the raft. There are tentacles around it, and it stings Delphine. More heads flop onto the raft with tentacles containing poison. The travelers jump into the river to escape to shore. Thomas’s armor protects him from the stings, while Delphine survives because Matthieu covers her with his body to protect her. Guillaume falls behind and sinks below the water. As Matthieu holds Delphine’s body above his head to protect her, Thomas thinks the scene looks like a priest raising the Eucharist. Thomas drags Matthieu and Delphine toward the shore, where the tentacles cannot reach them.

Thomas carries Delphine and Matthieu to a house. Delphine finds a lute inside and plays it for Matthieu. Thomas recognizes the song because it played on his wedding day. He thinks about how he used to tap his wedding ring on a table three times as a sign to his wife that he loved her; she would respond by tapping her own ring three times. Matthieu remembers the song because he heard it shortly before taking his orders; it reminds him of God’s love. As Matthieu dies, he tells Thomas to find his brother, Robert, in Avignon. Later, Delphine tries to resurrect Matthieu but fails. She begs God to bring Matthieu back to life, but God does not answer her.

After Matthieu dies, Delphine decides to leave Thomas behind because she does not want him to die, too. Delphine spends the night in an abandoned convent. She wakes up in the middle of the night and hears a woman’s voice, although she cannot see her in the darkness. The woman introduces herself as Sister Broom. Sister Broom places a bracelet in Delphine’s hand and tells her that the Mother Superior used the convent treasury money to buy it for herself. Delphine asks what happened to the Mother Superior, and Sister Broom says that something killed her when she tried to leave for Avignon. Delphine tells Sister Broom to get away from her, and Sister Broom retreats. Delphine realizes that Sister Broom can only do things that Delphine allows, so she tells Sister Broom that she cannot touch her. Sister Broom starts throwing objects, but Delphine escapes the convent and climbs a tree. She hears Sister Broom at the foot of the tree, telling her she will die in her sleep. In the morning, a scarecrow made from a broom lies at the bottom of the tree.

In the morning, Thomas realizes that Delphine left. He cannot stop thinking that Matthieu’s death is God’s punishment for Thomas killing the captain. Thomas searches for Delphine, but a mob attacks him and brings him to a priest. The priest makes him swear that he will kill a group of English routiers terrorizing the area.

Thomas finds the English routiers at a brothel, sitting in tubs. Thomas enters with his sword drawn, but Delphine’s voice tells him not to kill anyone. Thomas sheathes his sword and leaves. The next morning, Thomas comes upon a group of knights. He realizes that one of the knights is Chrétien d’Évreux, the man who stole Thomas’s life from him.

Thomas asks to speak to the Comte d’Évreux. Thomas recognizes one of the knights as his former squire, André, and challenges the Comte to a duel, which the Comte accepts. As Thomas nears victory, one of the knights interferes and hits Thomas from behind. André shoves this knight to the ground, and Thomas uses this distraction to knock Chrétien down. A squire then comes up behind Thomas and knocks him down. Suddenly, an arrow from the woods hits André, and Thomas realizes they are under attack by the English routiers, who kill the knights. However, the routier leader recognizes Thomas as the man who could have slaughtered them in the bathhouse but did not. He tells his men to spare Thomas.

Thomas wakes up with his head in Delphine’s lap. Delphine shows him an invitation to a feast with the pope that she found on the Comte. Delphine shows Thomas his reflection in the Comte’s helmet, and Thomas sees the Comte d’Évreux’s face in place of his own. Delphine takes Thomas down to the river and asks him to kneel. She asks him if he forgives the Comte d’Évreux, and he says yes. She pours water over his head. She asks him if he forgives his wife, but he tells her he cannot forgive her. Delphine walks away, and Thomas realizes that his own face has returned to him. Later, Delphine asks if he wants to try the miracle again. Thomas says he could forgive his wife if she were dead, but Delphine tells him that is not true forgiveness.

A flashback explains that Thomas de Givras married Marguerite de Péronne in 1341 and that they created a signal of tapping their rings to signify their love for each other. Thomas proved that he was a good fighter, and the Comte liked him. He left his land to Thomas because of the latter’s prowess in battle, but Marguerite told Thomas that the Comte must be his father. Thomas did not believe her, but when he lay next to the Comte at Crécy, he knew that it was true.

As he thinks about his wife in the present, Thomas realizes that Marguerite accepted the Comte d’Évreux’s advances to protect Thomas and her son. He knows that she was right to do that. Thomas tells Delphine that he forgives Marguerite. Delphine pours water over his head. When Thomas looks into the water, he sees the face of the Comte d’Évreux looking back at him.