Devotion and Insanity?

The Eight by Catherine Neville: "Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Valentine pinned to the ground by two burly men who'd removed their coats and rolled up the sleeves of their shirts. There was not a moment to lose. 'Release her!' [Mireille] cried.
'I will,' said the man, 'but only if you tell me what your cousin refused to reveal. Tell me where the Montglane Service is hidden.'" (Neville 182)
The Montglane Service is a chess set. It may seem odd how men are willing to kill over such a silly trinket but in the 1700s, the Montglane Service was not a silly trinket. It was anything but, in fact. The Montglane Service is said to have powers. It is deadly if one has all the pieces together and that is why Valentine and Mireille have to keep the pieces in secret and apart from eachother. Many men are after the set, as demonstrated in the quote above, and will do whatever they can to get their hands on it. These type of men are the ones Valentine and Mireille must keep away from; for their lives and their responsibility. Since they are only teenagers, a little over eighteen, their responsibility is questionable and doubted among the abbey who housed these two trouble makers. But, Valentine and Mireille demonstrate their devotion and their honor when Valentine willingly dies for this chess set. She is killed because she reveals nothing to the men. She is a trouble maker, true, but has devoted herself to protecting the Montglane Service.