Mal woke to the sound of a light tap on her door. Which opened and let Cari into her room. Cari was holding a tray with a cup of Kuffa and a steaming pile of flatbread made from a batter and cooked on a large tray before being flipped over called bread cakes.
“My Lady, I’ve brought you some food to break your fast with.” said the maid.
“Thank you, Cari. What time is it?”
“It’s an hour after sun-up. Did you enjoy yourself last night, my Lady?”
“Yes, Cari, please call me Mal. I’m not a lady, just a commoner from the mountains.”
“Don’t you remember? You swore fealty to the King last night and were given a rank of Lady Malderia Talon of Grey Stones. I hear that it’s a nice area bordering the mountain range that you came from, and from the kitchen gossip, Lord Tomi, Lord Darr and Lord Dareon will be your neighbours.”
Mal sat stunned for a moment; she had actually forgotten that she was now a lady; she didn’t feel any different and still disliked being called Lady Malderia.
“Still Cari, I’d rather you call me Mal and not this my lady business”.
“Oh, I couldn’t do that, my Lady, at least not in public. You must never let anyone call you Mal in public; they must accept your authority as a noble person.”
“Ok, Cari, Then in private, please call me Mal; ok, I don’t have many friends here?”
“Mal, you’ll make many friends over your time here; just wait and see. You have the Queen’s ear and the kings, I wager, after saving that village and their son. Plenty of people will be trying to curry favour with you to get a message to the King. Now your food is getting cold, sit up and have the bread cakes.”
Eating one, Mal was amazed at the texture and flavour of the bread cakes. Noticing a little pot of honey, she spread some on one of the bread cakes and enjoyed her breakfast.
Between mouthfuls, she quizzed Cari on the castle and her role as a maid and where she was from.
“I’m originally from the Island of Seldar; my father is a merchant sailor and has worked for the royal family all of his life; he did the King a favour years ago and was given a boon. He used that boon to get me a place here at the castle.”
“Do you miss your family?” Inquired Mal.
“Yes, sometimes, but my father comes to visit when he can. My mother doesn’t like travelling by sea, so she doesn’t come too often, and my father brought my little sister last time he was over.”
“What’s it like living on an island?”
“It was ok; I remember watching the winter storms crashing against the rocks the most. There is only one town on the island you see, so you either live in the town or one of the three villages. There is a monastery in the town, and they have this library that people can go and read books or if you can’t read, pay one of the monks to read from one of the books for you.”
“Can you read?” Asked Mal.
“A little what about you?” Responded Cari
“No, we use symbols for common things,” replied Mal.
“I could teach you to read if you wish,” said Cari.
“Thanks, Cari, I would like that.”
Once Mal had finished breaking her fast, she got up and started putting on her old clothes, bracelet, and ring. Strapping on her sword felt good, as if these were the clothes that she should be wearing, not the dress she had worn last night.
She ignored Cari’s disapproval of the clothes and offered to fetch one of her ladyships new dresses. Cari’s emphasis on the word ladyships let Mal know that she doesn’t feel that a lady should be dressed as a boy.
Heading for the door, she swung her bow and quiver over her back and opened the door only to see Lord Turok in turn about to knock on the door.
“My Lord Turok, how pleasant to see you. Are you looking for me?” Enquired Mal, the fact that he had just been about to knock on her door had let her know that yes, he was indeed looking for her.
“Lady Malderia, yes, as I will be holding onto your lands until your age of ascension. I wanted to let you know that the lands will furnish you with a small income that I will also manage for you, but here is some money to tide you over for the month. I advise not spending it all at once.” He said, handing her a small pouch that jingled in her hand.
“My thanks, my lord, I was just heading outside for a walk. Would you like to join me?”
“No, I must see my other new vessels and give them their allowances,” replied Lord Turok with a slight bow.
Mal watched him walk over and knock on the door that was Tomi’s room; Mal wondered if he would be awake him Darr and Dareon had been singing badly in the halls on the way to bed quite late.
Walking down the hallway with nowhere to be, Mal realised that where she wanted to be was outside in the fresh air, not stuffed up in this castle. Turning to Cari, who was trying to catch up with her.
“How do I get out of the castle?”
“Do you wish to go into town, my Lady?” Responded Cari.
“No, I want to see trees and mountain flowers. This,” gesturing around herself to the cold, bleak stone walls, “is not what I’m used to. I like the outdoors and hate it when the snows keep us confined to our hall and homes.”
“Mmmmm, there are the palace gardens that would be the nearest to what you seek.”
“Could you take me to them, please”
“Certainly, my Lady, this way,” said Cari leading Mal through the Palace to a garden that was well maintained with paths leading through the plants and trees of a different hue.
Mal started to feel relaxed as she ran her hand through the leaves of a low hanging tree whose branches all arched out and down to almost touching the ground.
“It’s a weeper tree, my Lady, they say that the tears of a thousand maids have been shed sitting against its trunk. The branches have bent over the years to hide their sadness. “
“It’s a nice story, but I’ve seen it’s like before we have one not far from our village. It’s just the way it grows. Our story is that the weight of the snow on the branches each year makes the branches bend. The strength in the tree is that it bends to the task but does not break no matter how hard times or the weight of a task becomes.”
“Oh, I like your version better,” replied Cari.
They walked through the lush garden, stopping to look at the connected ornamental pools in the middle of the garden. Two sizeable golden fish swam through the crystal clear water just in front of Mal.
Mal watched them swim for an age mesmerised by the simple movements that let them flow through the water with only a simple swish of their tail propelling them onwards was the only movement of these wondrous animals.
Eventually, they came to a gate at the side of the garden where an argument could be heard. Moving closer to the entrance, Mal and Cari could listen to the voices of children arguing on the other side of the gate. Peering through a hole in the gate, Mal saw a larger boy push a more petite younger boy to the ground.
Opening the gate, Mal stepped through. “What’s going on here?” She demanded.
Four boys looked up in surprise, obviously surprised by Mal stepping through the door. Taking her appearance into account and the bow and sword on her belt. One boy figured it out first, the colour draining from his face as he mumbled, “Ogre Slayer” before running off quickly, followed by the other two boys.
Mal stepped over and helped the boy up, whose eyes seemed ready to pop out of his eyes.
“Stop that right now. I’m just an ordinary person.” snapped Mal, a bit harsher than she meant. “Now tell me why that boy was picking on you.”
“He was having a go at me because I’m not as good with the sword or bow as he is, my Lady, they are always picking me.” Said the boy, almost to tears.
“Now now, no need to get upset, maybe I can help, and none of this my Lady business, My name is Mal, and this is Cari, whats yours?” a tut behind her reminded her that Cari disapproved.
“Henry, mam.” said the boy.
“Well, Henry, why don’t we go and shoot some arrows,” said Mal. “Cari, which way to the archery range?”
With a sigh of resignation, Cari led the way to the archery range. When they arrived, there was no one about.
“Henry, Do you have a bow?”
“No, my lady, I use one of the training bows,” said Henry, who went over to a shed and opened it.
Half a dozen bows of different sizes lay in the shed, and Henry pulled one out seemly at random.
“Is this the bow you normally use?” asked Mal.
“Yes, mam,” said Henry.
“No wonder you’re having problems; it’s too big for you.” Seeing Henry was getting upset, Mal continued, “Look, if the bow is too big, you won’t be able to draw it correctly, which means you won’t hit what you’re aiming at. You need a bow that comes to your chin in height. As you get taller, you can move up to bigger bows, but there’s no reason to be upset ok?”
Stifling a sniff, Henry nodded while Mal looked through the shed and found an adequately sized bow in the shed. The bow was only an inch or two too big, reaching up to his eyes. “Try this one,” said Mal handing Henry the bow and grabbing a bushel of arrows from the shed.
An hour later and Henry was hitting more targets than he missed. When his arms started getting tired, Mal called an end to the training session. As Henry hurried off with a big grin on his face. Mal turned to see an elderly man standing to the side, watching.
“That was nicely done, my Lady; you got through to the boy in a way I couldn’t seem to. You have my thanks.”
“I didn’t see you there,” replied Mal.
“Didn’t mean to startle you, my Lady, I’m Howard. I heard someone using the archer range and want to see who, the kids aren’t supposed to use it without my supervision.” Seeing Mal about to apologise for using the range, he waved her objections away. “Was great to see that you were able to connect with the boy; he doesn’t have many friends here yet; he’s being fostered at the castle, you see, his parents died a few months ago of consumption, so he’s now a ward of the king.”
“Oh, the poor boy, what will become of him?”
“He will become a page and be given a chance at a good life, my Lady. I liked your technic. May I see your bow?”
“Certainly,” said Mal handing the bow over to Howard.
Stepping over to Mal by the Shooting range, Howard ran his hands over the bow’s wood. His fingers caressed the wood, appreciating the flow of the wood and the Skill that had gone into making it. “Is this the Flalkwind Bow?”
“Yes, you know of it?”
“Yes, I tried to string the bow in my youth but failed apparently.” He said with a grin, “May I try the bow, please?”
Mal handed him an arrow which he notched and drew and shot to the nearest target. “Dear God, that was hard; how can you possibly use this bow?”
“It doesn’t seem to resist me,” said Mal putting her hand out for the Bow which Howard returned to her. She pulled three arrows from the quiver and stuck them in the ground before her. Notching the first arrow, she drew and let fly in one clean, smooth motion quickly followed by the other two arrows.
Howard was impressed and was about to say so when a page arrived and interrupted them. “Prince Salistar would like to speak with you, my Lady, when you are free.”
“I’m available now,” turning back to Howard and offering her hand to him, “Thank you for the chat, Master Howard.”
“Thank you, my Lady, for helping Henry come out of his shell a bit more.” He said with a bow.
“My Lady, if you need anything, send a page for me,” said Cari
The page led Mal to the private living room of Prince Salistar; knocking on the door, the page waited until the door opened and Squire Jasper appeared on the other side. Still wearing his pin on his collar.
Dismissing the page with his thanks, Squire Jasper opened the door to allow Mal to enter the room. Prince Salistar was standing at the other side of a desk strewn with papers and scrolls. He was dressed in his finery and almost took Mal’s breath away.
Scolding herself for her reaction the first time she had seen him since the feast, she pushed the feelings away.
“Your highness requested my presence?” She asked a bit more sternly than she had meant. What was that look on his face?
Taken back a bit by the formal nature of the response, Prince Salistar gestured to the table and the pile of scrolls. I got these from the Palace Library. I’ve been reading all morning trying to find out any mention of the Demon Délíntra but no luck. I’ve sent for a monk from the Monastery of Hasder in the city. Hopefully, he will be able to shed some light on this Demon.
A knock at the door announced a visitor; as Spire Jasper headed over to the door, the Prince looked over at Mal and said, “Maybe this is him now.”
A guard stood in the doorway whispering to Squire Jasper, “Thank you, you may go”.
“My Lord, the Monastery Library has been burnt to the ground. A fire started in the library in the early hours of the morning. The monks report that the whole library of knowledge has been lost. The Abbot says that once they have accessed the damage, he will be right here and begs your understanding.”
“I’m assuming that since the guard didn’t wait for my response, you told him that would be fine?”
“Yes, my Prince,” replied Squire Jasper.
“Of course, you’re right but, I think we better have a look at this mysterious fire. Seems to be too much of a coincidence. Just when we need some information, the only source for miles around goes up in flames. Have the guard assemble; this could be a diversion. “ordered the Prince.
“Yes, my Prince,” said Jasper with a bow; he left the room to complete the Prince’s order.
Half an hour later, they were in the courtyard of the Palace. Horses had been provided by the palace stables. Mal looked around and was surprised to see Tomi, Darr and Dareon step out of the Palace to take the reigns of three horses.
Seeing Mal’s face and the Princes, Tomi first looked to his friends, then at Mal and Prince Salistar. “You didn’t expect for us to let you two out of our sight, did you. If either one of you goes anywhere outside of the Palace, expect at least one of us to be with you.”
Seeing the stunned look on both of their faces, he laughed. “And there’s nothing that you can do about it either. We spoke to the King this morning and pledged our lives to keep you both alive. There is something that you two have to do that will stop this Demon from destroying our world and everyone in it, and we will do everything to help keep you both alive.”
Darr and Dareon just sat on their horses, and when Mal and the Prince looked at them, they just nodded and said, “My Lord, My Lady.”
A little vexed, the Prince swung his horse around a little more abruptly and led them out of the Palace and into the city. Mal had been inside a carriage and hadn’t been able to see much as the carriage had sped through the city to bring its Prince home safely the last time. This time she was sitting on a horse and had a perfect view to take in the city.
Seeing the Prince and the guards, the people separated and let the Prince through calls of “Bless you my prince” followed where the group went. Mal realised that the people of this city really did love the Prince and his family.
Mal realised that she was watching the Prince riding in front of her again. Cursing herself, she scanned the streets of the city instead. The smell of smoke was heavy on the air, signalling that they were getting close to the Monastery of Hasder. Several minutes went past, and the stink of smoke got stronger with every step.
Entering a marketplace void of people or stalls due to the fire, they arrived at the front of the Monastery of Hasder. Tying up their horses to a water trough and leaving a guard, they headed to the gates of the Monastery; knocking on the door of the Monastery, they waited for the door to be opened.
When the door eventually opened, the monk that opened it took in the sight of the Prince of the realm standing in front of him and nearly jumped out of his skin at the same time and trying to bow. So startled was the young monk that he almost landed on his face only the quick hands of the Prince stopped him from falling.
Stammering an apology, the young monk straightened, “Forgive me, your highness, I was taken a little by surprise. Please, I bid you welcome and invite you to enter our Monastery. How may the monks of Hasder assist you today?”
“I would like to speak with Abbot Franklin, please.”
“Certainly, he is currently inspecting the damage from the fire last night and is over at what remains of the library, your highness,” he said, gesturing the way.
The smell of fire and smoke damage was almost overpowering. It was no wonder that the young monk had reacted in the way that he had if he had been breathing this in for hours.
Several monks were leaving as they approached the library, covered nearly from head to foot in soot. One upon seeing the Prince, one detached from the group and rushed over.
“My Prince, I hope you didn’t take issue with my message?” Stammered the man that must have been the Abbot.
“Not at all, but it struck me as a coincidence that the information I should need would go up in flames the very night that I had requested it.” Taking a breath, he continued, “So I came down to see if there was anything that I could do to help and to see if there was anything that could be salvaged.”
Seeing a scroll lying on the ground, almost proving his point, the Prince bent down to pick it up. A cry of pain behind the Prince made everyone turn and stare at a guard with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his leg.
Tomi and Darr leapt forward and bowled over the Prince while Dareon dived for Mal, who sidestepped Dareon and ran towards the direction the arrow had to have come from. Dareon scrambled up and gave chase behind her, cursing loudly to her that it might be another trap.
Mal had seen a movement on the upper balcony of the main monastery building across the lawn. As she sprinted across the garden towards where she thought that the crossbow had been shot from. She almost laughed as she had always been faster than Dareon.
Dareon was getting left behind by Mal who’s powerful legs used to running through mountain paths were propelling her across the flat lawn at a rate that he just couldn’t match.
Mal reached the door of the building just as a monk stepped through. Knocking the monk flying, she ran into the building and realised that she was in the Monastery’s dining hall. Scanning the room for exits of which there was three, one she had come in and one led to what looked like the entrance to the kitchens.
She sprinted across the room towards the other doorway. The hiss of her sword leaving her scabbard shocked the monks that were sitting to eat a meal. Stepping through the opening, she realised that it was a staircase that led up towards the balcony. Slowly she made her way up the stairs; when she was halfway up. The commotion from below and the rough voice of Dareon demanding to know which way she had gone. As she got to the top of the stairs, she stuck her head up and scanned the balcony but couldn’t see anyone.
Stepping onto the balcony, she could see the Prince and the guards stationed around him; Tomi and Darr were racing across the lawn towards her position. She could hear Dareon coming up the stairs behind her as she moved down the balcony. Waving to Tomi and Darr, she gave them a hand signal and a whistle that they used when hunting to tell people what to do.
Though they didn’t like it, they saw Dareon reach the top of the balcony and, seeing that Mal now had back up, headed to the far side of the building to see if they could capture their prey.
Dareon finally caught up with Mal and gave her a look that spoke a thousand words, most of which weren’t very nice but promised a future discussion. Mal had seen that look before and didn’t think she would enjoy the debate.
Moving along the balcony, they got to the end and saw that a door was slightly ajar. Pushing the door open with the tip of his bow, Dareon said to Mal, “I’ll go first, ok? I’m not about to explain to the King that I got you killed on the first day. They left someone here to kill the Prince, or you just in case either of you came here.”
Sticking his head around the edge of the door, half expecting that a crossbow bolt to meet him. Dareon breathed a sigh of relief when the stairs in front of him were empty. Running up the stairs, he paused when he got to the roof of the monastery dining hall and accommodation building.
Sticking his head out of the protection of the stairwell, Dareon looked around; the suspect wasn’t visible. Once they were both on the roof, they could see that a rope had been tied to the chimney to a building no more than thirty yards away.
They’re just getting off the end of a rope was a man in black clothes and as he turned to look at Mal and Dareon on the roof opposite. Mal noticed as she took aim that he had a red neckerchief tucked under his collar. The man reached up and cut the rope free, and just as his blade cut it, Mal’s arrow hit his wrist. Glaring and cursing at Mal, he disappeared inside the building.
Cursing, Mal watched the rope fall to the ground. Then she noticed both Tomi and Darr had come around the side of the building. Gesturing to her two friends, she signalled the direction that the man had gone.
Grabbing the rope that was still tied to the chimney, Mal leant over the side of the building and started to walk down the outside of the building. Mal could hear Dareon was cursing loudly above and Tomi and Darr equally as loudly from below. less than a minute later, She was on the ground, and Dareon had no choice but to follow her.
When Dareon got to the bottom, Tomi and Darr were giving off to Mal in no uncertain terms how foolish climbing down the side of the building had been.
Having heard enough, Mal snapped at the boys. “If anyone of you thinks that you can wrap me up in wool and keep me safe and sound, let me make sure that you understand exactly what will happen to the first to try.” She said this while waving her clenched fist under each of their noses.
They said “Yes, Mal,” having fought with her several times before they knew she was a dirty fighter and nearly always won those fights.
“Now what he’s got away, we should probably go back and see to the Prince.” Said Darr trying to lighten the mood a little and divert Mal’s anger.
Mal swore loudly; she knew that they were right and resigned herself that the culprit had gotten away. Heading back the way Tomi and Darr had come, they eventually returned to the guards who stood around protecting the Prince.
The Prince held a rope tight around the guard’s leg while the Abbot ran across the garden with two other monks and a stretcher.
“Is he badly hurt?” Asked Mal
“It hit only muscle, so he should be fine once it heals.” Replied the Prince his tone spoke volumes that he wasn’t happy. “A here comes the Abbot with help. Don’t worry, we’ll get that arrow out of you shortly, and you’ll be up and about before you know it.”
Once the guard was on the stretcher, they proceeded into the Monastery proper. While the guard was taken to a healing area, the Prince and the other guards headed to the Abbots office. Entering the relatively simple office, the Abbot went over to his simple desk that sat against the wall; the simple chairs in the room were stationed in a curve so that the Abbot could have a meeting with the other members of his Monastery.
Offering the Prince and Mal a seat, the Abbot ordered everyone else to wait outside while they spoke.
“Well, it seems that there was no coincidence in the fire that you had last night and my need for information.” Said the Prince, the annoyance was written across his face as plain as day.
“Unfortunately, they seem to have destroyed the library. Of course, we will rebuild and have all of our brother monasteries create duplicates of everything we have lost, but it will take years before we have the store of knowledge we once had. Why would anyone want to do this?”
“All we know at the moment, my Lord Abbot, is that a group of Dark elves are looking to return the Demon Delintra and that if either of us dies, they win.” Said the Prince gesturing to himself and Mal.
“Grave times indeed, your highness, we will bend all of our resources to help as much as possible. I wonder if the Library at Seldar would have the information that you require. It would be the closest large library of ours.”
“Seldar, that’s where Cari is from; she was telling me about it this morning,” interjected Mal.
“Cari?” Asked the Prince.
“She was assigned to me as a maid when we arrived yesterday. She was telling me about the library this morning. She spoke about it as a nice place to go, and the monks would read to her.” Replied Mal.
“Mmmm, I think that we need to get some monks to that library to start copying documents and scrolls. We will put together as much information as possible about this Demon as we can.” Said the Abbot.
“I think we need to go to this library rather than wait for the information to be shipped back here to the city. I’ll have my father put on a galley, and we will sail on the morning tide.”
“I’ll have ten monks at the docks first thing in the morning. Ready to sail with you.” Replied the Abbot, “I’ll also make overtures to the other monasteries and religious orders in the city and local area for any information that they might have on this demon.”
Standing up, the Prince said, “Excellent, then until we meet again, my Lord Abbot. We will be at the Palace if you need anything.”
Leaving the Monastery, a carriage was sitting outside the front of the gate. Two hundred soldiers stood at attention in the courtyard. Lord Turok stood beside the open door of the carriage.
“Your highness, your carriage awaits,” said Lord Turok with a flourish. “We happened to be in the area, and your father requests your presence. This will be more comfortable than a horse, my Prince.”
“Who told you?” Replied the Prince, his tone spoke that he wasn’t happy with the notion of being put into a carriage.
“Your guards were under strict orders to get a message to the Palace if your life was under threat.”
“Let’s get on with this.” The Prince’s day wasn’t going well; first, Tomi and Darr had piled on top of him and pinned him down. Then they ordered his guards to surround and keep the Prince safe. Before running after Mal, who had just run off after the attacker herself. How dare she put her life in danger. Didn’t she understand how frantic he had been watching her running into trouble? While he could not protect her, no matter what order he gave his men, they had ignored him. The Abbot had run off to get help leaving him stuck there even though his injured man had told him to go. The Prince forced himself to stay and make sure that he was ok.
The return to the Palace in the carriage was in silence. Prince Salistar was fuming. The problem was that he didn’t know he was angrier about his treatment or Mal dashing off into danger without him there to lend a hand.
The carriage curtains were closed so that no one could see the Prince and take aim with a crossbow. As an extra precaution, a guard stood on the steps to the carriage to cover the flimsy material in case a gust of wind blew it open.
The Prince had time to study Mal’s face as she sat in perfect calm with her eyes closed as if asleep. He knew that she wasn’t sleeping, just ignoring him. He couldn’t figure out why? What had he done? Their time together back in the Elven City had brought them closer together. He was confident that she had some feelings for him, so they sat in silence until they arrived at the Palace.
Mal had sat for the journey in the carriage with her eyes closed. She could feel the Prince’s gaze on her and felt her face flushing slightly at the scrutiny. She sighed a sigh of relief when the carriage stopped at the Palace, and they could get out.
Stepping out of the dim carriage, Mal had almost stood on the Prince, who had stopped as the Queen had waited for news of her son. The Queen’s eyes flicked to Mal as her son was bringing her up to speed. Mal wished that she could be anywhere other than under the Queens’ gaze.
Leading her son into the Palace, they made their way to the King and Queens’ private living room. When Mal started to head towards the dining area, the Queen stopped her.
“You and the Protectors will come as well, Mal, the king, and I will want to hear your reports,” said the Queen.
Tomi, Dareon and Darr nodded and said “Yes, Mam” in unison.
As they walked up the stairs to the private living room of the King and Queen, Mal looked at her friends “The protectors?” She whispered to Tomi, who was walking beside her.
“Yes, We have sworn a vow to the King and Queen to protect both of you with our lives.” That was all that he said.
Entering the King and Queens apartment, they found the King sitting in a well-padded chair at the table. A plate of half-eaten food and some papers lay on the table in front of him.
“Sal, It gladdens my heart that you are ok my son; please, everyone, sit and tell me what happened.” Signalling to a page, he continued, “You may remove these documents to my study.”
“As you know, father, when we spoke last night, I said that I would enquire at the Monastery of Hasder to see if they had any information on this Demon. I spoke with the Abbot at the feast last night and asked him to find out what he could. He said he would be back in the morning with anything that he could find.
Unfortunately, I received a message from him this morning; it seems that a fire broke out in the library last night and burnt the place to the ground. The Lady Malderia and I headed down to see if we could find out what had happened as we didn’t think that it was a coincidence.
Arriving at the Monastery, an assassin’s crossbow missed me and hit one of the guards. The Lady Malderia RACED off after the culprit with Dareon in tow. While I looked after the injured guard.
The library was completely gutted, but we believe that the Monastery at Seldar may have copies or more information on the Demon. I plan on taking a ship to Seldar in the morning. The Lady Malderia, Lord Tomi, Lord Dareon and Lord Darr will accompany me along with Squire Jasper and a few guards.”
“I think that more than a few guards will be needed, my son,” said the King, “As heir to the throne, you must survive. I’m half tempted to lock the both of you up to keep you safe, but assassins could get you even here. Very well go to Seldar, just be aware that you have certain obligations here at home that have been left too long.”
“Obligations, father? What obligations are you talking about?” queried the Prince.
“An heir in case you die, of course. Don’t worry, I’ve instructed your mother and Ambassador Tesinna to make up a shortlist of countries that we could make a good alliance with and that have a daughter of the age to marry.” Responded the King.
“Marry?” This day was definitely getting worse for the Prince.
“Of course, man, the child has to be born in wedlock, or did you think that a bastard would be able to be heir” snapped the King, not liking the tone of the Prince.
“You are the heir to the throne, and your marriage will be to advance the relationship of the kingdom with its neighbours.” Seeing the look of confusion on his son’s face, the King continued. “Did you honestly think that you could marry for anything other than politics?”
Not once did the eyes of the king stray to Mal’s, but everyone in the room understood the relationship that was evolving between the Prince and Mal. Mal just looked calmly at the Queen, who was looking back at this moment she couldn’t make herself look at the Prince. The Prince glanced from his mother to Mal and understood now why Mal had started to distance herself from him.
Finally, his son understood his place and that everyone else understood that there would be no relationship between him and Mal; he dismissed them from the room. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate his sons’ admiration for Mal. She was a beautiful woman and had a quality about her that spoke of danger. Not at all like the meek women that he usually would have met at court.
Getting up and curtsying to the King, “With my husbands leave,” said the Queen.
“Always my love, always,” responded the King.
“Mal,” said the Queen before she had time to leave the room.
Turning to the Queen, Mal gave a slight curtsy, trying to hold back tears.
“Please come and have tea with my ladies and me,” said the Queen turning and heading to the door that would take Mal away from the Prince and into the sanctuary of the queens private living room.
When she entered the private rooms of the Queen and her ladies in waiting. She was pleased to see the same group that had been there last night. They had all made her feel very welcome. Lady Sarah Swan was sitting on a small sofa, and there was a space beside her. Patting the area, Lady Swan beckoned Mal to sit beside her.
Frowning, Lady Swan looked at Mal dressed in her tight elven trousers, jacket and wearing a belted sword, “I hope no-one made you use that today; why don’t you take it off, and Cari here will put it in your room.”
Taking the sword off, she handed it to Cari with a slight smile. God, how she wanted to be in her room so she could greave. That meeting was so hard to be in the thought the Prince had possibly liked her, but now she knew that she loved him and that he loved her as well.
His duty to the kingdom would forever stand between them; she would try not to hate his wife. Well, as soon as this war would be over, she would go with Lord Turok and probably never see the Prince again.
Lady Swan’s hand on her shoulder brought her back into the room. She was so close to Mal that her eyes were all that she could see. Then she realised that Lady Swan had been speaking to her, but she couldn’t remember what she had been saying.
“Are you ok, love?” repeated Lady Swan; she smiled a warm and embracing smile when she saw the Mal recognised and understood what was being said to her.
Mal burst into tears. The emotions she had locked up inside her for the last few weeks broke free. She wept for several minutes, then when the sobs started to recede, a handkerchief was put into her hand and when she looked up to see who had given it to her.
Shocked that she had broken down in front of these ladies and the Queen. Mal tried to stand, but the reassuring hand of Lady Sawn gently pushed her back into the seat.
“My Queen, I must apologise,” stammered Mal.
“Nonsense, child, I reacted the same way when my father told me that I was to be betrothed to a Prince of a faraway land. I was in love, or at least I thought I was in love with a dashing young man in my fathers’ court. I would say that most of the ladies here would have similar stories.”
“Ah, Jason Mul Crevie,” said Lady Swan, “God, how the sight of him used to take my breath away. I saw him again about ten years ago. I must say I’ll stick with the memory as the years have not been kind to him.” This brought a round of laughter to the group and a small smile from Mal.
Sitting on a seat to the right of Mal, the Queen whispered while the others spoke. “You did very well in there, Lady Malderia; you understand that it was not directed at you directly, but we needed to make sure that the Prince knew that there was no possibility of your relationship moving forward. It was better to end it sooner rather than later for the country and you. His marriage must be strong for a strong marriage leads to a strong kingdom.”
Seeing Mal nodding, the Queen continued, “While it doesn’t seem like it at this time, in time when it is right, you will find someone. If you let my son go from your heart and make a space available, you will find that someone will fill it eventually. In the meantime, I have a request for you as your Queen if you want, you can say no, but I feel that you understand duty as much as any noble-born. I want you to refuse to go with my son on this trip to Seldar.”
Seeing Mal about to object, the Queen put up a restraining hand. “Let me finish, please. Some time apart will help both of you heal from the rawness of this. It will also allow you to learn about your lands and duties. Lady Swan has agreed to mentor you, her eldest daughter was married two years ago, and she misses her. She would be glad of the company her daughter is helping her husband run a large estate many days travel from here, so she doesn’t get to see her often. You could learn a lot from her.”
Mal sat there for a minute, thinking through everything that the Queen had said. Looking up at the Queen, she saw the compassion in the Queen’s eyes. “I will do as you bid, my Queen,” said Mal formally.
Embracing Mal, the Queen said, “Thank you, Mal, I’m glad you understand.”