Mal woke early as was her nature and was glad to see the others getting up and about as well. Marie had started making fresh bread for the day when she saw Mal walking into her kitchen.
“Good Moro, Mal did you sleep well?” she asked.
“Yes Marie, my thanks I’ve been sleeping on the ground for the last few days, and while I don’t mind the ground I must admit that a bed is quite wonderful,” replied Mal sniffing the air.
“Do you drink kuffa?” asked Marie.
“I must admit, I do like a good mug of kuffa in the mornings,” she said with a smile.
“Please help yourself, the loaves will take nearly an hour but I have some flatbreads that will be ready shortly. I got some freshly churned butter yesterday and there's a little honey in the cupboard over there. If you would get it for me?”
Opening the cupboard Mal noticed that it was quite empty, only a few of the stone jars held provisions, hunting through she found a large clay pot with a bee painted on the side.
As she placed the jar of honey on the table Marie handed her a cup of kuffa, and Mal took a moment to smell the bitter brew. When she opened her eyes she was rewarded with Marie placing some flatbreads onto the table.
Talking a seat and gesturing to Mal to also sit, Marie took one of the pieces of bread and applied butter and honey to it. Once she had taken her first bite. She asked Mal “So will you be going to the keep today? I only ask as Markus said that the Lord Marshall holds court around two hours after dawn so the gates don’t normally open until then.”
“Well it looks like I have some time before I need to head up to the keep, Do you need a hand I’ve never made bread before and I would be glad to help.”
“Help?” Marie panicked the thought of a Lady rolling up her sleeves and kneeling bread made her bark out a laugh, “Sorry I just had the thought of one of the Lord Marshall’s daughters kneading bread and it made me laugh, Mal if you would like to help then I would appreciate the help.”
Quickly tidying away the remains of the food they used to break their fast. Marie spent the next hour teaching Mal how to make bread.
“For a first time you did well,” said Marie, diplomatically to Mal who was covered in flour dust.
“You’ll need to have a quick wash before you present yourself to the Lord Marshall,” said Marie.
Less than an hour later Mal and Marie were walking towards the keep, Mal was heading to the keep proper and Marie to the market near to the keep entrance.
When they arrived at the market Mal could see several people lined up waiting for the gates to open.
Turning to bid Marie a goodbye, Mal couldn’t help but grab the woman and give her a big hug. “Thank you, Marie, for you and your hospitality, you make me feel welcome and I want you to know that I will do my best to bring your son home to you. Please take this small token of my thanks.”
Marie looked down at the small pouch of coins that Mal had pressed into her hand. From the weight, she knew that there were quite a few coins in the small pouch.
Seeing Marie about to refuse the offer, Mal spoke: “Marie please let me do this.”
Nodding Marie hugged Mal back, “You always have space at my table Mal.”
Mal walked up the street to the queue of people waiting to be let in as she approached the noise of the portcullis chains could be heard first taking up the slack, then the creek of the chains as they started to lift the heavy iron gate.
As each petitioner reached the gate a scribe wrote down their names and the reason for seeking the Lord Marshall.
When Mal stepped forward the scribe didn’t even look up he just intoned the same statement he had spoken to the previous petitioners.
“Name, and the reason for seeking an audience with the Lord Marshall?”
“I am Lady Malderia Talon, Watch Commander of the Black Guard, I wish to converse with the Lord Marshall,” said Mal.
What she didn’t expect was the reaction of everyone around her. The people around her suddenly started whispering she could hear her name mixed in with that of “Ogre Slayer” and mentions of killing a dozen assassins mixed with awe and fear in equal measure, Mal couldn’t believe how much the stories of what went on in the keep had spread and grown in the short time she had been away.
The scribe stood and bowed “My Lady, would you follow this page please and you will be taken directly to his Lordship.” Gesturing to a young man beside him who stepped forward and bowed before turning and leading the way into the keep.
“Garth Lovejoy, is that you?”
“Yes, mam, I’m apprenticed to the Master Scribe now, another boy has taken over my duties for the Lord Marshall. When Prince Salistar came through here several months ago I was surprised to not see you with your men,” he replied.
“Yes, fate decreed that our paths were to diverge for a time,” said Mal with a sense of sadness to the tone of her voice.
They walked on in silence the page leading the way until Mal walked into the main hall.
Lord Marshall Deville smiled, when he saw Mal entering his Hall of Judgement. Waving to the woman and man that stood in front of him with their two children one holding a baby waiting for judgment.
“Master Baker your son would have saved a lot of time and trouble if he had just married the girl at the start of this affair. I believe that your son is the father of the bastard child. Make sure that your son takes care of his responsibilities, make sure the boy has a roof over his head and food in his belly. I charge your son with negligence and fine him one shilling a month to be paid to the mother in upkeep until the child reaches the age of apprenticeship. You are dismissed.’
The Master Baker’s face went pale and then beetroot red hearing his lords' decree. Bowing to the lord he quickly turned and floored his son with a right hook.
“Get up you unless sod,” he snarled at his son.
As the group of them filed out of the hall Mal overheard the Master Baker as he spoke to the young girl holding the baby.
“I am sorry my son lied, please come over tonight with the boy so that I can get to know my grandson.”
Before the girl could respond the woman, butted in “Thank you, Master Baker we would like that, I am sorry for having to bring your son before the Lord, but he shamed my daughter for the last year and while that has cost us dearly in the markets, the child is innocent.”
The rest of the conversation was lost as they exited the room and Mal’s attention returned to the Lord Marshall who had stood up and spoke to the room at large. “Please excuse me, I have some business of the realm to take care off please return in one hour.”
Getting up he moved to meet Mal as she approached. “My Lady, it is a pleasure to see you again. I was most put out by my nephew when he told me he had lost you in the mountains. You have done a great deed in finding Darseholt and bringing the Dwarves into the fight. Why don’t we retire to the family suite and you can tell me all about your adventures and what I can do to help.” He said leading her up the stairs to the next floor of the keep.
Once in the private family suite, Lord Marshall Deville waited for the pages to leave after they had delivered a tray of sweetmeats and mugs of kuffa for them.
Gesturing to the kuffa, “Sorry my stomach can’t handle wine this early in the day, I hope that this will suffice,” he said.
“I prefer kuffa myself, my lord” replied Mal while picking up a mug with one hand and a sweetmeat with the other.
“So what did Prince Salistar tell you, my lord?”
“Only that you had to run off with some high priestess, he had arrived a few days after you had left, He was regretting letting you go alone and mentioned once or twice that he wishes he had sent one of the men with you.”
“If he had the priestesses warning would have held. A bridge collapsed under us when we were being chased by dark elves. The extra weight would have meant it would have collapsed earlier and we would never have gotten across,” replied Mal.
“Well, Sal will be glad to know you are on your way back to the band. I can have a horse and some guards escort you to the Black Guard.”
Mal winched inside herself she has spent ages thinking about how she would handle this. The oracle had been clear if a member of the Black Guard joined her, she would die. If the Salistar learnt of her mission before she got to sea he would send a party to join her that would cause them both to die.
Taking a deep breath, “Lord Deville, I have another mission and have to postpone rejoining my men. I would appreciate the horse but the oracle has informed me that if a member of the Black Guard were to join me. Then Prince Salistar and I would both die, the Prince cannot know of my mission.”
Tapping his cup with this fingers the Lord Marshall smiled, “Then we will not tell the prince but you will have the guards, Don’t worry they are not members of the Black Guard so the prophecy of the oracle is protected.”
—
Since nothing was keeping Mal in Kurik she found herself sitting on the back of a black stallion an hour later, four guards were beside her all ready to go. Turning to the Lord Marshall, “My thanks, Lord Marshall until we meet again.”
With that, she led the guards out of the Keep and through the city. The weather held for the journey and they made good progress the whole way to the capital city Calpo. They made faster time by not having to travel via Princetown but rather travelling straight across the country. Only stopping at inns and taverns along the way. A fact that Mal was glad about as there was less chance of Prince Salistar receiving word of her activity and sending men to protect her.
The gates of the Caplo stood wide open and traffic was moving slowly but steady through the huge gates. The Guards only gave her party a cursory glance as they passed. Now that Mal as in the city she wasn’t sure were to go first. She should report her presence to the King and Queen but she wanted to talk with, the Lord Abbot as well.
Looking at the guards that had accompanied her and seeing the tiredness in their faces. Mal turned her horse and headed to the Palace, she would have to catch up with, the Lord Abbot later.
As they headed towards the Palace gates one of the guards moved forward and started ordering people out of the way. When people turned to see who was approaching, whispers of “Ogre Slayer” and “Black Watch” could be heard as they recognised the emblem on her armour.
By the time that they arrived at the gates, word had sped ahead and the Palace guard was waiting for her to approach.
Recognising Mal, the sergeant spoke to a waiting page who sped off, stepping forward and bowing slightly, “Lady Malderia, Welcome back. I have sent word forward that you have arrived. Please continue and a stable boy will take care of your horses. Do you need anything for your men?” noticing the emblem of the Lord Marshall on their armour.
“I’ll speak with the Lord Chamberlain, about getting them accommodation and rest before they have to head back to Lord Marshall Deville.”
“Mam, the Lord Marshall instructed us to stay with you until you were back with the Black Guard, we are to be your guards until that happens,” replied the guard called Kres handing Mal a letter, “His Lordship said I was to give this to you when we reached the Capital.”
Looking at the four of them and seeing them all nod. Mal opened the letter and started to read.
“Lady Malderia,
As you have told me that none of the Black Guard can accompany you on your quest for fear that both you and the Prince would die. I would like to take the opportunity to remind you that the oracle didn’t say you had to do it alone. These four guards have served me well over the years. They are experienced men and are loyal, something I feel you will need in your travels.
Good Luck
Lord Marshall Deville”
It took Mal a couple of goes to understand all of the words and she said a silent prayer to the gods for the Lord Marshall’s health.
“So be it,” was all she said with a nod to the gate guard and the men assigned to protect her before spurring her horse into the Palace grounds.
As she arrived at the steps to the palace and dismounted several pages and groomsmen appeared alongside the Lord Chamberlain. The pages with goblets of wine or mead to refresh the guests after their journey and the groomsmen to take care of their horses.
“Lord Chamberlain, it is good to see you again, I was wondering if I could have a word with the king and queen.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged. The King and Queen will look forward to having an updated report from the Black Guard.”
“I haven’t been with the Guard in nearly three months, my lord but I do know how they fair.”
“Oh? I assumed you have come from Princetown with a report,” replied the Lord Chamberlain, “Well I won’t hold you up anymore.”
“Oliver here will take you through to the King and Queen they are in the main hall of the palace. You men can get settled into some rooms and get fed while you deliver your report.”
The page Oliver was no more than seven summers old, the finely cut clothing he wore had no tears or marks, Mal surmised that he must be very new to the role. As he walked in front of her, he swallowed hard and tried to keep one eye on where he was going and the other, on the Ogre Slayer.
Arriving into the main hall of the palace, felt warm and inviting as Mal surveyed the room. Men at arms nodded and waved to her and the memories came flooding back to her of all the happy times, sat in this room with her friends. When her eyes settled on the King and Queen, she saw the smiles on their faces. Although she didn’t recognise the beautiful woman sitting to the queen’s left. She surmised that the queen must have gotten a new lady in waiting.
Stopping at the steps to the dais, she curtsied to the King and Queen, “My lieges, I bring news of the Black Guard and have a boon to ask.”
“Lady Malderia, welcome home, our last report from our son was that you had gone to visit an Oracle, I assume that you accomplished that task and have knowledge that will defeat the Demon Délíntra?”
“My Liege, indeed I did spend several months with the Oracle, and I have been charged with finding several items of power that together will allow us to defeat the Demon, that my liege is part of the boon I must ask for.”
“Ask and if it is in my power to do it will be granted,” responded the King.
“How is Prince Salistar, and the Guard? Prince Salistar’s reports are all about the battles and how much they have travelled, I hope you have more information to share than my son,” interrupted the Queen.
“He was in good form, when I spoke with him this morning, your majesty.”
“Sorry, Lady Malderia? But how did you speak with him this morning?” asked the queen confused by her statement.
“Sorry, I thought Prince Salistar would have informed you, It turns out that I can do a little magic and one of the things I can do is speak with Prince Salistar and some members of the Black Guard across vast distances, I normally contact the Guard every morning and get reports from the Chamberlain and Prince Salistar.” replied Mal before continuing, “They are still at the city of Carse, the damage done to the walls have mostly been repaired and the local militia training is going well. Salistar hopes to be moving the troops out and towards Bearon within days as the number of assaults on the city have dwindled lately. He thinks there might be only a couple of hundred goblins in the surrounding foothills. I scanned the area and agree. The Blackguard and Dwarves army will be heading out and engaging the enemy.”
The beautiful young woman sitting to the left of the queen spoke up, “You do not use the Princes’ title?” said the young woman.
“Salistar and I hold the same rank in the Black Guard, His official title is Battle Commander and mine is Watch Commander, Lady?” replied Mal leaving the question hanging. Silently annoyed at this young woman, Mal silenced her annoyance by centring herself as the Oracle had been training her to do.
“Of course I should have introduced you first, Lady Malderia Greystones, please let me introduce you to the Princess Helena of Altura, Daughter of King Duskil of Altura, and future bride of Prince Salistar,” said the queen smiling towards the Princess.
The only reason that Mal had not gasped out loud or cried or made any emotional outburst, was because she had centred herself. Gripping the mental image of herself withstanding the raging winds that threatened to drag her down and wallow in self-pity. Her only response was to curtsy and say, “Your highness, I am pleased to meet you.”
As she straightened she felt a light touch on her sleeve, turning her head she looked into the eyes of Lady Swan smiling face.
Before Mal could burst into tears and hug her friend she felt Lady Swan’s arms enveloped her and said, “Welcome, home child.”
Then turning to the Queen her arm wrapped around Mal and offering so much support that Mal thought she would fall if she let go, “Your majesty, If I may borrow my ward for a while?”
Nodding her approval to Lady Swan, the queen marvelled again at the abilities of her most trusted lady in waiting. Mal had held her emotions well in check and if you did not know what to look for you would have missed it completely. Now that Mal and her son had been separated for months she hoped that Mal’s infatuation with her son would have died out. As it was the queen knew that Mal had failed in her bid to break the emotional connection with her son, now she needed to get Mal out of the way so that her son could marry.
If only her husband had listened to her on the subject, Prince Salistar would have been off with the Black Guard and the Lady Mal would have been spending as much time with Lady Sawn’s eldest son as was humanly possible but, no, he had insisted that she be made an equal to her son and a commander of the Black Guard.
It wasn’t that the queen was unsympathetic to the girls' plight but she had told her, and in no uncertain terms, that for the good of the country her son would marry not for love, but to create ties between Caplo and another nation.
The queen watched with worry as Lady Swan left the hall with Mal in tow. It would be several hours before they would be able to speak and plan what must be done to avert a possible disaster.
—
Lady Swan, whisked Mal through the halls of the palace until they were in her private rooms. No sooner had the door closed than she started to weep.
Grabbing Mal into a tight embrace, Lady Swan said, “Now, Now child, you knew this day would come and now it has, I know that it is hard for you to see the man you love, marry another but this is his life, he has no choice in this matter, and neither do you.”
Mal continued to cry for what seemed like an eternity but was more like ten or fifteen minutes. As the time between sobs grew longer Lady Swan rubbed her back and relaxed her tight hold more and more.
“I must rebuke you though, Mal, While the Black Guard has been sending reports back to the city, I never received one note from you about how you were doing,” said Lady Swan, when Mal looked up suddenly she relaxed visibly seeing Lady Swan's smile.
“Sorry, I suppose I should have sent you a note or two,” replied Mal wiping the tears away from her eyes.
“Yes you should have, I’ve been worried sick, over how things have been for you in the middle of all those men. Have they treated you well?”
“Yes, each of them is like a brother to me,” replied Mal.
“So tell me everything that has happened since you left,” said Lady Swan guiding Mal to one of the couches and ringing a little silver bell on the table.
Mal spent the next few hours reciting everything that had happened on their quest to find the dwarves including her finding her magic and meeting the Oracle. By the time Mal had answered all of the Lady Swans questions, she would have sworn that Lady Swan had picked her brain clean.
Mal as woken in her room the next morning by Cari the maid that had helped her so much and become her friend the last time she had stayed in the palace.
“Cari, good morro to you, it is nice to see a friendly face again, how have you been?” asked Mal with a bright smile.
“Good, Mal, when I heard you were back, I asked the chamberlain to be assigned to you again, I hope you don’t mind?”
“Mind? Cari, I love the fact we will be spending time together again after all I don’t have many friends here in the palace.”
“I’ve brought you some breakfast,” she said putting the tray down on the bed beside Mal, “and I’ve taken the liberty of having your clothes sent to Mistress Tang to have any cuts, scrapes and damage repaired. In the meantime, I had your wardrobe stocked with several of the outfits that you left here. For you to use in the meantime.”
Mal sighed and wondered if Cari had filled the wardrobe with only dresses or if there were any practical choices in the wardrobe. The smell of hot food on the tray and the steaming cup of Kuffa dragged her mind back to the present and that her stomach was hungry and she needed to break her fast.
Eventually, Cari, deemed Mal ready to leave her apartment, she had insisted on Mal wearing the first dress that had been made for her, which was a most beautiful blue silk dress, Many days of travel, and study combined with more regular meals meant that the dress was slightly tight and they had a little trouble getting her into it.
“Don’t worry Mal, I’m sure that Mistress Tang will be able to let it out a little,” said Cari with a smile.
Cari had stamped her foot when Mal had picked up the sword, “Please Mal, there is no reason for you to carry a sword.”
Sighing deeply Mal still found ti funny that Cari would switch from being demure and strong-willed with her depending on different situations. Reluctantly she placed the sword back on to the dresser and stepped out into the hall, almost knocking Lady Swan’s son Geoffrey down.
“Geoffrey!” Exclaimed Mal seeing her friend, what she wasn’t expecting was his reaction. The smile that exploded onto his face when he recognised Mal and the fact that he lifted her and swung her around. Mal was impressed she didn’t think that Geoffrey was that strong but when he lifted her, she naturally grabbed his arms to steady herself and felt the muscles that were hidden beneath tighten and flex as he spun her around.
“Sorry, Mal, you surprised me, I didn’t know you were back in the city.” said a very smiling Geoffrey,
Mal noticed that he didn’t let go of her waist straight away but held on with his fingers lightly touching her for a couple of seconds before she reluctantly felt him letting go. Suddenly embarrassed at the situation Mal broke eye contact first and when she looked back her friend was once more standing in front of her. The thing that had troubled her the most was that she had liked his touch a lot more than what a friend should.
“Are your going to see your mother?” she asked trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Yes, I was going to surprise her, We got into port very late so we stayed on board for the remainder of the night, will you come too? I would love to hear about everything that you have been up to since we last spoke.”
“I caught up with your mother last night, I am just on my way to the palace gardens for a morning walk, Maybe later?” replied Mal.
‘Later it is then, my lady,” responded Geoffrey bowing with a flourish, which made both Mal and Cari involuntarily giggle.
After parting company, they headed to the palace gardens, Mal was looking for a nice spot to sit in the early morning sun and communicate with the Black Guard. While they walked Mal fretted over whether she should communicate with Prince Salistar. If she connected with him then he might feel the emotion she felt towards the princess he is due to marry. In the end, she decided to communicate only with the Chamberlain.
Taking a seat in the sunshine that looked over a small pool where several large golden fish swam. Mal closed her eyes and sped down the line towards the Black Guard. In a matter of seconds she was once again approaching the Black Guard again it seemed as if darkness hung over the guard and as she approached it seemed to break up and fade away. They were camped many days travel north of Carse, the camp was much larger than she had expected.
She hovered over the shoulder of the Chamberlain, taking a deep breath she touched his shoulder with the lightest of touches. She could see him straighten as awareness of her seeped into the Lord Chamberlain.
“My Lord Chamberlain, how fares you and the Black Guard,” she inquired.
“Well Mam, I was just finishing the morning reports for the Battle Commander. We have supplies for two more weeks at the current rate of consumption. And are about a weeks travel from Bearon. Forward scouts have advised of no enemy units to be seen. Which either means they are amassing somewhere or that they are lying in wait for us.”
“Thank you, it might be some time until I can communicate with the Black Guard, Let Prince Salistar know that everything is fine.”
“Don’t you wish to tell him yourself?”
“No, it is hard enough as it is, take care of him my Lord Chamberlain until we meet again.”
“Until we meet again,” replied the Lord Chamberlain as he felt her presence detach herself from him.