by R. J. Price
“Then on my way here I passed a lord and lady arguing in the hallway and she wanted to come see the throne about something and he said she couldn't, that you wouldn't care whether or not he was the one to—” and Mie proceeded to repeat what he had heard.
Mar put a hand over her mouth. Aren sat in the throne heavily. Mie knew what the lord had done was a bad thing. He knew that Aren would fix it because Aren was good.
“You aren't going to let him actually do such a thing, are you?” Mie asked.
“What's he look like?” Aren asked Mie.
“Old,” Mie responded, kicking his feet slowly. “He made me feel funny, like I had a stomach ache.”
“Most of the court feels like that,” Mar said to Aren.
“He was really old,” Mie said. “She was pretty with her hair done up and she was crying. There were lots of people in the hallway, but no one tried to stop him. They sort of pretended he said nothing at all. I did the same, but I'm much smaller than he is and father said that if I have a problem with a lord I should report it to the proper authorities rather than try to stop the lord, because I'm not trained to defend myself yet.”
“That is very true,” Aren said quietly. “If the lady won't come to me, I can't do anything for her. I don't know who she is, or who the lord is. I can't simply chastise the court in general about the behaviour because he'll punish her later on.”
Mie considered Aren's words as he kicked his feet idly.
“That's stupid,” Mie said finally.
“It is a little silly, yes, but it's like you said out at your father's, do you remember?”
“Why can't I just say that I'm a warrior, and you're a queen, and that be that?” Mie asked Aren with a frown, “I don't understand why someone should be allowed to get away with that. It feels wrong.”
“But she's his mate,” Aren said. “Without a filed complaint, there's nothing the law can do.”
“You won't file a complaint against the old kitchen master, or your parents, or anyone else who is causing you trouble,” Mie said accusingly. “Doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean they should get away with it. She's a commoner, Father says ranks are here to protect commoners!”
Aren pressed her lips together tightly. She looked to Mar, who watched her passively.
“Your call, Aren,” Mar said quietly. “It's one thing to stumble onto trouble. It's quite another to go looking for it.”
“But it would only take once,” Aren murmured in response. She stood. “Mie, take me to this lord.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Pushing into the crowd, Av found Jer frowning at him. “What's going on?” he asked over the commotion.
“I don't know,” Jer said. “I've been waiting for you to push through the throng. I can't understand what they're saying, and they won't quit it long enough to make sense.”
Av pushed forward, broke through the crowd, and into the little circle. He realized, too late, why Jer couldn't make sense of what the crowd was saying. A young lady lay on the floor, her cheek reddened. She was lying as still as possible, trying to appear unconscious. Av looked to her and she glanced back up at him, then at the other two.
Aren had a lord by the throat. He was against the wall, feet dangling above the floor. She was using magic to make her limbs move in ways they shouldn't have been able to, and she was angry. The type of anger Av had felt from Em, from his own mother, when she had cornered someone who had done something terribly wrong. That anger was feeding Aren's magic, allowing her to lift the man without noticing it.
She probably didn't realize he was about to pass out from lack of air.
What the crowd was shouting varied. Each was trying to cast in their vote as to what should be done with the lord. Without context, without understanding that Aren's anger was driving those gathered into a bloody rage, there was no way Jer could have known what they were saying.
“Maybe, we should consider putting down the old man,” Av said cautiously.
Aren released the man, pulling away from the wall and towards Av. Not understanding what was going on, Av pulled back. Aren's hand reached out, as she had that night during Mar's engagement ball. The air between her hand and Av's face crackled as magic threatened to turn to physical fire.
Her anger was fuelling her magic. In turn her magic was looking for an outlet, rather than turning in on her body. There was too much to absorb. When magic met air, without any given direction, it tended to change into the most basic element, fire.
“I'm not saying he should go free,” Av managed to get out. “Just that this is not the time, nor the place, to be taking a life.”
Aren returned. His dear, sweet, confused Aren, came back to herself, faltered as her eyes swept over the crowd.
“These two...” Aren paused, then raised her voice, pouring her anger and magic into making others hear her, rather than into violence. “These two...” The crowd went quiet. “Thank you. These two were mated by Lady Em against the wishes of the woman involved. No doubt, if you stopped to think to yourselves, you would recall this lady and, perhaps, some imagined transgression against Lady Em.”
Aren turned to the other side of Av, facing the other part of the crowd. “Earlier this morning, this man was heard saying absolutely despicable things, in this hallway, before witnesses, causing her to cry. When I came to question him on this matter, rather than answer me, he chose to strike his mate.”
The men in the crowd began muttering amongst themselves. The women hissed at one another.
Av stiffened when Aren turned to him. “What does tradition say about one mate striking the other?”
He stumbled. “We don't follow tradition,” he managed to get out. “Even the law says nothing against striking one's mate.”
“And what do you say?” Aren asked.
“I say...” Av hesitated, aware that every woman in the crowd was watching him, judging him. He knew the men were doing the same. No matter what answer he gave, someone would be upset. Even if he said the man should hang, there would be those who supported discipline, but hated him for suggesting execution. “Why, why did he do it? But then, I know, you answered already.”
“In the case of one mate hitting the other, you ask why,” Aren said quietly. “And in this case?”
“In this specific instance, I do believe we need to give him a warning and apply the punishment which Em would carry out, a fine of ten coins,” Av said. “The court doesn't run on the same rules, but he probably didn't know that. With all these witnesses, I think we can safely say this is the one warning you need to give before you can do as you please. What is it that you please to do with him, if I might ask?”
“I don't know yet,” Aren said. “This mating is to be brought up for investigation.”
“Absolutely, Jer would be happy to get on that,” Av said.
Av turned to the crowd, who looked back at him, uncertain. Eyes flickering to the man on the floor, then they slowly dispersed. They had been hoping for bloodshed. Aren looked down at the man, then to the woman in question.
“We can't send her back to her rooms like that,” Aren said.
He turned to the woman. “Go to the healer's hall. Either myself or my brother will come find you.”
She fled the moment she was dismissed. Av turned to the man, wondering what to do about the lord. He looked up just as two guards rounded the corner to break up the crowd that had been reported. Holding his hands from his sides, Av shook his head.
“You guards are embarrassing me here,” Av said. “This is the second time your reaction has been slow.”
“Sorry, Lord Av,” they grumbled to their feet before pulling the lord upright and carting him off.
Jer stepped up to the remaining pair, Mar a step behind him. “Did you happen to stumble on this little mess, or did you go looking for trouble that you knew was there?”
“I knew it was here,” Aren said.
Jer frowned past Aren. “Mie, what are you doing here? Does father know whe
re you are?”
Av hadn't even noticed the presence of his half-brother. Small, quiet, Mie must have been standing by Aren's side the entire time. Av had been focused on the violently angry rank and foolishly ignored the idle threat to the side.
“Yes, on that topic,” Aren spun on Av, jabbing a finger under his nose. “Is this how you plan to treat our children? Just have them wander the palace without breakfast?”
“Ah, the withholding breakfast thing,” Av said. “It gets us out when we try to hide. Perfectly harmless. If he thought we'd go hungry, or he sees us not eating, he changes his tune pretty quick.”
“Really?” Aren demanded. “How can I trust you to care for any children we might have, if this is how you treat your brother?”
Av frowned, the words finally sinking in. “Well, for starters, he's my brother, not my child.”
“You should be setting an example of how you plan to raise your children,” Aren said, crossing her arms. “You're doing a bloody terrible job with Mie. He hasn't even got studies assigned to him.”
“That's not like Father,” Av muttered.
“What I see is how you raise Mie, and I don't want this for our children,” Aren finished.
Jer stepped up beside a confused Av. “If Av fails in his duties as a father, I will take up those duties. Just as father, nothing more. I'll make sure that you and the children are safe.”
“And if you die and I die, then what?” Aren demanded.
“Perlon and I can take them on,” Mar said, setting a hand on Aren's shoulder. “You're over-thinking this. Av will make a great father, he just didn't know he was being tested.”
Av frowned at the trio collected before him. He was still confused. He didn't understand what was going on, or why he was being judged for Mie wandering the hallways when the boy had two full-grown brothers. He also couldn't figure out why Jer was standing there with an impish look on his face.
Determined not to go down alone, Av jabbed a finger at Jer. “He's also a brother of Mie, why isn't he getting this treatment of yours?”
“Because he hasn't claimed me before the court,” Aren retorted. “I do believe Jer has other things on his mind, besides caring for his little brother, who has a fully functional older brother to care for him. Mie's uncle and cousin are even at court. Yet here he is, wandering the hallways, without a letter to annoy him, no numbers dancing at the back of his head.”
“Father's a little busy,” Jer muttered.
“With Lord Laeder?” Aren asked Jer, causing the man to jump in place. “What were you doing with him so early in the morning, dragging him through the palace?”
“Nothing,” Jer said too quickly.
“I don't believe accosting Telm with the book, which you also had when you were dragging Lord Laeder through the hallways, would be the conclusion of nothing in anyone's definition of the word, Lord Jer. What were you doing with my intended?”
“Nothing!” Jer protested, blushing considerably.
Av frowned and turned to Jer, recognizing his brother's body language. “I said a nice, sociable time. What part of that leads to a bedroom? Nice, sociable. That's polite and out where the court can see you, it's a friendly get-together.”
“I know, I know,” Jer snarled back. “One thing led to another and next thing I knew... Well, what can I do to change the past?”
“You,” Aren said loudly, then dropped her voice to barely above a whisper, “slept with him?”
“I didn't mean to,” Jer said, stepping back from Aren.
“Were you drunk?” Av asked.
Jer winced. “No.”
“Sober?” Av asked. “How do you tumble into bed with someone sober, and claim it was an accident?”
“Same way, you 'accidentally' got lost on the way to Mar's mating feast and 'accidentally' tripped into Aren,” Jer snarled back.
“I don't believe my love life is for the two of you to discuss,” Aren hissed through gritted teeth.
“It is for me to discuss,” Av said, turning to Aren. “You should be open about these sorts of things. That way your partner knows what you want, and you know what you want.”
“In a hallway?” Aren asked. “About a woman who is to be mated to the southern baron's son? You think they won't take offense because here at the palace, that's the way you handle things?”
Av pointed at Jer. “But he's already slept with the man.”
“I didn't do it on purpose!” Jer protested.
“You did too, you can't keep your hands to yourself, now can you?” Av shouted back. “Always with the grabbing and the touching and the accidentally impregnating any woman you've ever slept with!”
“I've only slept with two, and how would you know?” Jer shouted back.
“Oh, is that my cue?” Mar asked quietly, drawing Jer's eyes to her. “Well, I meant to come see you and have a chat with you but…” The young woman shrugged.
Av set a hand on the small of Aren's back and steered her away from Jer and Mar. He had known the two of them hadn't spoken yet, but he hadn't quite meant for the conversation to go in that direction. He moved Aren around the corner and into the first available room.
“Well, this is oddly familiar,” Aren said, folding her arms to glare at Av.
Leaning against the door, he looked Aren up and down. “About that, about the future. Aren. All you have to do is say no.”
The air crackled around Av. “I don't think I have to say no.” The crackle vanished, giving him an unfamiliar tingle down his arms and legs. “You're trying to distract me. Why?”
“Jer and Mar are alone, together, for the first time.” Av shook his head. “Possibly ever. And it made me think of conversations that I've meant to have, but never got around to.”
Aren nodded slowly, her lips pressed into a thin line. “We're alone for the first time in…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Telm doesn't even know where I am and you want to talk about Jer?”
“What else would we talk about?” he asked, confused.
Tugging at the lacing of her dress, Aren smiled. “I don't want to talk at all.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aren sat before her hearth, annoyed and frustrated. After finally being alone with him, Av said no. Not because he didn't want to, he was very clear on that, but because he felt Telm was scary. Telm appeared moments later, as if hearing her name, and separated the two of them while giving Av a lecture on being alone with a lady.
A knock came at the door, but Aren continued to glare at the fire.
“Lord Deret to see you, Lady Aren,” Telm said from the door.
Smoothing her features as best she could, Aren turned as the lord took the other seat. She thought she had been clear about not making audiences while in her rooms. Did Telm believe that Aren would take audiences until she moved into the queen's rooms?
Aren winced at the thought of the questions the serving staff had bombarded her with over the afternoon, asking her what her favourite colour was, did she prefer stone or wood? She knew why they were asking the questions, what the questions were for. What she didn't understand was why the servants were the ones asking, why her mother, as head of house, didn't come to ask the questions herself, as Telm said she was supposed to do.
“My lady,” Lord Deret said.
“Please, don't use titles,” Aren grumbled. “I haven't got time for polite. I am Aren, you are Deret, and this is my time you are interrupting. Be quick about it.”
Deret hesitated, considering Aren as if second guessing himself. Obviously troubled by something, apparently not wanting the entire court to know, he had come to her after gathering his courage and she had just squashed that courage.
“Deret, why didn't you take this before the throne?” Aren asked, trying to speak as softly as possible.
“It's not—” Deret sighed. “La-uhm, Aren, my mating was arranged by Lady Em. At the time, I thought Lady Em had blessed me with a beautiful woman. She has no rank, a title that she cannot pass to
any children, and her father loves me. She likes my income, my estate, and my title.”
Questioning his arranged mating. Aren watched Deret for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Deret, this is to question Em's mated pairs, those which she created to punish one or both,” Aren said quietly. “I fail to see where you are going with this.”
“My mate, Lerana, is barren,” Deret said, holding up his hands to stop Aren from protesting. “I'm not upset about that. I could be happy with a barren woman, but she didn't tell me until I questioned why, after six years, we've not conceived, even once. Not even a mistake. And she's voracious. No contraceptives. I have a child, I knew it wasn't me, but his mother's blood needed him to take her name. After our year was up, I agreed to have his name changed. He belongs to them. I need an inheritor for my estate now.”
“Adopt,” Aren said plainly.
“I would, but she's forbidden it. She wants her nephew to inherit. The boy has no right to my estate. That was only the beginning. When I started questioning her, well...”
Aren waited a long moment. When Deret didn't offer anything up, she said. “Well, what?”
Deret stood, pulling his shirt off.
Telm, who had been standing by the door pretending not to hear what was going on, protested as she crossed the room to the hearth. “Lord Deret, this is highly inappropriate!”