“WHAT?!”
“She said it was a reward for the battle won,” for some reason he felt like defending himself even though he was mentally screaming, “but the look on her face said she was scheming something and I wouldn’t like it. So I turned her down, saying she should reward me with that when I won the war. It…seemed like a good idea at the time,” he finished lamely. Never before had he regretted a past decision like he did this one.
Sego’s eyes were large enough to fall out of his head. After a terribly long moment of silence he managed to croak, “New rule: you are not allowed to make decisions of this significance without me.”
He could hardly disagree, not under the circumstances. “What are the odds that I can get her to change her mind?”
Sego sat back with a thump, stroking his cane absently and clearly thinking hard. “I think…,” he started only to pause for a long moment. “I think that if we put a romantic spin on it, we might stand a chance. She’s still bent and determined to tie you more firmly to Niotan.”
For some reason, Darius’s darker sense of humor found this funny. “What, me wanting to break another’s betrothal to have a bride isn’t romantic enough?”
“Add a line of ‘love at first sight’ and you’ll set the hook more firmly,” Sego advised dryly. “I’ve seen it work before with her.”
He almost protested that it hadn’t been love at first sight, and should he really say something like that? But then his mind recalled that moment when he first set eyes on her. Maybe…maybe it had been, and he’d failed to realize it.
“Wait,” Sego studied him carefully. “Was it like that?”
Not wanting to answer that question, he just cleared his throat. “Alright, do you think you can get me an audience with her tomorrow?”
Sego clearly wanted an answer but he set his curiosity aside. “I think so, considering. I’ll certainly try. What will you ask for?”
“Just land granted to me. Err…the size of the land doesn’t matter, right? Just an acre will suffice?”
Sego raised his eyes to the heavens, clearly praying for patience. “You wouldn’t really ask for a simple acre of land, would you? I know that you don’t really care for material things, but think of your future! You’ll need more than an acre to support a family with.”
“If I want a house and land, I can pay for that myself,” Darius pointed out patiently. “The income of a lead general is very generous. It’s why I turned her down to begin with.”
“I’m going with you tomorrow,” Sego concluded with a tone of finality that brooked no room for disagreement. “I can’t trust you in negotiating, obviously.”
There were so many cultural quirks that he could run afoul of that this insistence seemed more of a blessing than a hindrance. “Fine. But Sego…this is truly alright? She won’t be dishonored by this, will she?”
“No, it’s fine,” Sego assured him patiently. “Rather, since she’s tied to that brute Grygotis, you truly are saving her from a dreadful future. Um…,” he hesitated and openly searched for the right words before venturing, “I feel I must ask. Does she return your regard?”
“I don’t know,” he was forced to admit. “I know she prefers my company over his, but more than that? I don’t know.”
“That’s not much of a compliment, considering who you’re being compared against.”
“I know.” Darius left it at that.
“Well.” Sego thumped his cane against the ground and gave his general a confident and supportive nod. “It’ll be fine. If you can win an impossible war, surely you can win over one woman.”
Give me a battle any day.
Darius took more pains with his appearance that morning than he normally did. He had sent a carefully penned request to meet with the queen off with Payam before breakfast. He had received a reply almost before he could finish eating. It had been set for an hour later, giving him plenty of time to dress. Too much time, actually. He’d tried working some in his study but couldn’t focus. Now he just wandered aimlessly around the central room, picking things up and setting them down again without much interest.
Sego tapped his cane against the floor and gave him a stern look. “It doesn’t do any good to pace around the room. You look like a caged tiger.”
I feel like one too, Darius grumbled to himself. “Can’t we leave yet?”
“Yes, General, we can leave,” Sego responded like a parent indulging a child.
Relieved, he headed directly for the door, avoiding the curious eyes of everyone else. He didn’t want to talk about it, not yet. He feared jinxing himself.
At this early hour, most of the palace was still asleep. They passed some of the palace staff but none of them paid any attention to the general heading for the queen’s study. He often saw her, so his visit with her wouldn’t seem remarkable to anyone.
The guards, queued to his appointment, nodded to him respectfully before opening the door and announcing him and Sego.
Tresea sat in her usual seat at the head of the table, but this time she had only one book out instead of the stacks that normally cluttered the surface. She set the volume aside as he stepped in, her eyes studying both of them carefully. “Darius, Sego, welcome. I admit that I am surprised by your request for an audience. Is something amiss with my army?”
Darius swallowed hard and forced his voice to be even and not crack. “I’ve come regarding a personal matter, My Queen.”
“Oh?” She waved them both to a chair, her manner sharp and alert. “Do continue.”
He took the chair, clasping his hands together on the surface of the table to keep them steady. With a deep breath for courage he started, “My Queen, may I be perfectly blunt with you?”
Tresea adored bluntness in all forms so her eyes lit up at this request. “I thought you’d never ask. Please do.”
“I have known for some time that you wish for me to create firmer ties with Niotan,” he stated with no trace of accusation. “One of the methods you thought of was finding me a bride. Another was giving me an estate.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Hooo so you were aware of my plans. I suspected you were, as you evaded me so neatly each time.”
“I no longer wish to evade.” He gave her a crooked smile. “My Queen, I have found a woman that I want to be my wife.”
She clapped her hands together with a squeal of delight. “Finally! Who?”
Why was this more nerve-wracking than going to a battlefield with only a dagger in hand? “Amalah Sebresos.”
Tresea froze, mouth opening and closing several times without sound coming out. Darius didn’t quite know what to make of her response. Did she react this way because she knew that Amalah was betrothed? Did she expect him to name some other woman instead?
Sego, thankfully, stepped in at this point. “My Queen, I’m not sure if you are aware of the full situation. You do know that Amalah Sebresos is betrothed?”
Regaining her composure, she focused briefly on Sego. “Yes, to Merikh Grygotis, I believe.”
“Are you also aware of his exact status as raj?” Sego continued neutrally.
She must have seen where these questions were leading her as the surprise faded from her face and the light in her eyes became calculating. “Indeed I do. He is the second son of the Grygotis family, and came into an inheritance through his mother, inheriting her land dowry. I believe it to be a modest estate but nothing to boast about.”
“I double checked the records last night. The estate he inherited was granted to the family by your great-grandfather.”
Tresea clearly understood what Sego truly meant. Her eyes shifted to Darius, eyebrows quirked. “Even with the position that you have in this court, you do not have the necessary right to challenge Grygotis.”
He gave a grim nod and kept going with the speech he had mentally planned out. “I am not asking you to interfere on my behalf. All I ask is that you give me the right to fight for her. A simple acre will suffice.”
Under
the table, Sego smacked him in the shin with his cane. Darius grimaced at him but didn’t retract the statement. To him, a simple acre really would be enough.
Tresea caught the exchange and giggled. “I do not think that your steward agrees with you, Darius. But then, he has been working very hard to build up the reputation and power of your House. An estate granted by my Word would be very helpful in moving things along, would they not, Sego.”
Sego managed an elegant half-bow despite the table top in his way. “It is my selfish wish, My Queen.”
She gave a hum of amusement. “I could only wish that your Raj would be as selfish.” The look she gave him made him want to squirm in his seat a little.
“Very well.” She clapped her hands together in open satisfaction. “Darius, I will not give you a small amount of land. The very idea is preposterous. You will, in fact, accept the estate that I wanted to give you in the first place.” Her eyes narrowed in warning. “And when you do have it, you will immediately see to governing it. Every available estate that I have has been without a ruling family for at least a decade and needs a great amount of work to restore to its former glory.”
Wait, she made it sound as if she didn’t have a specific estate in mind for him. Strange, he had been under the impression that she wanted to give him one in particular. “Of course, My Queen.”
“Very good.” Standing, she went to a long bell hanging from the side of one of the bookshelves and gave it a solid clang. “I thought of simply choosing an estate and giving it to you,” she stated as she made her way back to her seat. “But then I realized that these estates are in different areas of the country and some of them are in more obscure locations. I didn’t know if you wanted to be in a certain strategic location or not.”
Truly, that was a question. Did he want his home in jeopardy whenever war hovered on Niotan’s doorstep? But at the same time, did he dare choose an estate that would leave him days away from the front lines? A general of his rank could not afford to be out of reach. “I do not want to fear for my family’s safety while I am away,” he told her honestly. “But on the other hand, I dare not live in an area that would leave me isolated. It would be folly to do so. Perhaps an estate near the center of the country, where I can be assured of my family’s safety, but also be able to respond quickly?”
She nodded in approval. “There are two estates that I think would be a good choice. Now if Tomes would ever get here…,” a quick knock at the door interrupted her and she looked up with anticipation. “Ah, there he is. Enter!”
A short, unremarkable man scurried inside and with his eyes on the floor, he bobbed a quick bow. His hair was so wispy as to be insubstantial and he seemed to hunch in on himself.
“Tomes, fetch the estate map,” Tresea commanded.
He scurried back outside, disappearing into the hallway for a long moment before returning with a long, rolled up cloth in both hands. Without looking at anyone, he gave a short bow before heading directly to the table and rolling out the cloth in his hands.
It was, in fact, a very detailed map of Niotan with the names of the individual estates and the boundaries it occupied. It almost filled the table from end to end, colored in the brightest tones that Darius had ever seen on a map.
“Tomes, which estates are available near the center of the country?”
“This one,” Tomes responded in a voice so soft that Darius could barely hear him, “and this one.”
He’d pointed so quickly and in such a general manner that Darius didn’t know if he really knew which estates the man meant. But Tresea knew more of her court and she clearly did understand. “Ahhh. I did remember that correctly. Darius, which would you prefer? The Tavalas estate which is here, just north of the capital, or the Soohr Estate which is closer to the harbor?”
Both seemed like prime locations. Tavalas sat more toward the Songhorn Mountains and seemed to be rather sizeable. As he had never ventured to that side of the country before, he had no idea of what the land looked like. But the estate did lay only a half-day’s travel from the capital, so it would be a good location for him. The other one, Soohr, he knew a little more about because he had travelled through that general area to get to the harbor. Hmmm. Actually that was a thought. A great deal of traffic went through there because of the trading going on between the capital and the harbor. If he were on an estate that lay near a major trade route—which this one would be—then he would never have to worry about economic problems. He was, after all, a merchant’s son. If he couldn’t do at least some business and come ahead, his father would disown him completely.
“Soohr,” he said confidently.
Tresea gave him a sideways look. “That estate has not had a reigning family for almost twenty years.”
If she thought that the amount of work would scare him off, she was sadly mistaken. “Soohr,” he repeated with a half-smile. “Because I want the trade routes it offers me. Even if I fall in battle, I believe that my wife and family can continue to make their home into a prosperous place.”
Her eyes crinkled up at the corners. “You truly do think like a merchant at times.”
He shrugged, unapologetic. His knowledge of trade routes and accounting had saved him more times than any amount of battle tactics would have.
“Very well, Soohr.” She gave a significant nod to Tomes. “Let it be recorded that at this hour, of this day, Soohr was granted to Darius Bresalier of the House of Bresalier.”
Tomes gave her a deep bow. “It shall be recorded as so.”
“Very good. Darius.” Her eyes softened and warmed in an almost maternal manner. “Amalah Sebresos is not a woman that I would have ever chosen for you. But I believe that she would be a good choice. Because of that, I will support your decision. But if you cannot get Grygotis to accept the challenge, then I want you to promise me something.”
This woman had just granted him a huge favor and did it without making him grovel for it. He owed her more than he could possibly repay. So without hesitation he responded, “Name it, My Queen.”
“Promise me that if you cannot win her, then you will choose someone else. I think you have earned some measure of happiness.”
He had absolutely no intention of losing Amalah. If Grygotis didn’t choose to accept the challenge, Darius would find a way to goad him into it somehow. From what he’d seen of the man, it wouldn’t take much to make him lose his temper. But he did not attempt to reassure her. “I promise.”
“Good. Then go. I will have Tomes send the official paperwork to you later,” she waved her hand to Sego indicating who the paperwork would really go to. “But as of this moment, you are officially the Raj of Soohr. Please manage it well.”
He stood from the table and crossed both arms over his chest before giving her a deep bow from the waist. It was the most formal version of thanks and gratitude that an Arapeen could do. “I can never repay this generosity, My Queen.”
“Oh, you’ll find a way,” she responded dryly. “You always do. Go. Go get your chosen bride. And when you do set the challenge, tell me.” Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and she bared her teeth in a feral way. “I want to see that man get just what he deserves.”
So she had no love for Grygotis, eh? Perhaps that had also weighed in his favor. Regardless, Darius had what he wanted, which meant it was time to set the next part of his plan in motion. With one last bow, he took his leave of her, Sego in his wake.
When they had gained the relative silence of the hallway, he turned to Sego and asked, “Where do you think we can find Grygotis at this time of day?”
“He’s normally in the inner gardens, currying favor with his betrothed’s family,” Sego responded quickly.
Darius gave him a baffled look. “Why do you always have the answer before I can even ask the question?”
“You’re predictable.”
Odd, his enemies on the battlefield never seemed to think so…. “Am I, now?”
“Oh yes. In matters regarding th
e heart, at least.” Sego seemed quite pleased with himself at that moment. But then, the man had cause to be.
Deciding to think about that comment later, Darius shook his head and headed for the inner sanctum of the palace.
~~~
Proving to be a creature of habit, Grygotis was in the very garden that he’d been in the previous day. In fact, he even sat at the very same bench, with his future parents-in-law on either side of him. Amalah stood cautiously to the side, out of his reach.
Darius walked directly to him in that quick stride that devoured ground. Grygotis saw him coming and stopped mid-sentence, turning to face him.
Without any preamble, Darius launched into the prepared speech. “Raj Grygotis, I issue a right of challenge under the law of this land. I challenge you for Raja Amalah Sebresos’s hand.”
Raj Sebresos looked ready to bust a blood vessel, his wife waffled between fainting from the shock or screeching, and the bystanders around him were just frozen with disbelief. He really couldn’t care less what everyone around him thought. The only woman whose opinion mattered hadn’t responded.
Amalah was rooted to the spot, her eyes wide with surprise, one hand covering her mouth. She looked…almost terrified with hope. That expression told him that he had not, after all, jumped to any conclusions. The fist clenching his heart eased and let him breathe again.
“Now wait a minute!” Grygotis took two steps forward, putting himself directly in front of Darius, brows slammed together in an expression of epic fury. “Challenge me? You think you can?”
Darius took in a breath and reminded himself to be patient. Losing his temper would make him look just as idiotic as this fool in front of him. “The queen granted me land this morning. I have the legal right necessary to challenge you.”
“Land-greedy are you?” Grygotis sneered at him in an arrogant tilt of the head. “You think that you can win more land easily by claiming a woman with a good dowry?”
In this situation, if the roles were reversed, the very last thing that Darius would be worried about would be the dowry. Shaking his head in pity, he turned to the woman watching this scene, and caught her eyes with his.
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