The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus

by Wigboldy,Donald

  Giving a grunt and wave of his hand, Orlaan replied, "Fine, send a wizard to check that as well."

  "If he was killed, your majesty, then that means the curse is by design and not something the gods have sent. There are too many strange happenings of late. The duke's death, the poison, the burned warehouses and now even the earl's death, are beginning to seem less than incidental, my lord."

  "But who would be able to do such things in so many places without leaving a trace?" Orlaan asked sounding tired rather than angry. As a king, death threats almost seemed to be inevitable. People desired power, land and wealth. Orlaan had all three, but who would serve to benefit from all the other deaths? Philip wondered that as well.

  "The nations around you are allies, but we could look into that as well. This Brotherhood of the Blood is supposed to be a benevolent organization, but we have already been curious about them." A significant pause set before Philip added the one worry most kings had. "Hopefully there aren't any closer to the throne hoping that a few poisonings could open the way for them as well."

  The thought made Orlaan look angrier than before and the king snapped, "That is one thing that shouldn't happen. I have made sure to take care of them all. They have cities to govern and wealth. No one has been ignored as long as they are of age. I can't very well let a child run a city after all, but no one has ever made it evident that they want more than I have given to them either, Philip.

  "Can we at least assume that isn't the case?"

  Being a pragmatist, Philip knew his suggestion wouldn't be well received. Though he agreed that Malaiy's royal family had all seemed comfortable enough with their positions, it was a rare thing when there wasn't contention surrounding most nations' thrones however.

  "We can hope, but not assume, sire. The fact that Earl Carland is in this conversation would make for an unlikely candidate to be from the family at least."

  Sighing as his eyes rolled towards the ceiling as if looking for strength from some unseen god, Orlaan asked for his nephew to explain, "And why do you say that after just placing the possibility on them?"

  "Well, let's play it out with the worst case scenario," Philip said still holding the letter in his hand. He wanted to reread the contents looking for any other clues that the writer of the note might have left for him. It was sent by the earl's steward since he had no wife or other family in Ylden. He had been appointed earl only recently and hadn't wed, which was a bit of a surprise since the king seemed to prefer making the appointments to married relatives.

  "Let's say there was a plan that eliminated the royal family here in the castle."

  Orlaan bristled at the idea and his face darkened with rage simply at the idea, but Philip continued, "Removing your part of the line would leave it to Duke Esteran. Carland was his grandson and not even the firstborn, so if someone within that branch was involved, why kill him?"

  "You don't think Carland's death could just be an accident?"

  "Admittedly it is possible, but I did say that this is the worst case scenario," he reminded the king. "Beyond Marquess Etrine's line is Serafene's and as far as I have ever noticed neither she nor our children have any real desire to rule."

  Orlaan chuckled, though it had little humor to it as he added, "You didn't mention yourself."

  Shrugging, Philip answered, "No spouse is likely to benefit unless there is no heir apparent. The law states that only the blood of your line is in the line of heirs. Other noble blood lines would be more likely to benefit than I."

  "I doubt that Itan would have any more desire for the crown than your wife," Orlaan said getting back to the line following him to the throne. "So that would leave Pherena's branch of the family."

  Philip nodded. "Though again it would seem unlikely, your sister and her children do hold control over southwest Malaiy. Their cities are a buffer to Tseult, but were they to decide to concentrate power; I suppose that territory would be a good start. A rebellion wouldn't be needed if something happened to the rest of you, but the duchess does control a significant portion of your armed forces."

  "They've been a deterrent to Tseult in our past, but have been more for show since my father ruled. I suppose in this scenario that would be a possible danger."

  "Admittedly this all seems unlikely, but we should make sure to keep our eyes on all possibilities. The other noble houses have never seemed strong enough to change anything and seem content as well, but someone appears ready to shake things up," Philip finished his thought.

  "For now it would seem best to find out where the source of this poison came from," Orlaan stated seeing where his nephew's logic led. "If we can figure out where it came from, then we are more likely to also figure out who would be behind such a plot."

  "Will you give this to Lord Denefar or the commander of the watch maybe?" Philip asked hoping to step back from the investigation. If members of the family were being targeted, he didn't like the idea of leaving Serafene and Alicia alone even if they had guards for protection. Alexander was no longer under his roof and Annalicia was probably as safe as anyone while she remained outside the country, he supposed. Her return was still weeks away, so his vision remained on those he could help protect.

  "It will likely take a combination of their resources. I would like you to see what help you can provide as well, Philip. Like you said earlier, you have little to gain, but more to lose if this should turn into an attack on the family. Keep Serafene and your children safe, but continue to look into the brothers and follow whatever leads the others can provide you."

  Wanting to sigh, Philip nodded instead and replied, "Of course, your majesty, I will do what I can."

  The houses found along the street were remarkably unremarkable, Philip thought as he neared the home of one of those on his list. It was less than a mile from the castle, but it was easy to see that the wealth of a king didn't flow out through the whole of Yalan. The city had wealth and trade, but not everyone shared equally. It was seeing places like this that made him wonder if there wasn't more that he could do for the people of his chosen country.

  Traffic was modest here as well. It was still midday and many would be far from home working to make enough to keep these simple roofs over their heads. Philip understood what it took even if he didn't struggle in the same way. Serafene's family had some wealth when he had arrived, but the half-elf had worked on a lot of ships brokering his knowledge and abilities into a business that rivaled her family by then. Combining the two had made it easy to form a shipping empire that rivaled the wealthiest he knew.

  It had been a long while since Philip had struggled, but he hadn't forgotten his early days completely.

  Children played behind low walls or fences, the markers of land worked for by their owners. The yards with small gardens helped keep the houses from feeling consumed by the truth that they were in a city that spanned many miles in all directions. Horses were seldom seen in the street unless they were pulling a cart to another location. Few merchants bothered to come to the poor, so they would have to walk to them in other parts of the city.

  That was the way it was here among houses that were one step above being slums.

  Narden walked with him and another guardsman named Baras. They were his more obvious companions, but two more roamed nearby within sight but at a distance. Two guards walking with the lord already made too many eyes look at them, so he was glad when they found the address given and pushed open the gate to step towards the house.

  A young girl sat playing with a doll on the porch before looking up thanks to the creak of hinges on the gate. She looked sad, but stoic as well. Hers was a face that had seen pain, but the girl was already doing what she could to push past it. A mother had died here another victim of the poison found in the gardens.

  "Excuse me, little one; is there someone I can talk to about your mother?"

  Never saying a word, the little girl got up and went inside pushing through a screened door. The mesh was rough and not of the grade he was used
to, but in a warm land where insects could become numerous, even cheap mesh was worth its weight in gold when allowing in the sea breezes that could push far inland to relieve the heat.

  A woman in her mid twenties appeared with an older girl at her side.

  "Yes, can I help you?" she asked before her eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh, my lord, I am sorry. I didn't realize..."

  Patting the air before him, Philip eased her saying, "Don't worry about it. I am only a lord through marriage after all."

  He chuckled at the joke which might be stronger amongst his peers at a banquet in the king's castle. The woman and girl merely smiled while their eyes held a question of worry in them.

  "Is there something that I can do for you, sir?"

  It was difficult to be subtle about the topics he had come to investigate, but he returned her question with one of his own. "I came to check in on the family of Needaly. Are you related to her?"

  "Needaly is... was my older sister," the young woman replied sadly.

  Still speaking through the screen of the door, Philip gestured with his hand towards the obstruction causing her to jump and quickly ask if he would like to come inside. Narden joined him, but Baras remained outside while the first little girl returned to her place barely glancing at the large man.

  The interior of the house was as modest as the exterior, the lord thought.

  "How is the rest of her family faring?" he asked with genuine caring. These hardly looked like the faces of terrorists or assassins.

  Looking a bit sadder as she glanced at the older girl who remained close by, the woman replied, "As well as can be expected with their mother dying."

  "Did she have a husband?" Philip asked noting no mention of wife but only a mother.

  "He left a long time ago and never returned. Mordin was a sailor, but his ship went missing five years ago," the woman stated looking unhappy to be reminded of the fact. "He was never a great provider; but without him, Needaly had to find a way. She went to the castle and earned enough to keep the girls fed and a roof over them, though occasionally we needed to help her out."

  "You and your husband?"

  She nodded. "My sister helped raise me and actually got me a position in the castle as a maid. I owe her a lot, but Jaius and I have done a little better recently. We aren't rich, but I help her with the girls... helped her," her voice broke a moment and the woman looked away towards her niece.

  "Aunt Kiely and momma were close," the girl stated soberly. Her eyes were a bit red, but she was trying to be strong, he thought.

  "Sisters often are," he said with a smile. "I have two daughters and they are pretty close even though they both have a lot to do that keeps them apart.

  "What is your name?"

  "Nora and that is my little sister, Iris, who you saw earlier. Why are you here?"

  Her blunt question made her aunt's face wrench back towards him and she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, my lord. My niece hasn't learned how to talk to a lord."

  Glaring at the younger girl, Kiely added, "You should bow your head and speak to him with more respect, Nora!"

  "It is alright and as I said, I am here to check on Needaly's family. What has happened has been quite a shock to us all and the king wants to make sure that everyone affected is taken care of as best we can. If they have no father or mother, what do you plan to do for them?"

  The final question brought worry and perhaps panic to her eyes, but Nora saved her as she spoke again, "We know that there was an accident, but what kind of accident poisons someone?"

  "Nora!" Kiely exclaimed once more looking mortified.

  "That is what I heard the healers say when they came to check on momma, but she was already dead by then," the girl said with little emotion. She appeared neither angry nor sad. Emotions were beyond her at the moment, he thought, if Nora planned on not breaking down in front of him.

  "Someone managed to poison the flowers," Philip answered revealing more than perhaps he should. This was an investigation and the truth of the matter had yet to be revealed to the general populace for fear of panic and of looking weak as well. "Your mother worked in the garden. Did she happen to say something about working with something new that was odd?"

  Kiely looked at him questioningly and asked, "Are you saying that someone put poison on the flowers and that killed her? Why would someone do that?"

  "We don't know for sure yet," he answered truthfully. There might be reasons to lie, but obscuring a truth that was unknown as yet wasn't necessarily worth anything either. "Had Needaly spoken of anything new?"

  "She was afraid for her job until recently," Nora spoke up surprising them both. "Master Kamaal was always so mean to her and the other gardeners. She was afraid that he would fire her, as if it was her fault, or anyone else's.

  "When the garden she worked in suddenly looked better than the others, momma and her group were put to work on more of them. When everything grew, he became nicer to them."

  Nora frowned at the end and added, "If the flowers suddenly died again, I bet that man would have been mean to her again."

  Her complaint about Kamaal wasn't the first he had heard in relation to the head gardener. His treatment of the others certainly seemed dependent on how well the garden was doing. It also made it a bit more likely that he had something to do with the poison.

  The only thing that didn't fit was where he had gotten it and that Kamaal had died as well. On the other hand, if he had used something that was supposed to make the garden grow better than it ever had; was he duped into believing that it was in fact supposed to be safe?

  "Master Kamaal is another fatality of the poison," he answered thinking that maybe the admission might coax more out of the women. Her mother's nemesis was dead. Did that mean something? "Whatever poisoned your mother killed most of the people she was working with in the garden. Are you sure that she hadn't said anything pertaining to a change?"

  He was forced to ask the question again.

  Kiely shook her head, but Nora shrugged before saying, "She went to the temple and prayed for weeks. Maybe Sordrian or one of the other gods answered her prayers before making it worse? She was happy until she got sick."

  "Did she get any help from the brothers?" Philip asked hearing the involvement of this order once more.

  The two young women glanced to each other uncertainly. Kiely replied, "I think maybe they gave her some food and maybe a little money from their tithes."

  "Aunty Tareina might know," Nora supplied an idea for her aunt.

  "She has another sister?" Philip questioned curiously.

  "No," Kiely returned with a smile for his confusion, "Tareina is a close family friend. She has been around to help Needaly throughout the years helping her with the girls. The girls call her aunty because she is like family."

  "Did she go to the temple with Needaly also?" he continued fishing.

  Nora stated, "Momma went with Aunty Tareina sometimes and walked to the castle with her also most mornings."

  "She is a maid in the castle as well," Kiely clarified for the lord.

  Unsure what more he could glean from the two young women, Philip's eyes glanced to the room around him. Bedding in the form of a rectangle stuffed with whatever cheap material could be found had lightweight sheets. Blankets weren't needed with the current weather, of course, but the sheets looked like rough linens. This must have been a shared living space, but a small kitchen area with its iron stove stood only a couple feet from the bed.

  "What will you do now that their mother is gone?"

  The older of the two looked uncertain and Kiely spoke as she contemplated a problem that had been weighing on her mind since her sister sickened. "My home isn't much larger, but I suppose that we will take my nieces to live with us there. We will sell what we can, but I doubt that it will do much to offset the new costs."

  Her eyes suddenly looked to her niece realizing that she had just reduced the younger girls to costs on her life. "The burial costs, I mean, thoug
h we will need to get used to providing for more mouths as well."

  Philip reached into a pouch tied to his belt and shook free a handful of coins. Handing them to the aunt, he said, "Perhaps this will help with the burial costs at least. If things get too hard, you work for the king; pass on word to me and I will see what I can do for you."

  Dropping to her knees at the sight of the coins in her hands and his hopeful words, the young woman gratefully praised, "Oh, thank you, Lord Philip. I-I hadn't meant to beg from you! This is too generous."

  "Consider it a gift for your sister's service. In a way she gave her life for the kingdom. We can do no less than help her family."

  The younger girl looked at him with what he felt was skepticism, and Nora didn't filter out the reason why as she stated, "I don't know why they say that the king doesn't care, or at least you do anyway."

  "Who, the Brothers of the Blood?" Philip questioned readying to leave, but he found the girl's candor interesting, if nothing else.

  She nodded. "They say that the king doesn't care about the poor. Momma often said that she wished there was more money to buy us clothes and food, but I don't think she felt like she was paid unfairly."

  "Did she ever say anything to someone about needing more?" he asked curiously. A few extra golds paid out a month to his staff might change the budget, but Philip knew there was enough for those serving the king to be paid a little more without hurting anyone.

  Kiely replied, "I think she may have said something to Master Kamaal once, but she was too afraid of losing her job to say much."

  "I guess that I will have to suggest an increase in pay to the king. He has a lot of things on his mind. The steward tends to set wages, so maybe it is time to make sure that the pay is proper to offset the costs of living."

  "It would be appreciated by everyone, I am certain," Kiely said with a relieved nod. "I don't complain about my pay either, but a little more would certainly be helpful. Thank you again, my lord."