by Naomi Lane
Prince Dominic’s nostrils flared, and he was about to respond in anger when Sir Raymond interrupted. He had moved closer to Jenna, and his face looked concerned. “Did you hurt her again, Dominic?”
The Crown Prince rolled his eyes and swore.
“What?” said Eamon.
“Her head is bleeding. Miss Mallory, are you okay?” said Sir Raymond.
“Uh… yes, I’m fine, Sir Raymond. I just fell down some stairs.” Jenna was now so mortified she could barely whisper the words.
“Stairs!” replied Eamon. “You know, Dominic, I have never desired the Crown, but if you keep beating poor Lady Jenna I may have no choice but to have your title stripped from you.”
Dominic clenched his fists and looked ready to strike his brother. “By the gods, Eamon, she just showed up that way, stumbling out of the secret entrance to this room no less. I don’t know if she actually fell down any stairs, but I did not harm her!”
Eamon just smiled.
“So you’ll be okay, Miss Mallory?” inquired Sir Raymond.
“Oh… yes,” replied Jenna. “I’m not badly hurt. Certainly not my first time falling down stairs.” She smiled meekly and silently cursed every staircase in the palace. She felt she would never get over the embarrassment of this unexpected meeting.
“The stairs may explain her injuries,” Prince Dominic continued, “but they don’t explain why she was in the secret passages to begin with.” He stared in her direction again, frowning.
“Oh lay off the poor girl, Dominic. I’m sure Sebastian showed her the passages. He knows them better than anyone else,” said Eamon.
Jenna’s eyes widened slightly. She was somewhat relieved not to have to explain who showed her the passage entrance, but didn’t want to get Sebastian into trouble.
“Sebastian?” Dominic replied. “I may have to have a word with our younger brother.”
Eamon rolled his eyes. “So what if our brother likes to spend time with a pretty girl. It’s more than I can say for you.” Dominic scowled again, but Eamon continued to speak before he could respond. “Look, we don’t have time for this discussion anyway. We have to get back.” Eamon’s tone grew decidedly more somber.
“What’s wrong?” asked Dominic.
“Sir Gerard decided it was a wise idea to sock Lord Merrin in the face.” Dominic groaned again. “They were arguing politics. Father ordered them to stop and shake hands when Gerard lashed out. I don’t know what he was drinking tonight, but it had to be something stronger than the rest of us had.”
“Father will not be happy.” Dominic shook his head.
“Hah! I’ve never seen him that livid. Sir Gerard refuses to explain himself, and Merrin, of course, wants recompense.”
“What kind of recompense?”
“Well, the official punishment is public flogging.”
“Lovely.” Jenna did not fail to miss the sarcasm in Dominic’s tone.
“Come on, Father wants us there.”
Dominic looked ready to leave, but then stared back at Jenna. “But what about her?”
Sir Raymond spoke again. “Go ahead. I can take her back to the East Wing.”
Dominic inclined his head to the knight and left with his brother with no further discussion. Jenna felt slightly relieved to see them go, but was upset about Sir Gerard. She also had no idea what she was going to say once she was back among the Ladies.
“Has your wound stopped bleeding?” asked Sir Raymond.
Jenna probed it a bit. “Yes. I think it should be fine. I heal quickly anyway.” He gave her his arm, and they headed out. Sir Raymond first led her outside, but stopped. Because of the clear weather several ball attendees had made their way into the park.
“Well this is no good. I don’t want anyone to see you with blood on your dress.” He turned back around, and Jenna followed.
“Then how do we get back to the East Wing?”
“I will take you the secret way, or the semi-secret way. Apparently you have had your fill of the secret secret way tonight.” He smiled after that statement, and Jenna began smiling in return.
He strode with her down a deserted corridor in the Central Tower and over to a staircase that Jenna found vaguely familiar. The King had led her this way when Sebastian was injured. “Doesn’t this lead to the Royal Suite?” she asked.
“Yes, actually, but don’t worry. No one will be there,” Sir Raymond confidently replied. As they climbed the staircase, he then asked, “So what am I to say once we reach the dormitory?”
“What?”
Sir Raymond stopped. “Well, if we tell the truth you’ll be punished, right?”
“Well… yes, but I wouldn’t presume—”
“Come on, there has to be a way out of this.”
Jenna explained about Crystelle and the other girls. She didn’t know what they would have told the proctors. Sir Raymond guessed they would have said they had gone in search of Crystelle and merely brought her back after they found her. Jenna’s cover story would be that she got separated from the group, ended up getting lost, fell down some stairs, and Raymond discovered her. As they continued up the steps, Jenna felt a great sense of relief that Raymond was being so kind to her, but all that suddenly fled away because once they stepped into the hallway at the top of the stairs, the pair ran straight into the Queen herself, carrying some bandages.
“Uh… Your Majesty.” Now even Sir Raymond was at a loss for words. He bowed, and Jenna belatedly remembered to curtsy. The Queen looked surprised to see them there. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, had I known anyone was up here I would have taken Miss Mallory by another route.”
“Yes, well I am quite busy attending to Sir Gerard. I assume you heard.”
“Oh, yes. Quite right. I guess I just assumed he would be in the infirmary.”
“Lord Merrin is in the infirmary, and the King thought it best the two be separated.”
“Ah.”
“So will either of you then care to explain why Miss Mallory is not in her dormitory and, Miss Mallory, is that blood on your dress?” The Queen looked concerned.
“Yes it is, Your Majesty.” Jenna instantly knew there was no getting around it now. She would not lie to royalty about something so silly. “I apologize. I went out to catch a glimpse of the ball. I lost my way, then fell down some stairs. Sir Raymond happened to find me and graciously offered to escort me back.”
The Queen’s expression softened. “So my Ladies are keeping up the age-old tradition of sneaking out to view the ball from the secret passages then?” Jenna’s jaw dropped, and even Sir Raymond looked surprised. “You must remember that I was once a Queen’s Lady myself. Very well then. Sir Raymond, if you would please assist Sir Gerard with these bandages. He is in my study. Miss Mallory, come with me.”
Sir Raymond quickly complied, and Jenna found herself walking beside the Queen headed toward her dormitory. She didn’t expect to escape punishment, but she was actually more concerned about Gerard, so she decided to ask the Queen about him. “Your Majesty, I don’t mean to be nosy, but will Sir Gerard be all right? He has always been good to my family.”
The Queen slowed a bit and faced her. “Yes. His injuries aren’t serious.”
“But he might be flogged?”
The Queen frowned a bit. “That is for the King to decide. Please do not trouble yourself over it.” She quickened her pace along the hallway. Jenna thought of the argument she overheard and considered telling the Queen about it, but wasn’t sure. It might only make things worse. She wondered at that last word Lord Merrin had spoken. She had to figure out why it had upset Sir Gerard.
Her musings were interrupted when they reached the dormitory. Mrs. Hawes was there, looking surprised to see them. “Your Majesty, I see you somehow located Miss Mallory. She has been missing for some time,” said the head proctor.
“Yes, well she is here now, and I insist she go straight to bed.”
“Of course. I will assign her cleaning duty in the morning.”
“That will not be necessary.” Jenna was surprised again for what felt like the millionth time that night.
“But, Your Majesty, I—”
“I said it will not be necessary.” Mrs. Hawes merely nodded, but still looked surprised. The Queen turned to face the other girls in the room, the same ones Jenna had sneaked out with. “Good night, Ladies.” And with that, she turned and left. Jenna eagerly complied with the proctors demands she dress for bed as quickly as possible, and she was soon fast asleep.
The next morning, as the other Ladies were still gossiping about the events of the ball, Jenna went to the library to spend some time alone with her thoughts. All the events of the previous night were disconcerting.
First there was her conversation with her brother. She planned to write the letter to her mother later that day. More troubling was the argument she overheard involving Sir Gerard. Would Sevalia go to war with the northern republic? Why did Gerard suddenly get so upset? But most troubling was the other conversation she had overheard. Although she had no idea what the speakers were actually talking about, she picked up strong emotions that made her skin crawl.
Jenna needed help, but who could she talk to? Then it dawned on her what she should do: she decided to speak with Lord Harcourt. He would understand what she had experienced with her magic better than anyone, and as a court advisor he should be able to help her make sense of what she had overheard.
Except first there was the difficulty in reaching him. She had no magic lessons scheduled for the next two weeks, and Jenna didn’t think this business should wait, especially with Sir Gerard’s fate on the line. She briefly considered asking a proctor for help in setting up a meeting, but after her success in reaching her brother the previous night attempted to use her magic instead.
She fell into a light trance. Since she mind-linked with the high mage so frequently, when in trance she could feel a faint presence of his mind within hers. She magically grasped hold of the feeling and tugged.
Miss Mallory? Is that you? Lord Harcourt’s mental ‘voice’ sounded quite surprised.
Yes. Am I interrupting?
I am in the middle of something, but what do you need?
To talk to you, My Lord. I can’t explain it all now, but I think it might be important.
Could we talk some time tomorrow?
Um… I’d rather it be today.
I see. Very well. Meet me in the Tower in one hour. Do not be late.
With that he severed the connection. Jenna was pleased that it had worked and used the intervening time to begin the letter to her mother.
When she later told the proctors she had a meeting with Lord Harcourt in the Tower, they seemed somewhat surprised, but didn’t challenge her as she left the palace and walked down the gravel path to the tall structure. The Lord met her there wearing his usual impassive stare, and Jenna sat down in the magical training room prepared to spill everything, well almost everything. She had promised her brother to leave the magic sword alone so hesitated to bring it up until she had more information from her family.
“So,” Lord Harcourt began, “your mind-linking skills seem to be improving if you could reach me from across the castle.”
“Yes, I also reached my brother from across the courtyard yesterday at the feast.”
“Excellent. But I assume that’s not what you dragged me over here to talk about?”
“Oh, no, My Lord.” Jenna thought it best to start out blunt. “Yesterday I went with some of the other Ladies to go… watch what happened at the ball. We just wanted to see what it was like.”
“I see.” Harcourt’s expression hardened. “Miss Mallory, I am sure the Queen would not be pleased—”
“She already knows. She also knows that we used the secret passages.” The high mage was surprised. Jenna did not often see him that way, and it seemed odd to her, but she continued explaining about being separated from the group of Ladies and getting lost, then about eavesdropping on a conversation she thought no one was meant to hear.
“They were haggling over something,” she said. “Money I presume, but I’m not sure what the money was for. I couldn’t make out all of the words.”
“Miss Mallory,” Lord Harcourt interrupted. “Court politics can be complicated. I am sure a certain amount of bargaining occurs as a normal part of business.”
“But it wasn’t that they were haggling. One of the men, his voice seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it.” Lord Harcourt raised an eyebrow. “But his anger was… extreme. Then at the end of the conversation I heard the other man say something to the effect of ‘hospitality being legendary.’ And then the first man said, ‘not for much longer.’ And at that moment his anger spiked. It felt sinister, but yet, almost joyful.”
Lord Harcourt seemed lost in thought. “Did you try using your magic, your sight, to get a look at them, better hear the conversation?”
“No. I guess I didn’t understand how important it was until the very end.”
“Well, at least you picked up on the emotions.”
“Do you think it could be some kind of plot?”
“Possibly, but more realistically it was merely some personal business of someone at court.” Jenna nodded. “I’m glad you told me though. You should always feel free to tell me about times your magic surprises you. It could be important to your development. Is that all then?”
“Well, there was one other thing I wanted to talk about.” If she was going to help Gerard she needed the answer to one more question. She decided not to dance around it. “What does the word magistrice mean?”
Lord Harcourt actually looked shocked. “Where did you hear that term?”
“Um… at the feast.”
Harcourt continued to scowl. “It usually refers to a female mage that becomes the mistress of a landed or high-ranking nobleman. It used to refer only to women in the Towers, but may apply to any woman with magical talent.”
“Oh.” This did little to alleviate her confusion. She couldn’t possibly understand why Lord Merrin would refer to a knight as the King’s mistress.
“May I inquire as to who used that term last night?”
Jenna thought it best to explain anyway. “When I was… watching the events of the ball, I overheard Sir Gerard and Lord Merrin arguing.” Lord Harcourt put a hand over his face. “And I could have sworn I heard Lord Merrin use it to refer to Sir Gerard. Actually, what he said was, after the King had intervened in the argument, ‘King to the rescue? Maybe you really are his magistrice.’”
Lord Harcourt pursed his lips. “Well that does explain a few things, Miss Mallory.”
“But I still don’t understand!”
The high mage sighed. “If a noblewoman takes a male lover from the Towers, which is far rarer, but happens on occasion, the term used is magitor. It is also the more polite word…” Lord Harcourt rubbed his eyes. “You are aware of the scandal surrounding Sir Raymond’s disinheritance?”
“Yes.” Jenna started to understand.
“So if a nobleman like Sir Raymond were to take a male lover, the polite word would also be magitor. To use magistrice instead just adds insult to an already scandalous insinuation.”
Jenna nodded. “Will this help Sir Gerard?”
The high mage sighed. “It should, but it would need to be presented in a way to force Lord Merrin to back down.”
“I could give you the memory with the mirror again,” offered Jenna.
The high mage furrowed his brow for a moment, but then smiled. “That just might work. Wait here.” Lord Harcourt dashed out of the room and somehow came back with the mirror, though Jenna did not know how he managed to get the heavy thing down. At least it was on wheels. As she had before, Jenna used her magic to replay the events of the previous night. She agreed to provide memories of both the argument involving Sir Gerard and the strange muffled conversation she didn’t fully understand. After watching the latter through Jenna’s eyes and ears Lord Harcourt seemed slightly m
ore convinced it meant something, but was obviously more concerned about the incident with Lord Merrin.
“Excellent, Miss Mallory,” he said, as they watched the memory of the argument, his smile broadening. “I am sure Sir Gerard thanks you too. I promise you I will show this to the King today.”
Jenna was happy, but still troubled by everything she had witnessed. She decided to ask one last question. “They discussed the possibility of war. Are we going to war with the northern republic?”
Lord Harcourt sighed. “That is not exactly a topic of conversation suitable for the Queen’s Ladies, but I can understand if you feel upset at the thought. The answer is that I don’t know. I don’t think the King wants war with the republic or anyone, but there are legitimate concerns that rebels who overthrew the Tenarran government may desire to overthrow ours, especially considering the deep historical ties between the two kingdoms.”
Jenna nodded. She understood Merrin’s argument, but she couldn’t help thoughts of the stories her grandfather used to tell about being a Tenarran slave from entering her mind. She shivered. If everything he had told her was true, she couldn’t blame the rebels for what they did. But she didn’t dare share that with her teacher or anyone else at court.
“Are you all right, Miss Mallory? Is there anything else to discuss?”
“Uh, no. That’s everything.”
“Very well. I shall see you again at our next magic lesson in a couple weeks. But of course if you need to reach me before then, you may use the mind-link.”
“Thank you, My Lord, for all your help.” She curtsied.
“Again, I thank you for coming forward.” He actually bowed to her as she took her leave.
She quickly walked back to the East Wing to find many of the Ladies still gossiping while playing cards or doing needlework. The discussion focused on Crystelle and how she would soon be leaving court for her wedding at her family estate. Jenna didn’t dwell on Crystelle’s departure, but went back to the dormitory to finish her letter alone. It was quiet in the room, but she couldn’t focus. She was relieved by the thought of helping Gerard, but thoughts of war had stirred another memory from within her mind, a memory she never wanted to think about again.