by Phil Parker
It was a temporary state of mind.
A few hours after settling in to my new home I learned that sometimes assailants could be subtle, their attacks less direct but even more deadly, and conducted with a smile.
Mab’s arrival caused a flurry of panic from everyone. She arrived on a magnificent black stallion with flaring nostrils and sweat-stained flesh, she’d wasted no time in arriving to find out if her instructions had been carried out to her satisfaction. Servants ran around with similar sweat stains. She dismounted, brushing aside the flunkies that tried to offer assistance and strode into my new accommodation with inevitably muddy boots.
‘Fir Darrigs now!’ she bellowed at me, as though they had been my choice.
I stood and trembled and she paced around the wooden table in the centre of the small room that acted as one half of my new home, the other half was the bedroom.
‘Someone means business, sending fucking assassins like Fir Darrigs.’
I’d never heard of them until someone had recognised the remains of the one I’d killed. Someone else had called him a rat boy, I could see why.
‘And if it hadn’t been for my wyvern, I wouldn’t be here now. So much for security.’
She stopped her pacing and stared at me, making me wonder if I’d overstepped the mark. For once I didn’t care as much as usual, it was my life we were talking about and though it didn’t mean a great deal, I resented it being taken away from me for someone else’s benefit.
‘You’re right.’
I blinked away the shock of her agreement.
‘I’ve had the spriggans, who should have been protecting you, executed to teach the others a lesson. However, the situation has changed. Whoever is doing this has abandoned subtlety by commissioning the likes of Fir Darrigs. Your imminent coronation is making them desperate. We can assume future attacks will be equally as direct, with greater force and frequency.’
I felt my knees buckle and I flopped on to a chair before I collapsed. My stomach churned and vomit rose up into my throat, I forced it back down, I was determined not to throw up over Mab’s boots a second time.
‘What are you going to do?’ My voice was little more than a whisper.
She rubbed her chin, such a masculine gesture. Outside I heard more horses gallop into the stables and, for a second, I wondered if they were a threat. When Mab didn’t react except to saunter to the door to my accommodation, I relaxed slightly.
‘I’m in here,’ she called.
Apparently I had guests. I found myself trying to imagine a time when, as High Lord, I would decide what was happening, rather than others doing it for me. I tried and failed.
Outside I heard the booted march of soldiers and a barked command. Boots came to an abrupt halt, except for one pair, they echoed on the stone flagstones outside my room. A tall man, heavily built with muscle slowing turning to flab, entered the room. He was impressive in his physique and in the masculine energy he exuded. Yet what fascinated me even more was Mab’s reaction to him.
She smiled.
It wasn’t just an upward turn of her narrow lips either, it was a wide, toothy grin with eyes that flashed in his direction. I struggled to control my facial expression, I was sure it spoke of astonishment, even horror. I didn’t want to think of Mab’s sexual urges.
‘My Lord Cernunnos, it is good to see you.’
At the mention of his name I almost forgot myself and went to bow, until I remembered my new position. I was in the company of arguably the most powerful man in the whole of Tir na nÓg. I felt my throat dry up.
He flashed a perfect smile at Mab as recognition of her welcome but he turned to me and immediately fell on one knee, never taking ice-cold blue eyes off mine.
‘Your highness.’ His voice was gruff but it resonated with authority, the tone of a man used to others doing as he instructed. ‘May I say how honoured I am to finally meet you and to offer my services at this testing time.’
I think I was swaying, I felt light-headed and the prospect of vomiting over this man’s head became a real possibility.
‘Th… thank you, your lordship.’
I remembered to perform one of the gestures Master Sidwell had instilled in me when he’d been alive. I raised my hand in an upward gesture and smiled, giving him permission to stand up again. He did so briskly. For a man with grey hair at his temples and in much of his full beard, I thought he might have needed help and I wasn’t sure how to react to that situation.
He smiled again, it was done with such charm I smiled back at him automatically.
‘Well, sire, I hear from my lady Mab that you fought off one of the bastards yourself and your wyvern despatched the other. What wonderful teamwork. We should publicise these details, let everyone know that our new High Lord is not a man to be threatened without severe consequences.’
‘That is a very good idea, Cernunnos,’ said Mab, still smiling broadly.
The big man looked about the room as though assessing its strategic vantage points, almost ignoring the compliment. He sniffed nonchalantly. ‘We cannot afford for such treason to appear to be beyond our control or for it to go unchallenged and unpunished. We’ll hoist the body of the Fir Darrig onto the palace battlements for that reason.’
He marched further into the small room, which was positively overcrowded with three of us, and looked through the window into the stable courtyard. He turned his head and looked at me.
‘Sire, I have posted a unit of my personal guard outside. They will remain with you at all times, they are yours to use in whatever way you choose. However, we cannot have our soon-to-be-crowned High Lord living in stables. Our Light Court cousins will look down their noses even more than usual.’
He chuckled heartily, Mab followed suit, I tried to do the same.
‘But I want my wyvern close to me. She has…’
The big man raised a finger and beamed that smile at me, flashing perfect white teeth.
‘Be assured you will no longer need to rely on your animal, sire. There isn’t a single man in the unit outside I wouldn’t trust with my own life, never mind yours.’
He slapped me on the shoulder and almost knocked me over.
‘We’ll get you back in the palace, where you belong. We cannot have stories of our leader hiding in stables or relying on dragons for his safety, eh?’
Another shoulder slap, I was better prepared for it this time. There wasn’t an opportunity to argue, the man continued talking as though he was voicing aloud his orders for a military mission.
‘I suggest we move the date of the coronation forward sire, that will confound the bastards by giving them even less time to attack you. It will demonstrate your decisiveness and high expectations of court officials. I would also recommend we look carefully at drafting a greater number of soldiers around the palace and arming them with good quality weapons to show everyone we mean business.’
Mab nodded emphatically, he turned to her and dropped his voice as though speaking to a conspirator.
‘Of course, if Llyr had not seen fit to execute almost every member of the Trooping Fairies, we’d have an elite fighting force for just this kind of eventuality.’
He turned back to me, with the same tone of voice.
‘Sire, if you would permit me to make a very strong recommendation, I believe recruiting and training a new Trooping Fairy unit should be one of your first actions when you take office. It will ensure your safety and give you the status you need.’
Mab kept nodding but also turned to face me.
‘You cannot retain Cernunnos’ personal guard after you’re crowned, sire. It would cause some to conclude his Lordship is controlling you and that would never do.’
Now the big man nodded. Mab continued without waiting for my reply.
‘There is one matter which you will need to consider as a matter of urgency. Cernunnos is right about recruiting more Trooping Fairies and I would happily train them for you. But I believe his Lordship is overlooking a mo
re vital decision.
He frowned at her, she raised placatory hands briefly.
‘That decision, your Highness, is to appoint your First Minister. The man who will do your bidding, ensure your strength is maintained against the nay-sayers in court and who, above all, will be completely loyal to you.’
Cernunnos sighed heavily and bit his lip. Mab pressed on but sat down on one of the wooden chairs by the table. I noticed the man’s shocked reaction, he bristled with outrage but said nothing.
‘Listen Keir.’
Cernunnos’ eyes widened until I thought they’d pop.
‘I know you better than anyone else. I am one of the few people who do not seek a position of authority within your court, therefore can I speak freely?’
We were rushing ahead into uncharted territory and I nodded at her because that was what I usually did. She gave me a tight smile.
‘The colour of your skin and your heritage is dividing opinions in court.’
She glanced up at Cernunnos who nodded slowly though he watched her carefully, clearly uncertain where this was going. She pressed on.
‘The fact of the matter is you are the rightful heir to the throne, your skin colour is irrelevant. I would go so far as to say your experience of life equips you to be one of the best leaders we have ever known, but you will face challenges Keir. There will be some who will want to see you trip up, make mistakes, and when you do, they will pounce. You need a First Minister who will stand with you against such political machinations. A man who everyone respects and who also possesses the kind of life experience that brings great wisdom. For that reason Keir, I recommend the man standing in front of you now.’
The big man blinked with astonishment and shook his head.
‘My lady…!’ he looked lost for words. ‘I thank you for your kind words, but you behave inappropriately. It is the High Lord’s decision alone…’
Mab held up a hand to silence him. His wide-eyed look showed he wasn’t happy at the gesture.
‘With respect, my Lord, but until quite recently our High Lord designate was a servant in the kitchens. He doesn’t know who most of the aristocracy are, how can he make an informed decision? I speak as someone who I think he trusts. Or am I wrong Keir?’
I felt like I’d been watching a tennis match and suddenly they were asking for the umpire to make a decision. I nodded again. Mab smiled at me, then at Cernunnos.
‘Keir, there are other lords who will approach you once you have been crowned. But my advice is to think of the suggestions Cernunnos has already made to you as evidence of his wisdom.’ She listed them on her fingers. ‘Move forward the coronation to limit the opportunity for any more attacks. To recruit an elite unit of Trooping Fairies as your personal security. To increase the number of soldiers and weaponry around the palace to provide security for everyone. Now, don’t they sound like good ideas?’
I went to nod again and realised I had to speak at some point, especially if I was going to assert myself in some small way.
‘They do sound like very good ideas.’
The big man bowed politely.
He had offered me his own guards and that did make me feel safer but they were right about everything else, my heritage and my skin colour were always going to be a problem for others. I was never going to be completely safe, not unless I did something about it.
‘My lord.’ I summoned every bit of strength my voice could muster as the scorn of the Feeorin jockeys returned to me. ‘Lady Mab is correct. I don’t know anyone. I cannot trust people I don’t know. But if Lady Mab believes you to be the best person for the position, then I am happy to trust in her judgement. Would you be willing to serve as First Minister?’
The man looked at me as tears formed in his eyes, he swallowed hard and didn’t speak for a moment until he moved from behind the table, fell to one knee with astonishing speed, dislodging his tears that tumbled down his bearded cheeks.
‘Your Highness, I have served two High Lords in various capacities. I made no secret of my criticism of your step-brother’s actions and my advice was consistently ignored by your father, he considered me to be too innovative. Lady Mab has told me of your adventures in the human realm as you searched for your wyvern, I believe you to be a remarkable young man, brave, intelligent and sensitive and for these reasons I would consider it to be the greatest privilege in my long life to serve as your advisor, your mentor.’
He bowed his head, ignoring my gesture this time. I thanked him and leaned forward, placed a hand on one broad shoulder. He didn’t move for a moment, enough time for me to look down at his green twill trousers and stylish shoes.
The moment lingered, time stood still for me to stare, to make sure I knew what I was looking at. Then he was on his feet, hugging me, speaking about things I couldn’t hear. He spun me round enough to see Mab’s face, her smile and nodding head. I composed my expression, it was the most important thing to do, my life depended on it. I set a smile on my lips, hoped my face hadn’t turned pale and nodded like an idiot.
That’s what I was. I was an idiot.
There had been something about his voice, something familiar I couldn’t place, now it made sense but hiding my realisation was all that filled my whirling thoughts now. I don’t know what was said by either of them, I kept smiling and nodding politely until they shook my hands and wandered into the stable courtyard, leaving me alone.
I flopped on a chair and felt the vomit try to escape, hurried to the sink and brought up the contents of my churning stomach. Splashing cold water on my face helped, it calmed me down and allowed me to think about what I’d done. I sat on cool stone tiles and thought back to the moment I’d eavesdropped in the palace library, shortly before going to the human realm. To the conversation between Mab and her mysterious conspirator who wore green twill trousers and stylish shoes.
I’d learned that day how Mab had manipulated Llyr into attacking the human realm and placed him on a collision course with Master Goodfellow. A strategy employed to promote Lord Cernunnos into the role of High Lord, until Master Goodfellow’s announcement ruined their plans.
How they had to hate me now. Lord Cernunnos had admitted to murdering the human Knights, proving his readiness to murder others to achieve his goal. It was likely he’d been the one to commission the rat boys to kill me. It dawned on me that all my decisions were driven by fear, the motives of a coward.
He’d insisted on surrounding me by his men and separating me from Cochrann. And I’d made the decision to appoint this murderer as my First Minister, at the suggestion of the woman who was his accomplice. He could kill me at any time and, in his position, be ideally suited to step in to my blood-soaked shoes.
I stood up and hurried to Cochrann’s stable. I needed to think and that was the best place to do it. Cernunnos had told me how brave I was to go searching for my pet. I could be brave. I had to be intelligent as well, I’d worked out how to train Cochrann. I needed to hold on to those beliefs.
I needed a plan. A plan that kept me alive amidst a bunch of murderers.
Chapter 9
I could see better now the swelling was going down. Time is a wonderful healer.
When I say better, there wasn’t much to see, just the dark outlines and faces of the other occupants and the stone walls of the dungeon that was now Luke’s and my new home. What light did permeate our little pieds-à-terre came from an open grate which brought in fresh air, a welcome relief from the delightful scent of our fellow inhabitants; sanitation appeared to have been an oversight in the design of our accommodation. It also brought in rainwater, to supplement our diet; along with a great deal of horse piss. The consensus was the castle’s courtyard was directly above us.
I had my boggart friends to thank for the facial reconfiguration. They hadn’t taken kindly to my derogatory comments about their faces and I think they wanted to place me into the same league. The need to punch and generally abuse me continued once the boggarts deposited us in our new reside
nce, our new roommates felt the need to instil a kind of pecking order in our society. I understood their reasoning; the quantity of food did not match the number of guests and the concept of rationing wasn’t considered relevant. I’d formed the opinion that since the quality of catering was some of the worst I’d ever eaten, I wasn’t eager to indulge in meal times. Whilst many of the residents appreciated this sacrifice, others preferred a relationship based on violent subjugation, often for no other reason than we were newly arrived, clean, educated or looked at them wrongly. It surprised me how many times that last reason was given when the place was so dark it was almost impossible to see others’ expressions.
Time lost any meaning. Sunshine didn’t reach our grate, the courtyard was a dark place and was often better lit at night. Meal times were erratic, we tended to get forgotten, plus one of our hosts suspended the catering when someone upset him; he was apparently very easily upset when anyone talked about his wife and her sexual promiscuity. When someone told him she’d been fucked by every man in the castle, food became a luxury for a long time. I didn’t understand why they tormented the man when he could make everyone suffer so easily but, as Luke pointed out, intelligence was a stranger in these parts.
Luke proved a problem. He’d had the good sense to remain silent while I took forty winks during the fight in Islene’s home and invented a character for himself, a simple-minded mute. It was such a convincing portrayal he soon had some of our new friends feeling sorry for him. Others were less inclined to kindness and saw him as something on which they could take out their frustrations. That was when I stepped in.
Until I discovered Mahon.