Silver Mage (Book 2)

by D. W. Jackson

  “What are you talking about?” Brenda said, slapping Bren hard on the back. “I have to spend half my life at those stuffy parties. Now, where is my room?”

  “I have prepared quarters for you and your mother at one of the local inns,” Bren said, trying to hold a smile.

  “Mother has given me permission to stay with you during the visit,” Brenda said with a sly smile. “She told me the reason that all of us couldn’t stay with you, but I am sure that you can accommodate the three of us. If you are short a room I could stay in yours.”

  “Lillian, would you please prepare three rooms for our guests,” Bren said quickly.

  “As stingy as ever,” Brenda said with an amused look on her face.

  “Brenda leave the poor boy alone,” Shariel said, her lips twitching into a smile. “I am sure that you will simply sneak into his room once everyone goes to bed, no matter how much he objects.”

  “Oh, good idea,” Brenda said, happily getting a deep groan from Bren. “Don’t complain, I won’t ruin you for the other maidens. I just need a good pillow.”

  “Are they joking my lord?” Lillian asked with a shocked expression.

  “I hope they are,” Bren said, his head still lying on the table. “When I was younger and Queen Eloen would visit, Brenda decided that I would make the perfect slave and drug me around everywhere.”

  “I see,” Lillian said, her face turning serious. “Princess Brenda, I am sure that you understand that my lord has certain responsibilities and a reputation to uphold as this is his land. It would be best for all those involved, if you were to conduct yourself in a manner fit for your station during your stay.”

  “Is that so,” Brenda asked, her face taking on a devious look as she walked around Lillian. “I have met few elves before, but from what I heard, you were pretty light spoken people. You must have some designs on my pillow if you are being so straightforward about it.”

  “I have no such thoughts toward my lord,” Lillian replied, slightly flustered.

  “If you say so,” Brenda said, passing by Lillian and draping her arms around Bren’s neck. “Make sure that you keep us entertained while we're here,” Brenda whispered, her mouth so close to his ear that her breath tingled his ear.

  “Bren, how dare you leave me behind to deal with that mess,” Another voice yelled as the door to the palace banged open. As soon as Elyse entered the room and saw the three gathered, her face blushed a light red. “My apologies my lord, I didn’t know you had guests.”

  “Oh, who is this?” Brenda said, rushing over to the Elyse and running the tips of her fingers across Elyse pale skin, getting a flustered look from the young mage.

  “Brenda, please don’t tease my staff too much,” Bren said, rising from his chair.

  “Oh…you finally ready for another match?” Brenda asked, her lips twisting up into a feral grin.

  “Will that calm you down?” Bren asked, sighing heavily.

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Brenda replied, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Follow me,” Bren said as he walked toward the front door of the palace and out into the courtyard.

  “Try not to kill me,” Bren said as he pulled his sword out of its sheath.

  “Try not to die,” Brenda responded as she crouched slightly, before launching herself at Bren with a speed that would make a horse envious.

  Bren watched carefully as Brenda darted toward him with both her hands held tightly to her side. He had been forced to fight her numerous times when she made her first visit to the palace. He had only been ten years old at the time, but Brenda had enjoyed beating him, Bren guessed that it came from growing up in a country that highly prized fighting skills over everything else.

  Brenda’s right hand darted first, a small dagger aiming for Bren’s stomach. The strike was fast, leaving Bren no time to get his sword in line and forcing him so take a step back. Brenda was ready for him though and struck with her left hand that now held a short sword that was only about a foot and a half long. Bren expected the attack and had started moving his sword as he stepped back, making it easy to knock the smaller blade aside.

  Bren noticed a large smile on Brenda’s face as she continued her lightning fast attacks. Bren tried his best to block the fast blades, but while his movements slowed to defend, Brenda’s only seemed to increase and within a minute she had a blade pressed against his soft throat.

  “I yield,” Bren said, holding his hands out to his side.

  “Very well done,” Bren heard Cass say. “Would you mind if I went a few rounds with you?” He asked, pulling his own sword from its scabbard.

  “Your guard eh,” Brenda said with a pinched look. “He has a nice look to him, but all that muscle would make him uncomfortable to use as a pillow. Oh well, he will work as a sparring partner. You’re still not good enough to make me work up a sweat, Bren,” Brenda said turning toward Cass. “But don’t worry, I will be seeing you tonight,” she added, giving Bren a wink over her shoulder.

  Putting his own sword away, Bren watched Cass and Brenda spar for a few moments before heading back inside. They were both skilled, but from the looks of it Cass still had far more skill with a blade.

  “Mother still mopes around the palace,” Sandrea said as soon as Bren walked back through the doors of the palace. “You could send more letters you know. She almost had an attack when she heard that the tower had imprisoned you. I thought she was going to start a war,” his sister added, shaking her head.

  “Mother is the one who refuses to treat me like an adult,” Bren said defensively.

  “You are both acting like children,” Sandrea said, putting her small hands on her hips. “You know mother will always see you as her child, so just accept it.”

  “Are you sure you’re only thirteen?” Bren asked, eyeing his sister curiously. “Sometimes you act like an old man.”

  “Someone has to act like an adult in our family,” She said embarrassedly.

  “I will try to get along with mother,” Bren said laughing. “At least you’re not marching around as if you hate me, or are you saving that for later.”

  “I never hated you,” Sandrea said as small tears formed in her yes. “It just wasn’t fair. You got to do whatever you wanted while I had to spend every day shut up studying to be the queen.”

  Unable to help himself, Bren broke into a fit of laughter. “What’s so funny?” Sandrea asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “For years I was always jealous of you,” Bren said, trying to hold back the laughter that boiled out. “To find out that you were jealous of me was just absurd.”

  “You were jealous of me,” Sandrea said, her eyes slightly ringed in red. “Why?”

  “Mother never spent much time with me,” Bren admitted as he took a seat back in his chair. From the corner of his eye, he could see Shariel smiling at him so he decided to continue. “You were the golden child. The next queen, I was just the left over son that wasn’t needed.” As Bren spoke, his bitterness seeped into his voice.

  Sandrea didn’t say anything in response as he finished, but tears once again began to pull in the corner of her eyes. Bren stood and walked over to his sister and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I think we were both a little foolish,” He said in a gentle tone.

  Sandrea grabbed him around the waist and buried her face in his chest. Her gentle sobs were muffled by his thick tunic. Unable to help himself, a small smile spread across his face as he softly patted his sister’s head.

  “Now that you and your sister have made up, why don’t you tell me what you have been up to this past year,” Shariel said, taking a seat next to where Bren stood.

  The rest of the night passed with Bren telling what had transpired after he had left the capital. Shariel and Sandrea were both interested in Faye for some reason and made Bren promise to introduce them during their visit.

  They listened to the rest of his story without many interruptions, except to ask choice questions every now and
then. When he got to the part where he had executed a number of tower guards and a mage to exercise his authority, he noticed a sad look wash over Shariel’s face.

  “Bren, I know that you had to make tough choices, but don’t lose your humanity,” Shariel said, her voice edged with worry.

  “Are you afraid that I will turn into some kind of monster?” Bren asked trying to lighten her mood.

  “In a way yes,” Shariel said smiling sadly. “It seems to happen to anyone who wears a crown. Over time, they forget they are human and only look to act as they think they are supposed to. Just try and remember that no matter what your position, you are still just a human like the rest of us.”

  As night began to fall, Bren had Lillian show the three ladies to their rooms as he retired to his own. That night, as he drifted off to sleep, he thought about what Shariel had said. Her words haunted him, but he tried to push them aside, promising himself that he wouldn’t become a cold ruler who forgot what it was like to be human.

  CHAPTER X

  As Bren had expected King Killian arrive the evening before the roundtable. He didn’t arrive with much fanfare and after making a quick appearance at Bren’s palace he returned back to his camp with four of the new guards that he had offered. King Killian didn’t offer any words but acceptance but the normally stern man did give him a wry smile when he had made the offer.

  As Killian left Bren wished that everyone else would have taken the same approach as he had. Instead the past few days had been more like an endless part. Luckily for him the tower was making sure to keep Eloen and Maria entertained but that still left him with two young ladies and a wild beast staying with him.

  “My lord you have a visitor,” Lillian announced shortly after King Killian had left the audience chamber.

  “Who is it?” Bren asked sighing.

  “She said her name was Monique of the Merchant’s Guild.”

  “Please see her in,” Bren said with a large smile. While the rest of the meetings so far had been boring with little accomplished this was one that would hold great benefit.

  “It’s been a long time,” Monique said as soon as she walked into the room. Her familiar manner put him at ease and the small bag in her hand caught his eyes and imagination. One thing about Monique was that she always seemed to have the most unique gifts out of anyone he had ever met.

  “Are you here for personal or business matters?” Bren asked trying to do his best to keep his eyes off the large richly decorated bag.

  “A little of both but why don’t we start with the personal side of things,” Monique said with a lavish smile. “It never is good to have lingering thoughts hanging when business needs to be attended to.”

  “Then if we are being personal it is very good to see you Aunt Monique,” Bren said jumping from his seat and wrapping the older woman in a tight hug. “It has been far too long.”

  “That is had” She said happily. “And here I was thinking that you were all grown and I would have to do some hard bargaining to get any affection out of you,” She said holding up the bag in a defeated gesture.

  “I have to act like an adult all day,” Bren said grabbing the bag quickly. “Being a child once in a while doesn’t hurt anything.”

  The bag felt heavy in his hand and opening it he found out the reason why, inside was a large assortment of scented bath oils from Luremar that were hard to get this far to the south.

  “Well now that the best part is over shall we get down to business?” Monique said sadly.

  “The best part was over the moment after you walked in,” Bren said with a flourish. “Nothing could compare to the simple enjoyment that your timeless beauty brings to my halls.”

  “I see you have already started,” Monique said with a sly smile. “You have gotten much better since the last time I saw you. Before we get into the compliments and maneuvering I have another gift for you. It is more of a business matter than a personal one,” Monique said holding out a small box to Bren.

  Bren took the offered box and quickly opened it to find a small ring with rose engraved on its face. “It is the signet of the Rose trading company,” Monique explained. “Years ago when I was just starting I made a deal with your father since I didn’t have the gold to purchase his wares up front. He would get a percentage of my business in exchange for his goods. If you require gold as payment we can have it ready shortly but most of the guilds funds are tied up in expansion so hopefully you will allow us to continue to invest your portion of the funds.”

  “I don’t know,” Bren said trying to hold a calm face. “My small country is in badly need of funds and at the moment beside taxes we have few ways of getting it. What little trade we have is from the neighboring countries but we must transport everything ourselves which greatly decreases out revenue.”

  “But if you were to have another source of income then you wouldn’t need to draw on the funds that you have amassed within the guild,” Monique said with furrowed brows.

  “Another source of income for the country would be helpful in alleviating our financial problems,” Bren replied.

  “You are a shred young man,” Monique said with a huff.

  “How so?” Bren asked innocently.

  “I hope you know that you have taken all the fun out of this exchange,” Monique said slumping down into a chair near the edge of the room. “I had hoped to get a full day of battering with you until I had the best possible deal. Your father would have simply agreed and forgot about the money,” Monique said tartly. “Kids are not cute once they get past ten.”

  “Sorry that I am not as malleable as my father was,” Bren said with a smirk.

  “See not cute at all,” Monique said disappointedly. “If you’re going to take all the fun out of this then I will get down to what you want. I can offer you nine percent and guarantee four merchants a year.”

  “Nine percent is the same that you offer the other kingdoms, and four is way too little,” Bren countered. “We have goods here that you won’t find elsewhere so we would need at least ten merchants a year as well as fifteen percent.”

  “Fifteen percent is too high, even at nine it will be a large sum of gold,” Monique said fiercely. “It is true that you have goods that can’t be gotten elsewhere but it is also true those goods cost a lot more. If I was just transporting them back to Rane to sell that wouldn’t be too bad but the prices will go up even more when the merchants have to sell them. If it’s too expensive then thy will be hard to unload. I can go as high as ten percent and as for merchants five is the best I can offer. That is not to say others won’t come in on their own but we don’t have the power to order too many expeditions to one kingdom. The merchant guild is built on different merchant companies working together not just me.”

  “We can live with five merchants a year but eleven percent is as low as I am willing to go. If I go any lower it would be better if I simply started my own trading company with the funds owed to me by the Rose Trading Company and hire my own people to travel to different lands.”

  “I told you that you weren’t cute didn’t I,” Monique said sighing. “Eleven percent but I want a deal that ensures us the sole rights over nonaffiliated trading companies for ten years.”

  “Deal,” Bren said with a large smile.

  “Well done my lord,” Elyse said handing Bren a contrite detailing what they had just agreed to. “You were right about the number of merchants but you didn’t get the twelve percent that you had suggested.”

  “She was a tougher than I had expected but eleven percent will be more than enough to make the tower as well as the merchants happy with plenty of room left for profit,” Bren said as he signed the paper and held it out for Monique to read.

  Monique took the contract and read it over numerous times. Finally after almost a half hour of reading, she took out a quill and signed her name and added her signet stamp to the contract right below Bren’s.

  “Now that business is over why don’t we get somethin
g to eat,” Monique said brightly. “After having traveled with Killian and his men for five days I am ready for something other than field rations.”

  “Lillian is anything prepared?” Bren asked laughing.

  “Yes my lord we have various things prepared since we didn’t know when delegates might be dropping by.”

  “Then bring something with a rich taste, Monique has an exquisite palate,” Bren said smiling. “Also contact Crusher. I am sure that the magical races council would like to have their own summit with the merchant guild.”

  “Magical races council?” Monique asked her face pinched in interest.

  “Yes it is a small group of non-humans who each have a voice not only in my halls but also speak for their respective people as well. I am sure that you would find it beneficial to talk to them since there are still many things that only the races produce away from the eyes of men.”

  “I take it all back you are still as cute as the day you hugged my leg and called me Moni,” Monique said smiling brightly.

  “Thank you my lord,” Lillian said with a slight smile gracing her normally stoic face. “I have been trying to think of a way to broach the subject but I must admit that I couldn’t think of a polite way to contact Lady Monique.”

  “For such a young man Bren has always been attentive to the wants of people around him,” Monique said laughing. “The only thing that holds him back from taking over the world is his soft demeanor.”

  “I think you might have my lord mistaken,” Lillian said tilting her head slightly. “I will admit that he prefers a relaxed atmosphere among those that work for him but he is anything but soft when it comes to his decisions.”

  “My senses are telling me that some good stories are brooding behind those eyes,” Monique said leaning forward. “Bren be a good boy and make yourself scarce so that me and Lillian can talk.”

  “You do know that this is my palace?” Bren asked seriously.