by S. W. Gunn
As soon as they settled into their seats Lord Rammliger, who was sitting in the chair beside Astir, rose to give a toast, “I wish to propose a toast to our Queen and King. May their reign be long and productive!”
A cheer coursed out through the crowd. Astir rose her glass into the air with the others in response to the toast. Daell stood from his chair and raised his own glass.
Announcing in a loud clear voice he said, “I wish to make my own toast... To Araedi, its people and its ruler, all of which will always be in my heart. May she prosper to greater heights and defeat any foe that dares cross her path!”
Usually the response to a toast was sedated at best. The response to Daell’s toast could only be described as explosive with loud cheers and calls of admiration for him that rung out in a wild response of the toast. Daell took his seat. Astir could not be any prouder of him. He glanced to her and gave her his best smile; she could not help but smile back.
The two doors of the dining hall slammed open. Astir jumped in her seat from the sound of the doors. Anderskoti limped through the doors and into the dining hall. She could see that he had taken a beating, which reminded her of how her husband had looked at the end of the Kostir. She became very upset because they were no longer near the earth, instead below them was a marbled floor. Daell did not have any sort of weapon. Anderskoti slowly limped down the stairs. His was holding his sword in his right hand, although very loosely. The crowd gasped and then fell silent.
Rammliger rose before asking angrily, “Son what is the meaning of this?”
Anderskoti raised his right hand to indicate that he did not wish to speak to his father. Astir could see her husband become tense. She looked back to Anderskoti and saw that he wore a face of grim determination. This did not look like it would have a positive outcome. He limped until he was standing directly in front of their table. His face was badly bruised and Astir could see the dried blood on his clothing from his earlier combat with Daell.
Anderskoti dropped to one knee and spoke, “I was wrong. In my arrogance I had assumed that only certain men could be King, I believed I was one of those men. Our King, no my King, has power over Heima itself. I wish to throw myself down in his service or be cast into my grave. I know I am only worth of the latter but kneel before my King and beg to be given an opportunity for the former. If he will have me as one of his warriors I will stand and die in his name at any point. I can only beg of my King to forgive me for my actions. If not, I beg of him to take my sword from my hands and strike me down, as I probably deserve.”
Astir was flabbergasted by his words. Daell stood and slowly walked around the table until he was next to Anderskoti. Reaching out, Daell took the sword from his hands. Astir was appalled. Would her husband strike him down here and now? She could never believe that he could do such a thing.
Daell spoke, “Who am I to deny such a humble request? Lord Anderskoti made an error in judgment, but I ask, who here has not made an error in their past? I have made many and will make more in the future. Lord Anderskoti, I take this sword from you. Not to strike you down, but to offer it to you. I wish that you stand with me. Heima is more strongly united with you than she could ever be without you. Her fire wielding warriors are her first and last line of protection against all foes. Who am I to deny her one of her finest warriors? I am just a humble Jordling blacksmith who fell in love with the most beautiful woman in the world. I am King not by choice, as I would step down as King in a heartbeat to take my Queen with me back to the blacksmithy. I could not do this because my Queen is needed by her people, so I serve as King. Raise Lord Anderskoti and take your sword. For both Heima and your Queen need you with that same sword to defend them, not die for them.”
Anderskoti rose to his feet and Daell handed him back his sword before he then extended his right hand out. Anderskoti paused for a moment and then took his hand.
“Lord Anderskoti you are bloodied and bruised. I would wish you go receive ministration from the doctors.”
“I shall my King however would it be possible for me to apologize to my father first?”
Daell nodded at him. Anderskoti hobbled until he was in front of his father.
He asked, “Father could you forgive your son?”
Rammliger looked as though he were deeply saddened and after a brief pause he said, “My son I love you more than any man could love his son. No matter your actions you would never need my forgiveness. Now please go rest for Heima needs you healthy and strong.”
Anderskoti bowed to him. He turned to Daell and bowed again.
“I thank you again my King, I shall never fail you again.”
“You have not failed me yet Lord Anderskoti.”
Anderskoti finally turned to Astir and bowed again.
“Enjoy your evening my Queen.” He said and then slowly hobbled up the stairs and out the two doors.
Daell returned to his seat before he slowly exhaled a deep breath. Astir felt as relieved has he appeared to be.
He turned to her and winked before wistfully saying, “That was interesting.”
She could do nothing but nod at him. He had fully grown into the King that Anderskoti had once claimed he could never be, even with his occasional misadventure and manure shoveling. The rest of the evening went smoothly. Astir was impressed with his ability to dance. It would seem that Fregna had taught him well and he was quite popular with the ladies of Araedi. He would dance about with them talking about who knew what. Astir could see the woman that he was dancing with at the time was completely enveloped in whatever story he told. It had made her a little more than a tiny bit jealous; she had wished it was her dancing with him. She had also danced with many of the men of the room. As the event was about to close Daell brought her to the center of the ball room and had a private dance just with her. It was a crown jewel on a wonderful evening for her.
Chapter 13
Daell had a magnificent evening, especially since he had somehow found a way to turn a possible enemy into an ally. He had known that Anderskoti had some issues, but wisdom was finally able to cross his brow. He was quite relieved about the entire situation especially since it meant that he could sneak out later and explore the Royal quarter. After the ball he guided Astir back to their quarters. He was able to convince her to utilize the bathing tub provided in the room. Honestly she submitted to his desires so frequently that he had wondered if women desired the physical connection between a man and a woman as much as he seemed to desire it, he just could not get enough of her touch. After they had finished making love, she slowly dozed off to sleep. His opportunity to explore the Royal quarter was now at hand and while he promised his friends that he would not take her out and about, he was smart enough to make sure not to mention that he would sneak off to explore alone. Slowly and evenly he shifted and moved to squirm out from underneath Astir. He did not want to awake her while making his escape. After a slow process he was finally able to pry himself free.
As soon as his feet made contact with the floor of the room Astir spoke, “Where do you think you are sneaking off to, my explorer husband?”
He felt embarrassed to admit it, but he was caught and he could never lie to her, “I must confess something to you my love.”
She sat up. He could tell by the look on her face that she had already known what he was going to say.
He continued, “I have at times snuck out of the bed and gone on trips of exploration. It was my intent to explore the only part of Araedi that I was unable to visit during my last time here.”
“And which part is that?” She asked him.
“The Royal quarter, as they do not allow commoners in.”
She nodded softly and then asked, “Would you state that the Royal quarter is as safe as the palace grounds of Bygod?”
“I would my love as it is heavily guarded from intruders.”
She slid out of bed to sit next to him before stating, “Well then husband, what are we waiting for? We have exploring to do.”
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He laughed at her words. She was indeed a perfect match for him. They quickly dressed and slowly began to work their way out of the room. A head of one of the handmaidens poked through the side door, it was Visti. Astir raised one of her fingers to her lips. Visti smiled and nodded her head before disappearing back through the side door. Daell slowly pried the door open and they skulked through the palace.
As she lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, she whispered to Daell, “Are we going to try the Jordling palace exiting technique again?”
Daell chuckled lightly.
He shook his head and whispered back, “No, we will be trying to walk right out the front door technique.”
“It is a bold plan my love, care to make a wager on your success?”
“I would. The same wager except with my family?”
Astir extended her arm, which he grasped her wrist firmly.
He said to her, “It is agreed. This time however my mother will instruct you, and I guarantee clumsiness will not save you.”
Astir laughed at his words. Once again Daell won the bet easily. Just as the palace in Bygod, the guards were not suspicious of Jordlings leaving the palace. Sneaking back in was probably not going to be as easy, but Daell did not care, he just wanted to see the Royal quarter. The two moons of Heima were in full flight, although only a quarter of their full view was available. It was after all, midway through the cycle. Astir clung to his arm and laughed at his jokes as they wandered the quarter. Daell knew that no one would be out and about so he felt they could just wander freely. They walked around the insides of the walls that surrounded the Royal quarter. Normally Daell would examine every nook and every corner and since Astir had never been part of one of his true expeditions he decided to let her see everything this time. He left no stone unturned. Along one of the back walls they could hear the movement of people outside the walls, although the noise was very much muffled.
Daell enjoyed admiring the buildings of Araedi royalty. Like most of Araedi, they were made of the white sandstone, but each building had its own little twist or slight adjustment to the style, a marglod laminate here or a piece of additional bridging there. It was quite fun. Daell especially loved pointing out the differences and unique aspects of the fences that one had from another to her. He was unsure if she was interested but she listened patiently to his ramblings. It was along the back wall were they made an interesting discovery. He was not even sure if it had belonged there. Apparently someone had carved a secret entrance into the Royal quarter. Daell had only found it while attempting to romance his wife. He had lifted her to pull her close to him and she had wrapped her legs around his waist to aid in holding her up as he drew her close. As they were kissing, he leaned backwards into the wall and then one of her feet had depressed the secret switch. The noise of the passageway softly clicking caught their attention. After setting her down they turned to see what the noise was. A trap door of some kind popped open, which exposed a passageway that he thought, might go down and underneath the wall. Daell was desperately tempted to explore it, but he decided he could not risk taking his wife out past the safety of the Royal quarters. He depressed the button once again and they then continued on their trip.
Mani started to slowly close on the horizon, so Daell felt they had better return to the palace and get some rest. Tomorrow would be the turn that they would be seeing his family. He guided her back towards the palace.
Astir asked him, “How do you even remember where the palace is? We wandered in so many corners and twists that I have no idea where we are.”
“I can sense it, as I did with the maze in the royal garden.”
She looked to be in awe of him before she stated, “Daell you truly are special.”
He did not feel any better than any other Jordling, he just happened to be gifted with earthcrafting. It seemed to him that Modira had withheld his abilities when he was young, to ensure they would be strong when he would need them later.
“Thank you my love, I personally think that it is you who are special and I am just lucky.”
She pulled him close and kissed him. As they broke their kiss Daell saw a small basket of fruits. He picked it up and handed it to Astir.
He told her with a little bit of a not so serious commanding voice, “Servant, I need you to take this basket and follow me to the Palace.”
She snickered as she asked, “So begins the walk through the front door plan?”
Daell nodded. After searching several small piles that were nearby he found what he was looking for, a small tool bag. He snatched it up.
“I hope the owner of these things will not mind their Queen borrowing them.” He told her.
She was smiling widely. He pulled her hood over head to cover her face better. The guards saw them as they approached. He was certain that the guards would stop them.
“Halt there servants, let us inspect your packages.” One of the guards said sternly.
Daell and Astir stopped and let the guards inspect their items. The guards shuffled through the tools he had borrowed and the basket that she carried. They handed them back and instructed them to move on. Once Daell and Astir made it through the doors and halfway down the hallway towards the room that was provided for them Astir lifted her hood and began laughing.
“My husband you have won the wager again, however I must confess something to you.”
“What is that?”
“I passed instruction to my handmaidens earlier to inform the palace guards to not obstruct us as we came and went. I knew you had planned to explore and I wanted to make sure that you were able to do so, I hope you forgive me.”
Daell thought that he would not be able to love his wife any more than he did now. She had done her best to make sure that he could receive his small pleasures in life.
He knelt down before her and stated sincerely, “Your Majesty, I could never be mad at you. I am deeply honored that you tolerate my shortcomings in such a generous way.”
Reaching out he took her hand and continued, “I love you Astir.”
She smiled softly at him and said, “And I love you. Let us go sleep for tomorrow we have a big turn. We will see your family and I shall cook the evening meal for them.”
Daell kissed her hand and then rose to his feet.
With a keen grin on his face he said to her, “Follow me my Queen, although I suspect we will not be sleeping much for the remainder of the evening.”
She laughed and followed him to their room.
Chapter 14
Daell awoke the next morning to the sounds of someone knocking heavily on their door. He looked out the window and saw that they were probably more than a little late for the morning meal. Glancing down at Astir he saw that she was woken by the knocking too. She glanced up to him with one of her beautiful smiles.
“It would appear that it is time for us to arise.” She said.
“So it would seem.”
They both climbed out of bed. Astir rung her bell as Daell dressed by himself quickly. He had found that he would need to hurry because his wife's handmaidens were quick to enter and he suspected that one or two of them would be watching him dress a little closer than he cared for. After he finished dressing, he watched his wife as she was dressed. He had made it a regular part of his routine and even now he still enjoyed it immensely. Usually she let her handmaidens dress her in whatever they chose, but this time she had selected the outfit herself. The choice she had made was much more conservative than her normal outfits, which he knew that she made because he had told her that his family was very traditional.
Once the handmaidens had finished Daell admired her dress, it was a full length light pink dress that had a full white Jordling style knot embroidered into the chest. The dress was fully sleeved with cuffs that were embroidered with the same style of knot. The top of the dress was form fitting, but not as tight as her normal dresses. It was met at her waist with a belt that cinched the dress against her. From the belt her dr
ess dropped flatly against her legs and brushed slightly against the ground. Similar knots twisted around the bottom hem of the dress. It was a significant change from her normal dresses, which tended to have a lot of flare and a dress hoop beneath them. Daell had to admit even with the more conservative style she was a vision of pure beauty. Her skin contrasted perfectly with the dress. The amount of application that was applied to her was also limited, with only a light amount of a matching pink was placed on her lips. He was still impressed about the wide variety of things he had learned about women’s clothing from both Fregna, and the pleasurable experience of watching his wife dress.
After a quick morning meal they were back on the Leid, this time heading for Anddyri. Daell found he was much more nervous than he initially thought he would be. The ride to Anddyri would not be very long and he would soon be standing before his father, a changed man. They rode in the carriage for some time before his village slowly came into sight. Daell could feel his nerves building. He had not been this nervous since the first night, after he had awoke from his injuries. Just thinking of how much his hand trembled as he fumbled with Astir’s clothing made him chuckle, he had no clue what he was doing that night. He found out later that he was not the only one, although he had to admit, he was so distracted with his own nerves that he did not notice his wife's nerves. It probably was for the best that his nerves had distracted him because he had no idea how he would have reacted if he found out about her nerves, she seemed very calm the entire time. His smile grew thinking about the whole night. It was without a doubt the best night of his life.