“As you wish, Sire. Would you like me to sit in on the meeting?” Lord Romley asked.
Luca was actually glad of the offer, and although he didn’t even know Lord Romley that well, he knew he was a man he could trust and talk to. Having him present when discussing matters with the other nobles was something he felt he needed and appreciated.
For the visiting major nobles, Luca was to receive them at the Mayor’s house. For the lesser nobles of Brenthellin, the meeting would be in the town hall as arranged. For now, Luca was led to an office, which he presumed belonged to the mayor. Everything had been tidied for him, and chairs placed out for guests to sit around a small but functional table. Samuel and Nerina would be on hand to serve any refreshments should they be required, while Edward, as Luca’s personal bodyguard, would remain in the room. Further soldiers would remain outside the office door and that of the main entrance, just in case anything untoward happened.
The office was quite large in comparison to the rest of the house and probably as big, if not bigger than some of those at the palace. There was a large open fireplace on one wall with a portrait of a man hanging above it, although neither Luca nor Edward had any clue as to who it was depicting. A large window at one end let in a sufficient amount of sunlight to illuminate the room without the need for any lamps or candles. A few homely touches had been added as if the mayor or perhaps his wife had seen fit to make the office a little less formal. A vase of fresh flowers on the window sill and a row of small ornamental figurines which took up an entire shelf.
Lord Romley explained where Luca should sit and where Edward should stand. The visiting nobles would be shown in one at a time and declare their support for the young prince to be king.
“If you wish it, I am happy to do the talking?”
“Yes, please. I’m afraid I’m a little new to all this my Lord,” Luca replied.
“As you wish, Sire.” Lord Romley said with a smile.
Waiting patiently, Luca sat on the seat he had been given and waited, while Edward stood upright just a few paces to his left with his back against the wall, but facing Luca. Glancing over, Edward gave Luca a wink as if to say everything would be okay, as Lord Romley asked for one of his men to let Lord Fallon know they were ready for him.
Luca recognised the face of the man that appeared at the door and duly stood to receive him. Lord Romley made the initial introductions, and Lord Fallon stepped forward, bowing his head just a little as he entered the room.
“It is good to see you are safe and well, Sire.”
“Thank you, Lord Fallon, I hope you have not been inconvenienced too much by this torrid affair,” Luca replied, doing his best to make his voice sound as if it were a future king speaking and not a child. Luca duly suggested that Lord Fallon took a seat and asked if he would care for any refreshments.
“Well, it might be a little early, but I don’t suppose there is a brandy going by any chance,” he replied glancing around the room for a decanter.
Luca smiled, “I’m certain we can find something for you,” he replied, indicating for Edward to ask Nerina and Samuel to fetch what was needed.
Luca wasn’t certain how Lord Fallon would react to him. After all, it was his son, Elliot, who had been rebuked by Luca’s sister, Elysia, deciding instead to take the hand of Frederick Elthan. As strange as that decision had seemed at the time, perhaps there may have been darker forces at work influencing the choice. However, being as that was all hypothetical, Luca felt it best to try and avoid the subject. Knowing that Lord Fallon was a man of honour, Luca felt sure the meeting would be a good one, and that there would not be any doubt in him pledging his loyalty.
A knock came at the door, and Nerina stepped in carrying a small silver tray.
“My Lord,” She said, offering it towards Lord Fallon.
“Oh…Thank you,” Lord Fallon said taking the single glass that sat upon it, although he gave Nerina a strange look.
“Would you care for anything, Sire?” Nerina asked turning her attention to Luca.
“No, I’m fine, thank you,” he replied.
“Lord Romley?” Nerina added.
“Perhaps a cup of tea in about half an hour or so?”
Luca thought that actually sounded quite nice, “Oh…Sorry. May I have one as well,” he said changing his mind and hoping that Nerina didn’t think him a pain for doing so.
“Of course, Sire,” she replied playing her part extremely well.
Luca listened as Lord Romley explained the current situation to Lord Fallon, although it seemed both appeared to be as up to date on the state of affairs as the other.
“Once we have the support of the Brenthelin nobles we aim to unite and march to the capital to remove Lord Elthan!” Lord Romley said.
“Agreed! Of course, I pledge my allegiance to you, Sire,” Lord Fallon added turning his attention to Luca. “My son, Elliot, is with my forces in Alborough awaiting my signal to move.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” Luca said, trying to sound humble and sincere in the way he spoke. Although everything was going as planned, Luca couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. Sure, they all wanted him to be king, but they seemed to overlook the fact that he was still little more than a child. While Luca had always prepared himself for the day he would take his father’s throne, he had always assumed he would have been much older and wiser when the title was passed on to him.
Lord Fallon was actually quite a calm talker. Luca thought he sounded sincere and honest when he spoke, and actually felt sorry that Elysia had treated the man’s son so badly; not that it was his fault either. He informed Luca that he had over four hundred soldiers ready and waiting to march to Miranor and remove Lord Elthan and his cronies. All Luca had to do was give the word, and he would send a message back for them to advance. Therein lay another of Luca’s problems. Sending men to war to fight and die in his name didn’t sit easily with him, but more importantly, was the fact he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Who commanded this army? If all the major lords rallied to his cause, even without the Brenthellin nobles, there would be an army of thousands. Although Luca had been taught battle strategy in his lessons, scribbling notes on a bit of paper and actually manoeuvring such vast numbers of armed men were completely different things. Although he assumed each noble would lead their own men into battle, they, in turn, would turn to him for some kind of leadership and direction.
Luca was so lost in his thoughts that he realised he hadn’t been listening to a word Lord Fallon had been saying for the past few minutes, and just hoped it wasn't anything too important. Worrying that he may be coming off as rude, Luca tried extra hard to listen to what was being said, although it seemed Lord Fallon was talking about some battle that had been fought centuries ago when the men of Alborough helped defeat some invading hordes that had landed from across the ocean.
Lord Fallon eventually stood up, and Luca did likewise, thanking the nobleman for his continuing support.
“When next we meet, Sire, let us hope it’s during your coronation,” Lord Fallon said with a smile, bowing his head once more.
“Thank you, again, Lord Fallon,“ Luca replied, trying to maintain his regal posture and voice.
Lord Romley stepped over and shook Lord Fallon by the hand, and the two nobles chatted among themselves as they headed for the door. Luca glanced over at Edward and puffed out his cheeks as if releasing the tension.
No sooner had both noblemen left the room when Nerina came in followed by Samuel who had been given the task of carrying the tray.
“Oh…Has Lord Romley gone? We have his tea,” Nerina said, surprised at the man’s absence.
“I think he is just escorting Lord Fallon to the door,” Luca said slouching back in his chair.
Luca watched as Nerina glanced at the open doorway, “How’s it going?” she said in little more than a whisper. So quiet in fact that Luca could barely make out what she was saying.
“Okay…I think,” Luca replied. While
that may have seemed a bit of an uncertain answer, it was true.
Nerina quickly stood upright as she heard footsteps approaching outside and turned to remove the cups and saucers from the tray Samuel was holding.
“Your tea, Lord Fallon,” Nerina said, changing her tone.
“Ah, very good. Thank you,” the man said.
“May I take a seat, Sire,” Lord Romley asked, turning his attention to Luca.
“Sure, please do,” Luca replied, uncertain that the man needed to ask unless he intended on drinking his tea while standing up.
Nerina poured Luca his cup first and stirred a little honey in it to sweeten it, before turning her attention to Lord Romley.
“Would you like honey, Lord Romley, or perhaps a little cream?”
“Ah, just cream for me, please,” the man replied, taking the seat recently vacated by Lord Fallon.
“Will that be all?” Nerina asked after passing the nobleman his cup.
“Yes, thank you,” Luca replied, knowing that Nerina and Samuel would have to leave the room before any further discussion was undertaken. However, he was sure the pair would ask him all about it later, and in truth, he supposed It would give them plenty to talk about over dinner. Though he presumed it might even be after that, as neither Samuel, Nerina or Edward were supposed to sit with him while he ate.
Luca watched as Samuel and Nerina headed for the door. However, just as they were about to leave, something strange happened, and Nerina clattered into her brother, causing him to drop the tray. Luca immediately jumped to his feet and darted around the table to where Nerina had fallen to the floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, not caring about the spilt tea and broken teapot.
He took Nerina’s hand and could feel how cold it was.
“She’s here!” Nerina gasped as if struggling for breath.
“We need to get her up,” Samuel said, neglecting his duties to help his sister. “Give me a hand, please,” he asked.
Luca immediately offered his services, but Lord Romley was on hand to assist in his place.
“Here, sit her down on the chair,” Lord Romley suggested. “Are you alright, my Dear?” he asked Nerina who was perspiring and breathing irregularly as if in some kind of shock.
“Lord Romley, perhaps you know of a doctor or medical practitioner in the town?” Samuel enquired.
“Of course…I will go for him immediately,” Lord Romley said, hurrying out of the room.
“Edward, could you close the door please,” Samuel asked. Although confused as to what was going on, Edward did as was asked.
“Make sure no one comes in….please…I will explain I promise,” Samuel added.
No sooner was the door closed, when Samuel produced a small vial of something from his pocket. Luca watched on as Samuel then unscrewed the top and tipped the contents into his sister’s mouth. Whatever it was seemed to work immediately and the colour of Nerina’s skin returned to normal, and her breathing relaxed.
“She’s here, Samuel!” Nerina said again.
“Who is here?” Luca asked.
Samuel and Nerina appeared to look at each other, uncertain as what they should be saying.
“He needs to know,” Nerina eventually said glancing only briefly towards Luca before averting her eyes down to the floor.
“Please don’t think me a bad person,” she said, almost sounding upset at what was about to be revealed.
Samuel stood up straight and reiterated to Edward that door was not to open under any circumstances.
“Please promise me that what I tell you now does not go beyond these walls?” He said, keeping his voice low, knowing that there were still guards outside the door.
“Of course,” Luca replied almost instantly.
“Depends what it is?” Edward said trying to joke about the situation only get a stern glare from both Samuel and Luca, “Sorry…bad timing…Of course, you have my word.”
Samuel took a deep breath happy that both could be trusted, “Nerina and my mother are a little different to most people.”
Luca wasn’t sure why he jumped to the conclusion, but suddenly everything in his mind seemed to point to one thing, “They have magical ability!” he said interrupting Samuel before he could say another word. He wasn’t sure why he said those words, or why he’d made that assumption, but somehow he knew he was right even before he got an answer.
The room fell silent as both Nerina and Samuel seemed shocked by what Luca had just said. Edward just tried to laugh, “Yeh, nice one,” he said, thinking the others would soon laugh along with him.
“You knew?” Nerina said.
Luca shook his head, “Not really, but now I think about it, everything fits. It’s you and your mother who have been protecting me in my dreams, isn’t it?”
Nerina’s tears were obvious to see, and as soon as Luca saw them, he felt his heart sinking. “I don’t mind…As a matter of fact, I have much to be grateful for,” he said kneeling down beside her and taking her hand in his.
“The necklace you wear affords you the protection. Mother and I enchanted it for you,” Nerina explained.
Luca was a little confused, “I thought Clarissa made it for me?”
“She did, but we added a little something extra. I’m sorry, but there is a spell on it that means you can’t willingly remove it either…It was the only way we could ensure you were protected.”
Luca had never really bothered too much about the necklace, despite it being somewhat crude and basic in its construction. Yet now he thought about it, there had been several occasions when he had wanted to remove it but had always had a change of mind before actually doing so.
“Wow!” Edward said from across the other side of the room, “You are serious, aren’t you?”
“Please, Edward, don’t think of us as bad people,” Samuel said.
“Bad? No way…Weird maybe…but not bad,” Edward replied.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Luca asked looking up at Nerina’s tearful face.
“I wanted to, but you know what the penalty is for people like us.”
Luca smiled, “That’s why you were asking me those questions in the library.”
Nerina just nodded and gave a wry smile.
“Your secret is safe,” Luca added, “Isn’t it Edward!” he added as an instruction, not a question.
Edward just nodded, “Of course…What sort of person do you think I am. Samuel and Nerina are my friends too you know,” he replied a little hurt by Luca’s suggestive comment.
“Somebody is coming,” Edward quickly told them hearing voices from outside the door.
“Okay…I’ll postpone the next visitor for half an hour or so while we all get straightened out…once I’ve finished with them, we need to talk some more, okay?” Luca said, surprising himself how calm he was actually about all this.
The door to the office opened, and Lord Romley entered followed by another man in his middling years.
“This is Bertram, he is the town’s physician. I’ve asked him to come and check Nerina over.”
Luca glanced down at Nerina, and although he was glad to see she had stopped crying, he thought how sad she looked.
Bertram walked over and placed his hand on Nerina’s head before asking her to put her tongue out for him to see. They all watched as he then felt around her neck before looking at the palms of her hands.
“Hmm…and you just collapsed?”
Nerina nodded, trying to look as if she didn’t know what could have caused such a thing, even though she was only too aware. In fact, it was something very important that Luca needed to know, but telling him with others being present was out of the question.
“I just felt a little light-headed, perhaps I’ve not been eating properly.”
“Well yes, that might do it. I’ll prescribe you a tonic anyway. It’ll act as a bit of a pick-me-up,” Bertram replied, opening the small leather bag he carried in with him and producing a small glass
bottle.
“Thank you,” Luca said, taking hold of it before Nerina had a chance to do so herself. “I’ll see you are paid for your services,” he added.
Although Luca didn’t want to seem rude, he felt he might have just appeared that way as he tried to hint that Bertram had already overstayed his welcome. Thankfully the man seemed to think Nerina was fine, even suggesting that there would be no need to charge for his visit.
“Thank you for coming,“ Luca eventually added, “I’m sure she will be fine…she just gave us all a bit of a scare that’s all.”
“Yes, well, no problem. If it happens again come and see me won’t you?”
Nerina nodded and forced a smile, saying that she would.
“Lord Romley, I assume Lord Ashton is waiting to see me next?” Luca asked.
“Yes, Sire.”
“Do you think he’d mind if we delayed him just half an hour, so we can get the place in order?”
“I’ll go and have a word with him, Sire. I don’t see it being a problem.”
Lord Romley hurried off out of the door, leaving them alone once more.
“Right, we need to get things sorted. Nerina, who is here?” Luca asked, turning his attention straight to her the moment the door was closed.
“Whoever is using dark magic…I think it’s Lord Elthan’s sister…I can feel her presence… I just hope that she can’t sense mine.”
Luca puffed out his cheeks, trying to think of what to say.
“Okay. Come on, let’s clear up the mess first. Samuel, stay close to Nerina for me, and whatever you do I want you both to remain in the house. I’ll ask Lord Romley to have the guards remain on duty just in case.”
“What about us acting as your attendants?” Samuel asked.
“Don’t worry about that. Let's get the next couple of meetings out of the way, then we’ll talk some more. Okay?”
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