by N M Zoltack
She straightened and stared down at them, as regal and imposing as she could be. “I am not just anyone.”
The guards glanced at each other.
With an agitated sigh, Sabine ignored them and opened the door herself.
The king was standing. She had never seen him stand under his own power before. He was gripping the windowsill with all of his might. His knuckles, from what she could see of them beyond the rolls of fat, were white.
She crossed over to him. “My king, I am so very sorry for the loss of your son,” she started.
“He was not my son,” the king said bitterly.
“He was not?” Sabine retreated a step. She was shocked, and yet, she was not.
It had been clear to Sabine, her mother, and many others that the king had not cared for his second wife. He had not grieved her death, and that had been the reason behind Sabine’s and her mother’s haughty anger toward the dead queen in an attempt that had succeeded in endearing them to the king. Her mother had assumed no others would dare speak ill of the former queen, even though the king had clearly not loved the woman. The two had used that to their advantage.
Learning that the previous queen had betrayed the king was almost understandable. The king was not the handsomest of persons. He was also not always the most agreeable either. His personality could change within a second. He could be sweet, or he could be cruel. He was not a man who would tolerate betrayal well.
No wonder he had not attended Aldith’s funeral. All assumed he had been to overwhelmed by grief to make an appearance, but clearly, that had not been the case.
“I am so very sorry,” Sabine said. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the king’s massive one. “Believe me when I say this. I swear that I will never cheat on you.”
The king said not a word. He did not even dignify her with a glance.
“Aldith died for her sin. I see that now,” she added, glancing up at him.
The king continued to ignore her.
“Bates was born from an unholy, unsanctified union. It does not surprise me that he too has died. While it is a shame because he is, was, a baby, he had no place in the castle.”
Still, the king said nothing.
Should she stop talking? No. She must reach him. The king could not be lost entirely. If she could only make him see that he was not alone, perhaps all of these horrific deaths would not color him entirely. Deaths changed a person, even if one wished that person dead. Clearly, the king had wanted Aldith dead.
“That you kept him within the castle walls speak much and more about your character,” Sabine said smoothly. “You are by far the greatest and kindest king there ever has been.”
“So you say,” the king muttered.
“Oh, I do indeed,” she said eagerly, so very glad that he responded. “You are a wonderful king. See how the people rally to your cause? They adore you, as they should.”
Again, the king lapsed into silence.
The soon-to-be queen hung her head. “I was going to offer to postpone my crowning because of the baby’s death and the need for a funeral. Would you still prefer that?”
“The baby has already been buried.”
She gaped at him, shocked. “I was not made aware of that.”
Inwardly, she fumed. Although she understood that the baby had not been of royal blood, the people at large did not know this. When they saw that there was no funeral, what would they think? The king’s anger was not a good thing. No. She would need to keep a watchful eye over that. Too late, she was beginning to realize that the king was a deeply troubled man. She had little doubt that he was capable of much and more. He was not the kind of man to tolerate disobedience or betrayal.
She patted his hand and then bent down to kiss his knuckles. “Believe me that I will give you as many sons and daughters as you wish,” she promised. “Each and every one of them will be of your blood. I will not even look at another man if you so desire. I will not even leave my room.”
It pained her to say this. Who would wish to live confined to a single room for the rest of her life? But she must make the king see her as not only an ally but as an equal. As of yet, she remained far beneath him. She did not even have a crown yet. Soon, she would, but even then, she would not be ruling beside him. He was the king. Next in line to rule was Rosalynne. As a rule, princes could become king at the age of eighteen, however, princesses generally speaking, waited until they were twenty-one and already had at least one heir. As such, there was time yet for the king to rule before Rosalynne could even claim the throne. So far, the princess and her father had shown no signs of rushing to find the princess a man to be her king beside her. That suited Sabine just fine. There was no need to rush, especially when there did seem to be an aura of death surrounding the castle as of late.
“Whatever you wish for, I will grant it to you and more.” Sabine kissed his knuckles once more.
“I wish for you to leave,” the king uttered.
Without hesitating, she slid backward a step. “As you wish.”
“And tomorrow, there will be an announcement. The people will learn that the baby has been buried already in a private ceremony.”
Sabine winced but only because the king’s back remained to her. She still felt slighted that she had not been included.
“And that the day after, you will become my queen. Your coronation will be moved up. If that suits you.”
Although the king could not see her, Sabine swept into a curtsey. “If that suits you,” she murmured.
With a broad grin, she swept out of the room. She even whistled as she bypassed her own quarters and made her way to the throne room. Aldith had hardly sat on her throne, but Sabine would sit on the queen’s throne every chance she had. Yes, yes, she would.
28
Rase Ainsley
That walk back to the house with his pa had been an entirely silent affair. His pa sighed a lot and sniffled, but neither said a word.
Three days passed before Rase couldn’t keep quiet any longer. His pa hadn’t left the house since the incident, and Rase waited until his ma and sister were gone to approach Pa.
“You told Merle you had some money. You told Merle and Linton you did. Is that a lie?” Rase asked.
“Not a lie,” his pa said, but then he kept quiet.
“Well?” Rase demanded. “Where is it?”
“You don’t need to worry about that any,” his pa said sharply.
“Why not? Pa, you could’ve died, and then what? What would have happened to Ma and Leanne and me?”
His pa was sitting on the floor, gazing at the wall as if he could see through it. He rubbed his forehead and slumped his shoulders. The fight was going out of him, and Rase hated to see that.
“You got yourself a job. You. You’re twelve, and you got yourself a job. Me? I’m thirty, and what do I have to show for it?”
Rase wanted to ask how he and Ma met, how they fell in love, who they had been, but his pa was already talking more.
“I ruin everything. I’m nothing but a failure. Your ma would’ve been better off if she had never met me.”
Rase glowered at him. “And then Leanne and I wouldn’t have been born,” he said angrily. “Would the world have been better off without us?”
Pa gaped at him. “That’s not what I meant,” he protested.
“That’s basically what you said,” Rase said stubbornly.
His pa threw up his hands. “I can’t even talk right,” he muttered.
Rase sighed. “No, you can’t, not unless you can answer a simple question.”
“What’s the question?”
“Where’s the coin? Coins?”
A thick silence descended like a rolling fog. Rase closed his eyes. His head ached. His ankle hurt. His stomach grumbled all the time. There just wasn’t any food to be had, and Rase wasn’t sure how much longer he could go on.
“We’re going to die with your coin buried in some field,” Rase grumbled.
&n
bsp; “It’s not in a field,” his pa said.
“Well then? Where is it?”
“You know those two trees?”
“The ones entwined and look like they’re hugging?” Rase asked.
“Yes. One has a knot. There’s a small pouch inside.”
“How much is there?” Rase asked, but his pa lay down and refused to say more.
At first, Rase was afraid that his pa had died, that his heart had stopped instead of him sleeping. He stared so long and hard at his pa’s chest that he couldn’t tell if it were rising or falling. But then, his pa started to snore. Only now that he was assured that his pa lived did Rase leave.
If his ankle was fine, it would’ve taken Rase only a half hour to reach the spot. Instead, he didn’t approach the hugging trees until nearly an hour had passed. The knot on the tree was high up, of course, too high for Rase to reach. It was a struggle to climb the one tree, but he managed, and he felt around, his fingers only touching acorns. Panic and worry had him reaching around faster, and finally, his fingers brushed against material.
He yanked out the pouch so fast that he lost his grip. With a yell, he fell and landed on his hands and knees. It hurt worse than his ankle, and he rolled onto his back. After a moment, the feeling of being dazed left, and groaning, he sat up.
All that was inside was a small silver hydra coin. It was worth ten coppers or twenty irons.
It wasn’t nearly worth the same as a silver dragon coin. Still, it was all they had to offer.
Groaning some more, Rase reached for a nearby fallen branch and used it to prop himself up. Even though he knew there was a decent chance she would be sleeping, Rase headed toward the Jolly Snapdragon.
Given his weak ankle, the trek took Rase nearly double the normal amount of time. The sun was just beginning to descend in the sky when he arrived.
Before he reached the door, it opened with a bang.
“What are you doing here?” Frieda demanded.
Rase swallowed hard. Through a window, he could see enough inside to realize that they were still cleaning the mess from the fighting. Had the tavern not been closed the past few days?
“I, uh…” Rase leaned heavily on the branch and handed her the silver coin. “That’s all my pa has. It’s to pay your pa back. I know it’s not enough, but we’ll keep trying and—”
“We don’t want your money,” Frieda said firmly. She opened her palm for him to take it back.
Rase gripped the branch with both hands and shook his head. “Take it. Please. I mean, keep it. Give it to your pa. I mean, I ate food, and I did give my pa ale when I shouldn’t have…”
Frieda sighed and pursed her lips. She blinked several times and then closed them for a long moment.
“I don’t know what to think of you,” she finally said.
“Everything’s all messed up,” Rase blurted. “I didn’t even know my pa would be there at first. I just wanted to find Maxene. Then everything with Pa and the gambling… I got caught up in it all, and I actually liked helping at the tavern. I just… my sister really isn’t doing well. I don’t know the last time she’s eaten. She’s so worried about Maxene. She thinks Maxene’s dead, and if my sister can’t eat, I’m afraid she’ll die too, and every time she tries to eat something, she ends up vomiting, and…” He paused to take a breath.
The girl closed her hand, squeezing the coin tight. “Pa’s getting some sleep now. We’ve been trying to clean, but the mess of the food brought in animals and made the problem so much worse. We’re hoping to have it cleaned in a few days. We need to reopen soon. We’re losing so much money.”
“I’m—”
“I know you’re sorry.”
“I’m—”
“I know you’re willing to help clean up, but no. You’ve done enough.” Frieda opened her palm and stared at the coin. “Some people pay for information,” she said after a long pause.
Rase almost fell down. “You know something about Maxene?”
“I’m not sure that it’s her,” Frieda cautioned, “but I did hear about a peasant young woman getting hit in the head by a flowerpot.”
“Uh… that doesn’t sound good.”
Frieda grinned, which made Rase completely confused. “I’m not sure why she was walking by the house, but it’s closer to the castle. The girl was brought inside. She’s recovering from what I hear.”
“Hit in the head by a flowerpot?” Rase repeated. “How tall is the house?”
“Ah.” Frieda’s smiled widen. “Smart boy. Yes, the family that brought her in is a noble one. I want to say an earl… the Dreyer family or maybe Snell. I haven’t been able to go out and try to learn more.”
“Too busy cleaning my mess,” Rase mumbled. “I’m sorry. I really wish you would let me help.”
“And I wish you would leave,” Frieda said. “If Pa wakes up and finds you here, he won’t be happy.”
Rase nodded and gripped his branch. “Thank you for trying to find Maxene. I’ll find her. I, ah, I suppose you don’t want to know if I find her, do you?”
Frieda blinked a few times. “I’ll find out for sure eventually,” she said.
“I bet you learn all kinds of news,” Rase said wistfully. “I was so focused on my pa that I didn’t listen to the other people talking much.”
“Eavesdropping isn’t nice,” Frieda said reproachfully. “You build up friendships, and then people will tell you everything, even stuff you don’t want to hear. Trust me.”
Rase nodded. His ankle throbbed, and the thought of the long trek back home made him want to cry.
“When’s the last time you ate?” Frieda asked suddenly.
“I chewed on some bark on the way over,” he confessed.
“I meant real food,” she informed him. “The night you were here?”
Rase stared at her slippers to avoid her gaze. They were black. Smart choice. If she got any dirt or grime on it from the tavern floor, it wouldn’t be easy to spot.
“Do you want something to eat?” she asked.
“Not unless I can pay you back for it by cleaning,” he challenged.
“And how are you going to clean with that ankle?” She rolled her too large eyes. “Well?”
As much as his stomach was empty, Rase shook his head. “Thank you but no.”
“You’re strange, Rase,” Frieda said.
“And you’re a kind girl,” he returned.
Frieda watched as Rase struggled to turn around. He limped along until he was out of sight, and then he sat down. Although he didn’t mean to, he ended up falling asleep. When he woke, hours had passed. It took him a terrible amount of time to get home.
Leanne was pacing in front of the house as he staggered to the door.
“Where have you been?” she hissed. The moon shone on her, making her eyes glint as if she were mad. “I had myself convinced that whatever happened to Maxene happened to you too.”
“I’m not dead,” Rase said. He hesitated.
“What is it?” Leanne asked suspiciously.
Rase shook his head. He didn’t want to risk getting Leanne’s hopes up. Frieda wasn’t certain the young woman who had been hit was Maxene. It would be better if he located Maxene first.
“Come on inside then,” Leanne said. “Pa brought home some vegetables. You might want to eat your share. I… I don’t want to eat yours, but…”
Rase grinned. He followed Leanne inside and let her have a small portion of his food. Although he had expected the vegetables to be soft or old or almost moldy, they were fresh and crisp.
As if they had just been plucked out of the ground that day.
His belly not quite full but feeling happy for the first time in a long while, Rase went to sleep.
29
Sir Edmund Hill
Several weeks had gone by before Edmund was able to visit his brother again. The knight had thought long and hard about what he wanted to say to Dudley, but when he found his brother working in the shoe shop alone, their par
ents in the back lacing soles and fulfilling orders, Edmund marched right over to his brother.
“We need to talk.”
Dudley smiled. “Of course, Edmund. What do you need?”
“I need you to be sure about Tatum.”
Dudley’s eyes darkened. “What is this about?”
“Come now, Dudley,” Edmund said, exasperated.
“If this is because of her profession—”
“Of course it’s about her profession!” Edmund shouted. He slammed his fist onto the glass counter that revealed the different materials their shoes could be made from such as leather, wood, or canvas. There were also small wells filled with dyes that the materials could be stained or painted for the shoes.
“That is rather narrow-minded of you,” Dudley snapped.
“Narrow-minded! Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?” Edmund asked, remembering to lower his tone. Their parents joining this conversation would be the last thing he wished. Worse, if potential customers overheard, they might pass the store for one of the many other shoe shops on the street.
“Just because I am not ignorant and do not speak like a peasant does not mean that I have been seduced,” Dudley said.
Edmund flushed. True, he hadn’t expected his brother to be quite so well spoken. When Edmund had first started to work for nobles, he had noticed that their speech and articulation was vastly different from that of himself and his family. Edmund had taken great pride to learn how to speak as they did. He hadn’t thought his brother would consider doing the same.
Edmund inhaled deeply to try to calm himself. He shouldn’t have been so hotheaded. His brother would never listen if Edmund didn’t control himself. Remembering his training, Edmund slowed his heartbeat and opted to try again.
“You cannot be angry with me for being worried and concerned. I love you, brother. It is only… have you heard the stories about female alchemists?” Edmund asked softly.
“Stories are only that. Stories. Nonsense. Male alchemists have never wanted females to join their field,” Dudley said. He grabbed a cloth and wiped the glass although no fingerprints marred the counter.