by Timothy Bond
"Do you miss the days when there was a mage as advisor to the King?"
"Not since King Adon was still in Northcastle have we had a mage in the Royal Court. With the proclamation from the Church against all things magical or fanciful, I cannot see that changing any time soon. But yes, I do miss having a mage around for times like these.“
"Anything else you can clarify for me?" Randolf was going to walk away from this meeting with nothing.
"Only the bodyguard, the man Darius," Martin said, dipping a chunk of bread into the hearty soup. "He goes by another name as well."
"Really?"
"He has been known by more than one of my agents as a trader named Brewster. I believe he does some level of intelligence gathering, but I've never known for whom. Now that I see him with the Lady Rozlynn, it does lend credence to your concerns that maybe she is more than what she seems."
"Interesting," Randolf replied pensively. "Perhaps I will arrange to spend a little more time with this man, Darius, and see what I can discover."
"You planning on entering my service, Lord Randolf?" the spymaster asked, smiling.
"Hardly," Randolf replied, laughing. "I have already sent Darius an invitation to join me on a hunt, and I will simply insist that he do so, that I may get to know him better."
"Be careful.” Lord Martin set down his spoon and took the full measure of Lord Randolf. "If he is more than just a bodyguard for the Lady, he may have instructions to deal with anyone he might see standing in the way of a union between the Lady and the King. I would hate to see you have a hunting accident."
"Noted, with thanks," Randolf said quietly.
* * *
"Do we ride again today?" Darius asked the Lady Rozlynn, as he returned from an early morning walk through the lower section of the city. Rozlynn was dressed in a new split-legged riding skirt and a top that was a little more revealing than what she normally wore on these outings with the King. The weather was cooling off as fall progressed toward winter, and she would be covered with a smart riding jacket—but still, the woman was striking in appearance and Darius could not help but feel jealous.
"I will be riding with Leondis today, yes," Rozlynn replied, "however, I wish for you to return to Kalystra."
"What?" Darius was taken aback. "Why return now? Surely you still need my protection, you must—"
"No, Darius," the Princess replied. "I am no longer in need of your protection, and the number of questions arising about your duties—why I would need a bodyguard, what my background really is, are you more than a protector—well, they are starting to become awkward. I would like you to leave today."
Darius was crushed, but he knew this was coming eventually. "At once, Princess," the Elven Hunter replied, bowing his head to conceal the moisture forming in his eyes.
Walking quickly from the room, Darius nearly knocked Drianna over in the hallway.
"Easy, Darius," the sorceress warned. "You almost plowed right into me. I take it the Princess has released you from service."
"You knew this was coming?"
"Of course," Drianna replied. "I was the one who advised her to do so. Your attachment to the Princess is quite obvious to any but the most casual observer. It is time for you to go and for her to finish her commitment to the task at hand."
Darius was steaming, but he knew better than to challenge the sorceress. He said nothing and turned to enter his own room to pack his things.
* * *
"You say these ruins were once home to more than one hundred thousand people?" King Leondis asked the Lady Rozlynn, to be sure he heard correctly.
"Yes, nearly so," she replied. "The city was called Barren Tor and was one of the jewels of the Aren."
"Why that is larger than the population of my entire Kingdom!" Leondis exclaimed. "All in just this one city?"
"Yes, indeed, Your Majesty," she went on. "Barren Tor and its sister city Ramon Tor to the south, were of equal size and grandeur. In these two cities, nearly a quarter of a million people lived together. Elves were living side by side with Dwarves and humans and sharing in commerce, tradition, and culture in these shining examples of civilization."
"Elves and Dwarves living with humans, you say?" Leondis could not help but show his delight. "Why, Lady Rozlynn, I did not know you were such a story teller. Here I thought you were sharing history with me, and now I find your stories are only flights of fancy! Elves and Dwarves indeed! Ha, ha, ha.”
"I assure you, Your Highness," she replied, her features maybe more stern than necessary. "Elves, Dwarves, and humans did indeed live in harmony in this region prior to the end of the First Age. That is not a flight of fancy, but is in fact history. I am quite—"
"My Lady," Drianna interrupted, nearly bumping Rozlynn from her horse as she rode between the King and the Princess. "You really must not spin these wild tales. Why, King Leondis will think you are daft!"
Leondis pulled his horse back to give the two ladies some room, laughing again at being so easily duped by the Lady into believing that there could have been so many people living in these old ruins, and that Elves and Dwarves could possibly have been among them. He pulled Lord Randolf aside, and they spoke quietly together.
"What are you doing!" Drianna demanded of Rozlynn. "You are not here to lecture the King on the history of Elves in the First Age. Focus on the task at hand, before you force me to take action myself!"
Rozlynn started to reply, but pulled up short and simply nodded her head. She straightened in the saddle and directed her stunning white gelding over to be next to the King.
"... and I do believe I will ask her tonight," Leondis was saying, as Randolf sat with his mouth agape.
"You will ask what of whom?" Rozlynn inquired.
"My dear Lady Rozlynn.” Leondis smoothly turned toward the Lady and bowed his head slightly. "I have a boon to ask of you, and I hope you find my invitation pleasing."
"And what is that, Your Majesty?"
"I have arranged for a special dinner this evening in your honor," he began. "It will be with just a small group of special guests in the castle. Until today, you have rejected my every attempt to have you join me for dinner, but tonight, the dinner is in your honor, so there is no way you can turn me down. While we have been out riding, I had a gown sent to your inn, and I will send a coach to collect you this evening at sundown. I have arranged for a number of special treats from all over the Kingdom, as well as wine from the Free Cities to accompany our meal."
"I would be delighted, Your Majesty," Rozlynn answered smoothly, as if she had never rejected his invitations in the past.
"Splendid!" Leondis nearly shouted his response. "Let us return from our little ride so that we may both prepare for the evening!"
The King turned his horse to the south, and without waiting to see if anyone followed, he spurred the animal on toward the castle. Several of the King's Elite guard scrambled to keep up.
"Lady Rozlynn.” Lord Randolf stopped the Lady from immediately following the King. "May I have a word?"
"Why of course, Lord Randolf," she replied. Drianna sat her horse immediately beside Rozlynn, clearly staying to hear everything they said.
"Let me get right to the point, Lady Rozlynn," Randolf announced. "Please don't expect the King to make a decision on whom he will chose for a Queen, after just a few afternoons riding with him in the countryside."
"Why, Lord Randolf," Rozlynn replied unflustered, "I assure you that it is I who am judging the King, and whether he is worthy of being my husband, and not the other way around."
This completely sat Randolf back in his saddle, taking him totally off his guard.
"My Lady?"
"I witnessed the spectacle at the ball last month, Lord Randolf, where the King was fawned over by dozens of beautiful maidens, each of whom were more qualified than me to be Queen. If you recall, later that evening, he sent a servant to fetch me to his bed. Now honestly, is that a man any woman would wish to be her husband? I know that the
King is not chaste; however, any man that I marry, King or not, will take no other to his bed as long as we are wed. Is your King capable of that level of commitment?"
Randolf was speechless for what seemed like several minutes, though in reality mere seconds passed in the flow of conversation.
"I honestly do not know, Lady Rozlynn," he said at last. "The King's history is one of, shall we say, an extreme appetite for experiencing the fairer sex."
"He is promiscuous," Rozlynn interrupted, "yes, I am aware of that fact, and it concerns me greatly."
"I am not certain he will be faithful to one woman in marriage," Randolf admitted, "and I am not even certain he would consider that a condition of marriage, to be perfectly honest."
"You ride on ahead and tell your King, that should he wish my hand in marriage, that will be one of the stipulations.” Rozlynn sat tall in the saddle, making her appear even more stately than normal. Lord Randolf found himself deferring to her and agreeing with her concerns.
"I will pass along your message, Lady Rozlynn," he said at last. "I hope that it does not end your chances of becoming my Queen," he added suddenly. "I do believe that you would not only be good for Leondis, but for the Kingdom as well."
The Lady dipped her head slightly toward Randolf as he bowed deeply in return, turned his horse, and rode after his King.
"Now that went well," Rozlynn said to the stunned Drianna, who could say nothing in return.
Eleven
"Your coach has been waiting for more than an hour, Princess," Drianna said in exasperation. "We should be going."
"Just a little longer, Drianna," Rozlynn said, as she studied several more pages in her Prophecy Journal.
"Do you really think that's wise?" The sorceress was finding it very hard to stay composed.
"Wise in the ways of love, yes," Rozlynn answered without looking up.
The owner of the inn was once again standing outside the Lady's door, hesitating before knocking. He had been ordered upstairs by the King's Elite accompanying the carriage, so he dared not disobey.
Knock, knock, knock. "Lady Rozlynn, it's Larkin again," he spoke through the closed door. "I'm sorry, but the soldiers downstairs, they are insisting that—"
Rozlynn opened the door and stood just inside, her gown spread out well past the edges of the doorway. She had altered the dress slightly where the bodice was cut too low to suit her tastes, sewing a separate piece of cloth across the low-cut opening where her breasts would have been quite exposed. The look was still stunning, and the innkeeper stood speechless in the hall.
"We are ready now, Mr. Larkin," she said sweetly. "Please inform the coachman that we will be down momentarily."
With that, she closed the door on a stunned Larkin, who turned and nearly ran down the stairs to the common room to announce the Lady was coming.
Another quarter hour passed before Rozlynn and Drianna came through the common room and exited the inn, stepping lightly into the coach with the assistance of the stoic King's Elite.
“It should be interesting to see how Leondis reacts to our late arrival," Drianna said quietly as the coach pulled away.
"He will be more than pleased to see me, I assure you," Rozlynn said casually, though deep inside she too wondered how far she could push the man hiding inside the King.
* * *
"Do you think she changed her mind, Randolf?" King Leondis asked his old friend. The King nervously paced at the far end of the hall, absently sloshing wine over the edge of his silver goblet. An elderly servant stepped up and removed the drink from the King's hand, without protest from the King.
"She will come, Your Majesty," Lord Randolf replied, though not with total confidence.
"It is not a private dinner after all," Leondis was rambling, "but a dinner in her honor. The guests are all assembled to meet her and growing restless it seems."
"She will come, Sire. Just a little while longer. I am sure."
The Lords and Ladies assembled were those whom the King felt deserved to meet the woman that he would make his Queen. When Randolf informed Leondis that the Lady assumed he would stay completely faithful once they spoke their vows, the King was a little taken aback. He was going to marry this woman, and if he needed to promise faithfulness to do so, well, he could always break that promise later. He was the King after all.
The guests quietly spoke among themselves. Most of the conversations suggested that the Lady Rozlynn was not very courteous. What was she thinking? Leaving them all standing around waiting for her to arrive. The undertone in the room was that she must think very highly of herself to do this, and who did she think she was?
The King pulled a ring from his vest pocket, in a move he had repeated every few minutes for the last hour.
"Do you really think it wise to propose to the Lady tonight, Your Majesty?" Randolf asked him for the tenth time today.
"I do, Randolf," Leondis replied, looking absently at the ring before returning it to his pocket. "She completely captivates me, Randi. When I am not with her, I wish only to be by her side. She is smart, witty, and regal without being stuffy. She makes me laugh. She drives me crazy with her stories, but she tells them with such conviction that I almost believe them to be true. I've never met another like her, and I know I never will again. I must have her, and there is nothing anyone can say to stop me."
"And if she should say no, Your Majesty?" Randi asked quietly.
Leondis stopped pacing, and the look on his face turned to sheer panic.
"What do you mean, if she should say no?" he said quickly as he grabbed Randolf by both lapels. "You think she could say no?"
Lord Randolf gently eased the King's grasp from his surcoat and turned him away from the guests milling about the room before replying. "I think it's a possibility, Your Majesty, though not very likely."
"Why would she turn me down?" Leondis said, his eyes wide. "She cannot possibly—"
"The Lady Rozlynn, and her companion the Lady Drianna!" Minister Nolan announced, as the two ladies entered the room though the doors on the opposite end from where the King stood with Lord Randolf.
Leondis turned to face the woman he would make his Queen. As she swept into the room, all the air left his lungs and all thought fled his brain. He stood with his mouth hanging partly open, the last words he was to speak not forming on his lips.
"She is ... stunning," he managed to say, to no one in particular.
As Rozlynn entered the room, a broad smile on her face, the grumbling from the guests quickly faded. The blue-green gown the King sent her hugged her body and showed off her curves, before flowing out into a hooped skirt that only served to accent her figure. With her golden hair coiled in a bun on top of her head, and a simple green stone set in a gold chain around her neck, she looked the part of a Queen already.
To Randolf, she looked like she honestly belonged here as she moved from guest to guest, introducing herself and taking their hands in her own. Once she looked them in the eye and thanked each of them for coming to dinner, all of the earlier complaints seemed to simply vanish from the room. The Lady Rozlynn captivated them all within minutes.
"Your guests seem quite happy to meet the Lady," Randolf finally said to Leondis, who had not been able to move from his spot since Rozlynn entered the room.
"What? Ah yes, they do seem to be welcoming her easily, don't they. Randolf? Do you really think there is a chance she will say no?"
The King was clearly shaken by the early words from his friend, but after Rozlynn set down the condition to Randolf earlier in the day, he really felt she could say no, if asked.
"Perhaps tonight is not the right time to ask her, Your Majesty," Randolf offered. "You might want to just feel her out over dinner. Let her mingle awhile and meet your guests, then just, well, just see how things go during the evening."
"I ... I guess you're right.” Leondis seemed to have lost much of his color. "I just never thought—"
"Come, Sire.” Randolf laid a guidi
ng hand on his shoulder. "Let us go down now and greet the Lady ourselves."
* * *
The King remembered nothing of the actual dinner. The Lady Rozlynn sat to his left, in the position his Queen would eventually occupy. The guests seemed to think this perfectly appropriate, as they nearly all accepted the Lady as the King's Consort. Talk around the room seemed to be on the timing of the upcoming Royal Wedding, though Rozlynn ignored this and tactfully changed the subject should anyone address this to her.
Lord Randolf was to the King's right, accompanied by the Lady Anne from Eagles Reach. This did not go unnoticed by Minister Nolan, who recorded most of what transpired in the castle in his private journal. The Lady Anne would be invited to other events where the Lord Randolf was to be in attendance.
After the meal, the musicians changed from background music to songs more appropriate for dancing. The guests patiently waited for the King and his Consort to dance the first dance, when Lord Randolf finally rose with the Lady Anne and kicked off the after-dinner events.
Leondis and Rozlynn were intent on each other for the next hour—deep in conversation and oblivious to what was happening around them. Drianna moved to a position near enough to hear the louder portions of their conversation, but not so near as to be intrusive.
"And I hear nothing about King Adon's Queen, your mother," Rozlynn was saying. "I also do not see a woman's hand in the decor within the castle, so tell me about her."
"My mother died before my father moved the capital to Solenta," Leondis replied. "She had complications in childbirth, losing two children before I was born, and another after. I would have been the third child, second son, and Heir to nothing if she had been a more robust woman. I really did not know my mother, nor was she an influence in my life. She died when I was still quite small."
"I am sorry to hear you did not know your mother," Rozlynn said earnestly, placing her hand on the King's arm. "The memories I have of my own mother are quite special and something I will always treasure."
"I think it is different for a woman and her mother," Leondis said, sitting up slightly in his chair. "A man needs only his father to teach him all he needs in life. A Prince has many teachers in Court, men and women both, and lacks for nothing should he not have a mother around."