by Amanda Fleet
“Yes, we can walk. I’m not supposed to know about State papers.”
“Yeah, well, neither your father nor Lord Sondan stopped talking about other State matters. Come on, let’s head up to the end of the courtyard, and you can give me your take on it all.”
***
Faran and I talked at length about the contents the papers, sitting at the far end of the Courtyard Gardens to avoid being overheard. As a consequence, by the time we were walking back to the main building for me to attend the Council meeting, we’d missed hearing the latest news and gossip being discussed. There was an excited buzz in the air, with cliques of wide-eyed Guardians whispering animatedly. Faran called over to Cenan, Lord Sondan’s younger brother.
“What’s happened?” he said. “Why is everyone so twittery?”
Cenan pushed his floppy hair out of his eyes. “Orian’s been accused of treason. He’s in the cells.”
Faran’s eyes darkened, his breathing catching. “When’s his trial?”
“Tomorrow.”
I winced. “What happened?”
Cenan sucked his teeth. “His leathers failed when Aegyir attacked. Someone said they still fail now.”
Faran blanched. “He’ll hang.”
I caught Faran’s hand. However much he and Orian fought and distrusted each other, they were still brothers. I had no love for Orian, but even I didn’t want to see him get hanged.
“Thanks, Cenan. Faran, walk me to the Great Hall?” I linked my arm through his and steered him on to a quiet path. “Once Aegyir is trapped again,” I whispered to him, “Orian will be free from him. He just needs to stay locked up until then.”
Faran was still ashen. “If that’s the reason his leathers fail now. What if it’s because deep down, he’s a traitor to The Realm?”
I squeezed his arm, trying to soothe him. My words certainly wouldn’t. “Then he’s a traitor and will hang or be banished. But at least let me try to fight his corner in the Council meeting and at his trial tomorrow. Are you training this afternoon?”
“Yes.”
“Who with? I hope you’re not about to get all hot and sweaty with Lady Morgan.”
He smiled finally. “No. Mallan.”
Another of his friends, thankfully. He looked down at me, and I stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
“Don’t damage Mallan,” I said. “Remember how big you are.”
“I’ll do my best. Keep your temper in Council.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”
He snorted.
8
The Council gathered. The rebellion in the village was the first matter to be discussed. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the Council favoured coming down on the rioting villagers like a ton of bricks – show them that the rules had to be followed – and I gritted my teeth. The meeting threatened to descend into a shouting match and Lord Eredan strode to the centre of the space, holding up his hand. The room settled.
Lord Eredan turned to me. “Lady Aeron. What’s your opinion? You always have one and are rarely reticent about airing it.”
I stood, cautiously. “Thank you, Lord Eredan. I’ll take that as a compliment.” I was relieved to see a flicker of amusement cross his features. I turned to face the Council. “Yes, I have a different idea. Why aren’t the villagers sending full loads? Is it because there isn’t as much food as we think there is? On patrol yesterday, I saw some crops had failed and the villagers didn’t have enough. If the schedules are set with no reference to the amounts available, this would cause dissent. If there are only three cartloads of grain available but the village is set to send four, they can’t. It isn’t because they’re being rebellious. There may be much more of some other food and the village could easily send twice as much poultry or beef, for example.”
Although Lord Eredan was listening, many of the Council still seemed ready to dish out punishments.
“The village withheld food because they said the Guardians and the city didn’t deserve it,” said Lord Sondan next to me, his voice level, his face hard.
I sighed. “And why do they think that? Is it because they’re ignorant about what the city does? In which case, talking to them and explaining will solve the issue far better than punishments will. Is it because they see the Guardians going to their village and not capturing the demons, but instead are focused on whether the food carts are full or not? If I were a villager and I’d seen several of my friends or family slaughtered, and the Guardians who arrived did nothing except hand out punishment floggings over short-loads, I’m not sure I’d be happy. Especially if the amount sent to the city was short because a crop had failed.” I sensed I didn’t have the Council entirely on my side, from the shuffles and mutterings behind me, so I hurried on. “May I propose that the village leaders are invited to the Council to discuss the issue? Or, if the Council is too big a meeting, they talk to Lord Sondan, as Acting Successor.”
Lord Eredan stared at me for so long, I wondered if he was about to sack me from the Council. Eventually, he turned to Lord Sondan. “What are your feelings on the matter? Since Lady Aeron has decided that this should fall to you.”
I took my seat again as Lord Sondan rose. “There’s some merit in what Lady Aeron says. But the provinces need reminding that the Guardians see the whole of the workings of The Realm. The bigger picture is more complicated than the provinces see.”
I leapt to my feet again. “Then tell them about the bigger picture. When you discipline a child, do you just beat them with no explanation of what they’ve done wrong? How do they learn from that? What do they learn from that?”
“Sit down, Lady Aeron,” growled Lord Eredan. “Before your tongue runs away with you. The provinces are not a child. They are a part of the whole and need to learn their place. When you are sent to battle and your commanding officer gives you an order, do you sit down and discuss it with him? No. You do as you’re told. The provinces are our foot soldiers and we’re the commanding officers, and I will not have rebellion in the ranks.”
So much for him warming to me. So much for the notion that everyone in The Realm was equal. I sat down, fizzing. Discussions rolled on – should more Guardians be sent to each of the rebellious villages? Should an example be made of them? I stopped listening. No one thought that talking to the people was worthwhile. All I could see was the people getting more oppressed and, somewhere down the line, chaos erupting. Finally, Lord Eredan called Mathas, the Senior Seer, to give his advice.
He stood. “Lord Eredan’s analogy with an army is correct. Just as an army cannot succeed without its foot soldiers, it cannot succeed without leaders. Those leaders have to see the bigger picture. The Realm will need to work together to defeat Aegyir and his demons. It cannot work together if part of it is rebelling. My advice is to remind the provinces of their responsibilities. With force, if necessary.”
I huffed loudly, earning scowls from both Lord Sondan and Lord Eredan. The Council voted almost unanimously in favour of increased discipline with one dissenting voice. Me.
We moved to the second issue to be discussed. In a different village, a farmer had been suspected of being a demon and had been executed accordingly. The problem was, he wasn’t a demon. I could imagine how awful it had been – watching three Guardians stab and behead your loved one, only to find out he hadn’t been a demon after all. The flames of mutiny in the provinces didn’t need more fanning.
“Lord Sondan? Your advice?”
He stood, facing Lord Eredan. “An abject apology to the family and village. The Guardians acted with their best intentions, but at the end of the day, killed a man unlawfully. I assume it was a mistake, and that it wasn’t the Guardians overstepping their brief. As such, we should be big enough to accept responsibility and make a full apology to the family.” He sat again.
Lord Eredan nodded. “Agreed. Do we need more discussion or can we move to a vote?”
The vote went through without hitch.
Which brought us to the knotty problem of O
rian.
Grim-faced, Lord Eredan cleared his throat. “During the battle with Aegyir, Orian’s leathers failed and he was stabbed in the chest. Lord Sondan and I interviewed Orian this afternoon. Orian claimed loyalty to The Realm, but his leathers failed again. He will stand trial tomorrow morning.”
The noise levels in the room rose.
“Is there any need? He’s a confirmed traitor,” said someone behind me.
I recognised the voice as Lord Cerewen’s and raised my hand. Lord Eredan groaned loudly but indicated for me to speak.
A low grumble went around the room, but I stood tall. “Lord Eredan, did Orian offer any explanation as to why his leathers failed this time?”
Lord Eredan frowned. “He said that Aegyir forced him to take his blood, both at the battle and then again after Aegyir had been released.”
I hoped this was true. “Then once Aegyir is recaptured, he’ll lose his power over Orian. The link between Aegyir and his vassals breaks when he’s no longer a demon with form, as described in the books on Aegyir. That’s what happened with me. Faran removed the talisman once Aegyir was turned to mist, and tested my leathers. They held. Although Aegyir forced me to take his blood before the battle, once he was trapped, I was freed.”
“And yet you still wear the talisman,” said Lord Gaedan.
I glared in his direction. “Only to prevent people from making assumptions about me and either trying to decapitate me or have me tried for treason.” I turned and eyeballed Lord Cerewen, who had indeed tried to kill me only a few days earlier, believing me to be possessed by Aegyir, and called for me to be hanged once Aegyir was trapped.
“Call Faran,” said Lord Eredan.
I sat, wondering if they wanted him to take the talisman off me again, to prove that I was free from influence.
Faran arrived straight from training, a light sheen of perspiration on him. He glanced at me, looking puzzled. I shrugged. I didn’t know why he’d been called. He swore an oath to tell the truth, and his father asked him to recount what had happened when he’d removed the talisman I wore, after Aegyir was captured.
He caught my eye, then stood tall, his hands behind his back. “I restrained Lady Aeron as a precaution and removed the talisman. She said that she couldn’t hear Aegyir’s voice in her head. I drew a blade across her and the leathers held. I put the talisman back on her because we feared that she would still be suspected of being a traitor if she didn’t wear it. Do you need me to remove it now?”
“No. Thank you, Faran. You may return to training.”
Faran stepped back from the stand. Just as he was about to leave the hall, Lord Cerewen spoke. “I still believe that we should just have Orian hanged now.”
The colour drained from Faran’s face, and his step faltered before he set his shoulders and kept walking.
Lord Eredan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, I jumped to my feet. “Is this what the Guardians stand for? Execution without a trial? Sure, right now, Orian is probably under the influence of Aegyir, but that link will break when Aegyir is trapped again. By all means, keep Orian locked up until Aegyir is dealt with and test his loyalty again after that, but do not hang him without due process. This is not what we stand for! It may well be what you stand for, Lord Cerewen. After all, you’d have been happy to have executed me without trial only a few days ago.”
Lord Sondan pulled at my arm, trying to make me sit, but I shook him off.
Lord Cerewen’s lip curled. “You’re a convicted traitor, Lady Aeron. Tread carefully.”
“I’m also the only one in this room who has dispatched any of the escaped demons. Give me a lesson on loyalty when you’ve matched my tally!”
Lord Sondan forced me back into my seat. Lord Eredan met my eye but I couldn’t read his expression. Admiration? Exasperation? Both?
“Lady Aeron’s right.” Lord Eredan folded his arms. “I will not have any member of this Council advocating taking the law into their own hands. The right to a trial is enshrined in law. Mathas? You wished to speak?”
Mathas rose. “Lady Aeron is right to argue for a fair trial and to support Orian in this matter. Unless Aegyir isn’t defeated of course. Then what would happen to anyone under his influence?”
He stared at me, and a cold feeling slid down my spine. What could he see in our futures?
Lord Eredan stamped back to the centre of the hall. “Thank you, Mathas. We’ll discuss Orian tomorrow. He’ll stay in the cells until then.”
The Council meeting closed, and Lord Sondan caught my arm. “May I seek your counsel, Lady Aeron?”
I shook my head. “Not right now. I need to find Faran. He walked out of that Council meeting hearing Lord Cerewen demanding his brother’s immediate execution. I know they’ve had their differences, but I have to reassure him that Orian won’t be hanged before a trial. Either get my counsel while I find him or come and find me later.” I tapped my communications button. “Faran.”
“Aeron?” He sounded breathless.
The communications here weren’t private, and I had no idea who would be in Faran’s vicinity. I didn’t want to have this conversation in public.
“Where are you?” I walked in the direction of the training halls, Lord Sondan still at my side.
“Just finishing training in room six.”
So, still with Mallan. I wasn’t sure what Mallan was allowed to know about Council business – he was a very junior Guardian.
“Okay. I’ll see you there.” I turned to Lord Sondan. “What do you need to talk about?”
“It can wait until you’ve seen Faran.”
“Well, if he’s finished training, we’ll be going to our rooms. Join us?”
We reached training room six just as Mallan and Faran emerged. Faran had pulled his jacket back on but left it unfastened, and two buttons of his top were undone. Although there was a fine sheen on him, he didn’t look as if he’d had a difficult workout. Mallan, on the other hand, seemed to have run a marathon. A similar age to Cenan – a few years younger than me – he had the gangly appearance of a teenager who was still to fill out completely. His black hair was wet with sweat at his neck, and he gazed at Faran with an expression akin to hero-worship.
Faran shot me a fearful look.
“It’s okay. Lord Cerewen didn’t get what he asked for.” I hoped that this was cryptic enough for Mallan to be kept in the dark but that Faran would still follow me.
Faran’s shoulders relaxed, and he closed his eyes for a moment. “Thank you.”
“Indeed, you should thank her.” Lord Sondan smoothed a hand over the front of his jacket. “She gave a very spirited defence of due process.”
Faran peered at me warily. “Did you keep your temper?”
I pressed my lips together. “Nope.”
Mallan laughed. Faran rolled his eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“How was training?” I asked.
Faran cocked his head at Mallan. “We fought fairly.”
I smiled at Faran. “Is that code for you whipped his ass?”
Mallan grinned. “Yeah, he did. But it was a fair fight.”
Mallan made his farewells and headed off up the hall, leaving the three of us together.
“Lord Sondan wants to talk to us,” I said, leaning on Faran and walking towards our rooms.
“Us? Or you?” He glanced from me to Lord Sondan.
“Buy one, get one free.”
“What?”
I laughed but didn’t explain.
***
When we reached our rooms, Faran peeled off his jacket, tossing it on to the sofa. “I need to shower. Will you excuse me? I’m sure it was Aeron’s counsel you wanted, not mine.”
“I’d value both.” Lord Sondan stood in front of the desk. “What’s this?” He pointed to the carved mouse.
Faran glowed. “A mowze. They’re small creatures that live in the country Outside. Aeron made it for me.”
Lord Sondan gave me an appraising look. “A rar
e skill in a warrior. You’re a woman of many talents, Aeron.”
Faran gave him an odd look. I ushered Lord Sondan to a chair. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Orian.”
Faran sat on the sofa, and I joined him.
“You heard what I had to say about him during the meeting,” I said, crossing my legs.
Lord Sondan leaned on his knees. “When do you think Aegyir attacked him?”
Faran kept a watchful silence, his gaze switching from me to Lord Sondan and back.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Before or after he went on patrol?”
I shrugged. Just because Aegyir had attacked me, it didn’t make me an expert. “I don’t know. Did anything untoward happen while he was out?”
Lord Sondan clasped his hands together, his thumb rubbing the knuckle of his index finger. “He captained his group and so wrote the report.”
“Ah. And may not have been entirely truthful in it? Who else was with him? Can you discuss it with them?”
“Doron and Leif.”
Doron was one of the few female Guardians I’d met and had been one of Lord Balwen’s most loyal supporters. I assumed her allegiance would shift to his son, Lord Cerewen. Leif was a lifelong friend of Lord Cerewen. I didn’t trust either of them as far as I could throw them. Neither was likely to side with Orian, especially if his loyalty was in question; they’d both be pushing for Lord Cerewen to be the next Elected Successor. And as such, they would be wishing to undermine both Faran and Lord Sondan as much as possible. Faran was an easy target this week – tried for treason, publicly flogged, still obviously loyal to his traitorous wife… and now the brother of a traitor.
It struck me that Lord Sondan would gain just as much from emphasising all of this. He’d supported Faran in the past, but maybe he was enjoying being Acting Successor and aiming for the promotion to be more permanent.
“Have you spoken to either of them?” Faran asked.
“They’re back on patrol. I’ll talk to them when they get back.”
