by N M Zoltack
But there lay one problem with this letter. Should it fall into the hands of those from Tenoch, they would consider him a traitor. Yes, Aldus could spin it to mean that he meant that Marcellus could share the throne with Rosalynne, but the queen already hated him. No, he must not do anything that could upset her.
Messenger birds could be killed, might never deliver the missive, might have the letter intercepted. Likewise, a runner from Tenoch would not deliver a missive bearing his seal to the Vincanan prince. If he were to ask a prisoner to do it… There even was a prisoner who had a passing resemblance to him. He might be able to convince him to deliver the message, but how could he trust a prisoner? Especially one that had been stealing from dead soldiers from Tenoch. A man like that had no honor, and he would certainly break the seal and read it.
If he could read. If he could not, he would merely find another who could read it to him.
No, no, this plan of his was foolish. Aldus scowled. He prided himself on being an intelligent man, and if he sought to speak with the Vincanan prince, he would have to do so himself. To trust this to another was unthinkable.
Then again, could Aldus truly go and see the Vincanans when they might well kill him on sight?
If he could convince them to at least speak with the prince, he was certain that Marcellus would not slay him. After all, Marcellus had showed remarkable restraint when his friend had murdered. So many murders within these walls…
Perhaps he should rethink the prisoner set free as a runner idea. The elaborate deception could fail spectacularly, though, although it was only a deception to a point. Aldus truly would advise the prince.
But Aldus would advise just about anyone who would be willing to listen to him.
35
Olympia Li
The champion from Maloyan stared at the setting sun, and while that proved a most impressive sight, Olympia was instead watching Bjorn. He seemed so utterly relaxed, sprawled out as he was, his head resting on a rock, his legs crossed at the ankles. If he shut his eyes, no doubt he would be snoring in minutes.
He had only snored when he had been sick, however. Normally, he slept peacefully, as if he had no troubles at all and suffered from no guilt despite some of his horrific actions.
“You wish for me to trust you,” she began.
Immediately, he shot up, sitting straight as if a rod had replaced his spine. “You have thought of a way?” he asked earnestly.
“Do not be so eager for this,” she warned as she approached and crouched beside him. She bent down and ripped up a few blades of grass and then allowed them to flicker between her fingers back down to the soil. “It will not be an easy task that I ask of you.”
“Ask, and it will be done.”
“First, tell me what the Vincanans are planning.”
“They are to attack Atlan castle within a week. They think the queens are vulnerable now, ripe for the plucking.”
“I figured as much,” she murmured.
Bjorn offered a wan smile. “You are starting to think like a strategist then.”
“Indeed.” Her gaze wandered over him. He was strong, muscular, fit… Even his jawline and his nose added to his powerful physique.
But would he be strong enough.
Bjorn lifted his eyebrows but waited calmly for her to continue.
“I wish for you to try to sabotage the Vincanans if you can,” she said, purposely not saying this in a rush even though her heartbeat increased steadily.
“That will not be an easy feat at all.”
“I said as much. If you cannot—”
“I will. They are settling in a town.”
“Settling?”
“Overtaking,” he muttered. “I can pose as one of the townspeople… Yes, that should work.”
“But if someone were to recognize you…” She bit her lower lip. This was a foolish endeavor.
“No one will realize who I am,” he said with a swift jerk of his head from side to side. “I am touched that you are concerned for my wellbeing—”
“Hardly,” she snorted. “I do not wish for you to fail.”
“You seek to save Atlan castle.”
“Not for the reason why you think,” she said haughtily.
“Not to save the innocents who have taken refuge within its walls?” he asked with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes as she sat beside him. Her arms crossed, and she shook her head.
“Am I wrong?” he asked, grinning broadly.
“No.” Olympia moved to stand.
He gripped her hand. “I will do this for you,” he said, squeezing her hand before releasing it and jumping to his feet. His large hands brushed dirt and grass from his trousers. “May I ask what you will do in the meantime?”
“You may ask,” she said with a smirk, “but I do not have to answer.”
“I suppose.” Bjorn glanced all about, maybe memorizing their perch, a small grove of trees to the northwest of where they had been hiding along the beach. Then, his gaze turned to her, and he appraised her in such a way that did not quite make her uncomfortable but left her feeling rather… She was not certain how she felt.
His face was emotionless as he appraised her, and then he grinned at her, a shocking smile that stretched across his face, brightening it such that he appeared as a queen would wish her champion to look.
Unnerved by her thoughts, Olympia glanced away, and when she finally glanced back, he had started on his trek.
Careful consideration of watching him until he left her sight left her decided that was not a prudent use of her time and the dwindling amount of remaining sunlight. Instead, she hurried to the nearest town. Not many persons were about, and she pulled up a hood as she entered the tavern, which at least had some persons inside. At least she would not seem out of place.
No man or woman approached her, and she claimed a seat not far from two women huddled close together, whispering.
Olympia strove to overhear them when a serving girl came by.
“What can I get you?” she asked Olympia.
“Nothing,” she muttered. “I just need a place to rest my feet. I’ve been traveling for some time.”
“Leaving Atlan, are you?” the serving girl asked. “A lot are. That’s where you two came from, yes?”
The two women glanced over and nodded. “We’re from the south of Atlan,” the blonde said.
“North,” Olympia said in a rush.
“Then you came a long way,” the redhead said. “Get her a trough. I’ll buy. You traveling alone? That’s a scary proposition, that is.”
“My…” Olympia swallowed hard, allowing them to think what they might.
“Your husband died in the war?” the blonde asked.
The redhead glared at her. “Ours fight yet, and they’re sending us to stay with our sisters.”
“That is smart of them,” Olympia murmured. “Thank you for your generosity.”
The redhead nodded, and Olympia was grateful none asked for her name, but she also noted they did not offer theirs either.
The two began to talk amongst themselves again, and Olympia listened as she ate. The food was hot, but that was about all of the good she could say about it.
They gossiped about this and that and other matters that did not interest Olympia much at all until she heard something about a babe who had survived.
“I’m sorry,” Olympia murmured, shifting closer to them. “What did you just say?”
The redhead smiled at her and leaned toward her. “I heard that a babe survived.”
“What babe?”
“The Li queen had been pregnant before she died, and she gave birth,” the redhead whispered.
“A boy?” Olympia asked even though prying like this meant the two had seen her face clearly, had heard her voice, and could recognize her.
She was willing to risk everything to ask for details concerning her parents.
“No,” the blonde said, shaking her head. “It’s amazing to thi
nk of this, but there had been a Li girl.”
Disappointment coursed through Olympia that they knew about her. “That’s, ah… Wow,” she murmured.
The redhead laughed. “That was how I reacted when I first heard this! But if she had been sickly while pregnant…”
“It made sense to keep her secluded away,” the blonde added.
“And with word spreading about Jankin coming for the throne…”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Olympia murmured.
“I doubt the babe would’ve survived, though,” the redhead said.
“You’re probably right. Jankin would’ve killed her.”
“But I did hear rumors that she might be heading for the castle,” the redhead added.
“Oh, I don’t know what to believe!” The blonde threw her hands up in the air.
Olympia ate the rest of her food in silence. The food wasn’t the only tidbit that needed to be digested. If the people did know about her after all, did this change matters in the slightest?
36
The One True Queen Rosalynne Rivera
The duties Rosalynne had to attend to stretched endlessly. Whenever she crossed one item from her mental list, another two or three had to be added at the bottom.
She had addressed relatives for most of the fallen knights and guards from the Castle Conquest, and she had just finished overseeing the group burial ceremony for the dead. From there, she headed to the healing hall to check on the wounded.
“How goes it?” Rosalynne murmured to Saxa.
The overly cheerful woman placed her hands on her wide hips. “Things are going a bit better than expected, ta be honest. We’re trying to save as many as we can, but the guards keep bringing us more wounded, and most of those… They’ve been half crushed to death already, and sometimes, it seems to me that they might be worse off for having been moved. I can’t say for certain, though, because I don’t see them out in the field, er, under the stones, I suppose.”
“Are many more going to die?” Rosalynne murmured.
“Chances are good, yes, more will die, but we are doing what we can.”
“Of course you are! Your efforts are not wasted at all and are most appreciated.”
Rosalynne nodded for Saxa to return to work, and the queen approached some of the wounded, holding their hands, giving them what reassurances she could. She was careful not to intrude whenever a healer was tending to one of the men, and it struck her that when Marcellus had to tend to his wounded, he had to look over both men and women. Vincanans trained from birth, it seemed, both males and females.
The queen shifted her gaze to the far wall. Her sister would not ever lie within this hall, would she?
The thought unnerved her so that Rosalynne rushed away. She would return tomorrow. Perhaps after she broke her morning fast or mayhap later on in the day.
She had not ventured far before a booming voice cried out, “My Queen!”
Rosalynne turned with a smile and waited patiently for the man to catch up to her and bow.
“Emerson Fenne,” she said. “Have you news?”
The constable who lorded over the knights grimaced although she suspected he meant to offer a smile. Perhaps the man’s lips refused to curl that way.
“I need your direction on how to set up new defensive measures for the castle in case of another attack.”
“Very well. Lead the way.”
Emerson gestured for her to lead the way, though, and she did.
“The wall has been mostly repaired?”
“Yes,” Emerson said. “You asked for it to be done first, and it has been so, but with so many still trying to find trapped persons…”
“Have more bodies been found today?”
“Aye, two more. One dead, one alive yet although most likely not for much longer, I’m afraid. I hate to say it, but…”
“But what?” she pressed. Truly, he wished for her to know, or else he wouldn’t have started to tell her so.
“I’m afraid that most of the bodies are being discovered as of late for two reasons.”
“And they are?” She squinted against the harsh glare of sunlight as they left the keep.
“The smell,” he said frankly. “They can smell the bodies, and…”
She glared at him, hating that he was taking his time with this matter.
“The crows. They’re trying to work their way through the stones to reach them before we can.”
“Find a way to get rid of the crows,” she said firmly, doing her best not to snap.
“As you wish. We shall handle that.”
“And we need more barrels filled with arrows along the alure,” she instructed, “as well as another barrel filled with combustibles. Oh, and a third barrel.”
“This one empty or…”
“Filled with oil,” she said with a grim note. “We can use the fire from the one barrel to light both the arrows and the oil.”
“I’m not sure that either of that would help with the dragons,” he said slowly.
“We do have another foe, do we not?” she asked pointedly.
“Of course, Your Queen.”
“I would not be surprised at all if the Vincanans plan to strike and soon,” she said. “We must be prepared for them to strike tomorrow, the day after, a week from now, five weeks from now, two months from now.”
“You’re certainly right,” Emerson said.
“As for the dragons…” Rosalynne rubbed her chin and considered options.
She hadn’t been able to talk to Edmund about how he had slain the dragon yet, and she wished to talk to Tatum as well, and the dragons… the dragons…
“I am open to suggestions concerning the dragons,” she finally said.
“Ah, yes, of… of course,” Emerson murmured, but he offered nothing at all to help.
“Tomorrow, at high noon, I need you to arrange a meeting with you, me, Cricket Woodham, Wystan Bartone, Brid Donocani, and Irmela Fiedlerg.”
Emerson nodded. “As you demand.”
“Go on,” she bid him. “I will look over the efforts of the clean up now.”
Emerson bowed and walked away.
Rosalynne closed her eyes a moment. Thankfully, Emerson hadn’t seemed to notice that she had asked for a meeting with all of the members of Sabine’s former council. Rosalynne’s council needed a meeting as well, but hers had been far smaller in size— Wymond Ward, Ulric Copper, Edmund Hill, and Tatum Hill. An unconventional council, indeed, even she had to admit, but she trusted them all. Actually, had she ever had a meeting with them all at the same time? No, she did not think so, but it had served her purposes so far. She spoke to who she needed to whenever she needed to.
And she needed to speak with them all as well. Sabine was many things, but she was also intelligent. Maybe Rosalynne would assimilate some of Sabine’s council into her own… if she thought they could be loyal to her and had Tenoch’s interests at heart.
Tenoch. Tenoch Proper was what she should have thought, but even she had to admit that Tenoch Proper was falling apart nearly as much as the castle had.
Rosalynne headed toward the rebuilt part of the castle wall. She was doing her best to get a handle on anything and everything, and she refused to fail. Tenoch would survive all of this. Even if Tenoch Proper and her father’s legacy should fall, Rosalynne’s own legacy would be that she had kept Tenoch in one piece.
A piece with few burnt areas.
37
Advisor Aldus Perez
Reaching out to the Vincanan Prince was not the only importance that Aldus had to attend to, although he still had yet to decide how precisely to either deliver the letter to the prince or to go and speak to him personally. For now, he kept the sealed scroll on his person at all times, even when he slept so that no one could come across the traitorous words.
But that was a matter for another day. Somehow, the notion that there even had been born a mysterious Li princess had spread to the maids and the other servants, which me
ant that everyone within the castle walls knew about this, and given that some of those persons had fled from the castle after the Castle Conquest battle, well, that news was slowly but certainly spreading throughout all of Tenoch.
Aldus had spent a great deal of time within the castle. His father before him had also been an advisor, and young Aldus had uncovered secret passageways and hidden corridors that lead to various points throughout the castle.
Sometimes, he used them merely so he could walk alone so that he could allow his thoughts to wonder and fester unmolested, but more times than not, he wandered about them so that he could use his ears. There were certain points where he could hear within rooms as if he stood within them. One of the previous kings had the corridors constructed so that he could listen to others speak about him in secret. It seemed to Aldus that king must have been a bit paranoid to have worried about his subjects’ opinion on him, or had he been paranoid about their loyalty and that they plotted against him?
Whichever the case, Aldus had overheard many conversations between the Rivera sisters, including the one when Vivian revealed that a Li princess had been born, spirited away, grown, and was heading for Atlan castle. Even more interesting had been the tidbit that Rosalynne had said words the advisor thought the queen would never say.
“If she arrives, we will kill her.”
Perhaps Rosalynne would maintain her crown after all.
But if she did not…
The Li Princess. Aldus had helped oversee the royal library being stripped almost entirely bare of all records of the Li family. What most did not know was that Aldus had kept most of those records within the walls of a secret passageway.
With the aid of the ornately carved gilded handled blade he always kept on his person, Aldus removed the stones from the wall to reveal those records. He shoved the scrolls and such aside until found that which he sought.
