A Warrior's Return: The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow

by Jude Marquez

  A Warrior's Return

  The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow, Volume 3

  Jude Marquez

  Published by Jude Marquez, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  A WARRIOR'S RETURN

  First edition. March 28, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Jude Marquez.

  Written by Jude Marquez.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Also By Jude Marquez

  Chapter 1

  Grayhaven Castle managed, somehow, to be uglier even in winter than Eamon had previously seen it. He was under the impression that maybe a blanket of snow would improve the general look of the place. Instead, the turrets and the walls stood out even more starkly against the white of the snow, making them even more noticeable and resembling spikes that one would spear an enemies head upon.

  Eamon considered that he might be one of the few that had that thought.

  Eamon also found out that the castle was under a sort of disrepair that he had never seen Stormholme under. A wall that had been patched and re-patched throughout the years in the servants quarters finally fell under the weight of a snowdrift one night which caused quite the stir.

  Milet, fully recovered from his head injury he received from Iolas' hand, was the one who was sent to deliver the bad news to Alik and Eamon in the middle of the night.

  When Alik answered the interruption in a torn bedsheet, he looked more than irritated.

  "Milet, this had better be of the utmost importance," Alik snarled.

  "Believe me, sire, I am well aware when to interrupt and," he cleared his throat when Eamon stood up behind Alik, "And when you are very much needed. Elsewhere, that is."

  Alik snarled and Milet took a step back.

  Eamon laughed.

  Moments later, the two kings emerged from their rooms in appropriate clothes. The only sign of their previous activities was the fact that Alik's hair refused to be tamed into it's normal style.

  "What is it?" Eamon asked and adjusted the broad belt around his waist. There was always the chance that he might need it. He took his lesson from Margrave; he never left his rooms without being armed these days.

  Though after Iolas’ betrayal and death, there had been no more assassination attempts.

  "The servants quarters- they have-" Milet paused and looked away.

  "Go on," Eamon encouraged.

  "The wall has collapsed under the weight of the snow. It is completely exposed to the elements," Milet said.

  Alik sighed and followed Milet down the hall and it took them more than a few steps to realize that Eamon was not with them.

  "That's all?" Eamon sputtered when they realized he had stopped walking with them and was now standing in the middle of the hall and staring at the two of them. "Move them into the main part of the castle and send builders in the morning. Why in all the god's names would you interrupt us for that?" He asked.

  Now, Eamon was irritated.

  Alik glanced to Milet. Though Eamon had been in the Grayhaven court closer to six months and it had been three months since the attack by Iolas and Lissandra's departure, it seemed as though he refused to learn even the smallest rules of decorum that separated the ruling class from the others.

  "My King, the others, the nobles-" Milet fumbled.

  "Let them complain. Let them whine," Eamon said and held his hand out to Alik who reluctantly took it. "If it inconveniences them so, let them move into the rooms that are exposed to the elements and let them die from cold. It would be one less worthless mouth that we would have to protect and feed."

  This was just one more instance in which Eamon refused to make the servants suffer on behalf of the nobles. There was a tense friction between the Ataton royal family that resided in the Grayhaven Court and the noble class that lived in the court all their lives.

  Appealing to Avelina would not help matters either, they nobles learned. Avelina would not go against her brother, on any issue. And none could separate the two siblings. Even when it came down to a disagreement between Alik and Eamon, Princess Avelina always sided with her brother. It was a failing she had, she herself admitted it, but she refused to do anything about it. Family was all she had left.

  The night that Iolas made an attempt at the throne resulted in the deaths of his own brothers and sisters in arms. They were barricaded in their barracks and it was set on fire. Osonia was the one to wake to the screams of her country men. She and a few brave souls from the kitchens were able to break down the doors and rescue the soldiers inside.

  Those that were lost to the fire were mourned. The ceremony for those that passed to the next world was a great affair, Eamon always pushing for more. He felt that those that served their country with unfailing bravery deserved the greatest departure from this earth. Their families were taken care of and their lives celebrated.

  Iolas was not mourned or celebrated.

  The murders of the noblemen were blamed on him along with the poisoning of King Eamon. Of course, Iolas was only guilty of the attempt on Eamon's life and Lissandra of the rest of the grisly murders, but no one knew that. Yvonne and Osonia spread the rumors far and wide that Iolas committed all of those acts and now that he was dead, now that one brave guard from the Last Ruin saved the royal family, their services were no longer needed. The unspoken debt that they owed Eamon was paid and they returned to their strange land.

  Avelina wept at the loss of her sister but they all rejoiced in the fact that Lissandra was still alive.

  "She was the great painter, was she not?" Emelina asked Avelina one day while she lay in bed. Her injuries were far worse than they had initially anticipated and she was taken to bed for weeks.

  "Lissandra?" Avelina said as she calculated her next move on the chess board between them and slid her knight horizontally and vertically. "Yes, she is. If she could have lived a life of a traveling artist, she would die a happy woman."

  "And you?" Emelina asked and studied the board. "What would make you a happy woman?"

  The thought made Avelina pause and consider her current lot in life. Her guard had grown to include Reeve, the man she had bested at the sparring ring, along with those handpicked by Issat. The retinue itself was led by Issat who stayed close to Avelina at nearly all times.

  However, whenever Avelina spent time with Lady Sexton as she was doing now, Issat suddenly found herself called away or having to maintain other duties.

  Even a princess could only ask so much. Issat was not aware of the alliance between Lady Sexton and Alik and felt terribly betrayed by it. She still had trouble separating the woman Lady Sexton was from the acts and words of who she portrayed for such a long time.

  "A quiet place to rule over. An empty orphanage. A child, maybe more. A beautiful person to love and to love me back," Avelina mused.

  "Sounds lovely," Emelina said with a sigh and fell quiet.

  After the debacle with the servants quarters, all eyes were on Eamon and Alik as they e
ntered the great hall. Avelina and Issat were behind them, Lady Sexton, Lambin, and Margrave following them. Osonia, Yvonne and Milet entered next.

  The remainder of Heaven's Infinite followed them.

  Margrave, Lambin, Lady Sexton, and Avelina sat at a lower dais and behind them, Eamon and Alik sat raised above them.

  It was a strange way to sit but even Eamon and Avelina's forces couldn't destroy all the unnecessary traditional classism they encountered.

  Though the gods above and below knew that they tried.

  Because of them, the tailors loosened the high necks of both the tunics and the dresses. Avelina swore that she would go back to the Ataton way of dressing, freezing to death be damned, if the tailors did not provide her constant access to the thick leggings she had grown accustomed to underneath her dress. If anyone tried to lecture her on the ways and customs of wearing the Grayhaven style of layers and layers of skirts, she threatened to strip right then and there.

  That nearly given Lady Dorne a heart attack in the middle of the Great Hall and no one quite knew what to make of the threat.

  Eamon took Lissandra's jeweled knife to his tunics, cutting open the collar so that his throat was bare and went through every single tunic he owned before anyone could stop him. Now the tailors compromised, offering him a way to lace up his tunic at the throat should he need to or to keep it loose like he was more used to.

  There were few compromises made but these few were hard fought for.

  As Alik and Eamon sat, so did the rest of the court.

  Lambin struggled to hold in a yawn and Avelina smiled at him. Margrave tapped his arm lightly and Lambin straightened up. On Margrave's other side, Lady Sexton watched the rest of the court, a mask of boredom on her face. Avelina came to know her too well though and knew that she was watching every single member of the court like a hawk. Osonia and Yvonne even deferred to her judgement on the members of court. Her knowledge of their deceptions was almost as detailed as Margrave’s.

  Their guards formed a loose half circle around the royal court and watched as everyone sat down.

  Behind Avelina, she heard her brother sigh deeply.

  "Alright, get on with it," he said regretfully.

  A man near the back stood and he looked near Eamon's age. But that was where the similarity ended. His face was pinched and his nose was hooked and Avelina knew that if his hair had seen soap in the last month, it would be an entirely different color.

  "King Eamon, it is simply not done. There has never been a time in my life or my parents lives or their parents lives-" The man prattled on.

  "Get to your point before our own lives are over," Alik snapped.

  "The servants cannot be here, not in the same rooms and wings as us, not-" The man stuttered and finally shut his mouth.

  "So you suggest that we... What?" Alik asked.

  "We must find another way," the man whined.

  "Yes, because his personal hygiene might be compromised and he might see soap and will never be the same," Margrave muttered.

  Milet snorted in front of them and struggled to cover it up with a believable cough.

  "What is your suggestion?" Eamon prodded and when Avelina looked back over her shoulder, she saw Alik rubbing at his mouth. It seemed like Milet wasn't the only one who had heard Margrave's remark.

  "The barracks?" The man said slowly.

  "Ah yes. The barracks. We used to have plenty of room but it seems like one of those buildings was burned to the ground and now Heaven is packed in with the army until the builders finish repairing the other building. Try again, shall you?"

  "The... stables?" The man guessed and a few of the kinder people in court shifted in their seats and glanced at the man with cold looks in their eyes.

  "I could take him to Sweet," Avelina offered to Eamon. She turned so that she could look at her brother. The look on his face told her that he was already considering it. At her feet, Kane raised his head at the mention of his dear friend. "Or send Kane?"

  "In a moment, sister," Eamon murmured and they both glanced at Alik who was staring at the man. There was a cold look on his face.

  Avelina had come to distrust that look.

  Not Alik, but that look meant cruelty and it haunted her.

  "Here is what we will do," Alik said after a moment and the court was so quiet that Avelina could hear Kane breathing. "Today, you will give up your room to the servants. Tonight, you will sleep in the servant's quarters by yourself. Kane patrols at night so hopefully he will protect you from the other wolves and bears and whatever else haunts the woods. Though, keep in mind that the woods are large and Kane is but only a single wolf."

  "Your Highness-" The man started. His already pale and greasy face went even whiter.

  "Should you survive the night, if you are not eaten by some wild animal or freeze to death, then you can sleep in the Great Hall until the servants quarters are repaired. After that time, then we will discuss further accommodations," Alik concluded.

  Silence fell and the man sat.

  "Are there any other suggestions?" Eamon finally asked.

  "Lambin can be moved into my room. His study can be forfeit as well. He will gladly hand over his rooms to any who need accommodations," Lady Sexton said to Alik over her shoulder. "The study can be in my sitting room, if it pleases His Highness."

  "Thank you, Lady Sexton. I will take you up on your offer," Alik said formally.

  "I can move into the room that is attached to Lady Sexton's. My rooms are far too big and more people can fit in there than just myself," Avelina said.

  "Princess-" Margrave sputtered. It was one thing for Lambin to move but another for the Steward of the Grayhaven to do it.

  "Thank you, sister," Eamon said. "Your offer is appreciated."

  "The guard will move into the same wing as Lady Sexton and Princess Avelina," Issat said. "We will double up and our rooms may also be used."

  "Lady Neale and I will share a single room," Lord Neale said and stood.

  And just like that, the court fell in line, eager to impress the new royal family with their offerings and generosity.

  Chapter 2

  "Do you know how much it bothers me?" Eamon whined.

  "No, dear brother. Please tell me, in excruciating detail, how much it bothers you that society has made you wear things that you do not like, do not desire, and hate above all else. Please," Avelina said flatly from where she sat in a chair that was overflowing with silks and taffeta and in a bodice that pinched and made it difficult for her to breathe.

  Beside her, Issat smirked and turned away.

  "This is ridiculous," Eamon muttered and adjusted the crown on his head once more.

  "The weight of it will never be comfortable, my King," Osonia said and slapped his hands away. She took the crown from his head, placed it back on the pillow on the small table, and worked her fingers into his hair where he had pulled it loose. Quickly, she braided it once more and then carefully adjusted the crown on his head. When he reached up to adjust it, she slapped his hands away.

  He frowned at her.

  She sighed at him.

  "I love her," Avelina whispered to Issat.

  "We will be late," Issat reminded him.

  "Fine, let's go," he muttered and waved his hand at the door. Issat jerked it open and the guards stood at attention. Eamon offered his sister his arm and she took it. Issat strode in front of them and the guards fell in line, flanking them.

  "Have fun!" Osonia called at their backs.

  Avelina waved back at her.

  Outside, Sweet waited for them, along with their newest addition to the stables, Honey. Allegedly from the same sire, Honey was just as large and mean as Sweet to anyone that wasn't of the royal family. For some reason, however, Honey was in love with Alik which was cause for hilarity when he saw how big Avelina's horse was and how roughly she showed her affection.

  The King had ended up on his ass in a puddle their first meeting.

  Now Ave
lina, with her modified skirts and thick leggings beneath, climbed aboard Honey and the horse below her danced a little and then they were off.

  Eamon looked over at Avelina and Avelina over at him. They shared a smile.

  "Oh, please don't-" Issat said from behind them.

  "Your Highness-" Milet began at the same time.

  But they were too late. At the same time, Eamon and Avelina urged their horses into a gallop and they were off, leaving their guards far behind.

  It was a game they played before, for the sheer joy of it. They raced one another through the trees and to the sparring ring to see which horse was faster.

  As they skidded to a halt just in front of the sparring ring, there was a small gathering of men there. Avelina arrived just in front of Eamon and two of the men cheered. They held their hands out to the other men, five of them, and were paid handsomely.

  "You bet against your King?" Eamon said and feigned hurt.

  "And we're paying for it," one of the men muttered.

  "Thank you, Princess," one of the winner's said and held up his bag of coins.

  "Thank Honey. She did all the work," Avelina said and grinned.

  The men shied away from the horse.

  They entered the sparring ring and Reeve was right behind them with a report.

  "Warmed up and ready, my King," he said.

  "Good man," Eamon said and clapped him on the shoulder and Reeve stumbled a bit. After proving himself worthy and serving Avelina without hesitation, he had fast become a favorite of the King and the Princess. "Let's split them into three groups. One group for myself, one group for my sister, and another for Milet, Issat, and yourself."

  "Orders, sire?" Reeve asked.

  "Let us fight," Eamon said with a grin.

  Everyone else groaned.

  The men waited to be split up and when they were, Eamon looked over to Avelina, all but lost in the sea of men. She waved at him.

  "Did all of the royal family grow up like this?" One man asked.

  "All four us," Avelina said and grabbed a staff. Others were armed with swords, staffs, and even smaller knives.

  "Did you father teach you?" Another asked as they circled her. They were trying to distract her. It had only worked once.