Let them lock him away, throw away the key if they must, I won’t be here to witness it.
I come to his doors and stand before them, taking deep breaths and readying myself for his lies, his conniving nature.
I am ready.
The guard lets me in and Macsen greets me with a sad smile. “What has happened to our Realm?” he asks, as though he had no bearing on any of it.
I shake my head. “Sad times, my prince, soon to be King. Sad times.”
He nods, almost thoughtfully. I wonder if he knows what I know of him, or if he thinks he is clever enough to dupe me. He has been clever enough; I only just saw it in time.
“And I will be King.” He leaves the sentence hanging there and it is a stark statement; it doesn’t sound right.
“And you will be King,” I agree with him.
A sacrificial ceremony and a coronation are both held outside, where more crowds can gather. People do love a spectacle. There have been some changes made; the death pallets are no longer needed, of course, which brings me some happiness today. The wreaths to decorate the dead bodies have been pulled apart by the little maids. We have the King’s crown ready for Macsen on a red velvet cushion, just sitting there, the King no longer around to see his son take over and claim the power of the Realm as his own.
There is seating for the more important visitors and space for the less important ones to stand. A stage has been erected so that everyone can see; this is the same stage that would have raised Everleigh above the crowds so everyone could get a good look at her having her throat slit.
Killing the Kingmakers has always been the least favourite part of my job and I am glad I will not have to do it anymore. They have all been unfailingly brave, but for me it is as cruel as slitting an innocent lamb’s throat when you do not even wish to eat it. It has had to be done and so I have done it, but I have never enjoyed it and as the dagger sliced along the delicate skin of pretty, young necks I would ask for forgiveness from the gods. Every time.
So now the stage is set for everyone to watch this murderer be crowned King of the Realm; he does not deserve it and I am heart happy that Everleigh is alive and ready to fight for her crown. Seeing the prophecy this morning gave her renewed hope I think, renewed desire.
“You need to be there at eleven,” I tell him. “I will lead you in what to say and do and if you follow my lead it should take no longer than fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes and then I will be King?”
I nod my head and feel the bile rising in my throat.
26
IT IS JUST BEFORE ELEVEN in the morning on Everleigh’s seventeenth birthday. She is alone in Halfreda’s room, looking beautiful in her dress but feeling more upset and anxious than she has ever felt before. This is more frightening than when she thought about being sacrificed; this is unknown. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will live? Who will die? Too many questions and no answers.
She hadn’t wanted Archer to leave her, even though she knew he had to. And when Will and Ginata followed Halfreda out, she cried for a long time before pulling herself together.
She sits and watches the fire, trying to stay calm and controlled as she waits for what seems like an eternity to meet her destiny.
She pulls out the prophecy again and traces her finger over the glowing words. Words that say she will live; words that say she will rule.
Macsen tried to kill her and failed; she is meant to live. She wants so badly to live. With new friends and old, her father’s memory to preserve and a Realm that needs a better ruler than her brother, she has a lot to live for. She just wishes she wasn’t feeling so sick about it.
MACSEN IS DRESSED LIKE a King, in ermine and fur, a sword at his side, jewels on his fingers. He walks slowly to the dais, taking in the sights and sounds of his coronation. It is all worth it to him to be so close to the power and authority he has always craved.
Halfreda watches him climb up the stairs. He waves at the crowd, as though his father didn’t just die, as though his sister didn’t just die, as though he isn’t responsible for any of it.
The crowd roar their approval; a fickle bunch. They don’t really care who is King, they grieve briefly for the old one and then happily welcome the new one.
Millard and Addyson are already sitting on the dais, watching the events unfold. Addyson is still in a fog and Halfreda is worried about what their deception has done to her. She fears she may go mad, like her mother and her brother, and that she will not be around to help.
Millard looks relaxed and happy. He has his arm around Addyson’s shoulder, and when Macsen gets to the centre of the stage Millard jumps up and claps him on the back, before settling next to Addyson again.
Macsen smiles out at the crowd; his people.
Ginata
I DO NOT LIKE THIS day. I have an unhappy feeling but I do not know why. I have never seen as much as Halfreda does, but I usually have an idea of the twists and turns that are coming. I still cannot see Everleigh as Queen today.
I am nervous as we sit. If I can help I will. I cannot wield a sword and I do not have a dagger, but I can be pretty scrappy if I need to be.
I close my eyes; what will the day bring? What do I need to be prepared for, ready for? I see nothing. I am anxious and stressed and that is probably why.
I breathe in and out slowly, calming myself and opening my mind to something, anything and like an invitation was sent out and accepted, it comes:
Archer jumping onto the stage. I’m holding Everleigh’s hand. I am desperate for her to be Queen but unable to take my eyes off the two men fighting. They are clashing swords. I try to talk, to say the words that will crown Everleigh but she stops me. Archer is quick on his feet and Everleigh is smiling.
Then the vision becomes brighter, filling my head and making it ache; swords slashing, a man, I can’t make out his face, taking another step closer to Archer. Archer raising his sword, the man dodging around and slashing again. Archer stumbling on the dais and falling to the floor. Before he can rise, the man stepping close to him, hovering over him, and stabbing his sword straight into his body, into his heart.
Will, who is sitting with me, clutches my arm, probably wondering what is wrong with me. My head feels as though it is splitting into two. Archer will die if he tries to help Everleigh today. I believe what I have seen. I must tell Archer to leave.
Will whispers to me, “What’s wrong?” I don’t explain, just tell him to go to Everleigh. I can tell he is in pain; he was bright this morning, but his wounds are taking a toll on him again. Halfreda gave him extra pain relief before we left and I think they have put him in a fog and I doubt he will be of any use to us as a distraction or an ally should things go askew. “Will, go and wait with Everleigh. You’re no use here in pain.”
Will does as he is told, and I turn to face the spectacle of the coronation once again. I know Archer is hidden at the back of the crowd, ready to charge forward and I now know that I need to get him out of the way. He cannot be here to help Everleigh; he will die.
Macsen is facing the crowd of people and there are hundreds of us, more than I have ever seen gathered in one place before.
The minstrel plays a merry tune as Macsen waves and smiles at us all. I look at his viper face when he is not looking my way and I am shocked anew at what he is capable of. Such a handsome man; not as handsome as Millard, Millard has a more open, friendly face, but Macsen is good looking. His voice is smooth and warm. No one talking to him and not knowing the truth of him would guess it in a million years. He looks like he will be a good King and the crowd cheer for him. I wish they knew what I know; they would not be so quick to welcome him then.
Before the ceremony starts I duck out of my seat and weave my way through the crowd.
Archer is leaning on a tree.
“I need you to leave.”
He shakes his head confused.
“I have seen your death. If you try to intervene in this coronation you will die. I
have seen it in a vision.”
“No one will kill me. I’m pretty handy with a sword, you know.”
“Archer. It’s not funny. It’s not a joke.”
“I’m not laughing. But I’m not leaving.”
I take hold of his hands. “Trust me.”
“I do. But I am here to protect Everleigh.”
“You will be no help when you are dead. Wouldn’t you go if Halfreda told you to?”
He stares at me for a long second, taking the measure of me. And then he nods and turns away. I don’t know where he will go or how Everleigh will feel but I need to keep him alive.
I slip back into my seat as Halfreda calls out to the crowd and the murmuring stops. There is deadly silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Realm, esteemed visitors, we are here today to witness the coronation of Macsen.”
“Sadly not,” Millard’s voice rings out, loud and clear, and as he says the words, which confuse me for a split second, he leaps from his seat and wraps an arm around Macsen’s neck, placing the point of his sword against his skin.
Macsen struggles but Millard has a strong grip on him. Halfreda shrieks and takes a step back. Addyson cries out and tries to pull Millard off her brother. Without missing a beat, Millard says, “Wolf”, and the man who guarded Macsen when he came to my cottage steps forwards and takes a hold of Addyson. Despite her wriggling, he keeps hold of her; she is like a mouse trying to escape the jaws of a lion. Wolf is strong and obviously, a turn coat. He is not Macsen’s man now, if he ever was. I am quiet in my seat; I do not know what I can do to help here.
Millard looks out at the crowd; some have panicked and run away but the majority are frozen in their seats like me. This is scandalous, and nobody wants to miss it.
“I will be King of the Realm,” he says and runs his sword across his brother’s neck, severing it perfectly from his body. I feel like I am watching a play. Neither Halfreda or I saw this coming.
One murderous brother in a family is quite enough, how unlucky for this family to have two.
I am still sitting helpless when Macsen’s head rolls off the dais and lands near someone’s feet. There are screams and shuffling seats as people move out of the way.
This bloodshed is unprecedented. No one knows what to do.
I slip out of my seat and move around the back of the bloody scene to stand with Halfreda. Maybe neither of us will know what to do, but we can at least stand together.
27
ARCHER TAKES A STEP forward when he sees Millard slice his brother’s head clean off; time to end this now; this upset and this madness, but Ginata’s warning is still in his head. Can he trust her? If she is anything like Halfreda, if her visions are true, then yes. He must leave. He does not want to die. He is not a coward and he cannot help Everleigh if he is dead, but he may as well be dead if he cannot help her. Determined, regardless, he turns towards the carnage on the dais and as he does, he feels the crack as someone crashes something heavy into the back of his head and he collapses onto the ground. The crowd are too busy watching the spectacle on the dais to even notice as Brett drags him by his feet and tucks him next to the stable, leaving him there alone.
Millard wipes the bloody sword on his cloak, his brother’s blood dripping onto the floor, and roars at the crowd. “I will be King of the Realm and if anyone doesn’t like that idea, they are welcome to take it up with me. Right now.” He holds out his sword, a maniacal look on his face. Addyson is screaming behind him, but held so tightly by Millard’s henchman Wolf, it is a wonder she can breathe.
No one stands up or speaks out to argue against this mad man.
Halfreda is shaking, Ginata holding her hand and shaking just as much. Neither of them knows what to do.
Millard turns to face them, sword still aloft. They both shrink back as far as they can without falling off the dais, both too frightened to run away.
“Halfreda. You were saying?” Millard laughs at his own wit, though no one else joins in. The mood is strange, quiet. The entire crowd is silent. People on the front row are pushing their chairs back, as quietly and surreptitiously as they can, so he doesn’t turn his rage on them. Nobody wants to be here but no one is brave enough to leave.
Halfreda opens her mouth but no sound comes out.
“Come on Halfreda, don’t let me down.” Millard moves closer to them, places his sword at Halfreda’s throat.
“You do not need to threaten me.” Her voice is stronger than she looks.
He drops his sword, contrite. “Sorry Halfreda. The madness has gone to my head.”
Halfreda lets go of Ginata’s hand and moves closer to Millard. “What has happened to you?”
He shrugs. “Kill or be killed, Halfreda. I knew all about my brother’s scheme. His plan to kill me today. I know he got the death draught off her.” He gestures to Ginata and she turns white. She doesn’t want his focus on her. She doesn’t want to be the next one on his list.
Millard turns to the crowd again. “Don’t you want a King who will fight? Who will win?”
A few brave souls call out no, but more shout yes. Millard laughs and raises his sword to the sky. “My brother would have killed me. He killed my father. He killed my sister. I have saved myself.”
When he says it like that Halfreda almost agrees with his actions, can see the logic in what he’s done.
“Besides,” he yells to the crowd, “he saved me a job. I wanted to be King. I was trying to work out how it could be done, and then my good friend here helped me out.” He gestures at Wolf, who grins as he bows his head. “He told me of my brother’s plot and so I sat back and let my brother carry on. I let Macsen do my dirty work, put my father and my sister out of the picture. It was all too easy really.”
Halfreda shakes her head and moves back next to Ginata. This is something nobody could have foreseen and she is desperately searching the crowd for Archer, for Everleigh, for anyone who could help.
Millard walks over to his little sister. She shrinks back from him, huddles into Wolf, obviously petrified of her brother, panicking that she is next.
“I’m so sorry little Addy. You are safe. I wish you no harm, but I had to kill the others. I have to be King.”
Addyson has her eyes closed, refusing to even look at him.
“Wolf, tie her up. I want her to see this.”
Halfreda says nothing but is flooded with relief. She thought he might kill all his siblings; be done with it. She is so happy that Addyson will live and while this week, and this day especially, will have long lasting effects, Everleigh being alive to look after her should make a big difference.
Millard addresses Halfreda again. “Please, continue.”
Lanorie
I AM NOT A BRAVE GIRL, I don’t mind saying so, never had a need to be really. If there’s trouble in the castle, it’s nothing to do with me. Right now, my bowels have turned to jelly. I cannot believe my eyes. It is like a play but worse, with blood and gore. How I wasn’t sick when I saw Millard kill Macsen I don’t know. Sliced his head clean off he did. Rolled into the crowd it did. He didn’t even flinch as he did it.
Just swoosh and his brother’s dead. Minutes before he’d been patting him on the back, wishing him luck.
And poor little Addyson. If I was brave, I would have kicked that Wolf in the head. He has always been Macsen’s man, so that shows you what he’s all about. What a pig. Holding on to a little girl like that, scaring the living daylights out of her. What a bloody awful day.
I have looked for Archer; he was at the back of the crowd, but he is gone. I need to tell Everleigh what’s just happened. I need to get her here quickly, even if I can’t find Archer. Millard cannot be made King, but I am too scared to move. I don’t want him looking at me.
He’s far too handy with that sword.
Halfreda has shuffled over to him now and I reckon she’s going to have to carry on with the ceremony. No doubt he’ll slice her old head right off otherwise. What a to-do. And to th
ink I fancied myself marrying this one. He’s a mad man. I can see it now. We all can. Oh, he tried to say he was only defending himself. Killing his brother before his brother killed him, letting him do his dirty work with the King and Everleigh, but that’s just excuses. He’s a maniac.
He is watching Halfreda and I reckon I can slip away. I need to fetch Everleigh.
I hammer on Halfreda’s door, probably scaring Everleigh half to death but I am panicked now. Millard cannot be King; he will kill us all.
“Everleigh!” I am screaming now. No one else will hear me. Everyone who matters is watching the mad man become King. She opens the door a tiny bit and I shove my way past her. Finally, away from the killer, I burst out crying.
Will is with her and they both look horrified, and they have not even heard my tale yet. There is no sign of Archer with them.
Everleigh tries to comfort me but I know she’s confused as to why I’ve broken from the plan. She hugs me tight then steps back, passing me a handkerchief from Halfreda’s table. I blow my nose.
“You need to come now,” I say. “Don’t argue. You need to come.”
“What’s happened?” I can see she’s panicking but I’ve got hold of her arm. I can tell her on the way.
She stops me. “Lanorie. Tell us. What’s wrong. Am I too late? Is Macsen King?”
“Worse than that.” And I am crying again. In between crying, blowing my nose and feeling sick at remembering it, I tell her.
“Millard has killed Macsen.”
“What?” Everleigh drops to a chair, hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “What?” Will holds on to her other hand.
“Macsen came on to the stage. All dressed up. Looked lovely. Addy was watching. And Millard. Millard got up and hugged him. The crowd is huge. All clapping and cheering. I stood at the back. Because I knew about you. You coming. Halfreda told us all that we were there to watch him be King and Millard said something like, no we’re not or wrong or think again. I don’t know. Then he jumped up, grabbed Macsen around the head and poked his sword against his neck. Then he said, or did he say, I don’t know but then he cut his head off and it rolled on the floor.”
The Kingmaker Series, #1 Page 20
