Vengeance of Hope

by P J Berman

  Fate couldn’t have dealt me a better hand, he thought. Jostan can be watched very closely from here.

  Chapter 15

  KRIGANHEIM, BENNVIKA

  Things were quickly becoming very frustrating for Zethun. It had been easy for him to get the common people to back him. After all, it was their cause he was fighting for, but now he needed the King to listen, too. There wouldn’t be much chance of that any time soon with Jostan on campaign on the other side of the country, especially after his initial proposals to give more rights to the common people were strongly rejected.

  But it was not yet the time to start a full-scale revolt. That was to be avoided at all costs while there were other options. In any case, first, he needed information and fast. After all, Lord Oprion was watching them closely and his presence meant that searching the palace under the pretence of looking for the Amulet of Hazgorata was out of the question at this time.

  However, in a stroke of luck, they soon found a contact at the palace who Zethun hoped might be able to give them some insight into the goings on there. Hoban had said he knew a girl named Capaea who was a maid there and had convinced her to come forward. Now she sat in Naivard’s office, opposite Naivard himself, who was flanked by Zethun and Hoban.

  As usual, Braldor stood guard, this time inside, watching over proceedings. Wearing a long white maid’s dress with a loose, brown corset, Capaea regarded each of them coldly with an unsettling smile. She was an attractive girl of about twenty-five or thirty, with dark red hair and striking eyes and had the air of one who was young in years but with an arrogant confidence that was anything but naïve. Zethun conceded that, in that regard, he recognised something of himself in her demeanour. She had brought a friend with her; another maid. Capaea’s companion, who wore the same uniform, appeared to be an entirely different proposition and was a dark-haired girl who couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. Trembling as she sat there, she made for an unimpressive sight.

  ‘You need not fret, girl,’ Naivard reassured the younger maid. ‘We are here to help you and you need not fear Braldor either. He is here only for your protection. You’ll be safe. All we need to do is ask you a few questions.’

  Nervously she looked up at the big bodyguard. Somehow she didn’t seem comforted by his presence – far from it.

  ‘Firstly, what’s your name?’ Naivard began, still addressing the younger girl.

  ‘Taevuka, sir,’ she replied timidly.

  ‘And what position do you hold at the palace?’

  ‘She’s a Lady’s maid. She looked after Princess Silrith before her arrest. I thought Congressor Salanath would have already told you that,’ Capaea interjected curtly.

  ‘And you yourself?’ said Naivard, ignoring the jibe.

  ‘I am a kitchen maid, though our roles meant that we frequently crossed paths when Princess Silrith sent Taevuka to fetch things. She relied on her and a few others to do basically everything. You know what royals are like.’

  ‘And you two have worked together for some time?’

  ‘I’ve been at the palace for about two years, but Taevuka is still new.’ Again it was Capaea who answered.

  ‘Now,’ Naivard stated; his tone becoming a little more serious. ‘It is imperative that you both tell me everything you know in relation to my next question. Nothing must be held back. There are some who seem to believe that the Amulet of Hazgorata has been stolen. Now, the palace has been predictably vague about whether or not there is any truth behind the rumour, but we feel it is our duty to the crown to launch an independent enquiry. Something as potentially serious as this must be investigated if only to dispel the rumour. However, if it truly is missing and the King finds out that you impeded us in our attempts to recover it, you will be punished most harshly for the embarrassment caused to the crown. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes,’ they both answered. Capaea’s face was cold as ever, though the curl of her lips suggested that she was taking some perverse enjoyment out of this, while Taevuka nodded vigorously. Hoban was silent, while running a ring through his fingers, taking it off and putting it back on again, in a way that seemed to be unsettling Taevuka further.

  ‘Right then, Taevuka. Capaea mentioned to me earlier that you remember seeing something on the night of King Lissoll’s death. What did you see?’ Hoban asked.

  ‘The Amulet,’ said Taevuka.

  ‘And how did you come to see it? Where was it?’ asked Naivard.

  Taevuka looked at her friend. For the first time, Capaea’s face lightened.

  ‘Tell them what you told me,’ Capaea said, with a flicker of emotion darting across her smile.

  Capaea’s expression turned back to her cold sneer as she looked on the three men again. Visibly Taevuka took a deep breath. Slowly she began in a quiet voice.

  ‘Well, I didn’t actually see it exactly, but that night, shortly before we received news that the King was sick, I heard an argument happening between two other servants. They were whispering though. I had to get quite close, but I don’t think they noticed me listening around the corner. I didn’t suspect anything. I just wanted to get the gossip, you know.’

  The pace of Taevuka’s words increased as she became more confident.

  ‘One of them said ‘There it is. You’ve taken it,’ and the other said ‘What?’ and the first one said ‘The Amulet. You think I can’t see it hanging around your neck?’. So the second one said ‘This? I didn’t steal it. He gave it to me.’ She stopped imitating a conversation with herself, looking a little awkward.

  ‘Was that all that was said?’ Naivard asked.

  ‘No, but I was called to kitchens to help, so I didn’t hear anything else.’

  ‘Do you know whose voices they were?’ Naivard asked. Taevuka nodded.

  ‘One was Lyzina, one of Queen Accutina’s ladies. She often comes down to the kitchens to supervise the preparation of the food. The other sounded like Afayna. It sounded like Lyzina was accusing Afayna of stealing.’

  ‘Afayna?’ asked Naivard.

  ‘She was another of Princess Silrith’s Lady’s maids.’

  Wasn’t the maid that King Jostan had executed named Afayna? Zethun thought. He wasn’t sure if memory served correctly and didn’t want to ask leading questions.

  Naivard turned to Capaea.

  ‘Is all this true?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ she replied. ‘All of it. Queen Accutina has very specific tastes, especially when it concerns dishes from her homeland. She says that Medrodorian food should be prepared the Medrodorian fashion, though I doubt she has the slightest idea what that actually entails. So she insists on Lyzina overseeing the preparation of those meals. The problem was that Lyzina was an arrogant little sod and often muscled in, so we usually just let her get on with it. After all, the Queen wants what the Queen wants.’

  Naivard quickly made some notes.

  ‘These two girls. What was their relationship like normally?’ asked Zethun, speaking for the first time, causing Naivard to look over his shoulder. Taevuka opened her mouth to answer but Capaea cut in first.

  ‘Oh, they were always bickering. But since our new King’s visit to the late King and his family last year and in the time leading up to King Lissoll’s death, they’d been much worse. They were at each other’s throats constantly.’

  ‘I think they both liked him!’ Taevuka blurted out, all former nervousness now gone.

  ‘Liked him? In what way?’ Naivard enquired, evidently attempting to avoid leading questions.

  Taevuka shifted slightly in her seat.

  ‘Well, they were attracted to him, I think,’ she said, colouring slightly.

  ‘Taevuka,’ Capaea exclaimed. Zethun noted tension begin to reappear on Taevuka’s face at this. Capaea turned back to the three interviewers. ‘I’m sorry that my friend behaves with such immodesty.’

  To Zethun’s mind, the comment was inconsistent with Capaea’s previous behaviour in a way that was more than a little intriguing.


  ‘There is no immodesty in human feeling,’ Naivard suggested. ‘I find it entirely possible that Afayna and Lyzina both looked at him in the same way, as you suggest, Taevuka. A strong and handsome Lord from the exotic lands across the sea comes to the palace. He’s bound to turn a few female heads.’

  ‘Yes,’ Capaea conceded. She paused, curling her lips at the edges. ‘And it is true that he had an eye for the ladies. Afayna was certainly very pretty. Someone said he lay with her.’

  Zethun’s eyes narrowed at this.

  ‘Are you certain of that?’ he asked.

  ‘I am certain that there was a rumour,’ said Capaea. ‘Beyond that, who can be certain of anything these days?’

  ‘Capaea,’ Zethun said flatly. ‘Anything said here has to be the truth and nothing but the truth. We want facts, not rumours, otherwise, we might be led to believe that all that you have said is untrue.’

  ‘Fine,’ said Capaea with a shrug. ‘Try and disprove it if you can. But I guarantee you would be wasting your time. Every minute spent doing that is a minute not spent catching whoever might have stolen the Amulet, giving them more time to get further away from you, or even simply to-’ she paused for a moment as if searching for words ‘-consolidate their position.’

  ‘Consolidate their position?’ Zethun asked curtly. ‘And what position would that be? Are you accusing the King of orchestrating this?

  ‘Orchestrating what?’ Capaea curled her lips back into that eerie smile and an expression of complete innocence. ‘You shouldn’t make blind accusations, Zethun. Surely you know that.’

  Zethun said nothing, holding her gaze.

  ‘I can only wonder why you might think the King would steal his own Amulet and yet I sense that you want him to be guilty,’ Capaea giggled darkly. ‘I sense there is more you want to know about him, isn’t there?’

  ‘We should be careful,’ Naivard said. ‘This could be seen as treasonous talk.’

  ‘You search me for all the information you like, but only you can put that information to the test and see if it is true. You don’t honestly think I believe that this is all just about some rumour surrounding the Amulet of Hazgorata, do you?’ Capaea said.

  ‘Fine,’ said Zethun, ignoring her goading words. ‘Then tell me everything.’

  ‘About the King or about Afayna?’ said Capaea. ‘Or am I still to pretend I believe that this is about the Amulet, which I’m sure is with the Dowager Queen as always?’

  ‘Everything,’ Zethun said flatly.

  ‘Well,’ said Capaea, putting her hand to her chin satirically. She seemed to have decided this was all a game. ‘Where was I before you started sending me on a diversion?’

  Zethun opened his mouth to object but Capaea carried on regardless.

  ‘Oh yes, Afayna. Poor girl. Afayna was Silrith’s Prime Lady’s maid. Some ranks above me. I wouldn’t say we were friends, but I knew her,’ she said.

  ‘And, knowing her as you did, do you believe it to be possible that the charges are true and that Afayna truly was involved with the murder of King Lissoll?’ said Zethun daringly, causing Hoban and Naivard to look over at him with uncomfortable expressions. There was no point sticking with their cover story now.

  ‘Well, the evidence against her is rather damning, isn’t it? She prepared the meal after all,’ Capaea said in a cold tone.

  ‘And what of the speculation that she was known carnally to our new King?’ Naivard said, shifting his uncertain gaze from Zethun to Capaea.

  ‘I believe that to be true,’ Capaea replied. ‘And if you think about it, I’m sure you will come to the same conclusion. As you yourself pointed out, consider the attraction of an exotic foreigner of royal blood, full of passionate lust, who promises to marry a poor maid and take her with him back to his far-away lands where she could live a life of luxury. Many would do anything to climb the social ladder, especially that far. I might have been tempted myself if it had been me. I can’t deny it. You have to admit that the possibility of a marriage offer like that has much more appeal than anything that involves working as a servant, even a royal one. Whatever Princess Silrith could have offered her, King Jostan could do better. Then, all of a sudden, King Lissoll is poisoned, Afayna and Princess Silrith are blamed and Lord Jostan is King. Some might say that all this sounds less like the actions of a Princess and her maid and much more like the actions of an ambitious Lord who has to remove the heir apparent, doesn’t it?’

  ‘And now who’s talking treason?’ said Zethun, almost laughing.

  ‘Maybe I’m just telling you what you want to hear?’ Capaea shrugged, though Taevuka looked at her, shocked.

  ‘Be very careful, Capaea. This is not a game,’ said Zethun.

  ‘And yet we’re having so much fun, little Taevuka and I,’ she said. She put an arm round Taevuka’s shoulders, yet the younger girl still looked incredibly nervous.

  ‘And Lyzina? What of her?’ Naivard pried patiently.

  ‘I suppose she’d be another candidate. She’s too stuck up and has no personal standards,’ Capaea said. ‘I have no doubt that given even the slightest encouragement she’d sleep with him just to upset Afayna, let alone any other incentive. She left the employ of the palace a few days ago apparently. Maybe she knew something? I suggest you find her.’

  ‘And do you know where she may have gone?’ Zethun asked in a frustrated tone.

  Capaea gave a light laugh.

  ‘I haven’t the foggiest,’ she said.

  Zethun and Naivard looked at each other before Zethun cast his gaze over at Hoban. Hoban gave a slight nod.

  ‘Well then,’ Zethun said after a few seconds. ‘I think we have gleaned all we can from this interview. Ladies, thank you for your contribution. We will be in contact if we need you again.’

  Both left without a word, though Capaea gave Zethun one last darkly playful smile, then giggled chillingly. Braldor closed the door behind them. Naivard stood up from his chair and turned to Zethun and Hoban.

  ‘Interesting progress, wouldn’t you say, gentlemen?’ Naivard said, turning to Zethun and Hoban.

  ‘How so? Progress, yes,’ Zethun replied. ‘But I don’t think we can draw too much from that. There is nothing there to be of any concern to the King.’

  ‘Do not let your focus on finding the ultimate truth cloud your vision of what is in front of you,’ Hoban countered. ‘I think what Naivard is eluding to is that amongst the information we have gained regarding life in the palace kitchens, we have learned that there was more than one indirect royal presence there.’

  ‘Accutina’s maid? Wait a minute, you’re not suggesting that the Dowager Queen might have been in on this as well?’ Zethun exclaimed.

  ‘Doesn’t it seem strange to you that she left an esteemed position at the palace so soon after the King’s death?’ Naivard asked. ‘That could easily mean that the maid Lyzina is out there somewhere bearing the knowledge that we need.’

  ‘Or maybe somebody got rid of her,’ said Zethun. ‘The problem is, that we have no hard evidence to suggest that she was involved in the plot at all.’

  ‘Maybe she wasn’t?’ said Naivard. ‘Maybe Jostan just suspected that she might know something and got rid of her, or alternatively, she feared he may suspect that she did and escaped while she could. That would be the normal thing for someone who fears for their life to do, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘Yes,’ Hoban agreed. ‘I’ll have Braldor send out his men to see if she’s been seen anywhere.’

  ‘If it is true that King Jostan orchestrated the murder of King Lissoll, the people have to be told,’ Zethun said. ‘Naturally, they will fear a King that murders his way to the throne, especially one who is a follower of another God. They will fear what a tyrant he will turn out to be. We have to inspire them to protect their kin from such a man.’

  ‘Unfortunately, I fear it may come to that,’ said Hoban. ‘If we can prove that he orchestrated regicide as well as Princess Silrith’s arrest so that he could claim the throne fo
r himself then so much the better. But, I must tell you, it was raised in the Congressate today that a carrier pigeon arrived bearing an anonymous message from Rildayorda yesterday. It appears that somebody there is trying to make contact with the King, not realising that he is absent from Kriganheim. Whoever it is wants to make sure that he knows that Princess Silrith is alive, well and at large.’

  ‘That changes everything. By the Gods, Hoban. Why didn’t you mention that before?’ Zethun said, exasperated.

  ‘Because I didn’t want it to influence the interview. It is already clear that Princess Silrith has a spy in the midst of her supporters in Rildayorda. With that knowledge, we can be sure that Jostan has left some behind in Kriganheim in his absence.’

  ‘That still doesn’t explain why you’ve waited until now to tell us about the message.’ Zethun gave Hoban a hard look. If anyone could be a spy, could he? Surely not. He swatted the thought from his mind. It was ridiculous.

  ‘I didn’t want to risk the maids hearing anything in case one of them is a spy. Some are very good actors and people do tend to choose those who are most expendable to do their bidding,’ Hoban said.

  That didn’t satisfy Zethun, but he chose not to pursue it further.

  ‘That is possible,’ he conceded. ‘Maybe it’s time to change tactics. Maybe instead of acting in secret, it is time to appear in public again and to concentrate on forcing Jostan to be fair to the common people. We should even threaten a revolt of our own if he doesn’t agree to our terms. There are many who believe we would be better off with no King at all, regardless of whether or not he used murder to attain his position. It will soon be common knowledge that Princess Silrith is alive. The common people are tired of risking their lives for Kings and Lords that do not value their sacrifice. We require a monarch that can keep the peace, else no monarch at all.’

  ‘Yes, though for now, we must wait to see what happens,’ Hoban said. ‘When the time is right, I will invite you to the Congressate. Though you may attend, no Demokroi is permitted to speak there, but I can speak for you and tell them anything you want me to say. But for now, we must wait. Princess Silrith was always popular with the people. If she is alive and wins back her crown, then the people will prosper.’