The Hidden Sun (Bariwon Chronicles Book 1)

by J. Lloyd Morgan

  She rested her head on his chest. “Oh, Rinan. I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”

  Her tone of voice and her touch pushed Rinan passed his initial shock, and he returned her embrace. Then her last words sank in. “Sorry for what?” he asked softly.

  Looking up into his eyes, she said, “I should have realized it sooner and told you.”

  It seemed as though she wanted to say something else. Although her mouth moved, no sound came out, but instead, tears started flowing from her blue eyes. Rinan put his hand behind her head and pulled her close, allowing her to cry.

  After a moment, he said quietly, “You’ve been talking to Priest Sherwyn, haven’t you?”

  “Why?” Eliana asked between sobs.

  He ran his fingers through her hair. “He’s the only one I told that I was falling in love with you. I thought he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  Eliana pulled away so she could look at him. “Rinan, I haven’t been talking to him.”

  “Then how did you… Oh.”

  The two of them stood there for a moment, not saying anything. Rinan wanted to say more but was unsure how to start.

  Before either of them could break the silence, Anemone said, “I think we all need to see Priest Sherwyn.”

  ***

  Rinan and Eliana followed Anemone in silence as the servants scurried around the castle in preparation for the day’s activities. When they arrived at the priest’s chambers, Anemone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” said a tired voice.

  The three entered the room to find Sherwyn hunched over his table. His bloodshot eyes revealed that he had not slept much during the night. Around him were various books and parchments, and the candle on the desk had burned down nearly its length.

  “Priest Sherwyn,” Anemone said, “you look as if you’ve not slept a wink.”

  Stifling a yawn, the priest stood and motioned for the three of them to sit down. “That’s because I haven’t. I was looking for a solution to a particularly complex problem.”

  “Ah, and have you had any success?” Anemone asked.

  Smiling, he said, “I believe I have.” He turned to Eliana. “I understand you are having doubts about marrying Daimh.”

  Glancing at Anemone, Eliana now understood where her nursemaid had gone the night before. “Yes. I can’t marry that man.”

  “Eliana,” Sherwyn continued, “forgive me for speaking so plainly, but Anemone has informed me that you are in love with Rinan.”

  “Yes, that is true.”

  Sherwyn shifted his attention to Rinan. “And Rinan, also forgive me if I am betraying any trust, but you confessed to me your feelings for Eliana. Do you still feel this way?”

  “Actually, I just told her moments ago,” Rinan replied, and Eliana could tell he was as confused as she was by the priest’s questions.

  Sherwyn motioned to the books and parchments around him. “I spent the night looking for a way to deal with a situation like yours. Under normal circumstances, the two of you could renounce your positions and marry.”

  Eliana felt Rinan tense up next to her. “But these are not normal circumstances, are they?” he asked.

  “No, they are not,” the priest answered.

  “I’m not sure I understand,” Eliana interjected. “And with respect, Priest Sherwyn, you don’t need to tell me the consequences. I understand it means that I won’t be queen. I’ve thought this through and have accepted it.”

  “Princess, I believe it is of the utmost importance that you become queen. I fear for the kingdom if you step down.”

  Eliana frowned. “I don’t see how I could possibly have any effect on the kingdom.”

  “Princess, let me explain,” For the next several moments, the priest told about Abrecan and the problems in the district of Erd. The more he spoke, the more alarmed Eliana became.

  “I understand your concern. I’m not trying to avoid my responsibility to the kingdom.” Her chest started to tighten. “At the same time, I simply can’t marry Daimh. I love Rinan. I…I don’t know what to do.”

  The priest smiled. “That is the exact ‘complex problem’ that I mentioned earlier. What if I told you I’ve found a way where you two can be married, and you can both still keep your titles?”

  Eliana and Rinan looked at each other. Both had the same light of hope in their eyes. Turning back to the priest, she said, “I would say you have our attention.”

  ***

  Lit with dozens of candles, Eliana’s room was quite bright, despite the late hour. Rinan and Eliana stood side by side, each dressed in simple white attire. They faced Sherwyn, who held an old tattered copy of the Tome of Laws. Anemone stood off to one side, holding a handkerchief to her face, wiping away tears.

  “Please face each other,” Sherwyn instructed. “Take each other by the right hand.”

  Eliana smiled as she turned to face her husband-to-be. Rinan’s gray eyes sparkled, even in the candlelight. He didn’t possess Daimh’s striking appearance, but he was infinitely more attractive to her.

  When she reached out and took his hand, she tried not to tremble but couldn’t help herself. If Rinan noticed, he made no indication, perhaps because he seemed to be trembling as well.

  Priest Sherwyn read from the tome. Although Eliana heard the words, she couldn’t focus on their meaning. Instead, her thoughts kept drifting to how lucky she was to be marrying such a wonderful man. Any thoughts of the challenges they would face in keeping their marriage secret were drowned by the overwhelming joy she felt at the moment.

  When asked if they would take each other in marriage, they each responded with a quiet, but sincere “I do.”

  At the conclusion of the ceremony, Sherwyn said, “You may now begin your life together with a kiss.”

  Eliana realized this was to be her first kiss. Throughout her life, she had envisioned what it would be like. Never had she pictured a moment like this, but as she leaned in to kiss Rinan and their lips met for the first time, she couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.

  CHAPTER 4

  Priest Sherwyn was nervous. His plan to keep Eliana from resigning required a lot of care and planning, and, a bit to his dismay, a little luck. Fortunately, luck had been on his side thus far.

  It had been two weeks since Rinan and Eliana’s wedding. The future queen claimed she was not feeling well, which gave her and Rinan the excuse they needed to stay sequestered.

  During that period of time, there had been a buzz of activity preparing for the royal wedding. The main hall had been set up for the ceremony, which would take place at sundown with an elaborate banquet to follow.

  Occupying Sherwyn’s thoughts at the moment was the ceremony itself. He had gone over it several times with Eliana. She was the key for this to work. If the wedding ceremony wasn’t done exactly as outlined in the Tome of Laws, it wouldn’t be binding. The trick was to perform the ceremony incorrectly without anyone noticing. What made this more difficult was that Magistrate Seanan would be the witness, insuring it was performed properly. However, Sherwyn’s plan had succeeded thus far, and he hoped his luck would hold out a little bit longer.

  ***

  Eliana had butterflies the night she married Rinan. On the day of her wedding to Daimh, she had butterflies again—but this time for a different reason. She had practiced her part in the farce over and over, and hoped it would go as planned.

  When the musicians started to play, she took her father by the arm and started walking down the aisle toward the dais. Her path was covered with rose petals that had been laid down by several daughters of noble families. The hall was lined with the most prominent families of the kingdom, all smiling and watching as King Kenrik escorted the bride.

  Priest Sherwyn stood at the end of the aisle, his golden robe a contrast to the dark crimson outfit Daimh wore. The handsome man appeared as if every servant in the castle had spent time grooming him. Governor Abrecan stood beside his son, a smile of self-importance on his face. Magistrate Seana
n also stood on the dais, right next to Priest Sherwyn, his eyes darting back and forth between the approach of the king and princess and those who stood on the dais with him. Rinan was off to the side, standing against the wall. As she approached, Eliana noticed her husband’s jaw was tightly clenched.

  When they arrived at the dais, King Kenrik helped the princess step up, and then took his place behind her.

  Using his loudest voice, Priest Sherwyn began the ceremony. This time, Eliana was able to listen to what the priest was saying. She reflected upon the words and how they related to her and Rinan. She could never honestly make such promises to Daimh.

  Several times during the ceremony, Eliana sneezed. Word had spread throughout the castle that she had been ill, and it was hoped that the audience would believe the sneezes were a symptom of what had kept her out of the public eye recently. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter even harder as the ceremony came to its conclusion.

  “Please face each other,” the priest instructed. “Take each other by the right hand.”

  Anticipating this part of the ceremony, Eliana reached out and took Daimh by the left hand before he could act. She spared a glance at Magistrate Seanan, who simply smiled at her. During the Shoginoc, her father had explained that the magistrate struggled with distinguishing between left and right. Aware of this as well, Sherwyn had incorporated it into the plan. It seemed to have worked, since Magistrate Seanan didn’t correct her. Daimh gave no indication that he had noticed the switch either; Eliana hoped it was one of those details with which he couldn’t be bothered. Governor Abrecan and King Kenrik were unable to see what Eliana had done from where they stood, and she hoped no one in the crowd was aware or close enough to notice.

  Priest Sherwyn continued and asked Daimh if he accepted Eliana as his wife.

  “I do,” he said, but not before Abrecan gave him a sharp poke to prompt his response.

  “And do you, Princess Eliana, accept Daimh as your husband?”

  “I…” She sneezed loudly as she said “don’t.” She had practiced this many times during the last two weeks. She had perfected the sneeze to make it sound like she said “do,” when in fact she was saying the opposite.

  Priest Sherwyn jumped right in after the sneeze and finished reading from the Tome of Laws. Upon completion, he announced, “You may now begin your life together with a kiss.”

  Eliana looked up at Daimh, who licked his lips in anticipation. He leaned down toward her. Just as their lips were about to touch, she sneezed again.

  ***

  “You look really beautiful,” eight-year-old Alana said, looking at Queen Eliana with admiration.

  “Why, thank you.” Eliana smiled. She knelt down next to her young cousin. “Are those new earrings you’re wearing?”

  “Yes!” Alana beamed, proudly displaying the gold and sapphire jewelry. “The king himself gave them to me to wear today.”

  Reaching out and touching them lightly, Eliana said, “They are very nice. And I must say you did a marvelous job with the rose petals.”

  Alana blushed. “My father made me practice. He said how proud his big brother was going to be of me.”

  Eliana kissed Alana lightly on the forehead and then stood. “Well, you tell my uncle that he should be very proud of his little girl. Both my father and I were very pleased.”

  Alana nodded and then ran off to her father, who was talking with men from other noble families.

  The banquet hall was still alive with activity, though the sun had set long ago. Unlike the ceremony, where only a select few were allowed to attend, the reception was open to anyone in Bariwon.

  After the wedding was the coronation. It was a simple event, where the crown was transferred from King Kenrik to Queen Eliana. Before the coronation, Eliana had changed from her formal wedding gown into an elegant white dress. She knew she would be busy greeting the people of the kingdom, and the simpler dress would allow her to move among the crowd with greater ease.

  King Daimh spent most of the reception with a drink in his hand, and at times, with a drink in each hand. As the night wore on, he became more intoxicated. Anemone was keeping a close eye on him, and when she sensed that he had drunk about as much as he could handle, she gave him a cup of her plyese tea, telling him, “This will help relax you for your important evening.”

  He gulped down the offering and shortly began exhibiting its effects. Anemone quickly summoned Queen Eliana, who saw Daimh’s condition and took the next step in the plan.

  “It’s getting late,” Queen Eliana said to King Daimh. “We should be headed to bed.”

  Through somewhat glazed eyes, Daimh muttered, “Uh-huh.”

  Anemone led the way to the door, with the queen and king close behind. Rinan brought up the rear, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Upon reaching the door, the newly crowned leaders of Bariwon turned to the crowd. As was tradition, they waved and said, “To peace in our kingdom!” Although when Daimh said it, it sounded more like “To peas in our kingpin!”

  The crowd echoed the declaration, and then cheered as the young couple left the main hall.

  ***

  King Daimh stumbled while entering the royal bedchamber. It was the largest bedroom in the castle, housing a huge bed with a mattress of down feathers, several wardrobes, a gilded mirror, and a round oak table surrounded by padded chairs. The room had several wrought-iron sconces that lit the room quite well, though it was dark outside. It had most recently been the bedroom of King Kenrik, but when his daughter was married and then was crowned queen, he became a councilor—just like his father, Philip, had done. Councilors had their own rooms in the castle, which, while large, didn’t compare to the royal bedchamber.

  Anemone helped steady Daimh and guided him to the bed. Eliana stood just inside the door, with Rinan outside, keeping watch. Daimh sat down on the edge of the bed, inhaled deeply, and promptly fell backward.

  Anemone approached the bed, and after looking at Daimh for a moment, motioned to Eliana. The queen closed the door and walked over. “Is he asleep?”

  “Oh, yes, and he will be for quite a while.”

  Anemone unfastened the clasp on her gray hooded cloak, removed it, and handed it to Eliana.

  “Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Eliana asked, donning the cloak.

  Anemone smiled. “Yes, my dear. If I can handle a strong-willed young woman, a man like Daimh won’t be much of a challenge.”

  Eliana gave her nursemaid a hug. “Thank you for everything.” She placed the hood over her head, headed for the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway. Rinan was still there, watching.

  “It’s still clear, but it won’t be for long. Let’s get you out of here.”

  The new queen pulled the robe tightly around her and keeping her head down, Eliana started off to the room where she had grown up—the room she now shared with her true husband.

  ***

  Rain drops pelting the window were the first sounds King Daimh heard upon waking. He forced one eyelid open, even though doing so made the pounding in his head worse. Coming to his senses slowly, he realized where he was. He reached out his hand and felt for his new bride.

  She wasn’t there.

  He rolled over and found that he was alone in the bed. Grunting, he forced his other eye open and looked around the room. Anemone was sitting in one of the padded chairs, her hands folded on her lap. She smiled at him.

  “Where…?” Daimh mumbled.

  “Oh, Eliana was up at first light, Your Majesty, as she is every morning. I’m sure she is still downstairs eating breakfast. She didn’t want to wake you. You were sleeping very soundly.”

  Propping himself up on his elbows, Daimh tried to recall anything from the night before. He had a vague impression of coming into the room, but for the life of him couldn’t remember anything after that. He looked down and found he was wearing a sleeping tunic. He didn’t remember changing his clothes.

  “Did she say a
nything before she left?”

  Anemone responded, “Queen Eliana said last night couldn’t have gone any better.”

  Daimh furrowed his brows. “Oh?”

  “Oh, yes. She said you were something else.”

  “I’m sure I was, although I’m not sure I remember…” Daimh scratched his head.

  “My king,” Anemone exclaimed, “certainly you aren’t saying you don’t remember your own wedding night.”

  “Uh…”

  “If I may be so bold as to offer advice, Your Majesty, I would strongly suggest that isn’t something you should admit to anyone. You don’t want your new bride to find out and to believe it wasn’t a memorable evening.”

  “Well, I, uh…”

  “And how would you feel if word spread through the kingdom that you were too drunk to remember what happened on one of the most important nights of your life?”

  Daimh’s eyes grew wide. “No, that can’t happen!”

  “Perhaps you’ll remember more after you wake up. In the meantime, I would recommend that you keep this between us. I promise not to tell anyone, Your Majesty.”

  Daimh felt relieved. “Thank you.”

  “You are more than welcome. Anything I can do to help the kingdom.”

  ***

  “This is outrageous!”

  Councilor Abrecan sat across from Councilors Kenrik and Philip. With fists clenched, the former governor of Erd pounded the table.

  Raising an eyebrow, Councilor Kenrik said, “Abrecan, while this type of behavior may have been permitted in your district, it is not acceptable here in the castle.”

  Abrecan took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. “My apologies,” he said through clenched teeth, “but the situation is still outrageous.”

  Councilor Kenrik clasped his hands on the table in front of him. “The queen says she is not feeling well. Out of concern for the king, she feels it best that she stay away from him.”