The Queen's Blade V - Master of the Dance

by T C Southwell

  Minna glared at him, pale with rage and worry, a wild glint in her eyes that warned of storms to come. He loved her spirit and sharp wit, although at times her tongue was a mite too sharp, but he sensed that this situation was going to spark off a tremendous tongue lashing. As she drew breath, he held up his hands.

  "I know what you are going to say. Yes, I owe him my life. Yes, I do care about him, and yes, I wish I could help him, but I cannot. Not now. Perhaps the situation will change, and an opportunity will present itself. Let us wait until then, all right?"

  Minna picked up her wine cup with a shaking hand, taking a deep gulp. Kerra watched her with an open mouth, her eyes wide with awe. Queen Minna-Satu in a rage was a sight to behold, and even powerless, she commanded a tremendous respect with her regal mannerisms, honed by a lifetime of rule.

  "One thing I promise you," she murmured. "I will not allow him to die at the hands of a Cotti executioner."

  Kerrion's brows shot up. "You sent him here to die when he testified for me."

  "I did not. It was a risk, nothing more. But that was then, and it was a long time ago. Since then he has saved my life. You could never understand what I felt when he walked into that room at the oasis. I had thought to end my days there. He is my saviour, and that is a debt I intend to honour."

  "He is no angel. I will wager that he offered you no comfort."

  "I required no more than to see him there, to know that I was safe. He freed me from the shackles and brought me a blanket, but it is not his way to show emotion, and I am his queen."

  The King sighed. "He showed none because he felt none. I wish I had been the one to free you. Do you hold that against me?"

  "No, of course not."

  Kerrion took her hand. "You can do nothing for him, my love. To try would be foolish and dangerous. You are his queen, and even he would not want you to risk yourself to help him."

  "Do not be so certain of that. When he showed me that message from Dravis, purchasing my life, he reminded me of the oath he swore to me on the day I made him a lord. I also took an oath that day. I swore that his life belonged to me and no other would take it from him or they would answer to me."

  Kerrion shook his head. "You no longer have that power -"

  "I will not stand by as a helpless woman in this barbarous country! He was about to place that power in my hands."

  "Minna -"

  "That responsibility is now mine!" Kerra cried. "I am the Jashimari Queen, the oath belongs to me!"

  Kerrion gaped at his daughter. "Kerra..." He glanced between them, resisting the urge to tear his hair. "Enough of this, both of you! My god, what manner of madness is this? How can that bastard command such loyalty from you both?

  "He is nothing but an assassin, raised in the gutter and forced to become a killer by unfortunate circumstances and an ugly twist of fate. His life is not worth yours, either of you. Whatever he did for you, he did for profit. I doubt that he has committed an unselfish act since his family died. He does not care about you, he told me so himself when I saw him in his cell."

  Minna shook her head. "He lied. How could you believe his threat to denounce you if you knew he cared about us? I doubt that he spoke a single true word to you."

  "You cannot be certain of that. Just because you care for him does not mean that he feels the same way. You, I can understand, but you?" He swung to frown at Kerra. "You act as if you are in love with him! He treats his wife like dirt, and he is old enough to be your father. How can you feel anything for him?"

  Kerra paled and rocked back as if he had slapped her. "I do not... I respect him... He saved me from Endor."

  "Do not endow him with nobility that he does not possess, Kerra. He does not respect you. He will not even use your title."

  "He will, when I have earned it in his eyes."

  "You do not have to earn it, you were born with it!"

  She leant forward to glare at her father. "From fools who use it to curry favour, it is meaningless. But the day he calls me his queen will be a proud one for me, for then I will know that I am worthy of it."

  Minna smiled and nodded, but Kerrion threw up his hands in exasperation. "It is your title! Using it is polite, and the fact that he does not only means that he is a rude bastard." He jumped up and headed for the door. "I can take no more of this. You have both lost your wits."

  As the door banged closed behind the King, Minna laid her hand on Kerra's wrist and smiled. "We will find a way to save him. I am certain of it. I know that you love him. I understand completely. For all that I love Kerrion with all my heart, Blade would have been my first choice."

  "If I tell him, will he mock me?"

  Minna shook her head. "That is not his way. He will be indifferent, or at least, he will act indifferent. To know what he really feels is beyond any of us. His true self is buried too far beneath that cold exterior to even be glimpsed. You should tell him, it may help to thaw his frozen heart."

  "But even Chiana failed."

  "Did she?" Minna raised her brows and leant back on her cushions. "That remains to be seen."

  Chapter Fourteen

  The following morning, Kerrion attended the formal court that was convened to try Blade. Five judges presided, seated on a row of hard-backed chairs behind a long table laden with elderly law tomes and jugs of water. The table stood upon a low dais that raised the judges above the rest of the courtroom. The princes sat behind a stone railing that separated them from an empty area, where witnesses would give their testimony and plaintiffs could plead their case. In the galleries, the courtiers and lords sat or stood, according to their rank, filling the back of the room.

  Banners and royal pennants adorned the walls, and the huge carven crest of the court hung behind the judges. Kerrion sat in an ornate chair in front of the princes, and Minna sat beside him on a plain one, her face veiled. Women were not allowed in the court, and at first the princes had protested, but Kerrion had insisted that she stay, claiming that her life was threatened. In view of her recent kidnapping, the judges had allowed her to stay, since ejecting her would also mean removing the King, by his own declaration.

  Dravis was conspicuous in his absence, a fact that made Kerrion cast his brothers a cynical smile, which they met with angry glares. He suspected that Dravis had little faith that Blade would testify in his favour, and wished that he had the same certainty. Despite Minna's assertions, an element of doubt remained in his mind. Marek had been chosen to represent Dravis, and when the court was convened, he entered the plaintiff's area to put forward Dravis' case.

  Being a man of few words, he was direct and to the point, claiming that Dravis was innocent of Trelath's murder, and that the assassin responsible had been captured. The senior judge pointed out that the guards had seen Dravis entering and leaving the gardens, and Marek argued that the assassin had disguised himself as the Prince. The dagger, he claimed, had been stolen from Dravis and planted on Trelath's body to frame him for the murder.

  Kerrion listened to this accurate account of what had happened and thought it ironic that truth was not always on the side of the righteous. When the judge asked who would wish to assassinate Trelath and frame Dravis, Marek glanced at Kerrion. He did not accuse the King, however, asking instead that the assassin be brought in and questioned.

  The entire court turned towards the doors as they awaited the appearance of the legendary, elusive assassin whose identity was so mysterious. The doors opened and Blade limped in, escorted by two guards, his wrists manacled and a short length of chain linking his ankles, just long enough to allow him to walk. The guards topped him by several inches, and it seem incongruous that such a slight man should be so feared. The only sign of his beating was the blue bruise on his jaw, and he wore the fresh clothes Kerrion had sent him; a dark blue tunic and trousers with silver embroidery ornamenting the sleeves and shoulders, which made him look a lot less like an assassin.

  Kerrion had also ordered that Blade be given water and soap, which he had
used to good effect. His deprivation and trauma had sharpened his fine features, lending him a youthful, vulnerable look that the King suspected he added to somehow. Most people expected assassins to be sly-looking men, and the courtiers muttered as they studied him. The guards stopped before the judges and released him, retreating to stand by the door. Even though he was chained and injured, Marek did not approach him, addressing him from where he stood at the railing.

  "Are you the assassin known as the Queen's Blade?"

  In the deafening silence that engulfed the courtroom on the heels of this all important question, Blade turned to face his accuser, pinning him with a piercing stare. He lifted his chin, a slight smile curling his lips.

  "Yes. I am the Queen's Blade."

  A sigh wafted from the courtiers, and the judges relaxed, leaning back in their chairs. Kerrion glanced at Minna, whose hands were clasped in her lap.

  Marek smirked, casting a triumphant glance at Kerrion. "Did you assassinate Prince Trelath and Prince Chaymin?"

  Blade inclined his head. "I did."

  A hiss of whispering arose from the audience, which died away when Marek asked, "Who paid you to do that?"

  "Before I answer that, have you a paper for me?"

  Marek looked confused. "A paper?"

  "Yes. A letter from Dravis, which he promised me."

  Marek glanced back at his brothers, then turned to the assassin and shook his head. "No."

  "Then I will tell you the truth. Prince Dravis hired me to kill Chaymin and Trelath."

  Kerrion hid a smile and Marek gaped at the assassin. The courtiers recovered from their surprise, and Dravis' supporters erupted with angry shouts and denunciations, forcing the senior judge to bang the table and order silence. When the hubbub died down, Marek gathered his wits and closed his mouth, frowning at the assassin.

  "Why would Prince Dravis wish to kill his brothers, who were his allies?"

  "Indeed, they aided him in kidnapping the King's wife, but when the plot to blackmail Kerrion failed they turned against him. I was not privy to his reasons for wishing them dead, but he promised to pay me handsomely for it."

  Marek shook his head. "Then why did you disguise yourself as him when you killed Prince Trelath?"

  "I did not. Dravis wanted to see Trelath die, and came to watch."

  "So why was his dagger left in Trelath's body?"

  Blade's slight smile widened. "After Chaymin's death, I demanded my fee, but Dravis refused, insisting that he would only pay me after I had slain Trelath. I suspected he would try to double-cross me, so after he left the garden, I planted his dagger on Trelath's body. I wrote a letter exonerating him, which I was going to send to the courts when he had paid my fee. Instead, he kidnapped me and threatened to murder the King's wife unless I claimed Kerrion as my employer."

  A low, angry muttering came from the lords and courtiers at the back of the room, and the princes squirmed. Marek struggled to hide his dismay, glancing up at the stony-faced judges.

  He persevered, demanding, "Why were you hiding in an empty room in this palace, and why does the King claim you as a friend of his wife's, and a lord?"

  "I was not hiding, and I am a lord. Regent Chiana sent me to free Queen Minna-Satu, and I stayed in the palace as Kerrion's guest. He was naturally grateful for my aid in foiling his brothers' plot, and returning his wife to him. He did not know that Dravis hired me to kill Chaymin and Trelath."

  "But..." Marek swung to stare at Kerrion with frustration and anger. He clearly knew Blade was lying, but could say nothing about Kerrion's blackmail for fear of being accused of making false allegations against the King, since Blade would deny it. Kerrion met his eyes with a blank stare, and Marek turned back to the assassin.

  "Why would Dravis kidnap you, instead of paying you? Surely then you would have exonerated him?"

  "I would, but he wanted more than two dead brothers. He wants the throne, and for that, he needs Kerrion removed from it. So he tried to blackmail me with a threat against my former queen, and promised me a letter to the court guaranteeing her safe return to Jashimari upon Kerrion's imprisonment.

  "That was the paper I expected you to give me, at which time I would have named the King as my employer. But Dravis failed to keep his end of the deal, so I have no reason to keep mine. My primary aim is to ensure the safety and well-being of Queen Minna-Satu. Now that her safety is no longer assured by Dravis' promise, I cannot put her at risk by naming the King."

  Marek put a hand on the railing to steady himself, looking stunned. "Yet you say he threatened to kill her if you did not do as he wished."

  "Yes, but if Kerrion was arrested she would be even more vulnerable, and without Dravis' letter I cannot take the risk that he would kill her anyway."

  "And why, if so much rested upon it, did Dravis neglect to send this letter?"

  Blade shrugged. "I do not know. Any number of things could have happened. Perhaps the scribe did not write it as ordered, or maybe the messenger went astray, or he forgot. I am not a seer, Prince Marek."

  Marek lurched forward, quitting the support of the railing. "But you are a consummate liar!" He turned to the judges. "My Lords, you cannot believe any of this. It is all lies."

  The senior judge looked grim. "And what have you to refute it, Prince Marek? Why is Prince Dravis not here to defend himself?"

  "Undoubtedly because he suspected that this traitorous assassin would betray him with lies, as he has just done."

  "Surely he would have had nothing to fear, had he provided the letter as he promised the assassin?"

  Marek glanced at his brothers for support, clearly at a loss to explain this.

  "I can tell you why he is not here," Blade said. "Prince Dravis was angered that I framed him for Trelath's murder. He ill-treated me while I was his prisoner, as my injuries attest. He thought his threat to kill Minna-Satu would force me to obey, but I am confident that the King, forewarned, can protect his wife. Dravis did not trust me to accuse the King even if the letter had been here, which is why he is not here to be arrested."

  The senior judge leant back and glanced at his cohorts, who could only shrug and shake their heads. Marek retreated to the railing and leant against it once more, staring at Blade.

  The senior judge looked at Kerrion and asked, "Sire, have you anything to say on this matter?"

  Kerrion lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. "I can only confirm that Lord Conash was sent to rescue my wife, for which he has my undying gratitude. Of the rest I have no knowledge, but I ask the court to consider the great service that Lord Conash has rendered me in foiling Dravis' plot to blackmail me, and be lenient.

  "An assassin is merely the instrument that a villain uses, in this case, Prince Dravis. If Lord Conash had not freed my wife, she would certainly have died at Trelath's hands and I would have been quite maddened with grief."

  The judge inclined his head, but Marek straightened and cried, "My Lords, he is lying! You must not condemn Prince Dravis solely upon the testimony of a lowly assassin. I ask that he be tortured, then he will tell the truth."

  Kerrion shook his head. "I am convinced he is telling the truth, and Marek wishes to torture him into telling the lies that Dravis wanted him to speak."

  "These are the lies!" Marek shouted. "He has fabricated this entire story. Parts of it are true, but Dravis did not hire him. The Queen's Blade, according to all the tales of him, hates the Cotti, and would never accept the employ of one."

  Kerrion glanced at Blade, who nodded, lowering his gaze to the floor with a slight smile. "Prince Marek is correct. I do hate the Cotti, which is why I agreed to kill the princes. What better revenge than to slay Cotti princes whilst in the employ of their brother? Unfortunate though it is that I have been captured, I have my vengeance by naming my employer, the Cotti who also betrayed me."

  "Assassins never name their employer!" Marek snarled. "It is part of their code! They cannot break it willingly; it must be tortured from them."

  Bla
de nodded. "Unless their employer betrays them. I know a little more about the code than you, Prince Marek."

  "Why settle for a mere prince when you could have dethroned the Cotti King by naming him?"

  Blade shrugged. "He did not betray me, but in truth, the real reason I would not accuse him falsely is because he is wed to my former queen. Only she enjoys my complete loyalty."

  Marek spat. "A woman! Are all Jashimari men as weak and spineless as you, bending their knees to foolish females?"

  "Prince Marek!" The senior judge banged his fist on the table, glowering at Marek. "This is not a forum for insults and petty name calling."

  Marek raised a hand to acknowledge the chastisement, glaring at Blade. "You are lying to protect her, are you not, assassin? Is that not the truth?"

  Blade's brows rose. "Are you accusing your king of being my employer?"

  "No." Marek glanced at the judges. "I am accusing his wife."

  A hiss of surprise came from the galleries, and Kerrion jumped up, pale with fury. "Whoever accuses my wife accuses me! You will leave her out of this unless you have incontrovertible proof."

  "There is my proof." Marek stabbed a finger at Blade. "He knows the truth; we have only to make him speak it."

  "You will force him to tell lies in order to end his suffering. He is telling the truth now."

  "How would you know?" Marek glared at his brother. "You do not keep your wife on a leash. She could have ordered him to kill Trelath and Chaymin. Trelath kidnapped and abused her. This was her revenge. Chaymin was in on the plot, and so was Dravis. That is why he was framed for Trelath's murder."

  Kerrion shook his head, sinking back into his chair. "My wife is not a vindictive person. She would not seek revenge."

  "Then perhaps she did it to aid you, by removing the princes who plotted against you."

  "She would not do such a thing without my permission, and if she had my permission, then you would be accusing me too. Are you, Marek?"

  The Prince swung to face the judges. "Only the assassin knows the truth, My Lords. I request that he be tortured, so we can get to the bottom of this and find out where the blame truly lies."