Alsselya's Heir

by Rick Brown

  As we approached the ballroom, the sounds of music could be heard along with a low rumbling of many conversations. King Kendrick had arranged that we would enter second to last, followed only by himself. That way everyone could hear my introduction as king. We approached the ballroom doors and prepared ourselves in the hall as we awaited our announcement. Stiven sidled up next to me. “Ready, Your Majesty?”

  I took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Stiven moved to the doors and turned to face everyone. “This is it,” he called out. “Everyone please step forward when the delegation is announced.” He then opened the doors and stepped out onto the ballroom.

  The entrance to the ballroom was designed as a stage, with a large platform available so people could view new arrivals before they descended the stairs and into the party. As Stiven stepped onto the stage, he nodded to a guard who tapped a spear he was holding against the floor. The sound echoed through the ballroom and silenced the milling crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen," Stiven announced. "It is my pleasure to introduce King Lee Eberon of Alsselya and the Alsselyian delegation."

  Steeling my nerve, I walked out before the crowd, pausing at the top of the stairs. I could feel my friends as they gathered behind me, all in Alsselyian blue. I glanced over the crowd trying to read their faces. Many seemed to be smiling, but amongst them were more reserved expressions. Time to play our ace, I thought.

  Stiven paused as the crowd murmured amongst itself. “Joining the delegation of Alsselya,” he continued surprising the audience, “ Ambassador Farloc, of the elves. Ambassador to Alsselya”.

  The murmuring increased as Farloc stepped forward to stand next to me. I fought to keep my face neutral as I watched those that had reserved expressions take on one of shock. The first arrow in the battle has been launched. After pausing long enough to allow the crowd to absorb what was happening, we descended into the fray. Whilhoit and his chosen guard quickly moved forward to prevent the crowd from closing in on us.

  I looked over at Farloc. To most observers, he would have appeared stoic, but after spending a week with the elf, I could read that he was close to panicking. "Just stay close to me," I said to him. "My guards will keep us from being overwhelmed."

  It looked like it might be necessary too. I could see individuals attempting to maneuver themselves over to us. I sighed to myself. It’s going to be a long night. At least I had the protection of my guards. I could see Barad and Brianna as they moved through the crowds. Everyone would be trying to corner someone from Alsselya tonight. Either to ingratiate themselves with the king's new pets or for more nefarious reasons.

  I looked around and waived Ryan over. I would need his expertise tonight. I was grateful to see his father was approaching with him.

  “King Eberon,” Lord Albright said with a bow. “That was quite an entrance. Even if nothing else happens, you will still be the talk of the kingdom for the next year.”

  “Thank you, my lord. I appreciate that the first face I greet here is a friendly one.”

  His face took on a more serious expression, “Well, we can’t count on that trend continuing. Hannen made sure all his cronies were here tonight.” I nodded in understanding.

  Lord Albright turned to Farloc. “And greetings to you ambassador,” he said with a nod. “It is truly a blessing to have an elf among us tonight.”

  Farloc nodded back, “Thank you, Lord Albright.”

  Albright returned his look to me. "You are a never-ending wealth of surprises, your highness." I smiled in return. "If you will allow me, I can make some introductions to some of the people you need to meet."

  I nodded in response. "Please lead the way."

  We followed Lord Albright through the crowd, Whilhoit doing an excellent job keeping random sycophants away. Albright stopped before a portly man with a black mustache. He was sipping away at his wine and looked to already have the rosy cheeks of a man well into inebriation.

  “Lord Feston,” Lord Albright called, bringing the stocky lord out of his reverie.

  "Lord Albright! Nice to see a friend in this crowd," he said with a grin. Then he noticed us approaching behind Lord Albright. "Ah! And I see you have brought esteemed company.” He stated giving me a bow. “King Eberon. It is truly my pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  I nodded back, "Thank you, my Lord. It is nice to meet you as well."

  “So,” Lord Feston continued, turning to Albright. “Is it finally war? My lands border with Dommeran, and half of it goes unused due to those damn bastards raiding and killing anyone near their border.”

  I responded to the Lord. “Indeed, the time is growing near. I served on that border for three years and know exactly what you are talking about. In order to regain Alsselya and push Dommeran back to its natural border, we will need your help.”

  Lord Feston took on a more sober expression. “And you will have it, but it will require more than Vaelin, I fear.”

  “You are correct sir. King Kendrick and I have already discussed delegations to our neighboring kingdoms.”

  “Ah, excellent news!” the jovial lord stated. “I shall sharpen my sword!” I had to grin at the lord's exuberance.

  We all turned as we heard tapping from the entrance. A page came forward to the top of the stairs. “My lords and Ladies, THE KING!”

  With that King Kendrick walked out on the stage. He wore a magnificent fur-lined red robe and his crown perched upon his head. This was the first time I had seen Kendrick in his full regalia, and it was impressive. I will have to remember that trick when I have a kingdom, I thought to myself.

  The crowd before him bowed in deference to the crown. I gave my usual half bow, still not certain of the etiquette between kings. I'll have to remember to ask Arthur about that. The king looked over his subjects, pausing to take them in. Then he descended the stairs and made his way over to a dais at the front of the room where a throne awaited him. He took his seat and waved to the crowd to release them from their bow and continue with the ball.

  “Well,” Lord Feston stated. “With the backing of that man, how can you lose?" he said to me.

  “Indeed, the king has been generous to Alsselya. I hope we have a bright future together.”

  We said our goodbyes to Lord Feston and continued on our meet and greet. Lord Albright continued to lead us from one noble to another, as Ryan would whisper in my ear telling me their background. Soon we had a system in place where we smoothly transitioned from one to the next all without me gravely embarrassing myself, and of that, I was greatly pleased.

  I looked to Farloc who seemed to be relaxing some as well. Whilhoit was doing a tremendous job of keeping us from being overwhelmed. Soon I recognized one of the wait staff that was working for us. I steered our group over and grabbed some wine from our sneak. Then we continued on.

  Ryan leaned in my ear as we approach a well-to-do woman. “This is Lady Itchard. She’s a tough ole’ bat. Kinda scary, really. But I’m sure my father has some reason for bringing us to her.”

  “Lady Itchard, I would like to introduce King Eberon.” Lord Albright announced.

  "Albright, it's about time you made it over to me," she said in a huff. "Your Majesty," she said to me in a curtsey. I nodded back trying to get a feel for her.

  “Well, at least you look like you could conquer a kingdom, not like these milksop lords we have around here. I’ve bet you’ve already seen some fighting.”

  The lady had a brusk manner about her, but I found I liked it. “Indeed, Lady Itchard, I’ve done three years in combat.”

  She made a big grin. “I knew it! Three years in battle and still here to talk about it! My late husband was military as well, and not this ‘parade around the field’ military that we have around the palace, but a fighting man!” she said proudly.

  “To fighting men,” I said raising my glass.

  "To fighting men!" she replied, and we drank in their honor.

  “Well,” Lord Albright jumped in. “If these
kings get their way, we shall all be fighting men in the near future.

  “About damn time too! Imagine letting Dommerians run all over us! May the goddess Ayisha have mercy on our cowardly souls.”

  “Yes, well,” Albright said, looking a little disquieted. “Our king has had much to do for preparing for this battle, as some of our lords seek to undermine him.”

  "And that is why the kingdom has gallows, Albright. Any traitor should be swinging in the breeze," the lady continued. "I was told to bring a large retinue of soldiers with me on this trip. Don't try to convince me nothing is going on. My men are ready for whatever happens."

  "Thank you, my lady," I piped in. "I am sure we all feel more secure knowing your well-trained forces are nearby." It was too soon to start telling everyone our plans, but it was apparent that at least Lady Itchard had already guessed.

  As we left Lady Itchard, I noticed Farloc furtively looking around. "What is it?" I asked trying to follow his gaze.

  “I’m not sure. My magic is telling me something isn’t right.”

  "Yours is the second ominous warning I've received today. I don't like this new trend. Continue to keep your eyes open and let me know if you can pinpoint a source."

  He nodded as he continued to look around.

  One of the king's pages approached us and waited for acknowledgment. Normally I would have greeted him with a smile, but I was feeling apprehensive about Farloc's warning.

  "Excuse me, your highness." The page announced. "His majesty requests you join him on the dais." I nodded to the boy to lead as we left Lord Albright to meet the king.

  As we approached the dais, the king stood and extended his hand. I had to grin a little. This greeting was for the benefit of the crowd, the king greeting me as an equal. I reached out and clasped his hand in response. "King Eberon, how are you enjoying your ball?" He said with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes. "I feel like I am swimming in shark-infested waters, to tell the truth."

  “Yes, I believe that sums it up quite nicely,” he said, still smiling. “And Ambassador Farloc. It is very much a pleasure to meet you,” the king said with a nod to Farloc. The elven ambassador bowed back. “Thank you, your majesty.”

  “I knew that you had received these esteemed visitors, but I was unaware that Ambassador Farloc had stayed.”

  I had to grin. "That would be Arthur. Apparently, he enjoys hiding things from Stiven. You know, taking satisfaction in watching the poor man turn red and explode."

  The king smiled at this. “Ahh yes. I had forgotten Arthur’s wicked sense of humor. Have you had an opportunity to mingle much?”

  "Oh yes, thanks to Lord Albright. He has ensured that I met with the appropriate people."

  "A good man Albright. I plan to rely on him more in the future." The king glanced around the room. "You are right about sharks in the water. It seems Lord Hannen is better at getting people to attend than their own king. I see many faces here who's invites were to be lost in delivery."

  “Yes,” I replied darkly. “Remind me if I throw a party to have him in charge of invitations. It seems everyone who he invited is here.”

  “I wonder if it were my invitations that became lost.” the king said crossly.

  “Still, Lord Albright found a number of people that were no friends of Dommeran. A few even mentioned a large personal guard.”

  The king nodded, “That is good. I spoke with Lord Faluth. He has over one thousand men stationed at his hunting lodge. They will enter the city overnight.”

  "Well, tomorrow will be fun," I said with a grin.

  Chapter 29

  (Brianna)

  I couldn't help but look around the ballroom. It was magnificent. Giant crystal chandeliers were hung from the ceiling, and the music that was playing was marvelous. I have never seen it's like before. I was envious of the dresses the ladies were wearing, but looking down I realized, tonight at least, I was no slouch. I pulled Barad along as we entered into the ballroom towards the musicians.

  "Bri, we can't wander too far from Lee, I need to keep on eye on him," Barad complained.

  “Just a dance, Whilhoit is competent, he’ll keep Lee alive that long without our help.”

  We entered the area cleared for dancing just as the band started a new song. I pulled Barad into the starting steps as we began to dance. Luckily for him, part of guild training is how to behave in high society, including how to dance. He quickly adapted to the song as we glided around the dance floor.

  It was wonderful to pretend that we were more than just a sneak and a fighter for a moment. In that time we were a lord and lady. Barad smiled at me as we danced. “You are truly stunning. All these ladies with their attendants worked for hours to prepare for tonight. They all pale next to you.”

  I blushed and hid my head in his shoulder. I let my cares slip away and danced with the man with whom I was falling in love. It was awkward at first. After fighting it for so long, but when I realized the danger he was in during the attack at Lord Faluth’s, I decided it was silly that I had been wasting this time. That night after drinking with everyone in Lee’s bedroom, I decided to enjoy life. Following Barad back to his room. Since then it had been a whirlwind romance, in the king’s palace, no less! Few women could match me in bragging rights, I thought with a grin.

  All too soon the dance was over, and it was time to return to work. Barad and I worked our way back into the crowd. Lee was with Lord Albright talking with some stuffed noble. I spotted Lenux milling in the crowd close to Lee. He rubbed his chin to signal that all was well. As we Wondered through the crowd, I tried to eavesdrop on the conversations we were passing, all the while pretending to keep my interest in Barad. He understood that he was being used, but didn't care in the least.

  “So, you think we’ll have parties like this in Alsselya?” He whispered into my ear.

  I could only roll my eyes. “Considering every castle of note has been torn down, and, oh yes, the kingdom is currently occupied by a hoard of heathens, I think that would seem a bit of a stretch.”

  "Maybe Lee can say some magic words or something and bring it all back," he said teasingly.

  “Then he should start with your brain and see if he can bring it back.” I countered. For some this would be fighting, for us, the banter was romance.

  My original plan was to locate someone talking about Lee and listen in on their discussion, but now I realized that everyone was talking about Lee. Choosing which group to eavesdrop on from this wealth of options was the problem.

  I decided on a plan. I would first listen to the big groups. Those would be the ones that would offer a general idea on whether Lee was being accepted or not. Then we would move to smaller groups that would more likely to be conspirators. I found one group listening to a loud woman.

  “I’m telling you the king is preparing for war against Dommeran. Then we’ll have a strong man like King Eberon between us and that hoard.”

  “Lady Itchard, the cost of that war would be too extravagant. Dommeran is no threat to us.”

  I moved around to see the man who spoke. Well well, I realized with surprise, Lord Hannen himself!

  “Lord Hannen! How can one of the kings own advisors speak like that? Are you disloyal to the core?" Lady Itchard responded appalled.

  “Not at all. I just don’t want to see our young men killed for the benefit of another kingdom. One that fell three centuries ago!”

  "Hannen has a point, Lady Itchard," said another man. "Dommeran may be backwards, but other than a little border trouble, I don't see the issue."

  “That ‘border trouble’ as you describe it, is an army preparing to attack our kingdom! I didn’t realize I was surrounded by scared little girls afraid of a fight.” With that Lady Itchard stormed off leaving the men standing with their jaws open.

  "Never mind her, she was never going to be on our side," Hannen stated. "Let's separate out and mingle."

  I wasn’t prepared for the sudden movement of Hannen’s men. A
s they shifted Hannen spotted us standing behind them. “Ah, Mistress Wellborn and Lieutenant Aldrick. What a pleasure to finally meet the two of you. He approached with a grin. “I hope you didn’t find our discussion with Lady Itchard too boring.”

  “No,” Barad responded. “On the contrary, I thought the part where she called you all a bunch of little girls was quite interesting.”

  Hannen frowned. “Yes, the Lady does have a glib tongue. I could see how that would entertain the uneducated.”

  “Maybe your son could explain it to me. Too bad he can’t be here,” Barad poked.

  Hannen’s eyes took a mysterious glint. “My son would not defile himself by teaching a peasant.”

  “He’s a peasant no more,” I defended. “He is now in charge of security for the king of Alsselya.”

  "Is that so," Hannen stated, raising an eyebrow. "I wonder if he will be up to the task." With that, he turned and strode away.

  “Well, that was menacing,” Barad stated as he turned to face me. “That’s what I would call a ‘not so veiled’ threat.”

  Why wasn’t he upset over Barad’s insult to his son, I wondered. “Well, our cover is blown here. Let’s move to another area and start over.” With that I looked around for Lee, finding him on the Dais with King Kendrick. “There’s Lee. At least he’ll be safe up there.”

  “Is any place safe in this hall?” Barad asked.

  I just took a deep breath to gather myself and continued moving along. As I wove through the people, I came across Lenux.

  “Any luck?” he asked.

  “Depends, Barad responded. “Does being threatened by Lord Hannen himself count?”

  Lenux looks surprised, "Well, we can file that one under ‘bad luck.' What happened?" I recounted our conversation to him.

  “And he wasn’t offended when Barad mentioned his son,” Lenux asked suspiciously.