Highest Lord
Page 25
“Bring me the plaintiffs,” Aren said.
The high lords entered and strode down the red carpet laid down for those calling for an audience. No matter the title, that carpet was kept and cleaned to welcome all.
“The South bows to the throne,” Lerd said, bowing.
“The North bows to the throne,” Url said, bowing.
“The West bows,” Yelder said.
Poller knelt and said nothing.
Jer had no idea what had gone on between Aren and Poller, but she had obviously given the man an ultimatum and he accepted, pensively.
“I believe you all, but for the West,” Aren said. She turned her head towards Av, but the man said nothing, simply staring down at the high lords.
There was something different about Aren that had nothing to do with her three days of seclusion. Something different about how she felt, as if everyone in the room was suddenly very aware of her sway over them.
“Yelder, you are not accepted—leave,” Av said.
“What? A high lord cannot be dismissed—”
“When you are ready to submit, you may return,” Aren said.
Both of them shifted their focus to the door. Neither moved until Yelder, sputtering and cursing the whole way, left and the doors closed behind him.
Aren stood, her deep purple skirts whispering as she shifted. “Let no man, or woman, claim they are not given fair warning. I am queen. I sit the throne. As I told you when court first came back from wintering, I suffer you to live. Obedience is a must.
“Jer, has there been any resisting the repayment of debt?”
“Three lords,” he said.
“Deliver their names to me,” Av said. “I will settle these debts.”
“As you wish,” he said. “May I assume that the next question would be of the coin that went to the estate of a lord who has yet to arrive at court? If so, let me assure you that there is little chance of him actually arriving and through no fault of the coin master, we are having difficulty as to where this estate is, besides to the west.”
“Is it possible she purchased land that falls under Van?” Aren asked.
“It may be, but conversations between his coin master and ours will not happen in our lifetime,” Jer said.
“Van?” Aren asked.
“In the spirit of bridging the distance between the West and palace lands, and drive trade routes and mates between your ranks and my own, I might permit the search of one lord and one estate. Should he be found upon my lands, I shall deliver him to you and hold the deed in place of the throne until such a time as we might sell it. Unless Lady Aren would like to retain the estate as a holiday home, for surely she knows that none shall attempt to bother her on my lands.”
“I want the coin, which should have gone to the guard, to be brought forward.”
“I want an audit of the major households,” Av said, standing as he stepped up beside Aren. He looked down at Jer, who gave the barest of nods, knowing that Av was silently questioning whether or not he had used the proper words in the right order. “We are told that our economy suffers, that our people are starving and our ladies are left at court with not a coin to their name. Yet here I see lords and ladies dressed in finery, who spent a great deal to attend my mating ceremony, coin that should have gone to feed your people, to educate your daughters, and to repay your debts.”
Jer gave the barest of nods when Av once more looked to him.
“I am not those who have come before me. Question me without cause and face my wrath.”
Er stood. “I question the Lady Aren. Leaving her people in the dark for three days. No water did run, no heat was felt, servants did not serve.”
“They are servants, not slaves,” Aren said in a tone that made Jer flinch.
“And the light and the water?” Er demanded.
“You can pry it from my dead body,” Av snarled.
“I was not aware that the lights were out, as they worked quite well where I was,” Aren said, with a touch to Av's shoulder.
The pair of them moved back to the chairs and took a seat. Er took the opportunity, stepping onto the carpet as the high lords of South and East stepped off and to the side. Url stood tall next to his father, refusing to budge even when Er attempted to shoo him off.
“Is that the treatment we might expect, should a land rejoin the palace?” Er asked. “Saying that it is not your problem, because you did not know it was happening?”
“I cannot know all.”
“You can know sin.”
“I reject sin and replace it with honour.”
Er stared up at Aren. “If you fail a land that rejoins you, no amount of my blood mingling with yours will stop me from tearing you apart.”
“If I fail a land that rejoins me, I hold the land accountable for not demanding something be done to fix a slight that I have been blind to. As I said, I cannot see all.”
“Would you even bother visiting?” Er asked.
Aren considered for a moment. “In the past centuries, queens have rarely left the palace, and if they have, they have not gone very far. I think my adventure over the winter has proven that I can venture far from the palace. Thus I would attempt to visit any land that submitted to the palace. What is your point, Lord Er?”
Er knelt.
The man had trouble going down entirely. His one leg didn't bend the way it should have, but while he walked, Er didn’t complain and he certainly didn’t move in a way that suggested there was a problem. He was older than the other barons, that was true, but not so old that he should be bothered in such a way.
Url stood awkwardly beside his father. Upon his face was the look of a son put in an uncomfortable position by his father. Jer hoped it was not because of what Er did, but because the man obviously had trouble going down and would need help back up.
The court stood silent and in shock. Either they had no idea what was going on, or the shock was simply too much for them to respond properly.
Jer turned to the throne and watched Av whisper something to Aren. The young queen frowned, but stood. She came down the steps of the throne and stopped just short of Er.
“Am I to take this as your surrender?” she asked.
“You may, Lady Aren.”
“I want you to return to your home and think on this carefully, Lord Er. It is not something one should enter into lightly. Centuries separate us. Centuries and you stealing my palace.”
“I have considered it,” Er said, looking up at Aren. “I considered for the whole of the winter and years longer. The North had a tentative agreement to rejoin upon my stepping down as baron.”
“Do you intend to step down?” Aren asked.
“No, but what might your intentions be for the barons of the lands that surrender?” Er asked.
The woman drew in a breath. She turned to look at Olea, then turned her full attention to Er. Obviously the two of them had some sort of agreement, Olea and Aren.
“You will march to no war.”
“What?” Er shouted, obviously outraged.
“Do you submit to me or not?”
“I do, I submit, but why am I forsaken from performing my duty to my bloodline and my land?” Er asked.
“You know why,” Aren said, before she turned her attention to the court in general. “The North is welcomed back to palace lands and invited to partake openly with us as brothers and sisters, as if never removed. Their baron, while retaining his title, will march to no war. We recognize that he is still a warrior and he is still very much capable of destruction and murder, as his rank is able, but he will not go to war.
“We make no demands on the North, but for if the Marilton line fails. Then I will take my palace back.”
“I have a demand,” Av said.
“What's that?” Aren asked.
“Lord Url mated to palace blood. Not border blood either, since it's mingled and is almost the same. No, I want him mated with someone born near the palace.”
“I
will not condone arranged matings,” Aren said as she turned to Av. “That would leave open for my children to be mated off as someone else pleases, or Anue. I will not have it.”
“I would find myself indebted to my cousin, were he to find me a mate,” Url said.
“Then I will start looking for your mate. Perhaps I’ll find you a healer, one stubborn and bullheaded enough to drive the average man into an early grave.”
Jer glanced over the ladies and was glad that there were no healers present. No need to rankle them, of all the ranks. They had yet to be given a chance to express themselves, to test the bounds of what Aren might grant them.
“If there is nothing else this court needs speak of, I must hasten the ending here and now,” Aren called out, raising her voice to draw everyone's attention to her. “For I must call a war council. The South will march on palace lands. Man your estates, save your children, protect yourselves, as we make our plans. We send our men to war.”
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About the Author
R.J. Price is a Canadian author focusing mainly on science fiction and fantasy. She works and writes full-time in Central Canada, but has lived near both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Her published works include the Seat of Magic Series (Fantasy/Romance) and Haven Books (Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic) which can be found on numerous online retailers.
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