“He’s a good one, that Hans,” said one of the women.
“Aye,” agreed another. “I knew his family, back before they moved to Northhelm, and you couldn’t have found nicer people. It was a real shame what happened, if you’ll pardon my saying so, Your Highness.” She gave a small bob in Ava’s direction. Her tone suggested that the princess’ presence was an afterthought but Ava suspected they were, in fact, testing her.
With this in mind, she forced down the emotions that leapt up at the mention of Hanna. She would deal with them later, when she was alone.
It was still hard not to glance towards Hans, however. The guilt of the secret she was keeping from him wanted to overwhelm her. And her fear of the moment when he discovered the truth and took off for Northhelm was even stronger. But these were the kind of weaknesses Konrad would exploit if he could discover them. Whatever the changes in herself, her role demanded she maintain a calm façade.
“I never met his parents,” she said, in response to the comments, “but I was good friends with his sister as a child. I hear she’s doing well in Northhelm.”
“Is she indeed?” said a third woman. “Well that’s good to hear!”
All of the women seemed pleased with Ava’s response and she squashed down further feelings of guilt at misleading them into thinking she was still in friendly contact with Hanna.
The conversation moved on and Ava found herself impressed with the subtlety of these women. Without ever saying anything that crossed the line or confronting Ava on anything, they managed to sound her out on a wide variety of issues, from taxation to working conditions and royal privilege. Ava, who had sat through endless meetings and councils with her father, had no trouble keeping up with this questioning. She even found herself enjoying it.
In the past, she had always approached an issue by asking herself what her father would do. Her end goal had always been to please him. But now she served a very different king, one who decreed that his kingdoms thrived when ruled by love. True love.
She still wasn’t entirely sure what true love looked like but she was enjoying working it out for herself. And she was gaining an entirely new perspective on the issues when she asked herself not what would my father do but what would I do? And more importantly still, what would truly be best for my kingdom?
As the women talked, Ava noticed that a rotation seemed to be occurring so that over the course of two hours, most of the women in the square had brought their washing to the fountain where she sat, perched on the rim. She doubted this was normal washing behaviour but she was glad to get the opportunity to hear from so many different women.
Meanwhile, the children ran up and down the square, screaming with excitement and exertion and swarming all over Hans and Evelyn whenever the game gave them an opportunity to do so. Both of the guards seemed to be enjoying themselves, grinning and spurring each of their teams on to greater feats.
Sarah seemed to be having an equal amount of fun. She was sitting on the ground, her skirts spread around her and her lap full of blossoms. Most of the girls surrounding her now wore simple flower circlets and although her group was quieter, they were regarding her with almost equal levels of adoration. I couldn’t have imagined a more ideal team, thought Ava.
Only when the children’s game was reaching a climax did one of the women casually mention the merchant ban. She kept her voice light and her words incidental but Ava was too well trained to miss the instant change in the atmosphere of the group.
Ah, she thought, now we come to it. This was the issue of greatest importance to the women of Rangmeros and Ava could understand why. If the merchant ban remained in place it would be a serious blow to the Rangmeran economy and few of these families would have the necessary reserves to weather the inevitable recession.
“I was there, you know,” she said, “when Konrad’s guards attacked the merchant caravan.” She shook her head. “My two friends were nearly killed.” She gestured towards Sarah and Evelyn. Thank goodness these women don’t know that was all my fault. The thought was almost immediately followed by another. I still can’t quite believe they’ve forgiven me! They’ve all treated me far better than I deserve.
The gathered women exclaimed in horror and shook their heads, tut-tutting sympathetically.
“So do you know what the merchant council will rule then?” asked one of the bolder women.
“I couldn’t say, unfortunately,” said Ava. “I suspect it will depend…” she let her voice trail away but her inference was clear and she could see the comprehension in the faces around her.
Before any of the women could respond, the quickball game concluded and the mothers were all mobbed by their children who were looking for either congratulations or commiserations.
It seemed that Hans’ team had won but only by the narrowest of margins. Evelyn was already threatening revenge and before they knew it, the group had promised to return the next morning.
Ava was very well pleased. There would be a different group of women washing in the fountains the following day and she would have a whole new opportunity to listen to their concerns and plant her own seeds. If the day went anything like this one, it would be time very well spent.
Sarah teased Evelyn on her loss all the way back to the castle and even Hans joined in for the occasional dig. Ava smiled absently but her thoughts were elsewhere. She was wondering which of the courtiers it would be most fruitful to approach after the midday meal and, more importantly, what Mathilde and Aldric had discovered in her absence.
She felt that she was well on her way to winning over Rangmeros but it would all be for nothing if Konrad won the Trials.
Chapter 25
Mathilde and Aldric were nowhere to be seen when Ava returned to the castle so she was forced to wait until after the evening meal to hear their report. She tried to use the time to visit her sister-in-law, curious about what she would find, but to her surprise she was turned away at the door of her suite. Apparently she was still feeling too poorly for visitors. Even family. The whole thing was very strange but Ava could hardly force her way in.
She asked Aldric and Mathilde when she finally saw them if they had heard anything further about Clarisse but they had nothing. Their day had been busy, however, and Ava had to restrain her impatience while Mathilde reported on the seemingly endless servants she’d connected with over the course of it.
Eventually Aldric gently cut her off, suggesting that they get to the important points.
“Oh, of course, sorry,” said Mathilde. “We’ve managed to confirm that Hartmann has strength, Emmerich, strategic thinking and Fastred, intelligence. The other two senior magistrates are Gumarich and Leuthar but no one seems to know which trial they’ve been given.”
“But you’re sure of the other three?” asked Ava.
“It was confirmed multiple times,” said Aldric. “We could give you the long and rather winding route the news took but I think you have more important things to think about.” He sounded amused and Ava smiled at him gratefully.
“That’s excellent work, both of you,” she said. “The next step is to find out what sort of trials they’re likely to set.”
“There are rumours flying around, of course,” said Aldric, “but nothing definite enough to report on. Hopefully we’ll have more of an idea tomorrow, or possibly the next day.
It was more progress than Ava would have made on her own but her gratitude didn’t suppress her desire for more definite information. The names of the magistrates weren’t enough to make plans on.
Much to her disappointment, Mathilde and Aldric had nothing to report the following two nights.
“There are just too many different opinions out there.” Aldric shrugged. “It’s taking us awhile to get to know everyone well enough to work out who has accurate information. I’m confident we’ll have news on the strength, strategic thinking and intelligence trials soon, though. It’s the compassion and resilience ones that worry me. We still haven’t been a
ble to find out who’s been assigned to them.”
This discouraging news balanced out the excellent progress Ava was making in the Square of Fountains every morning and in the court in the afternoons. She was working tirelessly to win the people to her side and was increasingly confident that if she could win the Trials, her transition to power would be smooth and effortless.
It was a good feeling, like stretching long unused muscles. She had been trained for this role, despite never expecting to compete for the crown, and it felt good to put her training to use. On another level, however, it was quite ironic. When she was angling for the throne of Arcadia, Ava had never once wondered if she would make a good queen. But now that she was on the cusp of winning a legitimate crown, she found herself fighting against self-doubt.
Her most recurrent concern was Hans. Or more specifically, how she would ever cope without him when he left. Despite her resolution not to do so, she found herself relying on his solid presence and sound thinking both practically and emotionally. It was a dangerous path but she told herself she needed all the support she could get if she was going to win the Trials.
On the evening of the fourth day after their return to the city, Aldric and Mathilde reported partial success.
“We don’t have exact details, of course, but we’ve got some idea of what Hartmann, Emmerich and Fastred’s trials are likely to involve,” Aldric said.
“Apparently no one gets creative with the strength trial.” Mathilde grimaced. “It’s basically the same every generation – a straight one-on-one physical fight. Some years with weapons, some years without. Most people seem to think Hartmann will only require first blood since you’re a contender.”
“As for Emmerich, we’ve been able to confirm that he’s obsessed with chess. There’s no doubt he’ll base the trial on it, one way or another.”
Ava could hear the hope in Aldric’s voice when he added, “Maybe it’ll be a straight chess game. That would keep things simple!”
“As for intelligence, apparently Fastred spends all his free time in the royal library. And one of his assistants has let slip that his trial will be knowledge based. Some of the other senior magistrates have been arguing that intelligence and knowledge are two completely different things but he’s refusing to budge. He says a good monarch is a well-informed monarch.”
“Well,” said Ava, thinking it all over, “that is very useful information indeed. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything further about the other two trials?”
“No,” said Aldric with mild frustration, “no one can even confirm which of them was given which trial. They’re by far the most tight-lipped of the magistrates.”
“Well, we still have a couple of days,” said Ava. “Who knows what will turn up. Keep collecting information tomorrow and the day after we’ll sequester ourselves and prepare for the Trials.” It was strange to think that she only had two more days before the Trials. But somehow she suspected that no matter how many days she had, she’d never feel quite ready.
When she arrived at the Square of Fountains the next morning, there was the usual buzz of activity but she found it unusually hard to concentrate. Her mind kept swirling back around to the coming trials and she wondered if her time would be better spent in the library, cramming for the intelligence trial. Of course, the castle library was one of the biggest in the world and she had no idea which areas of knowledge Fastred would focus on, so it would probably be a futile exercise.
While the children swirled around her companions, clamouring for attention, Ava drifted back to the edge of the Square and watched the hubbub from a distance, trying to regain her mental focus.
“I heard you could be found here, Princess,” said a voice behind her and she once again found herself turning around to confront Lord Adelmar.
“I’m here every morning, Lord Adelmar,” said Ava.
“Yes, word is getting around about that, you should be more careful.”
“I’m not afraid of my brother.” Ava allowed a bit of steel to creep into her voice. “I won’t run and hide from him.”
“So that’s not what you’ve been doing for the last two months then?”
Ava took a breath before replying, allowing any irritation she felt to drain away, just as she had been taught. Lord Adelmar’s words were a challenge but they were also a crucial piece of information. He either knew or strongly suspected that Konrad was behind their father’s assassination and her own attempted murder.
“Of course not.” Her tone was mildly chiding. “I was seeking allies.”
“My mistake,” he said lightly.
Silence fell between them but Ava waited, curious to know what had brought him to find her. For several minutes they both stood watching Sarah and Evelyn playing with the children. Hans had obviously noticed their conversation because he had detached himself from the crowd and was standing stiffly at guard, just out of earshot.
Finally, Lord Adelmar spoke.
“There is concern amongst some of the nobles that Prince Konrad has not demonstrated the restraint and patience required of a monarch.”
Ava couldn’t help an internal wry laugh at this backhanded reference to her brother’s regicide.
“And there have been rumours…” he paused but Ava remained silent. “Rumours that he further intends to upset the checks and balances that ensure our kingdom remains stable.”
“That is concerning indeed, Lord Adelmar. And shows a lamentable lack of wisdom on the part of my brother.” Ava shook her head. “It seems that his hunger for power has finally overcome him. A fatal flaw that I fear he inherited from our father. I suppose it was inevitable that one of his children would follow in his footsteps.” She let the inference hang in the air between them.
“I’m glad to hear you say as much, Your Highness.” He gave her a half bow. “I have long wondered what it would be like to be ruled by a queen.”
Ava raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled inanely. “Just an errant thought, Your Highness, pay it no mind. I actually came here for a bit of a gossip. Have you heard the news?”
“Which news would that be, my lord?”
“Oh, merely that I heard Gumarich was given compassion and Leuthar was given resilience for the Trials.” He wrinkled his nose. “Leuthar is too old school for my tastes. He thinks a monarch should be the strongest fighter in the clan. Very lacking in creativity.”
Ava was once again forced to conceal a laugh, this time at the idea that this piece of well-guarded information was common gossip.
As a senior magistrate, it was extremely unlikely that Leuthar maintained the ancient thinking of a clan member. Adelmar’s exaggeration was clearly meant as a clue regarding Leuthar’s trial. And she understood why he was concerned. With two strength-based, fighting trials, Ava had a significantly reduced chance of leaving the Hall of Magistrates alive. Fortunately, she had no intention of completing those trials herself.
“How interesting,” she said, in the same tone of voice she would have used to comment on the weather.
He seemed pleased with her calm response and guided the conversation into a rather random assessment of the various hospitals that were operating in Rangmeros. After musing for some time on their various conditions and who among the nobles chose to financially support them, he casually dropped a final name into the conversation.
“It’s not well known,” he said, his voice giving no indication that he was about to say something important, “but Gumarich is heavily involved, both practically and financially, with running two of the bigger ones. You could say it’s his passion. He doesn’t like to be seen as a philanthropist, though, so he doesn’t let them make much noise about it.”
After a couple of minutes of further chitchat, he bid her farewell and departed, striding out of the square as if he owned it.
Which, Ava mused, he quite possibly did.
Chapter 26
Although Ava let Aldric and Mathilde know the basics of her conversation with Lord Adelmar, s
he cancelled their usual evening meeting.
“Take the evening off,” she said, “relax and get plenty of sleep. We’ll all need to bring our sharpest thinking to our planning tomorrow.”
She then took her own advice and went straight to bed where it took her two hours to unwind enough to fall asleep.
In the morning she rang for the housekeeper and informed her that they would need all of their meals delivered to Aldric and Mathilde’s guest suite. The woman’s response seemed overly warm for such a simple request and Ava couldn’t help but feel that it was the housekeeper’s way of wishing her princess good luck.
Once they had all gathered, Ava summarised her conversation with Lord Adelmar in more detail.
“Which means we have an idea of what to expect for each trial. Now we just have to decide our best approach to each one and decide which ones I will complete and which ones Hans will complete as my champion.”
“You only have to actually win three, right?” Sarah sounded a little concerned.
“I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that,” said Ava. “Yesterday afternoon I went to see Lord Iver. I wanted to be sure that he wouldn’t challenge the legitimacy of my use of champions. You may remember that we never actually discussed the precedent of Princess Clotilde.”
“What did he say?” asked Sarah.
“He seemed familiar with her Trials and was expecting me to take that route. He warned me, however, that as well as winning a minimum of three trials, I am also required to win at least one of the trials that I personally compete in. If you remember, the law requires that I complete at least two myself.”
“Konrad still seems confident of his victory,” said Aldric. “That’s the rumour around the palace, at any rate. There hasn’t been even the slightest whisper of the use of champions. So I think, miraculously, no one has made the connection with Princess Clotilde’s precedent.”
“The servants were all on tenterhooks the day after we arrived, wondering if the whole thing was going to be cancelled.” Mathilde began to gather up their breakfast dishes as she talked. “Konrad had a private interview with the Head Magistrate and no one seemed sure what the outcome would be. It was pretty clear even then that everyone wanted it to go ahead, though. People are nervous to come out and say it, but none of them want to be ruled by Konrad.”
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