Interlude

by Krista D. Ball

  The guards gleefully told Myra about how Bethany and Arrago had an affair, all the way back at the temple. And how Arrago married Celeste. Myra didn’t believe for a moment that Celeste’s baby was Arrago’s. And she’d wager Bethany didn’t believe it, either. But the others did, which was probably for the best.

  Myra considered how she’d feel in Bethany’s place. She wouldn’t want pity. She’d want to keep busy. Work until she was too exhausted to care. And when there was no work, that’s when the hurt would resurface.

  So now, at night, when all of the work was done, Lady Champion Bethany could best be caught off guard.

  Myra knocked once on Bethany’s office door and walked in without waiting for any response, without waiting for the guards to say she could. She heard their sputtering behind her, but she slammed the door in their faces.

  That is what Lady Bethany would have done in her place, she was sure of it.

  Myra was taken aback, though, by the scene in front of her: Bethany was wrapped in several blankets and her worn sofa was pulled over to the fireplace. Instead of the rumored bottle, a mug of steaming liquid was in her cupped hands. She was coughing, a bone-shattering, painful cough that made Myra wince.

  Bethany struggled to regain her composure, but Myra held up a hand. “I know everything. Please, don’t get up.”

  Bethany collapsed back and groaned in relief. “Oh, thank Apexia. I don’t think I have the energy to yell at you right now. Who told you?”

  Myra grinned. “You just did.”

  “You little snot.” Bethany burst into genuine, happy laughter. It sent her into more coughing, which caused more wincing by Myra.

  “So it’s true? I was supposed to get all of you to agree to a party you already knew about?”

  “Pretty much. If you can’t handle being yelled at, and pick apart the messages underneath, well, you aren’t ready for the jobs Kiner had to offer. That’s what you’ve been training for, isn’t it?”

  Myra straightened. “Yes, Lady Bethany.”

  “I can’t help you,” Bethany said.

  “I understand,” Myra said. She waited for more of Bethany’s coughing to subside. “Are you...okay?”

  Bethany cough-chuckled. “This stupid cough is worse at night. Been drinking onion and garlic broth. It helps a bit, but it makes me stink.”

  Myra giggled, then clamped her hand over her face.

  “Never cover your face when you laugh,” Bethany said sternly. “They may teach us to do it in school when we’re little girls, but there’s so little to laugh about most days. Don’t be ashamed when you do.”

  “No one has ever said that to me.” Myra hung her head. “It’s always been about my age and how I need to carry myself.”

  “Fuck ’em all. That’s the best advice I can give you.” Bethany grinned. “How’s your mother these days?”

  “She’s well.” Myra blinked. “You know my mother?”

  “Didn’t she ever tell you? We were in the same etiquette classes when we were...wow, we couldn’t have been older than fifteen. Five very long, painful years. Never let them see your teeth. Never be crass. Never be vulgar. Never, ever, swear.” Bethany flashed her a wide grin. “I probably needed a few more decades of training. Tell her I said hello the next time you write her.”

  “I will.”

  “You can tell the others I said I’ll attend. Just our little code phrase for saying I’ll vouch for you.” Bethany leaned back on her pillows and sipped at her broth. “You’re young and you have a lot to learn, but you’ll do fine. Go on, you have until breakfast tomorrow.”

  Myra nodded and turned to walk away. She stopped. This might be her only opportunity. “Lady Bethany, I just want you to know that...well, you’re the reason I became an apprentice. I’d been trying for five years before they finally let me in, on a probationary period. I have always looked up to you and your career. I think you are the most amazing woman and I’m so honored to have met you.” Myra gulped. “That’s all. I just wanted to say that.”

  Bethany stared and, for just a moment, Myra could feel her sheepish embarrassment, and perhaps a little bit of pride. But as fast as they arrived, those emotions vanished. Replacing the embarrassment was the sarcasm and threats that she used to shield herself. “Get out before I throw something at you, little snot.”

  As Myra left without a word, she heard Bethany snicker. She’d made Lady Champion Bethany laugh.

  One down.

  ***

  Myra walked to King Arrago’s rooms. She’d have thought he’d at least pretend he was sleeping with his own wife, but deception wasn’t in Arrago’s nature. Celeste had the best suites in the entire castle, whereas he stayed at the opposite wing of the castle with Edmund, Allric, and the rest of the elven elite, excluding Bethany. Well, good. That made things easier.

  “Excuse me, but the King doesn’t wish to see anyone.”

  Myra stared up at the human guard. She showed him the note from the Queen, and continued to glare. Some humans were intimidated by elves, and were unable to tell apart full elves and Elorians. She used that to her advantage. She glared until he put his head down and stepped aside, handing back the scented paper.

  Myra walked purposefully into the drawing room. Edmund and Arrago were playing cards in front of the fire, laughing. When they saw her, they shared an expression that could only be described as “Oh, shit”.

  “Majesty. Sir Edmund. I apologize for the interruption, but I am here once more on behalf of the Queen.” She raised her hand to quell their protestations. “Majesty, your wife is heavy with child. Many women die in childbirth. Her Majesty is preparing this party because she may go into labor at any moment and this may be her last opportunity on this soil where she can be surrounded by the people she cares most about. I beg you, Majesty, please attend the Queen’s party for her sake, if not your own.”

  Arrago stared at Myra. It was obvious that, firstly, he knew she knew. Secondly, her words stung him. As he scrambled to find an answer, she added, “I mean no disrespect, Majesty, but she needs you.” She turned to Edmund. “She needs you there, too. Even more than she needs him.”

  Edmund gritted his teeth and looked away. So it was true. Sir Edmund was in love with the Queen. She’d struck the right note with that line.

  “Fine,” Edmund spat. “Shit.”

  “Thank you, Sir Edmund. I’m certain Queen Celeste—”

  Edmund shot her an annoyed look and Myra stopped speaking. Instead, she inclined her head at him.

  She turned to the king. “Majesty?”

  Arrago was still thinking furiously. She got the sense that he was not pleased at being outmaneuvered, but could not find a way out of it.

  “The Queen ordered me to have Lady Bethany there. She will be there. And, if she backs out, I will drag her there by the dandelion fluff she calls hair.”

  Arrago tried to keep his straight-laced expression, but failed. He threw back his head and laughed. “Fine. You win. I’ll attend.”

  Edmund snorted. “Oh, honey. What’s your name?”

  “Apprentice Knight Myra.”

  “Well, Apprentice Knight Myra, I will attend. And I’ll pay you five sovereigns if I get to see you dragging Bethany by the hair.”

  Myra smiled. Three down, and a bet she’d never, ever win.

  ***

  Miss Lendra was legitimately sick. Myra visited her again just to check, though she was certain Lendra had no clue what was going on; she still appeared honestly upset by the idea that she had to refuse the Queen’s invitation. She told Miss Lendra that she would explain her situation to the Queen, but that wasn’t good enough. Lendra said she’d write the Queen in the morning to ensure there were no hurt feelings. It was simply the Queen’s welfare that kept her away.

  The ambassador had to be the kindest woman in all of Taftlin. How in Apexia’s name did she end up in such a cutthroat position?

  Queen Celeste was asleep when Myra arrived at her suites. However, the guard slipped
her a letter written on a scented sheet of paper. It read:

  My dear Miss Myra,

  When you have the opportunity, please attend my drawing room. I wish to apologize properly for my horrible manners earlier today. I am plagued with guilt. I hope this letter finds you after you’ve figured out their rather cruel little game. Otherwise, I suppose I am the one to spoil the game for them. Oh dear. How unfortunate indeed.

  Remember, my dear. At your earliest convenience.

  Myra smiled. Now that she understood, the puzzle pieces were falling into place.

  Myra turned the corner of the corridor and arrived at Lord Allric’s quarters. She knocked politely and kept her feelings very much in the forefront of her mind. One of her bunkmates had said she knew Rygent markings and was certain Amber was a full-reader.

  Lord Allric answered the door, grinning while he bounced a tiny baby in his huge arms. His ears turned red immediately.

  “You! What are you doing here?”

  His shout made the little creature in his arms shriek with fury. “Oh, sorry, my love,” he cooed. He scowled at Myra, all the while whispering to the little girl.

  “Allric!” His wife chastised him. “Now look what you’ve done. Come in, young lady, come in.” She glowered at Allric again and said to Myra, “What can we do for you?”

  “Amber,” Allric said, “take Opal. I need to deal with this.”

  Myra stared at Amber and projected as much as she could: Play Along.

  Amber blinked, confused for a beat. Then she gave Myra’s arm a glance, but it was covered in her clothes. When Allric attempted to hand little Opal to her mother, however, Amber stepped back out of reach.

  “Don’t order me around in my own home, Allric. Now, miss, what can I do for you?”

  “I said...” Allric growled and was promptly stopped yet again by little Opal’s high-pitched retort to her daddy’s angry voice.

  “I am here to extend an invitation to a dinner party with Queen Celeste the day after tomorrow.”

  “But that’s our regular dinner night. We always go.”

  “Amber, shut up,” Allric said through clenched teeth.

  “You should have told your wife, Lord Allric,” Myra said in a very meek voice. Because, even with a baby in his arms, he was a terrifying man. Only hours ago he had pulled a sword on her, after all.

  Allric winced. “I forgot,” he growled.

  “Told me what?” Amber demanded.

  “Shall I leave you to explain?” Myra asked, again in her meekest voice.

  “You may go,” he said.

  She didn’t move.

  “Oh, fine. Yes, I’ll attend the party. It was Bethany’s idea to bring you north anyway.”

  Myra blinked. “What did you just say?”

  “Allric, what is going on?” his wife demanded.

  “Wait,” Myra said. “Lady Bethany wanted me here?”

  “She was looking at the list of apprentices sent to us months ago and she was impressed by what your trainers said.” Allric shrugged. “The rest of us weren’t sure, but she insisted. It’s rare she ever speaks up one way or another about an apprentice, so Kiner sent word.”

  “I’m here because of her?” Myra stared at him in shock. “She knew who I was?”

  Amber chuckled. “Typical Bethany.”

  As Myra tried moving her feet to leave Lord Allric’s quarters, he said, “Just so you know, that was a blunted practice sword I pointed at you today. As were all of the guards’ swords. We switched them when we got word you were on your way.”

  “You pointed a sword at her?” His wife demanded, fists thrust to her hips. “She’s a child!”

  Myra made the very wise decision to leave, right then, without another word. As she closed the door, she heard little Opal scream once more and her daddy say, “Amber, this is work! You know how these things are. Stop yelling.”

  “You could have filled me in on this little game of yours!”

  “Calm down, you’re tired and overreacting.”

  Myra winced. That was what her father had always said to her mother, moments before her mother would start shouting. Myra hurried away as Lord Allric and his wife began a very spirited domestic discussion.

  ***

  Her next stop turned out to be her final stop. She’d planned to call out Lord Jovan on his behaviour, but when he opened the door she discovered Lord Kiner, Lord Erem, and Lady Eve all in his quarters playing cards. An empty bottle lay on the floor, with another bottle in the middle of a table littered with coins and cards.

  Jovan stepped back and failed to cover his sigh. “Here for a little more fun?” he said without any enthusiasm. He was obviously tired and having fun with his friends. He didn’t want to have to put on an act again.

  She blinked at Jovan. He wore a gold earring in his ear tip! She hadn’t even noticed that before. Apexia’s mercy, he looked like a pirate.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here?”

  She cleared her throat, gaining a precious second or two to devise a new plan. “I’m here for Lord Kiner.”

  Lord Kiner stood up from the table and approached her. “Yes?”

  “Lord Kiner, I respectfully request that a file of harassment be opened against Lord Jovan in accordance with...um...the rules for Silver Knight behavior and conduct. I also wish to be reassigned outside of Castle Gree to...a team where I will not interact with, um, Lord Jovan.”

  “What?” The four of them exclaimed.

  “If you wish, I can provide a handwritten letter detailing the unwanted sexual advances that Lord Jovan directed at me earlier today in his office.”

  Lady Eve stood up. “Myra, surely you don’t mean that.”

  “It was a joke,” Jovan said, clearly confused. “I was teasing you.”

  “The teasing, as you call it, is unbecoming of a vowed knight and a man old enough to be my father,” Myra said.

  Jovan paled.

  “Myra,” Lord Kiner said, “perhaps we should talk in the corridor.”

  “Or, perhaps you can all admit defeat and say you’ll attend.” She cocked a smile. “I know this was my first mission. You all wanted to see if you could rattle me. You did, but I figured it out. So I will beg, borrow, and bribe to succeed.”

  Kiner’s expression stayed neutral, but Myra knew he was smiling inside. “Who’s said yes so far?”

  “Everyone not in this room. Except Miss Lendra, who’s simply too sick to be around anyone.”

  “You’re awfully brave for a little girl,” Erem said.

  “At least I didn’t have to tell Miss Lendra it was you who’s been leaving lilies outside of her suite.”

  Erem turned redder than Myra had ever seen a man turn. The others roared with laughter.

  “That was you?” Eve exclaimed. “Erem! You and Lendra?”

  “It’s not what you think! It’s...just flowers,” he stammered. “It’s just flowers!”

  “Beth is going to murder you if she finds out!” Jovan exclaimed. “Holy shit, Erem!”

  Kiner pointed at him and declared, “Everyone kept saying it was me and you didn’t even ’fess up, you son of a bastard. Bethany yelled at me for an hour last week! An hour!”

  “I hate you,” Erem said to Myra. “If Lendra finds out, I will kill you.”

  “Never mind Lendra finding out,” Lady Eve exclaimed. “Bethany will pull your intestines through your eyeballs.”

  “Apexia’s mercy, Erem. What are you doing?” Kiner asked.

  “She said she liked lilies,” Erem muttered. “And I found some at the market. It’s not a big deal.”

  Lady Eve rolled her eyes. “Leaving flowers a girl likes anonymously at her door like a creepy little shit is a big deal. Do I need to explain to you the birds and bees?”

  “No, Eve. I have a vague idea where all of the parts go.”

  Jovan made a choking gesture with his hands. “Don’t even talk about your parts and Lendra’s parts in the same sentence. Good Goddess, have you lost you
r mind?”

  He glared up at Myra. “You little...” He gritted his teeth. “You had to say it in front of them, didn’t you?”

  “Sorry,” Myra said and she almost meant it. “It just popped out.”

  “Fine. I’ll attend. There. Is everyone happy now?” Erem crossed his arms. “I didn’t even want to be a part of this.”

  Lady Eve gave Erem an amused look and asked Myra, “All right, you’ve convinced Erem. Now what?”

  “I will tell Lady Bethany how incredibly uncomfortable Lord Jovan made me. I suspect she will have several choice phrases about that.”

  Jovan grimaced. “I am sorry.”

  “I know,” Myra said meekly. She looked him in the eye and quickly looked down again. “It wasn’t until afterward that I realized what was really going on. Well done. Next to Lord Allric pointing a sword at me, you were the one that scared me the most.”

  “Allric pointed a sword at you?” Jovan exclaimed. “He was only supposed to threaten you a bit.”

  “He pulled his sword out of his scabbard and threw it down on the floor. And then he kicked his chair so hard that he smashed it. So the chair pieces are flying around, and the scabbard is skidding across the floor...and he’s a really big man.” Myra smiled meekly. “I nearly passed out.”

  Eve roared with laughter. “You poor thing! I’m in. I’ll attend, or whatever it is I’m supposed to say. The fact you had the guts to keep this up after him doing that? Oh, honey, I’ll vouch for you. Jovan?”

  He nodded. “I’ll attend. And, really, I do feel bad about that.”

  “Apology accepted, Lord Jovan.” She looked up at him and grinned. “I promise never to tell Lady Bethany.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What about me?” Kiner said. “You have no dirt on me.”

  With all of the excitement, Myra lost control and the words tumbled out before she checked with her brain. “I know your secret, too, sir.”

  Kiner froze as his thoughts became a frantic jumble of emotions. It was obvious Jovan knew, but she wasn’t so certain Eve knew. Erem didn’t know, which was obvious, since he was the secret.