The King's Assassin

by M.M. Brownlow

  Chapter 22

  When Eryk left Aislynn’s room, followed by Jackob, he picked up a pair of his own guards, who were waiting outside of the room with Marcus, Mateo and Jackob’s pair. Apparently, Byron had taken it upon himself to make sure that Eryk was still protected, considering Aislynn wasn’t currently able to do the job. The six men made their way along the corridor to the other side of the castle, heading for Eryk’s rooms so that he could change before he started with his interrogations. Eryk knew that he needed to look the part if anyone was going to take him seriously.

  “So, your Majesty, who shall we begin with?” Jackob asked, settling himself onto a chair in the reception room while Eryk changed.

  “I was thinking that it would be best to begin with Lord Collin,” answered Eryk. “We already know that Branden has some connection to the Madelians, so it is likely easiest to find out if Lord Collin had anything to do with this situation first.”

  “That makes sense,” Jackob agreed. “You can ascertain his guilt or innocence, and use that finding to determine your line of questioning for the Madelian emissaries.”

  Eryk decided to opt for imposing as opposed to friendly, so he, Jackob and the four guards set themselves up in the throne room before Eryk sent a guard to summon Lord Collin and his daughter for questioning.

  When Collin and Alexius arrived, Eryk noticed two things immediately – their appearances and their reactions. Collin looked very tired, his clothing was in disarray, and he seemed to be in shock. He was apparently surprised to see Jackob, who he recognized from years ago.

  “Jackob?” Collin asked. “Is that you?” He had known Jackob during his tenure as Tarren’s bodyguard, and seeing Jackob still hale and strong after all these years made his current state seem even more deplorable. Jackob just nodded in acknowledgment of Collin’s greeting, but said nothing.

  Alexius, on the other hand, was the total opposite of her father. She had taken a lot of time and care with her appearance, and she had eyes only for Eryk, with a total lack of regard for any of the other men present. She smiled shyly at Eryk, and started to take a step toward him, but he cut her off mid-stride with an upheld hand.

  “I have summoned you both here as part of an ongoing investigation,” Eryk began coldly, getting right down to business. “There was an attack this morning, and I want to know what role you both played in it.”

  “What makes you think that we would have anything to do with another assassination attempt?” asked Collin, a little offended.

  “The fact that the attempt wasn’t against me, but my protector, whose identity you knew, and the fact that your son led the attack,” stated Eryk.

  Alexius paled a little at the implication, but Collin’s reaction was the most revealing. He literally collapsed, falling to the floor unconscious. Eryk turned to look at Jackob.

  “He’s either the best actor in the world, or he honestly knew nothing about Branden’s plan to attack Aislynn,” Eryk commented. Jackob, astounded by the sight of Tarren’s advisor on the floor, could only nod in agreement.

  “Her, I’m not so sure about,” Jackob said, indicating Alexius.

  Alexius, who was looking down at her father with a look of contempt on her face, turned to face Eryk at the sound of Jackob’s voice. The flirting looks were gone, replaced with anger and disdain.

  “I had nothing to do with the attack on her, if that’s what you want to know,” she said. “But I will admit that I won’t be sorry if she dies. She’s unnatural, and you, my King, will be better off without her.”

  Hearing Branden’s words echoed in her voice, Eryk knew that Alexius had been talking with her brother about Aislynn. They had either both come to the same conclusions about her, or Alexius had been swayed by her brother’s opinion. Listening to this woman denounce Aislynn without ever having spent time with her, without ever getting to know her, just proved to Eryk that Alexius was not meant to be his queen.

  “You did know what Branden planned then,” Eryk stated. “That makes you just as guilty as he is. Regardless of your feelings about her, she is the princess of an allied kingdom, who was actually the delegate in residence at the time of the attack. As such, you should have alerted someone to the threat.”

  Eryk glanced over at Jackob, seeing anger starting to build, starting to wear away his impassive façade. This was the ruler of said allied kingdom, and it was his daughter who had been assaulted and nearly killed. Eryk had to punish Alexius appropriately, according to the customs of Bacovia, and severely enough to appease Jackob.

  “It is not the custom of this court to execute members of the nobility, but we do imprison them. You are hereby banished from court, to your choice of one of your family’s country estates. You shall be escorted there, and a complement of guards will remain there to ensure that you never leave, so choose your prison wisely.”

  As she heard the proclamation, Alexius’ face fell. She knew what this sentence would mean; she would live her life alone except for servants, guards and whichever family members would risk visiting her. She would never marry and never have children. It was still a death sentence, but a slow one.

  “What about my father? My brother?”

  “Your father has little role here at court now, and he may choose to retire from court life. It is his choice, but I will encourage him to join you. As for your brother… I will need to wait until he awakens and recovers a little from his injuries before I can pass judgment on him. Depending, he may wish for execution before I’m done with him.” The tone of voice that Eryk used left no doubt in Alexius’ mind that she was lucky that she’d had nothing to do with planning or executing the attack this morning.

  With a snap of his fingers, Eryk summoned guards to escort Alexius away to her home to prepare for her banishment, while other guards helped Collin to the healers to ensure that his collapse was merely stress and not anything more serious. Soon, Jackob and Eryk were alone in the throne room with their personal guards once more.

  “That was well done,” Jackob complemented Eryk. “Passing your first sentence as king is always difficult, and having to pass judgment when the accused is close to you makes the process even more complicated and difficult.”

  Eryk sighed, and slumped a little on the throne. “Well that’s one small piece of the puzzle, but she didn’t actually have anything to do with the attack. She was only acting, or rather not acting, out of jealousy because of my growing relationship with Aislynn. We are no closer to understanding what’s going on.”

  Eryk straightened once more, determined at least to finish with the questioning of the various suspects before stopping for the day. He turned to one of his nearby guards and called for the Madelian emissaries.

  The Kardon and Sookra escorted into the throne room bore little resemblance to the cocky and self-assured diplomats that Eryk had met with on two prior occasions. These gentlemen were cowering and afraid, now stripped of their guards and left alone to survive in what was fast becoming a very hostile kingdom.

  “Gentlemen,” Eryk greeted them with a nod of his head. “I assume that you know why you have both been summoned. Your guards were involved in an attack this morning, and you have been called to answer for their behavior.”

  “Have both of the guards been punished, your Majesty?” asked Kardon, who continued to fulfill his role as speaker for the pair.

  “All three of them,” corrected Eryk. He noticed that both men looked startled by this revelation. They hadn’t been expecting the assassin to be caught and killed, apparently.

  “We know about the assassin, and we suspect that he wasn’t the only one being harbored by your entourage during your stay here.”

  “Assassin?” asked Sookra, trying to look innocent. “We know nothing of any assassin.”

  “You cannot honestly believe that I would think you innocent in this. The assassin was wearing a Madelian guard uniform, and was obviously known by the guards he accompanied.�
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  “It must have been the guards who aided him,” explained Kardon. “We knew nothing! The fault is theirs alone, and they have been punished for their crimes.”

  Eryk remained silent, glaring down at the pair from the throne, trying to look intimidating, and trying to make them believe he knew more than he did. The ploy worked to a degree, and Sookra cracked first under the pressure.

  “It was all arranged by his Lordship!” exclaimed Sookra, drawing a startled look from Kardon. “We were paid a very large sum of gold for our help, and all we had to do was provide uniforms and a cover for the men. His Lordship was very convincing, and the money was so easy to earn! Please, be lenient.”

  Eryk was surprised by the information pouring from Sookra, but it wasn’t really helping. Now he knew that Branden had arranged for the Madelians to harbor the assassins, giving them easy access to the castle and everyone in it, including him. However, Eryk didn’t know why, and it was so hard to believe that the man who had been his friend for his entire life would try to arrange his murder. Perhaps he would need to make an exception to the execution rule for nobility…

  “What about the medication that was being provided to Lord Branden? How did that come about?” Eryk asked.

  “One of our guards came upon Lord Branden one evening at a local tavern,” answered Kardon, apparently not going to allow his partner to be the only one to seek clemency. “His Lordship complained of an aching head, and the guard provided him with a remedy that we commonly use back in Madelia. When the remedy worked, his Lordship requested more of the medicine, and we obliged. We were doing nothing wrong, your Majesty.” Eryk wasn’t so sure about that, but he needed to talk to the healers before he could be certain.

  Without their guards, Eryk felt confident that these two were not going to pose much of a threat. The peace treaty they had been trying to negotiate was definitely not going to be completed in light of the current events, but Eryk needed to have a word with the queen of Madelia before making any formal decisions.

  “The two of you will remain in your suite, under guard, while I confer with your monarch,” Eryk pronounced. “You will need to seek permission if you wish to leave your suite for any reason.” Eryk didn’t even wait for the emissaries to say anything, summoning a guard to escort them away as soon as he completed his ruling.

  Jackob had remained silent during the entire exchange, and he spoke up now.

  “Do you think that they are as innocent as they claim to be?” he asked.

  “No, I think that they are considerably more involved than they claim to be. Unfortunately, I cannot prove anything right now, and their diplomatic status makes interrogation difficult. That same status made them perfect to harbor the assassins – absolutely perfect.”

  Jackob stood up and stretched. Even though they had not been at this for very long, it didn’t take long for his older joints and muscles to stiffen. Ready to call it a day, he started to step down off the dais, but Eryk wasn’t finished yet.

  “Summon the council,” he instructed a guard. “Have them meet us here.”

  Remembering what Aislynn had said about the role of the council, Eryk remained seated on the throne and did not have chairs brought in for the council members. This would be brief enough that they didn’t have to sit, and having that little bit of intimidation working in his favor would only help him to establish his position with the council.

  As the men gathered, they looked around the throne room, some in awe and others showing impatience. Byron gave Eryk a curt nod of greeting as he entered and took a place at the back of the group.

  Eryk had determined that if he could not bring his rather disagreeable council to order quickly, he would start replacing the members. This was his council, after all. He cleared his throat, looking for silence, and as soon as he got it, he began.

  “As you have likely all heard by now, there was an attack on Princess Aislynn this morning. She was injured, but is currently resting comfortably. The healers are reasonably certain that she will recover from her injuries soon.” They didn’t have to know the truth of the matter; they would find that out later if it was deemed necessary that they know.

  “Lord Branden is also recovering from injuries, and as he played a part in the attack, he is being removed from this council, at least temporarily. In his place, I have appointed King Jackob of Evendell to act as my chief advisor.”

  The council erupted into chatter, each councillor trying to convince Eryk that he was better suited for the role. Most of the councillors felt that having a foreigner as chief advisor was not in the best interest of the kingdom because his priorities would not be their priorities. Needing to establish his leadership of this council quickly, Eryk promptly silenced the men, and continued.

  “This is not a topic that is open for debate,” he stated. “I feel that the current situation makes it difficult to have complete trust in someone who lives here in Bacovia, so having a chief advisor who does not have a personal agenda in relation to this kingdom and its throne is actually ideal.”

  Eryk straightened up on the throne, letting his body language convey the importance of what he was about to say.

  “Finally, the Madelian emissaries have been confined to their suite pending communication with their queen, and Lady Alexius has been banished from the court. These actions were taken in response to the involvement of these persons in the attack this morning. Further investigation is needed, and Captain Byron is leading that investigation. I will report to you any updates I feel are necessary for you to know, as soon as I know them myself.”

  With that, Eryk relaxed a little on the throne, and he waited while everyone digested the information, knowing that there would inevitably be questions. When the questions finally started, Eryk was surprised because they were not the questions he had been expecting.

  “Will the attack end the treaty agreement with Madelia?” one councillor wanted to know.

  “The treaty agreement was never finished or finalized, but what progress had been made toward its completion will likely be undone by this situation, yes,” answered Eryk.

  “We know that Alexius was among the ladies you were considering for your bride,” said Father Jonas, always the one to jump on this particular topic. “Since you have banished her from the court, does that mean you have made your decision?” There was hope in his voice as he asked his question.

  “No decision has been made as of yet,” said Eryk, watching the faces of the assembled council fall. “When a decision is made, I will let you know. In the meantime, I will take as long as I need to make my choice, because this is not something that can be rushed, and you have no right to tell me to do so.” Aislynn would be proud of me, he thought. He was taking control of his council, not the other way around.

  “Once his Majesty returns to his own kingdom, what will you do for a chief advisor?” Lord Geoffrey wanted to know.

  “That is a decision I will make when it is necessary to do so,” answered Eryk.

  Once Eryk had answered the council’s questions to the best of his ability, and the men had nothing left to ask, he dismissed the council with instructions for them to await his next summons. When they were gone, he turned toward Jackob.

  “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  “Well,” answered Jackob slowly, “I think that you are showing your council that you are in charge, which is very important. I think that you have made a lot of significant progress today, making decisions that will set the tone for your reign. You are leaving an impression that you will be a strong king, not someone to be trifled with. That is a good impression to be making, especially for a king with a country as large as yours.”

  “And do you have any advice for me, oh chief advisor?” he asked, just a little playfully.

  “I advise you to get a good rest tonight,” Jackob answered honestly. “There is nothing more to be done today. We know that Branden definitely had dealings wit
h the Madelians, but until he wakes, we cannot pursue that trail any farther. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more answers.”

  Eryk, frustrated by having to wait, still admitted that what Jackob said was true. Without the answers that only Branden could provide, this investigation was officially put on hold.