The King's Assassin

by M.M. Brownlow

When Aislynn woke that morning, the wonderful smell of her breakfast greeted her. She rolled over carefully and saw the tray sitting on the bedside table, so she sat up and decided to investigate what was under the lid. She was thrilled to find ham, eggs, cheese, and bread with butter, all things she enjoyed, and she dug in with a healthy appetite.

  As she finished, Marja came into the room and went to the wardrobe to find Aislynn a dress to wear for her first official day as the king’s chief advisor. She wanted Aislynn to look presentable, but she also needed something that would be easy enough for the princess to get into considering her bandages and diminished range of motion. Marja ended up with turquoise dress that laced up the back, which would allow her to keep the bodice loose enough that Aislynn would be comfortable.

  “Would you like to bathe before you get dressed this morning?” she asked, and Aislynn nodded eagerly. That meant replacing the bandages and having to see what she looked like under them, but that would be a small price to pay for feeling clean.

  The hot bath felt wonderful, and after she was clean and dressed, Marja helped her over to the couch to rest a little before Eryk arrived. Now that she was full and relaxed, and she knew that she was healing well, Aislynn found it hard to stay awake, and she dozed a little until she heard a knock at the door. Cheta’s ears perked up, and Aislynn greeted her king with a smile as he entered the room.

  “Good morning, my dear,” Eryk greeted her, with his standard kiss on the forehead. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Not too bad, surprisingly. The healer said that I could start stretching and exercising again in about a week, which is great news as far as I’m concerned. In the meantime, I’m allowed out and about as long as I’m careful, rest a lot and make sure that I have someone nearby to help me in case I need it.” Aislynn smiled, very excited to have permission to get out of bed and out of her room.

  “Well then, are you ready for your first council meeting?” Eryk asked, offering her his arm.

  “As ready as I’m likely to be,” she replied, standing slowly and carefully.

  The two of them made their way slowly down to the council chamber, Cheta trotting along behind them. They chatted about inconsequential things, like a couple strolling through a garden on a sunny afternoon. The scene was intentional, prepared for the sole purpose of setting the council at ease so that they would be taken entirely by surprise by Eryk’s announcement. He and Aislynn had decided that a surprised council would be less likely to offer any relevant objections, and could be easily overruled without Eryk having to pull rank, so to speak. The goal was to get Aislynn set up in the position of chief advisor as painlessly as possible.

  When they reached the council chamber, the council was already assembled and waiting. Eryk led Aislynn to her chair, the one positioned to the left of Eryk’s, and she sat down carefully. Everyone had heard about the attack on her, of course, so nobody really questioned her slow movements, or the fact that she had been seated in the first available chair she had come to. They all assumed that Eryk was going to announce that he had chosen his bride at last, and they were not about to nitpick over her choice of seat.

  “Shall we get started, gentlemen?” Eryk asked as he took his own seat at the head of the table. It was a rhetorical question, but it brought silence to the room before he continued.

  “First and foremost, I would like to formally introduce you all to Princess Aislynn of Evendell. She is joining us in the position of my chief advisor, replacing Lord Branden.” A few of the council members started to say something, but Eryk allowed them no time to comment, continuing immediately.

  “Lord Branden showed incredibly poor judgment during his dealings with the Madelian emissaries, and I did not want to begin my reign with questions being raised concerning the validity of the advice I am receiving. The princess is well versed in diplomatic relations, government practices and the like, and I feel that she will make an excellent addition to our council.”

  Now he let them speak, and the room erupted in noise. Almost everyone had something to say, some for and some against, but since everyone was speaking at the same time, Eryk didn’t have to answer anyone. He exchanged a glance with Byron, who smiled, very happy with Eryk’s choice and with Aislynn’s decision to accept the invitation. For the rest of the council, Eryk just let them talk until they had nothing more to say, and then moved on to the next order of business.

  “Next, I wanted to thank you all for being present this morning for the execution of the Madelian emissaries. It is a regretful thing to have to take the lives of others, but those men needed to be punished for their crimes. Your support for my decision was appreciated.” Eryk took a deep breath, still feeling a little guilty about the hangings.

  “Thanks to the long hours put in by our secretary,” he continued, with a nod of appreciation to the man, “we now have some idea of Durham’s supposed claim to the throne of Bacovia. The only unfinished branch of the family tree, according to our records, was in my great-grandfather’s generation.

  “Prior to wedding my great-grandmother, he had a relationship with a young noble lady, and that relationship produced a son. When my great-grandfather wed another woman, that young lady, ashamed to have the king’s bastard, left the court. After my grandfather was born, a legitimate heir to the throne, the king’s illegitimate child became unimportant, and we believe the family left the kingdom around that time.

  “As best we can determine, Durham is likely the grandson of that bastard, who would have been king instead of my grandfather had he been born in wedlock. Assuming the regular pattern of inheritance, we figure that Durham’s father would have been next to take the throne, and then finally Durham himself.”

  The room was silent for a time while the council processed the information.

  “Durham is dead, but did he leave a son of his own to carry on his dream of the Bacovian throne?” Lord Geoffrey asked.

  “Not that we are aware of,” answered the secretary, “but anything is possible. We are not even entirely certain if this explains Durham’s claim, but it is the most likely explanation.”

  The council had to be content with that for now, especially since there was nobody left in Bacovia to ask except for Davin. The boy may or may not have overheard anything useful, but Eryk resolved to ask him about it later anyway.

  “In the matter of my own heir, until such time as I may have a son of my own, I am formally acknowledging my cousin Davin as heir to this throne. It has been decided that he will be fostered in Evendell, where he will be educated and protected.”

  The council had nothing to say about that proclamation, which made sense to everyone. The Bacovian court hadn’t been the safest place these past weeks, and it made considerable sense to send the heir to the throne away from the danger.

  “Finally, in light of her Highness’ injuries, there are a few changes I would like to make to the funeral proceedings for tomorrow.”

  As Eryk laid out his changes, listening to his council’s advice and accepting their recommendations where appropriate, Aislynn was impressed. Eryk had changed a lot in the past ten days, changing from a boy who had been doing everything in his power to avoid his duties, to a man who was ready to rule a kingdom. He was no longer the egotistical, self-centered person she had met on her first day here, and she liked what she saw. It seemed that Byron was right – he was a changed man.

  Eryk was justifiably pleased with the outcome of the council meeting when they closed the session for the day. The council had accepted his changes with little objection, and everyone seemed to be reasonably comfortable with how Eryk was going to rule his kingdom.

  “So how about a little celebration?” he asked. “If you feel up to it, of course.”

  “That sounds like fun, as long as it isn’t anything too strenuous,” Aislynn replied. “I’ve already been out of bed more today than any other day since I got hurt.”

  Eryk led Aislynn through
the castle and into the library. He then led her out a small door she hadn’t noticed before. She was surprised to find that they emerged into a small, enclosed garden. It was somewhat overrun with weeds, and the flowers and plants needed tending, but it was beautiful. Aislynn looked questioningly at Eryk.

  “This used to be my mother’s garden,” he explained. “Since she died, the kitchen gardeners have kept it from becoming totally lost to the weeds, but they don’t have time to maintain it properly. It’s quiet here, and sunny, so I thought it might be a nice getaway from the court.” Eryk didn’t mention the fact that Durham had died here just the day before. He figured that what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

  Aislynn walked around slowly, looking at the gardens, the soft grass in the shade of the trees, and the small fountain and pond set over in the back corner. There was another door set farther along the wall, which led into Eryk’s study. She turned back to look at Eryk.

  “It’s lovely,” she said softly, not wanting to disturb the peace here.

  “It’s yours,” he replied.

  When it looked like she was going to object, he spoke up first. “No, don’t say anything. I know that this is officially the queen’s garden, and I know that you are not the queen and have not agreed to be. I just wanted you to have somewhere to relax, that’s all. If you don’t want to come here, you don’t have to, but nobody else is going to be coming here either.”

  Aislynn realized that this place meant a lot to Eryk. She could feel how important this was to him, and by sharing the garden, he was sharing a part of himself that he likely had never shared with anyone else. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she did love the garden. So instead of saying anything, she just sat down on a bench and gestured for him to join her. They sat together in silence for a while, just enjoying the sunshine, with Cheta sprawled out on the grass at their feet.

  A lot had happened in a very short amount of time, Aislynn realized. She had received a lot of different advice from a number of people, and she’d mulled it all over. She had come to realize that while the sort of relationship Eryk wanted just didn’t seem possible, she did care for him.

  She shifted on the bench, turning her body to face Eryk as best she could. Reaching up, Aislynn ran her left hand through his thick black hair. Startled, he turned to look at her and she twined her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and pulled his face down to hers. Eryk’s eyes widened when he realized what she was about to do, but he didn’t resist in the slightest as she brought him closer.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, lips moving against his. Then she kissed him, long and deep.