Haven's Lady

Author: Sirius

Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters are mine. They all belong to the inestimable Kristen Britain, and if she wants the plot or the Original Characters, she's welcome to them. They would not exist without her. I'm making no money off of this, and only playing until the fourth book comes out (which I will buy in the Hardcover, as I always do).

Rating: M, for (at least) one chapter. You'll know it when I post it.

A/N: As stated in the summary, this tale (except for flashbacks) takes place nine years after the events of The High King's Tomb

Prologue – Death of a Queen

Zachary sat at his wife's bedside. True, she had not been his love, but she had been a great friend through it all, and her approaching death grieved him. First Ellory, now Estora? Why must he watch his family die?

Estora – for the moment – had banned all other family from her sickroom. She would see no one but Zachary. The King placed a cool hand on his wife's burning head, and she turned toward the small comfort, waking at the touch.

Her blue eyes sought his brown ones, and she smiled. "Zachary... my dearest friend, do not grieve. We knew this was coming."

That was true enough, he realized. She'd been weakened by Ellory's birth, and the menders had told them afterwards that she would be able to bear no more children. Every illness since had touched Estora in some way, but none so hard as this... and none had touched Ellory. Ellory, the child who had been the light of his life for seven years, was to be his only heir. And then came this fever, this fever that killed hundreds in Sacor City... and took Ellory before it struck down Estora.

"Listen to me, Zachary. Do not try to carry this burden alone. You are not alone. I know what you are thinking, dear friend. You are thinking that you have no child, and that soon you will have no wife. When distracted from those thoughts..." And she paused, a breath-stealing cough wracking her body. He held her until it calmed, and when it was done, held a chalice of water to her lips, cool and refreshing.

He could see her struggling to continue and opened his mouth to beg her cease, but her fingers on his lips made the words catch in his throat. "Listen," Estora continued. "I have heard the other nobles stop you in the halls, asking who is to be heir... already pressing you to wed again, though I'm not yet gone. I will tell you now the secret I've kept for nearly six years. You have an heir."

"Estora..."

"You have an heir, Zachary. He's a beautiful, confidant, humble five-year-old boy who adored Ellory, even though he didn't realize they were siblings. You remember, Zachary, coming to me, nearly three years into our marriage, to confess an indiscretion. You swore that you and the other involved had resolved not to let it occur again, and that the moment had arisen out of a blinding grief. I knew who the woman had to be, but said nothing, because I was aware of what had happened to cause that grief. I did not blame you for it, either of you."

Interrupted again by coughing, she waited until it had finished before continuing in a wispy, weakened voice. "When Ellory was taken, and that woman risked as much to return our daughter to us as she had to save me, I made it clear to her that I knew what had happened, and held nothing against her. She told me that she was glad of it... but that she had to leave. She could not stay. When I saw her sway, dizzy and exhausted, I knew why. She feared what my father would do, were she discovered to be carrying your child. You had not yet returned, and I gave her leave to go, so long as she stayed in touch with me. She promised... she promised that her child would never seek to usurp Ellory, would never seek to rule, and I could not doubt her. I knew that she had never chosen the other lands to which she was entitled and suggested she look to Adolind Province, where they had need of strong people. It was to Adolind she went, and to her Adolind estates that I have gone to visit her... and Jonah. It was to those estates that Fastion and Sgt. Quinn followed – on my orders – to protect her and the child she bore. Go there, Zachary. Bring Karigan home. Give Sacoridia a Queen that can stand against Mornhavon, and claim your son."

Estora clutched Zachary's hand, struggling for breath after that long span of words, gasping. The King, in a state of shock, still had presence of mind enough to aid her in getting another drink of water. When her breathing had eased, he laid her back against the pillows and lifted her hand to his lips.

"Dearest Estora..." His voice was choked with grief. Though he had not loved her, they had become the best of friends over the course of this marriage, and her loss would not be an easy one to bear. Yet, she had just given him the means to claim his beloved, and he was left with no way to repay her for that, no way to ease her suffering or return her own love to her. She smiled, seeming to read his mind.

"You needn't worry about me, Zachary. Westrion will see me safe soon enough, and I will see our Ellory again... and my F'ryan. Meanwhile, you had best prepare for your journey, dear friend. I will handle my father, and convince him it would not be in his best interests to interfere. It may be the last thing that I do, but it will be done."