See Prologue for Disclaimer and Author's Notes
Chapter 9
A moment later, Karigan nodded to him. "It's done," she said, appearing half-lost in thought. Running her fingers one final time through Noah's hair, she leaned closer to wake him. For a time, Zachary was struck by a vision of how she could be with their children, and his breath caught in his throat. This is not the time for such thoughts.
"Noah can't come with me, Sire, and I will not make Aidan and Lise face that ride, again."
Zachary's answer was swift and sure. "Drent, I'm told, has already seen to the welfare of the older two. He muttered something about having known their father but didn't pause to give me any details."
"Strange." Karigan shook her head slightly, standing as she did. "Their father, Marcus Adair, was the Clan's schoolteacher. I can't see how he would have known Drent, though I think there was mention, once, that he'd been in the military. Perhaps they knew each other before Drent entered the Black Shields. That still leaves the question of Noah."
Out of the corner of his eye, the King saw Estora rise, and it startled him somewhat. He admitted to himself quite honestly that for a moment, he'd forgotten she was there. He could not allow himself to make that mistake often. For all that Estora's words confirmed that she was no more fond of this match than he, he could not afford to take anything for granted.
Estora approached Karigan and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You will not entrust Noah to my father, and I understand why. I cannot see to him because I go with you. The Riders, I suspect, look after him already, because he is your kin. However, you're forgetting someone."
Noah, wide awake, watched the people before him with fascinated, alert eyes, feet not having yet touched the floor. Looking at the young one, Zachary saw him as Estora must… a wounded, yet cherished child, closely wrapped in the King's greatcoat. He'd been awake long enough to know that Karigan would be leaving. And Zachary understood.
"Who do you want to stay with, Noah?"
The child, silent as he had been for most of his time in the castle, carefully separated himself from the greatcoat, slid off the settee, and made his way to the King… and Zachary – much as he'd done earlier that day – took the boy into his arms and held him close. "Alright, little one. Alright. You'll have what you wish. You must give me your word, though, that should I ask you to go with another, you will. Do I have your word, Noah? Do you promise?"
"Yes, Sire." That small, serious voice answered. "I promise." Zachary, in that moment, would not have traded the feel of those trusting arms wrapped about his neck for anything in the world.
Karigan's eyes expressed her gratitude as she reclaimed the boy a moment later. "They are entering the gates now, and will be in the throne room before long. I should get him settled."
"See that Willis knows him, Karigan, and knows that he will be staying with me. Fastion will be among those to accompany the scouting party. Riders will be your choice; you know best which of them are able to handle what you will see." He could feel the chains of his position wearing at his spirit, longing to go with her on this task, but kept here by duty.
Karigan nodded in response, and made her way slowly out of his study, dropping a light kiss on the boy's head as they passed through the doorway.
Estora, alone with the King, cast a careful glance after the Rider. Zachary saw her look to the greatcoat on the settee, lying there as if abandoned, and a smile came to her face. "Sire," she said, "my father's words in the Solarium led me to believe that Karigan found some comfort in this." She reached out a gentle hand to touch the greatcoat in question. "Was he correct?"
For all that he wasn't certain how she would take his response, even given her earlier words… he could not lie to her. "I believe she did, Lady Estora… and not for the first time." Her questioning look bid him continue. "When Rider Barracks burned, Lady Estora. Rather, when she returned. I, thinking that she'd already seen them, broke the news in a less than tactful manner. That evening ended much as this morning, with Karigan sleeping, covered by that very coat, and no dishonor on her part or mine."
Again, Estora smiled, her blue eyes understanding. "I doubt neither your honor nor hers, Sire; I merely wondered if it would not be a good idea to take this with us… as a comfort to her, should she have need of it."
Zachary returned her smile, certain that his gratitude to her was plain on his face. "Take it with my blessings, Lady Estora… but I would not wish to cause her more difficulty by way of the questions it would raise."
"The scouting party will be Weapons, Riders, certain soldiers truly loyal to Sacoridia… and apparently a few Eletians. Who among those would tell? You love her, Sire, and she you, and if you or something of yours eases her pain, there is no shame in it. If anyone dares comment, those of us who know Karigan well will set them straight."
She stood to leave his study, his whispered "Thank you" stopping her at the door. She turned to face him again, an earnest look on her face and a promise in her eyes.
"I swear to you, Sire, that I will find a way. This contract cannot stand, not when there is such a depth of feeling between you… and not when those who fight for Sacoridia already adore her. She is the Queen for you. I promise you, I will make my father see it."
Zachary, in his shock, could not form a response before Lady Estora left the room, his greatcoat in her arms.
A small private party awaited the arrival of the tiendan in the throne room a short while later. The usually busy room had been emptied of all save the King, Lady Estora and several Weapons. Zachary knew that the Eletians would be joining them shortly and, despite Karigan's trust in Somial, he was not at his most relaxed. His gaze flickered to one side as he noticed Lord Governor Coutre enter the hall. He dearly hoped the other noble wouldn't make a scene. Zachary had neither the time nor the patience for it at present.
The King saw Estora's gaze also note her father, and the Lady – in what could only have been a deliberate move – took a step away from her position at his right. Before her father could notice, the doors to the hall opened, and a contingent of Riders entered, all dressed in their formal uniforms. Of the Riders, only Karigan and Mara were armed, the Elt-crafted Blades hanging from their hips. Zachary gestured for Karigan to take her place to his left, where she stood whenever she advised him, and as she did so, Estora walked behind him to take a position at Karigan's left… and one step back, laying a supportive hand on the Rider's shoulder.
Zachary was certain Estora could feel the heat of her father's glare, but she did not move from her chosen place, only straightened her shoulders and looked straight ahead, standing tall.
Fastion stood silent watch near the dais, his sharp eyes taking due note of Lady Estora's actions, and knowing well what she meant by them. He appreciated her rather unexpected show of strength in the face of her father's obvious disapproval, and felt a hope bloom that there may yet be a way for his King and Karigan that did not involve shattering Sacoridia.
His attention was drawn back to the entrance as the Eletians entered the throne room, all unarmed… save one. From the corner of an eye, he saw his fellow Weapons approach the Eletian leader and signaled them to stand aside, half in a state of shock. Karigan did not mention that the Eletians had sibling Blades to our own. The Eletian's Blade was unmistakable in light of how well Fastion knew his own Blade now. Startled, and his face actually showing it, he looked to Karigan. She matched his gaze, let a hint of a grin curve one corner of her mouth… and winked.
This is payback for that sparring match with the King, I know it is. Long in coming, but payback nonetheless. Fastion took it gracefully, with a nod in her direction. The tiendan drew ever closer to the dais, stopping but a few feet from its base. Though he knew, without doubt, that no Wielder could harm another, still he tensed, wary, when the Eletian drew his Blade.
Appearing unaware of the tense Weapons poised within striking distance, he rested the point of the Blade on the floor before him, going to one knee before the mortal, Sacoridian king, his forehead touching the Blade's hilt. The throne room was a study in silence as every Elt accompanying him followed his lead.
After a brief moment that seemed longer, the Eletian Wielder raised his head, not otherwise moving from his subservient position before the King. "Greetings, Hillander King," he said, in a voice as musical as Shawdell's ever had been… yet somehow more pure and trustworthy. "I am Somial of Eletia, tiendan, and Wielder of one of the Three Blades of the Elt. Our Lady is sworn to you, and as she goes, so go we."
Had Fastion not himself been startled, he might have been better able to appreciate the look on Lord Governor Coutre's face. This, the Weapon thought, is not an action one takes for a distant descendant of an Eletian, but 'tis obvious to me the Lady of which he speaks is Karigan. Three Blades for Sacoridia, Three Blades for the Elt Wood… Kaedra's Blade is the anomaly, the only Blade tied to a bloodline. Kaedra's blood, her husband's blood… what am I missing?
Fastion caught the King looking at Karigan, and her own glance in response, a glance that told him she'd confided far more to the King than anyone else who had been in the room the night before. Somehow, this fact above all failed to surprise him. With quiet, confidant steps, she moved forward, walking down the steps of the dais and over the runner lining the hall, stopping directly in front of Somial. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she spoke to him softly, so softly that Fastion could barely hear it… and what he did hear, he doubted.
It had sounded as though she had said, "Somial, you do not kneel to me. Do not ever kneel to me. Rise, Wielder."
That Somial did rise to his feet shortly after she finished speaking only made the Weapon wonder. They knelt to the King, this is true, but only as their Lady has… and only as she stood on the dais beside that King. For some reason, Fastion found comfort in the fact that the oath had been made in Karigan's name, though unspoken, trusting it more than he would had they sworn in their own right.
Sheathing his Blade, Somial looked to those who followed him, and Fastion noted that they, too, had regained their feet, and stood silent, allowing their leader to speak for them. He looked first to Karigan, who had removed her hand from his shoulder as he stood. To one side, Fastion could see the Lord Governor's face begin to turn red with rage. It seems Lord Coutre has noticed that they look to the Rider first… and his daughter not at all.
The eastern lord took a step toward the center of the room, only to find himself facing six pairs of eyes… each belonging to an Eletian. He might have been made nervous had he noticed the angered Weapons, but Fastion thought the fury radiating through the room had somehow escaped the lord. Karigan may not be our Queen, but by the gods, she is our Sister… and that step he took was towards her, and with clenched fist, though I do not believe he realized it. Still, Coutre would prove one to watch, and Fastion resolved that he would never be far from a Weapon's sight.
"Peace, Somial," Karigan said, once more laying a hand on his shoulder. "Lord Coutre is but… frustrated… at the events of the day and the lack of explanation regarding them. I am certain he means no harm."
Fastion watched as Karigan matched gazes with the Governor, and in the end, it was Lord Coutre who backed down, though not with a great deal of grace. "Of course not," he said, preserving what face he could. "What reason would I have to harm the woman who saved my daughter, noble Elt? I simply find myself lacking patience. The presence of Eletians here is rare, after all, and some of those visits have ended… poorly. I merely find myself wondering why Eletians would swear loyalty to a Sacoridian King. Is not your own King enough?"
Though obviously bristling at the insult to Santanara, Somial's voice was calm when he answered. "You misunderstand, Lord Governor. We swear allegiance to our Lady, and to King Zachary only through her… but as she will never foreswear the Firebrand or Sacoridia, it's much the same."
Fastion looked to King Zachary, and saw the small, amused smirk that told him his King knew precisely what was occurring, and was quite content to watch the Lord Governor make a fool of himself.
"Are you saying," Coutre continued, "that your Lady has sworn loyalty to the King? That your Lady is this Rider?"
"Indeed she is, Lord Governor. Myself and my tiendan are sworn always to follow the Guardian line, the Deisaria, living symbols of hope to Sacoridia and the Elt Wood. As the Guardian line is meant to protect both our countries… so are we meant to protect the Line. For the better part of two decades, we thought ourselves to have failed. We thought the Line gone from us for reasons that will not be explained in so public a place as this."
Coutre appeared confused. Whether he had been told of Karigan's Eletian ancestor, Fastion could not know, but Somial's words obviously mystified him. "Do you mean to tell me," the Lord Governor continued, showing far more emotion on his face than was customary, "that you would protect any descendant of this line, however distant?" The tone of his voice plainly told the Weapon that Coutre could not see the point of Eletians guarding a mortal. Or perhaps it was that he could not see any reason why someone of such noble bearing as Somial would protect a commoner.
There was a look on the Elt's face that Fastion would have called a smirk on anyone else, as he answered, "Indeed, Lord Coutre, we would protect any member of the Guardian Line, however distant. This Line is sacred to our King, reminders of an alliance that he will uphold. Should the Firebrand battle against Mornhavon, it will be with Santanara King at his side, as it was last time with Jonaeus. Our King remembers what it was to fight alongside mortals, and because they have not yet succeeded in erasing this Line from history, he will fight still. Indeed, he does not even hold Sacoridia entirely responsible for the deaths in which Sacoridians have played a part, for he felt an Eletian hand in the affairs as well. So long as that banner flies, that banner which proclaims one of the Deisaria in willing service to Sacoridia and the King, then Santanara and the Elt Wood will be the faithful allies of this land and her people, no matter the cost to us."
Then Somial paused and leaned forward, his mouth mere inches from Lord Coutre's ear, and his words too soft for Fastion to decipher even the smallest portion. Whatever it was that he said, the effect on the Lord Governor was a sight… all color bled from his face and he backed away from the Eletian as though creatures from all the hells were reaching out for him.