Who's Who in FFOF (Flauvic: Friend or Foe):
Remare-Marquis of Shevraeth Chaniqua-Remare's fiance Emeric-Prince of Renselaeus Arian-Princes of Renselaeus Henric-Nimiar's spy Baroness Ultera-asks Nimiar for money to feed her Barony Lord Fabian-Baroness Ultera's friend Manana-Nimiar's sister Ogaric-King and Nimiar's brother Lehan-Nimiar's uncle and Count of Tlanth Macina-Lehan's lover
Chapter Seven
I wiped the perspiration off of my hands for what seemed to be the thousandth time. I was about to leave my rooms and go down the Petitioner's Court and publicly confront Ogaric.
I remembered my encounter with Baroness Ultera a few days before. I had wanted to storm downstairs, drag the King out and confront him then and there; however; my sense intervened, instead I was going to Petition him as was my right by law.
Giving my forehead a final, dainty dab with my handkerchief, I pushed my tapestry aside and entered the hall.
I was at the turnoff for the hall or the courtyard when I felt a tap on my back. Flauvic had sneaked up on me.
He bowed and looked me up and down, "Forgive my impertinence, my lady, but you are up to something. Would Ogaric approve if he knew what you were doing?"
As usual with Flauvic, I was flabbergasted, "That is my prayer. I hope you will pardon my reticence, but I must be going. I have an important meeting."
"Of course, my lady. I will not keep you any longer."
He gave a final bow and turned around before I could curtsy.
I hurried on to the courtyard.
Few people bothered to petition these days so the courtyard was much emptier than it had been when I had addressed it over two years ago.
A small batch of noblemen were gathered near a small fountain and an even smaller batch of commoners were conversing on an arrangement of benches in the corner.
I greeted the noblemen and had a brief discussion with them and persuaded them to join me as I walked to the group of commoners.
There were five nobles in all. The only familiar face was Baroness Ultera who, when told of my course of action, insisted on joining me.
The rest were men. Three were all part of one family, who needed a minor inheritance dispute hammered out. The last was a neighbor of the baroness who was in much the same situation as she.
The three commoners were all there to complain about the lack of food in Barony Ultera. I recognized the man who had first asked for an audience.
We chatted of minor things until Court was called by the ringing of the bells. We were then to enter one dispute at a time.
The men with the inheritance dispute entered first. I could hear Ogaric's loud, raucous laughter and a few indistinct words. The three men walked out, talking angrily amongst themselves. Now it was our turn.
The Baroness Ultera, Lord Fabian, her neighbor, the three commoners and I entered the throne room.
I was in front, walking calmly. I was pleased with my pleasant smile and composed posture. I heard whispers and gasps of shock as I strolled into the room, curtsied, and deliberately knelt on the petitioner's side of the table. The courtiers fairly gaped at me.
"Nimiar, for life's sake, what are you doing?" Ogaric demanded as the people behind me made their courtesies and knelt on either side of me.
"I am petitioning the King of Remalna as is my right by law." I replied.
"What is your request, petitioner?" he was being unduly cold and very
disrespectful.
"I request that the Tax Relief System be restored."
"Request denied."
"It has been the policy that the King must hear all evidence before he makes a ruling on a petition."
"Policies change. Denied."
I was so hurt and so disappointed. To my great shame, I broke out in tears right there in front of the entire Court.
"Do you remember when I was a little girl and you used to tell me about how much fun it would be when you were King? I looked forward to advising you and using the wisdom that I have worked for over four years. I thought you would care about the people in your Kingdom. But look at you! All decked out in fancy clothes and surrounding yourself with food and drink and people who flatter you, but never tell you the truth. How can you even pretend that you are running this Kingdom. You never listen to anyone except your own whims. You alienate your nobles. And the common people. How long are they going to support you before they get tired of your ridicule and tricks? What about-"
"Silence!" Ogaric thundered. His face was red and a huge vein throbbed on his temple, "You are threatening the King. That is treason! I ought to hang you!"
"You are threatening yourself every time you send a commoner away with his petition unanswered" I retorted.
"I do not want to see you at Athanarel again! Ever! You will begin your exile now. Guards!"
Before I even knew what was happening to me, I was picked up by two very tall, muscular men and hustled out of the castle. They dragged me quite a long way through the city until I was outside the gates, where they dumped me unceremoniously in the dust.
I sat for a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. When I looked around, I noticed that there was quite a crowd. Nobles and commoners alike surrounded me. A strong-looking man assisted me to my feet. I stared at the ruin of my Court dress, the only dress I owned now.
"Thank you all for coming to my aid. I hope that is why you all are here. I-" My voice trailed off. I ran out of things to say.
Emeric approached and put an arm around my shoulders. "You can stay with us as long as you need to."
"Thank you." I replied sincerely, holding back tears.
He raised his voice then said, "If anyone wishes to comfort the Princess during her exile from Court is welcome to join us at Renselaeus."
I had recovered my wits by then and greeted everyone who had gathered, thanking them for their support.
Flauvic, surrounded by his usual covey of Court beauties, bowed gracefully, lowering his torso a shade lower than necessary.
"Your highness, I will be at Renselaeus as quickly as my horse can carry me."
"Thank you, Flauvic, your support brings me much ease of mind."
A change of clothes, paid for by the Renselaeus' was quickly procured and I was soon trotting away from Athanarel. ---------- Life at Renselaeus was much slower and yet much more complicated than the busy hustle of social affairs in Athanarel.
About a third of the Court arrived in Renselaeus in the following month. Both Flauvic and Manana and their following had joined me. Even more people had deserted Athanarel using the excuse of illness or troubles on their land. I was able to get help for Barony Ultera and its neighbors through loans from nobility who sympathized with them or just wanted to spite Ogaric.
Judging from the letters from Father, who had remained in Athanarel to try to persuade Ogaric to use some semblance of sense, things in the capital were bleak. My brother was in a permanent foul mood. He had fired three sets of body servants just in the past week. The few nobles who remained in the city hunkered in their rooms, attending as few social events as they politely could.
I wrote to my father and brother regularly, though I never received any replies from Ogaric.
I spent much of my time with the Renselaeus', deciding what to do. I often found myself wondering what I would do without their and Manana's support.
A few weeks after my exile from Court, Henric, my spy sent a message, telling me to meet him in Tlanth in two weeks. I made arrangements to travel to see Uncle Lehan.
My trip to Tlanth was uneventful, though I felt considerable trepidation about what Henric would tell me. I hoped he had discovered the truth of Ogaric's hangings.
Uncle Lehan was pleased to see me. Both he and his lover, Macina were warm and informal in their greetings.
As Lehan had no children, his castle always seemed oddly empty. In most noblehouses there was at least one disgruntled nanny chasing after a rogue lordling.
Dinner was pleasant. I found the relaxed environment of Tlanth a relief. I had not realized all of the plotting and conniving I had been doing in Renselaeus until that evening.
Macina was absent. When I asked after her, Lehan told me with a self- satisfied smile that she was seeing a healer.
"Is she well?" I asked. Macina may not have been my aunt legally, but I loved her as much as I did Uncle Lehan.
"Oh, yes, she is fine. She just may have a new condition is all." He replied.
I guessed what he was alluding to and smiled. They had wanted a child for as long as I had known them. I could only guess at the excitement and hope they were feeling.
Henric sat at the table, but he was too far away for us to converse properly and I knew that we should never publicly acknowledge any hint of a relationship.
Shortly after dinner, I withdrew to my bedchamber. Not surprisingly, Henric slipped in, via the window.
I already had cleared the small table in the room and knelt on a cushion.
"Come. Sit. Tell me what you have been up to." I told him.
He bowed, then joined me at the table.
"Here is a report of what I have discovered so far and an account of my expenses." He handed me a thick sheaf of papers.
"What have you learned so far?" I asked.
"Well, you know the maid that was at the fugitive's bar, we think she may be alive, but we do not have her location yet. We have found a good many more fugitives, but they have all refused to give us any information. Your bodyguard, Moen, was Ogaric's creature. I found some disturbing news about the Renselaeus' that you are not going to like."
"Are they on Ogaric's side?" I asked. Immediately, all of the private conversations I had with members of the family flashed into my head.
"No, they are with you, but not why you think." Henric brushed his fingers through his thinning hair, "About a year ago, a servant overheard Remare making a deal with his parents. They would allow him to marry whoever he pleased if he conformed to their political machinations. If it makes you feel any better, he resisted them for quite some time."
"What are they plotting?"
"Well, I am just going on half fact, half conjecture, but it seems to me that their best course of action would be to back you against your brother. He cannot last very long on the throne if he continues as he is. When he is usurped, you are the Queen, the victor, and they are your top supporters. Now, tell me who should be made King if the Queen dies. Your sister would refuse the crown."
"Remare would be King."
"Correct. As long as Renselaeus remains your greatest supporter, you are in danger the moment you achieve power, but you cannot win the country without them."
I thought for a moment. "I think my best course of action would be to lessen their influence without insulting them. Perhaps Emeric could be slowly eased away from being my advisor."
"But then who would advise you? Who could you trust to give you sound advice without trying to kill you?"
I ran through all of the courtiers in my mind and came up empty. Then, oddly, a memory of a golden eye peeking at me through a set of shutters broke my concentration.
"What do you think of Flauvic?" I asked.
"Well, he is certainly qualified, even if you do not count the time he was a tree. The Court would never allow him to become King if you died. The only power he can have is through you. He would be handy at keeping you alive."
"I am going to write a letter to Manana, asking her to join me and bring a few friends of hers. I will also, privately request that her company include Flauvic, but not Remare."
"A good first step." Henric said, "Well, I am off."
He climbed on the windowsill.
"Thank you Henric." I said.
I indulged myself in quite a cry that night. After all, it's not every day that a girl finds out that a man she once loved is now plotting her death. --------------------- AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. If you review mine, I will probably review yours, unless you do not sign your review. I fixed the dealy-o so that it now accepts anonymous reviews. Anyone who sends an interesting review or a question that I can answer without giving away the plot will be mentioned in my next chapter.
BTW: I cut the length in half so I can update more often. You like? Dislike? Review and tell me!
Greeneyes: Holy cow! I never noticed that, but you're right. How cool, thanks for the observation.
Felsong: Thank you for the advice. I will try to be more encouraging, though, frankly, the idea of typing messages at unknown multitudes (yes, I know I am flattering myself) is rather unnerving.
Anon: How did Mel and Danric's grandkids spawn a little hellion like Oggy (Ogaric)? Well, Oggy did not start out as a bad guy, but he was praised for every little thing he did or said, so naturally, he got little arrogant. So, here was Oggy, the top dog of the Court, when all of a sudden his mom says, "honey, we think you aren't good enough to rule our country." He might have been a semi-decent king with Nee to control him, but just after he found out he was not good enough to rule, the Queen died and he is King. So, here is a guy with no self-confidence (who was a bit selfish and conceited to begin with) trying to rule a country that he feels has no faith in him. Not to mention the fact that his sister ruled Remalna while he was struck down with grief and shock, which has him too scared of her power to listen to her. In short, Oggy isn't evil, he is just a bit too scared and selfish to make good decisions.
Remare-Marquis of Shevraeth Chaniqua-Remare's fiance Emeric-Prince of Renselaeus Arian-Princes of Renselaeus Henric-Nimiar's spy Baroness Ultera-asks Nimiar for money to feed her Barony Lord Fabian-Baroness Ultera's friend Manana-Nimiar's sister Ogaric-King and Nimiar's brother Lehan-Nimiar's uncle and Count of Tlanth Macina-Lehan's lover
Chapter Seven
I wiped the perspiration off of my hands for what seemed to be the thousandth time. I was about to leave my rooms and go down the Petitioner's Court and publicly confront Ogaric.
I remembered my encounter with Baroness Ultera a few days before. I had wanted to storm downstairs, drag the King out and confront him then and there; however; my sense intervened, instead I was going to Petition him as was my right by law.
Giving my forehead a final, dainty dab with my handkerchief, I pushed my tapestry aside and entered the hall.
I was at the turnoff for the hall or the courtyard when I felt a tap on my back. Flauvic had sneaked up on me.
He bowed and looked me up and down, "Forgive my impertinence, my lady, but you are up to something. Would Ogaric approve if he knew what you were doing?"
As usual with Flauvic, I was flabbergasted, "That is my prayer. I hope you will pardon my reticence, but I must be going. I have an important meeting."
"Of course, my lady. I will not keep you any longer."
He gave a final bow and turned around before I could curtsy.
I hurried on to the courtyard.
Few people bothered to petition these days so the courtyard was much emptier than it had been when I had addressed it over two years ago.
A small batch of noblemen were gathered near a small fountain and an even smaller batch of commoners were conversing on an arrangement of benches in the corner.
I greeted the noblemen and had a brief discussion with them and persuaded them to join me as I walked to the group of commoners.
There were five nobles in all. The only familiar face was Baroness Ultera who, when told of my course of action, insisted on joining me.
The rest were men. Three were all part of one family, who needed a minor inheritance dispute hammered out. The last was a neighbor of the baroness who was in much the same situation as she.
The three commoners were all there to complain about the lack of food in Barony Ultera. I recognized the man who had first asked for an audience.
We chatted of minor things until Court was called by the ringing of the bells. We were then to enter one dispute at a time.
The men with the inheritance dispute entered first. I could hear Ogaric's loud, raucous laughter and a few indistinct words. The three men walked out, talking angrily amongst themselves. Now it was our turn.
The Baroness Ultera, Lord Fabian, her neighbor, the three commoners and I entered the throne room.
I was in front, walking calmly. I was pleased with my pleasant smile and composed posture. I heard whispers and gasps of shock as I strolled into the room, curtsied, and deliberately knelt on the petitioner's side of the table. The courtiers fairly gaped at me.
"Nimiar, for life's sake, what are you doing?" Ogaric demanded as the people behind me made their courtesies and knelt on either side of me.
"I am petitioning the King of Remalna as is my right by law." I replied.
"What is your request, petitioner?" he was being unduly cold and very
disrespectful.
"I request that the Tax Relief System be restored."
"Request denied."
"It has been the policy that the King must hear all evidence before he makes a ruling on a petition."
"Policies change. Denied."
I was so hurt and so disappointed. To my great shame, I broke out in tears right there in front of the entire Court.
"Do you remember when I was a little girl and you used to tell me about how much fun it would be when you were King? I looked forward to advising you and using the wisdom that I have worked for over four years. I thought you would care about the people in your Kingdom. But look at you! All decked out in fancy clothes and surrounding yourself with food and drink and people who flatter you, but never tell you the truth. How can you even pretend that you are running this Kingdom. You never listen to anyone except your own whims. You alienate your nobles. And the common people. How long are they going to support you before they get tired of your ridicule and tricks? What about-"
"Silence!" Ogaric thundered. His face was red and a huge vein throbbed on his temple, "You are threatening the King. That is treason! I ought to hang you!"
"You are threatening yourself every time you send a commoner away with his petition unanswered" I retorted.
"I do not want to see you at Athanarel again! Ever! You will begin your exile now. Guards!"
Before I even knew what was happening to me, I was picked up by two very tall, muscular men and hustled out of the castle. They dragged me quite a long way through the city until I was outside the gates, where they dumped me unceremoniously in the dust.
I sat for a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. When I looked around, I noticed that there was quite a crowd. Nobles and commoners alike surrounded me. A strong-looking man assisted me to my feet. I stared at the ruin of my Court dress, the only dress I owned now.
"Thank you all for coming to my aid. I hope that is why you all are here. I-" My voice trailed off. I ran out of things to say.
Emeric approached and put an arm around my shoulders. "You can stay with us as long as you need to."
"Thank you." I replied sincerely, holding back tears.
He raised his voice then said, "If anyone wishes to comfort the Princess during her exile from Court is welcome to join us at Renselaeus."
I had recovered my wits by then and greeted everyone who had gathered, thanking them for their support.
Flauvic, surrounded by his usual covey of Court beauties, bowed gracefully, lowering his torso a shade lower than necessary.
"Your highness, I will be at Renselaeus as quickly as my horse can carry me."
"Thank you, Flauvic, your support brings me much ease of mind."
A change of clothes, paid for by the Renselaeus' was quickly procured and I was soon trotting away from Athanarel. ---------- Life at Renselaeus was much slower and yet much more complicated than the busy hustle of social affairs in Athanarel.
About a third of the Court arrived in Renselaeus in the following month. Both Flauvic and Manana and their following had joined me. Even more people had deserted Athanarel using the excuse of illness or troubles on their land. I was able to get help for Barony Ultera and its neighbors through loans from nobility who sympathized with them or just wanted to spite Ogaric.
Judging from the letters from Father, who had remained in Athanarel to try to persuade Ogaric to use some semblance of sense, things in the capital were bleak. My brother was in a permanent foul mood. He had fired three sets of body servants just in the past week. The few nobles who remained in the city hunkered in their rooms, attending as few social events as they politely could.
I wrote to my father and brother regularly, though I never received any replies from Ogaric.
I spent much of my time with the Renselaeus', deciding what to do. I often found myself wondering what I would do without their and Manana's support.
A few weeks after my exile from Court, Henric, my spy sent a message, telling me to meet him in Tlanth in two weeks. I made arrangements to travel to see Uncle Lehan.
My trip to Tlanth was uneventful, though I felt considerable trepidation about what Henric would tell me. I hoped he had discovered the truth of Ogaric's hangings.
Uncle Lehan was pleased to see me. Both he and his lover, Macina were warm and informal in their greetings.
As Lehan had no children, his castle always seemed oddly empty. In most noblehouses there was at least one disgruntled nanny chasing after a rogue lordling.
Dinner was pleasant. I found the relaxed environment of Tlanth a relief. I had not realized all of the plotting and conniving I had been doing in Renselaeus until that evening.
Macina was absent. When I asked after her, Lehan told me with a self- satisfied smile that she was seeing a healer.
"Is she well?" I asked. Macina may not have been my aunt legally, but I loved her as much as I did Uncle Lehan.
"Oh, yes, she is fine. She just may have a new condition is all." He replied.
I guessed what he was alluding to and smiled. They had wanted a child for as long as I had known them. I could only guess at the excitement and hope they were feeling.
Henric sat at the table, but he was too far away for us to converse properly and I knew that we should never publicly acknowledge any hint of a relationship.
Shortly after dinner, I withdrew to my bedchamber. Not surprisingly, Henric slipped in, via the window.
I already had cleared the small table in the room and knelt on a cushion.
"Come. Sit. Tell me what you have been up to." I told him.
He bowed, then joined me at the table.
"Here is a report of what I have discovered so far and an account of my expenses." He handed me a thick sheaf of papers.
"What have you learned so far?" I asked.
"Well, you know the maid that was at the fugitive's bar, we think she may be alive, but we do not have her location yet. We have found a good many more fugitives, but they have all refused to give us any information. Your bodyguard, Moen, was Ogaric's creature. I found some disturbing news about the Renselaeus' that you are not going to like."
"Are they on Ogaric's side?" I asked. Immediately, all of the private conversations I had with members of the family flashed into my head.
"No, they are with you, but not why you think." Henric brushed his fingers through his thinning hair, "About a year ago, a servant overheard Remare making a deal with his parents. They would allow him to marry whoever he pleased if he conformed to their political machinations. If it makes you feel any better, he resisted them for quite some time."
"What are they plotting?"
"Well, I am just going on half fact, half conjecture, but it seems to me that their best course of action would be to back you against your brother. He cannot last very long on the throne if he continues as he is. When he is usurped, you are the Queen, the victor, and they are your top supporters. Now, tell me who should be made King if the Queen dies. Your sister would refuse the crown."
"Remare would be King."
"Correct. As long as Renselaeus remains your greatest supporter, you are in danger the moment you achieve power, but you cannot win the country without them."
I thought for a moment. "I think my best course of action would be to lessen their influence without insulting them. Perhaps Emeric could be slowly eased away from being my advisor."
"But then who would advise you? Who could you trust to give you sound advice without trying to kill you?"
I ran through all of the courtiers in my mind and came up empty. Then, oddly, a memory of a golden eye peeking at me through a set of shutters broke my concentration.
"What do you think of Flauvic?" I asked.
"Well, he is certainly qualified, even if you do not count the time he was a tree. The Court would never allow him to become King if you died. The only power he can have is through you. He would be handy at keeping you alive."
"I am going to write a letter to Manana, asking her to join me and bring a few friends of hers. I will also, privately request that her company include Flauvic, but not Remare."
"A good first step." Henric said, "Well, I am off."
He climbed on the windowsill.
"Thank you Henric." I said.
I indulged myself in quite a cry that night. After all, it's not every day that a girl finds out that a man she once loved is now plotting her death. --------------------- AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. If you review mine, I will probably review yours, unless you do not sign your review. I fixed the dealy-o so that it now accepts anonymous reviews. Anyone who sends an interesting review or a question that I can answer without giving away the plot will be mentioned in my next chapter.
BTW: I cut the length in half so I can update more often. You like? Dislike? Review and tell me!
Greeneyes: Holy cow! I never noticed that, but you're right. How cool, thanks for the observation.
Felsong: Thank you for the advice. I will try to be more encouraging, though, frankly, the idea of typing messages at unknown multitudes (yes, I know I am flattering myself) is rather unnerving.
Anon: How did Mel and Danric's grandkids spawn a little hellion like Oggy (Ogaric)? Well, Oggy did not start out as a bad guy, but he was praised for every little thing he did or said, so naturally, he got little arrogant. So, here was Oggy, the top dog of the Court, when all of a sudden his mom says, "honey, we think you aren't good enough to rule our country." He might have been a semi-decent king with Nee to control him, but just after he found out he was not good enough to rule, the Queen died and he is King. So, here is a guy with no self-confidence (who was a bit selfish and conceited to begin with) trying to rule a country that he feels has no faith in him. Not to mention the fact that his sister ruled Remalna while he was struck down with grief and shock, which has him too scared of her power to listen to her. In short, Oggy isn't evil, he is just a bit too scared and selfish to make good decisions.