Chapter Six: Royal Decree
King Jasson was furious when Lord Thomas explained everything to him the following morning. Nobles who were present at the time swore that the king looked fit to kill, while Queen Jessamine sat quietly at his side. Her silence was no more of a comfort than King Jasson's rage. All the nobles were ordered to vacate the throne room, and Aly, Lady Jennaya, Roald, Lianne, Gary, and the Duke and Duchess of Naxen were immediately summoned.
Gary and Aly walked to the throne room together. Lianne and Roald had been with each other at the time the summons had come to them.
"How much trouble are we in, Gareth?"
Gary sighed "I'm not sure. But there is still some chance that we can be together. Maybe King Jasson will order your father to allow our marriage, since I had already gotten his blessing on the matter."
"Do you really think he will?"
"We can hope." Gary said as they reached the throne room. Gareth stood up straighter, squared his shoulders, and took Aly's hand in his own, and the two of them walked in.
King Jasson's anger was clear on his face. "Roald, Lianne, Sir Gareth, and Lady Alianne, step forward."
The four obeyed silently, and bowed or curtsied.
"Never," King Jasson started, "never, in all my time as king, as a father, and as a person have I ever been as disappointed in someone as I am in the four of you. Especially you, Roald and Sir Gareth."
"Father, I-" Roald began, but was cut off.
"You have a duty to this kingdom, Roald." King Jasson said. "As I am not an immortal, I will not live forever and one day you will be King of Tortall. How can the people of Tortall expect you to put duty before friends as a king if you can not manage it as a prince? Do you expect that the crown will magically make you change?"
"No, sir." Roald said.
"Why did you not inform Lord Thomas of the courtship between Sir Gareth and Lady Alianne as soon as you knew?"
"They asked us-Lianne and I-not to." Roald said.
"Princess Lianne, do you have a better explanation for your silence than my son?"
"Your majesty, Alianne is my best friend, and Gareth is my brother. They have both done so much for me, and all they asked for in return was that I keep a small secret for them."
"Are you aware of what damage keeping that small secret could have done, Lianne?" Queen Jessamine asked softly.
"Roald and I didn't mean for any damage to come of it, your majesty." Lianne said. "If we had seen any harm coming, we would have told Lord Thomas."
"Your majesties," Alianne said with a curtsy. "Gareth and I would have eventually told everyone."
"Would it have been before or after you said your vows to each other, Lady Alianne?" Jasson asked, enraged. "Before or after certain actions meant only for a married couple were carried out? Actions that would have left Sir Gareth with the duty to be your husband, lest he sentence you to live you life alone, marked as a whore? Sir Gareth hardly strikes me as the kind of the man who would leave a woman to live her life with only a bastard and a tattered reputation."
Aly didn't answer.
"Sire, I would never do anything to harm Aly, her reputation, or her family's name. I love her, your majesty." Gareth said, getting a tighter grasp on her hand.
"Sir Gareth," Jasson said, "as you are a member of this royal family by your sister's marriage, your marriage is a matter of state. That means you must get the consent of myself and my queen to be married."
"You already gave me consent, your majesty." Gary said.
"I am aware of that fact. However, I do not recall you mentioning that Lord Thomas knew nothing of your courtship to his daughter. Am I wrong, or did you not inform me of that fact?"
"I did not inform you of that, your majesty." Gary said.
"And why didn't you release that information?"
"I was afraid you wouldn't give me your blessing, majesty."
"You're right, I wouldn't have." King Jasson said. "Unlike my son, I think about all the consequences of my decisions before I act. Since, I would never have granted the blessing for yours and Lady Alianne's marriage if I had been fully informed, I am rescinding my blessing. You and Lady Alianne may not be married."
"Your majesty!" Gareth protested.
"Gareth, you heard King Jasson." Duke Stephan said.
"Lady Alianne, you will fulfill your parents' wishes and marry Sir Alan of Trebond."
"Your majesty, I beg you to reconsider." Aly said. "Gareth and I love each other!"
"You and Sir Gareth should have followed tradition and gotten your father's blessing before beginning your courtship. You are to marry Sir Alan in six months' time."
Aly fought to keep from crying in front of the king. "Yes, your majesty." she said. "May I be dismissed, sire?"
Jasson nodded, and Aly fled the room as quickly as she could. Once she was out in the hall, she burst into tears. She leaned against the stone wall and eventually slid down to the floor.
The door to the throne room opened, and Aly felt someone gently touch her shoulder. She looked up and saw Gary kneeling next to her on the ground. She buried her face into his chest, and continued to cry. He wrapped his arms around her.
"It'll be alright, Aly." Gary said. "We can still remain as friends."
"I don't want to be your friend, Gary! I want to be your wife!" Aly yelled. "I want to run away and get married! If the king has a problem with it-"
"Watch what you say, Aly." Gareth said, covering Aly's mouth. "King Jasson is just on the other side of these walls, and the hall echoes."
"Let him hear. I don't care. I want to be the mother of your children, Gareth." Aly said.
"And I want to be your husband and the father of your children, but we can't. We'll have to be content as friends."
Aly stayed with Gareth as her parents and Gareth's parents left the throne room
"Alianne, let's go. We are having supper with the Trebonds, to celebrate the betrothal."
"I'm not going."
Lord Thomas froze. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not in the mood to celebrate." Aly said. "Or are you going to go and have King Jasson order me to do that, too? Tell me father, is having the king make it a royal decree something I am suppose to thank you for later, too?"
Lord Thomas stared at Aly. "Alianne, I am sorry that you have been forced to realize the world does not revolve around you, but you must stop acting like a spoiled child. This is in honor of your betrothal. Now come on and get ready."
Aly, with her mother and grandmother fighting with her all the way joined her family for dinner with the Trebonds. She wore the dress she had worn at her presentation, but did not do anything with her hair, and put in the plainest of her eardrops.
"Alianne, you look beautiful tonight." Alan said as he kissed Aly's fingertips, and led her to her seat-right between him and Jane.
I am sitting between the stranger I am betrothed to and my rival from the convent...this party is going to be fun...NOT!!
(In the Naxen Suite)
"I would love to know what was going through your mind when you decided to court Lady Alianne without her father's blessing, Gareth. It obviously wasn't anything we taught you." Duke Stephan said.
"I was thinking that I love Aly, and that I wasn't going to let someone keep me away from her." Gareth said. "I was thinking that if we loved each other as much as we do, it shouldn't matter whether or not her father approves!"
"Without her father's blessing, he would never have paid for the wedding, and he would have objected to it while you and his daughter stood at the alter."
"If need be we would have ran off to be married!" Gareth snapped, losing his temper. He was not going to defend Aly to his parent. He shouldn't have to! They should be happy for him! "Father, you and mother always told Lianne and I that you two were madly in love with each other when you married. Did you feel like when she was around, you two were the only people in the world? Were you ready to do whatever it took to be with her? Were you ready to die for her if you had to?"
"Yes, Gareth, I remember all of those feelings."
"Then why are you mad at me for feeling the same way?" Gareth asked. He didn't give his parents a chance to respond. He walked over, picked up his sword, and left.
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