Wow, this is long, and hopefully mistake free, now that it's been corrected by Meneldur...Enjoy and please review, they really help!!!

Chapter 3: The Letter

My fingers tapped relentlessly into my knee as we neared the Marquise's mansion. I did not relish the thought of meeting a pack of jackals coated in perfume. I looked out of the carriage window at the beautiful gardens which I could not yet explore, Nee had insisted over the carriage, apparently we were already late.

'Cheer up Mel, it won't be that bad.'

She kept on repeating the same thing, perhaps unaware of how unconvincing her voice was.

'I mean yes, the court can be a bit vicious and yes, many people will be angling for favors but at least, if you attend this party, your father might not host a formal inauguration ball which he has already been planned I am sure. And remember what I've warned you about in flirting, and that here, they are more desperate than Sartor. Over there you were just a foreign princess, while here you are the key to the throne, be diplomatic of any advan-'

'Nee just say it, nobles are going to try get favours from my father through me, and try to marry me in the bargain as I'm the next in line to the throne, I cannot believe we are having this conversation again, honestly!' I sighed at how harsh my voice sounded and softened it, 'I'm sorry Nee, I'm just annoyed. At Sartor I only had to attend the main court functions you know. At least I will meet some people I like.'

Nee raised an eyebrow at my pathetic attempt to cheer myself up but did not say anything.

'Well for one, Lord Dreever is one noble I will be glad to see. Remember when I beat him at chess at 11 and he was so shocked he bowed to the servant instead of me by the time I took my leave? And then there's Lady Tamara, I can't wait to meet her.'

Nee suddenly looked worried, 'I hope you do not have a foolish idea in your head, Tamara, is a nice person, and just because she and I never got on well-'

'Whoever said I had an idea? But with your pale descriptions of the facts, I already know I am going to detest her. Anyhow Nee, I wish sometimes you were a bit less nice and a bit more vindictive, that way I would know many more of the hounds I have to face today. By any chance, do you have any old court flame you want me to tease?' Nee blushed,

'You know as well as I do I haven't been in Remalnan court for a long time, I did not flirt even then, and I certainly did not-'

'Aaah the lady doth protest too much, a sure sign of guilt. Very well then, are there any handsome men in Remalna?'

Nee frowned, 'Hush we are here, behave now, these people are not Sartorians, and though you may be adept at the Sartorian court, they do not forgive blunders easily here and-'

'My dearest Nee, are you trying to make me nervous?'

I teased her a last time before I stepped out of the carriage nimbly, quite an impressive feat with such a gown. Finiar, who had followed us silently as an escort gave me a wink, before turning his horse around, and then, we were in the bustle of carriages in front of the mansion, valets rushing about, a few howling dogs and some rushing guests who were as late coming as us. I gave Nee a pained glance as I stepped forward and entered the mansion…

I barely had a glimpse of tinkling music and a hall filled with people before I was enveloped in a cloud of ruffles and perfume. I stopped myself from crouching with difficulty as a reedy voice declared loudly:

'My dearest niece, how glad I am that you have come.'

Come to her party or come to Remalna? I thought shrewdly.

'Fialma will be so glad to know you could make it, she has already planned a host of activities for you to do together.'

I answered as vaguely as I could; 'I hope I shall have time for them then,'

I lowered my eyes and simpered, maybe if I acted like a court idiot this evening would be easier. Someone coughed behind us in a sickly prim way and I knew immediately it was Fialma. I turned around and gave a giggle, this was going to be easy, I would just imitate the current Sartorian court flirt and everyone will despair of getting anything out of me. Why did I not think of this before? I smiled wildly, but I might have been grimacing at her.

'How do you do cousin?' She asked, worry breaking her cool mask. She had known me for a year in Sartor, and I don't think she recognized me or my behavior. I murmured some inconsistencies and quickly looked around underneath my lashes. There were around forty people at the party tonight, probably higher ups. Nee was animatedly conversing with some lord, and I raised my eyebrow, suspicious of anyone around her, but I had no time to go assess him as the Marquise took hold of my arm in a vice like grip and said:

'My dear, why don't you let me introduce you to-'

'Lady Stalker, is that really you?'

Anyone saving me from the marquise was welcome, but that particular nickname gave me an excited lurch in my heart, as I turned around to a wavy brown haired man in his thirties,

'Lord Dreever, you're here!'

I smiled apologetically yet firmly at my aunt and said:

'Do not worry aunt, I am sure I will be in safe hands with Lord Dreever,' and I took his arm excitedly.

'So how are you and how did you leave our beloved Sartor?'

I knew the Sartorian ambassador was just trying to make his claim on me and had no evil designs, so I animatedly told him about the land I had left concentrating on what I remembered about the new legalizations on farming, which I knew he was particularly interested in. All the while I kept a watchful gaze on Nee, and on the nobles who were waiting to accost me as I stood next to the refreshment table with my old chess partner.

'And how do you find the Remalnan court compared to Sartor?' I asked playfully, not expecting a serious answer, but taking a glance to make sure we were not being overheard, he riskily said:

'Little princess, I hoped to avoid this conversation to a later time, but I do not know when I will have an opportunity to speak to you.' I looked at him worriedly and he took that as an invitation to continue.

'With all due respect to your father, the king, Remlna is currently at the brink of civil war. Civil unrest has been increased by rebellions in the Tlanthi regions and sparked by raids in South by pirates, these Remalnan pirates have also attacked the coast of Sartor and strained the relationship between our two countries, I greatly fear your father does not have the means anymore, taxes are at their highest, two nobles, Debegri and Shevraeth have been deployed to Tlanth to quell the upri-'

His whispered voice was abruptly stopped by the drawling voice of Fialma,

'My dear ambassador, you cannot hope to keep my cousin occupied the whole afternoon, I am afraid it will not do. This is Lady Tamara and Lady Trishe who wanted to make your acquaintance, cousin.'

I hurriedly tried to compose myself behind a smiling mask as I processed all the information Dreever had given me, I knew I could trust the source; Dreever was one of the few people who expressed their honest mind around me.

'I am sure I had no such intention,' Lord Dreever protested good-naturedly as I turned around and examined the new comers. I knew immediately that the first woman was Tamara, who in a deep green gown, looked more royal than anyone I knew, except perhaps Yustnesveas (queen of Sartor). She had black hair and seemed curvaceous and womanly in all the right places, her face a portrait of friendliness. The other stranger, Lady Trishe seemed good natured enough with pale brown hair and eyes. She wore more conservative colours of light pink with her hair in a crown over her head. I spoke first,

'I am very glad to make your acquaintance,' but Tamara's watchful face told me I could not pretend to be a court idiot and flirt in front of her, so I adopted a blank face, as I said sweetly: 'Lady Tamara, of course I remember, you are Nimiar's cousin, she has told me so much about you.' Lady Tamara's smile faltered a little bit but she adeptly hid it as she laughed and asked:

'I hope it was complimentary,' and she shook her hair behind her, hmm vain too it seemed.

'Well, Lady Tamara, you must know as well as I do, that Nee would not be able to speak ill of the devil,'

Thankfully there was no awkward silence, because Lady Trishe abruptly asked:

'Do you ride Lady Meliara? I seem to recall passing by the stables and I noticed a beautiful stallion, a servant mentioned it was yours,'

I answered warmly: 'Oh so you have met Domitian, he is a beauty isn't he? I couldn't bear to part with him, so I brought him along from Sartor, do you have races here?'

'My dear cousin, you are as fond of rolling in the hay as ever. I remember when you slapped the queen Yustnesveas Landis herself when she dared name her dog the same as your horse.' Fialma's attack left the whole group silent, before Dreever saved the situation as always. Laughing he said:

'And that was a start of a beautiful friendship, I recall you told her to change the spaniels name because it was a female, and Queen Yustnesveas, in her last letter told me she had a litter of pups, did you see them?'

I smiled regretfully,

'She offered me one, but the pup was too small to travel so she is sending it later, I am sorry I couldn't bring one immediately, they were adorable.'

'May I know who called my name?'

I turned around to face the voice, a dark haired Lord, who moved with an easy grace and a smile that spoke of confidence and a slight touch of mischief, I couldn't help but answer the smile as Tamara drawled.

'Russav, I hardly think adorable can be used as a name for you, Lady Meliara, let me present Lord Russav Savonna, he believes the world can be conquered by his charm alone, and we ladies are all at the mercy of his flirtations.'

It was a bold speech, and I wondered if he could fence, I needed as new fencing partner, I resolved to ask him but before I could open my mouth he grinned;

'I must confess, your arrival has sparked curiosity in all circles, your beauty we are all aware of, but what about your character? Were you the residing court beauty in Sartor, are you here to take all of us poor lords as your admirers?'

I guess he was harmless, he reminded me of a playful pussycat with a tiger hidden inside. I noticed a faint blush on Tamara's cheeks and wondered if the comment was for her. I replied:

'I believe you will have a hard time managing my character, and my heart is guarded from men like you, you may become my servant if you desire, but why try when there are so many court beauties around,' I looked slantingly at Tamara, 'I would advise you not to waste your breath,.'

He smiled appreciatively as he arranged his fan into a salute to a hit. I knew he was as serious as I was about this flirting, he would use me to make Tamara jealous if I was not mistaken, and I would use him to keep suitors at bay. Lady Fialma, who I was sure did not get anything from the exchange unless she had developed any brains since I last saw her gave another attempt at embarrassing me,

'Lord Dreever, I happened to overhear you calling my dear cousin Lady Stalker, perhaps you may illuminate us on the matter.' I smiled affectionately at Dreever, alerting him I did not mind him answering.

'Well, it is a very old nickname. Lady Meliara accosted me when she was ten. I was at the royal residence discussing farming with a friend, when along she came, still holding a wooden sword from her playing with my queen. She boldly told me,' his eyes crinkled with humor at the memory, 'that she had played chess with everyone who would play with her, and that she had heard I was the best chess player in court, then after she had complimented me with a royal wave of her head, she ordered me to play with her. I politely refused her. She then followed me everywhere for a week until I relinquished and played with her, I beat her by a small margin. She then played with me constantly for a year until she could checkmate me with ease. I guess the nickname stalker stuck.'

The group laughed with varying degrees of honesty. Then, taking everyone by surprise, Savona, raised my hand, and publicly asked:

'My Lady, I have always been an admirer of chess, you must allow me this dance while you teach me how to play better, I swear I have never been able to beat Danric, and we've been playing since we were children.'

I grimaced internally, I knew I could hardly say no and take my hand away unless I wanted to cause slight, and he knew it as he took my narrowed eyes and Tamara's furious glare into his smile. I nodded silently as I nodded at the remaining party. The dances in Remalna were similar to the ones in Sartor, but here, the steps were more measured and slower, giving more time to converse with one's partner. I asked immediately,

'Who is Lord Danric?'

I tried not to put too much enthusiasm in my voice, but I hadn't thought I would find a person who also played chess, after all it was a Sartoran game. Savona smiled knowingly at me and said,

'It's Vidanric, Marquis of the Shevraeth estates and heir to the Princedom of Renslaeus, he is not here at the moment, so you can't challenge him at chess yet,'

I frowned, where had I heard that name before? Misunderstanding my frown Savona added: 'He's fighting those hill rebels up in Tlanth, but I heard he will be back soon.'

I frowned even more, I knew it was risky asking Savona this, but suddenly I remembered Galdran's face as he gave my regulations and I rashly asked:

'Why have they rebelled?'

He looked at me through shocked eyes before he hid it with a bland face as he said:

'They accuse King Galdran of conspiring to cut down the valuable wood on their lands among other things. The head of that estate came to court, a bit rustic, with an inspiring letter, if you're interested in such things, I'm sure a copy could be found,'

I glanced into his wary eyes and smiled weakly, 'No I am sure that is not necessary, letters and books bore me, I have come to Remalna to have fun.'

He looked at me through his half lidded eyes, the dance had ended,

'Fun? Well then I must introduce you to all eligible suitors,' and before I could stop him he had called over some Lord, I only had time to glare at a bowing Savona and mutter 'Why you-' before I was swept of into the next dance, the lord himself, I quite forgot his name, was an enthusiastic horseman, and I soon realized he was not a court toadie. I enjoyed talking with him about the merits of the Sartorian horses over Remalnan ones. Before I knew it the dance was over, and I saw three Lords rounding in on me, I glanced around looking for some way to excuse myself, but suddenly, there was no one around whom I knew, I saw Savona leaning against a pillar smiling at the sight of my distress, and threw him another murderous look before I was accosted by a particularly sweaty courtier,

'Your highness,' he started, was he crazy? I was no queen, yet. I stared at him horrified as he continued, 'would you do me the honour of –'

I was busy composing an excuse when a warm hand dropped on my arm, and a honeyed voice said:

'I believe the next dance was mine my lady,'

I looked to my right to see a blond haired young man with honey coloured eyes, slightly taller than me and dressed completely in black.

'Flauvic!' I cried, forgetting protocol, 'I've never been happier to see you,' I gushed happily as he led me to the dancing,

'Where were you?'

'I was here, trying to get through the horde of admirers you were attracting,' he said blandly, and I laughed happily, glad to see my companion of olden times.

'Still as easy to make you laugh' he said frowning, 'I hope you have learnt some sense since I left you.'

I smiled cheekily, Flauvic was always the one who I had dragged into my harebrained scheme, fixing the damage I created with a word or a spell. We started dancing, weaving through the other dancers under the lilting melodies. I sighed, because suddenly, I felt safe.

'So what have you been doing since you came to Remalna?'

He stared at me silently, seemingly evaluating me,

'What, do I have something on my face?' I asked teasingly,

'You have grown a lot cousin,' he finally said, 'I did not expect you to outshine everyone at this party,'

I blushed slightly as I digged him in the ribs, a worthy feat as both my hands were clasped by his as customs dictated by the dance.

'Since when do you spout foolish compliments?' I said, 'Remember what you told me last when you left? Stay out of trouble idiot.'

He smiled faintly at the recollection, 'and you call becoming a high court mage staying out of trouble? Do you know how dangerous the examinations are?'

'Of course I did,' I frowned slightly, I had wanted to surprise him with the news, but as always he knew everything before hand. 'You told me about them when you passed them, you didn't make them sound difficult. Anyhow, I'm alright now. Oh, and I know I do not need to ask you but, Nee told me to keep the whole magic thing quiet, apparently people are wary enough as it is, so-'

'Don't fret, the last thing I want is everyone to fall in love of your magic on top of everything else, but seeing as you mentioned it, what will you do in return?'

I blinked, then seeing the twinkle in his eye I said:

'Hmm, I won't tell them you're and evil sorcerer planning to overtake the world.'

He laughed then, a gentle tinkling sound, and suddenly I realized how handsome he had become in the years we had been separated. I blushed at the thought,

'I'll settle for you not telling anyone about my magic. Deal?' he asked.

'Deal,' I said smiling, as the dance ended, then remembering where I was I sighed,

'How many hours do I have to stay so that your mother doesn't get offended?' I whispered.

Holding my arm while walking, his face darkened at the mention of his mother.

'I think an hour more should suffice, it was suppose to be a lunch party, and you should get some food, come.'

I took part of the delicious food laid on the table, a lot of it I had never eaten before. I was also going to drink a dark red liquid I thought was grapefruit before Flauvic took it out of my hand, I pouted.

'Flauvie, please give it back.' I knew he hated it when I called him that.

'I am not going to let you become drunk on your first party, and you know you become drunk very easily,'

I remembered the last experience and winced, yes perhaps it was wiser. Suddenly I remembered something, I checked around me, too many people, so I muttered a spell under my breath, Flauvic raised an eyebrow as he realized what I had done when all the voices became muted, a silent wall against eavesdroppers.

'You know Melli,' he drawled, employing a nickname I hated, 'If you want to hide your magic you might not want to do that.'

I glanced apologetically at him and said, 'this is important, I need to know, Savona, told me the Tlanthi count gave a letter to the court about the rebellion, do you have a copy?'

'You talked to Savona about the rebellion?! Do you know how dangerous that was? Mel you are not in Sartor anymore!'

At that point Flauvic looked close to shaking my shoulders; I was surprised, Flauvic was always cool and composed.

'I needed to find out- I mean, I've heard some things about Gal- my father's rule, I need to find out more about it, I want to help peop-'

Flauvic sighed and said, 'come, everyone is busy eating,'

He muttered a counter spell and the loud chatter of the party came back.

'You sure they wont miss me, I-'

Flauvic just smiled and took my hand as we exited through a side door; we walked quickly through a dark corridor and another one, and a third one upstairs,

'Flauvic, where are we going?'

I asked panting slightly as he was still dragging me by my hand and going really quickly,

'My rooms,' he said briefly, we reached a bedroom done in dark blue and silver before he stopped me and said, 'wait here.'

He entered the next room. I heard spells being muttered and suddenly the creak of moving furniture; he must have a hidey hole somewhere in the room. Silently he came back into the room, and handed me a parchment. I looked at him silently, suddenly scared to read it,

'Read it' he ordered, 'I know the only way to stop your foolishness is to give you all the answers myself.'

Slowly I opened the parchment and started reading, each accusation against my father an iron bar in my stomach, when I reached the last line, my face ash white, I stumbled and fell on the bed behind me.

'Meliara, are you okay?'

He asked worriedly, I stared at the letter, not hearing, thinking of the journey I had just finished from Sartor, looking at the boy-man, the one that had saved my life, smiling at me, hair tousled and mud grimed. 'My name is Lord Branaric' he had said, I hadn't given it a thought, otherwise I would have remembered, from geography lessons a lifetime away in Sartor, the current Count of Tlanth, Lord Branaric Astiar. The same name was inscribed at the end of the letter. I glanced up at Flauvic who was looking at me worriedly and said, my lips trembling slightly:

'It's not true right? Galdran didn't break the Covenant, he isn't a bad man is he?'

Flauvic stayed silent, biting his lips, and not meeting my gaze.

'TELL ME' I shouted, standing up and pounding his chest while he did nothing to stop me, just staring at me with those golden eyes full off pity. I glared at him, refusing to believe the letter. I felt tears swimming in my eyes and blinked furiously, I never cry. Suddenly, Flauvic, the most emotionless person I know stepped forward and embraced me, I stared in shock at his shoulder which was pressed against my face, and slowly I raised my arms around him.

'Oh Mel, you were always too naïve about people. I cannot lie to you and tell you your father is blameless, but he is not the complete evil tyrant he is made to seem in this letter. I know for a fact that he loves you-'

I pulled away from him, ignoring the fact that tears were coursing down my face now,

'Don't,' I said harshly, 'don't defend him, don't lie to me and tell me he loves me after sending me away all these years.'

Flauvic looked down at me with his sad eyes and said, 'oh but he does love you Mel, more than you could ever know, and him being, well less than just, does not change that fact.'

I stared at him silently, our hands still clasped before I pulled away, rubbing my eyes and said:

'Let's get back to the party, before they notice we are gone. I gave him back the letter but he crunched it into a ball instead and burnt it with a single spurt of flame from his hand, seeing my questioning glance he said, 'I don't need it anymore.'

I smiled tremblingly, Flauvic had known I was going to ask him about the letter, how well he knew me, and I took his offered arm. By the time we slipped into the hall, Flauvic had teased me enough for me to have regained my colour and hopefully no one would have noticed I had cried, I immediately joined Nee, and seeing the glance Nee gave him, he excused himself politely. I tried my best to smile and talk normally for the rest of the party, but inside I felt extinguished, and I knew Nee could see that. We left soon after, Nee pleading tiredness from the journey while the marquise looked at us like were mice and she a cat. By the time we exited her door, it was nightfall, and I decided to post phone my visit to the stables for the next day. I knew Nee had known about Gadran, and I had a few accusati- questions for her...

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