Before God we vowed never to part,
not till kingdom come, never!
But now that's all changed, forever
our friendship done, severed.
So now I must hear, far and near,
contempt for my lover.
-The Wife's Lament, Anglo Saxon, c. 960CE
Three days had passed since the Autumnal Equinox and the Feast of Saint Matthew. Johan was returned to his cell, and Sabina remained under guard in her chambers. A rider arrived in the morning fog, bearing word from Prince Andrew. Shortly afterward, a private audience was called for one of the most difficult decisions King Pepin XIX had been forced to make.
Sabina stood on one side of the chamber next to Dame Barbara. She would be seeing Johan and her friends again for the first time, and perhaps the last time. Across the room were Peewit, Maenad and Sir Edelhart, all looking like they hadn't slept in days. She did not speak to them; instead she kept her eyes on the door and wrung her hands, anxiety eating away at her resolve.
After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened. Gerard and his Uncle entered, followed by several guards and Johan, who stood between Peewit and his father. He looked startled when he first saw her, and continued to watch her longingly, despite Barbara's angry glare and Peewit saying something to him, though she couldn't hear what. She let out a sigh. God, this was more agonizing than not seeing him at all.
Her uncle held a leatherbound book and a scroll with a broken seal. He cleared his throat to speak.
"We all know why we're here, and none of us are looking forward to this, so I'll skip the formalities and get right to the heart of this matter. We have a situation on our hands that endangers the succession to the throne and our alliance to Queen Maud and King Randolf. I thought I had placed my niece Sabina in the care of trustworthy people, but I was mistaken. I thought she could be trusted to know her place and responsibilities, not to mention her morals, but it seems that I was mistaken about that, too." Sabina looked away from Johan and instead stared at her deerskin slippers.
"Lady Maenad, please step forward." Maenad rose and strode to the dais. Her face was unreadable and she stood at ease with practiced calm.
"I understand you knew about this situation for months as Sabina's tutor, but did nothing to stop it, despite being here in this kingdom on my good graces. In fact, I'm told you took part in their deception, is that true?"
"That is true, My Lord."
"Hmm. While I appreciate your loyalty to my subjects and myself, by enabling such behavior you have committed a sin by omission, which is something I cannot overlook. I went against my good judgment in allowing you to stay the first time, given your nature. The more I learn, the more worrisome you become. I'm afraid I can't allow you to stay here any longer, Lady Maenad. You have until the next sunrise to leave the Kingdom."
She frowned, but quickly hid it behind her mask of boredom. She curtseyed.
"As you wish. I expected as much." She turned and left the room, head held high; a guard hurried to follow her out.
"Johan, step forward, please." He went before the dais, trying to look as unaffected as Maenad, though he had far, far more to lose than she did.
"I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I love her. Everything I did, I did because of that. If I could have married her, I would have asked for your blessing." His eyes again drifted to Sabina.
"This isn't just about…love, Johan, though that certainly makes all of this more difficult. This is about mortal sins -fornication, lying, sneaking around behind my back, helping my niece run away from her responsibility…"
"I didn't help her do that! Please believe me, Sire."
"Suppose I did. Suppose you didn't know Dennis was the Princess in disguise first. You did find out about her, though, and instead of putting the Kingdom's needs first as was your responsibility, something you've always done before, you gave in to temptation and acted and selfishly…both of you acted selfishly."
"Yes, Sire."
"I can't forgive you for this. You will need to do penance and be punished," he opened the heavy book to a marked page.
"As much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to have to send you away. Until three days after the First of Spring of the coming year, you are banished from this Kingdom. If I learn you have returned for any reason, you will be arrested. Prove to me that you can be trusted, and you will be welcomed back."
"But that's six months' time! What about Sabina's…our…"
"The child won't be born before then, God willing. And Sabina will be well taken care of here. I'm being extremely lenient with you, Johan, please remember that before you speak out of turn."
"Yes, I understand," he murmured, and returned to his place.
"Sabina. Please come here." She swallowed and made her way meekly to where Maenad and Johan had stood.
"I'm most disappointed in you. I thought I'd…we'd brought you up to know better than this. You've made yourself into a disgrace, and it wounds me deeply to say that. I love you like the daughter I never had. I can't imagine what your parents would think of all this if they were still with us."
Her heart sank again. She'd heard this lecture a dozen times, and it never got any easier to hear. Gerard sat grimly, saying nothing, though she could see the disappointment in him, too.
"Wouldn't they want me to be happy, to marry someone I love? Why do I have to choose between happiness and duty?"
"We've discussed this already, Sabina. Your mother struggled with the same choices, believe me." Sabina looked down and bit her lip. She did not know about that part of her mother's life. She always seemed to accept the duties of queenship so naturally.
"I would be well within my rights to have you sent to a convent for the duration of your pregnancy, but I have just received a reply this morning from Prince Andrew. He is willing to come here and discuss the terms of the alliance. He should arrive within the week. After we discuss things with him, I will decide what your punishment will be."
Sabina looked visibly crushed. Johan bit back a protest; he had been warned about outbursts once already. Peewit opened his mouth to point out how unfair all this was, but a warning glare from Edelhart silenced him.
Pepin sighed, "This audience is dismissed."