Chapter 2: Duty calls

Request from IRZBV: Kari trying to write a letter to her family about how she has secretly been in love with the king and he has asked her to be his wife and queen.

To those of you who may get angry with me after reading this – I'm sorry.

Dear father,

I write with surprising news. Do not worry, it is good news, but it may be unexpected.

I am betrothed to High King Zachary, to be his wife and Queen.

I have for some time secretly admired him and eventually learned of his regard, but with recent events it has become possible for him to finally ask for my hand. Unofficially, of course, until he comes to speak with you. But I wanted to warn you first, in case you think he is speaking in jest and see fit to break his nose.

Please treat him kindly, I love him very much and –

The last word was smudged by a large tear drop.

Karigan G'ladheon, king's Rider, and now Lieutenant of the Rider corps, sighed as she sat slumped at the wooden desk, in strange contrast to the contents of her half-finished letter. The desk was one of two in the corner of Captain Mapstone's large yet spartan new quarters, part of an eventual plan so that the Captain could oversee her new deputies. But so many riders remained in the field at the moment that she had yet to choose who to occupy the other desk.

The threat of an imminent attack by Mornhavon had receded two years ago, following the Blackveil expedition and Karigan's spectacular escape from the tombs beneath the castle shortly afterwards.

It had receded so much that King Zachary had withdrawn the reinforcements from the D'Yer wall, leaving only the newly appointed Lord Alton D'Yer's provincial forces to keep watch. Some of the King's advisors had even begun to doubt that Mornhavon would ever return; life would be easier if they didn't need to consider it, and therefore they begun to slowly cease to consider it.

They had had enough to think about, surely—the problems at the border of Rhovanny with the militant groups; the protests sparked by the anti-monarchy society; the troubled trade delegations to the Cloud Islands.

Another tear rolled down Karigan's cheek at the thought of Mara, who had died returning from delivering a message to one of the trade ships' Captains, in what seemed to be just a tragic coincidence. That was something Green Riders had come to accept, that Westrion could come for them each time they rode from the castle.

But still everyone preferred to think their biggest fear would never come to pass; that Mornhavon would never return.

Until last week.

One of the new Riders had ridden up to the main castle steps, horse beyond exhaustion and lathered with sweat, and dashed inside to hand a message to the King. A message from a spy within Mirwell Province—Mornhavon had made contact with Lord Mirwell and possibly other allies too—and civil war could erupt within months.

Zachary. Another fat tear threatened to fall at the thought of him, and she brushed it away angrily. He had been so painfully worried when she disappeared, so painfully glad when she returned. And she so painfully close to giving in, to letting her defences down, at that moment. But there was nothing they could do. At first there was Estora; and then she was gone and Zachary genuinely mourned her. And Mapstone was watching them both like a hawk. Others too must have known of their mutual affection, Karigan was sure she could see it in fleeting expressions of sympathy or condemnation. But there was no time for self-pity; always there were things to be done, crises in the kingdom, duties to fulfil.

Karigan felt like all her emotions were better dealt with by locking them away. To admit to one emotion might soften her to another, just as admitting her nightmares about Blackveil would bring to light her dreams of Zachary. She pushed it all aside, and felt a renewed sense of brotherhood with the Weapons, efficient under their cool façade.

Upon receiving the message, King Zachary had called a war meeting immediately. Just those he could trust of course: his military advisors, the Castellan, and Captain Mapstone. And Karigan.

The king's advisors spelled out, to Karigan's dismay, that the king was powerless to act until he had concrete evidence of betrayal. The balance of power in the kingdom was still precarious, and to appear to attack a province unjustly may drive still more provinces to ally with Mirwell. Already it was suspected that Wayman and Oldbury provinces may have been coerced into the alliance. Neither could the king risk endangering trade routes before they had time to stockpile enough supplies for a battle, and to feed the soldiers and citizens of Sacor City in the event of a siege.

At this devastatingly logical pronouncement, Zachary had paced to and fro for some time. Eventually Laren spoke. "Zachary," she said, but he merely hesitated a moment before continuing his path. "Moonling," she said more sharply, and then he stopped, and looked at her.

"It is not hopeless yet." He continued to look at her, asking silently what they could do.

"We can send out Riders to the provinces we know are allied with us still—coded messages to alert them to the situation. My Riders can assist in the explanation, but they can be sent without knowing too much for fear of capture." He nodded slowly at this, the light creeping back into his eyes. "And others with appropriate skills can be sent to assess the situation in Mirwell and other provinces," she added. He nodded again. Karigan smiled slightly at the thought of the indomitable Beryl Spencer.

"We can bring supplies in to Sacor City immediately, start stockpiling and preparing within the city walls," General Isleigh suggested. Zachary looked doubtful, replying "But we can't afford to raise suspicion. Which the movement of so much food, ammunition, extra livestock, and other vital supplies undoubtedly would."

Karigan frowned at the floor, feeling frustrated. Surely they could find a way. Unless… she raised her head and saw an identical thoughtful expression on Laren's face. The Captain spoke more hesitantly this time. "Unless there is an occasion sire, an occasion that would warrant bringing in food, extra servants, perhaps skilled artisans…"

Castellan Perran beamed. "A diversion! Brilliant, Mapstone. A smart brain you've got under all that red hair." Karigan suppressed a grin as the Captain rolled her eyes in response, muttering something that sounded like "Men…"

But her expression quickly sobered as Zachary began to talk again. "For this to work," he said quietly, "it would have to be an important occasion, something one would prepare far in advance for, or else why have we not invited all the nobles to attend? I want to keep Lord Mirwell and his cronies as far away as possible, while we still can."

General Isleigh puffed out his cheeks. "Well, Sire, you are still young. Perhaps you can marry again."

The silence in the room was deafening. Finally Zachary said quietly, "You know the council will not be happy about a marriage at this time."

"Well perhaps we can keep up the pretense for as long as possible, Mapstone muttered. "And it would have to be convincing." Karigan blanched as Zachary's gaze flickered to her for a split second and then away again. "Perhaps there are ways of ensuring that the rumour gets out, through castle gossip, perhaps we can leak the contents of some seemingly innocuous letters… that may be more effective than writing to Lord Mirwell himself."

And so here she sat, feeling like her heart would be torn in two, knowing that Mapstone was watching her actions closely and trying to hide how much this was hurting her. Trying to pretend she no longer loved him.

Father, I cannot tell you how happy he makes me. We both have such a sense of purpose, of duty for Sacoridia. We truly understand each other in this.

Well, that much was true. It made her heart lift, just a fraction, that at least this action may protect Zachary and those she loved. That she could do her duty, and in turn assist his duty. And in the future, perhaps, there would be time for more.

A/N: As a KxZ fan, I naturally liked the idea of this request. However I think my idealism has wavered under the duress of a long wait and the fading hopes for KxZ after Blackveil… I hope people are not unduly disappointed by my interpretation. Don't get me wrong, I still hope it can happen, but I couldn't bring myself to write it just now.

I felt a little cruel writing this chapter but I don't think it's beyond KB to make her characters suffer through something like this.

And now some sad news... I am going to take a break from writing for a while to deal with the many things that are happening in my life at the moment!

It makes me feel like a bit of a hypocrite but it is entirely necessary.

I thought some of the suggestions/requests for this fic were awesome, so if anyone wants to write them or borrow any of my ideas that's cool, as long as you sing my praises appropriately, or acknowledge whoever the idea came from ;-)

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed :-)