Zachary watched as the Weapons closed the door behind Lord D'Ivary, the last of the council members to arrive. The older man made his way slowly to a seat beside Timas Mirwell, sinking into it with only a brief glance at the others in the room. Zachary's eyes quickly moved over the others in the room. The twelve most powerful people in the kingdom after himself. He knew their continued support would be vital in the coming times, but he also knew that he could no longer hide his feelings for Karigan. He would have no other by his side for the coming trouble.
He called the meeting to order, keeping his face carefully neutral. It would do no good to display his nerves now. With practiced ease, he walked them through the topics he had, keeping the more controversial ones near those everyone would agree upon. It was a dance he had performed many times before, and he was an expert. A few other governors introduced topics as well, and Zachary slated in those he could, tabling longer discussions for a later time. At the end of two hours, he brought up the topic that he most wanted to discuss. "As a final order of business, I know there have been a number of rumors lately that I have chosen a bride," he said, his tone deliberately casual. A hush fell over the room as all the governors looked at him expectantly. Coutre's expression was hopeful though Zachary knew that would not last long. "I did want to tell you all that those rumors are true." He held up his hand to stop the onslaught of words, and a silence fell again. "The contract has been accepted by the proper parties, and I plan to announce our courtship at the Midwinter festival tomorrow. In the meantime, I ask that news of this not leave this chamber. As I have mentioned to some of you, after long and careful thought, I have decided to court a woman not of the nobility. However, she is what I believe Sacoridia needs in a queen. She has the strength and determination to face the coming trouble by my side, and she has shown great courage and a willingness to sacrifice for her kingdom."
"A commoner? You cannot marry a commoner, Sire! This is ludicrous!" Lord Arey remarked.
"I can, in fact, marry whoever I wish," Zachary said, his tone deliberately light though he allowed a hint of threat to creep in. "There is no law which claims a queen's bloodline must be noble."
"There is a law which states the marriage must be blessed by Aeryc," Lord Baridly said.
"We will, of course, go through the proper ceremony."
"You still have not told us who our queen will be, Sire," Lord D'Yer said. Zachary had the distinct impression that he was fighting a smile.
"Karigan G'ladheon," Zachary said. The name seemed to echo off the walls of the room, and everyone fell silent for a few seconds. Then, pandemonium erupted.
"Surely not!"
"The Rider girl? She's barely out of Selium!"
"No doubt she is a brave girl, but queen?"
"You are the King of Sacordia. You need a more suitable bride." The last was from Lord Coutre—a reference, Zachary was sure, to Estora.
"And why is Karigan not suitable?" Lord D'Yer asked mildly. "Do you not want a queen who can defend herself and her country?"
"You are in support of this?" Lord Coutre questioned, turning to the other lord.
"I am, in fact. I have met Karigan G'ladheon and believe she will make a fine queen."
"As do I," Liam agreed.
"And you have to admit, at least this way no one of us gains more power than the other," Lord Adolind pointed out. There was a murmur of agreement from Lady Penburn and Lady Wayman.
Zachary let the bickering continue for a couple minutes until the governors exhausted the worst of their threats. He called them all to silence again. "I will remind you once again that this decision is Karigan's and mine alone. You cannot prevent us from marrying."
"Actually, we can," Timas Mirwell remarked. Zachary glanced over, and he did not like the smirk forming on the young Lord Governor's face. "You said you would follow the proper ceremony. Does that include following the laws to prove she is pure?" Zachary glanced to his side where Sperren and Colin began to flip through the marriage laws of Sacoridia.
"You will need to acquaint me with the law," Zachary said, keeping his voice calm and even.
"Oh, it is just a way to ensure that your queen comes to the marriage bed. . . unsullied."
"He is correct," Sperren announced, glancing up from his reading. "It is an ancient law, likely rarely invoked, but it does make a provision for the council to annul a marriage if there is proof that the bride has acted dishonorably in the past."
Timas' smirk widened. "Tell me, Sire, will she bleed on her wedding night?"
Zachary sensed others in the room shift uncomfortably at the rather crass statement. He himself struggled to control his temper, gripping the armrests of the chair to keep himself from leaping out of it to strangle the smug lord. He swallowed, counting silently to five before speaking. "There has been no dishonor, Lord Mirwell. You need not worry about that provision."
"Are you certain, Sire? I knew Karigan at Selium, and-"
"Enough!" Zachary's tone brooked no argument. He let the cold fury he felt racing through his blood seep into his words as he spoke. "I have told you that there has been no dishonor. If you continue to accuse Karigan falsely, you are defying your king. I know a variety of laws define that as treason." Zachary met Timas' eyes, the challenge clear. Timas looked away first, his previously smug expression replaced by nervousness. Zachary turned back to the others in the room, letting his eyes meet those of each of the other governors, challenge in them. He needed them to know that he was not their pawn. He was their king, and while he respected their opinions, the ultimate decision in the matter was his. A few of them looked away uncomfortably, but Zachary was pleased to see a note of approval on the faces of some of the Lord Governors. Even Lord Oldbury, who had always been critical of him, had grudging respect in his gaze. "Neither Karigan nor I made this decision lightly. We will follow all of the necessary laws—yes, Lord Mirwell, even the one to which you alluded—but we will be married. I will have no other as my bride."
With that, he stood, sweeping out of the room before anyone could object. His councilors hurried behind him, but he dismissed them before reaching his study, knowing that he was not in the proper state of mind to discuss anything. He was still fuming internally. He had known that the eastern lords would not be happy with his news, had even expected threats from them, and he had prepared for those. He had not, however, prepared for Lord Mirwell's crude insult of Karigan nor the insinuations as to her past indiscretions. Zachary was not worried about what might have happened in Karigan's past—he trusted her when she told him that she had never had another lover. He did feel a strong desire to protect her, however, which meant Lord Mirwell's comment set his teeth on edge.
He entered his study, ignoring the Weapons who tried to push ahead to check the room. He shut them all out, wanting to be alone with his dark thoughts. He began to pace, trying to let his anger diminish, when a knock interrupted his concentration. With some difficulty, he bit back his immediate, terse reaction to the sound. "Yes?" he called, trying to keep the irritation from his voice.
Liam's familiar voice floated through the door. "It's me."
Zachary sighed. He should have known his cousin would find him. "Come in," he called. The door opened, and Liam stepped through. He closed it behind him and tutted when he saw the expression on Zachary's face.
"You honestly could not have expected anything else," he told the king.
"I did not expect it to be immediately accepted, but I also had not anticipated Lord Mirwell."
"I thought that might be the issue. There are many ways around such laws, especially one as old as it sounds like this one is."
"I'm not worried about the law."
"Then what are you worried about?" Zachary clenched his jaw, trying to think of how to best express his anger in a way Liam would understand. His cousin watched closely. "I see. You know, I did not believe Quinn when he said you were in love, but it seems I should have." Liam suddenly grinned. "I must say, I never expected to see you so lovesick. It looks good on you. Presuming, of course, that you do not throttle young Lord Mirwell."
"I am not going to throttle Lord Mirwell," Zachary said, barely suppressing an eye roll. Before he could say more, the door opened again. He glanced up, knowing there was only one person who would enter his study without knocking.
"How did it go?" Karigan questioned.
"Not badly," Zachary said honestly. Karigan frowned, and he hastened to reassure her. "No one threatened civil war, so you have no excuse to back out."
She gave a short laugh. "They may not have threatened civil war, but I can tell from your tone that they were not happy about it."
"We knew they would not be."
"But you agreed that if they threatened your position, we would pursue this no further."
"They have not done so." The two stared at each other for a few seconds until Liam's laughter broke the silence that had settled over the room.
"I never thought you would find your match, but I am once again happy to have been proven wrong. I look forward to serving you as queen, my lady, if only to see you keep the king here in line." He bowed to Karigan who startled, having not realized he was in the room. Zachary chuckled, his earlier dark mood slowly dissipating with the presence of two of his favorite people.
"Karigan, this is my cousin Liam. Liam, this is my fiancée, Karigan." The title flowed easily off his tongue, and a smile tugged at his lips at the thought that he could refer to Karigan in such a way. Though in truth, the title he was most looking forward to giving her was wife.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He took Karigan's hand, kissing it. She glanced at Zachary who simply grinned in return.
"And you as well," she told him. "Perhaps you can tell me what actually happened at the meeting."
Liam glanced at Zachary, a twinkle in his eye. "It was honestly rather tame, my lady. You have a number of supporters, even among the nobility."
"Even Lord Coutre?"
"Lord Coutre will come around in time."
"And if he does not?"
Zachary could not stop the smile from forming on his lips as he explained one of the more brilliant political maneuvers he had performed recently. "Lord Coutre requested additional support from the Sacordian militia a few days ago. He claimed to be worried about the threat from the sea, citing the attacks on Corsa and Taros. I believe he wanted to force my hand, to turn others on the council against me by citing my preferential treatment of his province by giving them additional troops."
"But if you do not give him the additional troops, he will claim that you are not protecting his province."
"I know. That is why I gave him the troops. And sent similar numbers to the other eleven provinces." Zachary's smile broadened as he recalled Lord Coutre's surprise when he had agreed to the Lord Governor's demands. "We have had a large number of new recruits recently, including two dozen Kmaern who are quite eager to serve. I actually sent Lord Coutre more than he had asked for, and they are all commanded by General Linrod."
"One of your strongest supporters," Karigan said. Zachary nodded, happy she had remembered an earlier conversation when they had discussed key military strategy.
"And, conveniently, a man from rather humble beginnings who hails from Coutre province. I have no doubt he will be quite pleased to hear of my choice in bride, and he will not hesitate to report to us if he hears of any unrest in any of the eastern provinces."
"So this might actually work." Karigan sounded slightly awed at the prospect.
"It will work," Zachary corrected firmly. "By this time tomorrow, our courtship will be public, and we will no longer have to hide. And then we can begin planning the wedding." Karigan groaned, causing both Liam and Zachary to chuckle.