The castle sweated to remember… There was a scene, perhaps months before, recorded in its semiconscious state…
*"I look a mess!” Ligne muttered, but the vision in the mirror belied her words.
“You look positively regal, my Lady,” Kherda gushed. The old feelings welled up in his heart again, those adolescent palpitations that had caused him to betray Talith, his rightful King, and lay the plot to elevate this woman to the throne. “It’s little wonder King Talith chose you for his paramour!”
“Don’t talk about Talith,” Ligne mumbled. “I just ate dinner.”
“But it’s true, my Lady! Your beauty so ensnared him—”
“Turn it off, Kherda.” The Queen scooped up her velvet skirts and paced toward the doorway. “You’re sure Joss is coming?”
“It has all been arranged, my Queen,” Kherda reassured her. “General Joss has accepted the terms of the agreement, and has promised to appear today, bringing the girl with him. Ah, there is one detail that I must ”
“But what guarantees do I have? The man has hated me from the first moment.”
“He doesn’t hate you ”
Ligne arched an eyebrow and shot Kherda a poisonous look.
“I mean, it may have looked as if he hated you,” Kherda hurriedly clarified, “but you have to understand Joss. He’s consumed with loyalty to the throne of Chaomonous, and he somehow sensed that you were a threat to his King. You must admit, he had cause to be suspicious ”
“So now he’s going to turn his back on those old loyalties and surrender Talith’s rightful heir to me?” Ligne accentuated her sarcasm by propping a hand on her jutting hip.
Kherda controlled his impatience, and though he had explained this all a dozen times before even managed a smile as he explained it once again: “Talith is dead, my Lady. There’s nothing left for Joss to be loyal to. Why should he continue to support the House of Talith when the
King played such a critical role in his own downfall? After all, the King relieved Joss of his command the day before the battle rather shabby treatment, in view of the General’s loyalty. And you’ve certainly done nothing to injure Joss, apart from sent ding a couple of raiding parties after him ”
“Which he destroyed,” Ligne muttered.
“He is a shrewd tactician, to be sure.” Kherda nodded. “There’s little love between us, as you well know, and I judge it no blessing to have the man within the walls again. On the other hand, it’s far better to have the General’s talents with us than against us, and his great loyalty to the nation and the throne has convinced him that there would be no profit in a protracted civil war ”
“Yes, yes, so you’ve said. So where is he, then?”
“It isn’t the appointed hour quite yet, and it’s a long ride from—”
Kherda was interrupted by a series of trumpet blasts issuing from the gate of the Imperial House. He turned to Ligne with a self-satisfied smile. “You see? He’s even early!”
“How very like Joss,” Ligne mumbled…
The castle’s memory of the dream faltered then, as if at that point in the conversation the House had lapsed back from semiconsciousness into a comatose state. Spurred on by an intense curiosity, the House pursued these fleeting wisps of thought. The thread of the dream picked up again…
They stood in the Hall of Peace: Ligne, Kherda, General Joss and the Princess Bronwynn, Ligne made no secret of her elation. She trilled with laughter each time she spoke, “You can’t imagine how delighted I am to see you again, Bronwynn,” she sang. “I simply can’t tell you how it pleases me!”
Bronwynn, daughter of Talith and true heir to the throne of Chaomonous, said nothing. Instead, she turned her startlingly blue eyes in a searing gaze on the General who had promised her a crown and betrayed her.
General Joss avoided her eyes. It wasn’t that he felt guilty. He was doing the only sensible thing. The rights of one beautiful young woman could hardly take precedence over the right of an entire nation to peace regardless of the royalty of her blood. Nor was he particularly bothered by her opinion of him. Joss had grown quite accustomed to hatred. But he had never been one to enjoy giving the coup de grace to a fallen enemy, as had some of his peers. He took no pleasure in this betrayal. And despite the girl’s bedraggled hah and tear-stained cheeks, her accusing eyes were far too reminiscent of her father’s to permit Joss to meet her stare. Instead, he turned his attention to Kherda. “You’ve informed the Queen of my condition?”
“What condition?” Ligne snapped, jerking around to look at her Prime Minister, who unconsciously stepped back under the impact.
“Ah, actually, the occasion never did arise to ”
“My Lady,” Joss cut him off, “I made it clear to Kherda in our negotiations that the girl was not to be killed ”
“Not to be killed!” Ligne screeched, laughing no longer. “What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Kherda!” Joss roared savagely.
“It’s true,” the Prime Minister squealed, backing well out of the range of a possible swipe from Ligne’s feline claws. He raced on: “It was a necessary concession to insure a successful result of the talks ”
“Not to be killed!” Ligne repeated, stalking Kherda’s retreat and picking up speed to match his.
“I tell you it was necessary,” the Prime Minister wailed, turning tail to scamper around behind the frowning General. Joss stepped in front of the enraged woman to block her pursuit.
“It is necessary,” he said firmly, and Ligne turned her wrath on him instead.
“You… betray me!” she roared.
“You too?” Bronwynn piped up bitterly. “Perhaps we should start a club…”
“Ligne, h’sten to reason,” Joss barked, and the authority in his harsh voice caught the Queen’s attention. “You’ve nothing to gain by killing this girl, and much to lose. Her murder could only provoke more outrage from the populace and a possible insurrection. Place her under protective custody and let it be published that she’s been deemed mentally unfit to rule. Do so… and I’ll offer the full weight of my influence to back your claim.”
“That girl is the only threat to my crown!” Ligne screamed.
“No!” Joss shouted back. “You are!”
The woman stared at him, shaken by his temerity. When she spoke again, she was calmer. “Just what do you mean?”
“It isn’t seemly for a Queen to be so governed by her emotions,” Joss answered evenly. “Perhaps if you would think this through, you’d see my point.”
“Go on.”
“Entrust the girl to me. You may find eventually she’ll endorse your claim herself.”
“That won’t happen, Joss,” Bronwynn said quickly. “I told you this morning the throne is mine.”
“Why such a change?” Ligne asked the General, ignoring the girl’s comment. “You’ve always been so loyal. Tell me why you would make such a radical switch?”
Her tone was suddenly almost cordial, the General observed. That was a promising sign. “Evidently you can control your emotions ” he began.
“Of course I can,” JJgne snapped. “Answer my question.”
“I didn’t have the strength to defeat you,” the General admitted. “My army was hungry, the snow was cold, and victory was a hopeless fantasy.”
“We could have won!” Bronwynn said heatedly. “If you’d contacted Pelmen as I told you to, we could have had the whole army of Lamath ”
“To ravage the countryside of Chaomonous?” Joss finished for her. “No, thank you,” he snarled, and he turned back to Ligne. “I prefer Chaomonous to be ruled by Chaons, not fanatical Lamathians in long blue robes. You understand, don’t you, my Lady?”
Ligne smiled smugly. “General, I understand perfectly. And your sensible explanation has brought a welcome focus to all of this.