I smiled at him, my heart feeling a bit lighter. “Are you familiar with The Epic of Xyson?”
He grunted. “Yes, but I was hoping you wouldn’t remember.” His tired eyes sparkled with a touch of his old humor. “Very well. You have my support, Warprize.” He nodded toward the group behind us. “And you’ll have their support once they settle down. Make an excuse to leave the room for a bit, and let Warren and I talk to them.”
Simus came up to us at that point, limping slightly, mug in one hand, a plate of Anna’s tarts in the other. “ Try one of these.”
Othur and I each took one. One bite, and I knew where the bitterest opponent of my plan lay. I looked up into Simus’s dark eyes ruefully. “Apparently I have angered the cook.”
Simus nodded.
“Word must have gotten down to the kitchens.” Othur dropped his tart back onto the plate. “You’d better go talk to her.”
“She’s your wife.”
Othur arched an eyebrow. “You’re the Daughter of Xy, and Warprize. This is one duty that you cannot abrogate.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
As usual, the castle kitchen was hot, overcrowded, and cluttered. The staff seemed particularly frantic, and I’d heard Anna berating a maid for breaking a dish before I’d even entered the room. She was scolding everyone, standing in the center of the kitchen, wielding her wooden spoon, her apron covered in food stains. I eased in the door, and stood for a moment, just watching her. She was upset, and taking it out on everyone in sight.
One of the servants noticed me and said something to Anna. She stiffened and jerked her head around, setting her chins to jiggling. I withstood the scorching by lifting my chin. She scowled. “Food not to your liking, eh, missy?”
“Anna—”
“Here now, keep turning that spit!” Anna cursed at the young boy who was turning the meat. She turned back to me, her face hard. “Rumor has it that you’re wanting to follow after that barbarian.”
“Anna—”
Her face changed in an instant, crumpling before my eyes.
“Why? Tell me that? He let you go, gave you back to us. Why would you want to go?” She collapsed onto one of the stools, which creaked in protest. The room went silent, as everyone stared.
I gestured for the servants to leave, and they filed out, after taking the various meats and stews off the fires. Once the room was empty, I went to Anna, who still sobbed, and put my arms around her. I lay my head atop hers, and let her cry.
Othur came in. He knelt before her and rubbed her knees with his large hands. “Anna.”
She sniffed, her face red and tear-streaked. Othur reached into a pocket and handed her a large white handkerchief. She took it and blew her nose. “We just got her back, safe and well, why can’t she stay?” Anna sobbed, her chins wobbling. “There’s no reason for her to leave.”
I lifted my head and took a breath, but Othur took one of Anna’s hands in his own. With the other, he pulled me down to kneel next to him. “Anna, my love, look at her.”
Anna looked at me with reddened eyes.
“Anna, the eyrie’s open and our chick has flown. The truth is that she wants to go.”
“Truly?” Anna squinted at me and frowned. Something she saw made her eyes widen. “You’ve lost your heart to that barbarian, haven’t you?”
My eyes filled, and I tried to smile and nod at her at the same time.
“Besides which,” Othur spoke softly, “she’s convinced me and the entire Council that it’s in the best interest of the Kingdom that she go.”
“Well.” Anna pulled her hands free and mopped her eyes with her apron. “Just so you know, whoever sits on the throne will not get one bite of food from my kitchen worth eating.”
Othur sighed heavily. “A hard thing to be starved to death by your own wife.”
“Eh?”
“Anna, I am going to name Othur Warden of the Kingdom of Xy. He will rule in my stead while I am with the Warlord.”
“Please say that you will feed me, lady wife.” Othur stood and hugged her, as she burst out crying all over again.
The morning of Keir’s departure dawned bright and clear. As the sun left the horizon, the front runners of the Warlord’s army moved out, scouting the way for the bulk of the army to follow. Simus and I watched from the walls, wrapped in cloaks.
“He will kill me, you know,” Simus spoke morosely.
I glanced at him from under my hood. “No, Simus. The blame will rest on me. Keir won’t hold you responsible.”
Simus snorted. “It’s not Keir I’m worried about, Warprize. It’s Joden. He will be furious that he missed seeing this. At least let me send a messenger—”
“No. I’ll not risk Keir getting wind of what I intend to do. If it’s Joden you’re worried about, then send him a letter and describe it to him. But wait awhile. This might not work.”
“A letter?” Simus rolled his eyes. “Warprize, I can’t—”
“You tell your words to someone, and they write them down for you.”
“Ah.” Simus looked pleased.
I continued my watch out over the valley. “How long before they leave?”
“Keir usually sends the scouts out two hours before the army moves.” I turned and smiled at Simus, who just shook his head, his gold earring swaying in his ear. “Warprize, they will sing of this for a thousand years.”
I just smiled and headed down off the battlements. The guards bowed to me as I moved quickly back into the castle and headed for the throne room.
It was one of the fastest coronations in the history of the Kingdom of Xy, shorn of its ceremony and pomp. We’d gathered the nobles, merchants, and the entire palace staff as witnesses.
Once I was officially Queen of Xy, Simus came forth, and I knelt before him and repeated all of the oaths that Xymund had made for the peace.
I then summoned Othur forth, and in a ceremony pulled directly from The Epic of Xyson made him Warden of Xy during my absence.
The public announcement of my decision was harder, for the people were nervous as to its wisdom. Funny that they had been fairly confident when I’d surrendered myself into a form of slavery. Now that I was fighting for something I wanted, they weren’t so sure of themselves. But I’d made sure that the discussions in the Council chamber had been made public knowledge, and there was no outward resistence to my plans.
As I made my private goodbyes to Othur, Anna and Warren outside the great double doors, Simus stood close with the reins of our horses. Warren had a frown on his face. “Lara, what if the Warlord will not accept you back? What then?”
I took a deep breath and mounted my horse, thankful that no one else had asked this question. It was one that had weighed heavily on my mind. “I’ll deal with it if and when it happens, Warren. Not before.”
With that, we turned our horses toward the gate and left the castle.
So it was that Simus and I were on the rise that overlooked the road when Keir’s army began to move. The road stretched for long miles down the valley to eventually reach the plains. A well-worn path, it was trampled dirt for miles and miles. The day was clear and crisp, with a slight breeze. It would be cold when the sun sank behind the mountains.
With distant cries, the army began to pass in front of us, with the leaders in the forefront. I spotted Iften and Joden, but my eyes locked on Keir. He was astride his horse, dressed in black, hard to miss with his scarlet cape. He rode at the lead, eyes to the front. Joden had obviously seen us, he surged forward and spoke to Keir. But Keir passed without turning his head, without a glance.
Simus chuckled. “He’s showing off.”
“How so?”
“Moving out at a trot. Normally the army moves at a walk.”
“To save the horses.”
Simus laughed. “No, to save our asses. Trotting’s hard on the rider. He’s trying to impress. They’ll slow once they are out of sight.”
It took some time for the entire army to pass by, but at last the stream of soldiers and equipment ended. While we couldn’t see them, Simus had assured me that the rear guard had stayed behind. They’d wait for about an hour, then spread out, checking for pursuit, reporting back to Keir on a regular basis. I was counting on that last part.