We head into the palace. When the crowd sees us disappear inside, they begin to disperse peacefully. I sigh in relief. My plans didn’t include provoking a riot. We follow the king through the palace into what is clearly his throne room. This man would die of envy if he saw Ellisar’s throne room. I realize it’s meant to be awe-inspiring, but to me, it just looks like a dull, pale imitation. He sits himself on his throne and gestures for us to approach. I curtsey again, and Kenric bows.
I hear more whispering conference, followed by a curse, and the king muttering, “Kenric specifically? No one else?”
Another muttered curse. “Would that really void the entire agreement?”
More muttering. “Hmm…”
Finally, he tells us we can rise.
Looking somewhat unhappy, King Oskar eyes me. “I would have thought that you might be more interested in one of my sons, but if it must be Kenric, then Kenric it shall be. We’ll need a month to make the preparations. In the meantime, you and your retinue may remain here in the palace.”
King Oskar waves a hand, and a man comes forward. “Find a place for our guests.”
The man looks flustered but nods. He scrambles off, presumably to evict some people to make room for us. When my “retinue” departs over the deplorable conditions in the palace, I doubt it will be a surprise. Kenric is too lowly ranked to warrant much, and I’m too highly ranked not to. The poor man faces a dilemma.
The king sits and stares at me for a long moment. “What brings you to my kingdom?”
I smile. “Kenric.”
The king frowns. “What else?”
I shake my head. “Just Kenric, Your Royal Highness,”
Kenric speaks, finally. “It is a love match, Your Royal Highness. No more, no less.”
I catch several females almost swooning out of the corner of my eye. “He insisted on returning here, so we are here. I would rather have stayed in Ellisar’s court. Ellisar offered him a place.”
This king eyes me again. “You call your king by his first name.”
I nod. “I have known him for a very long time, Your Royal Highness.”
Not even Ellisar is so pretentious as to make me use his titles after seven centuries.
Oskar frowns at me. “None of the trade delegates mentioned that she was a princess. They had all other manner of wild stories, but oddly that was left out of them.”
I can sense that I confuse him somehow.
I shrug. “They do not understand our titles any better than I understood yours before coming here, Your Royal Highness. In Ellisar’s court, I am ranked second only to Ellisar himself. Duchess Ina was kind enough to explain your ranks and titles to me, at least broadly. Duke Jellema says that you have an entire group of scribes devoted to nothing else but deciding the correct titles and proper flows of inheritance. You are welcome to write to Ellisar himself, if you wish, or any member of the Fey court. They will confirm it for you.”
The king eyes me again, and my honor guard. “Where are your men from?”
I smile demurely. “From Nintoku, Your Royal Highness.”
The king frowns, “I have never heard of this place, nor seen their like. Why aren’t they Fey?”
I shrug. “Our border wars only ended recently, so I suppose that Ellisar didn’t want to send any Fey warriors with me, Your Royal Highness. I have these men instead. They are quite fierce and very loyal.”
The king nods, “Each riding a destrier, decked in your colors, carrying your banners. How did you come by your carriages? Duke Jellema didn’t mention them, either.”
I’d smirk but that would give the whole thing away.
I nod. “We met with the rest of our party here in Dobile. The ships were separated, so we didn’t arrive together.”
I catch Kenric’s amused glance. The king notices it and questions Kenric. “Does something about this amuse you, Lord Kenric?”
I laugh. “He knows how badly I need to visit the privy, which is nearly impossible in this dress, Your Royal Highness. It took much longer to arrive than I expected. We have a bet.”
The king chuckles, amused despite himself. “What is this wager?”
Kenric grins, “If she makes it through the audience, I owe her a foot massage. If she has to dash off, I get a kiss.”
King Oskar looks at me. “One last question, then. Why did you arrive here in such a fashion?”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
I look at the king and smile, careful to keep my teeth hidden. “This is the first time in generations of your people that Fey have walked these lands, Your Royal Highness. This is a historic occasion, and it should be recognized as such. You will have your trade deal as soon as it is sealed with our wedding. The first shipment of goods, sent in good faith, was unloaded into your warehouses last night. I’m told this deal is quite lucrative for you and your people. Why would you want to hide any of that? Surely the fact that I am here, in fulfillment of that agreement, is cause for celebration. Surely having crowds at your gates flinging flowers is a good sign and a boost to your popularity as a ruler.”
I see King Oskar nodding in approval as he ponders my strategy. “Very well, you may go to your apartments and have your ladies assist you.”
I curtsy once more, and the king’s private secretary is at Kenric’s side. “If you would follow me…”
We follow and find ourselves in some rooms that have seen better days. I smile at my “ladies” and wink, signaling them to start complaining loudly about the accommodations while I try to soothe them.
Rosaniya looks at me. “This is the best they can do for us? It’s horrible. Everything is sooty, smoky, and drafty. They don’t really live like this, do they?”
Arthion chimes in. “Nothing at all seems to be properly clean. I’m wearing a fortune in Fey silk, and they can’t even be bothered to sweep and mop properly. It’s going to ruin every dress I have.”
Halaema adds, “Víl?, how can you stand it here? I already hate this place. That inn we were staying in was better than this.”
Halaema isn’t wrong, but I need to appear as though I’m trying to calm them. “I’m certain it's only temporary. Something’s gotten confused, I’m sure.”
I look at Kenric, “Can you see if you can get it sorted out?”
Kenric, having been informed of the plan, nods. He removes his cloak to prevent it from getting ruined by the floor and goes to find someone.
“Let us help you with your dress before you burst,” Rosaniya nods. Arthion closes the door, pouting. It takes all three of them to manage the train while I balance precariously over a chamber pot.
Rosaniya is appalled. “This is how they handle that? There’s not even proper disposal here? I hope they don’t expect one of us to go empty that! I’m not touching it.”
I carefully edge the chamber pot under the bed.
“It’s… rustic, I’ll give you that.” Halaema grimaces. “Let’s get you out of that dress before the train knocks that damned thing over and spills it everywhere.”
I nod in agreement. I’m sure they’ve placed us in rooms where we can be watched and listened to. The dress slips off over my head as it lies out on the bed. I open one of the trunks and dig through it to find a fur-lined dress, then pull it on. My hair and tiara remain in place. It’s a dark red silk dress made of Fey silk.
Arthion grumbles, “The food had better be good, at least. The men here bear no resemblance to Kenric. I thought that with so many of them, there might be someone like him, and I’d find a husband. Something needs to give me a reason to stay in this dismal place. I won’t spend years here if it's going to be like this. I’m missing my brother’s wedding for this squalor. If there’s not some redeeming quality to this place, I want to go home.”
The three of them head to their apartments, still voicing their grievances, as I hear a knock.
I open the door, and it's Melina. With them out of sight, I start to cry. "They hate it here. They hate everything about this place. I can’t say that I blame them. Why did we ever come here? It’s horrid. Rosaniya is disgusted. Halaema hates it. Arthion already wants to go home. I’ll be stuck in this miserable pit alone when they leave. Please tell me you’re not leaving me, too.”
Melina shushes me and comforts me with a gleam in her eye, promising to find new ladies if these leave. Another knock sounds, and it's Kenric this time. Melina lets him in.
Kenric delivers the bad news. “These are the best rooms they have right now.” My crying starts again, and Rosaniya, Halaema, and Arthion rush into the room. “
What are you crying about? Did Kenric do something? Aside from bringing you to this pitiful place, anyway?” Rosaniya asks.
Kenric repeats his statement, and their three faces fall. Arthion looks at Rosaniya and Halaema. “Víl? is stuck here. There’s nothing we can do about that. We could take her back with us, but that would cause a lot of trouble. I doubt she’d go. Would you go back without Kenric?”
I miserably shake my head. Halaema hugs me. “We love you, dear girl. This is just awful, but if we go now, we can catch the ship you arrived on and go home.”
Weeping miserably, I beg them to stay tonight at least. They reluctantly agree to stay at least one night. Kenric scoops me up and sits on a chair, nestling me against his chest while I cry.
"How do you live like this?" I ask.
Kenric shrugs. "We don’t have anything else, so it’s what we do. I don’t think it has occurred to anyone that things should work differently. We don’t have anything like the sootless lights you have, or the heat stones, or all the little things that you’re used to. I can send for some things to make it more comfortable, if you let me.”
Arthion points to the chamber pot. “There’s a fish bowl under the bed that she peed in because we couldn’t find anything else.”
Kenric laughs. “That’s actually what it’s for. One of the maids will empty it.”
Rosaniya is horrified. “Oh my Gods! Do you people pee in fish bowls that other people have to clean out? That’s beyond disgusting.”
Halaema rolls her eyes. “I hope that these aren’t the same maids that will be serving us food.”
All four of us shudder at the thought.
Kenric shrugs. “They probably are.”
Arthion shakes her head. “We said we’d stay for the night, but we’re leaving tomorrow. It’s a bit too rustic for us, Víl?. I just can’t live like this. Lord Kenric, your people are savages. It’s… it’s... deplorable.”
Rosaniya nods, “It’s uncivilized.” Kenric shrugs, “It would be a lot nicer and warmer if we had tapestries, rugs, and furs.”
Halaema rolls her eyes, “Dung heaps steam in the winter. That doesn’t mean I plan to stick my feet in one to warm them up. This place is freezing. That fireplace can’t possibly be big enough to keep this room warm. All our rooms are like this.”
Kenric sighs, “I suspect that the stable is warmer than this. It is rather drafty in here.”
Rosaniya shakes her head, “Víl?, are you sure you’ll be happy here? We can talk to Ellisar when we get back. Maybe he can call both of you home.”
I sigh heavily. “Please see what you can do to persuade him. I don’t want to be here, either, but Kenric’s here. Until I can persuade Kenric to go back, this is home now. I won’t make you stay, and I’ll miss you terribly.”
Halaema nods. “If Ellisar demands that Kenric be part of the next round of trade negotiations, you’d have to go back,”
I smirk. “Halaema, you’re a genius. See if Ellisar will do that. He already offered Kenric a place in our court.”
Kenric frowns at me, “I have land holdings here that I have to tend to.”
I shrug, “We can find someone to manage them for you. You know he liked you, or he would never have suggested that you stay in our court in the first place. If your king gets his taxes paid and the trade is as profitable as all you keep telling me it is, surely having an agent there that’s liked and respected by the Fey court is valuable enough to this king that he won’t trouble you about it overly much.”
- Would you call this courage or pure madness?
- If you were her advisor, what would you say right now?