Hearts in Cups (7 page)

Percamber began by
speaking in a dry, pedantic tone of voice. "As you know, blessed by our
natural borders and the gifts of our ruling Houses, there have been few
invasions of the Pentarchy, and none have been successful. The last incursion
was over 30 years ago when a large force of nomadic warriors attacked from the
north out of the Tarrant Mountains. It was a particularly serious threat
because of their great numbers and bellicose nature, and they were very
difficult to defeat. Eventually they were repelled and most of them were
destroyed. Those few who escaped fled back into the mountains. Brian was but a
boy at the time, although he rode with his father to the battle.

"Years later, King
Gwydian received information that survivors of the ill-fated invasion had
banded together under the remaining two leaders and had returned to raid the
borders of the Inner Ward as well as attacking villages and travelers along the
Great Northern Road, threatening our trade route with the Northland. Brian led a
warband out of the Inner Ward and attacked the enemy in their stronghold in the
mountains. The stronghold was razed, but only a small number of the raiders
were killed and, as Brian's warband was returning to Sandovar, they were
ambushed. Brian was captured and taken far to the north as a prisoner. He
eventually escaped and made his way home. We expected that he would be content
to stay at home after his time in captivity, but he was restless and unhappy in
Pentarin. Gwydian and his son argued, his father feeling that the prince should
remain in Pentarin to marry and prepare himself to be king someday. But Brian
stubbornly demanded his freedom. In the end they compromised; Brian allowed
himself to be handfasted to you and then left, promising to return within five
year's time. The deadline came and went without a word. Eventually a trading
party from the north brought word from the prince to his father, saying that he
had taken up residence in a city that supposedly exists somewhere in the midst
of the Tarrant Mountains. Even I do not know all of what was in the letter, but
the king was mollified by it.

"More letters were
exchanged between Gwydian and his son, but I was not residing in Pentarin during
that time and do not know what was contained in their correspondence as the
letters were apparently destroyed. When King Gwydian knew that he was dying, he
sent his elite guard to bring his son home, but the messengers could not find
the city in which Brian dwelt. Gwydian was quite certain in his own mind that
Brian was alive and that he planned to return and assume his father's throne.
In the meantime, I was designated to be his regent until Brian should see fit
to return. Over the intervening years I have waited, fully expecting him to
appear at any time. It is only of late that rumours of his death have begun to
circulate widely and the question of succession has arisen." He finished
his narrative with a shake of his head.

Hollin sat quietly
reflecting on what she had been told. "It is almost ten years since his
father's death, how do you know that the rumours are false?" she finally
queried, looking hard at the old man before her.

Colin replied for the
regent. "Because we, Dinea, Percamber and myself, have resonated a crystal
to Brian's life-force."

Hollin's eyebrows
expressed her surprise, first at the claim that they had, apparently
successfully, performed a very difficult and rather hazardous procedure, and
secondly that the regent himself had been involved.

Percamber, guessing her
thoughts, smiled gently. "Yes, though it is not talked about, when I was
young I spent several years training at Dacara's Scholastium.  My brother,
Medwyn, was heir to Morna so I was free to pursue my own interests for several
years until Medwyn died unexpectedly. It was then that I was wed to Lady
Glendalaurie of Pentarell and returned to administer Morna.

"I admit to being
a bit rusty in the arcane arts but I lent what aid I could. Colin and Dinea
managed most of the work."

With new respect,
Hollin regarded the couple who sat before her. She did not understand all of
the intricacies but she knew the basic principles involved. An adept of a
certain degree of skill can get the right crystalline substance to resonate in
harmony with his or her life-energy. Getting a crystal to resonate accurately
to the energies of a person not there, especially one absent for as long as the
prince, would require a very high degree of skill and luck. The danger involved
was in having a flawed crystal strike back at the energy source with possibly
lethal consequences.

"What is it you
planned to do with this crystal?" she asked curiously.

Colin said in some
frustration, "What we had hoped to do was to find out where the prince is,
but the crystal only tells us that he is alive...somewhere."

"Our plan now is
to present the crystal as evidence of the prince's existence at the council
session and try to forestall the succession question." Dinea looked
earnestly at Hollin. "We hoped that you would join with us. As you have
doubt been informed, the Duke of Mirvanovir has been pressing the succession
question and we know that he intends to pursue the question formally during
this session of the Pentacle Council. We are afraid that he intends to somehow
secure the throne for himself or his interests. You are considered by many to
have certain formidable claims to the throne yourself and are thus in a
position of power..."

Percamber had been
scrutinizing Hollin for several minutes, trying to gauge her response to what
she was being told. Suddenly his eyes brightened. "Wait a moment, Dinea my
dear," the old man interjected with a sudden burst of excitement.
"Lady Hollin, the ring on your finger, is that the ring I think it
is?" Confused looks passed between Colin and Dinea as Hollin nodded
solemnly.

"That,"
Percamber said with satisfaction, "may be the solution to at least one of
our problems. The ring is called the "Heartstone of Sandovar" and is
a very ancient family heirloom of House Sandovar. It is more than an adornment,
it is a resonating crystal itself and is aligned to the energies of House
Sandovar. Tell me, is this the ring that was given to you at the time of your
betrothal?'

"Yes," Hollin
replied, intrigued by what she was hearing.

"I think that it
would be reasonable to assume that, since it was given by Brian to Lady Hollin,
it is still in partial attunement to him. If this is so, then perhaps we can
effect a transference of the power of our resonate crystal into the
Heartstone."

"You may be correct."
Colin considered the problem with a frown. "In fact from what little I
know of this ring, I would guess that the amplification might even be used as a
sort of compass to guide us to him." He turned to Hollin. "It is up
to you, Lady Hollin. The ring is yours and, if I understand aright, you are
wearing it as something of a proclamation. Even though it goes against
tradition for the head of one House to marry another, you are legally still the
prince's betrothed."

"I am well aware
of my position in the political scheme of the Pentarchy, Lord Colin!" She
spoke a little too sharply. Continuing in more moderate tones, she said,
"I agree that somehow the prince must be found and returned to his place
on the throne. If you think that this ring will help you to find him, then by
all means do what you can." As she spoke she tugged at the ring, which
reluctantly slid off her finger.

Dinea stood and went to
a wall. There she deftly slid a small section of the panel aside and brought
forth a plain box of polished wood. Placing it on the table, she gestured for
everyone to join her as she opened the box. Holding the ring, Hollin advanced
and peered into the box. Inside, wrapped carefully in a square of silk, was a
uniform piece of clear stone about the size of a child's fist, its facets cut
and polished so that they caught the light and seemed to be shifting their
configuration as she watched. With great solicitude Dinea lifted the jewel in
its protective silk out of the box and placed it before her on the table. She
cupped her hands together and lightly touched the jewel, taking several deep,
steadying breaths as she did so. At last she stood upright and Hollin stared,
fascinated, as the shifting facets began to pulse faintly as they moved.

"How do you know
that it is truly the prince that the crystal is responding to?" Hollin
whispered.

"Percamber, who
has the most knowledge of his grandson, has touched it with his mind and
verified it," Colin explained. "Have you ever worked with a crystal
before, Lady Hollin?"

"No, this is
entirely new to me. I have heard of these devices, and I was able to detect
that the ring was more than an ordinary ring, but arcane items are not in my
training. What shall we do now?"

"Percamber will be
the guide while we probe the ring to make certain that it is attuned to the
prince. That being so, Dinea and I will attempt to transfer the energies of our
crystal to the ring," Colin explained, nodding to his companions.

"Is there anything
you wish me to do during all this?" Hollin inquired.

"No, you may sit
down if you wish." Percamber smiled gratefully as Hollin handed him the
ring and stepped back.

Taking her seat, she
watched as Percamber stood with the ring cupped in his hand, gazing into the
red stone. After a moment, he raised his head in confusion. In answer to
Colin's obvious question he said, "I think that he is in here, but I want
you to look and tell me what you find." He extended the ring and Colin put
his hands around the old man's and joined him in scrutinizing the ring.

"Well, this
changes things more than a little," Colin commented as he broke his hold
with the ring.

"What's
wrong?" Dinea's face registered immediate concern.

Both men turned to face
Hollin. "How long have you worn this ring, Lady Hollin?" Percamber
asked.

"Not long. I put
it on before I began my journey to Pentarin. Why?"

"Have you worn it
much in the past?"

"No, it has been
in my personal jewel box since I was given it as a child. What's wrong? Can't
you feel the prince's imprint on it?"

"Oh yes, the prince's
energies can be discerned, though faintly. The difficulty is that the ring is
fully attuned to you, my lady," Colin replied.

"Oh dear!"
Dinea burst out. "How could that have happened? She admits to not having
much contact with the ring in the past."

Percamber sighed and
said, "I suppose that it is possible that my son-in-law adjusted the ring
before the ceremony in order to key his son’s future bride into attunement with
House Sandovar. But I don't see the point in doing so." He shook his head,
clearly puzzled.

 "I think it
more likely," Colin ventured after a few minutes of silent cognition,
"that it was Lady Hollin's House Gift that affected the attunement. The
ritual that keys a specific individual into that House's power can be affected by
the inherited talents of the person receiving the power. It is not something
that has been studied greatly in the Scholastium at Dacara, or anywhere else,
since each House tends to guard its own secrets. I would guess that trying to
break the attunement between the ring and Lady Hollin would be a tedious
process at best, and I personally think that it would prove to be impossible.
It seems that we are at an impasse." Colin sat down on the couch and
rested his chin on his hand.

His wife and Percamber
drifted back across the room to sit with gloomy faces. Hollin watched the three
of them with detached amusement as they sat in silence. At last she spoke in
her cool authoritative voice. "You cannot break or alter my link with the
ring, that is clear. Can you still transfer the energies of your crystal into
the ring?'

Colin looked up at her
in surprise, and then with eagerness as he divined what she meant. "Yes,
that should be possible. We'd need your assistance though."

She nodded
thoughtfully. "Well then, the obvious solution is to combine the energies
of the ring and the crystal. Once the actions of the Pentacle Council are
suspended, I will go as a member of the embassy to find the prince."

"Your grace has
much courage, but I doubt the members of the Council would agree to your
leaving the Pentarchy. You are far too important," Percamber said with
mild reproof.

"I beg to remind
you, as I surely will them, that I am an independent sovereign and am subject
to none other. I will not take the throne in my own name, regardless of my ties
to it, and neither will my cousins Gervase or Genvra be placed there. Only one
person can and should legitimately be Duke of Sandovar and High King of the
Pentarchy: Prince Brian ap Gryffyd. If it is necessary for me to leave in order
for him to return, then that is what I shall do."

"Bravo!"
Dinea exclaimed spontaneously, clapping her hands. "She is absolutely
right, Percamber. The important thing is to bring Brian back here as soon as possible
and squash any further pretensions to the throne." She turned a serious
face to Hollin. "If we can effect the transference from the crystal to the
ring, can you control and sway the Council? That is the next question."

"If Lord Percamber
assents and supports me, then I can handle my fellow Houses," Hollin
replied confidently.