The Queen (3 page)

And here comes the storm.
Baylin took
a deep breath. “No, he has not. Not yet at least. However, as your
Prince, and acting Regent, I am enforcing this new action.”

The room erupted with noise. Some excited,
some angry, others confused.

“My Lord, you cannot possibly mean that we
should defy the law?” called an old general.

“Only the King can pass such a motion,”
called another.

The Prince felt the stab of pain in his head
as the noise and stress, along with the extreme lack of sleep,
caught up with him.
There will be no silencing this now.

“My good men…” Ferric called out, trying to
assist his friend. But the commotion continued.

Suddenly, all the men fell silent, their
eyes falling on something behind Baylin. He turned and saw his
mother standing next to her throne, holding his son in her arms.
His face flushed warm.
She knows that Father is against turning
the law.
Though he knew she supported Luana, he feared she
would not be proud that he was going against his father’s
command.

“Mother, I—” the Prince breathed.

“My Lords,” called the Queen. “Soldiers of
Grasmere. Your duty is to the Kingdom and the royal family. Your
Prince has asked that you respect and accept the mother of his
child; the mother of the future heir to the throne of
Grasmere.”

Baylin released a breath he did not realize
he had been holding as relief flooded over him. He turned to see
the men bowing to him—their Prince—their future King.

During the next couple days, Baylin waited
for word from his uncle in Mirstone while he readied his men to
defend the Kingdom should there be a surprise attack. He spent a
large portion of his time in the war room studying maps, or out in
the Kingdom, strengthening numbers and trying to put the villagers
at ease.

It was early when the Prince made his way
through the castle, planning to ride with some of his men to
Rivermouth to fortify the ports. Suddenly, he heard a crashing
commotion coming from the Great Hall.

He took off at a run, rounding the corner to
find the room filled with flowers and banners. Several young maids
stood over a pile of metal trays on the floor, quickly picking them
up.

“Never mind about those,” said the Queen to
the girls. “Have them sent back to the kitchen to be cleaned and
start bringing in the candles.

“Mother?” Baylin asked, striding toward her.
“What is all this?”

“Have you already forgotten?” she laughed.
“The celebration? To honor Luana and your son?”

He studied the room. The large columns,
adorned with their own unique sculptures in the stone, were wrapped
in beautiful garlands of fir tree branches and berries. Tables were
lined up, being prepared to hold large quantities of food.
Understanding came over him. “The celebration, yes, of course.
Apologies, Mother, I have been… preoccupied.”

“Of course you have. Your duty is to protect
the Kingdom,” the Queen replied, pulling a rose from an arrangement
as a steward carried it by. “My duty is to the morale of the
Kingdom. Hence why you’re riding off to the villages and I am
planning a celebration. It will take several more days to get
everything in order.”

Baylin sighed. “Are you sure this is the
best plan?” He stepped closer to her, so the servants would not
overhear their conversation. “Mirstone could attack at any
moment.”

“I refuse to hide like a frightened child,”
Valasca snapped. “This celebration is not only for Luana, the baby,
or even you. It is for all of Grasmere. We owe it to the people!
Besides, it’s not every day that a future King is born in this
castle.”

He could see the joy in his mother’s eyes.
“Well, at least I know I am leaving it in your capable hands.” He
leaned over and kissed his mother on the forehead. “I’m off to
Rivermouth. I hope to be back before dark.”

He turned, leaving the hall at a quick pace.
He had reached the stables when a steward came running up, holding
a parchment in his hand. “Your Grace! A bird arrived from Mirstone;
Lord Cadman is coming to Grasmere!”

Baylin grabbed the parchment from the boy’s
outstretched hand. Breaking the red wax seal of Mirstone, he read
the letter.

My dearest nephew,

It warms my heart to know that you

arrived safely in Grasmere. It has been
my

utmost hope to return home to my family.
I

do so miss my dear brother.

Thank you for extending such a generous

invitation. I will leave Mirstone at once
and

should arrive shortly after you receive my
bird.

Isla sends her love.

Your devoted uncle,

Cadman

Baylin clenched his teeth so hard they began
to ache from the pressure. “Venomous snake.”

“What has he said?” asked Valasca, her brow
furrowed in worry.

Baylin handed her the parchment. “See for
yourself.”

As his mother read the letter, he turned to
the steward. “Send for Ferric at once. There isn’t a moment to
lose.” He turned back to his mother, who finished reading the note
and wore an expression of anger and nausea. “We can only hope that
we still have time to enforce the guard at Fagin Forest. He’s
mocking us and this letter shows it.”

“What does he have to gain from coming?
Really?” Valasca asked, crumpling the note in her hand. “He must
know that everyone here wishes him dead.”

“Exactly,” Baylin growled. “He wouldn’t come
unless he felt it benefitted him in some way. Even with his close
relationship with Father, he knows his life is in danger. This
visit is a benefit to him in some way. A chance to set a plan in
motion, I’m sure of it.”

“If that is the case,” Valasca whispered,
“why not kill him on sight?”

“No, Mother,” Baylin spat. “As much as I
would like to be rid of him, I gave him my word he would not be
harmed as long as he did not give provocation.”

“His presence is provocation enough!”
Valasca cried.

The servants in the Great Hall all stopped
and turned to look at the pair. Baylin smiled and nodded at a
nearby maid, faking interest in her flower arrangement. He gently
put his arm around his mother and guided her from the room.

“Mother,” he whispered. “We do not know if
he has spies in the castle. It is best that we assume that anyone
could be in league with him, and therefore we must keep this
information as quiet as possible. Even the steward that brought the
letter could have connections with him.”

“They wouldn’t dare!” Valasca said, shocked.
“Most of our servants have been with us for years.”

“Mother, please, you must calm yourself,”
Baylin soothed. “I do agree that most of them have been very loyal.
But as a child even my riding master was swayed by Cadman. He has a
silver tongue when it comes to getting what he wants. Besides, we
had a handful of new kitchen staff and maids come in after the bed
wife ceremony, remember? Any one of them could be influenced by
him.”

“But how do we protect ourselves if we don’t
know who to trust?” Valasca asked, startling as a steward walked by
toward the Great Hall.

“We hold close to those we can trust,”
Baylin said. “Like you said, we can’t hide like children. We must
keep moving forward until there is reason to pause.”

“Perhaps, though, it might be prudent to
make a list of all the new staff?” Valasca asked. “We could make
sure only those who have been with us a very long time have access
to the King and Luana… and you and I, for that matter.”

“I think that is an excellent idea, Mother,”
Baylin said as Ferric sauntered up.

Baylin kissed his mother on the cheek. “I
must get moving to Fagin. I will be back as soon as I can.”

“Be careful, my son,” she said, turning and
walking back to the Great Hall.

“What’s a good idea?” Ferric asked as he and
Baylin turned, walking swiftly to the gate.

“I’ll fill you in on the ride,” Baylin said.
“Right now we must get to Fagin before my treacherous uncle
does.”

Luana was beginning to feel like herself
again. The birth of the baby had been much harder on her than she
expected. Being in labor for so many long hours took a toll on
her.

The sky was still dark when Luana stirred
from a deep slumber. Her hand searched beneath the fur blanket,
searching for Baylin’s muscled body. When her hand found empty
space, her eyes fluttered open. She sat up in the bed and saw
Baylin sitting on the settee near the hearth. He was dressed in his
tunic and trousers for the day, surrounded by piles of maps and
books.

“Are you unwell? Why do you not sleep?”
Luana asked, rising from the bed and crossing the room to him.

“No, my love, I am not ill. I could not
sleep. I decided to go over a few things.” He pulled his eyes away
from the parchments to look up at her. “I fear we are spread too
thin. When Cadman arrives, he will know exactly just how thin.”

“You’ve hardly slept since you returned from
Mirstone.” Luana took the maps from his hand and placed them beside
him on the settee. She took his hands in hers and pulled him to his
feet. “You’ve spent so much time going over maps and attending war
councils, you’ve barely had time to even eat.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said, pulling
her into his arms. “There is so much I need to do. The Kingdom is
counting on me to protect them.”

“You will be no good to anyone if you are
exhausted and half starved should a war erupt,” she said, raising a
disapproving eyebrow at him. “You need your strength.”

He laughed softly, stroking her cheek with
his thumb. “You are my strength. There’s a fire in you that keeps
me going.” He leaned in and kissed her. “But you are right. I
believe I need a distraction. How would you like a proper tour of
the castle?”

The words brought both joy and fear to
Luana. Since she had been brought into the castle, her dream was
always to get out of the room and have her freedom. However, since
the threat of war was upon them, she feared for her life, and that
of her son. “Are you certain it is safe?”

“Is there anywhere safer than by my side?”
he asked.

“What of the baby?” she asked. “Many still
feel he should have been taken away from me when he was born. What
if someone—”

“We will take him with us. He needs to get
to know his home as well.” He smiled.

“Baylin, he doesn’t recognize his own
hands,” she laughed. “I think expecting him to familiarize himself
with a castle is asking a bit much. Even for a future King.”

He laughed and picked her up in his arms,
embracing her tightly. “He will learn with time. Now get dressed so
you can see your home in all its glory.”

*****

Baylin walked Luana through parts of the
castle she had never even dreamed existed.

He showed her the indoor hot spring that
supplied warm, steaming water, even in the cold of winter.

Then he took her through winding hallways
that cut deep within the mountain. Baylin explained that they were
built because the Kingdom had once been far vaster and required the
extra room for all the additional servants and nobles who lived
there before the Battle of Embers.

Though seeing the castle was a dream come
true, the long walk made Luana tired. “The baby will need to be fed
soon. Perhaps we should return to our chamber.”

“As you wish,” Baylin said, placing his hand
on the small of her back and leading her down a hallway.

She looked down the hall and found herself
confused. “Honestly, I don’t know how you can find your way around.
I don’t think a lifetime in this castle would be enough to learn
all the twists and turns.”

“Don’t worry,” he laughed. “It gets easier
with time.”

As they walked down the hallway, Luana
noticed a small staircase leading up to an ornately carved door.
“Where does that go?”

“Let’s find out,” Baylin said with a playful
smile.

Luana handed the baby to him and climbed the
six stone steps up to the dark wooden door. She pushed her weight
against it, giving a loud huff. The door groaned as it slowly
opened, revealing murky darkness.

She stepped into the dusty room timidly.
Luana could see the glow of light peering from behind a set of
heavy curtains across the room.
Windows? We must be on an
outside wall of the mountain.
She crossed the room and yanked
the thick dark curtains open, allowing the sun’s warm light to
spill into the room. The dust floated through the air like tiny
pixies dancing on a breeze. She turned around and saw that the room
was filled with books, paintings and sculptures.

“What is this place?” she asked, studying
the art as she spun in place, getting a good look at
everything.

“This room holds all the history of
Grasmere,” Baylin replied. “Actually, most of the history of all
the Keld Kingdoms.”

The room was octagon shaped with high
ceilings. Three of the eight walls were covered in shelves stacked
high with books, scrolls and parchments. A tall ladder leaned up
against one wall. It would allow someone who dared to trust its
rickety rungs to reach the top shelves where large piles of rolled
parchment threatened to tumble.

She walked over to the nearest shelf and
grabbed a well-worn book. Its binding had snapped sometime in the
past. She studied some of the pages, holding them together so they
wouldn’t fall out. “This is from the first age! Before the castle
was built. This is truly amazing!”

“Yes, this is one of Father’s favorite spots
in the whole Kingdom,” Baylin said, looking around the room. “The
entire history of my people is housed within these walls.”

“Have you ever studied any of these books?”
Luana asked, placing the book back on the shelf and walking over to
him.