The Queen (4 page)

“Oh yes,” Baylin said with a dry laugh.
“Father used to bring me here when I was a child. My lessons
consisted of learning the history, the land, traditions. While most
children were out running and playing, I was being tested on the
history of the Keld.”

“Now, if I’m not mistaken, you did quite a
bit of running and playing when we were kids.” Luana smiled,
running her fingers along his arm. “Or have you forgotten?”

He smiled down at her. “Oh, I assure you
that those days were the highlight of my youth.” Baylin leaned in
and kissed her tenderly. The baby in his arms wiggled as his
mother’s hair fell across his face.

Luana laughed. “We should probably get him
back to his bed.”

She made her way over to the window to close
the curtains when she noticed a picture of a beautiful woman with
long brown hair. “Who is that?”

“Her name was Devina.” Baylin walked closer
to the painting. “She was the very first bed wife.”

She stood, staring at the painting. The
woman’s rich brown eyes, though beautiful, reflected the sadness
Luana had been feeling for more than a year. “Devina. So she was
the bed wife for King Aron?”

Baylin nodded.

“Did she give him sons like he wanted?”

“Yes, she was successful in giving him two
sons,” he said. “And a daughter.”

“So many?” Luana’s eyebrows rose. “So the
Queen did not cast her out?”

Baylin shook his head. “No, she lived and
died in the castle.”

“In her chamber, you mean,” Luana said, a
little too sharply. “I’m sorry. I know you do not agree with the
practice. It’s just…”

“It’s just that you feel like a prisoner,”
he said sadly.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you’re
trying. And being able to walk around the castle is wonderful. It’s
just going to take time, I guess.”

Luana looked back up at the painting. She
felt connected with this woman, as though, in some strange way,
they were related. Not by blood or birth, but by the burden they
both had to bear. She let out a heavy sigh.

“I believe I will have a painting made of
you as well,” Baylin said, smiling.

“Of me?” Luana asked. “Whatever for?”

“Because everyone will want to know the
beauty of the last bed wife,” he said. “They will want to know of
the bed wife who became Queen.”

It was just after sunup when Baylin received
word that Lord Cadman arrived at the mouth of Fagin Forest. He was
alone, as promised, on horseback, and was being escorted by a heavy
guard of Grasmere men to the castle to meet with the King.

When Cadman and the guards arrived at the
castle gates, Baylin, Ferric and a dozen more Grasmere men were
waiting for him.

“Prince Baylin, as I live and breathe,” said
Cadman, bowing low and fanning out his riding cape at his sides.
“I’m so relieved to see that you and your men made it out of
Mirstone unharmed.”

“You son of a troll’s lo—” Ferric made a
quick move for Cadman, but Baylin was prepared.

The Prince threw a hand up against his
friend’s chest. “No. He was promised no harm would come to him.” He
looked at his uncle. “Not today, at least.”

Cadman smirked at Baylin. “Now, now, nephew.
Be careful, that almost sounded like a threat.”

“Merely a promise,” Baylin retorted. “Now,
as I stated in my letter, I will take you to see the King in his
war room. You will be surrounded by guards at all times but will
otherwise remain unharmed as long as your intentions are sincere.
Should you make any attempt to cause harm to anyone within this
Kingdom, you will be immediately struck down and your head set upon
a pike.”

The color drained from Cadman’s face. The
fine lines around his eyes reflected the worry he was feeling.

“Good, it would appear we understand one
another,” the Prince said, turning and motioning for his uncle to
start walking. “I believe you know the way.”

*****

They arrived at the war room to find King
Ashmur already seated in his high seat. Baylin knew his father was
still very ill. Earlier that morning Baylin had tried to convince
his father to meet in his bed chamber. However, Ashmur was proud
and refused to let Cadman see him weak and confined to his bed. He
had insisted they would meet in the war room.

The guards escorted Lord Cadman to a single
seat placed a safe distance from the King. Baylin climbed the five
steps up to his own seat next to his father, while the guards lined
up across from each other, creating a protective line between
Cadman and the King.

“Really, brother,” Cadman spouted. “Is all
this necessary?”

“It would appear it is,” rasped Ashmur. “Do
you care to explain yourself?”

“Explain?” Cadman questioned. “I thought you
brought me here to explain your actions. I went to Mirstone as you
requested and made arrangements for Baylin and Isla to marry.
Again, just as you requested.”

“Stop being a fool,” Baylin barked. “He
knows of your treachery.”

“My question is,” Cadman continued as though
the Prince had not spoken, “why are you allowing him to back out of
his understanding with Isla? I have been working tirelessly to
appease King Gideon.”

“Tirelessly, indeed,” the King murmured.

“You’re not listening to this troll dung are
you?” Baylin snapped.

“Nephew, you shouldn’t speak to your King in
such a way,” Cadman mocked.

The Prince jumped to his feet and drew his
sword. “I’ve had it with your games. Let’s end this!”

“Enough!” commanded the King. “Baylin, you
will sheath your sword and sit down or I will have you removed. We
promised he would remain unharmed.”

His father’s words made him feel like a
child being scolded for disobeying. He clenched his teeth, biting
back the anger, but did as his King commanded.

“Good boy,” Cadman whispered with a wink,
causing Baylin’s blood to boil.

“Now, Cadman,” Ashmur said, “please explain
your actions in Mirstone. And please, no more lies.”

“Explain myself?” Cadman sneered. “It is not
I who needs to explain anything. You are too soft. You always have
been. You were handed the crown because you were the firstborn. No
one ever considered if you had what it took to be the High King of
the Keld.”

Baylin ground his teeth together; his jaw
aching from the tension.
He dares to speak to my father in such
a way?

“Where is this coming from?” Ashmur asked,
brow furrowed. “I raised you as a son. I put your welfare above my
own!”

“You put everyone’s welfare before mine!”
Cadman screamed, standing and taking a few heated steps.

Baylin stood, putting himself in front of
his father.

The guards drew their swords and converged
on Lord Cadman. He struggled against several of them as they
grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back.

“Stop!” called the King. “Do not harm
him!”

“But Your Grace—” started one of the
guards.

“He is my brother. He will be treated as
such,” Ashmur commanded.

The guards slowly released Lord Cadman and
got back into formation between him and the King. Baylin
reluctantly took his seat.

“You see, you’re soft,” Cadman hissed. “You
can’t even defend yourself. How are we to expect you to defend the
entire realm?”

“What is it that Mirstone wants? What do
they expect to gain from their treachery to the crown?” Baylin
asked. “Your element of surprise was lost when I escaped
Mirstone.”

“Baylin is right,” said the King. “Whatever
your plan was, you have lost the advantage. Grasmere’s forces
outnumber that of Mirstone’s.”

Cadman took a few steps back and sat in a
chair, crossing his legs. “Yes, I suppose they would be at a bit of
a disadvantage… if they were alone.”

Baylin looked at his father then back to his
uncle. “Do you mean to imply that Mirstone has reinforcements?”

“Perhaps,” Cadman said slyly, examining the
silver ring he wore.

“We didn’t ask you here for cryptic
messages,” Baylin shouted, standing to his feet. “Who have you
aligned with?”

“Why would I show you our biggest asset?”
Cadman said smugly. “Just be sure that they will wash over you like
the waves upon their white shores, but certainly not as
calmly.”

“White?” Baylin questioned.

“What?” Cadman’s face screwed up in
confusion.

“You said white shores. As in, white sands?”
Baylin continued.

The color drained from Cadman’s face while
he tried to fake an air of indifference. “White, yellow, red… It
doesn’t matter.”

“But it does,” Baylin shouted, crossing the
distance between them and grabbing Cadman by the collar of his
tunic. “Kardell is the only Kingdom in Wintervale to possess white
sands upon their shores.”

“Kardell?” piped in King Ashmur. “Mirstone
has aligned with Kardell to betray us?”

Lord Cadman glared eye to eye at Baylin.
“This doesn’t matter. You will still loose!”

Baylin pushed his uncle back down in the
chair, letting go of his collar, and walked back toward his
father.

“What is it that you want?” Ashmur rasped.
“What will it take to avoid such needless bloodshed on all
sides?”

“Your death,” Cadman hissed. “Your death,
the death of your son and his bastard heir!”

“Seize him!” called out Baylin.

Cadman threw up his arms. “If I do not
return, unscathed, Mirstone and Kardell attack. They will spare not
one man, woman or child.”

The Prince looked to the King. Ashmur feebly
made it to his feet. “In that case, please escort Lord Cadman
through Fagin Forest to ensure his safety.”

Cadman sneered at two guards who walked
toward him.

“And,” Ashmur continued, “should Lord Cadman
make any action that your men feel endangers their lives or the
lives of anyone in the Kingdom—”

“What?” Cadman shouted. “You’ll have them
bring me back and lock me up? Throw away the key?”

“No, my dear brother,” Ashmur said. “What I
was going to say was, if you should so much as cause one of my
people to stub their toe, I will have my men string you up along
the shores of Rivermouth to show Kardell what awaits them.”

Luana had never seen Baylin more on edge.
After Lord Cadman’s visit to Grasmere, the Prince wore a constant
frown. With the threat of Mirstone and Kardell attacking at any
given moment, the entire Kingdom was preparing for the worst.

The evening after Cadman’s departure, Luana
sat in silence as Baylin picked at the food on his dinner plate.
She could see the burden of the Kingdom weighing heavily on
him.

“You’ve hardly eaten in a week,” she
murmured.

He looked up, blinking, as though he had
only just realized she was at the table. “I’m sorry, my dear. I
know I’ve not been very good company as of late.”

“I understand,” Luana said. “You worry for
your people.”

Baylin’s gaze fell and he smiled, but it did
not reach his eyes. “I worry for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, Cadman sees you as a way to hurt me,”
Baylin said, his face flushing with anger. “He knows that I will
worry about your well-being, so he will try to come for you as soon
as possible.”

Let him try.
Luana hated the man just
as much, if not more, than Baylin did. After Cadman attempted to
force himself on her and take away her dignity and virtue in one
motion, she was unable to hear his name without the taste of bile
rising in her throat. A shiver fell over her at the thought of the
man. She didn’t believe in killing, yet she would not mourn his
passing.

Baylin’s eyes were heavy on her, as though
he could read her thoughts. She did not want to give him reason to
worry. “Don’t burden yourself with such things. I’m sure I have
nothing to be uneasy about.”

“Still,” Baylin continued. “It would give me
peace to know you were more prepared.”

“I’ve taken down wolves before,” Luana said,
referring to her times as a goat herder.

“Yes, but a snake can be much more
dangerous.” Baylin sneered at the thought of his uncle. “Allow me
to train you. We can start tonight.”

“Tonight? Train me to what?” Luana
asked.

“Train you to kill,” Baylin said.

*****

Baylin took Luana to a small field outside
the castle gates, near the forest edge. The sun had begun to set,
and the moon was already beginning to rise in the sky.

“This is much different than the games we
played with wooden swords, Luana,” Baylin said, handing her a heavy
metal sword. “I want you to learn how to use one and be prepared to
take a life, should you need to.”

Luana held the hardened steel in her hands.
The sword felt awkward—foreign to her. Even on her goat farm, she
never used large weapons to defend her herd. She only ever carried
a small knife and relied mainly on her cunning and the element of
surprise to scare off the beasts that hunted her flock. She avoided
bringing death to any living creature, even one as loathsome as
Lord Cadman. Yet now she was being told her only option to defend
herself and her child was to kill.

Baylin faced Luana, placing his hands on her
shoulders. “I know you are apprehensive, but it is vital you learn
how to defend yourself. Women of the Keld are raised carrying a
sword, even if they never use it, they know how. She may appear
prim and proper, but you can rest assured that Isla was taught by
the sword.”

A cool breeze blew through the air, lifting
Luana’s silvery blonde hair around her face. She closed her eyes
and took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it slowly
through her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked down at the sword
in her hands.
It has a beauty to it.
Its long, silver blade
gleamed in the moonlight.
Just like Princess Isla, this sword is
beautiful on the outside, yet its purpose is one of destruction. I
will not allow her to harm my child.