Warrior (28 page)

Vulcan finally placed both arms

above his head, and she pushed

herself off of him and righted her

clothing. In the next instant, she had

her back to him.

“You will bring to Morden two

Lytherian ladies, personal maids, and

your dowry. The dressmakers of

Morden are already creating clothing

befitting your status as my queen, so

pack only the warmest clothing for the

journey. Your sisters will remain at

Lytheria as my wards. They will be

under Varian’s care. Do you have any

questions?”

“Why are my sisters to remain in

Lytheria?”

she

demanded

immediately. Vulcan heard her hurt,

and answered honestly.

“Your

sisters

are

Lytherian

princesses. This is still their home.”

Her reply was vicious. “This is still

my home.”

Vulcan released a deep breath and

glared at the back of her head. “When

you were a Lytherian princess, this

was your home. Now that you are my

queen, your home is beside me, in

Morden.”

***

Jaisyn blinked rapidly to keep the

tears from falling from her eyes. Just

when she’d begun to think her

husband wasn’t a complete savage, he

uprooted her from the only home

she’d ever known without so much as

a nick of sympathy for her case.

“You’ve made everything perfectly

clear. I have no say in when I am to

leave the only home I’ve known, for a

country foreign to me. I am but chattel

to you. Good night,
liege
.”

***

Vulcan glared at the back of her

head at that but decided against taking

the bait. Jaisyn certainly had a way

with words. There was no use in

prolonging the return to Morden. It

was now her home. To further their

stay in Lytheria would give Jaisyn a

false sense of hope that she would

never have to leave.

He shrugged his shoulders and

closed his eyes. In a sennight, they

were leaving for Morden. In a

sennight, Jaisyn would be beside him

as they rode to Morden.

***

The next morning found Jaisyn

appointing the servants to various

tasks concerning her departure from

the castle. Two lady’s maids had been

given the task of finding her furs,

shawls—all clothing that would do

well in cold climates. Another two,

under the supervision of the steward,

were assigned the task of collecting

her dowry, made up of Lytherian gold

coins, diamonds, rubies, emeralds,

and various other pieces of jewelry.

Expensive cloths were also added to

her

dowry:

satins,

silks,

and

cashmeres among them. She’d also

requested that two of her swords be

hidden among her dresses in her

travelling chests. Jaisyn had already

decided on Magda as one of the

servants who would accompany her to

Morden. The other would be Asha, a

young lady’s maid who’d begun to

work for her recently.

She’d yet to select the two

Lytherian

ladies

who

would

accompany her. As she had only

recently become Queen, she’d not

had the time to select her ladies of the

court.

However,

her

mind

immediately went to Lady Jane

Stevens, a widow in the city, and

Lady Anne Wincher of Nuren. She’d

met them both at her father’s court.

Lady Jane was older than Jaisyn by a

few years but had lost her husband,

who was much older than she, to a

bad case of fever. Lady Anne was a

year younger than Jaisyn and a more

cheerful person Jaisyn had never met.

Anne didn’t have a mean bone in her

body and wished everyone well, even

as she gossiped mercilessly about

them. Anne was the daughter of an

earl, a countess in her own right, but

Jaisyn did not doubt her friend would

follow her to Morden. So, between

the two of them, and her maids, she

would not feel completely bereft of

Lytheria.

She immediately wrote a missive to

both ladies, requesting their presence

at her new court in Morden, and

entrusted them to the envoys. After

that was done, she searched out her

sisters, intent on breaking the news to

them, and hoping that they wouldn’t

be too upset over it.

***

Jaisyn sat on the plush seat of one of

the Lytherian carriages with her ladies

and maids around her. Although they

would all eventually have to ride,

Vulcan had decided that with a ten-

day journey, the carriage would be

more convenient for the ladies, who

were unaccustomed to such strenuous

travel. Jaisyn said nothing. In addition

to being slightly depressed at the fact

that she would have to leave her

homeland, she was saddened that her

sisters

were

not

allowed

to

accompany her. She had barely

spoken to her husband since his

announcement of their departure.

Except for the occasional question on

her part, their encounters usually

occurred in silence, with groans,

moans and cries the only real

communication between them.

She’d told her sisters days ago that

she would be leaving and the crying

had yet to stop. Mathilda wished to

know why she couldn’t go with

Jaisyn. Isolde, who seemed more

wary than ever, wanted to know why

Jaisyn couldn’t stay. Her only

answers to both were that it was

Vulcan’s wish they go to Morden.

After had come the questions about

visitation. Would Jaisyn be able to visit

soon? Would they be able to visit her

soon? Questions for which she had no

answers. And when the time had

come to say their goodbyes, Mathilda

had cried so hard that Jaisyn had been

afraid she would make herself sick.

Isolde, as usual, had been the stronger

of the two, hugging her sister and

trying to reassure Jaisyn that she

would care for Mathilda in her stead.

Jaisyn believed her. It had lasted only

some minutes before Vulcan walked

over to her and told her it was time to

set out. With compressed lips and

hard eyes, she’d followed him from

the castle. When he attempted to help

her into the carriage, she had swatted

his hand away and tossed him a

furious glare. His jaw had clenched

before he moved away from her. Her

ladies and maids were already seated

in the large carriage and smiled

warmly at her as she entered.

As their entourage had passed

through the city, her people sent up

cheers. “Long live the King and

Queen” rang out amidst general

merriment. Jaisyn resisted the urge to

cry as they came upon the Old Lands

before heading due north. Would she

ever be allowed to see Lytheria again?

Her sisters? Her people? She did not

know. She had not ventured to ask

Vulcan anything since he had imposed

his will on her.

As a slight chill on the morning air

caught her, Jaisyn shivered and pulled

the velvet shawl she wore closer to

her body. She looked around the

carriage. Lady Jane and Lady Anne,

who sat opposite her, were both

asleep. She looked to her sides.

Madga was sleeping as well, but Asha

was awake. She passed her queen a

smile and Jaisyn attempted one before

she settled against the cushions in the

carriage and closed her eyes. Perhaps

if she slept, she would forget she was

leaving everything she knew behind.

***

Days after the beginning of their

journey, after the resting or changing

of horses and the changing of clothing

in various Northern countries all

presided over by her husband, their

large

entourage,

consisting

of

hundreds of soldiers, finally entered

Morden at midday. Although the

ladies had been allowed to ride for the

first six days of their journey, the days

following had been so cold they’d

chosen to remain in the carriage,

rather than become sick from the

frigid temperatures. When they’d

stopped over in Anden, a smaller

northern land whose king had pledged

allegiance to Vulcan, the king had

showered Jaisyn with gifts—furs and

cloaks and thick boots for which she,

and all of her ladies, were very

grateful. Because of the cold and the

grueling journey, they had to stop

more frequently, and it was for that

reason their journey had been

extended to thirteen days.

Jaisyn did not have particular

expectations of Morden. In fact, she

half-expected to see savage people

dressed in thick wools, with their hair

undone, snarling at everyone who

passed them. She was in for a

complete shock. Instead of the savage,

warmongering city she’d imagined,

they passed through a city that was

larger than any of the Lytherian cities

she’d visited. Stone buildings towered

over the paved walkways, and small

luxury carriages seemed to be parked

before every townhouse. People of

various classes mingled together in the

city: the rich wore delicate designs

and expensive cloth while the poor, or

rather poorer, most of whom were still

well-dressed,

wore

less

colorful

fabrics. The women were pale and

their hair colors ranged from the

blackest black to a soft flaxen shine.

The men were pale, too, with various

shades of hair colors, and tall, some

bulky, some thin.

As the procession passed, people

bowed, curtsied, and smiles touched

many a face. Jaisyn looked out on

them. These were Vulcan’s people—

her people.

“Is the castle in the city, Your

Majesty?” Lady Jane was the one

who asked the question. Jaisyn turned

to face her and blinked. She did not

know. She hadn’t asked her husband

anything about Morden.

“I do not know, Jane,” she replied

smoothly, and went back to staring

from the window.

The castle was not located in the

city. It was half-an-hour’s journey

from the city, built on a crest that

allowed it to overlook many of the

Morden cities surrounding it. Her first

glimpse left Jaisyn’s jaw slack. St. Ives

Castle was not large when compared

to many castles, but it was luxurious

with its white stone and fine stables.

Morden Castle was exceedingly large.

It seemed to span a great distance,

and appeared three times as big as St.

Ives Castle. It certainly was imposing.

Instead of white stone, the castle was

built with grey brick that had turned a

darker color over time, making it seem

almost black. As the carriage drew

closer, Jaisyn noticed the many

arrow-slits, the grand moat, deep and

dark

enough

to

house

many

unrecovered

bodies,

the

large

battlements and keep, the numerous

armed

and

watchful

warriors

patrolling the grounds surrounding the

castle. This was a warrior’s castle and

it was now her home.

***

Although they arrived slightly after

noon, Jaisyn was not allowed the

chance to rest until evening. She had

been introduced to a few high-ranking

nobles who’d been waiting for them to

arrive to pay homage, and to the

servants, who’d been lined up in order

of rank in the inner bailey. Afterward,

her husband had walked off with the

nobles and she, accompanied by her

ladies and maids, had been shown to

her rooms. These consisted of three

separate chambers. One held a large