As I sit, pondering what to give my ladies, Miyabe rushes in, panting. “A rider. A messenger. From Duke Jellema. Something urgent.”
We’re gone, so the dukes are making a move. I can’t think of what else would prompt Jellema to send a messenger here. We were quite clear about where we would be going and when we’d be back. We had permission from Oskar. This has to rankle him, too. They’re questioning his authority. It’s just shy of a revolt.
“We’d best go see what the message is,” Kenric says with a frown.
“We should, but I’ll need to stop briefly along the way and collect a few things,” I say.
Kenric gives me an odd look, but I dare not work magic in the palace. If I plan to give the gifts I want, I’ll have to make them here, where I’m safe from prying eyes. I plan to create these things, like any good Fey makes what they want, with magic. We load the skins up and head back to the hunting lodge. I quietly duplicate them when I’m sure no one’s paying attention. Those will be going back to Dobile with us.
I see at least part of what I’m looking for and stop the carriage. I leap out and dash into the trees. I take oak twigs, fern leaves, some late-blooming flowers, and some sections of a vine with interesting-looking leaves. I jog back to the carriage with my prizes and start on Grethe’s coronet right away. I’m weaving the ivy into a small crown, as Kenric watches. Once I have the general shape of it, I start adding flowers and fill in with some of the fern leaves. A little nudge from a bit of magic and everything is in its place.
It's ready for me to start altering it, but I’m not prepared for that step yet. I start weaving Ina’s tiara just as we pull up to the lodge.
Melina runs out, “Thank the gods! Miyabe found you. The messenger isn’t sure what it is. He only knows that Jellema told him to ride straight here and not stop.”
I look at Kenric, “Any bets as to whether this is more of Nelis and Vellam’s treachery?”
Kenric mutters something under his breath and stalks inside. I direct them to unload the carriage.
I step inside and find some privacy to finish my projects. I focus my magic, and Grethe’s crown becomes metal. The ferns become frosted with diamonds. The ivy leaves become jade and emeralds. The flowers take on a variety of gems from aquamarines to rose quartz. When I’m done with it, it’s a work of art rendered in platinum and crusted with gems that most of these dukes couldn’t name. I quickly finish Ina’s tiara and coax the oak twigs into sprouting leaves and acorns.
Once they’ve sprouted to my satisfaction, I start turning them into another work of artistic jewelry. The acorns become pearls. The oak leaves are emeralds. The twigs are now amber. A few touches of some chocolate diamonds, and it’s also done. I quickly braid a chain of flowers and set to work turning it into a necklace. It can’t match Grethe’s coronet, so the colors are different, less pastel and more vibrant. The ear drops are simply the flowers on their own curved stems.
Two of Kenric’s men arrive, carrying the bear pelts and stonehorn hides. I direct them to put them on the bed and shoo them out. I mend one of the bear pelts and fashion Duke Jellema’s cloak from it. When I’m done with it, it’s lined in a Fey silk brocade that’s in Duke Jellema’s colors. I fold it around Ina’s tiara and pack it away in one of the trunks. The rest of the dukes are getting cloaks from the stonehorn hides. I create those, too, and line them with a different fabric.
Humans call it Fey Linen. It’s nearly as fine as our silk but lacks many of the interesting properties of our silk. Most notably, it won’t turn a weapon strike like Fey Silk will. It also doesn’t wear as well or regulate temperature as well. If I could line their cloaks with horseshit from the stables, I would, so they should count themselves fortunate. That thought gives me an idea for Vellam. I make him a cloak of Fey Linen, in his colors, and trim it with some of the stonehorn hides.
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I cast a spell on it. Every time Vellam thinks of doing something so much as unkind to me or to Kenric, the cloak will reek like dog shit. Given his propensity for skullduggery, I should imagine that Vellam will be quite smelly a good bit of the time. He’ll smell like the little shit that he is. I sigh and stretch. That’s enough magic for now. I need to see what the dukes are up to that has Jellema so concerned that he told his messenger to ride straight through, stopping only to change horses.
I step into the main room, and Kenric is muttering and cursing. Ulrick is speaking to him in low, urgent tones.
I look at the pair of them, “Well, what is it?”
Kenric looks at me, “I hate this. Oskar was kind enough to send us away for a honeymoon, and now we must rush back like scolded children. Vellam and Nelis think they can corner me. Void our marriage... the sheer arrogance of it.”
I stare at him for a long moment and laugh. “Oh, my but these men are fools.”
“I don’t see anything amusing in this, least of all for you,” Kenric replies.
"It is their folly, Kenric, not yours. They believe a human law can unmake a Fey bond. But you are right about one thing. This challenge is nothing more than a pretext. If they succeed, the entire trade contract is instantly nullified, Oskar is dethroned, and Ellisar... well, Ellisar wins his game prematurely. We must stop them."
Kenric crosses the room and puts his hands on my shoulders, before he leans down and presses his forehead to mine.
“My treasure,” Kenric begins and heaves a huge sigh, “This is my fight, Víl?. The politics of divorce and rank are Centis law. I won't have you exposed to their machinations. Tell me what strategy you see, but let me wield the sword.”
“We don’t need to wield much of anything,” I reply with a shrug.
Kenric looks at me, confused, so I lay it out for him. “Whose authority allowed us to leave?” I ask.
“That was Oskar’s authority. He’s one who granted us leave to visit here,” Kenric replies.
I nod, “They’re not just trying to invalidate our marriage. It’s the rest of the message that they’re sending to Oskar and the entire Centis court. They’re stating, rather openly, that Oskar, despite being the king, doesn’t have the right or enough power to control who leaves and who stays in his own court. That’s only a small step away from open rebellion. Oskar can’t allow this challenge to stand. He’ll be the one to quash this.”
“How do we get him to do that?” Kenric asks.
“We must be as immovable as a mountain. You and I, our marriage, must be as inevitable as sunrise. We fight this by making your position unassailable. We return not as a newly married couple, but as a couple who has power they do not understand. I am Princess Víl? of the Fey Court of Hloir? Aralli?. I am also the diplomatic Emissary of the Fey Court of Hloir? Aralli? to the court of Oskar of Centis. Furthermore, I am the personal Emissary of High King Ellisar Wynric to this backwater of Centis. I will not be trifled with by these baboons.”
“What are you planning to do?” Kenric asks.
I give Kenric a cold smile. “I plan to give these howling baboons something to truly howl about. I will not have my movements restricted by these dukes. Nor will I answer to them for my conduct or anything else. Ellisar will make them pay dearly for this when they try to acquire their next shipment of Fey goods. I will not have my marriage tampered with. I could have my pick of males, and I chose you, for reasons of my own. They seek to undermine that at their peril.”
“What kind of peril?” Ulrick asks.
I give Ulric a grim smile. “It is late autumn, but it seems that the killing wind has not come to Centis. Perhaps it is time to remedy that.”
Ulric looks confused, but Kenric, catching the allusion to my war name and the name of my sword, blanches.
I wave Kenric off, “I need to go change clothes. We’ll need to borrow one of your men and some horses. Tell Inaba to ready my honor guard. We ride for Dobile to instruct some baboons.”
Kenric follows behind me.“What of my men? Your ladies?” Kenric asks.
“They can follow us in the carriages,” I reply as I’m rummaging through my things, looking for my riding clothes. I find them and start shucking off the dress. Melina and Larissa rush in to help me get changed. While I’m changing, I advise Kenric. “When we face Oskar, we must treat him as the pathetic, wicked, but necessary king he is. We must not give him a hint that his pursuit of me was anything but a minor nuisance.”
Kenric nods, so I continue explaining what must be done, “It must seem as though you controlled the situation and protected me successfully. You must show him the substance of your authority. You must demonstrate your wealth, your loyalty, and your indispensable position in the trade deal. We must make him feel safer with us than against us, or he will join Nelis and Vellam in this.”
Kenric considers this and grimaces, “You speak of my assets. I left Luka with the contracts... the numbers are good, but he needs time to implement our plan. If the Dukes act now, I can't use my wealth as proof of stability.”
“That’s simple enough,” I smirk “If we can’t use your wealth, we shall use mine. My family fortune, my investments. There’s more than enough there, even if you were to check with the bankers in Imelenora. I have access to things they do not. I will create the necessary documents, showing that your holdings and investments are all underwritten by my Fey family. My aunts already bought a ship and left aboard it because they didn’t want to wait for The Hamadryad. My family is far from poor.”
Kenric laughs and nods, “That they did.”
- How would you handle the dukes?