BERT, CAT AND Elric were directed to a balcony overlooking the sea where the king and queen stood looking out. A third man stood beside them. Even from this distance and from his position behind the man, Bert was able to make out a silver pin on the man’s collar: an eel. So, this must be their version of Garrick Crowe. Crowe seemed a perfectly awful fit for Wyrmgate. Short of stature, but brutal in nature, Crowe fit the forested surroundings and outpost-like nature of the town. While handsome, the scar running along Crowe’s face made it clear he was a man of action and willing to bloody his sword if needed. That sort of man drew respect among the hard-working people he now led.

  This Eel was everything Crowe was not. He was tall, for a start. While Crowe wore black clothing and armor that would fit in well in any army in the world, the man before them wore the clothes of a courtier. Standing tall in his charcoal black doublet, holding his head high, he wore dark trousers tucked in to high polished black boots. A short dark gray cloak hung on his back, but was plain. Only the pin gave away his connection to this group called the Eels. As the man turned with the king and queen to see whose footprints they heard, Bert made out a plain face with thinning brown hair mixed with gray. A defining feature was a split lip that looked like it had been done recently and made the man look like he was sneering.

  “Daughter!” the king shouted, running immediately to embrace Catrin.

  Bert noticed the queen came much slower, her face impassive, but offering a forced smile when Cat looked at her. She allowed her husband to blabber on about how happy he was to see her for a moment before placing a hand on his shoulder. The man stopped instantly, gently moving Cat away to get a better look at her. He gave her one last genuine smile before moving to stand next to his wife. Bert took all this in while quietly standing next to Elric. In his whole life, he had never seen a woman who was more clearly in charge with one exception: the Wyrm People had communities each led by an Earth Mother. He knew enough to know the king was the legal monarch here in Keelwick, but this brief interaction showed that the queen was the true power behind the throne.

  “Elric,” the queen began slowly, causing all to turn to her, “you bring us quite a gift today. Does our son Darian follow?”

  “I’m afraid not, Mother,” he replied simply.

  “And yet, some other man stands here before the king and queen?”

  “Bertram Lorne of Wyrmgate,” Elric replied quickly. “Trusted to help protect the princess on her journey. Shall I ask him to leave?” Elric was making it clear Bert was nothing more than a servant, and Bert appreciated the attention being taken off him.

  Bert watched as an eyebrow raised slightly on the Eel as Elric mentioned his name. The king and queen showed no recognition.

  “Our dear Catrin will need no protection here, naturally,” she replied and waited as Elric began to turn to Bert to send him on his way. She waited until Bert had turned fully around and was about to take a step to add, “but he may remain, of course, as our guest.”

  Bert allowed Elric to turn him again, and his cloak slipped slightly, exposing his sword. He watched as the queen and the Eel both took notice. He noticed Cat looking at him with her eyes as large as she could make them. Right! He went to one knee. “King and Queen Storme, a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for welcoming me to your fine city.”

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  The king smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but the queen placed her hand on his, quieting him, and simply nodded to Bert. Dismissed, Elric guided him to a sidewall of the balcony where he stood with other servants.

  Truth be told, he was happy to become a spectator in this game. He was well above his station, and the diminutive queen terrified him.

  Looking on now, he saw where Elric and Darian got their height. King Rowan matched them both easily. He wore a robe of sea blue, with the storm cloud and lightning bolt in a gold thread that stood out boldly. He wore a solid gold circlet on his head that was plain with only a lightning bolt standing out. It stuck up above his head and ran down the length of his nose. He had a neatly cropped gray beard and nearly shaved gray hair. He looked much like his sons.

  Queen Aldera, on the other hand, looked nothing like either son Bert had met. He hadn’t noticed at first, but she was very short. Much shorter than Catrin, she didn’t even meet the shoulders of her husband. Despite her age and height, she was still a beautiful woman. Her long gray hair was tied up in an elaborate bun that added quite a bit of height. Worked into it was a circlet that matched her husband’s, only in silver. The lightning bolt was the same length, but ran up into the air rather than down her nose. Rather than the simple robe the king wore, she wore a dress that hugged her still-lithe figure. Rather than being sea blue, it was instead a mix of white and light gray, with sea blue accents. The mixture of beauty and her commanding presence more than made up for her stature. This was a woman who was used to getting what she wanted.

  “Clearly, we have much to discuss, Catrin,” the queen said, breaking the silence. “Please join us and watch as we launch our first new vessel with Mr. Grahame Eel on the balcony. It will only take a moment. Your timing is perfect.” Rather than wait for confirmation, she turned and all followed quickly, Cat tossing a quick curtsy that wasn’t even seen by the queen.

  Bert followed the other servants after the main group went to the balcony and was shocked as he turned the corner to see several rows of seats behind the balcony, all filled with important-looking people. They must have been silent during the entire exchange, listening from where they sat. He assumed they were there to watch the launch as well. Bert remembered being taught when he was younger and how difficult it had been for anyone teaching to keep a class quiet. The fact all these people hadn’t even made a sound spoke to the power Queen Aldera clearly held.

  “Stand with me, Catrin,” King Rowan said finally, and Cat went to join him at the railing. “Have you met Mr. Eel? He’s from the capital. An impressive man! Knows much about ships and other things…”

  “A pleasure,” Cat said, looking over the railing to the Eel.

  He nodded a greeting, but said nothing.

  “Yes, well,” Queen Aldera said in the silence. “This ship should be coming out of the bay any moment now. A design of Mr. Eel’s. We have five others underway, but it has been a work of…difficulty for our people. We will be happy to see the thing done, to be frank.”

  “Your dedication to the project has been remarkable, my queen,” the man replied quickly. “Truly, Keelwick has the finest shipwrights I have ever had the pleasure of working with.”

  The king smiled brightly at the compliment, but the queen simply remained looking forward.

  In the awkward silence that followed, Bert watched as Cat stood, the king’s arm wrapped lovingly around her waist. The queen and the Eel simply stood staring into the sea. Elric, the Fleetmaster, noticeably stood behind them a bit with his hands clasped behind his back. The rows of onlookers simply sat quietly, clearly awaiting their queen to react to anything before they followed her lead.

  Bert watched it all and wished he was absolutely anywhere else. He awaited the discussion Cat would have with the monarchs with a pit of dread in his stomach.