Book 4, Chapter 42: The Eye of the Storm
I stood atop the steps, near the throne, in the great hall. Dressed in the formal state chainmail armor I had made, the gold and charcoal jewelry on my wrists, ankles, ears and fingers. Though I wanted to project military power, I’d gone with chain because the plate was bit clunky to wear indoors, would get hot, for a long day of taking oaths, and the celebration of passing the duchy to Sapphire.
The remaining Barclay family waited down the steps, slightly off the carpet, watching closely and keeping their faces guarded. Not dour, nor crying, but no joy or smiles, either. Sapphire’s younger brother and sister, all dressed formally, and the woman that had accompanied them before. I’d forgotten to inquire as to who she was. Were Brin here, I wouldn’t have made that mistake.
Sapphire, radiant in a white dress, hair straightened and down her back, a thin and light tiara above her brow, hands clasped together, waiting.
I started, “We have not won a victory here, except to reunite our kingdom. Let us mourn the fallen. Our brothers. Our fellow soldiers. Yet we rejoice, for the Barclay duchy rejoins our kingdom and is free of the poison that has caused this disagreement. May our friendship grow as our shared kingdom prospers.”
Pause to look at different faces in turn, then continuing, “From this day forward, only women shall rule in Barclay Duchy, so I declare! Let it be written into law that only female heirs may become duchesses here. Neither their male heirs, nor their husbands, shall assume the dukedom.
“Lady Sapphire, step forward and receive my exaltation to duchess.”
She did so, and curtsied, then knelt before me. I pulled out my sword, placed it on her right shoulder, left, then right, saying, “In the name of the princess, her kingdom, and your honor, you are now Duchess Sapphire Barclay. Please stand, Your Grace.” I sheathed my sword.
She stood, the light gleaming off the white highlights in her red hair and smiled as she embraced me and whispered into my ear, “You took her!” Something pierced deep into my side and I grabbed onto Sapphire to steady my legs, swaying, “You took her from me!”
“Saph, no!” the air leaving my lungs, as I sank to my knees. She followed and the piercing entered again, upward, deeper, and as I tried to speak, blood poured out of my mouth, all I could do was think, ‘Stop! They’ll kill you for this, they’ll kill you all’ and then her body was lifted into the air, tossed away, my world closing to a tunnel and Morry’s worried and scarred face in it, gone.
***
My back arched upward, pain replaced by numbness, then pleasure, like that moment you embrace a friend you haven’t seen in years, first coffee of the morning, water after exercise, that first sip of cold beer after a hot bath, feeling better than ever and then the pleasure ended and I fell back upon the bed, coughing out blood, hacking and hacking.
I could barely whisper, “Please tell me . . . you didn’t . . . “
“Your Highness, it was close.” Reese slumped against the bed.
The morning sunshine streamed through the windows. Dust glittered about, moving here and there, sunlight glinted off the wooden posts of the bed. I felt feelings for the head nurse probably best reserved for lovers and wanted nothing more than to touch her face, run my fingers through her hair, take away her tiredness with gentle caresses and then this feeling faded and faded away, making me wonder that my body had betrayed me so.
And I remembered Sapphire and her accusation. ‘You took her away from me!’ Bitter and true. I did. I stole a child’s body. A horrible, awful thing that I somehow was forced into. But I knew, oh I knew, that now was too late to confess to her, beg forgiveness, share my strange and lonely story and that it would always and ever be too late.
My voice was weak, “What happened?”
“You were stabbed multiple times. Through your gut and into your lungs. Your lungs filled with blood and your heart stopped . . . it took all my effort and all day and night to revive you.”
I struggled to sit up. “Not me.” The world only spun a little. “Sapphire?”
“Hanged.”
“The children?”
“The same.”
“Aaah!” I slammed my hand on the bed uselessly.
Reese could barely focus, placed her hand on mine, “Your Highness, she planned this. To kill you. The weapon she chose, her stiletto, it prevented me from healing you.”
“Reese, I don’t care.” I pulled my hand away. Sat up. Saph was gone. Her radiance taken from this world. I buried my face in my hands but had no tears.
It was then I felt Morry’s presence. Sitting beside my bed all along. He took my right hand in his, awkwardly clasping my bracelet on. Then twisted a ring onto a finger. His gravelly voice, “It had to be done, Princess.”
“Morry, get out. Leave me alone.”
“Princess . . .”
“Out!” I didn’t look, but heard his heavy footsteps hitting stone, the door open and close.
“That was a long and hard magical healing, my lady, emotions-”
“Reese, you too. Shut up and go.”
Reese gasped. Footsteps, door, gone.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and stared at nothing.
It’s true. I hadn’t known her that long. Only three days, really. Four if you counted yesterday. Yet she was the person who first took me in on this world, helping me to survive it. My first kiss, my last kiss.
I should have ridden on this castle sooner, immediately. Stopped the old woman before she poisoned the entirety of the family. But should-haves were a dime a dozen, hanging on every memory, and offering nothing but a false past, an unfulfilled present, somehow worse than sadness.
A tingling sensation in my left hand, I pulled it away from my face, looked. Orange, almost yellow fire, dancing up and down it. I looked up, the door was shut. The rest of my jewelry near where Morry had been sitting. Damn. They’d have had to take it off to heal me. But once healed the energy returned on its own. I snapped my hand shut, willing the magic away with anger and bitterness.
The jewelry, I put the rest of it on, robotically. These thin irons had kept my secrets safe. Yet I felt like a prisoner putting them on, though I didn’t need them any longer. Not really.
Then it hit me. That’s why Morry was shoving the jewelry on me. Reese must have seen. She must have.
I didn’t really care but knew, at some point, I’d have to talk with her. Hopefully, she wouldn’t tell anyone in the meantime. A part of me wished, the part that was tired and angry, sorrowful and bitter, that she would tell the mages. And that they would come.
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