Milady’s Wiles             by: Brandy Dewinter, with the invaluable assistance of P.J. Wright

 

Chapter 5 - Closer Than Sisters

The second day following saw the return of Lyonidas to our castle. He arrived with an entourage of faceless guards, but his attitude showed he didn’t fear any of us enough to need them. He wasn’t particularly arrogant like his father, just comfortable in the presence of his enemies.

It appeared that the High Canyonites didn’t care much for formal protocol. He had arrived without announcement, demanding entrance past our gate guards in his own voice. Unlike the previous visit he had arrived on horseback, as had his guards. In one smooth motion he dis-mounted and tossed the reins of his long-legged black gelding to one of his companions. Before Hugh of Sandars had even reached the courtyard Lyonidas was once again striding toward the throne room.

Our Chamberlain moved to intercept him, "Prince Lyonidas, can I be of assistance?"

"Probably," Lyonidas answered lightly. "For now, please let the Queen and Princess Cherysse know that I have arrived."

He had continued toward the throne room as he spoke, and saw that Mother and I were there even before he finished speaking.

"Ah, don’t bother," Lyonidas continued, "I see they already know."

There was a crowd in the throne room as Lyonidas entered. It was the day of petition to the crown for justice, a long-scheduled opportunity for noble and commoner alike. The Queen had decided to continue with the tra-dition in a show of control over our own internal affairs. At the time of his entrance two shepherds were arguing a case before Queen Selay. Lyoni-das pushed past them and climbed the dais. He looked around briefly, saw that the only available seat was the King’s throne unless he ejected Queen Selay from her high seat, then plopped down in the throne.

Queen Selay stood instantly. The hiss of withdrawn breath in the room covered any hesitation she had in speaking. Her words came with careful import, "Prince Lyonidas, are you your father’s regent, or by claiming the throne are you claiming the kingdom for yourself?"

He stood immediately, an instant of blush covered in bluster, "Oh, that’s right. You people place lots of significance in furniture and things. Well, we don’t, but we don’t need to confuse anyone, either. I am content to be regent for my father, the King."

Then he tried to change the subject, "What’s going on, anyway?"

Queen Selay sat in her high seat again, pointedly the only one seated. "This is the day of petition. These men have come forward to ask for justice. In the absence of the King, I was going to act as judge. Perhaps you will do this instead?"

"Surely," he grinned, "what’s the situation?’

The Queen nodded at the first man who we had earlier learned was named Samuel. He launched into a list of grievances against his neighbor, Harris. It seemed Harris had dammed up a small stream and made other improvements in his property that had caused him to prosper more than Samuel. In return for the temporary loss of water to his land while Harris’ small lake filled, Samuel had stolen a prize ram and used it to impregnate several of his ewes without permission. In the course of his use, the ram hadn’t been treated properly and had died.

It took almost 30 minutes to get the story out of the men. Every time Harris would try to explain his side of things, Samuel would inter-rupt with another accusation of unfairness. Lyonidas listened intently at first but as time went on his attention began to wander, returning all too frequently to look at me. I made a point of looking away each time his eyes found mine. Of course, I had to look at him when he wasn’t looking at me, or perhaps from the corner of my eye even when he was looking at me, in order to study him that I might understand our adversary better.

Julia was standing beside me. She would do something with her hair or flutter her hand, or something each time Lyonidas looked our way to ensure that she had his attention. It was distracting to me standing beside her, and clearly interesting to Lyonidas.

"What, huh?" he said, recognizing too late that Queen Selay had spoken.

"What is your decision, Prince Lyonidas?" she repeated.

"Oh, decision, yes," he stammered. "This one, Samuel, has stolen the other’s ram. Samuel is a thief. Kill him."

Samuel collapsed on the spot, blubbering incoherently for mercy. Harris looked almost as stricken. He hadn’t wanted vengeance, only the price of his ram. Most of the rest of us were horrified as well. Only Queen Selay remained calm. She waited for Samuel’s wails to die down then addressed Lyonidas.

"Very well, Regent. Shall we execute Samuel’s wife and children as well? Without him, there is no way they will survive the winter. Or would you prefer that they starve?"

"No, of course not. Let someone else take care of her," Lyonidas replied.

Now, we all knew that Samuel’s wife was part of a large family and would not really starve. But, Lyonidas did not.

"Who do you recommend?" the Queen asked.

Lyonidas was getting a bit flustered, "I don’t know, doesn’t she have any family?"

"Does it appear to you that Samuel is prosperous, part of a wealthy family?" the Queen’s interrogation continued, though it was the regent who was now on trial.

Lyonidas studied the men before him. Neither were dressed in the clothes of the nobility but even between them it was clear that Samuel’s clothes were of lesser quality than those Harris wore. I could see Lyonidas trying to find another option. Mother’s question had two thrusts in it. If Samuel’s family couldn’t support his wife, then surely Samuel couldn’t pay restitution for the ram, either.

A moment of vulnerability showed in Lyonidas dark eyes, before he hardened his expression. "If you have a better idea, tell it to me."

Now the challenge was back on the Queen, but her tight smile showed it was expected.

She had not actually answered any of Lyonidas questions, replying instead with questions of her own. She paid no more apparent attention to his order. Looking at Harris while pointing at Samuel, she asked, "Do you desire this man’s death?"

"No, Your Majesty. The ram was not worth a man’s life."

"What do you think would be fair?" she asked. At this, Lyonidas twitched as though bitten by a flea. Such an obvious question and he didn’t think to ask it.

Harris was a little surprised as well. He looked at the man trem-bling at his feet for a moment, then answered, "Perhaps if Samuel gave me the lambs which issue from the ewes fertilized by my ram."

"I’m afraid that’s not good enough," Queen Selay declared. "He will indeed give you the lambs. In addition, he will labor for you on further improvements to your farm. His sentence will continue until he uses the skills he will learn in working for you to make similar improvements in his own farm. If he fails to apply himself, you will report back to Us."

Now her voice took on a harder tone, "Do you understand and accept this judgment, Samuel?"

For one who had a moment ago faced execution, the sentence seemed light indeed. Samuel got to his feet with nodding acceptance, looking sideways at the neighbor who now had control of his life.

Before they could turn away, Queen Selay’s voice froze them as she addressed Lyonidas. "If, that is, this judgment is acceptable to the Regent?"

Lyonidas could only nod at the obvious justice. He looked up as the next couple of peasants approached the dais and sighed at the thought of another interminable trial.

"Queen Selay, as I have just arrived, I would like to get settled into my accommodations. I’ll leave you to hear the remaining petitions."

She nodded gravely, "As you wish. Perhaps you would like an escort.

Princess Cherysse, please accompany him."

I stepped forward in reflex to her order, but in confusion as well. I thought we were not going to encourage Lyonidas in his pursuit of me. He held out his arm in easy courtesy and my hand took its place on his. We swept from the throne room with an overlarge escort of all the tan-garbed men, my own guards, and Julia.

"I don’t believe I have met your companion," Lyonidas stated once our circus had gotten underway.

"This is my late brother Tamor’s betrothed, Julia," I replied.

Lyonidas bowed to Julia. There was no apology in his voice, but he spoke with honest respect, "Your betrothed was a valiant warrior, of great courage and skill."

"It is history," she replied. Her eyes wandered up and down Lyonidas’ lanky frame and implied it might as well have been ancient history.

A few strands of hair, no longer contained by combs and pins, had drifted in front of my face so I tossed my head to get it back behind my shoulder. It didn’t all go where I wanted so I gathered it in the hand not held by Lyonidas and pulled it back. In the course of this, my bosom had pressed against his arm. Of course since it wasn’t really me, I didn’t realize it immediately and we walked along with my new curves rubbing softly against his much harder forearm. When my hair was out of the way, I looked up at him to find his own gaze focused rather intently on the interaction. Once I realized what had happened I moved clear, but not before the smile on his face ignited a fire in my cheeks as bright as Julia’s hair.

Julia sniffed, then seemed to have trouble with her breathing, sud-denly feeling the need to take several overlarge breaths. Her gown, unlike mine, displayed at least a part of attributes I only simulated and the deep breathing captured my attention. I almost stumbled on an uneven place in the pavement, clutching at Lyonidas’ hand for stability. For some reason he had missed the same step.

With that distraction, or perhaps release from distraction, I oriented on where we had gotten in our walk. The section ahead was normally reserved for nobility and a very few select companions, not the whole circus behind us. All but one of my guards drew up to their accustomed waiting area, but the swirl around Lyonidas continued.

"I’m sorry, Prince Lyonidas, but your guards are not permitted beyond this point."

"Is that so?" he replied, suspicion in his eyes.

Julia interrupted with a toss of her own hair, "Surely, Prince Lyonidas, you don’t fear women and servants, do you?"

A grin lit his face at her comment and his response was laden with undercurrents of humor, "My dear mother has taught me that the female of the species is much deadlier than the male."

"That you can rely on," Julia laughed. I was about to make a comment of my own when Lyonidas waved at his guards to take a position at the door, all but one that was indistinguishable from the rest, at least to me. Lyonidas bowed me past the portal and held his genteel pose even as Julia entered behind me. Somehow, she managed to make her somber gown flippant and light as she passed. I had moved my own, of course, merely to stay clear of the doorway.

It had been decided that Lyonidas would stay in Tamor’s rooms. Queen Selay intended to retain the royal apartments unless forcibly removed. I steered Lyonidas to the correct wing with gentle pressures and we arrived at our destination without letting it seem like there were any choices. Tamor’s rooms were entirely befitting a crown prince and Lyonidas was clearly pleased.

"And where are your rooms?" he asked me, a grin back in his eyes that made me feel most strange.

"Down the hall," I admitted, pointing vaguely.

He asked Julia the same question. It was a good thing that Mother had moved her to rooms adjacent to the royal suite, or Julia might have had a late night visitor. Then I remembered that she had the same dis-incentive to dalliance that crushed my waist. Still, I didn’t want her to be too available to Lyonidas.

Julia and I left Lyonidas to get settled in his rooms. As we left he was going around examining Tamor’s martial momentos. It looked like he’d be quite satisfied with the decor. As soon as we were out of earshot, I turned to Julia.

But her own words cut mine off before they were voiced, "Cherysse, you’re not supposed to be encouraging him!"

"Me? I’m not the one throwing myself at him!" I shot back.

"You’re not? Then what were you doing rubbing you bosom on his arm the whole way down the hall?"

"That was an accident. I didn’t even notice while I was fixing my hair," I claimed.

"That’s another thing, flipping all the blonde hair around. Like his eyes weren’t glued to you already!"

"Well, at least I wasn’t hyperventilating for effect!"

This brought a blush to her cheeks and enough pause in our ranting for another voice to intrude.

"Ladies, attend me please." Queen Selay’s quiet voice left no room for other comment. She had apparently finished with the petitions and was returning to her room.

We followed her with lowered heads, glaring at each other through the bright-colored tresses that framed our faces. We followed Mother into her rooms in silence though. Once we were inside Queen Selay moved quietly to her usual seat, motioning Julia and me to nearby stools.

"Girls, you’re going to have to work together on this," she began.

I interrupted her, "But Mother, Julia was being shameless. I thought she was just supposed to keep Lyonidas off balance so he didn’t become to adamant about me too soon."

Julia got her next comment in before Mother could reply, "And that’s all I was doing, trying to keep his interest from being totally focused on Cherysse. But the way she was acting, that took some doing!"

That infernal maiden’s lover kept me from gathering the breath I needed for the reply I wanted to make and once again the slight pause gave Mother room to speak.

"Quiet, both of you," she ordered.

The glare Julia gave me was a sight to behold. Her green eyes had a fire in them that threatened to bring down the castle, fed by the blaze always shown in her tumbling hair now that she was forbidden to pin it up with maidenly modesty. Since we weren’t allowed to speak, I tried to let her know with my own gaze that she wouldn’t get between Lyonidas and me.

Mother sighed as she looked at us. After a moment, she spoke first to that redheaded tart, "Julia, Cherysse is, um, struggling with her, um, reactions to this situation. Instead of berating her you should help her find more appropriate responses. It is important that Lyonidas be attracted to her, just not exclusively focused on her."

I found myself sticking my tongue out at Julia at Mother’s comments though I couldn’t remember the last time I had done that. Mother saw it, of course, and then it was my turn.

"Cherysse, you are above all a Princess of Achaiea. You will behave like a lady. However, the reason you wear your maiden’s lover is because I understand how difficult it is to maintain decorum. Nonetheless, you shall behave."

"But Mother," I whined, "you asked me to escort him, and rubbing against him was an accident."

Mother ignored Julia’s snort and went on, "I asked you to escort him because we need to maintain his interest without letting it become over-whelming. It will be a delicate balance and will require great care. We cannot afford further accidents."

She looked at us both, demanding obedience with her eyes. I looked at Julia, who looked at me, the challenge still in her eyes. Queen Selay cleared her throat in a manner that I had learned the hard way meant this was non-negotiable, so I looked back at my mother and nodded in submis-sion. Julia followed suit, and I thought the incident was closed. No such luck.

"Cherysse," the Queen ordered, "you will spend the balance of the day in your chambers. You are obviously overwrought by the stresses of our recent problems. Julia will be escorted by Lyonidas this evening."

My protest died on my lips at her stern look. This time it was Julia who stuck her tongue out at me. The unfairness of it was somewhat re-lieved by Mother’s next command, "Julia, you will remember that your goal is to keep his interest, not win his love. That is for Cherysse, but only when the time is right. I want you to be a model of propriety tonight."

I could see Julia winding up for either protest or denial or some-thing, but Mother’s stern look forestalled her as well. She nodded once again.

A thoughtful look appeared on the Queen’s face as she looked at us. "Actually," she said, "this is probably for the best. A bit of jealousy between you will inflate Lyonidas’ already substantial ego and keep him from looking too closely at the things that will be happening. However, the two of you will remember your duty and keep yourselves under control. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mother," I replied, simultaneously with Julia’s "Yes, my Queen."

Still, Julia was the one to go to the arrival dinner that evening. I spent it in my rooms with my music and my books, and my one true friend, Wraith.

 

(continued in Part 6)

 

*********************************************
Milady's Wiles © 1998 by Brandy Dewinter. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.