***
I paid a visit to Roehl Tharrington's suite that evening. Most of the others attending the council had already gone home. Roehl and his people remained here, gravely concerned for their king, who was unable to talk or move any muscle in his body save for his eyes.
"Has his condition improved?"
Roehl's chancellor, Jonas Sowe, was escorting me through the drawing room toward the bedroom. He was a tall man. He wore his snow white hair in a ponytail. He dressed in black, like most royal advisers. He had a complexion the color of wheat, with eyes the color of cinnamon. Despite his snow white hair, he didn't look much older than Vomeir. He was clean shaven and had a boyish face marred only by a small scar on his upper lip.
"His condition remains the same," Chancellor Sowe said. "He's awake but is unable to talk or move."
"Did my physician know anything?"
"He thinks the king's heart failed him. He says he's seen this in other, albeit older patients, where a brief failure of their heart leaves them unable to move part or all of their body."
"But the king is so young. It seems odd that someone so young and strong should suffer a brief failure of the heart."
"His father's heart failed him when he was in his early forties. The same for his grandfather. Your physician says he could have inherited the condition."
"Could the stress of war aggravate the condition?"
Chancellor Sowe shrugged his shoulders. "Tomorrow morning, we set sail for Kavel. Hopefully the king's personal physician will be able to help him."
"Perhaps the smell of the sea will improve his health. In one of his letters, he told me that he loathed traveling inland for he missed the smell of the sea."
"Let us hope so," Chancellor Sowe said.
"Who'll govern Kavel while the king is in this condition?"
"Roehl will still be the king. Albeit in name only. He has no heir, so the day to day governance of the kingdom will be left to myself."
"Will you fight alongside your brothers, if Dunre turns its armies on the Finger States?"
"I don't believe the King of Dunre will move his army against us. Attacking a heathen nation such as Landish is one thing. But to move against states that worship the One God, like we do, is to move against the One God himself."
"You didn't answer my question, Chancellor."
"Let us cross that bridge when we come to it, Your Majesty."
I took that as a no, as in no, they wouldn't help us in a war with Dunre.
Chancellor Sowe opened the door to Roehl's bedroom and stepped aside. "I'll give you and the king some privacy. Perhaps a beautiful queen is just the medicine he needs."
I smiled at the chancellor then headed into Roehl's bedroom. An attractive young woman with long red hair was sitting on the bed next to him, holding his hand. She scrambled to her feet when she saw me and shuffled out of the room, curtsying as she passed. She shut the door on her way out, leaving me alone with the King of Kavel.
Roehl was in the middle of the large bed, his head and shoulders propped up on pillows. The blankets were pulled up to his waist and his arms lay quietly on top.
I stood at the foot of Roehl's bed, where he could see me, and removed my red silk robe. Underneath, I wore a red silk corset, red silk stockings, red silk briefs, and a pair of black dress boots with four inch heels. The corset was so tight, my breasts looked like they were going to pop out, which was exactly what I wanted.
"Do you like my outfit?" I twirled, so he could see me from all sides. "I wore it just for you."
I climbed onto the foot of the bed and crawled on my hands and knees to where the redhead had been, moving as slowly and as sensuously as I could. I wanted Roehl to see me. I wanted him to see what he could never have, what he could never touch. When I reached the head of the bed, I sat next to him and stretched my legs out in front of me.
"I'm guessing that girl was your lover. You realize that if you don't get better, you'll never be able to touch her, let alone make love to her. You'll only be able to lie there and think about what you're missing. Being as young and as beautiful as she is, she'll undoubtedly take another lover."
I turned and leaned over Roehl, positioning myself so my lips brushed his ear, so he could see nothing but my breasts. I lowered my voice, so that even if someone had been in the room with us, they wouldn't be able to hear what I was saying.
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if your heart did fail you, like everyone believes, you might get better. You might be able to make love to her some day. The truth is, you're not going to get better. You're going to be like this for the rest of your life. Never again will you be able to touch a beautiful woman. Never again, will you enjoy the feel of her ripe breasts in your hands. Never again, will you be able to caress her silky skin or whisper sweet nothings in her ear. For you see, you're not the only one that knows alchemy."
I leaned back, so I could see Roehl's eyes. His pupils dilated when I mention the word alchemy, but that was the only change I saw in him. Otherwise, he remained perfectly still. He didn't move a single muscle, save for the involuntary blinking of his eyes and the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
"I saw you talking to Max on his ship, the morning Catlett and the others died. I heard you explain to him how you used alchemy to make your weapons." I played with Roehl's hair, then let my index finger trail up and down the bridge of his nose. "I'm not exactly sure how the stuff I slipped into your drink works. According to my sister, it destroys the connection between your brain and your body. It's kind of ironic when you think about it. You used alchemy to kill those who trusted you, and now alchemy has made you completely helpless. So helpless that I could pinch your nose until you couldn't breathe, and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
I let my index finger pause on the tip of his nose, just long enough to make him think I might actually do it. "Of course, I would never do something like that. I'll leave that to your chancellor, or perhaps to that beautiful redhead that was just in here.
"They won't do it for awhile, years even. Eventually, they'll realize that you're not going to get any better. They'll get tired of changing your diapers, and chopping up your food, and spooning it into your mouth, and wiping the drool off your chin. Then one day, one of them will enter your room and do something simple, like sit next to you and pinch your nose. You won't be able to cry out for help or push their hand away. You won't even be able to thrash about. You'll just lie there until your lungs burn and you begin to black out. You'll realize that those are the last seconds of your sad and pitiful life.
"Once you're dead, you'll be given a quick burial, nothing elaborate since everyone will be glad you're finally out of the way. Within weeks, you'll become a joke. People will remember you as the king that did nothing but soil his diapers."
I slid off the bed and slipped into my robe. I leaned across the bed and kissed Roehl on the lips. "Enjoy your new life. Traitor."
As satisfying as that task had been, I had an unpleasant task to perform. I had to inform Jarvo and the high sage that the Finger States wouldn't be joining them in their upcoming war with Dunre.