Chapter 3
"The Heir's Suite is on the third floor," Edgerton said, as we entered Queen Catlett's castle. "But since you refused to use the Heir's Suite on the Star of the Sea, I'm guessing you don't want to use it here."
"If and when the queen decides to make me her heir, if and when I decide to become her heir, I'll move to the Heir's Suite. Until then, you can have the servants move my things into one of the guest suites."
Edgerton bowed and relayed my orders to the servants. With that finished, he turned back to me. "I'm told the queen is in her suite resting. Apparently, she wants to talk to me, Bokham, Captain Hubbard, and the Lady Tabitha, before meeting you."
"She probably wants to hear about your journey, not to mention hear everyone's opinion of me, get an idea of what kind of person I am before actually meeting me."
"Probably, but she'll form her own opinion of you."
"As I will of her." I felt it was necessary to remind Edgerton that this was a two way street. I had no desire to become the heir of somebody I didn't like or trust. I could always move back into the high sage's harem. It wasn't a great option, but it was an option. "This isn't a done deal just because she wishes it. If I don't like her. I won't stay here. I won't become her heir."
"Understood." Edgerton bowed and headed up to the third floor to meet with the queen, as did Bokham, Captain Hubbard, and the Lady Tabitha.
I found myself alone in the castle's great hall. None of the servants scurrying about asked if I was hungry or offered to show me to my suite, so I found a marble bench near the front doors and sat.
I must've dozed off, because the next thing I knew, someone was standing over me. I opened my eyes to find a beautiful and elegant woman studying me. She was tall and thin with snow white hair that reached to the small of her back. She had a sharp chin, high cheekbones, a long narrow nose, and pale blue eyes.
She was wearing the silver and blue gown that I patterned my rose and red gown after. A silver crown topped with seven peaks rested on her head. She looked younger in person than she did in my vision. In the vision, I figured her for an elderly women in her seventies. I could tell now that she was probably in her forties. I also noticed that she had jaundiced eyes and seemed a bit tired.
"I told the chancellor to bring you to me," Queen Catlett said. "He returned a few minutes later saying he couldn't find you. I asked him where he last left you. He said in the main hall by the doors. I asked if he had checked in here. He said you wouldn't still be in here."
I stood. "No one showed me to my room. No one has even talked to me."
"I don't think they know you can speak the Common Tongue." Queen Catlett looked at my dress. "I like your gown."
"I patterned it after a gown I saw in one of my visions. It looked more comfortable than the gowns the Lady Tabitha gave me."
"I was just about to eat dinner." The queen offered me her arm. "If you'd care to join me."
I took her arm and we headed for what I assumed was the dining hall.
"If I'd known you just watched your mother die, I wouldn't have brought you here to watch me die."
"I never actually saw her die. I fled the palace an hour before she passed."
"Running from your oldest sister, Bedonna."
"Yes."
"Your sister sounds like a fierce woman."
"She looks like a fierce woman," I said. "And she is a fierce woman."
"I'm told I could've saved myself one hundred thousand gold sovereigns by simply asking your mother for one of her daughters."
"She would've paid you to take one of us off her hands."
"Perhaps, but would she have given me the one I wanted? Still, I must apologize for the way you were brought here. I'm told that had we left you alone, you might now be the Queen of Adah."
"I could also be in an unmarked grave in the Cemetery of Would Be Queens. Right alongside my sister, Salisha."
"How did your mother feel about her daughters being forced to fight each other for her throne?"
"She never talked about it." I paused for a second, remembering her last words to me. "Although the last thing she ever said to me was save your sisters."
"What do you think she meant by that?"
"I think she wanted me to stop them from killing each other. Although why she asked me, I'll never know. She would've been better off talking to them."
"Perhaps she felt you were the only one that would listen."
"I listened, but I failed. Bedonna killed Salisha."
Sensing my guilt, Catlett deftly changed topics. "I understand you've been busy since arriving in our part of the world."
"If you call cutting off an assassin's hand, being tossed into the high sage's harem, chased by Maximillian Bedard's pirates, and killing the Duke of Genese, as being busy, then yes, I've been busy."
"I'm told you even pulled nets on a fishing boat."
"We needed to eat. Edgerton was too hung over to pull nets and Tabitha is too much of a lady."
"You don't consider yourself to be a lady?"
"Haven't you heard, I'm a barbarian."
"Lucky for me. A lady would not last very long on my throne."
I liked Catlett. It was hard not to like her. She was beautiful, elegant, honest, and tactful. I could see why Edgerton was in love with her. I could see why her people were in love with her. I could see why Maximillian Bedard and the Knights of the Royal Brotherhood feared her.
"Can I ask why you've never married?" I said.
"I never found someone I wanted to marry. Can I ask why your mother never married?"
"The Queens of Adah don't marry. They take consorts."
"And what of you," Queen Catlett said. "Will you take consorts or will you marry?"
"One could argue I've already done both. I took my first consort back in Adah, when I turned eighteen. And I was informed by Counselor Jarvo that I'm the thirteenth wife of the high sage. So I guess I'm already married. Although I get the impression that people in this part of the world don't take marriage to the high sage too seriously."
"Would you?"
"If the high sage dies without naming an heir, I intend to take it very seriously. I intend to make a claim for his throne."
"What was it like to take a consort at eighteen?"
"My mother chose him. He was the same age as me, and just as inexperienced, which made it awkward and uncomfortable."
We reached the dining hall. Rather than having three long tables set in a U, Queen Catlett had four crescent shaped tables set up to form a circle. Where most dining halls were empty save for a lot of servants, this one was full, with everyone dressed in their finery. As soon as we entered the room, they all stood.
"We heard you had arrived in Enid," Queen Catlett said. "So we had time to prepare you a welcome dinner. I just wish they hadn't left you sitting on that marble bench for three hours."
"Nobody tied me up, tried to kill me, or tossed me in a harem, so it was a good three hours."
We circled around the table to the only two chairs available. The queen moved to hers, which was the largest chair in the room, and I moved to the only one remaining, the one at her right hand. Edgerton sat on the queen's left. The Lady Tabitha sat on Edgerton's left. Bokham sat on my right. Captain Hubbard sat on his right. I didn't know anybody else at the table, although there were about four dozen people. The queen sat, then I sat, then everyone else sat.
The queen waited for everyone to quiet down, then spoke in a soft voice. "You've all heard the rumor, that our brave chancellor ventured to the other side of the world and returned with a beautiful princess. That much is true. What you haven't heard is that she didn't come here of her own free will. In point of fact, we kidnapped her."
A few murmurs circulated through the crowd. Queen Catlett waited for them to die down, then continued. "Despite that fact, she has used her gifts, which are considerable, to save the lives of our chancellor, as well as those of Captain Bokham, Captain Hubbard, the Lady Tabitha, a
nd the men that crewed the Star of the Sea. I hope all of you will try hard to make her feel welcome here, so that she will come to view Vassa as her second home, and all of us as her second family. With that said, I would like to introduce to you, Lila Marie Haran, youngest daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah."
The people at the tables stood and cheered, long and loud. As they did, Queen Catlett leaned toward me and said, "That is for you, Lila."
"They cheer out of love and respect for you, Your Highness. Me, they don't know."
"Some of them do." The queen nodded in the direction of Bokham and Captain Hubbard. She waited for the cheering to die, then whispered, "You should probably say something, just to let them know you can speak the Common Tongue."
I stood and looked the crowd over. "I wondered what could compel men to travel across the Great Desert, to a land they've never seen, to a people they've never met, in search of a princess they know nothing about. Now that I've met Queen Catlett, I understand their devotion." There was a goblet of wine in front of me, so I picked it up and offered a toast. "To Queen Catlett."
Everyone except the queen stood and raised their goblet in a toast. Dinner was then served, as a fleet of servants brought in all kinds of dishes, ham, roast beef, roast chicken, baked potatoes, baked beans, apple pie, cherry pie, and red wine. Everyone ate heartily except the queen, who didn't seem to have much of an appetite.
"Tell me about your scuffle with the late Duke of Genese," the queen said, as she pushed some roast chicken around her plate.
"He came to my room intending to kill me. I was waiting for him. We dueled. He lost."
"Yet you stopped to explain what happened to King Linus."
"He's an ally of yours. I didn't want to cause a rift between the two of you."
"Bokham said you had a disturbing vision involving King Linus."
"I did, but I left before it could come true, so what I saw doesn't matter."
The queen didn't press the issue. I think she just wanted to let me know that she didn't blame me for what happened back in Holt. Instead, she changed subjects, asking me about my mother. What did she look like? What kind of a person was she?
"All the Queens of Adah have a nickname," I said. "My mother's full name was Bella Justine Haran but they called her Bella the Beloved. She was tall and slim and pale and beautiful and could deliver bad news with a soft touch. She was much loved. She was much like you."
"And now you get to watch her die a second time."
"I never had an opportunity to say goodbye. Perhaps, I've been given a second chance."
After dinner, the queen took me around and introduced me to the people we dined with, court advisers, court scholars, lords and ladies, anyone and everyone that helped run Vassa. It was during these introductions that the queen grew fatigued. Her breathing became labored and she needed my arm for support.
When we had a second alone, I said, "Perhaps we should draw these festivities to a close, Your Highness. It's been a long day for all of us."
Queen Catlett nodded. "You can take me up to my suite. The Heir's Suite is at the other end of the floor. I've already had them move your things there."
I didn't argue with her. I couldn't argue with her. She was too much like my mother. That was something I hadn't expected. I expected Catlett to be a tough old broad that was nearing the end of a long healthy life and wanted to put her affairs in order. That's what she looked like in my vision, and that's what I expected to find. The woman next to me wasn't like that at all. She was a lot like my mother, beautiful, gentle, beloved, and dying way too young.
When we reached the top of the stairs. The queen pointed to the left. "The Heir's Suite is at that end of the hall. I can show it to you if you'd like."
She didn't look like she had the strength to show it to me, so I said, "I'd rather see your suite, if you don't mind."
The queen patted my arm and smiled. We hung a right and headed for her suite, walking down a hall lined with oil paintings. The queen saw me looking at them. "These are the Kings of Vassa. I'd tell you about them, but I really don't know anything about them. You see, they're not part of my family. Truth be told, we recently came to the throne. My grandfather was an adviser to the king when the king was injured in a hunting accident. The king had no heirs so he made my grandfather his heir at the last second, even though my grandfather was only a baron."
She stopped by a portrait of a tall slender man with white hair. He looked to be in his fifties.
"Your grandfather?" I asked.
"He was fifty-five when he became king." We moved on to the next portrait. A similar looking man, but younger in age. She smiled at the portrait. "My father. He was already an adult when grandfather became king. They called my grandfather the usurper king. They called my father the parvenu king."
"I'm familiar with the word. The Duke of Genese used it when speaking of your family. He then asked me how long my family has ruled. I told him. Over twelve generations. When he told me his family had ruled Holt for six generations. I said, 'so you're also a parvenu royal.' He stopped talking to me after that."
Catlett laughed. We moved on to the final portrait in the hallway. It was a picture of Catlett. She looked to be no more than twenty-five. Even then her hair was long and straight and as white as a fresh dusting of snow. In the painting, she looked young and healthy and beautiful.
"This was commissioned the day of my coronation. I was frightened to death, but I told the artist to take the fear out of my eyes." She paused for a second. "They call me the barren queen, not very flattering, but accurate. One day, they may come up with an unflattering title for you."
"They already refer to me as the barbarian princess."
"Then they will probably call you the barbarian queen."
"And it's a title I'll gladly embrace, for if they're civilized, then I'm proud to be a barbarian." I smiled. "Perhaps one day I'll invite my sister Bedonna to come visit. Then they'll learn what a true barbarian queen is like."
We reached the doors to the Queen's Suite. Two men stood guard, both tall and blond like Bokham. They wore uniforms identical to Bokham's uniform, black riding boots, white cotton breeches, a white cotton shirt, and a red cotton jacket trimmed in gold. They wore no headgear but did have broadswords strapped to their hips.
As the guard on the right opened the door for us, the queen turned to the other one. "Call my physician. I need my medicine."
I didn't hear the guard's response because another vision swept over me. I saw the queen sitting on a divan, resting. Edgerton was sitting next to her and she was holding one of his hands in both of hers. She smiled as she spoke. "She's everything I hoped she would be. She's young, strong, smart, beautiful, and insightful. She can be as soft as velvet one moment and as hard as iron the next. She's also brave, braver than I ever was at that age, braver than I've ever been."
"Then you're pleased?" Edgerton said.
"I'm very pleased. She'll make a magnificent queen."
"I'm pleased that you're pleased, Your Majesty."
"I can't believe her mother didn't fight harder to place her on the throne of Adah."
"She's been through a lot since her mother's death. Perhaps the woman you met today isn't the girl her mother knew and loved. But her mother did make her the heir hopeful, which is as close to an heir presumptive as they have. That's what the crown she wears signifies."
"Then we were right in kidnapping her, for her mother wouldn't have given her to us willingly." Queen Catlett smiled. "She says that I remind her of her mother."
"You are mother to all of Vassa."
"It's not the same, Edgy. But thank you."
The door opened and a middle aged man waddled into the room. He was tall and fat and bald on top. The hair on the sides and back of his head was long and black and he wore it in a braid that reached to his shoulders. He dressed in white--white knee socks, white cotton breeches, a white linen shirt, and a white wool waistcoat--which only ma
de him look bigger and fatter. He carried a small brown bottle in his right hand.
The queen smiled when she saw him. "My physician is here."
"I have your medicine, Your Majesty." The queen's physician bowed and handed her the small bottle. "I've increased the dosage, to help you sleep better."
The queen opened the bottle and drank the medicine. The vision then changed. I saw the queen's physician enter a crowded tavern. He paused just inside the doorway and looked around, then worked his way to the back of the room. He checked to see if someone was following him, satisfied that no one was, he sat down across from a man that could best be described as dangerous.
"This had better be important," the dangerous man said.
"The barbarian princess has arrived at the palace."
"Tell me something I don't know."
The queen's physician glanced around the room to make sure no one was eavesdropping, satisfied that nobody was listening, he leaned towards the dangerous man and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I gave the queen a fatal dose of the poison. She won't wake up again."
"Then she didn't have time to make the barbarian princess her heir."
"She did not."
"This is good news." The dangerous man reached inside his long coat and pulled out a small leather pouch, which he slid across the table. The queen's physician looked inside the bag and smiled, clearly satisfied with what he saw. "You'll keep us informed of further developments."
"I remain a loyal member of the Brotherhood," the queen's physician said.
As he stuffed the pouch inside his waistcoat, the vision faded and I found myself standing beside Queen Catlett, just outside her suite.
"Are you all right, Lila?" She was looking at me with more than a little concern.
"I'm fine, Your Highness."
"You had a vision?"
"Yes."
"Was it good or bad?"
"I'll tell you inside." I escorted the queen into her drawing room and over to the divan I saw her sitting on in my vision. Then I hustled back to the lone guard still at the door. "When the queen's physician arrives you'll escort him into the drawing room. You'll then remain inside the room and block the door so that he can't leave."
I didn't give the guard time to argue. I just closed the door and hurried back to the queen.
"What did you see?" Catlett asked me. When I hesitated, she smiled and spoke in a gentle tone. "Don't be afraid to tell me what you saw. Your traveling companions have all assured me that you're a seer of unparalleled talent. Even Edgerton trusts you, although he doesn't always like what you tell him."
"You're not dying," I said. "Your physician is poisoning you. He's a member of the Knights of the Royal Brotherhood."
Queen Catlett showed no emotion. "And tonight?"
"He intends to give you a fatal dose of the poison, before you have a chance to declare an heir. If you drink the medicine that he's bringing you, you'll fall asleep and never wake up."
There was a knock on the door. The queen took my hands and pulled me down beside her. "Why don't you sit next to me."
Queen Catlett told the guard to enter. The door opened and the guard let Edgerton into the room.
Edgerton bowed. "Your Highnesses."
"I'm told we have a spy in our midst," the queen said.
"Not just a spy," I said. "An assassin."
"Who?" Edgerton said.
"Cortland," the queen said.
"Your physician?" Edgerton looked more than a little surprised.
"He's a member of the KRB," I said. "They've been paying him to poison the queen. He intends to give her a fatal dose tonight, before she has a chance to declare an heir. If she takes the medicine he's bringing her, she'll fall asleep and never wake up."
"She had a vision. Right after I asked one of the guards to fetch Cortland."
There was another knock on the door. I assumed it was Cortland, the queen's physician. Edgerton looked at the queen. "What do you want to do?"
I turned to the queen. "Think back, Your Highness. Since he's started treating you, have you gotten better or worse?"
"Worse, but he said my condition was degenerative, that I would get worse, that there was nothing he could do."
"He lies. Whatever bothered you enough to seek treatment has only been exacerbated by the poison he's been giving you." I turned to Edgerton. "Give me a chance to expose him. If I'm wrong, the queen loses a night's rest. If I'm right, she may get her life back."
"I say we give her that chance," Edgerton said. "If it weren't for her visions, none of us would've made it here alive."
Queen Catlett nodded and turned to me. "The room is yours, Lila."
Edgerton went to the door and opened it. Cortland, the queen's physician waddled into the room, looking just like he did in my vision. He was taken back over the number of people in the room. He was even more taken back when the guard blocked the door and placed his hand on the hilt of his broadsword.
"Is everything all right, Your Majesty?" Cortland said to the queen.
"I assume that's the queen's medicine." I pointed to the small bottle Cortland was carrying. He opened his mouth to answer, but I never gave him a chance. "In my country, the queen's physician was required to take every medicine he gave her. That way if he tried to poison her, he would die with her. Starting tonight, you will take every medicine you give Queen Catlett. We'll start with that bottle you're carrying."
For a big man that looked like he sweated a lot, Cortland did a good job of keeping his cool. Very calmly, he bowed and opened the bottle. "As you wish, Princess."
He held the bottle to his lips and pretended to take a sip. Maybe even did take a tiny sip.
"Drink all of it," I said, when he put the stopper back in the bottle. "Every single drop."
"This is ridiculous," Cortland said. He looked to Edgerton for help. "It took me days to mix this potion. It'll take me days to make more. The queen's pain will increase if she doesn't drink this."
Edgerton didn't move, didn't say anything. I drew the cutlass I still had strapped around my waist and pressed the tip of the blade against Cortland's oversized belly. "You'll drink all of it, Physician. Or I'll skewer you like a pig."
Cortland might not have been sweating before, but he was sweating now. He pulled the stopper from the small glass bottle and held the bottle to his lips. He started to take a drink, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he tossed the bottle on the floor and threw himself at the queen's feet.
"They threatened to kill me if I didn't help them, Your Majesty. They threatened to kill my family."
I pressed the edge of my blade against his throat and held it there. "And what of the bags of gold they've been giving you? Did they threaten to kill your family if you didn't take their gold?"
Cortland looked at me, his eyes full of fear and surprise. "How did you know about the gold?"
"Hidden beneath your shirt is a medallion. If you value your despicable life, you'll take it off and hang it on the end of my blade. Now!"
Cortland didn't hesitate. He reached beneath his shirt, removed the KRB medallion from around his neck, and placed it on the end of my blade. I raised my blade high enough so the medallion slid to my hand. I hung the medallion around my neck, then returned the blade to Cortland's throat.
"If this were my kingdom, these would be the last seconds of your treacherous life." I paused just long enough to make him wonder if these were indeed the last seconds of his life. Then I withdrew my blade and slid it back into its scabbard. "Lucky for you, this isn't my kingdom."
I stepped back and turned to the queen. I had proved my point and had no more to say.
A stoned faced Catlett turned to her physician. "Tell me the truth, Cortland, are the effects reversible?"
Cortland hesitated a second, then looked Catlett in the eyes. "I honestly don't know, Your Majesty."
"What would be my best course of action?"
"You must drink lots of water, flush as much of the po
ison out of your system as you can. A diet of coarse fiber will also help. The rest will depend upon your body's ability to heal itself."
Edgerton turned to the guard blocking the door. "Lock him in the dungeon. I'll deal with him later."
The guard drew his broadsword and pulled Cortland to his feet. The queen waited until the guard had dragged Cortland out of the room, then turned to Edgerton. "Give me and Lila a minute."
Edgerton bowed and backed out of the room. When we were alone, I knelt at the queen's feet and placed my head in her lap. It was a habit I develop with my mother. Catlett was so much like her that it was hard not to fall into old habits when I was around her.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Your Majesty. I didn't come here to take the people you love away from you."
"You haven't taken anyone away from me, Lila. You've merely opened my eyes to the truth. And who knows, you may have given me my life back." She stroked my hair a couple of times, then said, "Now go rest. It's been a long day for both of us."
I pushed myself to my feet. "There's something I must do first."
"I'm almost afraid to ask what it is."
"There was a second man in my vision, a dangerous looking man. He's waiting for your physician in a tavern called the Fisherman's Rest. I need to take some men down there and have him arrested, before he can bribe someone else in this castle."
"If he hasn't already," the queen said.
"If he has bribed somebody else, we need to find out who."
"Give a description of the man to Bokham. He can take some men to the tavern and arrest this odious fellow. I'll sleep better knowing you're safe in your suite. And send Edgerton in. I want to talk to him in private." The queen smiled. "Although if you saw me with Cortland, then you probably saw me talking to Edgerton. Which means you already know what I'm going to say to him."
I smiled and backed my way out of the room. "Sleep well, my western mother."
I didn't bother to tell the queen that I intended to go with Bokham. There were wolves hiding among the queen's flock and I intended to root them out.