Chapter 24
The next morning found Eryk reporting to Byron for lessons, just as he had promised. This time, having warning, Byron had prepared exactly what he was going to teach. There was an archery target set up against the far wall and a pair of heavy wooden swords waiting in the center of the courtyard. Eryk looked around, wondering what Byron had in store for him.
“Good morning, your Majesty,” Byron called, walking into the courtyard. He was carrying a short bow and a quiver of arrows. “Your first activity this morning will be archery practice.”
Eryk smiled, grateful that at least he was able to start with something he was fairly good at. He was sure that there was no worse way to start a day than being utterly humiliated. He walked across the courtyard, heading toward the target that Byron had set up.
“Where are you going?” Byron called. “We’ll be holding our practice over here.”
Eryk turned, and looked from Byron, at one side of the courtyard, to the target at the other side. There was about one hundred feet separating the two. It wasn’t so great a distance, and Eryk just shrugged and turned back the other way.
“The goal, if you remember, is to teach you to keep out of the way. You are a decent shot, if I remember correctly, so you can be the greatest help if you are out of melee and shooting into it. However, in order to make sure you don’t kill your allies with badly aimed arrows, you are going to need to practice. A lot.”
That made sense to Eryk, and he set about his practice with gusto. Byron, happy to see that Eryk was truly committed to this, or at least the part he was good at, decided to let him empty the quiver four times before calling it quits. Eryk had hit the target with every arrow he had shot, but not many of them were near the center. Definitely more archery practice for him, Byron silently confirmed.
The second half of their exercises involved the heavy practice swords.
“As much as I’d love for you to never be involved in melee combat,” Byron explained, “I have to be realistic. We will be practicing your parries every day, so that if you do find yourself attacked directly, you can hold off your attacker until help can get to you.”
Again, this made perfect sense to Eryk, and he bent down to grab a sword. Lifting it off the ground was not as easy as he had thought it would be, however.
“Why do these things have to be so heavy?” he groaned.
Byron shook his head. “It really has been a long time, hasn’t it? This is what happens when your only ‘sparring practice’ is with a fencing blade against Branden. You will be using that sword, which is the same length and width as a standard long sword, but heavier, because it will build up the muscles in your shoulders and arms. And then, when you inevitably have to use a real sword, it will be easy to wield because it will seem very light to you.”
Byron attacked, slowly and methodically, allowing Eryk time to get his sword into position properly for the parries. He wanted Eryk to learn to parry properly, as it would be considerably safer for everyone than just letting him wail around with a sharp piece of metal in his hands.
The exercises were exhausting, more so for Eryk, but Eryk gave it his all for as long as he could, which is all Byron could ask for. When they were finished, the two men sat down on one of the benches, thereby letting Eryk catch his breath before making his way back to the castle.
“Everything went fine, escorting Alexius out to the country yesterday afternoon,” Byron said, making conversation while Eryk rested. “She didn’t put up any fuss at all. I think she realizes how lucky she is to only be exiled to a lovely country home.”
“Did Lord Collin go with her?” Eryk asked.
“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows her there eventually. He seems very tired and ill since Tarren died, and I think the country would be a better place for him to spend his remaining years,” Byron said, echoing Eryk’s own thoughts. “What are you going to do about Branden?”
Eryk shook his head, still uncertain about that.
“The only thing that I do know is that I cannot have him as my advisor. He has shown incredibly poor judgment, and I can’t have someone like that in a position of such authority. The healers agree with his statement that he was not in his right mind, so I believe I will let him remain at court. He seems very sorry for what happened, and I would really like to have my friend back, if possible.”
“That seems reasonable to me, and it’s not like you can’t change your mind later if he proves to be a liability. Who will replace him on your council?”
“King Jackob will retain that role until after the funeral,” Eryk said. “He’ll be here until that time anyway, and he’s certainly experienced. I’m learning a lot from him. After that, I really don’t know. I had always assumed that it would be Branden fulfilling that role, and so I’ve never really looked for anyone else.”
No longer feeling like his arms were going to fall off, Eryk excused himself to return to the castle and begin his day. He dressed and went to visit Branden, wanting to get that awkwardness over with before breakfast.
Branden was still asleep when Eryk entered, but he awoke quickly enough. He looked a lot better today, not nearly so green, and his blue eyes held a sparkle that had been missing these past days.
Eryk didn’t wait for any greetings or civilities, and instead got right to the matter at hand.
“Branden,” he said, “you know that I cannot have you as my chief advisor any longer. Your poor judgment will always be a stain on your record, and it will affect how others perceive my proclamations if you are seen advising me. However, given that you acted under the effects of a foreign substance, I have decided to allow you to remain at court. I’m hoping that our friendship can be what it once was.”
Branden listened to Eryk’s announcement with a somber expression on his face, and he nodded in acceptance of Eryk’s decree, not really surprised by the decision.
“I’m glad that you’re giving me a chance to prove my friendship, Eryk,” he said. “The healers said that I could be up again tomorrow. Maybe we could do something? We could go hunting or hawking, just to clear the air and start getting things back to normal.”
Eryk smiled a little at Branden’s request. “I will have to get back to you about that,” he said. “There are still a lot of things going on right now that need to be sorted out before I can take any time for myself. I will let you know though, hopefully soon.”
Branden smiled back, hesitantly, and Eryk left for the dining hall. As he was about to enter, a servant came rushing up to him, curtseying quickly.
“Your Majesty,” she said breathlessly, “you asked to be summoned when the princess awoke–” She didn’t even have to finish her statement. Eryk turned back the way he had come, taking the stairs two at a time in his eagerness to see Aislynn.
When he arrived at her door, still guarded by Marcus and Mateo, Eryk slowed his mad pace and knocked quietly. He knew that they were expecting his arrival, but he wanted to be polite. He didn’t know how she was doing, or who was already there, and he felt that it would be prudent to keep things quiet for now.
Marja answered the door, and Eryk nodded to her as he entered the room. There was a healer on duty in the reception room, but Eryk could hear no voices, so he assumed that he was the first one there.
“How is she?” he asked the room in general.
“She is very weak, having lost a lot of blood, and the head wound is making her dizzy and ill. I’m not sure how long she will be awake for, so you had better go in now,” answered the healer. Eryk didn’t need to be told twice.
He entered Aislynn’s bedchamber, immediately noticing that Cheta had moved to the other side of the bed. Either she felt that Aislynn no longer needed guarding, which was unlikely, or she felt that Aislynn didn’t need protection from him.
Aislynn looked tiny and fragile. Her brown hair, darkened with sweat, made her skin seem even paler in comparison. She looked al
most translucent, and definitely not like the young woman he remembered from two days ago, full of energy and fire. He sat down gently on the edge of her bed and took her hand. Her eyes fluttered open and their gazes met.
“I’m so glad that you are awake,” whispered Eryk. “I was so worried that you would…”
“Sorry, but it looks like you’re stuck with me for a while yet,” she answered with a brief smile. “How long have I been out?” she asked, very softly.
“Two days,” he replied. “Considering the poison and the injuries you sustained, the healers weren’t sure you were going to make it. We’ve been taking shifts so that someone has always been here in case…” Eryk stumbled to a halt, having trouble dealing with all of the emotion he was feeling. He had been so close to losing her.
Aislynn looked confused, and lay there for a moment as if trying to remember what had happened. She tried to take a deep breath, attempting to focus her muddled thoughts, but the movement sent a wave of pain through her, leaving her gasping. The pain did clear her thoughts for a moment though.
“You are a very stupid man,” she told him. “And you are going to get me killed if you keep this up.”
“I know, and I’m so very sorry,” Eryk responded. Aislynn stared at him in shock, never expecting that he would actually agree with a statement like that, regardless of whether or not it was true.
“Did you just say what I think you said?” she asked.
Eryk nodded. “I know that I’m to blame for the way things ended, and I’m going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Byron is teaching me… What?”
She suddenly had a bit of sparkle to her eyes. “Byron is teaching you. So that you don’t get me killed?” She smiled, and started to chuckle, but that just caused another wave of pain.
“Your father is here,” Eryk said, changing the subject before she injured herself laughing at him. “He arrived the day before yesterday. He’s been acting as my advisor until I find a replacement for Branden…” His voice trailed off, an idea suddenly occurring to him.
“Why don’t you be my chief advisor?” he asked her. Aislynn just looked at him, and then opened her mouth to say something, but he put a finger across her lips. “Just hear me out,” he said.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot these past couple of days, and regardless of what you think, I still believe that you would be perfect as my queen. But you need to be happy, and I need to be able to make you happy, for that to work. You are not like the women here. You have been taught to be independent and you think for yourself, though you should likely think a little bit more before you say whatever comes into your head. I can give you a position that will allow you to be independent and think for yourself, and since you tell me what to do anyway, it would be perfect.”
He had taken his finger away from her mouth and she tried to speak again, but he wasn’t done yet.
“I took your advice and I told my council that they are my council and are here to advise me, not to make the decisions. And it felt really good to assert myself. You would be an asset to me, as my advisor, and it would give you a reason to be with me all the time. So what do you say?” Eryk paused, and knelt down beside the bed. “Aislynn, will you be my chief advisor?” he asked, with a smile.
During this whole speech, Aislynn could feel Eryk’s emotions pouring through the link between them. They were always more powerful and clear when he was close to her, and she could feel his love for her. She could also feel his conviction that this was the right thing to do, his belief that this would be perfect, for both of them. In all honesty, faced with his argument and with his emotions, she couldn’t deny his request. With a smile, she nodded her head weakly.
“You’re likely going to have to come here to get advice though,” she said. “I’m not sure when I’m going to be able to get out of here.” She made a weak gesture to indicate the confines of her room.
Aislynn could feel how happy she had made Eryk when she accepted the position he had offered her, and it made her feel good. She was also relieved that he was obviously not going to press the marriage question, because she didn’t feel up to arguing with him right now. Suddenly, she felt very tired, and she couldn’t hold back a yawn.
Eryk, seeing how exhausted she was from continuing to fight the poison and heal her multiple injuries, leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead, carefully avoiding the bruises as best he could.
“I’ll come back later and fill you in on what has happened over the past two days. Rest now, and get your strength back. Cheta, Marja, Marcus and Mateo are keeping watch over you right now, and Byron has a pair of guards trying to keep me safe, so don’t worry about anything.” He brushed her hair gently back from her forehead, and left the room.