Shattered Crowns
Chapter Four
I cooed softly to Talon as he fidgeted restlessly on my shoulder. The healer had mostly fixed his wing, but he had bandaged it so Talon wouldn't over-exert himself for a day or two. The falcon didn't like being grounded and nipped at my hair with his beak.
"Shh," I murmured to him. "Behave yourself, and don't pout."
I couldn't stop myself from shooting a dark look towards the Morandaali guards, however. They were lucky I had to play nice or I would have sent the bronze-haired one named Luca out the nearest window. Besides Sorina, Talon was my closest friend. The guards eyed him warily as he screeched at them but he remained gentle on my shoulder, his talons never breaking skin. With a final indignant ruffle of his feathers, he stilled and settled for glaring at the vampires in an alarmingly human way. I suspected he was plotting some kind of revenge.
"Forgive me for my bluntness, Ambassador, but a bit of warning that you were arriving early would have been appreciated," King Ailwyn said.
The ambassador bowed slightly. "Please, Your Highness, call me Samael. I'm sorry for the unexpected arrival. We departed a few days earlier than planned since it was predicted that there would be rough weather through the mountain pass."
I watched his face carefully and while the Ambassador's face gave little away, I felt fairly certain he was lying. The vampires had likely wanted to catch the royal family off guard; it was a display of power, testing their limits. This truce our kingdoms had reached was new and tenuous.
Queen Esebel, gracious as ever, gave everyone a warm smile and quickly dispatched several maids to finish preparations on the guest rooms chosen for the Ambassador and his guards and make sure the chefs knew their guests had arrived. She would no doubt charm the vampires to death. Maybe then Sorina wouldn't have to get married.
I stuck close to her side as we hurried back to her room. I shooed the other handmaidens away and helped her into a more formal gown. Talon perched on her vanity table and clicked his beak restlessly.
"They came here early on purpose," I said as I pinned her hair up. I saw her wince in the mirror.
"Don't pin angry," she said.
"Sorry." I slid the next pin in more gently. "I don't believe them about a storm in the mountains though."
Sorina sighed. "I'm sure it's a lie, or at least an exaggeration. But they're here now, and we have to make the best of it. I'm sorry they hurt Talon." She eyed the falcon a bit warily as he shuffled around on her vanity and nosed at the pots and jars of rouge and kohl.
"I wish I could make them sorry," I grumbled. I finished with her hair and went to find a dress for myself. Normally Talon would return to his roost but with his wing out of commission I couldn't bring myself to let him out of my sight. He accompanied me to dinner, perching on the back of my chair and looked around broodingly. The royal family was at the head of the table, speaking with the vampire Ambassador. I sat a little further down the table, among the guards. Esebel and the castle cooks hadn't let the surprise arrival ruffle them; there was an elaborate and lovely feast laid out on the dining table. They had even brought out the best mulled cider and wine.
"Is it a common practice of elven nobility to allow their maids pets?" Luca asked as I turned to give Talon a piece of meat.
"We let vampires into the castle, why not animals too?" I asked sweetly and his gaze darkened.
"I would think a princess's lady-in-waiting would be more polite to her guests."
"I would think a princess's guests would be polite enough to inform her they would be arriving early," I shot back. Luca started to say something else but the guard beside him nudged him with his elbow. It clearly took a tremendous effort for Luca to wipe the scowl off his face.
"Of course," he said stiffly. "My sincerest apologies, Lady...?"
"Rowan."
"Lady Rowan. We didn't mean to inconvenience you and the royal family."
"Of course not. We are allies now, after all," I replied smoothly. Some of the other Morandaali guards made mundane and polite small talk with me for the rest of the meal, while Luca mostly stared coldly down at his plate.
“Lady Rowan, would you please escort the guards to their quarters in the east wing?” King Ailwyn asked when no one could eat anymore. “The Ambassador and I have a bit more to discuss.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” I rose from my chair and curtsied before asking the guards to follow me. One remained behind, stationing himself against the wall behind Samael. A brief wave of tension stole through the room at this blatant display of distrust, but Ailwyn and Esebel said nothing of it. I flashed a reassuring smile at Sorina before collecting Talon and leading the other guards to their assigned chambers.
“Ambassador Samael will be at the end of the hall,” I said. “All the staff has been instructed not to disturb this corridor unless summoned. If you need to find your way anywhere, I'd suggest asking for help because you'll never find your way around this maze without it.”
Luca caught my eye and glowered, clearly catching on to the fact that I was telling them all to stay put and behave themselves. I gave him a saccharine smile in return.
“You may join the royal family for breakfast in the morning if you wish,” I went on. “Or you can have it brought to your chambers. Good night, gentlemen.” I bowed my head and departed back down the stairs. I changed into nightclothes and opened the secret door that connected my room to Sorina’s. She was sitting in her window seat, staring out into the night.
“It's going to be okay,” I said from the doorway. “They're not nearly so frightening in person.”
Sorina laughed softly. “That’s easy to say when you don't have to marry one of them. I have no idea what to expect of this mysterious Prince Andrei.”
“I'm sure he's not really all that mysterious. He just wants to keep you in suspense.”
“Well it's definitely working.”
“I'll be with you every step of the way,” I promised, crossing the room to give her a hug. I made sure all the locks on her door were secured before returning to my own room. The next two days were spent making final preparations for Sorina and I to travel to Morandaal. King Ailwyn sent six of his most trusted knights with us and I had a blade in each boot and up my sleeves. You could feel the uncertainty in the air as we mounted our horses in the chill morning air. No one on either side knew what to expect crossing that mountain pass together.
Talon was finally free of his bandages and eager to fly again. He circled overhead, impatiently waiting for us to get moving. King Ailwyn and Queen Esebel embraced both Sorina and I before we left.
“Be careful, my sweet girls,” Esebel said quietly. “May the Woodgods watch over you.”
“We’ll see you in a few weeks,” Ailwyn added. He squeezed Sorina’s hand before stepping back. Sorina and I lifted the hoods of our cloaks and turned our horses around to face the mountains to the north. Both elven and vampire guards fell in around us and Talon let out a long cry, and then we were leaving Everglen behind for whatever lay beyond the shadow of the mountain.
"Shh," I murmured to him. "Behave yourself, and don't pout."
I couldn't stop myself from shooting a dark look towards the Morandaali guards, however. They were lucky I had to play nice or I would have sent the bronze-haired one named Luca out the nearest window. Besides Sorina, Talon was my closest friend. The guards eyed him warily as he screeched at them but he remained gentle on my shoulder, his talons never breaking skin. With a final indignant ruffle of his feathers, he stilled and settled for glaring at the vampires in an alarmingly human way. I suspected he was plotting some kind of revenge.
"Forgive me for my bluntness, Ambassador, but a bit of warning that you were arriving early would have been appreciated," King Ailwyn said.
The ambassador bowed slightly. "Please, Your Highness, call me Samael. I'm sorry for the unexpected arrival. We departed a few days earlier than planned since it was predicted that there would be rough weather through the mountain pass."
I watched his face carefully and while the Ambassador's face gave little away, I felt fairly certain he was lying. The vampires had likely wanted to catch the royal family off guard; it was a display of power, testing their limits. This truce our kingdoms had reached was new and tenuous.
Queen Esebel, gracious as ever, gave everyone a warm smile and quickly dispatched several maids to finish preparations on the guest rooms chosen for the Ambassador and his guards and make sure the chefs knew their guests had arrived. She would no doubt charm the vampires to death. Maybe then Sorina wouldn't have to get married.
I stuck close to her side as we hurried back to her room. I shooed the other handmaidens away and helped her into a more formal gown. Talon perched on her vanity table and clicked his beak restlessly.
"They came here early on purpose," I said as I pinned her hair up. I saw her wince in the mirror.
"Don't pin angry," she said.
"Sorry." I slid the next pin in more gently. "I don't believe them about a storm in the mountains though."
Sorina sighed. "I'm sure it's a lie, or at least an exaggeration. But they're here now, and we have to make the best of it. I'm sorry they hurt Talon." She eyed the falcon a bit warily as he shuffled around on her vanity and nosed at the pots and jars of rouge and kohl.
"I wish I could make them sorry," I grumbled. I finished with her hair and went to find a dress for myself. Normally Talon would return to his roost but with his wing out of commission I couldn't bring myself to let him out of my sight. He accompanied me to dinner, perching on the back of my chair and looked around broodingly. The royal family was at the head of the table, speaking with the vampire Ambassador. I sat a little further down the table, among the guards. Esebel and the castle cooks hadn't let the surprise arrival ruffle them; there was an elaborate and lovely feast laid out on the dining table. They had even brought out the best mulled cider and wine.
"Is it a common practice of elven nobility to allow their maids pets?" Luca asked as I turned to give Talon a piece of meat.
"We let vampires into the castle, why not animals too?" I asked sweetly and his gaze darkened.
"I would think a princess's lady-in-waiting would be more polite to her guests."
"I would think a princess's guests would be polite enough to inform her they would be arriving early," I shot back. Luca started to say something else but the guard beside him nudged him with his elbow. It clearly took a tremendous effort for Luca to wipe the scowl off his face.
"Of course," he said stiffly. "My sincerest apologies, Lady...?"
"Rowan."
"Lady Rowan. We didn't mean to inconvenience you and the royal family."
"Of course not. We are allies now, after all," I replied smoothly. Some of the other Morandaali guards made mundane and polite small talk with me for the rest of the meal, while Luca mostly stared coldly down at his plate.
“Lady Rowan, would you please escort the guards to their quarters in the east wing?” King Ailwyn asked when no one could eat anymore. “The Ambassador and I have a bit more to discuss.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” I rose from my chair and curtsied before asking the guards to follow me. One remained behind, stationing himself against the wall behind Samael. A brief wave of tension stole through the room at this blatant display of distrust, but Ailwyn and Esebel said nothing of it. I flashed a reassuring smile at Sorina before collecting Talon and leading the other guards to their assigned chambers.
“Ambassador Samael will be at the end of the hall,” I said. “All the staff has been instructed not to disturb this corridor unless summoned. If you need to find your way anywhere, I'd suggest asking for help because you'll never find your way around this maze without it.”
Luca caught my eye and glowered, clearly catching on to the fact that I was telling them all to stay put and behave themselves. I gave him a saccharine smile in return.
“You may join the royal family for breakfast in the morning if you wish,” I went on. “Or you can have it brought to your chambers. Good night, gentlemen.” I bowed my head and departed back down the stairs. I changed into nightclothes and opened the secret door that connected my room to Sorina’s. She was sitting in her window seat, staring out into the night.
“It's going to be okay,” I said from the doorway. “They're not nearly so frightening in person.”
Sorina laughed softly. “That’s easy to say when you don't have to marry one of them. I have no idea what to expect of this mysterious Prince Andrei.”
“I'm sure he's not really all that mysterious. He just wants to keep you in suspense.”
“Well it's definitely working.”
“I'll be with you every step of the way,” I promised, crossing the room to give her a hug. I made sure all the locks on her door were secured before returning to my own room. The next two days were spent making final preparations for Sorina and I to travel to Morandaal. King Ailwyn sent six of his most trusted knights with us and I had a blade in each boot and up my sleeves. You could feel the uncertainty in the air as we mounted our horses in the chill morning air. No one on either side knew what to expect crossing that mountain pass together.
Talon was finally free of his bandages and eager to fly again. He circled overhead, impatiently waiting for us to get moving. King Ailwyn and Queen Esebel embraced both Sorina and I before we left.
“Be careful, my sweet girls,” Esebel said quietly. “May the Woodgods watch over you.”
“We’ll see you in a few weeks,” Ailwyn added. He squeezed Sorina’s hand before stepping back. Sorina and I lifted the hoods of our cloaks and turned our horses around to face the mountains to the north. Both elven and vampire guards fell in around us and Talon let out a long cry, and then we were leaving Everglen behind for whatever lay beyond the shadow of the mountain.