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Elalia sighed as she watched the people moving in and out of the Temple. The Tandian delegation seemed to spend too much time there, and she wondered for a moment if she should honour their request for an audience. She was disappointed that they could just reappear in Rocfeld after she had managed to push them out.
There was no way she could prove the charges she had alluded to before she had been marked as queen. Despite her best efforts, there was no evidence to back her claims and although she managed to have her father’s agreement dissolved, there was nothing else she could do.
They claimed the necessity to talk trade, but she was sure there was something else. Meggie. She was absolutely certain that the idea of renewing the agreement was the main reason they had returned to Rocfeld, but they could wait.
She ran her tongue over her lips. She was too warm; the heat increased every day. She hoped it was an indication that the magic was building in her system, and that it wasn’t slowly disappearing with every use as the goddess thought. She was sure she wasn’t wasting anything, for she felt stronger with every passing day, if somewhat different, and she could feel the magic growing.
She grimaced as she watched Brother Erasmus walk out into the sun with the youngest advisor. She knew full well who he really was, and yet he continued to keep up the pretence of being someone else. A moment of doubt, that the Brother knew what she did, caught the breath in her chest. But whether he knew or not, there was nothing he could do about it. She didn’t like the way they continued to chat in the sunshine. Why would they talk?
Perhaps they talked of some spiritual issue or query. How long since she had been in the Temple? She turned away from the glass and sat slowly at the table. She wouldn’t need to visit again, not now that she was clearly marked and crowned as queen.
A loud knock at the door drew her attention, but before she could call out, it squeaked open and a young soldier, looking very unsure of himself, stood to attention and then bowed stiffly.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice calm and steady despite the concerns she had.
“I have a message for you, Your Majesty.”
She waved a hand and he coughed dramatically.
“Well, get on with it,” she said, sounding as frustrated as she felt.
He nodded briskly. “The message is from Commander Brent.”
“He wants to bring them home, does he?”
“There has been an accident and he fears for Princess Meg. He asks that she be returned to Rocfeld for care.”
She paused before shaking her head.
“He asks if a nurse may be sent to treat her.”
“How long ago was the accident?” Elalia asked slowly.
“Some weeks,” the man murmured.
The commander has sent the message as a last resort then, she thought. She sighed and looked into his young, expectant face. “Have you seen her?”
He nodded slowly. “A couple of times, Your Highness. The leg heals a little, but her head still aches.”
“She is already on the mend then,” she said, standing swiftly from the table, and the young man stepped back. “The commander has my instructions and they stand. She will be well enough by the time you return.”
He bowed and backed out of the room, but she was sure he muttered something.
“Is there anything else?” she snapped.
He shook his head as he closed the door behind him. She moved back to the window. Thankfully, the young man moved directly through the courtyard towards the barracks. Would he talk to the royal commander and make his pleas to him? Again, it didn’t matter. It was her decision as to what was done with her sisters.
Not long after, she saw the young soldier on horseback headed for the road; he certainly wasn’t wasting any time. She stared after him, wondering about the nature of Meggie’s accident and what would need to occur for Commander Brent to take it upon himself to bring them home again without instructions to do so.
And then Brother Erasmus was walking through the door and sitting himself down at the table, Terra only a step behind, pouring wine.
“Please make yourself comfortable,” she said. He nodded without looking up. “What do they want?”
“To talk.”
“With you or me?”
“They would prefer you, but as you won’t see them, they instead visit the Temple.”
“What benefit would it be if I did meet with them? Their king would rather have my crown, and I will not hand it over.” She continued to watch the world move about outside her window.
“You need to reassure them that you did not blindly accuse them of a crime they had no part in simply to break the agreement your father put in place.”
“Would it matter if I did?” she asked, turning to him slowly.
“Yes,” he said, looking directly at her. She shivered. “It may indicate that you would be a difficult neighbour, that you might not honour any future agreements.”
“They see me as a threat?” she asked seriously, moving back to the table and sitting down.
“It isn’t helping,” he said.
She remembered her father and the sinking feeling when he didn’t look at her as she wanted him to. But it wasn’t important now. It didn’t matter what they thought of her or Rocfeld, because soon enough they would all bow down before her. “Fine,” she said. “I will meet with them.”
He nodded and stood from the table. “I shall bring them tomorrow.”
She gave him a single nod.
“And when will you bring the girls back?” he asked, stopping by the door.
“When it is time and I am sure they will be safe.”
“Are you sure they are safe where they are?”
“Yes,” she said, turning to look out the window rather than at the Brother. The young soldier had claimed Megora was on the mend; there was no chance of her dying out there.
The four men filed into her rooms and she wondered for the first time if she should have kept her sisters around. But as she focused on the young, surly prince trying to hide at the back of the group, she remembered that he had only come for Megora.
The other men all looked familiar as well, and although Brother Erasmus had shown them to the door, he hadn’t stayed to reintroduce them. She tried not to smile; she had made sure he wouldn’t stay. She looked over the serious group again. They thought that this mattered, that the trivial items they negotiated for were of real importance in the world, but she knew better.
The surprise of the group was the Brother. Similar in looks and dress to Erasmus, he was a little unnerving. She couldn’t remember his visiting last time, or if he had, he hadn’t seemed to be a part of the negotiations. She wondered at his presence now.
“You have travelled far,” she said. “And after only just returning to Tands. It would seem you cannot stay away.”
The eldest of the advisors—Lord Alva, she remembered—bowed before her. “Your Majesty,” he said slowly. “Allow me to reintroduce Lord Caris and Lord Danel to you, and this is Brother Adroth. We visit as a new ruler in a land so close to our own is an uncertainty.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I am sure the Raven Queen is an honourable and honest woman who wishes for nothing but the best for her kingdom.”
She nodded once.
“Yet my king is old and cynical. He is concerned by the unknown and wishes to keep a closer eye upon Rocfeld until he understands her intentions.”
“Our intentions are as they have always been,” she said. “I negotiate for Rocfeld and the safety of her people first.”
“The accusations made before you were crowned have caused some concern. Rumours of the removal of your sisters so soon after our departure raised our king’s ire further.”
“They are travelling.” She waved her hand as though they were in the next room. “They required time after our father’s death.”
“They were not sent then?” the prince asked.
“Of course not.” She did not want to explain this to them. “They travel to an old family home, to rest, and when they are rested they will return.”
“They have been gone some time.”
“They were very close to our father,” she said. “His death was hard upon them. As it was me, yet I was unable to travel with them, for I have work to do.”
The old advisor gave the prince a stern look and nodded.
“You are welcome to visit as long as you would like,” she said, pushing up from the table to stand above them. “I trust you are comfortable.” But she did not wait for a response, instead holding out her hand and indicating the door.