Chapter 55

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Marc peeled his eyes open, unwilling to relinquish sleep yet, but felt he needed to get up and move or he might never. It took a longer moment to realize he was ensconced in an extremely comfortable bed, plush pillows at his head. Silk sheets glided next to bare skin under thick down-filled covers. A low fire kept the chill from the air.

He sat up to his elbows, looking around. A sparsely furnished room gave him little idea of where he was. He rubbed his eyes, judging the angle of sun to be morning, but he didn’t know of what day. A sharp, growing pain in his stomach suggested many had passed. He was very hungry and reached for the bedside companel, stopping abruptly. On the stand, he recognized a crumpled parchment as the Lord Chancellor’s declaration, wondering why it was there.

An instant reminder of all that he had done, guessing Dynan had put it there for that purpose. Another caught his eye, neatly rolled and tied with dark blue ribbon. The crumpled parchment was heavy and a diamond shaped object fell out of it, dropping into the covers.

His eyes widened as he picked up the seal he had seen Xavier wear. He held it in his hand, confused and a little afraid. He saw that a note was scrawled on the parchment next to a blank space above his printed name.

“This is yours to keep, a pledge of faith, honestly made in service to this System. The other is for you to sign and return. Get up, my Lord Chancellor. It’s time for you to come back to work.”

Marc leaned back in his pillows, groaning under his breath. Having hoped that his part was finished and he could go back to a simpler life, maybe even go back home, he saw that Dynan had other ideas. He shook his head, extremely reluctant to agree to this. Somehow though, he had a feeling he wouldn’t be let off so easily.

Being Dynan’s Lord Chancellor required a tremendous trust between them, knowing how much authority the position held, second only to the King, and Marc couldn’t believe Dynan had that much faith in him. Except evidence of that trust rested in his hand.

He shook his head, setting the seal and parchment back on the bed stand and climbed out. He felt much better physically, though he was stiff. His body still ached from days of abuse, but at least standing up wasn’t so difficult. Compared to how he had felt, a little stiffness was a miracle. He found a washroom next to a large dressing room that contained clothes that he knew didn’t belong to him. He saw Dynan’s old worn boots tossed in a corner, surprised that they put him in his rooms.

A long, hot bath in a large gilt-edged tub took care of much of the stiffness, though the more Marc moved around, the more he became aware of other aches and pains. The scar across his chest healed faster than he expected it to and it itched. His side still hurt. He was banged up and bruised just about everywhere.

In the dressing room, he found two of his uniforms set off from the other clothes, noticing that the insignia had been changed. The pins that denoted his rank of First Commander had been removed and replaced by two silver stars. He felt the magnetic patch where the Lord Chancellor’s seal would attach to the uniform, and again, doubt of his ability to manage such a huge task clouded his mind. He felt like he’d been kicked to the top of a mountain and the only way off was to jump.

#He finished dressing, looking at himself in a mirror. His eyes had mostly returned to normal, though the black of the pupil seemed slightly larger than normal. An improvement, nonetheless. The hollow circles under his eyes had gone with sleep as well. He smiled at his reflection for a second, then left the bedchamber in search of food. It took him some time, wandering from room to room before he found the kitchen. The place was deserted though, so he set about making himself a meal.

After downing an incredible amount of food, he felt like crawling back into bed, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be allowed that luxury. He wanted to find out what had been happening, as well as how long he’d been asleep. He suspected both Dynan and Dain would know by now that he was awake. Marc could tell where they were, though he didn’t try harder to find out what they were doing. He also thought that the minute he saw Dynan an argument would ensue. Marc didn’t think he’d get the better of this one. Even though he wasn’t from Cobalt, or any of the known Systems, didn’t know much about how the System was governed, and didn’t really feel like he was smart enough for the responsibility, Marc knew Dynan wouldn’t listen to any of that.

He went back into the bedroom and retrieved the seal and the rolled document. It was the same as the one he’d forced Dynan to sign. He took the crumpled parchment as well, stuffing it into an inner pocket. Lastly, he looked at the seal. Slowly, with a great deal of uncertainty, he attached it to his uniform, feeling like he’d just consigned himself to a lifetime of servitude.

He snorted at that thought, knowing that he had. Before he lost his nerve, he unrolled the parchment on Dynan’s desk, signed it, blew it dry, and rolled it back up. He left it there for the future King to find.

“Jump,” he muttered and walked from the room.