Chapter 22: Cold Winds of Winter

“Let’s have some fun!” Octavia said.

The weather had begun to warm but there were still mounds of snow throughout Tyrell. The city had come to its customary shutdown during the winter months. No one had left (or arrived at) the capital in weeks but the sun was shining for the first time in days.

Joseph and Liala offered quizzical looks.

“I have a lot of experience in doing fun things in the snow,” Octavia declared. “We’ve been cooped up in the castle for weeks. Frankly, I’m sick of looking at the two of you!”

“Don’t mince words,” Joseph said with a laugh. “What did you have in mind?”

“I think we can take the wheels off a pull cart and ride it across the snow,” Octavia said with excitement. “It is how we travel in Marindar. Let’s get everyone and go outside.”

“The wheels?” Liala wondered.

“The cart!” Octavia replied with a shake of her head. “We call them sleds.”

“I can’t see it,” Joseph remarked. Indeed, it took a demonstration before he understood. Even then, it wasn’t as easy as Octavia had envisioned. The problem was propulsion.

The area around Tyrell was completely flat, unlike the rolling hills near the Marindar capital. Once Liala found a source of locomotion – Joseph and Genrico dragging the group – everyone seemed to have a great time.

Or at least the laughter coming from those on the sled told the beasts of burden that everyone was having fun. By the second circle of the city streets, dozens of city citizens had left their homes for the first time in weeks to watch the spectacle.

Soon children were jumping onto the sled, giggling and laughing at the prospect of being pulled through the snow by the two most powerful men in Azkoval. It didn’t take long for the original occupants to depart the makeshift sled only to be replaced by shopkeepers, farmers and fisherman and their families.

Some of the larger men in town took over for Genrico and Joseph after a few laps and the two tired men took a seat on a snow-covered stone wall.

“It looks like everyone is having fun,” Genrico noted.

“Octavia said they would,” Joseph said with a laugh. “How are you making out with the military expenditures?”

Genrico sighed.

“We will have to make difficult decisions very shortly,” Genrico told him. “The standing army served its purpose while we were gone but without a viable threat it is excessive. We simply cannot afford to keep 500 men employed as glorified body shields.”

“What will we do with the barracks if we disband the army?” Joseph inquired.

“I don’t know,” Genrico admitted. “That is outside of my discipline. Choran will have to decide what is to be done with the buildings.”

Joseph frowned, not only at the amount of money spent in building the barracks but at the thought of pushing the group of men Elena had hired out into the world. Since the barracks sat inside the castle grounds, the buildings couldn’t be used for much of anything. It couldn’t be turned into an inn or a tavern.

“Liala says we will have to have housing for the horses her mother will bring back,” Genrico said.

“Perhaps we can put the horses in the barracks,” Joseph replied. He noticed his friend shaking his head.

“It isn’t feasible,” Genrico told him. “First off, it’s two stories. Horses cannot climb stairs. Secondly, she says that horses smell terrible. With the winds off the ocean, the castle would smell like manure within days.”

“We don’t have any coin,” Joseph said in a clipped voice.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Genrico replied. “We have several months, perhaps a year or more, before the Marindarians arrive. I know we’ve received several requests from foreign countries for troops. Elena said that the Denayian envoy offered gold to have some of our soldiers train their troops. I wanted to wait until she returned to see if there was a reason she declined but if the need is pressing I could take a company to Denaya to train their troops. If the Marindarians arrive early, I could be back within two weeks. If we task someone to take another half company to another country that has put in a request it would serve two purposes. It would help our bottom line and it would alleviate the need to break up the army.”

“I do not want you out of the country until we have the situation resolved with Marindar,” Joseph said. “If we task someone to take half a company to Greanly, we can task someone to go to Denaya.”

Genrico nodded but frowned. Joseph lifted his eyebrows.

“I planned to take Victoria and Amelia to meet my father,” Genrico admitted.

“You do not need to take a company of soldiers with you for that!” Joseph laughed. “I am certain that they will not run away.”

Genrico’s frown deepened and Joseph apologized.

“You do not need an excuse to return to Denaya,” the king said.

“I was simply trying to solve as many problems as I could,” Genrico told him.

“I understand,” Joseph said as he elbowed his friend in the ribs. “So the situation with Victoria is getting serious?”

Genrico nodded.

“I never believed I would find someone who makes me feel the way she does,” he admitted.

“I’m happy for you,” Joseph said softly. “Do you plan to return to Larchman after you wed?”

“I think not,” Genrico answered. “I enjoy Tyrell. I plan to appoint Amelia as my steward. Many of the older residents remember her family fondly. I would be willing to cede the land back to her but she has decided that she would prefer that I keep it. It will return to her family when Victoria and I have children and that is enough for her.”

“I will confess that I am glad that you will stay in Tyrell,” Joseph admitted. “It has been many years since we have been apart without a good reason.”

“What of you?” Genrico asked.

“What of me?” Joseph parroted. He didn’t understand the query.

“Which of your legion of admirers will wind up warming your bed?” Genrico clarified with a gentle nudge in Joseph’s ribs.

Joseph let out a long sigh.

“I do not have a legion of admirers,” he said.

“Please,” Genrico laughed. “You have a princess from the Northern Lands; a duchess from the Southern Lands; the daughters or granddaughter of any man in the land – and my future sister-in-law.”

“Elizabeth Burbridge?” Joseph asked with a laugh.

“I am uncertain it would be in your long-term interest to attempt to tame that wildcat,” Genrico said. “Although I suppose once the truth is revealed she will also be my sister-in-law. If she had lighter hair and she cut it shorter, her heritage would be obvious. I was referring to my future wife’s twin sister.”

“I understood that,” Joseph said, the frown Genrico had worn transferring to the king’s visage. “I don’t believe attempting to tame Julia would be any easier than Elizabeth. Besides, whomever I wed must be able to reconcile herself to my past. Julia is still too frightened of me to even look in my direction most of the time. She has departed anytime I have tried to strike up a conversation with her.”

Genrico nodded sadly.

“I fear that is her mother’s doing,” he said. “Her views on courtship run contrary to what we learned in Denaya.”

“What did we learn in Denaya?” Joseph asked. He was only half joking.

“In Denaya, it is not a scandal for a man to be alone with a woman that is not his wife or fiancée,” Genrico said. “I can see from your interactions with certain females, you do not find it to be an issue, either. However, I can also see that with other females – our guests, for instance – you adhere to traditional Az customs.”

“That is mostly because I am unsure of their customs,” Joseph said. “I don’t worry about Elena. She and I were alone together through most of our childhoods. Neither Jonathan nor she is concerned, although we do not meet privately if others are nearby.”

Genrico let out a sigh.

“Which is probably a good thing,” he told his oldest friend in a low voice. “Rumor of the marriage contract has reached the city and you and she are the subject of much gossip.”

“There is little I can do about that,” Joseph pointed out.

“No, I understand that part,” Genrico said. “But what concerns me is a rumor that a copy of the contract has been found – and currently rests in Elena’s possession.”

“That is the same as having it rest in my possession,” Joseph said, shrugging.

“Perhaps,” Genrico answered. “Perhaps not. I believe that Choran is aware of the document. In fact, he might have been the person to procure it for Elena. With that document in hand, she could stake a claim to the crown if something were to befall you.”

“You believe Elena and Choran plot against me?” Joseph asked incredulously – and perhaps a bit too loudly.

“I believe that everyone plots against you,” Genrico admitted. “Then I analyze what motive they might have and either investigate further or remove the thought from my mind.”

“With or without the contract, Elena and Jonathan would rule if something should happen to me,” Joseph reminded him.

“I am not certain Elena has a role for Jonathan in her plans,” Genrico said. “That is what worries me most.”

As Joseph was cooped up in the castle for the snowy months, Alexander Burbridge was enjoying one of the mildest winters he could ever remember. The unnamed section of land that he oversaw had flourished under new guidance.

Alexander would have liked to claim credit for the success but he had to admit that the region was primed to grow regardless of who sat in the makeshift manor house.

Several soldiers who didn’t relish the long trek back to Tyrell – and who came from farming backgrounds – took the opportunity to till their own homestead instead of working for a relative for the remainder of their lives. Others that had gone into hiding instead of fighting for Lord Wellington had re-emerged and returned to their farms. By the end of summer, someone tended every farm in the region.

Despite the brevity of their growing season (since many did not get seeds in the ground until the late summer), the area’s harvest was bountiful.

A thriving market had been established just down from where Alexander made his home and people from surrounding regions made their way to it almost every weekend. Alexander could hear the peals of laughter from the youngsters who enjoyed the carnival-like atmosphere.

The laughter would give Alexander a brief respite from the knowledge that he had no true children of his own. The more he thought about Elizabeth the more convinced he was that she, too, was sired by another. The portraits of the young Wellington girls as children reminded him so much of Elizabeth that he couldn’t see how it was possible that she was of his flesh.

Still, he missed Jonathan and Elizabeth. He had decided that he was a coward for staying behind. Elizabeth was mercurial, and he wasn’t certain that the knowledge of her birth wouldn’t bring a smile to her face. Alexander knew he had not been much of a father to the girl but he still remembered fondly when she would sit on his knee as a child. The hug she had given him upon his departure had been heartfelt.

Joseph’s system of messengers made getting news from Tyrell a matter of weeks instead of months but he knew the harsh winter weather in the north would preclude any news from the capital. The last information he’d received informed him that Jonathan had been injured in Blue Harbor but had recuperated from his wound. Jonathan had mentioned that Elizabeth had appeared at the capital but had offered little more than that. He promised a longer message later but nothing had arrived in several weeks.