Chapter 54: Departures and Arrivals

As had happened when he travelled southward the first time, Joseph appointed Elena as his steward while he departed for the marriage ceremony of Lydia and Yerrick in the shire of the groom’s birth. This time, though, Jonathan would act as her compatriot in running the country.

It had been a week since court ended and life had started to return to normal at the castle. Elena and Jonathan had taken a short trip to Westmont to allow that holding’s populace to celebrate their nuptials but the king had remained at the castle.

The move of the stables to the outer perimeter had been accomplished a day earlier and Franco’s sons had already delivered the necessary materials for the beginning of the barracks. Joseph figured they would be near to completion by the time he returned. Yana and her entourage had departed for the homeland after a tearful goodbye not only from her daughter but from her daughter’s friends, as well. Yana had been touched that her youngest child had developed such a rapport with such a diverse group. Liala was truly a leader, Yana decided before she departed.

Annette Hulett had remained behind with her younger brother while her family had departed for the home area.

The Hulett family and their retainers were still expected to make the passage on foot. Half the soldiers accompanied them while the other half rode horses. There were not enough horses for every soldier – let alone ones to spare for a family that Joseph didn’t particularly like.

The walk to the capital had been hard on the young girl and it made little sense to risk her safety on the return voyage when the king himself had offered to bring her home with his entourage. Roderick had volunteered to chaperone his sister’s stay. Lord Hulett had originally balked at the idea but his wife had overridden his veto. She had grown weary of her daughter’s constant whining.

The young girl’s presence had slowed the flirting in the castle – to Joseph’s relief and to the chagrin of the females. Still, one always managed to slip away for a brief period each day to visit with Joseph in his office.

“Your Highness, a ship with the Denayian royal crest has appeared in the harbor,” a soldier informed Joseph as he was packing his belongings on Blaze.

“That is Elena’s problem to deal with,” Joseph said with a smile. “I have officially turned my duties over to my stewards. Speak with them or Choran about it.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the soldier said.

“Laggard,” Julia whispered.

“I am exactly that,” Joseph replied. “I met with their envoy last night and he made no mention of anyone else coming across. I suspect it is another trade ship and I wish to depart. I have been cooped up in the castle for far too long. Are we ready?”

All heads nodded except one. Annette Hulett had not quite mastered the art of horseback riding. In fact, she still found the animals to be terrifying. She had already begun to wish she had simply walked back to Hulett with her parents – although she had greatly enjoyed the two weeks of relative freedom life at the castle had offered to her.

“Come,” Joseph said, motioning the young girl forward. She took a few halting steps before coming to a stop in front of the king – and in front of the largest animal she had ever seen. As he’d done with Celestine earlier, Joseph began talking to the young woman and telling her about the horse. He had to lift her upward in order for her to run her hand down Blaze’s snout. As he always did, the horse flared his nostrils and whinnied at the show of affection.

Annette found that her terror had lessened, not only because Blaze was happy to have her touch but because the king was near to her. In fact, she sat upon his arm with her free arm around his neck for support.

“Blaze, I’m going to lift her to your back,” the king told the horse – as though the animal understood him. “Behave yourself.”

The horse responded by pressing his nose more firmly against Annette’s small hand.

“Now, when you reach your perch, scratch him behind the ears,” Joseph advised. He used his free hand to demonstrate, first on the animal and then on the girl he held. Blaze shook his mane but Annette only giggled. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Annette said gamely.

“Hold tight to my neck for a moment,” the king proposed. He waited for her to grip him before shifting his hands to her slim hips. With minimal effort, he hoisted her upward and turned her around to face forward. Annette expelled her breath when she found herself on the back of the horse.

“Take the leather strap with one hand and scratch his ear with the other,” Joseph offered. He kept a hand on the horse’s flank so he could catch the child if Blaze decided he was unhappy about a new rider. Joseph had almost broken him of the habit of trying to dismount him every chance he got (but not completely). Still, Blaze behaved exactly as he had when Celestine had climbed on his back. He was docile and even pleasant, looking backward at the rider to ensure she was safely aboard.

“You can ride with us until you get accustomed to the mode of transport,” Joseph said. He shifted slightly and then threw a leg over Blaze’s back. In almost no time, he was right behind Annette. “If you find it ungainly, you may ride with Rucar in the wagon. Roderick, are you good?”

“I wouldn’t complain if one of your friends let me ride with them,” the young man answered with a laugh. Joseph noticed that the man moved backward away from his friends before making the joke. “Short of that, I have practiced all I could during Court. Duchess Liala tells me that riding over long distances is different but I will do my best.”

“That is all any of us can do,” Joseph said. He looked around at his companions. Genrico and Victoria already sat astride their mounts. Alexander and Amelia (whose presence surprised Alexander but not Joseph) were riding in a second wagon with Lydia and Yerrick (who could ride a horse but had been forbidden by his future bride to leave her side) and her parents.

Nine soldiers accompanied the group on horseback with one carrying the king’s banner proudly and another driving a wagon filled with food and water for the horses and for the humans.

The trip started on a hot, summer day. The banner carrier led the way down what had been dubbed The King’s Highway with Rucar and his wagon right behind. The soldiers had spread out in a protective formation around the dignitaries, encircling the travelling party. One soldier rode what Liala termed as “drag,” staying behind to ensure no one managed to sneak up on the group.

“This isn’t so bad, now is it?” Joseph asked his young passenger.

“It is a bit hard on my rump,” Annette declared. Her response was overheard by those around her and everyone laughed.

“My dear, at the end of the day, you will have wished your rump had fallen off,” Joseph said. “I fear tomorrow will be worse. You and Roderick will probably wish to join Rucar in the wagon for a day or two.”

“Rucar will be in no better shape,” Liala informed the king. “One of your craftsmen is making a nicer carriage but it is not completed yet. The wagon has no suspension and I fear those aboard feel every bump just as surely as we do. It is why Rucar insisted upon cushioning for his return trip. It will help some but a trip aboard a wagon is no pleasant thing.”

Roderick found the ride to be anything but tedious. The king’s friends rotated around and he found the sight of riding behind them to be very invigorating. He hated to give up the view for even a short time but he needed to have a conversation with Rucar. He urged his horse forward until he walked beside the wagon.

“I wish to enter your service when we return to my home,” he said without preamble. Rucar took his eyes off the road long enough to gaze at the face beside him.

“Why?” he asked simply.

“Many reasons, I think,” Roderick answered with a heavy sigh. “I have spent the past month contemplating my role in the future. I considered asking to remain in Tyrell to join Yerrick’s men or the King’s army. I decided that was unfair.”

“Oh?” Rucar asked.

Roderick looked back over his shoulder where his sister sat ahead of the king atop Blaze.

“It is Annette,” he said. “She is my sister but ... I am also her closest friend and her protector. There are men with an eye for girls her age and I fear many of them have found their way to my father’s holding.”

“And most of them found their way out while I was there,” Rucar informed the young man.

“I am thankful for that,” Roderick said with a nod. “I have done what I could to protect those around me – not just Annette – but I lack the standing to do much that has teeth. I have restricted myself to delivering beatings if it became necessary. I fear that I have handed out more than a few of those since I became large enough to defend others.”

“Good man,” Rucar said with a nod.

“But I cannot leave Annette with no one to confide in,” Roderick said. “I would feel as though I had deserted her to her fate if I were to leave her behind. My parents are ... you’ve met them. My brother is cut from the same cloth. I’m thankful that my parents mostly ignored Annette and me. I believe it permitted us to grow up with a better sense of right and wrong than if they had tried to impart a lesson to us.”

“That does not explain why I should take you into my service,” Rucar pointed out. “Nor does it explain why you would wish to join my network.”

“My father is a prideful man and he will not accept what he views as a slight,” Roderick confided. “I have already overheard him talking about things he might do to get revenge on the king. My brother and my mother are in agreement, of course. I found Frederick’s punishment to be quite entertaining but he does not accept humiliation without retribution. He will seek a means of harming the king and I will not permit it if I can stop it.”

“There will be soldiers at the manor,” Rucar noted.

“Again, I view that as a positive thing,” Roderick told him. “One thing I have learned of my family over the years. They are a crafty bunch. They will find someplace to conspire outside of earshot of the soldiers. Hulett is a large holding and the soldiers will not be everywhere at once. I can concoct some story about being mistreated after their departure and they will accept it. They already believe the worst of the king and his advisers. I can enlist my sister’s help in creating the ruse. That will put me back in their good graces. I can keep the soldiers advised of what is transpiring and they can get the information to you or King Joseph.”

Rucar nodded. He had heard that the Huletts were a sneaky bunch but that their impression of their intellect far outpaced reality.

“And in return?” the spymaster asked.

“I don’t follow,” Roderick admitted after a moment of reflection.

“What would you require for your service?” Rucar asked.

“Nothing,” Roderick answered at once. “Well, nothing that hasn’t already been promised.”

“Someone has made a promise to you in order to enlist your aid?” Rucar inquired, looking back over his shoulder at the group of attractive females that he knew the young man had admired for weeks.

“The king has promised to protect and defend all of Azkoval,” Roderick answered, unaware of the impression Rucar had formed. “My sister will be allowed to grow up and make her own choices – rightly or wrongly. She will not be offered to one of the local pederasts in exchange for his young wife. She will not be given as a child bride to a foreigner that might lend assistance to my family. She will have the option of returning to Tyrell in a few years and becoming a soldier if she wishes. She will be able to find a man that will encourage her spirit and vitality. The knowledge that she is safe and well is all I require and that has already been promised to me. I ask for nothing more.”

Rucar found himself nodding at the man’s words. He knew the youngest Hulett son had just turned 17. He was a year younger than Yerrick. Stam, Yerrick’s father, had declared him to be “a good sort.”

“I will introduce you to Morten when we arrive,” Rucar said. “He has taken over the daily running of the holding and he is my eyes and ears within the manor. You will report to him.”

“Very well,” Roderick said. “Perhaps he and I can concoct some tales to keep my family off guard. They will think I am spying for them while I gather information for you.”

“A good thought,” Rucar agreed after considering the idea. “I see that your family’s well-known guile is not lost upon you. I think you will go far if you choose to make this your calling.”

Ludwig and Annika von Schuman saw a legion of animals departing the capital but gave it little thought until they walked up from the docks and came face to snout with a horse. There was a man on the animal’s back.

Annika looked to her father for guidance but he was staring slack-jawed at the soldier.

“Welcome,” the soldier said in perfect Denayian. He hailed from a different country but had a remarkable ear for languages. He had been seconded to Elena’s diplomatic corps and given a permanent station at the capital. “I have asked for King Olaf’s representative to meet us here.”

Ludwig blinked. He had no idea that his brother-in-law had someone on Az soil. That would make the situation more difficult but not untenable.

“Do you come to trade with us?” the man asked, wondering if the well-dressed people in front of him had been sailing beneath a false flag.

“Of a sort,” Ludwig answered. “I am Earl Ludwig von Schuman, husband of King Olaf’s sister. This is our daughter, Annika. We have come to discuss trade but also to greet your king.”

“The king is not in residence,” the soldier said, gesturing to a large empty pole at the side of the city gate. “His banner flies when he is here.”

“He’s not here?” Annika hissed at her father.

“Silence,” the earl said sharply before returning his attention to the soldier. “When will the king return?”

“I fear it will be many weeks,” he replied. “He left just shortly before you arrived. If you would like, I will take you to the castle. You may schedule a meeting to meet with one of the ministers King Joseph has left in charge during his absence.”

“Ministers?” Ludwig wondered. He had heard the word used in connection with Grobism but he didn’t believe Azkoval to be a theocracy any longer.

“They are his advisers,” the soldier answered. “At present, Jonathan Burbridge, the Baron of Landon, and his wife, Lady Elena of Westmont are acting as stewards. Lady Elena is the person that deals with foreign dignitaries but our finance minister, Choran of Heilman, is currently handling trade talks. Our commerce minister has left with our king.”

“A commoner?” Annika asked incredulously. Her father had schooled her on the naming conventions in Azkoval. “We will not meet with a peasant.”

The soldier nodded sagely.

“Then I fear you will not do business with Azkoval,” he said simply. “Our commerce minister was once landed but now he holds no title. I should warn you that King Joseph takes a dim view of snobbery.”

Annika was poised to unleash her temper on the soldier but her father silenced her with a glare.

“You must forgive my child,” he said to the man. “I fear she rarely leaves Denayian soil so she is unversed in the ways of other cultures. Rest assured, I will rectify that before scheduling a meeting with your ministers. Would it be possible for us to lodge at the castle until the king returns?”

“I fear not,” the soldier replied. “We have just concluded Court. The king has decided that readying the rooms for visitors is a low priority given where he has gone.”