Chapter 65: Mounting Crises

The seven women found themselves eating alone, much to their displeasure.

The king’s official cabinet was meeting behind closed doors and the others had enjoyed a soft mattress so well that they continued to sleep well past sunrise.

The previous evening had not gone to plan. The ladies had found the history of Azkoval to be interesting but they had bigger goals for their time at the pool.

Now Joseph was locked away with his advisers and it didn’t appear that he would return any time soon.

“We are an imaginative group,” Catherine said. “We simply must find a way to convince him this is what we desire.”

“Creations Above, we forgot to tell him of our gift!” Elizabeth said, looking around the table at her friends. They all looked a bit confused so Elizabeth clarified. “The bed ... the new chamber!”

“Oh,” Bianca exclaimed. “I had forgotten about that. We barely spoke of it before it was decided. Is it completed?”

“It was supposed to be,” Elizabeth answered. “Franco said it would take about a month. Elena promised she would put it the chamber we selected for the king.”

“Does she know why we chose that room?” Octavia asked with a grin.

“I do not believe so,” Elizabeth told the group. “She believes it is simply bigger and nearer to his office.”

“Elena is wise enough to see the truth,” Liala cut in. “She is also wise enough not to speak it. You forget that she knows the system of hidden passages as well as Joseph does. She knows that we can simply descend the new stairs and enter his office or his chamber without notice.”

“Perhaps,” Elizabeth admitted with a sigh. She knew Elena and Jonathan had observed the arcane rituals of courtship until the time of their wedding. She didn’t wish for her sister-in-law to think badly of her.

“She doesn’t care,” Liala continued. “Perhaps if it were anyone but Joseph, she might. But she wishes him happiness and, if we are willing, she supports it. Do not worry about things.”

“I’m not truly worried,” Elizabeth admitted. “I would wish it even if she opposed. I have caused my family much hardship and I do not wish to add to it.”

Liala smiled.

“I once went missing for 17 weeks,” she admitted. “My mother was frantic and even my older sister was concerned.”

“Were you on campaign?” Octavia wondered.

“I was nine,” Liala admitted with a fresh bout of laughter. “I snuck away on one of the caravans. For the first few weeks, everyone thought I was someone else’s child so none questioned me. By the time the master learned of my true identity, it was too late for them to return me. I went along with them and came home with them. It was my first great adventure – although I should add that my mother took a bit of my backside away when she spanked me. I believe it was almost a week before I could sit again.”

“Victoria and I did something similar,” Julia said. “We sneaked through the pass and into Creight. We were gone for only a day but Mother was upset. I cannot imagine how she would have reacted if we were gone as long as Liala.”

“I was a perfect child, as you would imagine,” Octavia announced smugly. “I never set a foot out of line and never uttered a harsh word.”

Lucretia threw a piece of fruit at the Marindarian princess and the laughter returned.

Down the hall, the king sat with his Cabinet, wondering what was so urgent that it couldn’t wait for him to eat. As it was, he sat at a table with Choran, Jonathan, Elena and Alexander while they waited for Genrico to arrive.

The defense minister looked no happier than the king at having his meal plans interrupted.

“Are we at war?” he asked when he took his seat.

“Not yet,” Jonathan answered.

Joseph and Genrico shared a look before turning their gaze down the table.

“Who will we be fighting?” the king asked. “Has Octavia’s brother made an appearance?”

“It is not Junius,” Elena said. “It might not be anyone. But I fear that an incident occurred just after you departed. It involved someone from Denaya’s royal house.”

“Has the king’s ward been harmed?” Genrico wondered. He alone had heard of Nadia.

“She is a ward of the king?” Choran asked. “She didn’t say that!”

“Wait!” Joseph yelled. “Let us go through this sequentially. Jonathan, what happened?”

The interior minister gave the king a synopsis of Ludwig von Schumann and his child.

“This makes no sense,” Genrico said. “The king had a sister but she died ... years ago. It was well before Joseph even landed in Denaya. I distinctly recall my father growing irate because the king ordered all business to cease for one day in her memory. I was a child. I do not recall the woman’s name but I am certain she died without a child or husband. I would have known of this, I’m certain.”

“Perhaps that is true but I believe the emissary was speaking of a different sister,” Choran said. “He seemed to believe she was older than King Olaf. The ward you speak of is her oldest child. The one in Azkoval is her middle child and we have been told there is a younger daughter, as well.”

“And the king’s brother-in-law, what became of him?” Joseph asked.

Jonathan, Choran and Elena looked at each other before glancing at the only person in the room without an official government role.

“I killed him,” Celestine said.

Joseph took a deep breath and stared at the maid for a long moment. She waited for him to scream at her or to tell her how stupid she had been.

Instead, he nodded and rubbed his chin.

“I’m certain he deserved it,” he announced.

“I fear the news gets worse,” Celestine continued, relieved that no rebuke came her way. “The man was armed as an assassin. It appears his goal was to get a meeting with you – or to introduce you to his child. We are unsure of the true plan but we have enough details to let us know that he planned to overthrow you in some fashion.”

“So you killed him?” Joseph asked.

“Uh, no Your Highness,” Celestine replied. “I killed him ... because I believe he posed a threat of harm to one of the soldiers. The woman said or did something that aroused Marcos’ suspicions and I believe the man planned to murder Marcos to keep him silent. Also ... he put his hands on me.”

It took most of the morning for the details to be relayed – each in excruciating detail, Genrico thought – but still no one had answered his biggest concern.

“King Olaf kicked the man out of the capital,” he noted. “Why do you think he will care that we had to kill the bastard?”

Jonathan offered a sheepish look to those around him.

“I fear I was a bit harsh in the letter I sent to King Olaf – along with the man’s rotting body,” he admitted. “My words were heartfelt but I did not convey our official displeasure in courtly language. I fear that King Olaf might take offense.”

“Let him,” Joseph said dismissively. “If it comes to that, we will explain. Have you heard back from the man we sent across to deliver the message?”

“I saw their ship in port this morning,” Elena said. “I suspect he will arrive soon with full details. I was heartened to see the boat. I truly feared that I might have sent those men off to their deaths. I somehow doubt they would have allowed the ship to return if they had murdered our soldiers.”

“No,” Joseph agreed.

“I believe King Olaf will understand our unhappiness,” Alexander said. “Even if he doesn’t, he will accept it without comment. He cannot afford to offend us.”

“I do not wish for our neighbors to live in fear,” Joseph said.

“I was not referring to the military,” Alexander countered. “I was speaking solely of the convenience of trade between our nations. In truth, Denaya offers little that we cannot find at a similar price elsewhere. Certainly, they have some grains and fruits that we enjoy but we can live without them. We provide not only valuable goods to them, we provide a conduit for other valuable items. Yana was going to stop in Narcine to offer horses to them. You can bet that she has instructed her sailors to come here first to verify that we are still on good terms before making the delivery. Others will do the same. Trade with Marindar has almost ceased because no one wishes to cut ties with us in order to do business with them. We are a powerful nation now, Joseph. Perhaps, we are the most powerful nation in all the world. Few are going to wish to be opposite us on important issues. They derive too much benefit from having cordial relations with us.”

“He is correct,” Genrico said with a nod. “That is something the soldiers we sent abroad have reported to me. There is actually less bloodshed now than in years past. We have trained the soldiers in most of the countries near to us and now everyone knows they can defend themselves. They also know that others can offer a solid defense to an attack. So, people are finding themselves unwilling to risk a confrontation with a neighbor over piece of land. Rather, they are discussing the problems and coming to solutions to do not require a sword. Perhaps the only land within two months of travel without ties to us is Samir.”

“And they might have a race of giants to defend that country for all we know,” Joseph said.

“I have tried to make inroads but they are unwilling to even speak to us,” Elena added quickly.

“Oh, I know,” Joseph said. “I wasn’t belittling your efforts. You’re due as much credit as anyone for how we are perceived. I was just making light of the fact that no one anywhere can say what Samir is like.”

“I hate to interrupt but if our discussion of Ludwig and Annika is concluded, I have other duties I must attend to,” Celestine said.

“I apologize,” Joseph said. “Our meetings are very rarely structured and we tend to meander. Let us return to the topic we started. What does the woman say?”

“She has said little,” Elena answered.

“I have not been permitted to press her, Your Highness,” Celestine noted. “I believe she knows more than she has revealed.”

Joseph pondered for a moment.

“You understand that torture is not a reliable way to extract information,” he said. “Certainly, it has its uses but I have found that a person is likely to say what you wish rather than what is true in order to end the punishment.”

“I understand that,” Celestine replied. “However, I believe that given a short period of time alone with the woman, she will tell me all she knows.”

“Perhaps it would be best if I spoke to her,” Joseph countered.

“Don’t be foolish,” Celestine said before she could stop herself. Joseph’s eyes widened but Elena continued before he could reply.

“That is playing directly into her hands,” the foreign minister noted. “The writings make it clear that her role was to find a way to be alone with you. She was to charm you or, perhaps, kill you. You must never be alone with that woman.”

“I agree,” Genrico added. “At the same time we must not dismiss the fact that she claims to be a member of Olaf’s house. Regardless of his feelings toward her parents, we must not go out of our way to harm her. Perhaps we should just put her on a boat back to her homeland.”

“That is a problem,” Jonathan said. “If she were an official emissary from Denaya, we could expel her just as we did Junius for the sole reason that we distrust her. But she isn’t. That means she is a simple visitor to our land. She has committed no crime and, in fact, was the victim of a crime on our shores. We must tread carefully for we have many men and women that visit other lands. If we establish the precedent of turning away its citizens without just cause, it is reasonable to think others will do the same to ours.”

Joseph was nodding his agreement when his stomach announced its displeasure at having been ignored for the morning.

“Is this something we must attend to this moment?” he wondered. “If not, I believe I would like to eat and stretch my legs. It is has been many weeks since I’ve sat for this length of time.”

Despite Nadia’s urgency to get the castle, the Denayians were not the first people waiting for the king’s time.

There was another man, also accompanied by a woman, already seated outside the room where the king and his cabinet were meeting. The man obviously knew Siegfried Mueller, the Denayian minister, because he smiled and greeted him with warmth.

“Pedro, good to see you again,” Siegfried said as he extended a hand. “How are things shaping up in Paxifica?”

“Poorly, I fear,” the man replied. “Our king has fallen to the wasting sickness that came along with the storm.”

“My condolences,” Siegfried said.

“And mine,” Nadia added. “I am Nadia, niece to King Olaf of Denaya. If there is anything we can do to assist, please let me know.”

“That is kind,” Pedro Ortega said. “I fear it is too late for assistance at this point. Our island has been destroyed and a large number of its citizens are dead or dying. My entire family is gone. Marta is the last surviving member of our royal household.”

“That is terrible,” Nadia said, extending her hand toward the young woman.

“We should not touch,” Marta replied. “We do not know how the sickness spreads. It is why I wear gloves in the heat.”

Nadia nodded and looked at the long cotton coverings on the girl’s hands. Nadia had not commented on the unusual attire, having learned from her uncle that modes of dress are sometimes specific to a region or a country. Marta was covered from head to toe with only her eyes visible.