Chapter 11: Family Ties

Lady Janice, Chandra’s great grandmother, sat in her embroiderer chair sipping tea and waved me to sit after I thanked her for agreeing to seeing me on short notice. Her room was full of books stacked on either side of her chair, the den, well lit with numerous lamps and a large bay window to her left. The room had the same musty smell of my den plus a stronger odor than comfortable, consisting primarily of talc.

“I told you, that you should have married that girl, now look at the consequences.” Her voice held steel but her face showed compassion with my plight.

I blinked, how did she know what happened already? My face must have showed some of my confusion since she replied, “You didn’t return with that woman and I heard that Kalabar is active again.”

“Yes, they were bribing the council of Fairview, not that I think that it would have taken much encouragement, since their primary source of slaves dried up. I figured that by killing all of the Kalabarian ambassadors it would postpone any treaty that the countries might make. Kalabar will still supply the slaves to acquire the supplies and support that they want eventually.

The specifics behind the deal I don’t know, but I do have the pay chest in my home, hopefully it also has the ambassador’s orders or something in writing inside. It’s a puzzle box and I don’t have a clue on how to open one. Chandra says that her brother can open them and I’ll leave it to him.”

“Why didn’t you just break it open?”

“I was worried that the box was trapped and could destroy or damage the contents. Besides, I could have done anything earlier with the information.”

“What happened in Fairview?”

I gave her a complete report, including Megan distancing herself even before we entered the city itself. By the time that I got around to mentioning Yolanda, she was frowning. I paused at her frown, but she waved me to continue my tale. She did interrupt me when I glossed over killing the Kalabar ambassador’s household in the middle of the night.

“Yes, I killed most of them while they slept. It still haunts me even though I justify it that they are at war with my adopted country and it was necessary to slow down any possible treaty that the two countries might come to. I did that the night before we left the city.”

She stared at me hard for a few minutes in silence, looking for something in me before she nodded her permission for me to continue. I don’t know what, if anything she found, I still couldn’t read the politically and personally astute elder woman in the slightest. But I instinctively trusted her and any advice she gave me.

“The next morning as we were met by the prince, some of his guards and the Mage Guildmaster in hiding to ambush me. His lightning bolt surprised me but it wasn’t enough to stop me from killing him while Chandra took out most of his guards and then I crippled the prince.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

“I’m still not entirely sure, Megan, Yolanda even Morgan, I liked the kid and didn’t want to...” I shrugged and thought for a minute. “I also got a promise from him to let us go if I healed him. I didn’t heal him completely, just enough so that he wouldn’t die from his wound. I snapped his spine in the lower back and he will never walk again.”

“You left him a cripple? If what I know about Fairview politics, he will be dead already. Someone will have already assassinated him.”

“I left him with Yolanda, I think that she would have taken care of him until Megan could see to his safety.”

“Charles, Yolanda probably killed him before she sought help.” She said looking over her tea and calmly took another sip ignoring my outburst.

“WHAT?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I sat there stunned not even being able to conceive of giving any credibility to what Lady Janice just uttered.

“Charles, just because you slept with her and have feelings for her doesn’t mean that she can’t kill someone and wouldn’t have a better opportunity.”

I tried to say something in my lady friend’s defense but Lady Janice wouldn’t hear it.

“Charles, you loved Megan, it was obvious by the way you spoke of her, if this Yolanda was as close to Megan as you said then why did she seduce you practically the day that you arrived?”

I hadn’t mentioned that part to Lady Janice, still stunned at the thought I mumbled “I don’t know.”

“Why did you sleep with her in the first place?”

Another shock. My mind was racing in a million directions, I tried to focus on her question but just couldn’t. Lady Janice summoned her maid for a refill and just watched me work through her unsettling statements.

She seduced me. But why? Here I thought that it was mutual, but could I be wrong? “I slept with her because Megan didn’t want me and she obviously did. She was beautiful, intelligent, charming and fun. Here I thought it was my idea but it wasn’t, was it?” Lady Janice just looked at me, not responding just waiting for me to work my way through this myself. I still couldn’t see anything nefarious in any of her activities or her words and said so.

“Charles, I would wager that if you would have stayed that she would have been soon pregnant with your child. It wouldn’t have been long before you would have married her and adopted a new home. Your sense of honor is too strong to have left her.”

“But why do you think that she would have killed Prince Konnor?”

“That’s just politics in Fairview. Any sign of weakness with any of the ruling council and that member gets assassinated, that is just the way it is there.

“I notice that she didn’t come back with you.”

“No, she stayed to help Megan, she said that she would need her support.” I blanched at the wording thinking the worst. Maybe she did kill him. “And Megan didn’t give me any indication that her father was dead when I spoke with her after. Oh, and she banished me from her Principality when we met up later.”

I took a deep breath and finally broached the real reason that I came here. “Lady Janice, Chandra has asked that I court her.”

“I love her but I don’t know if I am in love with her. AND there is Celia, Duke Steven’s sister, she was waiting for me with Allard and attached herself to me. She was abused by her brother, since I killed him and I’m ‘pretty’ as she says, repeatedly, she hasn’t left either Chandra’s or my side since we joined up. There is more to it than just that, but it is not for me to tell. Between the two of them...” I shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Lady Janice laughed at my pretty comment. “Oh, I think I understand, Celia loves you too and now you have two women again to deal with, neither is going to let you go now that they have a hold on you.” She continued laughing her way through that statement.

Remembering last night with the two of them plastered against me all night, I knew that she spoke the truth.

“Send the Chandra and Celia to see to me for dinner, I want to speak with those girls. Now let an old lady nap.”

I thanked her and quietly left. She raised some disturbing thoughts and I had a lot to think about. I didn’t get to talk about all that I wanted, but her advice came when she chose and not before.

Celia opened the door for me when I was about to open the door surprising me. She wore a pretty yellow gown that I barely had time to admire before she flung herself at me in a full body hug.

“I missed you today, My Lord.” She murmured into my chest.

I gave her a brief hug back and walked into the house. “Celia, Lady Janice has requested that you and Chandra to join her for dinner today. I would like you to go and talk to her.”

She looked at me with an unreadable expression for a brief second and then looked down. “Yes, My Lord.” She said quietly.

“Celia, she just wants to talk to you, it won’t be that bad, and you can call me Charles you know.”

“Yes, My Lord,” She curtsied and scurried up the stairs.

I groaned and shrugged. I still don’t know she won’t call me by name, and Chandra wasn’t any help when I asked her about it, she just changed the subject or pleaded ignorance. Chandra, I could see not referring me to anything besides ‘My Lord’, I was her teacher and now more than that. Although if I were completely honest with myself Celia’s behavior mirrored Chandra’s and since I had the feeling that Chandra changed the way that she addressed me was because of her falling in love with me ... Taking a deep breath, I realized that I still stood in the foyer and needed to sit.

Ok they both love me and they both have been conspiring together and it seems to have come to terms with it. Now what do I do? Chandra will be with me for the foreseeable future regardless of what I do, she is my student. Damn, and I really don’t want her to leave me. I have gotten used to her being with me. She has become a very integral part of my life on this world.

As for Celia, I’m not sure how I feel about her. She is loveable, sweet, charming, adorable and seriously attached to me. She is also more than a little submissive. I’m not sure if it is only to me or that is the way she is. I had a submissive girlfriend before I came here but she was too needy for me at the time and I was still a sophomore in college. I wasn’t ready for the demands that having someone in my life like that required. Now, I don’t know.