Chapter 27

Denae had gone by the time Jorgarn awakened from his troubled sleep. There was no sign she had even been there, nor could he sense her presence nearby. She had apparently decided to close their connection altogether.

Denae found three letters beneath her study door when she arrived prior to the morning meal she was to share with her father. All her noble attendants had tendered their resignations. She was angry that Jorgarn, stuck in his chamber, knew more about the situation than she did. She was further angered when the young woman she had interviewed the day previous had sent a note via messenger announcing she no longer wished to be considered.

The Princess, however, got the reaction she expected from her lone remaining employee.

"Of course they will side against me," Rayna said bitterly. "I am a commoner. They have been against me from the start."

"Do you really believe that?" Denae asked. "Or did they turn on you when you decided Bralan's feelings were less worthwhile than your grudge? What do you plan to do if I dismiss you from my staff?"

Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I am the only staff you have left," she pointed out. "You have planned to have me as your lead attendant for the past four years. You really are in no shape to start over without my help. I'm sure Jorgarn has tried to convince you that you can blunder through this with only his help but you know that is not true. I will have you a new staff within a week. I'm already looking for candidates."

Denae nodded and walked away to meet her father. It wasn't until she sat down with him – and saw the look of disappointment on his face – that she realized Rayna had once again got what she had sought. Rayna, not the Princess, would decide who served on the staff.

"Do you plan to accompany Jorgarn to the medic this afternoon?" Landor asked. "I need an understanding of when he will return to duty and if he will have any limitations to his actions. Can you attend to those questions?"

Her father was unusually curt with Denae but she knew why.

"Yes, Father," Denae replied. "I believe he is to report just after midday meal. Are there other things you wish to know?"

"How is his arm feeling?" Landor asked.

Denae realize that although he had inquired as to her welfare, she had not asked of this the previous evening. She tried to sense him to see if he was in discomfort but she came away blank.

"His fever is lessening and I believe he is eager to return to the Guard," Denae answered. "He held a meeting yesterday with Uncle Torbert and three other Guards to discuss the changes. I believe the session went well."

Landor nodded.

"Torbert will brief me this afternoon and I will discuss it with you tomorrow," he told her. "We need to attend to the Symingtons. I want to wait until Jorgarn is healthy enough that he shows no sign of injury. I do not want them to think that they have won anything. But it must be quickly. Please discuss it with him and help him decide when he will be able to assist. By help him decide, I mean that you should discourage him from participating if you feel he is still sick or injured. Please persuade him if you deem it necessary.

"Now, you need to get your house in order. What happened yesterday is inexcusable. Not only have you lost your three best qualified attendants, you have allowed your fourth to alienate your uncle and your cousin. I do not care how you rectify this situation but you must rectify it immediately."

Denae bristled.

"Are you ordering me as to how to conduct my staff?" she said.

"I should," Landor replied in the same angry tone, "because you are doing it poorly. But no, I am simply telling you that it is for your convenience that I permit your staff to live in the castle. This castle belongs to the monarch. As such, I decide who lives here and who visits here. If this situation does not desist, I will make a decision as to who you may have in this dwelling. You and your staff can hold your meeting in the village tavern for all I care because if this persists, the tavern wenches will be all who would be willing to work for you. Enough of this talk. You will shadow me today and watch. If you have questions, save them for later. After midday, I will meet with Torbert. I will expect your report on Jorgarn's status then. Do you have any questions before we start?"

"When am I supposed to discuss this with Jorgarn if you have me being seen and not heard all morning?" Denae asked.

"I am positive you will not be too overwhelmed with what we are doing today to discuss it with him mentally," Landor said dismissively. "Much of what I need to know will be supplied by the medic. Now, we're off."

Denae spent the morning listening to her father's advisors give boring presentations about the status of many things Denae cared little about. She had tried to link with Jorgarn several times but was met with frustration each time. She decided she would deliver his midday meal and speak to him as they ate together.

Rayna was waiting for her outside of her father's meeting area when her morning concluded.

"Ah, you're finally finished," she said. "Good, we have three candidates set to interview this afternoon. One will be dining with us since you already know her."

She took Denae's arm and started to pull her toward the private dining area.

"I cannot this afternoon," Denae said, stopping in her tracks. "I have things I need to discuss with Jorgarn and he has his appointment with the medic."

"He is old enough to find his way there by himself," Rayna chided. "I cannot handle this workload by myself and I already booked your afternoon. We have much to prepare for in the next few days. Now, our first interview is with Lenipa Holts. Here are some of the things we need to discuss with her before we hire her."

Denae looked down at the parchment Rayna handed her.

"I need to speak to Jorgarn before I do anything else," Denae insisted. "I am afraid that you will have to rearrange the interviews you scheduled. Rayna, do not, ever, schedule something like this without my input."

Rayna stopped suddenly, crossed her arms and burst into tears.

"I'm trying to do everything myself," she said. "Can we at least meet with Lenipa? I think she will work out well and at least I'll have some help."

Denae tried unsuccessfully to contact Jorgarn again before she agreed.

"This must be concluded quickly," she said. "And I do not believe Lenipa is as viable as you think. If you recall, I decided that she would not work out when I was doing my initial reviews. I doubt she has changed much in four weeks."

Denae could see that Rayna had spent time coaching Lenipa on the answers Denae expected. Lenipa would often look to Rayna when asked something she didn't know or she found uncomfortable. Denae had decided early in the interview that Lenipa was not a desirable candidate but Rayna kept directing questions that demonstrated when she believed were Lenipa's strengths. Denae realized with anger that the midday meal had already passed and that she had missed the opportunity to speak to Jorgarn before he went to the medic.

"I am finished," Denae said as she rose. "I have wasted more time than I have with this. Lenipa, I do not believe you will be able to work for me. Thank you for your time, but I must go."

Lenipa's mouth dropped and she glared at Rayna – who looked as shocked as the candidate.

"Well, you have another interview in a short while," Rayna prompted when Denae started to exit. Indeed, two new girls had entered and soon the five young women were standing around looking at one another.

"Cancel it," she said. "And if you have scheduled any more of your friends, cancel them, too. I will not have a staff who thinks you are in charge. I need the rest of my day free. Discuss it with me before you bring anyone else in. If the work is too much for you, resign. Now I must go."

She hustled up to Jorgarn's room, hoping to find him there but his chamber was empty.

"Cläda," she muttered without thinking as she hurried back down the stairs and along the west corridor, where her search came to an unexpected end.

Jorgarn expected someone to stop by once his midday meal was done. At least he hoped someone would. After all, he wasn't exactly certain how to get to the medic's ward. He had only entered from outside the castle and he truly had no idea the relationship to where he now stood.

He briefly considered reconnecting to Denae long enough to ask directions but then elected not to. The few times he had tried during the morning to talk to her had been met with stony silence.

He muttered a few choice curses and he descended the stairs. Despite that fact that 10 people had reminded him about his appointment, none seemed to be around at that moment. He had briefly spied Denae, standing with what he suspected was her new staff, in the dining area on his way outside. He didn't stop to chat.

It wasn't until he was outside the castle and trying to decide which direction he needed to turn that he saw someone he recognized.

"Pernice!" Jorgarn yelled, catching the man by surprise. Pernice spun on his heel and, seeing Jorgarn not only out of bed but outside the castle, came back with a frown on his face.

"I will not be caught with you outside by that lot in there," he said. "I would gather that I am unpopular right now but if Torbert caught you outside with me, he'd skin me."

"Do you know how to get to the medic?" Jorgarn asked. "Because I have no idea where her office is."

"You do realize that you are the one who lives in the castle, right?" a puzzled Pernice asked. "Are you feeling OK?"

"That place is a maze!" Jorgarn replied. "Seriously, I think I can find it if I spot the right entrance. But I don't really know where to go from here."

Pernice smiled for what seemed like the first time that day. But he wasn't willing to risk entering through the main door. He led Jorgarn around the side of the huge structure and the two of them set off through a hallway, turning here and there, until they found the door Jorgarn recognized as the medic's. But the door was closed with a piece of parchment affixed to a nail on it.

"You need to go see my assistant," it read. It was the only explanation – which irked Jorgarn slightly – and it gave directions to the assistant's office, on the other side of the castle.

Pernice chuckled slightly but Jorgarn groaned. After 48 hours of battling a fever and an infection, his body was protesting the quick walk they just took. He really didn't relish another hurried dash through the corridor.

Pernice pointed to an exit nearby.

"It will be quicker if we go that way," he said when he saw the tired look on Jorgarn's face. "Not as many turns I think."

Jorgarn handed over the paper and directed him to lead the way.

"You know, she could have sent a messenger," he said testily. "It's not as though I've been hiding."

Pernice laughed again. He was happy to be in the company of his friend – a friend who understood the decision he had made and supported him, not one who either looked at him as if he were stupid or wondered aloud how soon he could ask for a visit with Rayna.

Ten minutes later, they entered another door and Pernice directed Jorgarn to an open door.

"Here you are, safe and relatively sound," he said.

"You might as well accompany me," Jorgarn replied. "If she insists upon severing my arm, I'll need backup. Besides, if she has to dig and probe like the last time, you might have to carry me back to my chamber."

Pernice and Jorgarn entered the doorway and found the smiling young woman who had helped Denae tend to the injuries on his back.

"Ah, Sir Jorgarn," she said brightly. "I am Alite. I'm afraid you are stuck with me today."

Stuck was not exactly the word Jorgarn would have used but he nodded anyway.

"Now, let me look," she said as she took his arm gingerly and checked the poultice. She shook her head. "I don't know why she insists on using mudroot. It has no medicinal value but it stinks like waste."

"You mean it didn't have to smell this way?" Jorgarn asked incredulously.

"No it didn't," the young woman said firmly. "She does that with everything. I used the same herbs in the rub I gave you for your back. I simply left the mudroot out. Did mine smell this horrible?"

"No," Jorgarn said. "The one you made smelled a bit like mint. It certainly didn't smell like cläda."

His cheeks reddened and he apologized quickly. Pernice stood beside him and shook his head.

"This is healing nicely," Alite said. "Very nicely, I'll give you a new poultice you'll need for the next two days. Come back this time next week and I'll cut away the mends. Trinil does much better mends than I do."

Well, at least Jorgarn had a name to put to the old hag's face.