Chapter 28

It was after dark when Pernice and Jorgarn made their way into the castle. Jorgarn crossed to the King's study and knocked lightly.

"Yes, enter," he heard a distracted voice reply. The King's eyes lit up when he saw Jorgarn standing there, holding the stinking box of heads.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "Oh, you went to retrieve the box. May I assume you can participate in the proceedings?"

"Yes, Sire," Jorgarn said. He was surprised at the way the King had reacted.

"Good, we shall do it at daybreak," he said. "I will alert Torbert. I am glad you are well. But you look tired. I suggest you get your rest."

Jorgarn nodded at his dismissal and departed. He expected to find his chamber empty upon his arrival and he was not disappointed. There was evidence that Denae had been there but she had departed.

He arose before daybreak and was waiting for the King and Sir Torbert to accompany them to the dungeon.

Pernice, Gorin, Melodart, Fieth and Renoit met them and they walked tall into the lower levels of the castle where the Symingtons had been housed for the preceding weeks.

They stopped in Cruit's cell first, displayed the contents of the box – three heads, eyes held open by gold coins – to Cruit's resigned face. He nodded sadly and knelt before the King.

"I beg the King's pardon," he said feebly.

"My pardon is denied," the King replied. "Cruit Symington, you've been convicted of treason and crimes against Emertland. Your sentence is death."

He nodded to Torbert who lowered a hood over Cruit's head. Pernice stepped forward and delivered the killing stroke.

The scene repeated itself in the other cells. Lord Symington refused to beg for mercy and he had to be forced to his knees. No hood was provided and Fieth's sword provided the final moment of the Lord's life.

Lady Symington was resolute but broke when she saw the heads of her mother and father in the box. She bowed before Landor but did not ask for a pardon. She accepted the hood but died just the same as the remainder of her family.

Jorgarn was grim when he walked upstairs with the others. He certainly was in no mood for dealing with anything more complex than his breakfast. He glanced at Denae's closed door when he entered his chamber to clean up. There was blood on his trousers and shoes. He wanted to wash, grab his fruit spread and head to a quiet breakfast.

So he jumped when he saw Denae sitting on his bed.

"Where have you been?" she demanded angrily.

"In the dungeon, dealing with the Symingtons," he said. "The King ordered it."

Denae scowled.

"You answer to me, not him," she insisted.

Jorgarn raised his eyes.

"I answer to you?" he asked incredulously. "I answer to you? I think not."

Denae jumped to her feet.

"You are my Knight," she screamed. "Now where were you last night? I demand you answer me."

"Go defile yourself," he said casually. "You demand what you will. I will answer what I want. Now I have just watched three people beheaded. I am hungry and I have other things I wish to do."

"Open your mind to me," she insisted.

"Quit ordering me around," Jorgarn screamed. Denae jumped backward in fright. "I do not work for you. I am not one of your little minions. You do not decide what I do or where I go. If you wish to return to a partnership, we can discuss it. If you wish to lord over me, you can kiss my rear. I have had enough of you and that awful woman you employ."

Denae's mouth had dropped. She had seen rage in Jorgarn's face, pure anger seeking an outlet. She knew she had pushed him as far as she dared. If she pushed farther, he might lose the ability to control his temper.

Rayna had miscalculated – again, Denae thought. Rayna had told Denae that Jorgarn would accept it if she ordered him around, that he considered himself not her equal but her servant. He would acquiesce if she demanded it.

"Now, I am going to breakfast – with your family," he said. "It is my understanding that you might or might not be there, either way suits me fine."

He collected a small wooden cask that contained his fruit spread and glared at Denae.

"You need to decide what sort of leader you wish to be," he said. "And you need to decide quickly. I have ceded my duties while I heal. I recommend you do not try that method to get your replacement Knight to do your bidding."

Without another word, he left a stunned Denae and headed down to breakfast.

Denae, eyes red with what appeared to be tears, appeared at the table a few minutes after Jorgarn arrived.

She saw him open the cask and spread something on his toasted bread, then jump to his feet and race down the corridor. Her father and stepmother looked at her quizzically but she could only shake her head.

Jorgarn wended his way to the medic's office where Alite was standing over a pot, cooking something that smelled vaguely familiar.

"Try this," Jorgarn said excitedly. "Tell me this isn't the best thing you've ever tasted."

Alite looked at the red substance that covered the toasted bread and took a tentative bite of the edge.

"Take a bigger bite," Jorgarn said with a smile. "All you got was bread. You know how that tastes."

She gave him a wary look and took a bigger bit of bread. Her face immediately screwed up and she spat it unceremoniously on the floor.

"That is horrid," she said. "You actually put that in your mouth?"

Jorgarn looked thunderstruck.

"You don't like it?" he asked unnecessarily as he looked at the lump on the floor.

"It is too sweet," she said as she stuck her tongue out. "Pernice is right. It is simply too sweet for me."

"Fine," Jorgarn said in exasperation. "It leaves more for me. You and Pernice deserve each other. You can share your bland meals with those foul things you call potatoes. I guess I am too refined for Emertland cuisine."

Alite laughed at his haughty voice and upturned nose.

"Anyway, sorry to interrupt," he said hastily. "This is the best I ever tasted and I wanted to share."

"I would hate to try the worst you've ever tasted," Alite laughed as Jorgarn exited the chamber to return to his morning meal.

All eyes in the room turned to him when he sat back down, his mouth full of the toast he had eaten on the way back.

Denae watched as he spread the substance on a second slice and recognition dawned.

"You found fruit spread," she said.

"I think it is called marmalade here," Jorgarn said. "It's really good. Do you want a taste?"

Denae and Landor looked over the concoction. Landor shook his head but Denae extended a tentative finger and took a small taste. She considered it for a moment and then tried a bigger fingerful. Jorgarn thought her action seemed forced.

"It is sweet," she said. "What is it made from?"

Jorgarn realized he didn't know. He shrugged.

"When I was a child, my mother would mix redberries with sugary water," Lorida said. "It looked much like that. Do you mind if I try it?"

"Of course not," Jorgarn said as he slid the vat down the table. "I have others upstairs. One is sort of purplish and the other is a light orange."

Lorida took a bite and nodded.

"It is the same," she said. "You make wine in Longview, correct?"

Jorgarn nodded.

"I would guess the same fruit is used for your purple," she said. "It might not be as sweet as this. It might actually be sour. Have you tried the wine fruit plain? It is somewhat sour, don't you think?"

Everyone at the table seemed to appreciate Lorida's effort to keep the subject on light subjects. No one appreciated it more than Jorgarn.

He was tired of arguing with Denae. He longed for the days past when they seemed to be of one mind. But he knew those days were gone so long as Denae heeded the counsel of Rayna. He had not seen that side of Denae in the days when they were getting to know the other. He had not known the grip her friendship with Rayna held on Denae's psyche. He had not suspected that the Princess was so susceptible to the whims of her friend.

He might not have agreed to become her Knight if he had known the truth. He certainly would not have agreed to her lover. He had kept his thoughts closed at first because Denae had. Now he kept them closed for the sole reason that he did not want Denae to know how disappointed he was. He did not want her to know his thoughts.

When the morning meal concluded, Jorgarn stood.

"I have decided to convalesce away from the castle," he announced as he looked down at Denae, who remained seated. "Fieth and Renoit will alternate as your Knight until I am healed. I expect a week to 10 days. I will send word if I suffer a relapse. But I do not wish to remain here until things quiet. My presence here will only add to the disquiet."

"You forsake me?" Denae asked incredulously.

"No," Jorgarn said. "I do not forsake you. I want you to have time to digest what the future portends. I want you to decide if you choose to forsake me. If you decide you would prefer someone who will not think for himself and who will accept orders not only from you but from your assistants, I will remove myself from Emertland and you can tell everyone I died. But the situation that exists here and now will never produce a benefit for Emertland."

He nodded at King Landor, who had sat silently, and at Queen Lorida, whose mouth had dropped.

"Father, you must not allow this," Denae said.

"How do you propose I stop him?" Landor asked reasonably. "Shall I slay him? Would you like for me to call the Guard to keep him here, to force him to accept your actions without question? I think his course of action is for the best. You and he connected quickly. You need to separate your feelings for him and decide the role you wish him to play, if it is any role at all. But I ask you to view the actions of those around you objectively while Jorgarn is away."

Denae's face was a mask of anger as she glared first at her father and then at Jorgarn.

"If you leave, it will be unnecessary for you to return," she said. "I will name a new Knight."

"No you won't," Landor said. "You will accept which Second Jorgarn chooses. You will not break hundreds of years of tradition on a whim, not while I am alive. Until Jorgarn's death is announced, the replacement will not act as adviser. He will simply provide protection during your trips from the castle. I believe your schedule will preclude those trips for the foreseeable future. Jorgarn, I wish you well."

Landor nodded at Lorida who stood with him and left.

"I mean it," Denae said angrily. Her father's answer had not appeased her in the slightest. "I will not accept your departure without my permission."

"I do not require your permission," Jorgarn stated simply. "Not for this, nor for anything. You need to understand this. You need to accept this. There will be many times in the future, should you choose that we go forward together, when I will ask your opinion and accede to your wishes. But I do not require permission from you or from anyone else. Just as you do not. I have not demanded that you do anything. I have suggested and I have tried to convince you that my way would make things better. But I have not made a demand, nor will I. You are supposed to be a partner with your Knight. I will not be a supplicant. Take care, Denae. I do care about you and I do want what is best for you. I will truly be sorry if you decide it best that your future does not involve me at your side."

Jorgarn hoped his departure would lessen the tension at the castle. In fact, it added to it.

Torbert avoided speaking to Denae completely, as did Eslada. Eslada filed a formal grievance with the Tribunal, but the woman who set the schedule delayed the proceeding until Jorgarn's return. Eslada was demanding the dismissal or demotion of Rayna Clain for her acts of dishonor toward her unnamed ward. Rayna did not file a counterclaim but claimed her actions were justified to assure the best interest of the Heiress. This put Denae into the awkward situation of either siding with her family or with her friend.

She had tried – and failed – to put the issue of Jorgarn from her mind. She had planned fully to keep with her demand that he renounce his Knighthood and leave Emertland, particularly if he ruled against Rayna, which he was bound to do.

Many of the families that had come to the castle for her ascension were still in the city. She spent her evenings being fawned over and catered to. Knowing that people of influence still enjoyed her company helped to ease Denae's distress somewhat. A part of her mind realized that, with a powerful Knight at her side, her word would one day be law. She wondered if she would be more powerful with Jorgarn as her ally or with the strongest families of the realm in her pocket. She certainly would need to do something to convince him that she was worthy of his respect. Either that or she would be forced to send him away.