Chapter 8

The King greeted Jorgarn upon his entrance into the study.

"I understand the lessons went well," he said. "Thank you for coming. She has been unbearable the past few days. Once she gets her mind set, it is impossible to refocus it somewhere else. And right now she is determined to learn to speak Longview."

"The Princess has picked up on a great many of the common words very quickly, Your Majesty," Jorgarn said.

The King directed Jorgarn to a chair opposite him.

"I understand Eslada has made arrangements with her brother to transfer property to you," the King said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jorgarn said. "At least I think that is the case. I will have to speak to Lord Commerly when he arrives for Court."

The King nodded gravely and turned toward the door. Sir Torbert appeared from the adjoining room. A chill went down Jorgarn's spine.

"It will not be possible for you to accept that offer," the King said when Torbert was seated. "Wesring is to be disbanded. It is a lordless holding, with Commerly acting as steward until final disposition. I have decided to divide the land into the three adjoining grants. I'm sorry and I want you to understand why I'm doing this."

Jorgarn nodded, remembering Torbert had said there was a history behind the land.

"The first man I killed came from Wesring," Sir Torbert said. "He was my nephew. The last Lady Wesring was our sister. When our father, King Luthen, was near death her son was in the Noble Guard. He attempted to kill me so King Landor would be unprotected. He then planned to kill Landor so his mother could assume the throne."

"Eslada's mother was a traitor!" Jorgarn exclaimed without thinking.

"No, Jorgarn," the King said gently. "But her aunt was. The same as Denae's aunt was a traitor. Eslada's mother is our youngest sister. There were four of us. Landor, Torbert, Soria and Melid. Soria was the traitor. Melid is still alive although she has ceded control of her holdings to her son, Lord Commerly. Torbert is Lord Weltin; Soria was Lady Wesring; Melid was Lady Commerly. I was heir to the throne so although I possess property, I hold no other title."

"I am sorry for interrupting you, Your Majesty and Sir Torbert," Jorgarn apologized with a red face. "It's just, well, Lady Eslada spoke to me frequently about the need for honor and chivalry. I simply couldn't fathom that she could be the daughter of a traitor. Please, accept my deepest apologies."

"No apologies necessary, Jorgarn," the King said. "It's obvious that you hold a deep affection for Lady Eslada. All in this room do."

"She is like an older sister to me, Sire," Jorgarn said. "That's what she said before I left. She was too young to be my mother but she always thought of me as her younger brother. It meant a great deal to me."

"As it should," the King said with a glance at Torbert. "I will confess to an abiding fondness for my younger brother and sister. Now, Torbert, pray, continue."

Sir Torbert nodded.

"I liked Cray, Soria's son," Torbert said. "I liked him very well. We were in our 30s by then. Denae was already born. I misread the signals and he almost succeeded in killing us."

Torbert pulled his tunic aside to show a deep scar on his chest.

"Even after he wounded me, it was difficult for me to kill him," Torbert continued. "It broke our mother's heart to learn of Soria's deceit. I'll swear on my deathbed that that awful woman's plot took 20 years off our mother's life. Father was too far gone to notice. He died a few days later. Soria came to the palace fully expecting to be proclaimed Queen. Landor's first official act as King was to order the execution of his younger sister."

Both men were shaking their head sadly.

"The entire family was in on the plot," the King said. "From her husband to her 12-year-old daughter. Every one of them had a part in planning my death. The little girl was the hardest for me to execute. But it had to be done. I ordered the Lordship of Wesring to be vacated permanently and for the land to be under the stewardship of Lady Commerly. That stewardship passed down to her son. But it is time for the Wesring name to be stricken for all time. I most certainly never want it to be associated with you or with Eslada."

Jorgarn nodded his understanding.

"Your Highness, may I request to be transferred to the Emertland Guard?" Jorgarn asked. "I would enjoy staying here and serving Your Majesty. In my short time here, I have come to see why Lady Eslada admires you and your brother so greatly."

The King glanced at Torbert and smiled. The Emertland guards would not be getting Jorgarn Elmwood but they would be getting double rations of ale for the next 10 days. Torbert had wagered against a week in the kitchen that Jorgarn would ask to be transferred rather than dismissed.

"That is not possible either, Jorgarn," Torbert said. "As of tonight, you have been promoted to the rank of full member of the Noble Guard. It would be impossible for you to be transferred."

Jorgarn tried to hide his confusion and failed.

"I have decided to deed you property from my personal holdings," the King said. "It is a small parcel but it will suffice for this purpose. It is part of a section of land that was given to my first wife your cousin by my father upon our wedding. There is no lord there at present. It is under the regency of the crown for a while longer. You will begin your duties with the Noble Guard in the morning. However, there is one caveat."

He glanced at Torbert.

"You will be training our students," the Captain of the Guard stated. "You will work in the mornings with the Noble Guard and in the afternoons with the Emertland Guard. The evenings that Princess Denae does not claim, I would like for you to offer individual instruction as I can see you're doing with Fieth and Renoit. You will continue to reside within the training complex and you may stay in your present room if it suits you. You seem to have converted Renoit and Fieth to your way of thinking. I hope you can bring the rest of them around, too."

Jorgarn nodded.

"I'm honored and I would like to remain where I am, Sir Torbert," Jorgarn said. His head was swimming with the information. The King himself had deeded him property and now he was promoted to full guard. "Would it be best if I focused my instruction on those who plan to take the oath?"

Torbert sighed.

"It would be best but there is no way of knowing who will and who won't stay until the time comes," he said.

"I have an inkling, Sir Torbert," Jorgarn admitted. "I assumed that everyone would want to serve in that manner. It surprised me when I learned that it is actually very few who are willing to offer that commitment. I did an informal survey on my own."

His face reddened.

"I believe that most were too scared of me to lie about it," he continued embarrassedly. "I hope I have not crossed a boundary. Outside of me, I expect nine of the 40 to continue: Fieth, Renoit and Darnot are sons of nobility; Tolic, Wanner, Nooth and Turco have sent relatives that are solid. Crenal and Armur sent men who are pretty definite, simply because there is little choice for them. Their family's holdings are too small to support them and they will never land a spot in someone else's army."

Torbert was listening carefully.

"What of Lippit?" he asked.

Jorgarn looked at the floor.

"He is unlikely to stay if he cannot lead," Jorgarn said. "He obviously cannot lead so he will leave. It is simply a question of if he will leave in whole or in pieces."

"He has angered you?" the King asked.

"He has gone against the expressed wishes of someone I respect, Sire," Jorgarn said. "Two people, I have come to find out. If it is at all possible I would prefer to leave it at that. He will be offered the opportunity to depart. If he chooses to stay, he will be in no shape to join the Noble Guard."

Torbert shook his head angrily and Jorgarn waited for him to explode.

"They simply couldn't leave them alone," he said. "I warned them. You threatened them. They still insist upon dallying with those who don't wish their company. Kill him if you want. It will be a training incident. Perhaps it will teach those other bastard sons of bastard lords that it is no joke."

Jorgarn nodded his agreement.

"We have a problem with some of them," Jorgarn told them. "They insist upon focusing their attention on the young women who are attached to members of the Emertland Guard. With Symington now housed there it has become a bigger problem because he seems to be able to point them out. The nobles believe probably correctly that the magistrate will take his word over a commoner. The Emertland Guard is powerless to stop the aristocrats from behaving however they want. I, however, am not."

He paused.

"You realize that if someone abuses the Princess' friends, she will want blood," he said.

"She threatened to cut their hands off," the King said. "So yes, I am aware of that."

He looked Jorgarn in the eye.

"If it comes to that, would you be her champion?" he asked. "Would you fight in her place?"

"If she desired it or if you could convince her, then yes," Jorgarn said. "But there might be a better way."

"I'll listen if you have one," Torbert said with disgust.

"Tomorrow morning, grab all of the trainees me included and line them up," he said. "Invite the Emertland Guard to watch and announce that it has come to your attention that Lippit has assaulted a female and because of this all noble trainees are to be flogged. Each of us gets 10 lashes whenever anyone is caught or even thought doing that. After that, allow me a brief moment alone with Lippit. No one will protest it by then, not after he got them all caned. I'll deal with it from there. It can be my first duty as trainer. You can bet that the nobles who don't pack up and leave right away will make sure the others behave themselves. I can imagine a flogging will hurt greatly."