25. Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
B y the time I knock on the doors to Mother’s chambers the next morning, I’m feeling a little better. I didn’t get much sleep last night—I spent a good amount of time lying awake, thinking about how to solve my problems with Arbois and the council—and it wasn’t until breakfast that I realized I didn’t need to come up with a solution by myself. After all, there’s someone in the palace who’s gone through an arranged marriage, and has years of dealing with the council, even if only indirectly. If anyone knows how to help me, it’s Mother . I don’t even have to worry about waking her up, since she—like everyone in my family besides me—actually enjoys getting up at the crack of dawn. I’ve never understood it, and I doubt I ever will.
Mother’s steward Lana answers the door, interrupting my train of thought and bows to me deeply. “How may I serve you, Your Majesty?”
I feel like it should be obvious why I’m here, but I suppose she has to ask. “Is Mother here? I’d like to talk to her if she is.”
Lana’s eyebrows draw down just the tiniest bit, and her mouth tightens slightly at the corners. “Unfortunately, Her Majesty is not here at the moment, Your Majesty,” she says guardedly, before she reaches into a pocket and takes out a small envelope, holding it out to me. “However, she left instructions for me in the event that you wished to speak with her.”
Now more confused than annoyed, I take the envelope from her. Mother left instructions? Written on the front of the envelope in Mother’s precise handwriting is my name, and nothing else. Still nonplussed, I open it and remove a small sheet of paper with that same elegant handwriting on it.
Darien, As soon as I finish writing this letter, I am leaving the palace. By the time you read this, hopefully I will be long gone. I can’t tell you where I’m going or why—I won’t take the chance that the wrong people will find out and try to stop me—but know that it is important, and that I am acting of my own volition. I will be taking some of the palace guards with me, so there is no reason for you to be concerned about my safety. I can’t be certain when I will return, but I expect it will be at least a few weeks, or possibly a month. I wish I could tell you more, but I cannot. All I can say is that if I am successful—and I have every reason to believe I will be—it will benefit not just Soeria, but you personally as well. I know you will worry about me, but please trust that I know what I’m doing. More importantly, trust yourself—I know things seem bleak now, but there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that we will make everything right together. Your Mother
I finish reading the note and stand silently for a few moments, trying to process the letter. She just left without telling me where or why, or even when she’ll be back? And who are ‘the wrong people’? “Is this a joke?” I ask Lana, my hands and voice both shaking. “Because if it is, it isn’t very funny.”
When I glance up, Lana’s expression looks to be about as far from joking as it can possibly be. “Assuming that letter says what I think it does, I can assure Your Majesty that it is not a joke. Her Majesty left the palace two days ago, and I have not seen her since. As far as I know, nobody forced Her Majesty to leave, and she assured me that she would be safe.”
“She left two days ago?” I know I shouldn’t be angry at Lana—I presume it’s not her fault that Mother is gone—but I can’t really help it right now. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this before now?”
Lana bows deeply again. “I apologize, Your Majesty, but Her Majesty left me strict instructions not to inform you until you came looking for her. She may not have been clear about much else, but she was certainly clear about that.”
I stare at her for a moment longer before I look away and sigh. “I see. Thank you, Lana. On the off-chance Mother returns soon, please inform me immediately.”
She bows a third time, and I turn to go, wondering why the world is falling apart on me, and whether there’s anything I can do to stop it.
As soon as I leave Mother’s chambers, I go to find Lord Kerion, and let him know Mother will be away from the palace for a while, a fact that he seems to take in stride. He suggests we come up with a cover story to explain Mother’s absence, if only to prevent the rest of the court from becoming suspicious, and after a couple minutes of brainstorming, we decide to quietly let it be known that she has gone to a small castle owned by our family near the border with Verreene, so she can work through the grief she’s feeling from the deaths of Father and Samis. The area we picked is a pretty remote, a mountainous region that’s sparsely populated, which hopefully explains why no one will get a glimpse of her.
Once that’s decided, I ask how the negotiations with Arbois are going, hoping to hear some good news for once.
But Kerion’s answer isn’t what I’d hoped. “Unfortunately, we haven’t made much progress recently, Your Majesty,” he says, shifting slightly in his seat. “Prince Arbois seems amenable enough, but he hasn’t exactly been clear on what his goals are beyond marrying Your Majesty. Every time I think we’re on the right track, he changes the topic to something else. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s stalling. I can’t imagine why that would be the case, though.”
I groan. “Is there any way you can speed up the process? I don’t want to bargain away the entire country, but I am willing to give way on some points if necessary.”
He thinks for a moment. “If Your Majesty is not concerned with getting the best deal possible, I suppose Your Majesty could go to Arbois and make a personal appeal,” he says slowly. “Normally, I would advise against Your Majesty—or anyone else, for that matter—getting involved at this point, given the complexity of the negotiation. But it may facilitate the process, especially if Your Majesty can figure out exactly what it is that Arbois wants.”
This again. I’ve been trying to figure out what he wants for months; I don’t see why he’d be forthcoming now. Still, I suppose it can’t hurt to talk to Arbois myself; presumably, the worst that could happen is that I’ll accomplish nothing, and we’ll still be in the same position we’re in right now. “I understand. Thank you, Kerion.”
He nods, and I go to find Arbois, determined to make some headway with him, and hopefully solve one of my many problems while I’m at it.
I find Arbois in his study, sitting on a couch and reading a book. When he sees it’s me, he smiles. I’m not sure why, but the sight unnerves me, just a bit—for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, it looks fake, like he’s putting on a show. “Darien!” he exclaims, setting his book down. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I just got an update from Kerion regarding the negotiations. I was hoping we could discuss them, just the two of us.”
He nods and gestures to a couch across from his own. “Of course. Please take a seat.” I do as he suggested. “Well then, what did you want to discuss?”
I take a deep breath before responding. Here goes nothing . “I wanted to see if there was any way I could help the process along. If there are any sticking points or obstacles you’re facing, perhaps we could work them out together, here and now? Whatever it takes to get a deal done that benefits the both of us.”
“Now, that’s an interesting idea. To tell you the truth, if you hadn’t come to see me just now, I probably would have sought you out within the next day or two. You see, you and I have much to discuss, starting with the recent change in your circumstances.”
That sounds like a good sign, but the last part puts me on edge. “Change in my circumstances? I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
Arbois cocks his head to the left slightly. “Surely you remember getting a letter from a certain uncle of yours, don’t you? It was only a few days ago, if I recall correctly.”
His words slam into me, shattering any confidence I had left; it’s only with great difficulty that I manage to maintain some semblance of composure. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Arbois. Or what any of this has to do with our negotiations, for that matter.”
His smile turns into a sneer, one that’s full of naked contempt. “Don’t play coy with me. I know that your alliance with Zeteyon is no more.”
“Is that what Rolsteg told you?” It’s only with concerted effort that I keep my voice from shaking. “I saw the two of you talking together a few days ago. But you should be aware that she doesn’t know nearly as much as she thinks she does.”
Apparently he sees through my bluff, because he laughs. “No, Darien. I told her . She was quite upset at being left out of the loop, and I bet the rest of the council felt much the same, didn’t they?” He shrugs. “Who can blame them? They know—as you should—that this changes everything, Darien. Now you need an alliance with Jirena Sadai, or you’ll be left to face the rest of the world alone. How long do you think Soeria would last if Verreene or Raktos—or both, perhaps—decided to invade?”
This is very, very bad . All I can do is desperately claw for a way to regain some of the footing I’ve lost. “Even if what you’re saying is true, that’s all the more reason to make a deal sooner rather than later. That is why you came here in the first place, isn’t it?”
“I suppose that’s true, in a certain sense. But as I said, the circumstances have changed, and I’m afraid that means my position has changed as well.”
Hearing that, I relax just a tiny bit. He’s just trying to play hardball with me, scare me so I’ll give him a better deal. “I understand. What is your position now?”
“I’m sure you recall our discussion some time ago where I agreed to consider a pact that does not include a marriage between the two of us, yes? I said I would only consider such an arrangement until my patience ran out.” He sighs theatrically. “Well, Darien, my patience has run out. I must now insist that you agree to marry me, or there will be no agreement at all.”
My heart drops to my toes, then further, into the cold stone beneath my feet. “That seems a bit hasty,” I say, my throat feeling parched. “I realize that what I suggested was unorthodox, but—”
“I don’t think you quite understand what I’m saying, Darien.” His eyes, sparkling with some emotion I can’t quite place, hold my gaze fast. “You have two options, and only two options, right now: marry me or face the consequences.”
I must have sunk into the ground too at some point, because my heartbeat once again thunders in my ears, almost drowning out everything else. “What do you mean, face the consequences?” My voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. “What exactly do you think you can do to me?”
“I can see you’re not quite understanding the situation, so let me be blunt.” He leans even further forward, his face filling my vision. “If you don’t agree to marry me this very day, Jirena Sadai will declare war on Soeria.”