Chapter Thirty-Four
Trill
If Trill was being honest, he was still kind of shocked that no one had come to drag him off to the dungeon or worse.
True, word had not yet spread to the entire castle about what he was.
Yes, they’d tried to protect him by not having him go in front of the Queen yet.
But Yannoma and Trill were the only strangers.
The Prince had gotten two letters of protection from the Queen, and by process of elimination… Well, it was probably him, right?
And yet there had, in fact, been no issues today. It had still progressed oddly, though. Perian, Brannal, Cormal, and the Prince had all gone off for the picnic with the Princess. Perian was practically vibrating with excitement.
Molun and Arvus had done their very best to distract Trill from worry, and they’d confirmed quite exhaustively that the bed was still comfortable—despite the fact that the three of them had already amply demonstrated that there were no issues with it last night.
The staff had set up what Yannoma assured them was a perfectly adequate cot in the sitting room, and when she returned from the meeting with the Queen, she told them all about it and then found a few books to read.
(Molun had already raided the library for the “fun books,” as he called them.)
“Do you think it’s going to be all right?” Trill wanted to know.
Yannoma considered this. “I am… unsure. The little prince is very passionate, certainly. Everyone spoke eloquently. The Queen is scared, though, and I have seen what scared people do.”
He swallowed, but said, “But there are good people, too.”
She patted his arm, an expression that was a mix of fondness and exasperation on her face. “Yes, there are good people, too.” She hesitated for a moment. “They have been more courteous than I expected thus far.”
She seemed… if not convinced that this was going to have a positive ending, at least slightly less certain that it was going to have a negative one.
In the day and a half since the others had met with the Queen, Trill had spent almost every moment in Molun and Arvus’s rooms trying not to think about it.
The Queen had met briefly with Molun—she’d asked about the wound they’d healed—and then she’d requested a private meeting with Perian—that Brannal had gone to as well because it was quite clear he wasn’t letting his partner out of his sight.
They’d all crowded into Brannal’s sitting room for dinner afterwards, and Perian had said he thought it went well. She’d wanted a more thorough understanding of what had happened when he’d been here last time from his perspective instead of anyone else’s.
“I think she really believes now that I didn’t know what I was and that I wasn’t trying to ingratiate myself with her or Renny.” Perian smiled slightly. “I think it’s a good sign. It’s not like we spent a lot of time together before, but I, uh, kind of thought she liked me.”
“She definitely liked you,” Brannal interjected.
Perian flashed him a small smile, though that fell from his face a moment later.
“When she first found out what I was—what she thought I was—it wasn’t just a shock.
She said it felt like a personal betrayal.
She really believed I’d come after Renny deliberately, and she admitted that she reacted as much as a mother as a queen.
” He was lost in contemplation for a moment, but then he shook it off.
“She apologized for not treating me like the person she’d come to know.
” And then he scowled. “Oh, and she wanted a live demonstration of what a Life Mage could do. Brannal cut himself, which was awful, but I was able to heal it fine.”
Brannal said blandly, “It was a simple, direct method of demonstration. It’s much harder to disbelieve what you can see with your eyes.”
“She already saw me heal Kee.”
“A situation that everyone will admit was highly unusual.”
“Molun, then!” Perian protested.
“She didn’t see the healing directly. Yes, it was unlikely that he would have suddenly healed on his own, but it was possible. She saw me heal before her very eyes. It was a very helpful visual.”
Perian still didn’t look entirely happy, but he didn’t argue anymore.
The Queen had also asked to speak with Yannoma, and Cormal had gone with her. She declined to say what they’d spoken about but said the meeting had not gone poorly, whatever that meant.
Perian, Brannal, Cormal, and the Prince had also gone riding, because as they had all learned, Prince Horsey was bossy and fussy.
It was after lunch on the second day when they were summoned back to the Queen’s receiving room, and this time, she asked for Molun, Arvus, and Trill as well.
Molun was holding his hand, and Arvus had crowded close, so Trill assumed he wasn’t doing a good job of hiding how nervous he was.
All the Mage Warriors were at attention, though, so maybe everyone was nervous.
There was no one in the room with the Queen, which Trill clung to as a notion that it was going to be all right.
“Thank you for giving me time to consider the situation,” the Queen said, surprising him. “I imagine it was not easy to live in suspense, but I did not wish to make a hasty decision. I think my son is young and idealistic.”
Cormal stiffened at her words.
Her lips tipped up slightly. “Those are not necessarily bad traits. Sometimes, that belief in limitless possibilities is what can lead us forward when others would stay mired in what is safe and familiar. How likely do you think it is that you can heal my son?”
Perian and Trill exchanged glances. Trill hoped his panicked eyes made clear that he didn’t want to be the one discussing this with the Queen.
Thankfully, Perian spoke. “Truthfully, Your Majesty, we’re uncertain.
We’ve realized that it can’t be done only by Life Mages.
It needs to be a combination of Life Magic and Elemental Magic.
We, uh, might have experimented a little before.
Just to see if anything could affect Kee. But we didn’t want to hurt him!”
The Queen didn’t look surprised somehow. “And what was the result of your experiment?”
Perian and Brannal explained what had happened, and a glowing Prince relayed the moments where he’d actually been able to touch things with his hands—only it had faded.
“We clearly need to figure out how to combine Life Magic and Elemental Magic. But I’m not sure there are any ways we can correctly experiment except on Prince Kinan,” Perian admitted apologetically, his body language giving away his discomfort.
“We believe working together is the key, but we can’t promise we’ll succeed.
We will do everything we can, and we’ll stop if we see any ill effects.
” He squared his shoulders. “Given the effort it took just for Kee’s hands, we’re likely to need, uh, lots of fuel, and I don’t know how much of that can be managed just amidst our group. ”
The Queen waved this aside, and after a stunned moment, Trill remembered that something like this had happened before, when Perian had first tried to heal the Prince. Trill was never shy about talking about sex, but even he was a little leery about bringing it up with the Queen.
“I’m sure we can come up with a workable solution,” the Queen said smoothly.
Maybe when you ruled the country, it really was that easy. Trill could definitely not imagine it.
The Queen continued, “As I have previously stated, I don’t believe this will be an easy transition. People will resist what they do not understand, and they will fear what they cannot control.”
Trill latched onto the word “transition.” Despite the litany of negative things she’d just said, she’d made it sound like it was going to happen, hadn’t she? He realized he was squeezing Molun’s hand really hard and tried to loosen his grip.
“But you’ll do it?” the Prince demanded.
“I will,” she said, her expression stern. “However, I think it would be safer for everyone if we could make these changes while announcing how the very people we had previously been taught to fear were actually the ones who healed the Prince. That should generate a lot of good will.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Brannal demanded. “If the worst happens?”
“That would be nobody’s fault, Mother!” the Prince said hurriedly.
The Queen inclined her head. “You have my word that neither Perian, Trill, nor the carnalions will be blamed for it.”
Yeah, she’d clearly worked out exactly what he was.
“Perian has already given me more time with my son than I ever thought I would have, and that is how I would continue to speak of it to the public.” She smiled sadly at her son.
“I don’t want to lose you, Kinan. But I’m also aware of how much you want this.
The ultimate decision is yours. If you decline, I will still change the laws and argue the Council into submission. ”
Molun tried to turn a laugh into a cough.
“Of course I’m going to try,” the Prince said with what sounded like unshakable certainty.
“Listen,” Perian said, “if we try it, there’s no way word isn’t going to get out, not if we need energy from lots of people, and I’m pretty sure that’s what we’re going to need.”
“People rallied for their princess,” the Queen allowed. “Even not understanding what was happening or why it was needed.”
“People were willing to help you,” Brannal added, squeezing Perian’s arm. “Yes, it was weird, but many of us deal with weird regularly. You’re special, and people recognized that.”
Perian quirked an eyebrow at him. “Is that your way of saying that I’m weird?”
Brannal kissed his temple. “In the best possible way, dear heart.”
Perian laughed softly. “All right. If you really think it can be done.”
“I believe it can, yes,” Brannal confirmed.
Perian turned to the Prince. “Are you certain? Absolutely certain? I don’t want you doing this just for us.”