Steal a Swordmaiden’s Heart (Court of Midsummer Mayhem)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
Theseus, king of the Court of Knowledge, stood in his tower study and contemplated whether death or marriage was the better option.
He clasped his hands behind his back, gazing out of one of the windows set into the tower’s round walls.
This particular window looked over the Great Library, the magical library that was the heart and soul of this Court.
Currently, the sunlight winked off the glass dome and all the glass skylights, but sometimes in the evenings, Theseus could see through the dome to the upper shelves of books, lit with the golden glow of the faerie lights.
There was a reason he preferred to work tucked away in this tower, leaving the official study on the main floor for formal occasions or meeting with visitors from outside of his court.
All the knowledge of the Fae Realm, and it was his to protect.
For more centuries than anyone in this realm cared to count, his ancestors had protected the Great Library. He could not be the first to fail.
If only his circumstances weren’t so dire, his choices so desperate.
A knock came on the door. Theseus didn’t turn around. “Enter.”
The hinges creaked, followed by two sets of expected and recognizable footsteps.
Philostrate, Theseus’s steward, cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, I have brought Head Librarian Marco, as you requested.”
“Thank you.” Theseus could not bring himself to turn around. “What is the latest report from the Court of Revels?”
“My sources confirm that tension between King Oberon and Queen Titania is rising. At this point, they can’t even stand to be in the same room without fighting.” Philostrate’s voice remained steady and formal. “A resolution does not appear to be coming anytime soon.”
Theseus suppressed a sigh. Bad enough that the barrier between the Fae Realm and the Realm of Monsters had been wearing increasingly thin lately all over the realm.
But with the magic of Midsummer thinning the barrier even more, this Midsummer Night was shaping up to be deadly.
To make their situation even worse, King Oberon and Queen Titania’s marital fighting would also create thin spots in the barrier. Possibly even tear a full hole.
On Midsummer Night, monsters would pour from their realm into the Fae Realm, wreaking havoc on anything in their way.
And the Court of Knowledge didn’t have enough trained warriors to withstand the onslaught.
Thus Theseus’s dilemma. If he did nothing, he would most likely die on Midsummer Night along with the rest of his Court as they struggled to protect the Great Library from destruction.
Or, he would have to forge a bargain with another Court, one with warriors aplenty who could protect both their Court and his. Yet the only bargain strong enough—and safe enough—would be for him to be bound in marriage to a relative of a Court ruler. Or, better yet, the ruler herself.
That left Theseus with precious few options. The king of the Court of Stone had a daughter that Theseus could attempt to steal. As did the king of the Court of Sand. But both of those courts had so many monster attacks of their own that they had no warriors to spare to aid another Court.
That left Queen Hippolyta of the Court of Swordmaidens. She was unmarried, near to Theseus’s age, and her island court of warrior women was strong and relatively untouched by the monster attacks. She would have plenty of warriors to spare to defend the Court of Knowledge.
The only problem was that Theseus could not merely steal Queen Hippolyta the way he would a bride from another court. Stealing a spouse was a time-honored tradition among most of the Courts, but the Court of Swordmaidens had their own, unique traditions that governed them.
Theseus drew his shoulders straight, still staring down at the Great Library. “Marco. What did you find about the marriage bindings practiced by the Court of Swordmaidens?”
“Sadly, not much.” Head Librarian Marco’s tenor held the regret of a researcher bemoaning the knowledge of a long-lost civilization.
“The Court of Swordmaidens has always been secretive when it comes to marrying into their Court. They don’t allow men to stay on their island, and when I’ve sent female librarians to their island to research their ways, the librarians always end up taking their side and never provide me with the information I’m looking for.
Any time I manage to document anything, that information always mysteriously goes missing from the Library.
I don’t even know how they pull that off. ”
Theseus’s fingers hurt from gripping them so tightly behind his back.
That wasn’t the answer he had been hoping for, though it was the one he had expected.
The swordmaidens guarded their secrecy fiercely.
They so rarely left their island that Theseus didn’t even know what Queen Hippolyta looked like.
He turned to face Philostrate and Marco.
Philostrate was a thin fae male with earnest blue eyes and black hair flecked with gray.
Marco wore his black librarian coat with gold embroidery that marked him as the head librarian of the entire Court of Knowledge.
His white beard hung all the way to his knees.
These two men were Theseus’s closest, most trusted advisors. He needed their support of this plan, no matter how desperate it was.
Theseus leaned against the windowsill, facing them. “Is that all the information you could find?”
“Yes, that’s all the officially documented information.
” Head Librarian Marco gestured, his fingers catching in a few strands of his beard.
“But I’ve been around for a while. I’ve heard a few things.
I know that a swordmaiden’s hand can never be stolen, only won.
When you present yourself to attempt to win a swordmaiden’s hand, you’ll be put through tests to prove your worthiness.
If you pass the trials, you will win the hand of your chosen swordmaiden.
If you fail, you will be tossed from their island, never allowed to return. If you survive.”
Trials. Most likely of strength, endurance, and warrior skills. Things a swordmaiden would appreciate in a mate.
Theseus had trained with the best warriors of his Court, as well as a few warriors from other Courts from whom he had managed to bargain training sessions in exchange for particularly sensitive information they had been seeking from the Library.
Surely he would have enough experience and skills to at least hold his own long enough to pass their tests.
Though, the tests they would inflict on him to win the hand of their queen would be brutal.
“What of their famed labyrinth?” Theseus tried to sound casual. “I am guessing that will be one of the trials?”
Marco gave a nod. “Most likely. There are stories that the labyrinth connects to other parts of the fae world, and thus it isn’t as secretive as some of the other aspects of the Court of Swordmaidens.
From my research, the key to navigating the labyrinth is to go forward, always down, and never left or right.
But more than that or what the other trials might be, I cannot say. ”
It was about what Theseus had expected, though it would have been nice to have more information to better prepare for what he would be facing.
“Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?” Philostrate regarded him with a bland expression, not giving away his own thoughts on the matter besides the ones revealed in his question. “You can’t afford to be killed. The Court will need you to lead us on Midsummer Night.”
Philostrate had a point. They only had two moons until Midsummer Night. If Theseus died—without an heir as he was—the Court of Knowledge would be plunged into leaderless chaos right before the most dangerous Midsummer they had experienced in a long time.
Theseus gritted his teeth, staring Philostrate down. “If you have a better option, then name it.”
Philostrate snapped his mouth shut and looked away. Even Head Librarian Marco shifted and wouldn’t meet Theseus’s gaze, and Marco was rarely uncomfortable about anything.
But as the silence stretched long and painful, neither of them offered any suggestion at all, much less a better one.
That was what Theseus thought. He had no choice. He either won the hand of Queen Hippolyta and bargained for her help on Midsummer Night or he and his Court would face a desperate last stand to stave off the coming hordes of monsters.
“As none of us can think of a better option, there is no sense in putting this off.” Theseus faced his two advisors, wiping any dread from his expression or voice.
“I don’t know how long it will take or how long I will be gone.
Philostrate, I will do my best to send messages back through the Anywhere Door as often as I can. ”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Philostrate bowed, tense grooves cutting across his face. “I will update you on any developments as I can, assuming the swordmaidens allow messages to reach you.”
“Head Librarian Marco…” Theseus trailed off, not sure what to say. If Theseus died without an heir, the nobles would squabble over who had the most claim to the throne. It would be up to Head Librarian Marco to sort out the mess.
“I understand, Your Majesty.” Marco gave a sharp nod before he disentangled his fingers from his beard. “Just see to it that you return safely. It would save all of us a great deal of trouble.”
That it would.
“Trust me. I have no intention of dying.” Theseus rested his hand on the sword he had belted to his waist.
Neither Marco nor Philostrate pointed out that having no intention of dying did very little to prevent someone from getting killed if he found himself outmatched. But the looks they both gave him said they were thinking it.
Besides the two advisors in this room, Theseus had no one to tell farewell before he left.
No one besides the people in this room would even care if he died, besides the inconvenience and chaos it would cause in their lives.
A few of the courtiers might even rejoice at his death, since it would give them a chance at claiming the throne for themselves.
The throne was a lonely place to sit, and he couldn’t even admit that to anyone. That was a weakness the other Courts and his own nobles would exploit.
And now, if he managed to win Queen Hippolyta’s hand, he would be lonely even with his own wife. He could never trust her. She would always place the good of her own Court above his, even if she could be convinced to help.
Then again, she would never trust him either since he would also place the good of the Court of Knowledge over her Court. It was, after all, the reason he was seeking to marry her. All he wanted was a bargain that would save his Court.
Mutual distrust. That was the best he could hope for in this marriage. If he had in his most foolish dreams harbored the hope that someday when he married he would no longer face the isolation of the crown alone, then that dream would have to die.
Theseus glanced over his shoulder, drawing in one more glimpse of the glittering Library dome and the precious books it housed within.
He could handle this. The trials. The future loneliness. The burden of distrusting his own wife. Whatever it took, as long as the Great Library was protected.
Theseus pushed away from the window and strode across the room, nodding to Philostrate and Marco as he passed.
They fell into step behind him, following him as he strolled down the curving stairs of the tower. The stairs ended in a hallway filled with the private rooms reserved for the royal family.
Only one lonely room was occupied.
He traversed the hall, reaching the center entrance of the castle. A large set of double doors took him to the Hall of Anywhere Doors. These Doors connected to places all over the Fae Realm, providing all of the Courts access to the knowledge contained in the Great Library.
Theseus faced the nearest Anywhere Door and rested his hand on the latch. Perhaps he should turn around. Maybe Marco and Philostrate expected him to give a speech or one more set of instructions or something.
But he had said all that needed saying.
Now was the time for action.
Theseus straightened his shoulders, drew in a deep breath, and mentally asked the Door to take him to the Court of Swordmaidens.
When he yanked open the Door, it showed a sunny courtyard surrounded by ivy-draped white columns. Beyond the columns, the spires of a sand-colored palace rose toward the sky.
Without a backward glance, Theseus stepped through the Door and closed it behind him. As soon as the Door closed, two swords flashed, one pointing at his neck, the other at his heart.
Theseus raised his hands, not even daring to turn his head to either side to get a glimpse of the swordmaidens that he could just see out of the corners of his eyes.
“What is your business here?” one of the swordmaidens asked, her sword never wavering from Theseus’s neck. “You must know that males are forbidden on this island.”
This was it. No going back now.
“I am King Theseus of the Court of Knowledge, and I have come to win the hand of Hippolyta, queen of this Court.”