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TWHoC: Chapter 9 - Everyone is Terrible
🕑 Added 2023-08-23 05:00:04 +0000 UTCThe nobles were restless.
There was no way to hide the fact that Laurence had an accident and was in a coma, and Beks had a feeling it would get out even if they tried to hide it, so at the next court, she arrived with several doctors and Chamberlain Wilton to inform the court that the King was unable to rule.
She then produced the documents and cited the passage that would give High Counselors temporary Authority to Rule in absence of the king. It often took over a year for a monarch to select their High Counselors, so it wasn’t too surprising that Laurence only had two so far. Everything she presented was done in an above broad manner.
However, for one of the High Counselors to be Beks received mixed reactions. A few voices said she was too young. A few were suspicious. A few wanted to wait for Marquis von Glasser to arrive before moving forward, but Beks did not want the government to stop. It’s not what the late Queen would want. It’s not what Laurence would want.
But she could only force this matter for so long.
“My lady.” Servants bowed their heads and greeted her as she swept through the hall after a tiring few hours dealing with the back and forth of nobles. Everyone wanted to know how Laurence was doing and hardly anything was properly resolved.
With each passing day, Beks only grew more anxious.
It had been over a week and Laurence had yet to wake up. There was no set precedent for how long they could wait until passing the Authority to Rule to the heir. Her position was only a temporary measure meant to cover for the monarch for short term absences. The court would not let her sit in position for long, especially by herself.
In addition to external forces hesitant to let her follow through, Beks worried about her foster brother. As he was, they could only feed him broth and water. Even with the Temple clerics supplementing his health by giving him biha twice daily, Laurence still hadn’t woken up.
She tried her best to hide it, especially in court and in front of Lady Eleanor, but she had begun to worry that Laurence would not wake up.
The guards escorting her stopped when they reached the door to Laurence’s study in the Gilded Palace. They saluted her and took their positions beside the two guards already guarding the study on either side of the wooden door.
Beks gave them a nod, then stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
It was only then that the air seemed to rush out of her and she slumped back against the door. The full skirt of her dress puddled around her as she slid to the floor and shut her eyes. She pressed herself back against the door to try to steady her as exhaustion swept over.
Brother Laurence, why aren’t you waking up? I’m so tired and everyone is terrible.... She let her legs spread out in front of her in a most unladylike fashion as her arms fell at her side, making her look like a discarded doll dressed up like a princess.
In order to rule, the ruled need to believe the ruler had the right to do so.
Few nobles seemed to believe in her right and she was sure some of them were being purposely stubborn. It may have been better with Marquis von Glasser present, but the man had gone south to look for the Second and Third Prince in secret. He had been contacted to return, but it would take some time.
In the meantime, the nobles and their representatives in court were growing impatient. They wanted to know if he’d even been contacted and knew how to come back. The Glasser March was in the southeast, along what used to be the kingdom’s furthest southeastern border. It would’ve taken him a week to arrive upon notification, but he’d been further away and his travel would be prolonged.
If she were a noble, she’d also be suspicious of anyone who insisted on ruling in the absence of the king. That made sense.
But she felt it was too soon to give Authority to Rule to Luther. Nobles had clamored that Luther was the closest blood relative to the King and the defacto heir, so it was his right to rule. They were right about that, and Beks would hand over authority to him if it came to it.
She just hoped it didn’t.
A knock came from above her from behind the door. She tilted her head up and took a deep breath. She pushed herself up to her feet and tugged at her dress to straighten it out and give some semblance of being in control. She closed her eyes took another deep breath and straightened her back before reaching for the handle and opening the door.
Chamberlain Wilton was on the other side and bowed his head.
“My lady, the clerics have arrived for His Majesty. Would you like to see them?” he asked.
Beks nodded. Seeing the clerics give biha to Laurence filled her with some hope and reassurance. It was what she could use after a turbulent day dealing with courtiers.
She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, following Chamberlain Wilton through the Gilded Palace to arrive at Laurence’s villa. Inside his bedchamber, Laurence was laying in the center of his four-poster bed with two clerics on either side. Their arms were extended forward, palms facing Laurence’s prone body as they closed their eyes.
Clerics could only be clerics if they could use biha to heal. Healing biha could be used in two ways. First, it could be used to healed physical wounds by speeding up the body’s process of regeneration, but this required the injury to be visible to clerics. They couldn’t heal internal injuries. Most couldn’t diagnose them.
Second, healing biha was also called ‘life biha’ and could be transferred to an ailing individual from the cleric. In Laurence’s case, his body would absorb the biha to be used as his own energy to support him when the food and drink he’d consumed was not enough.
Beks had summoned seasoned clerics from the Kadmium Temple to heal Laurence on rotation; two clerics twice a day in the morning and afternoon. She hoped that this would give Laurence enough energy to sustain himself and let his body heal from the accident, but she’d been disappointed.
Also in the room were Lady Eleanor, who was seated at the foot of the bed, watching with red eyes as her fiancé continued to sleep. Behind her, Duchess Caroline’s eyes were fixed on Laurence’s bared chest while her lips were in a tight line. Her eyes were narrowed, as if watching for any sign of error.
Since the night they found Laurence, her mother had done her best to support Lady Eleanor. Beks was too busy dealing with the nobles and Lady Eleanor’s father still hadn’t arrived. Lady Eleanor needed support.
She was visibly tired with shadows under her eyes and a gaunt face. Her hair always appeared frazzled, and Beks was sure if her mother didn’t get involved, Lady Eleanor would’ve ignored personal hygiene in order to stay rooted to Laurence’s side the entire time. Admirable, but unnecessary.
The Duke was showing his face amongst the nobles. Beks wasn’t sure what exactly he was doing, but he kept her updated on the mood of the courtiers. Deo had taken their younger siblings around Kadmium in an effort to distract them. She wasn’t sure if they grasped the entirety of what was going on and the repercussions of an unconscious ruler.
She stepped through the threshold of the room and shuffled alongside the wall, afraid to disrupt the clerics as they healed Laurence. Her eyes drifted to her foster brother and crinkled up. If she didn’t know what the clerics were doing, she wouldn’t believe anything was happening.
Those with biha wells and spirit cores could ‘see’ the energy being transferred from one person to another, but as someone without a biha well or a spirit core, she didn’t see anything. It was always a disappointment.
“Ah....” One of the clerics let out a tired groan as he lowered his arms. Across from him, the other cleric did so as well and both men stumbled back. Their faces were pale and there was a thin sheen of sweat across their faces. Each had come with an attendant and they rushed forward to help steady the clerics as the session ended.
“Bring them to the chairs,” Beks said as she took a step forward and motioned to chairs on either side of the bed.
“Thank you, my lady.” One cleric gave her a satisfied nod of his head as his attendant braced his arm and helped lead him to a cushioned wooden chair, as if the cleric were an old man who needed assistance walking.
They took their seats and Beks glanced towards the door. Two maids were waiting, each holding a tray with a small glass of sweet water and a plate of sweet and savory pastries. Beks gave them a nod and they rushed inside to present the clerics with something to eat after they exerted so much energy.
“Please have something to eat. You’ve worked hard,” Chamberlian Wilton said from the door. The two clerics gave small nods and didn’t restrain themselves from picking up the pastries or tossing back the sweet water.
Halfway through finishing, Beks took another step forward. “How is His Majesty responding to the treatment?” She watched their faces carefully.
The two men seemed to hesitate a moment, looking across the room at each other in silence before turning back to Beks. They lowered their heads and her chest tightened. That was never a positive sign.
The cleric closest to her gave a small shake of his head. “My lady....” He trailed off, appearing uncomfortable and unsure what to say.
“It’s all right,” Beks told them. “You can be honest. I am aware you are not at fault.”
The two clerics had a flash of relief on their faces. The one closest to her looked back at Laurence. “I am afraid His Majesty’s body is not accepting our energy. It’s as if the injury is blocking how well he can absorb biha.”
Beks tilted her head to the side and frowned. Lady Eleanor looked up from the foot of the bed and sat up straight. “What does this mean?”
The second cleric was frowning. “Our treatments aren’t as effective as we’d like. If His Majesty’s body refuses our energy, we cannot force him to take it. If he doesn’t wake up and recover on his own, then I’m afraid....”
He didn’t seem to want to say it, but Lady Eleanor understood at once. Her hollowed eyes glistened over and she let out a choked cry. “Don’t say such a thing! Laurence is strong! He’ll get better and wake up soon!”
Behind her, the Duchess put her hands on Lady Eleanor’s shoulders and squeezed them to try to calm her. She looked towards Beks, who pried her eyes away from her foster brother and looked back at the clerics. Their tray of food was almost gone.
“Thank you for your assistance today,” Beks said as she put on a gentle smile and looked at the two old men. “We understand that you are trying your hardest for the sake of the King and Kadmus.” She walked towards the doorway and gave them a small nod of her head; a subtle instruction that it was time for them to go. “Chamberlain Wilton will see you out; we hope you will continue this work tomorrow.”
The two clerics rose from their seats. Their attendants had gathered their belongings and followed them to leave. Beks gave them gentle, thankful nods as they left the room, then raised her arms and closed the door once they left.
She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. Lady Eleanor stood up and walked around the bed to take a seat next to Laurence. She grasped the edge of the blanket pooled around his hips and pulled it up to cover his body up to his neck.
Her rough fingers touched Laurence’s strands of thick, brown hair that fell over his pale, sunken face and smiled weakly.
“He’s getting better right?” Lady Eleanor asked in a cracked voice as she grasped Laurence’s hand and wove her fingers between his larger ones. “Doesn’t he have more color on his face? Do you think he’ll wake up soon?”
Each question was a needle in Beks’ heart and she lowered her eyes. Laurence looked thinner, lacked color, and by and large, looked worse than he did when he first fell into his coma. Beks didn’t know how to reply to the woman desperate for hope.
She looked towards her mother, who still wore the narrowed eyed frown as she looked at Laurence. Beks saw her clench her jaw before turning and walking towards her.
“Shall we talk?” her mother asked. Beks nodded.
She looked past her mother, towards Lady Eleanor. “Mom and I need to discuss some work. Will we see you for dinner?”
Lady Eleanor didn’t take her eyes off Laurence. “All right. I’ll have dinner here tonight.”
Beks drew her lips inward and bit them. Lady Eleanor had been eating dinner there every night. She raised her hand and pressed against her chest before taking a deep breath and leaving the room. She’d never seen Lady Eleanor, who used to be so energetic and bright, be so listless.
She and the Duchess didn’t say a word as they walked out of the villa and through the Gilded Palace to return to Laurence’s study. Two guards escorted them from the villa back to the study. Standing beside the door to the study was her father, dressed in a formal suit for court. His dark hair was combed back and his face was neutral. In her memory, her father was always smiling.
Even during the more troubling times, she could see his emotions well, especially in his expressive eyes. It was uncomfortable to see him with such an unreadable expression. She gave him a nod as they approached him.
“Did you wait long?” she asked as she reached for the door.
Her father shook his head once. “Not long. May I have a word?”
Their voices were even and formal. Beks nodded and stepped inside. She crossed the room, waiting until her parents entered and shut the door behind them before she turned around to face them. Her facade of grace and pride melted in an instant. Her shoulders fell a bit and her expression gloomy.
“Is there any word from Marquis von Glasser?” If he were there, perhaps she could buy more time for Laurence to wake.
Her father shook his head. “As of his aide’s last call, they were held up once more by local nobility.” Beks lips tightened once more. “As he’s the future father-in-law to the king, he’s been accosted in nearly every town he’s passed and as such, has been delayed.”
Beks closed her eyes and resisted the urge to run a hand down her face. Marquis von Glasser was already further away than they initially reported. Any hold-up would delay his already lengthy journey back. She opened her eyes and looked at her father. “How much longer?”
“He’s not sure himself,” her father replied with just as displeased a voice. “They have switched to traveling at night, on smaller rural roads to avoid towns and cities with influential nobles, but this will also lengthen the trip.” Duke Caroline furrowed his brows and hesitated. “It is likely that he won’t arrive until the coronation...if there is a coronation.”
Beks leaned back against the edge of Laurence’s desk and closed her eyes again. Nexus had also been tracking Marquis von Glasser from afar and as of last night, Marquis von Glasser was once again invited to stay at a manor of a local lord. Considering his beloved daughter’s position, the Marquis was hesitant to be rude and make enemies, so he conceded to stay overnight.
That wasn’t a terrible thing, but spending the night with wealthy hosts required long meals, sometimes parties. The guest would have to be entertained by the hosts as a formality, which meant delaying departure. A few times could add up.
When Beks first found out about this, she had Nexus investigate who the noble family hosting the Marquis was, and then also investigated every subsequent family who insisted Marquis von Glasser stay with them.
So far, several of them had connections to the House of Hessing or had financial interests tied with those of the Third Consort. The sign couldn’t have been any clearer as far as Beks was concerned.
She opened her eyes and looked at the piles of papers, booklets, and folios on Laurence’s desk. Over half of them were ready for final approval by the King. Another quarter were almost completed and would also soon require approval.
The problem was that as per the procedures outlining the balance of power for High Counselors, more than half had to be present to approve an order. She understood that this requirement was put in place to prevent an individual High Counselor from having too much power, but since there were only two of them, more than half meant that both of them had to approve.
She couldn’t approve anything if the other High Counselor were in a different location.
“Are you alright, Beks?” her father asked as they watched her stare at the desk of completed work that needed one more step before implementation. They were stalled and Beks couldn’t do anything by herself.
She inhaled deeply. “I don’t know if Marquis von Glasser will arrive in time.” Both her parents looked at her quizzically as Beks ground her teeth. “I’m not a fool. The Third Consort has been pushing for Luther to take over and get rid of the High Counselors.” The Third Consort technically had no political power, but he did wield a lot of soft power.
What was more is that he had a legitimate claim. Luther was blood related to the King and the High Counselors couldn’t be in power forever. It was clear to Beks that the nobles present at court understood this, and while they restrained themselves so far, waiting for Laurence to wake, the longer he was in a coma, the less likely he’d wake up.
This meant that soon, the nobles would press her to hand Authority to Rule to Luther.
She raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. She didn’t have enough time. No matter how competent she was, she couldn’t control time.
“Mom, you’ve watched over Brother Laurence the last few days. What do you think about his health?”
The Duchess’ dark eyes glanced towards the door. She took a deep breath and looked back at her daughter with a hint of wariness in her eyes.
“The clerics are indeed releasing energy to sustain the King, and as they’ve said, the King’s body is not accepting the biha.” Her lips pulled down into a contemplative frown. “While I’ve known of incidents where the body is so weak that biha is being absorbed too slowly, they had blamed his injury. His injury has something to do with his head, not the rest of his body. His Majesty was in perfect health before the accident.”
The Duke knit his brows together as he uncrossed his arms. “Are you saying that there should be no reason why the King’s body wouldn’t absorb biha?”
His wife looked across the room at him and nodded her head once. “If he had been sickly or emaciated before, then I would believe the clerics’ claim.” She looked towards Beks. “I want to test something tomorrow.”
Beks cocked her head to the side. “Test what?”
“I want to see if the clerics are actually feeding their biha to the King, that is, letting his body absorb it, or just directing it towards him to give that illusion. I see biha as water,” her mother told her, moving her hands in front of her. “Biha is fluid and can be controlled and directed by the will of the user. Biha is absorbed through the skin and breath, but when I watched the biha move, there was a large amount that rolled off the King’s body. If his body wasn’t reacting well to it, then his body would still absorb the biha, it just wouldn’t be able to convert it to energy to sustain him.”
The Duke’s face darkened. “Then, if the biha wasn’t absorbed, but instead rolled off him, then it wasn’t that he wasn’t responding to the biha and rejecting it. It’s as if it’s been redirected before contact with his skin.”
The Duchess met her husband’s eyes and nodded. “Biha is in the air naturally, but when it is used, it is a condensed form and far easily to control.”
Beks pushed herself off the edge of the desk and narrowed her eyes. “I summoned those clerics myself for Brother Laurence. Why would they do this?”
Her father looked at her with a knowing expression. “Beks, the clerics' only allegiance is to the Temple. If they’re acting against the King, then they are receiving instructions from elsewhere.”
Thoughts rushed her mind and pulled together. She frowned as her skin began to curdle. “The word of a Temple oracle holds weight. Could they be making sure the prophecy comes true?”
“Were they told about the prophecy regarding the King drowning?” her mother asked with a raised brow.
Beks and her father both sneered. The Duke raised his chin. “As if it could be hidden if the oracle was involved.”
“The words of oracles are all chronicled. Those attendants will keep track of her daily life, as well as document her words for the Temple,” Beks said with a bitter smile. How else were all those oracle records compiled? “The Temple knew about her prophetic dream before we did.”
“Then using clerics to heal him is pointless,” the Duchess said with narrowed eyes.
Beks grit her teeth and met her mother’s sharp gaze. “Tomorrow, do a test for both the morning and afternoon healing visits. If both times, Brother Laurence is being denied biha, that the clerics are faking it, then we really can’t depend on them.” Her mother nodded and looked towards the Duke.
The Duke kept his eyes on his daughter. “What do you plan on doing if this is the case?”
“I can’t trust the nobles of Kadmus. Too many are involved with conflicting interests. I can’t trust the Temple if they’re willing to let Brother Laurence die for a prophecy to be fulfilled.” Her hand resting on the edge of the desk pressed down and her fingers clawed into the wooden surface. “I can only make my own arrangements.”
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In order to avoid being suspicious, Beks didn’t go to Laurence’s villa when the clerics visited the next day. She knew she could depend on her mother to verify for her. Her father always bragged to her that her mother’s water biha was beyond reach, though Beks had never seen her mother use it often.
Most people likely didn’t know the Duchess had a biha well; after all, she was from the West Islands, not Sagittate where it was normal to have biha wells and spirit cores.
Court took place during the afternoon and after setting aside the work that Laurence had already done for approval, Beks straightened her clothes and marched to the hearing room.
The doors to the side of the throne opened and Beks walked through, head held up as she walked to the long table placed in front of the throne. The nobles rose, as was customary, and waited until she took her seat to take their own seats on the rows on either side of the room. Her eyes swept over and noted that it was fuller than usual.
Typically, the daily court had what few local nobles had vested interests being discussed that day. Nobles from regions further away sent representatives, but usually they only came when there was something that was affecting them directly so that they could speak out for or against it.
She glanced towards the viewing booth for heirs to watch and, sure enough, Luther was sitting there with his father. He had been at every court session since Laurence had an accident.
The area in front of her was left open and she cleared her throat.
“Good day-”
“My Lady High Counselor Caroline, I wish to address the duration of the Authority to Rule in the hands of the High Counselors!” A loud voice cut her off and through the silence of the room. Beks’ gray eyes immediately landed on a balding, middle-aged man already making his way to the speaking area in front of the throne and her table without being instructed.
His action showed little of how he respected her authority, but she wasn’t surprised. Her eyes swept over him and she recalled all the information on him in an instant. Germaine, Count of Enora, age 45. His younger sister, Lady Jaqueline of Enora, married into the House of Hessing twenty years earlier. He and his family had extensive business ties with the Third Consort’s family.
If someone were going to start something, she was sure they would be related to the Third Consort. He did not disappoint her.
“You may speak, Count Enora.” Beks raised her hand and gave a regal motion to summon him forward. She kept a blank expression on his face as the man strutted before his peers.
“Thank you, my lady. My fellow nobles, I would like to discuss the Authority to Rule. It has been well over a week since His Majesty King Laurence has been in coma. I have no issue with following the precedent of High Counselor rule, but as of right now, there may as well not be any,” Count Enora said as he turned to face the crowd and pace before them. “As stipulated in royal protocol, in order for orders to be approved and put in place, at least half of the High Counselors must agree and as of right now, the only High Counselor present is Lady Caroline.”
Beks maintained her unmoved expression and did not fidget or sink down her seat despite knowing where the argument was going. She waited patiently and listened to Count Enora’s tirade, getting to the point that Beks could not approve orders by herself and as a result, she were hindering government proceedings. I’m sure there will be more complaints as time goes on....How unsurprising.
“How much longer must we wait? Until Marquis von Glasser arrives?” Count Enora said, looking around the room as he tried to excite the crowd on his side. “By then, His Majesty could wake!”
“I have an addition!” Another nobleman rose from his seat and Count Enora gave him a nod, as if he were in charge. Beks didn’t say anything and watched the second nobleman shimmy past his seated colleagues to come down to the floor. He looked at Beks, bowed his head a bit, and then turned towards the balcony to bow to Luther. He then turned back to the awaiting nobles. “It is a concern that the longer His Majesty is in a coma, the more likely his body will deteriorate. After all, there is only so much that clerics can do.” He turned around to face Beks. “Rumors abound that His Majesty is not responding to the clerics’ biha.”
Beks’ eyes narrowed. She tilted her head to the side just a bit. “May I ask where Lord Pendleton heard such rumors?” It had only been yesterday that she’d been told this by clerics. How could it have spread so soon?
The lord’s eyes widened, as if caught for a moment.
“Many people have been talking about the health of His Majesty, my lady. That is a fact.” Another noble came to Lord Pendleton’s aid.
“Yes, this has spread all over the city already!”
“The people are anxious! They worry over the King and his health!” Various voices came from around the throne room and Beks took a deep breath.
“Governance should not stop! His Majesty would not wish it so!”
“Agreed!”
“We cannot wait! His Highness Prince Luther should be given Authority to Rule!” Count Enora shouted what Beks was sure was his main goal from the start. Her placid eyes fixed on him as he turned around, his face red from all his yelling as he looked at her with a triumphant expression.
Beks opened her mouth, but someone else cut her off. She almost sent a sharp glare at a viscount who had joined Count Enora and Lord Pendleton on the floor.
“My lady, I will vouch for Prince Luther’s ability! Since he was young, he has been assisting in royal responsibilities.”
Then, why didn’t I notice such a thing? Beks pressed hard against the floor so no one could see her reaction.
“Prince Luther has overseen various projects around Kadmium, including the central hospital expansion. He has supported our military by creating retraining programs for injured soldiers, as well as set aside money and assigned a skilled team to build wells in rural parts of the kingdom,” the Viscount said with pride. “His work has also benefited the economics of the kingdom, by strengthening our waterways.”
While the nobles were all murmuring to themselves with approval for Luther, Beks was internally screaming and cursing herself. She held back her frown as she recalled all the projects and orders that had just been named.
Yes, Luther had his name on those, but the bulk of the work was done by her.
All the research, the planning, and the budgets to be allocated. Even selecting people to lobby for local support in order for nobles to approve costly expenses were all arranged by her so as not to make Luther, her would-be future husband, look incompetent.
She resisted the urge to lift up her head and look towards the viewing booth to glare at Luther. He wouldn’t be able to tell them how much any of those projects cost, let alone where the money came from or how it was spent. If she had known how much this would bite her in the backside, she would’ve taken more credit.
“I understand that the lords and ladies, the esteemed nobles of the kingdom are restless with the uncertainty around His Majesty King Laurence, but I ask that you wait until Marquis von Glasser returns. As a High Counselor, he must be properly notified and involved in any transition of Authority to Rule,” Beks said, stressing the Marquis’ importance. “He will arrive in a few days and we can discuss then, if His Highness is not yet awake.”
“Why should we wait? It’s already been a week!” someone shouted.
“My lady, why are you so against giving Authority to Rule to Prince Luther. His Highness is your fiancé,” another person asked with confusion in their voice.
Someone else snorted and a mocking voice answered for her from the back of the crowd. “Isn’t it because Prince Luther wants to break off the engagement with Lady Caroline in order to marry the Oracle?”
The room went so quiet, Beks could almost hear the guards taken in a sharp breath, as if they had been the ones insulted.
Multiple people whispering at once about what they’ve heard and what they’ve seen. This was exactly what she was worried about.
“Enough!” A loud voice echoed over the vaulted ceilings as the flames from the sconces and chandeliers hanging above flared without warning. They let out a loud rushing sound that silenced the room at once and brought all eyes on to Duke Caroline.
I wish I could do that.... Beks watched her father stand and instead of making his way across the aisle to get to the walkway and the floor, he put his foot on the narrow table in front of him and climbed on top with ease.
He took long strides bypassing each row of seated noblemen; literally walking over them before he jumped off the barrier separating the front row from the floor and landed gracefully in front of Count Enora.
He narrowed his eyes and gave the man a cold smile before turning around. “The fact that Lady Caroline is insistent on following precedence outlined in the royal protocol instead of immediately handing Authority to Rule to her fiancé shows that she holds Kadmus’ laws above her own interests.” He sneered at the group before him. “How many of you can say the same?”
“He’s right!” Beks turned her head towards the viewing booth and the unexpected voice. Luther was standing up and took a step forward. He frowned and gave her a small nod. “The Duke is right! Lady Rebecca is mindful of the kingdom’s laws and will not violate them for personal gain. It is right for her to be cautious during such a trying time.”
While appreciated, she didn’t think he had it in him to call attention to himself during such a heated moment.
Her father nodded and motioned a hand towards the Fourth Prince. “As for the rumors of Prince Luther and the Oracle, it is shameful for a man to be disparaged as unfaithful, as it shows a weakness of character and inherent duplicity unbefitting for someone bearing the responsibility of ruling a country.”
Beks retrained her expressions well as she glanced at her father. He really knows how to guilt a person. She nodded to herself. I need to learn from him.
The Duke of Caroline held out his arms as he addressed the court. “His Highness Prince Luther is not a common man. It is an insult to him not to hold him to higher standards!”
Beks could see Luther from the corner of her eyes. He lowered his flushed face and took his eyes off the Duke, as if unable to meet his gaze. She resisted the urge to curl her lip up in a smirk. She was busy, but she wasn’t ignorant.
She hardly saw Luther outside of court. He had rarely visited Laurence, and her mother said that his visits to see his brother had decreased as the days passed. During such a difficult time, there were three people Luther should’ve been beside to show solidarity and support: Laurence, Lady Eleanor, and herself.
She hadn’t seen any work come from him on her desk, so he wasn’t following through with his royal responsibilities there.
Her eyes studied him for just a moment longer and she came to a somewhat disappointing conclusion. If Luther were going to lead, he would need her to ensure he did so smoothly and didn’t run the kingdom to the ground, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but be resentful.
She took a deep breath. She had little choice. If she refused, they could rebel and forcibly take away her position, not to mention ostracize her from the government in the future. It was going to happen; she might as well allow it to do so on her terms.
“The esteemed nobles have made substantial points,” she said as she stood up and raised her arms. “While I have done what I can to support royal rule, it is not enough, and we cannot risk prolonging such a stall. I also agree to hand over Authority to Rule to His Highness Prince Luther, but first!” She spoke loud and fast to stop anyone from cutting her off again. “We must wait for Marquis von Glasser or at the very least, allow him some time. He is not but two days away. If King Laurence does not wake by then, I and the Marquis will discuss transition of Authority to Rule to His Highness Prince Luther until the event that His Majesty King Laurence wakes and is competent for rule.” She stepped back and bowed her head. “Once more, I ask for two days.”
Her show of humility and willingness to compromise with the nobles eased the tension in the room. Various parties huddled together to discuss her terms, but Beks kept her eyes on the instigator of today’s drama: Count Enora. She saw him look up towards the viewing booth and exchange subtle nods with the Third Consort.
She almost snorted. It was done.
“My lady has been thoughtful and taken into consideration all matters related to Authority to Rule in a graceful and thorough way.” Count Enora was almost smiling from ear to ear as he turned to look at Beks. “I concede to giving Marquis on Glasser two days starting tomorrow.”
“I second!
“I third!” A resounding wave of agreements followed and Count Enora looked satisfied.
“The Royal Scribes record the decree!” Beks said in a loud voice, drawing all their attention back to her. She raised her hands up, with her palms facing up in a ‘so be it’ motion. “If Marquis von Glasser does not arrive within two days starting tomorrow and His Majesty King Laurence remains in a coma, then Authority of Power will be transitioned, under the circumstances given, to Prince Luther, Fourth Prince of Kadmus.”
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The nobles were much easier to work with when they were against her. Once the decree to transition power was in place, it was almost as if it were a normal court session. If she didn’t know any better, she’d believed that they trusted her as High Counselor.
Beks walked through the Gilded Palace, making her way to Laurence’s villa just as the two clerics were leaving and led out by Chamberlain Wilton. They stepped to the side and bowed to her as Beks walked past them. She gave them a nod of her head in return.
She walked into the entrance of Laurence’s chamber and then glanced over her shoulder to make sure the clerics had left. When they disappeared towards the main doors of the villa, Beks turned back to the room.
Today, Laurence was being bathed. A low, shallow tub was used and servants would lower him into the portable tub beside his bed. A drain at the far end connected to a pipe that drained out into the bathing pool in the other room. When she got closer, her mother came out of the bathroom, wiping her hands on a fine linen towel.
Beks gave a quick greeting to Lady Eleanor, who supervised two servants in moving Laurence back to the bed, where she could dry him off and dress him. Beks stepped past the bed and looked towards her mother. The Duchess met her expectant gaze, but didn’t speak. Instead, she closed her eyes and lowered her head, shaking it solemnly.
Beks’ breath was tight and her body tensed up at her mother’s silent confirmation. The Dread that had been building inside of Beks spilled over and her arm shot out to grab onto the bed post to steady herself.
“Beks?” Lady Eleanor looked up from where she was holding a towel and wiping the neck and shoulders of her fiancé. “Are you all right?”
“I’m all right...how is Brother Laurence?” Beks forced a neutral expression as her fingers dug into the wood as she willed her legs not to tremble.
Lady Eleanor’s expression saddened more so as she looked down at the unconscious man on the bed. Her dark eyes reddened once more.
“I’m afraid he’s worse than yesterday, Beks,” she replied in a hoarse voice. Lady Eleanor swallowed hard as the servants were dismissed. Once the doors were closed, Lady Eleanor let the towel in her hand drop. Her breath trembled as she looked at the younger woman and tried to force a smile. “I’m scared.”
Beks raised her hand to her chest and pressed against it as her breath grew heavy. Experience told her that inaction would do nothing to improve the situation, so she had to do something. She had toyed with a particular arrangement the night before. She even arranged with Nexus despite not speaking to the other parties involved.
But I can’t leave him here to die. Beks took a deep breath and moved her hand away from the bedpost. “My lady, may I have a moment of your time?”
Lady Eleanor looked up from where she had put the towel aside and was pulling up the blanket over Laurence’s chest. She hesitated and looked back at her fiancé, unwilling to leave him. She clenched her jaw, but nodded.
“I will watch him,” Duchess Caroline said as Lady Eleanor nervously tucked the blanket around Laurence. She gave the Duchess a grateful nod and followed Beks out.
Instead of going back to Laurence’s study, Beks led Lady Eleanor outside and to the Old Tower without a word. She didn’t stop until she reached her bedroom and once Lady Eleanor stepped inside, Beks closed the door and put her hand against a shiny oblong object hanging on the wall. A pulse of light seemed to go across the room before being absorbed in the walls. Lady Eleanor’s brows shot up.
“Is that a scale?” Lady Eleanor asked as she walked towards it, her brows furrowing in wonder.
“Leviathan sea serpent,” Beks replied. “The partial remains of one washed up on the north shore of Sagittate a few years ago. Its throat scales can be used to manipulate sound, making speech sound if drowned out by the deep ocean, and thus undecidable.”
Lady Eleanor looked at the shiny dark blue and black scale. “I’ve heard of these, but have never seen them.” She lifted her hand to touch it and hissed as she snatched it back. “It’s like ice.”
“The northern trenches are cold,” Beks said with a wry smile. “My lady, I didn’t bring you here to admire my leviathan scale.”
Lady Eleanor turned around and gave Beks an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry, Beks...I haven’t been myself lately.”
“I know. And I don’t blame you,” Beks told her. She took a deep breath and motioned for Lady Eleanor to take a seat. “There has been...an arrangement made at today’s court session,” Beks began. Lady Eleanor sat on the edge of the edge of her bed and nodded, urging her to continue. “It is in regard to the Authority to Rule. The nobles are in an uproar about it. Holding my position as a High Counselor alone is difficult. If I force it, they will turn against me completely. At most, I can have them wait for your father for two more days.”
“Two more days?” Lady Eleanor knit her brows and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If your father does not arrive by the end of the second day, starting tomorrow, I will transfer Authority to Rule to the Fourth Prince.”
“No!” Lady Eleanor shot up from the edge of the bed and took a step forward. “Laurence is not dead! Why would the Fourth Prince get Authority to Rule in his place? It isn’t his turn to be king!” Her eyes were red and her face pained as she yelled. “You can’t give him power!”
“I have little choice. Brother Laurence cannot rule as he is. In fact, we don’t know if he will remain in this state for much longer.”
Lady Eleanor jerked her head back and squinted her eyes. “Beks, you can’t give up on him.”
Beks took a deep breath. “I am not giving up on him, but he has only gotten worse. I can’t help but feel as if something is wrong.” She met Lady Eleanor’s eyes with conviction. “Do you not think it’s strange that Brother Laurence needed to be bathed twice today?”
Lady Eleanor’s eyes crinkled up and she shook her head. “This morning, his bath was delayed and we had to bathe him again this afternoon because a maid accidentally spilled broth all over Laurence....” She trailed off and looked at Beks. “Duchess Caroline had bumped into the maid.”
Beks gave her a slow, encouraging nod. “Brother Laurence had to be in water for my mother to check if he was absorbing biha from the clerics.”
Lady Eleanor squinted. “I don’t understand.”
Beks took a deep breath and explained her mother’s theory. She watched Lady Eleanor’s face grow pale before gritting her teeth and allowing angry tears to rim her eyes.
“My mother uses water biha and is very sensitive to it. As long as the water is touching Brother Laurence, she can use it to monitor his energy.”
Lady Eleanor was grimacing. “And what did she find?”
“The clerics were purposely manipulating their biha to get close to Brother Laurence’s skin, but did not let it touch and be absorbed,” Beks replied carefully. “That is why he is looking far worse.”
A shaking breath left the other woman. “They wouldn’t....”
“They have.”
“They’re clerics!” Lady Eleanor grabbed the back of a chair nearby and tossed it to the side. She whirled around and looked at Beks. “Why would they let a person die? Their job is to heal! If they couldn’t do it, why did they keep coming?” She looked as if she were going to rip her hair out at any moment, but Beks could only stand in place. Lady Eleanor almost snarled as she turned around and marched towards the door. “I’m going to drag them back and make them heal Laurence or I’ll run them through myself!”
She made it three steps before Beks’ dry voice reached her. “Do you think they’re afraid of you?”
Lady Eleanor stopped. Beks watched her shoulders rise and fall with deep breaths before speaking. “What are you talking about?”
“If the clerics aren’t afraid to allow the King to die, what makes you think they’d be afraid of you, the King’s fiancée?” Beks told her. She was surprised her voice was so even. “They are following someone else’s orders. It could be the Temple’s, I don’t know, but they wouldn’t pretend to heal Brother Laurence without a reason.”
“To deny their aid to a monarch must be a crime! We can’t let them act like false clerics-”
“Arresting them would be worse. It would be seen as an insult to the Temple,” Beks said as she remained in place. “Aside from the chaos it would cause between the Temple and Kadmus if we accused them allowing the King to die, without much proof as they can claim Brother Laurence has not been receptive to their biha, I will also be accused of conspiring against the King for stepping clerics from healing him.”
“But you also summoned them!” Lady Eleanor choked out.
“I summoned them, but they’re not doing what they’re supposed to. It could be seen as a plan to prevent Brother Laurence from waking up.”
“That’s ridiculous-”
“When someone is enough of a thorn in your side, anything they do is wrong and done with the worst intentions,” Beks said as she lifted her chin and gave Lady Eleanor a pitiful shake of her head. “My lady, you’ve been hunting often. You should know a trap when you see one.”
Lady Eleanor’s shoulders fell as she looked at Beks helplessly. “Who would do this?” she said in a breathy, defeated voice. “Laurence has done so much work to improve the kingdom, even before he was king. Why would someone want him to die?” Her face turned cold. “Is it the Third Consort?”
Her hands clenched into fists on either side of her, and Beks stepped forward to take one hand, and pried it open in an effort to calm the other woman.
“I can’t prove it’s him,” Beks answered truthfully. “But from what I’ve seen, if Laurence stays, he will not get proper care and will die soon.” The hand in hers tensed up and Beks held it tight to steady Ledy Eleanor. “The trap has been sprung. Uncle Timur said that once a trap has been sprung, there are only two endings. One is that the captured have met their end. The other is that the trap is broken. Sister Eleanor.” Beks raised her eyes and met the tear-filled ones of Lady Eleanor. “If you trust me, I will break the trap.”
Comments
CentaureHeart
Seems like the main casts gets pretty beaten up these first few chapters
