Pawns and Queens--a 15th Century Gwynedd Story--Chapter Thirty-Seven

[Evie]

Previous chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3276.0.html


Chapter Thirty-Seven

October 1, 1464
Rhemuth Great Hall
Early Afternoon

The Great Hall at Rhemuth Castle was packed as Queen Catherine, currently serving as Regent of Gwynedd while King Nicholas was still away leading the army, presided over the first Court of Justice to be held during the new King's reign. As this particular trial was over a fairly private matter rather than one that concerned the whole city and kingdom at large, such as the sentencing of the Jouvian prisoners which the King had handed down while he was still Regent, the decision had been made to conduct Queen Catherine's first Court in the smaller and comparatively more private castle Great Hall rather than in the King's Courthouse in the City, but a few of the City residents who had heard of the proceedings that were scheduled to take place had turned up anyway, very curious to see how their new Andelonian Queen would handle judicial matters as Regent in the King's absence.

There was another reason why those hungry for local gossip had decided to turn up for this particular court. It was rumored that someone had either attempted to kill the King's paramour or at least had made passive efforts towards such an end in hopes that a lack of action would result in her death, and that this Court was being convened as a result of those actions or premeditated inactions. So the local scandalmongers were out in force, very curious to see how the King's wife would handle the matter.

The Queen herself, having heard even before entering the Hall that she would find it much more crowded than usual, was not at all surprised by the turnout. She had suspected she would find the Hall full. In fact, she had rather counted on it.

"All rise for Her Majesty, Queen Catherine, Regent of Gwynedd!" cried the herald as Catalina entered the Great Hall. All remained standing as she crossed the dais to take her seat upon her throne. As she turned to her herald, asking him to invite the populace to be seated, a low murmur of awed astonishment could be heard among the assembled crowd. Their new King's consort was not dressed in the expected finery of a Haldane Queen, wearing a traditional Gwyneddan kirtle and mantle with the usual Haldane regalia, but garbed instead in fine gold-shot silks styled in the Eastern desert fashion as befitted a Sultana of the Bhuttayriah, albeit in the crimson and gold Haldane colors of her husband's house. From her sashed waist swung a curved scabbard holding a scimitar.

Once she had fully settled onto her throne, her emerald eyes sweeping the crowd before her until the hushed whispers turned silent, she glanced at her herald again and gave him a nod. The man called out "This Court of His Majesty King Nicholas of Gwynedd is now in session. The Regent summons the accused, Lady Amina bint Nasir al-Zahra of Andelon, into the royal presence."

The bound prisoner was brought in, led on either side by the Queen's Andelonian courtiers Lord Salim and Lord Riordan, who brought Lady Amina up nearly to the foot of the dais to kneel before the throne, both men bowing deeply as they took a step back, though still keeping vigilant watch over the accused woman lest she make some desperate bid for escape or attempt to harm the Queen physically. They had already placed controls on her mind to prevent any form of psychic attack, whether on the Queen herself or on anyone else in the Hall.

The Queen studied the prisoner, who bowed her head in shame at first, although as the charges against her were read out, the woman began to raise her head in defiance.

"Lady Amina," said the herald, "you have been charged with the attempted murder both by deliberate act and by your acts of deliberate and willful negligence toward Lady Melisande de Northwode and also toward the King's son at the time yet unborn, Lord Edward Nicholas Fitzroy, with the express intent of increasing the risk of the lady's death in childbed. How do you plead?"

"I am not guilty!" Lady Amina called out. "The puta deserved to die!"

The Queen abruptly stood, her sudden action startling the ensuing uproar of the crowd back into silence as they waited to see what she would say or do in response. "Lady Amina," said the Queen, "do you deny that you deliberately removed from the Lady Melisande's person an embroidered charm meant to help protect the lady from harm during the rigors of childbirth, and that you hid this charm in your belt pouch with the express purpose of denying Lady Melisande its particular benefits?"

"I did so," answered Amina. "The woman was defiling it with her touch, and it was never meant for her, it was meant for your protection!"

"So it was," said the Queen, nodding in agreement, "but who do you think gave it to her?" She raised a raven eyebrow at her former camarera, who tightened her lips in disapproval but made no reply.

"Do you deny that you failed to tell the castle midwife that Lady Melisande was in immediate need of her services, being not only in labor, but also at high risk of dying in childbed due to complications known about beforehand?"

"She was already busy, Your Majesty! She was delivering the Countess of Kierney of a son!"

"She was actively serving as midwife to the Countess at the very moment you spoke with her?" asked Catalina, looking skeptical. "Or did you not speak with her after she had already returned from doing so?"

Amina glanced away, her lips pressing together even more tightly.

"I asked you a question, Amina!" the Queen barked, a note of command entering her voice to force Amina to Truth-Say. "When did you speak to the midwife?"

"After she attended the Countess," Amina found herself replying despite her best effort to remain silent.

"And you said nothing to her about Lady Melisande needing her services?" Catalina continued.

"I said nothing," Amina ground out.

"And after that, while Her Majesty the Queen Mother and I were attending to the Lady Melisande's labor ourselves, doing our utmost to prevent her from bleeding to death and losing the King's son, I bid you seek out a Healer in the City, where our Court Healers and physicians had all gone to tend to the injured two nights ago. Lady Amina, did you see any Healers in the City while you were wandering around outside the castle gates?"

Amina tried to sidestep the question, since she couldn't entirely evade answering it. "I saw a few men wearing green who appeared to be heading back towards the castle."

"I see. And did you attempt to engage anyone who you recognized to be a Healer, or even anyone wearing the color green?" the Queen asked, again bringing her power to bear to force Amina to answer truthfully.

Amina lifted her chin. "I did not. I did not wish to waste their time."

"Oh, really? So two Queens of Gwynedd thought the matter important enough to 'waste time on,' yet you in your infinite hubris decided that no trained Healer need 'waste time on' such a trivial matter as the birth of the King's son, even though your Queen had ordered you to find one? I will allow that you might be unfamiliar with Gwyneddan law, but I know you are very familiar with Andelonian law, so let me ask you–what sort of charge would the willful disobedience of your Queen's direct command incur in Andelonia, Doña Amina?"

Lady Amina turned pale. "Traición," she replied.

"Treachery, did you say?" asked the Queen. "Why yes, I do believe you are correct. So in addition to the charge against you for attempted murder, let us also add that to the list. So, since you do not deny the charges against you, I suppose that leads us to the sentencing. And this, Lady Amina, presents me with a grave dilemma. If you had been successful in your attempt to kill Lady Melisande and the King's son, then the charge against you would simply be Murder. It would be very easy to determine your fate. As a noblewoman, you are entitled to execution by beheading with a sword for the crime of Murder." Catalina drew her scimitar, causing a collective gasp from the crowd as Amina jerked back, startled, only to have her bound arms caught firmly by the two Andelonian retainers standing slightly behind her to either side.

The Queen paced catlike across the dais, turning to fix a considering look at the prisoner before her. "But you are not guilty of murder, are you? You are merely guilty of the attempt to commit murder, which as I have mentioned presents a problem for me. If I execute you for merely attempting to murder someone, even though you failed in your attempt, will that deter others from similar attempts to murder in future? Or would someone thinking of committing murder, but experiencing second thoughts, fail to stay their hand, thinking since the mere attempt will incur the same penalty as actually following through on the crime, then there is little point to showing last-minute mercy towards someone they intended to kill, because the mere intent to kill will receive just as severe a penalty, so they might as well go through with the actual deed? As you can imagine, Amina, that is not a message I wish for the people of Gwynedd to take away from these proceedings! But on the other hand, if I show too much leniency towards you just because you failed in your attempt, will not others think that they might do as they please, even to the point of risking the lives of others, just because they believe their Crown will turn a blind eye as long as their actions don't actually result in a death? Lady Amina, I am extremely vexed by being placed in this position by someone who once swore fealty to me, but it seems you regard keeping your oath as 'a waste of time'."

Queen Catherine returned to the center of the dais, descending the steps until she was standing within arm's length of her former camarera. "Here's what I think I will do. I do not think I can execute you for a crime you did not actually manage to commit, despite your very best efforts. Therefore...." Lightning-fast, the scimitar blade sliced through the air, stopping with the edge of it touching Lady Amina's bare neck, the hair on that side of her head dropping silently to the floor as the Andelonian prisoner screamed and jerked back, a thread-fine line of blood appearing on her neck where the blade gently scored her skin. The Queen lowered her blade, accepting a handkerchief from Lord Riordan and wiping the blade carefully before returning it to her scabbard. "For the crime of Attempted Murder, we will consider that an Attempted Execution. As for the other charge against you, unfortunately since you are still technically a subject of the Andelonian Crown, I must defer the rest of your fate to King Mikhail of Andelonia, my father. But do not think he will deal with you any more leniently than I would. It will not please him at all to learn of how you have comported yourself in his daughter's husband's realm, nor that your actions and willful inactions nearly resulted in the death of the mother of the King of Gwynedd's children and of a child of the Haldane blood."

Catalina ascended the steps again, turning towards the hushed crowd as she resumed her seat on her throne. "Be it known to one and all within this City of Rhemuth and in the Realm of Gwynedd that I, Catalina Sofiana Richenda Maria Vastouni Haldane, known within this Kingdom as Catherine, Queen of Gwynedd, do henceforth take under my personal protection the Lady Melisande de Northwode as well as her children by His Majesty the King Nicholas Richard Brion Alexander Haldane of Gwynedd. Any good act done unto them is good done unto me. Any act of harm done unto any of them is harm done unto me, and shall be answered by swift justice." She glanced down at her Andelonian retainers. "You may take the prisoner back to the Keep to await her deportation to the Court of Andelon." As the two men bowed and complied, escorting the weeping prisoner between them, the Queen nodded to the court herald.

"All rise! This concludes this Court of His Majesty King of Gwynedd," the herald called out as the Queen rose from her throne and exited the Great Hall.

#

October 1, 1464
Queen Alixa's private apartment
Afternoon

Upon hearing about the other two recent births at Rhemuth Castle, Queen Alixa had graciously invited Countess Noella of Kierney and Lady Melisande to spend their weeks of lying-in in her chambers, thinking this would make it easier for the newly-established nursemaids and wet nurses to have all of the recovering mothers in one place, and it would also make it easier for the other mothers to have other ladies available to assist them in the earliest days of their recovery. Lady Melisande in particular would need several extra days of bedrest and care due to the blood loss incurred while giving birth to her son. Alixa also very much looked forward to having some additional company, having recovered past the early days of feeling like sleeping as often as possible whenever Cynewyn slept, but not yet quite ready to venture out and re-engage with public life and a hectic schedule again. The Queen Mother, while still somewhat nonplussed at the notion of one son's dowager queen sharing close quarters with the hopefully former paramour of another son, simply sighed and allowed that it would make tending to all the new mothers a lot more convenient.

To make extra room for the new arrivals, the adjoining wing of the apartment, originally designated as the bride's chambers when Alixa first arrived in Gwynedd but rarely used as such ever since Cinhil's health began to decline, for his new wife had preferred to sleep where she could keep a closer eye on him, was opened up and aired out before having most of the windows covered again to protect the eyes of the newborns who would be visiting those rooms during the hours when their mothers were awake.

Mellie had just awakened and was sleepily turning over to check if baby Cole was in the room with her or if he had been returned to the nursery while she slept. She had decided on that nickname since two Colins in the family were apt to become confusing, but Edward seemed too grown up a name for such a tiny tyke and her friend Lucie had already shared her intention to name her baby Ned. The door opened and the guard outside admitted Lucie of Woodbury into the chambers. Mellie sat up, very curious about the news Lucie had come to bring, since Lucie had informed her earlier that morning of her intent to attend the Court of Justice in Rhemuth's Great Hall.

"How did the Court go?" Queen Alixa asked, looking up from getting Cynewyn settled into her bassinet.

"It was...beyond words," Lucie said with a giggle, her eyes shining. "I don't even know how to begin describing it. But I don't think anyone is going to be bothering you in future, Mellie."

"Would you mind if I Mind-See what you saw, Lucie? I promise not to pry beyond what you witnessed today in Court, but if I see what happened for myself, I can share the highlights with Lady Melisande. And also with Countess Noella later, if she is interested," Alixa added, though Noella was still sound asleep.

"If you wish," said Lucie shyly, still feeling a little uncertain about allowing the use of Deryni powers on her mind, but having had some time to grow accustomed to the Jouvian-born Queen who she had soon discovered was as completely unlike Prince Rémy as two people could possibly be, despite having had the sad misfortune of being his sister. It was the simple courtesy of being asked first that helped Lucie decide she could trust the young dowager queen. "Yes, Your Majesty." She crossed the room to curtsey before Alixa, extending her hand.

Alixa Mind-Saw Lucie's memories of the morning's events and laughed. "I can't even imagine wearing a scimitar into Court, much less wielding one! Oh, Catalina!" Grinning, she extended her hand to Mellie, who was now intensely curious.

The images flooded into Mellie's mind in sequence. After a moment, she began to laugh. "Poor Colin! Does he even know what he's gotten himself into?"

The door opened again. This time, the guard on duty brought in a letter for Queen Alixa. "Delivered by royal courier from the Hort of Orsal, Your Majesty," he informed her.

#

October 1, 1464
Five miles outside of Rhemuth
Early Afternoon

Prince Camber's army was slower to join up with the main force because they had needed to march several miles out of the way to find a safe place to cross the River Eirian en masse. They had finally found a location slightly north of Candor Rhea where enough of the original bridge remained for their engineers to create a temporary pontoon bridge at that location so they could move their men, horses, and materiel over the floating structure safely. The horses had to be led across the structure carefully, for they were less than happy to be coaxed across the surface made from planks secured to floating barrels lashed together, which slightly bobbed on the water's surface rather than remaining reassuringly still like ground was meant to be, but eventually all made it across to the opposite bank, some with the additional coaxing of Deryni who were skilled with animal rapport. After they crossed the river, they carefully disassembled the bridge and loaded the pieces of it back onto the wagons in the baggage train, just in case some portion of the enemy forces still remained on the opposite side of the river waiting for their chance to sneak up behind them, although this seemed less likely as each successive day passed with no fresh sightings of the enemy.

Having crossed the river, they began the southward loop back towards Rhemuth, although they were intercepted by one of the King's scouts, who informed them that the main force of the enemy was no longer gathered around the City, but had moved northeast where they had recently been engaged in battle with the King's forces near the village of Baynham. Afterwards, they had moved back towards the general vicinity of Gwynedd's capital with the King's army in pursuit, but that was the last information the scout had on the matter. Camber cast out with his senses, but his brother was still too distant for him to find out where Nicholas was that way, so he ordered his column to march in a direction he thought would likely intersect with the path taken by the King's troops eventually, at which time he should find it easier to ascertain whether to continue on the same path or turn one way or another to increase his chances of encountering the King's army sooner.

The scout also bore news of the magical illusions the Queen of Eistenmarcke was using to help conceal her army and the ways the King and his men had circumvented her efforts. Thus, the Prince's men were already forewarned and forearmed by the time their scouts encountered fresh signs of the enemy in the distance.

They encountered the tiny hamlet of Knoll at the foot of a small hill encompassed on two sides by a bend in the river, upon which the ruins of an ancient tower keep could still be seen. The hamlet might once have been a village, but it had dwindled over the centuries into this tiny habitation where no more than three or four families still remained to eke out a living in their surrounding fields. Thus far, the war had mostly bypassed them entirely, but in the past few hours they had been set upon by a band of strangers speaking in a strange tongue who had stolen the crops from their fields and the livestock from their barn, leaving them to wonder how they were going to survive the winter. By Eistenmarcke's usual standards, the brief invasion had been merciful, for they had been in such haste, they had only killed two of the local men who had originally attempted to fight back, and had left the women and girls strictly alone. The Prince left one of the priests traveling with his troops behind to help the hamlet bury its fallen and then escort them to the safety of the City, only a day's walk distant, with a signed and sealed letter from the Prince to allow them to pass through Rhemuth's gates if they could be approached safely, assuming that enough of the enemy forces were back in the field that the siege was in abeyance at the moment. Otherwise, the letter ought to serve to help them secure safe shelter in some other nearby town. That duty dealt with, the army continued on.

Less than an hour later, as the head of the column passed a stand of oak trees, one of the scouts riding several yards to one side of the main column spotted what appeared to be the flicker of a campfire deeper in the wooded area. He crept into the wooded area to investigate, soon returning to report that he had seen what appeared to be enemy soldiers camping in the concealment of the tree cover.

Camber sent more scouts to skirt the perimeter of the woods, to see if the wooded area was small enough for his army to encircle it and then close in upon the enemy, or if some other tactic for engaging with them or flushing them out might be needed. Several minutes later, the ones he had sent around to the other side of the woods returned, stating that they had nearly managed to wander directly into another large group of soldiers, this band camping out in the open field beyond the wooded area. To the Prince's consternation, this band appeared to be of equal strength to the first, although that seemed unlikely because unless they had been joined by another large army of Eistenmarckers in the time since they had been encamped outside of the walls of Rhemuth, their forces should only have been half the size they appeared to be at present, especially if some of their number had since been lost during their encounter with King Nicholas's forces in the days since Camber had last seen their army assembled beyond Bishopsgate.

He considered the likelihood that the Eistenmarcke army had been supplied with fresh troops this late into the war season, which had somehow managed to travel either overland from the Purple March or up the Eirian undetected to join up with their main force. Despite their Queen's skills with illusions and concealment, Camber was doubtful that she had managed to sneak an entire second army into the kingdom while at the same time being engaged in laying siege to Rhemuth and then marching her known troops through the Duchy of Haldane simultaneously. On the other hand, it was possible that either one of the war camps they had found was merely an illusion, or perhaps Ingrid had split her army into two camps, one situated in the open to serve as bait, and the other concealed to hold in reserve, and was using some form of illusory magic to make both camps appear roughly twice the size than either ought to be in order to make each one appear to contain their entire army.

Given the time of day when the small hamlet they had passed had been robbed of its resources, the nearer camp hidden within the woods had likely been the earlier one to be established, but since it was also possible that Ingrid had split up her leadership between both camps, he wondered if it might be more prudent to attack both at the same time, to lessen the chance of the main group escaping while the decoy group was fighting the Gwyneddan forces.

While he was still deliberating this, another scout returned, this one informing him that the King's army had been spotted approaching from the other side of the woods. That sealed Camber's decision. Nicholas could engage with the Eistenmarckers camped out in the open, on his side of the small forest. He and his men would engage with those camped in the large stand of oak trees.

#

October 1, 1464
Within the stand of oaks
A few miles outside of Rhemuth
Afternoon

Within the wooded area surrounding the war camp, time seemed to stand eerily still. As soon as the Gwyneddan infantry entered the treeline, an uncanny darkness seemed to swallow up the sun that shone high above the tree canopy, making the day feel more like night.

Somewhere, an owl hooted. The soldiers looked around nervously, crossing themselves, but continued resolutely onward.

As previously ordered, the human soldiers swiftly fumbled for the small flasks of elixir each man carried, unsure whether to go ahead and take their dose now or wait a little longer for fear it might wear off too soon if they were too swift to take it. The Deryni among them were extra vigilant, testing their newly-learned techniques for seeing through any illusions that might be around them.

The corpses they encountered hanging from the tree branches were mostly illusory, they discovered, much to their relief, although here and there they found some poor soul they would need to return for later to give a decent burial. The war camp itself seemed disconcertingly still, as if it had been left deserted. Could this have been the decoy after all, with every Eistenmarcker soldier camped out in the open where, God willing, they were already being engaged by the King's men?

And then the men clad in bearskin shirts burst out from all around them, in numbers so improbable that all of Camber's soldiers knew some to be mere illusion, though until each was engaged with, it was very difficult to know which ones had fleshly bodies and could be killed. Fortunately the illusory soldiers were no real threat, no matter how much they hacked and slashed, unless one had such a weak heart that mere fright could manage to stop it. But the true bear-sarkers were plentiful enough, maddened by battle-rage and impervious to pain, continuing to fight on no matter how many good Gwyneddan arrow shots, sword strikes, or spear thrusts had managed to hit their target, until their bodies could not continue on any longer and they dropped where they stood.

On occasion, they encountered an Eistenmarcker shield-maiden, wading into the fray alongside their men, often causing the Gwyneddan soldiers to either falter or struggle to overcome their natural tendency to avoid causing harm to a member of the fair sex. The Llyrian combatants among Camber's men, having no such compunctions, were best suited for dealing with the few shield-maidens they encountered as they made their way through the camp towards what appeared to be the main pavilion, where hopefully they would discover Queen Ingrid at her craft, fully focused on her seether magic and not noticing their arrival until it was too late.

Of course the lady was not there.

#

October 1, 1464
Within the stand of oaks
A few miles outside of Rhemuth
Evening

It was a couple of hours before they discovered where Queen Ingrid was hidden, and the dosage of elixir the majority of Camber's soldiers had taken had started to wear off already, though a few soldiers who had taken their vials relatively late could still see through her illusions, as could the few Deryni who were not yet too exhausted by their recent combat to use their Anviller training effectively. She was lying overhead, several feet above the ground, in a hammock that blended in with the tree canopy, offering excellent concealment even without the use of her magical deceptions.

Two archers attempted to shoot through the hammock, but the arrows bounced off harmlessly. The Prince was not unduly surprised; he figured she was somehow warded, even if he could not detect the usual sort of Deryni wards. Once the archers began to shoot at the ropes suspending the hammock overhead, they had more success once the ropes frayed enough to break underneath Ingrid's weight.

The woman plummeted towards the ground, stopping scant inches before she hit it. She opened her eyes, dazzling blue, and briefly fixed the two archers each in turn with her gaze while muttering a low chant. The hapless archers, dazed, turned their aim on one another, shooting each other in the chest at point blank range before Camber could intervene.

She shifted her attention to the Haldane prince, who carefully avoided her gaze as he cast a brilliant ball of handfire towards her, momentarily impairing her vision. It distracted her just long enough for two more of his soldiers to throw a leather bag over her head before binding her ankles and wrists as she bucked beneath them, two more soldiers adding their combined weight to hold the Eistenmarker seether-mage down so the others could secure the bag more closely around her head. She was still a danger, even thus secured, and would be as long as there was any chance of her regaining her sight, for the ability to see clearly was necessary to her magic. Even now, judging from the muffled sounds coming from within the bag, she seemed to be attempting to utter curses, but without being able to focus her gaze on her victims, her efforts were ineffective.

Prince Camber gazed down at the bound and hooded queen at his feet. "Ingrid, Queen Mother of Eistenmarcke and Dowager Queen of Nördmarcke, I suppose it is futile of me to ask, but do you request the services of a priest?"

A growl of rage was her only reply.

"Queen Ingrid, you are hereby sentenced to death by order of Nicholas, King of Gwynedd, Prince of Meara, and Lord of the Purple March." Lifting his sword as one of the soldiers restraining her lifted up the bottom edge of the bag to bare her neck, he swiftly brought it down to sever her head in one quick stroke.


Next chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3285.0.html

[Demercia]

You really do have an amazing imagination.  "Attempted execution"!

[Evie]

You really do have an amazing imagination.  "Attempted execution"!

This scene (or at least the pivotal image from it that inspired the rest of it) came to me in a dream about two or three weeks before I reached the point where it fit into the story, and I was so impatient to actually get to the beginning of writing the scene so I could see how it all played out. I think the actual dream image was just the bit where Catalina swings the scimitar and stops it just in time, and Amina's hair flutters silently to the floor. It was like watching a movie scene where the swing itself happens in slow motion and silence until the hair touches the floor and then suddenly everything goes back to real time and full sound again. Before that, I knew there was going to have to be some sort of court trial and sentencing, but I wasn't entirely sure what that would be and if it would end up with Catalina needing to execute Amina or something short of that. Part of my dilemma was trying to ascertain whether or not Amina's actions would legally count as treason or not, since even though her actions were arguably acts against the King, he wasn't Amina's King, since she owed her loyalty to Andelon's Crown. So while she was clearly guilty of some form of rebellion and disloyalty, a charge of high treason seemed a bit of a stretch, and petty treason didn't appear to apply either since she never attempted to kill Catalina, just Mellie and Cole. But when I was looking for the Spanish word for "treason," I discovered that it also meant "treachery" or "betrayal," and those charges certainly applied to Amina's actions even if "treason" technically did not.

[DerynifanK]

I was not expecting that! You continue to amaze me. I would not have expected Camber to execute Ingrid so quickly but she caused a lot of death and pain and certainly deserved it. And as long as she lived she would continue to be a danger. The last of the villains is eliminated!

[Evie]

I was not expecting that! You continue to amaze me. I would not have expected Camber to execute her so quickly but she caused a lot of death and pain and certainly deserved it. And as long as she lived she would continue to be a danger. The last of the villains is eliminated!

I deliberated that very briefly, but there was no way to transport Ingrid safely to Rhemuth for a trial and execution. Can you imagine if they got her into the Great Hall or even the King's Court in the City and then she somehow managed to get that bag off her head? 😱

I also deliberated whether or not, since he is a priest, he might attempt to give her a very quick C-section immediately after her death in order to try to baptise the baby before it died as well. (There was precedent for that in case of a medieval maternal death, though the emergency baptism was normally performed by the midwife.) I somewhat reluctantly decided that even though a midwife might know how to do that properly without accidentally skewering the baby, a priest with no medical training (besides maybe basic first aid) would likely have no clue how to go about that, even if he wanted to. Besides which, I wanted the scene to end on the dramatic "cut to black" sort of abruptness that it had, since that abruptness echoes the sudden end to Ingrid's life. So I will leave it up to the reader to determine if Camber attempted any off-screen extraordinary measures to spiritually save the baby according to his society's faith tradition or if he decided to just leave well enough alone. The fetus wasn't old enough to be viable outside the womb in either case, so it wouldn't have been a matter of attempting to save the baby to be adopted out.

(And if anyone else was curious about this, in the case of an emergency C-section with the intent of baptising an unborn child, the usual formula was edited to begin with "If thou art alive, I baptise thee...," or if the unborn child was not fully formed enough to recognize as a human baby, then the womb was simply cut open and sprinkled with the opening words "If thou art a man [in the sense of species, not gender], I baptise thee....")

[JudithR]

I'm beginning to like Soraya very much.  Just shrug and let them get on with it.

I too hadn't expected that ending.  However the idea of Ingrid as a prisoner makes one's hair curl.

[Evie]

I'm beginning to like Soraya very much.  Just shrug and let them get on with it.

I too hadn't expected that ending.  However the idea of Ingrid as a prisoner makes one's hair curl.

I did mention that the Soraya you met at the beginning of the story wasn't the same Soraya you would see throughout. She was hardly at her best when you first met her, but she's had a bit more time to regain her equilibrium now and gain a bit more perspective on a few things she had stronger opinions on beforehand.

[JudithR]

"Worse things happen at sea"?

[Evie]

"Worse things happen at sea"?

Took me a moment to figure this one out (it's not an idiom we use on this side of The Pond), but yes, definitely. 

[revanne]

"Worse things happen at sea"?

Took me a moment to figure this one out (it's not an idiom we use on this side of The Pond), but yes, definitely. 

Probably due to the fact that we're all a bit closer to the sea. 

[Jerusha]

If ever a woman deserved the title "Queen," it is Catalina!  Masterfully played to the very end.

I confess I did have the fear that something had stopped Camber's blade and Ingrid somehow survived, but I am glad you did not torture tempt us with that horror. 

[Evie]

If ever a woman deserved the title "Queen," it is Catalina!  Masterfully played to the very end.

I confess I did have the fear that something had stopped Camber's blade and Ingrid somehow survived, but I am glad you did not torture tempt us with that horror. 

LOL! Well, I guess that would have guaranteed you'd all be avidly waiting for the sequel just to (hopefully) see Ingrid get her comeuppance in that one, but I think having a mob beating down my door might be counterproductive to me getting it written.  But Torval had already taken away most of her motivation for fighting when he killed Haakon. Without her allies around to rely on, she would have realized she'd lost the chance to win any more of Gwynedd than the Kheldour region, so she would have attempted to retreat there and then (if possible) hold it if she had enough men left to do so, thinking winning that small area would be at least some small victory and a fitting revenge on the folk of Kheldour for killing her first husband. Granted, holding on to Kheldour over the long term might have been more trouble to her than it was truly worth, since it's not like Colin would just go back to Rhemuth saying "Sure, lady, just go rule Kheldour and stop bothering the rest of the Kingdom and we'll call it a day." 

Don't you want to be a fly on the wall when the news gets back to Colin about his wife's first Court? "See, darling, I told you all that pell practice with your pages would come in handy someday! And here you said you couldn't understand why a Queen would want to practice swordplay...."

[Laurna]

A most excellent 2nd to last chapter! Wonderfully played by both Catalina and Camber. A Harper shall sing their glory and heroism into the next generation. Songs that just might last to be heard in the days of Queen Sophia Haldane and her cousin Morgan Haldane.

I look forward to the last chapter.