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Chapter FourteenMarch 4, 1464
Afternoon
The King's Council ChamberWith the advent of war swiftly approaching, there had been several things on the King's agenda, but finalizing the plans for the King's Coronation had moved to the top of the list. Because of the need to keep the costs of the ceremony down in order to reserve more of the usual expense to go towards the war effort, the current plan was to scale down the Coronation to only include those elements which had the most ritual significance, which would have the additional benefit of keeping the ceremony short enough to avoid overtaxing the King's endurance. But as much as Cinhil had originally been tempted to dispense with a Coronation altogether, he had eventually allowed himself to be persuaded that the people of Gwynedd, or at least Rhemuth, needed some visual reminder that their King was still alive and well, and while his body might be weakened by illness, he still retained enough vitality and strength of will to lead their people, if not their armies, through this difficult time. Queen Alixa would also be crowned beside her husband, and while her pregnancy might not yet be visible, there was some discussion as to whether it might be announced around the same time, so long as all continued to go well with the unborn child prior to that date. The people needed reasons for hope in the dark days ahead, after all, though for Cinhil the more pressing concern he had was for his wife's continued safety. An anointed Queen of Gwynedd publicly crowned before all and known to be bearing the King's child, heir or not, would be much harder for King Renier to try to lay claim to after Cinhil's death.
With the date for the Coronation set only a week away, the plans finalized, the wardrobe completed right on schedule, and a means of transporting the Sovereign and Consort to the Cathedral having been determined, the meeting had been adjourned, although a few of the council members had been privately requested to remain after the meeting. These few lingered on, engaging in idle conversation until the others had departed, leaving only the selected people behind.
At a nod from the King, his squire William closed the chamber door again, standing guard outside it with his fellow squire Edmund so that no one would interrupt the important discussion about to take place.
The primary participants remaining were the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Carthmoor, Prince Camber, and the King's Champion. As far as Cinhil was concerned, those were the only parties with a need to know about the topic he was about to broach.
Looking at the select group gathered around the Council table watching him curiously, for aside from Alixa, he hadn't told the others why they had been asked to remain, though he could sense that at least Camber and Morgan suspected, Cinhil said quietly, "As at least most of you are aware, prior to a Haldane Coronation, traditionally the monarch must endure an Empowerment ritual." At Nicholas's strangled sound of protest and Camber's wide-eyed head shake, he continued. "Unfortunately, since I would like to actually
live to be crowned, that will not be happening...to me, anyway." Glancing at his new sister-by-marriage, he added, "Catalina, everyone else at the table is at least somewhat familiar with the Haldane empowerment ritual. Does Andelon have a similar tradition?"
Andelon's former Princess Royal nodded. "We do, Sire. At this point in history, I suspect most of the Eleven Kingdoms have some form of it."
"As I thought. What is hopefully less well known is that when our father the late King attempted to set the Haldane potential in me shortly after my marriage to Alixa, the ritual ended up having an unintended effect. Because of my health condition, the surge of power called forth by the ritual ended up accelerating my illness. I felt very strong and at the peak of health for a day or two, and we briefly thought the surge of power might aid in my healing, but unfortunately it exacted an extreme cost, leaving me far more infirm than I was to begin with. Afterwards, my Healer advised that I avoid any attempt to complete the Empowerment in future. It would not do much for Kingdom morale if I were to be crowned King one day and the Accession Council had to proclaim Colin the new King a day or two later.
"However, just because I cannot wield the full Haldane power, that doesn't mean that no Haldane can. Nicholas and Camber have already had their potential set, not long after the attempt to set mine. Since Nicholas will be leading the armies to battle, I think it would be best for him to be fully Empowered before leaving Rhemuth."
The prince in question tightened his lips but said nothing. His wife looked at him questioningly.
"I agree," Camber spoke into the growing silence. "We don't know Torval's full strength, and while chances are high that he won't seek to settle his dispute with us in a Duel Arcane–I don't think that's his style–being Empowered as well as Deryni-born would help give Colin more of an advantage."
"By right The Haldane should wield the full power," said Colin quietly, "but I suppose Cinhil is right. And I would prefer to have my brother alive for longer, even if that means I must receive the power that is rightfully his, over having an empowered Haldane King who drops dead almost immediately afterward as a result."
"But you still don't much like the idea of going through with the ritual yourself," Cinhil observed.
"No, I hate it. I would feel like a usurper, or at least an imposter, wielding the Haldane power while you are still The Haldane. I just can't see that we've got much of a choice." Colin sighed. "When?"
"As long as it happens before you leave Rhemuth, I'll leave that up to you," said Cinhil.
"Good to have at least
one completely life-changing decision that's left up to me," his brother said wearily. "Although that does leave us with a different problem."
"And what's that?" asked the King.
"People will be expecting to see
you wearing the full Haldane regalia at the Coronation. How is that going to happen if
I'm wearing the Eye of Rom?"
Cinhil smiled. "Only the King wears the Eye of Rom, and that is still me, so I'll be keeping that for now. But fortunately there is ample precedent for other symbolic objects to be used for the Empowerment ritual. We just prefer using the Eye of Rom, the RIng of Fire, and the Crimson Lion as our traditional regalia because that became the preferred style in the time of Kelson the Great. You've already blooded the Eye anyway when your potential was set, and while the most important element for the Empowerment is the ordeal, the Lion's Tooth is not necessarily the only means of providing it. However, because I am aware that others on the battlefield might also be checking to see if you are wearing the Eye, since that is the typical means of checking if a Haldane has been invested in his full power, I've come up with a plan." Cinhil held his hand out to his Queen, who put a small velvet-covered box in it. He opened the lid to display a pair of his wife's ruby cabochon earrings, styled nearly identically to the ancient piece of regalia in question. "Your twisted wire placeholder earrings are several years out of fashion by now," he joked, glancing at Camber's pierced ear as well as Colin's. "I suggest we start a new Haldane brothers trend."
March 4, 1464
Late Afternoon
The Duke of Carthmoor's bedchamber"Are you all right?" Catalina asked as Colin kicked off his shoes, tossed his surcoat to one side, and half fell onto their bed. She picked up the outer garment and stored it neatly in his wardrobe before joining him.
"I will be," he said quietly. Taking her hand, he rolled over to face her, his expression bleak. "As long as none of us were Empowered yet, it just felt like there was still some faint glimmer of hope that maybe, despite everything, some miracle might occur, and Cinhil could pull through this to become the King in his full power that he was born to be. So this feels like giving up to me. My head knows it's for the best. My heart just isn't ready to accept it yet."
She pulled him close, holding him tightly for several long minutes while he silently worked through his grief.
"I'm not sure I could go through all this without you," he finally admitted, kissing her tenderly. "Thank you."
She brushed his hair out of his face, her fingertip grazing the ear lobe still wearing the twisted gold hoop of his potential-setting. "I noticed this the first time I met you, and had wondered if it had something to do with the ritual or if it was just a fashion choice."
A corner of his lip twitched. "You normally think my fashion choices are somewhat dubious."
She laughed. "They are. I'll assume King Uthyr picked this earring out for you, since it doesn't look like something you just selected randomly in the dark after leaving it wadded in a corner of your wardrobe."
"It's a little difficult to wad an earring, I should think, wife."
It was nice, Catalina thought, to hear that word drop from her husband's lips sounding more like an endearment than a mere necessity.
"Is it normally just the King who holds the Haldane power, or does the heir sometimes hold the power as well while the King still lives? In Andelon we have some precedent for that."
"It's rare for more than one Haldane to be fully Empowered at the same time. Generally it has only happened under extreme circumstances. How are such things normally handled in your father's Court?"
"As needs dictate, but for us it is not too unusual for an heir or on rare occasion more than one to receive a lesser form of Empowerment while the Sovereign still lives, although of course the fullness of Vastouni power still resides with the Sovereign, and any other who might wield it only shares a lesser portion of the power. But in the case of the Sovereign's unexpected death, the full power immediately transfers to his direct heir with no additional ritual necessary, so a dual Empowerment is often done as a safeguard to prevent any interruption in the transfer of full power." She paused, lost in memories. "My father strongly considered Empowering me last year as a safeguard against his untimely death, since my brother his heir is only Balian's age. But we decided against it, not knowing yet who I might be wed to and where I would be living, and returning to Andelon to ensure a smooth transition of power to Reyhan or his regent might have been difficult if such an event were to happen."
"That ability does sound useful, though in our case a moot point, since Cinhil wouldn't survive the attempt for long in any case."
"That is true, regrettably, though it might be something to keep in mind anyway, since Camber will be
your heir, and you're about to spend a great many weeks directly in harm's way. And even if Cinhil's unborn child turns out to be a son, he will still need to be assured of a strong Regent with a backup plan for who should serve in that role should the worst happen."
"That's a valid point." Colin sighed. "As much as I don't want to be King, is it wrong of me to hope that Cinhil's child turns out to be a girl? The idea of the Kingdom continuing to be vulnerable under a regency over the next decade and a half is a worrying prospect, although it
would be nice to be able to look forward to turning the reins over to someone else after a time without needing to die for that to happen."
"It's not wrong, simply realistic regarding the difficulties. Though I'm happy they're having a child, not just because they are both overjoyed about having one, but also because that will be a huge weight off Alixa's mind."
"Because it will be proof she's not barren?" Colin asked.
"That too. But more because it should fulfill the terms of her betrothal contract." At his questioning look, she asked, "Camber hasn't mentioned that to you? I found him in the Royal Library about a fortnight ago frantically searching through the family archives for the document. Apparently the terms of the agreement stipulate she has to be returned to her father's care if her husband dies before she has borne him a child, and Renier recently sent her a letter reminding her of that agreement."
"Like hell, that's happening!"
"My thoughts exactly, and Camber appears to be in full agreement."
"I need to look into that." Colin closed his eyes. "There are a
lot of things I ought to look into over the next week before I leave Rhemuth, and far too little time to tend to them all. Sweet Jesú, Mellie was right, I
have been far too neglectful of my duties of late!" Belatedly, he realized it had been less than tactful to bring up his paramour's name while lying beside his wife. He winced. "I'm sorry, sweeting. I didn't mean to bring her up in our bed."
"At least your lady appears to have better sense than
you do at times," Catalina observed drily. "And since I need my husband to feel able to speak freely with me, I'm not going to begrudge you the mere use of her name in a conversation such as this one. Though if you should ever happen to call me by the wrong name while we're actively using this bed for more procreational or recreational purposes, I promise you will find yourself wishing you were sharing the bed with Torval rather than myself, because his tender mercies will be kinder."
"I stand forewarned, then. Torval is very much
not my type, although I've heard many others find him attractive."
March 4, 1464
Late Afternoon
Somewhere in NördmarckePrincess Cécile smiled gamely as she attempted to conceal her disappointment at the sight of her new husband, for he was not nearly as attractive as King Torval. Of course, she had hardly expected he would be, given that she had known all along that King Haakon was a mere boy, and to be fair, he did look a little older than his age. Had Cécile not known that he was only twelve beforehand, she might have guessed him to be somewhere closer to fourteen. And objectively speaking, he wasn't ugly, even though he wasn't as handsome as the man he had sent to fetch her from Joux. Maybe when he was a little older, when the lines of his features became more manlike than boyish, or maybe even once she was just a little more used to him, she would find herself warming to the thought of being his wife. There was just something about the way he sized her up that made her think of Rémy in those first few minutes after they were introduced, and that comparison was hardly likely to endear her to any new acquaintance, though perhaps she had read too much into the way he looked at her. After all, he
was only twelve. Perhaps that meant they wouldn't be expected to actually consummate their marriage until he was older. Cécile genuinely hoped that was the case!
His mother, on the other hand, was simply stunning! Cécile gazed in awe at the woman on the other side of the room, her white-gold hair catching glints of fire from the flames burning on the hearth behind her. Her eyes were the vivid ice blue of the most brilliant of aquamarines. In her ivory samite gown, she looked like some ethereal Ice Queen of legend.
She was King Torval's new wife. Cécile had been devastated to discover that the man she had known as Thórvaldr who had escorted her to her new kingdom had not only been recently married, but as Rémy had gleefully informed her once he'd realized she held a strong
tendresse for their guide, Cécile had only narrowly missed being married to Torval herself because he had accepted Queen Ingrid's offer mere minutes before their father's letter was delivered to Torval. At first she had been quite convinced that Rémy was merely lying just to hurt her, as was his usual wont, but once they had arrived in Nördmarcke, she had been forced to accept the evidence of her own eyes. So while Cécile admired the Queen's beauty, she also felt pangs of envy every time she saw the woman, and she couldn't quite bring herself to like her, despite the woman treating her with gracious, if somewhat cool, courtesy. There was just something about Queen Ingrid that Cécile couldn't trust, even if she couldn't put her finger on exactly why.
At least now that they had arrived at their destination, it had become much easier to stay away from Rémy, for he had taken their Jouvian men-at-arms off to drill with the Nördmarcker units, as well as some newly arrived levies who spoke in the same odd tongue Haakon used when speaking privately with his mother.
Thus far, Haakon had spent very little time attempting to speak with her, although sometimes she caught him watching her closely before turning to his mother and saying things in their strange language. She would reply, sometimes with what appeared to be an indulgent smile, other times with a slight frown, but Cécile had no idea what they were saying except for when they switched to Torenthi for her benefit. The upside of her lengthy voyage with King Torval was that her understanding of Torenthi and her speaking fluency had greatly improved over the past few weeks of constant use.
When her husband did attempt to speak with her, that was even more awkward. The last time, he had simply stood in front of her for about a minute in silence, staring, before reaching out to wrap a tendril of her hair around his fingers. "Pretty, the hair. Red." She wondered if he was about to try to kiss her, and dreaded the thought, but he just smiled and walked away.
The only thing that made her feel more at ease in her new surroundings was Torval's return to the hall. He had greeted her with his customary charming smile and hand kiss. "Good evening, little bird, I trust your day has gone well?" The way he looked at her made her knees melt, and she momentarily forgot her sadness and distress until he moved past her to greet his wife with a kiss upon her cheek.
Watching them together was also odd in its own way. Cécile had the strong sense that while they held some regard and respect for one another, their marriage was not a love match so much as merely a mutual convenience. Why she should think that, she couldn't say, given that most of their private conversation was in Ingrid's incomprehensible language. Perhaps it was just her wishful thinking that made her arrive at that conclusion, but she clung to the faint hope that even if he was married, Torval's heart did not belong to the cold Ice Queen of the North.
"How is she settling in?" Torval asked his wife quietly with a quick glance over at Cécile.
Ingrid shrugged. "She seems to be doing well enough, if a bit baffled by everything. Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet." He sat, accepting the bowl of warm reindeer stew she offered him. It was a lovely change from the meager Lenten fare he'd been offered for his noon meal when he had stopped to confer with his generals earlier.
Ingrid sat across from him. "I think the girl is pining for you. You must have made quite the impression." She laughed. "Have you bedded her yet?"
He grinned at her over the bowl. "No, my darling wife. Was I meant to? I can remedy the lack, if I was, but I thought she was intended for Haakon?"
"Oh, she is, but he can't have her yet. He's sulking a bit about that, but has finally come around to seeing the bigger picture."
"Ah." He took another warming bite of the stew, which was excellent. "And what
is the bigger picture? Besides, I assume, fulfilling your prophecy."
"The ceremonial marriage will take place at the Spring
blót because it is a time for new beginnings and new life. The ritual consummation of the marriage between the King of Eistenmarcke and the Princess of Joux will bind the allied destinies of Eistenmarcke and Joux, not simply in the conventional sense, but also because the ritual will ensure that Renier is literally bound to his promises. You surely don't expect a man like Renier of Joux to simply keep his word, do you?" Ingrid smiled. 'The Bride of Fire will be wed for the sake of the land.' This is the pact we have made for the sake of the land we claim together, for the new beginning and the new life of the new empire we will forge together. The ritual will make the pact inviolable. Should Renier or Rémy attempt to betray us, they will surely die."
"You realize Renier has no tender feelings for his daughter, yes, nor his whelp Rémy for his sister? So while I can't imagine a ritual wedding with some symbolic consummation will harm our chances, I'm not sure what benefit it will have either. But if you think it will do some good, I'll trust your judgment. I can't say whatever you've got planned is going to make your new daughter-in-law especially fond of you, though. You should have seen her face at her wedding when your
goði slaughtered that goat!" He chuckled.
"I understand the caliber of man we have allied ourselves with, yes. And as for the girl, if you care so much about her tender feelings, feel free to console her. I trust you can be discreet enough to not let Haakon know, or you might have
his hurt feelings to contend with, but as I said before, he sees the bigger picture now."
Torval was quite certain that there was more to Ingrid's plan than she felt ready to share just yet. But that was fine; he had his own plans in place he certainly had no intention of sharing with her either. He finished his bowl of stew. It was quite satisfying.
March 4, 1464
Late Evening
Somewhere in NördmarckeCécile sat by the fire, sewing rather dispiritedly. At least it gave her something to do. After a while, Torval stood and walked across the hall, sitting down beside her.
"What is it that you are working on, little bird?" he asked.
"Another wedding gown, apparently, though I can't imagine why I need one. Wasn't one wedding enough?"
"Ah. Well, do you not think Haakon's people would want to witness their young King's wedding also?"
She blinked back tears. "Thórvaldr..." she whispered. "I mean, Torval, do I have to?" She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "We can still be allies without me having to...." Cécile swallowed hard. "I don't know if I even
like Haakon. I really don't know him at all, and he's so strange to me! And it's like he doesn't even make much of an effort at all, really, but I'm also not sure I even want him to!"
"You are frightened," he whispered back soothingly. "It is only natural, little bird, to have some anxious thoughts when you are meeting a new husband. Come, let's take a walk together, shall we? Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? They sometimes come out once it's fully dark; perhaps we will see them together."
He gently took the pieces of her new dress from her, laying them to one side on the bench before taking her hand to lead her from the hall. As they stepped into the cold night air, he lifted one side of his cloak to wrap around her trembling shoulders, his arm encircling them as he glanced up at the sky. "There is too much light here, with the torches burning and the candles shining through the cracks in the shutters. Shall we venture further out?"
"Will your wife not mind?" Cécile asked, a knot of jealousy making her stomach feel tight.
"She won't mind. She has told me you have spent much of the day looking very sad and bewildered and has asked me to cheer you up. So come, little bird, let me see if I can find some way of putting a smile back on your face."
They walked together in silence for a few minutes along a wooded trail which led eventually to a small shadowy clearing. "Look up," Torval told her.
At first Cécile saw little more than a few shadowy streaks of gray in the dark sky, as well as the brilliant glimmer of stars, brighter than she'd ever seen them in Joux.
"I would light a fire to keep us warm, but that would be counterproductive, so let me show you a new way to stay warm." He removed his cloak and gently laid it across her shoulders before picking up a branch, tracing a circle around her as she stood watching him, whispering a low chant as he worked some magic she couldn't detect with her eyes but could somehow sense despite that, even though the Healer in Joux had done something to her when she was Marthe's age that had taken away what few untrained Deryni powers she'd once had. She could sense it in the way the hair on her arms rose and how there was a scent in the air almost like that after a lightning storm.
Torval returned to her side, lifting his hands suddenly with a word of command, and a dome of energy suddenly enveloped them both, shimmering briefly before turning into a dark transparent fog.
He took his cloak back from her, shaking it out and laying it on the ground fur side up, inviting her to sit beside him. Strangely, she no longer felt the chill of the wintry air at all.
He wrapped his arm around her again nonetheless.
"Now look up again, little bird."
Cécile looked up and gasped in wonder. Where there had been pale gray streaks earlier, she now saw vivid sheets of color in the sky. Green, vivid pink, and azure tints flowed and faded into one another.
Tears of awe filled her eyes. "It's beautiful, Thórvaldr!"
"So are you, delight of my heart."
She glanced over at him, startled, to find him watching her with a slight smile on his face. Her heart leaped as he kissed her tenderly.
"We mustn't," she whispered fearfully, though it wasn't him that she feared at all.
"We won't if you don't want to," he answered. "But we are warded so none can see us, and I can make it so that none will ever know."
Cécile bit her lip, thinking. She knew deep down this was a very bad idea, but suddenly she wanted to, very much so.
"I love you," she whispered.
Torval smiled widened. He pulled her closer, kissing her again. "I love you also, little bird."
Ingrid smiled to herself as she picked up Cécile's discarded wedding dress in progress and continued piecing it together. Men were so suggestible, and Torval had taken the bait just as she had suspected that he would.
The consummation of the ritual wedding she was planning was customarily carried out with a virgin bride, but that was simply because the pact was generally only made between two parties. But their alliance was made between three kingdoms, and she felt it would be wiser to have Torval as equally bound by it as her Haakon and the rulers of Joux.
Torval could have his fun with the Jouvian girl; that would serve for binding him to her. Cécile would join with Haakon on the night of the
blót. The three would become one, at least symbolically. And
that would ensure the pact between them was to everyone's advantage.
Ingrid hummed a quiet tune as she continued to work on Cécile's new gown. She was quite looking forward to her son's wedding night.
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Oh my, Torval, Ingrid, and Reiner have an interesting alliance since none of them can be trusted and each is planning to outdo the other two. The unholy triumvirate. Not sure whether they will end up fighting Gwynedd or each other. A tangled web indeed and A scary prospect. Can only hope Gwynedd and its allies will win the war.
Thanks for this chapter Evie. Much dirty work at the crossroads. I do think the Haldanes are being sensible about empowerment and I really hope Cinhil lives to see his child (wait and see).
I also want Torval, Ingrid, Renier, Remy, Haarkon (and remember always to be between him and the door) et al to get their comeuppances (wait and see).
Thanks again
The old curse comes to mind, "May you live in interesting times and come to the notice of important people." I just had to add the variation, "...of dubious morality and from various enemy kingdoms." ;D