Chapter (17) XVII: A Brash Cost

I spent the next few days not really having any alone time with any of the girls. Shari was with me most of the time, though she and Carmella had begun to play that same board game a lot. I'd attend court with Meryl, do my reading, and train. Sometimes the training would be against Shari, but usually, it was still against Carmella. She even let us come at her simultaneously and working together, we got closer than I ever had alone. Shari was a remarkable fighter. Hard to hit, fast on her feet, and incredibly precise. I was still slow and clunky comparatively. But that wasn't going to stop me.

I missed my alone time with the girls. They'd still tease me when it was just us, but it wasn't the same when I couldn't do anything. Shari still spent her nights in my bed, and I was sure that was part of what drove the others away. I'll talk to Meryl after court and petition her for a room for Shari, I thought. My hopes weren't incredibly high on success, but I had to try. Shari had joined us for court, claiming that she was still my responsibility and should stay close. Meryl hadn't objected, but she had made one thing clear.

"Do not under any circumstances interrupt me or any of the petitioners. You are a guest of the queen, but that does not mean you are her equal." Her voice had a hardness that I had never heard before. Typically, when she was with me, she was a little soft-spoken, a little petulant, and perhaps a little bratty. I'd seen her give decrees before and even intervene in arguments previously. But I had never seen her so directly, so preemptively shut someone down. I would have probably wilted at my queen looking at me like that. But Shari's back actually stood straighter and looked pleased.

"And if I have an opinion on your ruling? Or on what I'm seeing? Am I to keep it to myself?"

"Yes," Meryl said, her tone dark and final.

"I see," Shari responded, examining her nails. "I'll keep that in mind."

I stood on one side of Meryl, and Shari stood on the other. It was a heavy load of petitioners and people coming to discuss various issues. About halfway through the day, an older woman limped up and bowed deeply. She had two young companions with her. They might have been related, but I couldn't tell. The elderly woman lifted herself from her bow, her hands shaking.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry for... " The old woman started coughing heavily, and I thought she would fall over. Neither of her two companions reached out to help her. I actually got the sense that one of them was annoyed. After a few moments, she calmed down and continued, "Interrupting your day with a minor trifle, but, as you c-can see, my health is failing. I was wondering if you might be able to spare... some medicine or a physician. None of the people in my town have been able to figure out what's happening."

I saw Shari's body language change out of the corner of my eye. She had been paying attention this entire time, but this was the first time she'd moved at all. That she'd reacted at all. She stepped forward so she was next to Queen Meryl and tapped the armrest with one of her lacquered nails. The woman in the chair looked over, frowning. I stepped closer so that I'd hear what the Ipet-Mau was saying. She leaned in and whispered something into Meryl's ear, and her eyes widened, and she looked back to the old woman and her caretakers. I heard her whisper, "Are you sure?"

Shari nodded, her face a grim mask. I looked at the petitioners again. The woman was clutching a handkerchief in her hand. It was white with red blotches on it. She really is dying. Maybe Shari's seen the sickness before? I asked myself. Before I could ask for clarification, Meryl spoke, "Citizen, what is your name?"

"Oh, my queen. I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. I am Mara Tripand. My family... we are minor nobles." The woman seemed almost apologetic for that. I had been going through some of the histories of the kingdom, and the surname pushed up some memories of my reading. The Tripand family... They had been a more prominent noble family about 150 years ago. They were very close to the throne and had the central family been eliminated, they might've taken it. It was discovered that they had colluded with some of the Wyefalls elves and had funded an attack in Babrycg. The country was thrown into a bloody war. Things hadn't been good between the two nations before that, but this had only made things worse. Way worse. The war wound down only after spies uncovered the plot by the Tripand family. They were tried and put under the Zone of Truth spell Emilia used on Shari. They still had a lot of ties and a lot of connections, so they couldn't just be executed for treason. But their land was taken by the kingdom, and they were pushed to the island's far side, opposite Wyefalls. They were still nobles, but their power had been hampered entirely. I looked over to Meryl, who was considering her options. It was a moment or two before she spoke.

"Shari, Johann. Take Lady Tripand to Emilia and have her check her out." I was in motion immediately. Shari hesitated for a beat longer, considering the queen. We headed out and led the trio over to a private room. The three entered, and I was about to follow, but Shari grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"We'll just be a moment," she said to them before closing the door.

"What's going on?" I asked, eyeing the door. "If she's sick, should we be this close to her?"

"She's not sick, Johann," Shari muttered quietly.

"She's coughing up blood. I'd consider that pretty sick," I retorted, matching her volume.

"She's being poisoned."

"Poisoned!?" I demanded, barely managing to keep myself quiet. Shari nodded before speaking again.

"I'm pretty sure it's one of her caretakers. Maybe both of them."

"How do you know?"

"I've used a similar poison. I'm sure of it. Meryl wants the First Maid to double-check."

"That seems reasonable. Even if you're sure, it never hurts to be absolutely certain, right?" I asked. Shari watched me for a moment, and I continued, "I do not doubt you. But she's a noble with a complicated history in the country. One of her attendants seemed... off somehow. But having Emilia confirm it before we do something rash may not be amiss."

"I-it's not. I'm going to get the Maid. Stay here with them. Watch them" Shari left, and I checked my sword and dagger. They were a heavy weight on my belt constantly, but I felt grateful for them right now. Opening the door, I stepped into the room.

"Lady Tripand, I do apologize for the wait. We're just grabbing our cleric. She'll be here shortly to check on you."

"C-cleric?" One of the men asked. They met each other's eyes and shifted slightly. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but their demeanor changed.

"Is this cleric of yours good at what she does?" The other demanded, crossing his arms.

"She's the best that I know," I responded readily, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room. "She's healed me a time or two. She'll get to the bottom of this without a doubt."

The mood did not lighten whatsoever. At least not with those two. The old woman looked up at me curiously. She spoke, pausing to cough a little halfway through, "Young man, you aren't... like many other courtiers I've met.

"I'm, uh, new to the position. I didn't really intend to do this for a living. Just kind of... got conscripted into it."

"I see. And what do you think of the world you've found yourself in?" She asked weakly, only coughing hard at the end.

"I don't know that I'm cut out for it. I rely pretty heavily on instinct and wasn't formally trained in it."

"Instinct is more useful than training," the old woman said wearily. "You recognized my family name. I could see it on your face when I said it. What my family did... It's a blight on the country and on our line. And it was because we felt entitled. Because of our training."

"I can't say I don't feel entitled to some things. But I try to temper that."

"You seem like a good young man. Brash, maybe, given the trouble you've caused," she said, smiling sadly. "But there's honesty in brashness. And that's refreshing in these games. Where everyone is constantly stabbing you in the back for the slightest advantage."

"So, you know who I am. My brashness is endangering people, and perhaps those defter at this game of politics might be better suited than a country blacksmith."

"They'd handle it differently. But they'd never solve the core issue." Lady Tripand coughed into her handkerchief violently for several moments. I served her some water, and she smiled at it. She continued in a croaking voice. "You are the kind of man who sees a problem in front of him and wants to tackle it. Your solution may not be elegant or even thought through, but it is more action than you usually see from my ilk. And that's valuable in itself."

Before I could come up with a response, not that I had one worth speaking, the door opened, and my First Maid walked through the door, Shari in tow. She was wearing a white dress today. It did mirror some of the medical outfits I had seen for both clerics and nurses in paintings. The old woman smiled brightly at her. "Ah, an elf. I'm glad to see you here, dearie. It's a good sign."

Her two companions shifted at that. Their faces were masking their expressions, but the one who had crossed his arms flexed the fingers. I stepped forward, gesturing to the door. "Gentlemen, let's leave our cleric to her work. Follow me, and we'll get you something to drink."

"We're fine here," the other one said.

"I insist," I said with an air of finality. They looked at each other for a moment, then started moving from their spots. "Cleric, advisor, we'll be outside if you need anything. Thank you for your help."

Both Shari and Emilia were watching me. Shari's face was a mask of blank consideration. Emilia looked concerned but nodded. I led the men out and took them to a different waiting room I knew about, serving the two drinks. They took them but didn't partake. Both of them seemed agitated. They had weapons on them. I hadn't noticed it before, but their hands occasionally floated over them. One wore a heavy maul at his hip. The other had a broadsword attached to his back. I don't know how I could have missed them before. But they weren't hiding them now. The one with the broadsword actually checked it right in front of me.

"Gentlemen, I think we should calm down. We're trying to help your mistress here. I just thought some privacy was warranted." Both men stared me down, trying to intimidate me. But The First Knight Lady Carmella had glared at me with a sword in her hand. Lord Sharchoal had charged at me with every intent to kill me. I wasn't going to back down just because these two were trying to stand tall. I rested my wrists on the hilts of my weapons, steeling myself. Some part of my being ached in pain, disappointed that I was so willing to embrace violence. But it was necessary. Shari's right. These guys are trying to kill that old lady. The First Knight Lady Carmella stepped into the room and greeted us.

"Johann, is everything okay? What's going on?"

"These gentlemen were with a petitioner this morning. She's being checked out by our head cleric. Apparently, she's very sick, and the cause is unknown, so I'm just keeping these nice men company while she and Shari look into potential causes."

"Shari?" Carmella asked.

"Yeah. Shari has expertise in certain medicines. You remember. We talked about it the other day," I replied, trying to keep my tone casual. I didn't feel casual. Carmella's eyes widened for a moment before she nodded and turned on a heel, and left the room. The men watched her go. When she was gone, the one with the maul hefted it off his belt. "I'd put that back if I were you."

"Afraid we can't do that, m'lord," the other said, drawing his broadsword.

"This isn't a good plan. Even if you can take me out, you're in the middle of the castle. Someone will catch you."

"We've disappeared before. We can do it again," the one with the sword said, closing in on me. He swung, but he was no Carmella. I jumped back and drew my weapons. The one with the war maul ran toward me and attacked. I tried to block it with my dagger, but it was very heavy. I felt something in my arm crack, and I cried out. He reared back and slammed the maul into the same limb, and my bone shattered. I dropped my dagger, and it skidded on the floor away from me. I staggered to the side and deflected the swordsman's blade easily, pushing it out of the way. I tried to lift my other arm to hold the sword in both hands, but it just shook.

I didn't look down at it. I couldn't right now. The hammer wielder swung again, and I dipped out of the way, striking out with my blade. It pierced his stomach, and he winced, falling back. The other's broadsword swung out at me, and I caught it and forced it away from my throat. It bit into my shoulder. This is bad. I can't keep taking hits like this. I thought about what I could do. The odds were in their favor, and they weren't like ordinary bandits. They were far more experienced. But I had been training hard both with Carmella and Shari. And I had learned a couple of tricks. I stepped on the swordsman's foot and pinned him in place for long enough to run my blade through him. He stumbled back and collapsed. The maul-wielder screamed and threw his hammer out, slamming it into my chest. My ribs cracked under the force of the blow, and I coughed violently. But I managed to stay standing.

The pain was starting to get to me. My vision was darkening. The remaining one brandished his weapon in both hands, raised it above his head, and swung. I raised my sword to catch it by the handle. It was still too heavy, but I managed to move it to the side, stumbling over a step. His hammer landed heavily on the ground next to me, cracking the stone. I thrust my blade forward, stabbing him in the forearm. He cried out and shambled over, hefting his weapon up. I stepped into his range and sliced his other arm, and he dropped it. I lifted the sword to his throat and growled, "Yield."

He stuck his hands up. This was apparently good timing because Carmella, Shari, and Emilia walked into the room. The old woman was not with them. My hands were shaking, and I was just barely standing. Carmella stepped up between us. "Blacksmith, what happened?"

"They decided they were going to try to run. Wanted to do away with me first. Emilia, check on the other one. Is he...?" I let the question hang in the air. Emilia bent down, and a soft glow came from her hand.

"He's stable. For the moment," my cleric said softly. She then got up to check on me. I happened to look down at my arm. There was bone sticking out of my forearm. Blood was leaking profusely. And seeing it made my knees weak. I closed my eyes and remained standing, but only barely. Emilia tsked at me, and Carmella pushed my sword down and kicked the man down to his knees. She produced manacles from somewhere and slapped them on the man's wrists. I looked at Shari, who was watching the scene with casual disinterest.

"Was your hunch right?"

"Of course, it was." She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. I nodded, smiling at her.

"That's good. Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I managed to neutralize the poison. It'll take her some time to recover. She's resting now."

"Did you tell her it was the-" I started to say before my legs gave out. Emilia eased me to the floor, and another bright white light surrounded her fingers for a moment. I closed my eyes for a moment.