Kros Voyeh Ch. 28

Rubbing her forehead she took a deep breath. "I'll do all I can."

"Let her sit for the night. If we don't appear eager it may help Lislora get something out of the woman."

"I want preparations to be begun, quietly, for her execution." Rogath rose from the sofa.

"I can have the box built to address the people of the city." Burgath inclined his head. "The scaffold will have to wait and so will finding an executioner."

"Building the scaffold may have to wait but I want Draeseth to take the woman's head off," his tone brooked no argument. "She's an Imperial Princess whether or not she murdered our father and there's some doubt in my mind of whether my command would be carried out without hesitation."

"I will see it done, my King." Draeseth straightened with a grim smile.

A servant came in with a wheeled cart bearing food and, before leaving whispered something in Burgath's ear.

"Brother, I was just told that Draeseth's man Taugh is waiting to be seen?"

"Taugh went with Isonei." The larger Prince paled slightly and lurched off of the sofa toward the door.

"He can wait, the matter at hand is too important. Draeseth!"

Lislora didn't hear the rest of what was said as she followed her husband out of the chamber with a ball of worry forming in her stomach. As she came into the hall she heard Krouth's voice.

"-but she was well?"

"The cart didn't have windows or seats. I've only ever heard of things like that."

"I'll fetch her back myself! I gave orders!" Her cousin's furious tone made her take a step back.

"Kamrus Olauth claimed she was a demon and said that anyone who protested would be put in the cart with her, by force, and purified at Gogmenos. The men you hired weren't certain if he was telling the truth about her being a demon or not, the priests had been badgering the Munians about the Lady and saying all manner of things on the journey. But they knew they didn't want to be sent for purification."

Taugh shook his head, "Ximesra jumped right into the windowless cart with the Lady so she wouldn't be afraid and Xagorath, once he stopped seeing double, he had me leave him and the cart with the Lerian smugglers we met on our way back so that we could travel more quickly. I don't know if he's going to wait as I told him to, try to make his way home alone, or if he's going to try to send them after the Lady and his sister. We needed to travel faster than the cart could manage. The Kamrus had the Lady's things removed from the carriage and his own put back on before he told us we could follow or not."

"I need to fetch her back." Draeseth leaned forward, bracing his hands above his knees. "The amount of money being offered for her return..."

The dream she'd had came to mind clearly. Lislora rushed forward and clung to his arm. "The King can send men. He can have the Kamrus dragged back and Isonei let out of-"

"I need to do it. I can't trust anyone else to bring her back. The Kamrus will shout them down or terrify them." He straightened, "Taugh you're going to take me back to where they left you."

"You promised King Rogath you'd-you'd act as executioner."

"No one else can be trusted."

"Burgath will go." King Rogath spoke firmly. "I need you, brother. Ougath can assume his duties-"

"As the Crown Prince I should be-" Burgath began to argue.

The King silenced him by lifting his hand, "You were her favorite, you have the fastest horses and the fastest carriages, you pride yourself on it, brother. Find Kamrus Olauth and make certain Isonei is well. I want them both brought back here."

"As my King pleases." He looked sour but he glanced at Ougath who had followed them out, "Walk with me, I can tell you some of what I was planning for tomorrow."

°°°°°°°°°°

The guards opened the door of the tower rooms and stepped inside before allowing Lislora to enter. She was handed the breakfast tray and one made a gesture of his head toward the table. The Phaethian woman wasn't in sight.

Placing the tray in front of one of the chairs she looked around curiously. The furniture was heavy and dark, the spots of grey dust in places stood out showing the haste with which it had been cleaned. The fabric on the seats of the massive chairs was heavy brocade that, while faded, looked barely sat upon.

Moving toward the window to see the morning view she heard a derisive snort from the doorway of another of the rooms. "Are my rooms to your liking?"

"They're finer than I expected, though..." Lislora glanced at the dusty wooden cupboard, "Not as clean."

"Are you a servant now?" Kresh smirked and moved toward the table eyeing the food. The woman looked disheveled as if her peculiarly cut shift had been worn for more than one day and her hair hadn't been unbraided or brushed in as long. Her tattooed face looked slightly mottled as if they hadn't given her as potent of a healing salve as they had Ror.

"I was sent to attend you." Lislora glanced at the guarded door with a frown remembering what she'd been told to say, "King Rogath wanted to send the least pleasant person he could find while maintaining decorum."

"They still favor that Aran whore over you?" The Phaethian's eyes narrowed.

Lislora hesitated, Burgath had said to say whatever she needed to. Dropping her voice slightly she offered some gossip, "Whether they do or not hardly matters. Kamrus Olauth had her put in a sealed carriage with her maid. She may not survive the journey to Gogmenos, or the purification afterward."

Saying such a thing with an air of hopefulness made her feel dirty but Krouth had pointedly mentioned that gossip was the best way to get someone talking. 'Ripe fruit attracts more flies...' Speaking ill of Isonei was at least better than speaking ill of the King, Isonei was still alive.

The woman's bruised and tattooed face broke into a vicious smile. "She deserves it."

"It makes my life easier but I feel bad for the woman. She was tearful when she left."

Kresh laughed and settled into her seat. "The woman was a traitor. She used Prince Draeseth to reach the Court and would have seduced his brothers to get a better position."

"They said that at her wedding feast in the Kroscur, that it was clear she had ambitions and the skill to see them fulfilled."

"Not quite." Kresh prodded her food, "Is this clean?"

"It should be. I was told to taste it for you if you wished."

The woman waved her hand dismissively. "They've been serving me Torgan swill. I don't know why I worry about it being clean, it isn't fit to feed dogs in Phaethia."

The sour look Lislora gave the woman seemed to surprise her.

"I would have expected you to try and ingratiate yourself better."

"Why?" Furrowing her brow, Lislora studied the woman. "I was sent to attend you, not befriend you."

"Not to try to charm the 'truth' of that wretch Orgath's death out of me?"

"If they wanted you charmed they would have sent one of the Queen's retinue who has some skill with it, I'm sure." Folding her arms, Lislora looked to the door angrily, trying to ignore the insult to the King. "What needs to be done?"

The Princess paused, looking vaguely insulted. "I need a fresh dress and someone to brush my hair. They took all of my things out of these rooms as punishment."

"I'll have what's needed fetched." Moving to the closed door between stone-faced guards she knocked and a plate slid open. "I require a fresh gown for her Highness and a-"

"Imperial Highness!" The woman called from across the room.

Lislora tried not to grimace. "A hairbrush for her Imperial Highness as well."

The plate slid closed with a snap. Lislora stood there for a moment wondering if the orders would actually be carried out.

"Come back and sit with me."

Grudgingly, Lislora obeyed.

"They aren't permitted to speak and they've only been sending maids that don't speak my language. I refuse to speak some slave's mother tongue instead of my own." The tattooed woman took a bite and stared intently at her. "My husband intends to have me killed despite the accord?"

"I think he would let you go back to Phaethia but he won't let you take his girls."

"As if I would let children of the Emperor's line be raised by his Torgan whore."

"Lady Sebba?" Lislora glanced at the guards at the door and dropped her voice again, "Isonei had him put her aside. She-"

"That Aran whore planned it." Kresh stopped with her fork firmly in the lamb kidneys. "She planned to have me put aside or killed."

"She's as conniving as Burgath but with her soft manner no one sees it!" Lislora hissed. "My husband is distraught that she's been taken. I have to console-" She stopped herself as the door opened.

Rising from the table she took the brush from the guard and looked at the strange, red garment that she'd been given with a frown. "This isn't a gown."

"It's a Phaethian phyrkum," the Princess sounded vaguely amused. "I wear them in my chambers. Have them fetch paper and ink."

"Fetch paper and ink for her Imperial Highness." Lislora relayed the order as if the man were deaf to the Phaethian woman's command. Turning back she asked, "Where should I put it?"

"The bedroom." Kresh pointed to a doorway.

Lislora took the garment into a stuffy bedroom that still had the drapes pulled. Laying it carefully on the foot of the bed, she looked around for a moment. The bed needed to be made and the room needed to be aired. Moving purposefully, she opened the drapes and managed to get two of the tiny, nearly sealed windows open as well.

She turned her attention back to the bed with a frown and nearly jumped noticing the Princess had followed her. "I thought you were still eating. I'll see if I can get a maid to bring fresh linens for the bed."

"Didn't you say you weren't supposed to be kind?" The woman began to undress and Lislora averted her eyes.

"It isn't kindness. You're royalty. Whether you're to be executed or not, fresh linens and a made bed are the least you should be able to expect."

"You don't believe I murdered the King without cause." Kresh adjusted the red garment and beckoned Lislora to come to the bare vanity with the brush she'd picked up from the bed.

"You were alone. His Majesty's appetites are well known." Shrugging slightly, Lislora hoped she didn't look as ill as she felt saying the words.

"He tried to seduce you?" The tattooed woman looked gratified as she handed the brush over. "He made some suggestions when I first arrived in Torga but I told him I had no use for an old man who never would have survived the Melee. I never had that problem again."

"Did you tell your husband?" Lislora frowned as she unbraided the woman's red hair, there were very few pins.

"No. I imagine you didn't tell yours either?" Kresh smiled unsettlingly in the mirror.

"No." She focused on the hair in front of her, rather than the lie about the King. The texture was finer than she expected but curly.

"Do you think he tried to seduce the Aran?"

Lislora met the woman's eyes in the mirror. "I don't. She was always ill. He might have tried once she'd recovered from her miscarriage."

"Did she confide in you?"

"In the Kroscur. Here she was always with Mes." Shaking her head, Lislora gave Kresh an annoyed look as she began to braid, "She let the woman sit on the furniture and read her books. Draeseth said he caught them gossiping on the bed together."

"The Munian is the one who turned her against me, she probably helped her form the plan to take my place." The Phaethian's face flushed.

It took a moment for the words to fully sink in, Kresh didn't just think Isonei wanted her husband, she thought the Aran wanted to be Queen. Lislora said the first thing that came to mind, "She was supposed to be the Queen of Ara."

"And your bastard husband stole her away. She thought she could have a Torgan Prince and be an Aran queen." Kresh grinned viciously. "She wanted to be my equal, and now she'll have nothing. Nei must have thought titles in three countries would make her-"

"You're discussing Lady Isonei?" Ougath's coolly curious question came from the doorway.

Immediately, Lislora put herself between him and the Phaethian woman. "She isn't dressed! This isn't proper, your Highness."

He gave her a frosty look. "I'll be in the study with the paper and writing implements."

After he disappeared from the doorway Lislora realized there was no door to close behind him. Kresh was smirking as she returned to her place to finish the braids hurriedly.

"At least it wasn't Burgath, he's the worst of my husband's brothers."

Lislora gave a curt nod of agreement and glanced at the doorway again with a frown. "He was Isonei's favorite. She spoke to him often, and often alone. King Orgath said she had him wrapped around her fingers like a ribbon."

"I heard him say that. Burgath wasn't the only one she had wrapped around her fingers like ribbon. I should have seen through her scheming. Did you see her with the King? She acted like she was nearly his equal. And he allowed it!"

Once her hair was pinned in place again the Phaethian stood and touched the braids before running her hands over the dress. "My husband knows I hate red. Blue is a finer color."

"I'll see if I can have a blue dress found for you for tomorrow, and I'll try to get maids to come take care of the bed before I leave today." Lislora looked over the room again. "Maybe they can dust as well."

"I thank you, Lor." Kresh walked out of the bedroom with her head held high.

Laying the brush on the vanity, she followed, glancing into the study and receiving a gesture from Kresh to go. It only took a moment to relay the orders to have a maid or two brought to change the linens and to dust.

It seemed prudent to look around the rooms and try to find anything else that might need to be done. In the washing room, also scandalously without a door, it was clear the chamber pot urgently needed to be removed. Lislora glanced into the study as she passed it again. Ougath looked furious but Kresh was smiling smugly as she wrote something.

In the last room, what might have been meant to be a small library, there didn't seem to be much at all, even dust. It looked as though the room had been thoroughly cleaned and everything that could be removed had been. The massive empty shelves were left as was a heavy wooden table with a stone game board inlaid for Karisian Assassins. The chairs were gone.

Lislora lifted the edge of the table where it hinged looking for the game pieces. In their place was a letter with spatters and smudges of dark green. Lifting it out she recognized it immediately as the letter Isonei had written to the King in thanks.

"The maids are-" Ougath sounded sour until he saw something in her hands, "What is this?"

"The-the letter Isonei wrote..." Lislora flinched as he rushed over and snatched it out of her hands.

He stalked back out of the room and she followed.

"Explain this!" Ougath waved the letter and Kresh glanced up from what she was writing.

"Your father brought it to show me how a gracious woman behaves. It was left behind after I was forced to defend myself." She gave a dismissive gesture and he looked as though he wanted to strangle her.

Instead, the Prince stalked out of the room and spoke firmly to the maids. "Clean everything. If she's hiding anything else I want it found. Leave no speck of dust behind or crevice unsearched. That Phaethian wretch will have her clean rooms. Bring anything you find to me.

"Come with me, Lislora."

"But, I-"

He gave her a frigid look and she bowed her head, following him out of the rooms. Ougath went directly to his brothers in the King's study.

"Draeseth, your wife-"

"Did she get a confession?" Rogath rose from his seat behind the desk.

"No, but she found something the guards and maids missed." He laid the letter on the desk. "Kresh admitted that Father brought the letter to antagonize her with."

"Tell me everything." Rogath sat heavily and leaned on the desk.

"I gossiped with her, we have a saying in the Kroscur, 'Ripe fruit attracts more flies.' She hates Isonei and she's adamant that your father was wrapped around the Aran's fingers like ribbon. The Princess is insistent that the woman wanted to replace her as your wife, my King."

"Isonei had no interest in my brothers." Draeseth furrowed his brow.

"No, she didn't." Ougath began to smile unpleasantly, "But Father wanted her for a daughter and Rogath would have been looking for a wife to take care of his girls."

"You think Father told her he was going to have Isonei marry Rogath," Adareth spoke up quietly with a bitter smile.

"That sounds like Father." Rogath exhaled heavily.

"When you go back tomorrow, Lislora." Ougath eyed her with a vicious smile that reminded her strongly of King Orgath, "I'll have a few things for you to say to the ingracious bitch."

"What is she writing?" Rogath asked leaning forward onto the desk. "A letter to her brother?"

"She intends to have him take the girls-" Ougath took a step back as his brother rose with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Lislora has no need to go back. That Phaethian bitch dies today. Take that letter and any other letter, Ougath, and burn them. As far as I'm concerned we have a confession. She murdered the King of Torga because she was afraid she would be put aside."

"I'll work on the announcement and the scaffold will be up by this afternoon, my King." The Prince bowed but hesitated before he left the chamber, "You may want to have a letter drawn up as a confession. I'll quietly find someone who can forge her signature. Her brother is coming, if she's dead he'll need something in his hand as evidence."

"See it done."

Adareth rose from his seat with a frown as Ougath hurried out, "What can I do to help, my King?"

"I want the word of why Kresh did it to carry so that no one can think our father did anything wrong. Take the news of a confession to Mother and tell her in front of her retinue what we believe he said to Kresh."

"Lislora," King Rogath rose and came around the desk looking grim, "I will need to speak to my girls, and I want you to look after them while... while the execution is taking place. Mother will want to attend."

"As my King pleases."

°°°°°°°°°°

Lislora watched Draeseth go with deep concern, the man had barely slept or eaten since the word had come of Isonei being put in the cart and he was leaving now to stand on the scaffold and wait for Kresh to be brought looking like the specter of death. His face set in a terrifyingly grim expression.

"Aunt Lislora?" Ror spoke softly, "Why is everyone so... Father was upset this morning and said we would be safe. Uncle looks..."

"They're killing Mother today," Kas murmured from the curled position on the sofa she'd taken as soon as she'd come in the room. "Breza told me. I called her a liar and she said-she said Uncle was going to do it. Father commanded it."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Lislora sighed and went to sit next to the youngest Princess. "What else did Breza say?"

Kas mutely shook her head.

"Did anyone tell you how your grandfather died?"

"No." Ror came to stand in front of her. "Just that he was murdered."

"He was. He went to taunt your mother, to tell her that Aunt Isonei would be returning and he would have her marry your father because your uncle put her aside." She paused as both girls looked at her in bafflement. "Your mother didn't take it well and she murdered your grandfather rather than share her place as Queen of Torga. But you cannot murder a Torgan King and expect to suffer no consequences."

Kas began to weep but Ror looked as if her face was carved from stone.

"Uncle is doing it because he hates her?"