Jeffrey Quyle - The Healing Spring

“Yes indeed, though those slaps were long ago in my past,” the herald agreed with a smile.

“Thank you, have a seat and relax,” the Doge told Kestrel.

“There is so much I would like to know about you: who are you, where are you from, why did the goddess select you?” the Doge began.

“I won’t be here long,” Kestrel interrupted, “your grace.

“I have need to visit the kingdoms of the Inner Seas. I hope to be riding one of the next ships to leave your harbor,” he explained. “Within the next day or two if possible.”

The Doge sat back in his chair and looked at Kestrel speculatively. “I’d like for the members of the court and the council to have a chance to assemble and see you. It will do us all good to collectively know our champion comes among us; we don’t have to mention that you’ll be leaving, especially with this Uniontown troublemaker among us now.

“Will you be gone long?” he asked.

“It’s likely to be a few months, I think,” Kestrel answered.

“But you’ll agree to attend a reception?” Moresond interjected.

“My trader friend, Castona, also suggested that such a thing would be a good idea. He felt it would be good for the city, and good for the Doge,” Kestrel answered, “so yes, if we can make arrangements in the next day or two, I will attend.”

“Your trader friend is shrewd,” the Doge commented. “I’m sure we can make arrangements to hold a soiree at the court tomorrow evening. We’ll announce that the champion is within the city walls and wants to confirm his commitment to our people’s good will. You and I can hold a receiving line.

“Would you like for me to arrange for one of the ladies of the court to serve as your escort?” the herald asked.

“Let me see if I can find one myself,” Kestrel replied quickly.

“Very well,” the Doge answered. “Let’s return to the court and make the announcement, then you’ll be free to go and I can return to the scheduled appointments.

“Oh, and one more thing, my champion; I don’t know how you will handle it, but expect everyone to want to see the goddess’s mark on your chest.”

They walked back to the throne room, where the crowd grew silent as the Doge and Kestrel stood before the throne, while Moresond stood in front of them, a step lower, and made the announcement of the reception to take place the following evening. The room immediately burst into a roar of commentary as Kestrel slipped back out the small door, and discreetly left the palace.

He strolled through the city, as he went directly to Daley’s millinery shop, where he banged the door shut upon his arrival, startling Daley, Merilla’s father, who was cutting a delicate piece of fabric that needed delivery to a customer. “Can I help you?” he asked, looking up from his work and looking over the top of the glasses he wore for examining delicate items up close.

“My name is Kestrel, and I am a friend of Merilla’s,” Kestrel introduced himself. “We’ve met before, back when Merilla first returned.”

“Of course! Of course!” Daley replied. “You’re the one who rescued her and brought her back, then disappeared for — how long has it been? — over a month now. Would you like to see her? She and the boys happen to be here this morning. Stay right there and I’ll go upstairs and get her.”

The man sprung up from his chair and out the back door, leaving Kestrel to fidget nervously as he awaited the man’s return. Only a few minutes passed before the door opened, and Merilla stepped into the shop. Her eyes swept the room, then came to rest on Kestrel, and widened dramatically. “Oh Kestrel,” she practically moaned the words as she came rushing around the counter and into his arms.

Kestrel smiled broadly as they embraced. “I’m so glad to see you again,” he whispered into her hair. “You’re as lovely as ever.”

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again,” she replied. She looked up at him and he kissed her, then they stepped apart.

“I’m just passing through the city for a day or two, and I had to visit,” he told her, and saw a look of concern momentarily race across her features.

“Your timing is extraordinary,” she paused. “I’m supposed to announce my engagement to Hammon the day after tomorrow,” she replied.

It was his turn to suffer momentary shock. He looked down at her, not knowing what to say. “The mothers have arranged it. The wedding won’t occur until after my mourning period is over, probably long after, if I can manage,” she explained. “Hammon won’t object to the delay, if I ask him, poor, sweet thing — he’s being manipulated into this almost as much as I am.”

Kestrel blanched at the thought of Merilla married to another man, but could imagine no realistic way he could intervene, unless he turned his back on all that he knew he had to do, and all that depended on him.

“But for the next two nights you’re not yet engaged?” he asked.

“In the eyes of the city, no. In the eyes of my mother, I already am,” Merilla answered.

“And what do your eyes see?” Kestrel asked. “Could you go to the palace with me tomorrow night as my guest at a reception?”

She stepped backwards a few inches, to better scrutinize his face. “What do you mean?”

“The Doge is going to hold a reception for the court tomorrow, to introduce the Champion to them all publically. I hoped you would be my escort,” he explained.

She stood silent for several seconds as she weighed the consequences of her decision; “Yes, I’ll be your escort,” she accepted the offer.

“Merilla? Are you still down here?” Kestrel heard Durille, her mother call, just moments before she came through the door into the shop. She paused upon entry and examined Kestrel for a long minute. “So you’ve returned, I see,” she said in a flat voice as she recognized him.

“Has Merilla told you her happy news?” Durille asked him.

“Kestrel just asked me if I’d go to a reception at the Doge’s court with him tomorrow evening, as his guest,” Merilla spoke up before Kestrel answered. “He didn’t know about my upcoming betrothal of course. I’ve agreed to go with him,” she said calmly, “since I will only still be a widow in mourning tomorrow, you know. He has to leave again in a day or two.”

Durille’s face was a mask as she listened and considered the implications of Merilla’s declaration, made in a determined voice. There was little likelihood of undoing this complication, she concluded, and then this bane of her plan to settle Merilla down would be gone again, and Merilla would be suitably engaged.

“That sounds like a wonderful plan, and your friend is fortunate to be invited to such a prestigious event,” she replied, wondering if he really was even invited to such an activity at the palace, never having learned of the honors he received. “What do you plan to wear?”

“I’ll make something. We’ve got all this fabric I can borrow,” she replied.

“Well, I better go back upstairs to watch your boys,” Durille said. “You’ll need to get back to them soon as well.”

“I will mother, I will,” Merilla said. “I’ll be up in a couple of minutes.”

With a last suspicious look, the mother left the shop, and Merilla gave a sigh of relief. “What should I wear?” she asked Kestrel rhetorically, as she looked around the shop at the bolts of cloth. “I’ll bet you’d like to see me wear this, wouldn’t you?” she asked as she stepped to the far wall and pulled a white bundle of fabric out of its slot. She pulled the cloth away from the bolt and held it in front of her face, a sheer fabric that Kestrel could easily see through. He imagined momentarily what she would look like dressed in such a design, her body visible beneath the covering.