Wayne Batson - The Rise of the Wrym Lord

“Victuals?” Antoinette echoed.

“That is food, m’lady.”

“Oh,” Antoinette replied.

Aelic bowed again and turned to leave. “Wait!” Antoinette called, feeling a warm blush in her cheeks. “My name is Antoinette. Would you call me that instead of m’lady?”

Aelic smiled. “Yes, m’lady-um, Antoinette… as you wish.” And with that, he was gone.

Antoinette chewed at her lower lip as she scanned the chamber. Large candles on tall silver stands lit the four corners of the room in soft blues and purples. Magnificent tapestries adorned the walls and gave the room a sense of history and grandeur.

I’m here! I’m really in Alleble! Antoinette thought. She threw off the covers, leaped out of bed, and ran to the chest to see the clothing and armor that had been laid out for her. A silver breastplate gleamed up at her, and she had to catch her breath. Engraved upon it were two mountains with the sun rising between them, the symbol, she knew, of King Eliam’s great victory over Paragor’s rebellion. She ran her fingers across it and smiled.

Next to the breastplate was a stack of plate armor and a light silver helmet. Aside from the helmet, Antoinette had no idea how to put the stuff on, but she could hardly wait to try! Then, she saw the clothing and laughed out loud for joy. She snatched up the dark breeches and the tunic and ran to the long mirror that stood in one of the corners next to a candlestand.

She held them up to herself and turned this way and that. She especially loved the black tunic she’d been given. It had intricate purple embroidery on the collar and sleeves and a braided black belt. This is just my style. How did they know? she wondered. She hurriedly slipped them on and modeled them in the mirror. They’re just the right size too!

There came several rapid knocks at the door, and then a voice. “Hullo, dearie, Elspeth at your service! Are you decent?”

Antoinette ran and opened the chamber door. She found a round-faced Glimpse woman busily twirling a small white towel in one hand and balancing a tray on her rather large hip with the other hand. She smiled a broad cheeky smile and bustled into the chamber.

“Hullo, dearie!” she said again and placed the tray on a small table near the door. “Do have a seat, dearie, and have a bit to eat. There is good cheese there, some of my famous crusty bread, and a bit of beef. Fuel for the furnace, as I often says. Now, fill up when you can, for you never know when the next meal might come.” She cackled a laugh and patted her ample belly. “Now, sit here and eat.” Antoinette did as she was told.

“My name is Elspeth, but you can call me Mum. All me other girls do. Now, what should I call you?”

“Antoinette.”

“Antoinette. A beautiful name, that is.”

Elspeth surveyed the room, then she busied herself gathering up Antoinette’s clothes.

“I see you found my Lady Gwenne’s clothing that I put out for you. It fits you well, it does. Makes sense, I suppose, seeing as how you are her twin and all. But your red hair, that is different. Now, my Lady Gwenne’s hair is of golden blond like the King’s wheat at the harvest.”

“My real color is blond too,” Antoinette said.

“I thought as much. Do not misunderstand me. Your hair is long and lush-pretty enough in its own way,” Elspeth said. Then raising one eyebrow, she glanced at Antoinette and added, “Aelic certainly thought so. But there I go again, flapping my lips like dragon wings. You probably have so many questions.”

Aelic thinks I’m pretty? Antoinette thought, and her mind wandered.

“Antoinette, dear, are you there?”

Antoinette snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. “Uh,… well, I guess my big question is, do you know what my mission will be?”

“Me? No,” Elspeth replied. “I am sure I would not be able to tell you anything of those matters. Some venture to put a crick in the dark one’s plans, like as not. War is coming, and maybe even within our own borders this time-or so many claim. But swords, shields, and battles are not where my wisdom falls. Mops, brooms, cleaning, and cooking-now those I can tell a thing or two about. Soon enough, you will be brought before Kaliam, our Sentinel. It is from him you will learn all that you could want about missions and such. Was there anything else that you wanted to know?” Elspeth asked, as if she’d actually answered Antoinette’s question.

Antoinette shook her head. Elspeth had carried on so long, Antoinette was afraid to ask her anything else. “No thank you,” Antoinette said. “The food was very good.”

“Did you like it, then?” Elspeth asked. “Just some old family recipes, really. But good enough for a fair number of knights, I can tell you. Take Sir Aelic, now. That one cannot seem to get enough of my stew. He is always pestering Lady Gwenne to get me to make that stew for him. Here now, enough about that. We must get you into your armor. It should fit just right, seeing as how it is also Lady Gwenne’s. Her spare set, really. Kindle, our armory keeper, had it made up for her when she returned from Mithegard.”

Elspeth was right. The armor fit almost perfectly. Antoinette looked at herself in the mirror and laughed. “I’m a knight!” she said.

“Well, a right, regular swordmaiden,” Elspeth agreed.

“Swordmaiden?” Antoinette echoed, a broad grin forming. “I like the sound of that, but… uh, I don’t have a sword.”

“True enough, dearie. I expect you will need to see Kaliam about that.”

Just then, there came a sharp rap at the door. Elspeth hurried to answer it.

“Sir Aelic has returned, m’lady,” Elspeth said.

As Antoinette turned to greet him, Aelic stumbled backward, startled by the beautiful young woman before him.

“Even with your hair aflame and being younger, how much like Gwenne you look,” he said. “It is strange to see a friend’s likeness in one who is not Glimpse-kind. I imagine you must be thinking the same thing about me and my twin of your kind.”

“Yes, it’s kind of strange. I mean, I just saw Aidan earlier today.” Antoinette laughed, remembering the duel she’d had with Aidan.

“Do you jest?”

“Jest? No, I’m sorry. I was just thinking of Aidan. We were sparring this afternoon, and I, uh, accidentally gave him a bloody nose.”

Aelic smiled. “Then you are very much like Gwenne in more than appearance.”

The two stood quietly staring at each other as if in a trance.

“Hullo, m’dears? Do you not have someplace to go?” Elspeth interrupted.

“Oh, yes. Kaliam awaits!” Aelic said.

Aelic led Antoinette through a half-dozen passages, and eventually past a pair of tall arched doors. “These are the doors to King Eliam’s Throne Room,” Aelic said.

“Will I… may I meet him?” Antoinette asked.

Aelic looked at her strangely. His eyes glinted bright blue, and he said, “You have already met him. You believed in the story of Alleble. You trusted him on the narrow path. You heard, and chose to follow his voice. You know him better than you think, and he knows you better than you know yourself.”

“But I mean, may I see him?”

“King Eliam may reveal himself to you in time,” Aelic replied. “But I am told that his countenance is painful to endure for those not of Glimpse-kind. Come, the Sentinel awaits upon the balcony.”

At last they came to the end of a long hall. There was a stair there, and a door subtly set into the wall. Aelic opened the door. Sunlight blazed in.

“I shall take my leave of you for now, Antoinette,” Aelic said. “But we shall meet again.”

Antoinette stepped through the door out onto a vast balcony. She was drawn to the parapet and beheld the Kingdom of Alleble. Towers, keeps, and cottages; courtyards, fields, and bustling markets-sprawled from left to right as far as her eyes could see. But in the center of it all were the fountains.