Back to Halkeginia

Chapter 9. Bannon

The fact that a carriage drove up in front of the Royal Palace in Tristania was not particularly remarkable - carriages kept coming up and dropping off occupants. Messages reached the queen's court and court officials went to their place of work. But the coach that drove up in front of the great palace gate in the evening had special passengers ... It was a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair and two men, one of them a middle-aged man and a youthful-looking man with a strange cut - his almond-shaped eyes were set at a slight slant.
Of course, they were stopped at the gate - crowned heads had to be on their guard against assassins, and not all people of Halkeginia loved theTristain government. But the three could easily identify. Two of them had been welcome guests in the palace in the past and they were known. "You? That's a pleasure! I've already heard that you're back, but you have a lot of work. And we were indispensable here too."
"Gimli, old friend! Guard duty at the gate? Who made you do it? What did you do?"
"Nothing!"replied the young guard. "I only had to stand in for a colleague who's upset his stomach. And a fighter is needed at the gate who can assert himself against enemy magic. My comrade here is new and needs instruction."
"I hope you have the end of your shift soon," said the young man. "Master Colbert misses you."
The guard laughed. "I also miss him and our trips with the Ostland. What are you doing here?"
Saito grew serious quickly. "You should remember the face of our companion. If things go as I suspect, he will be walking in and out here more often. This is Master Steve Bannon, one of the passengers on the plane."
"Hmm", Gimli grumbled and nodded to the older man. "One of the people from your world? Is your work starting to bear fruit now?"
"This has already started. Do you remember Montmorency?"
Gimli laughed. "How not? She opened a shop here in Tristania. And Guiche, our commander, is still languishing at her. But she makes him fidget."
"We sent her a sample of a substance that can ameliorate a certain disease. We hope that she can copy that substance. Insulin, a cure for diabetes."
"Better than love potions. I remember the trouble you had with this stuff."
Louise blushed. She remembered all too well how, under the influence of a love potion that Montmorency had prepared and which had actually been intended for Guiche, she had pursued Saito with almost languishing love. How lucky Saito had resisted this temptation and not taken advantage of the situation!
"How is Guiche?" sheasked.
"His head is smoking. The funds for our order are very tight."
"That is his undoing. He should get himself a financial accountant."
"Maybe. Back to your visit. Do you want to see the queen?"
"We have to go to the queen," Saito said. "Our companion here, Master Bannon, has learned a few things that are, to say the least, unsettling."
"Oh? A new conspiracy?"
"Nothing like that. This time the danger comes from within. It is not acute either, but it can come."
"That sounds really bad. And this man can recognize it?"
"We think so. Tristain must not end up like the Tudors in Albion."
"True enough," saidGimli. "But I can't tell you whether the queen will still have time for you today. Her evenings are long too."
"We can only hope that she will have time for us," Saito replied.
"Then come in with you."

There was also a stop at the entrance to the palace, but Saito and Louise were known here too, so they were quickly let through.
They saw a familiar face at the door to the audience chamber. Here Agnés had built up and blocked the entrance. Her face lit up as she recognized the comers. "Louise and Saito! Nice to see you again! In the academy we hardly had time to greet each other. Do you want to go to the queen?"
"If possible, Chevallier de Milan."
"Oh, so formal? Who is your companion? One of the people from the plane?"
"So it is, Agnés. Can I speak to the Queen?"
The commander of the royal musketeers hesitated before answering: "The State Chancellor, Cardinal Mazarin, is with her. It must be about finances again, so it can drag on. Is it urgent?"
Saito shrugged. "I cannot judge that, Agnés. If you mean whether it is so urgent that the Queen must be informed immediately, I would say no. But Henrietta has shown such great interest in the further development of the aircraft passengers that we do not want to withhold that from her."
"Then wait a moment. I'll ask if it's okay with her."
Agnés opened the door a crack and slipped through. An incomprehensible murmur of voices could be heard through the crack in the door and then, more clearly, Henrietta's voice. Agnés reappeared and nodded to the three of them. "The Queen has some time for you - if it doesn't take too long."
"It should be limited," replied Louise.
Upon entering, the companions saw the Queen and the State Chancellor. Cardinal Mazarin sat at the desk, quill in hand and a sheet of paper in front of him, while Henrietta looked over his shoulder. During her visit to the academy it had not yet been seen that the Queen was pregnant, but now her belly was visibly rounded.
As soon as they entered, Louise and Saito had assumed the posture the court ceremony required for an audience with the Queen - they had got down on one knee and bowed their heads. Their companion, however, did not. Instead, he had bowed deeply and remained in that position.
When they entered, Henrietta had started to smile, but when she saw their companion and his behavior, she raised her eyebrows in mild astonishment. "Well?"
"Your Majesty, I would like to introduce you to Master Steve Bannon, one of the passengers on the plane. Master Bannon is - or better: was - a full professor of history at the University of Wellington. It is on the big island of New Zealand, another state. As New Zealand is part of the Commenwealth, the Queen of England nominally has sovereignty over New Zealand. And in the Commonwealth it is not customary to kneel before the Queen.  This only happens on special occasions when the subject receives honors from the Queen. Master Bannon honors you as he would honor his own queen. "
Henrietta smiled. "Well, I am sufficiently honored. You may straighten up, Master Bannon. So you are a historian?"
"So it is, Your Majesty." Bannon did as the Queen ordered and looked directly at her. "Please forgive me if I sometimes express myself incorrectly. I haven't spoken Halkegin for long and still have a lot to learn. "
"You are sufficiently easy to understand, Master Bannon, even if your accent sounds strange." Henrietta's gaze shifted from Bannon to Saito and Louise. "Louise, Saito, please stand up! Where did you leave your baby?"
"At the academy, Your Royal Highness," Saito replied. "Siesta takes care of Mariko while we were gone."Saito looked over at Cardinal Mazarin, who had put the quill aside. "Good evening, Your Excellency. I see you are busy ...?"