The Nun and King

Chapter 2

"Are you even listening?" I hear a muffled voice say. "My lord," it says again. It's not until he shouts out "Thomas" that I am pulled from my thoughts.

Looking up at the round table that consists of seven men whose ages range from old to ancient, I offer an apologetic smile. "Forgive me Chancellor William. I was distracted," I say. It's true, my thoughts lingered on my father, the war efforts, before ending up on a particular pair of tanned legs. "You were saying?"

Tightening his lips, I can tell he is fed up.

"You and me both," I think.

"The people from Fogbottom are getting out of hand. We needed to do something to control their impropriety. Put a few people in the stocks, bring in the guards, hang a man or two every so often," he suggests. At this—especially the latter—my brows furrow.

"I will do no such thing and if my father were well enough he'd say the same thing. Fogbottom has always been on the more unruly side, yes, but I won't send someone to the gallows just to make an example. They have their own set of laws that they seem to abide by and never cause too much trouble so I don't see what the big deal is," I say.

"My lord—if I may be so bold—but the amount of thieves that live there are appalling and quite frankly it's making those that live in the higher district uneasy. Pretty soon they will make their way to our part of the city and pillage whatever they like!" he exclaims. The six other members murmur to themselves and from what I can hear, half seem to agree with him.

My initial reaction is to remind him that their youngest prince is married to Fogbottom's most acclaimed thief and to show some respect to their eldest prince—but, that is not who I am. Besides, lashing out in public at one of the council members in a meeting would reflect badly upon the man who is supposed to be their king one day.

Taking a steady breath, I lean backwards in my seat. "Chancellor, I know a handful of those that live in the lower district—and from what I've heard from some of the barmaids in the taverns, you've taken a few trips to Jezebels yourself down there," I say, causing him to blush. "For the most part, they mean well. They steal when they need to feed their children and brawl to earn a few extra coins. If anything we need to raise taxes on those that live in our district to give to those in need. We are all Paevians are we not?" I ask rhetorically.

The chancellor frowns and crosses his hands over his chest, saying nothing.
Sir Henry, our coin master, picks up his quill. "Would you like to make that a law, my lord? I could have a rough draft drawn up by tonight?" he asks kindly.

Personally, he has always been one of my favorite members on the council. When I was younger and was forced to join these meetings to prepare me for kingship he'd always sneak me a few sweets.

Giving him a smile, I shake my head. "No thank you Henry, I feel we might need to reach an agreement with the others before a new law is enacted. Given that I'll be leaving in the morning to finish up the war, I'd say we can cross that bridge when I get back," I say. Looking at the others, I clear my throat. "Does anyone else have something they'd like to discuss?"

When no one answers, I stand up and give a polite bow—signaling that the meeting has ended—before heading to my quarters.

Navigating the corridors with ease, I quickly reach my room, pleased to find that my belongings have already been packed away neatly and left in a rucksack on my bed. Rita—the maid I've been assigned since I was born—must have slipped in sometime today and finished what I started this morning. It's not unusual for her to go above and beyond her normal duties, she's always made sure I was taken care of—from bringing me warm milk at night when I cannot sleep to mending my clothes with her arthritic hands. "The taylors don't know the stitches I do. You just leave it up to me," she says.