The Exiled King | ✔

Chapter 3 - The Lord's Plan

While the others waited in the antechamber, Lirya, Jason and Sir Reylous entered Lord Rowan Throeyns' familiar study. Jason entered with a blank expression that betrayed nothing but as the doors were firmly shut behind him and he flinched slightly. The ropes that bound his hands together behind his back chafed at his wrists with every movement.

Jason had never actually seen more than a brief glimpse of the lord of the castle until this moment—he had answered to one of the knights in the castle and had been paid by the castle treasurer.

Lord Rowan Throeyns was a man that towered above all others, with sharp green eyes and a large hooked nose. He'd been handsome in his youth and the years had done little to dim those looks. A few lines under the eyes and an extra notch in his belt was all that had changed over the course of his life. His close cropped auburn hair had, over the years, attained grey strands mingled in with the brown.

Lirya looked around the familiar study and saw that everything was exactly as it had been the last time she had been there. A large polished wooden desk dominated the centre of the room. Towards one side, the entire wall was lined with bookshelves and the other side of the room held some comfortable chairs and a small table. Small glass cabinets decorated the wall near the chairs and held artifacts and heirlooms.

One such heirloom was a broadsword, the handle made of fine leather bindings and the hilt held a shimmering ruby. The cross-guard was golden and had precious gems decorating it. The broadsword was sitting in its scabbard, made of hardened leather and then coated with a sheet of gold. The scabbard, too, was adorned with beautiful emeralds and amethysts. The sword was a treasured family heirloom bestowed upon the Throeyns family by the royal Blackroses as a consolation for the war efforts of Alexei Throeyns, the young keyguard, during the demon war.

Another artifact on display inside the glass cabinets was a delicate circlet, forged in the likeness of the ones the Guardians wore. It was fashioned out of sapphire—the crystal of the Guardian of Sanobar, the human kingdom—and had intricate gold embellishments curling over the solid glistening blue. While the Guardian circlets were beautiful and decorated, they were no less practical—they were made from the fine crystals mined deep within the dwarven mines under the island kingdom of Westik and were durable enough to withstand even the most devastating blows from the finest of weapons and spells.

At the back of the room, large windows offered a view of the sprawling mountain range and glittering sea beyond that. The sunlight streamed through the glass panes—the top windows were open to admit a light breeze carrying the scent of flowers, shooting intricate elongated shadows across the floor. The shadows of a rather large pine tree that stood outside the window swayed ever so slightly and a faint rustling sound could be heard as the bright green leaves brushed against one another.

Lord Rowan sat at his desk and opened one of the drawers, grabbing a pair of delicate reading lenses and perched them on his nose. His white silk shirt rustled as he adjusted his reading lenses, frowned, and then shuffled through some papers. He cleared his throat, the sapphire brooch fastened at his neck sparkling, and spoke.

"Are you alright, Lirya? You were not hurt, were you?" Her father asked, bringing her attention back to him.

When she shook her head, he ordered Sir Reylous to escort her back out.

Sir Reylous hesitated and said, "My lord! The boy-"

Lord Rowan interrupted with a voice that brooked no argument, "Leave! Now. Must I say it a third time?"

With one final glance back at Jason, Sir Reylous ushered Lirya out.

As the door slammed shut, leaving just the lord and Jason, Lord Rowan stood up and strode over to Jason.