An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 43

Seggos 3rd, 3328 A.G

Nara thought House Tomhend should be easy enough to recruit from, with who she helped become their high lady. On top of that, she expected to still have the people's support because of how she killed her grandparents. Nobody'd ever liked them, not truly.

House Tomhend would have room for around a hundred soldiers to sleep in real beds, so that was exactly how many Nara brought to the gates with her- along with Renard and the others. Having half-way grown up here, most guards knew who she was from just a look at her face. She had to stare up at the gate guards for only a moment before they brought it up, letting her, Renard, their small council- and the hundred soldiers in.

  They were used to common people watching them for a few moments then immediately going back to whatever they were doing, but here- the stares and the bowed heads lingered.

  They didn't truly know it then, but when eveything came crashing down House Tomhend would be the first to come to their rescue.

  An older servant of the House reached forward to help Nara off her horse, but she hopped down on her own. The rest did the same- and then Nara turned to that servant.

  "Where is Lady Tomhend? And Edun Dewgrove?" She asked.

  If she had married him, he would be a king by now. So much would be different if she hadn't killed her grandparents.

  "The lady was in her chambers last I saw. Edun is-" The servant started.

  "Right here, My queen." Nara looked around the servant to see Edun peek his head out of the stall closest to them. He appeared to have bathed, as his hair was not the greasy mess it was the last time they spoke. This time, Nara's was sticking to her forehead and Edun's was soft and full despite his age.

  She approached him slowly with her horse's reigns, gesturing for Renard and the others to give them a moment.

  "You look well." She said, handing him the reigns.

  "Come see me after I finish the day's work and you'll take that back." He smiled, his eyes darting in Renard's direction for half a second. "I understand now more than I did at the time why you could not marry me. A high lady and someone of a lower status is one thing but... A queen and a stable hand...."

  "If I had loved you, that would not have mattered." And if you weren't ten years younger than my own grandfather and sounded like a father figure..... "But you are right in a way."

  They walked to the empty stable together as Nara thought.

   During the time of kingdoms, Love marriages were completely unheard of between Kings and princesses, Kings and Ladies, prince's and Princesses, Queens and princes..... it went on and on and on in Nara's head, but at the end one thing stuck: politics was the main reason for marriage, as it had been in her own. It would be easier to take the island of House Vraemore under her empire if she was married to and had the children of it's only true member.

Edun shrugged. "I cannot say that I wasn't amazed by how close I'd been to becoming the first king in two hundred years."

You were never close. I was never going to marry you- Nara thought.

"As you said it was all about the politics." Nara stroked her horse's neck a few times, a small smile on her lips. From now on, everything she did would have to be about the politics. How she dressed, the way she looked at her husband, how she spoke to commanding lords and ladies so she could manipulate them- even the trade of goods would have to become political. "Feed him well for me. Poor thing hasn't had a break in days."

With that, Nara left her horse with Edun. While the others had their horses tended to and Renard went among the people to try and gather recruits, Nara walked to Sana's chambers with Tuyon by her side. He'd been so protective since they left that Nara found it annoying, and often snapped only to apologize right after.

"You're only doing your job." She'd say. "That was cruel of me."

He stood outside of Sana's chambers- formerly belonging to Nara's grandparents, while Nara entered.

  Sana stood by the large window that Nara remembered drawing on as a child and getting beaten for it, watching the life below.

  "I used to pick up preserved foods from the trade merchant there whenever us servants got our coin." Sana suddenly said. "Sugared lemon preserves and good Cralon wine were a real treat- saved for a birth or death, but now...... I can command the servants I used to work with to fetch me those things and they obey. It feels like I'm watching slavery."

  "Slaves were not paid-" Nara replied, sitting on the edge of Sana's bed. "Nor did they have the freedom to leave or travel whenever they wanted, to take time off of work when their babe was born, to simply refuse the work, or to be called people as servants are. Servants of some houses may feel like they have no choice but to stay... though I know you and I are trying our hardest to make them feel the opposite."

  Slavery had been gone from the world for five hundred years, or so Nara liked to tell herself.

When she traveled to some of the more trade-independent territories, she would discover how far from the truth that was.

  "Perhaps-" Sana agreed. "But many of the servant's families.... Even some of the guards of today do not know where their ancestors are from and never will because of... you could trace your family line back two thousand years if you wanted to. I never knew my own parents.... So the new family tree of house Tomhend will start with me."

  "It is tragic, what happened to some of the former Major families but... there is absolutely nothing I can do about it now." Nara sighed. "How would one even begin when the trade scattered sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers and cousins across the world?"

  At the height of slavery's brutality nearly six hundred years ago, the Haymo family, the former royals of Alenia- were put in chains and sold along side people they put in the slave trade. There was a history book here and there claiming two members escaped, so there was a possibility that the Haymo family had descendants somewhere- but most of the older ones appeared to try and cover it up.
 
  As horrible as it sounded when she said so out loud, Nara thought that each slaver were the only ones who deserved to be enslaved, to know what they put people through.

  "I was hoping-" Nara started.

  "We can spare a hundred and ninety two fighters." Sana interrupted. "Word travels fast when we're on the verge of war. It has been a while since the last one. Do not lose."

  "I wasn't planning on it."

"I believe that-" Sana said. "You, My queen- have a gift for violence."