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

Chapter 94

Derun 19th, 3328 A.G

She'd given him three children already, the eldest of which was a boy- but she still had enough years left to give him three or four more, if the change happened around the same time that most women began noticing it. In many witch's books there were sections on fertility, sections that said a woman's appeared to go down after their blood stopped coming- and Edolie had always wanted as many as her body would allow. The women in her family had always been blessed with healthy births and babes, as had she with her first three- so she didn't have to be worried about dying like most.

The morning had been a normal one; Her and Emerson ate breakfast with the children; fresh persimmons, bread and butter, pork sausage and good cralonese wine, and an almond mylk drink boiled and spiced with cinnamon, cloves and sugar.

It'd been her favorite growing up, but it'd also been so long since she'd had an almond that she almost cried.

Her lord husband had an unusually clear day, so they'd gone back to their chambers after- leaving the children in the care of guards.

They'd tried to undress eachother, but Edolie's dress was nearly impossible without her three handmaidens- so he'd lifted her up and began to take her against the wall.

They'd been going at it for nearly six hundred moments when there was a knock at the door; a knock that startled them both so much Emerson almost dropped his wife. One would think they'd gotten used to interruptions by then, after being married as long as they had- but it was far from the case.

Edolie rolled her eyes when the knock came again.

"Lord? Lady? I'm sorry to interrupt but the messenger says it's urgent." The girl servant replied. "He is a soldier from Dedor- says he has word of Avelina Hemin."

Emerson frowned. They'd heard nothing of her since she left, but he took that as a good thing. Avelina was resilient, and on the rare occasions she'd been sent overseas, she told him to assume something was wrong if she bothered to send a message that would take weeks to arrive.

He considered her a friend and daughter, in the same way he thought of Andre as his son.

He pulled out of his wife then, letting her thick skirts fall back in place. He found his breeches on the floor; black fabric lined with Narenian bear fur, and pulled them up quickly. The string that held it up was not tied, but the breeches were old and tight enough that it didn't matter. He opened the door and the servant girl slightly bowed her head, dismissing herself. Beside her, a man with strong Dedori blood stood, scroll in hand.

At first he said nothing, only handed it to Lord Emerson. Then, a look passed over him that could only be described as guilt for having to deliver such a message.

Just as he turned to leave, he paused for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Then, just as the servant girl- he was gone. Though he knew then, Lord Emerson quickly undid the scroll, sealed with the simplified battlefield that was Kroba's seal. It read:

I am sorry to inform you that Avelina Hemin, Commander of Narene's army forces, daughter of the former commander and sister of your trade advisor has passed.

She was murdered by Lennix of house Drabek- a spy for Tiffan Raynerus who has since payed for the murder with his life. I have held the proper burial myself, and her bones and ash are buried across the woods far southwest of the commanding house of Dedor and south of the beach where we camped.

You have the word of the queen that Tiffan Raynerus will pay, and pay with her life.

Tuyon, commander of Queen Nara Ashhand's forces

For a long time, Emerson could only stare at the letter. There was a small bag looped and tied through a hole in the paper, but he could only think of the reasons someone would lie about her death. One of their trade rivals, maybe.....

Edolie took the small bag. Inside, there was a small amount of ash and the one piece of jewelry Avelina owned; a necklace Emerson had given her for her fourteenth birthday. It was the only material possession she kept- with the exception of her clothes and weapons, but armies always needed more of those- especially with approaching wars. He couldn't be mad that they'd kept them.

  He'd made her the commander when she was young, not long after her father had died- because he'd already seen her skill and intelligence. She'd spoken as someone who'd been alive fifty years longer and during a long war, yet she hadn't.

  He was almost angry that she'd gotten murdered- angry that he'd lost one of his best advisors, but for the most part he was fighting the tears that came along with losing a child.

  A single one escaped his left eye- but then he felt a harsh slap to his cheek.

  "What if a servant walked in and saw you shedding tears?" Edolie said, rubbing her hand. "A lord does not cry. A lord thinks of what happens next- always. Who will you replace her with?"

  He'd come to love his wife more in time after the wedding, because behind closed doors she'd always been the strong one. She thought of Avelina as a daughter too, yet her cheeks were dry and her expression remained blank.

  "I..." Emerson cleared his throat. "It does..... traditionally go to a family member of the late commander and... Andre Hemin is a phenomenal swordsman and archer and even strategist..... If he's participated in whatever attacks Lady Ashhand has done on the continent Bracari he will be the first of our commanders in two hundred years to have real battle experience. He will be invaluable to us."

  Edolie placed a hand on his shoulder. "I suppose we have an announcement to make then."