The Wolf, the Butterfly, and the Kraken

Chapter 65

Joann

I was stuck standing in the midfield tent, again. "One of them is crossing the field!" a guard called out. Guards prepared for battle.

I looked, "It is just Oyarg, my husband's cousin. Excuse me gents."

Oyarg was curious about the enormous sleigh being used where there wasn't ice and snow, and there were no animals pulling it. "What is that?"

"I will tell you later. What can I do for you?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "She will kill me if she finds out I came, but Heda needs you right now. She refuses to lay her worries on the mind of mere warriors, her charges. But you aren't her charge. You are a venerated servant of the people, her friend. Even if she says nothing and you just stand beside her it will help her. I'm sure of it."

I grimaced, and looked back at the midfield tent, surrounded by guards. "One moment, let me see what I can do."

I reentered the tent, and waited, watching Eureces to catch his attention. After a minute he said, "What do you need Joann?"

"May I take some leave to stand in support of Heda? Oyarg believes she could benefit greatly from some female company."

Before Eureces could answer, the king said, "Yes, please, go. Someone should enjoy your company. Gods know it isn't me."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and left the tent. Eureces was a great man. Rajit had been a great man. My King, who imprisoned Ambassador Dura, was an entitled asshole.

It wasn't hard to find Heda. She was leading the singing for her brother's funeral. I wanted to hug her, but also didn't want to undermine her. I summoned Isa, and had her land on Heda's shoulder. A tear wrangled itself from Heda's eye. She placed an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into her. We stayed like that for hours.

Then a Veneran boy with green eyes approached me. The page. "Hello, Prince Quentin."

He was shocked, "How do you know who I am?"

"Well, you have the same ears as the king, and you know how to speak Lycant. Dura mentioned you to me once. He said you played ludo together, and you were instrumental in helping him to get home to Lyngara."

The boy smiled shyly. "I might have had something to do with that. How's he doing?"

I shrugged, "Hosting galas that he hates, and trying to end this war."

Quentin laughed, "Sounds about right. They want you back over there to write out a letter to Heda. Lord Eureces has explained that Heda can't just leave her brother's funeral right now, and that it might take days to finish." The boy was about 14. His eyes traveled to the top of the pyre, where a figure was wrapped in linen. "He was amazing, wasn't he?"

I nodded, "Like you wouldn't believe." I used Isa to give Heda a kiss on the nose, and then headed back to the tent. "How may I be of service?"

The king said, "Take a letter in Lycant for me." Eureces grimaced as the king's 'page' handed me a quill and parchment. I sat down to write, and the king cleared his throat, "Excuse me?"

"Sure, but I can't write this letter until you tell me what it's supposed to say."

Lord Eureces frowned, "She hasn't spent time around the nobles, and isn't familiar with the customs. Joann, you are not allowed to sit in the king's presence."

"But you want me to write something, and there isn't exactly a table here, just a rock that someone made a bit flatter, and a few inches off the ground so we aren't all in a puddle. How am I supposed to write glyphs while standing up? I have a hard enough time doing it sitting down."