Sacred Mountain

Chapter 14: The Welcoming Dinner

Poppy followed Ivy though a bewildering maze of corridors to the dining hall, her stomach tight with nervousness. Heart beating wildly, she clenched her fists and stepped into the stark, cavernous room. Dozens of chairs scraped against the flagstones as their occupants stood to greet her.

Fur-clad men turned unsmiling eyes under furrowed brows her way, Beards hid clenched jaws and she shrank back as a wave of antipathy hit her. Her eyes darted this way and that, scanning the assembly for a friendly face. . . or even just a female face, but apart from the maids who stood against the wall, eyes downcast, ready to serve the meal when the king called for it, she was the only one. Where are all the women? she thought. The men eyed Queen Katerina's fur and curled their lips. Instantly she knew it had been a mistake to wear it. In their eyes she was a hated foreigner attempting to usurp the place of their beloved queen.

King Fenwick stood at the head of the table with his son. Larnick stared at his cutlery, deliberately not meeting her eye. There was an empty space between them – the seat of honour. Poppy knew it was for her. The king raised his arms in greeting, his broken voice echoing through the Banqueting Hall,

'Welcome Princess Annifer of Frailing, soon to be queen of Cross . . .' a fit of coughing overtook him. '. . .Crosstain,' he finished, pulling out the chair beside him and beckoning her to come and sit. Poppy walked slowly down the side of the room, chin held high in an effort to maintain a regal demeanour but at the same time, feeling desperately uncomfortable. She soon realised that nobody was allowed to sit until she'd taken her place and quickened her pace. By the time she was halfway down the hall, she was almost jogging (which is difficult when you're not used to high heels) and when she finally got to her seat she flumped down, red-faced and out of breath. Everyone else followed suit.

'Serve the meal!' the king called out. The royal end of the table was served first – venison with potatoes and carrots and frequently replenished mugs of ale. Poppy hunched into her fur and ate in small bites, pretending not to notice the narrow-eyed glances being thrown her way while the company talked amongst themselves in a low murmur. Larnick steadily ignored her but at least the king tried to make her feel welcome.

'How is your room, Princess?' he scratched the red marks on his neck.

'It's fine . . . er . . . very nice. The bear is very . . .' she cast around for the right word - Creepy? Disturbing? Intimidating? These were definitely the wrong words, '. . . impressive.'

'Ah yes, isn't it? A magnificent beast! Caught by my great grandfather in the eastern forest many years ago. White bears are rare around here; it's usually . . . cough, cough . . . deer we hunt. Do you like hunting?' Poppy decided it would be impolitic to tell the truth — that no one in Frailing hunted and they considered the practice barbaric.

'Er, yes, of course.'

'And what do you hunt in Frailing?'

'Oh, we hunt . . . um . . . in Frailing, we hunt . . . er . . .rabbits.'

'Rabbits?' the king's eyes widened in surprise and even Larnick shot her a curious look.

'Yes, er . . . very big ones. Giant rabbits, actually. We hunt giant rabbits in Frailing. They're a pest, you see. They eat all our crops so we have to hunt them and . . . er . . . shoot them with arrows.' She mimed pulling back a bow string. 'It's our national sport, in fact, giant rabbit hunting. We have competitions and everything . . .' A voice inside her head was yelling at her to stop talking right now but her mouth seemed to be out of control so she stuffed a whole roast potato in it and promptly choked.

The king patted her on the back and when she'd successfully swallowed her enormous mouthful he continued the conversation.

'Well, we don't have any giant rabbits here but Larnick will take you deer hunting tomorrow. There's a white stag roaming the forest that they've been trying to kill for months. He's always proved too quick for them though. Let's see if you bring them luck.'