Ageless

Chapter 24

The curtains in the hall began to fall to the floor, one by one, starting with the windows closest to the entrance, spreading like a black wave towards the throne platform. The velvet abyss swallowed the natural blue light of the sky, darkening the faces of the crowd into silhouettes.

For a second all was dark, and then torches ignited around the room, joined by the fanfare of trumpets from behind us. "That'll be the dignitaries," Hendrik said.

A procession of people entered from the back doors and began to march down the center aisle of the throne room. Everyone rose from their seats and bowed their heads, or rather, everyone who was not currently paralyzed from the waist down. Instead, I craned my neck to watch the line as it approached. First came tall, hooded guards holding very long spears. Then a group of older men and women, all taking seats near the front of the room, closest to the thrones.

Next was Alynsa. She was wearing a plain, conservative black dress, looking sullen. A young girl was holding her hand, also in black, swinging her arm in time with each step.

The girl from the funeral, I thought. The queen's daughter, Raelyn.

The woman behind them drew the attention of the entire court. She was tan with dark features and hair as black as a starless night sky. Long and flowing, it tumbled all the way down to the small of her back. She wore a tight navy dress - almost artistic in how revealing it was - that exposed her flat midriff and left little else to the imagination. She swung her hips a bit too widely as she walked, her high heels clicking against the marble, all too aware that the eyes of every man (and even many of the woman) were fixed on her backside as she strutted down the aisle.

"Nadia Highburn, the Baroness," Hendrik whispered. "Her brother owns about half the land in the South." He gave a low whistle as she walked by. "I've traveled these lands far and wide, from the rustling deserts beyond the Nameless City to the East, down to the crashing waterfalls of the South Canyons, and have found only one certainty in life: there is no other booty in the Kingdom quite as fine as the one we admire now."

"Solid counseling Hendrik," I said, making a mental note that the word 'booty' was also a part of the bard's vocabulary. "Why does she get to walk with the dignitaries? Is she part of the Urias line too?"

"Nope, quite the opposite. The Highburns were famously the first noble family to betray the Urias line in favor of the church. She's been trying to seduce her way into a crown, wants a diamond-studded headpiece to match all those shiny bangles jangling on her arms. Not that she needs anymore valuables at this point; I wager the jewelry she's wearing now appraises at the annual export value of a small city-state. Real piece of work, that one."

Hendrik continued to fill me in about the other people walking down the aisle, but I had stopped listening. I scanned the rest of the line, searching.

"Malcolm...Malstrom's not there," I said.

"What? You expected the King to show up on time?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think the King has ever been on time for anything in his life. He likes to keep us waiting. I'd wager it would be another thirty to forty minutes before he shows that holy face of his."

Hendrik was right. Minutes passed, and the entire room sat in a dark reflective silence, exchanging hushed whispers that passed through the air like hisses from a snake-pit. I could feel Alynsa's gaze fix on me every so often. Her stare radiated a certain intensity that was difficult to ignore. After a while I began to get fidgety.

We had been waiting for almost forty minutes before anything happened. Finally, a small, rat-faced old man with drooping skin and shifty eyes stepped up to the front of the room. He looked out over us, and spoke with a voice that rustled and cracked like old parchment. "My esteemed guests, I apologize for this inconvenience." He turned tentatively to Alynsa. "Perhaps some music, while the King prepares?"