The King's Wife

6

Ismay finished dressing when a soft knock sounded on the door and a girl of maybe eleven or twelve walked into the room carrying a tray of food with her. She quickly set the tray on the table, curtsied low her messy braid of red, brown hair dropping forward and brushing the floor. "Good morning, my queen," she said in a soft, shy voice.

Ismay stood up from the bed and took a seat at the table. The girl started to lay food onto a plate when Ismay stopped her. There were meats, fish, bread, cheese, and ale — far too much food for her. "Thank you, but I'll have a bite of cheese, some bread, and the ale. The rest please return to the kitchen or sit with me and eat it yourself."

Bright green eyes widened. "Me, my queen?"

She nodded. "Yes, come. Sit with me." The girl's mouth opened and closed a few times, uncertainty in her face. "You are going to be my maid, are you not?"

The girl hesitated for a moment. "Uhm, yes, I think so..."

Ismay waved a hand to the chair. "Then sit, please. It would be nice to have someone who could help me make understand the culture here." Still, the girl hesitated then finally took a seat next to her. Ismay nodded to the food, encouraging her to eat, before picking at the bread and cheese on her plate. "What can you tell me of Darug and what's your name. I'd rather not call you girl."

"Elena," she said softly, picking at the boiled beef as if she wasn't sure she should eat it or not. "I suppose I could tell a lot as I've lived my whole life here, but what is it you want to know?"

"Everything you could tell me. What are the people like?"

"The people are like people. Do they really change from one kingdom to the next?" she replied and finally took a good bite of the beef.

"After speaking with the king, and a couple of the lords yesterday, I have to say they do."

Elena snorted crudely then flushed, not meeting her eye. "Apologies, my queen. I did." Desires. How much did desire sway the people? Before she could ask there was another knock on the door. Elena cleaned her hands on her skirt and stood, opening the door.

Godfrey walked in, pausing when he saw the girl. "Elena..." he said then noticed the food. "Oh, I've come at a bad time. Forgive me, I'll return later."

"No need," Ismay said, waving him to take a seat. "There is more than enough food if you wish to eat and I'm more than ready to begin my work. Elena please see that the lord has everything he needs."

He bowed his head and took a seat across from her. "I have brought the information you asked for." Godfrey set several rolls of parchment onto the table. Elena set him a plate and a mug of ale, before returning to her seat silently.

"Thank you," she replied, dusting breadcrumbs from her fingers and unrolling the first one. It was a list of trade goods — a variety of perishables, like grains, and other items like wood as she expected. It also listed where the goods were traded and to whom, neither the locations or the people were familiar to her so she assumed they were local towns and villages, though she had seen none during their travel from Verun.

The next roll of parchment was the same, but the third, to her surprise, had an import of goods into the four kingdoms. She looked up at Godfrey in surprise. "You traded with the other kingdoms?" How did they manage such a feat and remain hidden from the world.

"No, we traded with Amika," he replied.

Ismay took a drink of ale as she read, realizing he was correct. Only with Amikan villages on the border they shared with Darug. She frowned noticing they bought goods for nearly double their worth and sold them ridiculously low. It was a transaction that offered no visible benefits to Darug. "Can you explain this to me, Godfrey?" She said, pushing it towards him. "What is the purpose of this?"