Ladies, Lords, & Liars

Chapter One: The Plot

Aeric knew there was something amiss before Mother had even had a chance to open her mouth. There was that glint in her pale eyes that could only mean some sort of trouble. Her hands were clasped behind her back.

   He sat himself warily down in the room's only comfortable chair, not daring to let his eyes stray from Mother's. He'd seen her like this before, and nothing ever good came out of her mouth when she got in the mood.

   "Aeric, dear," She purred. Her voice was sickly sweet, which only confirmed what he already knew. She was about to attempt to convince him to do something for her.

   "Yes, Mother?" he cleared his throat when he heard the quiver in his voice. He couldn't show her that he was already dreading the conversation. She would pounce on any kind of weakness he showed, and that would be his downfall. It had happened in exactly the same way many times before.

   "I have a-" she paused, putting on a rather convincing show of thinking of the right word.

   However, he knew all too well that she'd probably planned this conversation to the very last dot on every i, and that the pause was just for effect. But despite that, he waited for her to find her word as if the break in speech was genuine. "Proposition." She finally finished.

   He swallowed back a sigh. None of her 'propositions' ever worked out for the better. "What kind of proposition?"

   She moved her hands from behind her back, revealing that they had not been clasped at all. Rather, they'd been clutching an envelope. The wax seal was all but shattered. The paper was thick and embossed prettily along the edges, which meant it was probably expensive and had definitely not been addressed to Mother. She'd stolen someone's letter.

   "This-" She waved the letter through the air a couple times. "Is from the prince of Rindenglade."

   "What would he be writing you about?" Aeric feigned ignorance. Of course the prince wouldn't write her or even know anything of her existence. She had stolen that letter, and, upon reading it, had come up with some convoluted plan that involved him in some way.  Just how he was going to be roped into this, however, rested entirely on what the letter said.

   "As you know, the prince was to visit Ulver next week."

   He nodded to show he was following, still not letting his eyes stray from hers. With every word, the dread grew in the back of his throat like a lump of lead.

   "Well, this letter informs that he will not be coming next week after all. He was delayed, and will only be visiting the royals in Ulver at the end of summer."

   He nodded again, the dread growing and his stomach dropping farther towards his feet.

   "But the royal family doesn't know that. Nor have they ever met the prince." A smile that held no mirth twisted across her face.

   And with these words, her plot became painfully clear. He was surprised he hadn't figured it out sooner, after having lived with such plotting his whole life.

   She wanted him to go to the palace in the prince of Rindenglade's stead, and pretend to be him in the hopes gaining favor with the royal family. It was a stupid and desperate plot, compared to those of the past, but Mother was clearly getting more desperate as she got along in years. She was obsessed with the plots she came up with, and they had become more frequent as of late. She was going to pursue riches until she was drowning in them, or until she took her very last breath.

   "So, dearest..." Mother came closer, advancing like a tiger prowling its prey. Soon, she blocked the fire almost completely, so it was now just a sliver of orange light surrounding her like a halo. He could still imagine that sickeningly satisfied look on her face. She was proud of this plan.