Stalemate | A Rise To Power

𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥

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Ethelind sat next to Jax at the banquet, not bothering to converse with those around her. Instead, she leaned back and observed her surroundings.

The Great Hall was huge, with wooden beams pressed against stone walls to hold up the curved ceiling and six long tables. Four of them were placed vertically down the hall while two of them were smaller and located at the top of the room horizontally. The highest, raised by a slight platform, was the table for royalty and important lords, and below was the row Ethelind was seated on: the one for the advisers and lesser nobility. Even though she could have watched distinguished people for threats, Ethelind observed the four vertical rows of lower nobility and staff instead. Most looked down at their food or spoke in hushed voices. Ethelind knew they weren't there to support Kael, but for the food and to spy.

Ethelind changed her attention to watch from the corner of her vision as Audrey cut into a slice of lamb and watched the blood ooze onto her plate, covering the cooked potatoes in red. Instead of eating, however, she twisted the handle of the knife between her fingers. Ethelind noticed that her knife was blunt compared to everyone else's; they didn't trust her not to try anything.

Trapped in your own home. Pretty humiliating, Ethelind thought.

"They will not want to be taxed more, or have to enlist their sons," Aldric was telling Kael, loud enough for her to hear. They had been debating autocracy since the start of the banquet. "If you see the looks the commoners send our way..."

"I know." Kael's response was curt. "I plan to be a just ruler."

"Hold a tourney then, before your coronation," Aldric advised. "Gain some favour. The Northerners haven't had a tourney since Lucian came to the throne, and some have been asking for years. They want a chance at glory at honour, like in Magnar's day, without having to ride all the way to the West or South. Such a seismic shift in power can only lead to rebellions, and you need to quell them before they can even start."

"What books have you been reading?" Kael demanded.

Ethelind waited to hear the reply, but her attention was diverted by a voice next to her.

"Banquets bore me," Jax said.

Ethelind frowned, turning to find the captain looking right at her.

"Is that so?" she asked, letting a small smile touch her lips.

"I should be on duty." Jax's eyes wandered to some guards hiding in the shadows. "Kael insisted I have a break and believes he is doing me a favour."

Ethelind grinned. "You don't always have to be on duty, you know. Have some fun now and then, captain."

"I'm guessing you love these banquets," he muttered.

"As they say. Take pleasure in the smallest things." She took a chalice of wine and raised it in his direction before taking a sip. It was sweet, and the flavour burst across her tongue.

"You didn't answer me."

Ethelind paused, putting down the chalice and letting the taste lie on her tongue for a moment longer before she swallowed. She found it reassuring to have small luxuries again after being stuck in a prison for so long. Most comforting of all was her sword; Silence lay sheathed at her hip, an unmistakable threat to others. One of Lucian's men had mocked her for it, so she had beaten him in a fight and kicked him into the mud. No one had spoken against her since, and Silence had become a reminder to others of what she could do.

"You want the truth? They bore me to bits. But you never know when a banquet will be your last," Ethelind said.

"That's pretty negative."