It was late in the evening when they rode into the palace, the great horn at the top of the walls bellowing out over the city to announce their arrival. Wulfram let out a sigh of relief as the palace gates closed behind them, some of the tension easing from his muscles. Now he just had to find Dani and everything would be just fine. He looked down at his bracelet, her heartbeat steady against his skin. Wherever she was, she was calm.
He dismounted in front of the doors to the palace, leaning down to give his mother a hug. “Mother.”
“Welcome home Wulfram.” Queen Mirabel smiled up at him. Her eyes strayed over the group, the smile fading slightly when she saw the empty horses. “Was there trouble on your journey?”
“There was.” Wulfram said grimly, and turned to shake his father’s hand. “We need to talk, but first let me introduce King Alastar of Hesiodos.” He straightened, gesturing to Alastar.
Alastar strode forward and extended his hand, inclining his head slightly to Mirabel and Cynewulf. “Queen Mirabel, King Cynewulf, thank you for allowing me to enter your fine kingdom in search of my sister. We have much to discuss, but our group is tired, and the hour grows late. Let me just say that your son is an honorable and courageous fighter and it has been an honor to travel with him.”
“I am pleased to hear that my son has conducted himself with honor and courage during your journey but saddened to hear that it was necessary for you to fight. Our roads have not been as safe as they used to be of late. Please let us make you comfortable here and tend to your horses. We have a royal suite set up for you and your people.”
Wulfram found himself repeating the words in his head after his father. There were always certain formulas that were recommended by etiquette to respond to some situations. A greeting for visiting nobility, acknowledgment for services rendered to the crown, for the loss of a loved one or comrade, the list went on and he had had to memorize many of those same boring lines. But they served their purpose he supposed.
“Thank you, I would like to be shown these rooms. But first, Prince Wulfram has mentioned a Lady Daniella, is she here?” Alastar watched as Mirabel and Cynewulf exchanged glances.
The only one who seemed surprised was Cynewulf, which made Wulfram wonder how much his mother really knew. She had welcomed Dani so warmly when they met, did she know something?
“She is here, yes. But this late in the evening I’m sure she’s resting. Would you like me to introduce you to her in the morning?” Mirabel said, smiling warmly.
“I would, yes. I have heard much about her. But I would hate to interrupt her rest, or steal rest from my people. Please lead us to our rooms.” Alastar said, with no indication of how eager he was to see Dani.
Personally, Wulfram wasn’t going to wait until tomorrow to see Dani. Her rooms were right next to his, so it wouldn’t exactly be out of his way to visit her. But what was he going to say to her?
“Sir Alrick will show you the way, and we will make sure to send food to your room, I seem to recall that the people of Hesiodos favor meats?” Cynewulf gestured to a knight, who stepped forward and bowed deeply.
Alastar smiled and gestured for his people to follow him. “Your hospitality is appreciated, but you don’t need to prepare special food for us. We eat much the same things you do, meat, vegetables, breads and cheeses. We also wouldn’t want to put your kitchen staff to work so late in the day.”
“Don’t worry about that, we usually have a small staff in the kitchen at all hours in case someone feels a bit peckish at night.” Cynewulf smiled, stepping aside for Alastar and his group to head into the palace. “They’ll bring up something shortly.”
“Thank you again for your hospitality.” Alastar nodded to Cynewulf, and then fell into step behind Sir Alrick, his people following close behind as they headed into the palace proper.
Once they were gone, Cynewulf turned to Wulfram, a bit of the formality fading, but his look serious. “I am glad you returned home to us safely. There was trouble on the roads?”
“Yes Father. Let’s go inside.” Wulfram looked at the others, nodding. “Go ahead and get some rest, I’ll handle the debrief.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, striding up the palace steps. He had to check himself though, his feet trying to take him directly to Dani. Wulfram gave himself a firm mental shake. Now was not the time, not yet. “On the way to the border, we encountered multiple groups of bandits, but the real trouble came as we were returning to the capital.”
“What happened?” Cynewulf fell into step beside him, Mirabel walking just slightly behind. This wasn’t her area of expertise, but she stayed close anyways, listening.
“We were ambushed by a group of armed men. Not bandits, they were supplied too well for that. They killed three of our number: two of King Alastar’s people, and one of our own.” Wulfram frowned and paused, staring blankly at the floor. He was still going to have to tell Owen’s family what had happened. That he had died honorably in service to the crown was a cold comfort to a wife that had lost her husband.
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“We lost Sir Owen.” Wulfram said softly, clenching his fists. “I have to tell his wife.”
Mirabel set a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly. “I can speak with her if you would like.”
“No. Thank you, but it should be me. He was part of my party, it was my responsibility to bring him home safely.” Wulfram took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I should go now.”
“Do it in the morning. It’s too late to go now.” Cynewulf said gently and rested his hand on Wulfram’s other shoulder. “And it wasn’t your responsibility to bring him home safely, but his to make sure you returned home safely. Which he did. It’s alright to grieve a good man's death, but don’t blame yourself for it.”
Wulfram nodded, taking another slow breath in and out. He had given Alastar much the same speech, but that didn’t make it any easier. “Is Lady Daniella alright?”
His parents exchanged glances once again, and Mirabel stepped forward, speaking softly. “We followed a flare of your magic to her, it was no easy task. When the guards found her she was in a very bad way, someone tortured the poor girl. The healers have worked with her extensively to heal the physical damage, but they have said the mental trauma will take longer to heal. She has been having nightmares, and has barely left her room.”
“I’m not sure she realizes she can. Most aren’t used to having a guard outside the door constantly.” Cynewulf said, the ghost of a smile forming on his lips. “Can you explain how she became so full of your magic, Wulfram?”
“It’s complicated.” He didn’t regret what he did, but somehow Wulfram didn’t think his parents would approve of him using unknown blood magic that sent his soul across the kingdom.
“Explain it anyways, we’re not simpletons.” Cynewulf said.
There was no graceful way out of explaining when his father phrased the order like that. Wulfram straightened and gave a slight nod. “Alright, but not here. In your study?”
Mirabel and Cynewulf exchanged glances, but Cynewulf nodded and turned to head into the palace. “To my study then.”
Wulfram followed close behind, his hand resting lightly on his sword. At a glance from his mother, he moved his hand away from it, offering an apologetic smile. He shouldn’t need his sword here, of all places. There were guards, wards and loyal servants here, no one that should want to harm any of them.
But he still couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that hung over him. The nagging feeling that there was something dangerous lurking in the shadows. Was this his feeling, or Dani’s? He lightly touched his bracelet, feeling the thin thread of fear that echoed through it. They had to get rid of these damn bracelets, how was he supposed to know for sure what was her emotions and what were his own?
In his father’s study, he headed straight for the decanter of whiskey, pouring a couple of glasses.
“Surely it can’t be that bad.” Mirabel said, her voice carrying an undercurrent of laughter as she watched him pour the drinks.
Wulfram smiled wryly, offering one of the drinks to his father before pouring a glass of his mother’s favorite fruit wine for her. “It’s not good.” The whole situation was so far out of hand that he didn’t know what to do, what to tell them. He sat down heavily by the fireplace, his own glass of whiskey resting on the arm of the chair.
“Tell us everything dear, it’s best we know how bad it really is.” Mirabel took the glass of wine, sitting down on the couch, Cynewulf settling down next to her silently.
Their attention weighed on him as he began to explain everything as he understood it. They already knew about the bracelets, but he explained how he had been feeling things from Dani through them, how he and used that link and blood magic to send his soul to her, send his magic to her. Then he explained Alastar’s theory that she was his sister, lost so many years ago. Mirabel glanced at Cynewulf when he mentioned that, a small triumphant smile playing across her lips.
“You knew?” Wulfram stared at his mother. He had seen her say ‘I told you so’ to his father often enough to recognize the expression, but how had she known? It wasn’t even proven yet, but-
Wait, that first time she had met Dani, she had acted like she was greeting an old friend. Or maybe the daughter of an old friend.
“She looks so much like her mother, how could I not? I admit I wasn’t certain, but the resemblance was too much to deny. She’s a bit smaller, not nearly as muscular, but the only real difference is her eyes. Cerridwen said in her letters that she had her father’s eyes, the same blue as the flowers that grow in Hesiodos.” Mirabel smiled softly, reaching out to rest a hand on one of Wulfram’s. “The gods have smiled on our kingdoms.”
“That may be,” Cynewulf finally spoke, his hard voice carrying through the room. “But this could cause problems as well. We also need to address the issue of you putting your life, your very soul, at risk for this girl. You said it was King Alastar’s idea to use blood magic, what if it had been a trap? An excuse to kill you? You took a foolish risk.”
“She was in danger, she was nearly raped! If I hadn’t done anything, she would have been!” Wulfram clenched his hand around the whiskey glass, empty now, even though he didn’t remember drinking any of it. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if it was Mother, or either of the girls.”
Cynewulf pressed his lips together, his face darkening for a moment before he got himself back under control. “But it wasn’t your Mother or the girls, it was a woman you barely know, and magic that is forbidden in these lands. For good reason might I add! I believe the bracelet is compromising your judgement in regards to this girl. Luckily, they’ve found a way to remove it.”
“Surely that isn’t necessary?” Mirabel said, her eyes widening slightly. “It’s almost certain she’s Cerridwen’s child, and they were to be married anyways.”
“Yes, it is necessary. A King needs to be able to think clearly. Wulfram, can you tell me that you haven’t been influenced by the feelings coming through that bracelet?”
Wulfram frowned, lowering his head. He stared into the empty depths of his glass. Even now he could feel Dani through the bracelet, the soft beating of her heart as she dozed off, the feeling of comfort brought on by family close by, and a bed that was better than she ever could have dreamed of.
“Wulfram?” Cynewulf prompted, not willing to let the question stay unanswered.
“No. No I can’t.” Wulfram whispered.
