Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 16

[ The King ]

Furious. I was surrounded by fools and they had made me furious. None more so at this moment in time than Asperonin. Usually I would have Zach transport me through the castle but the poor lad had been exceptionally busy today. Not only that, he was only a boy and my subject not my slave; I had as much duty to him as he to me, if not more considering the power of my status. Besides, the walk would help. Ye Gods, I hoped it would help or things would become exceedingly unpleasant for my Head Healer very quickly.

The halls were quiet but not empty. I greeted many a servant, all by name I might add, as I took my time in getting to my office. My old friend clearly needed to be reminded of his place, I trusted him but only because he was trustworthy. Behaving in such contradiction of my orders behind my back was a surefire way to lose that trust. I imagined Asperonin anxiously awaiting my judgement, pacing my office and wringing his hands. Served him right.

“Hey.” The overly cheery and very informal greeting gave me a start. Not the kind that makes you lose your composure but the kind that makes it feel like all your organs did a little jump. How I wasn’t used to Zach popping up, or out, or occasionally down from the building around me I didn’t know.

“Zach.” I greeted him back. My mood improved instantly. Zach bounced around me, hopping from one shoeless foot to the other. He hated shoes; said they made the castle 'sound' funny.

“Here!” He held out a folded piece of paper for me. His constant bouncing made me miss it on the first take but that was the fun of Zach. He was a delight. I tucked it away for later.

"Thank you, Zach." I ruffled his hair as he continued to jig about. His youthful exuberance made me miss the days when my own children were small. They were all grown up now. My son might just about tolerate such a sign of affection in private but my daughters, Colette and Noémie - most certainly wouldn’t; private or not. Colette was strong and independent. A warrior woman that would rather scrap with the boys than prance around in dresses. Noémie, my youngest, reserved her affections for when she wanted something. She had a taste for the perks of being a Princess and I found it difficult not to dote on her. I tried not to spoil her but I suspected my endeavour was unsuccessful. Especially when her siblings were away; I became more indulgent of my little girl.

"Need anything else?" Zach looked up at me with his wide eyes. Adorable.

"My dear boy, I couldn't possibly ask anything else of you today." I told him with a big smile. "Go find your sister, I'm sure she misses you."

"Umm, ok." He shrugged. I held back a chuckle as the lad tapped the floor with one foot, a moment later he slipped into the stone. Zach almost never bowed or addressed me formally. It was not him being disrespectful, he had tried like the sweet little lamb that he was, but Zach's magic was constantly active; driving him to distraction. Once I'd realised that there was a continuous soft glow lighting his bright chrysoprase coloured eyes the issue had been obvious.

Green magic, so rare and here was Zach, brimming with it, overflowing to the point where he couldn't entirely switch it off. That was where the problem lay. He was always connected to the things that surrounded him and then to each object or person that was also in contact with it. In a relaxed state he could feel the majority of the castle, the staff walking around, a pan being dropped in the kitchen, the fires crackling in the hearths. We tried shoes but Zach disliked the way it muffled everything. He said it gave him headaches. We tried imbuing the soles with black magic to block the constant stream of information but that had been even worse. Zach had become frightened, the silence of the word around him alien.

That was when I realised there was nothing to fix. Magic was commonplace since the Fae but it wasn't uniform. Everyones’ was different. Zach's was just more different than most and that was ok. Some would judge his demeanour to mean he was mentally deficient but who wouldn’t come across as distracted with a whole castle of people buzzing in their head?

I couldn't be mad at Zach when he ‘disrespected’ me, there was no malice, no intent, he was a good lad. The thought of what might have happened to him if I hadn’t come across his sister… my skin crawled at the thought of what would have happened to her let alone Zach.

Finally facing my office door I took an additional moment to compose myself; a mask of indifference covered my truth. The walk and Zach had calmed my fury, now I was simply aggrieved and confused by Asperonin’s behaviour.

The Healer turned sharply as I entered. Before he could begin speaking I showed him my palm. Apologies or justifications, I didn't care which my friend had planned to sway me with, he had undermined my orders; I didn’t want to hear them. Before all else I was King. The position afforded me much but cost me more. Today I hoped it would not lose me a friend but better to lose a friend than my grip on the crown.

“Sit.” I commanded after taking my chair. My seat, like everything in the room, was tasteful, fashionable and luxurious. Realistically it meant little to me but having power came with expectations tied to it. Apparently owning lots of expensive things was one of those. As if any of these inanimate objects made me a better King. What I did like though was the extra leg length I’d had the carpenter make the chair with, ensuring I sat higher than anyone else. A little psychological edge. It served me well as I looked across the highly polished heavy set wooden desk at my friend, my friend who was noticeably paler than usual.

Good.

“Asperonin. I suspect that, had Zach not been so quick thinking, you would be faced with an entirely different and most unpleasant circumstance at this moment in time.” I left everything hanging in the air for a moment. “I trust Zach will be in receipt of a suitable adulation or even a token proportionate to your gratitude.”

“I…” Asperonin began.

“I am not done speaking.” He blanched as I cut him off. “While Zach is most obviously in line for your acknowledgement of his actions, you are lucky to only be in receipt of my admonishment. Have you forgotten that you are a Healer? Head Healer in fact. A respectable position of both stature and responsibility, responsibility to both the subjects of this Kingdom and the orders of your King. The girl lies in both courts. She is a subject and it was my order that she be attended to by a Healer. A lesser man I would have deemed in need of further explicit instruction but it was not previously a consideration I would have extended to you given the long standing exemplary nature you have embodied in your position. Are you a lesser man, Asperonin?”

“No, My King.” Asperonin croaked. The disappointment I held toward my friend in this moment was not lost on him, it was reflected in the soft golden glow of his eyes and the slump of his narrow shoulders.

“Do you think me stupid? Am I an imbecile, Asperonin?” I glared.

“No, My King.” He managed not to stammer under the weight of my anger.

“That being the case, by what requisite did you come to think it prudent to take matters into your own hands?” My words were alway more precise than my thoughts. I could afford for my thoughts to wander. Pondering in my own mind was a small permissible privilege but my words could be as dangerous as they could be edifying.

“I am sorry, My King.” Asperonin’s earnestness was clear but his reason was not and reason was what I needed.

“That is NOT an answer. I will ask once more, in plain terms as you seem to have become as empty in the head as the field after the harvest. Why were you attempting an inquisition when your role was to provide healing? Were you going to let her die?” I sighed, demonstrating my frustration before closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead, blowing out more breath in the process as if I were calming myself. In reality I was already quite calm but Asperonin did not know that. If he thought me calmer his tongue would be looser but more than that my act would hide the silver glow of my eyes as I momentarily used my magic.

“My King, I had no intention of letting her perish, I only thought to frighten her into relinquishing the Remnant. Despite my earlier assessment I could not suspend my disbelief of ‘Lady Esther’.” His words washed over me and all I felt was truth. A few moments passed before I spoke in response to his admission.

“Simpering Lady or artful trickster, those are concerns to be brought to me. Not for you to act so rashly upon. Poflorin will attend to the Lady from now on, the trust between you is lost.” I knew it was clear to Healer Asperonin that the loss of trust which I spoke of was not limited to his interaction with Lady Esther.

“Your Majesty, I … He… Would…” Asperonin flapped.

“What, Asperonin?” I asked, the edge I could hear in my voice was not lost on Asperonin. The Healer found his composure and tried again.

“Poflorin has yet to complete his training or pass his exams, truthfully while highly skilled he is not ready to take on such a task, nor is he prepared for the potential realities that may be presented by ‘Lady Esther’ Your Majesty.” Asperonin waited, leaving space for me to interject. He was treading lightly, cautious of making a miss step after his indiscretion. His eyes betrayed him, they spoke of his fear when his words were a reasonable counter. I waved him to continue. “Tarrin or Lyle are both extremely well trained, experienced and professional.”

“Tarrin and Lyle are as you say but neither are as talented as your son.” My voice was level giving nothing away.

“Please My King, treating a criminal is no place for, for a child.” Asperonin shook with emotion, the crux of this issue was clear to me. He thought I was asking for his son to punish him.

“Asperonin, Zach is younger than Poflorin and is more active in the castle. Besides, would it not be better to know where Poflorin is than to hear from me that he took the place of one of your other Healers and tended to Taiya in the dungeon?” I waited. The strained pale face of fear had transitioned to being burning red, pinched in anger with a pulsing twitch at the corner of his left eye.

“He did what?!” Asperonin spluttered.

“Poflorin is a curious and willful boy. Hiding him away will not put a stop to his escapades. This will give him an opportunity to learn and grow, perhaps the responsibility will settle him.” It would have been easy to throw my weight without justification. To declare ‘I am King, do as I say’ but that, that was not the way I ruled.

“You are right, Your Majesty. My son craves an opportunity to prove himself. I do not like it but I am thinking as a Father and not a teacher. My apologies.” Asperonin conceded with a deep breath. He continued to wring his hands, demonstrating that, whilst he was resigned to the idea, he was not entirely settled with it.

“Good, good. Have Poflorin come to my office first thing tomorrow. Tell him that you suggested the placement, but don’t tell him Lady Esther is Taiya; I want to see how he navigates the situation. Additionally that information is to be kept entirely undisclosed. I will decide to whom it is necessary to reveal that information. That will be all.” Opening a draw I placed some paperwork on the desk, solidifying my dismissal by physically switching focus. The cold, collected King, a pillar of unwavering strength.

“But the war? The Remnant.” Asperonin mirrored the concerns of Captain Preston.

“Just as I told Captain Preston I will tell you. Magic is not the be all and end all. We survived before magic, we will survive after magic. As is much of power and position I will posture in regard to the Remnant. I am sure King Fendryn is doing as much.”

“I see My King.” The Healer schooled his features to a mask of calm.

“Do you?” I questioned, venom laced my tone.

“One may own the vineyard yet they still must wait for the wine, anyone not privy to the cellar can not know what the harvest reaped.” He told me pensively. Finally someone was seeing sense.

I nodded.

“It is good to see we are once again on the same page my friend. I call you my friend and I trust that I am that to you also but this is a line I must always draw. I am King. I cannot be less as everyone will always need me to be more. To be less is to fail my Kingdom and in that light I shall always be your King before I am your friend. It would be wise to remember that and utterly foolish to forget.”

“I have been a foolish Healer but have remembered to be a wise friend. Good evening to you, My King.” Asperonin bowed before leaving and then I was alone. Only my thoughts and the ever silent, ever present Gods of the Earth and Sky remained.