“On the contrary. She was more loving than she has been in a long time…which worries me even more,” said the princess, absently scratching at that annoying tickle in her ear.
* * *
Chancellor Olaf returned to find a flurry of pages fluttering around the palace in search of him. Apparently, Queen Nor had requested his presence, and promptness was not a suggestion. Given all the talk of instant death being bandied about the corridors, the pages were highly motivated to find him, and an entire ream of them descended on him almost immediately after he dismounted his birdun.
Olaf hastened to the throne room, wondering what new and distressing development could have possibly prompted the queen to bypass Xander and summon him directly. He found her pacing impatiently before the empty thrones
