The Archimage’s Fourth Daughter – Chapter 3

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Father and Daughter

Briana took a seat next to her father, and the page ushered in Slammert. He was a short man, shorter even than Briana, but as wide as a pill bug that had curled into its shell. Long black hair glistened with an odorous pomade. Not one but two daggers hung from his waist in jeweled encrusted scabbards.

“May I approach my betrothed to bestow a kiss of greeting, mighty Archimage?” Slammert said.

“No, you may not,” Alodar answered through gritted teeth. “She is not yet yours to do with what you will.”

“Ah, perhaps my new perfumed essence is not to your daughter’s liking. My apologies, venerated one. It will take some time for experimentation, but — ”

“Your appearance is of no concern of mine,” Alodar said. “The inner fiber is what makes a man a man.”

“But you hardly know me, my lord.”

“I am not your lord. And had I known more before the agreement was made, I would never had consented.”

“But consent you did, Archimage. The hand of your fourth and youngest daughter in exchange for loyalty to the Queen of Procolon and vigilance along the western border.” Slammert twirled the tip of his moustache. “Are you perhaps having, shall we say, second thoughts?”

“Of course I do, dammit! After the story about your first wife became public, I wanted nothing more than to abrogate the agree  mdash.”

“But you did not.” Slammert smiled. “Because you cannot. The Archimage is not a despot holding sway over all of the Erthe. Your decisions are accepted by those who rule because of the respect given to you to select the best choices. You cannot reverse yourself. Once you have spoken, then the matter is concluded. It is done. Time to move on to the next crisis.”

“Decisions are altered all the time,” Briana burst out. “New information is not ignored.”

“We have been over this before, Briana,” Alodar sighed. “I have many enemies because of decisions that I have made. Holding one of my daughters hostage for retribution is a threat that concerns me greatly. I want each of you to be under the protection of a powerful lord.

“It was a mistake, hastily made. I have admitted it. Slammert commands many men-at-arms in a strong fortress. All of the reports about his nature were not yet received when the queen asked me to do something to secure the western border again.” The Archimage shook his head slowly. “It seemed like I could finish both a formula and a ritual with but a single step.”

“But now, father, you know otherwise,” Briana persisted.

“Yes, but in the case of our betrothal,” Slammert said, “behavior within my own household has no bearing on my ability to defend Procolon on the west.”

There was a moment of silence, then Alodar said “Slammert, why are you here?”

The lord glowered at Alodar. “Perhaps to remind everyone why the wedding must go forward as planned.” He smiled at Briana. “And to inform you, my beloved, that in your honor, I will be replacing one of the posts from our wedding bed with a new one. The old lumber is almost already notched from top to bottom. Yours will be the first on the new. Then every time we spend the evening together, you can count for yourself how many other notches have been added for those days that we are apart.”

Slammert’s tone hardened. “Make no doubt about it, wench. I always get whatever woman I want. Always!”

“Get out!” Alodar commanded. “Somehow, I will find a way.”

“That we shall see. But for now, as you wish, mighty Archimage.” Slammert bowed. “I have other kings and lords to visit and extend invitation to the wedding — and remind them as well about the agreement you have made.”

###

After Slammert had left, the silence hung like a dark raincloud over the two that remained.

“Am I not worth something more to you than a mere pawn in the world of politics, Father?” Briana asked.

“Of course you are,” Alodar said. “But in that world, you are only a beloved daughter, not a wielder of power.”

“You do not command armies either.”

“Yes, but it is my knowledge and my experience that serves instead.”

The decision rushed into Briana’s thoughts and solidified. She took a deep breath. “Let me be the one who ascertains the situation with the exiles, Father. And after that, there are other tasks that you could give me as well. Then the royalty and all their lieges could understand why you broke the betrothal, why I have value more important than securing a single border, value of importance to all of the Erthe.”

“What? The exiles? No, that is impossible. No one knows if what this cloaked visitor says is even true. A proven champion is needed.” Alodar brow folded in a fatherly frown and then he managed a weak smile. “Someone who has a very good chance of returning unscathed.”

“But wouldn’t that be the proof you needed? An example of what my worth to all of the Erthe would be? Reason enough to nullify the agreement that was made with Slammert? Everyone would understand.”

Briana took a deep breath and continued without thinking what the words were that tumbled out of her mouth, words that she did not even know were there. “I want to go on an adventure, Father, as you did before becoming the Archimage, before checking off all the steps in the same boring ritual: courtship, marriage, children, and then old age. I want my name to be added to those in the sagas, triumphing over adversity, righting great wrongs, saving the world — or at least a little part of it.”

She took another breath and smiled, “Tales like those recorded of the deeds of my famous father. You were scarcely older then than I am now.”

Alodar startled at the words. “Aeriel warned me that it might come to this — that is, if we had had sons as well as daughters.”

“How can you say that!” Briana exploded. “What difference does the gender make? Was not your final victory as much because of what mother did as you?”

Alodar was silent for a while and then answered softly. “No, you are right. Of course, I would not be here today. The world would not be as it is today if not for her. And to this day she completes me still.”

“And so, I want to be the one who goes through the portal and visits this other world. The natives look almost the same as ourselves. It could be the task of a woman as well as a man’s.”

Alodar started to answer, but then paused. “Wait a moment,” he said. “’One traveler at a time.’ ‘The natives look the same as we do.’ How do you even know those things?”

“From the writings given to us by the visitor on his first visit last year,” Briana shrugged, trying to make light of it. “A library page has been kind enough to gain me access.

“I have studied the tome well,” she continued. “There is a dictionary, a tutorial on one of the dominant languages, what the alphabetical symbols look like, and a pronunciation guide.”

“Yes, yes, you are an apt student, able to discover secrets from even the most ancient of texts. Few of your age are your equal. But  — ”

“And most important of all, the natives are primitive.” Briana rushed on. “They have no knowledge of the five crafts. Even if they did, the laws would be the same as they are here. I would not be going to another realm. It will be easy to explore this world. I will be back in a few days.

“Unlike other magical items, this portal has controls, settings for where and when to go and such, she continued at a slower pace. “ I have studied that as well. After all, we have had these parchments for a year.”

“As I have said,” the Archimage shook his head, “we have only the shrouded stranger’s word that the natives do not use the crafts. I do not trust him — at least not yet. Not until whomever makes the journey reports back what he has learned. Trust me. I will somehow find another way to correct the error I have made.”

He placed his hands on Briana’s shoulders, paused for a heartbeat more and then said softly, “The answer is no.”

“You can’t do that!” Briana yelled back. “Even the Archimage has limits to his power. You cannot order me around like some serf of an Arcadian lord.”

“I do not order you to stay because I am the Archimage,” Alodar said. “I do so because I am your Father.”

Briana felt the anger well within her like a brush fire suddenly out of control. She breathed deeply so as not to say more. The library page had a key to this council chamber, she thought fiercely. It might take more than a single kiss to get it, but that is what she would have to do.