Chapter 15 Part 2 | Lovers and Beloveds | IHGK Book 1
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In the aftermath of his ascension, Warin weeded out the faithful from the traitorous. To everyone's shock, he spared the Duke of Valleysmouth and his family, who had raised Hildin and Gian, and gave Old Meg an honorable entry to the Hill, but he tracked down the family of the archer who'd killed Fredrik of Leute and slew all its men. Even so, the hooks above Marketgate went largely empty; few had stood with the Usurper.
The rest of the Travelers caught up with their Queen, making camp at the edge of the King's Woods; their caravans flickered bright among the cool green leaves of late spring. "Will you not let me entertain you at the Keep?" said Warin.
"No Traveler may spend the night beneath a solid roof, Your Majesty," said the Traveler Queen, "but thank you."
"Well then, take the freedom of these Woods as a reward for your service, now and always."
"Thank you, cousin," said Connin with a bow, his leg extended just into mockery.
"In return," said the Traveler Queen, "and to protect ourselves, I will set an enchantment on the far side of the Woods. Anyone may leave them, but only your direct descendents, and my own people, may enter from that side. With your consent, of course." Warin gave it, the usefulness of such a thing undeniable; with such an enchantment, the Keep became unassailable, bounded by the Feather and Shadow Rivers, by the steep cliff overlooking the City, and now by the impenetrable Woods.
Warin kept his distance from the grieving Edmerka, Dowager Queen of Tremont and Princess Royal of Leute. There were those in his court who whispered that perhaps Edmerka's tears and black dress were tears of regret for killing her husband, not tears of grief for her father; they also whispered that perhaps the black veils hid a belly swelling with the Usurper's child. The new King made it clear there was to be no such talk, but after a spoke of rumors, Edmerka herself bowed to the advice of the Eldest Sister and submitted to an examination; the Sister's Temple subsequently announced that the Usurper had left no offspring. The whispers ended.
For her part, Edmerka's first act was to take the marriage cord that had bound her to Hildin and burn it. She kept to her bower and refused to dine in company, and would admit no man for some weeks. She finally bent enough to allow her own nobles to visit her, though she pulled a mourning veil over her face. She surreptitiously watched through her window for sightings of Warin on the grounds, or in the courtyard--her spacious rooms had views of both--but let no one know that she yearned for him, her pride at odds with her heart.
An uneasy triad of nobles, all sworn to relinquish the reins of the kingdom to Edmerka's eventual husband, returned to Leute to rule it in her absence; Hendas of Holset remained behind as Her Majesty's advisor. "I don't see why I mightn't rule by myself," Edmerka said to Holset one day in late summer. They sat in the breeze of an uncovered window on the garden side of her receiving room, and he noted the restless eyes watching for any movement among the flowers and hedges.
"Lady, the nobility will stand with tradition," answered Holset. "Two spokes have passed. Fall's Beginning approaches, and Leute remains without a king. You must remarry soon and give us one."
"I wish never to marry again," she answered, savagely stabbing her embroidery in its tambour frame.
"You will not even consider the hand of King Warin?"
She pushed away the tambour. "Warin is a false man. And he has no partiality for me now." She drew the ends of her braids through her fingers under her long black veil.
Holset smiled; so Warin still might hope. "No, madame, Warin is true to you, in spite of your over-proud conduct. Yes, I say it, and you may storm and rage all you like: you are well-matched, the two of you. Your lords will give you until Fall's Beginning to make up your mind. After that, I cannot guarantee their patience."
So he repeated to Warin that night. "She loves you still, Your Majesty, I would stake my life on it. All that is needed is some wooing. Yield to your own inclination, sire. You cannot tell me you do not love her."
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