Grandfatherly Concern

King Eleazar worries about Prince Nolen's interest in Captain Maelneth

12.

Grandfatherly Concern

 

 

The dancing didn’t last long, for everyone was tired and still somewhat somber after a day of funerals.    Nolen insisted that she kept dancing with him as long as the queen danced with King Eleazar, but she didn’t mind as she actually enjoyed the waltz.

Yet as soon as Aurei and Eleazar returned to their seats, she pulled her cousin off the floor and hurried over to them.

Prince Nolen followed, having not had a chance to speak to his grandparents this day, due to the ceremonies.

“Well I see you found a dance partner,”   Aurei said to her grandson, with a secret smile at Arianelle.

“Yes, ma’am, though I had to force her out onto the floor.”

“Do you not like dancing, Captain Maelneth?”   Eleazar asked her, hiding his amusement, for he knew that she loved to dance, but had not revealed her true identity to Nolen.

“I’m awkward on the dance floor, Your Majesty, so I am reluctant to dance, especially when I am on duty.”

“She’s exaggerating,”  Nolen protested, “Actually, she is very graceful on the floor - she dances as if she was raised in the royal court.”

Arianelle’s look of alarm was missed by Nolen, who was puzzled by how amused his statement had made his royal grandparents.

“Captain Maelneth,”   Queen Aurei said, “Before the king and I retire for the evening, I have something I would like to give to you.   The royal armorers have informed me that your plate armor was too badly damaged to be repaired, so I have selected a suit of enchanted plate armor that I used to wear on parades and formal ceremonies.”

“I am honored, Your Highness, but it would not be proper for a guard to wear the queen’s armor.”

Aurei snorted, “Dear girl, I have 12 suits of enchanted armor alone, including my treasured drow armor, and I certainly do not need that many.”

“That is quite a few, grandmother,”   Nolen commented.

Aurei agreed with a nod, “Most of them were gifts from some of our nobles, or a group such as the armorer’s guild, and some from other kings and dignitaries.    When they know you are a paladin, they feel armor and weapons are appropriate gifts, even for a queen.”

The queen turned her attention back to Arianelle. “Now, Captain Maelneth, let us go look at the suit of armor I have selected for you to wear.   Don’t worry, it is not very ornate, and it has the standard size adjusting enchantment upon it, so it will always fit you.”

She stood up and led her disguised granddaughter out of the hall, while the king and Nolen watched them go.

“She’s a fascinating young woman, grandpa.   Mysterious and insecure, yet somehow charming and…I don’t know… there is something else about her… something…hidden, maybe?”

Eleazar looked at his grandson with a bit of concern at the young man’s smile as he watched Aurei lead Arianelle out of the room. “Yes, she has her secrets, Nolen.”

“I’m sure some of it is just an act, grandfather.   For example, she tried to pretend that she couldn’t dance, and at first I thought that she couldn’t, but when I distracted her, she began dancing quite well.   Obviously she knows how.   I wonder what she is hiding?”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with Captain Maelneth, Nolen, she is a brave young woman, but she is a bodyguard of your grandmother.   She knows her duty and you should not waste your time with her.”

Nolen looked at his grandfather in surprise.   His harsh words were certainly out of character for him.

“I didn’t know that I did anything wrong, grandpa.   I merely danced with her.”

“Guards don’t need to dance!”   Eleazar replied, rather crossly, “At least not with princes.”

Nolen was stunned, for Eleazar had never treated anyone as if he (or his family) was better than they were.

“We’re no better than she is, grandfather.   You have told me this about the orc guards and servants, many, many times.”

Eleazar looked frustrated. “This is different, Nolen!”

“Different in what way, sir?    Don’t you like Captain Maelneth?”

“Of course I like her, Nolen!   I just created a position for her today!    I’m not saying that we are any better than her; I just don’t want you getting too interested in her.   It’s not proper!”

“Not proper?   Why?”

Eleazar thought for a brief moment.   He could tell Nolen that Maelneth was actually his cousin, Arianelle, but he didn’t want to betray his granddaughter’s secret.

 “Nolen, you are a paladin in training, and in my day, a paladin would not be allowed to fraternize with ladies of the court… or other females… while they were in training.   It would get their minds off of the discipline that is necessary for a paladin in training to maintain.”

“I understand that, grandpa, but that has changed these days.   Paladins are taught courtly manners and how to dance, so we can have the appropriate social graces.”

“Yes, that is true, but for the time being, you need to focus on your training and leave Captain Maelneth to do her job.”

“Alright, grandfather.”   Nolen sighed in resignation.  

Both men fell silent then, knowing the issue was far from settled.

***

“What do you think?   Do you like it?”    Aurei asked as she helped Arianelle strap on the last piece of armor.

“It is wonderful, grandma!   It feels so lightweight!   I’ve worn enchanted armor before, but never a suit that felt this light.   It is as if it was made of thin cloth.”   Arianelle moved around in the sparkling silver suit, feeling almost naked due to the ease of movement.

Aurei grinned. “It almost feels like you have nothing on, doesn’t it?”

Arianelle nodded and they both laughed at the thought.

“Child, it was designed to be worn for long periods of time in comfort.   The king of the Hammerforge presented this to me before you were born.     I have a more ornate suit just like this one, for more formal occasions.   You can run, sit down, sleep… even dance in this suit of armor.”

Arianelle sighed. “I’m sorry about the dancing, grandma.    Nolen pulled me out on the floor because he thought I was looking like a wallflower.    I tried to tell him no, but he pulled me out there.    I thought about telling him who I really was, but I was afraid that he might act differently toward me if he knew and then everyone might see it and figure out the truth.”

“So you think that there are spies or perhaps other assassins lurking around the royal court?”  

“I don’t know, grandma, but I did have a chance to talk to Nolen and he said that Prince Lee told him about a group of Toi-Migg that tried to kill the Hutcaiah royalty.    We’re supposed to hear the whole story from Prince Lee tonight… hopefully.”

“Well, what would that have to do with what happened here yesterday, child?    The Toi-Migg were not our enemies.”

“Yes, but what if the cult of Torrin did not entirely die out here, grandma?   What if they got into contact with some of the Toi-Migg descendants, and are perhaps going to attempt the same thing.”

“There couldn’t be many of them, child, for we have our clerics and wizards scan not only the palace, but all parts of the city, periodically, for pockets of evil.   They haven’t detected any concentration of evil, only scattered thieves, prostitutes and ruffians.”

“But how often are these scans made, grandma?    They could slip in and out of the city each day, and may not conglomerate together when they are here.     Or they could conceal their intentions with magic.”

“Or you could just be paranoid, sweetheart.”

“Well, we know that there was a group that plotted what happened yesterday, and we know that several of them escaped.”

 

Queen Aurei had to concede that. “Go ahead and listen to Prince Lee’s story.   I guess anything is possible.   You never actually told me if you were wearing your autocaster ring yesterday, during the attack.”

“Well…”

“Arianelle, you could have been killed!   I want you to wear it from now on!”

“I have it on today, grandma.”

“Good; see to it that you are always wearing it.   Even when you sleep.   Nolen said that he had forgotten his yesterday, so I reprimanded him for it too.    It is too dangerous to not wear them.”

“I agree, grandma.    I will let you know what we learn from Prince Lee.”

“Fine, just be careful, okay?”

“I promise.”   She hugged her grandmother and hurried out of the private quarters, just as Eleazar was entering.    She hugged him and continued on her way.

“What is her hurry?”   The king asked after she’d left.

“She’s got a meeting.”

“With whom?”

“She and Nolen are meeting with Prince Lee.   He’s going to tell them about a group of Toi-Migg that tried to assassinate the Hutcaiah royal family.    She thinks that the assassination attempt yesterday might have something to do with this Toi-Migg group.”

Eleazar looked skeptical. “That seems rather far-fetched, but I guess there is no harm done in learning about the Toi-Migg.”

 

He suddenly fell silent and Aurei knew that this meant that something was on her husband’s mind.    Going over to him, she began to knead his shoulders and found them tight with tension.

“What’s wrong?”   She asked softly, and he mumbled something about the funerals that day and the damage done to the palace from the assassination attempt.   Yet she knew there was something else bothering him.

“What else is wrong?” She pried deeper and the king sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep anything from his beloved wife.

“I’m concerned about Nolen,”   He told her as she rubbed his shoulders, “He hasn’t seemed to take an interest in girls… until tonight.”

“Tonight?   Do you mean Arianelle?”

“No, I mean ‘Maelneth’ - he doesn’t know who she is, and I think he’s getting interested in her.”

“Oh, don’t be silly!   They only danced, and Arianelle knows he’s her cousin.”

“Yes, but he senses something mysterious about her and that is making her even more fascinating to him.”

“I don’t think its anything to worry about, dear!   Both of them are intelligent young people and when Arianelle finally reveals who she is, that will end any infatuation he had for ‘Maelneth’.”

“I hope so,”   Eleazar said grimly, “Maybe we should tell her to let him in on her secret now.”

“She’s afraid that if she did, he’d act differently toward her and reveal to everyone that something was odd about her.”

“I don’t really think we need her as a spy in our own court.”

“Well, I’ll talk to her about it in the morning.  Until then, don’t worry about it; Nolen is simply growing up.    Young boys are attracted to lots of girls, but when he finds out she’s his cousin, that will end.”

“I sure hope so,”  Eleazar commented, fighting against a feeling that it might not be that simple.

 

 

 

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[Elina]

"What if they got in contact with..." Perhaps change "in" to "into." ?