An hour later, John was feeling more miserable then he ever had.
The entire court was apparently eating now, and they'd invited him to join them. But John wasn't hungry. He had requested that they give him a place to sleep, and he had a cot and a chest in a tiny room, like everyone else had. He'd fallen onto the cot and cried for the first time in his life.
Now he was lying there, thinking about everything he'd just lost and everything he'd never had and everything that was making him so depressed, when suddenly he heard the door open. Instantly he was sitting up to glare at the newcomer.
This was a tall man, dressed something like a Roman Catholic Cardinal, with a long black beard, just the kind you'd expect to see. "Are you the one from Belor?" he asked. He had a deep voice too.
"Yeah, that's me," growled John.
"I am the Archbishop Akteron. I am the spirtual head of the kingdom. Over the last few days I have been offering guidance to the members of the court who ask for it, of which there are a number of. This is a trying time for them. I imagine this is a trying time for you, so I came to you to offer my guidance."
"Whatever," John waved his hand dismissively. He had decided against mentioning it, but he was really only nominally Christain.
"If you were to get into contact with the Lord, he might give you solace. I shall pray for him to contact you. Open your mind."
Not sure how to do that, John closed his eyes and tried to look meditative. The Archbishop spoke again, and his voice was rather soothing.
"Lord, all wonderful, hear now. I beseech you in the name of Johnathan Velat of Belor," briefly John wondered where the Archbishop had learned his last name, "May you hear his prayers, and answered them as you can."
"Lord-" started John.
"Speak not out loud!" Akteron hissed. "Your prayers are not for me to hear!"
He could just sit there, and pretend to pray. But for some reason, John decided to play along. God, he thought, why'd You do this to me? I didn't do anything wrong, least as far as I know. So maybe I was a little impatience to become King while rebelling in my talk. There's no man that hasn't been a little hypocritical. Just look at James. Preaching good behavior for politicians when he doesn't behave well himself, between the money and the younger women. Though he does do well by the people. I would have done okay, whatever I was meant to do. Speaking of James, he would tell you I'm not completely useless.
Suddenly he realized Akteron was gone. Are You even listening anymore, God? Had he believed God was listening in the first place? he wasn't sure.
He gave up. Then he decided he needed some fresh air.
His feet felt shakey as he walked out of the room. Not wanting to talk to anyone, he slipped through the halls and emerged from the building into the quiet street. Then he saw there was someone else already there.
It was a blond woman dressed in black. She was leaning against the wall, humming softly.
"Excuse me." he said, after a moment or so.
She turned. Seeing her face framed by her bobbed hair, he thought her rather attractive.
"Hello. Are you the visitor from Belor?"
"I'm not just that." said John crossly. "I'm the King."
"So the Princess believes," the woman replied dismissively. "What would your name be?"
"Johnathan VII."
"Mind if I just call you John?"
"Not at all. Most people do. And you are?"
"The Lady Nancy Rated."
They stood there for a few minutes, neither caring at the moment whether they were talking or not. Then John asked, "Why are you out here?"
"Why are you?" was her reply.
John sighed. "I'm upset. I'm never going to get home again. I've just been crowned King, then promptly deprived of my kingdom. Your turn."
She sighed too, which momentarily irritated him. "I'm also upset, though not as upset as you seem to be. I was kind of reluctent to flee Teka with the rest of the court, you see, because I'm the only one there besides the King's daughters related to him."
"Is that why you're wearing black?"
She nodded. "I seem to be the only one who feels sorry for him at all. Karen positively hates him. After he married his second wife, he developed a hatred for his first, and Karen bears an unfortuneate resemblence to her mother. That might be another thing that provoked his attempt on the Lady Amane 'va, since she admired Neslia of Terens, and even now dresses like her and writes records on events of the court like she did. Though enough about them. Lets talk about you." She was wearing a rather flirtatious expression when she said this last statement, one that under normal circumstances he would have liked very much.
"Let's not and say we did," John replied. He wanted a distraction right now. Talking about himself wasn't it. "Let's talk about you instead. How long have you been a Lady?"
"Ten years," she answered, "since I was 20. My father, I think, was just about the only court member whose death had nothing to do with the King."
"You're older than I thought. Did he kill a lot of court members?"
"Several. Others died of natural causes, but they were led to it by stress or despair. It's been a hard ten years. The court's been about turned over, and a lot of the Lords and Ladies are now quite young. Counting only the official rulers, Lord Amane's the oldest amoung us, and he's only in his 60s. Noone older had a heart that could take the strain."
"Who's youngest?"
"Lord Mirador. He's sixteen. But he hasn't actually had any power yet, because he first became Lord when he was ten, and obviously he couldn't rule then, so Stephen assumed control, to be given back when he thought the Lord Mirador was old enough. He'll likely assume control after Karen does, I don't-"
"Wait a minute," John interrupted. "Wouldn't Jennifer assume the throne? I know Karen's older, but if there's little love lost between her and her father, why would he leave her the throne?"
The Lady Rated seemed to consider, then said, "Maybe he had a bit of sense left in him after all. All I know is her name's down in the will.."
"You read the will?"
She chuckled. "Everyone has. Lord Koreil stole it when we fled. He's rather odd, Lord Koreil, only been Lord for a year, after the death of his older brother and the execution of his mother, though his handling of the latter left him well-respected. He's one of the three Neo-Adaptist Lords." Neo-Adaptism, which had evolved from the primitive Christian beliefs the peasants had adapted after rejecting Catholicism, had been the religion of Lin when they had first had contact with Hozan. Like Elizabeth I of England, Karen I had combined Hozan-Catholicism with Neo-Adaptism to form a new religion, Catholic-Adaptism, or "Cathdaptism," as it was more generally called, but now matters of religion were generally left to the provinces to decide, and most of them were tolerant. John had already learned about the various policies, and the three Lords that sanctioned Neo-Adaptism in their provinces.
"There's something I don't get about the whole Neo-Adaptist thing."
"What?"
"That it's just those three provinces that are Neo-Adaptist. Amane, Koreil, and Cumpf, right? I mean, if Catholicism came in by the sea, which is on the South Coast, you'd expect it too be resisted most by the provinces along the borders of the north, instead of just in the Northeast corner, where I understand these three provinces are located. And Koreil isn't even on the Northern border, is it?"
By her smile, John could tell she was about to tell him something very important. "It doesn't work like that, John. Over the years each leader has led their province in a different direction, so now even two adjoining provinces can be very different." Just then they heard a clattering inside. "What's that?" she wondered. They hurried inside.
When they got in, they saw a man kneeling over a sword, looking like he was inspecting it for scratches. "Lord Koreil," the Lady Rated whispered. Out loud, she said, "What were you doing this time, Lord Mel?"
"Hello, Nancy," he replied, groaning, "Lady Nancy," he corrected himself, spotting John. John had noted that the Lords and Ladies addressed and referred to each other by their first names when they thought he wasn't listening, but in front of him they added "Lord" or "Lady" when addressing and used their last names when referring. Court etiquette, he assumed.
"You haven't hurt yourself?" She knelt beside him with great concern.
"No, I'm fine. Just wish I could hold this thing."
The Lady Rated attempted to life the sword. She did not succeed. "Where did this come from?"
"This place in the city where all the old swords are kept. I need one, because I left mine in Teka."
The Lady Rated looked stunned. "You got the will but forgot your sword? You forgot your sword??"
"You know me, Lady Nancy. I was so confident I wouldn't forget it I didn't give it enough thought...I guess I'll drag this thing back there and search for something lighter. Tommorrow."
"I'll go with you, if only so you can explain why you bothered to drag it all the way here without figuring out you couldn't lift it. I think this fellow here should accompany us too. He's going to need a useful sword."
"Um," John started, "I may also need some lessons-"
"You don't know how to use a sword?" The Lord Koreil looked at him as if to say, "what an idiot."
"Then we'll give them to you," the Lady Rated replied calmly, but there was something about her that made John think she thought him an idiot too.
"He can learn with Miss Ailkimi," the Lady Rated continued, as they followed. Though John had not yet met her, he had heard about her. At 12, she was the youngest heir at the court(the youngest heir, Mr. Varina, was apparently growing up with his parents within the province). He could just see her face now, wondering why someone as old as him had to learn as her. He vowed to learn as quickly as humanly possible.
He got up and realized he was very hungry. But from the banging on the door, it seemed he wouldn't get a chance to eat anytime soon.
Right then, he'd be glad for some coffee. Or a shower. But he doubted either even existed in this place.
He more or less limped out of the room he slept in. A young girl was standing in front of him, Miss Ailkimi, he assumed. He took a look at her carefully arranged hair and wondered how long she had been up, and, for that matter, what time it was. "Goodness, wash your face first!" And she pointed to a bowl of water someone had left on the trunk.
John washed his face with it, and then, feeling a bit more awake but still hungry, followed Miss Ailkimi past several people, all of whom glanced twice, just like the previous day. This time though, they murmured too. Well, that was to be expected. But the amount of them about suggested he had overslept. He hoped that not too many of them were murmering insults.
Finally they turned into a room where there two people whom John recognized immediately. The first, the Lord Alex Nocoz, was the oldest person in the court after the Lord and Lady 'va Amane. The second was the Lady Claire Bickaa. She was notable as one of three people in the court with red hair, the other two being the Lady Amane 'va and the Lord Kevin Ponglach.
"Miss Lisa," said the Lord Nocoz warmly. "Mr. Velat." he added coldly. John did not point out his royal title. "Let's test your skills against each other."
John was given a sword that he could hardly hold up, let alone wield to any effect, and within seconds Miss Ailkimi had him pinned, much to the amusement of both the Lord Nocoz and the Lady Bickaa. "Allright then. Lady Claire, you teach Mr. Velat, while I teach Miss Ailkimi." The Lady Bickaa nodded. "Up, Mr. Velat." John pulled himself up and tried to keep from groaning.
The Lady Bickaa proved not quite as ruthless as Miss Ailkimi. But she wasn't above humliating her pupil, or so it seemed to poor John. Yet she did teach. Sometime later(John had no sense of time that morning) he was managing to stay up for nearly ten seconds before losing his sword, and she finally stopped and whispered something to the Lord Nocoz. "Mr. Velat," he asked, "have you eaten yet?"
John's stomach audibly growled in response. He hadn't eaten since the previous morning. "No." he said simply.
"You should have said so," the Lady Bickaa scolded. "I must admit, you've shown more relisience then I expect from a man on an empty stomach, though less, mind you, then I expect from any man with any other characteristic you might happen to possess."
John made a mental note to make a few witty remarks of his own to the Lady Bickaa when he was feeling less tired and humiliated. For now, however, he made no reply, except to follow the three courtiers to a large room where food was being served.
He had barely entered it when suddenly a page started to lead him across the room to what looked like the head of the very large table. "The Lord Amane wishes for you to sit next to him."
"Why?" the page gave no answer, and John soon found himself between the Princess Karen and an elderly man wearing a salmon-pink outfit of a very old-fashioned design. On his other side was a woman, matched in age, also dressed in salmon pink, with a piece of black cloth covering her hair, so that only one or two locks poked out, but their red color identified her as the Lady Amane 'va. She smiled at him. "Enjoying your stay with us so far, Your Majesty?"
Deciding to ignore the very unexpected use of his actual title, he replied very crossly(and honestly), "No."
"Why not?" asked the Princess Jennifer from the Princess Karen's other side.
"Homesickness, I imagine," her sister replied. John nodded; at that moment, he was much more interested in when the food was going to arrive. And then the Lord Amane rose, and tried to call for silence, giving the impression it might be awhile. John's stomach growled again.
The Lady Amane 'va sighed, "He always refuses to do this," and taking a glass and spoon, she quieted the room. Lords, Ladies, and other people hurried into seats.
"Is everyone here?" she asked. "I can see almost everyone, but...Lord Richard?"
"Here!" called the Lord Richard Minoru from the back.
"Lady Jessica?"
"Coming in right now!" Lady Jessica Mord hurried in and a page found her a seat.
"And...Ms. Cindy?"
"My daughter's sick," answered Miss Cindy Arode's father, the Lord Aland Arode.
"Oh," The Lord Amane looked very dismayed. "I want a volunteer to assign him or herself to Miss Arode's care right now."
"I'll do it," piped up her mother, the Lady Cakerine Arode 'va.
"Very well. Allright, everyone, the time has come. God above has sent us a sign." And then he took John's arm and pulled him up. "This is the King of Belor, land where our ancestors came from. Is it not hard to believe that such a person would be given to us by the same mysterious force that carried our ancestors? And yet those who can tell, including Her Highness the Princess Karen, have sworn he is a man of honesty." John tried not to let his embarrassment show, that he was that easy to see through. He should just be thankful, he told himself, that noone saw anything bad in him. "There is only one explanation, and that is that God himself has sent him to us!"
A number people at the table did look skeptical, but just as many looked as if they absolutely agreed, and there was clapping and cheering. This forced the Lord Amane to pause, but he did not lose the steam he had built up. "He came to the Quasque province, who's previous Lord was the first victim of Stephen III. That is a sign that he will be avenged, along with every Lord and Lady who followed him right up to the Lady Koreil!"
"Hear, hear!" the Lord Koreil called from down the table. Having seen a thousand inspirational speeches that pushed a thousand buttons, John couldn't keep back a tiny snort. This earned him a glare from both the Princess Karen and the Lady Amane 'va, but he ignored them, and no one else could hear him over the continued clapping.
"I had a discussion with the Lord Nocoz and the Lord Quasque, and we agree that it is time for us to strike. We have gathered an army able to storm Teka. I have recieved messages saying most of the capital is now with us. We'll level the palace to the ground if we have to, but the King shall not hide there any longer. Prepare yourselves, for we set out in two days."
There was another round of cheers, which John joined in, if only because his nose told him food was now very close.
Perhaps if he hadn't been starving, however, he might have balked at the food, as he didn't recognize it at all, and he did know a bit about general world cuisine. Thankfully, it didn't taste half-bad, and he was soon stuffing his face, too hungry to have any regard for table manners.
Though Her Highness the Princess Karen didn't seem to factor this in, for he heard her say crossly, "Are you always this messy when eating, Mr. Velat?"
"Only when I haven't eaten for more then 24 hours," John protested, and ignored her for the rest of the meal.
Later, full and feeling much better, John accompanied the Lady Rated and the Lord Koriel to the city armory. The minute the guard let them in, the Lord Koreil began running around, picking up a sword and admiring it here and there, and dersively speaking of most of the swords in the place. It was covered with swords. They were on the walls, on the floor(covered to prevent any damage to them or anyone walking over them), and on the ceiling. All shapes and sizes. "Sword room," said the Lady Rated. "Next one's the shield room, then the helmet room, and I can't remember what's after that."
"Don't try to get a helmet in here," the Lord Koreil added. "They're all awful. Ooh!" It seemed he had finally found a sword that met with his approval.
"You found something?" They joined him to find him holding up one of the swords, which looked to John to be rather ordinary. It wasn't especially long or especially short, or really wide of pencil-thin, nor was its hilt that fancy. But it was obvious that the Lord Koreil saw something extraordinary in this sword, for he was gazing at it reverently. He made a couple of swings with it, and John backed up, though the Lady Rated did not. "Like it?" she asked.
"Love it. Of course, it doesn't hold a candle to Inca," John assumed that was the sword he left behind in Teka. "But it'll do."
"Okay, now for Mr. Velat. Do you see anything that stands out?"
John opened his mouth to say no, but then realized she was asking the Lord Koreil. Which made more sense.
"Well," he strolled around, "I would say...that one." And he picked a dark grey one from the wall, and handed it to John.
Immediately John felt his arm sink under a sword much heavier then the one he'd used in lessons, and heavier even then the ceremonial one, which was pretty heavy. He dropped it and groaned, feeling his arm.
The Lady Rated scowled. "That wasn't funny, Mel!" She seemed too angry to bother with the honorifice.
"It wasn't meant to be funny. It was meant to show this so-called King his place." Unnerved by the threatening tone in his voice, John looked up from where he was rubbing his arm just in time to feel the Lord Koreil's blade land on his neck, and took a look at his dangerous expression. I really wish I'd happened to have a gun on me when I got taken here.
"Lord Mel," the Lady Rated sounded very nervous, which made John feel even more nervous. "Put a stop to this. Let him go, and get him a proper blade. I think he's aware of his place." This was probably a lie; this wasn't an impression people got of John usually. Unless it referred to right now. Having a blade on one's neck tended to make one very aware of one's place.
"Heed this," the Lord Koreil said, and John felt the blade cut his flesh, not enough to do any serious damage, but enough that he was amazed afterwards that he didn't yelp in pain. "Within a week, Princess Karen Alanna will be crowned, and I for one will defend her from anyone attempting to unlawfully take the throne, to the death-their death."
"I understand." His voice almost cracked. Usually John would have kept a neutral voice in such a situation, but he decided it was better if the Lord Koreil thought him cowed(which he was), and would leave him alone.
"Lord Mel," the Lady Rated's voice was very firm.
Still staring John down, the Lord Koreil buckled the sword to his belt, after allowing it to trail down John's body, though it did not draw blood again. "I'd advise you to take that sword." He pointed to a sword next to the dark grey one. Then he turned and left.
John took a doubtful look at the sword the Lord Koreil had pointed out. The Lady Rated took a hold of it. "Doesn't seem too heavy." She handed it to him. It was about the weight of the sword he'd practiced with. "Careful about your arm, let's hope the muscles aren't strained. He really shouldn't have done that. You're inexperienced, and we can't afford any more injuries then we're going to get."
Her voice wasn't cold, but there was a new hint of formality in it which John didn't like. "Should I have not mentioned my being the King?" he asked, wondering if she even believed in the slightest that he might be.
"The Lord Amane was glad you did, and since he's our leader, I think it's a good thing you did. But you can't expect everyone to believe you, Mr. Velat."
Was that scorn in her voice? "Do you?" he blurted out.
She didn't respond at first, choosing instead to stare at the floor of swords for a long time, then said, "I believe you are a good man, Mr. Velat. And I can't really think of why you'd go about lying when it's so obvious you aren't happy with your current situation. But your story is simply too incredible to be believed. The Lord Amane believes it because he wants to. You might think he was just blowing air with that speech he gave, but let me tell you, he genuinely believes God has choosen him to lead the overthrow of the King. The Princess Karen believes it because her observations of you lead her to that conclusion, and she feels she must rely on them, because they're one of her strong points, and she needs all the strong points she can get now. But I don't have any reason..." She drifted off.
"So you don't believe me." For some reason, this bothered him a hell of a lot.
"I wouldn't say that." She still had her head down, but John could swear he saw her face turning red.
"But you did. 'Too incredible to be believed.'"
"I didn't-" She looked up, and she was entirely red now.
"Mr. Velat? Lady Nancy?" They heard footsteps, and the Lady Rated visibly took a deep breath and composed herself.
"Mr. Rurin," she said when the man entered. "Mr. Guanor," she whispered aside to John. Having seen a map of Lin, John tried to remember where the Guanor province was. Somewhere in the north?
"The Lord Koreil has returned already. We have been wondering what has been keeping you two."
"That quickly? He must have been in quite a state." She clicked with dissaproval. "You didn't run here, did you?"
"I was worried for you, my Lady. Every King has people who remain loyal to him, and I would not have you walking to street without proper defense."
He shot a glare at John as he spoke, and John decided he'd had enough. "That's not my fault." He protested, then wondered if it was. After, he was the one who hadn't trained. But then he reminded himself that he had had no idea he'd end up in this situation, and if defense was such a concern, then the Lord Koreil shouldn't have just walked off.
Then he looked at the Lady Rated and discovered that he was the less offended of the two of them.
He wasn't quite sure what it was about her narrowed eyes and the very straight, very thin line that her mouth had become that gave the impression that she might just order you executed unless you fell to her feet and begged her for mercy at the top and from the bottom of your most pathetic lungs, but the room definitely seemed chillier. His gaze traveled to Mr. Guanor, who, while he didn't really look like he was going beg for mercy, did seem to realize he had said something wrong. Something very wrong.
"Are you implying that I am unable to defend myself, Mr. Guanor?" Her voice was even chillier then her face. "I, the Lady Rated?"
"No, of course not, Lady Nancy, I only thought-"
"Come along." She gestured to them both, and cowed, they both followed her out.
As they did, John took a good look his new sword. It didn't seem to have a sheath; he wondered if and when he was going to take care of that one. Like the sword the Lord Koreil had picked out for himself, there seemed nothing remarkable about its appearance, or its weight for that matter. Maybe it was a slightly lighter then the practice sword. It had a simple burnished hilt, that, when John looked closer, seemed to bear marks of being fancier once, with pieces of metal plating seeming to be melded in. He wondered if he should give a name to it.