Fion

Lord Boyd’s palace is very grand, even larger and better furnished than I can imagine Mirantha’s castle was in its heyday. Then, the north has always been wealthy.

We greet the ruler of the house, Ruth’s son and Katalin’s father, Jaffery Boyd. He is a long-limbed middle aged man whose black hair and beard are showing definite signs of gray. His eyes are shrewd and mean, and he regards me with suspicion from the moment I enter his hall.

I do not fear this man or the great power he possesses as Lord of the North, but for Bast’s sake, I have no intention of insulting him. And so I kneel before him alongside my companion and bow my head humbly.  

“Sir Shrike,” Lord Boyd addresses us from atop his ornately sculpted platinum throne. “I’ve had word of your victory by messenger post, but looked forward to hearing the details in person. You must dine with me tonight. And your companion…” his dark eyes flick to me once again with mistrust.

“It is my great honor to introduce to my lord Fion Endellion, the legendary sleeping maiden.”

Jaffery Boyd says nothing, only continues to watch me coldly from atop his throne. I watch him back with an unfaltering gaze.

Though he still watches me, he addresses Bast. “I heard,” he clears his throat, “that you were not the one to wake her, Sir Shrike.”

Bast flinches. “Word travels quickly. This is an unfortunate truth. But I was the one to rescue her from Mirantha’s clutches, so I—”

“It was Crusoe, was it not?” he cuts him off. “This woman, all her great power, roused by that servant of Morass…”

“She holds no allegiance to Mirantha; she was their prisoner, my lord.”

“Prisoner or no, how do we know which way her allegiance lies? You, girl,” he addresses me crassly, “you can speak for yourself, can you not?”

I rise from my kneeled position and take up a stately, regal stance before him. “I can indeed. Though I am not accustomed to answering when addressed with such rudeness.”

“Fion!” Bast hisses at me, but I am deaf to him.

“State it plainly—do you have ties with Victor Crusoe and Mirantha Veil? Your allegiance, where—”

“My allegiance,” I cut him off sharply, “is to this land and its people. I am no servant of Morass, but neither am I beholden to these ‘four houses’ that have risen up in the long centuries of my slumber. And that includes House Boyd,” I state matter-of-factly, and he bristles visibly. “Though,” I add, “for Sebastian’s sake, I had been prepared to show you reverence. My lord,” I tack on, not at all politely.  

“Hmph!” Jaffery snorts, and harrumphs again. He shifts in his throne, first in indignance and then in uncertainty. This great man, he is wondering how he will control my power. Until now I suppose he intended to badger me into submission, but now he finds I will not be so easily intimidated. How will he react now?

“For Sebastian’s sake,” he murmurs, and his eyes flick to the ring Bast gave me that rests on the fourth finger of my left hand. I don’t know why, but seeing it seems to draw a little of the tension out of his posture. He returns his dark eyes to meet mine.

“You are aware Sir Shrike is my loyal servant.”

“I am.”

He regards me with a long pause. Everyone holds their breath. Then Jaffery relaxes.

“That is enough, then. Come, both of you. Dine with me.”

That quickly, the issue seems resolved, though I cannot imagine how.

“You did fine,” Bast whispers to me as we are led into the dining room. “Lord Boyd is cautious and closed off to everyone in the beginning, but he is kind and generous to all those close to him.”

“But I am not close to him.”

“I am.”

“That’s not the same,” I protest.

“It is if we’re—” Bast cuts himself off, and his eyes too, I notice, flick to the ring. “Never mind the details. Just do what I do for the rest of the evening and you’ll be fine.”

I have my doubts going into the banquet, but they are all for nothing. Now that his guard is down, I see Jaffery’s definite resemblance to his kinswomen, Ruth and Katalin. He is shrewd, but honest, I sense, and like Katalin, his emotions always match his face. If this one truly disliked me, he’d make no secret of it, I am sure.

Over dinner Bast gives him the report of the battle for the witch’s castle, and I see his lord is already strategizing their next move.

“You’ll need reinforcements if you are to hold the castle. I believe with this favorable news House Taro will be far more willing to lend their troops to the cause. You must fly to Aspar tomorrow and request aid swiftly, before the witch has time to retaliate.”

“As you command, my lord. We shall rest tonight and take our leave first thing in the morning.”

“Both of you?” Jaffery looks between us doubtfully.

“After searching for her all my life, you think I am about to let Fion out of my sight?” Bast asks with a laugh.

“I suppose not. You’ve achieved your goal at last, Sir Shrike. Your triumph is our own. Now all the North will be blessed for the woman you have brought into your house.” To me, he says with a faint twinkle like I recall seeing in his mother’s eye, “I hope you will make him very happy, my dear.”  

Later that night, when we’ve arrived back at Bast’s home, I speak with him candidly in the hall outside my room.

“Like everyone else, Lord Boyd seems to think we’re already engaged.”

“Well, that is the natural next step in their minds. And in mine,” he adds. Then with a definite smolder in his eyes, he presses me, “Have you given any more consideration to my marriage proposal?”

“Yes, very careful consideration. But it is too soon for me to reach a conclusion.”

“Perhaps you just need a bit of persuasion.”

“What sort of persuasion?”

His smile is drop dead gorgeous. There’s not a woman alive who could resist him as he backs me slowly against the wall. My breath catches, but I do not fight him when he takes both of my arms and presses a deep kiss to my open mouth.

In this, he is like Victor, I think. Both men selfish, taking what they want, when they want it. I was not expecting such a kiss from a man like Sebastian Shrike.

At last, we part, chests heaving. Bast’s eyes are blue fire as he bears down on me.

“Well,” he presses. “Are you persuaded?”

“Almost,” I admit, and he growls faintly with desire and starts to kiss me again.

“No, that’s not what I meant. A few more days, Bast. Give me a few more days, and you’ll have my answer.”

“You enjoy toying with me.”

“I just have to be sure.”

He’s impatient, annoyed, but he smiles at me anyway as he backs away reluctantly.

“Then I shall leave you to your thoughts, my lady. I hope they will dwell on me favorably.”

“About tomorrow, when will we leave for Aspar?”

“The earlier, the better. Can you be ready at daybreak?”

“I can.”

“I’ll see you then. Goodnight, my lady.”

 “Goodnight.”

Though I have an early start tomorrow, I lie awake for some time after that, considering the kiss Sebastian gave me earlier.

It was good, I think with a frown. Almost too good.

I don’t have much experience, but his kiss was at least as deep and as forceful as Victor’s, touching all the right parts without even a second’s hesitation. As near as I can tell, there wasn’t a single thing different about the kisses of these two men but this; Victor was no virgin.

Bast is supposed to be pure, spurning every woman but the sleeping maiden. Not that I would hold it against him if he had wavered in his hope of finding me one day and given in to temptation, but if he’s lied about it... that’s another issue entirely.

I like Bast. I like him so much that till now I’ve been willing to overlook the little red flags I’ve noticed popping up in the corner of my vision each time I deal with him.

When I dealt with Victor, I got the impression he was a brute with a good heart buried somewhere deep down. Deep, deep down. But it was there; I felt sure of it.

Meanwhile, Bast wears such an innocent, virtuous face. But what if, just behind that mask of innocence, there lurked another face of his I’ve yet to see?

If I read his memories, I’d know more about him for certain, but I am hesitant to invade his privacy. For now, I choose to forbear. But I will continue to watch him.  

Closely. Even more closely than before.

And this time, I will do my best not to get so distracted by that smile of his…