Chapter 6: The King
Lord Davidson’s caravan arrived at the gates of Ereacht without incident—until reaching those very gates. Kat’s party could actually hear muffled shouting coming from the next carriage where the Lord of the Twin Cities was having a spirited conversation with some representative of the capital.
Eventually, a runner was dispatched to each carriage and wagon to report what was happening. He informed Kat’s party and the other occupants that the caravan was to proceed directly to the palace. It was already dinnertime so everyone was expecting to begin the formal matters the following morning; Kat suspected the immediate summons was highly unusual. Personally, she didn’t care either way, and she doubted Vulp did either.
“Can’t we eat dinner first?” Lupy pleaded.
“You don’t need to go into the palace. We can find a place to eat after we drop off Vulp,” Bandit explained for her.
“Oh, okay.” Lupy was satisfied with that.
“Unless,” Shiba started, a grin on her face. “Unless you want the king to recognize you for how well you fought during the battle in the Twin Cities. Then you’ll need to skip dinner!”
“What!?”
“That’s enough,” Kat interjected, preventing further ridiculousness.
Many members of the caravan weren’t actually expected to enter the palace, so they would need to proceed from the palace gates to their real destination on foot. From Kat’s party, only Vulp would need to join Lord Davidson’s group. The same was true for Daphne.
The carriages and trailing wagons trundled through the city gates, escorted by some mounted guards. The streets were still busy with merchants packing up their carts or shops and other residents walking home for supper. The caravan could barely maintain walking speed as it waited for the various passersby to move out of the way. Clearly, the locals did not recognize this train as anything worthy of special consideration.
When they finally arrived at the eastern entrance to the palace grounds, another runner hopped from carriage to carriage issuing instructions. Vulp and the other invitees were swiftly escorted into the palace, leaving the rest behind to make their own arrangements. Kat’s party was full of adventurers, so of course their luggage was easy to transport. They split up Vulp’s belongings among the four of them and set out on foot in search of an inn.
----------------------------------------
Vulp and Daphne stuck together since they knew each other, at least to an extent. They’d barely exchanged any words before, but in a scary environment like this, they each relied on the comfort of a friendly face. The group was immediately led into the throne room, further surprising Lord Davidson.
“To think the King wants to meet with us so urgently…” he muttered.
“Arriving, Lord of the Twin Cities! Arriving, elf of EarthGlen!” A royal herald announced the two guests warranting special attention. Daphne must not have been expecting this as she looked quite surprised to get called out specifically.
Lord Davidson at the head, the group approached and bowed, with the less experienced members in the back copying those in front of them, Vulp and Daphne included.
Vulp glanced around while keeping her face directed towards the floor. The king sat atop his throne while sporting a velvety-red cloak of some type. His jeweled crown and shiny gray hair stood out as well. He was flanked by two other old gentlemen standing to either side. One wore priestly robes from the Church, and the other was dressed more plainly in aristocratic clothes. Vulp guessed he was either the prime minister or some other type of senior advisor, but her studies so far had not covered such matters. Around the rest of the room, Vulp observed a smattering of other people dressed similarly to the prime minister-like guy, although some seemed more like advisors or attendants than nobles.
“Welcome,” the king directed toward the whole group, not revealing his mood or state of mind with his tone. “Raise your heads.” The king turned to some attendants on the side. “Let’s get some chairs for them; this might take a while.”
Half a dozen young men and lads shuffled to the back of the throne room to collect fancy chairs. After seating the most important members of the group, they rushed out of the room and returned a minute later with simpler chairs for the others. Once everyone was seated, the king spoke again.
“I appreciate you hurrying here so soon after arriving in the capital. Good work responding to my summons, all of you.”
“We are honored, your majesty,” Lord Davidson replied on behalf of the group. “May I inquire as to why you are having us sit? Is this not highly unusual in a formal audience of this type?”
“Oh, it’s the least I can do after making you all come straight here following your long journey. That’s the nice thing about being King; nobody will tell me no.”
“I strongly considered it, Sir,” the presumptive Prime Minister quipped.
“Bah. I should get a new Prime Minister, then.” The king looked down at his visitors and particularly focused on the younger and less experienced people sitting in the back. “Do one of you want the job?”
They didn’t seem to want the job.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Oh well. Looks like I’m still putting up with you for a while longer, eh?” The king turned his attention from his Prime Minister back to the visitors. “The reason why I summoned you all, as you know, is threefold. First, several of you need to be recognized for your exemplary performance during that horrid assault by the Nar Union. Second, we need to develop our national strategy for how to deal with the Union moving forward. I very much need the input of those who were there during the siege. Third, we must take advantage of this rare assembly of Lords from each region of the Holy State and advance planning on several domestic initiatives.”
None of this sounded surprising to Vulp, and nobody else in her group seemed perturbed as of yet.
Taking a cue from the King, the Prime Minister called out instructions. “Lord of the Twin Cities Davidson, step forward.” After a pause, “You answered the call, unexpectedly thrust into a position of exceptional responsibility following the previous Lord’s demise. Soon after, when the Union—“
“You didn’t kill Eddie Pool, right?” the King interrupted to several gasps around the room.
“M–My—Y–Your Maj—“ Lord Davidson stuttered.
“Actually,” the king interrupted again. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Continue.”
“Uh, soon after, when the Union launched a surprise invasion, your quick action and sound judgment…” The Prime Minister continued reading off accolades for several minutes, although nothing stated was a surprise to Vulp or anyone else who was present for the siege. All-in-all, it was a boring speech.
“And for those many reasons, His Majesty awards you this fine gift, a third-tier scrying orb. Further, he promotes you from Acting Lord of the Twin Cities to Lord of the Twin Cities. May you and your family continue to serve the Holy State of Whites with distinction.”
The congregation applauded, as was the custom for receiving awards in this nation.
“I didn’t realize my employment was still conditional…” the awardee admitted in a low voice.
The Prime Minister lifted up the scrying orb from a velvet cushion atop a nearby pedestal, preparing to hand it to Lord Davidson, but the king stuck his hand out—an obvious deviation from normal practice. The king received the scrying orb and stood up.
“I had no idea what you might like so I told them to get something rare. I hope this is useful for you or your household. How does it work, anyway?” The king held the orb at arm’s length, pointing it at Lord Davidson. “Ah, I see! How interesting. I better not challenge you to a duel.”
Many around the room chuckled. The king did not appear to be very athletic, let alone combat-capable.
“Oh, didn’t that girl over there defeat the Union’s emissary when he foolishly attacked? I better not challenge her eith—“ The king cut himself off as he gestured toward Vulp with the scrying orb. “Hm? Is that normal?” Nobody responded to the king’s vague question. “What about you?” He pointed the orb at Daphne. “I should have expected such from an elf. Remarkable. Next time we hold an archery competition, you may be my proxy!”
“I—I’d rather do that than be the Prime Minister!”
The room exploded in raucous laughter, causing Daphne to momentarily cover her elf ears.
“Oh, why not both!?” the king shouted to more laughter. “Oh, I think this thing is giving me a headache.” The king passed the orb to Lord Davidson like a hot potato.
“Are you sure it’s not all the shouting, your Majesty?” The prime minister’s question went unanswered as the king sat back down.
“Let’s continue.”
“Elf of EarthGlen, Daphne, please step forward.”
She took Lord Davidson’s place in front of the king while the Prime Minister read off her achievements.
“As one of our special allies, we are thankful for your help in the recent conflict with the hostile Nar Union. Although not surprising for a distinguished child of the elven woods, his Majesty heard from multiple sources that your bow was masterfully handled and performed best at a time when the city’s defenders were hopelessly outnumbered. Your strength and courage raised morale for those fighting alongside, ensuring a swift defeat of the enemy.”
Vulp thought Daphne looked incredibly uncomfortable as the center of attention, being bombarded with praise, but that was hardly unexpected.
“The Holy State of Whites recognizes that the custom of giving gifts and awards does not extend to your people. As a result, in lieu of receiving physical decorations, please accept the gratitude of the royal family and the kingdom’s people.”
The audience applauded.
“I’m not a big believer in that whole ‘no gifts’ thing…” Daphne uttered just loud enough for most people in the room to hear.
Some people started to laugh again but the king held up his hand to silence them. “In that case, I will give you the greatest gift of all. You don’t need to succeed the Prime Minister.”
“Th—Thank you your Majesty…” Daphne decided not to push her luck as she returned to her seat.
Several other guests were called up, including a few knights and city guardsmen who had performed well in the battle with the Union. Finally Vulp was called up.
“Vulp Davidson, normally we would have called you up third, but the king requested I save this award for last. I beg your understanding.”
Vulp wasn’t sure what to make of that admission. She heard several murmurs from around the room, likely due to people wondering if Vulp was moved to last for some justifiable reason or if it was just because of her non-standard heritage.
“On the precipice of a major battle, while representing his Majesty in an honorable parlay, you took immediate action to punish wanton perfidy, earning the name Valorous among your peers. In addition, you led from the front, carrying out your Lord’s orders to the letter, beating back the Union’s invaders despite your young age and small stature.”
Now Vulp truly understood why Daphne seemed so uncomfortable a few minutes earlier.
“Further, you became a role model for the many peoples of this kingdom who receive poorer treatment because of their ancestry. For lifting up so many people through the deeds of just a single day, his Majesty is pleased to offer you a reward of your choosing.”
Vulp heard alarmed whispers from around the room, signaling that wish-granting like this was not common. Before Vulp could decide if it was her turn to speak, the king cut in.
“The Prime Minister position is still—“
In fact, that very Prime Minister cut off the king. “Sir, if you can’t control yourself, you’ll find yourself with no Prime Minster.”
“Fine. Jeez. Vulp, what do you want?”
Vulp’s mind raced as she juggled several considerations. First, she was excited the prospect of being able to choose her reward, as most people would be. Second, she didn’t want to embarrass herself as a representative of the Twin Cities and specifically the Lord’s family. Third, she didn’t want to cause trouble for DM. On the other hand, maybe there was something she could ask for that would help DM, but she’d need to keep hidden the fact that she was trying to help DM.
As Vulp struggled to sort through all those thoughts, the Prime Minister lost patience. “Vulp, modesty is a virtue, but you must select something so that we may offer a reward of some type.”
The king grunted and stood, drawing everyone’s attention. He walked over to a member of the royal guard and yanked the sword right from the knight’s hilt. As he stepped toward Vulp, sword in his right hand, he said, “If you won’t accept the kingdom’s generous offer, then I’ll just have to make an example out of you.”
At this point, Vulp wished she had just asked for a quality shield.