The Dreadwood Forest fell away as we entered Trent proper, and a few days later Helmfirth's gates beckoned to us. To my surprise we were greeted not by Duke Wiseria, nor Duke Wilbern, nor in any official capacity whatosever, Nonetheless, aware that Duke Wiseria would be informed of my arrival and might perceive it as rude if I did not at least try to see him, I led my party into the castle. Still, we were unchallenged, and it was only after I unsaddled Lilac and passed her care onto the local stables that I was greeted by a representative of the Crower court.

'Forgive me, my lady,' a page boy in the chequered green and black of Trent began. 'Duke Wiseria sends his apologies for not greeting you upon your arrival. His illness has kept him bedridden for several weeks. However, he grants you permission to billet your men inside the keep, and requests that you attend him.'

'Now?' I asked him, but he shook his head.

'He has been… vague, at this time of day. I suggest you try his chambers shortly after supper. That is when he seems to be most cognisant.' The page's tone suggested to me that he concealed his master's true condition. It seemed that Wiseria was not in good health.

I thanked the page for his message and entered the keep. Helmfirth was large enough that a number of noblemen and women called it home. Walking through their well-decorated wing of the castle kindled the fires of nostalgia, sending paintings of longing for Hollowhold and Prince Alum through my heart. Sometimes Ebonreach seemed so rustic.

Yet, despite scouring every meal and gathering area within the sizeable keep, I uncovered few actual nobles. Those that I did find were mere landholders with no other title to their name than gentleman, and they seemed unusually flighty. I did not relish the conversations I shared with them, and I ended up passing the time in solitude.

After a lonely meal I ascended the stairwell to visit Duke Wiseria. His chambers guarded by an intimidating four men-at-arms. Nor were they armed with unwieldy ceremonial polearms as were the rulers' chamber guards at Haelling Cove, but with short swords. I sensed that they were there to provide more than a mere sense of pomp to Wiseria's bedroom.

One of them offered to go inside and check if the Duke was accepting visitors. He returned a minute later shaking his head, but said that I should return in an hour. I sighed, not knowing how I was going to kill that much time in Helmfirth without eating or sleeping.

I decided to venture down to the city, but almost immediately I came upon the local Vizonian outpost. It was larger than in Haelling Cove with a long queue of peasants formed before it; at least thrice as long as the one at Iyasgorth. The distaste I felt at the sight made me reconsider my plans, and I summoned my portal on the spot.

Entering it was a breath of fresh air. The weather in Helmfirth had been humid, with dark rainclouds threatening to unleash a torrential downpour upon the city. In my portal realm, the warmth of the eternal sunlight and the comfort of the sand that formed around my body nourished my spirit. I became optimistic, and considered that I was more than halfway to Hollowhold. I was able to recall not only Alum's gentle yet coveting touch, but how he had personally sought me out after months of distance and restraint. Fears of his abandonment were suppressed below layers of Alum's warmth and I emerged from the portal in good cheer, despite the sand that was caked to my posterior.

I trudged back to the keep and the same guard ventured into Wiseria's chamber. This time, he was gone for several minutes.

'He says to let you in,' he said quietly upon his return. 'Though if I may, I counsel you to speak loudly and slowly, and to keep your visit short.'

I frowned. 'Are you sure this is a good time?'

'Aye, as good a time as any,' the guard replied and held the door open for me.

I passed into Wiseria's chambers, finding the drawing room unoccupied. I took a deep breath and pushed the bedroom door open. It was larger even than Timoth's in Haelling Cove, though it was decorated in much the same way. A female servant was applying a wet rag to Wiseria's head, and I had to agree with the page's implication earlier: he did not look a well man. His face was stricken with the gauntness of one who no longer enjoys the taste of a hot meal, and his sallow cheeks and pale skin bespoke a man in his last days. I gulped, knowing what that could mean for Trent if Wilbern had not managed to secure his ascension.

Wiseria spoke, his voice pained and punctuated by long pauses between his words. 'Countess…' I inhaled sharply, suddenly desiring to keep this conversation short. I may have faced death before, but I suddenly felt too young to deal with its lurking spectre.

No, that wasn't it. It wasn’t a fear of death, it was the manner in which it came for Wiseria. Slowly, without dignity, without sword in hand. Disease was taking him, executing him in cold blood. Though I scarcely knew Wiseria and was certainly not fond of him, his decline was shocking to me. I didn't want to have to be around it any longer than I had to.

'Saemara…' he continued. 'My servants tell me… that you court Prince Alum… instead of my son…' I waited for him to ask a question or make an accusation, but after a moment of silence I realised that he was finished speaking. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

'Duke Wiseria,' I said, avoiding looking at him. His sickly visage made me queasy. 'It is difficult to refuse a prince of the realm.'

I thought that he attempted to smile, but only the corners of his mouth shifted. 'Stand together… in these dark times… my son can offer you… more men than… the prince.' His sunken eyes pleaded with me to reconsider.

I knew that he was right. Of course, I’d known for two years that wedding Wilbern would benefit Ebonreach more immediately and more directly than wedding Prince Alum, but the attraction between myself and Alum had accounted for the political discrepancy, as well as the prestige that comes with marrying the King's immediate family. After all, the title of Princess was one of the rarest in the kingdom, as the prestige afforded to the King and Queen meant that it was improper for their children to call themselves by the same title as I had always been able to call myself a Countess.

Yet things had changed. Trent and Ebonreach were beset by savage raiders from the Western Island. Trent had its own domestic problems, but I had no doubt that Wilbern would nevertheless be willing to assign a large portion of his men to defending the Reach in exchange for my hand in marriage.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

My queasiness increased tenfold upon being forced to face this fact. I had to take Wilbern's proposal more seriously. Things had changed since I had scorned him, and if he had not found another woman I would have to seriously consider a partnership with him.

It made me physically ill to consider marrying anyone other than Alum, who looked me with eyes so full of life and electricity, so I tried to rephrase it within my own mind: if Prince Alum had forgotten me, then I had another option.

I dragged my thoughts back to Duke Wiseria. 'I am not yet betrothed. I promise to give consideration to all suitors and do what is best for Ebonreach.'

Wiseria closed his eyes. It seemed at first that he did so in grateful acceptance, but when he did not open them again I was afraid that he might have died right in front of me. The servant did not seem concerned and applied a fresh rag to his head.

'He needs his rest,' she said to me, her implication clear. I nodded and left the room without a backwards glance. I hoped to remember him as he had been in our first meeting, for to do otherwise would have made his memory unpalatable.

A quick bath was my sole indulgence prior to bed, and in the morning I led my party back onto the eastern road. We entered the part of Trent most beset by rogues and raiders, and I recognised the seemingly mundane location of my previous attack, but we continued onto Hollowhold unmolested. The towns we passed all contained Vizonian tents and outposts surrounded by refugees, and I preferred to sleep on the road than within smelling range of these unwashed masses.

We soon ascended the mountain road. The dying snow of winter caked the mountainsides, but the path had been cleared by the unceasing passage of countless wagons and caravans. We spent only a single night on the awkwardly sloped surface before the great stone arches of the capital came into view. Even though I had been absent for less than two months, the sheer size and scale of their architecture freshly astonished me, as did the commotion of the city square. This small, albeit central, corner of the city had more life in it than the entirety of Ebonreach.

I passed Lilac’s reins to one of the soldiers and dismissed them, already feeling at home. My first stop was the meeting hall where one of the princes was typically present during the middle hours of the day, determining disputes and administering the day-to-day affairs of the Mountain Duchy. I kindled a faint hope that King Degron himself would be seated at the other side of the massive stone table, but upon entering the room I saw that Prince Milos was in the King's seat.

I sighed, but my need was dire so I pressed on. Timoth needed me to get him more men, and the best way to ensure that I did not have to seriously consider a marriage with Duke Wilbern was to find them elsewhere. Petitioning for the King's garrison at Haelling Cove to be reinstated was the only way I could think of to do that.

I sat in the stone pews and waited my turn. When it came I sat before Prince Milos, just the two of us. His wife, Alyssia, was not present, nor was Timoth by my side. It was, I think, the first time I had spoken with Milos privately.

'Countess Saemara!' he greeted me with surprise cloaked by feigned joy. 'What a pleasure that Yoru has seen fit to grace the capital with your return.'

I presented him with my well-practised smilie. 'It is a pleasure to be back,' I began. His face betrayed nothing of his inner thoughts. 'Though I fear you know what brings me here.'

Milos sighed loudly and reclined in his chair. ‘I fear that this discussion can scarcely bear the weight of further repetition.'

'My brother believes that another raid will occur soon - and it might be bigger than the first. We need those men.'

'Yet there are none to be found. We lose ground in the Borderlands every day.' Milos said. 'We are even contemplating a bill to levy further tithes.’

That would be disastrous for Ebonreach. At all times, men of the Reach served in the Borderlands under the command of the King's officers, and to lose some of those who remained would cripple the County’s defences.

'We will lose control of the Kingdom from within if we do not control the mouth of the Haelling!' I insisted. 'The Tokuans will penetrate the very heart of Halivaara and spread as a disease through its veins.'

'Very dramatic, Countess. My understanding is that the Tokuans came and went within a fortnight. The desert nomads, on the other hand, will remain our problem until such a time as we disable them.'

I struggled to control my temper. Why was it that what was taken as fact in Ebonreach was seen as fanciful in Hollowhold?

'The desert nomads’ wasteland tactics will not avail them in the hills and greenery of Mattrath,' I said, repeating words Timoth's had spoken when the first half of the King's garrison were withdrawn from my hometown. 'Enough men must be stationed at the mouth of the Haelling that entry becomes impossible.'

'Even if I accepted your proposition regarding Mattrath, I do not believe more men would assist in the defence of the river. Archers might sink one or two ships, but in the numbers we are discussing this would make little difference. Best then to treat this as a conventional war, and defend against armies rather than their navies.'

I shook my head exasperatedly, reminding myself that I was speaking to the King's heir. It would not be prudent to be rude. 'The raiders move swiftly. They are gone before any army can arrive. Yet, for as long as Haelling Cove stands, their invasion is made significantly more difficult. Count Timoth is raising funds to construct a ballista. With more men or more gold we could build more siege engines, and force them to rethink the profitability of their endeavour,' I explained.

'I'm sorry, Countess. The King's duty by Cha is to defend the realm's borders. They are threatened in the south, not in the west.'

I resolved to try one last, desperate gambit. It was not something Timoth had spoken of, and he would probably forbid me to attempt it, but he wasn’t here to stop me.

'Prince… If Ebonreach is unable to muster the men or the coin necessary to defend the river mouth, the County may have no choice but to seal the Haelling off from all vessels, enemy or otherwise.'

Milos stiffened visibly, staring me down as if attempting to force me to submit to his will through his gaze alone. Needless to say, it was intimidating.

'Transit alon any river that runs through the boundaries of more than one duchy or free county is controlled by the King. The Haelling passes through three. The commerce that flows down that river is the lifeblood of this nation. It will never be sealed.'

'The river commerce was the lifeblood of the nation,' I corrected him. 'If you had not heard, anarchy threatens in Trent. Duke Wiseria lies on his deathbed, and his lands have been ravaged by raiders and bandits. Will you… Will the King do nothing about this? Do you care about nothing except a useless stretch of desert?'

Unfortunately, I had lost my temper, and thus the battle. Milos knew it and exhaled in relief, secure in the knowledge that he would no longer have to defend his decision. I wondered if that meant that I had managed to cause him to question it.

'Watch your tone, Countess,' he said. 'The decision is made. I suggest that you wed Duke Wilbern, as I have suggested in the past. He will provide your land with men equal to those you seek to withdraw from the beleaguered Borderlands.'

I flagellated myself mentally, cursing my self-entitlement. I had always relied to heavily on my looks to get what I wanted, and I was still learning how to achieve this through other means.

'Am I dismissed?' I asked him, not bothering to cloak my disappointment in more polite language. Milos simply looked away from me, turning to the next person in the room. I took that as confirmation and departed the meeting hall in failure.