I fairly floated back to my rooms. Half in dream and half without. Six inches above the corridor but still hearing my boots striking the wood. I went through my doorway like a hovering spirit when it was all pulled out from under me.
“What do you do, Mister Bascombe?” came the angry voice of Count Pelisir, rising from the couch in my sitting room. “Do you mean to undermine all of this,” he yelled, sweeping his hands to indicate that he meant everything, “in an hour when we need the strongest and most clearly focused leadership?”
He grabbed me by my shoulders and put his face directly into mine. “You, Sir, will not wreck this! Not on my watch, damn you! I know what the Queen does here. She's done it before. By Élois, the attraction to you Humans is an utter mystery to me!” His face was a brilliant shade of red as he turned and paced back across the room.
I wasn't sure how to proceed, but he obviously knew the truth. And had she done this before? He made it sound as if she had a problem with the serial courting of Humans which was rather disheartening. I decided to remain quiet for the time being, let him have his say.
He called out, “Valet, bring us a bottle of wine and two glasses if you please — the white from the Coast, and see that you get the coldest bottle.”
He sat heavily on the couch and sighed. “Damn you, Bascombe! I was growing quite fond of you.”
I came and sat at the other end of the couch. “And why do you make that sound so final?” I asked.
“Well, you obviously can't stay here,” he said, "you're a distraction for the Queen and you're out of the bidding process at any rate. You've become superfluous.”
I was taken aback by his casual approach. I too thought we had developed a friendship of sorts. And to be dismissed so out of hand.
“My Lord, I won't leave the Queen's side. Not with what lies ahead. I shall protest directly to her and …”
“You would usurp my authority here in my own kingdom, Human?” he yelled over me.
“Are you the King now?” I protested. “Or is it Queen May's decision to make?”
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“There's where you overstep, Mister Bascombe,” he scolded me, “I am in charge of the military and the security of this kingdom. If I see a threat to either, I am within my purview to act on the situation as it dictates. Bear that in mind when next you speak!”
“My apologies, My Lord. I don't know what I'm thinking. She's had a powerful effect on me and I'm not myself.” I had to try to be diplomatic here. I couldn't afford to lose any of it.
“On the contrary, Mister Bascombe,” he said condescendingly, “I fear this is the first glimpse I'm being given of you. Tucked behind the diplomacy and masked with courtly manners, you're the one man. Now I'm being shown another. An impetuous sort who would throw it all away for the love of a woman!”
He looked me in the eyes sternly, “Look, I understand, she's beautiful, she's brilliant, she's perfect in every regard except that she's a queen. Queens are necessarily off limits in a number of situations, wartime being paramount certainly. So, if you do stay, it will be under the strictest of conditions. By Élois, I fail to see the attraction Elves have for Humans! Is it the brevity of your existence? It's as if you're flowers, their beauty meant to be savored quickly and briefly while they bloom and then wilt. There's not enough time! Why put oneself through the sorrow and pain?”
“You love her too, don't you?” I was out of place to ask, but it was obvious.
“Of course I do, Bascombe! What fool wouldn't be? Couldn't be? She's a gravitational entity. We're all just spinning around her. For so long, I've forced myself to be content merely being in her orbit. It hurts to see her with another! But my duties to the Crown precede any personal desires. That's my lot in life whether I want it or not. I was groomed for this position from childhood. We grew up together, she and I. She was groomed to rule, I to be the guardian of the flock. A sheepdog, Mister Bascombe. Nothing more. My job is to protect, not to interact.”
The man had it for her as bad as I did. “Perhaps if you grew a beard?” I said to lighten the mood.
He looked at me intently for a moment then burst into laughter. “I don't see how you Humans can go about with that growth. It looks unbearably itchy, it catches food, it makes you look like some sort of primitive version of the Human female!”
If you don't like them, My Lord, just say so!” I came back.
We fell into another fury of laughter as the valets were bringing in the wine service.
“Try as I might, Mister Bascombe, I can't hate you. Maybe someday, but not now. Ah,” he said, picking up the wine bottle and holding it up to the candlelight, “what a splendid color! Do you know this grape, Mister Bascombe.”
I read the label and said happily, “Of course I do, My Lord, it's the White Grinyon from Feersland. Prized for its dryness due to the chalkiness of the soil on the Western cliffs. It's one of my father's vintages.”
That dampened the mood. I hadn't thought about him or Cralix much since we got back. By the gods, that whole ordeal was less than two hours ago! More than anything, I needed to lay my head down and sleep. A glass of wine would certainly help in that area.
After pouring, Pelisir offered his glass for a toast. “To the Queen! Long may she reign!”
“To the Queen! Long may she reign!” I replied. Thinking for a moment, I asked Count Pelisir a question to which I should have already known the answer. “Will you fight, My Lord, or do you control the battlefield with your maps?”
“What an odd question, Mister Bascombe. Of course I'll fight. I'm a Gatekeeper!”
The term was lost on me. “You'll forgive me, My Lord, but I'm not familiar with the name.”
“I am a Paladin, Sir. Heavy cavalry. I lead the Gatekeepers. It was we who broke the Siege of the Black Banner, though I was only a banneret in those days. I still have the majority of my knights from that momentous occasion.”
“I was merely curious, My Lord. I've only ever seen you unarmed and in courtly garb.”
“Well, Bascombe, as fortune would have it, you'll have the chance to see me with my lance sooner rather than later.”
Taking the rest of the bottle of wine with him, we parted ways amicably, him reminding me that I was to pick up my armor the next afternoon. I would need to get in some crossbow practice in the morning. Until then, I was back to thinking about my beautiful Queen as I drifted off to sleep.
image [https://i.imgur.com/joDGLyq.jpeg]