Sir Droyn shook his head in disbelief. His jaw tightened and his fingers balled into knuckle-white fists. “Hamnet is very much my brother. I cannot believe that he would defect even in the face of…. The suddenness of his choice doesn’t make sense.”
“Gailan,” he called, noticing that his serving man had kept his distance once Sir Droyn had arrived.
Gailan approached Prince Kelton. “Is there something I can get you, My Prince?” he asked.
“Your vow of loyalty, if you both feel you can still give it to me,” he replied seriously.
“Always,” they replied unhesitatingly.
Prince Kelton’s eyes watered. He nodded his thanks. “Hamnet was willing to… in order to keep Mȧthair, Nathaniel, and Ponderosa safe.”
Sir Droyn looked up at him once more. “I understand why he would go for Ponderosa and Nathaniel, but Mȧthair?”
“Mȧthair is Iredys’ new form.”
“My Lord,” Sir Droyn started to protest, but stopped when Prince Kelton held up his hand.
“I know that sounds crazy, given that we burned her body two weeks ago.”
Sir Droyn and Gailan nodded, but kept their silence.
“While I was speaking with Iredys in Pride Town, she told me that she had the ability to use several magics that were forced upon her while she was away from us.”
Sir Droyn’s brow furrowed. “I… I don’t understand. If you knew that long ago then surely….”
“Surely I would have left her there?” Prince Kelton wondered.
He nodded. “...Did she curse you in some way?”
Prince Kelton smiled softly. “No. I brought her back to Greywolf Castle and married her of my own free will and choice.”
Sir Droyn sat back with a dumbfounded expression on his face. “...Why?”
“Because I could not bear the thought of her being forever bound to someone else,” Prince Kelton replied honestly.
“Forever bound?”
Prince Kelton shifted the Garnet ring on his finger. He removed it so they could see the five different colors that made up the ring that had been engraved into his ring finger. The Alexandrite and Peridot bridged the gap of the Diamond band while surrounded by a thin line of Jet and Aquamarine.
“By choosing to marry Iredys, I chose to forever bind my body and soul to hers. The Diamond ensures that our fidelity will never be broken,” he said, using his right pinkie to point to each of the bands as he spoke. “The Alexandrite allows us to be reborn when either of us dies; the Peridot will give us a new form when death has come upon us, the Aquamarine allows us to communicate whenever our physical forms differ, and the Jet will forever shelter and protect us.”
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“What about the other two stones she wears?” Gailan asked, confused. “Why do you only have five instead of all seven if your union is so complete?”
“Because I do not need the Emerald in order to see as she did, nor do I need the power of the Ruby in order to move things.”
Sir Droyn shook his head. “It can’t just be the stones that allow for this,” he said.
“You are correct, Sir Droyn. Engraved in her chest are seven runes. Seven runes that were burned into her flesh while the stones were painfully embedded therein.”
Gailan’s brow furrowed slightly. “So, it was this change that made you hesitant to marry her?”
Sir Droyn looked at Gailan then turned back to Prince Kelton.
Prince Kelton sighed. “I would have remarried her in Pride Town, but there were other possibilities… other… paths… that she wanted me to understand first. She, also, wanted to give me the opportunity to see the risks and dangers that would be involved should I still choose her above Princess Analisa or Countess Lilia.”
“Remarried?” Sir Droyn asked.
“She was the Dragonwoman that came to me in Palion City.”
“What?! How…? Why…?”
Prince Kelton motioned for Droyn to soften his voice. “She came to me while being controlled by the man who held her captive. Her… death, is what broke our fidelity and to a large degree the spell that was attached to us becoming one.”
“Death?” Gailan asked. “She can’t have died, she was very much alive when….”
He stopped when Prince Kelton shifted his attention to him.
“Her transformation magic remained dormant until we found her in Pride Town. The only reason she remained human was due to the conception of our son.”
“So Nathaniel really is your son then?” Sir Droyn asked.
“He is.”
The two of them nodded.
“...Does Hamnet know this?” Sir Droyn wondered.
“He does. He is also aware that Ponderosa has magic, too.”
“What magic does she have?” Gailan asked.
“Like Mȧthair, she can transform. Her most recent bout of ‘illness’ was brought on because I betrothed Ponderosa and Hamnet. The betrothal revealed answers that unlocked a trauma she suffered some time ago, and caused her to transform.”
“If she transformed, how has she been able to care for Nathaniel?”
“With the help of Mȧthair’s magic,” he replied simply, not feeling up to trying to get into the specifics.
“So, you’ve accepted Ponderosa’s magic because Mȧthair has magic?” Sir Droyn asked.
“I accepted it because I do not look at magic in the same light as my mother does, and I know—with the amount of loyalty she gives to Mȧthair—that she will remain loyal and true to what is good and right in Greywolf Kingdom.”
“Did Hamnet know about Ponderosa’s magic before you betrothed them?”
Prince Kelton’s lips twitched. “No. He only found out after she had transformed and he brought her to me to plead for leniency.”
“And he still accepted it?”
He nodded.
“...So, what now?” Sir Droyn asked.
Prince Kelton blew out his breath. “We return to Greywolf Castle.”
“And Mȧthair and Nathaniel?”
“Hope that Hamnet will keep them safe until it is safe for all of them to return.”
“Do you know which way they went? I can….”
“No,” Prince Kelton cut him off. “This return to Greywolf Castle is already ugly. We don’t need to make it worse.”
“I understand, Prince Kelton.”
Sir Droyn waited a moment before he set the chair back by the table. He knelt on the floor and set a fisted hand over his heart. “I renew my vows to you as a knight of the realm. Whatever you need of me, I will do.”
“Thank you, Sir Droyn. You may rise.”
He stood. “Anything I might do tonight, Your Highness?”
“Rest. I doubt we will get far tomorrow,” he replied, motioning to the snow that was falling, albeit lightly, outside.
“As you command,” he replied before he bowed respectfully then left the room.