Lord Belone’s palace was much smaller than the Royal Palace and less extravagant, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its own extravagances. A case in point was Lord Belone’s personal apartments. Unlike in the Royal Palace, Belone was the only noble here who had a suite of private rooms, but it rivalled most of the ones in the Royal Palace. The lounge where Felitïa stood waiting now had three large arched windows along one wall, their wooden frames carved with designs of fish and other sea life, plus an abundance of water fowl. Paintings adorned the opposite wall, while a massive fireplace and mantel dominated one of the remaining walls. A portrait of a man Felitïa didn’t recognise, though who bore a familial resemblance to Belone, hung over the mantel. Along the length of the remaining wall ran a table covered in all manner of glasses, bottles, figurines, and statuettes. There didn’t seem to be a pattern to what Belone had collected there. From the ceiling hung a massive chandelier.

Siba came into the room and curtsied. “Your Highness, you look stunning. Simply stunning.”

Felitïa curtsied in reply. “Thank you, my Lady.” She had just spent several hours—five or six at least—sitting or standing in place while Lady Belone’s handmaids had done her hair and make-up, and then dressed her. She now sported the most elaborate hairdo she had ever worn in her life, and she could barely move her head without feeling its weight and worrying that she was going to ruin it somehow. They had curled her hair and then used a wire contraption and hair extensions to put her hair into an elaborate chignon decorated with a ring of pearls at the back of her head, while also letting her hair hang in loose, long curls at the sides of her head. Those curls were also adorned with ribbons.

“You are a true beauty, your Highness. You should let yourself be done up like this more often. Trust me, you would not need to remain single for much longer.”

Felitïa tried to smile in as friendly a manner as she could. “To be honest, my Lady, I’m not looking to be married.”

Siba tutted. “Yes, Anita tells me much the same. You young women these days. It’s the men too, I suppose. Your brothers and sisters have set quite the example by waiting so long to marry. All the young people today are trying to copy you. Come. My husband will see you now.”

Siba led Felitïa into Lord Belone’s bedchamber. It was a small, much less ostentatious room than the rest of his apartments. Belone himself sat propped up in his bed.

“Feo, her Highness is here,” Siba said.

“Forgive me for not bowing,” Belone said, “but I cannot easily get out of bed at the moment.”

Felitïa curtsied. “No need for apologies, your Lordship. You’re in no shape for pointless formalities. How are you feeling?”

Belone chuckled. “I many not look it, but believe it or not, I’m feeling quite a bit better. Far from perfect, mind you, but compared to how I’ve felt the last couple days, it’s a huge improvement.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Felitïa said.

“Feo,” Siba said, “just because you can’t bow doesn’t mean you can’t show other courtesies. Doesn’t her Highness look incredible?”

Belone took his wife’s hand in his. “Of course, my dear. How rude of me.” He looked back at Felitïa. “My wife is keen I complement the skill of her handmaids.” He chuckled again. “But she is right. You do look divine, your Highness. Absolutely beautiful.”

Felitïa got the impression she was going to have to put up with these kinds of half-true statements all night. She wasn’t looking forward to it, but she smiled anyway. “Thank you, your Lordship. You are too kind. What is it you wished to see me about?”

Belone smiled and patted his wife’s hand. “You see, my dear? Straight to business just as I said she would.” He motioned to two servants standing in wait in the room. “Leave us.”

The servants bowed and left.

Belone was silent for several moments. Then Siba handed him a bottle of medication. She had already removed the stopper. Belone drank it down. “To ensure I don’t break into a coughing fit during our talk.”

Felitïa nodded.

Belone took a deep breath. “What I am about to say is not easy for me. For neither of us. Siba and I have discussed this in great detail the past couple of days. When I die, by Arnorin law, lordship of this province will pass to my first-born legitimate child. That would be Danel.”

“I am aware of this, your Lordship,” Felitïa said.

Belone nodded. “And you are certainly aware that he is not ready for this.”

Felitïa nodded. “That too.”

“It pains both Siba and I, but we need to ensure this does not happen yet. Gods willing, I will live through this illness and there will be nothing to worry about. I can live to a proper old age and by then, again gods willing, Danel will be ready. But I fear I will not live much longer. My doctors tell me they cannot guarantee me more than a couple more weeks, so I need to take action in that time in case the worst happens. There are only two ways I can deny Danel his inheritance. One is to disown him completely and banish him from the family. Neither Siba nor I wish to do this. We may be disappointed in him, but he is still our son.” He looked into his wife’s eyes and they stared in silence for a moment.

“And the second option?” Felitïa asked.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I can have the inheritance formally transferred from him to Anita. To do that, I need a witness from the clergy and a royal witness as well. I have already arranged for a clergy member, and I would like to ask you to be my royal witness.”

“Because you truly want me, or because I’m the only royalty available?”

“Truthfully? Both. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, Felitïa, and I know I’ve done things you haven’t forgiven me for, but that is irrelevant at this time. You’re an intelligent woman—one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. You know as well as I do that Danel taking over would be disastrous. He would certainly arrest your friend, Nin-Akna, possibly causing an international incident. He will likely even arrest you, using your banishment from Arnor City as a shield.”

“You’re right, your Lordship,” Felitïa said. “I share your concerns and I will happily be your witness.”

Belone coughed a little, then smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. The documents are already being drafted. The day after tomorrow, we will meet here again with Father Brayan, the witness from the clergy. The three of us will sign the documents, and it will be done. I hope it goes without saying, Danel must not learn of this beforehand. He would probably make such a fuss I would have to disown him completely.”

“You don’t have to worry, your Lordship,” Felitïa said. “I have no intention of telling him anything about this.”

“Thank you. Don’t tell Anita either, or Nin-Akna. It’s not that I don’t trust her. I have no doubt at all that she would never tell Danel. However, she might let things slip to Anita, and Anita has a soft heart towards her brother. She might tell him in an effort to convince him to promise to change. It’s in all our best interests not to give her that opportunity before the job is done.”

Felitïa took a deep breath. Keeping secrets from Nin-Akna while she was in the middle of regaining the young Ninifin’s trust was not her first choice. It wasn’t a choice of any kind she’d want to make. But it was only for a couple days. And it was for Nin-Akna’s safety. “You have my word. I won’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Thank you, your Highness,” Siba said. “We truly appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, my Lady and your Lordship. I know this can’t be an easy decision for you, but I believe you’ve made the right one. I also believe Anita will make a far better ruler for this province.”

Belone chuckled. “I don’t believe she’s ready for it yet, either. However, she at least will be willing to listen to her mother’s advice.”

“And she will learn quickly,” Siba said.

Belone nodded. “Yes, she will. She will be a good ruler in the end. She will be softer than I have ever been, but perhaps that is needed.” He coughed some more.

Siba rose from his side. “Now your Highness, if you don’t mind, my husband could use some more rest.”

Felitïa curtsied. “Of course, my Lady. Can I expect to see you at the ball tonight, your Lordship?”

Belone coughed again. “If everything goes according to plan, I’ll make a brief appearance. I don’t expect to stay more than a few minutes, but it’s important I show my face.”

“Then I look forward to seeing you there, your Lordship.”

“And I you, your Highness.”

Felitïa curtsied again, then followed Siba out of the room.

“Thank you so much for this,” Siba said in the lounge. “We are both more grateful than words can express.”

“Words aren’t needed,” Felitïa said. “What you are doing is enough.”

Siba lowered her head. “Still, without you, we would not be able to do it.”

Felitïa smiled at her. “My involvement is just my way of saying thanks, and I’m happy to do it.”

Siba curtsied. “I must return to my husband, but I will see you at the ball in a few hours, your Highness. Thank you again.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Siba curtsied again and returned to Belone’s bedchamber.

Felitïa headed out of Belone’s apartments, but stumbled partway to the door. She caught and steadied herself. That was weird. Why had she stumbled?

Her head had clouded for a moment, though she’d barely noticed.

She was overtired again. The night after taking the sleeping draught, she hadn’t slept well again, though it had not been quite as bad as most of the nights prior to taking the draught. Then last night, she also slept poorly, but her tiredness was nowhere near what it had been. Why had her mind clouded like that?

The Room in her head seemed normal. She could make out the presences of the nearby servants, even Lord and Lady Belone. Off to the side was the row of people beginning with Zandrue and ending with...someone shrouded from view. Above/not above them was the Staff. It had a presence here even though the real Staff was at Agernon’s. Its presence here never disappeared. It just went quiet. The black walls formed as she willed them, and then disappeared when she dismissed them. In the distance were the grey walls.

She dismissed the Room. She needed to go somewhere, sit down, and meditate—examine the inner workings of her mind in exacting detail. Something strange was happening, and she needed to find out what.

No. She couldn’t sit properly in the gown she was wearing, and it would be hugely disrespectful to Siba to remove it. She would have to meditate standing up. That was fine. She could do that.

Provided her focus and concentration were up to it. But if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be up to her meditating from a seated position either.

Except maybe with the prayer beads. She still hadn’t gotten round to using those.

Gods, even with that one good night of sleep, she was still scatterbrained. Not surprising. She was going to need a lot more than one good night to recover properly.

She needed to see Angelida again, too. Though Angelida had said she’d need a few days, and it had only been three. She would go tomorrow or the day after.

For now, she had a couple of hours before the ball. She would go to her room and try to search her mind for signs of tampering.