Chapter 12: Old News Is New Again

As a thirteen-year-old, Lady Elara had not cared about such things. At that age, her greatest concerns were whether she had a new insight into the poem she read yesterday or whether she could finish the painting she had begun.

The twenty-three-year-old Elara had continued to grow up this way. But because she had been living far from home and yearned for news of her younger brother, she had found that following the political affairs of the Realm was the best way to keep track of him. To show their loyalty and to make the spoiled girl feel secure, the Blackwoods would invite her to sit in on their war councils and would regularly send her important reports and news. Unbeknownst to her at the time, many of these reports were only given to her after the events had already happened.

It would have been no use to give her the news early. It was better for her to hear it as a finished story, anyway. As long as her brother was safe, that was all that mattered. The Blackwoods had even assigned her two retainers to entertain her. One was a fifty-year-old man named Magister Caelus, who had seen enough of the world to be disillusioned with it. The other was a thirty-year-old named Master Leander, who was still eager to make his mark.

"I thought General Wolfram's visit was for the Consort's birthday," Master Leander said, waving a royal gazette in his hand. His thin, dark face flushed with either anger or excitement. "General Wolfram's mother-in-law was a wet nurse for House Rohan. He's one of their men, one of Consort Rohan's men. He belongs to the High Eunuch Quinton."

"No man wants to be a wet nurse's son-in-law forever," Magister Caelus said, holding a large teacup. The steam obscured his pale, plump face, and his voice was a hazy whisper.

"General Wolfram would have remained a mere commander without that connection," Master Leander muttered bitterly.

Magister Caelus’s voice was still slow and indifferent, as if nothing in the world could move him. "He spent too long going from commander to provincial governor. He endured a great deal to get here. He no longer sees himself as a man of House Rohan."

Master Leander tucked his hands into his sleeves and sighed. "It's a pity. If we had been able to secure General Wolfram's loyalty, High Eunuch Quinton would not be in such a desperate position. The problem is having no soldiers of his own."

"Things are different now. The King's word is not law. High Eunuch Quinton knows that, but..." Magister Caelus took a loud slurp of his tea. "Perhaps his luck is simply terrible. But, if the petition for young Lord Kael's appointment had been sent to him first..."

"Are you suggesting we ally ourselves with High Eunuch Quinton?" Master Leander interrupted, his face aghast. "We are above such things."

Magister Caelus settled into his armchair, a look of sublime indifference on his face. "We do not seek to ally with anyone. We only want Lord Kael to be the Lord-Warden. With an army like the one in the Swordfall Marches, High Eunuch Quinton would have been tempted. His control over the court may not be as strong as High Chancellor Tristram's, but no one has the King's ear like him..."

Master Leander's eyebrows furrowed as he followed the line of thought. "If Lord Anson had approached High Eunuch Quinton, he would have convinced the King to appoint Lord Kael without us having to deal with the court for so long? What then?"

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Magister Caelus looked at his teacup and blew on the hot liquid. "Young Lord Kael would have received the Lord-Warden's scepter two months earlier. He could have mobilized his troops a month sooner. We would have entered the territory of Huai'an a month ahead of schedule, and we would not have had to lament our losses in the Eastern and Western Mountains."

Master Leander slapped his hand down on the table. "Exactly! A step ahead is a step ahead in every way. One step behind, and you wait three years!" He sighed, shaking his head. "If only... if only we had done that..."

In the quiet study, Elara wrapped herself in a silk robe, a hand warmer in her hands. She looked at the two men telling stories. They called themselves advisors, but their jobs were no different than those of the servants in the inner court. They had been assigned to her because they were men who had no real power in the Blackwood family. They treated their role like a story-telling session, a chance to critique current events and air their bitterness over their lack of influence.

What had been "old news" to her past self was now a map to the future.

Elara slowly finished writing the petition, carefully choosing her words to appeal to the court officials she had never met but knew so well. When she finally set down her pen, the light in the room was a pale blue, and Lord Kael had fallen asleep with his head on the desk.

She did not wake him. He would be safer sleeping on the road. The journey back would not be like the journey here. It would be a safe one. She looked at her brother’s face, wanting to remember every inch of him. She had died and been reborn to see him again, and now she would have to say goodbye. She did not know how long it would be before they would meet again. She had to work to secure his future.

When the sun was fully up, Lord Kael knelt in his grandmother’s arms and told her he was returning to the Swordfall Marches. The family, who had only just calmed down from his first announcement, was once again thrown into a panic. The Grand Matron refused to believe a child wanted to leave, but Lord Kael insisted that it was his decision. "Father is gone," the ten-year-old said, looking up at his grandmother with a serious expression. "I must honor his loyalty to the Crown. I am sorry, Grandmother, that I cannot fulfill my duties to you."

The Grand Matron hugged him tightly. "Your words are enough. What more could I ask for? It is I who am sorry, for you, my child, at such a young age..."

Kael looked up, his head still nestled in her arms. "I am not suffering. My only hardship is returning to the Marches. The real hardship is for Uncle Galen."

Lord Galen was stunned. "It's no hardship, no hardship at all."

"Then you must return to the Marches with him," Lord Cassian said. "And Lord Alaric will go to Tarim as planned." Lord Alaric muttered to himself that he did not know when he would get to leave, but he did not dare show his frustration. He knew that if he upset Lord Cassian, he would not get to go at all.

Seeing the children's unity and loyalty, the Grand Matron, for all her doting, understood the gravity of the situation. She chose eight trusted and capable maidservants for Lord Kael and gave him her permission to leave. Since they were leaving anyway, there was no point in staying another day. The family bustled, preparing for their departure.

Elara waited in her room. "Here is the petition," she said, gesturing to the document on the table.

Valerius’s expression was full of hesitation. "You can read it, Uncle Valerius," Elara said, her voice soft. The name "Uncle Valerius" was a shock. It was the first time she had called him that, a sign of her complete trust. He did not let his surprise show. He simply took the petition. "I will read it in my quarters."

Elara nodded. "This petition must go directly to High Eunuch Quinton. Do we have a connection who can get it to him?"

Valerius knew who High Eunuch Quinton was. Everyone in the Realm knew he was the King’s most trusted eunuch. Going through him was the fastest way to get to the King. Lord Anson had disdained dealing with him, but things were different now. A great man knows when to bend. "Yes," Valerius said, "Lord Anson's good friend, High Lord Mentor Merton, is related to High Eunuch Quinton by marriage. I need to write a letter to him in your name."

Elara nodded. "You handle the rest."

Valerius bowed, but as he turned to leave, Elara called out to him. She sat in the darkest part of the room, her eyes peering out from the folds of the cloth. "Do you feel... unwell?" she asked.