An Aimless War - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Someone was shouting, somewhere, and it took Tandrin a moment to realize that it wasn't just in his dream. He sat up, suddenly wide awake. He got to his feet and in his haste almost walked in the wrong direction. The bedroom wasn't laid out the way he was used to. He wasn't in his own room, back in his own city. He was in Zianna. In the darkness of the room, Tandrin pulled on his boots and grabbed his sword belt. As he buckled it around his waist, he pushed open the chamber door with his shoulder.
As always, there was a guard hovering near his door. Sir Cailen was holding his sword and staring down the hallway warily, towards the sound. He was wearing what he usually wore on guard duty, chainmail over a blue tunic and bracers on both forearms. Along with the sword in his hand, he had a few knives strapped in various places. Tandrin felt unprepared by comparison, wearing nothing but the light clothing he'd been sleeping in.
"What's going on?"
Cail shrugged. "I have no idea, my lord." He stepped aside as some of the palace guards ran past, towards the commotion. "Something's happened, but I don't think anyone's fighting."
Tandrin started down the hallway, but Cail grabbed his arm. "My lord, please. Stay here where I can watch you."
Tandrin hesitated. He gripped the hilt of his sword harder, wondering what to do. What could he do? If there was an attack, he would be no help. He could fight, but he wasn't nearly as good as the knights and guards were. His talents lay elsewhere, in public speaking and politics. He allowed Cail to pull him back a few steps. Tandrin thought briefly of his younger brother. Tannix was brash and rarely thought of his own safety, but he was a soldier and he would have charged down the hallway to find out what was happening.
His thoughts were broken by a scream.
Tandrin recognized it instantly. It was Esmeranda, the crown princess. And as of a few weeks before, his betrothed.
Cail's grip on his arm tightened. "My lord."
Tandrin spun around. "I'm going to her," he said firmly. He hated putting his knights in these positions, where they had to choose between protecting him or following orders. He could almost see Cail thinking about it.
It seemed like ages had passed before Cail let go of his arm. "Please say near me." He carefully pushed past Tandrin to lead the way down the hallway. Tandrin tried to relax his grip on his sword as he followed his knight. If Esmeranda was hurt, he didn't know what he would do. He tried to push the thought away. She wouldn't be hurt. She had guards, and handmaidens. She was almost never alone. So she couldn't possibly be hurt.
Cail forced his way through the crowd of soldiers. With a sickening feeling, Tandrin realized where they were going. The king's chamber was almost empty compared to the chaos in the hallway. Tandrin stepped in cautiously. Scattered around the room were guards and servants, but Tandrin ignored them. Esmeranda, sobbing, was lying across the bed, and her younger sister was nearby. Tandrin moved closer, slowly, half hoping that it was all the dream. Then his gaze landed on the king.
At first glance he looked asleep, but the blood soaking his tunic ruined the illusion. Tandrin tore his gaze away from the multiple stab wounds that covered the king's chest. His eyes were open, but blank, and his right arm was stretched towards the table beside his bed as if he had been trying to grab a knife.
Tandrin slipped his arms around Esmeranda's waist. She struggled against him for a moment before realizing who he was, then turned around and buried her face in his tunic. Tandrin could feel blood from her night dress seeping into his shirt, but he ignored it and held her tightly. His mind was racing. The king was dead, meaning that Esmeranda was queen, meaning that—
One of the older guards started barking orders. "—take the princesses to the queen's sitting room. Guards in the room and in the hallways. You, there, organize some servants to handle the king's body. And you—"
"Sir Cailen, sir."
"Sir Cailen, take Lord Tandrin back to his chamber. We need runners going to the barracks, and..."
Tandrin stopped listening when guards appeared at his side. One of them, with a glare at him, took Esmeranda from his arms. Tandrin reached for her but then Cail was there, grabbing his arm again.
"Come on, we need to go back to your room."
"But I need to stay with her," Tandrin protested. He watched as the guards gathered Princess Esmegara, and then the two princesses were rushed from the room. The princess and the queen. He wanted to follow them. Esmeranda needed him.
"This way." Cail tugged him along and Tandrin was too dazed to really fight back. Cail wasn't usually so forceful with him, Tandrin thought as Cail pulled him down the hall. It was the sort of behaviour Tandrin might expect from his guard captain, Eppson. Maybe Terone or Frett. But never Cail. Tandrin couldn't remember if Cail had ever touched him before.
It wasn't until they reached his chamber that Tandrin pulled his arm from Cail's grip. "I need to be with—"
"No, you don't," Cail replied sharply. "You didn't see the way those guards were looking at you when you hugged the princess. You proposed to her weeks ago, and now her father is dead. You went from heir apparent to West Draulin, to betrothed to the queen, in just a few weeks. That's suspicious. And then this whole year you've been at odds with the king over Lord Tandrix's thief."
Tandrin sat on his bed, easily putting together what Cail was saying. "I suppose there is an obvious conclusion, isn't there? But I didn't have anything to do with this."
"Of course not," Cail said. "But they have to assume you did, just until they're sure the princesses are safe. You're lucky I wasn't told to drag you to prison. We just need to wait here for now. Sir."
Tandrin didn't have a chance to reply. His other knights appeared. Eppson exchanged some hushed words with Cail while Frett and Terone walked to stand near the windows and Zoyen hung back by the door. The only guard missing was Daene, who must have been in the hall.
Though it was still early in the morning, Tandrin couldn't go back to sleep. He would have preferred being alone, so he could think. Instead his guards hovered around him. For the second time that morning Tandrin found himself envying his little brother, this time for the friendship he maintained with his knights. Tandrin trusted all of his men, and they were friends, but that was different. Tannix had found a second family in his knights. Tannix would have felt comfortable sharing his feelings, doubts and fears with his knights.
As the sun rose outside and the room brightened, Tandrin sat silently. His knights had settled around the room, aside for Eppson, who paced restlessly.
Tandrin was surprised when Eppson broke the silence. "Tandrin." The knights rarely just addressed him by his name, even in private. It was almost always 'my lord' around other people, and the less formal 'sir' in private. Rarely his name.
Tandrin had to force himself to move and look up, towards his knight. "Yes?"
"You're going to make a good king."
Tandrin flinched. Hearing it said out loud made it more real. "When I proposed to Esmeranda, I knew I'd be king one day. But I expected to have a few years to prepare, at least."
"You were prepared to become Lord West Draulin, and you've spent the whole year here with the court," Eppson said. "Being king will be different, but similar."
"I know... I just wanted to talk to Tannix first. I wanted to give him time to get used to the idea before we made any official announcements," Tandrin said. "He's going to hate me."
Eppson nodded. "Maybe. But Lord West Draulin will train him. Your father will be able to help you, too. And we'll be here."
"I can't just... I know it was going to happen eventually. But I can't expect you to all suddenly become the King's Guard. Terone has a wife and children in West Draulin. I've kept him away from them long enough."
"They'll move," Terone spoke up. "They're going to follow me, sir, and I'm going to follow you. That's the job."
Tandrin looked at him for a moment, then waved at Zoyen. "And I can't expect Zoyen to stay and be the only Crelan in Zianna."
Zoyen shrugged. "There are other Crelans in Zianna. Probably. I'm half Native and there are no Natives in West Draulin, anyway, so I'm used to being unusual."
Frett cleared his throat and spoke up before Tandrin could mention him. "Maybe you're not used to the idea yet, sir, but we are."
Tandrin looked at all of them. Eppson and Cailen were minor New Teltar nobles. Daene's family owned an inn. Frett and Terone came from low class working families in West Draulin. Zoyen was a sailor's son from East Draulin. None of these men would have ever expected to work in Zianna, let along as the King's Guard. But here they were.
Tandrin took a deep breath and nodded. He was a politician; it was in his blood. He could be king. "All right. I—"
He was interrupted by the knock on the door. The knights were suddenly alert, until Daene's voice called through the door, "Lord Tandrin, Queen Esmeranda requests your presence in the throne room."
"Thank you," Tandrin replied. With a sigh, he got to his feet. For the first time he noticed that his tunic was stained with dried blood. He pulled it over his head and tossed it aside, then picked out a dark blue tunic. Before stepping outside, he ran a hand through his blond hair, hoping he looked presentable.
All six knights accompanied him. Tandrin wasn't used to having them all around at once, and it served as a reminder for how serious the situation was.
Before they had even reached the throne room, an older man with neatly tied back white hair intercepted them. "Lord Tandrin."
"Lord Resul," Tandrin said. Over the past year, Tandrin had really come to respect the spymaster. Even if the man had been trying to keep Finn in prison. "I understand that you're concerned, but this has nothing to do with the thief."
"And you understand that I have to investigate," Lord Resul said. "For what it's worth, I don't think you had anything to do with this. And when things have settled down, I think we should reinvestigate that Deorun theory of yours."
Tandrin had spoken to Lord Resul countless times on Finn's behalf. He thought he knew the man fairly well, and he could hear something slightly different in his tone. "Are you asking me if we should reinvestigate?"
"You know I am, Lord Tandrin." Lord Resul stepped aside and gestured down the hall. "Queen Esmeranda is waiting for you. We'll have plenty of time to speak later."
Tandrin nodded, and stepped past Lord Resul to continue towards the throne room. It was full of guards and advisors. Esmeranda stood in the middle of the room, alone. She was wearing a gold dress, her hair was done up neatly, and her hands were tightly clasped in front of her. Her eyes gave away how she was truly feeling, puffy and red from grief and exhaustion.
Tandrin's knights fell back a respectful distance as he joined her and took her hands. "Meranda, I..."
"Shh." Esmeranda shook her head and stepped back. She gestured to the floor at her feet and Tandrin, hoping he was interpreting her signals correctly, dropped to one knee.
"Lord Tandrin of West Draulin." She said his name loudly enough that the room fell silent. All the guards, advisors and servants turned to watch what was happening. Esmeranda waited for them to settle as if she had been making speeches like this her whole life. Or, Tandrin though, maybe it was less of a speech and more of a performance.
"I am giving you a choice," Esmeranda continued loudly. "Given recent events, there are going to be rumours. People in the kingdom who think they know better than their queen," she paused just long enough to make her point very clear, "will wonder if you had a hand in my father's untimely death. I would like to remind those people that the Tandran family has always been the closest allies of the Edarius family. Just a year ago your brother helped save my father from an assassin. While some people may consider that a strange coincidence, I see it for what it truly is. Loyalty to Zianna and the crown." She paused again, this time to take a few breaths. The room was still and silent, everyone waiting for her next words. Tandrin almost felt like he should hold his breath.
"Your choice, Lord Tandrin, is my blessing to rescind your offer of betrothal. I do not wish your good name and standing to be ruined by baseless rumours. I also do not wish to entrap you, and force you to become my king before you are ready."
Tandrin stared up at her. Not for a heartbeat did he consider the offer. He knew every pair of eyes in the room was on him as he carefully reached up to take her hand. "I will stay by your side, if you'll have me. I know I haven't had much time to prepare, but I will learn and I will follow your lead, my queen." He gently pulled on her hand, and she let him lean in to kiss it. He kissed her skin first, then the intricate gold ring she was already wearing that labeled her as the ruling sovereign.
He looked up just in time to see Esmeranda bite her lip nervously. It was one of the little habits Tandrin had fallen in love with, the ones she hid from the people of the kingdom. "Thank you," she said quietly, just for him. She pulled her hand away and continued loudly. "Lord Tandrin of West Draulin. Although it is unusual to be given a title before we are married, I believe your support will be invaluable in the coming days. Therefore, I have decided to name you Acting King Tandrin Zianna. We will have a formal crowning ceremony once we are married."
Hearing his name like that almost shocked Tandrin enough that he forgot what he was doing, and what was going on. For his whole life, he knew that he was going to become Lord Tandrin West Draulin, the Sixth. Instead he was Acting King Tandrin Zianna, the First. The first Tandran king.
Then, all of a sudden, he realized Esmeranda was waiting for him to say something. He ducked his head in a bow and said, "Thank you, your majesty. My queen. I will serve you and our kingdom to the best of my abilities."
"Rise," Esmeranda said.
As he got to his feet, people in the room started to move and talk again. The guards gave each other reports or orders, the advisors grumbled about Esmeranda's decision, the servants whispered. Tandrin didn't care about any of it. He just looked as Esmeranda and wished he could kiss her.
She looked back. "Well, that wasn't so bad. Oh, but you do mean it, don't you? I had to do this in front of everybody, but you were allowed to say no."
"I meant it, your majesty," Tandrin promised.
"Don't start that with me," she said, a slight smile evident in her voice. "Now, we really do need to discuss how to tell the people."
Tandrin nodded. "Let me send word home first, please. I want Tannix to at least have a warning before the whole kingdom knows he's inheriting West Draulin." It was asking a lot, he knew that. Keeping the king's death a secret would be hard, given that all the palace staff knew. The city of Zianna would certainly know by midday. But if he got a messenger out fast enough, his family could hear before anyone else.
After a moment Esmeranda nodded. "Send a messenger to your family now. We'll send out an official announcement tonight."
Again Tandrin wished he could kiss her. "Thank you. Eppson," he glanced over his shoulder. His guards were the only people in the room who hadn't moved. "Roland should still be in Zianna, have him meet me as soon as possible." When Eppson nodded, Tandrin turned back to Esmeranda. Finally, he had a chance to say what he wanted to when he first walked into the throne room.
"Meranda, I'm sorry this happened. I can't imagine how you're feeling. But I will be here with you, to support you in every way I can. You are going to be a fantastic queen." He smiled, hoping to coax one from her. "My beautiful future wife, Queen Esmeranda Zianna. Long live the queen."
She smiled. It was a small, sad smile, but it still made Tandrin's heart soar. Esmeranda stepped closer and kissed him. Maybe it wasn't proper, but Tandrin didn't care. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her snugly against his chest.
When the kiss ended, she reached up to fiddle with a bit of his hair. Then she smiled genuinely and said, "long live the king."