Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen's fingers thimped on the table before him, one by one. Behind, a great map of the realm hung on the wall to be considered in times of peace and war alike, but this eve he had no thoughts for the wider world. The jovial mood of Garnett's birthday and his own son's naming had left him, for the middle son had seen fit to steal the joy from him. He took a moment to reflect on Ilgnuit; that boy had been a prime cause of many things in Wyldrigrengledrysllthen's life, and could thus be handed responsibility for much of the Kingdom's happenstance in recent years, through his birth alone. "I know what the boy has done," he told his knuckles, his eyes not daring to lift to his firstborn and his daughter-in-law sitting to one side. "But I know not what to do about it." A great sigh heralded the return of his worries, his face once more drawn and aged, lines returning to mar his eyes and lips where his greying beard was beginning to thin.
Uhtred Valenti rested back upon his seat and wrapped an arm around the back, trying very hard to assume some sort of relaxed state. The truth of the matter, of course, was that he was ready to explode. The birthday bash had put matters from his mind only for the fact that the arrogant seedling wasn't there. Now that there was time to think about it, Uhtred was more livid than ever. "I know what to do about it," he rumbled, but that was as far as he would carry that particularly bad line of conversation. His hand latched on to his wife's like a vice, trying to leech some sort of calm from the girl. How was it that for a lass barely a year into her tenure here, Garnett seemed to have a better working understanding of policy than he? "Something must be done."
Garnett made it a point to wear the gifts she'd been given, her necklace today the golden hued pearls from Eilella. A summer gown of delicate fabrics and shades was offset by the stern upsweep of her hair and the solemn expression on her face, lips set into a thin line. It was the second occasion she'd born witness against one of the Valenti offspring, and a pattern that she found deeply distasteful. Her downcast pale eyes slipped to her husband, fingers curling tightly around his, her exterior remarkably smooth. Despite her anger the evening of Ilgnuit's insults, she'd found herself unable to feel the fury of it. Her thumb stroked gently over her husband's knuckles. "Indeed it must." She remarked quietly, her voice worried as she glanced over at the King. The quickness of his age was no little reason for concern. "I believe he was trying to goad Uhtred into doing something foolish, which thankfully, he did not." It had verged on it, of course, and it was that thought that caused her lips to tremble. "And if Uhtred does nothing, Ilgnuit is free to undermine him. Further, my family will demand some defense of my honour, Your Majesty. It cannot go unanswered." Apology and deference touched her low voice, the girl studying the hand clasped in her own.
Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen's forest-green eyes cut sharply to Uhtred's face with his impertinant reply, his face curving with displeasure, though the expression lacked the bite it once held. He was about to snap that of course something must be done when Garnett's quiet comment sapped his frustration; his gaze shifted to her, landing first on that high, delicate necklace, and for one shining instant he felt a child again. His breath caught, the candlelight playing over the Princess's skin, giving her an ethereal look. He dared to hope his mother had come back to take it all away...but then his heart gave a thud, the moment dulled and he came back to this great room that passed for his private study. He listened to her firm reasoning and nodded. "Indeed it is fortuitous that your husband failed to act on his impulse, for then we would be discussing quite a different fate." A pause and a glance to Uhtred would suffice to convey his meaning. "I am deeply sorry that your mother and father were so shamed." Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen didn't speak for amother moment, finding his bare knuckles of keenest interest. "You are also my daughter, and I too feel the need to remove the stain that Prince Ilgnuit has caused to your honour and reputation. But he is my son." His son, whom the priest had promised would set everything right...his son who should have mended the rifts in his family and his psyche, who was destined for some great future in the clergy or in support of Uhtred's reign. His son who, instead, had become a spoiled child of fortune while the King himself was busied with commanding the destiny of his subjects. "He is my son," the King repeated somewhat lamely, still considering the lines in his fingers, no closer to an answer.
Uhtred Valenti shifted uncomfortable under his father's stare, for he had no doubt heard of the murder nearly commited in his own dining room as well. What could be said in defense? I just wanted to carve a little U in his forehead? Not bloody likely. "He is my brother," he allowed the king, nodding as if to say that he understood, "but he is also a gross liability. His behaviour has always been on the verge of dangerous, and..." he let himself stop there. The truth of the matter, of course, was that it didn't matter what the man decided. If he was disallowed to lay elm branches, then an accident could be had, or a negotiation with a bandit party arranged. Or he could wait until his father, God bless him, was dead to quietly murder the bastard. But Uhtred wanted it to be a display.
Garnett's skin prickled at the thought of what might had happened, teeth grazing her bottom lip before she relentlessly forced the nervous habit away. With a nod, her eyes lifted nervously to the King, sympathy tinging her freckled face. "He is a son, and he is a brother, and while I appreciate your apologies, Father, it is not you who owes them." She paused for a deep breath, choosing her words as carefully as she could. For an instant, her fingers clutched Uhtred's, speech failing her before she managed to continue. "Uhtred is your son too, your heir. If he cannot answer this, he is weakened in the eyes of the Kingdom." Passion lit through her voice, concern for her husband and how he would be viewed far outweighing the insult to herself. "And if he does not, my Father will send one of my brothers address the situation. I have no doubt." How insulting that would appear, that her husband could not defend her honour and so her brother must?
Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen could well understand his son's bloodlust, masked through it was behind fancy terms of honour and justice. It was the same desire Wyld himself had, and the reason his siblings were all safely tucked away in the Church, in foreign beds, or safe in their graves; all the same, he didn't want to face up to the reality that Ilgnuit could not survive. Again he brought his eyes to Garnett's soft face, made harsh by her determination as much by her hardships this past year, and he listened to her quiet urgence. "I have robbed the boy of his freedom, of his wife's bed, and of any hopes of inheriting," he offered rather meekly to her. "What more would you have me do? Either of you? If it is not my burden to bear, how shall you distribute the load?" He swallowed, hard, already knowing the answer.
.
Uhtred Valenti couldn't keep still anymore. He was up on his feet, now, the seat scooted forcefully away from him. Unfortunately, Garnett had not succeeded in calming the man. One of her brothers? The very thought sent his brain to boiling. No, he'd never allow them to wander willy-nilly into his home so uninvited. As if the rest of this nightmare wasn't bad enough, Ilgnuit had succeeded in putting Uhtred in a military dilemna as well. So when that question escaped his father's lips, he swooped on it. He walked back to the table and pressed his fists against it as he had that night, the wood creaking as a growl seeped from his lips. "I would distribute the load on his back; lay down the elm branches and take the man's heart so that he could never be given the chance to do us harm. And he has done us harm." His eyes included everyone in the room for that statement.
Garnett ducked her head as Uhtred flew to his feet, mentally scolding herself for bringing up her family's defense of her. Of course Uhtred would never stand for it! Eyes lowered as she sunk into silence, her hands clasped together tightly in the folds of her gown, picking at the fabric until she forcibly stilled them. A guilty flush crept over her cheeks and neck, unable to supress a violent shudder at Uhtred's dark words, the chest of hearts swimming in her vision. Squaring her shoulders, she sat up straight as she inhaled deeply. "He has, Your Majesty, and I cannot see any solution other than Uhtred's. I'm sorry, Father." Yes, she had found out about the elm branches in her time there, knowing well the implications, but she said no more, instead resuming her silent support of her husband.
Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen flinched when Uhtred jumped up so quickly, a spasm of fear racking his heart...but it passed when Uhtred began to speak. A deep breath stilled his hammering heart, though his son's words brought him no comfort. Surely there had to be another way, any other way. His mouth gaped, and he sought Garnett's reassurance, only to have her throw all of her weight behind Uhtred's grim decision. His breath trembled when he took it, eyes darting from one of his children to the next. He was still King here, and his word was still law, but he felt powerless beneath their expectant gazes. He knew his dreams were slipping away with each breath he took, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "Very well, my son," he sighed heavily. "You can throw down your elm branches and face him." The Crown Prince had stood toe-on-toe with men determined to slaughter him, he'd faced reeking drunks and trained killers and had taken each of them from the pain of their lives to the sweet beyond. Ilgnuit would not stand a chance...if by some miracle the boy might survive and kill his brother, Wyld knew he himself would not live long enough to see the fruits of Ilgnuit's victory. "And may God have mercy on us all."
Uhtred Valenti would have been joyful, perhaps, if it hadn't been for the obvious weight of the decision upon his father. As it was, a kind of grim mood hovered in the air when the prince brought himself to his full height. His charge had been given, and Ilgnuit would be no more. He knew that much without a shadow of a doubt. "I will send folk to break the news quietly," he said with a fierce tone. "I want Nharati to witness this." Uhtred was aiming to make an impression with this duel. His power had certainly been proven, but this would show dissenters what happened to those who challenged him even among his own blood. And now he had a terrible request. "It would be better if you were present for the occasion," he probed. That way it would be irrevocably clear that this was a sanctioned event.
Garnett felt no triumph when the King gave his consent, only guilt that it had come to this. Perhaps it had been inevitable, as she'd thought since her wedding, but the pain it brought the King sent a stab through her heart, and she met his gaze apologetically. Her eyes snapped back to Uhtred when he spoke the last, the girl visibly wincing at her husband asking the King to witness the death of his son. Tears actually welled in her eyes for a moment before she dropped her gaze, swallowing hard. Surely not..surely something else could be done. Clearing her throat, she spoke as firmly as she could. "Of course, I must attend too. It would not do otherwise." It was her honour, of course. If Ilgnuit was to die for besmirching her, she would have the dignity to watch, and to watch Uhtred defending it, not a doubt in her mind which way the duel would go.
Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen deflated once the decision was made, all but crumpling in on himself, his head aching as if he wore that damnedable crown. He nodded at Uhtred's insistence on witnesses, expecting nothing less. He returned Garnett's gaze with a weary, saddened smile, only to have his face blanch at Uhtred's request. He drew up in his chair, taking several breaths, before he continued to rise to his full height. "I have assented to your demands of justice," he growled, summoning the fires from which he'd become feared in his youth. "It will be legal, by the codes and customs of Nharati. But I would be honour bound to take his place as his champion if I were to attend." His head tilted, offering Uhtred the full weight of that decision.
Uhtred Valenti watched the man collect himself, and knew instantly that it would not serve. In a way, he supposed that he should not have been surprised, but he wondered if the man would have objected just a few months ago. It made Uhtred shiver, hearing him collect his natural power, but when the ultimatum was placed upon the table, Uhtred couldn't help but wonder. He did not want to do it, of course; for all of the fear and awkward association, he was very fond of his father. Yet still he imagined what it would be to face the man in combat, and even stranger was the fact that the thought did not scare him as much as it might have. "I should not have asked," he said with an apologetic bow of head, "forgive me, m'lord." There would need to be a lot of forgiveness before this was finished.
Garnett's guilt only deepened as she observed the King in silence, a terrible prickle of imagination making her wonder if one day her sons would be clashed in such an awful combat or worse. Conversations made her think it so, but as the King rose, her thoughts cut off on that matter, the girl swallowing harshly. She shot a quick glance at Uhtred on the heels of that disturbing offer, only breathing once he had, of course, declined it. A trembling pale hand reached up to take her husband's arm as she bowed her head deeply to the King. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your justice." Standing, she curtseyed to him as her fingers clutched so tightly at Uhtred's arms that her knuckles went white. Lips parted to ask about Synaria, but she snapped them closed immediately .. that would be unseemly at present.
Wyldrigrenkledrysllthen was unsure of the results of such a battle, and at least some part of him was just as insatiably curious as Uhtred was...it would be quite a way to end his reign. Fitting, perhaps, to rob the demented force of the pleasure of destroying him; unless of course that dark presence was the conductor of this macabre orchestra. Even so he breathed a sigh when Uhtred relented, his eyes still fierce as they flipped back and forth between the two. "Go," he said without uttering forgiveness nor offering comfort. "Just...go." With that he turned to regard the map, hoping to distract himself from the terrible chasm opening within him.
Uhtred Valenti nodded and took the obligatory step back that had been ingrained in him since he knew how to put one foot in front of the other, and put his hand over Garnett's. "Come, dear." Another customary word. The prince's head was swimming with the macabre visions of sword crossing sword and the bite of steel against his brother's bone, O! What a way to spend an afternoon. When he turned to guide the girl gracefully to the door, he was alone, standing upon a field with good sod under his steel boots and a clear day with the sun to his back. It carried him from the expanses of that dread place into his quarters, visions of blood drops and broadswords dancing in his head.
Sat Feb 28, 2009 11:15 pm