Nadine was quiet for a moment. “All right. I’ll order your belongings to the queen’s chambers and Rune’s to the king’s. It may take some persuasion, so don’t expect it to happen overnight.”
As long as it happened.
“While we are discussing the future,” Nadine said cautiously, “I wondered if I might make a request.”
“Of course.” Hanne felt for Nadine’s hand. “Of what nature?”
“I want a new title. An additional title, that is. I’d like to be your royal adviser, so that others are not so free to dismiss my opinions.”
This made sense and was easily granted. In Embria, Nadine had constantly been ignored by the royal side of the family. Of course she wanted more security now, right at the moment they had been given the opportunity to create a new world together. “It will be a scandal, even for Caberwillines. A lady-in-waiting who’s also an official adviser? I like it.”
“They may be so distracted by all the death that they won’t even notice for a while. But I do have my first official advice for you.”
“Yes?”
“Write to Rune before someone else does. Tell him what happened—but only what you want him to know. After all, you were there. And you’re his wife. Your opinion counts more than anyone’s. Shape his view to your benefit.”
That was all a very good assessment. Hanne smiled. “All right, adviser. What’s more intimate? My own letterhead? Or the crown stationery, to show I’ve fully integrated?”
“Use yours,” Nadine murmured. “No one else has access to it. There will be no question of the letter’s authenticity.”
Very soon, a portable desk was brought in, along with pens, ink, and the specified paper. Hanne began to write. It was slow work, thanks to the wrappings and pain, but it would only seem genuine if she did it herself.
My dearest Rune,
I write with the heaviest of hearts, knowing that this letter will reach you as you march toward war, when your mind should be on your men, when you already carry too many burdens on your shoulders. But I feel I must be the one to inform you of the fate that has befallen your mother.
I am deeply sorry to tell you that your mother has been killed, only hours after your departure.
She was a strong woman, a brave woman, and a true and dedicated mother. Though I knew her only a short time, I admired her. In my eyes, she embodied every quality of a bold and wise queen. Clearly, Elmali the Stalwart favored her.
You must wonder what could steal such a person from the world, I know. I will tell you, but please be warned this is a difficult account to write, and it will be difficult to read. There is no easy way to tell you, no way to make it less terrible. Please, forgive the bluntness of my report, as I myself am still struggling to accept what has happened.
This morning, as your mother and I were discussing how much we will miss your presence, how brave you are to go, a rancor appeared in the sunroom. Somehow, it had barred the door, preventing our guards from coming to our aid.
Boldly, as only a mother of Grace’s stature could, she put herself between the beast and me. With this final act, she gave me the second I needed to take the obsidian crown from my head and fight back. I was able to kill the rancor, though not before it took her.
My greatest regret in this world will always be that I could not do more to save her.
This must come as an enormous shock, I know. I believe I am in shock, as well. But you—you’ve lost so much in your life already—and now, both parents as well. It is so unfair, so cruel.
I must conclude that our enemies are afraid of us, of what our alliance means, of what we could accomplish together. They would not go to these lengths if they did not fear the combined might of the Stalwart and the Tenacious. Therefore, they launch these vile attacks, hoping to drag us down with grief, hoping to prevent us from doing what is right and righteous.
But they will not succeed. I will never give up the fight for peace across all of Salvation, and I will never cede the fight against malice. I know that you feel the same. Perhaps that isn’t much comfort now, with the pain so fresh. Would that I could hold you now and lend you whatever strength I have left.
Given these attacks on your family, you must be concerned about your sisters. Please, know that I will care for them as though they were my own. I have already ordered extra guards to them and armed all of the castle watch with obsidian. I will personally ensure their safety and see to their well-being. After all, they, too, have suffered these great losses. And when you are able, please write to them. They will need you, especially.
Lastly, for now, I will oversee arrangements for your mother. She deserves something grand, something befitting of her legacy, but I would not hold such a memorial of her life without you present. When you come home from the war, we will have a proper service, bestowing upon her the highest Caberwilline honors.
My husband, I am, as before, deeply sorry that all these struggles are part of our story. We knew it would not be easy, but neither of us could have predicted these incredible burdens.
Yet I know we will overcome them. For Salvation.
All my love,
Hanne
By the time she finished writing, her hand was throbbing and her vision swam. Fortunately, Nadine had already made the grand physician’s pain tea, and while Hanne waited for the ink to dry, she drained the entire cup.
“There,” Hanne said. “Not an exact account, but the account he needs to hear. There will be no other versions.”
“And you signed with love.”
Hanne placed her teacup back in its saucer. “It’s a nice touch, don’t you think? Rune is sensitive. He needs someone to love him, especially now.” She didn’t have to mean it. She would never love Rune Highcrown. But she could pretend.
“I think he will appreciate it.” When the ink was set, Nadine folded the papers and sealed them with Hanne’s royal crest. “I’ll see to it that this reaches him soon.” Her mouth twisted with thought. “There are still Sanctuary and Unity.”
“What?”
“The princesses. Rune’s sisters. You just wrote a whole paragraph about taking care of them.”
“Oh. I’d forgotten their ridiculous names. Caberwilline parents are cruel.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“Well, I’m not going to kill them. Certainly not anytime soon. They’re only children, and I’m not a monster.” Not like my parents. But she didn’t say that out loud. She would never, not even to Nadine. The darkness in the woods, the fire, the pain—those were secrets she would never tell. “Perhaps they could be sent to a faraway temple,” Hanne mused, shaking off the memories. “Or we could betroth them to Embrian lords. They could be useful to us, if we teach them what we want them to know.”