"His Majesty will speak with you in the throne room," The squat man barked loudly as the gates swung open just enough for Agatha to squeeze through.
Two guards immediately marched behind her, much to her annoyance.
"I am not in need of an escort," Agatha said, waving her hands in a shooing motion.
The guards did not budge but continued to stare straight above her head. Agatha sighed and ascended the palace steps. The heavy gold-painted doors opened up to a large marble foyer, with stone pillars lining the walkway. There were framed oil paintings on the walls, suits of armor on either side of the gold-trimmed burgundy rug that ran the length of the hall. Another set of golden doors and Agatha was inside of the throne room, a galley on either side for when court was being held. At the end of the room sat three thrones, one larger than the other two; all were dark blue, trimmed with gold thread, highbacked with a silk-covered cushion. The two smaller thrones sat to the left of King Thaddeus' throne, which was occupied by the king himself, looking vexed at her unannounced visit.
"What is it, Agatha?" King Thaddeus snapped impatiently.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. It was not my intent to end your nightly ritual of thrusting into one of your many servants," Agatha snapped.
King Thaddeus leaned forward on his throne; his expression thunderous.
"Tell me why you are here before I lose my patience, witch," He demanded.
"I lost control of Aribelle," Agatha admitted reluctantly, carrying on quickly when Thaddeus looked like he may jump from the dais to throttle her. "But I know how we can get her back under control, but I will have need of your son."
King Thaddeus considered her for a long moment; his jaw clenched as anger burned in his eyes before he spoke at last.
"Tell me about this plan, witch, and make it quick. I was indeed in the midst of my nightly ritual before you interrupted."
Four: Fool’s Errand
“Will I ever marry a prince like in the storybooks, Momma?”
“Should you ever encounter a prince, run far away, my beauty, for he has come to rip out your heart.”
"I cannot believe father sent us on this ridiculous errand," Druas griped next to his brother.
Thamyris adjusted himself on his saddle, giving his younger sibling a forced reproachful look.
"Come now, Dru. a quest for true love is the noblest of all," Thamyris jested.
Dru scoffed, his jaw clenching as he looked out at the hills that dotted the landscape of Olthaire as far as his eyes could see. Thamyris silently agreed with his brother, though he would never admit aloud. King Thaddeus had indeed sent his sons on a fool's errand. They were to trick a beast in the small kingdom of Jurot into drinking a lover's potion. If that hadn't been the most ridiculous plan Thamyris had ever heard! Both brothers had even chuckled in the face of their king before realizing that he was completely serious.
"Why not just take the kingdom by force?" Dru had asked their father incredulously.
"It cannot be done, for reasons I will not explain to you," King Thaddeus had snapped.
Thamyris had stood silent, observing his father's stiff stance, slightly twitching eyes, and knew immediately that whatever beast Dru was being sent to woo, spooked King Thaddeus. This quest was dangerous, but their father would not give Dru anything more than a curt, 'It must be done!".
That was how Thamyris ended up beside his brother, a guard for the youngest prince of the kingdom of Vildaheim. He would trust no one else to protect and shield his brother from the legendary haunted woods and any beasts that sought to harm him there. Dru had no training in swordplay, no knowledge of the backstabbing that occurred in the inner courts; he had no idea the dangers that awaited him outside of the palace library, which was where Dru spent the majority of his time. Thamyris teased his brother mercilessly over his hermit-like existence, but he was secretly glad that his brother could always be found in solitary silence, his nose in a book. Dru did not have the spine or the stomach for a leadership role and would manage poorly if he was faced with the lies, schemes, and endless trade talks that came with court life. Dru would do his best to please everyone and be fair in all his endeavors, whereas Thamyris knew that only the most cunning and ruthless lived long enough to build thriving kingdoms that could withstand the repeated plots to tear them down.
"This is not a quest for true love, Thame," Dru said with a shake of his head. "This is trickery, underhandedness. Have you thought at all about the woman we are enchanting? How heartbroken she will be whenever she discovers our pairing is just a ruse?"
Thamyris barked out a laugh, rolling his eyes upward.
"Gods above, Dru, just a week ago, you suggested we take Jurot by force, which may have resulted in this beast's death. Beast, Dru. This woman is a beast, not a human woman who you are tricking into your bed for a night," Thame replied.
"I would never!" Dru shouted in outrage, turning on his saddle to glare at Thame.
"I'm just pointing out that this beast is obviously a threat to Vildaheim, not an innocent woman, or we wouldn't be enchanting anyone," Thame said through his peals of laughter.
Dru visibly paled, gulping loudly as he averted his gaze from Thame's all too observant eyes.
"What is it, my brother?" Thame asked, instantly alert and scanning their surroundings for a threat.
When Dru did not answer but kept his eyes glued on something Thame could not see, Thame dismounted, brandishing his sword, the steel whistling through the air as he released it from its sheath on his back. Thame slapped the flank of both horses, sending them galloping away from the threat that had rendered his little brother speechless. Turning in a full circle, his sword held firmly in front of him, Thame stood tensed and ready for a fight.
The clopping of galloping hooves sounded behind Thame, but he didn't turn around, knowing it was Dru coming back to tell him what Thame had already figured out.
"Brother, I saw nothing, I was ashamed of my emotions," Dru confessed quietly in an apologetic tone behind him.
Thame remained frozen in his battle stance, wanting to shake his brother for not speaking up, but he had never been able to stay angry with Dru.
"Tell me, little brother, do I look as stupid as I feel?" Thame asked curiously.
"You do look a bit idiotic, especially now that you are still standing like that after I confirmed there's no one ambushing us on our journey," Dru said with a snort.
"I don't know, this piece of dry grass just twitched in my direction. A battle may erupt at any moment now. Stay back, brother, and do not interfere if it should best me," Thame shouted dramatically.
It was silent for all of three seconds before Dru's uproarious laughter sounded behind Thame. Chuckling along with his brother, Thame hoisted himself upon his saddled, his white stallion huffing through his nose, which sounded much like an exasperated snort.
"We will reach the village of Groden within the hour," Thame said once the laughter faded. "As we ride, you will tell me of these shameful emotions, and I will council you like a good brother."
Dru groaned long and loud.
"Your council usually ends with you telling me all things can be solved by--"
"Burying yourself in a woman's heat. This is true, little brother, and one day you will experience the magic that is a woman's body and no longer will you worship the gods," Thame interrupted.