Perhaps not

As tempting as it is to bring Trina the cloak, she made it quite clear that her "moment of weakness" as she called it is something she did not wish to call attention to again. Unless you are sure you want to pursue the matter further, you should respect her wishes, and in any event now is not really the time for such things; the parade is starting soon.

You hand the cloak over to Magnus, who takes it and throws it over one shoulder, then goes to take his father's shield from the wall; a traditional Scottish shield, round and made from overlapping wooden planks with a metal rim. The front of the shield shows the image of a charging boar, its tusks lowered for the kill.

"Magnus," you say suddenly, "do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"O' course, Sire."

"Have you ever loved a woman... who you felt you shouldn't have such feelings for?"

Magnus freezes in place suddenly; he was buckling the shield onto his arm and was facing away from you, so you do not see the expression on his face, but the question has clearly affected him. "Er... why do you ask, Sire?" he says quietly.

"Forgive me, it is clearly a matter of discomfort to you. You need not answer, I asked only as one man to another, not as King."

"No, I dinna mind," Magnus says, turning around and smiling with a bit of his usual good spirits; but it is a smile with sadness behind it. "It's just, I was thinkin' o' her this very morning, and it took me by surprise when you asked a question which brought her to my mind again, beggin' yer pardon Sire. It was when I was a lad, no more than thirteen summers... but I fell hard for a woman nearly twice my own age. O' course, I was a big lad, taller than many full-grown men and with a good start on me beard already, but I weren't a man grown on the inside." He shakes his head, and his cheeks flush a bit red, a difficult thing for Magnus to hide with his fair Scottish complexion. "If you coulda seen me, Sire... I picked flowers for her until the meadows were laid bare. I learned to read and write just so I could write love poems for her, and by God they were horrible. I showed off me strength like an idiot ev'ry time she rode by, things like liftin' full barrels o' grain onto each shoulder just to show I could. Aye, a fool in love, that was me."

"And how did she feel in return?" you ask.

"Oh, that I've no idea," Magnus replies. "The flowers I picked went right into the stream, the poems fed the fire in the hearth, and I ne'er spoke a single word to her. She was a rich man's daughter, see... even if she hadn't been a woman grown while I was but a lad, it weren't my place to tell her the secrets o' my heart. But some good came o' it, at least. I imagined I might become a knight, earn my way into a castle o' my own, so I could be a man worthy o' her. I learnt the sword and how to ride, the ways of Chivalry, all the things a knight has to know. And today, I'm most honored to be one among your Sworn Protectors, Sire."

"I am twice honored to have you as such, Magus. What became of this lady?"

"Oh, she wed the son of a lord before I left home, and no doubt bore his children. I've thought about makin' me way back home to the moors sometime, and mayhaps I might see her again... and I could even speak to her now that I've earned me spurs. But, she's another man's wife, it would'na be honorable for me to tell her now how I felt then. I've made my peace with it, but I ne'er loved a woman like that again." Magnus lets out a mighty sigh, which stirs the banners on the wall eight feet away.

"Tell me, Magnus," you say, "If you could be that young man again... would you speak your heart to her, even though you knew you should not?"

Magnus thinks for a long moment, looking with narrowed eyes out the slim arrow slit in the wall which faces the mountain. "Aye," he says at last. "Aye, I would'a told her... or at least given her those flowers, if I could'na find the words. O' course, nothin' would have come of it - no matter what else, I was just a lad and she were a woman grown. And I might'a been shamed, if she laughed at me or otherwise put me in me place. But when I look back on it now, I remember it as the first time me courage failed me. That's what I regret... not so much that I never said a word, but that 'twas fear what held me back."

You give Magnus a clap on the shoulder and a word of thanks, and he takes his leave. Of course it is not fear which keeps you silent about this awakening feeling for Lady Trina in your heart... or is it? She certainly would not laugh or shame you, but there are other consequences more dire than those which you might face. You might lose her, if she felt she could not remain as one of your Kingsguard under such circumstances. She could be scandalized if word got out and the rumors and whispers began anew. It is even possible that her feelings for you are not as deep as you imagine them to be; perhaps she kissed you more out of curiosity than desire. Perhaps she already berates herself for her "moment of weakness" - or perhaps she has not given it another thought. It's hard to decide which would be worse!

Such are your thoughts as you finish your preparations for the parade, and when the event begins you find you must **** yourself to wave to the crowd and put a smile on your face. You are constantly aware of Trina riding behind you and to the left, with the other Kingsguard, and of the empty space beside you where no one rides.