General Ferdinand has an idea

"It will hurt considerably, Sire," Master Sanjay says to you as he inspects and then replaces your bandage with a fresh paste of herbs covering the arrow wound. "It is healing well already, and I believe the stitches will hold, the cut will remain closed. But a long ride at the head of the parade will aggravate the wound and cause pain, even with this poultice. I cannot offer opium milk, for that would be dangerous to take before riding; you could fall from your horse if it affected you too greatly."

"Thank you, Master Sanjay," you tell him. "I will simply have to endure the pain. The story of the arrow will have reached every pair of ears in Elyssia by now, and the people will be concerned. It will be a comfort and relief to them to see me at the head of the parade, alive and well."

"Yes, Sire," Sanjay sighs. "I should meet you at the tournament grounds, however, so that I may check to ensure there is no fresh bleeding."

"A wise precaution, Master Sanjay."

The healer finishes his work, wraps up his kit, and departs with a slight bow. Liam, your valet, continues to dress you for the parade. You observe the ceremonial breastplate hanging on the wall, its strap repaired, and for the first time in your life you wish you could wear it, as it saved you from serious injury or perhaps even ****. However, the fact that the strap and buckle would be right over the fresh wound makes it too painful to wear.

There is a scratch at your door just as Liam finishes tying your riding cape. "Enter!" you call out - it must be either one of the Kingsguard or a high advisor, as none other would presume to disturb you in your bedchamber; and unless it were very urgent, even one of those few would wait in the parlor.

General Ferdinand opens the door and comes in, looking splendid in his black-enameled armor and golden cape. Lord Duncan follows close behind, and while ceremonial armor would normally be a part of the First Advisor's parade ensemble, he is too elderly to bear the weight any longer, and instead wears a green and gold silk shirt and a brilliant white riding cape, along with the simple silver circlet around his head which shows that he speaks for the King.

"My Lords, is there a problem?" you ask. "I had expected to meet both of you in the Great Hall, it is nearly time to depart."

"General Ferdinand asked that I accompany him to speak with you first, Sire," Duncan says, glancing at your valet.

"Liam, you are dismissed," you tell him. "Please go and attend to your own preparations."

"Yes, Sire," Liam says, and departs.

"Sire, I apologize for the intrusion and I know that time is short, but while I was donning my armor I came upon an idea," Ferdinand says. "It is unorthodox, and not without risk. But I believe that it may offer our greatest hope to save Elyssia from ruin. I thought it best to present it to you immediately."

"I am listening," you say as you slip on your riding gloves.

"Lord Velimir's forces will almost certainly attack in approximately six weeks' time," he says. "This is too long for our allies to remain in significant numbers to help us protect the city, and too short for us to build our defensive forces and restock vital supplies after the festival. Lord Velimir no longer has the advantage of surprise, but even without that, the blow will be devastating and will cost many lives. We have relied on our natural defenses for years; we simply do not have the strength to repel a well-coordinated attack by more than a hundred soldiers and cavalry."

"I hope this plan gets better, Ferdinand."

"Perhaps, Sire. It seems to me that our best hope is not to wait for the attack to come as intended, but rather to intentionally draw Velimir out before he is ready. Consider that he has sent his daughter on her first important mission, but I suspect he did not fully trust her to be able to carry it out; she is too young and inexperienced, and Velimir is too canny to rely on her completely. I also do not think he would leave such an important matter in the hands of underlings; I submit that Lord Velimir himself is somewhere nearby, observing how events unfold."

"That seems reasonable, and likely," Duncan nods.

"And so, Sire, we must do something which forces his hand, and agitates him to the point where he cannot stand to remain in hiding. Lady Katyana is the key to this... she may be the one thing in the world that he truly cares about more than his battle plan. He will come out of hiding to reclaim her if he thinks he will lose her."

You stare at Ferdinand, not wanting to believe what you suspect he is saying. "Lord General... I sincerely hope you are not suggesting that I threaten her with execution."

Ferdinand's eyes go wide. "Sire! No, not that, of course not! I would never think you capable of such, and the Warlord would not believe it either!"

"Then... what?"

Ferdinand takes a deep breath. "Sire... what if you were to marry her?"

Duncan coughs rather violently when Ferdinand says this, and you offer him support, but he waves it away. "Thank you, Sire - General, have you taken leave of your mind?"

"Consider," Ferdinand says, "the Warlord has included Katyana in his councils from a very young age; it is clear that he grooms her to succeed him. He has given her an important assignment for what may be her first field command, but it is not one where she would be at serious risk; he knows that Elyssia neither tortures nor executes prisoners. The worst that could happen, if she failed completely, would be that she would languish in a cell until his armies came to conquer Elyssia and liberate her."

"Are you saying that for her to marry me is a fate worse than ****?" you ask, smirking slightly.

"To Lord Velimir, it is," Ferdinand says, too caught up in his own plan to notice your humor. "I believe he really would rather see Katyana dead than wed to you, Sire. More to the point, he will do anything to prevent it, even abandon his carefully-laid battle plans!"

"General, even I find this plan impossible to believe," Duncan frowns. "What makes you think the Warlord will believe it? If I were he, I would dismiss it as a wild tale, or at most a **** bluff!"

"Yes, my Lord," Ferdinand says. "In order for the plan to work, it must be no bluff, and we could not risk the discovery of any subterfuge. The wedding would need to actually, and legitimately, take place."

"Sire, I think I do need some help into that chair now," Duncan whispers.

You ponder for a moment, once Duncan is safely seated. "Let us take this plan to its logical conclusions," you say. "In order for it to truly work, Lady Katyana must consent to the wedding - not only that, she must be enthusiastic about it. If it seems that she is being **** into it against her will, the Lord Velimir will simply attack as he had planned, and free her from her wedding vows by killing her husband. It is not the wedding itself which would upset him, but the idea that his daughter is freely and willingly choosing me over him."

"Exactly, Sire."

"Your mad plan also hinges on the notion that Lady Katyana's betrayal of her father is both genuine and complete," Duncan says. "If it is a ruse, or even if she were to simply change her mind upon her father's arrival, then all would unravel. And, of course, there would remain the matter of actually dealing with the Warlord once he is here, to say nothing of... Sire, you have no next of kin! If you wed Lady Katyana, and something were to happen to you, the Warlord would be the next male in line for the throne!"

"I did think of that," you say. (What you do not say is that you thought of it because, when you left Katyana to go prepare for the parade, you looked into her diamond-blue eyes and could not help but to imagine what it might be like if she were to become your Queen). "I submit that of all the potential consequences of this plan, that is the one which we need not worry about. Lord Velimir could call himself King of Elyssia if he wanted to, but none will actually recognize him as such. I am not part of an established dynasty, and the people of Elyssia are really still getting used to the idea of having a king in the first place. No one in this kingdom, whether noble or common, would follow Velimir just because I married his daughter and then was killed a month later."

"Well, that is true enough," Duncan says, waving his hand in dismissal. "But this plan remains utterly preposterous, Sire."

"With all due respect, First Advisor... do you have a better idea?" Ferdinand asks.

The sudden and unexpected closing of a door catches all three of you by surprise, and as one you all turn to look. Valerie is standing there, having just emerged from the door behind your bed which leads to her chambers. She is dressed for the parade as well, in a sky-blue gown and tiara, and she looks exquisitely lovely - though her face is stern and harsh, as if she has caught you raiding the pantries for sweets. "I am not given to eavesdropping," she says quietly, "but the speaking-tube was left open. Xavier, and my Lords... there is something of vital importance here that you are not considering."

"Lady Valerie," Duncan says, "forgive me for being blunt, but the most prudent thing for you to do would be to pretend you have heard none of this."

"Hold, Lord Duncan," you say. "Valerie may not be an official advisor to the Crown, but her wisdom may be exactly what we need right now. Speak your mind, please, Valerie."

"General Ferdinand... I assume that the ultimate purpose of this plan is to defeat Lord Velimir?"

"Yes, of course," Ferdinand says.

"To kill him, perhaps?"

"I will be content with seeing his attack upon Elyssia fail, but if he will neither surrender nor retreat, the end result may indeed be the Warlord's ****. Better that than our own!"

"This may seem harsh to your ears, my Lady," Duncan says, "but Lord Velimir is a ruthless and very dangerous man bent on our destruction, and I for one would not mourn his ****."

"Indeed. And have you given the slightest thought to how his only child would feel about it?" she asks.

Duncan begins to speak, but then seems to realize he has no idea what he is about to say, and goes silent.

"Perhaps..." Ferdinand says slowly, "perhaps she need not know of the ultimate intention."

"General Ferdinand, if I may be as blunt with you as Lord Duncan was with me, that is a ridiculous statement," Valerie says, walking towards you. "Lady Katyana is not some naive little girl who will believe that the King has fallen madly in love with her after having known her for only a day, and in any event Xavier is too honorable a man to pretend to such. She is also not some romantic-minded idiot who will be swept up in the moment, accepting a surprise proposal because she has always dreamed of a handsome king on a white horse asking for her hand. She is an intelligent and practical woman who has been trained all her life for battle and command, and I guarantee that she is far more cunning and devious than anyone in this room.

"Do you really think she does not know you are making plans against her father? She is the one who told you that he means to attack! And if your plans involve her in any way, she will need to know every part of it - not only because she will need to play her role properly, but because she will not be inclined to help if she is told only half-truths. Of course, from what I understand, you only have half a plan at any rate... for the moment you seem to have no idea what you will do if and when her father actually shows up. I am reasonably sure, though, that it will not be to invite him into the castle for tea and biscuits."

"My lady -" Duncan begins, but Valerie cuts him off.

"To you, Velimir is a ruthless and dangerous warlord," Valerie says. "But to Katyana, he is the man who used to tell her stories at night and tuck her into bed. She has come to an understanding about him, yes - and I for one believe that her change of heart is true, as is her attraction to Xavier. But that hardly means that she will participate in a plan which might very well end with the **** of the only parent she has ever known! If you want to ensure that she turns against Elyssia as she has turned against her father, then the best way you could do it would be to continue ignoring the importance of her feelings. I have spoken, my Lords."

Valerie turns and leaves the room the same way she came, but not before she pointedly replaces the cap on the speaking-tube.