A meeting with Lord Bertrand

Walking about the castle with a fresh injury is certainly doing you no favors, and when you reach the small Lord's cabinet off the throne room, the pain lancing from the wound seems as bad as when it was first made. Sir Benedicht sees your discomfort and insists upon checking the bandage, which fortunately shows no sign of fresh blood.

"You have said that you do not want Master Sanjay's potions at this time, and I understand your reasons, Sire," Benedicht says softly. "Will you permit me at least to offer you wine?"

"Master Sanjay said it would be best if I refrained," you tell him. "I can endure this, it is less painful than some of the bruises you've inflicted upon me in the practice yard." That last part is a lie, but not by much - your Kingsguard takes your self-defense training very seriously!

"Yes, Sire."

You sit down in the King's chair, and wipe the sweat from your brow. "This is the room where I generally consult my advisors on matters of state," you mention. "As they are not present, Sir Benedicht, would you mind if I asked for your advice?"

"Whatever wisdom I have to offer is yours, Sire."

"After you left the parlor, Lady Katyana gave me information which Lord Velimir would doubtless prefer were left secret - not the least important of which was the Vixen's true identity. I can see no advantage to Lord Velimir for me to know this... it seems to me that Lady Katyana has genuinely betrayed her father."

"I concur, Sire."

"Tell me... do you think that my actions have truly had such a profound effect upon her that her change of heart will remain permanent? If the day comes that the Warlord brings an army to Elyssia's gates, do you think she will take a stand against him?"

"I am not qualified to speak of what lies within a woman's heart, Sire; I do not believe anyone is, except for the woman in question. But you have saved her life; that creates a bond which is near-unbreakable. Whether it will prove as strong as the bond which holds her to her father, I cannot say, but I think that for the moment her actions may be taken as sincere."

You nod in response, and think upon what Sir Benedicht does not know - that Katyana's actions are also those of a woman who may harbor feelings other than gratitude. It feels cold and even perverse to consider such things in the light of strategic advantage, but with the survival of your Kingdom at stake you must be practical: Katyana is much more likely to take your side if she is in love with you.

There is a scratch at the door, and when it opens Captain Navarre stands there. "Sire, Lord Bertrand has come in response to your summons," he says.

You sigh, and stand up despite the discomfort - it would not do to show weakness to Lord Bertrand. "Show him in," you say.

"Sire!" Lord Bertrand says, striding quickly into the room and stopping only a few feet from you. "The one you know as Lady Vivian, I must speak with her, it is urgent! She cannot have done this deed of which she is accused, it is absurd!"

I'm quite all right, thank you, you don't say; it's clear where Lord Bertrand's priorities lie. The look on your face must have communicated this to him, as he suddenly seems abashed.

"My apologies, Sire; do you fare well?"

"The hurt is slight and will heal," you tell him, "and I am quite aware of Princess Liesel's true identity, Lord Bertrand."

"Then you must know that the daughter of Queen Seraphina would never have meant you harm!"

Of course, it is obvious in retrospect; Lord Bertrand has recognized the Princess in the same way Katyana did. "The Princess freely admits to the deed, Lord Bertrand. As difficult as it may be for you to believe, she loosed an arrow at Lady Katyana with intent to kill. I would like to know how she got away from you; I sent her from the Great Hall precisely to avoid such an altercation."

"I, er, fear I must have had too much wine, Sire... after climbing the steps to the Sunset Tower, a faintness came over me; when my head cleared, she had vanished; no doubt to seek help."

"Lord Bertrand, I have already told you that the Princess took a bow and arrow and tried to kill Lady Katyana. I understand you wish to protect her, but these fables will not help us get to the heart of the matter. You know that she is Liesel von Ingolstadt... are you aware that she is also the Vixen?"

Bertrand practically chokes. "Sire - that is ludicrous!"

"I assure you, it is quite true. The Princess has led rather an interesting life since she escaped from Lord Velimir's **** on her house."

"Well..." Bertrand turns around, paces away, sits down on one of the chairs and runs his hand through his thinning hair, clearly agitated. You are well aware that just by showing his back, he is failing to show you due respect as King, and to sit in your presence without being invited is even worse - however, this does not seem the time to stand on ceremony. "Well..." he says again, furrowing his brow, "well, there you have it, Sire! Of course, she would seek justice for what had been done to her family! She can hardly be blamed for that, it was a matter of honor! Allow me to speak with her, and I am certain this unfortunate situation may be entirely cleared up."

"The Princess needs rest at this time, not visitors."

"You have indeed found her, then?" Bertrand says, leaning forward. "She is safe and well?"

"Of course. She is currently under guard in a cell, awaiting -"

"What??" Bertrand exclaims, rising to his feet. "You have the Princess Liesel von Ingolstadt, daughter of Queen Seraphina and heiress to the throne of Bavaria, locked in the dungeon like a common criminal? This is outrageous!"

"She may be a Princess, but she tried to **** a guest of the Crown, in this very castle. Furthermore, she has spent the last three years roaming the woods as a thief, terrorizing travelers on the road and -"

"And for this, you mean to execute her, I take it?" Bertrand demands. "How dare you stand in judgement over one such as her! She is royalty! By blood and birthright, not by the chance plucking of a coin from a cauldron!"

"Keep your place, Pomeroy!" you shout at him, pushing your own chair over and advancing upon the Lord so forcefully that he stumbles back into the table. "I know that you despise me, you've made no secret of that," you continue in a lower voice. "You believe that my crown should have been yours, that it is practically a blasphemy that you must bow before one you see as an inherently lesser man. You have attempted to usurp my rule at nearly every turn, you have rallied the other nobles against me, you have infiltrated this castle with spies and informers so as to try and dig up some scandal to ruin me. I have tolerated this disrespect from you for ten years, Lord Bertrand, and I will do so no longer! I am King in Elyssia, not you! And if you wish to remain a Lord in Elyssia, you will speak to me only as you would to your sovereign ruler, or you will find yourself stripped of your lands and titles and exiled from Elyssia for the rest of your days, and damn the consequences! Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes... Sire," Bertrand stammers, quivering as if made of jelly.

"Now," you say, straightening your tunic slightly and forcing down a wince from the fresh pain in your shoulder, "if you can somehow find it within yourself to speak with honesty and civility at the same time, answer me this: among all the faults which you perceive in me, have you ever even once known me to punish a prisoner with undue harshness?"

"No, Sire."

"Have you ever known me to render justice with an unmerciful hand, or fail to take extenuating circumstances into account when holding court?"

"No, Sire."

"And has any prisoner - any citizen of Elyssia or visitor from another land - ever been put to **** at my command?"

Bertrand takes a deep breath. "No, Sire. This has never happened. I... beg forgiveness for my outburst, Your Majesty."

"Good. Consider yourself forgiven, for that much at any rate. Now, as to what Princess Liesel's fate will be, I have not yet decided, but she will remain in that cell for only a few hours longer. We must proceed very carefully here, Lord Bertrand. Velimir means to **** her into marriage, so that he might claim the throne of Bavaria for his own - someting which I will absolutely not allow to take place. But if Velimir cannot have her as his Queen, his best option is to see her dead, so that she cannot attempt to reclaim her birthright at some later date. She is in that cell as much for her own protection as her criminal actions. The only reason I do not have her in the tower room, as befits a royal prisoner, is because I would not put it past her to try and escape from there; and as she is also the Vixen, she could very likely succeed. That is as far as I intend to explain myself to you, Lord Bertrand, and it is far more than what you are entitled to. Now, I have one last question for you - and mark my words, if you answer me falsely, then you will enjoy the comforts of the dungeon as well. Have you revealed the true identity of the Princess to another living soul?"

"N-no, Sire!" Bertrand whispers, and then he finds his voice and speaks louder. "That would put her in danger, I would never do such a thing!"

"I believe you. Now, you have my leave to go and prepare for the feast, where I expect you to behave exactly as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Get out of my sight!"

Bertrand stumbles to his feet, backs away with his head bowed and mumbling his appreciation, and then turns and practically runs from the room. Hopefully, he has the presence of mind to collect himself before he returns to the Great Hall, but it is difficult to care at the moment.

"Sire, may I offer the benefit of my wisdom once more?" Sir Benedicht says quietly.

"Of course," you mutter, leaning over the table and trying to will your shoulder to stop hurting.

"If you will pardon my use of vernacular, Sire, that arrogant son-of-a-bitch has had that coming to him for a long time."

"Yes, well, it felt pretty damn good," you tell him, and in spite of how trying the afternoon has been, you manage to crack a smile and even chuckle just a bit.