Short Story: A Hint of Suspicion

My king once committed the most heinous crime in the eyes of the gods. A sin that made me. A bastard prophesied to kill his father and take the throne. Most kings in ballads would have tossed me in a river. Maybe left me in the woods if they were feeling merciful.

Instead, King Percival took his son home, and proceeded to marry my stepmother, a rich and powerful merchant who then proceeded to bear no children. This, as you can imagine, complicated matters. Yet it always felt like a discussion best avoided, a lingering storm on my future perpetually on the horizon. When things finally came to a head, they did so in the most innocuous of ways.

It was on a gloomy morning that my father called me into his chambers, which was an uncommon but far from concerning events. The real warning sign was the Queen standing outside in the hallway, a wicked little smile on her face.

My father was coughing heavily as I entered, fiddling with his jade spectacles. ‘Well met, my boy. Take a seat, will you?’

I glanced over at the other occupied chair. Lady Delia was a distant relative, daughter of the king’s cousin, I believe. There could only be one reason she was here, and in that moment, I understood all. I reached out for a glass and tasted some of the bilberry wine, bitterly sweet and heavy on the tongue.

King Percival frowned at me over his sheaf of papers. ‘You’re aware I have a weak heart, and thus I’ve decided that I must clarify to the citizens who exactly will be my heir. Now, your tutors tell me that you are exceedingly intelligent, skilled with a sparkblade, and readily saluted amongst the courtiers and soldiers of the kingdom. I see no reason to doubt their judgement.’ I smiled, genuinely touched by the praise, but then he raised a hand.

‘You are also wayward and reckless, spending your time drinking and carousing rather than in matters politic or philosophy. You have not attempted to gain any experience in battle or diplomacy, outside of drinking games with the inhabitants of the palace. My nobles love you, yes, but do they trust you?’

He sighed. ‘I see so much potential in you, child, but I’m afraid I can’t in good conscience legitimize you. The throne must go to someone with the will and readiness to accept its burden.’

I dropped the glass, and heard it shatter on the carpet.

‘For all my days and nights,’ I said, quietly, ‘Your nobles, your soldiers, your queen… none of them ever let me forget where I was from. What I am. All my life has spent spent trailing behind you as your bastard, your shame, the knife hanging over your head. And now, now you tell me I had a chance to take your place?’

‘I - I don’t…’

“Save it.’ I bowed to Delia politely. ‘Good eve, Your Majesty. Honored Princess. I’ll take my leave now if you don’t mind.’

*

I met Delia at the Hallowed Peak, just before the moon reached its summit. It’s a tricky place to get to if you don’t know the way, but near enough to my father’s winter palace that we could both reach it quickly. We’d played here together once, telling tales of dragons and phoenixes, and heroes with their blazing swords.

‘Have you told anyone you’re here, Princess?’ I asked, standing near the edge. The view was breathtaking, with no clouds for miles. The moon and stars lit up a dark speck in the distance, but that was hard to notice unless you were looking for it.

‘Not at all.’ She said, her smile bright as the sun. ‘You of all people should know I keep my cards close to my chest.’ Her green eyes carried a hint of suspicion. But only a hint.

I like Delia. Not many people do, what with her cackling and scheming and weekly garden parties. But we play our games together even now, albeit of a different kind, matching wit to wit every time we meet. She makes life more interesting. I can’t say that of many other people.

I took a deep breath. ‘This seems excessive, I know. But every wall has ears, and I want these words to stay between us.’I stepped forward. I needed to keep her eyes on me.

‘You might think I want that silver stool in that drafty old palace. But believe me, it isn’t worth the blood and tears needed to take it. It's yours, sunshine. I’ll even let you have the fancy hat that goes with it, seeing as I’m so generous.’

‘Wow.’ She muttered, ‘That’s nice for you to say, if rather hard to believe.’

‘I’m not asking you to believe.’ I whispered. ‘I’m asking you to listen.’ I fell to one knee, as each warrior does as they stand before my father. ‘By the sun and stars, by the earth and ocean, by the moon and direst depths of darkness.’. The oath’s magic swirled around me, and we both felt it hang its shadow above my head. ‘I swear I will never hurt you, nor let you come to harm.’

I saw the glint of tears in her eyes. ‘I… I... thank you.’

We heard the beat of wings and felt their breeze at the same time. I pulled out a Forgetful Charm and slammed it against her forehead. She stumbled back, her eyes dazed, then the dragon snatched her by the shoulders and flew off with her into the sky.

*

I leaned back against the cart and studied the sky. The old lizard thought he was a master of camouflage, but I can still see his shadow flickering as the dragon soared through the clouds above.

It took me a few weeks and a whole lot of favors to get my hands on this much gold. Not to mention single-handedly fighting three groups of bandits along the way. But it was a risk and burden worth taking. Like Delia said, the only rounds you win are the ones where you keep your cards close and your hand steady.

My cart, filled to the brim with coins and pulled by three plodding mules, had finally reached the peak of Myrion Valley. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Judging by Caramir’s swoops and swirls, no one else had gotten here first.

The dragon’s tower was stumpy and crumbling at the edges. Couldn’t he at least spare a coin or two to renovate? I yawned, scratching at the stubble on my face. There were no valets or butlers growing on mountainsides, alas. ‘O Great Wyrm!’ I called. ‘Where should I seek thee?’

The dragon roared out of the sky like a bolt of lightning, striking the ground in front of the mules. They reared and tried to flee, so I did the kind thing and released them. Caramir didn’t even give them a glance. Those smoldering red eyes stared at the cart like it had… well, a pile of gold on it, I suppose.

You have it, servant? I am impressed that they brought it with such haste.

Most dragons would have scoffed at this amount, but the wyrm had lost most of his hoard playing human-bones. Idiot. ‘Nay, my good friend.’ I jumped out of the cart. ‘This is only a paltry sum. When we return the princess, they will reward us with mountains of treasure. This is only a taste of what’s to come.’

A taste? The dragon purred like a cat, still staring at the gold. He dove his nose into the gold like a puppy in a carpet, swishing the pile back and forth, eyes closed in bliss. He always did that with his gold, and it’s always absolutely adorable.

I leapt back on the pile, lit my sparkblade, and drove it between his eyes. He gave a frantic screech, his body spasming and smoke spurting from his nostrils. But he died quickly, and easily, the my weapon’s flames drowning out his own in a matter of minutes.

Don’t look at me like that. There’s no way the bloody thing didn’t burn a village or two in his time. This was just, um, justice.

I studied the steaming body, trying to calculate the total value of the ruby red scales, the heart and wing leather. More than the cart of gold, for certain. Pity I had no way to carry it. I shrugged and sauntered down to the tower, wiping the dark splatters off my coat. The dragon had two kobold servants who saw the corpse and knelt at my feet. ‘Master! New master!’

Ugh. Kobold blood is even harder to wash off.

I fished a ring of keys off the wall and walked up the stairs. The door caved in with one cut. Princess Delia was trying to pick her shackles with her hairpin, her tongue sticking out with concentration. Her hair was disheveled and her willow brown skin streaked with grime, but otherwise she looked no worse for wear.

‘I’m surprised the hairpin hasn’t shattered already. Stick to politics, my dear.’ I smiled, stepping forward and made a few carefully judged slashes. Now freed, she stood up with shaking legs, andscowled at me. For a moment my heart stopped, wondering if those thrice-damned kobolds had let something slip, then I saw the relief in her eyes. ‘Took you long enough. How many arrows did it take to down the bas- I mean, dragon. I hope he died painfully.’

‘Zero, actually. I’m not very good with a bow.’

She snorted. I took her hand, and led her outside, waving my hand at the steaming mountain of flesh in front of the card. She stared, utterly speechless.

‘I - I mean,’ she stuttered at last. ‘I mean, you obviously used some bait…’

I raised an eyebrow.

‘Great Heaven.’ she muttered. ‘You did this all by yourself? For my sake?’

‘Who else?’ I laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say I did it entirely out of the goodness of my heart. Alas, a monster like me has his own selfish lusts and ambitions. Despite my methods, I’m a traditionalist at heart, especially when it comes to dragon slaying.’

She looked at me with those emerald eyes, and kissed me. Her breath didn’t smell so great after a week of being locked up, but she was very enthusiastic. Doesn’t the Lord demand forgiveness in all things?

*

I chose to bring her to the palace with a shawl over her head, with no herald announcing our arrival. We caused quite an uproar, when she showed her face in the courtroom. I saw my father’s eyes bulge, his face turning purple.

We knelt. ‘Your majesty, I am a simple man at heart. For this, I ask only for the traditional reward. Will you grant us your blessing?’

He spluttered, and died that evening from that weak heart. It was for the best, really. I got married a month later.

Delia and I rule well together. We cover each other’s weaknesses, after all. It seems that the Forgetful Charm has worked perfectly. Yet sometimes, on the colder evenings, I see her look at me with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

But only a hint.