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Authors: Duncan Lay
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stop whatever it is King Aidan is plotting. He has lied to me and I cannot forgive him, nor trust him.”
“Well?” Fallon demanded of Rosaleen.
“She speaks the truth,” Rosaleen said.
“I want to see Aidan and his foul son Swane dead and you get your families back. Maybe he has promised you your families but he breaks his promises, for he broke them to me.”
“Again, I can feel no lies,” Rosaleen echoed.
“Don’t sacrifice yourself. Gaelland needs men like you and you cannot leave your little boy all alone.”
Fallon glanced over to his friends, and to Padraig.
“You know she speaks the truth there,” Padraig said.
“Confide in me and I will not breathe a word of this to the King, nor to Regan nor to anyone who would tell them,” she promised.
“Truth,” Rosaleen said. “She wants to help you, and will help you.”
Fallon still hesitated. He distrusted her. She was a noble and only wanted what was best for herself. That’s if she did not have some darker purpose. But Rosaleen had found only truth, not lies in her words. Maybe this was the chance they had been looking for. He wanted to wash away his guilt in Aidan’s blood but then he thought of finding Kerrin hiding behind their house and how Bridgit had left him there and gone out to fight the Kottermanis to save their son.
“All right then,” he said. He took her through what they had found beneath the castle, the link of Eamon to the Moneylenders, the King’s obsession with the visit of the Kottermani Prince and then what had happened at the Guildhouse, the capture of Swane and his Fearpriest and the King’s reaction.
Dina sat quietly through it all, occasionally expressing her shock or horror, while Gannon could barely contain himself, soft mutters and curses flowing out of him almost constantly.
Fallon had to grit his teeth before he could finish the tale and felt anew the burning at the back of his throat as he explained how he had been tricked into killing Cavan, forced to keep everything quiet until the Kottermani visit was over.
“Aroaril, what a horrible tale,” Dina said softly, reaching out her hand and grabbing Fallon’s forearm. “You must be suffering deeply. No wonder you wanted to sacrifice yourself.”
Fallon bit his lip, unable to say anything in reply.
“It was not your fault,” she said strongly. “You were tricked and betrayed by the King.”
Fallon shook his head and she reached out, grasping his shoulder. “Stop blaming yourself,” she said.
He looked at her and saw nothing but sympathy in her eyes. For a moment it almost felt like Bridgit was there.
“You have to let it go. You thought you had won and then Aidan fooled you. But what he did was madness – how could you expect it? I can see why you want him dead but true revenge is living happily ever after, having hacked off his lunatic head.”
Fallon smiled, a little.
“Fallon, I want to help you,” she said. “You know I can give you the nobles. You despise them, and rightly so, but there is great power there. Even the King is afraid of upsetting them too much, for if they ever banded together, they could remove him and replace him with another. And that other could be me. I was married to his cousin, after all, and am close to the throne by marriage. And if I took the throne as a regent, then my first act would be to restore your families.”
Fallon stared at her, the others also reacting as well. “You want to take the crown?” he croaked.
“Fallon,” she said firmly. “What else can we do? If Aidan was not bad enough, we face a future where the Zorva-worshippers have power. And, if by some miracle Swane does not take the throne, it will be a son Aidan has fathered on Meinster’s girl Brona. It’s revolting – the girl is younger than Prince Cavan was. And Meinster is nearly as bad as Aidan. He flogs his people and delights in punishing those who defy him. Aroaril knows what children they will produce together.”
Fallon looked
“Well?” Fallon demanded of Rosaleen.
“She speaks the truth,” Rosaleen said.
“I want to see Aidan and his foul son Swane dead and you get your families back. Maybe he has promised you your families but he breaks his promises, for he broke them to me.”
“Again, I can feel no lies,” Rosaleen echoed.
“Don’t sacrifice yourself. Gaelland needs men like you and you cannot leave your little boy all alone.”
Fallon glanced over to his friends, and to Padraig.
“You know she speaks the truth there,” Padraig said.
“Confide in me and I will not breathe a word of this to the King, nor to Regan nor to anyone who would tell them,” she promised.
“Truth,” Rosaleen said. “She wants to help you, and will help you.”
Fallon still hesitated. He distrusted her. She was a noble and only wanted what was best for herself. That’s if she did not have some darker purpose. But Rosaleen had found only truth, not lies in her words. Maybe this was the chance they had been looking for. He wanted to wash away his guilt in Aidan’s blood but then he thought of finding Kerrin hiding behind their house and how Bridgit had left him there and gone out to fight the Kottermanis to save their son.
“All right then,” he said. He took her through what they had found beneath the castle, the link of Eamon to the Moneylenders, the King’s obsession with the visit of the Kottermani Prince and then what had happened at the Guildhouse, the capture of Swane and his Fearpriest and the King’s reaction.
Dina sat quietly through it all, occasionally expressing her shock or horror, while Gannon could barely contain himself, soft mutters and curses flowing out of him almost constantly.
Fallon had to grit his teeth before he could finish the tale and felt anew the burning at the back of his throat as he explained how he had been tricked into killing Cavan, forced to keep everything quiet until the Kottermani visit was over.
“Aroaril, what a horrible tale,” Dina said softly, reaching out her hand and grabbing Fallon’s forearm. “You must be suffering deeply. No wonder you wanted to sacrifice yourself.”
Fallon bit his lip, unable to say anything in reply.
“It was not your fault,” she said strongly. “You were tricked and betrayed by the King.”
Fallon shook his head and she reached out, grasping his shoulder. “Stop blaming yourself,” she said.
He looked at her and saw nothing but sympathy in her eyes. For a moment it almost felt like Bridgit was there.
“You have to let it go. You thought you had won and then Aidan fooled you. But what he did was madness – how could you expect it? I can see why you want him dead but true revenge is living happily ever after, having hacked off his lunatic head.”
Fallon smiled, a little.
“Fallon, I want to help you,” she said. “You know I can give you the nobles. You despise them, and rightly so, but there is great power there. Even the King is afraid of upsetting them too much, for if they ever banded together, they could remove him and replace him with another. And that other could be me. I was married to his cousin, after all, and am close to the throne by marriage. And if I took the throne as a regent, then my first act would be to restore your families.”
Fallon stared at her, the others also reacting as well. “You want to take the crown?” he croaked.
“Fallon,” she said firmly. “What else can we do? If Aidan was not bad enough, we face a future where the Zorva-worshippers have power. And, if by some miracle Swane does not take the throne, it will be a son Aidan has fathered on Meinster’s girl Brona. It’s revolting – the girl is younger than Prince Cavan was. And Meinster is nearly as bad as Aidan. He flogs his people and delights in punishing those who defy him. Aroaril knows what children they will produce together.”
Fallon looked
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