Chapter 5: Silent Tension (Part 1)
Consanguineal
As I entered the inner-sanctum of our great hall, I immediately felt the surprisingly cosy atmosphere. An intense warmth.
How the large room had been lit, I’d guessed the laid out hearth had roasted the charred remains of wood for awhile. I could make out the tiny bits of embers beneath the furious smoke from those cooled lumps being stirred by someone’s poking around.
If there wasn’t a stormy layer of clouds outside, more light would’ve been invited through the small hole in the roof. Thankfully it still served its purpose to clear the air of smoke from the agitated fire.
The hearth wasn’t alone being disturbed.
Shadows moved along the wood paneling on the walls, following parallel with my own, but as I glimpsed downward to follow the tails belonging to those shades, I lost them in the dark flooring.
Within the shadows, I wouldn’t be clearly seen. And neither would my pursuers.
Anything beneath light was hidden. But I could see the shapes of every man who attended this council.
“Laurel Knudson, Sort Lyn Fyrste.” My name and the associated title of black lightning prince was heralded by someone ahead.
The light was too low for me to recognize whomever it was, but I supposed they didn’t require that to notice who I was. Being recognized, and having those cautious escorts leave me be, I joined their great circle around a greater table.
As I stopped to stand by the table’s edge, I saw the glint of firelight within many eyes now directed towards me. I was being stared at by a curious lot.
Except a few, but only because they appeared preoccupied. A happily servicing girl who filled the men’s cups, and an old official.
Across from me stood this official man of significant importance. Not in general, but to the Dansk station of Vandfjord -- at least, when I wasn’t around. And that would have lowered his stance, but everything relatively changed with the unexpected arrival of someone greater than me.
My brother, crown-prince Wen. My mind wandered on the fact that he had no titles to his name… He hadn’t earned them yet. But he was the heir of our father’s household and all that was his of the Danish territories.
Thusly making him greater than me without deserving it. I’d much rather have one or the other of our brothers here than him.
At least they were doing something to assist our people. I doubted Wen had come on a good tide.
Regardless of my misgivings, with it being established he was here, I saw that he had been either welcomed or permitted to speak first. But what had been said was a little worrisome.
“Steward Torgils Asgerson.”
From what I saw, the addressed combination of our man’s name and this town’s title had served as an effort to grab our steward’s attention. That would be the man who was busy doing other things than gawping at me. And I knew my brother would fail to lift that man’s head.
Thinking over it, Torgils was a steward for a reason. The crown-prince knew not how that official would be deeply absorbed in a puzzle… Or problem. I’d experienced the silent treatment plenty enough to know that until our steward came up with a solution, nothing would be said.
He didn’t wish to waste time or breath speaking of maybe’s when he could decipher the fact of a matter. A answer to our problem.
Up to the table’s edge, I saw and knew by the look on our steward’s face that this was exactly our situation. I felt frustrated in being late to discover this when I too had vital information to add onto... On whatever I walked into.
“Listen and you will learn.” I heard Mikael’s voice in my head, but hadn’t spotted him yet. Invisible or not, unlike everyone else, I had the eyes to see through his shroud of darkness.”Not hiding. Look.”
“Not now,” I whispered beneath the volume of my breath. From what I saw, I had to diffuse another issue before impatience grew into a conflict. Torgils had not responded to the greatest of men here.
Wen stood within our hall, and with the crown-prince being ignored, that would be an obvious sign of disrespect. And with the room looking to be jam-packed with my brother’s band of warriors, I believed Torgils head might roll by his feet before his body could hit the floor.
In a quietly whispered tone, this to not alert anyone except whom I had set my dark gaze upon, I tried to grab my brother’s attention, “BromMPH!”
Instead I was muffled a soft and delicate palm, grabbed, and dragged back. I immediately nipped at the offending hand until I was released.
“Address your brother in a formal manner,” I was told in a quiet and sweetly innocent sounding voice. “If you had forgotten: crown-prince.” A girl’s voice. “Two offenses won’t appease him.”
When I had been released, I had an idea who that girl was. And he was not a girl at all… Not exactly. He was someone who had yet to teach me the ability to shift into such a guise.
In any shape or size, I was well aware he could appear as anyone. But the joy I saw on that young face, and what I found inside the feminine voice, was too well played. I missed the signs of who he really was.
In a more frustrated voice, I accepted my mentor’s correction with a, “Yes, Mikael.” And I quickly returned to the spot by my brother’s side.
A glance over my shoulder, I saw the girl-Mikael had wandered back to brush shoulders with the towering Danish. As the men’s cups were being refilled, I caught my mentor being pawed and grabbed at by many. Any he had fooled, which would be all, I witnessed had greedily grasped at any nubile flesh they could without drawing too much attention.
What was more, as if to include me in on whatever naughty fun was being had, this not-a-girl shot me a far too wide grin. A true reminder how devious Mikael could become. I shuddered at the idea if the men here were ever to discover who they were fiddling with.
Of course, girl-Mikael brought a slender finger up and pressed the slight digit to those smirking lush lips. I felt him as he mentally shushed me from clear across the table. Then he went back to teasing and seducing the inebriated vikings with far too much physical contact for my liking.
He was enjoying this. I truly began to wonder, ’Is he really a man?’ But another curious thought entered my mind, ’Why is he disguised?’
Honestly, if he wanted to, my mentor was permitted to attend any sort of meetings as an advisor.
Unless there was something abnormal about this assemblage. I knew my brother and his wave of warriors coming here was not a regular sight to behold.
Once more in a soft whisper, I formally called: “Crown-prince?”
”He’s pissed off,” I was warned within my mind. ”Lots of questions, not one answered. Take care.”
A quick glance towards girl-Mikael had me redirected with a nod from him towards the steward. I knew exactly what had put my brother in a foul mood.
If I assumed correctly, my eldest brother had been wordlessly shrugged off by our steward more than once. I understood no Dane would take kindly to that, let alone the firstborn belonging to the great house of Estrid.
Taking that into consideration, I believed if another moment passed without a corrective action, this misunderstanding would end in bloodshed.
But I knew he wasn’t ignoring my brother out of spite. If Torgils had a lot on his mind, I didn’t want to hinder the progress he made.
Instead of penalizing the old man, I meagerly offered assistance.
“Torgils,” I first tried my own hand at grabbing his attention. “Tell us what is on your mind. We can figure this out together.” I looked away from him and gazed back up to my brother. “Right?”
...Silence. Long after I had spoken my offer, our official had said nothing in return, and my brother showed no sign he would support my suggestion.
Just as my brother had been treated, I was ignored. I should’ve anticipated this.
In the same soft spoken voice, I stated: “Fine.”
And for my statement, I got a smack in the back of my head. I was about to lash out at the one who attacked me --
-- but I saw no one behind me.
”Temper,” was said in my head.
In that instant, I knew exactly who had hit me. I uttered not a word for I took the hint; hold my loose tongue before I lose it.
My brother, or the band of men who followed him, would cut out anyone’s tongue for saying something unruly. I hadn’t mentioned anything deserving of that, but I reflected on my last snappy comment.
With that in mind, I wasn’t going to let my hothead risk mine.
”Hot? No.” A listen to the voiced opinion in my head later, and I quickly searched for that girl-Mikael. ”There will come an opportunity for me to introduce you to real fury.”
That was not something I looked forward to meeting. And with that thought in mind, I immediately heard the peel of girlish laughter from a shady corner in the great hall.
The fiery light of the hearth didn’t reach that spot, but I was thankful for that. I’d rather not have chanced what went on beyond my vision.
Within that darkness, I could make out a couple of active shapes. So as to not imagine beyond what I already guessed was going on, I looked away from them.
”Intimacy?!” I winced at the outraged voice in my head. ”Think again.” That was a piece of advice I took, but not on whatever he was doing as a she. ”Dull.” I shrugged at that opinion.
He knew I had a sense of fun. To me, there were more ways to pass the time in this silent room. But I wasn’t here to waste time.
”Look.” Without Mikael’s suggestion, I had already begun looking elsewhere. ”Without the drink I offer, their behavior would be greater than a ruckus. Violence.”
And as I searched for the mood in this room, I became aware that our officials of Vandfjord weren’t as idle as I had initially thought. I couldn’t see past the lip of the table, but I could tell they had been shifting their weight from one sleepy foot to another.
The Danes appeared to be quietly speaking with one another, and I caught some bark with restrained laughter. If they were not yapping away, then those Danish were greedily drinking from their cups to loosen those lips some more.
An evidence of exhaustion or agitation, but either way, they had been here for long while. I supposed Mikael was doing the right thing to lighten the mood and relax.
But I wondered, ’How long have they been here?’ I supposed likely as long as the flame in our hall’s hearth been burning. Except I noticed how many of my people were in attendance. I began to wonder, ’Had they expected my brother?’
All of Vandfjord’s officials were here. Out of the assembled bands of Dane and Dansk, I was not only the late comer, but I may have well been the last one to have been told anything.
”Any importance?” I looked back at the dark corner for the busy couple, but saw no one there. My mind heard the voice of my mentor state: ”Not to worry.”
Thinking over being the last to have heard of this meeting, I now wondered, ’Between us, maybe our steward, Torgils, is seen as the more valuable man?’ I could grasp the concept behind a Danish perspective.
”Knowledge, and resources. Both to be shared with those permitted.” And as I thought about what Mikael whispered within my mind, I gestured at myself to be the one who would be handing out permissions. ”You were… now is an exception to that ruling.”
With the drop of my hand, I came to understand that statement. I wasn’t the one here with the highest authority.
Because of my brother being here, I had lost my worth.
“Ow.” The back of my head got smacked. I reached behind and soothed the hurt with a rub.
That one had taken me by surprise. I was absolutely clueless on what I had done to deserve Mikael’s reprimand. I also had missed where that girl’s hand had come from.
Whirling around to face where I thought I had been attacked, I looked for girl-Mikael.
“Dumhed nu, slut.” I went rigid at the harsh sound of Danish being cursed across the hall.
Somehow that voice had been directed down at me... Spoken as if the man had been towered over me and spat each word upon my dark crown. I had expected to find the speaker by my side, but that was apparently not the case.
With an initial glance over my shoulder, I spotted and kept still to stare across the room at this blackened and bristly bearded bear of a man. He was busily digging his nails under his bushy chin while glaring at me. As he raked his hairy face, I kept my dark eyes on him to determine if I knew who he was.
Obviously after a moment of investigation, I had determined he was one of my brother’s men. I should’ve been able tell that without looking. The language he spoke had given it away.
But I had too many thoughts on my mind to think clearly. I still had to diffuse the tension between the patiently awaiting crown-prince and my silent steward.
Taking a step back, I glanced behind me and searched around in the dark recesses of the great hall for my disguised mentor. I desired to hear some wisdom to help guide me.
“Afslut denne dumhed!” I again heard the black bear shout at me.
When I returned my attention to that Dane, I noticed the glint of fire in many more eyes faced in my direction. As much as I knew the context of what that drunk bear was spitting out, I honestly had no idea what the Dane exactly said to me.
A girl’s whisper found my ear. “He thinks you’re a dummy.”
With a nod, I silently lipped a repeat of the word ’Dumhed’ to show that I had gathered that much. But it was the other word I had lost in translation. I heard it used twice.
“Slut?” I tried to keep my tone down to the bare minimum. I gave the sneaky girl-Mikael over my shoulder a look and saw that pretty face had cringed with a wince at that Danish word.
“Unless commanded by the crown-prince, don’t speak,” was all that my mentor had to say on that matter.
Once I heard that soft spoken response, and took note of the girl pouring me a cup, I had done as I was told and simply dropped the subject. I instead had paid attention to our assembly.
“Drink?” As the cup was lifted off the edge of our table and offered to me, I finally had enough light to better show me what face my mentor chose to wear today.
I was right to think he’d pick a pretty one. To not do so would’ve made me wonder the sexual preference for those seduced Danes.
With a grin on girl-Mikael’s lips, I had the cup shoved into my hands, dropped closer to blow me a kiss, wiggled sleek-black eyebrows at me, and swayed away from me on a dancer’s feet. I watched my mentor move onto the next man to be illicitly teased.
As my dark eyes wandered over those men who stood at this grand-table, I belatedly noticed they were not huddled around the hearth. I understood that the table was where our steward tended to a matter, and they’d wish to be closeby whenever the man would finally speak, but something was off.
That would be when I took a look at the table. It was these Danish who casted a greater shadow of interest over what laid between all of us: two maps.
”At last, you see the importance?” I sighed in frustration at my mentor’s mindful words.
In the quietest whisper I could manage, I said, “No thanks to you.”
”These men found a common interest.” As I kept my attention down on the maps and acted ignorant of what was my mentor’s new topic, I truly listened to the voice in my head. ”The investment has them easily distracted.”
Quietly again, I said, “I saw.”
”Are you as easily bewitched?” I steeled myself against that uncomfortable question and lightly shook my head in a silent response. ”To ignore the frivolous, practice. Focus on what is not said.”
My dark gaze drifted slightly upward to see what my mentor meant. Torgils said not a word, but he was speaking with his hands.
The steward spread out his fingers and gestured down at the one map. I would likely be punished in some way for doing this, but I would rather spare the old man pain.
Taking a step towards my brother, I reached out and tugged at his sleeve. He looked down at me and I saw the glow of the hearth’s fire in his eyes.
“Look.” In the instant of my suggestive command, I pointed out what my steward had been doing. And only hoped my brother would listen to me.
Since a moment had passed without my skull being caved in, I took that sign as meaning he had looked and followed those hands on the map.
A minor success in repairing the little damage between us. And I fully believed that was deserving of me a drink from my cup. Especially when my ears perked up at the outside rumbling noise.
Thunder. A storm was rolling in...
Thanks for the Chapter
Well, in the meantime I'm just going to re-read the last few chapters
I really want to know what happens next
Thank ya for reading, and re-reading.
Currently working on the second part, but may have to hit the hay before I finish it up.