Chess Series: Interlude after Rook/Book 4.5
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Chapter 1
The day after my twenty-second birthday I was sitting in the Strategy Room admiring my new sign with swirly letters, and waiting for my husband to come back with some lunch, when I had an unusual visitor.
The Palace Stablemaster, Mr. Merrill, wanted to talk about the horse Anders had ridden back to the palace on. I frowned. “Is there something wrong with the horse, Mr. Merrill?”
He shook his head quickly, “No, Your Majesty. It’s a fine animal. So fine, I believe it might be registered.”
My eyebrows went up. “Registered?”
He nodded. “Yes, most horses are of course work animals — whether farm work, or pulling wagons, that sort of thing. Those horses are bred for stamina and strength, but not for looks. The horses in the Palace Stable are chosen for their stamina and strength as well, but also with an eye to their look. There are also race horses — bred for speed, and short bursts of endurance. Finally, there’s show horses. Those are specially bred to bring out the best qualities and most elegant look. Those horses are registered. They are also usually marked in some way, most commonly by a stamp on their shoes, since that doesn’t take away from the esthetics of the animal.”
My chest tightened. Of all the horses… “And I take it this horse has one of those shoes?”
“Yes. His saddle and bridle were quite fine as well, although there was no paperwork included in the saddlebags, so I wanted to be sure you knew it was missing.”
I sighed. “And I presume show horses are quite valuable?”
“Oh, yes. And very rarely change hands without a lot more…ceremony…than this one did.”
He shifted on his feet, and I could tell he didn’t want to ask how the horse had ended up in the Palace Stable. I nodded. “Does the mark identify the previous owner? In other words, could it easily be proven this animal was the same one they…had…until last week?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Excellent. Next question. I presume these horses are generally kept intact for breeding purposes?”
He nodded. “Yes, the stallions are not gelded.”
“And is the one we now have a stallion, or a mare?”
“A stallion, Your Majesty.”
“Okay, see if you can find me a mare show horse within a day’s ride. Preferably in Sabladar, if possible.”
He gave me a puzzled look, but agreed and took his leave. Anders came in a few minutes later pushing a cart. I shook my head. “I thought you were just going to send word. I didn’t realize you were going to retrieve the food yourself. You just missed Mr. Merrill.”
He frowned. “The Palace Stablemaster? What did he want?”
“By any chance, do you remember where you stole that horse from? Or at least well enough that you could find it again?”
He thought for a moment. “Yes, I believe I could find the farm again.” He paused and met my eyes for a moment. “I didn’t think about it before, but we should pay for that horse, shouldn’t we?” He gave me a sheepish smile.
I rolled my eyes. “Ah, yeah, something like that. Mr. Merrill was here to inform me that was a show horse — registered no less — that you stole. A valuable animal, I’m told. So…we’re taking it back. And, hopefully a second one as well.”
His eyebrows went up. “A show horse? What was that farmer doing with a show horse?”
I tilted my head. “Does it matter?”
He nodded. “If he didn’t have the horse legitimately, then yes. It was a working farm — barley from what I could tell. They had a stable of five horses, I believe. All work horses except the one I took. Which I figured was the only one the famer kept for showing off. I didn’t steal his income.”
“Barley? Main ingredient in whiskey? There’s a large distillery at the northern confluence of the East and West Talfore River in Sabladar.”
His eyes widened. “Alright, how do you know that?”
I smiled. “Alecks. He explained the process to me one day. I brought it up because if the farmer in question supplies the distillery, it’s quite possible he came by that horse legitimately. I’m sure any suppliers have quite a lucrative contract.”
He nodded. “True. So, what do we do?”
“Well, first we’re going to return the horse and tack that you…borrowed. And, I’m looking to see if we can further soothe any ruffled feathers by also delivering another horse, so our farmer has a breeding pair.”
“That’s quite generous.”
“Well, the one horse is his anyway. And giving him gold to sweeten the deal isn’t as creative. With a breeding pair, he’s got a much higher potential income or prestige, or whatever one is looking for by owning a show horse.”
He smiled, “And much more likely to spread good will about the queen who went out of her way to compensate him for a stolen horse. Are you going to tell him it was me who stole it?”
I thought for a minute. “I’d figured I would, but you’re right — it might be better to simply explain that we became aware the horse was stolen, the thief has been dealt with, and now we’re returning the horse.”
“So when are we going on our mini adventure?”
“As soon as I get more information from Mr. Merrill. And a travel itinerary. We’ll be travelling with at least three horses, hopefully four, and we’re going to need to stay at places big enough and trustworthy enough for that.”
∼∗∼∗∼∗∼
Anders and I were going over some things for our trip, when Alecks knocked on the door. I looked up, a puzzled expression on my face. He asked, “May I speak with you a moment?”
I nodded and got up to go over and see him. He pulled me into the side room and shut the door behind us. I frowned. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“You’re not going to Sabladar to deliver a horse, that’s what.”
“Yes I am.”
He looked down his nose at me. “I’d let you go on an official state visit, if I must. But not just traipsing off because you want an adventure.”
I tilted my head and looked at him. “Okay…why are you delivering this message? Why isn’t Anders doing so?”
He sighed. “Because Anders doesn’t know about it yet. I was volun-told to tell you first.”
I frowned. “By Dart?”
“Yes. He seemed to think that I would be better at delivering bad news than he would, or that you’d react better to me anyway.”
I sighed and leaned against the windowsill. “So it’s too risky for the queen to go off, even with an armed escort?”
“That’s the general idea, yes.”
“It’s only a day’s ride,” I protested.
“And Anders was kidnapped from the palace.”
I narrowed my eyes and gave him a contemplative look. “Which means…someone could get me anywhere…so I can go.” I smiled.
He closed his eyes and shook his head before opening them again. “Look into my eyes, Retta.”
I frowned, but then met his eyes. “They’re a very nice shade of blue, with these like white rays that make them look almost like the sky as the clouds are parting.”
He blinked. “Okay…when did you start getting poetic about eye color?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “Oh, round about the time I was trying to forget it was my husband’s birthday and he was dead. I had a lovely conversation with Dart.”
His expression changed to one of sympathy. “I’m sorry. But aside from that rather nice description of my eyes, I was trying to get you to seriously consider what you’re contemplating.”
I nodded. “Well, Anders knows where the farm was that he stole the horse from, so he has to go. And…well…I — I kinda don’t want to let him go.” I swallowed hard, feeling tears in my eyes. I sank down on a bench against the wall and sighed.
He walked over and squeezed my shoulder, then said quietly, “I’m sorry.”
I looked up at him. “I just got him back, Alecks. Please let me go.”
“I can’t really stop you. You are the queen. But, I am strongly advising against it.”
I nodded. “I understand. I promise to make it as quick a trip as possible.”
“And you’ll go completely low-key, nothing to make you stand out?”
I nodded again. “Of course — you know I don’t like a big fuss anyway.”
He sighed and sat down next to me. “Dart’s going to hate this.”
“Yeah, I know. Do you think he’d be more willing if I took someone besides Anders with me?”
He leaned back against the wall. “Shit, I don’t know. It’s our job to keep you safe. It’s also our job to do what you order us to do. When the one conflicts with the other, it’s not easy.”
I was quiet for a moment, then I said, “I’m working on a plan to change the marriage law. It’s going to have several steps — some of which will probably involve me leaving the palace and going to meet with the Dukes. Is the guard going to object to me doing that as well?”
“You can’t just have them come to the palace?”
“Some of them, but I want the option to go to them. The first few steps I want to keep quiet and not tip off anyone as to what I’m doing.”
“Which means of course no carriage and twenty soldier escort, I presume?” I nodded. He sighed again. “So what you’re saying is you want to use this as a trial run?”
I smiled gently. “That wasn’t exactly what I was saying, but that sounds good.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to Dart and let him know that you would be open to having more than only Anders with you and see what he says. But I’m not going to lie if he asks me if you’re going anyway.”
“Okay. Fair enough. What are you going to tell Anders?”
“That his wife is a stubborn, strong woman who will do what she wants regardless of what we tell her?”
I snorted. “He already knows that.”
He smiled. “Then, it won’t be a surprise, will it?”
I laughed and we headed back to the main room to tell Anders of Dart’s objection.
∼∗∼∗∼∗∼
That night, I curled up next to Anders and asked, “Do you think Dart is right? That I should stay here while you and someone else take the horse back?”
“I think that strictly speaking, yes, he’s right. It’s not a state visit, you aren’t required to be there. However, you have never been a typical monarch. I would have been surprised if you’d accepted his recommendation without protest.”
I pulled back to look at him and bit my lip. “But maybe I should be a little more typical. Maybe I should be more responsible.”
He kissed me gently. “Do you want to go?”
I nodded. “Yes, very much. I — I hate the idea of you going off alone while I stay here and worry that you won’t come back.”
He brushed a strand of hair back from my face. “There will be times you need to send me places — or I need to travel with someone else — when you can’t come with me.”
I blinked back tears. “I know. But I just got you back after thinking you were dead. It hasn’t even been a full week that you’ve been recovered enough to do anything.”
A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. He brushed it off with his thumb and whispered, “Then come with me. We never did have any kind of honeymoon. We just jumped back into the chaos the next morning as if nothing had changed. We’ll take a few days and just be us.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He kissed me again. “And we’ll take a couple of extra days. We won’t just return the horse and come right back. Maybe we could take a tour of that distillery.”
I licked my lips. “That actually sounds like fun. And now that Ronan is one, I can even have alcohol again.”
“Then it’s settled. And we may be able to make Dart feel a little better about things if you bring your sword and pistols.”
I smiled. “Ooo, that’s fun.”
He smiled back, then kissed me on the forehead. We blew out the candle on the bedside table and settled in to sleep. Now that I had a plan, I was looking forward to the trip.
"Quiet Move Excerpt," Copyright © September 7, 2022 by Cathy Draig.