Loyie watched Cece go, only feeling slight concern at her
sudden exit. She could hardly blame the girl, for it was a lot to take in with
not the most warm of welcomes. She had more of a temper than Loyie expected,
though she never questioned what the prophecy told her. Anyone can change, given time, she reminded herself. Loyie had too
many other problems to contend with to worry over such a small detail.
“I should send someone to watch her,” the king murmured,
his eyes also glued to the door of his hut.
Loyie nodded and turned from the door, already moving on
to the next topic she wanted to discuss with the king. “Dravin of the Kreesh
would do well to watch her. His sister will be more than open to housing Cece
for a few nights.”
Xvenaad finally tore his eyes away from the door to give
Loyie a startled look. “Dravin? Why him, of all people?”
Smiling, Loyie took a few steps toward the king and
placed a hand lightly on his arm. “Dravin is liked by his men, and he has the
largest group. If he accepts her, many others will.”
The king nodded his agreement and stepped around Loyie to
stick his head out the door. She heard him mutter a few words before stepping
back inside his hut. She knew it would not take long before the king stepped
right where she needed him to be and bring up the topic she could not dredge up
herself. Being tied to prophecy created unusual circumstances, though very few
ever knew just how much Loyie had to dance around pretenses with the
prophecies, and none of them were still alive.
“I cannot afford to have a rebellion in my own camp,” Xvenaad
said, his tone full of warning. Loyie knew the king would not want to drop the
topic of Cece so lightly, despite all that had happened that day.
Loyie only nodded, slowly making her way toward the
tattered map of the land. She could see the troops had made no major
advancements since she last checked, though felt no surprise. They had lost
many today in a battle Loyie had warned was futile, but she knew as if it had
been already written in stone that Commander Eerle would take his battle axmen
against her warnings to try and ambush the Grignogn supply wagons. Eerle had
always been brash, though no one but Loyie had known that it would lead to his
and many other man’s demise.
Losing had been a major blow to the other soldiers in the
camp, which made for a dangerous situation for Cece to step into. Men were
always suspicious of what they could not explain away, and even more suspicious
when it tied itself to a dangerous prophecy.
Finally, Loyie spoke softly, though not taking her eyes
off the battered map, “As long as Prince Bramaad chooses not to spread more
unneeded rumors, you will not have dissent amongst your camp.”
“I don’t suppose you can tell by prophecy whether or not
my fool son will ever become less of a fool?” Xvenaad asked dryly. Loyie glanced
up from the map, finally seeing a bit of the man’s old humor before his face
fell once more.
“I’m afraid not, Xvenaad, but there are steps that need
to be made so he will not detest Cece so.”
The king frowned and moved closer to the map where Loyie now
pointed. He was a rather large man, used to looming over people. Loyie supposed
he used it to his advantage to intimidate people, though she had never viewed
the man as more than a mere man wanting to keep his people together. Though I have had to deal with enough kings
to last me another ten prophecies! Her small frame also made her more than
used to people looming over her, but it had been several hundred years since
she had actually felt intimidated by anyone because of their mere size.
“What steps are you thinking, Watcher?” the king asked
suspiciously, eyeing the placement of where Loyie was pointing.
Loyie tapped the map with a finger. It was on the main
kingdom, Seyew itself, the land they were all fighting to regain. “How many
eyes do we have in the city?” She was almost there, casually guiding the king
to the proper topic she needed him to be on.
Xvenaad frowned at the map, as if it would give him the
answers he needed. “What does that have to do with our new guest and my son?”
Sighing impatiently, Loyie tapped the map more pointedly.
Some days were harder not to interfere than others. “Answer the question,
king.”
Not taking any offence to Loyie’s lack of respect for his
title, Xvenaad finally looked away from the map. “They have all gone silent.
It’s hard to tell whether they grew too fearful to leave the city or if they
were found and killed.”
Loyie nodded, knowing full well the answers to the
questions she asked. “So we need someone to go in and give us an update, yes?”
The king eyed her suspiciously. “Are you suggesting
sending in that girl and my son into the city to find out what is happening?”
Loyie only shrugged and spread her hands innocently. At
least Xvenaad had always been quick to draw sharp conclusions, unlike his son.
“If that is your wish, my king. Though it may solve some problems of trust
between the two and enable us to retrieve more refugees. I believe it to be an
interesting solution.”
“Are you mad?” the king burst out, his self-restraint
clearly gone. “Bramaad is the prince of Seyew! If the Grignogns don’t recognize
him the moment he walks into those city gates, someone else might recognize him
and betray him to a Grignogn! We cannot be sure how loyal any are that are left
in the city. We don’t even know if this Cece girl can do anything beyond lose
her temper!”
Loyie raised an eyebrow and waited for the king’s tirade
to die down to mere sputters. She would bring the king to see her way, but she
had not expected him to throw a tantrum as if he were a young man again.
Sometimes Loyie wondered how Xvenaad seemed to be blind to the fact that his
son was acting the same as he had when he was a foolish young man.
“Bramaad spent little time out in the city where the peasants could see him, if you recall.
If he is seen in the city and is recognized, then he is even more of a fool
than we could believe for wandering too close to the manor houses of the inner
city. As for the girl, did you not notice how you wished to listen to her
whenever she spoke?”
Coolly, Loyie crossed her arms and watched the king mull
over what she had said. His expression hardened as he finally nodded.
“This still doesn’t make the plan any less foolish. This
Cece girl will not do anything she doesn’t want to. That is plain to see,”
Xvenaad said, though he sounded more as if he were trying to convince himself
than anyone else.
Loyie smiled. “Any woman will see sense, no matter how
crazy the idea is, as long as it gives her something she wants in return.”
The king sighed heavily and drew a chair up to the
battered map before taking a seat. “Alright, Watcher, guide me to what I need
to know.”
Nearly bursting with relief, Loyie directed the king’s
attention to the map once more. It certainly was going to be a long night.
