along with Cyhan,” I said.
Penny looked at me sharply, “You said you weren’t going.” She kept her voice level but there was a certain amount of worry in it.
“I changed my mind. I’m still not going to meet him at the time and place of his choosing; rather I’ll meet him on my own terms.”
“That’s wise, since it’s even odds your meeting would be an ambush. Getting rid of you would solve a lot of the King’s problems at one go. Where do you intend to meet him?” Rose asked intently.
I smiled, “In his bedroom.”
“Somehow I doubt his majesty will agree to that,” Dorian observed.
“He won’t be given the option to decline,” Penny snapped at him impatiently. The tension in her shoulders was unmistakable. “Are you sure this is wise? This isn’t what we discussed earlier.” She and I had gone over the topic the night before and now I had changed the plan.
To give her credit, my wife is no shrinking violet. I had come to respect her as a woman of courage and determination, but she was sometimes a bit timid when it came to risking my health. I suppose that made some sense, considering she was expecting our first child. I glanced down at her already swelling waist. Looking up again I met her eyes, “I’m sorry love. I know you’re worried, but I have to clear things between myself and the king or we’ll never have peace. I think this is the only chance we’ll have.”
She saw the look in my eye and knew there was little sense in arguing. “You’d best be right, or I’ll make sure you spend whatever’s left of your life regretting it.” It was no idle threat coming from her.
“Our child will have a father,” I assured her. Penny’s determination was possibly one of her most beautiful qualities.
“A surprise meeting will introduce a certain amount of tension into your discussion. Are you sure that’s what you want?” Rose asked, breaking into the conversation again.
“Absolutely,” I stated. “Edward needs to understand that I’m negotiating from a position of strength or he’ll never respect any bargain we make.”
The discussion went on for a solid hour after that, but I had already made up my mind. When all was said and done, no one liked my decision but there weren’t any better suggestions made. Only the future would tell whether it was a good idea or not.
Chapter 3
The next morning I decided to take a break from my usual routine. Rather than head to the forge and resume work on my next bit of armor crafting I went looking for my other childhood friend. Thanks to Dorian I had paid better attention at dinner the night before and managed to notice a notable absence at the table.
I wondered how many other meals Marc had missed without me bothering to ask about him. Times like this made me realize that I wasn’t exactly the best friend a fellow could have. Sure, I had plenty of excuses… a new wife, a county to run, but I still couldn’t allow myself that luxury. Excuses would always be plentiful, true friends were not.
I didn’t see Marc at breakfast so I headed for the room he had been staying in. Pausing at the door I listened for a moment. I heard nothing and my other senses told me that my friend was inside, alone but awake. I had almost hoped he would have a ‘companion’ with him… that would have done much to allay my worries. It really wasn’t natural for him to spend so much time alone; Marc had always been a highly social animal. I knocked on the door and waited.
There was no response though with my ability I could sense him pouring another drink from a bottle. I could only assume it was wine. I knocked again and spoke loudly, “Marc it’s me, open up!” He chose not to answer and instead slumped over as if he were sleeping. He knew I could sense him through the door. “That’s not going to work,” I yelled at the wooden door, “I already know you’re awake.”
“Go away!” came a muffled response from within.
I’d had enough so with a word I unlocked the door and opened it. Marc was sitting on the divan across the room, staring bleakly at me as I entered. He was holding the wine bottle in a curious fashion in one hand. “What are you planning to do with that?” I asked.
“I was giving serious consideration to the thought of tossing it at you,” he said dryly, “but then I decided it would be a waste of good wine.” He changed his grip on the bottle and turned it up, taking a long swallow directly from the bottle.
“You look like shit,” I volunteered.
“Thanks,” he replied. “That means a lot to me… coming from you.” His tone was surly and I could tell he was ready for a fight.
“If that’s your idea of witty repartee you really are drunk.”
“Not yet, I just woke up. Give me an hour,” he said.
“Why don’t you give the wine a rest today and help me with some planning?” I suggested. It was actually a half-truth. While I wouldn’t have minded having my friend’s advice on my near future plans I obviously wanted even more to snap him out of his dark mood.
“I’ve got a better idea Mort!” He sat up suddenly, as if filled with energy and enthusiasm. “Why don’t you go make your plans, and leave me alone? That way you’ll get better plans and I won’t have to listen to your bullshit!” He lifted his bottle again and started to take another long draught of wine.
“If you’re going to be a sarcastic ass you might as well do it sober,” I replied and before he could react I deftly slipped the bottle from his hand. Ordinarily his reflexes were so quick I’d never have managed to do it… but a lot of hard drinking had made him slow.
“You ass!” He was too slow to catch the bottle but planting his hands in my chest he gave me a hard shove. I fell backward over a small table and landed on the floor. Marc leaned forward and started to take the bottle back but I planted a foot in his chest and sent him flying across the room. He bounced off the corner post of the bed and crashed into the dressing table. “Bastard! You’ll regret that!” he shouted at me and snatched up a clay water pitcher as it started to fall.
Even hung over and strung out as he was I had to admire his dexterity at the catch… till he chose to fling said pitcher at my head. The motion caught me off guard and I failed to duck. Thankfully the shield I still habitually kept around myself prevented me from getting a cracked skull. “Hey! You could have seriously hurt someone like that!” Having fought a few times as children we both knew there was an unspoken rule against throwing heavy objects… or doing anything else potentially permanent.
“As if I could hurt you! You and your stupid shield… why don’t you take that thing off and fight like a real man?” he challenged.
“Fine!” I yelled back. “You could use a good thrashing. Did it ever occur to you that your family might be worried about you?” As I spoke I dropped my shield, though there was no visible sign of it.
“My family is none of your damned business!”
“Your sister is worried about you, so is Dorian.”
“What about my father eh? I guess he didn’t bother to ask after me did he!?” Marc was standing now and approaching cautiously.
“At least you have a father!” I shouted back.
“How long are you going to play the pity card over that one?” he sneered.
“Till I’ve knocked you on your ass and beaten some sense into your head,” I replied a bit more calmly. My anger was only half real, in the back of my mind I was still trying to calculate what the best way to bring my friend to his senses would be.
“Still got your shield up?” he asked. From an outside viewpoint it was almost odd how calm he seemed as he asked that question, but it seemed normal enough at the time.
“No I took it down a moment ago…,” before I could finish my words he caught me in the mouth with a quick jab. I stepped back quickly before he could follow up with another but he didn’t press his advantage. I wiped the blood from my lip… I could already feel it starting to swell. “Not bad,” I commented.
“Might improve your looks,” he snapped back.
