Kings and Queens/Helix II

Helix

T heir time in Woesien had gone by faster than Helix expected it to, which he was glad for. And today was the day he would give his firstborn daughter away. Delena had come around to accepting their daughter's marriage, she recently began spending time with Lady Gwyneth, Lord Atticus' wife. Lord Atticus had been asking to meet with Helix since the day they arrived in Woesien, but Helix did everything in his power to avoid it, much to Lord Atticus' dismay. Overall, Helix had enjoyed his few days in Woesien, enjoying the royal company. But now, he was looking forward to getting back home, to the Farmlands, to Byde, and to his son, Sirius. However, that all changed an hour before the wedding.
 * The day had started perfectly. Morning came, and Helix and Delena dressed to sup with the Cunningham's, along with King Maurice and his children. Esmeralda sat with Wilbert, although neither spoke to one another. Wilbert preferred to speak with his brother, Ser Dean, while Esme sat and giggled at a tale Charon was telling her. Anabel sat in between Prince Lance and Princess Jewel, she would now and again look up to smile to Prince Wesley, who would flash a charming smile her way. The King ate solemnly, poking at his food, preferring to drink wine than eat any food. Queen Isolde had a quiet conversation with her father, while Ladies Delena and Gwyneth nattered on about preferred names for their grandchildren. Helix was much like the King, aside the wine. Instead, his thoughts turned to the events over the past few days.

At first, upon hearing the news, Helix was not too happy. Anabel was only twelve, with Prince Wesley being a year and a half older. He didn't want to madden the King however, so he agreed to the betrothal. The House of Messer hasn't been a part of the royal family since the dawn of the Doncaster's, and even then, that marriage ended quite badly, with Princess Aldreda Doncaster dying during the birth of her second child and firstborn son. The Queen, on the other hand, had not been so thrilled of the news either, and asked her husband to reconsider. King Maurice yelled at her, telling her to shut up, which she did in the end. Maurice is good at a lot of things, but he cannot love a woman.
 * After breaking their fast, Esmeralda was whisked away by several dressers to prepare for her wedding. Delena had not be permitted to go, so instead decided to invite Anabel to their bedchambers. Charon had tagged along as well, so Helix could teach his son how to fasten the cloak of the House of Messer onto Lord Wilbert's back. Esmeralda wanted to chose Ser Dean to place the cloak of the Cunningham Clan on her back, but as Ser Dean was going to be on duty that day, she decided to go with Ser Phillip, Lord Atticus' younger brother. Helix quite liked the company of Ser Phillip, who arrived only yesterday, back from the City of Lennoch. They had quite a few things in common, and both enjoyed to play dice. They even played a few games the previous night. During her visit, Anabel asked a lot of pressing questions about her marriage to Prince Wesley, much to Helix's annoyance.

"Lord Father, when Prince Wesley and I marry, will we be allowed to live in the castle? Will our day be just as big as Lady Esme's? Will there be loads of cake to eat?" She ran the questions out of her mouth like she had been holding onto them for a long time.
 * Helix was about to answer quite frankly, but Delena came to his rescue. She kneeled down to face Anabel and cupped her daughter by both cheeks. "I am surely positive that when the time comes, your wedding to Prince Wesley will be a wondrous occasion. But, that will not be for a long time, my sweet little girl. You both must wait, for now." Anabel seemed happy enough with her answer, as she nodded and hummed an unfamiliar tune as her mother combed her brown hair.

When Charon clipped the cloak of marriage onto his father, Helix shook his head for a third time. Charon groaned, and Helix turned around, giving his son an empathetic smile. The cloak was certainly a beautiful sight. With a cream coloured background, it really gave the emblem of the House of Messer a shine to it. Charon smoothed the cloak and sighed impatiently.
 * "I don't understand why it has to be done properly, it's only got three clasps. Why can't I put them on all at the same time?"

Helix turned to his wife, who giggled at Charon's whining. He turned back around to face his son. "There will be over five hundred people at the ceremony, watching you as you place our House Cloak upon Lord Wilbert Cunningham's shoulders. He chose you, which is a high honour. Now, do it again."
 * After an hour of their company, Helix was reminded of the time, and sent both Charon and Anabel away. Delena wanted to make sure that Anabel's handmaiden scrubbed her clean properly, so went with him. After they left, Helix sent for his squire. Innes was a quirky boy of fourteen, who reminded him of Sirius, his brother. Like Innes, Sirius saw the adventure in life, which was one of the reasons why he joined the Brotherhood. Fyr, his other brother, wasn't as adventurous as Sirius. He was more like a leader, and was lenient with his words and actions. Innes was a baseborn child, not knowing who his parents were. He came from The Head, so his full name was Innes Rock. Helix had Innes draw him a tub of hot water to scrub the sweat away. After scrubbing him clean, Innes helped him out of the tub, got rid of the dirty water, and served as his cupbearer as Helix began to dress. Today he would wear a pale yellow coloured splitted shirt, with his cloak of Lordship and the badge of the Chief of the Farmlands atop his shirt. He also wore black ruffled trousers, freshly washed. He smelled like wash soap, but that would decay throughout the day. He was sitting on his bed, lacing up his formal shoes, when King Maurice came into his room, with Ser Donovan Orwell behind him. Helix was about to stand, but Maurice signalled with his hands, telling him to remain seated. Willingly, Helix obeyed. King Maurice began to walk around the room, looking at the smallest cracks on the wall, feeling the back of the furniture with his hand. Maurice then found himself in front of Innes, eyeing him suspiciously. Without looking away from the lad, King Maurice spoke to Helix.

"Can you trust this one? Has he ever been in the company of a bloody Cunningham?" Maurice wildly asked.
 * Helix, having finished lacing his shoes up, stood up and turned to face the King. "Your Highness... I have..."

King Maurice waved his hand to him again. "Stop blubbering, your King commands it. I'll ask you again - has this boy ever been in the presence of a Cunningham?"
 * "No, Your Highness. Innes Rock is his name, he's a good lad. Why did you ask him a question? And why aren't you dressed? The wedding is happening in under an hour." Helix asked, quizzically.

King Maurice slumped down into a chair, which was beside the dresser where Innes was standing. "I'm sorry for scaring you, boy. Pour me a goblet of that wine, will you?" Shaking in fear, Innes reached for a spare goblet, poured some of the sweetened wine into it, and handed it to the King. He nodded his thanks and drained the goblet. He belched and summoned Ser Orwell to his side. Orwell obeyed, and stood to the left of his King.
 * "Come and sit closer to me, Helix Messer. I have to speak to you." Helix nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed. He sat on the corner of the bed, leaned forward and looked to King Maurice. He was dishevelled, that much was clear. He smelled thickly of wine, his clothes were wrinkled and his hair was in bad need of a wash. Maurice sighed heavily.

"Do you have any idea how long these bloody Cunningham's have been here for? One full year and three moon cycles. One year and three moon cycles is quite long, Helix Messer, let me tell you, especially here in Woesien. I made Lord Atticus my advisory, as his own little reward for helping me to rid of the Worthy army, you remember them, don't you? Old friend, Lord Atticus fought bravely that day, let me tell you that. Of course, with me making him my advisory, I had to go and marry Isolde. Helix, let me tell you, that was a mistake. It was all a big, bloody mistake!" King Maurice spat, angrily.
 * Helix swallowed. "Your Highness, watch your words. You are speaking of your Queen Wife."

Maurice shook his head. "And I'm telling you, my lord, that it was a mistake. Sure, she gave me three children, who I love dearly, but Isolde, she controls them. And then Ser Dean... someone must give me strength! The man can fight, do not get me wrong, but he's just another foot soldier. I've been hearing things... they want me dead. All of them." King Maurice lowered his head and let out a drunken sigh. Helix reached for his friend's shoulder. "Are you telling me that Lord Atticus and the other Cunningham's all want you dead? Your Highness, how did you come by this news?"
 * Maurice brought his head back up again and leaned back in the chair. "Lord Eion Turnell, who else? He came to me, a few months back, telling me everything. At first, I didn't believe him, but I spoke to my wife's handmaidens, who only confirmed it. I wanted them dead, all of them. But, Lord Eion changed my mind. He gave me another suggestion. And it was a bloody good one."

"So, I went through with it. Of course, Ser Dean came back, gloating about your daughter's looks, and I went ahead and commanded Lord Atticus to go ahead with it. Your daughter, Lady Esmeralda, her marriage is only the beginning. You are the next stage of my plan."
 * Both men stood up. No, my old friend, do not say it. You cannot. I have to go home, Sirius is expecting us. Helix swallowed. King Maurice held of of Helix's shoulders. "I want you to replace Lord Atticus Cunningham as my advisory."

Helix turned around, disgusted by the thought, but King Maurice wheeled him back around. "Listen to me. I need you here. With me. I've already sent word to my brother, Lady Tilly is on her way. It wasn't who I wanted, but she will do. Ser Orwell here... he has managed to get one hundred and twenty men to join the cause, in the case of them being required. With your men, the numbers will be quadrupled. What do you say? Me and you, ruling this kingdom together? I should have made you my advisory when I first one, but I didn't. Now, I plan to make it up to you. What do you say?"
 * What should he say? Helix wanted to tell him no, telling him that his duty was in Byde, ruling the Farmlands, raising his children, seeing Charon being married. Watching Sirius become better with his bow and arrow. Having another son with Delena. Greeting Esmeralda's children into the world. Watching Anabel marry Prince Wesley. You fool, he thought to himself, Maurice, he had this planned the moment he made the betrothal proposal. Helix cleared his throat. "I am yours to serve, Your Highness." Helix spoke weakly, he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Pleased with his answer, the King grinned. "I'm glad to hear it. I must head off now, have a wedding to dress for. We will speak more on this matter the morrow." And with that, King Maurice made his leave, with Ser Orwell close behind him.
 * Innes came to stand beside Helix and spoke. "My lord, if you don't mind me intruding, but what will Lady Delena say of this matter?" He asked. For a boy who could not write or read, he spoke fluently.

Lord Helix sighed and ruffled the boy's hair. "I have no words, Innes Rock. We will find out soon enough, I say. Soon enough".

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