Edward 3

 

The next morning brought a chill with it. The spartan camp was cleaned up quickly which left a bit of time to obscure the signs of their presence. The fire pit was buried and the entire area was covered over with pine needles and random fallen branches from the surrounding forest. Not for the first time Edward lamented the lateness of the season and began to hope that their errand didn't take too long. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded in a hostile kingdom due to the weather, should their diplomacy take a sour turn.

After gathering the horses and taking care of their necessities, the men continued on their way through the ridge and began the upward portion of their journey into Latamis. They continued through the mountains at a steady climb for three more days in much the same fashion. Edward continuing to worry in his typical stoic manner, John eating his way through their reserves and helping to spar with their small band of soldiers, and August studying the plants and trees along the way while taking an impressive amount of notes in his book and cracking jokes at his friend's expenses. If not for the difference in destination, it would have been much like any other journey they'd taken together.

Edward knew more of their diplomatic mission than his lower ranking counterparts. He'd made the captain of his guard aware of what might happen should the talks fail. But other than Rylan, the only other person who knew of the plan was the King, his father. He had been the architect of this idea and this son, the Black Prince, would be the executioner.

Though the mountain path seemed to rise and fall in waves, they were progressing farther and farther up. Some of the men were having trouble breathing up until the final day when they descended into a deep valley. The brisk breeze that had plagued them through the final week seemed to leave them as they entered a stillness for which the Asteryos valley was famous.

Pine trees made way for grand Oaks and Rowan trees. August could not fathom how such trees had made their way into such a high valley in the mountains and made sure to tell everyone in their party several times as they made their way into town. The party quieted as they approached the increased habitation signaling their arrival.

The main gate to the town was located just inside the settlements to the south, where they had entered the crescent shaped valley. To their surprise, the doors that should have been there were missing and only a lone sentry was standing watch in the tower looming above the large entry. Clearly they had little need of such precautions as a door, a testament to their mountain location and historically peaceful kingdom. It's easy to taut the virtues of peace when you've never risked getting involved, he thought bitterly.

It took more than an hour and a half of walking their horses to reach the inner wall that housed the enormous castle. Idly, Edward wondered how many of his father's castle would fit inside those walls. He'd heard about the grand gardens around the structure and wondered what beauty he would see inside. His father valued strength, justice and many other intellectual pursuits. Gardening was not high in his estimation so the castle garden of his home was limited to food and medicinal items.

The entry to the castle keep had a similarly large entry, but unlike the first entrance, this one had large doors that were closed. Rylan rode ahead to announce their arrival. Word had been sent ahead that they would be coming to visit, but no doubt they wouldn't have expected them as soon as they'd arrived. Edward was pleased that they'd been able to be early. The sooner they were done the sooner they could leave and the sooner he could resume his life, having satisfied his obligation to his demanding father.

He imagined them scrambling to accommodate his small band with a smile.

“So, this is what makes you happy, is it?” John was at his side with a tired smile of his own. Edward's melancholy had reached new heights with their climb into the mountain kingdom. It wasn't as if he had anywhere better to be, he just didn't want to be there. This marked the beginning of the end of his task. The fact that he could irk such a flabby and historically complacent kingdom was merely icing on the cake.

“You realize, of course, that we're a full two weeks early.” His smile widened to a smirk. Peace made people lazy and the thought of forcing them into action gave him an unexpected thrill. After waiting on restless horses for almost twenty minutes they were finally allowed inside the gate. They left their horses and a few of the soldiers with porters at the door. The remaining party were welcomed into the main thoroughfare by eager servants. It seemed strange to him that they all greeted him and his party with such large, familiar smiles. None of them had better attempt to touch me, he thought to himself.

Just inside the inner door of the keep the royal family was standing in line by rank. At the top of the stairs was their recently widowed king and his eldest daughter, Cora. Edward had heard tales of her cunning but not of her beauty. She was the color of honey milk with a crowning glory of golden curls half pinned up with careful precision. Cora was the only one of the fifteen people lined up to greet them that wasn't sporting a wide, tooth filled smile. True to the gossip, she was smart enough to know why they were really there and it had nothing to do with trade routes.

“Greetings and salutations, Prince Edward of Odeira. Well met and welcome to our kingdom.” The king himself issued the greeting with a smile as bright as the sun. Edward, not for the first time, held in a heavy sigh and put on what he hoped was a charming smile and attempted to return the greeting.

It was painfully obvious that they did not get many visitors of his ranking or stature. He couldn't even find any evidence that they had a court of any kind outside of their own family. A part of him was envious that they didn't have to deal with the machinations of lesser royalty vying for favor among the aristocracy and clamoring for attention from the king and his sons. If it had been their kingdom, a servant would have announced each of them in turn from lowest rank, not counting the lower soldiers of course, up to his own title.

Without the buffer of traditional routines, Edward was at a bit of a loss. Cora, without missing a beat, picked up on the awkwardness of the situation and sidestepped her father.

“Please forgive our King. Our dearly departed Queen was a master of the finer arts of diplomacy. Perhaps we should reconvene this evening after the Prince and his subjects have had time to rest and refresh themselves after such a long and rapid journey?” She looked at her father now, who turned his beaming smile to his daughter and nodded magnanimously.

“That sounds amenable to me, dear sirs. What say you, your Highness?” The king was addressing him directly now. Edward wanted to laugh. What a mess of a kingdom. He wondered idly which of the four daughters would agree to his brother's hand in marriage when this was all over and done with, if any of them. Whoever it was would be absolutely eaten alive in their court. All except, possibly, the scowling Cora. For all her beauty, frost was coming off of her in waves. One way or another, one of them was coming with him. He also had plans of taking whatever handmaiden that particular princess might employ. But that was a problem for later, if at all.

Edward nodded curtly, snapping his heals together at the same time, in a long practiced move. They might be inept at how to treat visiting royalty, but that didn't mean that he had to drop his own decorum. Standards must be kept at least on one side of this mess of a mission.