Casket of Souls

to Queen Gherilain the First
.
    I have a favor to ask of you, dear Aunt. As I wrote to you in my last letter, I have had occasion to come to know Lord Alec and our kinsman, Lord Seregil and can’t help wondering at your refusal to appoint them to my entourage. They are such good men. Alec is the best archer I have ever seen, even better than my own master of archery, and he has taught me so much! I beg you to reconsider
.
    Seregil frowned. The last thing he wanted was to return to court, and couldn’t imagine Alec wanting to, either. There was probably little to fear, though. Phoria might tolerate them being friends with her heir, but court appointments seemed very unlikely. It would be so awkward finding a way to refuse, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt the girl’s feelings. If the wind did seem to be blowing that way when Phoria got back, he’d have to embroil himself in some suitable scandal and disgrace himself long enough to be banished from the royal presence for a while. Bothersome, but easily arranged.
    He replaced the letter in the desk and made a quick check of what was in Reltheus’s secret cache today, which turned out to be one coded document. A scan proved it to be another field report from Rider Caem, which must have been sent before he’d been caught. It was long and took several moments to puzzle out, but finally Seregil read
Klia joined queen at Vremont. Heard shouting from royal tent. K chafes at her losses. Chided by queen, K vowed loyalty. K called her officers to her tent for secret talk. Repeat loyalty to queen. Battle tomorrow. Forefront again
.
    The battle of Vremont had been reported by the royal heralds as a victory several weeks ago. He wondered how long it would take Reltheus to notice that no more messages were coming.
    Seregil put everything back the way he’d found it, and made a quick search of the rest of the large desk. In thelocked drawer he found the beginning of a letter to the queen in which Reltheus expressed some concern about Elani’s evident “infatuation” with Alec. He worried that it was unseemly for her to show feelings toward a young man known to be another nobleman’s lover.
    Well, well, you double-dealing old fox
, Seregil thought with wry amusement.
You think there’s a weasel loose in the henhouse and you’re not about to stand for it
. Still, Reltheus must think he or Alec could be useful or he wouldn’t keep them in his circle as he had.
    He made himself a bit more disheveled and rejoined the company. Reltheus was playing bakshi with Selin while the others talked. Seregil caught Elani’s name.
    “That was a pleasant afternoon with Her Highness, wasn’t it?” Seregil drawled drunkenly, flopping down on the velvet tufted couch beside Stenmir just to annoy the man. “The more I see of that girl, the better I like her. Marvelous wise head on those young shoulders. What a queen she’ll make!”
    “There are those who disagree,” Count Tolin sniffed. “I’m surprised you don’t have more to say about Princess Klia being passed over, given your friendship with her.”
    Seregil waved a dismissive hand. “She doesn’t aspire to be queen, as far as I know. Loyal as the day is long.”
    “The days are getting shorter though, aren’t they?” Stenmir mused, deep in his cups.
    Reltheus gave the man a sharp look, then smiled at Seregil. “I’m sure yours is the more valuable observation.”
    “Don’t tell me people are worried about her trying to take the throne!” Seregil exclaimed.
    “There are those who think she might.”
    Seregil pretended to swallow another mouthful of wine and shrugged. “Reckless, foolhardy gossip. Don’t they know that could rip the country apart?”
    “I told you he’s the queen’s man,” Reltheus said to the room at large as he pushed his last bakshi stone into place and defeated Selin.
    “To the queen!” Seregil raised his cup unsteadily and the others joined in the toast.
    Reltheus stood and held out a hand to him. “I need someair and you look like you could do with some, as well. Come take a turn in the garden with me.”
    Seregil wavered to his feet, still playing half inebriated, and took Reltheus’s arm. “Just the thing!”
    The rain had stopped and a light fog had risen from the harbor, pleasant against the skin.
    “I must say, it’s been a delight getting to know you, my friend,” Reltheus said warmly, patting the hand on his arm. “For all your reputation, I believe there’s