Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

down on the spot in sheer exuberance. She'd bullied the Seneschal into telling her where Rupert's rooms were, and had run all the way there to welcome him back, only to find him cold and insulting. She would have explained about Harald and the marriage, if he'd just given her time, but, no, he was too busy being hurt and angry. He had no right to be that way.
    He didn't know what it had been like in the Castle, on her own, with the darkness closing in. With him gone, and the dragon sleeping, maybe even dying, it wasn't surprising she'd turned to Harald. She'd needed somebody, and there wasn't anyone else . . . Julia watched Rupert leave the Great Hall, and her hands closed into fists so tight they ached.
    She glanced at Harald, who was staring thoughtfully at the slowly closing door through which Rupert had just passed. There was no doubt that Harald had become a major part of her life recently, but Julia still wasn't sure how she felt about him. He was kind, attentive, even charming, and yet sometimes she'd look up from his smile and find herself staring into eyes so cold they made her shiver.
    There was no denying Harald had his faults, but Julia had been very impressed by the quiet, competent way he'd taken charge of things, as the darkness grew steadily nearer and day by day the situation deteriorated. King John had done his best, but with more and more refugees streaming in from the ravaged countryside, events had quickly proved too complicated for any one man to handle, and the King had reluctantly been forced to admit he could no longer cope without help. Harald and the Seneschal had taken most of the load off his shoulders, but King John had grown increasingly bitter and depressed over what he saw as his failure to retain control of his own Kingdom. He spent less and less time at Court, with the result that Harald had gradually taken most of the responsibility upon himself, until now he was most often in command. He seemed to be doing a good job, or at least as good a job as anyone could have managed under the circumstances.
    And yet, despite all his problems, Harald still found the time to come and talk with her, and keep her company. He'd come a long way from the brash, insensitive bastard who'd pursued her so relentlessly in the early days. Julia grinned suddenly. If nothing else, it seemed she'd had a civilising effect on the man.
    She stared at Harald almost fondly, and then her smile faded away as his expression suddenly changed.
    Harald was still staring at the closed door that led to the King's private chambers, but as Julia watched, Harald's normally calm and pleasant features disappeared to be replaced by hard unyielding lines that completely changed his face. Julia stared at him, fascinated; it was like discovering a whole new person underlying the one she was used to. She frowned thoughtfully; she wasn't at all sure she liked this new Harald. She could see strength in his face, and determination, and an obvious iron will, but there was also fear, and in a flash of insight Julia realised that Harald was afraid of Rupert. And then the moment passed, and Harald's usual calm mask re-appeared. He turned to smile at her, and surely it was only her imagination that made Julia see a cold killing fury in his eyes.
    'Well now, Julia,' said Harald pleasantly, 'I'm afraid I've got to go and see father now, but I expect there'll still be a little time afterwards, before I have to lead our troops out to battle. Why don't you join me in my rooms in an hour or so, and we can spend some time together before the dawn.'
    'Yes,'said Julia. 'Of course. Harald, I ...'
    'It's Rupert, isn't it?' said Harald. 'Don't worry about him, my dear. You'll forget him soon enough, once we're married. You won't even have to talk to him again, if you don't want to. In fact, that might be best.
    Rupert's been something of a bad influence on you, Julia, though to be honest, I never did understand what you saw in him. Still, as soon as our meeting with father is over, I've no doubt he'll find somewhere to hide until he has to come out and fight with us at dawn. For all his fine talk, Rupert's never really been much of a one for fighting.'
    'He beat you in your last duel, didn't he?' said Julia, and then wondered why she'd said it.
    Harald looked at her sharply. 'That was a fluke. He'd learned a few new tricks, that's all. Next time . . .'
    'Wait a minute.' Julia's eyes narrowed suddenly. 'Did I miss something, or did you really just