Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

Her scowl deepened as her hand clutched aimlessly at nothing. Even after all this time she still felt naked without a sword on her hip, but the King had been adamant about her not wearing a sword in the Castle, and she'd grown tired of arguing. And so the sword Rupert had given her in the Darkwood now lay locked away in her bedchamber, unused except for sword drill. Julia sighed moodily. It wasn't as if she needed the sword anyway. And she still had her dagger, tucked securely into the top of her boot.
    Julia slouched in her chair, and stared gloomily round the antechamber. She was tempted just to get up and leave, but her curiosity wouldn't let her. King John had to have some good reason for suddenly requiring her presence at Court, and Julia had an uneasy feeling that when she found out what it was, she wasn't going to like it. So she gritted her teeth, and stayed put. She smiled slightly as her roving gaze fell upon the locked double doors again. The carpenters had done their best, but though the sturdy oaken doors had been carefully re-hung, nothing short of total replacement would ever hide the deep scars and gouges left by the dragon's claws.
    Julia frowned as the steady murmur of raised voices continued to seep past the closed doors. The courtiers had been shouting at each other when she first arrived, and it seemed they were still going strong. The sound was just loud enough to be intriguing without being understandable, and Julia decided she'd had enough. She leapt to her feet, glated round the sparsely furnished antechamber, and then grinned evilly as an idea struck her. Keep her waiting, would they? She studied the hanging tapestries for a moment, pulled down the ugliest, and stuffed it into the narrow gap between the doors and the floor.
    She then removed one of the flaring torches from its holder, knelt down, and carefully set light to the tapestry.
    It burned well, giving off thick streamers of smoke, and Julia replaced the torch in its holder and waited impatiently for the Court to notice. For a time the flames leapt and crackled to no effect, and Julia had just started to wonder if a little lamp oil might not help things along, when the Court fell silent. There was the briefest of pauses, and then the silence was broken by piercing shrieks and yells of 'Fire!' Julia smiled
    complacently as through the doors wafted the unmistakable sounds of panic: swearing, shouting and running in circles. The doors flew open to reveal Harald, who nodded to Julia and then emptied a pitcher of table wine over the burning cloth, dousing the flames instantly.
    'Hello, Julia,' he said casually. 'We've been expecting you.'
    She pushed past him. He grinned and goosed her, and then ducked quickly to avoid the dagger that nearly took his ear off.
    'That one wasn't even close,' he chided her, staying carefully just out of reach as he led her through the flustered courtiers. 'Does that mean you're mellowing towards me?'
    'No,' said Julia. 'It means I need to practise more.'
    Harald laughed, and brought her before the throne. King John glared at her tiredly.
    'Princess Julia, why can't you knock, like everyone else?'
    'I've been kept waiting for almost an hour!' snapped Julia.
    'I do have other business to attend to, apart from you.'
    'Fine, I'll come back when you've finished.'
    She turned to leave, and found her way blocked by half a dozen heavily armed guards.
    'Princess Julia,' said the King evenly, 'your attitude leaves much to be desired.'
    'Tough,' said Julia. She glared at the guards, and then turned reluctantly back to the throne. 'All right, what do you want?'
    'For the moment, just wait quietly while I finish my other business. Harald can keep you company.'
    Julia sniffed disdainfully, hitched up her ankle-long dress, and sat down at the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne. The marble step was cold, even through the thick carpeting, but Julia was damned if she was going to stand around until the King was ready to talk to her. It was a matter of principle. Harald came and sat down beside her, still keeping just out of arm's reach. Julia smiled slightly, drew her dagger from her boot, and cut tick-tack-toe lines into the carpet between them. Harald grinned, drew a dagger from his boot, and carved a cross in the centre square. King John decided not to notice.
    He closed his eyes briefly, and then turned his attention to the three men waiting before his throne with varying degrees of patience. He'd had dealings