Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

more likely just because she enjoyed it. Viktor and Dominic were on the point of a formal duel when the King finally discovered what was going on, and stepped in to put an end to it. He called all the parties before him in a private session, and apparently demanded that the Lady Elizabeth make her choice there and then. She chose Dominic.
    'For a time, nothing happened. Viktor shut himself in his quarters and refused to speak to anyone, even Gawaine. We were all very worried about him. Viktor had never been one for brooding; when he was angry he spoke his mind, and let the sparks fall where they would. His continued silence was . . .
    disturbing. Meanwhile, Dominic and Elizabeth made the preparations for their marriage. The invitations went out, presents began to arrive, everything seemed perfectly normal. What happened next isn't entirely clear. The full facts were only ever discussed with the King, behind closed doors, and Viktor still won't talk about it. What is clear is that Viktor tried to murder Dominic. He almost succeeded. From all accounts, the King was frantic when he found out. A formal duel was one thing; that at least was honourable, if not strictly proper. But murder ... to attempt to strike down one's own brother by stealth and treachery, to steal his fiancee . . .
    'King Malcolm couldn't put Viktor on trial. If he had, the whole story would inevitably have come out, and the royal family would have been brought into disrepute. Malcolm was always very conscious of the family honour. But if he couldn't try Viktor, he couldn't let him go unpunished either. And he certainly couldn't have Dominic and Viktor living under the same roof any longer. Indefinite internal exile was the compromise he came up with, and it worked well enough.'
    'I was right the first time,' said Jordan. 'I am playing the villain.'
    'Viktor was betrayed by a woman who said she loved him,' said Sir Gawaine. 'And save your sympathy for Dominic until you've met him. There were demons in the Darkwood that had more humanity in them than Prince Dominic'
    Jordan shook his head tiredly. Just when he thought he was
    getting the hang of the characters of his new role, they kept changing.
    'All right,' he said slowly. 'That's his family, and his ex-love. Anyone else I need to know about?'
    'The Lady Heather Tawney,' said Gawaine. 'Viktor's present love.'
    'What's she like?'
    'A very forceful Lady,' said Roderik, quickly.
    'Forceful,' said Gawaine. 'That's one way of putting it, I suppose.'
    'Viktor met her in Kahalimar,' said Roderik. 'She comes from an old, though fairly minor, noble family, and she's linked her star very firmly to Viktor's. She was one of the very few people who followed Viktor back to Court. The two of them are practically inseparable, and there's no doubt Viktor sees her as his main support in these troubled times.'
    'In other words,' said Gawaine, 'don't upset her. If she were to turn against us, Viktor would throw us to the wolves without a second thought. Heather's agreed to the impersonation; we couldn't do it without her co-operation. But watch your arse, Jordan. Her loyalties are strictly to Viktor himself.'
    'Great,' said Jordan. 'Just great. Isn't there anybody in this conspiracy I can trust?'
    Sir Gawaine chuckled loudly. 'Not a damned one, Jordan. Now you're starting to think like a Prince.'
    Jordan decided not to ask any more questions for a while. The answers were getting too depressing.
    The four men rode in silence in the gathering darkness, each lost in his own thoughts. The stars came out, and the bent moon cast its light over the open moors. Jordan huddled inside his cloak, and looked gloomily about him. The moors were starting to get on his nerves. The hoofbeats of the four horses echoed eerily. Jordan scowled uneasily, and wondered what the hell he'd ever liked about the moors.
    They were a desolate place when all was said and done. Only the desperate and the outlawed lived there, and never for long. There were hidden bogs and marshes, and no place to shelter from the bitter cold nights. More than anywhere
    else in Redhart, the moors were untouched by man and his civilisation. They looked just as they had before man came to Redhart, and would still be there after man had gone. The moors had no need of man, nor any love for him.
    'Don't look around,' said Sir Gawaine quietly, 'but we're no longer alone.'
    Jordan sat stiffly in his saddle, jolted out of his melancholy. The other three glanced casually about