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Fall From Grace - Part 4 - Grania and the King

Started by Jerusha, November 29, 2012, 10:12:52 AM

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Jerusha

Part 4 – Grania and the King

Kelric Morgan almost didn't hear the soft knock on the door as he sat dozing in the chair beside his father's bed.  The door was opening as he sat up and turned to see who was there.  It was his youngest sister who closed the door carefully behind her, red-gold curls cascading almost to her elbows.  At fourteen, Grania de Morgan was blossoming into the image of her mother.  She had the same cornflower blue eyes, the same slender, graceful build.  She also had the Morgan presence and their father had teased her, saying he would keep her hidden in the Green Tower so he wouldn't be tormented by a steady stream of suitors.  Grania had not thought it funny.

Grania glided over to the chair, wrapped her arms around her brother in a hug and laid her check against the top of his head.  "I'm here to take you place for a while.  Mummy says you should have something to eat and you should rest.  Oh, and she mentioned a bath," she said.

"I bet she did," Kelric responded, beginning to disengage himself from her grip.  "Have you heard anything from Briony?"

"She's worried sick, which makes Mummy worry even more.  She wants to come, but Mummy doesn't think it's safe, not even by Portal.  The baby's due practically any moment."  Grania stepped back to allow Kelric to stand. 

"I don't think Briony is going to take any chances with the birth of her first son, and I guarantee the Count isn't!"  Kelric stretched to relieve cramped muscles.  The chamber had grown colder once the sun had set.  He walked over to the hearth and after a moment of concentration, flames licked at the logs.

"We don't want it too warm, Kel," Grania warned as she removed the compress from the pillow where it had fallen and soaked it in the basin of water beside the bed.  "Has Father had anything to drink?"

"I got a little more of the medicine that Master Randolph left into him, but you should give him more if he wakes up.  When he wakes up," Kelric corrected quickly.

"I'll try."  Grania gently placed the cool compress across her father's hot forehead, smoothing the blond hair out of the way.  His breathing was shallow and he lay quietly.

Kelric returned to the bedside, gripped Morgan's hand for a moment and then draped his arm around his sister's shoulders.  "Send for me if there is any change."

Grania nodded, blinking back tears that threatened to spill down her checks.  Kelric gave her a quick squeeze and quietly left the room.

Grania stared at the man on the bed, willing him to sit up and reassure her that everything would be fine, tease her that she would always be his little girl, and no one would ever be good enough to marry her.  She smiled at the thought, for he had said almost the same to Briony.  Briony had made a fine match to a handsome Count and heir to a Duke of Andelon.  They had fallen passionately in love and their first child, a daughter, was born within their first year of marriage.  Now their second child, a son, would soon be born. 

"You will stay to meet your first grandson, won't you, Papa?" she asked softly.

She was answered by a firm knock on the door.  She crossed the room and then curtseyed deeply as she opened the door.

Kelson Cinhil Rhys Anthony Haldane, King of Gwynedd, entered the chamber without asking permission. At thirty-six years of age he was entering the prime of his life and his reign.  His raven hair, pulled back in a border braid, was greying at the temples, adding additional distinction to a man well-respected not only within his own realm, but throughout the Eleven Kingdoms.

His grey eyes were kind as he raised her up and grasped both of her hands between his own.  "How is he, Grania?" he asked gently.

"He's sleeping, I think.  At least I hope he still is, Sire."  Tears welled up in her eyes again and Kelson released her hands to pull a handkerchief from his tunic sleeve and hand it to her.  She smiled her thanks as he moved to stand beside the bed.  She drifted over beside him, feeling comforted by his presence.  He was her godfather, a duty he had gladly accepted when each of the Morgan children was baptised.  He had become quite skilled over the years in indulging them in small but special ways. 

"Would you like some time alone with him?" she asked, feeling the need somehow without him expressing it.

"Yes, I think I would like a moment or two. "

"I'll be just outside the door, Sire."

"Thank you, Pet," he replied, using the nickname Morgan had given her just after she had learned to walk and tried to follow him everywhere.  She smiled up at him and left the room to wait outside.

Kelson sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms across his chest, each hand gripping the opposite elbow.  Morgan stirred restlessly, but did not open his eyes.

"Can you hear me, Alaric?" Kelson sent, wondering if his life-long mentor could understand him better in Deryni mind-speech. "This isn't fair, and you know it.  I've just gotten you back."

He waited for a long moment, hoping for a response, but none came.  He reached out and grasped Morgan's forearm firmly, hoping the physical contact would help.

"I need you to know that it weighed heavily on my conscience these last six months.  I knew I was right and so did you, but I need you to know that it wasn't easy."  Kelson stopped, not knowing if Morgan had understood or not.  Something around Morgan's neck caught the dim glow of the firelight.  Kelson reached forward and touched a gold chain, then pulled it gently to release the object Morgan wore inside his damp shirt.

It was a shiral crystal, framed between a golden gryphon on one side, its eye a small emerald, and a golden lion on the other, with a twinkling ruby eye.  He had given it to Morgan a year ago, on the anniversary of his coronation as King, as a tribute to Morgan's service to the Crown.

The King of Gwynedd sat in silence, until the Cathedral bells began to toll Compline.

***


"I should be leaving," Morgan said, turning his head to gaze across the parched landscape. 

"Returning to Rhemuth again?" the dragon asked mildly, rising to its feet and stretching its full length, front legs first and then the back ones.

Morgan waited to see if it would shake like a dog, but when the dragon did not, he answered.  "Of course.  Why would I not?"

"King Kelson banished you from Court for six months.  He could have kept you away permanently."

"His Majesty did what he had to do.  So did I."  Morgan stood up from the rock he had been sitting on, thinking that his rear was uncomfortably warm.   He placed one booted foot on the rock and then leaned forward toward the dragon, bracing his arms on his upraised leg.  He waited for the dragon to continue.

"You risked much; the king's anger, and your own life."

"The choice was mine to make and it was the choice I had to make."

"His Majesty did not agree with you," the dragon stated, its eyes seeming to shimmer in the heat.  "Teymuraz challenged him to the Dual Arcane, not you.  You were only to deliver the demand, but instead you sent Derry with the wrong information."

Morgan shrugged his shoulders.  "Kelson would have known I was lying.  Derry told him what he believed to be the truth.  I am the King's Champion and it was my duty to defend the King."

"Did you not think that Kelson could win?"

Morgan straightened and stood, hands on hips, looking defensive.  "Kelson is very capable and yes, he could have won, if Teymuraz played fair.  Teymuraz did not, and I did not expect him to."

The dragon nodded slightly.  "Teymuraz underestimated you.  I doubt that he would have accepted your substitution otherwise. "

"I was counting on that and the fact that he had prepared himself to face Kelson, not me."

"You almost lost."

"But I did not."  Morgan remembered how close it had been.  He had held his own, gradually gaining the upper hand, then Teymuraz had turned to darker magic and Morgan could not counter it. Not until the form that he had come to accept as Saint Camber had appeared within the warded circle and had given him the strength to focus one more spell, a spell that he had not consciously known a moment before.  Teymuraz had died, and what the spell was he could not remember afterwards, no matter how hard he tried.

"King Kelson was left to fight another day," the dragon said.  "He was not especially grateful."

Morgan snorted.  "He was furious, which is actually an understatement."

"He sent you away."

"Aye, and he had no other choice.  Whether he agreed with what I had done or not, he could not condone my actions.  Publicly, the Duke of Corwyn required some sort of discipline."

"He sent you away," the dragon repeated, "to spend the summer season confined to your ducal capital of Coroth, not to return until Michaelmas."

"I was not confined," Morgan pointed out.  "Restricted would be more accurate."

"Did you ever think how it would have affected Kelson, if you had died by Teymuraz's magic?"  The dragon cocked its great head as it asked the question.

"Yes, I did consider it," Morgan replied quietly, "but I'm going to die sometime."

"Oh, quite likely you will, Champion.  Quite likely indeed."


Part 5 can be found at: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,986.0.html

From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

And you end the scene on such an ominous note.  You are an evil woman, Jerusha!   ;D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

I do what I can, and it's always nice to be appreciated.  Or at least understood.  ;D
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Alkari

#3
Ah, the evil Teymuraz puts in an appearance!!   There had to be 'something' that has triggered this whole thing.  Trust Morgan to act in his own way to defend Kelson.     And given that the duel arcane was with Teymuraz,  I am now starting to wonder just who or what the 'dragon' really is ...  :D

Looking forward to the next instalment(s).

Elkhound


Jerusha

Grania Marie Araxelle is born to the Duke and Duchess of Corwyn in 1129, according to the Codex.  She is named for her Great-great-grandmother, if I remember correctly. 
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Shiral

Has Alaric been defying or arguing with EVERYONE???  ;) Estranged from Duncan, only newly welcomed back in Rhemuth after deceiving the King to usurp his rightful challenge (even though he did what he did out of typical "Alaric" reasons of love and protection of his King; and almost literally dis-arming young Sir Rocks In His Head Sinclair.

  (I have to say, I think Sinclair deserved it, being dumb enough to challenge and then taunt a man of Morgan's experience and reputation. Had he left well enough alone or at least accepted the offers of healing From Morgan and then Duncan, he'd still have a functional sword arm.) Sounds like the only people Morgan hasn't been annoying are the members of his immediate family and possibly Derry.

Write, woman, write!
Melissa
You can have a sound mind in a healthy body--Or you can be a nanonovelist!

Jerusha

My thanks to a fellow forum member who gently pointed out to me that a score of years is actually twenty years!  I have edited this part to correctly reflect that King Kelson is thirty-six years of age and not sixty-six!
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

AnnieUK

So the older Alaric has been picking fights with all and sundry, by the sounds of it. Glad it's not just me that has got more curmudgeonly as I've got older. ;)

A nice reconciliation of old friends and Alaric living on to die peacefully in his bed aged about 97, please! I swear, if KK ever writes Alaric's death scene, the book will only be good for papier mache after that. Or I'll short out my Kindle. One or the other.

Alkari

Quote from: AnnieUK on November 30, 2012, 08:13:42 AM
So the older Alaric has been picking fights with all and sundry, by the sounds of it. Glad it's not just me that has got more curmudgeonly as I've got older. ;)
:D  I don't think Alaric has ever suffered fools gladly, plus he still has that obstinate, protective streak where Kelson is concerned.

 

Elkhound

Quote from: Alkari on November 30, 2012, 03:38:31 PM
Quote from: AnnieUK on November 30, 2012, 08:13:42 AM
So the older Alaric has been picking fights with all and sundry, by the sounds of it. Glad it's not just me that has got more curmudgeonly as I've got older. ;)
:D  I don't think Alaric has ever suffered fools gladly, plus he still has that obstinate, protective streak where Kelson is concerned.

I just had a horrible thought.  Truculence and quarrelsomeness--picking fights with everyone, etc.--is often an early symptom of Altzheimer's and other forms of senile dementia.

Jerusha

Yipe!  I may be an evil woman, but trust me, I wouldn't do that to Alaric Morgan!  :o
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

kirienne (RIP)

It's not nice to leave us hanging on a thread like this...Please, post more soon!!! This story has moved me so much, that I actually even 'lit a candle' for His grace :-)

Elkhound

Quote from: Jerusha on November 30, 2012, 07:31:21 PM
Yipe!  I may be an evil woman, but trust me, I wouldn't do that to Alaric Morgan!  :o

Good.  I hope I haven't given anyone else any ideas!

Jerusha

Quote from: kirienne on November 30, 2012, 11:20:37 PM
It's not nice to leave us hanging on a thread like this...Please, post more soon!!! This story has moved me so much, that I actually even 'lit a candle' for His grace :-)

Just one more part to go, Kirienne; all will be revealed next week. *hugs*
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany