Assassin 3 - Royal Assassin (87 page)

A question bubbled in me. A demon wanted me to
ask, And if, when the child comes of age, I do not wish to
relinquish power, what then? They had to have asked themselves,
they had to have agreed on some answer to have ready for me. For a
moment longer I sat still and silent. Almost I could feel the
eddies of possibility swirling about me; was this what the Fool was
always prattling about, was this one of his misty crossroads where
I always stood in the center? Catalyst, I taunted myself
quietly.

Beg pardon? Brawndy leaned closer to
me.

Chivalry, I said. As you have said, I bear his
name. Almost. Duke Bearns. You are a man hard-pressed. I know what
you have risked in speaking to me, and I will be as blunt with you.
I am a man with ambitions. But I do not desire the crown of my
king. I took a breath and looked into the fire. For the first time
I really considered what it would do to Bea
rn
s, Rippon, and Shoaks for both Shrewd and
Kettricken suddenly to disappear. The Coastal Duchies would become
like a rudderless ship with decks awash. Brawndy had as much as
said they would not follow Regal. Yet I had nothing else I could
offer them at this time. To whisper to him that Verity lived would
demand that they rise tomorrow, to deny Regal's right to declare
himself king-in-waiting. To warn them that both Shrewd and
Kettricken would suddenly vanish would be no assurance at all to
them, but would certainly mean that too many folk would not be
surprised when it happened. Once they were safely in the Mountain
Kingdom, then, perhaps, the Coastal Dukes could be told all. But
that could be weeks away. I tried to think what I could offer him
now, what assurances, what hopes.

For what it is worth, I, as a man, am with you.
I said the words carefully, wondering if I spoke treason. To King
Shrewd I am pledged. To Queen Kettricken, and the heir she carries,
I am loyal. I foresee dark days ahead of us, and the Coastal
Duchies must act as one against the Raiders. We have no time to
worry what Prince Regal does inland. Let him go to Tradeford. Our
lives are here, and here we must stand and fight.

With my own words, I felt a sea change in me.
Like the shedding of a cloak, or an insect crawling from its
cocoon, I felt myself emerge. Regal was leaving me here at
Buckkeep, abandoning me as he thought, to hardship and danger,
along with those I most cared about. Well let him. With the King
and Queen Kettricken safely stashed in the Mountains, I would no
longer fear Regal. Molly was gone, lost to me. What had Burrich
said, a time ago? That I might not see her, but perhaps she might
see me. Let her see, then, that I could act, that one man standing
could make a difference. Patience and Lacey would be safer in my
keeping than inland as Regal's hostages. My mind was racing. Could
I make Buckkeep my own, and hold it for Verity until he returned?
Who would follow me? Burrich would be gone. I could not count on
using his influence. But those swilling inland soldiers would be
gone as well. What would be left would be Buckkeep warriors, with a
vested interest in keeping this cold rock of a castle from falling.
Some had watched me grow up, some had learned how to spar and swing
a sword at the same time I had. Kettricken's guard I knew, and the
old soldiers who still wore the colors of King Shrewd's guard knew
me. I had belonged to them before I had belonged to King Shrewd.
Would they remember that?

Despite the warmth of the fire, a shiver went up
me, and if I had been a wolf, my hackles would have stood on end.
The spark in me quickened. I am no king. I am no prince. I am but a
bastard, but one who loves Buck. I want no bloodshed with Regal, no
confrontation. We have no time to waste, and I have no heart for
the killing of Six Duchies folk. Let Regal flee inland. When he and
the dogs that sniff after him are gone, I am yours. And as much of
Buck as I can rally to follow me.

The words were spoken, the commitment made.
Treason, traitor, whispered a small voice inside me. But in my
heart I knew the rightness of what I did. Chade might not see it my
way. But I felt in that moment that the only way to declare myself
for Shrewd and Verity and Kettricken's child was to declare myself
with those who would not follow Regal. Yet I wanted to be sure they
understood that loyalty clearly. I looked deep into Brawndy's weary
eyes. This is my goal, Duke Brawndy of Bea
rn
s. I speak it plainly, and I will back no
other. I will see a united Six Duchies, with her coastline freed of
Raiders, place a crown upon the head of Kettricken's and Verity's
child. I must hear you say that you share that goal.

I swear that I do, FitzChivalry, son of
Chivalry. To my horror, the war-scarred old man took my hands in
his and placed them on his forehead in the ancient sign of one who
gives fealty. It was all I could do not to snatch them away.
Loyalty to Verity, I told myself. This is how I have begun this,
and I must see that this is how I go on.

I will speak to the others, Brawndy was going on
quietly. I will tell them that this is how you wish it. In truth,
we have no wish for bloodshed. It is as you say. Let the whelp run
inland with his tail between his legs. Here is where the wolves
shall stand and fight.

My scalp prickled at his choice of
words.

We will attend his ceremony. We will even stand
before him, and swear once more to be loyal to a King of the
Farseer line. But he is not that King. Nor ever shall be. I
understand he departs the very day after the ceremony. We shall let
him go, though by tradition a new King-in-Waiting is bound to stand
before his dukes and hear their counsels. It may be that we shall
linger close, a day or so longer, after Regal has departed.
Buckkeep at least shall be yours, ere we depart. We shall see to
that. And there will be much to discuss. The placement of our
ships. There are other ships, half-finished in the boat sheds, are
there not?

At my short nod, Brawndy grinned in wolfish
satisfaction. We shall see them launched, you and I. Regal has
plundered Buckkeep of supplies; this is known to all. We will have
to look into replenishing your warehouses. The farmers and
shepherds of Buck will have to understand that they must find more,
must give of what they held back, if their soldiers are to keep
their coast free. It will be a hard winter for all of us, but lean
wolves fight fiercest, or so they say.

And we are lean, my brother; oh, we are
lean.

A terrible foreboding rose in me. I wondered
what I had done. I would have to find a way to speak to Kettricken
before she departed, to somehow assure her I had not turned on her.
And I must Skill to Verity, as soon as I possibly could. Would he
understand? He must. He had always been able to see into the depths
of my heart. Surely he would see what my intentions were. And King
Shrewd? Once, long ago, when he had first bought my loyalty, he had
said to me, If ever any man or woman seeks to turn you against me
by offering you more than I do, then come to me, and tell me of the
offer, and I shall meet it. Would you give Buckkeep into my hands,
old King? I wondered.

I realized that Brawndy had fallen silent. Do
not fear, FitzChivalry, he said quietly. Do not doubt the rightness
of what we do, or we are all undone. If yours was not the hand that
reached forth to claim Buckkeep, another would have. We could not
leave Buck with no one at the helm. Be glad it is yourself, as we
are. Regal has gone where none of us may follow, fled inland to
hide beneath his mother's bed. We must stand on our own. All the
omens and portents point us that way. They say the Pocked Man was
seen drinking blood from a Buckkeep well, and that a serpent coiled
on the main hearth in the Great Hall and dared to strike at a
child. I myself, riding south to be here, witnessed a young eagle
bedeviled by crows. But just as I thought she must plunge into the
sea to avoid them, she turned and, in midair, seized a crow that
had sought to dive on her from above. She clenched him and dropped
him bloody to the water, and all the other crows fled squawking and
flapping. These are signs, FitzChivalry. We'd be fools to ignore
them.

Despite my skepticism for such signs, a shiver
ran up me, setting the hair on my arms upright. Brawndy glanced
away from me to the inner door of the chamber. I followed his eyes.
Celerity stood there. The short dark hair framed her proud face and
her eyes gleamed fierce blue. Daughter, you have chosen well, the
old man told her. I wondered, once, what you saw in a scriber.
Perhaps now I see it as well.

He beckoned her into the room, and she came in a
rustle of skirts. She stood by her father, looking boldly at me.
For the first time I glimpsed the steel will that hid inside the
shy child. It was unnerving.

I bade you wait, and you have, Duke Brawndy said
to me. You have shown yourself a man of honor in this. I have given
you my loyalty this day. Will you take my daughter's pledge to be
your wife as well?

What a precipice I teetered on. I met Celerity's
eyes. She had no doubts. If I had never known Molly, I would have
found her beautiful. But when I looked at her, all I could see was
who she was not. I had no heart left to give to any woman, let
alone at a time like this. I turned my eyes back to her father,
determined to speak firmly.

You do me more honor than I deserve, sir. But,
Duke Brawndy, it is as you have said. These are evil times, and
uncertain. With you, your daughter is safe. At my side, she could
know only greater uncertainty. What we have discussed here, today,
some would call treason. I will not have it said that I took your
daughter to bind you to me in a questionable endeavor, nor that you
gave your daughter for such a reason. I forced myself to look back
at Celerity, to meet her eyes. Brawndy's daughter is safer than
FitzChivalry's wife. Until my position is more certain, I pledge no
one to me in any way. My regard for you is great, Lady Celerity. I
am not a Duke, nor even a lord. I am as I am named, an illegitimate
son of a Prince. Until I can say I am more than that, I will seek
no wife, nor court any woman.

Celerity was clearly displeased. But her father
nodded slowly to my words. I see the wisdom of your words. My
daughter, I fear, sees only the delay. He looked at Celerity's
pout, smiled fondly. Someday she will understand that the people
who seek to protect her are the people who care for her. He ran his
eyes over me as if I were a horse. I believe, he said quietly, that
Buck will stand. And that Verity's child shall inherit the
throne.

I left him with those words echoing in my mind.
Again and again, I told myself I had done nothing wrong. If I had
not reached forth to claim Buckkeep, another would have.

Who? Chade demanded angrily of me some hours
later.

I sat looking down at my feet. I don't know. But
they would have found someone. And that person would have been far
more likely to cause bloodshed. To act at the King-in-Waiting
ceremony, and jeopardize our efforts to get Kettricken and Shrewd
clear of this mess.

If the Coastal Dukes are as close to rebellion
as your report indicates, then perhaps we should reconsider that
plan.

I sneezed. The room still smelled of bitterbark.
I had used too much. Brawndy did not come to me speaking of
rebellion, but of loyalty to the true and rightful King. And that
was the spirit in which I responded. I have no wish to overthrow
the throne, Chade, only to secure it for its lawful
heir.

I know that, he said briefly. Otherwise I
–
would
go straight to King Shrewd
with this ... madness. I know not what to call it. It is not
treason, quite, and yet ...

I am no traitor to my king. I spoke with quiet
vehemence.

No? Let me ask you this, then. If, despite, or
save us all, because of our efforts to save Shrewd and Kettricken,
they both perish with the child unborn, and Verity never returns.
What then? Will you still be so eager to cede the throne to the
rightful King?

Regal?

By the line of succession, yes.

He is no king, Chade. He's an indulged
Princeling, and always will be. I've as much Farseer blood as he
does.

And so you might say of Kettricken's child, when
the time came. Do you see what a dangerous path we set ourselves on
when we set ourselves above our places? You and I, we swore to the
Farseer line, of which we are but random shoots. Not to King Shrewd
alone, or to a wise King alone, but to uphold the rightful King of
the Farseer line. Even if he is Regal.

You would serve Regal?

I have seen more foolish Princes than he become
wise as they aged. What you contemplate will bring us civil war.
Farrow and Tilth-

Have no interest in any kind of a war. They will
say good riddance to us and let the Coastal Duchies go. Regal has
always said as much.

And he probably thinks he believes it. But when
he finds that he cannot buy fine silk, and that the wines of
Bingtown and beyond no longer flow up the Buck River to his palate,
he will think better. He needs his port cities, and he will come
back for them.

So what are we to do? What should I have
done?

Chade sat down across from me, clasped his
mottled hands between his bony old knees. I do not know. Brawndy is
desperate indeed. If you had loftily refused him and rebuked him
with treason, well ... I don't say he'd have done away with you.
But remember he had no hesitation about dealing quickly with Virago
when she represented a threat to him. This is all too much for one
old assassin. We need a King.