Reign of Madness (Revised Edition) (62 page)

Dark Tidings cocked his head in that eerie manner and then
flew at the man with unnatural speed. The clashing of the blades was punctuated
with green flashes, each one closing faster than the next. Dynen’s eyes widened
as the speed became furious, and he could no longer keep up the pace. The black
blade swept around as if to take his head. Shifting at the last second, it
collided with the silvery master blade. The blow was so strong, the Carinen
heir could not hope to keep his grip, and the sword went flying a good thirty
paces. Dynen gripped his hand as it screamed in agony from the force of the
blow. He seethed pure hatred at the mysterious warrior. Dark Tidings simply
bowed and walked calmly to his position at the side of the arena.

Yserria grinned widely and nodded appreciatively toward the
dark warrior. Dynen had been particularly aggressive with the young woman while
expressing his disdain for her as both a commoner and a woman who needed to
“learn her place.” Yserria had managed to grace Dynen with one of his bleeding
cuts.

At the end of the round, two of the commoners Dark Tidings
had sponsored, Aspion and Darius, had proven themselves worthy of the Fifth
Tier but accrued too many points to continue in the competition. The young farmer,
Holton, and Yserria both made it into the second round, as did Dynen,
unfortunately.

Dark Tidings “disappeared” for the few hours between the
morning session and the second round of the Fifth. He was gratified to see that
Rhesh made it into the Fourth Tier finals. His friends had been rooting for the
young man, and Rezkin appreciated the man’s strength of character. It was not
everyday a younger son had the strength to endure and defy his father and older
brother, particularly when the two were so vicious.

Yserria had the unlucky draw to be pitted against Dark
Tidings for their first match that afternoon. The young swordswoman performed
well, earning seventh place. She could now truly call herself a Swordmaster,
having defeated several in her journey to the top. More than one irritating
noble had his ego bruised by the beautiful, young commoner.

Only six competitors would go on to the third round to be
held the following afternoon after the final bouts of the Melee competition.
Assuming Dark Tidings won both competitions, he would have to fight fourteen
matches throughout the day and evening. Rezkin was not the only one to take
note of the demanding schedule. In addition to the regular rampant betting on
match winners and score counts, an entire betting series was based wholly on
how many of the fourteen matches Dark Tidings could complete, how many he could
win without acquiring a point, how many he would win by disarming his opponent
and so on. Rezkin, however, was not concerned. Fighting fourteen matches
against various Weapons Masters was all in a day’s training for the young
warrior.

After the tournament ended for the day, Rezkin found his
friends in the common room of the Jebais’ inn. The place was crowded, much more
so than it had been several days prior. With calculating eyes, Rezkin noted
that many of the patrons appeared to be soldiers out of uniform. His group of
friends was seated around a couple of small, round tables in one corner, which
already held several tankards of ale and a basket of fresh bread.

Rezkin greeted his friends after taking a seat beside
Frisha, which she indicated she had been saving for him. The young warrior
thanked his Girl Friend and asked, “Frisha, how has your day been? Have you
been meeting many of the other nobles and making new acquaintances?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied, her voice filled with both
excitement and anxiety. “Malcius and Tieran have been introducing me to some of
their…um…associates.”

She glanced at the two nobles, uncertainly. Everyone had been
amicable and discussed gossip and business openly, but neither Malcius nor
Tieran had seemed particularly close to the lords and ladies she had been
meeting while Rezkin was off doing his
business
. “Lord Tieran was kind
enough to introduce me as his friend to some of the ladies,” she said as she
smiled in thanks to the duke’s son. Tieran nodded in response but quickly
turned his attention elsewhere as if unconcerned. Frisha had also been
surprised that Malcius actually claimed her as his cousin, but she thought it
would be rude to point that out.

“I am glad to hear it,” Rezkin responded with a nod of
thanks to his friends.

After a few minutes of chatter, Palis turned to the
redheaded woman beside him for a more serious conversation. “Yserria, you said
that you have no family, and you made no mention of a guardian. Is there anyone
who speaks on your behalf? Anyone who cares for you and sees to your needs?”

The swordswoman lifted her chin and said, “I can speak for
myself, and you know I am capable of defending myself, as well. I need no
keeper.”

Palis furrowed his brow and chewed his lip pensively. The
young man glanced to his older brother who frowned and shook his head in the
negative. Palis swallowed tightly and then straightened with a resolute set of
the jaw. Malcius sighed heavily and buried his face in one hand.

The younger Jebai solemnly stated, “Yserria Rey, I would ask
your permission to formally court you. My intent is to gain your favor so that
we may enter into a marriage contract, should you choose to bless me in such a
way.”

Yserria’s eyes widened in her pale, freckled face, and her
jaw hung open in surprise. Malcius cleared his throat rather loudly and gave
Palis a warning look. The younger man’s face dropped slightly, but he nodded
understanding before he continued. “I have not gained the blessing of my House,
but if my father approves the union, I can offer you a title and the wealth due
to me. If, however, my father rejects the proposal, I am prepared to renounce
my title. Should such be the case, I will be able to offer you little but my
own love and devotion.”

The young woman shook her head vigorously before uttering,
“B-but we just met!” Palis frowned and looked at the young woman questioningly.
“How am I supposed to think about marrying someone if I don’t even know him?”
Yserria blurted. “I mean, you’re leaving soon, and I’ll still be here in
Skutton. How are we supposed to
court
?”

Palis cleared his throat and replied, “Well, ideally, if you
were a noble, I would spend time at your estate socializing with your family,
discussing business deals, and taking you on outings. In turn, you and your
guardian or escort would visit my estate for the same purposes.” The young man
shifted uncomfortably and said, “But, you do not have an estate or family with
whom to discuss such things, and I am not certain you would be welcomed in my
family home.”

Tieran and Malcius were both irritated by the whole
scenario. While both had changed their views on the way nobles were meant to
regard the lower classes, neither approved of nobles mixing blood with
commoners. Still, if Palis were going to leap off a cliff, they would at least
attempt to minimize the damage.

Tieran leaned forward and said, “Palis, if you are serious
about this courtship, whether your father approves or not, at the very least,
she must either choose a guardian to speak for her interests and ensure her
respectability or one must be assigned to her.”

The young woman lifted her chin and crossed her arms
defiantly. “I am a grown woman. I do not
need
a guardian.”

“Maybe not for a commoner,” Malcius remarked, “but if you
intend to mix with nobles, you
must
have one. Believe me. It is for your
own good. If you do not believe me, ask Frisha. She has already been dealing
with the uncomfortable reality of the differences in the classes.”

Yserria glanced at the young woman in question and then
squinted her eyes at the elder Jebai. “I assume this guardian must be a man? In
Lon Lerésh, a woman would never allow
a man to speak for her.”

Tieran scoffed and said, “You are not
in
Lon Lerésh.”

“Still, you have not explained how this courtship will work.
He cannot stay with me, and I cannot go with him,” the young woman argued.

“I think the first question is, do you
want
to court
him?” Frisha interjected.

Yserria blinked at the young woman, and her cheeks heated,
the flush reaching all the way down her neck and blouse to her bosom. She
looked back at Palis who was staring at her imploringly. “I-…uh…I mean, I
like
you, but this is all just so fast…and
public
.”

Rezkin stepped into the conversation to clarify the point.
“This is how it is done with nobles. The intentions are stated at the inception
in front of witnesses. If at any time during the courtship you decide you do
not wish to continue, you may choose to end said courtship. You are not
agreeing to marry him at this time. You are simply agreeing to pursue the
possibility. If things go well, it is assumed the courtship will end in
marriage. According to protocol, Palis cannot pursue you without your
guardian’s agreement to an official courtship.”

“There is also the small point of the dowry,” Brandt
reminded the group.

“I don’t have a dowry,” the young woman said immediately.
“When my father escaped Lon Lerésh,
his concern was only for seeing my mother to safety. She was pregnant with me
at the time. They did not take much with them. My mother died when I was two,
and my father spent most of his time raising me. He never acquired any wealth.”

Tieran shook his head. “Then your guardian would be expected
to provide a suitable dowry for you. To join with the House of a count would
require a sizeable sum. The count could choose to waive the requirement, but
Simeon has never been a charitable man.” Malcius and Palis both nodded
begrudging agreement.

“You expect some stranger to volunteer to give me a
fortune?” the woman exclaimed in dismay.

“I do not
expect
this to go anywhere at all,” Tieran
replied.

“Let Rezkin act as her guardian,” said an unexpected voice.
The gruff, imposing man stepped into the circle of friends.

“What say you, Kai? Rezkin is not old enough to be her
guardian, and neither is he family,” Lieutenant Drascon interjected. He
typically kept his counsel to himself, but Kai rubbed him the wrong way.

“Bah, age is of no importance. He is wealthy, he has the
requisite knowledge of the social conventions, and he is certainly capable of
protecting her if need be. Besides, we all know where his heart is, so there is
no concern that he will take advantage of the young woman, not that he would do
anything like that. Most importantly, though, he has the
authority
to
act in such a manner, and you know it,” the striker pointed out.

Of course, Drascon knew that Kai considered Rezkin to be his
king, but he did not know that anyone else was of the same opinion. The
authority
to which Kai was referring was solely that of a Sword Bearer of unlimited
authority. Drascon clenched his jaw, nodded once in acknowledgement and then
looked away. Everybody was surprised at the exchange for several reasons, not
the least of which was hearing Drascon voice an opinion on
anything
. In
addition, over half of the people present did not know Rezkin was a Sword
Bearer and had no idea what authority Kai and Drascon had both acknowledged.

Every set of eyes landed on Rezkin. “Is that true, Rezkin?
Do you have such authority?” Malcius asked with concern. As far as he knew,
Drascon had no knowledge of Rezkin being the king’s Voice. Therefore, the
lieutenant must be acknowledging some other authority given Rezkin. The only
other such authority Malcius could think of was if Rezkin was a priest of the
Maker, which the warrior certainly was
not
.

Rezkin had no idea how he had gotten roped into the
conversation. Well, actually, he did. It was thanks to Kai. Again. He had more
important things to deal with than a silly, young nobleman wanting to court a
sword-wielding common woman with no family or money. The whole scenario once
again underscored Rezkin’s unspecified status amongst his friends and the
nobles. Rezkin did not like it when they questioned such things, and Kai was
bound and determined to make him reveal his secrets. Rezkin had no idea why Kai
thought he was an appropriate guardian for a young woman who was several years
older than he.

Kai’s assertion that Rezkin would not be interested in pursuing
the woman was also unfounded. If things did not work out with his current
Girl
Friend
, Yserria would likely make a good substitute for the position. She
had obviously made a significant effort to master at least one of the
Skills
,
despite her less than ideal circumstances, which meant she probably followed
many of the
Rules
, as well. He was not certain that he could trust her
when he slept. She did not appear malicious, but only time would tell. He had
to admit she was also quite attractive, now that he started to notice such
things.

The young warrior was still exploring and coming to terms
with what he found to be attractive, since he had seen very little of women at
the fort. Those he had seen were at the end of his blade to be executed for one
offense or another. Still, thinking about replacing Frisha caused that
uncomfortable tightness in his chest, which he had come to realize was some
kind of instinctual warning signal that something was wrong.

Rezkin sighed and said, “Yes, technically, I have such
authority.”

Malcius immediately jumped on the question, “But, how…”

Before he could complete his question, Frisha heatedly
asked, “What makes you think Rezkin
wants
to be her guardian? Did he
offer
?
No! You just volunteered him. What if he does not want to take responsibility
for some strange woman? No offense, Yserria. It’s nothing personal.”