The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (8 page)

“
Your Grace,” Thadius coughed, clearing his throat.
“May I present, for want of a better word,
Ambassador
Matthias Greenwald from the Realm of
Mahalia. Matthias Greenwald, this is His Highness King Arwell, Holy
Lord and Protector of the Light of Aralia.”

“
Your Grace,” Matthias replied politely.

“
Please rise mister Greenwald,” the king commanded, gesturing
upwards with a hand. Matthias smiled, uttered his thanks and rose
to his feet. He was a few inches shorter that the king anyway, but
he felt like a dwarf looking up at the man as he stood atop the
dais

“
I
am grateful for your time, Your Grace.”

The
king smiled thinly. “Something tells me that I had no choice in the
matter of giving a wizard my time, hmm?” He waved the comment away
with a hand. “It is no matter anyway. You are fortunate enough to
have caught me on a slow day. I am told you come hear bearing
important news for my ears alone?”

Matthias nodded. “The news I bring
is
private, Your
Grace.” Then he paused and looked from the king to Thadius.
“However I now believe it
would
be of benefit for Thadius to hear what I have to
tell you as well.”

“
Oh you
do
, do you?” the king snorted.

“
Your Grace, please accept my apologies for this
young man!” Thadius spluttered. “That is of course
your
decision to
make!”

“
It is
alright
Thadius,” the king replied. “If that
is
the case
ambassador, then why would you not tell Thadius of your reasons for
visiting me before?”

“
Because I had no reason to
trust
him before, in the guardhouse,”
Matthias replied.

The
king paced the dais slowly. “And your swift journey up to the
palace has convinced you otherwise?” he asked.

Matthias nodded. “Our climb together has
shown
me his honourable
nature. I feel able to speak openly in your presence with him by
your side.”

“
Ambassador, I have known people under my reign for
decades and
still
have yet to judge whether they are honourable or not. You
cannot know someone’s true nature in less than a morning,” the king
advised.

“
You’re right,” Matthias responded. “But my gut hasn’t proven
me wrong before. I see no reason to question it now.”

The king studied Matthias a moment, and then
smiled, exhaling out of his nose and chuckling under his breath. He
nodded. “Very well then. But might I suggest we relocate to a more
suitable place to speak. This room may be beautiful, but it grows
so
cold
in the morning. Are you hungry?” he
asked.

“
Actually, now you mention it, I am a little, Your
Grace,” Matthias said, smiling. As if suddenly awakened by the
thought of food, his stomach rumbled. When
had
he last eaten? It must have been a day or
two, aside from an apple he had munched on this
morning.

The
king nodded. “Good. Then we will adjourn to the parlour where we
can continue our conversation. Thadius will join us. You could do
with some more meat on your bones soldier,” he chuckled.

“
Thank you, Your Grace. Though I think there is
more than
enough
fat on this figure already!” Thadius smiled and patted his
stomach.

The
king led them through the palace, issuing orders to servants as
they passed to ready breakfast. They scattered before him to
work.

“
You
are quite lucky ambassador,” the king said, “I have usually eaten
by now, despite the time, and would be off for a morning hunt.
However today I was taken to sleeping in a little longer than
usual.”

“
Fortunate for my
stomach
, Your Grace,” Matthias
quipped.

“
You
are also fortunate that I know so much about the legends
surrounding that pendant of yours and that it proves validity of
your identity. Had it been down to Thadius alone you would have
never made it this far.”

“
I knew you
would
be aware of its meaning,” Matthias said, “Having
held relations with my people for so long.”

“
Relations,” the king mused. “Is that what you would call it?”
There was an edge to his tone. Then he continued regardless of the
lack of an answer. “I know that the pendant binds to a wizard like
a part of the body and to remove it from its owner for a length of
time is akin to losing a heart.”

Matthias nodded, and seeing the curious look on
Thadius’s face, elaborated. “We receive our pendant when we
graduate to become a
full
wizard. It’s irreplaceable.”

Thadius shook his head. “It doesn’t look irreplaceable,” he
commented. “It is a lovely looking piece, but it’s just metal and a
jewel suspended on a chain.”

“
It’s not just a ruby. Inside the gemstone, deep within its
core is a captured moment,” Matthias advised.

“
What’s
that?
” Thadius asked.

“
It’s a memory of the moment when we ascend to become a
wizard. It’s not only precious, but irreplaceable, and no wizard
would ever let it come to harm.”

“
How do you capture a
moment?
” Thadius asked.

“
With great difficulty,” Matthias smiled back.

They
walked around the maze of corridors, up sets of stairs and crossing
through extravagantly decorated chambers, until they emerged into a
room with a semi-circular bay window overlooking the plains of
Rina. The expansive grasslands and fields of flowers stretched out
beneath them, waving in a breeze, and sunlight shone through the
window onto the dining table just behind it.

“
My
quarters are above this room. I consider it to be the finest view
anywhere in the world. The beautiful fields of green and the
mountains, far in the distance..." He waved his hand across to
emphasise his point.

Matthias stared at it longingly. “It’s very beautiful, Your
Grace,” he said.

A
trio of liveried servants entered the room and brought in three
bowls of steaming soup, placing them on the table before leaving
the room again. Thadius and Matthias sat opposite each other, and
the king sat at the head of the table. The servants returned again
and brought in a carafe of red wine. They filled three glasses.
Matthias stared at his a moment.

“
Is
there a problem?” Thadius asked him.

Matthias shook his head. “No, not at all. I’m just not
accustomed to drinking wine at breakfast.”

Thadius nodded. “It
is
a luxury to have wine instead of ale at the dinner
table.”

Matthias smiled, and then shook his head again. “Actually,
that’s not what I meant. I tend to drink tea,” he
advised.

Thadius’ face screwed up. “
Tea?
That’s that drink the Tekritians
import from the Far World, isn’t it?”

Matthias nodded. “Not so
far
for me. It comes from my
homeland.”

“
I have sampled tea several times,” the king said,
interjecting. “Interesting flavour, and a
curiosity
to have a drink
boiled
, but I am afraid it’s not my bag.
Too spicy for my tastes,” he sniffed, and raised his glass. “To
good health,” he toasted, and supped at the red liquid. Matthias
and Thadius joined him and then as they tucked into their soup,
they carried on with their conversation.

“
All the way from the realm of wizards,” the king
said as he supped his soup. “It’s been a fair time since your
people have felt the need to grace me with their presence. It used
to be that your people would check in every six months, remain for
a few weeks, and then return to Mahalia. But the last time I had a
visit would be nearly five
years
ago. I thought we had been let
off
for good behaviour,” he
scoffed.

Matthias nodded. “I believe that there hasn’t been any need
to visit you for quite a while.”

“
And
now?” The king questioned.

“
Now
I’m here,” Matthias replied.

Arwell studied Matthias a while over his full soup
- spoon, hovering over his bowl, then took another slurp. “I
usually see another wizard. Lord Fenzar is his name. He has been
coming here for
decades
. He’s much older than you are, with bushy eyebrows and a
face like a dried up old
fig
. There’s more lines on that man’s face than on an old oak
tree!”

Matthias grinned, picturing the man in his head. “I’ve always
thought he more resembled a walnut. Though I’m sure you know better
Your Grace.”

“
Where is he now? He’s not
dead
is he? Are you his replacement? I
really
have
known oak trees less old and gnarled than Fenzar is.
It
must
be well past time he was put out to pasture.” The king
chuckled.

“
No, he’s not dead,” Matthias said. “I suspect
he’ll outlive us
all
.”

Thadius joined in the conversation. “He normally
comes through the gates with an attachment of dignitaries, heads
straight through the main street to the palace making one hell of a
din. He
loves
a procession.”

Matthias nodded. “He is an…
interesting
man, to say the least. In any
case, I’m not his replacement. But he
is
indisposed.”

The king nodded. “I see. Well you may be new and
lacking experience with my kingdom, but I wonder if you
might
explain
to me the reason you snuck into the city alone through some
unknown entrance, like a
viper
in a bird’s nest?”

“
I’ve never been one for making a
fuss
, Your Majesty,” Matthias rebuffed.

“
Mmmm
.” The king mumbled, raising an eyebrow. He opened
his mouth as if to say something further, but before he could,
there was a knock at the door. A liveried man strode into the room
and, head raised high, spoke loudly and formally.

“
Your Majesty. The Princess of Aralia wishes to enter, with
your permission?”

The
king stood abruptly, and looked to Matthias. His brow furrowed and
Matthias resisted the urge to shrink back at the burning gaze he
gave him.

“
Tell her that I am busy
entertaining
,” the king said
tersely.

“
I did, Your Grace, but she is
most
insistent. She wishes to meet your
guest."

The
king took a deep breath and nodded. “Very well,” he said and turned
to Matthias. “Ambassador, it seems you will be meeting my only
daughter!”

Matthias’s breath caught, but he managed to speak.
“It will be an
honour
, Your Majesty,” he nodded. He took a sip of
wine.

The
servant disappeared a moment, re-entered and then, after a pause
for breath, and straightening himself so much that his back looked
as if it were made of a plank of wood, announced: “Her Royal
Highness the Princess of Aralia, Josephine Arwell.”

Thadius rose and beckoned to Matthias who, after taking the
hint, wiped his lips free of soup and wine and stood, turning to
face the door.

Despite trying to compose himself for her arrival, he was
completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him. He had seen
paintings and heard tales of the woman known as the ‘Jewel of the
West,’ but the intense beauty of the young woman who walked into
the room was enough to take the breath from anyone’s lungs. Her
golden hair hung in ringlets, spiralling down below her shoulders,
which were left bare by her delicate blue dress. A line of pearls
ran the length of the neckline, framing squarely across her
breasts. A delicate silver locket hung from her neck, the clear
jewel encrusted in its centre winking as it caught the light. Other
jewels were sewn into the front of her kirtle and her hemline
sparkled as the sun shone in through the window. As she curtsied to
her father and regarded Matthias, her bright, sapphire eyes caught
Matthias’s own. They dazzled, framed by her delicate, porcelain
skin. Her lips were thin and she had subtle dimples in her
cheeks.

The wizard suddenly became aware that his mouth
was open, so he shut it quickly, hopefully before anyone noticed.
His cheeks flushed crimson despite himself. So much for all those
years of
training
he had performed to suppress his emotions in such
situations. He had
never
been very good at that.