The Merchant and the Menace (48 page)

The queen smiled back at the king, then both turned
penetrating eyes on the Elf as he rose. Teeg arched an eyebrow and stroked his
chin.

“Your Majesties hold me at a disadvantage. It is
true that your island is a polished gem amongst the rushing waters of the
Ituan, but it is quite difficult for me to make such a journey in my old age.
The days of my wayfaring youth have sadly passed me,” frowned the Elf.

Corad scowled and turned to his wife. From beneath
one of the gauzy waves of her sleeve, Lucyn produced a small parchment. She
slowly unrolled it and perused its contents.

“Hmmm, let me see,” murmured the Queen. “Ten months
ago you passed through the Southern gate as Demrol, a tinker. You took lodging
at the ‘Broken Plow’ and journeyed on through the north gate three days later.“

She paused and glanced at the old Elf, letting her
words sink in.

“A year before that, you arrived with a performing
troop and spent three days in the square fascinating both children and adults
with your slight of hand. Your tenure was short-lived however, and you left the
troop once more through the north gate. An interview with the troop’s leader
revealed several interesting facts. Shall I expound?” asked the Queen.

“By all means,” smiled Teeg.

Kael noted that the Elf truly enjoyed himself.

“You joined the troop in Quay. The leader stated
that you interviewed with him by producing several of his own personal
belongings, of which he was unaware of their disappearance. He was astounded by
your abilities and immediately signed you on. He admitted that you added a good
deal of profit when the troop arrived in Rindor either through your
performances or, shall we say, through your ability to work the crowd while its
eyes were occupied elsewhere,” Lucyn paused once more.

Teeg cleared his throat and frowned.

“When one assumes a role, one must immerse
themselves fully,” mumbled the Elf.

“Shall I skip the details of your brief dalliance
with the lovely contortionist of the troop?” asked Lucyn.

Teeg’s eyes shifted quickly to Eidyn then back to
the Queen.

“Lucyn please, decorum, decorum,” groaned Teeg.

The Queen smirked and nodded her head in agreement.

“Six months before that you passed through after
visiting my nephew’s properties in the north. After attending to his business
there, you entered the city and lodged at “The Singing Mermaid”. Once again,
after three days you departed....”

Forgive the interruption, your Highness,” begged
Teeg. “But you make it shockingly clear that you are well aware of my movements
in and around the realm of Rindor. I am nonplussed, and extremely impressed I
might add.”

“It is I who am extremely impressed,” countered
Corad. “For a man who finds it ‘difficult’ to journey in his old age, you get
around fabulously!”

“I too am impressed,” stated Lucyn. “I watched your
performance in the square. Most entertaining. The red hair and long beard were
amazing. If I had not seen you so often, I might not have recognized you.”

“Seen me so often? I did not perform for your
majesty that visit. 'Twas simple street folk and merchants in the crowd,” said
Teeg.

Lucyn smiled with deep satisfaction.

“Come, come Lord Teeg. The Master of Spies isn’t
the only person able to manipulate their appearance,” laughed the Queen.

Teeg frowned and searched his memory.

“The washer woman with the bundle of clothing
balanced on her head,” offered Lucyn.

Teeg’s face registered recognition and he turned a
deep shade of red as he rolled his eyes in embarrassment.

“Corad was never informed of the slight of hand you
performed on my backside as I thanked you for the performance and passed by,”
laughed Lucyn.

“What?” exclaimed the King.

“Now, now Corad. As the grand Duke of Luxlor says,
‘When one assumes a role, one must immerse themselves fully’,” laughed Lucyn as
she patted Corad’s shoulder.

“Your Highness,” exclaimed Teeg grimly. “My deepest
and most humble apologies.”

With a flourish and a wave of his hand, the old Elf
bowed deeply and once more kissed the queen’s hand. He arose still clasping her
hand. A devilish smile played across the Grand Duke’s lips as he looked into
Lucyn’s eyes.

“Something amuses you, Lord Teeg?” Corad stated
curtly.

“Why yes. I am absolutely enchanted,” laughed Teeg.

“Strange,” stated Corad “It seems to me that my
wife holds you at a distinct disadvantage. She is aware of your forays into our
kingdom. She monitors your business and activity. She keeps tabs on you, and
until now
you were completely unaware. In short, she outfoxes the fox.
What amuses you so?”

Teeg let Lucyn’s hand go and turned to face the
king with the same smile still playing across his face.

“A job well done,” stated Teeg. “In my business, a
business of information and supposition, it is quite rewarding to discover you
have successfully completed a task. I feel particularly good about a certain
task that was put before me years ago. I might go so far as to say I am quite
smug over the results.”

“And what task might that be, Master Elf?” asked
Corad.

“Your marriage,” stated Teeg matter-of-factly.

The room became deathly quiet as Corad reddened.
Lucyn arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips. After a moment the queen addressed
the smiling Elf.

“And how, pray tell, did our union figure into a
task of yours?” asked the Queen.

“Oh, it did not ‘figure in’ to a task of mine,”
smirked Teeg. “It
was
a task of mine.”

“Preposterous!” blurted Corad. “Remember whose hall
you stand in, Lord Elf! I am a man of patience and virtue, but I will not
tolerate a slander against my wife’s good name.”

“Ah! No slander was intended, my lord,” smiled
Teeg. “However, the facts are the facts.”

“Explain yourself!” barked Corad.

“Your Highness was a young man of ...  an independent
nature, if you will,” stated Teeg happily. “An accomplished warrior. A well-read,
learned man. A scholar. A man living life to its fullest. However, you lacked a
grounding influence. You attacked life yet displayed no subtlety whatsoever.
Myself, and a group of associates, felt you needed such an influence in your
life. A partner to cover the areas of character that were, for a better word,
deficient.”

Corad scowled at the Elf and Lucyn put a forefinger
to her chin and studied the Grand Duke.

“Your introduction was
arranged,
” stated
Teeg. “I was in charge of finding you a suitable partner. A task I was loath to
perform. Not my area really. However, like all of my duties, I dove in
headlong. I scoured the kingdom for a young woman I felt would
round out
the character of the royal house of Rindor. My assets pointed to the wealthy
house of Everd. I observed Lucyn Everd for over a year before I judged her the
perfect choice.

“'Twas difficult to determine the statesmanship of
a young woman based on the inane list of choices and decisions she must make
everyday. They certainly don’t match the difficult choices she will help to
make as a monarch. However, often the trivial choices we make in life are the
true indicator of our character. I reported to King Leinor and the others that
the match was found. A woman of staggering beauty, but with her most valued
assets in here.”

Teeg tapped a forefinger to his head.

“Ridiculous!” scoffed Corad. “You mean to tell me
the King of the Grey Elves had a hand in my courtship of Lucyn? I don’t believe
it.”

Kael kept his eyes fixed on Lucyn. Her husband
blustered on, but the queen remained poised and thoughtful. Kael noticed the
ends of her lips begin to slightly turn upward.

“Actually, today is a bit of redemption for me,”
said Teeg beaming once more. “I predicted that Lucyn would step into an
analytical role within Corad’s reign. I knew her intelligence to be great and
felt she would become a trusted advisor to your majesty. Her organizational skills
would truly benefit you.“

Teeg turned and frowned at the queen.

“Sadly however, my predictions did not come to
fruition,” he said. “Lucyn and Corad were wed, and the beautiful young maiden
assumed the role of loving wife and doting mother. She showed no interest in
helping run the kingdom and spent days performing the innocuous tasks of the
wealthy upper class. I was crestfallen. The report I issued to my associates
was so positive, that missing the mark by such a great distance was nearly
intolerable. It has been a nagging thorn in my side for lo these many years,
until this day. I do not like to make mistakes.”

Lucyn’s mouth crept even higher and she studied
Teeg.

“This is utter nonsense,” spluttered Corad glancing
to his wife for reassurance. “Lucyn and I met by happenstance in the market.
Complete luck. She hardly ever came to the island. Her estates were too
distant. I happened to be down in the market by my parents request...”

“Ah, yes. I know you were,” smiled Teeg.

“And my lady in waiting ....” started Lucyn.

“Her name was Gia,” added Teeg.

“...demanded that we buy new linens,” continued
Lucyn smirking. “She just had to go into the capital for them. They needed to
be a certain type and quality. We were required to go immediately. No delay.”

“She tended to overplay her part a bit,” laughed
Teeg. “Subtlety was not Gia’s strong point.”

Lucyn fought hard not to smile or laugh outright.
Corad furrowed his brow and stared at the ground.

“I will be immensely pleased to return to my
associates and inform them that not only did my predictions come true, but
Queen Lucyn surpasses even my extremely enthusiastic expectations. Running a
full blown intelligence operation, and an active member of that operation,”
stated Teeg smugly.

“I take extreme offense in your government meddling
in Rindor’s affairs. I have a mind to ban your people from our realm and King
Leinor shall....” shouted Corad.

“Corad?” whispered Lucyn.

The King stopped abruptly and turned to her.

“Do you love me?” she asked smiling.

“Yes,” he stated softly.

“Do you trust me?” she asked.

“Completely,” he answered.

“Then why does it matter how we were brought
together?”

Corad searched her eyes.

“It does not,” he stated.

The couple looked into one another’s eyes, and
Lucyn finally allowed a broad smile to play across her face. With her eyes
still locked on her husband, she addressed Teeg.

“Corad was sent to the marketplace to oversee a reordering
of the booth spaces.”

“Precisely,” stated Teeg.

“That order came from his father,” said Lucyn.

“Correct,” said Teeg.

“You never meddled in Rindor’s business did you,
Lord Teeg?” asked Lucyn.

“Absolutely not. I conducted their business for
them.”

Recognition crept into Corad’s eyes as he gazed at
his wife.

“My parents...” he began.

“Were just a few of my associates,” finished Teeg.

Corad frowned and pursed his lips.

“I feel manipulated,” he stated.

“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of your
machinations,” said Lucyn. “But I must admit that I too feel manipulated.”

“Ah the human heart. Such an unrivaled mystery,”
laughed Teeg. “It can have exactly what it desires yet still possess enough
doubt to question how it was achieved. Forgive me if I think of you as a pair
of silly fools but that is certainly what you must be. You do not doubt one
another's love for a moment, but you doubt how it was founded. What matter how
you met? The here and now are all that matter. Do you think for one moment I
could force either of you to love the other? I might as well try to catch
sunbeams!

“If either of you didn’t love the other, the union
never would have been met. I knew Lucyn was a perfect match for you, but not
for matters of the heart. Your introduction was facilitated, but your love was
your own, there for you and you alone to admit or deny. I hoped the fire would
spark, but who is truly to know the fickle ways of the heart.”

“Were you a part of this group of ‘associates’,
Lord Ader?” asked Lucyn unexpectedly as she turned to face the old man.

“Ader?” questioned Corad. “What’s this all about?”

Lucyn broke away from her husband and moved toward
the Seraph.

“Come now, my lord. To my knowledge you haven’t
visited our island for a lifetime of men, but that is certainly who you must
be. Captain Caylit is a fine officer, and no other being could manipulate him
so easily,” stated Lucyn.

“Leinor will be informed that Lord Teeg may have
performed his task
too
admirably,” stated Ader flatly.