CHAPTER 77 It Was Terrible. It Was Heartbreaking

Henrietta

Bronwynn and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon romping around the Dark Enchanted Forest castle.

I hadn't actually spent much time in the village, though I'd heard wonderful things about Scowls. Brownie let me know that she'd been in the middle of securing a performance spot at the tavern when the guards had arrived and escorted her politely away for questioning.

If they honored the agreed-upon times, Brownie would be performing for three nights starting tomorrow.

"So let me get this straight," Brownie said. They were walking toward the main dining hall for dinner. "King Keith takes meals with everyone? Every day?"

"Kinda?" I shrugged. "It's mostly us and the generals, and they come and go depending on work. Rufus and Chloe live in the castle, so they're around. The other generals live in their own territories guarding the four borders, and there are a few nobles, but I don't know much of how it works; it's entirely dependent on the territory?"

The elves, the naga, the lizardkin, and the beastfolk all had some form of hierarchy, but it wasn't consistent across the Dark Enchanted Forest.

"So I'm having dinner with the Dark Lord and his generals?" Brownie asked, amused.

"And Countess Julia of North Sumbria. She's Chloe's fiancée," I added. "Oh. And me, of course."

"Well, this will be fun."

I agreed. I enjoyed the nights when everyone had dinner together just as much as I enjoyed those warm nights when Keith and I had our dinner privately in the garden. There hadn't been snow since the winter solstice, and beautiful sunny days with a light breeze had come nice and early this year. Every chance I got, I took my meals outside.

We were the last to arrive for dinner. I nodded at everyone and then showed Brownie where the food was laid out. Each dish was separated, and there were serving utensils so we could pick and choose what we wanted.

I was partial to the slow-roasted honey-glazed duck, whipped garlic spuds, and salad. Panlith made a baby green salad tossed with nuts, unigoat cheese, bimbleberries, and rose petals that I could eat for every meal.

"Wow." Brownie took a deep breath, appreciating the smells. She chose a bowl of wild mushroom soup, citron baked fish, and roasted peppers stuffed with candied nuts and creamed unigoat cheese. She leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Can I come over for dinner every night?"

I smiled up at her. "You are always welcome here and I'm sure Keith wouldn't mind, though I'll double-check with him later."

We approached the table. I took my seat right beside Keith, and there was a spot beside me for Bronwynn. Chloe and Julia were talking amongst themselves but shot us a nod. Rufus was sitting across from me and took one look at us before downing an entire glass of wine.

"Greetings, Minstrel Bronwynn," Keith welcomed with a political air. Turning to me, his face loosened into a smile. "Ria, how was your afternoon?"

"Lovely! I—" It was then that I noticed something that stopped me in my tracks. It was terrible. It was heartbreaking. My eyes glued to Keith's tunic and the atrocious button that was sitting against his throat. I coughed, pretending I needed to clear my throat. "I showed Brownie around the castle."

"It's a very nice castle," Bronwynn added.

Keith's pointed ears flushed pink. From the bard's compliment or because I hadn't stopped glaring at his chest, who was to say. I dragged my gaze back to his face and tried to get myself together. Of course he would repair his clothes sometime … I shouldn't be so upset at the loss of a perfectly delightful clavicle.

I needed to calm down.

"Brownie is performing at Scowls. Do you wanna go?" I asked.

Rufus made a strange squeaking noise. We all turned to look at him, and he calmly picked up his empty glass and tried to drink. He put it down a second later and smiled thinly. "Don't mind me."

Keith waved at the man. "Minstrel Bronwynn, have you met General Rufus Triever? He's the highest-ranking member of my army, and a lover of music."

Brownie stared at Rufus for a long second. "Actually, you do look familiar. Have you been to my show before?"

"I've had the pleasure," Rufus replied, "of seeing your performance at the Peldeep Festival of Lights. What nights are you going to play at Scowls?"

I whispered to Keith while Brownie told Rufus her schedule. "Is something wrong with Rufus?"

Keith took off his glasses and cleaned them using his robe. "What makes you say that?"

"His tail." The appendage was straight up behind him. The longer he spoke with Bronwynn, the more it started to twitch. "And is he drunk?"

Rufus himself was stiff as a board. It was impossible to tell if he was flushed under all that fur, but one of his ears drooped. I had a feeling he might just fall over at any second. He leaned forward as he asked Brownie about her song lineup.

He knew the names of all her songs.

Keith chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think he's drunk. Not with his monstrous Constitution. He'd have to down a few barrels at least."

"If you say so …"

Brownie laughed. "If this is what's for dinner, I'd be happy to perform at the castle anytime. If you have any requests, just let me know."

"Truly?" Rufus asked.

"Hey, watch the tail, Rufus!" Chloe chided.

The beastman curled his suddenly violent tail in his lap and held it there, looking sheepish.

Julia laughed. "If there's going to be a performance, then count me in. You rarely make it all the way up to North Sumbria, and I'll have something to talk about at the Spring Ball."

"I thought you'd be talking about our wedding?" Chloe piped in.

"I will. But I am a politician's daughter, and that means I need more than five talking points for every event." Julia shrugged. "So far I'll have the war, our wedding, Dark Magician Keith falling in love with the heroine"—Keith made a choking sound at that—"and a private dinner with the bard herself, Minstrel Bronwynn. I'm one gossip short on spilling the tea, but I'm sure something will pop up."

Brownie bowed slightly at Julia. "It has been an honor."

Ria tugged at his sleeve. "Would you like to go together?"

"Tomorrow evening?" Keith nodded his agreement. "How about we let everyone in the castle go early? Scowls could open the patio to accommodate the rush."

Rufus breathed a shallow, "Yes!" under his breath. He was gripping his tail really hard, and I hoped he had a healing potion on him for the bruises he was giving himself.

"And feel free to put in a good word with the duchess"—Brownie winked at Julia—"I'd be happy to do a show for the Spring Ball if there's time."

"My mother would love that."

Brownie's eyes swept over everyone at the table and finally landed on me. I'd been enjoying watching the conversation and eating my duck.

I patted my lips clean and gave her a winning smile. "Looks like you'll be playing every evening for the rest of your stay, so we'd better have a fun sleepover tonight. I've never had anything like this before, so we'll make it extra special! I've already asked the lizardkin maids to prepare a relaxing massage, and I've sent up the rest of my baking to snack on while we chat."

"That sounds wonderful." Brownie sighed. The minstrel's eyes swept over everyone at the table and then all of a sudden, her demeanor changed. She stood up, and I felt Keith tense beside me. "Alright, I've seen enough."

There was a strange confusion that settled over the dinner table as everyone stared at Minstrel Bronwynn. She stared back.

"I'm convinced." She looked at me.

I replied, "Convinced of what?"

"That you aren't a bunch of bloodthirsty demons who've captured our princess and plan on destroying Drendil," Brownie said. Julia coughed, laughing into her hand. Chloe shrugged, and Keith relaxed beside me.

Rufus was the first to reply. Hastily at that. "You can be reassured, Minstrel Bronwynn. Henrietta is better off without Drendil, and none of us have the time or care to conquer it."

"He's right, Brownie." I pulled her sleeve gently. "The only thing we've been planning is defense."

"Which is why," Brownie stated, "I'm here to tell you that Drendil is launching a surprise attack."

Everyone at the table stood up. Keith demanded, "When?"

"They've already crossed the border."