CHAPTER 3 Does Henrietta Know?

CHAPTER 3

Does Henrietta Know?

Rufus

“What?” My ear twitched, giving away the nervous confusion that gripped me after hearing what my king had said.

“I want you to escort Minstrel Bronwynn to Servalt and keep an eye on her,” King Keith ordered. We were alone in Keith’s inner sanctum, where I’d been summoned.

I used the opportunity to admire the workshop. Great planetary alignments hung from the ceiling, where a giant guardian snake golem lived. Solar and lunar timekeeping globes circled the dome, mirroring the positions of the heavenly bodies in the sky outside. Along the edge of the room, there was a giant wall of tools that would make any craftsmen weep with envy.

Usually, no one was allowed in here, myself included. The only other time I’d visited in the last decade was to pick up some assassins stuck in a trap.

The Dark Lord stood at his work desk, a masterpiece carved from treant bones. He’d just finished painstakingly inking out a charm for [Enhanced Durability] on a tablecloth when I’d arrived.

I didn’t ask why Keith was reinforcing a tablecloth, too overwhelmed with other burning questions. “You want me to escort Minstrel Bronwynn , the most popular bard on the continent, and keep an eye on her?”

“Yes.” Keith lifted a scroll with a broken seal from the Dark Enchanted Forest intelligence unit.

I unrolled it and frowned at the contents. “Does Henrietta know?”

Keith pushed up his glasses and hesitated only a second. “No.”

“When are you going to tell her?” I demanded, wondering what Keith had taken from all those relationship books I’d made him read. “Tonight?”

The Dark Lord said nothing. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to tell her; Keith stayed silent when he didn’t know what he was going to do yet .

“Keith.” I dropped the royal title and spoke to my friend. “I’m only going to tell you this once: Henrietta won’t leave you if you tell her things she doesn’t want to hear, or things that will actively hurt her. And she won’t leave you because you have to make choices that she disagrees with.”

“You don’t—”

I didn’t bother letting him finish. “She will leave you because you didn’t trust her or communicate with her . She will feel hurt and betrayed that you weren’t honest. And if you don’t trust her , then she will stop trusting you .”

The Dark Lord took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Tonight?”

“…”

“Fine!” King Keith waved a hand as he opened a character sheet I couldn’t see. The Dark Lord focused off in the distance for a time, and then looked my way again. “I’ve summoned her.”

“Good. I hope you remember my advice while I’m gone—new habits take repetition and reward. I promise you will be rewarded with a happy and healthy marriage if you get your act together and talk to your wife about these things.”

With that settled, I looked down at the detailed map comparing the location of molten ash vane poisonings that perfectly coincided with my favorite bard’s interkingdom tour over the last year, including an attempt on the Sumbrian royal family, Their Royal Highness of Peldeep, and King Keith himself.

I resisted the sudden urge to rip up the scroll. There was no way my favorite musician on the continent was an illegal assassin.

Was there?

“I think it’s absolutely a coincidence,” Henrietta declared, her finger tracing its way down the scroll as she read the incriminating evidence. “You forget, Brownie was kidnapped and enslaved with the rest of us. And she lost her beloved Suzette.”

I was pleased to note that Her Viciousness wasn’t angry, her aura of calm remaining steady throughout. I also noticed Keith had succeeded in pretending confidence when he’d welcomed Henrietta and motioned me to hand over the scroll.

“Who?” Keith asked.

I replied, “Her lyre harp.”

“Exactly. That lyre meant the world to her.” The queen held up her finger. “Why would she hit someone over the head with her greatest treasure, her instrument , if she was working with them?”

“It doesn’t say she is working with Servalt, my love,” Keith argued. “It simply says that she’s been present every time a molten ash vane poisoning has happened. ”

Against my better judgment, I agreed, adding, “She doesn’t need to be working for Servalt to be a poisoner or assassin … and she knew about all of those assassins who were launching a surprise attack on us just before your birthday.”

“She was locked up in a carriage with me, battling slave traders, when the molten ash vane was being collected and delivered to your prison,” Henrietta reminded us. “And that still begs the question why Marquess Chadwick kidnapped her if he knew she was an assassin in his employ. He was clearly getting the poison from someone else.”

“You make a compelling argument,” Keith surmised, “but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved in other ways. There’s also the fact that Marquess Dorset might not have known it was her. She’s a performer; she could have a disguise.”

“As queen of the Dark Enchanted Forest, am I allowed to order Rufus to do things?” Henrietta asked, suddenly changing the direction of the conversation.

I raised an eyebrow at my king and waited to hear the answer to that myself. I’d sworn an oath of fealty when Henrietta was elevated, but it had been multiple generations since there were two rulers of the Dark Enchanted Forest.

“Yes,” King Keith monotoned, then he caught my eye, coughed, and amended, “Within reason.”

“Rufus!” Queen Henrietta thrust the page back into my arms. “My first official order as queen of the Dark Enchanted Forest is for you to follow Minstrel Brownie Lyriel to Servalt and find proof that she is or is not, in fact, an undercover assassin.”

“Yes, Your Viciousness.” It was already what Keith had ordered. I took back the scroll, looked it over once more, then did as I desired and ripped it up into tiny pieces. “But I won’t go with the evidence on me.”

I dropped the remains into a bin beside Keith’s filing cabinet before turning back to the pair. They’d been sharing a look , but then returned my gaze steadily.

“You should probably have that conversation with the Assassin’s Guild while you’re visiting, too,” Keith instructed.

“Of course. If that’s all?” I bowed, then left to pack my bags.

This wasn’t the first time I’d stalked my favorite bard across two kingdoms … and I’d felt equally guilty both times. This would be the first time she’d recognize me as I did so, though.

I sighed. If only I could forgo the secrecy and just—

Actually.

We knew each other now. Maybe going the obvious route wouldn’t be that hard, and it cost me nothing to try.

I finished packing my things, watered my plants, left instructions with the castle staff, and wandered off to Scowls.