Eros

Courtesan's Love - 50

The King's Hall was wide and vast, bathed in the light of a dozen massive, bronze chandeliers that loomed from the ceiling. A dinner table stretched at its center, crowded by women in colorful gowns and men in elaborate suits, tasting from the abundant delicates it offered. At the head of the table, in a mahogany armchair, sat the Bladeweaver. He beckoned them over as soon as they drew near.

"I hoped to catch you two before we begin." Roxwell said, and gestured over the man seated beside him. He looked a decade older than the king, but twice as broad. He had a bald, furrowed head, a square jaw, and pale eyes. A black doublet with bronze buttons and cuffs barely contained the firm bulk of his stocky torso. "Sir Ironwood, Anerock's Paladin Lord."

Roxwell then laid his on the shoulder of a woman that sat at his other side. She had brilliant blonde hair, elegant features, and a warm smile. " Avina, my wife and queen."

"Sir Devias and Dame Ironwood, you have already met." James sat beside the queen, the Dame Ironwood sat beside her father. They both wore doublets similar to the Lord Paladin's.

"Alora Falconer." Alora said, and curtsied.

"Kaido Blackrose." Kaido nodded.

"Blackrose." The Paladin Lord rumbled, and swallowed the sauced meat he was chewing. "I've heard that name before."

"And I yours." Kaido replied.

Sir Ironwood's pale eyes narrowed, inspecting Kaido. "I don't believe we've met."

"We haven't. But I fought in the Twin Cities, Lord Paladin Ironwood wasn't a name you could avoid."

Ironwood frowned. "Bold of you, to mention fighting Anerock's men in the hall of their king."

"Anerockian blood had wet my sword, that much is true." Kaido said. "But the blow I've dealt Veramor is far greater than the death of men."

"And what blow is that, exactly?" The Bladeweaver intervened.

All eyes around the table fixed on Kaido.

"I put Veramora's harbor, and fleet, to ruin." He said, ever so casually.

"Bullshit." James muttered.

"Do you take us for fools?" Dame Ironwood scowled. "We are well aware a sea monster destroyed the harbor."

Kaido sat down and leaned forward in the empty chair besides James, elbows propped on the table, and gaze fixed at Dame Ironwood. "So one bright day a giant sea monster miraculously spawned behind the king's fleet, right at Veramora's harbor, is that what you believe?"

The Paladin hesitated, but the scowl lingered on her lips.

"All the proof you have for this is a wanted poster with your name?" James asked, eyes thinned at Kaido.

Kaido nodded. "That, and my word of honor."

"A traitor's word of honor." The queen noted flatly.

"I was the one betrayed," Kaido said as he reached to a roasted chicken, and twisted out its leg. "And I am not one to let betrayal pass unanswered."

"And you summoned such a beast, how?" Dame Ironwood asked, her disbelief and mockery evident in her voice.

"I worked with the underground. A rather pathetic lot, sad remains of Kingmen houses that were too minor to catch Julian's attention, but they had the means I needed." Kaido bit a mouthful of juicy flesh from the chicken leg, chewed and swallowed.

"You see, back then, I thought the Bloodfiends were what stood in my way to kill Julian. So when he was to go on a sail to another land, and I had an artifact promising aquatic destruction, it looked like I drew a winner. There were stories that said he was powerful, a magus of a kind no one had seen before. You know how often stories get out of hand, right? Unfortunately, this one did not."