Luke took us through an archway on the left. We traveled down a long hallway decorated with portraits of women who resembled my mother with their golden locks and meadow green eyes.
"What do you know about Yos?" I asked, still feeling uneasy about Parson and his son.
"Sir Parson's son, Ios, has been raised in another realm for the last twenty years, but I understand that he's quite beautiful. I have never met him, myself, so I can't verify that. He only arrived in Aleria in the last few days, My Lady." He looked at me with a careful expression, "Why? Are you thinking of adding him to your court?"
I shook my head. No, I had wondered at the odd timing of me coming to this place just a few days after Parson's son arrived. "Do you know where he lived?"
Luke clasped his hands behind his back as he walked and looked thoughtful. Finally, he shook his head. "No, I don't recall him ever telling me. Sir Parson Metovis and I are not very close. I only have dealings with him on governmental matters."
I grimaced in disappointment and worry. But with nothing more to learn about Ios, my eyes turned to the pictures of the women. "Why are there only women in these pictures? Where are all the kings?"
He stopped in front of another painting of my mother. In this painting, she was wearing an intricate tiara of diamonds and curling golden leaves. "In Aleria, it has also been decreed by our Mother Oak that only women can rule over all of Faerie. And for as long as there has been light in the sky, the Principi has always been in your family by order of the prophecies, My Lady."
"But, you're the king. Aren't you?"
"No. I am simply the regent. As a man, I am unworthy to hold the place of the Principi, My Lady."
I scoffed at that. "Well, that's not right. I believe in having equality between the sexes. That's as sucky as what women go through on Earth."
He bowed his head slightly but said nothing on that. I had a feeling he didn't agree.
"How did you become the regent?"
"When your mother chose her court, she made my brother the king. There are one hundred families that traditionally are part of the Court of the Brigid. The Principi chooses seven from the one hundred every one thousand years, which is the life of a Brigid's rule. My family was part of the seven that had the honor of being chosen, and with the advice of the Counsul, your mother chose my brother, Falston, as her royal consort. He was just returned from a war with the Winter court when they held your mother's Becoming ceremony. Everyone considered it honorable to give the hero of Lars the hand of the Principi."
"Lars? Is that where we're at? I thought this place was called Aleria?"
"The world is Aleria, but the ruling country is Lars, and its capital city is also called Lars."
"Oh. Okay, continue."
He touched the painting of my mother with a loving caress. "Your mother was the first to choose an outsider to be part of her court since your stepfather was not a Sidhe. He was a Ghillie Dhu, a type of Fae, but could be considered more like a forest elemental than a Sidhe. He was tall and attractive compared to most of their kind. Although your mother had made my brother Falston be her royal consort, she ran away with your stepfather, Arjhan, the Ghillie Dhu."
Yeah... and then Dad disappeared one day, and she let me know he wasn't my real father. It was my first betrayal, but the memory was so old that it barely hurt anymore.
"When your mother died, he married your aunt but died within months of a strange fever. There is a tradition that if one son dies, another son takes his spot in the court. As I am the second son, I serve as regent and care for all the ancestral lands, including the palace in Lars.
There was an argument that I was too young, at twenty-one, to be regent, but the counsul determined I should remain so. A prophecy from the Seraphic member of the Counsul said that my place in your court would help save our world."
" I'm sorry for your loss. But... you said you were only twenty-five... That meant you were only eight when my mother married. If your brother died sooner..." My mind reeled.
He held up his hand to stop me. "I was never supposed to be in her court at that age. Had my brother died when I was eight, I would have remained at the Temple in training until I came of age."
"But... how could a kid be put into that position?"
Even Alice's caterpillar would drop his hookah in shock over the madness of this world.
"The Temple teaches how to serve our Principi while we still are at our mothers' breasts. Our entire lives are fashioned to be there for our Principi and serve our Lady in every need. At eight I was not a child as you would know one to be on Earth. I was already aware of my role and responsibilities. The Temple and the Counsul would have instructed me until I was of age."
"Being trained as pretty much a servant? All your life?" I shook my head, horrified.
"We do not see it as a tragedy or as servitude, My Lady. Any man in Aleria hopes and prays for a chance to have a spot on an Elect's court. She is the most powerful woman in all of Aleria, and by turn, they become the most powerful men." He hissed out a frustrated laugh. "I would very much like to remain in a position where I could affect change so that is why I want to be on your court."
"Change..." My horror turned to curiosity. "What sort of change?"
He glanced down the hall, then took my arm so that he could speak in a whisper. "I hope to raise the standards that men have in this world. I would like more civic and personal freedoms. Most men, if they are not of the hundred, are poorly educated. We are trinkets and helpers for our ladies because Mother Oak inhibits our magic. Our Mother Oak is wise. I do not wish to usurp, only improve."
Despite my resentment at being thrust into this position, I felt pity for him. He was so bound by his training and culture that even though he knew his world sucked, he still wanted to put the goddess who kept it like that on a pedestal. I put my hand on his arm and asked, "Do you think Mother tried to break the inequality?"
Luke shrugged sadly, "I admired her very much because not all her husbands were chosen from the hundred. I thought my brother was quite lucky until she left us. Even then, I harbored hope that she would return. I loved your mother very much for her generosity and kindness, despite her decisions. When I learned she'd died, I grieved. I am so sorry I gave you the news of her passing so bluntly."
I still couldn't believe she was gone and his grieving of her squeezed at my heart. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that I wasn't aware. Will I be able to see her grave today?"
Luke's inhaled and shook his head as he tried to shake off his grief. "Not today, but you can see it soon, My Lady."
I was monumentally disappointed that I couldn't go when I wanted to. I felt just as hobbled as Luke, being forced into rules that I didn't make. If I had to do this, I hoped I'd be able to shake up this world by winning.
We moved on from the paintings, and we passed through a dining room. A gleaming table stood in the middle, surrounded by twenty-four chairs. The table was made of stone that was deep amethyst. And the matching chairs had backs carved to resemble various animals, which I mostly didn't recognize, although one was a unicorn. The five-year-old girl in me squee'd. Unicorns had always been a favorite of mine. My mother had painted dozens of them for my room.
I fought the tears that threatened me at the thought of my room in the forest. The first year of my abandonment, it had been my only thought. Jeanne was standing next to me, and noticing my sadness, took my hand. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and I once again appreciated how sunny she was.
We passed the dining room, and the hallway that followed was less grand. The walls were undecorated and rougher in texture. There were two openings, one that led to, from the amazing aroma, the kitchen. The other was a staircase leading down.
My stomach rumbled at the smell of baking fruits. I would have followed the lure, but I reminded myself that my friends were more important. My greedy belly would have to wait. The rumble of my stomach was loud, however, splitting the relative silence of the hall. I thought I saw a smile crack on Luke's face, but it was so brief I must have imagined it.
"We'll pause so that you may get something from the kitchen, My Lady."
I blushed but followed him into the kitchen. Once we were there, the aroma of baking fruit sunk a hook into my mouth and reeled me towards the counter, where many tarts were cooling. Kitchen workers were pulling sheets of baked goods out of the bank of ovens near a set of swinging doors. Along with the aroma of apples, the irresistible perfume of fresh-baked bread, cinnamon, and other heady scents had me going weak in the knees. I looked around for someone to beg a nibble from.
A large woman was arguing with a fashionable brunette holding an unhappy-looking orange tabby in her arms. She had a firm grip on the nape of the cat's neck to keep it from escaping. It was making angry mewls and trying to struggle. The woman seemed oblivious to its claws that were raking against her arms. It sounded like the animal was scraping stone.
"And I am asking again - how could you let this animal into the kitchen? How did it even get onto the grounds?" She joggled the struggling cat, making her long, shimmering, inky braid swing. She was tall, easily six feet, and her skin was shiny, as though someone oiled her all over.
The fat woman reached out her arms for the poor cat while she yelled a retort to the scary queen lady. "I do not know how the animal got in here, Emerlee, but give him to me before you kill the poor beast! I am preparing for breakfast and have no time for your histrionics! You are not the lady of this house!"
Emerlee thrust the cat at the woman with a hiss, then pointed at her. "You watch your tongue, Danela, or I will make sure I remove it one day! One day I shall be the lady of this house!"
Her threat fell on deaf ears, as Danela had already turned away and was shouting commands to the many workers swarming around the kitchen. A man took the cat outside.
With a huff, Emerlee turned and spotted me. Her surprised gape then went to Luke, who was standing beside me.
"Luke!" she simpered, her features settling into a caricature of a sweet young thing. "Did you see? They let a nasty stray in here. I took care of it for you."
When she had said stray, she stared at me. So this was Emerlee?
"Who is this, Luke?" she asked as her sweet voice curdled.
Luke was eyeing her as if she was gum on his shoe. "This is Elect Madeline, Lady Emerlee. Her mother was the Brigid. Why are you in the kitchens?"
I saw his expression darken into loathing as he stared at her.
"Oh, I was trying to check that all was well, of course. I'm your betrothed..." She smoothed down her dress and hair then gave him an imperious look.
"Were my betrothed, Lady Emerlee. We both know that you spent many nights in other arms, and I am happy that the betrothal is annulled."
Her expression hardened. "As your lady, a night or two with another is my right. And I am your lady until the High Priestess dissolves it. Until then, you are promised to me." Her eyes were two chips of obsidian that flashed with barely contained rage.
"A night or two with another is only allowed if you mean to take them as an additional betrothed. You gave no promises to those men, so the promise is null and you are no longer my lady. The Counsul deemed it once My Lady Madeline was discovered."
I put my hand to my mouth as what he just said sunk in. Was he suggesting it was okay for women to collect the men in this world like hand creams and use them all as long as they married the guys? He'd also had this viper as a fiancee. No wonder he was demanding that he became part of my court.
Emerlee made a slight noise of frustration, then noticed me looking at her in horror. She sneered at me. "Do you have something to say?"
I gave Beth an arch look. This was the friend she wanted to protect so badly? I let go of Jeanne to offer my hand to Emerlee, "Nope, I just hoped to introduce myself. I'm Madeline."
"Daughter of Brigid. I can see the mixed breeding in your face." She swept her eyes over me and turned from me in dismissal.
I let my hand drop.
"She will be the lady of the manor and the future Principi, Lady Emerlee." Luke frowned at her dismissal of me.
She smirked, "She is not Principi yet, Luke. We'll see what the high priestess says about your treatment of me."
"Emerlee, please go to your manor until the Becoming." Luke's voice grew colder. "The Counsul will not heed to your demands."
With a strangled cry, Emerlee stomped out through the same door the man had carried the cat. I didn't think it would be the last we'd see of her, even if she hadn't made the typical vow a supervillain would have in a scene like this.
Danela pounded on a mound of pastry dough as she chuckled to herself. "Majesties, was there a reason for coming into the kitchens other than chasing out pests?"
Luke was still collecting himself, so I faced Danela and said, "We just came in so I could grab a pastry or something. You don't have to call me Majesty or highness or anything like that. Just call me Matt."
"Do not call her anything of the sort, Danela." Luke had recovered enough to give me a disapproving stare.
"Yes, your majesty." Danela bobbed her head.
"I outrank him, I think, since my mom was the Brigid. Call me Matt."
"Of course, Matt." Danela's wide grin split her chubby face.
Luke glared at me, then raised his eyes to the ceiling as if he was trying to gather strength. "Please give My Lady a tart, Danela. Her stomach threatens to shake the castle down with its rumblings and hunger has made her mind soft."
Danela handed me a fruit tart, and I bit into it, moaning as the flavor of berries filled my mouth. "Danela? Can I marry you? Will you be in my court?" The tart was terrific and flaky. I'd tasted nothing like it.
"I'm already married, My Lady Matt. Apologies."
"Lucky person!" I had finished the tart in three bites and was wiping my hands against my gown. I also had to give her props for that slick way she compromised.
Luke made a tsking noise and wiped me like a child with his handkerchief. "Do not soil your gown, My Lady. Are you a small child?"
I stuck out my tongue and he huffed as he put his handkerchief back into his pocket.
"Let us continue then since you are fed now," Luke said, once it satisfied him, I was clean.
I grabbed another tart on the way out of the kitchen.