Raymond
The attack on the Queen and the lord councilman had shook the courts of Etheron – not just the ones the King and the Queen kept, but all of them, from the north, through the main lands all the way to the south, from where condolences were sent. While the court walked around restlessly with their pale faces drawn into serious expressions, debating the possibility of an exile, Lucretia threw accusations at her younger son. There was nothing wrong, of course; Raymond was not the one to fault, not when the attack happened outside of the castle where crime was not taken as seriously as within the castle.
His brother had already forgiven him for what he needed to be forgiven for so that they could continue the council meetings without their mother disrupting. The main topic at those meetings was no longer how to stop the uprising; it was too late for that. Now, they discussed the royal exile. Would it happen? If so, where?
“Tibera remains loyal,” Henri Lamarck stated, “but I’m not sure if it is safe enough.”
“They would be more than welcome at the Peak,” sir Edward Delroy offered. His family’s stronghold was placed all the way in the north, on the largest of the Volcano Islands.
“An island might not be too bad an idea,” Henri mused, nodding in agreement.
Raphael shrugged. “Isn’t there an island just out of the coast of Tibera?”
Henri chuckled. “Do you mean spit island?” It was a name given to the island as a joke because of its placement. If Tibera was shaped as a face, the island looked like a drop of spit from its mouth. “It’s uninhabited. Unless, of course, you count in rabbits,” he added on a second thought.
Raphael did not seem to see the joke. “Well, there is a castle, is there not? Besides, I will not send my wife north.”
“Why not?” Jonathan asked. “She would be safest far away from the rebellion.”
The King leaned back. “And what if the citizens of the Peak decide to rebel? What will happen then? It’s too far away. And the climate is too cold,” he added. “I think she will be more comfortable in weather she is used to, and I want her to be comfortable.”
Raymond smiled to himself; for all their differences, Raphael was still his brother. It pleased him that he had found some happiness in his marriage, despite everything. “Spit island it is, then,” he finalized. “Who are we to go against the King, after all?”
His brother gave him a grateful look and he smiled back. “It’s settled, then,” the King said. “I’ll give her a week to ready herself and her ladies, and then we will send her to her exile.”
The council began to stand then, preparing to leave. Raymond caught Raphael just as he was about to leave the room.
“Brother,” he said, grabbing his brother’s upper arm. “Can we speak for a moment? In privacy.”
Raphael frowned, retreating back in to the council room. Once the last council member had left, he closed the oak door and went to lean on the table. “What is this about?”
Raymond cleared his throat, not quite sure what to say. “Well, I wish… I wish to announce that I am married.”
For a moment, Raphael looked as though he could just as well have declared his love for eastern music and bathing naked in ice water. Then, slowly, a beam spread across his lips. He laughed and clapped Raymond on the shoulder. “I see.” He let out another chuckle. “We were beginning to doubt it ever happening. Let me guess, Gabrielle?”
Raymond furrowed in surprise. “How do you know?”
Raphael smiled wryly, chuckling again. “She carried your child, brother. We all know that you have shared your beds on many occasions.” Raymond looked down, slightly embarrassed that it had been that obvious. “For how long?”
Once more, he had to clear his throat. “Two years.”
Raphael’s eyes widened. “Two years? That long?”
“Yes.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell anyone?” He was smiling widely, as though he found it hilarious.
Raymond shrugged doubtfully. “I don’t know. We liked the secret, I suppose.”
“Well, you should know,” his brother told him, an arm around his shoulder, “that married life is really not that bad. Although I suppose you know that. Well, announced married life is not that bad, not at all that bad.”
“There are rumours,” Raymond muttered.
Raphael frowned in question. “What kind of rumours?”
“That you love her,” he said simply.
Raphael smiled secretively. “She is very lovable.” For a moment, they stood in a nice silence. It had been a long time since the two of them had spoken, Raymond realized. “When will you announce it to the court?”
“We planned on doing it tonight.”
“You should better tell mother first,” Raphael commented, an edge of worry in his voice. “She will not like this. She was already angry when it was just an affair.”
Raymond laughed, shaking his head incredulously. “You don’t think she will find it less scandalous now that we are married.”
Raphael laughed, too. “In her eyes, Gabrielle will never be anything but scandalous.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t tell her before the dinner,” Raymond mused. “At least then she shan’t have the chance to kill me right away.”
“That might be true,” Raphael acknowledged. “Nevertheless, I wish you luck.” He gave Raymond another clap on the shoulder. “Now, I must leave to make an announcement to my wife, rather than about.”
“Perhaps I could come with you?” Raymond suggested. He found he missed spending time with his brother. What with the halfway rebellion going on, there was not much time for anything else than trying to stop it from becoming a full-blown rebellion.
Raphael smiled, almost gratefully. “That would be nice,” he admitted.
They found the Queen in the solar. The afternoon sun shone through white curtains, illuminating the room beautifully. Her golden hair glistened in the sunshine as she picked up Christian from his cradle.
Raphael walked forward to place an innocent kiss on her cheek and she giggled. “Out brother visits,” he whispered, only just loud enough for Raymond to hear.
“Oh,” Adrianne breathed and quickly turned around, smiling brightly. “I am sorry, Raymond, I did not see you.”
Raymond just smiled. “No worries. How is Christian?”
She smiled the way a mother should when she looked at her child. “He is good,” she said. “He grows so very quickly, I fear he’ll be ready to take his father’s crown next week.” She giggled and Raphael smiled proudly.
“That could be arranged,” he told her. “But first, I need to tell you something.”
Adrianne’s happy face turned sad and she looked at Raymond. “Is this about the exile?” she asked regretfully.
“Yes,” he answered simply.
She sighed and went to put the prince back into his cradle. “Has it been decided? Will I be leaving?”
Raphael took her hand. “I know you don’t want to, but it is simply too dangerous. Your life is too precious to risk.”
Her expression did not change and her eyes remained hard in spite of his kind words. “Where?” was her only word.
“Spit Island.” Raymond wished they could have given the island a little more charming name then. “Just outside of the coast of Tibera.”
“I know where that is,” she told him and Raymond was shocked by the tone in her voice. “And I will not be going. To an island? I cannot go that far.”
“You have to,” Raphael told her softly. “It’s for your safety’s sake.”
“Can’t I just go to Tibera? I would be safe in Lionhall.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Raphael seemed sorry when she removed her hand from his and walked to the window. “This castle is the best protected castle in the kingdom, and you’re not safe here.”
“But there’s not rebellion in Tibera,” she said sternly.
“Not yet.” Raymond’s voice was strangely empty.
Adrianne turned and looked at him. “The Tiberans won’t rebel. I promise you that, they won’t rebel.”
Raphael looked at his brother for a moment, his eyes unreadable. There was great sadness in them, though, and Raymond realized just how much his brother had come to love her. He wondered if he loved Gabrielle that much. It was a different love, for sure.
“You can’t know that,” Raphael whispered, his voice hoarse. Suddenly Raymond felt very sorry for his brother; he was only twenty years old, but he looked so much older. Two years ago, when he took the throne, he had been a boy, a prince, but now he was a king. He had risen to the expectations and he had ruled the country the best he could.
“Raphael,” Raymond whispered and nodded to the door. Raphael nodded in agreement.
“Excuse us,” he said to his wife.
Once outside, a closed door between them and the Queen, Raphael let out a deep sigh. “I hate this,” he hissed. “I hate forcing her to go, I hate doing something she won’t like.”
“You did the best you could,” Raymond told him with honesty. “If she had been there, if she had heard all that you did for her, she would be thanking the gods for giving her a man like you.”
Raphael shook his head, covering his head with his hands for a moment. Once he dropped them, he said, “It’s just so hard, having to do what’s best for everyone at once. The worst part is that it’s impossible. Someone will always be displeased. And the people, they can’t tell how much I try. If they would just see…”
“I understand.” This time, it was Raymond who placed a hand on Raphael’s shoulder. “If only they could see, they would be able to understand. This damned rebellion would never even have started.”
“It’s a curse. The common people will never be able to understand the ways of their leader, just like the leader will never be able to understand the way of his people.” Raphael smiled wryly. “Jonathan said that.”
“So you do listen to him,” Raymond joked.
Raphael shrugged. “He’s not a stupid man.”
“No, he is not.” Raymond gave his brother an encouraging smile. “I must leave now, I’m afraid. It’s not too long until dinner will be served.”
Dinner was not usually for everyone. The members of court had their own solar, some even had a house of their own in the capital, but there was always food to be had in the Great Hall. That night, he and Gabrielle dined.
“No,” he told her when she stopped to sit at her usual spot. “Tonight, we dine together,” he explained and led her up the aisle to sit by his side.
There was not a single person in the entire room who did not stare, and when his mother saw his actions, she gave him a look made of ice. When they sat, she stood up, as if to reprimand him, but then decide to sit down. Tension rose high. Whispers spread across the room, and Raymond knew that every single one of them was about him.
The servants seemed uncertain when they stepped out to spread the food to the tables. Only when it had been served did Raymond stand up.
He cleared his throat and hit his fork against his glass, making everyone fall silent. They looked at him apprehensively, unable to wait much longer to hear the reason for Gabrielle’s seat. “My lords, my ladies,” he began slowly, enjoying to draw out the tension. “I have an announcement to make.”
Lucretia’s gaze froze his left shoulder but he ignored it. “Two years ago,” he began, “I made the greatest decision a man can make in his life. The decision to ask my lover to become more than that.” Whispers once more spread. “Luckily, the reply was positive.”
He reached out his hand and assisted Gabrielle to his feet. “Tonight, I announce my already legalized marriage to the most beautiful, Gabrielle of Claremont.”
This time, when Lucretia stood, it was sudden enough to tilt her chair and, needless to say, she did not sit again. For a moment, she stared at her younger son, seemingly considering what to say or do, but then she chose to walk away. Her steps could be heard in the entire, silent room even after she had left the room and mounted the stairs outside.
For many moments, nobody said a word except in whispers.
Finally, the Queen stood up. She smiled to Raymond and he breathed a sigh of relief. “I would like to toast to the royal prince and princess’ good fortune.”
Raymond thought that never had he seen as beautiful a sight as when the entire room raised their glasses for him. It felt like acceptance, and when the Queen sent him a warm smile, the warmth reached his heart.
He did not notice Gabrielle’s feelings towards this gesture until they were in their chambers late at night.
“You love her, don’t you?” she screamed, slamming the door shut behind her. The handmaidens, who had been rushing forwards to help her undress, quickly stepped back into the shadows again.
“What… What are you talking about?”
“You disgust me,” she all but spat. “She’s your brother’s wife, for god’s sake!”
“Who?”
“Adrianne, who else?” Gabrielle exclaimed.
“Wait…” Raymond furrowed as she paced around the room. “Why would you think that?”
“I saw how you smiled at her. I doubt anyone could miss that.”
As soon as he realized what she was talking about, he stepped across the room to grab her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “How can you even think that?” he whispered.
There were tears in her eyes and he hated her for them. He hated her for making him hate himself so much. How could their love not be simple and innocent? “How can I even think that? Are you honestly asking me that?”
“I swear to every god there is…”
“You do that,” she told him fiercely. Her breathing was heavy and she pressed a hand to her temples as though it was hurting. “How could I be so stupid as to think I had tamed the infamous Raymond Turell?”
“You’re not stupid,” he told her, brushing her hand and her hair out of her face. “You’re amazing. And you’re the only woman I could ever love.”
She looked at him, her eyes tired. “Truly?”
“Truly.” The word was so simple, so easy to say.
“Gods, I hope it will not be a mistake to believe you,” she muttered before pressing her lips to his. Gods, how he hoped the same.