Veil of Shadow and Rain ✓ [TSC #1]

Chapter 32 - The High King's story

The High King led her up a flight of staircases, holding a candelabrum. Wren followed him, treading a few steps behind him.

'Is there another way to open the portal if we don't use this enchantment?' she asked anxiously.

'No,' answered Nathaniel, bored.

'Are you sure the enchantment's here?' hissed Wren.

'Yes,' said the High King.

'You know where we're going?'

'Maybe. I've lived in the Court for a year and I still haven't gotten to know the ways around the Court yet.'

They took another turn.

'Chamber of Mice,' muttered the High King, lifting the candelabrum up to a label on a door. 'Not this one ...'

'Chamber of Mice?' Wren couldn't help herself saying under her breath. Unfortunately, the king heard her.

'Ah, well, being a High King and having a brother doesn't stop you from him hogging up all the rooms and turning them into something else,' he said, going up another flight of stairs. 'Now if this one isn't the right room, I've no idea which is.'

He pushed the door open to reveal a dimly lit hall lit only by many floating candles. Intricate carvings adorned the walls, several golden-coated chairs were in corners of the room and a massive chandelier hung from the ceiling.

'After you, Princess.'

Wren stepped into the hall. The king shut the door behind her. Ahead of them was another room, connected to the hall they were in. No door to separate them, just three steps to walk up to it.

'Up we go,' said the High King, strutting towards it.

Thorns and leaves crept from the corners of this new room. Curtains hung delicately from the windows so the moonlight was restricted from the room. In the middle of the room stood a round, stoned table with a marble top. A golden, crystallized crown stood at the center of the tabletop.

'When my father was High King,' Nathaniel spoke, his eyes fixed on the intricate crown, 'he never allowed me to come in here.'

'Your father was the High King?'

Nathaniel smiled wryly. 'Right before his tragic death.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. He was a powerful ruler, but I feel no sadness for his death.' The king roamed around the table, gazing at the crown like a tiger to a deer. 'Unlike all my other brothers, I never wanted power. I wasn't desperate for a kingdom. And I wasn't supposed to be the next High King.'

Wren stared at him. 'What do you mean?'

'My eldest brother,' Nathaniel said, 'he was ready to be the High King. In fact, he's perfect to be a High King, come to think of it. He was born ready; an ambitious leader, that's what Alaric was.'

There was a moment's silence. 'You know what the name Alaric means?' he spoke. 'Powerful ruler. Alaric was Alaric.'

'What happened? Why isn't he the High King, then?'

'He died.'

How ironic, Wren thought.

'He was poisoned. One night after his coronation.' Nathaniel said, narrowing his eyes. 'We suspect the man behind the scenes was his seneschal. Funny how jealousy can control one, even when you know you have no chance of being someone you desire to be most.'