Jack Frost: King of Thieves

CHAPTER XXXV: The Crown Is In Peril

Elinor of DunBroch stood on the lush grounds of the Far Tower, the battlements of the fortress at her back, the royal forests spreading over the countryside before her. She wore a black velvet gown and a heavy cloak about her shoulders. Her head was uncovered, her hair bound back in a single long plait.

The morning had dawned clear and cool, and Elinor had wanted nothing so much as to leave the confines of the castle. William and Manny were gone, and though the years had been kinder to her than they were to most, she felt old. Each day it took her longer to work the cold of a night out of her ancient bones. Each day she felt herself being shunted to the periphery of all that happened within the Tower walls.

She came here because the forest still called to her, because she took far more pleasure in flying her owl, in watching as the great bird glided through the wood on silent, still, wings, than she did in watching her son rule the Southern Isles.

She heard footsteps behind her and knew without turning who had come. Word of Dymas Phrygians' dismissal had reached her the day it happened. At the time, Elinor had still felt the sting of her own confrontation with Hans too acutely to give much thought to Phrygians. Only later did she realise that in a single day, her son had severed ties to the only two people left in the Far Tower who had served not only Manny but William as well. Who would he turn to now? Sir Pitch? His little Alsace-Lorraine princess? She feared for her son; she grieved for the Southern Isles.

Phrygian halted beside her and bowed. He followed the direction of her gaze and watched the Eagle Owl for a moment or two before facing her once more.

The years had been kind to Phrygians as well. There were lines around his mouth and eyes, and there was now as much white as gold in the leonine mane that framed his face, but he still looked as though he could win a sword tournament or lead an army into battle.

"Your Majesty," he said, "I have lost the confidence of King Hans, but he may still listen to you."

Elinor smiled bitterly. "Allow me to know better, Sir Phrygians."

"Then you are wiser than your owl."

She laughed at that. "I dare say. I have lived longer."

He inclined his head, acknowledging her point. She and Phrygians had known each other for more years than she cared to count. They had not always been friends or even allies in the ever-shifting politics of Southern Isles' royal house. But she considered him both friend and ally now; there was no one in the realm she trusted more. And she knew the man well enough to understand that he cared not a whit for his own standing in the king's court.

Phrygians took a long breath now, looking out toward the forest again. "Alas, Manny was no William, and Hans, not Manny, Your Majesty. But it is the Throne I serve, and this must endure."

"Speak plainly, Phrygians. What is troubling you?"

His brow furrowed, and there was an expression of real pain in his eyes. "The Crown is in peril." He met her gaze. "Pitch has been plotting with Gaston of Alsace-Lorraine. Alsace-Lorraine troops have already landed on our shores, and they are murdering Southern Isles men in the name of King Hans. The northern barons will make civil war against the Throne. They are assembled to march on Abita, leaving our coast defenceless against the invasion which is certainly coming."

Elinor's first instinct was to question Phrygians' information, but she quickly dismissed whatever doubts she harboured.Phrygians would not have been here, saying such things to her, if he hadn't been certain. She knew little about this man Pitch, but she had mistrusted him from the start. And Gaston, theAlsace-Lorraineking, had repeatedly shown himself capable of the most insidious deceptions. She put nothing past him.

She felt weary. Not too many years ago, she might have seen an opportunity in such circumstance, a chance to reclaim her influence. But she no longer cared to fight battles like these. It seemed, though, that God had his own plan for her.