The Tales of Miriela: Shadowborn

Chapter 28: Edward Reed

The Great Hunt was over, and Kessex was fed. The men had returned from Bearlund Swamp with the rewards of a successful hunt and had lived to enjoy it. It had been a little more than a day's journey when the caravans met the city's walls in the wake of a violent rainstorm. It was late, and Edward was tired. The bears were no easy kill. Tracking them took days, sometimes weeks. And when they did finally get close enough to attack, the bears never went down without a fight, regardless of how many men.

Though, it was not the time to sleep, for he needed to speak with Fey. Edward climbed through the Keep and to his chambers, where his wife lay fast asleep in their bed. He rushed in, left the door open, and sat down on the bed beside his sleeping wife.

"Fey," Said Edward as he nudged her awake. Fey gently rolled over, her eyes still peeled shut with sleep, as she fought to distinguish dream from reality. She yawned, as her eyes opened up to meet Edward's.

"Edward? You're back from the hunt. It's late, come to bed and sleep, my love," Fey said. She turned back over to rest.

"Fey, I have news that is urgent, we must discuss it now," Edward said.

"Whatever the news may be, it can certainly wait until morning Edward. It's the middle of the night and you've just returned from the hunt. Quit talking non sense and rest," Said Fey, impatiently.

"We must send Briggs South," Continued Edward. Fey turned back around to face him, still laying on her side.

"I know we must, Edward. We have had this discussion many times before. When the rain season has ended over the Southern Seas. No sooner. If he dies at sea, we'll lose more than just our son," Fey said.

"The King has summoned us to Ferenor, for a feast," Edward said. Fey's eyes became sharp and her usual look of wit returned. Suddenly, the fog of sleep had been lifted from her face.

"A feast? What manner does Kline Wullmont have summoning us for a feast, Edward?" Fey asked.

"I'm sure his purpose is what we both suspect. Kline has a daughter who is ready to marry and we have a son who is also of age. He wants to keep his throne as any man would, and to do it he needs The Realm united. What better way to do so than through marriage?" Edward responded.

Fey sat up in the bed. A look of despair, disgust, and disillusionment all mixed into one, that was the face the Fey so often wore. Edward had given up on making his wife happy, an impossible task. When he sat on the throne of Kessex she still longed for more. Kessex was not enough, she wanted the whole of Miriela.

Now another man from the North had accomplished that task, and removed Edward from his throne altogether. Edward knew Fey was only concerned with House Reed and that she would stop at nothing to ensure it reached its full potential.

"Then you're right. We send him South. If we don't, he will marry a Wullmont girl, and we'll never get our fleet," Said Fey.

"The rain will continue over the Southern Sea for a few more days, at least. How do we keep an eye on Briggston if we are North in Ferenor? The boy does often wonder about, and losing him would mean losing our greatest pawn," Edward asked.

"Don't worry, my love. There is a way to bind him to the Keep while we are gone. A way to ensure he goes nowhere until our return." There was a sound at the door, and Edward's eyes snapped towards it. It was Sophia, standing in the doorway.

"Sophia, what are you doing awake?" Fey asked her daughter.

"The storms keep me up at night, I can't sleep," Sophia said.

"Well, come here, you can sit with you father and I for a moment," Fey responded. Sophia smiled and rushed in to jump into her father's arms. It had been some time now, since he had left for the Eldmire Woods, since he had last saw his daughter.