King's Conquest (The Crown of Estoir)

~~Duke Harrowton(6)~~

Calen Arlak, The Duke of Harrowton sighed and took a deep swig of his wine in his chambers. He knew that he must make a decision to choose the least of all the three evils and sacrifice his own child.

Rubbing his face in weariness, he stared at the fireplace. The crackling of the wood did nothing to appease his nerves. He was aware Arianna had suffered at the court by the ruthless barbarians who masqueraded as nobility with their fine sensibilities.

He had seen the yearning in the eyes of the Estoirie men who marvelled at Arianna's exoticness. Ever since her arrival in the capital, he had been thinking of ways to protect her, and had found one such man for the task.

However, the saviour himself was no angel, but the sort who would indeed make a powerful adversary. He was dangerous. With a sigh,  thought of Jay, whose family saw its fortune rise in trade after years of toiling on his land in Harrowton. The boy's adoration for his daughter knew no limits.

The Duke was certain that with his exceptional service in military life, Jay would rise above his station. Arianna's future with him was out of the question as he was a commoner. It was not done. Besides, Jay's love for Arianna was immature and wouldn't withstand what was to come.

As his daughter was the blood relation of the King, his permission was required for the marriage given she was in the line of the throne. He had seen to the hindrance by consulting trusted Royal Scribers about the Estoirie laws.

Arlak just hoped Arianna would forgive him in due time and understood that this was the only way. He had cast the dice for her future and set in a rolling motion.

There had been no love between him and his belated wife, but they had shared a camaraderie. They had been pawns in the game of political alliance, and had done what was for the best. Then Arianna was born, and for the time, he had been truly smitten. She had been a beautiful babe, and soon, she became the centre of his world. His daughter was his everything.

The Duke bowed his own head to say a prayer for forgiveness and returned to the pressing matters haunting the streets of Estoir. At first, he had thought it as a figment of the peasants' imaginations, but the Duke knew the Executioner was real, and it had become his passion to uncover the identity of this shadow that had slipped through the King Guard's grasp.

The Commander had bluffed his theories as a superstition of the simple folks. But what about the dead bodies with slit throats that were piling up. No one was looking for the culprit. He could bet his beloved wine that the nobilities would be next if the nefarious killer was not stopped.

The King had arrived with his entourage and much of the Ishstar 's attention was riveted at welcoming him. A ball was to be held to commemorate the great success in Morag that had tipped the balance in Faelon's favour.

The exuberance did nothing for Arianna. The joy had been robbed from her by King's most trusted man, the Commander. She had to leave the palace. Every soldier around her put her at pins and needles. Her woes intensified when she learned the prince hadn't returned. What was keeping him? Perhaps, his intended at Middleton?

She must run away from here. When the thought had first occurred to her, she had been taken aback at the audacity. But over the coming days, the idea had become a full-fledged resolve in her head.

Arianna planned to head to Pyria. She knew the borders well since she had grown up on the edges of Estoir. Harrowton had been a sanctuary that offered a respite from the pernicious eye of the King. Estoir's power stopped at the Pyrian borders. Once she had sought refuge with her mother's family, she would send a word to her father. Many refined Estoiries thought of Pyrian as tribal uncouth, but it was far from the truth.