Chapter 201

201 Dinner With The King

The guards stared at the princess in disbelief, except the oldest one. He immediately straightened up, sheathed his sword, and quickly bowed to the princess. The other three kept their swords drawn, earning them the ire of their commanding officer.

Seeing the confusion on the three’s faces, the older guard commented; “You idiots! Haven’t you heard about the princess who heals the sick? Many have been calling her the Goddess Eir? She healed all of Dragonhorn?! By the gods, read a bloody newspaper!”

The men shrunk back at their commanding officer’s reprimand. They’d heard the stories, but it was too akin to a fairytale for them to believe it. Actually looking at the woman before them, they now understood the nickname. Not only was she utterly beautiful, she’d just saved the king’s life as well.

The blood and black gunk on the floor was a sobering scene to Magnus. He’d been feeling off for nearly a month now, but his doctor couldn’t find anything wrong. One of the younger guards had asked if he should call a doctor, but Magnus waved him off as he caught his breath.

“What could the doctor possibly do now? All he’d do is force me to go to the Medical Ward, and take my temperature.. I’m already starting to feel better than I have in days; minus the terrible taste in my mouth.”

Skye got up and grabbed a bowl, then poured the king a glass of water. She had him rinse out his mouth before she checked it and his throat for swelling or lesions. Once done, she cleaned up the spot on the floor the best she could without having actual cleaning supplies. Magnus had chortled when he saw Skye in her fancy, expensive dress that Marie had most likely bought her, cleaning up the mess.

Nobles didn’t do anything they didn’t have to. If anyone else had been with him instead of Skye, they most likely would’ve yelled for a servant. Possibly even berated his guards into it. Even Tidas would’ve had someone else clean it up.

Skye was a different breed from those at court. Magnus knew she’d worked hard most of her life. Between her studying, helping Peggy, riding.. She’d even done charity work making medicines for her father’s cotters and servants before she’d gotten her Shaman trait. Once he considered that she was also secretly training herself to use magic, Magnus came to admire his daughter-in-law even more than he already did.

Most people would use their talents and intelligence to advance themselves in the world. If Skye would’ve been anyone else with her power, they would’ve been ranked on the spot. Her number of traits alone qualified her to be an RMC officer, but Magnus couldn’t do it without being sure of a few things first..

.....

After Skye finished up and the guards were sent away; Magnus and Skye opened a bottle of dark, smoky whiskey, and sat down. Their food wouldn’t be brought to them for another half hour or so. Magnus had wanted time with Skye to catch up on her life.

“Where would ye like me to start?”

Magnus smirked at her; “How about..what you thought when you first saw my son again? You thought he was dead, didn’t you?”

Skye’s eyes widened; “Ye want me to go back That far?! Come on, Maggie! That’ll take all night!”

Magnus laughed loudly at the nickname Skye had given him when she was a child. She’d lost her two front teeth, and couldn’t pronounce his name correctly. Not wanting to insult him, she had tried to create a nickname for her godfather.

Peggy had chided her for addressing the king so informally, but Magnus had told her; “It’s fine in private, but if other adults are around, just call me ‘Your Grace’, alright?”

Since then, Skye had addressed him with her term of endearment whenever they were alone, or with Marie. She knew nearly everything about him since she was his second most trusted adviser. She’d earned it after everything she’d done and gone through..

After Magnus’ younger brother had attempted to kill him, Marie turned over every bit of information she knew about him. Friends, safe places, hidden storage areas within the castle; everything.. Then, she left without a single fuss after losing her status, or child. Marie was probably the strongest person the king knew. After everything she’d been through, she’d never once said a hateful word about anyone; not even her husband.

Magnus knew that she had loved his brother wholeheartedly in the beginning. The last few years before his attempted Regicide had been difficult for her. His personality had completely changed; he became abusive towards her, and had taken several mistresses that he flaunted at court whenever Magnus wasn’t around. He spent ridiculous amounts of money on an extravagant lifestyle that wasn’t him...

As Magnus thought on Marie, he also listened to Skye. She told him the complete details of her near-marriage to Jacob Fowler. The king knew what had happened, but Tidas had omitted many details that Magnus was unaware of. Mostly pertaining to his and Lucas’ attempted deception.

Magnus was internally furious that Lucas basically sold off his daughter; Sorcha’s daughter.. But Skye covered for them by stating that her father had told her beforehand that he would’ve never allowed the marriage to be consummated. It was a big fat lie, but Skye had seen the king’s ire burning behind his eyes. She felt that if she didn’t cover for her father, the king might’ve done something rash.

After that, Skye quickly gave him an overview of what had happened since then. She still didn’t tell him of Zazzy’s origin, or of the true DragonSnare Cottage. There were things that even Magnus was better off not knowing, and Skye was determined to protect her wee baby dragon, and the Fae. Lying to the king was a serious offense.

Magnus could tell when his daughter-in-law was omitting things, but didn’t call her out for it. ‘She’d never hide anything important from me.’ As the thought crossed his mind, Skye told him about everything from their encounter with the Cu Sith, to healing the people of Dragonhorn. She then covered all the way up to her Yuletide visit. He particularly like it when she described how her husband looked in green tights and elf ears; causing Magnus to laugh boisterously as servants began to bring in their dinner.

As Skye talked, enticing smells filled the room. Magnus’ favorite meat was roasted beef, and he had it every night that he could. Due to his recent health, he hadn’t been able to eat much, but was now ordering the servants to bring more plates. He felt ravenous, and ate with gusto as empty plate after plate was rapidly swapped out for fresh food.

There was the beef, accompanied by thick gravy for it. Roasted potatoes that had been cut up and seasoned with garlic, onion, and oregano paired nicely with it. Bread, butter, and three types of jams were next. Followed by sautéed green beans with bacon bits, a bowl of freshly sliced fruit, and a bowl of Peggy’s salad that the king had requested himself. The food was plentiful and delicious, but Skye’s mind kept drifting back to Tidas and Maevis.

Noticing her preoccupation, Magnus asked; “What has your attention, lass? What are you thinking about?”

Best

Sighing, Skye debated with herself whether she should tell the king of the legend or not. ‘Maggie will believe me, but he also almost didn’t let me participate in the trials because he worried for me so much.. What will he do if he knows of the Catalyst legend?’

Against her better judgement, Skye didn’t tell Magnus everything. She explained what she knew of the legend, and that Maevis and Nicolas thought she was the Catalyst. He’d listened intently as she explained; even going as far as to pause eating his meal to focus. When she concluded, Skye hadn’t told him of her dreams, or the Alchemic legend; just the Catalyst one.

Magnus wasn’t an invalid. He could tell Skye was withholding information again, but didn’t press her for it. If she was keeping something from him, he would find out from the Fae. Maevis might not be completely honest with him, but Nicolas seemed to be. He’d already warned the king that Skye may be the Catalyst after a few too many thimbles of good whiskey. He’d stressed not to reveal his knowledge of it, for fear of Maevis and Skye’s anger, but told him most of what he knew of it afterwards.

Being a king, it was easy for Magnus to keep secrets. There were many things he knew that hardly anyone else knew; except his most trusted adviser. He was privy to everything the king knew, and had already counseled Magnus to go along with the Fae. It was the best way to gain as much information on everything, as possible. People love to explain things, so Magnus would simply play the part of the dunce, and listen.

This time was a bit different. While Skye didn’t know everything Magnus knew, he’d never lied to her before, and didn’t plan to now. He told her that he already had knowledge of the legend, but didn’t tell her the information had come from Nic. He was the king’s friend now, and Magnus had no wish to bust out his new drinking buddy.

“Am I in trouble?” Skye asked as she realized the king might know more from Tidas.

Magnus chuckled at Skye’s honest attitude. She was the perfect blend between her parents. Lucas’ personality and wit mixed with her mother’s beauty and temperament; both gifting her with red locks from each side.. But that was before she gained more magic.

“No you’re not in trouble dear. Although you could’ve told me the truth of your hair,” Magnus replied with a slight chuckle.

Skye deflated in her seat. She thought he knew more, but was relieved that her hair was the only discrepancy he’d noticed. Or at least was the only one he was calling her out for. She hated lying, and considered withholding information akin to it.

Skye did it for the same reason she didn’t tell him of her power: fear. Even a king had to answer to someone, and if the nobles knew that Skye had hidden her powers, there would be nothing Magnus could do to save her..

As Magnus calmed himself and took another bite, a question popped into Skye’s head; “Is there anything in the legend that you might have an insight in to?”

As the king chewed his food, he considered Skye’s question. ‘Blood of the First King’ referred to the Warrick bloodline, which Skye was a part of due to her mother(not that she knew that). He hadn’t heard the actual legend from Nicolas, just his theories. How the forest had reacted to her when she was a child..

‘Wait.. Nic said Skye And Tidas.. Our last name means Son of Arthur, and Arthur means Noble One.. Son of the Noble One..’

Magnus choked on his food as he racked his brain. The only reason he even knew that was because of Tidas’ mother. She’d made him flip through a book filled with baby names and their meanings when she was pregnant. They had considered naming Tidas Arthur instead, but Elizabeth had convinced Magnus of the cruelty it would bring upon him.

Magnus didn’t know what the name Warrick meant, but he was willing to bet his crown that it was ‘the Leader Who Defends’. Skye’s mother was a Warrick, and they’d all been wiped out except for her. The blood of the first king ran through her veins, and Water magic was referred to as ‘Life Magic’ in many parts of the world. A deep, nauseating sense of dread filled the king as he recalled Skye’s bottom line about the legend.

‘If Skye and Tidas are the ones in the legend, then doesn’t that mean Skye will die?!’