Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Eli’s room was further down the hallway from the dining room than Kit’s own chambers, and around a corner. He also had a room in the guard’s quarters, but this one was closer, and she assumed it is where Cassius had brought him. When she arrived, she knocked lightly. There was no answer. The door wasn’t locked, so she let herself in.

He was lying on his stomach on his bed, his shirt off with some sort of poultice on his back. Kit gasped at the sight of multiple welts and bruises and felt the same rage from earlier welling up inside of her. She took a few deep breaths, thinking now wasn’t the time to let her anger consume her. That’s not what he needed, and it would do her little good to focus on that when clearly her mother had done something terrible to one of the men she loved.

His face was turned away from her, so she quietly walked around the other side of the bed. His breathing was even, and she watched the rise and fall for a moment, not wanting to disturb him if he were truly asleep but also wanting to let him know that she was there. A lock of brown hair fell across his forehead, and she wanted desperately to reach out and brush it aside, to make sure he didn’t have a fever, to make contact with him, but it seemed selfish of her to disrupt his slumber so she didn’t.

Without opening his eyes, in a hoarse whisper, Eli said, “I’m sorry, Kit.”

For a moment, she wasn’t sure if he actually knew she had entered the room or if he was just muttering in his sleep, but then one emerald green eye slit open, and he looked at her for a few seconds before closing it.

Kit swallowed hard, not sure how to respond, if she even should. She did reach out and brush that strand of hair out of his eyes, and while her fingertips were there, she couldn’t help but run them down the side of his handsome face. Even when he was pale as a ghost and as broken as she’d ever seen him, he was still one of the most perfect men she’d ever laid eyes on in every way she could think of.

She decided not to let her mother completely win this round. If she wanted to keep them apart, she’d have to try harder. Kit slid her slippers off and carefully climbed atop the mattress, lying down next to him but giving him plenty of room. She found his hand underneath his pillow and interlaced her fingers with his. At least that way, even if he was asleep, he would know he wasn’t alone.

Her thoughts were flooded with possibilities of how to handle this situation. The anger she felt toward her mother was almost impossible to contain. She was certain all of her men would tell her now was not the time to let it explode, that they’d need to be cautious. How she would ever find a way to keep a lid on it, Kit wasn’t sure, but it would take more strength than what she was currently capable of.

They needed a plan. It had crossed her mind several times that the others, the ones who’d been in this longer, probably already had something formulated. It wouldn’t be like Eli not to have already come up with a strategy for taking out the queen. Still, no one had made Kit aware of what they had in mind, and without the same amount of awareness of exactly what their assets were, what their accusations against Rona may be, and what they intended to do with the queen and those who stayed loyal to her, Kit was at a disadvantage.

Over the few weeks since she’d found out there was a revolution in the making, she had been paying better attention at the weekly meetings she attended. She wondered how many times the cooks had mentioned preparing so much food that went to waste when no nobility ate it, and Kit had not heard their unspoken words—while their own children were starving. She hadn’t heard the pleas in the eyes of the seamstresses and scullery maids who just wanted a decent wage so they could care for their families. Now that her eyes had been open to the suffering elsewhere, she understood much better that the carefully chosen words had another meaning behind them.

Kit had little doubt that these people would take her side when she rose up against her mother, but she didn’t know if they would be willing to stand and fight. Giving one’s voice to an issue was much different than sacrificing one’s life. It would be imperative to know just how many people were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. She prayed that wouldn’t be necessary, but looking at what her mother was capable of, as it was laid out before her on the bed, was a firm reminder that Rona would not go quietly into the night.

Hours might’ve past before Kit realized that Eli was looking at her again. This time, his eyes were fully open, and he looked much more aware of the situation than he had before. She slid over and ran her hand down his cheek again. “How are you feeling?”

“As good as I look,” he whispered.

A giggle escaped her lips. “Then you must be feeling handsomely.”

He scoffed, obviously not agreeing with her but appreciating the compliment. “How long have you been here?”

“I have no idea,” she admitted. “Long enough.”

He swallowed hard, and she immediately looked around for a cup of water. There was one on the nightstand, so she brought it over, though she wasn’t exactly sure how comfortable it would be for him to sit up to drink it.

He didn’t. Only pushed up slightly off of the bed with a small groan, and Kit poured as much of the liquid between his parched lips as she could. When he nodded at her, she set it aside, and he collapsed back onto the mattress.

“Do you think the poultice needs changing?” she asked, looking at it more closely now that he was awake.

“I think it should be fine for a few more hours.” He seemed to have a bit of his strength back now. His voice wasn’t as raspy. “Kit, you really shouldn’t be here.”

“Why not?” She lay back down beside him, a little closer this time. “How could I possibly be anywhere else?”

“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ll be fine in a day or two. They didn’t use the whip. Only a leather strap.”

“Oh, is that all? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just assume you’re fine and pound you on the back a few times for good measure.” Even knowing it wasn’t the hellacious cat-o’-nine-tails didn’t make Kit feel any better. The idea of her mother having her guards tie Eli to a post and take turns beating the shite out of him made her want to stalk to her mother’s room and do the same to her, though Kit would probably choose the whip rather than the strap.

“We can’t let this undo us,” Eli said, his words pointed even if his voice wasn’t as strong as normal. “Kit, you have to control yourself.”

Her eyebrows raised of their own accord. Dropping her voice and leaning in closer to him, she asked, “How exactly do you expect me to do that? If I sit there, beside her, take my meals, smile at her asinine jokes, she’ll think she’s won.”

“We want her to think she’s won,” he countered. “If she has any idea whatsoever that you’re contemplating rising up against her, Kit, what she did to me is the least of our worries. I have no doubt in my mind the next time it will be far worse. And if we’re not ready, if our allies and confidants aren’t informed, we will all fall, no matter how just or true our cause is, and no matter how many of the citizens would prefer you to her.”

Kit wanted to argue, but she was afraid he was right. She slumped back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling for a moment, trying to come up with a response that let her slap her mother across the face and still pretend she wasn’t considering usurping her power and taking the throne. There didn’t seem to be a way.

“There are others who will also be angry. I’ve asked Cassius and Jate to speak to them, to let them know they cannot be hasty either. Those who are in power who would reveal their allegiance to you too quickly, and throw our plans out the window.”

Kit turned her head to look at him now, not sure exactly who he was speaking of, though she imagined her grandmother, Junno, and some of the other council members must be part of them. Other than the queen, they were the only ones with true power. “What of the provinces?”

“We are organizing there, but it is difficult to get word to them. The army is already highly visible in areas where Rona suspects there may be trouble, and while many of the soldiers and even some of the officers are loyal to you, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be problematic for them if we are discovered.”

She mulled that over in her mind. It hadn’t occurred to her that members of the military might be on her side, but then, if they knew Eli and respected him, it was quite possible they could be faithful to her cause. Not to mention many of them were also likely underpaid and desperate to help their families.

“I’ve been thinking,” Kit began, rolling on her side again to face him, “I wish there was a way to use the strengths of the provinces to help one another, like I always assumed was the case.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... the farmers in some provinces have overworked the land, so it’s no good for crops anymore, which has left them behind in their taxes and short on food for their families, whereas the land in other provinces has been used primarily for livestock for so long it’s lush and fertile. I wish there was a way we could organize some sort of trade—that the farmers could work the land in the provinces with livestock, and the ranchers could move their herds to the places that need a rest from crops and fertilized.”

Eli stared at her for a few moments before nodding. “I think that’s a fantastic idea, Princess. Surely, it could be arranged. It would take some work, but once the people understood the reasoning, I’m sure they’d be on board.”

“I think having the Representatives from those areas act as spokespersons would be helpful. I’ve considered the same for other situations. The mines in Rockdale are nearly empty of the gems and other precious stones that have been harvested there for centuries. But there could be metals there. Why not switch with the miners who are used to working with those sorts of minerals? There might be precious gems elsewhere, possibly in Iceforge, beneath the snow. If we could get the miners from Rockdale there, to see what the possibilities are, they would be much better equipped to make the most of anything hidden by the ice.”

Again, Eli seemed impressed with her suggestion. “Kit, these are all wonderful ideas. They’re definitely promising, and I think the citizens would rally behind the possibilities. I’m not sure we can do any of those things while your mother is still on the throne.”

“No, I doubt we can. But what I don’t quite understand is, where are all of our resources going now? As much as the provinces pay in taxes, the castle should be lined with solid gold by now. I don’t know what she’s doing with all of it since she’s clearly not giving it back to the people in the form of public works.”

Eli shook his head slightly. “I don’t know either, but I have a few suspicions. I do think she keeps some of it here, that there’s a vault somewhere within the castle where Rona hordes some of the finer jewels and other items she wants to keep. But... perhaps the reason Wrenbrook isn’t cast in solid gold is because she isn’t keeping it.”

“She certainly isn’t building new roads or giving it back to the people in pay.”

“No, I think she might be buying off our enemies.”

“What?” Hearing Eli say that was almost enough to make Kit sit up straight in bed, but she was too caught up in his eyes to completely pull away. “Why would she need to do that? We have one of the strongest armies, and all of our bordering realms are allies.”

“Are they?” he asked. “Remember, not too long ago, one of your great-grandmothers expanded Yewforia’s borders considerably. All that land was taken from those neighbors, and while we have had peace for a while, that doesn’t mean the kings of those realms wouldn’t like to take their previous holdings back.”

Kit knew exactly what he was talking back. She had learned about The War for Peace when she was younger, about how her triumphant four times great-grandmother had sent her armies out into the surrounding realms to lay claim to bordering areas and take them for Yewforia. Kit was taught this was done to establish a secure perimeter, but most of the provinces that were claimed were actually rich in natural resource, like Ironton and Iceforge where much of the timber for Yewforia came from, as well as oil for lamps, coal, and of course, ice. If there really were other natural resources there of great value, as Kit suspected, it would make perfect sense that the Realm of Stratusburg would want their lands back. Astradale, on the other side of the kingdom from Ironton and to the east of Iceforge, was one of the only provinces where the farmland was still rich and the crops never failed from one year to the next. All of those provinces, and several more, hadn’t always been a part of Yewforia. Could it be that the other realms wanted to reclaim them, and Rona was trying to prevent that by paying off the rulers?

“The army isn’t quite as strong as you may think.” Eli’s voice was still a whisper, but he sounded invigorated now. “As you already know, pay isn’t what it should be. Sometimes soldiers go for months without getting the meager amount they’ve been promised. It’s difficult to take orders from a crown that cares very little about whether your children are fed or there’s a roof over their heads.”

It certainly didn’t surprise Kit to hear that the soldiers weren’t receiving enough pay. She’d seen that in the home of her own guard’s family, Tem, who was killed a month earlier in an incident Kit was almost certain would trace back to one of her mother’s ridiculous schemes. Kit had been requesting higher pay for her own guards ever since, and her mother had pacified her, promising to take it up with the council. Kit didn’t think that had happened yet.

“If they will not fight for her, what makes you think they might fight for me?” she asked, her voice low but still laced with resentment.

“Because they believe in you. They know that you are fair and that you would never expect them to do anything without proper compensation.”

“What if I can’t? What if the reason my mother isn’t paying them is because we do not have the funds?” Was it possible the queen was just in a difficult position because of the failure of the crops in some provinces and the depletion of the mines in others?

“I don’t think that’s the case. With a proper army, we wouldn’t have to send funds across our borders. Then, you would have the money to pay them. Not to mention, I am convinced Rona is hoarding gems and other valuables.”

Kit pondered that statement for a moment. It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned it. “I wouldn’t put it past her, but I’m not sure why.”

“I don’t know either, but if she is, the treasure is probably somewhere in the castle. We could potentially use that to change the circumstances in the provinces.”

She envisioned a warehouse full of gold and jewels and thought about how much bread and lumber that could buy. It made no sense to Kit to keep all of the riches locked up in the castle somewhere so that they could be of no use to anyone. But then, the one thing the princess did know was that there was a lot that the others were not telling her. That needed to stop.

Reaching out and brushing his hair back again, Kit scooted as close to him as she could without hurting his back. “Eli, I need to know everything that you do. If something were to happen to you—goddesses forbid—this revolution would fail because no one understands what needs to be done as well as you do.”

“I’m not exactly sure that’s true. There are others.”

“And I don’t even have the foggiest idea who you might be referring to.”

He laughed, and it was nice to hear a bit of joy in his tone despite the situation. “I think you do, Kit. Give yourself a little bit of credit.”

She found his hand with hers again and considered what she did know. Her grandmother was certainly on their side. Kit was certain her mother suspected Junno. Could she be one of the people Eli was referring to? Her mind wandered back to the night she’d heard Eli and Avinia whispering in her antechamber. Maybe the duchess was a ringleader as well. And Cassius always seemed to know just slightly more about what was going on than Kit did—maybe he knew a lot more.

Eli’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Kit, as much as you want to hold this against your mother, you must find a way to bury that anger, for now. Believe me, over the course of the last twenty-five years, there have been plenty of times I’ve wanted to commit regicide. When the time finally comes to dethrone her, then you can draw on that anger. But for now, you cannot act upon it.”

She narrowed her eyes, hearing what he was saying but getting caught up in his disclosure that this wasn’t the first time, and she could only imagine what other atrocities he had suffered at the hand of her mother.

“Kit, promise me.” He reached up then and touched her cheek. She could tell it was painful for him just to move that little bit. How he’d ever managed to make it to the morning meal, she’d never know.

“I promise,” she finally said, taking his hand and lying it back on the bed, but not removing hers from atop it. “This time, I will not say anything. But I also swear to you, the next time she does something like this—to you or to anyone that I love—it will be the last time. I don’t care what happens to me or what I have to do to make her understand that this is not all right, but I will do it. If she’s willing to beat a Representative in the middle of a Choosing for simply winning a contest, then she’s completely out of control and beyond the scope of Yewforian law and needs to be set in her place.”

It was apparent in his eyes that Eli disagreed with her, but he also knew her well enough not to try to dissuade her. “Caution is our friend, for now, Kit. The time will come, and when it does, it will be like the waves of a stormy sea careening into a small boat and flinging it into the rocks. It will be furious and uncontainable. But if we act too quickly or without the proper momentum, the force will be more like a tide at evening fall, unmemorable, uneventful, and incapable of making any lasting impression.”

Kit nodded, understanding perfectly what he meant from his analogy. It was no wonder he was such a successful leader of men when he could use words to weave pictures and illustrate outcomes for those who may have had little ability to envision consequences on their own. Kit had no such problem—but she did have a temper, one that she would have to find a way to keep in check.

“I’m afraid I need to go. I’ve been here several hours. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother hasn’t sent out her guard looking for me.”

“You should,” he agreed. “You probably shouldn’t have come. But I’m glad that you did.”

She leaned over and kissed his lips, difficult at that angle but still manageable, and she was glad to feel they were warm but not feverish. When she pulled back, she asked, “Shall I ask Armant to come down and change the poultice?”

“No, it’s far too dangerous for him. If your mother had any idea he isn’t completely loyal to her... he’d be gone in an instant, and he knows much and has connections everywhere in the castle. No, Bea said she would be back later to change them, as soon as she can make it here undetected.”

Bea was the same nurse who had helped with Jecob, Kit remembered. At least Eli’s back would be in capable hands. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“Keep your head about you, Kit. This is a long game, and if we show our hand too quickly, it’ll be over before it starts.”

Again, her head rocked back and forth, but convincing herself of what she should do and then actually doing it were two separate matters. She leaned over and kissed him one more time. “I love you, Eli.”

“I love you, too, Kit.”

Sliding off the bed and walking away from him was difficult, but she did have other matters to attend to, and she was certain he wanted to go back to sleep. As she walked to the door, she couldn’t hold back the tears that trailed down her cheeks. Anger and sorrow all mingled into one.

Her thoughts went to the night before, when he’d come to her in her chambers. Kit had been with many men, but making love with Eli was different. When he pressed into her, it was more than a pleasuring, more than some form of entertainment or a duty a man had to fulfill in order to make a woman happy. It was a bonding, a joining together in a way that no one else could possibly understand, and while Kit felt similarly about some of the other Representatives, no one made her feel exactly the same way that Eli did. The binding between them wasn’t something easily articulated, but the feelings he sparked in her were unique, special, worth fighting for, no matter what any outside forces might think.

She’d simply have to find a way to balance her need for vengeance with the understanding that timing was everything, and even as she walked out into the hallway, where Galter was waiting to escort her to her own chambers, Kit was frightened she’d make a mistake, one that could cost her everything.