Castle Bound Chapter 1 (version 3.5)

[Vic]

I
Castle bound
This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this story are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

The duty of a prince is to rule firmly without becoming a tyrant.
The first precept from The Duties of a Prince.
“The palace protects your daughter madam,” an unidentified male voice whispered from the wall next to Jenna’s bed. A thrill of fear began to flow in Jenna’s heart but it had no time to develop as the conversation continued.
“How would you know?” Her mother, the queen’s voice was muffled by its passage through the stone to her ears but Jenna could still hear the rage in her mother’s tone. “My mother’s suite is across the castle!” Jenna thought, “But even if it was next door that wouldn’t matter. Most of the suites have hidden passages separating them. This must be magic! No wonder mother wants to eliminate it!
“I know because of what you hired me to provide,” This time Jenna recognized Ferlan, her mother’s chief musician as the speaker. She listened intently as the conversation continued.
“You’re a fraud. You promised that I would be with child within a month and it has been six months.”
“Madam I am not a fraud. As proof I direct your attention to the report of the stable master.” Jenna pictured the hawk faced minstrel and thought, “if Ferlan wasn’t so old, I would wonder what sort of husband he would be.”
“What has that to do with me getting a proper male heir to the throne?”
“You may see nothing unusual about an outbreak of pregnancy in your stables, but your stable master does. First it is his job to decide which mares to breed: Second most years he has a few misses among the mares he puts to the stallions. This year every mare in the stable is pregnant. In nine months you’ll have a bumper crop of colts and nary a filly in the lot.”
“I’ll have you hung as a magician!” The queen’s voice was a menacing hiss.
“I expected nothing less than an unfortunate accident the moment that I was driven into your demesne madam. Your kingdom has a reputation of hatred toward those who practice magic. Yet I was met on the road and invited to audition as your lead minstrel as if I was expected. Then you brought me to this room and proposed that I become a royal stud or die as a wizard. Nay, madam, do not deny it, I did not expect to long survive my success in such a venture.”
“There must be a way…”
“Marry the chit to an ignorant prince and make sure he has an accident away from the palace after she is pregnant then rule as regent for the infant.”
“That has been my problem since the bitch has been old enough to breed; every lord has had a suggestion as to who — never himself of course — would be a good prince consort. The man would then be a puppet against me and his sponsor would become regent for his nephew or grandson.”
“So, since I can’t achieve your original plan, let me go and find a suitable foreign prince or noble who can draw all of the attention of your council. Then you can tie them up in knots by playing them one against another and continue to rule until the grim reaper puts his hands on you.”
“You’re brave tonight.”
“A dead man has no fear. When I was certain that the palace was protecting Princess Jenna, I knew that the meager time I had left had ended. I then determined to inform you that no matter how powerful you are, you won’t live forever.”
“I’ll outlive that creature whom I claim as my daughter.”
Jenna heard the denial of her heritage in Chantra’s voice and thought, “As If!” There was no doubt about where her sable hair and tawny skin came from. Jenna amused herself with the thought that if she wanted to marry she would wish for Chantra’s plush figure as well.
“Not if you continue to work against her interests and live in this palace. One of the ways that I know that the palace protects her is that I’ve been setting nuisance spells against her. When they got to the point that they could do her harm they began rebounding. I don’t know how sentient the spell that protects the rightful heir is, but I know I won’t try anything else against her.”
“Your death confession has confirmed my suspicions, worm,” the queen growled. “Since you’re worthless otherwise, I might as well get in one more ride before I let you go.”
There was silence for a few moments in Jenna’s room. Then she heard the rhythmic huffing and puffing rather of mating rather than conversation through her wall. She pictured Ferlan’s stick thin form laboring over her mother and nearly gagged.
She slapped the wall and said, “Isn’t it enough that I know that my mother conspires against me?”
The noise of carnal indulgence ceased to flow through the wall, although Jenna had a suspicion that the activity had not ended. She kept her hand on the wall and reviewed what she had learned. Her mother plotted to marry her to a man whom she hoped to control. And if that failed; an accident would befall her and her husband as soon as she birthed an heir. Jenna also knew that the lords of the land would plot to control her through her husband.
It seemed to Jenna that people wanted to be near her just for power or money. She indulged in a few tears before telling herself, “It doesn’t matter what the lords of the land think, if the castle has magic that accepts me as the queen.”
Holding that thought in her mind, Jenna began to consider the ladies her mother had assigned to her retinue. “Knowing what I know I should be able to convince them to help me overcome my mother even if she set them to spy on me,” she thought.
“Most of the castle guard treats me as if I am their child, which would be fine if all I needed was protection. But I need to think of a way to defeat those who are loyal to Queen Chantra. If she believes that they favor me to rule there will be trouble even though it is two years past the time when I should have been admitted to the council chambers since she is only supposed be acting as regent for me. I know she rules by bribe and fear; and she has removed people who oppose her.”
Jenna considered what she had learned by hearing her mother’s activities with Ferlan. Due to her explorations in the secret passages of the castle she had learned that not every woman was averse to having sex and that many of them used it as a weapon or to manipulate those around them.
“I think that is the reason that mother made Rose a member of my train,” Jenna mused, as she pictured Rose’s lush figure and flawless dark complexion, “She aimed to have people to assume that I’m plain. If she knew how many times Rose has been a shield to me she’d send Rose away. Well she won’t hear it from me!”
Jenna got up and paced for a bit while she continued to think. She desperately wanted to rush across the castle and grab her mother by the hair and drag her into the dungeon. But she realized that at the present time such an action was doomed to failure. “I need to see if I can spot ways to turn the things that mother has done to isolate me to my advantage,” Jenna smiled at that thought. I believe she chose Rose to reproach me because I’d rather spend time with Martine, the head of my honor guard, in the sallé rather than doing needlework. “I know that Chantra believes that I will turn her scheming against her so I’m sure she has set others to watch me,” Jenna thought. “Because she relies on fear I think I can convince the ladies in my train to serve me rather than her.”
Jenna next considered each of her ladies. “Rose is not averse to telling me about the various men who pursue her. Knowing about the lords in and out of my mother’s train has kept me out of their clutches. I will be careful to thank her for her information, which should make her think well of me,” Jenna decided.
Having formed a small plan to begin to bring Rose to her side, Jenna next considered Lady Daisy. She pictured the mousy woman with her plain face and middling brown hair who seemed to want to disappear in plain sight, “I know that mother is using Daisy’s family’s poverty and some other scandal that I don’t know about as her means to control Daisy. I can be friendly toward Daisy, and try to find a way to make sure that whatever mother is holding over her loses its power. When I do that, I hope Daisy will come to respect and serve me.”
The next members of her retinue that Jenna considered were Ladies Iris and Ivy. Jenna paused as she pictured the two women. She decided that it was their fiery hair that brought them to her mind at the same time, because otherwise they were as different as they could be from one another. “Iris and Ivy are here because their fathers want to know what my mother is doing. But I’d bet they don’t report to my mother about me. That may not put them in my favor but I know Iris would prefer young Lord Tamblin over that old goat Lord Nuriss,” Jenna nodded to herself, “I can move things that direction by seeming to prefer that old pervert Nuriss. When I do that mother will resist me by reflex. But as long as Iris knows what I’m doing I think she will not only stop cooperating with Chantra but that she will actively help me.”
Jenna paced to work off some of her anger while she considered Ivy specifically. “I know Ivy likes Martine’s daughter Georgia,” she pictured Martine’s brown-eyed blond daughter hugging Ivy, “I think Georgia likes Ivy too,” she mused, “I’ve seen them sparring when we practice self-defense. I’m sure no one can trip and end up in each other’s arms as much as they do. They aren’t that clumsy with anyone else!
“I wonder,” she asked herself, “would Ivy make a good commander for my guard detail? I’ll ask Martine the next time I have a chance. Ivy’s father won’t like that, but he has other daughters who will make valuable alliances. And when I am queen having Ivy as the captain of my body guard will be to his benefit.”
Jenna sat on her bed while she considered Lilac. She pictured the silver blonde with her ice-blue eyes and wondered why a small shiver ran down her spine. “I know that she’s here because her father wants her here, and because my mother would never alienate the owner of the only gold mine in the kingdom! I would like to know if she would like to be my friend? Also I wonder if she became my friend would that cause her father to support me as queen?
“I know she has no brothers, but her father hasn’t been urging her to marry the way that Iris’ father is. I also haven’t heard her complain about subtle hints the way the other ladies do. As far as I know Lilac has no interest in anything except the novels in the library. Still, I can be her friend. After all we can both use a friend.”
Jenna lay down and considered the last of her ladies. She pictured Xynia; thinking of the way the golden haired woman moved her lush body as if she were always thinking about sex. That Xynia was a mystery was the one thing of which Jenna was certain. “Xynia does what Rose promises,” She thought, “She’s quiet about it but that’s what mother is using to keep her loyal or at least reporting on me. If what I heard tonight is the way Chantra treats her inferiors there will be a way to insulate myself from Xynia. I can also increase the friction between Xynia and Chantra. I want to interview Xynia soon to find out if she is doing what she does willingly.
“That’s the best I can do for now”, Jenna thought. “If I do anything tonight, it will be reported to Chantra before sunrise. One thing I know for sure is that I need to learn everything I can about magic. I think books about magic are in the part of the library that Chantra had sealed off.”
Having made the best plans she could for the moment Jenna lay down and willed herself to sleep.