King of Blades - 13. New Year

Winter arrived only days later with the first storm of the season, blanketing the city in a layer of snow that was ankle-deep and gave trouble to anyone who didn't own a decent pair of high boots. Paths along the castle grounds were cleared by servants and soldiers with shovels designed for such a task, and fires blazed day and night in every room that was used daily within the castle. Myri again forbid Anil from going to the barns, afraid she would take sick during the cold walks and possibly cause harm to the baby. All training for soldiers, spies, and mages continued, though all sessions took place less frequently once the winter illnesses started to take hold. Myri and the rest of the healers were soon busy tending to the sick. Thankfully, there were no serious illnesses spreading this year, only the usual flues and colds that took a few of the weak and already ill, but not the healthy.

Soon, the castle was celebrating the New Year, the day that marked the exact founding of the Phelin nation, when Grand King Caolan and his spouses held their wedding and coronation. The Algomans were still with them, and served as the family's honored guests during the ceremonies. Though, Wildas was worried about Jaimathan riding Alidex, the unicorn, during the traditional parade, afraid of citizens feeling that the Phelin monarchs were overshadowed by a foreign, unicorn-riding prince, but Jaimathan seemed to understand when he asked about horses for him, his wife, and their Guardian the night before the day of celebration.

"You won't be riding Alidex?" Wildas asked, tactful as always.

The Algoman prince smiled. "I didn't think it would be polite of me, as your guest."

They were in Wildas' office, just the princely guest, the Grand King, and Coulta. Anil and Myri had taken Fae to meet the royal family's personal group of maids, who would be caring for the infant Klent so that Fae could attend the ceremonies with her husband. The Algoman princess was reluctant to leave her son without first meeting the maids who would be watching over him.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," Wildas replied with a smile. "To be completely honest, I feared what such a display might cause the populace to think."

The Algoman nodded. "We are allies. I'm not here to conquer Phelin. If that were the case, I would have tried to do something foolish by now."

"And met your death," Coulta stated with a smile. He had grown to like the foreign prince.

Jaimathan grinned. "As I said, something foolish. I fight beside you."

The parade began an hour after sunrise. It was led by a pair of standard bearers for the royal family, followed by Wildas. Coulta rode in an odd position, his horse's head directly aligned with the right hip of Wildas' horse. If Coulta's stallion, Quiver, moved any farther ahead or behind, it was seen as a sign of disrespect, signifying that he felt either superior or vastly inferior to his husband. Coulta thought it was ridiculous, but his stallion was well-trained to walk in that position. Behind Coulta rode both queens, side by side. Behind them were Jaimathan and Fae, with Braith just behind, all dressed just as elegantly as the royal family in intricate outfits made by Teeya and the other castle seamstresses and tailors. Then came Shelton, followed by the two former queens, then the other members of court.

They rode through the city crowded with citizens waving banners and streamers and bowing briefly in respect when the royals passed them. The people of Ryal followed behind the column of riders out to the hill beyond the city where coronations were held. There was a great stage standing there, where royal funeral pyres were built, and where coronations were held on the ashes of the generations past. Coulta had found that a bit disturbing when his coronation had taken place.

When they arrived at the great stone stage, which was decked out in banners of the royal family, Coulta dismounted with his spouses and the highest ranking members of the court, along with the Algoman guests. As always when he was doing something official, Coulta was without any of his usual swords or daggers. This made him feel extremely uncomfortable, but he'd given up trying to slip a knife into his boots long ago – Wildas knew him too well, and Coulta didn't like making his husband think poorly of him. Wildas had far more faith in his Guardsmen and Shelton's abilities as his personal sorcerer than Coulta did.

Maybe he trusted Coulta could also protect him without blades, too...

That wasn't the only thing making Coulta uncomfortable, though; His elaborate winter cloak wasn't heavy enough to really keep out the bitter cold of the day, and he still wasn't used to wearing his crown, which felt like it would just slip off his head at any moment. He knew he should trust Shelton when the sorcerer said the things were spelled to stay in place, but he couldn't help it.

Wildas led the way up the stairs as the people of the city massed before the stage. Coulta did his best not to look for any bone fragments left over from past funeral pyres as he took his place standing to Wildas' right – Myri and Anil were on his left. Behind them were the Algoman prince and his wife, both standing with their heads bowed and hands clasped before them. Braith knelt beside his prince, head bowed. Next to them were Wildas' remaining parents, standing with heads bowed. In the rear were all of the important members of court, mostly Wildas' uncles and cousins.

Brother Pelles stepped up to the front of the stage, dressed in his dark blue robes of the Brotherhood. He bowed deeply to Wildas, who nodded to him, before turning to face the crowd.

"Blessings of the Spirits be upon all of Phelin on this glorious day!" he began, raising his arms to the sky. "On this day two hundred and three years ago, Grand King Caolan was crowned, and declared that his coronation marked the first day of the first year of our great nation. So he declared this day to forever be a day of celebration! It is also a day full of blessings of the Spirits themselves!"

On a stone stand stood a large clay bowl, which Brother Pelles filled with several handfuls of leaves and sticks of incense. He ran his hand across the bowl, and the contents flared into flame. Coulta wondered if Shelton was responsible for that or if Pelles actually had some mystical abilities.

He was distracted from his thoughts by Wildas stepping forward. Coulta moved with him and their wives, stepping up to Brother Pelles and the bowl of flames. The priest instructed them to place their hands in the flames and they did so. Coulta was surprised only to feel a pleasant warmth as the flames licked his palm and flared between his fingers.

"May the Spirits bring you long lives, strong children, and the ability to rule justly and honestly. Through both peacetime and wartime," he seemed to add as an afterthought.

"And I ask that the Spirits bless the people of Phelin," Wildas replied without taking his hand from the flames. "May we all see prosperity and good health, through the winter and future struggles. May we see our homes defended and protected, our families watched over and kept whole. By the Spirits, I ask this."

Coulta knew that Wildas truly had faith that the Spirits would hear his prayer for his people, but Coulta had to hope that it wasn't all words. If the Spirits truly existed, would they listen? The crowd below them seemed happy with the prayer and its good intentions, though. At least it strengthened their faith in the crown.

At Brother Pelles' command, they withdrew their hands and parted for Jaimathan and Fae to step up to the bowl. Shelton, ever the scholar, had told them of one other instance where a crown prince had been visiting from an ally nation – Coulta, ever the opposite of a scholar, didn't remember all of the details that Shelton had gone into – and that the prince had been a part of the ceremony as a show of good faith. So the offer had been extended to the current guests.

Jaimathan and Fae both placed their hands in the flames when instructed, though the princess hesitated for a moment.

"Blessings be upon you, our honored guests, Crown Prince Jaimathan and Princess Fae, of Algoma," Brother Pelles declared. "May your great nation soon recover from the acts committed against it, and may your rule, whenever the Spirits choose it to begin, be prosperous and peaceful. May the great nations of Phelin and Algoma always be friends and allies in both times of need and times of abundance."

"And may the Spirits bless the land of Phelin and her people," Jaimathan added, surprising everyone – it wasn't expected that he give a prayer as Wildas had, "for the generous hospitality and sanctuary given to a friend in need. May you always prosper for your kindness."

The crowd murmured below, and Brother Pelles inclined his head. "Your kindness is great, as well."

The guests removed their hands and returned to their places on the stage. Brother Pelles left the fire flickering as he stepped aside to allow Wildas to make his traditional speech to the masses. Just then, someone leaped onto the stage, knocking over the priest and making a move straight for Wildas. Startled Guardsmen couldn't recover fast enough to grab him, only call out in horror as the man pulled a dagger on the Grand King.

Coulta hardly even thought as he pushed Wildas away and grabbed the man's wrist hard enough to snap his bones. With his free hand Coulta caught the intended murder weapon, then forced the man to the stone of the stage, boot pressed down on the would-be assassin's chest. He bent over, pointing the tip of the dagger at the ragged man's face.

"Bad choice," Coulta growled.

Rohan suddenly stood next to him and Coulta handed over the weapon, then roughly pulled the man up and handed him to another Guardsman. Only then did he register the panic among the crowd as the people realized that someone had nearly killed their Grand King. Everyone on the stage was standing now. By the red and violet shimmer in the air, Coulta could tell that both Braith and Shelton had thrown up barriers to keep anyone else off the platform in an effort to protect their respective royals. Jaimathan had a protective arm around his wife, who was wide-eyed, and Braith stood protectively in front of both of them. Myri was speaking to Anil, who was shaking, but seemed to be telling her wife that she was fine. Wildas appeared visibly shaken, and was speaking to both Shelton and Rohan.

"I want to know exactly who he's working for," Wildas declared. "I don't want to execute him right now. Lock him up until he talks."

Everyone seemed to agree with that, and let Wildas walk away to speak to Coulta.

"Thank you," Wildas said quietly.

Coulta nodded. "You're still against me having a dagger at ceremonies?" he asked.

His husband let out a tense laugh. "I think you just proved that you don't need one." He gripped Coulta's hand firmly. "Thank you, again."

"It's my duty to protect and serve you. That's what you took me on for to begin with. But you're welcome," he added, smiling slightly.

Wildas returned the small smile, then moved back to the front of the stage, still within the wall of the magical barrier the sorcerers had put up. Coulta moved to his wives to see if they were all right, and got two fierce hugs, which surprised him. Anil was usually very affectionate, but it was rare for Myri to give hugs. He gave them each a a kiss and a hug in return.

At the front of the stage, Wildas called for the crowd to quiet down, then gave a simple speech, "In light of recent events, all I would like to say to everyone here is to go and celebrate life and the joy of living. You never know when it will all flash before your eyes. Go now, drink and feast for life!"

The crowd cheered and Wildas turned to everyone on the stage with him. "We will return to the castle," he declared, the pointed to the man who was tied and moaning in pain from his broken wrist. "That man will be locked away. Rohan, see that he is looked at by a healer to bind that wrist, but nothing more. No food. Only a bit of water. We will deal with him tomorrow. For today, we celebrate as we should."

But Coulta planned to keep alert for any other attackers throughout the feasting and dancing at the castle. And he knew he wasn't going to be the only one; Rohan snapped orders to his men, clearly angered with the inattention that had nearly cost his brother his life, and Shelton was already telling Wildas that they were going to be magically shielded for the entire ride back to the castle. Wildas didn't argue, however, and Coulta was glad to see him taking precautions.