Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 80

A relaxing walk
Trace left the king’s chambers and lingered outside for several moments before addressing the guards.

“The king told me to take a walk, but didn’t specify when to be back. Any ideas on how long I should go?” He asked.

The two men seemed to stare past him, at the wall behind his head.

“Ok, well then, I’ll be back… soon, I guess.” He nodded slightly and moved away. They said nothing.

He slipped down the hallway, not knowing exactly how long he had. There wasn’t too much in this part of the palace that he was familiar with, so he walked carefully onward away from the direction he had come with the ladies.

Two hallways later, he entered a place that rang a bell in his mind. Darting a glance around, he went to knock on a door that looked familiar.

After having failed to convince the king he should be careful about mental attacks, perhaps planting paranoia in the mind of one of the lords would help.

Although the palace was almost labyrinthine, he recalled the trepidation he had felt being led in for his inquiry on his third day working in the palace.

He located the door, and paused in front of it.

Anaisa had said she didn’t know any trustworthy counts–did she know any, other than Barnabas?–but Lord Oakdown had been reasonable and listened patiently to Trace’s tale.

Perhaps he might be some small help? At least, Trace hoped so.

Swallowing his trepidation, he knocked on the door a little timidly. It was early in the morning, and it was entirely possible that no one was here yet.

“Come,” A stoic voice within commanded.

Trace opened the door and observed a scene very similar to the one he had once before. Lord Oakdown sat behind a mountain of paperwork, looking exhausted.

“Um, Lord Oakdown,” Trace gave a sort of half–bow.

“Oh!” The man behind the desk looked at him curiously, folding his hands across his belly. “The man who exposed the plot against the princess—Trace, was it?”

“Yes, Your Lordship,” The commoner tried to keep the title correct.

“To what do I owe this very early visit?” The lord stretched his shoulders slightly and glanced at the window–had he been working all night long?

“A rather delicate matter, that requires some discretion.” Trace scratched the back of his head, knowing how suspicious his request could seem.

“Pardon?” Oakdown tilted his head.

“I believe the king might be in danger,” The younger man repeated. “I know that might be odd for me to report given my assignment to guard the princess–”

“That’s highly concerning,” The lord sat up a little straighter. “Tell me everything, and I will report it to the Advisory. Any plots against the royal family are plots against the kingdom itself. The Advisory of Lords is always there to help protect our lands from those who would destroy us all.”

Trace struggled with his next words, eyeing Oakdown.

“I can’t be sure that the danger does not come from within the Advisory. Are you certain no one on the Advisory could ever pose a danger to the kingdom or the other lords?” His tone was measured, careful.

Oakdown’s brow drew together, and his mouth pulled into a serious frown.

“If you are implying that you have evidence that one of the Counts on the Advisory is a threat, I would want to know everything immediately.” He replied evenly. “The participants, the nature of the threat, and how to stop it.”

Trace stared at him a moment in silence, unwilling to proceed further. The man, so far as Trace knew, had only acted in the best interests of the kingdom so far, but he didn’t know whether that could be trusted.

What a fine mess he was in.

“The nature of the plot, I believe, is magical. A mental attack, perhaps,” Trace said at last, “But I think you will understand my hesitation to trust names or other information to anyone on the Advisory until I have a complete picture of the participants. I ask for your secrecy from anyone as to my investigation of this matter.”

Oakdown’s eyebrows shot to his hairline before slowly settling back into their proper place.

“I suppose that is understandable, and I would have every reason to doubt your sincerity, had you not recently saved the king’s daughter from a plot. I trust that you would not dare to make an accusation that could get you executed without some strong evidence of its veracity. What else is it you are asking of me? There must be a reason you have chosen to trust me with as much as you have.”

“I want someone to be… wary, if the king or princess show signs of being influenced. Ready to intervene and stop any sudden or unreasonable decisions. That is what I ask of you.” Trace swallowed.

The lord leaned back in his chair, deep in thought for several moments. Trace clenched his jaw, hating the sensation of being deep in the political web of intrigue and betrayal that the palace contained.

He felt like a fly amongst spiders, not even absolutely certain whose tangled threads he was caught in. Oakdown’s eyes perused several papers across his desk before he looked up at Trace’s face again.

“This is deeply troubling. Leave me, and I will think on the matter. Tell no one else of this for now.”

Trace nodded, and bowed. The conversation went about as well as he could have hoped. He wasn’t being accused of anything; The lord even seemed to understand why Trace was being so cautious about saying more.

He just hoped that sparking Oakdown’s suspicion of his peers wouldn’t tip Barnabas off that Trace was trying to work against him.

He cringed. Maybe he’d just made a huge mistake. Maybe Oakdown couldn’t be trusted. Or maybe he could be trusted, but would make the mistake of trusting someone he shouldn’t.

Perhaps Trace’s attempt to wriggle out of the web would only catch more of the spider’s attention.

Quickly, he made his way back through the hallways he’d come down. There was one more stop he needed to make before he made his way back to fetch Sapphira and Anaisa.