Chapter 186 Different men

Chapter 186 Different men
One month after the War of Succession.

The main corridor of the tower.
Gunther stood before eight young boys. They were eleven or twelve years old. Each wore a simple yellow vest. This identified them as new pages currently in training. The fifteen-year-old blond boy wore a green vest with gold embroidery. He was an instructor of pages for the queen.

Gunther: You will learn every hallway, every door, and the names of all the nobles. You will speak the language of the Queen and at least one other tongue of the kingdom.

He noticed that some of them were looking in other directions. The tall, slender boy approached one of them and leaned down to look him directly in the eyes.

The royal page drew his dagger and raised it between their faces: If you complete your training to my entire satisfaction, you will receive a dagger identical to this one. Someday, perhaps you will need to use your dagger to defend a woman, a noble, or Queen Olivia herself.

The boy stood back up and pointed his dagger at each of the youthful faces: Will you be ready? Will you know which door leads to safety and which to death? In which corridor will you save the life of the Queen, and which will lead her into the hands of a traitor?

All the boys looked at him. Their eyes were wide open, as were their mouths.

A boy with green eyes and brown hair spoke in a voice filled with astonishment: You fought a wolf in the forest?

Gunther: No! We fought against them together. pages, servants, and maids, with spears and daggers. In a week, if each of you learns the names of the royal court and their titles in two languages, I will tell you the story of the Battle of the Pages over a little cider.

Another boy: Was there a battle between pages?

The blond man spoke in a mysterious tone: Yes... some who were loyal to our queen, and others who were traitors...

When the queen asked him what he needed, Gunther uttered a single word: Respect.

In the royal stable.
Frieder wore a blue and gray tabard. From his belt hung the tools for caring for the Unicorns, as well as for the weapons of the Blue Knights. He worked from dawn until dusk. He served food to the animals and to the men. He cleaned the Unicorn stables and the quarters of the knights. A Unicorn was pregnant. He was going to learn how to assist her during the birth. Every day he was tired and felt pain. But every day he grew stronger and learned more about how to fight.

When he worked in the communal stables, some men would make jokes about him and Gunther. But no one dared to joke about a squire wearing a blue and gray tabard. If anyone wanted to say something unpleasant about a squire of the Blue Knights, they would most likely find themselves facing the tip of a great sword, held by a man who would demand an explanation.

Every night, the sturdy young man met with Gunther to drink wine or cider. And every night, the expression on the face of his boyfriend healed his pain and his weariness. The young man was the son of servants. But now, he was the squire of Rodrigo, Captain of the Blue Knights and of the Royal Unicorns. In the eyes of his beloved, he was already a knight. Frieder was happier than he had ever been in his life.

In the private chamber, beside the Queen, the son of a cook from Costa Lunas and a blacksmith from Puerto Blanco asked to be made a knight. If he were a knight, he would be worthy of Gunther.

In the royal chambers.
The Queen sat at a table with her Count of Arms, her High Priest of the Pegasi, and the Lady of the North. The Count was recovering from his ribs, though he remained bound in bandages. The Sisters of Shadow said that, in two months, he would be almost as good as new. The eyes of his wife and his lover showed that they were still worried about him.

Olivia: I have spoken with all the other members of my royal court who were in the castle when you decided that I would be the queen. I also spoke with Octavio and Bartolo. I asked each person the reason why they believed you supported me. The responses were interesting.

Danilo: I suppose so.

The Queen: Yes. Aside from one horrible suggestion, many of them had interesting ideas. The response of Octavio surprised me because it demonstrated more intelligence than those of the others.

Esteban: Octavio? I am surprised it was not the horrible reason.

Olivia: He thought that a barren woman, her husband, and a man like Danilo, shared the same misfortune. None of them could have children. So they decided to become the parents of a girl on the throne.

Danilo: You know my reason. It was part of my betrayal.

The Count: I thought you would be better for the kingdom.

Tatiana: This reason is valid, at least in part.

The two men looked at her, and their eyes showed that they, too, felt the reason was valid.

Olivia: I had a mother, more or less, for part of my life. But I did not have a father. I need your voices in my court. And, sometimes, I long for your voices like a frightened little girl.

The queen placed a parchment on the table. It was tied with a silver cord. This meant that the parchment was a law of the kingdom. She untied the cord and opened the parchment.

The Queen: Emiliano was looking for that for two weeks. By order of King Aloisio, any man who lies with another man as he would with a woman shall be executed in the manner chosen by the Throne or the Count of Arms. Anyone who has knowledge of men committing this crime and fails to notify the Throne or the Count shall be executed by the axe.

The three of them looked at her with emotionless eyes.

Olivia: I have discovered that, sometimes, I am very much like my father.

She stood up, walked toward the fireplace, and threw the parchment into the fire.

At the table, Esteban took the hand of Tatiana with one of his own and that of Danilo with the other.

Olivia: If you were my parents, would you be proud?

Esteban: Very much.

Danilo: Of course.

Tatiana, with teary eyes: Yes, my queen.