Ossol, Kingdom of Breoch
Year 108 of Leahra, Second Age

"I'm not sure I believe that this is a good idea." King Baudwin of Breoch braced his hands on the sturdy table in the cabinet chamber as he stood up to stretch his aching leg. He looked over to the adviser that had been addressing him with a frown.

"Your Majesty!" Golen glanced down at the stack of papers in front of him, as if they would somehow make his argument for him. "This is the best way forward. The kingdom is fractured after you dethroned your parents two years ago, and some noble families are banding together in protest."

Baudwin grimaced. "But marriage?"

"It's a time-honoured tradition to settle disputes between the peerage." Donauld, another of his advisers—why did he have so many?—leaned forward in his chair and smiled blandly. It did nothing to improve the old man's leathery face.

Frustrated, restless energy was coursing through his body demanding that he pace around the room. Unfortunately, his useless injured leg prevented him from such extravagances. Unless he wanted to hobble around with his cane. Which he did not.

"What makes you think a marriage will stave off a rebellion?" he asked instead, clenching his hands into fists on the table.

"With the most prominent family's daughter as Queen, they will feel that they have the influence they so badly crave. The one they lost with your parents." Golen was looking hopeful now, as Baudwin hadn't blankly said no. The older man's brown eyes were twinkling as if he was a boy in britches about to get his first taste of sweetmeat.

"It makes sense, Baudwin." It was his sister Braithe's soft voice that made him stop scowling. Or at least he was scowling less. Marginally so. 

She sat on the opposite side of the table, one of his top advisers since he became king. While the presence of a woman at the table had been frowned upon by many of the older men, Baudwin didn't really care. His sister had a lot of excellent ideas. A lot of bad ones too. But he took the bad with the good. And they were no worse than any other advisers'. Mostly better.

"You're not listening to me." She was frowning now. Her silvery-grey eyes, so much like their mother's, narrowed at him.

"I beg your pardon." He released his fists and flexed his hands before placing them palm down on the rough wooden surface. His right leg was aching from standing for so long. It ached when sitting. It ached when standing. There was no escaping the pain.

"Lord and Lady Delen belong to one of the oldest and most powerful noble families in Breoch. We do not want them to oppose you. There are several other families that they are close with that would most likely follow them."

Baudwin looked at his sister and nodded slowly. He understood what everyone was saying, and why this was a good idea. He just didn't like it. Marriage? He wasn't ready.

"You getting married will solidify your claim to the throne when you have an heir, and it will stave off a potential rebellion," Golen said, pressing on while they had the advantage. "We'll be killing two imps with one stone."

"Right. If one imp is an unfortunate woman and the other a cripple."

"She's hardly that unfortunate if she's to be Queen," Braithe muttered, but made no effort to dispute the cripple statement. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she just smiled blithely in return.

"I thought she was estranged from her family?" Baudwin was grasping at straws. He might be King, but he found that he had less power to do as he damn well pleased than he would have liked. At least without repercussions. "Will her marrying me really change anything if they're not close?"

"Blood is blood." Donauld lifted his bony shoulders in a shrug that made the skinny old man look like a vulture. The feathered collar of his cloak didn't help stave off the image. "She's still their daughter and marriage will join your families. It's all that truly matters."

"She may not wish to marry me." There may have been a hopeful note in his voice. He wasn't sure.

"If her parents tell her to, I'm sure she will. Dutiful daughters do as they are asked." The old adviser's words made Baudwin cast a glance at his sister. As predicted she was struggling to keep her mirth contained. 

She might have been the dutiful daughter on the surface, but while their parents had still reigned, she had become a vigilante that fought for the citizens their parents abused. In the end, the only way forward had been for Baudwin to dethrone their parents, or they would have happily taxed the citizens until they could no longer cope.

"Have Lord and Lady Delen agreed to this arrangement?" Braithe asked, her face unexpectedly sombre. "There is no use discussing it if they oppose the idea."

Golen shuffled his papers around, as if he didn't already know the answer. Which he did. He always remembered everything he read. "They have agreed to the match."

"But?" The way Golen was stalling, there had to be a 'but'.

The adviser coughed delicately before giving his king a hesitant look. "They want us to send someone to fetch her."

Feeling both amused and somewhat deflated, Baudwin sat back down. "Fetch her? Where is she? And quit fiddling with your papers, we all know you don't need them."

Golen flashed a quick guilty smile before pushing the stack of papers to the side. "Apparently, they have tracked her down and according to all reports she lives alone in the swamps of Lyndor."

She lived in the Kingdom of Lyndor? That was a surprise. Though maybe even more surprising that she'd choose to live in the swamps. Lyndor was directly south of Breoch at least, so fetching her didn't involve travelling across all of Erya. Baudwin strummed his fingers against each other as he considered the options.

"Would you like us to send someone to fetch her, Your Majesty?" Donauld seemed keen to have the matter settled.

"No." Baudwin lifted a hand to silence the arguments as his advisers opened their mouths to do just that. "I will do it myself."

His sister straightened, her eyes widening. "By yourself? Why?"

"It will give me a chance to get to know her." He shrugged. "And I wouldn't mind a change of scenery. I feel like I've been locked in this castle since I took the throne. You can rule in my absence, with the support of our esteemed advisers."

"But... but... Your Majesty!" There was a whining quality to Golen's voice. "Your sister is-"

"Perfectly capable," Baudwin finished the sentence before Golen could get himself in trouble. "I will leave within a fortnight."

"Right." Golen cleared his throat and looked longingly at his stack of papers. "How large of an escort would you like us to arrange?"

"None."

"None?"

Baudwin looked around the room with a slight frown. "Is there an echo in here?" He met the adviser's brown eyes. He hated to repeat himself, but he did so anyway, to drive the point home. "None."

"Your Majesty," Donauld said. "It is not safe."

"We won't tell anyone. I'll be just any old cripple out for a ride." The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him. A journey by himself, or at least one way it would be, and some fresh air away from the castle and its multitude of duties. 

Becoming King at his age had never been in his plans, but his parents had forced his hand when they didn't care for the people of their kingdom the way they should. A break would be nice.

"At least bring Aurelian." His sister motioned towards her husband who was sitting next to her. The former King's Guard turned High King's Emissary looked as if he hadn't been paying attention, playing with a folded sheet of vellum that he'd turned into a small ship. Anyone who knew him, however, would know that he had listened to every single word.

"He won't want to." Aurelian smirked. "If he did, he'd have asked me already."

Baudwin fought back a smile. He liked his sister's husband. "Well then," he said. "That's decided."

When it looked like the people at the table wanted to argue, he nodded regally, took his cane and left the room. He had learned early on that it was the best way to end discussions where he had no intention of changing his mind on the issue anyway. It saved time. Not just his, but theirs as well. He was basically providing a public service.

The idea of some time away was putting a spring in his step. Or as much of a spring in one's step as you could have with a busted leg. Maybe fetching a future wife wouldn't have been his first choice for a break, but how bad could it be?

~~~~~~

Author's Note: I hope that you've enjoyed the first chapter of Baudwin's story. He captured everyone's hearts as a side character in Shadows & Lace, and simply just demanded his own story. So, here we are!