Fay Tale - Chapter Ten

“You are the second to ask me regarding the ogre,” Lady Aisha said. “Is my discernment being questioned?”

“The opposite I assure you. The reports I have heard prove him to be a unique specimen.”

The lady’s lips twitched back in a momentary snarl at the word.

“…perhaps unusual case would have been a better description,” Anand acknowledged.

“You wish to know what makes him act differently.”

“Only those points which will better inform my decision about his residency.”

“If you refer to his encounter with Prince Angelis,” Lady Aisha began but Anand waved a dismissive hand.

“It was an unfortunate situation in which Angelis was the aggressor. I have no reason to punish the ogre for his part in it. However, it is through this situation and one other that I am now considering giving him a place in my household.”

Aisha considered the information for some time. The king made no attempt to hurry her decision. As per their contract she and she alone decided when and what details to give on what she saw. To break that trust would be to lose his most valuable mage and ally. In fact, to turn her into a potent enemy. So Anand waited.

“Explain the position he is to be placed in,” she said at last, “and your reasoning for doing so. Once those are clear to me, I will be able to more accurately guide your decision.”

“Seris’s insubordination is becoming untenable,” Anand said, “he has always been ambitious, and I have never discouraged this since my long-term plans include a successful transference of power between us. Yet ever since he acquired his child his actions have become distinctly rash and illogical with no discernable pattern. I had in mind to remove the child, but Bremen insisted that would simply escalate the problem. Instead, I wish to install a suitable guardian with the princess so that Seris will return to his own duties.”

“You wish to appoint the ogre in that position?” the Lady asked. But her tone was thoughtful rather than incredulous.

“That is my consideration, yes.”

She stood to her feet and walked to the door, her hind claws digging slightly into the straw mats with each step. She returned shortly with a whetstone, oil, and an abundance of cloths. Anand relaxed fractionally. If she was sharpening their implements now then it could only mean she was willing to impart the information he sought.

Aisha returned to her cross-legged position on the floor beside the blunt weapons and began oiling her stone.

“He comes from a horde far to the south where winter is merely a chilled spring,” she quietly. “He is half-ogre, half-human. Because of his smaller stature, his life in the horde was relegated to keeping the camp and the children.”

“That would explain why he seemed at ease with Liliana,” the king said as he watched her draw a blade quickly across the stone’s oiled surface.

“He enjoyed the children if not the status it brought him,” she said, switching the blade to the finer side of the stone. “Eventually he abandoned his horde and garnered a reputation as a solo fighter traveling between kingdoms. His feats as a warrior earn him respect, but his human eccentricities will never allow him to be accepted by a horde no matter what great deeds he has accomplished. I believe he knows this internally. Having heard of Eirendyr, he hoped enough in its promise to attempt to put away his sword and create an existence among others who might accept him as he is.”

She wrinkled her nose as oil dropped from the stone in her hand to coat the fur of one leg.

“You have created an anomaly among kingdoms of this continent, Aarav Anand. It makes your path difficult to foresee.”

“I wish you better clarity of foresight,” he responded, “yet hope your lack extends to others with similar abilities.”

She gave him a dry look. There were no others left with her abilities as they both knew. There were no more sphinxes left on this continent.

“Witches and the Fay have their own methods,” Anand reminded her.

“They are not so accurate as mine,” she stated.

The words were said without pride for they were fact and not simple opinion. The king bowed his head in acknowledgement then took up one of the cloths and began cleaning the blade of oil when she handed it to him.

“What of his character qualities? Enjoying the company of children and holding their affection does not always indicate presence of mind and the ability to keep a princess safe.”

“He is relatively intelligent,” Aisha pointed out. “He survived his horde by appeasing those with more power than he. His stubbornness has more often been an asset than a liability. He is a surprisingly hopeful creature despite his circumstances.”

“So he is not too proud to placate a noble and is capable of learning how to deflect any improper attention from the princess,” Anand interpreted. “Is it probable he would abandon her if the worst occurred?”

“No,” Aisha said abruptly. “He is incapable of abandoning others. That is perhaps the clearest thing I see.”

Besides the pain. Every glimpse of his past, every memory she saw was either tinged or overshadowed by the pain of being unwanted. Abandoned. The Lady flicked her ears to get rid of the depressive miasma that lingered from her viewing.

“This is encouraging news,” the king continued. “I had not expected such an abundance of positive qualities already in effect.”

“I see several obstacles in your path as well,” she warned. “His potential for loyalty is great but that must be satisfied from both you and the princes.”

“My patronage will not suffice?”

“It is not patronage he seeks but trust,” Aisha said as she scraped another knife across her stone. “Unfortunate that such is difficult to obtain both from you and Seris.”

“Understanding can be arranged.”

“Trust.”

“...we shall see.”

Lady Aisha drew her own formidable claws across the stone and said nothing.

Before the silence could grow uncomfortable a sudden ringing cut through it. The mage tilted her head slightly, ears swiveling for additional information the king could not perceive.

“It is your feline companion,” she stated. “I believe he has come to collect you.”

“I had best go to be collected then.”

He got to his feet with only the faintest protest from his leg. After setting aside his cloth stained with oil, he bowed to the mage then made his way out of her rooms.

When Anand stepped back into the corridor that constituted ‘his’ domain, he shook off the scent of the Lady’s magic and looked for his friend.

He found the cat peering out from behind a curtain several windows down from the door and suppressed a flash of amusement. It had been a memorable day for the entire court when the royal advisor’s nether regions had been visibly singed for eavesdropping on the Lady. She was rather infamously known as the only individual to whom Bremen was now unfailingly polite.

When Bremen saw that the king was alone, however, he immediately emerged from his hiding spot and trotted over.

“Enjoy your beating?”

“Such combat can hardly be called such,” he replied.

Bremen rolled his eyes as he twined around the king’s leg.

“How does it feel this morning?”

“Adequate for my needs.”

“And Seris? I know you asked the Lady for ideas.”

“She was quite helpful. I need but to enact my solution to his flagrant disobedience. I believe you will find it sufficiently diverting.”

The cat twitched his tail in pleasure.

“What are you going to do?”

The king continued down the hall without a word.

“Majesty!”

“I presumed you already knew the bent of my thoughts. Perhaps if you had not overslept, you would have been privy to our conversation,” Anand suggested.

The slender chocolate tail lashed irritably in response. The king continued to walk while his advisor stalked him with a growl.

“Tell me!”

“I see no reason to explain something so blatantly obvious.”

Bremen pounced on the hem of the king’s over-robe and let himself be dragged in protest.

“I see no reason to explain to you when it was your words which gave me my solution in the first place,” the king relented.

Bremen released his hold on the robe and flopped to a halt on the stone floor. Anand limped onward, confident his companion would soon join him. Surely enough after only a few moments of consideration the dark ears flicked forward, blue eyes lost around the edges of excited, round pupils.

“The Ogre!” Bremen shot to his feet and pelted after the king. “We’re going to have an ogre!”

“There are still arrangements to be made but, yes, if all goes well we shall have an ogre.”

The cat launched himself onto the king’s back and maneuvered his way up onto the shoulder.

“We’re going to get an ogre!” he crowed triumphantly.

“If all goes well,” the king cautioned.

“You’ll manage. I have faith in you.”

Anand grunted.

“And what position is he going to be in? I bet you’re going to replace Seris with the ogre,” Bremen posited.

“I have no appreciation for your ridiculousness.”

“What’s ridiculous about it? I want an ogre to play with,” Bremen said, stamping a paw.

“I did not acquire the princes simply for your entertainment.”

The cat sniffed and launched himself off the front of the king’s shoulder and onto the floor. He sauntered ahead of Anand, as if to say that’s precisely why he should obtain princes.

Cats, the king sighed.

The mid-morning bells rang out around the castle as if in agreement.