Twenty-one

With evening approaching, Myrin hoped to speak cordially to both Gaeleath and Marravae. If she were feeling better perhaps she would have realized that this was all a terrible misunderstanding and that no malice was intended. Encouraging them to stay for a few more days at least had been the advice of his father and the diplomats that had been consulted.

He felt more at ease seeing the stern-faced guards on Marravae’s door as he reached it. He gave a brief knock and stepped in, smiling.

“I wanted to see-”

“How I felt after the poisoned meal?” Marravae was giving him a look that would have been more at home on Volas’ face and gesturing at the nervous Cemiri Lady sampling the food, “If she dies or falls horribly ill I will-”

“I promise you the food is clean!” He held up his hands to forestall more furious talk and taking in the grim faces in the room chose to prove it for them. “I’ll taste it for you myself.”

Prince Gaeleath watched him closely as he sipped the tea and took a bite of the bread. As Myrin tasted the soup he recognized the flavor of his sister’s customary draught mixed into it. He’d had to taste it for her before, at her insistence, to be certain it wasn’t too disgusting to stomach. Swallowing, he tried to salvage the situation. They’d clearly noticed it and assumed the worst.

“I apologize for the mistake, it seems the meal intended for my sister with her evening draught, intended for her health, was brought to you by mistake. It should not make the Lady ill and it should not have harmed Princess Marravae but I will have something clean brought at once.”

“Our servants will oversee the meal preparations.” Gaeleath’s firm tone was not to be argued with. “I would have only our servants touch her food.”

Myrin inclined his head already seething at the mess his sister had made of things. “I will send them to you so that you may give the command yourself and I will have the kitchens opened to them.” 

Stepping out of the room, he firmly closed the door and spoke quietly to the guards. “No one enters these rooms without one of our healers, myself, or my father present.”

He stalked to the chamber where his father was consulting with the healers and waited to be acknowledged.

“Myrin?” King Merin narrowed his eyes. “I thought you were going to speak to the Cemiri.”

“The food was tainted with a preventative draught. They think we’ve tried to poison her and want their servants to prepare her food. I told them I would send a servant to receive the command. They’ll require a healer to escort them.”

The King gave a curt nod to one of them, “Tell them as little as possible, I don’t want them to gossip over the matter.”

“They’re furious and want to leave in the morning, Father.”

“Let her have a clean meal and see that the draught caused no harm to her taster. The healers can return afterward and suggest that tomorrow is a poor choice.” He lifted his hand and one of the King’s more trusted servants stepped forward. “Have my daughter brought at once.

“Your sister will have some explaining to do and she’ll apologize to the Cemiri for-”

“I told them it must have been a mistake, that the soup had been mixed with something bracing that Myrae takes for her health in the evenings.” Myrin took a seat as his father rubbed his temples. “I was trying to salvage the situation. They had noticed that something was in the soup and assumed the worst.”

“In their place I would have done no different. I will censure Myrae privately instead of forcing her to ask forgiveness.”

“Her Highness had none of it?” one of the healers asked with a frown. “It would make her ill, I’m certain of it.”

“The Cemiri Lady tasted it, and she had none. The woman looked nervous and a little ill, I suspect from fear.” Myrin looked back to his father, “Marravae was incensed and Gaeleath looked as cold as when he brought his sister out of the river.”

“Let things calm and get a meal into the Princess, I’ll go with you and the healers to reassure him and escort him to his own rooms. The Arek healer as well. I’ll have a servant’s chamber set aside for him. Allowing him to gossip to Volas after this would be foolish.”

“Is he still hiding in his house?” Myrin snorted. “He could have come to dine with us and looked in on Marravae.”

“Be grateful he is. If he’d been with you there might have been no salvaging the matter. The Cemiri are reasonable, the Areks are more temperamental. The matter needs cool heads.”

Myrae stepped in as their father was speaking wearing one of her pale new gowns, she’d gotten several in the newest fashion that made her look delicate and ethereal, a deliberate contrast to the visiting Cemiri who were fond of bolder colors and were more robustly built.

“You sent for me, Father?”

“Did you give instruction for Princess Marravae’s food to be tainted with your preventative draught?” Their father looked at her frostily and she flushed.

“Something needs to be done so-”

“It would have made her violently ill!” one of the healers interrupted, aghast.

“Your foolishness was noticed by her taster. They now believe we’ve tried to poison her Highness. You have made matters, which were already delicate and unfortunate, worse! Do you wish to plunge our Kingdom into war? Against a combined Cemiri and Arek attack how well do you think we would fare? The Areks train for war as if they’ve never ended the last one and the Cemir have been the voice of reason in our interactions with those barbarians. What would possess you-”

“I know you had ymetel put in the Zophin Myrin took, Father!” Myrae drew herself up and crossed her arms, her cheeks flushed with indignation. “Don’t chide me for trying to help the same way you did! I don’t want Myrin to have a half Cemiri b*****d!”

“Ymetel is harmless and when men drink and talk over their kills on a hunt the effects go unnoticed. It would have helped warm relations without any of them being the wiser for it.” King Merin scowled and one of the healers put his face in his hands. “Speak.”

“Ymetel and enough sleeping drops to make her brother sleep… that’s why the Princess is so ill. Had he given it to the Cemiri Prince…”

Myrin felt a little ill himself. “You should have told me, Father. I brought the sleeping drops for myself because I expected to have difficulty sleeping. The only reason I didn’t take them was that the Zophin was in Marravae’s tent. I hadn’t intended to bed her, I was going to have a glass and a drop or two but she was so exquisite lying there.” He licked his lips. “Volas was right. The missive he sent his father, he-”

“None of you were poisoned. You behaved poorly by trying to give the Crown Prince of Cemir sleeping drops but there was no malice in any of it. I’m less certain that your sister behaved without malice.” King Merin frowned sternly at Myrae. “You heard them say that it might act as a deadly poison and still you-”

The door opened and the healer hurried in with the tray from Marravae’s room. 

“Your Majesty, the Cemiri Lady is vomiting from the food she sampled and having tasted it myself, I believe the preventative used was stronger than any woman should take. They seem very aware that Princess Myrae arranged the food to be tainted; they were speaking in Cemiriss again. Prince Gaeleath is concerned that the servants or the other ladies in waiting may be poisoned in an attempt to keep them longer.”

“Did you put anything at all in the food for-”

“No! Why would I?” Myrae was flushed and nervous looking. “I may have told the servants to mix it a little stronger than usual because Marravae is such a large woman but why would I have them give anything-”

“You’re trying to murder my wife!” Myrin lurched from his seat. “And you’ll send us to war to do it!”

“In the morning you’ll go stay with your mother’s family until I summon you back.” King Merin nodded to the servant who had fetched her. “See to her travel arrangements and have it be known that anyone adding anything to any Cemiri food or drink will be flogged. Princess Myrae is confined to her rooms until she leaves in the morning.” 

His sister looked tearful as she stormed out with the servant on her heels.