23.

Archbishop Hobst schemes a plot.

23.

 

 

 

Thirty minutes later, shortly after Reddric had dismissed his court for the rest of the morning, Archbishop Hobst stood patiently in the upper region of the royal dungeons where currently no prisoners were interred, waiting for a meeting.

Only a few minutes passed before the rustling of silken skirts could be heard coming down the stairs and then the fair head of the new Duchess of Baylcothrom glanced around the corner.   Finding Hobst standing there, she approached, bowing slightly to him.

“Your Grace,” she addressed him.

“Duchess; congratulations on your appointment.”

“Thank you,”

“I will get to the point:  my reason for asking to meet you in secret concerns Denrich.”

“What about him, Your Grace?”

“I know that King Reddric has asked you to flirt with Denrich and find out information on him during our journey on the train.”

Avalynn shifted uncomfortably, “How did you know this?”

The Archbishop smiled slightly, “I have my sources.”

“Okay… so what about Denrich, Your Grace?”

Hobst glanced around as if making certain no-one was listening, though they were completely alone in the dungeon.

“I will tell you something, Duchess, that I have not told anyone.   I trust you will respect my secrecy?”

Avalynn’s eyes widened at the thought of sharing a secret with the Archbishop, “Absolutely, Your Grace, my lips are sealed.”

Hobst nodded and gestured for Avalynn to lean in closer, which the former princess eagerly did.

“Duchess, His Majesty is in great danger.”

“Danger?!”

“Yes, from none other than Sheriff Denrich.”

“Really?   Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?  He has aspirations - he hungers for the throne.”

“Denrich?   He seems completely uninterested.”

“Not from what I’ve heard… and learned from my spies.”

“Really?”

“He thinks to supplant his father.   It is laughable, of course and ridiculously foolish, but alas, he has had his head filled with delusions of grandeur from none other than that wanton Lady Xael!”

“Lady Xael?   But she seemed so nice.”

“She’s a weasel, Duchess, and is a mistress of deception.”

Avalynn just shook her head in disbelief, “Are you sure, Your Grace, it all seems so unbelievable!”

Hobst nodded with a sympathetic look, “Yes, I’m afraid that it has all been verified, Duchess.   But the King has some delusions that Denrich could be tailored to be his son and heir - rather than the son that Queen Jaelabth carries in her womb.”

Avalynn didn’t bother to ask how the Archbishop could know the sex of the Queen’s child, as she was wrestling with why Hobst was telling her all of this.   As if sensing this, he gave his reason.

“I’m telling you this, Duchess, because I need your help… in fact your assistance would greatly help the High King and would certainly strengthen your status with King Reddric.”

“What can I do to help?”

“King Reddric does not know about the danger from Denrich.   He has sent him north, back to St. Wemricshire, which borders your duchy.   I have learned that Denrich plans to rally dissidents in Wemricshire along with any in your duchy still loyal to your father and stage an uprising in the hopes of toppling the High King from his throne.    Denrich will no doubt seek your assistance, or at least fain his friendship to you long enough to get access to any of your subjects that would rebel.”

“I was supposed to… seduce… Denrich and find out what his plans are,”  Avalynn said numbly.

“Keep going with that plan, but report to me as I am going with both of you.    Denrich will wait until the train reaches St. Wemricshire and then it will take him some time to raise his troops.   I want you to accompany him when he gets off the train, instead of heading two separate directions.   Act as if you are interested in him and go with him into St. Wemricshire.”

“Why?   What good will that do?   King Reddric expects me to take control of my duchy.”

Hobst smiled as if trying to explain something to a child, “Yes, but that can wait for a few days.   I want you to at least stay with him overnight at Eastwatch - the train will arrive there late in the afternoon, so he will no doubt stay the night there before heading south to the monastery.   By that point you should be able - using your considerable charms- to seduce him enough so that he will want you to stay the night with him.    Then I want you to kill him.”

Avalynn stared at the Archbishop for a long moment in disbelief, not certain that she had heard him correctly.

“Yes, I said kill him.   I have here a dagger with a secret chamber filled with deadly poison.   If you press the gem in the pommel, it will coat the blade.   One stab will be all it will take - as long as the poison enters his blood, it will kill him.”

“You want me to murder him?!”

“I want you to prove your loyalty to your king by eliminating his most dangerous threat, Avalynn!    He will not suspect you, once you have seduced him.   Once he is dead, I will take command of some royal troops stationed near the border and we will round up those who would have supported his coup and execute them.   When Reddric learns of what you’ve done, your status as duchess will be secure for all time.    I will vouch for you.   As you probably know, Queen Jaelabeth is my niece and your action against Denrich would help secure her son’s place as heir.   I would be eternally grateful to you as well.”

Avalynn leaned against the wall, stunned, her head spinning from all of this, “But, wouldn’t murder be a cardinal sin?”

“I can absolve you from that!”  Hobst said a bit impatiently, then, catching himself, spoke more gently, “You are not murdering, my dear, you are only eliminating an evil man.   Think of it as preserving your duchy.    You will reign over your father’s former kingdom as duchess, with the king’s blessing as well as mine.   How much more secure could you get?   It would be the perfect solution to your problem.    All you have to do is stab him with the dagger once we get to Eastwatch.    The King will thank you, once he realizes Denrich’s treachery.”

“But why don’t you just go to Reddric now and tell him about Denrich?”

“He won’t believe it with him here.   Denrich is a smooth talker and don’t forget about Lady Xael.   She has powerful friends and she is behind this.    Once you have killed Denrich, I will have my own assassins kill her down here and the threat will be over.”

Avalynn slowly shook her head, still pale and confused, “This is too much… I feel overwhelmed.”

Hobst gently patted her on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, you are doing the right thing.    You’ll have a few days to steel yourself for the act and I will be nearby on the train to encourage and strengthen you.    I wouldn’t ask this, duchess, if there was any other way, but the fate of King Reddric’s kingdom and his heir’s throne is at stake.    This is the opportunity you need to secure your own lands.    If you refuse, it might be taken as sympathy to Denrich and his rebels…”

As he’d hoped, the former princess looked alarmed at his words and grabbed his arm, “No!   I’m loyal, Your Grace!   I’ll do it!   If you think that is what is best.”

He smiled warmly, and patted her hand with a fatherly gesture, “I realize it is difficult, child, but great acts usually are.   Here is the dagger - do not press the gemstone on the pommel until you are ready to strike.    You don’t have to kill him with a stroke, just stab him.”   The Archbishop pulled a red cloth out of his robes and unwrapped it, revealing a small but wicked looking black blade with a red stone set into the pommel.   He held it out to Avalynn, who looked at it for a long time, then took it with trembling hands.

“Good, good,”  Hobst said soothingly, “Now remember; not a word of this to anyone.    Flirt and seduce Denrich and see if he will reveal his plans or tell you any names of his coconspirators and I will speak to you each night and find out what you know.   Don’t worry, my dear, I will let you know when you should strike.   Trust me and all will be fine.   Now hide that dagger and hurry off - you have some packing to do before the train leaves and we don’t want anyone to see us meeting, do we?”

“No, Your Grace… are you sure this is the best way?”

“It is the only way, my dear; it is God’s way.    Now go and remember what I have told you.”

Avalynn nodded and hurried off, wrapping the dagger back up in the red cloth as she climbed the stairs out of the dungeon.

 

Archbishop Hobst stood there quietly, watching her go.   He didn’t move or make a sound until he heard the heavy iron door of the dungeon exit close above.

Then, with a belly laugh, he turned and called down the hallway of empty cells, “She’s gone now.”

There came a rustling sound from the nearest open dungeon cell and the very pregnant form of Queen Jaelabeth came forward.

“I was not sure if she was going to agree with your plan,”  She said as she approached.

“She just needed a bit more convincing,” Hobst replied with a smile as she neared.    He opened his arms wide and she slipped into them eagerly, tilting her head.    He kissed her passionately for a full minute, as his hands began untying the laces of her maternity corset.   

The Queen arched her back to better accommodate his effort and soon he had slipped out one of her large pale breasts.    He bent over and hungrily began to suck her n****e, while Jaelabeth  stroked his balding head.

“How I’ve missed your touch, father,” She said with a contented sigh.   He broke away from her breast, holding a finger to his lips.

“Careful, my dear, even down here.    It is wicked enough for you to just be my neice.”

“No-one knows, or even suspects, dear ‘uncle’.”

“Yes, but incest would be serious enough of an offense, that my office nor your belly would save either of us.”

“The danger only makes the sin more delicious,”  Jaelabeth purred, pulling Hobst’s head up so she could kiss him.

The pair groped and touched for a while, their arousal for each other growing more intense until the Queen pulled him over to a dungeon wall, bent over and lifted her dress skirts.    Hobst responded immediately and they were soon engaged in intense intercourse.

“How will you get rid of Avalynn? “  Jaelabeth asked between groans as Hobst mated with her.

“An assassin,” He replied out of breath, “It’s already taken care of.   I’ll have him make it look like Denrich fatally stabbed her before she killed him.”

“What about Xael?”

“Another assassin - posing as a nobleman’s son that is interested in her.”

“What if she isn’t interested in him?”

“He’ll kill her anyway and everyone will think he did it because he was spurned by her.”

“He could confess your involvement,”  The Queen was gasping from Hobst’s intensity, her eyes halfway rolled up in her head from pleasure.

“Oh, he won’t live long after the murder - I have a contact poison that I’ll put on the gold I’ll hand to him - I’ll wear thick gloves, but it will be in a pouch with a cord around it and he will doubtless want to make sure that he was paid the full amount, so he’ll untie the cord.   If he’s wearing gloves, he’ll have to take them off to loosen the knot and as soon as he touches one of the coins, he’s doomed.”

“Devious…but… brilliant,”  Jaelabeth moaned, her body overwhelmed in ecstasy.

“A tried but true method - it worked to get rid of your mother when she found out about us.”

Jaelabeth laughed between moans, “Dear… mother.”

“With Denrich, Avalynn and Xael out of the way, you should have an easy time until you give Reddric a male heir.”

“And…you…a…son,”  The Queen said before crying out in unison with Hobst.

“He must never know that it is not his son,”  Hobst said a bit later as they cooled down from their impromptu lovemaking.

“What if our baby is a girl?”  She asked, as she laced her corset.

“I have three wenches holed up that are due the same time that you are; one at least is certain to have a son.    If you bear a girl; we’ll just suffocate her and substitute one of the wenches’ sons.   I have your midwives paid off to do whatever I tell them to do and they know what I will do to them if they ever think of confessing anything.”

“What about the fathers of these women’s babies?   Either they or the mothers would know.”

“The women will all regrettably die in childbirth.   As for the fathers - there is only one and he is the same father as your child’s.”

Jaelabeth gasped, then laughed, “You wicked, lustful man!”

“I don’t take any chances, my dear.   It is too important for us.   Once Reddric has his heir, then he will just die in his sleep.   You, a poor young mother, will of course select your beloved uncle as the regent to the baby prince and we will both be set and secure for life.”

“And you can have an apartment in the royal chambers - so you can be near to the prince.”

“And even nearer to the Queen,”  Hobst added, embracing her.

“Oh, how I wish all this nasty business was all over,”   The Queen said with a sigh, rummaging through her belt pouch for her Darx cigarettes, “How long will you be gone?”

“About a week; certainly no more.   There are troops waiting to take control in Baylcothrom.   I even have contingency plans if something goes afoul.   Just don’t go into labor early.    Even if you do, the midwives know what to do.”

“I hope all these schemes are worth it,”   Jaelabeth commented while using an arcane match to light her cigarette.

“Complete power is always worth it, my dear,”  Hobst responded, taking her arm in his, “Now, Your Majesty, let us return to the world of light before either one of us is missed.”

 

Soon they were climbing the stairs out of the dungeon.    Unseen by both of them, a small, marble-shaped rock tucked into one corner of the hall where Hobst had spoken to the two women, twinkled once, then seemed to return to its mundane state.

In quarters in another part of the palace, Xael passed her hands over a larger crystal ball, which twinkled in the same manner as the smaller stone and also went blank.

Stunned at what she had just learned and witnessed from afar, she unconsciously lit her own Darx cigarette as she sat contemplating what she needed to do.