in his life. I should have seen it coming that day when I saw the hatred in his eyes.
Some days after that confrontation, word came calling the vassals to arms in the name of the Queen. Rebels had taken advantage of the King’s death, if one accorded any truth to the rumors. By the same rumors, the rebels were responsible for poisoning the King. The levies were raised and the men marched north under the command of a major that was loyal to Estavo. The master of the house himself returned to the manor for rest to settle his gout, not that he got much rest. I heard the shouted arguments between father and son often through the nights.
Estavo left for Shienhin again for the coronation ceremony. He returned a short time later in extreme agitation. I never heard the specifics until a couple days after. It would seem that a rebel attack during the coronation ceremony had injured the new Queen and she was undergoing a slow recovery in the great castle. A few days later, I heard that Estavo was returning to Shienhin with Oscarion. He had received a private correspondence in which Oscarion’s eligibility as a suitor for the ailing princess was expounded upon at great length. It was left on a dresser and I happened to read it while cleaning Estavo’s room.
The next day, Oscarion came at me barely able to stagger he was so steeped in liquor. He slurred about how he was going to be the king and that I couldn’t tell him no any longer. I shoved him away and left him cursing my back as he tried to regain his feet. I learned then that the bandit that had sold me had driven a poor bargain. Sixty-five silvers compared to the gold coin my mother had gotten for selling me into this life. He informed my retreating back that when he was king, he would have me skewered and roasted over a slow fire. He wouldn’t take my insolence a day longer. I ignored him knowing that no woman would ever marry him once she met him. He had no hope of wooing the Queen if she ever saw that he was an entitled lout with the mentality of a child and speech that included few conversational words, but more words along the line of ones that could curl a sailor’s toes.
My only hope was that Estavo would live a long life before Oscarion wrestled house Loneka out of his cold dead fingers. It was then that I first considered leaving. Knowing that you are valued at less than half the price of the figurine on the table by the door that I hadn’t thought worth locking up. It was depressing to realize that I was valued at little more than the price for a fine bottle of a golden vintage from the Garoche lowlands. I was sickened by Oscarion’s avarice and wanted to stop thinking of him, but something in the back of my mind warned me that I should watch my back. If he remembered my rebuff when he sobered, he was sure to invent some new device to make my life miserable.
The next day I saw Oscarion carrying a satchel out to the wagons waiting in the courtyard. He saw me and his eyes glittered in a leer that turned my stomach. I wondered how any of the town whores could have bedded the filth that I saw in his expression. I reminded myself that he would be leaving within a couple hours and that my routine would settle back down into the same quiet rhythm that I enjoyed. Alas, this was not to be the case.
I was inspecting the inventory of clean bath supplies in the guest room when I heard someone enter the connected room. I assumed it was the lavender that I had sent for clean towels so I paid no more heed. It wasn’t until I heard the heavy footfalls that belonged to men that I looked up. My heart faltered when I recognized two of Oscarion’s blackguard friends along with the fiend himself. There was no good intent in their eyes, but I stood my ground and gave them a withering glare that made them pause.
I yelled for Petrick the porter when they rushed me at Oscarion’s goading. The struggle was brief. I was able to claw and scratch while my hands were free. The one thug had a shaved head that I left