Strange Bedfellows Chapter 5.c

Kalus couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as he walked into the castle with his wives behind him.  The portcullis was raised and for some reason felt ready to crash down on him as he passed under it.  It was silly of course, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something momentous was about to happen; something not good.

He was also keenly aware of his wives following him and the tiny life growing inside of Shara.  He wanted to make sure they were safe more than anything, but he had no idea how to accomplish such a difficult task.  He was especially unsure of how to keep them safe in the situation they were now walking into.

As they walked down the gray stone corridors of the castle, he was struck by how bleak everything looked.  King Tyso's soldiers looked to have pulled most of the gold and silver ornamentation from the walls, otherwise he very much doubted they would look this bare.

He stopped outside the large double doors to the throne room.

There were a half dozen Har'peton guards outside, all standing at attention.  Kalus couldn't help but notice that their uniforms and equipment were barely within regulation and not nearly squared-away enough.  If he would've seen one of his own men so attired, that man would've had latrine duty for a week.

His wives flanked him; Shara on the right, Lyra on the left.  Curiously, the opposite of the sides they usually slept on.  Both glanced at him and both had their 'brave face' on, but both also held fear in their eyes.

He didn't blame them.

King Tyso arrived a few minutes later followed by all two dozen members of the king's guard.  The swagger in his step and the Cheshire grin on his face did nothing to relieve Kalus's sense of foreboding.  The king was up to something.  He didn't know what, but he was up to something.

"Kalus my boy, I'm glad you're here."  He sounded cheerful, which was almost disturbing.  "And you brought those two little wenches I got for you; good."

He leered at them and they both responded with a polite curtsy.  Shara was the picture of refined elegance, and even Lyra only had a small scowl on her face as she looked at him.

"They still draining your balls on the regular?"  The king asked, nudging Kalus with his elbow.

"I have no complaints."  Kalus replied evenly.

"I'm glad to hear that."  Tyso said almost jovially, which was unsettling because it wasn't his 'I'm happy' version of jovial; it was his 'I'm about to do something devious' version of jovial.

That didn't bode well.

"Come on, let's get this party started."  King Tyso said walking forward and pushing both of the double doors to the throne room open.

The inside of the throne room was as one might expect.  It was a large rectangular stone room covered in tapestries with many windows to let in light.  Some of the windows were stained glass and all were beautifully done.  This room appeared to have been spared the looting that had taken place elsewhere, as evidenced by the golden candlesticks around the room.

The entire room had been very tastefully decorated.  The tapestries, stained glass, and decorations were obviously of extremely high quality, but they weren't ostentatious.  The whole room had a refined elegance about it that reminded him of his first wife; it was refined and understated, but wonderful if you took a moment to look.

Anyone with good taste would appreciate it.

"Man, this place is a dump; it looks like a poor house."  King Tyso said, not even bothering to keep his voice down.  "I think some redecorating is in order."

There was a collective gasp of breath from the people in the room, which Kalus assumed was the King's court.  There were perhaps three dozen men lulling about near the throne.  The room's design aesthetic seemed to extend to the people as well.

At the far end of the room, King Bracken sat on his throne.  The throne was like the room itself: refined and understated.  It looked like it was carved out of some dark wood and had gold inlay in places but wasn't covered in gold.  It was firmly attached to a stone pedestal that raised it about a foot above the rest of the floor.

Shara's father looked old.

Not just in age -- he was about sixty -- but also in temperament; King Bracken looked world-weary.  He was wearing the same robes as earlier, which were nice but a bit rumpled.  His face had a day or two's worth of graying stubble and his heavily-salted salt-and-pepper hair was completely out of place.

"Ah, Bracken."  Tyso said, walking up to the throne and leaning into the king's face.  "I think you're in my seat."

King Bracken closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded and pulled himself to his feet.  He wasn't overweight like Tyso was -- though Tyso wasn't terribly overweight -- but it looked like it took some effort.

"Did you forget something?"  Tyso asked as Bracken started to step down off the raised platform, then glanced at the older king's crown.

King Bracken hesitated a moment, then slowly and haltingly, he reached up and took his crown off.  Without a word, he slowly extended it to Tyso, who took it before it had even been fully extended.

"Well now, isn't that better?"  He grinned around the room.

No one smiled back.

"I said, isn't that better?"  He repeated more firmly as he looked around the room.

A smattering of polite applause broke out, but nothing more.  King Tyso flopped down on the throne, then lifted one of his legs and draped it over one of the armrests.  There was a collective gasp from nearly everyone in the room, including one or two of Tyso's king's guards.  Such disrespect was simply unheard of.

Kalus found himself chafing in his position nearer to the door.

"Now, let's have some entertainment, shall we?"  King Tyso said, then looked around.  "Where's the queen?"

Nearly everyone in the room sucked in their breath.

"Sorry, I meant the former queen."  Tyso chuckled mirthlessly.  "Where is she?"

"King Tyso, you have already--"  King Bracken began, but Tyso cut him off.

"Where is your wife Bracken?  I've heard tales of her beauty and would look upon her myself."

Next to him, Kalus heard Shara suck in her breath.  His hand found hers and she gripped it tightly.  He also thought he heard Lyra move closer to her fellow wife, but didn't chance a look.

King Bracken looked at Tyso for a long moment.

"Now Bracken, or you both will regret it."  The usurper threatened.

King Bracken hesitated, then nodded and said in loud voice.  "Hylea, come."

Several members of the court parted to reveal Queen Hylea in all her beauty, and she definitely was beautiful.  She had clearly dressed down, wearing a simple dress will full coverage and no makeup, but she was beautiful nonetheless.  Her amber hair was the exact same shade as her daughter's hair and their features were much the same.  Hylea Bracken was incredibly beautiful, just like her daughter.

King Tyso glanced towards Kalus and got a wicked grin on his face.

Then his gaze shifted.

He was looking at Shara.

The tyrant looked back and forth between Hylea and Shara several times and then frowned.

He wasn't stupid.

Evil yes, but not stupid.

"Clear the room."  King Tyso ordered, standing up and scrutinizing Kalus.  "Not you Bracken."  He said without looking at the deposed king.  "You and your wife will stay, and Kalus and his wives will stay.  Everyone else, out.  Now."

The king's guard didn't move of course, since they were always the exception to such commands unless the king told them specifically to leave.  Everyone else looked at each other for several seconds before they all began to leave, one by one.  Eventually, it was only King Tyso, King Bracken, Queen Hylea, Kalus, Shara, Lyra, and the king's guard.

Tyso looked at the queen, then Shara.  "You two, come here."  He pointed to the floor about a dozen feet in front of him.

Shara hesitated.

She was still holding Kalus's hand.

He made to move forward with her, but Tyso spoke before he'd taken two steps.  "Not you Kalus; I'll deal with you in a minute."  He looked at Shara.  "Get over here bitch."

The princess whimpered slightly, but started forward with her shoulders back and eyes straight ahead.  She might be scared, but she wasn't cowed.  The queen and Shara stood next to each other, and even from behind you could see the resemblance.  Tyso looked between them for several seconds.

"Handmaiden my ass."  He shook his head, then looked at Kalus.  "How long have you known?"

"I only learned last night, when Shara confessed."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"  Tyso snapped.

"Sire, I had--"

"Shut it Kalus; save your excuses."  Tyso spat as he looked at the mother and daughter.  He stepped up and roughly grabbed Shara's chin.

Kalus immediately started forward, but he was still a dozen steps from the king when three of the king's guards stepped between him and his wife with swords drawn.  He recognized all three; they had once fought in his legion before being promoted to the king's guard.  In fact, nearly three-quarters of the king's guard had once fought for him.

"She is my wife !  Unhand her"  Kalus demanded.

Tyso scoffed as Shara wriggled away from his hand.  He backhanded Shara, one of his rings drawing a bit of blood from her fair cheeks.  Kalus took a step forward, but stopped as three arming swords touched his chest.  He clenched his hand until it hurt, but he could go no farther without being run through.

"Shara!"  Queen Hylea called and rushed over to her daughter.

The three members of the King's Guard in front of him held their swords firm, but their expressions weren't firm.  Two of them flicked their eyes to Tyso and the last had drawn his lips into a thin line.  All three had their jaws clenched, and Kalus was sure that they weren't doing it because of him.

"She's your wife only for now Kalus, until you divorce her publicly tonight."  Tyso said.  "This bitch is mine since I need to breed her to secure my heir on the throne."

Kalus took a deep breath before answering.  Passion would do no good here; cooler minds produced better outcomes and he needed that more than ever.

"I will not divorce her."  He said calmly.  "I cannot divorce her, for she has committed no sin or crime that would merit a divorce according to the Book of Light."

Tyso rolled his eyes.  "Fine, I'll strip her naked right here; a woman who exposes herself to other men can be divorced according to the Book of Light."

"I will not divorce her, even if you do that."  Kalus replied calmly, not mentioning that a woman being forcibly exposed was dubious grounds at best which virtually no one would accept.

He also realized that for the first time, he had something the king needed; he had an advantage.  The king needed to marry Shara to cement his claim on the throne, he needed her to bear him a son as an heir.  But unless he had a legal marriage before Illuminar and witnesses, the child would be an illegitimate heir.  He needed to marry Shara, but Kalus had already done so.

"Fine; then I'll give her to the men; adultery is certainly cause."  Tyso said, his volume rising.

"If a woman is forced by a man to lie with him, she shall be held guiltless; there is no sin in the woman who was forced, she is blameless."  He looked at Tyso.  "Thus says the Book of Light."

A vein in Tyso's head was beginning to throb.

The petulant king clenched his fist as his face took on a slightly red tinge.  "You'll do as I say Kalus; you are a commander in my army."

"I cannot disobey the Great God of Light Illuminar, even for you my king."  Kalus responded calmly.  "She has committed no sin worthy of divorce, so I cannot divorce her even if I wanted to."  He looked at her and added.  "And I don't want to."

Shara gave him a weak smile.

The three men in front of him seemed to relax slightly, as if pleased with his response.  Kalus chanced a glance around at the rest of the king's guard, and roughly half of them were looking at him with respect in their eyes.  He knew that some of them had daughters of marriageable age at home; hopefully they understood.

"You're playing a dangerous game Kalus."  Tyso said, his tone low and deadly.

"As are you my king."  Kalus said with a respectful head bow.

If looks could kill, Kalus would've been dead.

Still, he continued.  "My king, you have threatened to force a married woman to lie with men who aren't her husband.  Such a sin carries the death penalty in the Book of Light.  You do not answer to me, but one day all men will answer for their actions before the judgment seat of Illuminar."

"Are you threatening me Kalus?"  Tyso spat.

"Of course not.  None but Illuminar Himself can sit in judgment on this matter."

The king glared at Kalus for several seconds, then his gaze shifted to somewhere behind his shoulder.  Kalus chanced a glance backwards, and then realized what the king was looking at.

He was looking at Lyra.

"Grab the blonde bitch."  Tyso said.

Before his second wife could move, one of the king's guard -- notably a man who'd never served in Kalus's legion -- grabbed her.  She started struggling, so he smacked her across the face.  Without missing a beat or hesitating, she responded by kneeing him in the crotch.

Hard.

He started to crumple, but two more of the king's guard -- also not ones who had served under Kalus -- drew their swords and pointed them at her.  She stopped fighting immediately.

"Leave her alone."  Kalus growled, taking a step toward her, but he was stopped by two more of the king's guard; both men who had served under him.  They raised their swords to contain him, but didn't look happy about what was going on.

"Bring her to the throne."  Tyso ordered, rubbing his hands together with a smile on his face.

Kalus watched helplessly as the two soldiers half dragged Lyra towards the throne and the wicked king.  Kalus still had his sword at his side, but drawing against the king's guard would be a death sentence not only for him, but Lyra as well.  He was willing to risk his life, but not hers.

Not yet.

Still, he grabbed the hilt of his sword with his non-sword hand and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"I wouldn't commander."  One of the men guarding him said, though it came off as less of a warning and more of a plea.

"Tie her hands to the throne."  Tyso said when Lyra had been dragged up near him.

"Unhand my wife !"  Kalus said, not even trying to conceal his anger.

Tyso glanced at Shara, then sneered.  "Then divorce mine."

"Shara is not your wife."  Kalus growled.

Tyso chuckled.  "Well then, I'll have to find new ways to motivate you."  He glanced at Lyra, whose wrists had now been tied around the arm of the throne, making her butt face the room.  "I was right before Kalus; she has such a nice 'seat'.  Have you tried her backdoor yet Kalus?  I'm sure it's very tight."

"If you lay a single finger on her..."  Kalus could feel his entire body shaking with rage.

"Oh, unless you divorce my next wife, I'm going to lay a lot more than just a finger on her."  He spat in return.

Kalus drew his sword.

This wasn't an impulse nor was he reacting on emotion.  This was a calculated move.  His choice was to either do nothing and let Lyra be raped -- which he wouldn't even consider -- or else draw.  He knew it was death to draw on the king's guard, but he also knew the members of the king's guard around him would hesitate because they had served under him.  He hoped that would buy him enough time to reason with them.

Tyso grinned.  "A widow will work; kill him."

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