Once Upon A Time (Historical Romance) (31 page)

Jilliana went down on her knees before him and his trembling hand rested on her head.

"Pray for me, Your Eminence. I fear for what I must do."

He raised her face and looked into her eyes. "I will keep you in my prayers. But no matter what happens, remember that you were born to be queen, and if you have to go to war, then do it with a vengeance—do it to win!"

34

Queen Melesant, never having been devout in her faith, swept into the anteroom in a bitter mood. Her eyes were hard as she stared at the man, his red regalia identifying him as a cardinal of the Church.

"Your Eminence," she said, yawning behind her hand. "To what do I owe the honor of entertaining one of the pope's high officials?" The tone of her voice indicated that she was more annoyed than honored.

"As it happens, Madame, I come not as a representative of His Holiness, but as a messenger from the queen of Talshamar."

Melesant had been pretending to study the lace on her sleeve and her head snapped up at his announcement. "So, she sent you to plead with me. If Jilliana believes that I would release my granddaughter to you, she is mistaken."

"Her Majesty had hoped you would place the princess in my keeping." Now his eyes were boring into hers. "It would avert war—a war you shall surely lose."

Her laughter reverberated off the high ceilings. "Am I supposed to quake and fall down, begging for mercy? I will not be threatened, Cardinal."

"You should take the threat seriously. If I do not return to Talshamar with the princess, Queen Jilliana will send her armies to take her."

"Do not threaten me, priest. These castle walls have never been breached."

"They will be."

Her heart was beating with tempered fear, but she would not allow Jilliana's puppet to know that. "Send your armies. We shall cut them to pieces!"

"Your Majesty, I have here a parchment that you may find of interest."

He held it out to her and she batted it away, sending it sliding across the floor. He shrugged. "No matter, I shall tell you what it says."

"I care not."

He suddenly felt very weary. This woman would never listen to reason. "It merely states that after the present queen, no female will ever again become ruler of Talshamar."

Melesant's face turned white, and her lips tightened in rage. "She would not do this."

"I can assure you that it was not an easy decision for Queen Jilliana to make, but she did it none the less."

Melesant shook her head vigorously. "No. No, it is a farce. If I gave the child to her, she would reverse her decision."

"Queen Jilliana knew that you would question the document's authenticity, so before I came here, I went to the pope. His Holiness affixed his seal to the document, which makes it binding."

Melesant had never expected this. "Is Jilliana mad! She could lose everything, including her life. Philip will surely come against her when he hears of this."

"But that is not your worry, Madame. Your concern should be with Henry of England. He will surely destroy you when he learns what your actions have brought about."

The cardinal saw the fear in Melesant's eyes. She rubbed her temples as if her head ached, then she smiled. "Jilliana will have to go to Henry and tell him it was all a misunderstanding. If she does that, then I shall send the child to her."

"Queen Jilliana does not trust you. You have no recourse but to release the princess into my keeping."

She walked back and forth before him, clasping and unclasping her hands nervously. "I knew Jilliana was trouble the moment I saw her, with her regal airs, and her lofty attitude."

"May I see the princess?"

"Nay, I will not permit it."

"Is she well?"

"What— Oh, yes, yes. She is under the care of my daughter, Cassandra."

"I will tell Her Majesty that. She trusts Princess Cassandra."

"She should. She turned my daughter against me. It is only right that I take her daughter in retaliation."

"What message do I give Queen Jilliana?"

Melesant's face was distorted by anger. "Tell her that she will rot in hell before she ever sees her daughter."

"Then we have nothing further to discuss." Cardinal Failsham bowed his head just the merest bit. "I pity you, Madame, because the force that you have unleashed this day is more powerful than you can imagine. I do not believe your island kingdom will survive."

So saying, he turned and moved out the door. Once outside, he filled his lungs with fresh air.

He was soon mounted and ready to leave the foul island. With his party of twelve knights, he rode through the gates, toward the sea. His hopes had been dashed—he had failed. If only he had been allowed to take the princess home to her grieving mother.

"Your Eminence," Cassandra called out to him, her eyes on the castle. "May I speak to you?"

He halted his horse and looked down, at first not recognizing the girl. She was dressed like a peasant, and it took him a moment to realize who she was. "Princess Cassandra!"

She stepped back, so no one from the castle would observe her speaking with the Talshamarians and report to her mother. "Is Jilliana well?"

"Her health is good, yes. But she grieves for her daughter."

"Tell her that I am watching over my niece. The child is thriving."

"That will be some comfort to her." He looked into Cassandra's eyes. "I must warn you that there will soon be war between Talshamar and your island."

For a moment he saw pain in her eyes, then she smiled sadly. "It is the only way. Will Jilliana accompany her army?"

"I would think so."

"Inform her that my brother lives."

"What say you? Prince Ruyen is alive!"

There was both joy and sorrow in her expression. "I found out only today that he survived his wounds and has raised an army. Tell Jilliana that Ruyen will strike against our mother soon, Your Eminence."

"Will your brother raise sword against the Talshamarians when they land to take the princess?"

"I cannot speak for my brother." Cassandra's eyes clouded over. "Tell Jilliana it would be better if she did not come to Falcon Bruine to be caught up in our civil war."

"Are these your words or your brother's?"

"They are mine, but I think only of her safety."

"I will tell her, but I do not think it will make any difference. If you can manage to bring the little princess to me, then war between your country and mine could be avoided."

"I regret that is not possible. I am never left alone with my niece." She moved closer to the cardinal and raised her face to him. "The reason I sought you out is to tell you that my brother has managed to free the Talshamarians from the dungeon. When you get back to your ship, you will find them already on board. My mother has not yet discovered their escape, so I would urge you to return to your ship and get under way without delay."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Cardinal Failsham said kindly. "I will tell my queen that not all on Falcon Bruine are her enemies. If I know Queen Jilliana, she will instruct her troops not to harm the population, but you should know that in any conflict there are casualties and sometimes the innocent suffer. Warn your people of the impending war and advise them to seek shelter and not hinder Queen Jilliana's passage, for she is determined to rescue her daughter."

Cassandra stepped away from him. "You must leave quickly, Your Eminence. Pray that all goes well for my country."

The battle between Ruyen's troops and his mother's was fierce, but short. The siege started at daybreak and lasted only until the noon hour, when Ruyen's troops stormed the walls and were joined by those loyal to him within the compound. There was little resistance as he fought his way to the main entrance of the castle, and no one tried to stop him when he moved toward the Great Hall.

Angry voices could be heard from the villagers who had converged on the castle. "Send the Castilian whore back to Castile! Let the true king rule!"

When he entered the throne room, Melesant was waiting for him.

"So, it's true. You are not dead," she said without feeling.

Ruyen motioned the soldiers who accompanied him to withdraw, then he coldly faced the women who had given him birth, feeling nothing but revulsion for her. She had wanted to rule so desperately that she had betrayed those closest to her, and in doing so had brought about her own downfall.

She looked him over, satisfied that he had not suffered from his wounds. "Have you no greeting for your mother?"

He wondered how her mind worked that she should expect him to pick up the threads of his life and act as though nothing had happened between them.

"You are beaten, Mother."

She sighed. "You are bitter against me. I can hear it in your voice."

"Bitter? I hope not. Remorseful for what must be done to you, most probably."

Melesant looked uneasy and avoided his eyes. "I have changed, Ruyen. I no longer want to rule Falcon Bruine. I propose that you be crowned king without delay."

"You have no say in the matter. Your troops have been slaughtered and there is no one to stand at your side."

She shrugged. "Little I care. I have decided to leave Falcon Bruine for good."

"That is precisely what I had in mind for you. But what made you come to that conclusion, other than the fact that your supporters are all dead?"

"If you must know, that silly wife of yours has declared war on us and demands my abdication." Melesant shook her head. "And if that is not bad enough, the king of Castile is sending troops with his own demands that I consolidate my power for the glory of Castile."

Ruyen tensed, knowing he faced another battle. "When do the Castilians arrive?"

"Their sails have already been sighted. And here I am, caught in the middle of two armies and Henry demanding that I come to England at once and explain why Jilliana has disinherited her daughter or he will attack, too."

"It looks like you have quite a dilemma, Mother."

"I blame Jilliana entirely. I sent dispatch after dispatch begging for a truce, but she sent them back unopened. Did you ever suspect she would be so unreasonable? And you cannot believe that she has disinherited her own daughter. If that be so, why does she come for her?"

He was not following his mother's ranting. "Where is the child?"

"She's quite safe. Cassandra is seeing to her care. Jilliana is a fool to wage a war over a mere child."

Ruyen was sickened by her. "You would never understand a woman like Jilliana. Did you not think she would grieve over the loss of her child? You brought this on yourself, Mother. Now I must mass troops to fight the Castilians who will soon land on our shores."

"Why would you do that? You will need them to help you against Jilliana."

"Do you think I would support the Castilians against my own wife?"

Melesant looked perplexed. "You can do what you will, Ruyen. My ship sails with the tide."

His lip curled in disgust. "So the mighty queen attempts to flee when she cannot face the results of her own actions."

"You can say what you will, Ruyen, but there was a time when you could have stopped me."

"Perhaps, and for that I bear the blame. Somehow, I cannot find it in me to be the one to strike you down, Mother. You may leave the island, but I shall be the one to choose your destination."

Melesant nodded, only too happy to have gotten off so easily. "I'll go anywhere as long as it's far away from here," she said.

"Where is Escobar?" Ruyen demanded.

"He is already aboard the ship."

"Just what I would expect of the cowardly little man." He walked to the door and called the guard. "Go to the ship in the harbor and find Escobar. Bring him hither and lock him in the dungeon."

Melesant knew it would do no good to beg Ruyen to let Escobar accompany her. What did it matter, she was tired of him anyway. "What will you do to Escobar?"

"He will be executed as a Castilian spy," Ruyen said without remorse.

Melesant realized her son could be pitiless. She was indeed fortunate that he was allowing her to live. She walked to the door. "I'll just be leaving now."

"Not yet, Mother. I am placing a man I trust as captain of the ship, and the vessel will be searched to make certain you do not take anything with you that belongs to the treasury of Falcon Bruine ... or Talshamar."

She suddenly smiled. "You know me so well, do you not? You will find the jewels and gold in my trunks. Leave me enough so I will not be destitute." She looked puzzled for a moment. "What destination have you chosen for me, Ruyen?"

He was quiet for a moment, knowing he was about to pronounce the sentence of death on his own mother. "You will be sailing for England. I feel I must warn you that the Tower can be quite uncomfortable. I know this from personal experience."

She gasped. "You would do this to your own mother?"

"Perhaps it will not be as bad as you think. Henry may be in a forgiving mood."

"You know that is not so. He will demand my death! I will not go to England."

Ruyen shrugged. "Remain if you like, but if I were you, I would choose Henry over Jilliana. She will be far more merciless should she find you here when she lands."

Melesant looked defeated. "You win, Ruyen." When she walked out the door, he knew he was looking at his mother for the last time. Even after all she had done, he felt a pang of regret. She would soon face Henry's wrath, and her fate would be death.