“Wait here,” Ray said and left the room, closing the door to the outside behind him.
Asmond and Lageena emerged from the second floor. They glided down the steps. Asmond bore a broad smile across his face while Lageena remained stoic.
“Ivan,” Asmond said as he stepped onto the main floor. “How was your trip? Do give me good news.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Lageena said dismissively.
“Oh, pish posh,” the king said waving a hand at her. “Don’t mind her. She’s been in a mood all afternoon. So…?”
Ivan glanced at Lageena who returned his look with a glare. “The negotiations went,” he hesitated for a moment while the king held his breath. “Better than expected. There is, however, a matter which we should discuss in private.”
“I knew I was right to count on you,” the king said, waving a finger at him. “Whatever you want to talk about can be said with my wife present. I’ll just end up telling her what you’ve told me. We don’t hide anything from each other,” he looked to his wife lovingly, “do we, darling?”
A look of forced enthusiasm crossed her face, “No. We don’t.”
Anders let a hand come to rest on his sword at his hip. He didn’t know what the queen was capable of. He noticed Natalia had positioned herself directly in front of the door and stood legs splayed, ready for action. To his surprise, the queen turned her attention to Anders when he let his hand come to rest on the hilt of Lazuran.
Eying him suspiciously, she said, “Why do you come so heavily armed into our home?”
The king seemed taken aback by her comment. “What do you mean? These people just traveled from Hardstone. Need I remind you we are at war with Merglan? He could have a host of enemies set upon them nearly anywhere from the outer edges of the forest to Eastland.”
The queen remained unconvinced as Anders put his hand back to his side, regretting his preemptive motion. “But there is no threat here; Merglan can’t spread his reach within our city. Our magic forbids it, so I ask again. Why come so heavily armed into our home?”
The king shook his head, “Fine,” he motioned for them to give up their weapons. “Take your swords off and hand them to the guards.”
“Is that really necessary?” Ivan asked. “This matter I wish to speak with you about is urgent and will only take a moment.”
“You will do as the king commands,” Lageena said before Asmond had a chance to reply.
Sighing deeply, he muttered, “Damn her sometimes. Well you’d better do as she says, or I’ll be in for it.”
To Anders’ surprise, Ivan began to untie the belt holding his scabbard. He nodded to the other to do the same. Hesitating, Anders did as Ivan and took off his sword. Ivan walked them to the door. Opening it, he handed their swords to Ray, who took them and closed the door.
“There,” he said, looking to Lageena. “Asmond, can we talk now?”
“Out with it then. Like I said before, whatever you say to me, you can say to her.”
Hesitating, Ivan said, “I really wish to convey this information to you in private.”
“Nonsense, Ivan. Let’s hear it.”
Ivan swayed awkwardly trying to find the words to begin. “I… we, discovered something disturbing while at Hardstone. Something about why the negotiations had soured between your peoples.”
“What is it?” Asmond said this time with concern.
Lageena remained calm as Ivan continued, “As we began discussing how things had gone wrong with the trade agreements, the dwarf ambassador to the elves attempted to kill Remli. After we captured him, he poisoned himself, leaving us wondering why he’d intentionally radically increased prices without King Remli’s knowledge or permission.”
“He must have been betraying the king to make money on the side. Typical dwarfish backstabbing,” Lageena said. “Well, I’m glad you were able to cut this trouble off at the source and put an end to our squabbling.”
“Does that mean Nadir is innocent?” Asmond asked.
“I’d bet he had an equal hand in this as much as Korvir,” she said.
“I never identified the dwarf,” Ivan said, emphasizing that he hadn’t mentioned Korvir’s name.
Asmond eyed his wife with suspicion for the first time, “What do you think; I’m stupid? I’m aware of who is communicating with our people.” The king seemed satisfied with the answer she gave and returned to look at Ivan.
“You may know who’s communicating with the elves, Lageena, but your husband does not,” Ivan stated.
“What do you mean? I know who Korvir was?” Asmond said.
“I’m not referring to Korvir, your majesty,” Ivan said. “After an examination of Korvir’s quarters, we discovered letters.”
“What kind of letters?” Asmond asked intrigued.
“Dangerous and revealing,” Ivan said as he turned his gaze on Lageena. She began to fidget.
Asmond followed Ivan’s steady gaze. Upon realizing what Ivan was suggesting, Asmond said in protest, “You mean to tell me that my wife is responsible for the trade agreements going sour and jeopardizing our relations with the dwarfs? How dare you accuse the queen with such slander!” he shouted. “You’d better have some explanation for this or I’ll throw you in the cells to rot!”
“I knew there was a reason why they arrived so heavily armed,” Lageena nearly snarled.
“This is nonsense! Guards!” Asmond shouted.
As Ray and the other guard came through the door, Ivan pulled the letter from his breast pocket brandishing it like a weapon. “I have proof, written in her hand,” he pointed the parchment at the queen. “She’s been working with Merglan to undermine our every move. She was the one who made our march on Merglan’s fortress known to him. She’s been spying for him this whole time!”
Both guards stopped dead in their tracks, staring at the queen. Asmond struggled to find the words to speak. He stared at his wife then back to Ivan who came to his side with the letter.
“Before you arrest us, read it!” he said, thrusting the parchment at the king.
