Page 59 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

The conviction in her voice sent a chill of apprehension down my back.

“But what if he isn’t interested in having me?” That was a possibility I absolutely had to consider when planning my future. I wasn’t entirely sure what had earned me King Tiane’s attention so far. I certainly had no clue how to keep it going forward.

“If he doesn’t want you in Elaros for any reason…” Alacine said softly. “Not that it would ever happen, my lady,” she added hurriedly. “King Tiane is really taken by you.”

“Sure. He is. But what would happen if he wasn’t anymore?”

She stretched her shoulders, looking uncomfortable.

“He’d send you to his menagerie, most likely.”

“Menagerie?”

“It’s just outside of the city of Elaros. He keeps many rare creatures there. Like a griffin from the Dakath Mountains and a few glowing turtles from the Lorsan Wetlands.”

She glanced at me apologetically from under her thick eyelashes, as if it were her fault somehow that I would end up kept as an animal if I lost the king’s favor.

“I’d be locked in a zoo?” My voice came out as hollow as my chest felt. “In a cage?”

“It’ll probably be just a collar with a chain,” Alacine rushed to assure me before catching my crestfallen expression. She grabbed my hand in an effort to console me. “Oh, my lady, you really don’t have to worry about leaving Elaros. The king—”

“The king doesn’t have a long attention span, does he?” I said bitterly. “No one can keep his affections for long. How many lovers did he have in the past year?”

Alacine shifted awkwardly, not even attempting to count for me.

“But he’s had long relationships too,” she defended him for my comfort. “He’s been married for a century and a half.”

“It’s a state marriage. In name only. It doesn’t bind him in any other way, I’ve heard.”

“Oh, please don’t be sad, my lady,” she exhaled in sympathy.

My lady.

It was a fake title, too. Just like my name was also fake. Neither guaranteed me any kind of respectable position. No matter how hard I might try, it appeared my real future would still be a cage. Or a collar with a chain, as it may be.

“Parro!” Alacine suddenly exclaimed.

“What?”

“Parro, the royal jester. King Tiane had him for over five decades until he choked on a rainbow snail and died.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”

“Yes, but his death was an accident.” She waved at me with both hands. “The point is that Parro retained the king’s favor for decades.”

“How?”

She shrugged. “By making him laugh. By entertaining him. Parro went everywhere with the king. He was there for every meal, every game. He went hunting, too. The king even took him to the battlefield.”

“The jester went to war?”

“Not really. He just came with the king to inspect the troops or to accept a High Lord’s surrender. High General Voron was the one who actually led the royal armies and fought all of King Tiane’s wars.”

“There were many?”

“What can I say, the highborn love to fight,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Who do they fight with?”

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