Page 13 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
Does Henrietta Know?
Rufus
“What?” My ear twitched, giving away the nervous confusion that gripped me after hearing what my king had said.
“I want you to escort Minstrel Bronwynn to Servalt and keep an eye on her,” King Keith ordered. We were alone in Keith’s inner sanctum, where I’d been summoned.
I used the opportunity to admire the workshop. Great planetary alignments hung from the ceiling, where a giant guardian snake golem lived. Solar and lunar timekeeping globes circled the dome, mirroring the positions of the heavenly bodies in the sky outside. Along the edge of the room, there was a giant wall of tools that would make any craftsmen weep with envy.
Usually, no one was allowed in here, myself included. The only other time I’d visited in the last decade was to pick up some assassins stuck in a trap.
The Dark Lord stood at his work desk, a masterpiece carved from treant bones. He’d just finished painstakingly inking out a charm for [Enhanced Durability] on a tablecloth when I’d arrived.
I didn’t ask why Keith was reinforcing a tablecloth, too overwhelmed with other burning questions. “You wantmeto escortMinstrel Bronwynn, the most popular bard on the continent, and keep an eye on her?”
“Yes.” Keith lifted a scroll with a broken seal from the Dark Enchanted Forest intelligence unit.
I unrolled it and frowned at the contents. “Does Henrietta know?”
Keith pushed up his glasses and hesitated only a second. “No.”
“When are you going to tell her?” I demanded, wondering what Keith had taken from all those relationship books I’d made him read. “Tonight?”
The Dark Lord said nothing. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to tell her; Keith stayed silent when he didn’t know what he was going to do yet.
“Keith.” I dropped the royal title and spoke to my friend. “I’m only going to tell you this once: Henrietta won’t leave you if you tell her things she doesn’t want to hear, or things that will actively hurt her. And she won’t leave you because you have to make choices that she disagrees with.”
“You don’t—”
I didn’t bother letting him finish. “She will leave you becauseyou didn’t trust her or communicate with her. She will feel hurt and betrayed that you weren’t honest. And if you don’t trusther, then she will stop trustingyou.”
The Dark Lord took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll tell her tomorrow.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Tonight?”
“…”
“Fine!” King Keith waved a hand as he opened a character sheet I couldn’t see. The Dark Lord focused off in the distance for a time, and then looked my way again. “I’ve summoned her.”
“Good. I hope you remember my advice while I’m gone—new habits take repetition and reward. I promise you will be rewarded with a happy and healthy marriage if you get your act together and talk to your wife about these things.”
With that settled, I looked down at the detailed map comparing the location of molten ash vane poisonings that perfectly coincided with my favorite bard’s interkingdom tour over the last year, including an attempt on the Sumbrian royal family, Their Royal Highness of Peldeep, and King Keith himself.
I resisted the sudden urge to rip up the scroll. There wasno waymy favorite musician on the continent was an illegal assassin.
Was there?
“I think it’s absolutely a coincidence,” Henrietta declared, her finger tracing its way down the scroll as she read the incriminating evidence. “You forget, Brownie was kidnapped and enslaved with the rest of us.Andshe lost her beloved Suzette.”
I was pleased to note that Her Viciousness wasn’t angry, her aura of calm remaining steady throughout. I also noticed Keith had succeeded in pretending confidence when he’d welcomed Henrietta and motioned me to hand over the scroll.
“Who?” Keith asked.
I replied, “Her lyre harp.”
“Exactly. That lyre meant the world to her.” The queen held up her finger. “Why would she hit someone over the head with her greatest treasure,her instrument, if she was working with them?”
