“Do I need to knock when I return to my own room?” Jenneva asked as she entered the room and closed the door.
“Sorry,” Alex apologized as he rose to his feet and put the knife back on the table. “I wasn’t quite sure what had woken me. You were not here when I arrived last night. Is anything wrong?”
“Everything is wrong,” frowned Jenneva, “but I am too tired to explain it all to you. Arik is holding a meeting right now in the library. Why don’t you get dressed and attend the meeting?”
“Give me a hint,” replied Alex as he started getting dressed.
“The plague has spread throughout the city,” Jenneva said wearily, “and there are not enough healing mages to handle it all. Zalaharic seems to be missing, so I sent a fairy to Glendor. Galdan and some of his elves came to offer assistance, but I am not hopeful for a speedy solution to this problem. The short version of it is, the Targa army is too sick to fight. How did you make out in Sordoa?”
“Fairies and unicorns are not affected by the fear spell,” answered Alex. “I also think that knowing about the spell in advance can help a human to conquer it, but I would not suggest we use such a technique. It is a powerful spell. Was Arik angry that I flew off without telling him?”
“I have no idea,” answered Jenneva. “I have not seen Arik since before you left. I have been working day and night to heal those afflicted with the plague. And that is all I can say for now, Alex. I would not be here if I could still function decently. I need sleep desperately.”
“I understand,” Alex replied with a smile as he pulled back the covers for his wife. “I will check in on you later.”
Jenneva nodded and kissed Alex before sliding under the covers. Alex covered her up and quietly left the room. As he made his way through the corridors of the Royal Palace towards the library, he heard distant voices. The closer he got to the library, the louder the voices became, until he realized that there was shouting going on inside the library. Two Red Swords stood guard outside the library door, and Alex nodded to them in greeting.
“I would normally tell you that it is not a good time to enter the library,” quipped one of the guards, “but King Arik has been looking for you since yesterday. He is not in a good mood.”
“So I can hear,” frowned the Knight of Alcea. “Has this been going on long?”
“The meeting started promptly at dawn,” answered the guard, “so it has been going on for an hour now.”
Alex nodded to the guard and opened the door. The shouting immediately stopped and everyone in the room turned to see who was entering.
“And where have you been?” scowled the king. “I have been looking everywhere for you.”
Alex narrowed his eyes as he looked at the king. Arik was red in the face with anger, and harsh lines etched his face. Alex sighed deeply and closed the door. He turned and bowed to the Warrior King.
“I was in Sordoa, King Arik,” Alex replied formally. “I eliminated the black-cloaks from Team Gortha.”
“You what?” growled King Arik. “I gave specific orders that no one was to attempt sneaking into the tents of the black-cloaks. I will not be defied by anyone, Alexander Tork, not even you.”
“I did not sneak into the tent,” Alex replied calmly. “I posed as a colonel in the Federation army and had General Ritka’s permission to enter the tent. What is this all about? The shouting in this room can be heard through half of the palace. What is wrong?”
“The city is badly plagued,” answered Queen Tanya, “and that includes the army. There will be no reinforcements when the Rangers and Red Swords go up against General Bledsoe and General Kozinski.”
“And they are arriving at this very moment,” snapped the king.
“What about the elves of Elderal?” asked General Gregor. “Perhaps we should divert them from Team Mya and use them against Team Miram.”
King Arik spun around to face the general and started shouting at him. Alex did not quite hear the exchange despite its loud volume because Prince Oscar caught his eye. The prince was standing with his back against one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the library, and he was signaling for Alex to join him. Alex nodded and casually made his way around the room to where the prince was standing. Alex was vaguely aware of more shouting in the room, but he wanted no part in such a meeting. Such decisions as the placement of armies should not be made at an emotional level, and that is what the meeting had devolved into. He stood next to Prince Oscar and pressed his back against the shelves.
“What is going on here?” Alex whispered.
“I fear for the king, Alex,” Prince Oscar whispered back. “This is not my son talking. Arik would never belittle people as he has been doing. I have already spoken to Lord Clava about it, and he agrees. Something is very wrong here.”
“Yet he is the king,” Alex said softly. “We cannot simply send him to his room until he is feeling better. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know what to do,” admitted Prince Oscar as he watched Queen Tanya slip out of the room. “My only hope is that he might listen to you.”
“That might work when Arik is merely having a bad day,” frowned Alex, “but this is something different altogether. Nothing I can say will get through to him in the state he is in. With his current mood, I would be thrown in the dungeon before I finished the first sentence. I have never seen him like this. When did this mood start?”
“It started this morning,” answered Prince Oscar. “It came right out of the blue. He was surly and irritable from the moment he walked into this room. It hasn’t gotten any better since.”
Alex did not respond. He stood quietly at the edge of the room watching the king interact with the others. It was clear to Alex that the other advisors were growing weary of the constant bickering. Everyone looked as if they would rather be on a battlefield than in this meeting with the king. No matter what suggestion was offered, the king tore it apart, and his arguments were not gentle. Alex knew that nothing good was going to come out of the meeting. While he was observing the king, he noticed that Arik was wearing the new pair of boots that had been donated to him by a shoemaker. He frowned at the significance of the boots. It meant that the king was going to make a public appearance, but that would be disastrous given the king’s current mood.
“He is wearing the boots,” whispered Alex. “Why?”
“He is planning to address the citizens today,” answered Prince Oscar. “He thinks it is important to let the people know that the king is aware of their plight and doing everything in his power to find a solution. He really has to do it. The citizens will expect it.”
“You can’t let him do that, Oscar. He will end up shouting at someone, and the citizens will think the king has lost his mind. It will do more harm than good. Without the people and the army behind him, Alcea will be lost. Keep him inside.”
“I cannot control him,” frowned the prince. “He is of no mind to listen to me.”
The shouting was louder than before and a loud slap reverberated through the room. Alex looked up in time to see Lord Markel take his hand off the book he had just slammed onto one of the tables.
“I did not come here today to be shouted at as if I were some young lad who stole something from the pantry,” yelled Tedi’s father. “We are supposed to be advising the King of Alcea, but it appears that the king has no need of our thoughts. I will take it no longer. I resign from the Council of Advisors effective immediately.”
Lord Markel’s face was bright red, and Alex knew that the man had reached the limits of his endurance. The noble bowed sharply to the king and strode angrily towards the door. As he passed by the king, Arik’s hand streaked out and grabbed Lord Markel by the tunic. The king lifted Tedi’s father off the floor, and shoved him into the wall. Books flew from the shelves as Lord Markel’s body hit the wall.