Page 9 of The King is Dead
“You’ve been gone so long! And there’s been so many things! I was so scared, Lani. You told me it would only be a few weeks.”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I was held up—”
“Her Highness has beenveryworried about you, Your Majesty.”
Istral and I turned together as Harris, Istral’s companion, tutor, and secretly trained guard strode onto the balcony, beaming.
She was a handsome woman somewhere in her forties. Her hair was just beginning to turn gray at her temples. She kept her hair short, wore trousers like a man, and had never married.
Many of the Court whispered things about her. I told them in no uncertain terms, they were never to repeat them in my hearing—or Istral’s. Nor were they to create ill-feeling with anyone else.
Harris was a Godsend.
With the help of a battery of servants, I had been Istral’s primary carer when our parents died eight years earlier. But taking the throne meant that very few of my hours were mine to choose in a day, and Istral needed constant attention. She wasn’t incapable of caring for herself. But, be it a man simply wanting to plow a pretty woman regardless of her childlike mind, or an enemy seeking leverage against my Kingdom, she could be used or manipulated too easily. And she would be if the wrong person got their hands on her.
I did everything in my power to keep Istral’s life as full and beautiful as the light she brought into mine. But I think without Harris things might have gone very differently for me and my sister these past few years.
Harris claimed to have had a brother with similar afflictions to Istral’s. I didn’t know if that was true as I’d never met anyone who knew Harris before she sought employment at the Palace. But I knew she was a wonderful companion for Istral and had a way with children, or anyone of a simple mind.
Over the years, I had learned that she was discreet and wise, and she showed an unflappable steadiness in the face of any crisis, including Istral’s rare but very disturbingturns.
My sister was a beautiful soul, and usually very easily pleased. But once or twice a year, something would overtake her. A panic. And if she wasn’t handled correctly when she began to spiral, her mental state would derailquickly.
Harris not only knew how to remain calm when Istral was agitated, but understood what would trigger her fear or disquiet.
She was strong, decisive, opinionated and took no shit. But she was kind and extremely protective ofanyoneshe deemed weaker than her, no matter their standing, level of wealth, or nobility.
Even a Queen, on occasion.
“Harris!” I exclaimed with genuine fondness. She hurried forward to curtsey, but I gathered her into a hug and reminded heragainthat she was family and to ignore etiquette with me in my personal quarters.
“It’s wonderful to see you, Your Majesty,” she murmured, glancing to the side towards the servants lined up along the wall. She always worried about being too familiar with me in front of others.
“Leave us,” I said to the servants quickly. “Wait in the corridor. I’ll send Berne if you’re needed.”
The servants all bobbed and bowed, then filed off the balcony and back through my rooms.
“Better?” I asked Harris with a smile.
She shook her head, but she was smiling too. “You indulge me.”
“You’re worth it,” I said sincerely. “Now, join us for breakfast?”
The three of us settled down in the chairs at the round table, Istral babbling about the new foal born out of season, the barn cat who’d had kittensnotout of season, her schooling, and anything else she could think of.
Letting my sister’s words wash over me was a balm to my aching heart, and I almost cried just out of sheer relief to see her so healthy and happy even though I’d been gone.
When Berne returned with the hot chocolate—and three cups, because he had eyes in the walls—he greeted Istral and listened, nodding solemnly to her lengthy story about the last time she’d had chocolate.
While Istral was distracted, I leaned into Harris’s ear. “Did you hear that I brought visitors home with me?”
Harris nodded slowly. “I’m surprised Istral didn’t launch into it immediately. She’sverynervous about them. She’s expecting monsters.”
I snorted. “They are rather large, but they won’t hurt her, I promise.”
Harris eyed me from the side. “You seem very confident. That is… not the word amongst the soldiers and servants.”
Harris wasn’t just an excellent caretaker and guard for my sister. She was a damned fine spy within the royal household as well. She was loyal as the day is long and very insightful when it came to which of the servants' gossip should be listened to, and which could be thrown out with the bathwater.
