Dawning Skye

447 Banquet Of Sycophants(Part Three)

“Do you know who I am?! I Demand that she apologize to me in front of everyone Now! A lowly servant like her should know her place!” the man yelled, grabbing the full attention of everyone around them.

Murdoc stared at the short, portly man with a raised eyebrow as he tried to keep his temper in check. The lord was obviously a high-ranking noble in Alcon, but Amara was still far more prominent..

After taking a deep breath, Murdoc grinned broadly as he replied; “Ya seem ta be misunderstandin’ somethin’ here.. Amara be not only the Head of our Council in the Highlands, but I’d bet a month’s worth of whiskey that she can trace her linage back Much further than yers.. How about ya apologize ta her fer grabbin’ her arse, and we get on wit havin’ a good time instead?”

The lord’s face was bright-red with rage as he screamed; “How Dare You! I am Lord Charles Daniels! My family has served the MacArthurs for six generations!-”

“And MY family has served the Tru-”

“AMARA!” Murdoc yelled harshly, cutting her off from interrupting the irate lord; “Dinna go turnin’ embers in ta a blaze.. Dinna argue wit a dobber! ”

Murdoc turned and looked at Lord Daniels; “And You should apologize ta the lady, sir. She refused yer advances, and ya still tried ta touch her without her permission. I Dinna know how ya do things here in the south. But in the Highlands: our women do as they please. Ya ken?”

As the lord went to bluster, Murdoc added with a smirk; “And just so ya know: she’s a Fire mage, so I’d be careful where ya grab her next time. She’s got Her King’s permission ta defend herself from grabby wee creeps like you.”

As the lord inhaled deeply to start screaming, Magnus called out; “And she’ll receive no qualms from me for defending herself, either! Control yourself, Lord Daniels! Or you will be ejected from court again!”

.....

Lord Daniels hunched over like a broken man as he nodded in understanding at his king. If he so much as breathed wrong, King Magnus would make an example out of him. Everyone knew that the King hated ill-mannered people, and members of Marco’s inner circle weren’t immune from his judgement when they were blatant in their actions.

If he wouldn’t had turned it into a public spectacle, then Marco might’ve been able to help him. But since he blew up at one of the Highlands’ most pivotal officials, the Crowned Prince looked away from his pleading expression. Lord Daniels was on his own..

The public humiliation was bad enough, but Charles wasn’t about to add to it by apologizing to such a longtime enemy as the Highlanders.. ‘Especially a bloody woman! Who cares?! She’s lucky that someone like Me took an interest in her in the first place!’

As the thought finished, he glared at Amara, and became furious due to what he saw. A small smirk on her lips as their eyes met, and she maintained her posture like she was a Queen instead of an adviser. Like she was in the right.

Lord Charles Daniels was a notorious womanizer at court, and a terrible land owner who worked his people to the limit of their rights. He and Tidas had debated and argued in front of King Magnus multiple times over the treatment of his workers, and were known to not get along whenever they were forced to interact. As Tidas walked towards them, Charles glanced at Marco a final time, but to no avail..

Stopping between Amara and Lord Daniels, Tidas said; “Perhaps you should go home for the night, Lord Daniels. The Highlanders are our respected guests, and we wouldn’t want your bad behavior reflect on the rest of Alcon..”

Feeling his self-control snap, Charles turned towards Magnus, and yelled; “This is outrageous, My King! After all I have done for our kingdom: you will side with these...these barbarians?! I never Touched that trollop! She came on to me! A married man! She’s just upset that I turned her down! My wife is far younger and prettier than her! Why would I want That when I have this..”

Lord Daniels motioned to a lass No older than seventeen, and beckoned her to his side. She walked towards him with her shoulders slumped, and a dead look in her eyes. When she stood next to him, he slung his arm around her shoulders, and grinned like she was a prize he had won.

Amara’s blood boiled when she saw the lass flinch at his touch. She wanted to roast him right then and there, but that would get many of her loved ones into trouble along with her. The lass looked like she was numb to everything but her fear of him..

She looked at an aggravated Magnus with a furrowed brow, and asked; “Do the women here get a say in who they marry?”

Magnus shrugged; “It depends on how the lass’ father feels about it. But most marriages are arranged here.”

Amara’s face went flat as she looked back at Lord Daniels, and stated; “Explains this match-up. Poor lass..”

Lord Daniels eyes bulged from his anger as he yelled; “How Dare You! You barbaric old bitch! How Dare-”

“Aye, aye: how dare I.. Wow. You certainly didna earn yer title. Yer name’s taken ya quite a bit further than yer body and personality ever coulda, huh?” Amara commented, earning several laughs from those around them.

Charles looked like he was ready to explode as Tidas turned at Amara; “Don’t pick.”

Tidas turned back to face Lord Daniels; “I’ll ask again: please leave peacefully. I’d like to keep the atmosphere pleasant, if you don’t mind.”

“Why should I be the one yo leave?! She’s the one causing problems! Making unfounded accusations just because I’m me! She’s just trying to ruin my good name!”

“You do that yourself, sir,” Skye stated loudly as she walked over; “Me husband had asked you ta leave, and the King had made no objections. If ya do not comply, then you’ll be removed. Tis yer call.. Personally: I’d prefer ta walk out on me own verses bein’ dragged like a bairn..”

“Hold your tongue, commoner! Just because you married into the Royal family doesn’t make you-”

“Lord Daniels! YOU will hold your tongue! Skye is a Princess! And you will show her the respect that she deserves!” the King screamed with a red face as he swayed.

Suddenly, Magnus grabbed his chest and he doubled over, then fell to his side. Guards that had been watching the drama from a distance swooped in, and started to push the spectators back as Skye ran to his side. As Magnus gasped for air, Skye placed her hand on his chest, and funneled her magic into him.

The crowds were a mix of panic and curiosity as they all tried to see what was happening. Tidas, Lawrence, and Marco immediately went to hover around their father as Skye and the guards worked, most praying for his survival. After a few nerve-wracking moments, his breathing returned to normal, and Skye eased her hand off of his chest.

Skye glanced around until her eyes landed on Charles Daniels. They narrowed as she took in a deep breath, then shouted; “Get that imbecile outta here! Then come back and take the King to his quarters! He’s had a heart attack brought on by stress, and needs ta rest!”

All three MacArthur brother looked at Lird Daniels with hard eyes as Marco called out; “You heard the Princess! Remove him! Now!”

Several guards were instantly at Charles’ sides, and pulling him out of the banquet room. He yelled and fought like a toddler, making many of those gathered begin to gossip about what the consequences were going to be. Causing the King to have a heart attack wasn’t something that could just be let go, but then again: it was Lord Charles Daniels..

“He controls over fourteen percent of the farm land in the south alone. Can he even get in trouble?” one courtier asked.

Another scoffed; “Oh he’s far too rich to actually get into trouble. He’ll probably lose half of his fortune, but he’ll stay out of the dungeons.. Didn’t you hear what he did to Lord Bradley’s daughter? If he didn’t get in trouble for that, then..”

“Is that what the king was talking about when he said ‘remove him Again’ earlier? When was he removed from court?”

“A few years ago.. I heard that she climbed into his carriage and undressed herself,” a noble commented.

“Probably just trying to get money out of him. Nobles are always targeted by people crying wolf..”

The conversations devolved into elitist nonsense from there. There were quite a few arguing for the commoners’ side, but the room was packed with nobles, so the majority were sympathetic to Lord Daniels’ predicament. In a matter of half an hour, the truth was warped and distorted into making it sound like Amara was just overreacting.

She and the Highlanders tried to argue, but somehow that turned into someone saying that she was protesting too much, so the other story had to be true. Even the people that had watched were now questioning what they had seen. As Murdoc, Amara, and the others listened to the madness unfold, they couldn’t believe what was happening..

Murdoc looked at Tidas with a mix of anger, sadness, and pity as he said; “I didna understand before how a kingdom with so much could let so many of their own hurt and starve..”

Murdoc glanced around; “Now I know why..”

Tidas nodded; “Aye.. Tis what I spend most of my time fighting against. If these nobles had it their way: the majority would be unpaid, uneducated work horses given the bare minimum to survive. My father is ‘overly progressive’ in their opinions, since he lets me build the schools, shelters, and orphanages.”

Murdoc watched as Marco went back to his group of friends as he asked; “Will He let you keep those up?”

Tidas followed Murdoc’s line of sight to his brother, then replied with a hard expression; “Probably not, but I find over eighty percent of it myself. If he wants to fight me in it, he’d better be willing to give up a bit more than a tooth and nail.”

Murdoc chuckled; “Haha! Tooth and nail.. Yer funny once ya unclench. How are ya two feelin’ about goin’ ta Sai?”

Tidas huffed; “Irritated. Which is probably why Genie’s avoiding us like we’re sick. He’s not sayin’ everything.. Which says a lot on it’s own. I wish that man could be straight about things for once..”

“....You just need to ask,” Genie said from right behind Tidas, making him jump.

“Will you STOP doing that?! Please?! How did you even get by the guards?!” Tidas bellowed as he gripped over his heart on his chest.

“Ninja, dear lad, now,” Genie clapped his hands together before speaking again; “Are you free tomorrow?”