The Letter, Part 1
The courier wore a simple burgundy tunic and hardly stood out from the other men milling about the prince’s audience chamber. Others, mostly scribes, were committing the day’s petitions to public record, while more still went through the motions of preparing the reception area for another day’s influx of commoners. And yet, the prince took notice as he walked slowly through the north vestibule, his eyes scanning the sea of palace employees. He seemed intuitively to discern the importance of the courier’s news, and because of this he made a beeline through the chamber, his gaze locked on the utterly unremarkable man.
“You there!” The prince called to him. He regretted having to raise his voice and immediately felt inconscionably rude for not knowing the names of the many men and women who served him so diligently. The least they deserved was the decency of being spoken to by name. He owed it to them to do better in the future.
The courier, turning toward the approaching prince, immediately fell to his knees, trembling nervously.
“Please, get up,” the prince said quietly, trying not to draw attention to the scene. Of course, that particular aspiration was, in practice, ridiculous. The prince’s appearance alone was cause for his staff to stop what they were doing. “Everybody, please go about your business. “ And then, he placed a gentle hand on the courier’s left shoulder. “Stand,” he said, “and walk with me.”
As the large chamber resumed its regular level of bustle, the two men began striding toward the west portico. From the moment they passed between the massive stone columns of the courtyard entrance, they began to speak.
“I have news, lord,” the courier began, his head lowered and his eyes studying the path beneath them.
“Who are you speaking to?” the prince asked.
The courier hesitated, confused and intimidated. “Why, to my lord, naturally.”
“Then regard him,” the prince said. Once the man’s eyes were up, his gestured for the man to continue. “Your news? I presume you’ve come a long way to deliver it.”
“Yes, the Lady Telematrice sent me from Lystria with a document of great importance. I was not told of its contents, though I was instructed to run my mount ragged to get it here by the close of the morning session.”
The prince sighed. “Did she explain why she didn’t accompany this document herself?”
“No, lord, she did not venture such an expanation.” He paused, as though waiting for the prince to respond. When he didn’t, the courier dug into his pocket and produced a tattered letter. The paper was strangely discoloured, as though it had traveled a great distance through incordial weather to reach its destination. There were several minor tears in the envelope, though as far as the prince could tell, it had not been opened.
“Two years I’ve sat on this throne, and never once have I received such a suspect letter. Where on earth did it arrive from, and why was it sent to Lystria, of all places?”
The courier merely shook his head. “I couldn’t say, lord.” Then, remembering the second question, he cleared his throat. “As for its point of origin, it is almost too preposterous to be believed.”
“Out with it!”
“Well,” the unremarkable man continued, “as far as I was told, the letter arrived by some unknown means from across the ocean.”
The prince’s eyes narrowed. “Across the ocean? But from which direction? There is no known land past the rock shelf, at least none that exist outside of fables and lost stories.”
“Believe it or not, lord, the lady expected such disbelief, and intended for me to emphasize the legitimacy of the parchment.”
“Did she read it?”
“I don’t think she did, lord.”
“Then how could she know?” the prince inquired. At a loss for words, the courier dropped his eyes back to the ground. “Oh, fine. Of course you wouldn’t offer a guess. She doesn’t explain such things even to me, and she’s my wife!” He turned the letter over in his hands several times, inspecting each yellowed corner with immense interest. “You’re dismissed.”
Grateful for the reprieve, the courier began to hasten back toward the audience chamber. Lord Gilbetron, Prince of the Western Territories, watched him go, wondering what on earth his estranged wife was up to this time.