"I am sorry your grace. But I was unable to locate Lady Aurelia" spoke the serving girl as she stood sheepishly at the doorway. Duncan and the rest of the high council had gathered in the council chambers shortly after the days hearings. The meeting was coming to a close and yet Aurelia had still not shown. Duncan had already started the meeting, sending the serving girl in the hopes she would find Aurelia before the meeting was finished. However that seemed unlikely. It was most strange, Aurelia was rarely late for a council meeting and she had never missed a council meeting entirely.
 
"Very well. Ask the guards to look for her and to tell her that I wish to know why she was absent. You may leave" Duncan said with a wave of his hand. The girl bowed before leaving the room, careful not to turn her back on her king. Duncan turned to face Isabel, who in Cerlina's absence had retaken the seat next to her brother. She sat smugly in her seat knowing that there was nothing Cerlina could do being so far away in Nash. It was a small and petty victory, but a victory that she took pride in nevertheless. "What is our final report for the day" Duncan replied as he rubbed his eyes; the day had been long and busy, draining Duncan of his energy.


"House Greensworth has requested that we deal with the Anjervine raiders that are pillaging the lands of Ralda" Isabel replied "Anera Greensworth has asked that the looters be executed for their crimes and that Henri Anjervine be forced to answer for the crimes of his banner men". Duncan had already heard about the raiding that had been taking place across Ralda. As soon as Fishgrove had been razed to the ground House Anjervine had taken advantage of the chaos to loot the countryside. House Greensworth had been too busy trying to re-establish a political structure in Ralda to do anything about it and by the time they had finally organised themselves the Anjervine forces had left for Windermire with whatever valuables they could carry. 

“These crimes cannot go unpunished” Said Alice, judging from the somewhat shocked tone in her voice, it was clear that she was unaware about what had happened during the aftermath of Fishgroves destruction. “It matters not if they are among the Concords ranks. Justice must be served equally to everyone, no matter how high born. Henri Anjervine must be made to answer for his crimes” Alice spoke confidently and without hesitation. Even when she served under Helyot she commanded her troops with the utmost discipline. Any form of looting or dishonourable behaviour had dire consequences. Duncan however was not convinced.

“As much as I wish to punish these criminals, I believe it would be unwise. House Anjervine has chosen to support us because they think we have the best chance of winning this war. Though, ultimately they are getting very little out of this war, at least in comparison to the other noble houses. They are receiving no land or positions of power or even marriage arrangements” Duncan spoke slowly carefully thinking over his words as he said them. He knew what he was going to suggest would upset Alice.

“What does that have to do with this” Alice said as she tried to hide her angry before quickly remembering to add “Your grace”. This time it was Isabel who spoke up

“It means we have very little leverage to keep them loyal” Isabel replied as she stared harshly into Alice’s eyes “If we were to not only take away the only profit they are getting out of this war, but also punish them for it then our alliance with them will be precarious at best and we will no longer be able to guarantee their loyalty to the crown. If we turn a blind eye to this, then they will know that serving the concord is in their best interests and continue to serve us faithfully” Isabel finished and once again sat back smugly in her seat. Alice was about the protest but a glance from Alex made her reconsider. Duncan was still her king and she had to respect his judgment, so long as she served him.

“Very well your grace” said Alex quickly “I will send a letter of apology to House Greensworth, though I warn you they will not be happy with the response”

“We are given them an entire kingdom” Duncan exasperated “if that is not enough to keep their favour then nothing will be. I believe that concludes our meeting for today. If any pressing matters arise do not hesitate to let me know” Duncan said as he slowly rose from his seat, to which everyone else in the room followed in suit. All except for Alice who remained in her chair, making no apparent intention to stand up. There was a look of focus on her face and it was clear she was thinking hard about something. “Is there something on your mind” Duncan questioned as he turned to face her. Alex and Isabel had also taken noticed. As he looked at Alice, Alex started to feel concerned. He had known Alice for a very long time and considered her his closest friend here in Nyhem. And yet he had never seen her like this; there was a uneasy severity on her face that he had never seen before.

“There is a matter I would like to discuss with you your grace. If possible I would like to discuss it in private” She said her eyes focused directly in front of her refusing to make eye contact with Duncan even as she spoke to him.

“Now is a better time than any” Duncan said grudgingly. There had been very few times in which he and Alice had had conversations on their own, and he had hated every one of them. Alice had a way of subtly talking down to him. It was clear that she disliked him and his family for their actions during the civil war and though less of him because of it. Duncan waited for both Isabel and Alex to leave the room before he started speaking; while Isabel left without hesitation, Alex paused for a moment before he slowly followed Isabel out of the room and closed the wooden doors behind him. Duncan waited for the doors to shut before speaking “So what was it you wished to discuss”?

“Your grace I have served on the High council for over a decade now. When king John offered me a place on the council it was the greatest honor I have ever experienced” Alice paused for a moment before continuing “I do not regret choosing this path but I think the time for me to step down is approaching. With your leave I would like to leave the High council” Just like before Alice spoke without hesitation and without stammering. It was clear she had made up her mind. Duncan was less than pleased by this decision.

“You would break the oath that you swore to the crown“ He said as he tried to hide his anger “You would abandon your king in his time of need”. Though he didn’t particularly like the woman he had always respected her wisdom, military mind and unwavering confidence. The fact that she was planning to abandon the council now when it needed her the most felt like an act of betrayal.

“Do not misunderstand me my grace, I will remain with the council until the war with Manshrew is over. I still have my part to play in this war and it would be irresponsible for me to leave right now. But once the war is over I longer wish to remain on the council. As for my oath, forgive for saying this your grace, but I swore my oath to King John not the crown. Now that John has passed there is no reason for me to remain here in Nyhem, my oath to him has been fulfilled”. Duncan continued to glare at Alice as she spoke. Though he knew what she said was true, he also knew that her distrust in him was the primary reason for her sudden desire to leave. Both of them stood in silence for a while, Alice desperate to hear Duncan’s response. Though she had been considering this for a while she had no idea how Duncan would react. 

“I suppose I will have to find a new advisor of war” Duncan said bitterly as he walked towards the door and out the room without uttering another word. As he walked down the stone hallway he reflected back on what had happened, and ultimately how it ended. He knew he could have been reasonable, he knew he could have have swallowed his pride and wished her the best for her future. Instead he choice remain spiteful and bitter; the same way she had treated him over the past decade. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As Duncan entered his chamber it was clear that the servants had already been in. The fire had been lit in the corner of the room and everything was cleaned to the point of perfection. Duncan made his way over to a bookshelf standing on the far side of the room. He needed something to take his mind off the events of today and reading normally helped to ease his mind. Duncan scanned his eyes across the spines of the book before stopping randomly on one and pulling it out. ‘The Hunter and the Wolf’, a Raeldar legend about a hunter called Hemli and the forest spirit of Raeldar. Stories from Raeldar regularly appealed to Duncan’s taste in literature and he knew that this one wouldn’t disappoint either. As he made his way over to his desk he noticed a note placed very obviously in the center. It hadn’t been there when he had left his room and he had forbidden the servants from touching anything that was on his desk. Duncan put the book down on his desk and picked up the note. 'What's your head worth to you?' it crudely wrote. Duncan stared at the note perplexed by its meaning. Judging from it’s messy handwriting it had been written by someone with little experience of writing. Someone of the lower class perhaps, maybe by one of the servants who had been in the room earlier. But why? A loud and rapid knock at the door startled Duncan

“You grace, I bring urgent news” came a panicked voice through the door. Judging from the man’s voice it truly must be important. 

“Come in at once” Duncan said, worried about the news that he was about to here. The door opened and in hurried one of the castle guards

“My lord we have located Lady Aurelia” he paused for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. Dread filled Duncan, he had a feeling that he knew what the next words would be. “I am sorry your grace, but lady Aurelia is dead”.