The First Spark by T. J. Trapp & Japhet Owens

Author:T. J. Trapp & Japhet Owens [Trapp, T. J. & Owens, Japhet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732325302
Published: 2018-09-14T06:00:00+00:00

20 – Lord Rawl

Oh, my darling Alec. Maybe he was close enough to sense her thoughts. She fingered her diamond band that Alec called her ‘wedding ring.’ Things keep getting worse, Erin thought.

She sat in the room for most of the day. A lone ray of sunlight from the sole high window filtered through the dust and cobwebs. A man came once and slid some food in; she was hungry, so she ate even though the food was cold and stale. I hope I’m not eating poison, she thought dully. She slept fitfully off and on. Late in the afternoon two guardsmen came to get her. They grabbed her by the arms, slashed the bloody sleeves off her dress, attached one set of manacles to her wrists, and a second set to her ankles. Then they escorted her across an open commons towards a different building.

“Where are we going? What is happening?” Erin said, grimacing from their rough hold on her arms.

“We are just following orders,” one said. “They said to take you over there. We don’t know why.”

“Now be quiet,” said the other thug, shaking her.

They stopped in front of a small building with arched doorways and old tapestries hanging in its entry foyer. For a moment, Erin thought she caught a glimpse of someone leaning on a staff in the archway shadows, but it might merely have been a statue or a carved column, she realized.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” Brun said to her with a carefully posed gesture of goodwill and a toothy smile. An older man stood near him, dressed in the robes and floppy hat of a Gott noble. At Brun’s command, Erin was pulled into the small room, with Brun and the nobleman following. The two guardsmen shoved Erin to the front of the room, and turned her to face the nobleman, continuing to hold her. Brun awkwardly arranged Erin’s dress, pulling it more tightly across her torso and hiding the soiled spots in the folds of her skirt. He looked back at the older man, smiling.

What a phony, thought Erin, sneering at him.

“This? This is what you are offering me?” the older gentleman said, looking Erin up and down.

“Princess, this is Lord Rawl,” Brun said, still smiling through his clenched teeth. “He lives in the far reaches of Gott, and needs a young consort. He is a man of wealth and high status. I have offered you to him to ensure your safety and comfort. We are working a deal. You will be pleased.”

“I will never agree,” said Erin, her eyes flashing. In the nick of time, she stopped herself from spitting at his feet.

“Ah, my Little Princess, but you don’t have to,” Brun said, menacingly. “In the fair land of Gott, the maiden’s father can agree to the consort arrangement. As your step-father I have that right. And, I may say, duty.” He stepped back, regaining his false smile, and gestured around the room, with its elaborate carvings, statues, and tapestries. “This is a consorting temple.

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