<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #FFBF80"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">Edward d’Alambart</span><br/><span style="font-size: 120%; line-height: 116%;">The Reeve of the King</span></span></span></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o793/Galvin_Fugazi/0f2924cf-6f75-4d40-9624-644687d02b67_zps91f85a12.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the anger on Amena got replaced by deep despair, Edward tried to find ways to keep Amena in her position. He knew how important this job was for her, how much it had given her in the past and how it had turned her into another person. If she would lose this job, she would break, Edward knew it. It would rob her of any amount of self-confidence she may have aggravated over the past three years. Her actions were still pure stupidity, but if he wanted to convince the Queen to keep Amena, a girl she barely knew yet, he would need some good arguments.<br/><br/>Edward had well noticed that Amena had been blaming only herself, but he doubted that it was the truth. And Sir Yakari hadn’t looked like the overly spontaneous type, so either it was a trick to weaken the Queen for Leon or Yakari had his own reasons for such a step. Amena wouldn’t be able to provide him of that answer, but Sir Yakari may be. Without any hesitation he sent a servant to summon the young lord into his office. It took not more than five minutes for Sir Yakari to arrive. If he may have expected Amena with Sir Edward, then the young lord kept his face calm, when the door was closed behind him.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“Take a seat, Sir Yakari. I am not beating on the bush but I will be rather straightforward with you. I had some serious talk with Amena about your secret marriage and how stupid this decision had been. It doesn’t matter how I have learned of it, but if it calms you a little, I told the priest that you are good for your debts. At least for the ones you own the church. How you could have agreed to that escapes me, but maybe I will learn about it later. For now all you need to know is that I have to inform the Queen of Amena’s actions and that by now the chances for her to keep her duty as the Lady in waiting are small. It depends on your words now, if I will have enough to convince myself and the Queen to take the risk to keep her in this duty and I wonder if you know, why your marriage troubles me so much?”</span><br/><br/>Yakari had been shocked that Edward knew about the marriage and that he learned of it from the wrong person. It was obvious in Yakari’s face that this news didn’t please him at all. But when Yakari heard of the plans to take Amena out of her duty, he practically crumbled like some rotten wood in front of Edward. It took nearly a minute for Yakari to regain his composure. But when he spoke his voice was steely and determined.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“First of all, thank you for giving me the chance to explain myself, before you put Amena’s head on the chop block. I know that it is not something neither Amena nor I could have expected from you, so I am utterly thankful for this chance. I don’t want to learn what Amena told you, as I believe she had tried to protect me all the way…”</span> The little smile curling around Edward’s mouth just told Yakari that he had estimated correctly.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“Least of all it was Amena’s fault, Sir Edward. You know of her past, of her oyster-like behavior, how she kept all positive emotions out of her life. That she reacted on me like she did was as unlikely as that I will win this tournament. I have no idea why she opened up to me, why she showed me a glimpse of the deeply hurt person she is, but she did --- and in the end it was both our downfall…”</span><br/><br/>Edward had interrupted Yakari at this point, with a worried look on his face.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“Well, I guess her opening up was my fault, Sir Yakari. I had encouraged her this morning to be more open, more trusting, to leave her stern attitude behind if she wanted to make friends. If I would have known what the outcome would be --- believe me, I would have bitten my tongue before encouraging her. Now continue…”</span><br/><br/>Yakari had listened to Sir Edward’s words and he understood why Amena had been so torn in the whole process. She personally didn’t like to tell him all she did, but Edward’s words, the words of someone she viewed as her real father, must have driven her on and on. He nodded slowly and then he continued.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“I saw at that time and I still do, that Amena is a wonderful person with a ceiling so enormously high within her reach she yet has to understand. She is the most fascinating person I have ever met and when I kissed her, my world had a new star at the sky and her life turned around completely. I spare you the details what happened after the cliff, but when I saw all the scars on her body her father had left there, I knew that I had to save her from him…”</span> Yakari realized that Edward had cocked a brow about how he had managed to see the scars and Yakari blushed.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“Oh, we took some skinny-dipping in a little lake in the wood and it was the place where Amena learned more about her body after I touched her. But we didn’t make love…”</span> Yakari’s blush deepened and the dark glare he got from Edward just increased it. That Edward hid his amusement behind the glare was beyond the young Lord. Edward had been young too once and he knew how eager Yakari must have been to get his hands on Amena.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“We both knew that it was us and nobody else and we started to talk about a marriage one day. I knew that I have neither land nor am I in someone’s duty, so it would be impossible for me to provide for Amena and our children. I told her and she came up with the idea that I may find some duty at this castle. With Amena working here I would have taken any job allowing me to stay with her, I have to admit that. But we were not at all on the trip to get married today. We wanted to take it slow, but then things took some turn. We discussed about her father and I realized that her father would not be shy to sell her off to some brute just to get her under her control again. I couldn’t allow that. I knew that our love would be a big weakness, that they could get to Amena through me easily, that it was a risk for her integrity. But it was still the better alternative to her being married off by her father to someone like my brother. She wouldn’t have survived that and she would have lost her job in this case with certainty. You wouldn’t have kept the wife of Leon for example in your duty.”</span><br/><br/>Edward nodded and he slowly understood why Yakari had taken this risk. He had not been blinded by emotions like Amena, but he had looked at it rationally and he had chosen the way that seemed to be the best to take for Amena. So far he could follow him, but it didn’t explain the sudden marriage.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“Why didn’t you come to me? And why this sudden marriage?”</span><br/><br/>Yakari sighed and he looked a little bit defeated.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“I know it sounds lame now, when I say we wanted to talk to you this evening about our marriage plans and why we wanted to marry. Maybe we should have done so and we should have kept our hands from each for the time being. Unfortunately we didn’t, we played a little more with each other’s body and we both could hardly stop us from falling over each other. I knew that I would not be able to hold myself back for much longer and neither was Amena. I may be the poor third son of my family, I may be not the welcome son in this family, but I am still a knight, Sir Edward. And I stand up for knightly behavior. Never would I have wanted to take Amena’s virginity in such an improper way, never would I have been able to live with the knowledge that I may have left Amena with the embarrassment to receive a child out of wedlock. I am not my brother, Sir Edward, who may have none of these qualms, but I have them. I have no idea, if Amena felt my worries or if she wanted the same, but she suddenly started to talk about marrying today. The idea suddenly sounded very tempting, it would ease my worries. She wanted to inform you, but it was me who talked her out of that. I knew that you would have never approved of it. Out of a hundred reasons, but mainly because it was spontaneous, because I am not able to provide for our little family and because you see increased risks for Amena and the Queen. I agree with all the reasons, but not with the one with the increased risks.”</span><br/><br/>Edward’s face clouded and he wanted to speak up, but Yakari stopped him.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“Hear me out please, Sir Edward. I will explain why I don’t believe this marriage will change a lot in Amena’s case. Everybody with some clear sight would have learned of her love for me immediately. Regardless of our marriage I would have been the key to Amena. The marriage makes it just more official looking. Now, I think we both agree that her father will not approve of it at all. He will try to hurt us. But in this case the marriage is more than a boulder in his way. As long as Amena would have only been in love with me, he may have found some men willing to marry Amena. Now, with her already married, he has only the way left to kill me. Oh, I know of that danger, but it is my duty to keep Amena save and I take that risk willingly. But the marriage has some other positive effect too. It keeps me safe from the likes of people like Lady Danielle Karembeux, who wasn’t shy to try to rape me while I was unconscious just to become my wife. Without Lady Martine alarming Amena she would have succeeded. I am happy that I have her off my back now, now that she knows of us being married…”</span><br/><br/>And with those words the pieces fell into places for Edward. He had already wondered why the priest had accepted the word of Yakari earlier, just to arrive totally worried just hours later. If he would have doubted Yakari’s word he would have postponed the marriage for tomorrow. No, someone must have set some bug in his ear and Edward had a guess who did it. He called for a servant and sent him down to the gates to learn if Lady Danielle had left the castle earlier.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“More of that later, Sir Yakari. How much do you owe the church for this spontaneous marriage?”</span><br/><br/>Yakari looked sheepishly at Sir Edward. This was now really the part he disliked to tell, but there was no way out.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“Some colored windows, I guess about 1000 gold. I know it is a high price, but for Amena being my wife I would have paid more. I planned to take up a loan, knowing that it would put me forever in debt of it, but…we couldn’t wait two weeks for the banns. Sir Robert would have learned of it and he just would have tried more ferociously to marry Amena off. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Luckily Sir Hagener ticked off in the tournament, his belonging will save my ass for now.”</span><br/><br/>Edward remembered the dented armor of Yakari. The young man must be in pains. For one second his caring old self came through.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“How are you feeling, Sir Yakari? You must have quite the bruise on your chest...”</span><br/><br/>Yakari nodded and a smile appeared on his face.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“Yes, I do, but it is not so bad. Just some bruised ribs, it didn’t hinder me at all with Amena…”</span><br/><br/>His smile died when he realized what he had just slip. And Edward had quickly understood why Amena had needed so long to return. A deep sigh escaped Sir Edward and he put his face in his hands, shaking his head.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“Young people… what does stop them ever from doing stupidities?”</span><br/><br/>Luckily Yakari was spared an answer when the servant returned out of breath.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80FF00">“The gate guard told me that Lady Danielle left about an hour ago with Sir Alexander. He remembers so well, because she looked so simple in her attire. They both returned thirty minutes later shortly after the priest.”</span><br/><br/>Edward thanked the servant and turned to Yakari. The enemies of the young lord were crowding around him and Amena.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“I’m sorry to rob you of your illusions, but Lady Danielle is not off your back. She was the one to plant some doubt in the priest and as it looks Sir Alexander is now on your enemy list too, as he willingly informed Lady Adelaide and us in the royal box that Danielle is now in a tête-à-tête with your brother Leon. I would say you have more enemies as you like, son.”</span><br/><br/>Yakari had took the news that Danielle was still intriguing relatively calm, but when he heard that she was with his brother he face turned red. He pushed himself up and hurried for the door.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">“Where do you think you are heading, Sir?”</span> Edward shouted after him, but Yakari was already gone and Edward knew exactly where Yakari was heading. Leon and Danielle would be up for a surprise.</div>