The Vampire & Her Witch

In the hallway outside the sitting room that she’d been summoned to, Lady Tosha paused just short of the door and its guard to inspect Riwal’s appearance one last time. Like her, Riwal was dressed in somber, muted greys without any of the jewels that would have made their station obvious to even the casual observer. Unlike her, however, there was a certain eagerness in the young lord’s eyes as they prepared to meet privately with Lady Ashlynn, and he fidgeted nervously as his eyes focused on the knight standing patiently next to the door.

”Remember,” Tosha said as she reached out to smooth Riwal’s light-chestnut hair into place while inspecting his tunic to ensure that it was free of crumbs from breakfast. ”You address Lady Ashlynn as ’your Dominion,’ and when you salute, you do it with your fingertips over your heart instead of a fist, as Lord Liam taught you,” she said.

”I know, Mother,” the young lord said, doing his best to hide his impatience now that they were so close to meeting with Lady Ashlynn. ”And I stand behind your chair unless she invites me to sit. I remember it all, I promise.”

”All right, then let’s go,” Tosha said as her fingers smoothed her skirts over her hips one last time before she presented herself to the knight guarding Lady Ashlynn’s door.

”She won’t mind if you fail at the formalities,” the knight said quietly before he opened the door. ”Just be honest... And polite,” he said, shuddering as a memory struck him. ”She’s very forgiving of mistakes, but she won’t tolerate insults,” he said with a warning look at Riwal.

Riwal swallowed hard, wondering what had prompted the knight to give him such a warning, but there was no time to ask before the door opened and his mother led the way into the warm, cozy sitting room.

Lady Ashlynn sat in a comfortable armchair near the hearth, gazing out at the falling snow through the room’s narrow window while her fingers idly traced their way around the rim of a silver wine goblet.

”Your Dominion,” Tosha said, dropping into a low curtsey while Riwal knelt behind her, echoing the greeting.

”It’s fine if you call me ’Ashlynn’ today, Lady Tosha,” Ashlynn said, smiling as she turned away from the dancing snowflakes outside the window. ”I know Lord Preden’s loss is still weighing on both of you, so sit and relax,” she said, gesturing to a pair of seats on the opposite side of a low table.

”I don’t expect you to make any grand decisions today,” Ashlynn said, picking up the pitcher of wine and pouring half a goblet for both Tosha and Riwal before picking up a kettle to top off both goblets with hot, steaming water to dilute the wine. ”I just want to talk to you about what comes next for you personally and for Saliou Barony.”

”I know that Riwal is still a bit young to take the throne,” Tosha said, accepting a cup from Ashlynn and inhaling the rich, earthy fragrance of the warmed wine without taking a sip. ”He needs two years yet. If you’ll permit it, I was hoping to do as Lady Ragna did for Lord Erling. I, I may not know as much about ruling a barony as I should, but with your permission, I’ll serve as his regent until he’s old enough.”

”And is that what you want, Riwal?” Ashlynn asked, looking at the young lord sitting stiffly next to his mother. ”You want to become the next Baron Saliou?”

”Yes, your Dominion,” Riwal said, though he sounded confused by the question. ”Grandfather was teaching me and preparing me for when he planned to retire. I, I haven’t learned everything, but I’ll work hard for the next two years, so Mother doesn’t have to worry for very long,” he promised, hoping it was the right thing to say.

”I see,” Ashlynn said as she gave the young man a long, searching look that lasted for several heartbeats.

”Riwal has been a good student, your Dominion,” Tosha offered when the silence stretched for an uncomfortable amount of time. ”He’s visited every village in Saliou, he knows all of the knights and their lands, and he has a good head for figures,” she said.

”You won’t have to worry about us missing a tithe, and when the time comes, we’ll send our fighting men to fight under your banner; you have my word,” she promised.

”Good,” Ashlynn said without taking her eyes off Riwal. ”I’ll need half of your knights plus a hundred cavalrymen from Saliou by summer, and twice as many footmen, outfitted and ready to march. They may not return for a year or two, maybe more depending on how the fighting goes in Keating, or if we need to march on Crew.”

”Since you can’t yet take the throne,” Ashlynn said as the weight of her emerald gaze grew heavier. ”I expect that you’ll march with your men while your mother stays home to manage your barony. So long as you survive the next few years of fighting, you should have learned everything you need to know about what it means to be a leader.”

”If you’ve led your men well, then you’ll go home with the respect of the men you led in battle,” Ashlynn concluded. ”You should be able to enjoy a stable reign so long as you’ve protected the lives of the villagers who followed you. If too few of them return, however, I’m afraid that your people may struggle to accept you.”

”Your Dominion,” Tosha said, looking at Ashlynn with a horrified gaze. Her hands trembled enough that she had to put the goblet of wine down or risk spilling it over her hands, and her heart thundered in her chest like the hoofbeats of a galloping warhorse. ”Riwal is too young to...”

”No, I’m not,” Riwal said stubbornly, locking his gaze on Ashlynn’s eyes and refusing to back down from her challenge. ”I’m not a knight yet, but I can still go and help. Grandfather said that a lord has to do what he can for his men. He was too old to fight, but he still rode out with the knights to train. He said, he said that men will fight harder if they know their lord shares the danger with them, and they’ll turn on a lord who hides in his castle while they fight and die.”

”I know I need to ride with them,” Riwal said, turning to face his trembling mother at last. ”So, if Her Dominion needs me to ride with our knights and soldiers, then it’s what I need to do. It’s what Grandfather would have done and... and Father too...” he said as moisture accumulated in the corners of his eyes.

”So, if Lady Ashlynn needs me, then that’s what I’ll do.”