Tale of Four

”Kieran.” Kieran jumped up in shock and turned around. Deeply bowing toward Lord Wells.

”Forgive me, my lord?” Lord Wells shook his head and bid him to follow. Slowly they walked, in silence, only the sound of Lord Wells’ cane echoing across the halls.

”My friend, did I work you too hard whilst I was in Everlight?” Pointing underneath his own eyes, Lord Wells smiled, ”Your bags are much deeper than they usually are.” Kieran twitched and took a deep breath. Lowering his head, Lord Wells couldn’t help but think he was about to cry.

”I just have a lot on my mind right now, My Lord.”

”Mhh.” Lord Wells nodded and frowned. ”When Edmund’s wedding is finished, you are taking a break.” Before Kieran could speak, Lord Wells spoke, ”It is partly my fault you are like this. I understand you are my steward, but having you take on the entire workload of these lands must have been tiring. Adding to that, my son’s wedding and preparations for my future grandchild, and you must have been overwhelmed.” Lord Wells sighed and carried on, his voice slightly regretful, ”But you have been making a few mistakes as of late, and it cannot keep happening. So take a break, when things have settled down and fix whatever issues are going on in your life. When it is solved, you will return. You understand I do not do this out of hate but for your wellbeing.”

”I know, my lord.” Kieran bit his lip and took a shaky breath. ”My Lord, is it not possible to delay the wedding? With the war currently raging and the meeting Lord Clover wishes you to host, surely we can delay. After all, such a rushed small marriage is unworthy of your son.”

Lord Wells laughed from the depth of his soul and nodded, ”Yes, Edmund and Diana deserve so much better. But unfortunately, too much money has already been sunk into this. The musicians and staff you have hired won’t appreciate being sent away with so little money, especially the musicians. Lord knows they would rather be in Hampton.” Seeing Kieran shake, Lord Wells stopped and grabbed his shoulder. ”If my wife is willing to accept this, then it is fine. God, her wedding; I saw the reports after it from my father. Altogether, it cost nearly a year’s worth of this land’s income. But she wouldn’t settle for anything but the best, and King Henry was willing to spend whatever it cost on his beloved daughter.”

Remembering, his hand tightened around the cane and Kieran’s shoulder. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat and carried on walking. ”Besides, even if Mary didn’t wish for it to go ahead, I would still do so. My stupid son got that girl pregnant. I will not have my grandchild being called a child born out of wedlock, even if its parents eventually marry.”

”Surely no one would say such a thing.” Lord Wells snubbed his nose and scoffed.

”Maybe not here, but in the rest of Veston, many would use any little thing to mock another. I will not let my grandchild suffer because his father couldn’t wait until he married the girl he loved.” Before Kieran could speak, Lord Wells raised his hand to stop him. ”Enough. I do not understand why you wish to delay the marriage, but it is done, Kieran. Your job is to prepare, make sure everything is perfect.”

Walking off, Lord Wells sighed and shook his head. Whilst he understood Kieran’s concerns, he didn’t understand where his sudden desire to stop the wedding came from. ’Maybe he is having issues with his wife. He looks like he is hardly sleeping these days. He must rest before the Clovers arrive. I cannot have him embarrassing me.’

Shaking his head and opening the door to his study, Mary sat leaning on the desk, looking at him with a thin smile that wasn’t real. ”Why have I just learnt that Hector Clover is using you as an intermediary for his rebellion?” Lord Wells sighed and took a seat at his desk. Rubbing his bad leg to massage the aching in it, he pinched his brow and groaned.

”Mary. Did you think declaring neutrality would let us do as we pleased? Being neutral has its own responsibilities.” Looking up, he met his wife’s gaze and smiled. ”Besides, it’s after the wedding. The war won’t disturb it, and I promise you there will be no business spoken on Emdund’s day.”

”I don’t care if you talk business, Luis. I just don’t like it. My brothers are trying to kill one another. I don’t want either of them to think I love the other more. I don’t want them to die believing that I in any way may have helped cause it.” Lord Wells reached out and grabbed her hand. Lovingly squeezing it, he smiled.

”They are smart men, Mary and more importantly, love you. They understand that anything I do is purely business and has nothing to do with you. Much like how Lord Deacon is chancellor despite declaring his family and lands neutral, I am the neutral ground the Flatland can trust.” Seeing his wife’s worry, he squeezed a little tighter. ”They won’t think anything, Mary, and if Lord Clover tries to make me join the war, I will do everything in my power to refuse him, even if he threatens to take my lands. I promise you, I won’t make it so our soldiers help in defeating either of your brothers.”

Mary took a deep breath and nodded. Lifitng her fan, she opened it to hide her face, but Lord Wells could see the fear behind it in her eyes. ”How are preparations going?”

”Kieran has found staff and a band to play for the wedding. I am simply waiting for the venue to be put together and the guests to arrive now.” Mary nodded, and Lord Wells remembered soemthing, ”A letter came from Hampton. Your nieces sent a letter congratulating Edmund.” Reaching into his drawer, he pulled out a small piece of paper. On it was a simple message from Ellie and Elsa wishing Edmund luck, beneath it a small, poor drawing of a man and woman drawing from a well.

Mary chuckled and lovingly stared at the letter. Seeing the shaky writing, he could tell it was done by Ellie, albeit with heavy emotion. ”She is still grieving Cillian.”

”They watched their brother die, my love. Even if they wanted to forget, I don’t think they could.” Mary nodded and lowered her head, seemingly waiting for soemthing. Lord Wells stared, and after a minute she spoke.

”When were you going to tell me Cleeve and Vincent were dead?” Lord Wells lowered his head and sighed.

”I didn’t want to dampen your mood before Emdund’s wedding.” Mary shook her head and formed a symbol of the Lord Creator.

”I was never close to Cleeve; he was a brutish man who only cared for Ester, but I respected him. He always stood up for the family when someone insulted it, even if it damaged his reputation.” Her hand tightened around the fan. ”But Vincent. I loved him in my own way. He was a misunderstood child, and my only regret was that he was born so late. If he was a little older or I younger, maybe I could have been a proper sister to him.” Sucking in any tears that may have fallen, she snapped the fan shut. ”He shouldn’t have been involved in the war. It was never his thing.”

”He made a choice, my love.”

”I know.” Mary didn’t disagree but still spoke with pity, ”He shouldn’t have got involved, however. He always wanted attention, to seem better in the eyes of others. Such an idiot.” Her voice shook. ”He was heartbroken when Walter died.”

”Walter... your brother?”

”Yeah. Even now I remember when Walter broke a man’s nose becuase they bullied Vincent. Some courier or guard insulted him because Vincent wanted Walter to do his makeup.” Lord Wells’ eyes widened, seemingly remembering.

”This was the man who lost an eye, wasn’t it?” Mary chuckled and nodded.

”He hit the man around the face with a training sword.” Mary smiled, ”I did wonder what happened to that man.”

”Who knows?” Lord Wells brushed it off. ”I never liked Vincent personally.”

”Most didn’t.” Mary regretfully replied, ”He was a hard man to like, but Walter always treated him well.” Looking down, Mary bitterly smiled, ”I lost another brother.”

”Mary...”

”It’s fine. I’m used to it now.”