8 08: Learning to read

"You brought her where?! Your Majesty, do you know how much of a threat she is to your reign?" Lord Wolfram Mortas asked, not believing what he had just heard. Ivailo sighed, exasperated.

"I told you, I brought the willow girl here because she is the best fit for the title of the Lady of the people."

"But your Majesty, you were supposed to kill her! Now she has the power and the chance to get her revenge on you for killing her family."

"She would not do that."

"How can you be so sure, your Majesty?" Asked Arhein Wyett, the Lord of finances.

"Because, unlike you, I was in that room at The Bitterhead Inn when I told Amaris about her true identity." Ivailo pounded his fists on the carved desk that dominated the small office. He had been expecting resistance towards Amaris, but not to be ambushed within mere hours of returning home, and certainly not before the council had met her. "Amaris," he noticed the confused looks given by the lords. "The willow girl did not know that she was the daughter of my predecessor, and was stunned that she was. She verbalised she held no ill will towards me, rather admiration that I would choose to choose her to be my nighttime companion rather than a fellow werewolf. Now if you will excuse me, you will leave me and change your world view before I revert your lands back to the crown." He finished, annoyed that they had interrupted him while he was relaxing in his private chambers, barging in as if they owned the place.

"Your Majesty, if you do not kill the willow girl soon," Lord Brass Errol, Lord of infrastructure, said in a low voice, trying to be intimidating; "then you will lose our support for the war against the Oblivion Kappa you wanted to wage."

"I know well that what I am doing with Amaris is against the wishes of the High council, Lord Errol. Now leave!" Ivailo shouted, the last of his patience dissipating. "Now!" He screeched, sure that they could hear him from the other end of the castle. If they wanted to threaten him with insubordination, that was okay. He would have to re-plan his strategy around getting the troops he needed to fight against the Oblivion Kappa, but he would be okay. The lords, fearing the depth of the fury bottled up within Ivailo, quickly bowed and left the room, to make sure that they would not be the target of a flying dagger that Ivailo was tempted to throw. Jokes on them though. The only thing even remotely close to a dagger in the small study was a long, steel letter opener with a dragon head for the handle.

Taking several deep breaths, he paced the small private office to calm down. It didn't work, so he summoned for his sisters. Kafei and Lyra had always calmed him down, and he also wanted to know what they thought of him bringing Amaris back to Craester Castle. After all, only the lords of the high council had ambushed him.

Before too long, Lyra and Kafei were standing in front of him.

"You summoned us, your Majesty," Lyra said in a questioning tone, evidently curious why they had been summoned.

"Yes, I did. Please sit," Ivailo said, motioning to the two silver brocade covered chairs in front of the carved desk that had been occupied in their last meeting. "I wanted to know. What do you think about me bringing the willow girl back to Craester Castle?" Lyra took a deep breath, evidently wanting to give Ivailo a good tongue lashing.

"What you did was not only foolish, but extremely dangerous. Because of this, the Lords of the high court are likely to take this as you not taking the role of emperor seriously. I worry that they will act in treason. Have you talked to them since you came home?"

"Yes, Lyra, and they have made their distaste of Amaris abundantly clear." Ivailo responded, leaning back in his chair. At least she isn't yelling at me, he thought; I hope they will get along. I really like Amaris and want to keep her as close as possible.

"Well then, there really is nothing more that I can say."

"Kafei, do you have anything to say?" Ivailo asked.

"I just hope that this Amaris has nerves of steel. She will need them in order to survive in the court and not succumb to its many pitfalls." Kafei said, relaxing back in her chair. "Is that all you wanted, your Majesty?"

"Yes, thank you. You may leave if you wish, but I am going to see how our guest is settling in." Ivailo said as all three of them stood up. "Thank you for your council, my dear sisters." he turned and walked out of the little private office, out of his chambers and into a hallway.

The trip to Amaris's chambers was long, but nothing like the trip to The Bitterhead Inn had been. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door covered in carvings of roses. It had once been the chambers of Amaris's mother, Guinevere, so that Amaris was now enjoying these chambers, felt like things were coming full circle. After a moment, the door cracked open.

"Your Majesty." A petite vampire, definitely not Amaris, answered the door, bowing slightly.

"Is Amaris here?" He asked.

"Who is it Kenia?" asked a disembodied voice from within the room.

"Yes she is, your Majesty," she girl, Kenia, turned around. "Milady, His Majesty the Emperor is knocking at your door."

"Let him in," Kenia stepped aside, letting Ivailo step into the room. As soon as she saw him, Amaris stood from where she had been sitting on the bed.

She looked as if she was a goddess. She had evidently changed out of the rags that she had spent most of her life in, had a decent bath, and someone had brushed her blonde hair into a tidy braid that cascaded down her back to her waist. Her new dress, made of cotton, was the same shade of blue as her eyes and, though the dress itself was without adornment, she wore it as if she was the wealthiest woman in the world, wearing her wealth proudly.

"You look lovely," Ivailo said, approaching her and kissing her hand.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Amaris replied, curtsying.

"So, how is our honored guest settling in?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Well, your Majesty," Amaris sat down next to him. "This room is extremely beautiful. Whomever decorated it had good taste."

"Yes, she certainly did." Ivailo looked around the room. "These chambers used to belong to your mother." Amaris looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes. She picked out every single item in this room, even the books."

"Was she an avid reader?" Amaris asked, excited to be getting to know the woman that gave birth to her, if only through stories. Ivailo smiled, as if remembering a happy memory.

"She was such an avid reader that she had all the children in the palace, slave of free, learn how to read."

"She sounds like a goddess compared to Montego."

"Compared to your father, she was. I regret that all the other members of the Willow family had to die, especially her. But I do not regret killing your father."

"I do not blame you. I am sure that if I had suffered the same trauma, then I would have taken the same course of action." Amaris soothed, taking Ivailo's hand and lacing her own fingers with his.

"Did Montego ever teach you to read?" Ivailo asked.

"No. Can you teach me?" Amaris asked in response, a desperation in her melodic voice and her ocean eyes. She really doesn't know how truly beautiful she is, Ivailo thought; does she?

"Anything for you, milady." Ivailo stared intensely into her eyes, lost in their abyss, as he lifted the hand that held hers and gently kissed her hand. Reluctantly, he pulled away and approached the small wooden desk and pulled out some paper and ink from the desk.

"What are you doing?" Amaris asked, approaching the desk.

"Teaching you how to read, the same way your mother taught me and the same way that we teach every other resident of this castle."

"You encourage all the other residents of this castle to read? Even the servants?" curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Especially the servants. Are you seriously suggesting that I would forget the lower classes when I used to be one of them?" Ivailo asked as he drew a picture, a rune, onto the paper.

"I hardly know you. I took this job as Lady of the people because I was desperate and you were the first person in my entire life that did not treat me as if I was a piece of kitchen scraps to go out to the pigs. I do not know what you would and would not do."