Chapter 10: A Woman's Power
Not long after her mother's departure, several servants arrived with her dinner. She picked at it half-heartedly. Several maids bustled about the room cleaning the mess, straightening the furniture, and changing the sheets on the bed.
Once they were finished, she decided she was finished as well.
"Leave me!" she commanded her servants. They exited hastily. Although they were worried in their hearts about her fate, they were more worried about theirs if they displeased her. They had reason to be concerned. She was spoiled and capricious, given to fits of pique that resulted in banishment of poor servants when she was displeased.
Once again, she threw herself on her bed, sobbing.
A soft sound alerted her to the presence of someone else in the room. With her head buried in her pillow, the intruder could not see the sly smile that briefly curled her lips. But she continued her dramatic performance as she had a new audience.
"Shh. Don't cry, Darling." A quiet masculine voice coaxed. The young man entered from a secret passage and sat next to her on the bed.
She sat up and threw herself into the young man's arms.
"Oh, Gawain!" she sobbed hysterically. "They are going to sacrifice me to that monster!"
He gently rubbed her back as he murmured words of comfort.
She sat up suddenly and looked at him desperately. "Please! You must save me!" she pleaded.
His heart ached looking at her delicate beauty. He would do anything for her, even at the cost of his life.
"Don't worry, My Little Angel. I won't let that monster touch you." He said firmly, his voice edged with steel.
He gently kissed the top of her head then disappeared through the secret passage from which he had previously entered.
After he left, Rowena sat at her dressing table and combed her long straight hair admiring her reflection in the mirror. She smiled contentedly, knowing Gawain would save her. And once he rescued her, she would be free to marry the man she truly loved.
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Queen Mathilde sighed deeply and put her dressing gown back on. She looked at her husband who was snoring loudly after his exertions and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Petulantly, she stuck her tongue out at him in a rude gesture.
She left him and returned to her own bedchamber. She only had a few more hours to finalize her plans before she too needed sleep. She laughed wryly to herself; she didn't need to sleep tonight. She could always tell her husband that his prowess exhausted her, and he would let her retire to her rooms after breakfast to rest.
Appealing to his ego was how she'd survived thus far. She was but 14 years old when she was wed to the then-40-year-old king. Rowena was born less than a year later. As such a young mother, she developed complications that resulted in her being unable to have another child. She had to rely on her feminine wiles to keep her husband's interest since she couldn't provide him an heir. Fortunately, she was very good at it. He'd taken no other wives, mistresses, or concubines since she arrived in his bedchamber.
When she heard the announcement that Rowena had been chosen by the Emperor himself, she was sure that her years of hard work and planning were finally going to pay off. Then her little brat and foolish husband threatened to derail everything! All her preparations would come to naught if she couldn't convince them to go along with the marriage alliance.
Now, she was helpless to change what was going on in her daughter's head. And that made her terribly angry. That stupid girl would let a few rumors prevent her from marrying the heir-apparent of the Empire. If she could seduce and please him, she could become Empress of the World. And, of course, she would need her doting mother their to help raise the Crown Prince's children that she bore.
But no, she didn't want that. She wanted to marry that stupid young knight with the golden curls and babyface.
Of course, she knew about Rowena's devoted puppy, Gawain. Everyone knew except King Roland, but he still thought of her a 5-year-old. Senile old drunkard.
Mathilde was an infinitely practical woman, so she didn't believe half the rumors that were uttered in terrified whispers about the Empire. She didn't care. She was confident that her daughter's beauty, grace, and charm could enchant any man. She was her daughter, after all.
Rowena could sing, dance, paint, and embroider with the best of them. Every skill required of a young aristocratic lady were second-nature to Rowena. Her mother made sure of that. Subjecting her to hours of lessons and practice from almost the moment she could walk.
But Mathilde would teach her how to please a man in more personal ways as well. She would instruct her in the more intimate skills a wife needs to possess. Let them speak all they want about the princessy arts of piety, delicacy, demureness, and sweetness; a woman's true power lay in the womanly skills of coquetry, seduction, and pleasure. That was how a woman kept her husband in thrall. That was how a woman retained the power behind the throne.
Men weren't as powerful as they thought, she scoffed. Powerful men often met their downfall from intimate partners. In fact, it was far more likely that they died that way then through battle. There was a reason why women made the best assassins. As her mother used to tell her, 'men drop their guard, when they drop their pants.'
And if, after securing her children's place as legitimate heirs, her husband died in his sleep, so be it. As the grieving widow and Empress Dowager, Rowena would honor her husband's legacy by ruling as regent for their child until he was old enough to fully take over as Emperor. And she would be there to guide her every step of the way.
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Two days later Gawain arrived at The Blind Mouse Inn and Tavern, several towns over from Solarillon. There he met his most-trusted comrades, Darius, Kendon, and Lucius. They wore hooded cloaks and spoke in hushed tones so as not to arouse suspicion. They hurriedly discussed their plot, and each received their instructions for the part they would be playing in the upcoming drama. That had less than a week before the Empire's carriage would arrive to take Lady Rowena to her doom at the castle.
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At the same time, King Roland was making plans with his spymaster, Kane. After the switch was made, Rowena would be safely hidden in a neighboring kingdom.