Knock First - Part 1

~ DAVID ~

I sat at the large stone table in the council chambers. It was a stone piece, carved in place and immovable, supposedly to symbolize the will of men in ruling Arinel.

I wondered at times whether it actually symbolized our foolishness.

Immovable in the extreme.

The council meeting was supposed to begin in less than an hour and I hadn't reviewed the reports from our watchers, or the treasury yet. I had been staring at the sheets of parchment for over half an hour, my eyes skimming the words but taking nothing in because my mind was consumed with the shitshow exploding around me and my body would not relax.

Last night had been wonderful and stupid and… such a risk.

Such a damn, foolish risk.

I cursed and flipped back to the previous parchment again knowing I'd absorbed nothing. But just as I tried to make myself focus, the wide door of the chamber swung open and a guard announced Lord Stark.

A weight appeared in my stomach.