King Lowell's eyes widened. "You found Daniella? Where is she? Is she safe? We have to go get her!"
Cormancer smiled. "She's fine, and from what I can tell she has been treated well. She's in Baron Parre's keep, in a room used to store bedding. My guess is that he doesn't want his subjects to know about her. She's being given food. My friends said that there was fruit on the floor, mostly apples."
King Lowell's face was beet red. "After everything I did for him? How dare he betray me, and take my granddaughter away. I'll kill him," whispered the king.
Cormancer nodded. "Sire, he obviously planned for you to declare war on the Fae. Perhaps we should involve them? I'm sure they would be quite interested in Parre's actions."
The king took several deep breaths. "Why would the traitor want a war with the Fae? His lands border their territory. He'd be right in the middle of the fighting, and would probably lose everything."
Cormancer spoke carefully. "I think he had his sights on your crown, Sire. If you perished in the war, he would marry Princess Daniella. He would coerce her into saying that you gave your blessing before riding into battle."
King Lowell made a fist, and pounded the table once. Maps flew, and the table emitted a sharp cracking noise. "And if I defeated the Fae, and came back victorious?"
Cormancer stepped back. "Your granddaughter would disappear, to make it look like the Fae had either killed her or hidden her in a faraway land. Parre would have a larger territory after your victory. Whether you won or lost, he would gain a lot of wealth and power."
The king's eyes blazed brilliant blue. "I'll make him into an example such as they'll be talking about him for generations to come."
Cormancer gulped, then nodded. "How do you want to do it, Sire?"
King Lowell scratched his beard, then smiled. "As painfully as possible... I want to meet with King Vale and Queen Orchid first thing tomorrow morning. Perhaps they'll have some original ideas. Nobody can deal out pain quite like the Fae."
Cormancer dropped to one knee again. "Yes, Sire. I think they will be very interested in his punishment, after he came so close to costing many of their subjects their lives."
The sorcerer then backed out of the royal tent, and mounted the giant raven which had been waiting patiently.
To be continued!
Describe what you see:
I see a young princess in a room with stone walls. There are bars on the window. There are pillows and maybe sheets stacked up around her, and green apples on the floor.
Describe what you feel:
I feel like she might be a prisoner. She isn't being mistreated, but she can't leave.
