Chapter Text
“It’s not a trick, is it?” Leandra turned over the officially sealed letter in her palm, running her fingers over the embossed seal of the Royal House of Tepes. Valence was sat in his chair across the room, a lazy trail of smoke curling up from his pipe. Trevor stood in the middle of the room between them, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “ They really couldn’t have sent this, right darling?” Her words are woeful and a bit sad as she looks over to her husband, who was wearing an intense contemplative scowl. She ran her fingers over the creamy parchment again, her emotions warring in her eyes.
“There was probably a scout at Trevor’s last tourney.” he presses the tip of his pipe against his chin and sits straight, his gaze sliding out of focus before he speaks again. “But this is good, Lee, French chevaliers aren’t exactly common in the Wallachian monarchy.” That wasn’t the answer she was looking for. She looks down at the letter between her fingers and tearfully scans over it again before setting it on the table beside her.
“But it’s still the monarchy .” She chides, “Who knows what they could have him doing?” She snaps at Valence, who was accustomed to her outbursts and calmly took another drawl from his pipe. Before he could respond to her, he’s cut off.
“I want to go, mother.” Trevor interrupts before she can speak. Both of his parent’s eyes are on him in a second. “We can’t refuse an offer like this, not when we have so much to gain from it.” His father grumbles a hum of agreement and the men both look to Leandra, nearly in tears. For the moment she’s feeling utter betrayal, but Trevor knows his mother and it wouldn’t be long before it gave way to her rage. She panics, looking from one to the other before slamming her fist on the table.
“Trevor,” She starts with a bitter edge to her tone, “You can’t be serious, this is the impaler himself we’re talking about.” Her telltale glower is beating Trevor down, and he has to turn away to steel his nerve.
“He’s right about the money Leandra.” Valence is soft and soothing and Trevor can see her rage falter ever so slightly. “We can’t make it more than a few years on what we have now. We barely have enough to pay the guards and lady Hildegard is the only steward we have that will stay unconditionally. Upholding our moral faculties isn’t an option for us right now.”
The fire burning behind her eyes swells to its bursting point, and she finally slams her foot down hard on the floor. “Fine! But they’ll make you pay for every coin of that gold boy, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” With a huff, she marches out of the solar and out of earshot, leaving behind only the smell of her perfume. Valence stands up from his chair, dusting off the front of his finery and clapping a hand on his son’s shoulder, who was looking listlessly at the space she had just occupied.
“Your mother is…” he shrugs, “Adamant, but she’s not angry with you. Neither am I. We’ll get your things ready, and have you ready to set out by sundown tomorrow.”
“Right,” Trevor whispered, failing to be soothed by his father’s words. “Tomorrow then.”
-0-
When Valence returned to her in the safety of her chambers, Leandra was sitting with tearstained eyes in the vanity mirror. She was fervently brushing her hair and Valence could see her fighting the urge to just rip out the long dark locks straight from the root.
“Hello, love.” He tries to soothe and moves to sit on the bed, facing away from her towards the door.
“You’re sending our son to die for money.” She snaps at him, and he can’t help but wince at the accusation.
“That’s you turning everything into a disaster again, Trevor makes up our guard damn near by himself and you saw him at that tourney! He’s got all of goddamn Wallachia eating out of his palm love and you and his majesty know that.”
He hears the hairbrush clang on the wood of the vanity and he whips his head around to see Leandra hunched over, sobbing quietly into her hands. Without a thought, he stands up and rushes over to her placing both hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to lose my boy…” She whispers as another gut-wrenching sob overtakes her.
“I know love, I know.” Valence slides up against her awkwardly on the vanity bench, pulling her tight into his arm. “Nothing is going to take him from us, he’s strong and no pole-assed King is going to change the fact that he will come home.”
The next morning, Trevor is sitting in a chair next to his bed the long sleepless night evident in the bags under his eyes. He had spent the night worrying, hoping to God that his mother wouldn’t shun him for this. As the sun broke over the horizon, one of the younger handmaids, Ms. Haversham, knocked on his door. “Milord?” She poked her head through, raising her eyebrows when she sees him already awake and dressed, “Oh! I’m sorry to interrupt...whatever it is your doing but the stablehands have readied your horse and provisions.” She popped her head back out before Trevor could give her a ‘thank you.’
The young man sighed, standing up from the rickety wooden chair and cracking all of the vertebrae in his back. His mother and father were waiting for him in the foyer, his mother erratically pacing back and forth over his grandmother’s old silk rug and his father was lounging in another chair, watching her like a hawk.
“Ah! There you are, boy!” Valence chimed as he saw his son descend the stairs. “Leandra has been driving herself mad waiting for you.” On cue, Leandra whipped around and met her son at the foot of the stairs, worrying over his face like an old hen.
“Didn’t you sleep last night dear? You look like hell.” She asks more to express her thoughts than actually looking for her son to answer. And even though he knew he wasn’t intended to respond, the feeling of his mother hovering around him made him feel a little better, at least for now.
“Sure I did,” He laughs hollowly, “Now, I’m assuming you both are here to see me off?”
“Of course,” his father chirped as he stood up from his chair. “But we can’t keep royalty waiting.” He saunters over to his son and plops a hand into his hair, ruffling it like Trevor was being sent to his tutor for the day. “I love you, my boy. Be sure to visit.”
“I love you too, Trevor.” His mother said, fighting back a sob.
“I love you both, I’ll be back before you know it.” And with that, Trevor heads out the front doors with a final wave to his parents, to his horse waiting for him in the front of the estate.