Jade's Arc

Chapter 4 of 7

The walk to the house was longer than Jade expected. Felix led her through maples turning orange, the small dragon curled at his wrist. He did not talk much. He told her only that his father was called Felgrim, that he was fair when he wanted to be, and that Jade should let Felix speak first. Jade nodded and kept her hand on the stallion's rein. The stoat rode on her hood and watched the trees. The castle rose past a bend in the trail. Stone walls, wood beams, three towers wrapped in orange leaves. Warm light came from the tall windows. Servants took her horse at the gate. A steward took her bow. Jade almost reached for it again, then let her hand fall. If she wanted the guest-vow to hold, she could not stand armed in the hall. Felgrim waited in a long room with a fire at one end. He was shorter than Jade had pictured, broad in the shoulders, red beard down his chest, fur at his collar. He looked at her once, head to boots, and then at his son. Felix stepped forward and said the words plainly. He had found her on the trail. He had given her his word as guest. He asked his father to honor it. Felgrim did not answer at first. He walked to a side table and picked up a folded paper. He opened it and turned it toward Jade. It was a portrait, well painted. Platinum hair. Turquoise eyes. Below the face, a name she had not heard spoken in seven years, a plea from a queen called Artemis, and a reward of ten thousand gold. "This came across the border two days ago," Felgrim said. "Riders are paying to post it in every town." He watched her face. "You are worth a great deal to someone, girl." Jade kept her hands at her sides. She said the queen on the paper was her mother. She said the wedding under the next full moon was not hers to choose. She said she had crossed his border by accident and would leave it the same way if he asked. She did not beg. She waited. Felgrim folded the paper and set it back on the table. He looked at Felix for a long moment. Then he looked at Jade. "My son gave his word," he said. "In this house, that stands. You will sleep here tonight as his guest. You will not leave the grounds without me knowing." He tapped the folded notice with two fingers. "But I will not send this back, and I will not send you back. Not yet." Jade breathed out. The steward returned her bow at the door of a small room upstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed with the stoat in her lap and understood what had changed. Felgrim had chosen her side for tonight. He had also learned exactly what she was worth in gold.