Lady Dove Wheatley was still in Eldoria and she was very dissatisfied with how things had left off with Roland. As she watched him on television, her heart refused to keep calm, the greed just multiplied.
All night long, Dove had twisted and turned in bed, wondering what she could do to remedy her troubles. She also asked herself how far she was willing to go to get what she desired.
Sigrid raised her wand and cast a spell, blocking their conversation from all ears, curious and passing by.
Dove looked away from the television. She thought not, but she did not say.
The masked man winced. "Unfortunately, the Empress is already pregnant."
Dove’s face was marred by ugly jealousy.
The masked man shook his head. "We don’t kill and we especially don’t kill the innocent and what she carries is an innocent child." He placed the gold pearl necklace on the table. "If you wish to scar her permanently, we can do that, but only that. If it is not good enough for you, take your necklace and be on your way."
"Well he is wrong." Galen hissed like a feral animal.
"Dove Wheatley. My trouble is the new Empress." She replied.
His decision was foolish, but he was honorable.
Galen swung his hand, spilling the wine in the glass he was holding. "So you are not aware that he has ordered Benjamin to go into exile?" He tossed the glass aside completely. "The first rule of sending someone into exile is to know where they are going so that you can keep your eye on them at all times. My brother the emperor told Benjamin to just go anywhere as long as it was outside Eldoria. Can you believe that?"
****
Murder was not their cup of tea because active knights of different houses and the royal army took on the jobs so they had a small conscience. But if one was looking to ruin another, it was the place to go.
"No." Sigrid replied.
Galen exhaled. He was glad that she saw things the way he did. Roland was making a mistake. "Oh, good. Now maybe you can talk sense into my brother and convince him to sentence that traitor to death. He left the former king to die, he deserves to be hung. If it were anybody else, an ordinary knight, we would not be discussing this. He would have been buried long before now."
At 3:00 a.m. something in her had snapped and she had come to a decision. A decision that led her to the door of the Horse Keepers, a secret society that she had heard about from whispers among Eldorian knights in the war. They specialized in creating misfortune, accidents...that kind of thing.
Sigrid was sitting, receiving noble women, one after the other that were offering their congratulations. Lady Iryne and Duchess Mila were right beside her, receiving any gifts on her behalf or invitation cards.
The masked man sat down and said, "Name and business, be honest and be quick."
The masked man laughed. "What you seek will be very costly...very, very costly."
As the day moved along, Galen found Sigrid and asked to speak to her in private. They walked away from the crowd and moved to the royal chapel.
Sigrid took a step back. "Calm down Galen, I do not agree with the decision as well."
"They make a handsome couple, don’t they?" A masked figure slipped into the room.
The masked man took the necklace and put it away. "Do share what misfortunes you seek to send the Empress’s way. Do you wish to smear her reputation, scar her somewhere tactical. Should she fall off a horse and become paralyzed?"
Dove stood up. "I will take what I can get, as for other things I will find another way."
That difference in status was very big. Their own mothers were sharing drinks and smiling coyly at the envious mothers of other daughters that had not been lucky to hold the position of ladies-in-waiting to an Empress.