"My Lady." Caerwyn easily stepped into what little space separated her and the duke, shouldering him out. "The documents you requested."
"Thank you, Sir Caerwyn."
Rhosyn took the leather bound papers and small pouch, rounding the table again, Edrien already closing the distance and wrapping an arm around her in a half hug.
"What are you doing, Rhos?" he whispered close to her ear, but he didn't drop his voice enough to be private, eyeing the duke suspiciously.
Edrien must've spotted Caerwyn by himself and worried about her. She'd rather commence this business deal without him here, but there was nothing for it now. He would not leave—not now.
"Crown Prince Edrien," Caerwyn said with a bow. "You'll keep Lady Valewyn?"
He was overriding her again, the situation deemed to be too dangerous and her will dismissed.
"Of course," Edrien replied, both speaking about her as if she were a doll rather than a woman capable of handling the harshest of situations. Or have they forgotten?
Karsyn watched it all play out as if simply a curious bystander. Eyes flickering to Edrien's hand at her waist, then to Caerwyn's hand tapping his guard and finally to her, watching the sour look of annoyance twist there.
"I'll be on the other side of the door," Caerwyn addressed her now. "If I hear anything I don't like…" the intention was clear and didn't need to be said.
Only when the knight had closed the door behind him did Rhosyn decide to reset the room. A deal was hard enough to strike, even when you had the right price. But the environment that she'd tried setting up for herself had just been dismantled by not only Caerwyn, but Edrien as well.
"Ed," Rhosyn hushed, gently pushing out of his hold with a hand pressed against his middle and he reluctantly let her.
Though silence stilled the room, except for the ticking of a clock tracking the breathing of three bodies, echoes of their words already etched into the air around them. There was no other way, than to just push through. She took a step closer to the divider of the room—the table—feeling Edrien shadow her.
"So, what is it you want, Lady Valewyn?" Karsyn offered a clean slate.
She was aware of Edrien watching closely and decided to ignore his presence.
"A vow," she explained, earning Karsyn's raised brow. "Of loyalty to Crown Prince Edrien."
A Vow of Loyalty was an old kingdom tradition originating in the north, a binding that tied one's own fate to another. After officially declaring a Vow of Loyalty to another, the oath bearer is bound to protect their charge, no matter what. They can't act against their charge in any way that'd cause them harm and if they know anything that can put their charge in danger, they must deal with the threat. It was almost that of a knight's oath, but stronger, as it gave the bearer the power to act how they may to ensure their charge's safety. But ensure their charge's safety, they must.
It was the vow that Sir Caerwyn gave Rhosyn.
The duke studied Edrien over her shoulder, his thoughts locked behind a facade that she hadn't found a way to decipher yet. He was still—contemplating—but none of it showed.
She needed to tie him somehow—to make sure he wouldn't be a threat to Edrien, because he would be his biggest threat if so. Karsyn's gaze slid to hers. He'd already read the situation, her reasonings for asking such a thing. Or maybe he was still trying to work that out.
"Vows of Loyalty are not a small ask, Lady Valewyn," he replied, his words slow and deliberate. "What do you have to offer?"
There. His gaze intensified slightly, the faintest narrowing of his eyes. He just wanted to know what she would barter—what she was worth.
Rhosyn dipped her fingers into the pouch, pulling out a key and tossing it onto the table. The shining silver thing skittering to a stop in front of him.
"The key to my late uncle's safe—opened only by him," she explained. Edrien's breath catching in his throat in shock and the duke's eyes flickering between her and the key.
"And how can I be sure of that, let alone know if it'll hold anything of value for me?" Karsyn replied, voice level. But she saw the way his gaze lingered a moment too long on the key.
They both knew that Halvar Valewyn was close to the king, his closest advisor and the previous king's good friend. He'd earned his favour through loyalty. If anyone was to have secrets of the kingdom, its lords and lands, it was her uncle.
The information in that safe could very well be used to raze the kingdom to the ground. It would be exactly what the duke would need, not only to push his campaign forward, but to investigate the injustice of his family's massacre—not that it was seen as such, legally.
But he played the move Rhosyn expected, and so she played her insurance. With a heavy thud, she threw the leather bound papers on the table. Karsyn picked the document up, slowly and deliberately opening it and leafing through. His expression was as unreadable as usual, eyes traveling up and down pages in silence—then.
"This is your dowry," he stated, the hint of question in his voice and confusion shaping his eyes. Then understanding registered. "I told you marriage can't solve all issues."
"I told you I disagree," she countered.
Movement erupted behind her, and for a moment, she'd forgotten Edrien was there.
"No," he declared firmly, his hand snatching hers and turning her to him. "I won't allow it."
She hushed him, but he didn't relent. Glancing at the duke and seeing how he watched the scene with hardened features—a mask of deep contemplation. He was trying to see why she'd made the moves she did, looking for motive and seeing none.
"Come here," she ground out, leading Edrien by the hand closer to the door. "Ed, listen to me—"
"No, Rhos. I won't let you marry him—not him."
Edrien was blinded by distrust and deafened by hate. He couldn't see that the only way they could protect him and thus the crown, they had to make a deal with the only man that could rise against him.
Rhosyn's face stiffened to a stonewall and then she let it melt away. "This can help resolve things with the northern lords and stabilise the land," she tried again, "with me there, I can prevent him from outmaneuvering our allies and with the vow, you're safe at the very least."
His hands curled around her elbows and he stepped closer to her. "But what if he learns that your uncle ordered his family's death?" he whispered close to her ear. She heard the fear in his tone, it doubled in the grip from his hands.
"Then, protect me," she whispered back, feeling her fondness of him warm in her chest.
He was the most powerful man she knew, yet he acted like he didn't know how to wield his power, leaning on those closest to him—relying on her, and so she'll support him.
His gaze wavered, unsure and his hands didn't want to let her go. But he softened for the smile in her eyes and the reassurance in her touch. After one more heartbeat, Rhosyn returned to the table where Karsyn was waiting patiently.
"So, Vow of Loyalty to the future king, for a Royalist's secrets and a Royalist bride?" he asked—more a statement for clarity.
"If you don't want it, Your Grace, we can just call it a day," Rhosyn bluffed.
She was banking that he needed the information and would read her marriage proposal as a mutually beneficial binding that'll ensure both the Vow of Loyalty and her uncle's secrets being delivered. Neither would be able to go back on either as she'd keep him true to his word and he'd own everything that she holds—the safe included.
Though that was only one reason why she proposed the marriage. It was a front. In truth, she needed time and this engagement would buy her it.
"What about a backup clause, in case either party fails on their part?" The duke leaned on spread hands, looming over the table.
Good—she's got him.
Rhosyn stood opposite him, holding his gaze. "If you can't keep your Vow of Loyalty, you must hand over your vassal of the county of Ravenstair to Crown Prince Edrien."
It was the gateway to the north, the only way in via land. Whoever controlled it, would control the scales of war if it came to that. It was a big ask and huge collateral.
She felt the flutter of breath tickling her face in the way that told her he thought it funny. Though only the glimmer in his eyes seemed to agree.
"And for me?" he pressed.
"If the safe holds no secrets of absolute value, then I'll tell you all of mine and my regions'—including my family's," she explained, Karsyn remaining silent while she spoke. "Providing any evidence of their honesty if I have it."
When he still didn't speak, Rhosyn squinted, not understanding—was he just trying to play hard, get more leverage?
"And what about the marriage?" he pressed, as if completely serious. "What if you, or the king, dissolve the engagement before marriage?"
Ah, so that was his angle. He was sure that the king would refuse the marriage, as being both her king and guardian. He was aiming to rinse more benefits from the deal. She expected nothing less, but to aim as low as to put weight on the marriage. It was just the peacekeeper of the arrangement, one that he'd benefit from far more than she would and she couldn't resist the eye roll that it irked.
He smiled, breaking his mask as much as she broke hers. His enjoyment from her irritation.
"Fine," Rhosyn huffed. "What would you want in return, if the engagement is dissolved and the marriage doesn't go ahead?" she asked, her head starting to hurt.
Karsyn contemplated quietly, his slow steady breaths brushing her cheeks and crawling down her. His steel eyes set on her, but there were thoughts he was considering, deciding on the correct move that'll force the outcome he wanted.
"How about," he drew the words out, liking how she hung onto them and threw them away agitated. "A vow for a vow?"
"What?" she uttered confused, almost hopeful.
"Originally, the deal would've been a Vow of Loyalty, for a vow of lifelong commitment," Karsyn explained. "If you can't fulfill your vow of lifelong commitment, then you should offer your own Vow of Loyalty—to me."
It tied her hands just as much as she would've tied his. If they were both bound by a Vow of Loyalty, their arsenal in which to battle each other would be low, if not dull. It made her regret that she'd even added marriage to the deal. But that's what she got for being selfish.
"Don't want the deal anymore, Lady Valewyn?" Karsyn gloated, soaking in the triumph of outmaneuvering her.
If she withdrew now, he'd know her weakness and she couldn't let him win that.
"You don't worry that I'd break the Vow of Loyalty?" she challenged.
Humour chuckled from his throat. "I trust that you wear loyalty around your neck like a noose, Lady Valewyn." His lips spilling across his face in victory. "I'm sure you'd rather sink to the bottom of a river before you diminished your loyalty."
He couldn't be betting that she'll keep her word just from his reading of her—it was bad business.
"But if I was wrong, I could always use the secrets about you to strip away your land, title and thus security," his voice dripped venom, despite the joy radiating from him. "Even if I didn't have those secrets, from what I know of your land, I won't need to put anything into motion to accomplish it. Am I wrong, My Lady?"
He already knew the rot that strangled her land—the edging from Lord Merrow. So, the duke already knew one of weaknesses, yet he wasn't outright using it to box her in and shake her for something more—yet.
"Rhos?" Edrien called from behind her, his voice a plea of concern and she remembered what she was doing all this for—him.
"Deal?" Rhosyn declared, holding a hand ready to seal their words.
Karsyn's hand slid into her own, large and surprisingly gentle as he wrapped his fingers around hers and she became painfully aware that it's the first time they've touched.
"Deal," he drawled, looking far too entertained.
"Perfect," she interjected, taking back control. "I'll write up the contract, we'll announce the engagement at Crown Prince Edrien's gala next week and—"
"The exchange of vows be had on the same day—whether it be at our wedding." He smirked, leaning ever so closer. "Or an exchange of Vows of Loyalty, after its dissolution."
"And the key will be surrendered, along with the safe, after the vows are made," Rhosyn said, voice steady, though her freehand fisted and her glare scorched into his easygoing stare.
"Perfect," he hummed, pleased. "Pleasure doing business with you, Lady Valewyn, and I look forward to my invite Crown Prince."
The duke knew how to rile up and vex her, but it seemed she wasn't the only one. Edrien's chest brushed against her back and she could feel the hostility bleeding from him.
"Until then."
Karsyn released her hand finally, its absence strangely lingering, a ghosting memory. Then he bowed to Edrien, before heading for the door. It opened for him, Caerwyn gripping the handle and the duke disappeared through it, leaving her with Edrien shadowing her frame.