Word Count: 27,061
Summary of Events:
Éoin sat through another slightly more peaceable session of parliament . . . except for the part where Queen Alina had Viceroy Báld thrown into the dungeons until he swore blood fealty to her. Alina talked with her grandmother about things, and was unnerved by her grandmother's suspicions that Viceroy Báld was an agent in a conspiracy to conquer Aifos. At Alina's request, Éoin had Alina over for dinner and they talked first of horses and family before Alina told Éoin of her grandmother's suspicions . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
"What do you mean the conquest of Aifos?" Éoin asked when his tongue regained its ability to move after the shock.
Queen Alina opened her mouth, but then the butler came in with the dessert, so she held her silence until he'd departed again.
"Grandmother thinks that Father was murdered," Queen Alina said. "His death was very suspicious. She suspects possibly Piontano, but that mostly because of their tendency for conquest. It could even be one of our allies."
"Piontano?" Éoin asked.
"Yes," Queen Alina replied. "Why does that surprise you?"
"Well it doesn't, really," Éoin replied. "It's just that, Viceroy Báld has a Piontanese middle name."
"Really?" Queen Alina asked, looking absolutely astonished.
"And none of his siblings do," Éoin replied. "Just him."
"That is questionable," Queen Alina said. "Grandmother suggested that I should send spies into all our neighbouring nations to see what they can find as to who might be seeking to take Aifos as their own territory."
"I think that would be an idea of good wisdom," Éoin replied. "My father believed that someone deliberately hastened his death as well. That he may've been poisoned before he came home at the end of session, bringing about his passing."
Queen Alina looked horrified. "Viceroy Báld maybe?"
"Father warned me against him," Éoin replied. "And I can't say that his betrothal to your mother sits well with me at all."
"Not at all," Queen Alina agreed.
"And if these plotters have seen your father King Alfred killed, and my father killed, what's to say that they didn't kill Viceroy Ioan Báld in order to get Viceroy Báld into parliament because they knew he would be allied to their cause?" Éoin asked. "Or they had guarantees that he would help them."
"Is it possible?" Queen Alina asked.
"His cause of death is listed as accidental poisoning," Éoin replied. "I think someone could easily do that by choice."
"You mean choose not to cook the fish entirely?" Queen Alina asked.
"Yes," Éoin replied. "Goodness knows some sort of poison could've been slipped in and the undercooked fish used as a ruse to deflect suspicion."
Queen Alina shuddered. "How horrible."
"Indeed," Éoin agreed. "I fear that all is not as peaceful as people think it is now that their queen has been crowned."
Queen Alina nodded quietly.
"But we don't want, really, to trouble the people," Éoin said. "If we can avoid it. We probably don't really want them to know that we're on to their plan."
"No," Queen Alina agreed.
"I would suggest that, regardless of whether you can trust that Viceroy Báld's contrition is a ruse or not, you should accept his oath of blood fealty and let him come back into parliament, just to give us time without trouble to see if we can determine who they are and what their goal is."
Pronunciation:
Piontano: peeyohntahno
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