The Awakening by Gary Alan Wassner Page A

would spread like wildfire among her people and until she herself knew what had really happened, she felt that it was best if it remained more private.
    “I thank you humbly, my Lady. We are all sorely in need of refreshment. It has been a long ride for us,” he replied gratefully.
    “Come then, Sir Knight. Follow me,” Queen Esta said as she turned her horse around in a tight circle and nudged him on through the gates. “Captain, see that our visitors are supplied with refreshments.”
    “Yes, my Queen. At once,” he answered, jumping to the task.
    “Sir Knight? May I ask if you have a name? It seems to me that if we are going to converse a while longer, it would be appropriate if I knew to whom I was speaking,” she said, turning deftly in her saddle as would an experienced warrior.
    The Knight could not help but notice her ability as a horsewoman.
    “I am Sir Etan of Balstair, newly knighted by Margot Dumas of Talamar,” he responded proudly.
    Queen Esta simply smiled in response to his answer, she bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment and kept moving, keeping her perplexity at the name she had just heard well hidden. Everyone was aware that Duke Leonardo and his wife the Duchess Dorothea recently died in a horrifying fire, but she had not heard that their son had married so soon thereafter. With her head cocked slightly, she feigned nonchalance.
    “I am unfamiliar with the name you just mentioned, Sir. The Duchess Margot of Dumas? It is odd that Kettin would have chosen someone to wed whom I am altogether unacquainted with. We were allies for many years and the late Duchess and I attended many functions together. She was a robust and friendly woman and we will all miss her. Yet Kettin had always been a sworn bachelor, much to the chagrin of Duke Leonardo. This woman must be quite captivating to have turned his eye her way and caused him to abandon his predilections,” she commented questioningly.
    “I had no occasion to convene with the Duke, my Lady. He was suffering from exhaustion and was bedridden. I am certainly in no position to reply as to the why or wherefor of his marriage,” Sir Etan noted modestly. “She was his eyes, his ears and his voice though, in his absence. That she proclaimed quite clearly.”
    Queen Esta was addled by this development and she thought it extremely peculiar that a stranger would be running the affairs of the house of Dumas. Nevertheless, she had always regarded Kettin with disdain. It surprised her none that he would relinquish his duty to rule. She had ever expected though, that Fobush would act as his regent and govern in his name.
    This is an odd development indeed , she thought.
    “Well, congratulations to you nonetheless, Sir Knight. I hope you honor your vows and do justice to the sacred oaths,” she said sincerely. “May the First guide you and keep you,” the Queen concluded.
    Sir Etan’s eyes clouded momentarily at the mention of the First, but he accepted her acclamation graciously and bowed his head respectfully in her direction. Queen Esta spurred her horse forward faster now, signaling the others to follow. She was anxious to get to the bottom of a number of issues by this time. She needed to know what untoward events occurred in Talamar that could possibly have turned these people and this honorable Knight against the trees. And she had a curious feeling about this unfamiliar woman who had assumed the reins of power in Talamar. Events were transpiring faster than she wished, upsetting the status quo that she had hoped would remain intact at least until her daughter Filaree returned to Avalain.
    As the Queen and Sir Etan disappeared through the gates of the city, Lord Markal signaled the keepers to draw the bridge and set the seals. He was not comfortable until the rabble rousers that arrived with this stalwart Knight were safely settled outside, far away from the heart of Avalain. As the drawbridge rose behind the small contingent heading for the