Chapter 69: Elder Aldrich
The servant’s eyes widened slightly. Urgent messages from a council lord were not common. She gestured for him to follow her inside.
The interior of Aldrich’s estate was warm and well-lit, filled with the scent of woodsmoke and candles. Tapestries hung on the walls, some depicting historical events, others showing the sigil of Aldrich’s house. Books lined shelves in the visible chambers. The entire space felt like the home of someone who valued knowledge and tradition.
The servant led him to a study not unlike Cedric’s own, and there, sitting near a fireplace with a book in his lap, was Elder Aldrich.
Aldrich was ancient...perhaps eighty or more, though his mind seemed sharp as ever. His face was a map of wrinkles, his hands spotted with age, his hair completely white. But his eyes...his eyes were still bright, still intelligent, still capable of piercing through deception to the truth beneath.
He looked up from his book as Marcus entered, and his expression shifted immediately from contemplation to alertness.
"Marcus," Aldrich said, setting aside his book. "A message from Cedric?"
"Yes, Elder," Marcus said, offering a formal bow. "Lord Cedric requests your presence at his estate by nightfall. He states the matter is urgent and concerns the throne directly."
Aldrich rose slowly from his chair....not moving with the speed of youth, but moving with a kind of deliberate grace that suggested his age had not diminished his authority.
"Did he say anything more?"
"Only that it was urgent, Elder. He emphasized that."
Aldrich nodded slowly, his ancient eyes studying Marcus’s face. "Cedric does not summon me to urgent matters lightly. Whatever this is, it is significant."
He turned to the servant who had brought Marcus in. "Prepare my carriage. I will be going to Lord Cedric’s estate. Have it ready within the hour."
Then he looked back at Marcus. "You will ride ahead and inform Lord Cedric that I am on my way?"
"Of course, Elder."
"Good." Aldrich moved toward the door, then paused. "And Marcus? Whatever this is that troubles Cedric enough to summon me in the evening... it is serious, is it not?"
Marcus chose his words carefully. "I believe it is, Elder."
Aldrich nodded, as if this confirmed something he had already suspected. "Then there is much work to be done."
***
Elder Aldrich’s chambers were a study in ordered chaos...books stacked on shelves and tables, letters organized in careful piles, maps of the realm pinned to one wall. This was the working space of someone who carried the weight of a kingdom in his mind at all times.
He dressed himself with deliberate care, moving slowly but methodically through the process. His servant...an older woman who had been with him for decades, brought his formal robes, the deep blue garments that marked him as a member of the council. Over these, he wore a heavy cloak of dark grey wool, lined with fur for warmth.
As he dressed, Aldrich’s mind was already working through possibilities.
What could be so urgent that Cedric would summon him in the evening? What crisis had arisen that required immediate consultation?
Aldrich had lived long enough to understand that urgency in matters of state usually meant one of several things: assassination, coup attempt, external military threat, succession crisis, or the discovery of treason.
Given that all three kings were still alive and ruling, he could eliminate succession and assassination. A military threat would come through the military commanders, not through private summons to a council lord. So that left treason or coup.
Or something else entirely. Something that had emerged within the palace itself.
Aldrich finished dressing and caught his reflection in a mirror. An old man looked back at him...weathered, lined, tired. But his eyes were still sharp, still capable.
"I am not done with this world yet," he murmured to his reflection. "Apparently, there is still more to be done."
His carriage was waiting when he descended to the courtyard. It was a fine carriage, not ostentatious, but well-made, with Aldrich’s house sigil on the doors. Four horses, strong and fresh, ready for the journey through the darkening city.
Aldrich settled himself into the carriage, and as it began to move, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift through the various concerns that had been occupying his attention recently.
The kings’ deterioration. The selection ball and its failure to produce any meaningful connections. The council’s growing tension as time passed and the curse seemed to worsen. The whispers...always the whispers, of houses making moves, alliances forming, power shifting beneath the surface.
And most troubling of all, the intelligence he’d been quietly gathering about a mole within the council itself.
For weeks now, Aldrich had noticed something wrong. Information that should have been confidential was somehow reaching certain noble houses. Strategies discussed in council meetings were being preempted by nobles who shouldn’t have known about them. Cedric’s movements were being tracked by people who had no business knowing where he was.
Someone in the council was a traitor.
Aldrich didn’t yet know who. But he was close to discovering the truth.
And if Cedric was summoning him urgently, perhaps the lord had discovered something as well.
The carriage rolled through the darkening streets of the capital, and Aldrich watched the city pass by his window. Servants hurrying home before full darkness fell. Merchants closing their stalls. Lights flickering on in windows as people settled in for the evening.
It was a beautiful city, in its way. And it was vulnerable. All cities were vulnerable, given the right pressure applied in the right places.
Aldrich just hoped that whatever crisis Cedric had uncovered, they would be able to meet it with wisdom and strength.
***
Cedric’s estate lay on the western edge of the capital, positioned such that it had views of both the city and the countryside beyond. It was a strategic location, well-placed for someone whose work involved watching and knowing what happened throughout the realm.