The Dark Half, Part 1: Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Three weeks after the miraculous re-appearance in the forest came the Feast of Saint Matthew, and being a harvest festival, the whole kingdom was in celebration. A fair and a joust were being held, along with plenty of other entertainment to celebrate the years' bounty. But it was Johan and Peewit who found themselves to be celebrities at the festival. Everyone had questions to ask about their adventure in the swamps, about the battle, and the rescue of the princess. The princess's state was of particular interest, given that Sabina was noticeably absent and had not been seen since she returned with them. Johan suspected there were questions he was not being asked and stories he was not hearing out of politeness and respect for his station, but he put those worries out of his mind. Why was Sabina still a prisoner in her rooms? Her uncle had been furious with her, but he wasn't a cruel man, surely he wasn't going to keep her under lock and key until her wedding date arrived. This was beginning to be troubling. Peewit couldn't help but notice his friend's melancholy state recently, and took it upon himself to cheer him up. "What kind of surprise is this going to be, Peewit? You know I have duties and..." "That would spoil the surprise, wouldn't it? Besides, you've done nothing but work for the past three weeks! You need to do something fun." He said as he led the knight through the busy, garish stalls of the fair, stopping in front of a simple table, at which sat a plain, middle-aged woman. "Well?" Said Peewit. "Is this the surprise?" "Of course it is! Cassiopeia is an old friend of mine, and I've asked her to tell your fortune!" Johan did not look excited. But he did not want to be rude to Peewit or the woman. "Oh, all right, but it needs to be quick." Taking her cue, Cassiopeia produced a small deck of cards from a basket beneath the table, and began to shuffle. "What is it you wish to know, my Lord?" Johan did not answer. He wasn't going to ask a fortune teller in a market what he really wanted to know most. But what if this was the only way? No, this was just sleight of hand tricks. "Is there anything at all? Surely there's something you're curious about." "Come on Johan, be a good sport," chimed in Peewit. "What...what will the results of the tournament be?" "The tournament results. Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure." Cassiopeia nodded and drew five cards, laying them face down on the table. She flipped them over one by one and examined them for a few minutes. They looked like normal playing cards, but on them were woodcut prints of random, everyday things: a thundercloud, an anchor, a key, a man on a horse, and mice eating bread on a well-set table. The woman took a deep breath and pointed at the middle card. "I see from the key that things will be revealed to you, my Lord. Something will be confirmed and answered. As for the rest...you have enjoyed a secure place, but it is clouded by something. Very soon, there will be news, as I can see from the rider, but the news will be of something that is taken away." "And that's all?" "I'm afraid that's all I can gather from five cards, which is what your friend paid for. About the tournament, of course." "Aw, it looks like you're going to lose," said Peewit. Johan left Peewit in the fair to shop. As he neared the castle, he happened to spy Maenad and his father discussing something near a grape trellis. He had barely seen Maenad in the past few weeks either. Dame Barbara had finally gotten her way and made the king forbid her from coming near the royal suite. Edelhart had gotten over his distrust of the werewolf, and they'd formed a sort of friendship around veteran stories and a mutual hatred of the elderly governess. "…very sick. I overheard two of the female servants discussing it. When they saw me, they quit speaking and went on with their duties." "Pardon my interruption, but I heard you say someone was sick?" Maenad pulled Johan under the trellis. "It's just a rumor, but I heard that the princess hasn't been seen for so long because she's come down with something. Has the king mentioned anything about it? You're with him all the time…" "No, he hasn't. He doesn't discuss her condition much; I think it upsets him still." Not to mention Johan could not bring himself to ask. "Well, sit down here, and I'll tell you everything I've overheard. I have better ears than most, after all. Besides, you've been ignoring your Lady since I was removed from my position as royal tutor. Would you like a drink?" She poured a goblet of hard cider and shoved it in his hand. Johan gave her a furious look; he hadn't told his father about Maenad being his pretend Lady-love. "Calm down, I told him this is just a 'misunderstanding' the King has. And it keeps you out of trouble with the other ladies, eh?" She said with a wink. She was back to wearing fashionable ladies' gowns, tightly laced and the color of wine, with her hair in a simple long braid down her back. She smelled like cider too, probably already drunk and prone to say anything. Johan sat next to her and followed the conversation closely. His father mercifully ignored her blithe comments and picked up the conversation again. "This, uh, friendship you two have is all well and good, but people are starting to talk, son, and not in a flattering way. You need to start thinking about your position. I'm going to speak with the King as soon as I can about finding you a wife...one who's not a retired mercenary." "Marriage?" Johan laughed nervously. He had entertained the thought, but obviously not like this. "You're a grown man now. You've got responsibilities and a reputation to uphold. Someday soon, you're going to inherit our manor and all our lands. None of this is going to happen right away, God willing, but it's something we need to face." "Don't worry about me. I've been through more men than I can remember; you won't break my heart if you lay me aside for another, someone younger and fairer. There are plenty of young men here for me still." Maenad ignored her companions' shocked faces. She finished off another goblet and helped herself to a handful of little honey cakes that sat next to her on a gilded tray. "She's drunk, father, she…" "I know, I know. But all the more reason to leave these childish games behind." "Sire, I heard from one of the servants that Princess Sabina was ill. Is that true?" Johan slipped into the gallery where the royals were going to watch the joust before anyone else had arrived. His mentor sighed. "I've tried to keep things quiet until we can find a healer who can tell us what's wrong, but it's true, she's very ill." "It's not...life threatening, is it?" Eleven years prior, a plague had swept through the land, striking down old and young, rich and poor. The healers and doctors had been powerless to stop it, and by the time it had subsided, Johan's mother and the King's brothers and sister were dead, leaving Sabina and the kingdom in his care, and Gerard an orphan at the mercy of his mother's people. A new mysterious disease was something that terrified them both. "No, it doesn't seem to be. But we're keeping her in her suite until we know. Truth be told, she's too weak to go anywhere." The king saw the grave look on Johan's face. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Johan. Don't let it distract you today. She'll be…fine." The King didn't look convinced. He looked older and thinner, and Johan knew weeks of concern for his niece had taken a toll on him. "Why didn't you tell me? Peewit and I could have gone to Homnibus, or old Rachel, or Papa Smurf, or…" Don't let it distract him? Hiding his concern for her since she'd been locked away had been torture enough, and now she had come down with a mysterious sickness! "I don't know if they could help her." "You don't know? What would it hurt to ask?" "You can go see them if you want to. You're right, it wouldn't hurt anything." "We'll leave tomorrow first thing, with your permission, of course." "Of course. Oh, here, I was supposed to give this to you at the feast, but other things came up." He handed Johan a scarf that had been clumsily embroidered with what sort of looked like a woman holding a basket of fruit, though Johan couldn't be sure. "Maenad made this. You're going to be her champion this time."