Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #11 February 2015 | Page 39

wooden staff. Freda suppressed a laugh. She saw
through their deception; she had dealt with wizards
before.
The two visitors shuffled into position before the two
thrones. They bowed, stiffly and not very low. One
of them cleared his throat and made to speak. Freda
nodded, discreetly, to the leader of the group of heavily
armed guards who stood at attention to one side. He
barked an order and the men drew their swords and
surrounded the startled wizards. She spoke sweetly,
in a voice that oozed sickly honey, a voice she kept for
public occasions before people got to know her true
nature.
“It is customary, in Dishley, for all visitors to kiss the
feet of King Jack before they open their mouths to
speak. Violation of this protocol is viewed as a serious
insult and has been known to result in death. I’m sure
your inaction is based only on your ignorance and is
not a deliberate slight. Please, show your respect to his
Majesty and I’m sure all will be forgiven.”
She smiled at the two old men, who seemed to have
taken much firmer grips on their staffs. They looked
at each other and shrugged their shoulders. In turn,
they shuffled forward, dropped slowly to their knees,
and prostrated themselves at the feet of the King. Jack
hardly seemed to notice. Freda smiled. Inside she
already knew that they were too weak to withstand
her. She nodded to the guard leader and the soldiers
sheathed their swords and returned to their ceremonial
positions.
The two wizards regained their original places and the
first of them, with the unruly hair, cleared his throat
again. This time Freda allowed him to continue. He
tried to make eye contact with the King, but Jack
seemed to be staring mindlessly into the middle distance. The wizard began to speak.
“Your Majesty, my name is Frisa and my companion
is called Hroc. We are here on the command of our
leader, Weylyn the Wolf, to discuss matters of great
importance. We seek an urgent audience with you in
private. It is a matter that affects the security of your
Kingdom.” Jack made no response. Freda let them wallow in silence for longer than was necessary. She no-

ticed that beads of sweat were forming on Frisa’s brow.
She looked at her husband. “Jack, my love, perhaps
you’ll let me deal with this matter.” She looked back at
the visitors. “He’s distracted by important matters of
state. You may speak to me, as if you were speaking to
him. Isn’t that right my dear?” She wanted to give him
a good kick; instead she reached over and tapped his
arm.
“What? Oh, yes. Whatever you say, my dear.” The King
went back to staring into the middle distance. “Where’s
Christopher?”
A flash of fury shot through Freda. She did her best
to mask it. “Don’t worry, my love, I’ll send Paul in to
talk to you. Gentlemen, will you join me in my private quarters?” She stood and walked slowly from the
throne room. Servants rushed to open doors and to
grab the hem of her dress. She knew that she carried
herself well; tall and upright with the long black dress
making her appear to glide over the floor. She put on a
show for the wizards, who followed in her wake.
Her private quarters were dark. The heavy black
curtains were always drawn. Oil lamps and candles
provided limited illumination. The furniture was heavy
and ornate, upholstered in dark red and purple. Bookshelves lined the walls, packed with dusty volumes. A
black cat was asleep in a basket in the corner. A raven
fluttered in a birdcage, suspended from the ceiling
above the cat’s basket, just too high for a cat to jump
and reach it. Freda glided over to the couch and arranged herself there. She indicated to the wizards that
they should sit in the lounge chairs on either side of
her. She commanded her servants to bring tea.
The wizards shot glances at each other and shifted in
their seats. They were uncomfortable; that was good.
They tried to make small talk. “If I may be so bold,
King Jack does not look well. I hope it is nothing serious?” Hroc ventured.
Freda looked disdainfully at him. “He is not long for
this realm.”
Hroc looked shocked, which pleased Freda immensely.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

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