Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 16
Marmo had just come to Astum for the first time since news broke that Elrond had been sold to House Ortance about two months ago.
“I guess it’s better than the old count,” said Marmo. “According to rumors, he still makes sure his slaves don’t miss their meals.”
“I see…”
Lorienne’s skinny shoulders slumped.
Fourteen years ago, Marmo’s mother, Marcelle, had been a single mom working as a maid in the Kreutz family. She hadn’t told them who the father of her child was until the very end, and everyone thought she would be fired because of this. But the Duke and Duchess Kreutz took Marcelle under their wing and protected her. They arranged for a midwife to help her deliver a healthy child, and they allowed her to raise Marmo in the Kreutz household.
Then, six years ago, the Duke and Duchess Kreutz were suddenly beheaded for treason. Elrond had Marmo, the youngest member of the Kreutz family, run away with Marcelle through a secret passage. Marmo was only eight years old at the time.
“How’s Marcelle doing? I guess I’ve been waiting too long to hear from you. I didn’t even ask about Marcelle.”
“Of course. Mom’s fine, too. Oh, right. Take this, Miss Lorienne.”
“What is it?”
“Mom said that you would like this, so she told me to make sure I bring this to you.”
Marmo placed a small basket on the table, pulling back the cloth that covered its contents. Inside was a red fruit called ‘ennew.’
It was a fruit that only grew in Rixir. There were several in the Kreutz family’s garden, and in August, they would be in full bloom. As a child, Lorienen would sit under the ennew tree and play all day long. Even when she was told not to, she would climb up the tree and pluck the fruit herself.
She never thought she would see her favorite fruit again…
Lorienne stared at the anu in the basket he held out to her. The sweet aroma wafted through the air, instantly transporting her back to that summer six years ago. That memory of an ordinary day with her father, mother, and older brother Elrond soaked in sunlight seeped into Lorienne’s heart.
“Ennew…”
“It’s almost the end of the season, so there’s not much ennew and it’s not that big,” Marmo said, twiddling his thumbs. “I would have brought more, but since it’s so far away…”
He thought the ennew he brought was too unsightly.
Lorienne squeezed Marmo’s hand as she continued to bow her head, her nose a bit red.
“Thank you, Marmo. It must have been heavy…”
“No, it wasn’t heavy at all!”
As Marmo spoke loudly, Lorienne ruffled his curly blond hair.
“I know it won’t be easy, but…keep an eye on my brother for a little while longer. I’m begging you.”
“Of course, don’t worry. Every time Elrond moves, mom and I move constantly as well. I’ve also been listening to all the stories about the slaves in the marketplace, so if anything happens to him, I’ll come right away.”
Two years ago, Lorienne had run into Marmo at the Flocca Market, Astum’s largest market. She had just gone to Flocca to get the ingredients needed for a magic potion, and she recognized Marmo in a pastry shop. He told her that Marcelle had an older sister whom she had lost touch with. They found out the sister had been staying in Astum a few years ago, so they had been visiting a couple of times a year. Marmo had been filling Lorienne in on the news of Elrond and Rixir since then.
“I’d better get going,” he said. “I have to stop by my aunt’s house in Flocca.”
“Okay. Wait a minute.”
Lorienne went inside and came out with ten gold coins in a small pouch. Ten gold coins was a lot of money for a commoner to have, amounting to more than three or four months of hard labor in the fields. Marmo was reluctant to accept such an exorbitant amount but she insisted.
After giving the pouch to Marmo, Lorienne returned to the shop. The closed sign on the door was still there. She plopped down in her chair, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face. Her platinum colored hair was left loose and fell over her shoulders.
A weak whisper escaped her lips. “Hold on just a little longer, Elrond…”
Lorienne remembered that day, six years ago.
Schwing!
The day the heavy blade fell from the guillotine and the decapitated heads of her father and mother rolled on the ground of Rixir’s capital.
