“You were there?” Maia pressed.
“Of course. That is where the king appointed me his new chancellor. I am sorry to bring evil tidings to you, Lady Maia. Your father has ordered the expulsion of the Dochte Mandar from Comoros. Immediately. Irrevocably. Illegally, I might add, but such it is.”
Maia sat down on the window seat she had so often occupied in her childhood, unable to summon the presence of mind to speak.
“You are amazed, to be sure,” Chancellor Morton said.
“I am,” Maia whispered. She looked up at him and then swept her gaze over the knight-mastons who had gathered around them.
“Let me explain, as best I can, my lady.” Before continuing, he wiped his mouth and adjusted his own felt hat, as if he were loath to relive the experience. “The trial did not go as your father had hoped,” he finally said. “Queen Catrin, your mother, refused to accept the authority of the court or its legal mandate to disinherit her. She was defiant, but very humble, and she begged her husband to reconsider his rash desires.” He tapped his lips, growing silent. “I tell you, my lady, she was very convincing. She spoke with poise and passion, warning all that a great calamity would befall the kingdoms if your father’s breach of the maston decrees continued unchecked. On her knees, she begged your father’s pardon and committed herself to overlook his transgressions and mend the marriage.” His voice grew quiet. “My lady, the Medium was there so powerfully, we all felt it. We sensed the danger brooding in the room. She said we have fallen away from the maston rites, that we have forgotten our duty to rebuild the abbeys. She said we have been blinded by the machinations of the Dochte Mandar, who pit the kingdoms against one another and seek to destroy unity through intrigue.”
Maia felt her heart bursting with pride for her mother. Tears pricked her eyes, but she would not let them fall. A timid flame of hope kindled inside her.
“What then, my lord?” Maia said in a hushed whisper.
“The king was silent. He was fearfully silent. The noble Families of the realm had all sent emissaries to try and persuade him to reconcile with your mother. She knelt in front of him, tears streaming down her cheeks. Everyone was moved. The king demanded proof of her accusation against the Dochte Mandar, proof that they were plotting against the realm.” He walked to the edge of the chancellor’s desk and picked up an ink-stained quill. “The chancellor’s own hand condemned him. The queen said they needed to look no farther than the chancellor’s own satchel bag for evidence of treachery. There they would find a letter addressed to the chief scribe of the Dochte Mandar plotting against the realm, planning for a time when the Dochte Mandar might take full authority of Comoros. You can imagine the uproar, my lady. Only the Medium could have told her what was in the bag. The king ordered for the chancellor’s kystrel to be ripped from his neck and melted by a blacksmith, but he was not wearing one when he was apprehended. Even now, I have orders to expel every Dochte Mandar from the kingdom, save for Walraven.”
Maia’s eyes widened. “Why? My lord, is he to be punished?”
“He is under guard, my lady. He will not be permitted to leave Comoros. Not even his bones. He knows too much.”
Maia stood and rubbed her arms, her heart pounding fast. She had trusted Chancellor Walraven. She had trusted him implicitly. Had he been using her all along? Was she one of his pawns in this terrible web of intrigue? Her heart was breaking at the mere thought of it.
“What of my mother?” Maia pleaded.
Chancellor Morton stared at her with sympathy. He sighed. “Catrin is still banished from court. Your father refuses to reconcile with her.”
Maia felt as if she had been struck a second physical blow.
“His Majesty the King has told me that you are forbidden to see or speak with her. There will be no messages delivered. That is his will.”
She stared at him in horror. “Lord Chancellor, this is unjust!”
“I agree, Lady Maia. The King is very wroth. He did not get his way, and he learned that Walraven betrayed him. You can be sure, he is quite angry still and lashes out as a man in pain is wont to do, injuring the very people who are trying to heal him. I am but a humble lawyer, Lady Maia, but I am also a maston. I will speak the truth in plainness and wisdom, as the Medium sees fit to bestow on me. We will purge the realm of the Dochte Mandar. Then I will seek to reconcile you to your father. Until then, be patient, my lady.”