Page 70 of Play of Shadows
‘Send for parchment, quill and ink,’ he ordered one of his lieutenants. His eyes still fixed on Corbier, he said, ‘You will renounce your title, your lands and your wealth. You will declare with your signature and seal that I am your liege-lord, now and for ever, and you will command all those who supported your false claim to swear themselves to me.’
‘I will,’ Corbier promised, tugging the silver Archducal brooch from his collar. ‘With this emblem, I will seal the decree.’
‘You will leave the city tonight,’ Pierzi went on, ‘and tomorrow you will leave my duchy. By the end of the week, you will be on a ship away from this country, never to see Tristia’s shores again.’
‘I will do this, and I will praise your name until I die.’
Pierzi ignored him. ‘You will take the foul offspring you have hidden inside my home, who ate from my plate and warmed themselves at my hearth.’ His glare went to Ajelaine. ‘And she who wed herself to me when a hundred others more beautiful, more faithful, would have taken her place, she who lied to me, whispering her devotion even as she laughed behind my back—’
‘My Prince,’ Ajelaine started, a plea of shameful regret in her voice.
The instant she spoke, Corbier knew her interjection for a terrible mistake. The sincerity of her remorse was no balm, but a bee’s sting that roused Pierzi’s anger.
The prince’s eyes narrowed, as if he’d been in a dream and only now awakened. The sound of her voice, like a melody remembered, brought a cold, cruel smile to his lips.
‘Shestays.’
‘No,’ Corbier pleaded, ‘do not bind your heart to one whom you never loved, Pierzi; she was never more to you than the means tothe throne. Let Ajelaine come with me and you may marry anew, have sons and daughters to cherish, a woman you can truly love.’
One of the prince’s lieutenants whispered into his ear and again my eyes were drawn by a glint at his collar. When I tried to force Corbier’s head to turn so I could see what was hiding in those shadows, the world began to shift out of focus, as if there were limits to how far I could stray from the path to which Corbier was bound.
Let me see, damn you. . .
But I was yanked back when Pierzi repeated, with the force of an iron gate slamming down, ‘She stays.’
Corbier shouted, ‘Nevino, you must not—’
‘I agree,’ Ajelaine interrupted. She was holding the boys tightly, as if already saying goodbye. ‘I will stay with you, my Prince. I will serve in whichever way pleases you– only let the boys go.’
Pierzi did not smile, just dipped his head once.
The bargain was made, the future sealed.
For a moment the vision froze, leaving me confused, unable to let the others know what they should do next.
Help me here, I asked Corbier silently.I don’t understand– if you made a deal with Pierzi, then what happ—?
Abide, the Archduke whispered.
All was motionless in the present, and in the past, except for the sound of Corbier, weeping uncontrollably. Not knowing what else to do, I began to signal to the stagehands to let loose the curtain cords, to bring the night’s events to a close– but he resisted me.
No, he said, still weeping,abide. Let them see why they are right to call Corbier a murderer.
And suddenly I was back into Ajelaine’s chamber – the audience, my fellow players, the theatre itself, nothing but a distant memory. The crushing weight of Corbier’s grief washed over me.
She made the bargain. It was her choice, not mine. She warned me all along that to be denied even the tiniest sliver of his desires was the same for Pierzi as having nothing at all. I knew she was right– all I had to do was keep silent– but I couldn’t.
I felt the single syllable drop from my own lips: the one word which altered the course of history.
‘No.’
The man holding parchment, quill and ink let them fall to the floor. The ink bottle shattered, sending a river of black across the flagstones.
Pierzi smiled, the look of a man freed from the chains of his own conscience. ‘So be it.’
Before a sound had even escaped Ajelaine’s mouth, the deed was done.
Corbier had extended his blade, aiming for Pierzi’s heart. The prince had not yet drawn his weapon, but he wasn’t as unprepared as he’d appeared, for the tip of Corbier’s rapier sent up a screech of sparks as it scored the steel breastplate hidden beneath his fine silk shirt.
