"This picture
does not look like my daughter," repeated Ionus.
"Sigh," thought Lord Korvos. "This is frustrating."
"Well then," began the King once again. "Do you approve of my taking
Morea as my Queen?"
Ionus: "Sir, I believe it would be... unwise."
Korvos: "Why, because of the Curse on my line?"
Ionus: "Yes. The Korathian Queens almost all go mad."
Korvos: "So you lied to me to save your daughter?"
Ionus: "My lord, I am but a father who cares for his only offspring and
wants what is best for her."
Korvos: "I see. Very well then, you may leave me."
Later that night, Korvos tried to sleep in his room, but the events of
the day kept running through his head. He couldn't get the image of the
veiled Morea out of his thoughts.
"Join us," came a soft whisper from out of the dark. Korvos sat bolt
upright, cold sweat drenching his body. At the foot of the bed stood a
the veiled figure from earlier that day, holding a flickering lantern.
Acting swiftly, Korvos lunged out of the bed and grabbed the arm of the
woman.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" demanded the King.
|
"I am Morea,"
said the woman as she took off the veil, revealing herself to be the
daughter of Ionus. Korvos could see that the girl looked remarkably
like the other Queens.
"I have come to warn you about the curse," she continued.
"I know what the curse is," said Korvos as he released Morea.
"But you do not know my part in it," claimed Morea. "A witch woman told
me when I was but a child that I was destined to be the next Queen of
Korath. The curse that afflicts the Korathian kings is certain to
destroy me too."
"But why come to tell me this?" asked a puzzled Korvos.
"Perhaps now that you know, you can take steps to prevent the curse
from occurring," stated Morea. "And I admit that I could not keep
myself from coming to see you. I feel that our destinies are
intertwined somehow."
"Did you say 'join us' just before I woke?" asked Korvos.
"No my lord. You were the first to speak," replied Morea.
Chapter 8: The Beast Strikes
While Korvos and his lady got to know each other better, Racius and
Theguis slept soundly in their rooms. But a steady drip drip drip
managed to wake the dreaming Racius, who came fully awake once he
registered the foul odor that permeated his room. Springing out of bed,
rapier in hand, Racius saw a growing pile of ooze in the middle of the
room, growing as blobs of it fell from the ceiling.
|