By the time Lucas, Miranda, Ricardo, and I were eighteen (for we discovered to our amazement that the Avalon was also born on the same day), the ageing king's illness had worsened considerably. Earlier that year, the Hierophant had passed away from the White Plague, and the council of cardinals became deadlocked in their attempts to elect a successor. This did not prevent them from assuming most of the secular powers as advisors to young prince Sandoval, the de facto regent. In a fit of anger, High King Salvador had disowned his eldest son Prince Javier the year before, and when the prince disappeared from his rooms, it was assumed he had left Castille, although the darker rumours whispered of assassination. The King's Men had been disbanded by the cardinals' Concilio de la Razon. It was a dangerous, festering court that surrounded Prince Sandoval.
My cousins and I were surprised to be called to the court by uncle Andrès, also one of the Prince's advisors, to be presented. The King, it was rumoured, had fallen into a deep coma. As soon as we were introduced to the young prince, he became quite obviously fascinated by Miranda's exquisite grace. Lucas was not to be outshone, however, and met great favour in the eyes of a beautiful young noblewoman, doña Salvadora Veronica Lopez de Torres.
We had come with a small retinue which included Ricardo. Dubious about the news of the king's health, he decided to make his way unescorted to the king's chambers, in the hopes of being of some help. Ricardo, we had come to discover, wielded the sorcerous powers of Glamour granted by the Sidhe to some Avalons; he could make himself impossible to see, and so was able to sneak past the omnipresent Cardinals' Guards. To his dismay, he discovered that the king was already dead in his sickbed, from poison.
Downstairs, unaware of this, we were dancing. Prince Sandoval had asked Miranda to be his partner, and only had eyes for her, while Lucas was gracefully accompanying doña Salvadora. In the middle of the stately ball, no one spotted the assassin – a crossbow bolt came flying for the Prince. Confusion and shock rippled through the attendance, but cousin Miranda kept her wits about her; she threw herself over the prince to shield him from further attacks. Equally swift, Lucas spotted the assassin in a high window.
At the same moment, a group of the Cardinals' Guards attacked us, perhaps thinking Miranda was attacking the Prince. Uncle Andrès, Lucas, and I started defending ourselves, while Miranda kept trying to interpose herself between the Prince and the crossbowman. Our confessor, brother Cadfaello, invoking the name of Theus and the Prophets, addressed the Cardinals' Guards with amazing eloquence, and convinced them to put down their weapons.
Lucas immediately ran outside to look for a way to climb to the assassin. As he reached the wall, he saw the man fall backwards to his death. For a brief moment, another man was visible up there at the window. All dressed in purple and black, the man wore a strange white mask that covered his face entirely, giving the appearance of a grimacing smile. The man waved at Lucas, then took himself out of sight.
Lucas climbed to the window where the assassin had shot from, to see if the man had left any trace behind, while we examined the dead assassin. Lucas found, hanging off a jutting stone, a large Prophets' cross of silvery metal. It hung from a chain, as if the crossbowman had taken it from around his neck and hung it there before starting his attack.
An examination of the dead villain revealed the man to have been killed by a sword blow. More surprisingly, the assassin was recognized as a Vodacce cardinal, Monsignor Giovanni Teglionni. The cross was identified as his, although it had been decorated with jewels before. The jewels must have been held to it with silver wire, for no trace of them could now be seen, and upon closer examination, we discovered the metal it was made of to be practically impossible to work, so hard it was. Brother Cadfaello and I recognized it for a rare substance used only in some Syrneth artefacts, far older than the silver chain that ran through it – older, perhaps, than the Prophets.
Lucas kept the cross, since no one else had a better claim to it. When Ricardo rejoined us, we learned that King Salvador was dead. Prince Sandoval, who was now in right King of Castille, was very kind to us. A few days later, after he had recovered from the worst effects of his wound, he received us in a private audience. Although the Concilio de la Razon had disbanded the King's Men, the young king gave us all pins of this noble order as a symbol of his thanks. Naturally, we cannot wear them in Castille, but we were deeply honoured and swore to live up to this distinction.
