Free Love's Labor's Won by Christopher Nuttall Page A

If they’d had weapons...she shook her head, inwardly. She rather doubted King Randor would have been defenseless, if they’d gone at him with swords or daggers. The wards surrounding the room were light, compared to Whitehall’s, but they would be effective against men without magic.
    “The children will come to the castle to live with my family,” Randor said. “Once they reach their majority, they will assume their titles and serve as aristocrats in their lands.”
    He paused. Emily realized, suddenly, that he was effectively gloating, rubbing their helplessness in their faces. But why? What did the guardianship of minor children matter ? But there was no way she could ask, not now. She would have to discuss it with Alassa later, and perhaps Lady Barb. And then...she wondered, briefly, if there was anything she should or could do. But she couldn’t say without knowing what was going on.
    “Your majesty,” Baron Silver said. “You have yet to confirm Baroness Alicia in her lands and title, even though she is of age.”
    “She is a girl,” King Randor said, dismissively.
    “So is Baroness Cockatrice,” Baron Silver said, indicating Emily. His voice dripped honey...and sarcasm. “And she saved your throne, for which we are all truly grateful.”
    “Baroness Emily was rewarded for her services to the crown,” King Randor said. “What has Alicia done to merit being confirmed in her lands and title?”
    The barons sucked in their breath. Even Emily was astonished. King Randor had targeted, intentionally or otherwise, the cornerstone of the aristocratic system. Noble titles and power were passed down from father to son — or daughter, if there was no suitable male heir. For him to deny Alicia her rank and titles...she shook her head, promising herself that she would go over it with Alassa at the earliest possible moment. There was too much here she simply didn’t understand.
    Maybe I should just give up the title , she thought, ruefully. There is probably no shortage of others who want it .
    “She is the only surviving heir of Baron Gold,” Baron Gaunt said. “And she was not involved in his treachery.”
    Emily frowned inwardly as something clicked into place. The three most powerful barons were called Gold, Silver and Bronze. Collectively, they controlled enough lands and power to bring the king to heel. Or they had, before Baron Gold had been beheaded and King Randor had deployed a new and powerful army. Was King Randor delaying because he didn’t want a new Baroness Gold? Alicia might be very far from harmless with such wealth and power in her hands. She would be only human if she didn’t want some revenge for her executed father.
    “We will see,” the King said. He held up a hand as the barons started to object. “The third matter is considerably more alarming.”
    He waved a hand in the air. Moments later, a pair of dark-clad servants entered, carrying a box of documents between them. Emily’s eyes narrowed as she spotted the jewels implanted in their foreheads, anchoring the enslavement spells in place. The servants — no, the slaves — would do whatever they were told by their master, without the slightest hope of resistance. It wasn’t something she would wish on her worst enemy.
    “These...pamphlets have been spreading through the kingdom,” King Randor said. “You will, I suspect, find them quite disturbing.”
    Emily took one of the pamphlets and read it, quickly. It was written using English letters, but, as always, the local spelling left something to be desired. Words were spelled out phonically, ensuring there were several different, but technically correct spellings for many different words. Hell, the writer couldn’t be bothered being consistent; he’d used the same word several times, spelling it four different ways. But it didn’t matter, she knew. As long as the words could be sounded out, they were readable.
    Her eyes went wide when she finally parsed out the first