Dangerous Liaisons

Frederina paused and gazed upon him more carefully. "What has happened, brother? What has gone wrong?"

Fred reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders. "My story must be my own. For now at least. All you need know is that my quest is not complete, and none but you know that I have returned." Doubt and fear flashed across Frederina's face. "Do not worry, sister," Fred smiled more confidently, "in time all will be made clear and all shall be set to rights. But I am not here to fill your mind with anxious thought or to ease my heart with your happy smile. I have sought you out for a purpose, Drina." Fred paused, knowing that what would come next would not be easy for either of them. "I need to know what hold Duke Zular has over our House."

Frederina lowered her head in shame and pressed back from his hold. "So you have heard..." she said, her voice catching in her throat. "I had hoped that my affiliation with the House Mollari would be the last thing we would speak of on your return." Her voice trembled with humiliation. But Fred forced himself to keep pressing. "I need to know; regardless of what it is," he said, and tightened his grip.

Frederina looked up into his eyes. Her lips quivered, but she collected herself and began to speak. "Duke Zular Mollari holds the House D'Honaire hostage because of me." It was a simple self-accusation filled with endless remorse and recrimination. Fred was cut to the heart by the terrible pain he heard in those words. "How?" he whispered.

"A woman's indiscretion," she replied, and almost laughed. "I was in love. And I still am. But the man who holds my heart in his hands is betrothed to another." She stopped and tears welled up in her eyes. "Please do not ask who."

"I wish I did not have to Drina," Fred said reluctantly. "But my quest has led me down dangerous paths, and my life hangs in the balance. And so does yours. Oh, how fate is cruel." Fred could not but wonder at how his quest for glory and his sister's search for love had brought them both into a web of deceit at who's center was one and the same man: Duke Zular.

"I do not understand what you mean!" she cried, the strain of her confession mixing with her growing anxiety about her brother. "Tell me who your lover is!" Fred commanded, unwilling to share his burden with his sister. "I cannot!" she refused. "You must! Zular knows who he is and so too must I!" Fred insisted. "I swear my sister, I will hold you blameless in this matter. My only concern is with Zular. I need to know what he holds over you and father."

Frederina was silent for a moment, staring at the ground at her feet. "So does Zular hold you too in the palm of his hand?" she asked. "Is that why he wanted your Chalice?"

Fred ignored the question, but asked her yet again to name her lover. "Our family, our House, our lives are on the line, Drina. Tell me who he is." Fred's eyes bore down into his sister. She seemed to wilt under his gaze, and then she suddenly rushed forward and hugged him tight.

1. Fighting back her fear and shame, she answered his question.

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