As Darien disembarked from his horse and released it to the servant at the gate, he marvelled as he always did at the fine fortress that was the capital of Thiasa. Darien had not been here since he was a mere child, always finding a convenient excuse not to attend with his father whenever the King called upon him. The only reason Darien came now was because it was the lesser of two evils. It was either come to show his loyalty to the king and take his father's place on his privy council, or hear the old banshee howl at the disgrace and dishonour that he had cast upon the Lawley name and fiefdom. Darien's mother would be the death of him, especially if her talons were able to snag him a wife.

Darien was directed by a servant to the throne room and he held his head high. He approached the throne room and was allowed into the chamber by the guard.

Darien performed a deep bow for his monarch. "Your Majesty, forgive your humble servant's tardiness for I have been detained dealing with matters of state after taking my father's place. And it is this business that I wish to speak with you now, I have come to show you that I am the King's man, as my father was before me," Darien said, keeping his head low, almost wishing he had the nerve to raise his head to see the King's reaction.

King Aedan had very little patience for this man. After all, he'd heard enough about the young lord's philandering--Hell, Elliott had complained enough about his son over the years.

"Well met. I suppose you've come to take your father's place on my council?" He leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Listen, my friend, you may take a place in my privy council, but whether or not I'll listen to you will depend on how sound your advice proves. And I'll not have my court degraded by scandal, so kindly keep your debauchery outside the walls of the Keep."

He raised an eyebrow. "So your first honest words to me had better be a promise that you'll be straightforward in the future."

Lawley would be important in war; the fiefdom was close to the border by the Western Barbarians. And he'd damn well better be able to trust him; the Western barbarians were the more fearsome, with greater numbers at their command.

Darien had expected a cold welcome from His Majesty, though he had not expected it to be this harsh. It was nice to know that his father had done a wonderful job in preparing his place for his son.

"I assure you, Your Majesty, that I have no intention of sullying your good name or mine any further. I give you my word as the son of Elliot Lawley," Darien kept his head bowed, fearing the wrath that the king might have in store for him.

"However, your majesty, there are some things that must be discussed in regards to the barbarians that roam near my lands. They have already begun to stir. They're getting more and more brave coming closer to the border. It's only a matter of time before they begin roaming the lands freely. I was not aware of your majesty had been made aware, and I felt it my duty to let you know," said Darien, his head still low, waiting for his monarch to give him permission to rise.

King Aedan half-rose from his throne, his face thunderous.

"Does not the Oran River still run?" he demanded. "Do we not hold the garrisons? How could the barbarians possibly cross the river without our awareness?" He made a dismissive gesture with one hand. This Lawley brat was obviously touched in the head. How could the Western barbarians ford the river without being picked off by their archers? Much less when he held the Warlord's sister--and wife, as disgusting as the notion was--captive.

"Besides which, we have a captive of theirs. You're obviously ignorant or alarmist and wish us to send more troops your way." He stood up, glaring down at Lord Lawley from his rather imposing height. "Is that what you wish of me? Further troops to bolster your own? Why do you need them? Not to move against me, I hope--or I'd have your head more quickly than you could cry for mercy!"

Darien dare not move a muscle, for fear that it would anger the king further. He waited until his majesty finished and then quickly spoke, risking to look up into the king's eyes. "Forgive me, your Majesty, I meant no offense. I simply wished to inform your majesty of the goings on in my lands, which your Majesty has graciously given my family charge over. I beg your mercy, your majesty," Darien said bowing his head yet again when he asked for his mercy.

Darien had been told that his majesty was not easily won by meakness, perhaps a different approach was needed. "Your majesty, as it seems I am unaware of your plans, perhaps it would be wise for me to be so, so that I may better do my lord's bidding. For on my life and the lives of my men, I will see the river Oran run with barbarian blood before they cross it," Darien spoke the oath with his eyes locked upon the king's.

"It seems you're aggressive enough when your own life is threatened," Aedan observed, sitting down and arranging his cloak around himself. Yes, it was sweltering... but when one needed to make an impression there was nothing better. "The day I see a similar arousal of your ire for the sake of your countrymen--yes, down to the lowest serf--then I will trust you. Until that day you would do well to watch the only thing you seem to care about, Lawley--your own skin. This king will not tolerate weakness in his subjects, or disloyalty. And through your fumbling words you've betrayed the threat of both."

Unexpectedly, he smiled. Being a king, one ought to show mercy sometimes. "With that said, I"m sure you'll make a splendid advisor. I trust most of mine, you see, rather too much; and I view too few of them as the liars they are--so it'll make a nice change. Welcome to Thiasa Keep." He settled more deeply into his throne, trying to regain some regality of bearing despite his red-faced anger.

He hated these sorts of men. And he knew what sort Lawley was, the honey-tongued bastard. It had taken all of his own elocution training to make that little speech, and what he really wanted to do was wring the man's neck. Still... he sighed, schooling himself to patience. He'd need Lawley fiefdom in a war. Better make it clear who Lawley's master was now, even if it be through fear and not love.

Darien bowed graciously to his monarch, taking his welcome as a sign that he was dismissed. He turned around and left the throne room with a clenched fist as he left the door. A shame my father is already dead, or I would have made it so now. Elliot Lawley had surely told the king several stories about his past, a past that his father had not done a very good job of hiding, especially if the old fool told the King himself.

Darien stepped out into the Main Hall and noticed a couple of fine looking serving women attending to some cleaning. He walked by them and from the corner of his eye examined them. All this busines with his father's estate had really kept him away from his worldly pleasures. Perhaps tonight he could arrange to have some company in his bed.

He decided against it, though. The King had made it perfectly clear that he did not want to hear of any more of Darien's philandering. Of course, Darien always did enjoy a challenge. He walked out of the castle to walk through the gardens, with a very large grin on his face.