Against The World

Evelyn Valewood entered Greykeep as if she were inspecting a fortress she might later need to capture.

Her gaze moved constantly.

She noted the number of guards at the gate, the position of the towers, the unfinished shelters, the crowded roads, and the water channels crossing the old city. She even looked toward the rooftops whenever she passed beneath a window.

Her six guards followed in pairs.

They wore polished armor and carried matching swords, but they kept their hands away from the hilts after Uriah’s warning. Captain Eliza placed four Greykeep volunteers behind them.

The result was less a welcoming procession and more a parade formed by people waiting for someone else to make the first mistake.

Uriah walked beside Evelyn.

Mary, Melody, and Alistair followed closely.

No one spoke.

They passed the first residential district, where carpenters continued working by lantern light. Families had gathered around communal fires. Some bowed when they noticed Uriah. Others simply waved.

Uriah waved back.

Evelyn noticed.

“Do they always greet you like that?”

“I have known most of them for less than a day, so I do not think we have established an always.”

“You allow them to wave at you.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Uriah looked at her. “What should they do?”

“Kneel. Bow. Stand aside.”

“That sounds inconvenient for people carrying lumber.”

Evelyn glanced toward two workers hauling a beam.

“Royal customs exist for a reason.”

“What reason?”

“To establish order.”

“The people building houses seem fairly orderly.”

“That is not what I meant.”

“I know.”

Her mouth tightened.

Melody hid a smile.

Alistair did not bother.

“You find this amusing?” Evelyn asked him.

“I find many things about House Valewood amusing.”

“You were not laughing outside the gate.”

“I had not eaten for three weeks.”

“It showed.”

Uriah looked over his shoulder. “Can we save the family argument until I know why your families are arguing?”

“They betrayed Greykeep,” Alistair said.

“My ancestors saved thousands of lives,” Evelyn replied.

“By abandoning their posts.”

“By evacuating people your guard could not protect.”

“The king ordered the walls held.”

“The king had already lost control of them.”

Their voices sharpened with every sentence.

Uriah stopped walking.

So did everyone else.

“Neither of you was there,” he said.

Alistair’s jaw tightened.

Evelyn lifted one eyebrow. “You doubt our histories?”

“I doubt any argument that begins with people being blamed for choices made by ancestors neither of you met.”

Alistair stared at him. “A family name carries obligations.”

“And guilt?”

“Sometimes.”

“Then how many generations must someone answer for a mistake?”

The older captain did not reply.

Evelyn studied Uriah with renewed interest.

“You defend my house without knowing what it did.”

“No. I am saying I do not know enough to condemn you for it.”

“That is a careful distinction.”

“It is supposed to be.”

They continued toward the inner castle.

Evelyn returned to examining Greykeep.

“How many people have arrived?”

“Nearly three thousand,” Mary answered.

“How many can you feed?”

“Not nearly three thousand.”

Evelyn stopped.

Uriah had expected criticism.

Instead, she turned toward the camps.

“How long?”

“With strict rationing and everything the arrivals brought?” Mary checked one of her ledgers. “Four days.”

“And after four days?”

“We hunt, fish, trade, and ask the nearby villages what they can spare.”

“That is not a plan. That is a list of hopes.”

“We know,” Uriah said.

Evelyn faced him.

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“You opened your gates to thousands of people without knowing whether you could feed them.”

“They were already here.”

“You could have turned them away.”

“To go where?”

“That is not your responsibility.”

“They came because the Crown told them Greykeep had returned.”

“The Crown gave them information. You gave them permission.”

“And you think I should have refused?”

“I think a king who invites people into a famine has not saved them.”

Uriah felt anger rise.

He forced it down.

Evelyn’s tone was sharp, but her point was not cruel. Food remained Greykeep’s most immediate danger. A repaired wall meant little to a hungry child.

“What would you have done?” he asked.

“Closed the gates after the first five hundred.”

“And the rest?”

“Directed them toward allied towns.”

“We do not have allied towns.”

“Then bought food.”

“We have three gold coins.”

Evelyn stared at him.

“Three?”

“Two onions as well.”

She looked at Mary, apparently expecting correction.

Mary nodded.

Evelyn closed her eyes.

“What exactly did the goddess give you?”

“A castle.”

“A ruin.”

“Magic.”

“Useful.”

“A sword and hammer.”

“Also useful.”

“And no treasury?”

“Three gold coins.”

“You mentioned those.”

“I am very proud of them.”

Evelyn opened her eyes. “You are either remarkably calm or completely unaware of the disaster forming around you.”

“Both are possible.”

She looked toward the crowd again.

“House Valewood brought six wagons.”

Uriah glanced at the carriage and mounted escort. “I saw one.”

“The others are half a mile behind us.”

“What is in them?”

“Grain, dried fruit, preserved vegetables, blankets, medicine, and field tents.”

Mary’s ears lifted.

Beatrice, who had emerged from the kitchen in time to hear the list, pushed through the gathering.

“How much grain?”

Evelyn looked at her.

“Who are you?”

“The woman deciding whether three thousand people eat tomorrow.”

“Beatrice, I assume.”

“You know me?”

“No. You just look like a Beatrice.”

Beatrice folded her arms.

Evelyn’s expression remained perfectly serious.

Uriah suspected she had made a joke, but he could not be certain.

“How much?” Beatrice repeated.

“Twelve tons.”

Silence spread through the courtyard.

Uriah blinked. “You brought twelve tons of grain to judge me?”

“No. I brought twelve tons because I expected Greykeep to be unprepared.”

“That almost sounds insulting.”

“It was intended to be practical.”

Beatrice stepped closer. “What kind?”

“Wheat, barley, rye, and oats.”

“Condition?”

“Perfectly dry and sealed.”

“Any flour?”

“One wagon.”

Beatrice turned toward Uriah.

“I like her.”

Melody gasped. “That easy, huh?”

“She brought flour.”

“That is a fair reason,” Uriah said.

Evelyn held up one hand.

“The supplies remain property of House Valewood until further notice.”

Beatrice stopped smiling.

“What do you want in exchange for them?” Uriah asked.

“That depends.”

“On whether I am worthy?”

“Yes.”

“And if I am not?”

“I distribute them myself, then take the people willing to follow me to Valewood territory.”

Alistair stepped forward. “You came to steal his citizens.”

“I came prepared to prevent them from starving.”

“You assume they belong to you.”

“No,” Evelyn said. “I assume they belong to themselves.”

That silenced him.

Uriah looked at her.

For the first time, he understood why the Crown had appeared on Evelyn’s palm. She was proud, suspicious, and irritatingly direct, but she did not speak about the people outside as possessions.

“What would you have me do to earn the supplies?” he asked.

Evelyn turned toward him.

“Nothing tonight.”

“You said you came to judge me.”

“I did. I am. I will.”

“How?”

“By watching what you do when you forget I am watching.”

“That seems a more difficult proposition now that you told me you are watching.”

“It will become easier.”

Uriah did not doubt it.

A low rumble rolled through the courtyard.

The stone beneath their feet trembled.

Evelyn’s guards drew their swords.

Eliza’s volunteers did the same.

“Put the weapons away, please.” Uriah said.

Golden light traveled through the water channels. The fountain brightened, and the symbol on the sealed western archway appeared once more.

Evelyn stared.

“You awakened the spring.”

“The castle did.”

“Castles do not make decisions.”

“This one most certainly did.”

Uriah told her about the Castellan.

As he spoke, her confidence finally cracked.

When he repeated the voice’s words, she looked toward the western stairs.

“My family’s records mention a guardian beneath Greykeep.”

“What do they say?” Alistair asked.

“That it must never awaken.”

“Why?”

“They do not explain. Only that it must remain dormant.”

“How convenient.”

Evelyn ignored him.

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