Prelude

   "Cronis!"

   "Yes, most gracious lord?"

   The stick-like little man rose to a slightly less hunched over stance from where he was positioned by the door to Kalimbar's study and blinked.  The heavy murky magic that had been slowly filling the room, feeling pensive and more dangerous than usual, had paused, telling Cronis that his master had come to some sort of conclusion.  The knowledge made Cronis's bones ache and goose bumps cover his flesh in fear.

   "I have begun to grow tired of Francesca.  I do not believe that she will make a good Queen for me after all."

    Like the last one and the one before that and every other woman you've kept, thought Cronis, as he watched his master's form silhouetted against the cold dawn creeping through the window.  The light put the massive oak desk, piled with books and papers, and the shelves of books and bottled things covering the walls into sharp relief.   He would never dare to speak such a thing aloud within the fortress walls though, let alone in front of Kalimbar himself.

   "I understand, my lord.  You will be wanting the villages to put forth their finest ladies for you to inspect, then?" Cronis asked audibly.

   "Hmm… I have looked only at the finest in the past, perhaps this time I should ask for all of the ladies throughout the villages."

   "But, my lord!  You are looking for a Queen!  And a queen can only come from noble birth!"

   Kalimbar turned unhurriedly from the window and glanced over his shoulder as Cronis.  He did not turn fully, a mere false profile, but the glance alone was sharp enough to send Cronis cowering to the floor, hands up as if they would protect him, unable to tear his gaze from Kalimbar's.  Cronis began spewing out apologies in a tone barely louder than a whisper in the face of his master's power.

   "I will see all of the ladies from the villages, Cronis, and I had better not find that even one escaped my scrutiny.  I suggest you start making the arrangements."

   Cronis lifted himself slowly from the floor as his master turned back to the window and stayed in a crouch as he slunk toward the open door to the study.  His entire body shook and his breathing and heart rate were erratic.  He had just reached the doorway and begun to release a small sigh of relief when he was stopped cold by the sing-song sound of his master's voice calling to him.

   "Oh, and Cronis?  Send someone to clean up Francesca's room.  She made an awful mess in there last night.  You will not be needing to escort her out, some soaped water and cleaning cloths should do."

   Cronis leaped up as fast as he could with his crooked back and sprinted down the stairs of the tower, his breath coming in wheezes and his heart feeling like it would burst from sheer terror.  The pounding of his feet was followed by wicked laughter that only grew louder and more menacing the farther Cronis got until he was forced to clap his hands over his ears as the walls echoed with earsplitting screeches that could only be described as inhuman.