What the King Let Go

Corvane has fallen, and the treaty that ended the war names its Princess Miranda in the third clause as bride, between the grain levies and the disbanding of the Royal Guard. Miranda was raised to read a room before anything else, and at the conqueror's banquet she reads one thing no one else has: the fel lord Averion Dawnmere, who is always three moves ahead, keeps an empty chair at his right hand. She reads the treaty three times and finds an argument in it. A captive bride gains him nothing he doesn't already own. So she drafts him a courtship instead: athirty days, no compulsion, and he may not touch her without her leave. He signs it. Then he hands her his seal. Miranda thinks she is negotiating with a conqueror. Averion has been negotiating with something far worse for three years, and he has no intention of letting her become the price.

Set in Corvane, a kingdom in the Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth, after the Second War. A story from The Hearth-Rooms collection.

This story is non-commercial fan fiction. World of Warcraft and Azeroth belong to Blizzard Entertainment.

Contents

Chapter 1: The Banquet – The Hall, Refusals, The Empty Chair, The Clause

Chapter 2: The Bargain – The Audience, Terms, The Oath, The Wager

Chapter 3: Keeper of the Seal – Counter-Offer, The Appointment Book, The War Council, Wages

Chapter 4: Conquest and Statecraft – She May, The First Week, Wages, Marginalia

Chapter 5: The Window – The Smile, The Schedule, The Duke, Four

Chapter 6: Her Kiss – Halfway, After the Bell, Leave, Lost Count

Chapter 7: The Tucker – Close Calls, The Marks, The Quarrel, Conquered

Chapter 8: Wrong – He May Ask, The Hill Road, The Error Is Mine, Steward

Chapter 9: The Letters – The Dark Seal, The Drawer, The Sixth Day, The Trap

Chapter 10: The Open Door – The Thirtieth Morning, Void, The Draught, Her Terms

Chapter 11: Two Weddings – The Little Wedding, He Asks Where, No Tucker, A Year to Plan

Epilogue: Still Asking