Audience - Trifecta/WOE

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Ariadne awoke to Tilde shaking her vigorously. “Lady, lady, the Duke commands you to join him at court this morning, you must get up!

Still somewhat groggy from her efforts last evening, she gazed around her chamber, hoping for a sign of success. Walking to her balcony window, she stepped back as she realized there was a bustle of activity below. “Tilde, what is going on?

“I'm not sure; riders arrived in the night, and they have been closeted with the Duke, since,” she replied.

Ariadne sat in her grandfather's ante room waiting to be called into his presence. The door opened and closed many times as servants and courtiers moved back and forth, but in preparation for what, she could not imagine. She had not seen such activity since the death of her father. Ariadne craned her neck to see past the opening and closing of the door. She was shocked to see some dark  creature sitting at the duke's desk, “What is that,” she thought, blinking her eyes? When the door next opened, she looked again, expecting an answer. However, she saw only her grandfather, seated on the chair, presiding over the chaos. “I must be seeing and hearing things,” she thought, remembering the intangible laughter from the courtyard last night.
 

“Bring in the girl,” she heard him order.



She entered the room uneasily and bowed. “Grandfather, you wished to see me?” Amazed at the uproar around her, she questioned. “What is happening? “

The duke, had to  juggle all the demands upon him and appeared angry. “Ariadne, we go to do battle with Themis. We will leave soon. You will stay here under the eye of the Chamberlin. You must obey him as you would me.”

“Grandfather, Why?” she whispered.
 

“Silence," he thundered! “They are demanding you be returned to your mother’s family. That’s unsupportable.  While I am gone, you will not leave the confines of your chamber or courtyard.”

She quickly retreated, terrified by her impending confinement.
 

This weeks word is the third definition of the  intransitive verb, juggle.

3: to handle or deal with usually several things (as obligations) at one time so as to satisfy often competing requirements.

This is a continuation of Ariadne's story.  I have placed all of the story on its own page above. I plan to add to her story so I will put it in order and perhaps add transitional pieces as needed. 
 

After Ariadne, left the room, the duke ordered everyone to leave except Count Reiner, the chamberlain. “Count, you will be responsible for the Lady Ariadne. No one is to attend her other than you and her maid Tilde, you will post a guard near her door at all times and information about this campaign is to be kept from her. She cannot be returned to her family in Themis.”

“Excellency, I will do as you bid. May I ask why the family wants her return? She is after all, your grandchild and heir,” queried the chamberlain.

“Her mother was sent here many years ago, in a hostage exchange of sorcerers with Themis. It was to ensure the uneasy peace between our realms. The hostages were forbidden to use magic by the wizards of Megara, who brokered the peace.” The Duke continued. “I believed she enchanted my son into loving her so that she could spy for Themis. I kept her in line by threatening the safety of the child. However,it was an uneasy alliance, made more difficult by the prohibitions of the wizards. With this ultimatum, the peace between Themis and Oberan is over.

“ Do you intend to use sorcery,” asked the Chamberlin?

"I am the ruler of all I see,” he bellowed. “I will use anything necessary, even the child to prevail.”

 

This continuation of today's story is based on the prompt from Write on Edge. I couldn't figure out how to get the Lorax into the story.  “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” But I was able to get this into the story. 
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