Chapter Nineteen

Nick paced the palace hall as he waited for his turn to go before King Rufus.  He’d rehearsed what he was going to say so many times it sounded ‘canned’ to him.  He only hoped he’d chosen the correct words to get the king to understand his request.  He needed to get back to Alison; not just for her safely, but to keep Martin from doing any more damage to the elder’s plan of having him be the one to be with Alison.

The summons came, and he took a deep breath.  It all rested on the plea he’d formulated.  His palms were wet with sweat, as was his torso, as he second guessed his choice of words. After all, he wasn’t trained in public speaking.  He thought how Martin would address the king. He’d be suave and convincing. Nick had no doubt that Martin’s request would be granted without a second thought. Nick knew he couldn’t be as articulate as Martin, but he hoped his efforts would be good eno