‘Their Grandfather’s Chair: Part 2’ by JM Landels

Reunions

From Pulp Literature Issue 46, find an excerpt of the next part of ‘Their Grandfather’s Chair’ by JM Landels. Here’s where we left off…

Previously: Sisters Branwen and Irdina have been sent across the Clearwater Sea on a mission to soften their grandfather’s heart and loosen the Mageguard web that entangles his throne. The moment they set foot in Rheran, they become separated when a cadre of Mageguard mistakenly arrests Branwen. Her letter of introduction exonerates her but earns her an unasked-for escort directly to the Bastion without Irdina, who disappeared when the crowd panicked. Meanwhile Irdina is hidden from the Mageguard by Glaignen, the envoy sent to meet the sisters, and the Leisanmira seer Nourd. While Irdina follows Glaignen through the hidden passageways of Rheran to the Bastion, Branwen is already there, awaiting an audience with her grandfather, the Prince High.

Their Grandfather’s Chair
Part 2

by JM Landels

It was not Branwen’s grandfather who came to the small audience chamber, but his second wife, the Princess High Gwannyn. She was announced by a maid who looked daggers at Branwen as the latter scrambled from her grandfather’s chair and gave a quick bow. The Princess made no comment about a stranger in her husband’s seat but glided past Branwen’s bowing form to sit in the tall-backed chair herself.

Without preamble, she said, “And you are?”

Branwen bowed again and retrieved the letter of introduction from the breast pocket of her jerkin. “Branwen Andreg, Your Highness. His Highness’s granddaughter.”

The maid took the letter and passed it to her mistress, who didn’t comment on the already-broken seal. Gwannyn opened the top fold briefly, then placed the letter on the side table. She stood, her arms open. “I am delighted to meet you at last, my dear.” She wrapped her arms around Branwen in a hug perfumed by exotic scents. She stepped back, leaving her hands on Branwen’s shoulders. “You have your mother’s eyes. But you have a twin sister, do you not? Did she not come with you?”

Branwen looked into the Princess High’s large brown eyes and glowing smile, and found the two didn’t match. This was not the welcome she had been expecting from her grandfather’s wife. For some reason, she felt inclined to lie.

“Irdina had some other business in the city. I came ahead.” She gave a quick curtsy, despite her lack of skirts and the Princess’s hands still on her shoulders. “It is wonderful to finally meet Your Highness.”

“Please, not ‘Your Highness’! Call me Grandmama.”

The suggestion hit Branwen like a slap to the face. Her father’s parents had died long before she was born. Chanist, the Prince High, hadn’t visited her home in Teillai since she was three. And she had only just learned, before setting sail for Rheran, that her grandfather’s first wife Irdaign, supposedly exiled in Myrwater, was in fact her childhood nurse, Angeley. ‘Grandparent’ was a complicated term for Branwen and her siblings, but whatever a grandparent might be, it was not this bejewelled princess with the kind smile and cold eyes.

Branwen gave a matching smile and nod that might have been agreement or not, letting the matter slide away without comment. “Is Grandpapa in?”

“He is resting, as he most often does at this hour. But come, you must be exhausted from your journey—sea voyages are so dreadful. Lanyss,” she said to her maid, “please have the Fox chamber readied for Branwen and her sister, and bring us a meal in the solar. Come.” She took Branwen by the hand, barely giving her time to snatch up her pack, and led her from the audience chamber.

Find the full story in Pulp Literature Issue 46, Spring 2025

JM Landels is the author of the bestselling Allaigna’s Song trilogy as well as the spy novel The Shepherdess. ‘Their Grandfather’s Chair’, featuring Allaigna’s sisters Branwen and Irdina, takes place during the events of Allaigna’s Song: Chorale.

When she’s not writing, editing, or drawing, you can find Jen teaching people to swing swords and ride horses at Academie Cavallo in Langley, BC. You can find @jmlandels on most social media platforms, and at jmlandels.stiffbunnies.com.