War Against the Realm

by Sherri Beth Mitchell

  “I have had my men searching through the night with yours, King Keelan. Unfortunately, your brother has yet to be found. Have you heard any news from your men?”

  Keelan shook his head. “No, I have yet to hear of anything useful,” he said quietly.

  “Then tell us of your plans on how to proceed from here,” Byarne stated. “That way, we’re all on the same page.”

  The King was silent for so long that everyone’s eyes were fixated on him by the time he did speak. “We will stick with our original plan and leave in the morning. If he is not found today, we must continue our journey. Chances are that he is already at the place we are going to, and we can come up with a plan to find him and rescue him there.”

  Queen Silvia placed her hand on Keelan’s. “Are you sure about leaving so soon?”

  He answered in a gruff tone without looking at her. “Yes, I’m sure. It’s what he’d want, and we really cannot expend any more time and energy with such a journey ahead of us. Our goal was to get to the war and help, and we can’t let one person hinder us from doing so.”

  Although he kept the pain out of his voice, the Duke could plainly see that this was not an easy decision for him to have made. “Very well then. Let’s talk about your destination.”

  A servant handed him a long silver rod, which he used to point out Nillias on the map. “As you can see, you’ve already gone well out of your way to come to Nillias. Had you continued straight from your city to Lordale, you would have cut off a week of travelling time. Now, I assume you are going to Lordale first, and not to Rohedon’s Realm?”

  “Yes,” Silvia answered. “That was our original plan. We want to gather all the information that King Rordar has on the enemy, and plan our attacks accordingly while conjoining our forces.”

  Byarne nodded. “Understandable, and not a bad idea at all. So let’s look at your path from where we are.” He drew an invisible line with the silver rod to a place almost midway between Nillias and Lordale. “Your path is not a complicated one, nor a difficult one given the distance. But the straightest way there leads you through the Moseman Hills.”

  Cambry scowled. “Is there no other way around that blasted place?”

  The Duke shrugged. “There is, but it would mean three extra days of travelling time tacked onto an already lengthy trip. This path goes straight through.”

  “Are the other paths safer?” Sir Grant asked. “I mean, I will go wherever the King and Queen lead me regardless; yet their safety and the safety of the army are in question when going through such places.”

  “The other paths have different dangers: the main ones being thickly wooded areas inhabited by creatures and wild people that can get quite territorial.”

  “What’s wrong with the Moseman Hills?” Silvia questioned.

  Cambry answered. “Beautiful place, but full of dangerous holes in the ground that one could fall into and never be seen again.”

  “Can we not go around the holes?” she asked.

  Prince Dalton spoke up. “You can, but the problem is that people who usually travel to, or through, that area don’t make it back out.” His tone was casual and made the statement sound surreal.

  Silvia looked at her husband. “What do you think, Keelan?”

  Keelan stared at the map on the table, taking in the options they had. “We will go through the Moseman Hills,” he finally said. “The more time we save, the quicker my brother can be rescued.”

  From across the table, Tinaya scoffed. Keelan caught it and daggers nearly flew from his eyes.

  “Do you have something to say, Duchess?”

  Tinaya’s face colored, but only slightly. “I’m of the opinion that your brother left of his own accord. He wasn’t kidnapped, but left by free will. He either abandoned your cause because he tired of it, he was scared, or he was a spy for Rohedon this whole time.”

  Keelan shot up from his seat and leaned over the table with his hands fisted upon it. “Let me make something very clear to you: my brother has never been a coward and has risked his life for me and my queen many times. And this ‘spying for the enemy’ business is poorly supported with evidence and is, as such, utter nonsense. To say such a thing about my blood kin would be alike to saying that you yourself are a spy and a traitor, or that your husband is conspiring with the enemy.”

  This time Duchess Tinaya was the one who shot up from her chair. She brushed her blonde ringlets out of her face angrily. “How dare you say such a thing!”

  Keelan glared at her with an unreadable face. “I knew you wouldn’t like that analogy.” He slowly sat down, never taking his eyes off of her. “And I believe ‘how dare you say such a thing’ is my line,” he finished softly.

  Tinaya whipped her head about to face her husband. “And what have you to say, husband? Will you let him speak to me in such a way?”

  Byarne rolled his eyes. “You insulted his brother, dear wife, and on unjust grounds. What can you expect when such words come forth from your mouth? He wasn’t being discourteous, but merely making a point which needed to be heard. And I also might remind you that even though you married a man of high stature, a King’s station trumps our power by a long shot.” He paused for a moment. “Besides, I’d prefer not to get on the bad side of a man I’m going to war with.”

  Silvia and Keelan looked at him in surprise, as did the rest of the table. But Duchess Tinaya was more shocked than anyone else.

  “By the Dark Moon, surely you’re not saying that—“she began, but her husband was quick to cut her off.

  “Yes, I am indeed saying that,” he growled. “I’ve already sent word out for three quarters of our regiments to ready themselves. The rest will stay here to guard you and the city.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You did this without speaking to me of it?” she said incredulously.

  He laughed, but there was a dark undertone to it. “You’re damn right I did. You do realize that we used to trade with both cities before the war, don’t you? Oh, and I suppose that you have already forgotten that eight dozen people of our city died after Rohedon’s last shipment of grain? Perhaps you did not connect the two in your mind, so busy you were with other things. But I saw it clearly. There was enough grain to last the city through the winter…and it was also enough to kill every one of us. I stopped trading with both cities: one out of fear of contamination of products, and the other because I wasn’t sure that the shipment wouldn’t be intercepted by someone from Rohedon’s Realm trying to poison us again. I put my city before our pocketbooks and before my own person, because it is my duty. Now the witches have taken the King’s brother from within my home, insulting us and making us look bad, and you really mean to tell me that doesn’t put us in danger? Don’t be foolish, woman. You may make decisions like you rule the roost with everyday household and city matters, but do not be mistaken: I am the leader of this city and I will join King Keelan and his Dragon Queen in going to war because it’s the right thing to do. There are times that doing the right thing is much harder than sitting back and doing nothing at all. You should know…you’re good at doing the latter.”

  Without a further word Tinaya backed away from the table, tears in her eyes, and left the room hastily.

  Byarne sighed heavily and shook his head. “So what’s our next plan of action?”

  Prince Dalton watched the Queen leave the meeting with her husband. He had not dared to get close to her, as he knew she was in a fragile state emotionally. After he had returned to his room last night, he had a sudden revelation: Silvia did not know that he was the dragon. Surely if she did not have so many distractions she would have been able to tell it was him just by his smell.

  The royals walked out of his sight, and he turned to stride out into the courtyard to stretch his legs.

  “Might I accompany you, young prince?”

  Duchess Tinaya caught up with him, hooking her arm through his.

  Dalton was a little annoyed at her presence after her rude outbursts at the table, b
ut let her stroll with him. They were her guests, after all.

  When he did not speak, Tinaya said, “Are you always this quiet?”

  “When I see fit to be,” he replied.

  “And why do you see fit to be so quiet in my presence?”

  He tossed an irritated look at her. “From time to time it is better to hold one’s tongue than to speak rash words.”

  Tinaya’s smiled faded away. “You do not agree with my opinions, yes? That’s quite all right. Seemingly you’re not the only one. I have a right to have a say in my own court, and I won’t hold my tongue when something weighs heavily upon my mind. Now, I came out here to beg of your help, if you’ll give it.”

  “Is that so?”

  “I want you to talk to my husband, Prince Dalton.”

  “And what am I supposed to say to him?” he asked, bored with the conversation already. They reached the far end of the courtyard and stopped.

  “That it would be best if he did not go with King Keelan and Queen Silvia to war.” She stopped and faced him, her chin up and her shoulders back. “Tell him that it’s a bad idea.”

  Dalton cocked his eyebrow up. “Why in the name of the Dark Moon would I do something like that?”

  “To keep him safe and alive here,” Tinaya said. “I can’t risk losing him.”

  “I don’t think that’s the only reason you don’t want to join the war, milady.”

  She paused, and then went on. “I am certain that if my husband goes to war and we lose, the witches of Rohedon will destroy us all. Their vengeance is wicked, and I will not have it unleashed upon this city. And I will tell you another thing, Prince Dalton…if my husband doesn’t come back, I will skin alive the people responsible for that.”

  She flashed an eerie half-smile and took her leave of his presence.

  “I really don’t understand women,” Dalton muttered.

  They walked in silence for a few moments, before Silvia spoke.

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave in the morning, Keelan?”

  He grunted and shrugged. “I think it’s the best decision at this point.”

  She nodded. “I will support you in this. We will find him, Keelan. I promise you that.”

  He looked down at his feet as they walked, his expression a troubled one. “Promises…they are so trivial nowadays,” he mumbled. They arrived at their bed chambers in the palace, and he put his hand on the doorknob of his room.

  Silvia frowned, wondering what he was talking about. She was about to ask when he told her he was going to lie down and try to rest.

  “I will catch up to you when you awake,” she told him, and left him in the hall as she entered her chambers.

  Keelan did not respond, but watched her walk away. His heart hurt terribly, but not only for his brother. He had heard another dragon last night, and knew that Silvia had left her chambers. When she had returned, he had gone to see her in her room. She was already asleep when he walked in, so he watched her sleep for a while. And while she slept he prayed silently to Goddess Aldoa for strength and forgiveness.

  For his true love smelled of the musk of another, and it was all his fault.

  Chapter Four: Rescue

  He opened his eyes and looked around warily. He didn’t recognize the room at all and almost groaned: he was not in Nillias anymore. He was under the bed in the form of a flea, wedged in a crack in the stone floor. He had been smart enough to change into something else as soon as he’d grabbed on to the heathen witch so that she would not see him.

  The witch was standing next to the grand bed gazing at the sapphire necklaces, but as a knock sounded on the door she hid them somewhere on the bed. A woman who was her spitting image, save for hair color, came in. As they began to argue, Quentin held his breath; he couldn’t believe his ears. The witch who had unknowingly brought him here was pregnant with his nephew.

  Keelan, what have you done, he thought.

  The other woman, who was called Saris, left the room and he heard the lock click. If Natosha was trapped in here, what chance was there for him to escape?

  Natosha sat on the bed and he heard her crying softly. When the sniffling subsided, the room got very quiet. He hopped out of his hiding place so that he could see what she was up to, careful to keep himself out of sight no matter how small he was.

  She was holding the necklaces in her hands, fondling the large blue stones. A faraway look rested in her eyes.

  He fervently said a prayer to Chin, the Goddess of Humanity, that the others would not try and use their stones to communicate with him while her hands touched the stones. He watched in horror as Natosha slid the necklaces over her head and lay down on the bed. After a few minutes, she seemed to be fast asleep.

  Quentin regarded his position carefully. He took a quick look around the bedroom to assess his surroundings: the bed was large and took up a whole wall of the chamber, and a small hearth with a fire going in it sat beneath a massive mantle. Atop of the mantle were all manners of containers with different substances in them, and there was even a small stuffed monkey up there. Behind the bed and off to the side was an antechamber with what looked like a gigantic mirror in it leaning against the wall.

  He was obviously in the enemy’s domain and without their knowledge. While he could very possibly kill this witch as she slept, there was also a chance that he could explore the halls outside the door and learn more of these heathens. Indecision gripped him. He knew he needed to get back to Keelan and Silvia, but if he could learn anything useful here, it could amount to saving their lives.

  He shivered and turned into a mouse to move more quickly. He scrambled to the door and put his body underneath it swiftly. Maybe he could return in time to deal with Natosha. It was something to hope for.

  Once out of the locked room he transformed back into himself. Throwing the hood up on his white robe, he faded away until the naked eye could not see him. A chill went up his spine as he considered that the evil spell he’d been bewitched by, as well as the cloak he wore today, most likely originated somewhere in this place.

  The hall was well lit and made of solid rock. Looking down, he found several small pebbles and arranged them into a small ‘x’ on the floor to the left of the door to mark it. He walked off, following the hall and its twists and turns. The passageway soon became broader and taller, and he began to see servants of all kinds—man and beast—scurrying about on errands for their masters.

  He turned a corner and very nearly ran into a couple of servants, one of which was carrying a small tray of food. He stepped out of the way to let them pass. As they were almost out of sight, one of them spoke.

  “Did you put the poison in it, as Clea asked?”

  “Of course, nimwit. I always do. I’m just not one of the ones that usually carries the food to her.”

  Quentin spun around and quickened his pace to catch up to them. Was there a prisoner of war here that they were keeping?

  “I don’t know why they keep her alive. The wench is useless in every form of the word,” the first one was saying. He was an ugly man with a large scar on his face, half hidden by his dirty blonde hair.

  The other servant, a plump teenager, snickered. “You’re just bitter because she nibbled on your nether regions too hard,” the girl said. The smugness in her voice was unmistakable.

  The man grabbed her arm roughly and put her against the wall so hard that she nearly dropped the tray in her hands. A spoon fell off and clattered to the floor.

  “That little wench damn near took my piece off for good,” the man growled. “Lucky for me, the witches work their magic well. I’ll make her pay for what she did. Saris has already said that when it’s time for the cripple to die, she will be handed over to me to carry it out in whatever way I see fit.”

  “That may be,” said the girl quietly, “but those orders have not been commanded as of yet. Until they are, I must deliver this food to her. Now, let go of my arm. You are not allowed to touch a child of Rohedon in suc
h a way.”

  The man sneered at her, but let her go and stormed off. The girl rolled her eyes and shook her head as she continued on her way.

  Behind her, the spoon had disappeared.

  Emaree was anxious and didn’t know why. She couldn’t stop thinking of the woman who had come to her in her dreams.

  We are coming for you, she had said.

  Could it be true that she was to finally leave this place? And who was that woman? Surely she had never seen anyone like her before. But deep down she was too terrified to give rise to hope. The thought of her escaping the mountain and living a totally different life was a foreign concept to her weak and battered mind.