The Empty Crown

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘I’m not sure I know it.’

  Belle looked at him as though he were simple. ‘And then how do you propose to find him?’

  ‘I thought he might find me. My mother always said if I had no other option, I had to endeavour to go north and he would help me.’

  ‘He?’ Belle asked. ‘Is that the only thing you have to go on?’ She turned to her father and shook her head. ‘We can’t leave him out here to die.’

  ‘It is my quest,’ he insisted. ‘My journey, not yours.’ She looked hurt at his sharp words. He didn’t want to cause her any pain, but he wasn’t a child. ‘You were happy enough to leave those girls alone in the forest. What if those men returned and they are still sent as tribute? No one would be able to do anything to get them back, and you know that.’

  Phillip moved the reins in his hand but didn’t allow the horse to move. It waited patiently as the serious man studied the leather in his old hands. Ed wanted to tell them to go home, but instead he turned and started walking along the narrow track ahead of him, a worn path though the grassy field that followed the steepening incline of the mountain.

  ‘The trees will protect them,’ Phillip called after him.

  Ed thought the man might actually be right, but he didn’t want to put them in any more danger. ‘You need to return to your farm.’ The path disappeared into the sparsely growing trees. Sucking in a breath, he headed forward.

  ‘There is no farm left,’ Phillip cried. Ed only just caught his words, and he stopped.

  ‘Pa?’ Belle asked.

  He shook his head, his hands tightening around the reins. ‘We got nothing but your quest now,’ he said, his old eyes twinkling as he looked up at Ed.

  ‘It isn’t much of a quest,’ Ed admitted. ‘I don’t even know where we are going or who I’m looking for.’

  Belle let out a hmph in frustration.

  ‘I’m sure it will be as you hope,’ Phillip said, resting a hand on Belle’s arm.

  Ed turned and looked back up the mountain. ‘I don’t think the cart can follow.’

  ‘Then we leave it,’ Phillip said, climbing down.

  Ed shook his head as he headed back to help remove it from the horse. There was an old blanket and tarp that had been in the cart, and he threw them over the horse once they were free. They put the supplies over the horse as well, but Ed looked into the back of the cart and wondered what they might do with the axe.

  Phillip sighed, and Ed shook his head. ‘It will have to be left behind,’ he said.

  ‘I know, lad. But she is an old friend.’

  ‘Perhaps if we come back this way, it will still be waiting for you.’

  Phillip laughed.

  ‘Will you be able to walk?’ Ed asked Belle, then instantly regretted it as she scowled at him.

  ‘I have walked halfway across the kingdom,’ she growled. ‘I think I can walk a bit further.’

  He nodded. Having done nearly the same himself, he wondered when he could truly stop. But even if he could find his mother’s friend, he wasn’t sure it would be enough for him to stop moving.

  Ed led the little group along the path. He tried to keep a reasonable pace, but the track was slippery with small rocks and the climb was steeper than he’d realised. The path at least wound through the trees rather than directly up. He only hoped his mother’s words were enough to find him.

  Belle followed behind, her shawl pulled in tight against the cold. He was certain she must regret insisting that they help him. Phillip guided the horse along as the last of their party, and Ed glanced back every now and then to ensure he wasn’t falling behind. He was about to suggest that Belle might rather ride the horse when he glanced back and she scowled at him again.

  Ed sucked in a breath and trudged on. He had walked so far before he had met Phillip, and yet here he was walking again. He stopped and shivered as a strange feeling ran down his spine.

  ‘What was that?’ Belle asked in hushed whisper.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said, turning back as she pulled her shawl tighter and looked up into the sparse treetops. ‘Did you see something?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she murmured.

  Phillip’s eyes went wide, and then the horse whinnied and pulled at the reins, rearing and twisting as the blanket slipped from her back. ‘Now, now, girl,’ Phillip tried to soothe, but the horse must have had the same odd feeling as the rest of them, and it continued to pull against Phillip.

  Ed turned and continued along the path, hoping that whatever it might be would leave them alone if they just kept going. He stopped again when a dark shadow passed above them. He looked up, his heart beating fast, but there was nothing there—although the horse won her tug of war with Phillip and was racing back down the mountain.

  ‘I suppose you think she will wait by the cart?’ Belle mocked.

  ‘You are welcome to chase her down,’ Ed said, turning back and continuing along the path. He had no idea if they would find somewhere to shelter for the night, or if they would continue to walk the mountain until something large and unsettling ate them.

  ‘You are not funny,’ Belle snapped, too close behind him. He was sure she was holding on to the back of his cloak.

  ‘Are you cold?’ he asked, glancing back at her.

  She shook her head and let go. ‘And I’m not scared either.’

  As Ed turned back to the path, a dishevelled old man suddenly appeared before him. He stopped dead, Belle squealed and Phillip swore.

  The man studied Ed with intense eyes, his long grey beard moving with the wind. ‘Are you lost?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m looking for someone,’ Ed said, unsure what to do with the man before him.

  ‘You have found me,’ the old man said with a smile of perfectly white teeth. ‘Am I the one you are looking for?’

  ‘He doesn’t know,’ Belle quipped, but Ed noted that she was holding the back of his cloak again. ‘The man he seeks is a friend of his mother’s, but he doesn’t even know his name.’

  ‘An interesting quest. Your mother gave you no indication of who she had sent you to find?’

  Ed shook his head once, unsure just what he should tell this man.

  The man took a step closer and twisted his head a little to the side. His bright eyes sparkled in the dim light, and for a moment Ed thought they were black. ‘Your mother…’ he said slowly. ‘You have her eyes,’ he added sadly.

  Ed nodded once. ‘So I have been told.’

  ‘You don’t remember her?’ the old man asked, taking another step closer.

  ‘I do,’ Ed said. ‘I was young when she died, I remember her very clearly, although people seem to think I was too young to remember anything. They tell me stories, but they aren’t always right.’

  ‘She was a truly amazing woman.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ed said, holding out his hand to the man, ‘she was.’

  ‘I could never forget her. It was so hard to leave her.’ The old man pulled Ed close and closed a hand around his. Despite the man’s dishevelled clothing and lack of a cloak, he was warm and comforting.

  ‘How can we be sure that this is the man you are looking for?’ Belle asked.

  ‘It is,’ Ed said with a smile. ‘Mother said that I would know you, and I do.’

  ‘As I know you, Ed Forest,’ the man said carefully, and Ed wondered at just who he might be. ‘You have come a long way. And who are your companions?’ he asked, moving past Ed on the narrow track. Despite his small size, Ed felt as though he had a very large presence.

  ‘Phillip Poales,’ Phillip said, holding out a hand, ‘and my daughter, Belle.’

  ‘A perfect name for a perfect beauty,’ the man said, bowing politely. Ed chewed on his lip to stop the laughter that threatened to escape, and the old man gave him a cheeky sideways glance whilst he was bent over.

  ‘And you are?’ she asked in a not so friendly manner.

  ‘Ende,’ he said, standing tall and grinning. As Ed noted his bright teeth again, he found himself
running his tongue over his own.

  ‘Do you live nearby?’ Ed asked.

  ‘That would depend on your point of view,’ Ende said, ‘but I have a friend who is closer. I expect he would be able to house you for a time, and keep you warm,’ he added, looking back at Belle. ‘He doesn’t mind visitors.’ He headed off along the path ahead of them.

  ‘Is this a good idea?’ Belle hissed in Ed’s ear.

  ‘You don’t have to come,’ he said. ‘We are only half a day’s walk from the forest. The horse has probably found the cart, and your part in this is over. I have found my mother’s friend.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘You don’t know this man.’

  Ed smiled. He did. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about this man that he trusted. Not that he was always a good judge of people; he had found that out the hard way. But this man he knew to be different.

  ‘Come on, it will be dark before you realise it,’ Ende called from the path ahead. Ed took Belle’s hand and pulled her along after him. He was surprised that she didn’t pull from his hold but instead gripped very tightly.

  ‘Not long,’ Ende said sometime later, as the sky darkened above them and Ed struggled to see the path. Then Ende stopped and looked up into the trees further up the mountainside. ‘Run!’ he cried, moving along the path quickly. Ed lost sight of him.

  ‘What is it?’ Belle asked, holding tighter.

  ‘I don’t know. Phillip?’

  ‘Right behind you, boy. Don’t wait for me. Go!’

  Ed ran along the path, half pulling the woman behind him and struggling to listen for what might be out in the darkening forest. Before too long, he saw light ahead and then heard movement heading in the same direction from above them. Something dark glinted in the dim light, and he slowed.

  ‘It is a cottage,’ Belle said, pushing past him on the path and pulling him behind, his hand still firm in hers.

  It was in fact a small cottage, almost lost in the darkness between the trees. Ende stood out from the doorway with another man behind him in the light, looking into the trees. ‘I’ll go for them,’ Ende was saying.

  ‘Hello?’ he heard another man call from the mountain, deep and concerned.

  Ed froze, unsure if it was a good idea to be around so many people.

  ‘Captain?’ the man in the doorway called, pushing past Ende. But Ende remained fixed to the spot, an uncertainty emanating from him that unnerved Ed.

  ‘Thank the gods,’ the captain sighed and then grunted. ‘I can’t wake her.’

  Ed stepped forward as a broad soldier emerged from the trees. He wore the king’s armour and carried what appeared to be a sleeping girl, her hair dark loose about her face. The worried look on the soldier’s face told him that this girl was important. But what was a soldier doing all the way up in the mountain?

  ‘Bring her in,’ the first man said, leading the way inside the cottage. Ende brushed her hair from her face as they passed him. He followed them into the cottage, and Ed followed after him.

  The cottage was larger than it looked from outside. A large square space, it had a narrow bed set along one wall, where the soldier carefully placed the sleeping girl. There was a large fire, which burned brightly, lighting the space with strange shadows. A blanket lay on the floor against the far wall. Ed wondered if someone else stayed here at times, although it didn’t look very comfortable. A large square table sat in the middle of the space with bench seats around three sides and a large chair by the fire. This was the house of a man who lived alone, but he didn’t appear to mind company.

  Ende leaned over the girl and then took her hand. ‘It is happening more?’

  The soldier nodded. ‘I haven’t been able to wake her today. We stopped at the pass, camped for the night and I don’t think she slept at all until just before sunrise.’ He shook his head.

  ‘All day?’ Ende asked.

  The large man looked nervous.

  ‘What brings you here?’ asked the man who had stood at the door.

  ‘General, I am sorry,’ he said, bowing towards the man. ‘I had nowhere else to go.’

  ‘General?’ Ed asked, and they both turned and looked him over.

  ‘Another who needs our help,’ Ende muttered, concentrating on the woman who still slept.

  ‘I was a general. I am now retired, or dead to the rest of the kingdom. Same difference,’ he said, putting his hand on the captain’s shoulder.

  ‘Captain Drayton Sterling,’ the soldier said to introduce himself, snapping to attention and then bowing to Belle, who Ed noticed was blushing wildly. ‘Or at least I was.’

  ‘Phillip Poales and my daughter Belle,’ Phillip said, nodding to the man. ‘Thank you, General, for taking us in.’

  ‘What happened?’ the general asked the captain again. But as he opened his mouth to speak, the girl moaned.

  ‘Come along, Ana,’ Ende said gently.

  ‘Dray!’ she called, sitting up. He was on the edge of the bed then, his arms wrapped around her tight. A sigh of disappointment escaped Belle’s lips. ‘The king,’ the girl murmured.

  ‘What about the king?’ Ende asked.

  ‘He needs our help,’ she said, leaning back from the soldier and looking directly at Ed. ‘The king needs our help.’

  Everyone in the room turned to Ed, and he sighed before Belle smacked his arm. ‘How are we going to help the king?’ she asked.

  Chapter 13

  The general took a slow step forward. Ende reached out an arm to stop him, but he brushed it aside. ‘He has his mother’s eyes,’ he murmured.

  ‘Aye, that he does,’ Ende said. Dray rose slowly to his feet before dropping to one knee, and the boy sighed again.

  He really did just look like any other boy, skinny, undernourished. Dray stood slowly again as concern washed over him. Not just for the fact that the boy king stood before him, but at the state of him. ‘How long have you travelled, Your Majesty?’

  ‘Too long,’ he murmured. ‘Call me Ed.’

  The young girl beside him stared in horror, then dropped to her knees, and the boy sighed again.

  ‘Get up,’ he snapped.

  ‘But you are the king,’ she stammered. She looked over her hands and then her face blazed bright red. ‘I slapped the king.’

  ‘You slapped a boy who had no idea of where he was, nor what he was doing,’ the older man behind her said. Her father, Dray remembered. He wanted to ask more, but he was distracted by Ana moving behind him.

  ‘You should rest,’ he said.

  ‘I have done nothing but rest,’ she responded, pushing her loose hair from her face and rubbing at her neck. Her eyes never left the boy, and he stared at her in return. Dray wanted to put himself between them, but this was the king—even if he hadn’t had the chance to be one.

  ‘How old are you?’ Dray asked before shaking his head. What was he doing asking such questions of the king?

  ‘My name is Ed Forest,’ he said. His hand rested on the sword at his belt, and Dray had to laugh out loud.

  ‘You can’t claim that, carrying such a weapon around.’

  ‘I thought it was too shiny,’ he whispered.

  ‘It shouts of your father,’ Dray said, stepping forward. ‘May I?’ He held out his hands. The king drew the sword from the sheath and handed it to him without hesitation.

  He felt the weight of it, noted the craftsmanship and the brilliant blade, although there was some dried blood still on the metal. ‘I could show you how to care for it, Your Majesty,’ Dray said, handing it back. ‘Did you run into much trouble?’

  ‘Only a little,’ the older man said. Dray looked towards the man as he nudged his daughter and she snapped her mouth closed.

  Ed looked around at her, and she looked quickly at the ground, her face still reddened by her embarrassment of not knowing her king. But then, Dray doubted anyone would have known the boy.

  ‘The boy king,’ Ana said, and he turned to her as she threw her legs out of the
bed. Before he could step back across to her, Ende put a hand on her shoulder. She stayed where she was. ‘You aren’t really a boy, are you?’

  He blew out another long breath and sat on the end of the bench seat at the table. ‘I was a boy when my father died. The title stuck.’

  ‘And your uncle treats you as a boy,’ she continued.

  ‘Ana, I don’t think this is a conversation—’ Dray was stopped as she put up her hand.

  ‘I have dreamt of you,’ she said, and it was the boy’s turn to grow red. ‘I met a mage.’ Her voice was shaky, and she looked at Dray. He nodded once. ‘He wanted me to go to your uncle. I saw what he did.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ the king said. ‘Whether it was willing or by trickery, the crown is no longer mine.’

  ‘You are still king.’

  ‘Some would disagree with you. I appreciate your concern, and I thank you for your hospitality. If I may stay the night, I shall be gone by sunrise.’

  Belle opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. Ana, despite Ende’s efforts, stood slowly.

  ‘You came here searching for…’ She glanced at Ende and then back to the king. ‘Help. And it is help that you have found.’

  ‘An old general, a soldier who has run from his post, a farmer and his daughter, one old man and a… maid?’ The king paused, and Ana nodded. ‘What do you think you can do to help me?’

  ‘You will die,’ Ana said simply.

  The young man baulked and then stood from the bench. ‘Are you threatening me?’ he asked, his voice carrying more strength than Dray had given him credit for. ‘Or did you dream it?’

  She shrugged then, and with the way her lip quivered, Dray was sure she would cry.

  ‘Well?’ the young man demanded, taking a step closer. Dray put himself between them as Ende moved closer to the boy. The heat in the room had increased, and Dray eyed the old man in fear he might become the dragon and crush them all.

  ‘I don’t know, I just feel it.’