The Heartfelt Saga

by Dustin De Felice

  Chapter 10

  April 2nd, 770; The Common Wing, Castle Heartfelt

  Knock knock knock.

  Talon sat up in his bed and found the sun beating on his pounding head. Upon his return from Minty's, he had left the shutters open and, as he looked out the window, he noticed the sun was a little higher in the sky than Talon had planned on.

  Knock, knock.

  Talon threw the blanket off and hurried to the door.

  "Coming." Talon opened the door and found William Nachtigall standing there. The smell of the morning meal was strong as William walked into the room.

  "Morning, William." Talon invited William into his room as he threw out the breakfast idea, figuring he was late for the meeting this morning.

  William stood slightly taller than Talon and his broad shoulders spoke volumes about his skill with the broadsword. Talon addressed William. "I am glad to see you again. Am I late? Anything new happening?"

  "No, there is still time. I was hoping you would have breakfast with me and Stephen." William sat on the corner of the bed. "Before I forget, Caswel Holloway, Royal Man in charge of us four Guardsmen, will not be able to make it today. Prince Christopher is arranging a meeting for you during the next day or so. Have you been given any information on this man?"

  Talon thought for a moment and then answered, "No, I haven't heard his full story. Should I know him?"

  "Not necessarily. Why don't we head for the Great Hall and I will tell you along the way?"

  "Breakfast sounds good to me. Maybe it will help with this damn hangover." Both men walked out of the room and headed into the courtyard.

  William continued. "About Caswel, he is from Elizabeth Towne and spent most of his time there before and during the war. He was field promoted to Royalty a few months after the war and I am not up on all the details, but a militant group who was not happy with the outcome of the war tried to seize power in Elizabeth Towne. Confidence Trynn was to be overthrown by these rebels and it seems Caswel saved the Confidence's life, or so the story goes. As I said, I am not up on the details, but never-the-less, Caswel received the rank of Royal Man. Of course, when the council recalled all Guardsmen teams back to Heartfelt last year, Caswel was moved into a recall status in Hearttowne and has been trying to get back to Elizabeth Towne ever since. You can see why he is a good choice for us."

  "That makes sense." Talon opened the door as they arrived at the Great Hall. He was greeted with a hall full of Guardsmen and a serving line filled with food.

  "Talon, Good morning."

  Talon smiled at Chef and, as he shook his hand, Stephen Loveland walked over. The whole breakfast was spent reliving old times with these men. Before long the men finished the breakfast and William went back with Talon to his room.

  "How much time do I have?" Talon said as he walked into his room.

  "Not too much. If we don't hurry, we are going to be late for maneuvers and you know how much Blackheart hates tardiness. Are you ready now?"

  Talon looked around for his sword and a heavier shirt. "I think so, what's on the agenda for today? Do I need anything special?" Talon found his sword under the bed and decided not to guess on how it ended up there.

  “You have sturdy clothes on and you should only need your sword. You can bring your javelin, but we aren't spending much time on alternate weapons today. Well, shall we?"

  Talon double-checked to see if he was forgetting anything and walked with William to the door. "The last time I spent this much time on maneuvers was before the war. Of course, Blackheart wasn't in charge then.” Talon walked outside the room with William and closed the door. "Times have changed."

  "Well, Blackheart never changes. He really took control of the Guardsmen. When Philip was finally removed from head of the Guardsmen, things really gained momentum as Prince Christopher took his place. His first goal was to appoint Blackheart as the Royal Man in charge. Everyone looked forward to that. During Philip's reign, we had a civilian in charge of the Guardsmen. Do you remember Mike Lucas?"

  "Yes. I met him when the war started."

  "He drove most of us crazy, especially Blackheart." William turned the corner followed by Talon. William continued, "Maybe it wasn't the fact that he was a civilian, but was probably due to the fact that he was an ass dedicated to making Philip happy."

  William and Talon picked up the pace as they came to the parade field, which was covered with Guardsmen. "Are we late, William?"

  "I imagine we are a little behind schedule."

  They were within hearing distance and Blackheart was telling the Guardsmen to break into groups of two. As they broke off into groups Blackheart caught sight of Talon and William approaching.

  "Nice of you two join us today, Guardsmen Nachtigall and civilian Bastian!" Blackheart followed that with a quick wink. "Still recovering from last night?"

  Talon smiled. "Of course. Haven't had that much to drink in a long time. What about you?"

  "I was, but I spent a few extra hours this morning sweating it out. Now it's your turn."

  "Great. What is on the agenda for maneuvers? Where do you want me and my sword today?"

  Blackheart made a gesture to a Guardsmen standing close by. "Carole Reinard, come over here, please."

  A Guardsmen, who was clearly a woman, came over. She was in half armor that only covered her chest but left the rest her body exposed. She was slightly shorter than Talon, but seemed to be in control of herself. She stopped in front of Blackheart and said, "What can I do for you, Blackheart?" She placed her sword in her sheath and waited patiently.

  Blackheart looked over at Talon and then back at Carole. "This, Carole,” Blackheart pointed to Talon, "is Michael Talon Bastian, better known as Talon. Talon, this is Carole Reinard. She has been assigned to your team and was one of the first female Guardsmen to join when the policy changed."

  Talon shook Carole's hand and looked back at Blackheart, who continued, "Carole, Talon was shocked, well maybe I should say surprised to hear that women were now part of the Guardsmen. You will be sparring with him this morning and I don't expect you to hold back"

  Talon jumped in hoping to save himself. "I, for one, hope you do hold back, since I haven't done this in awhile. Besides, I wasn't surprised that women were in the ranks, I was more surprised that the council allowed them into the ranks. Still, I am glad you are part of my team."

  "Thank you, Talon. Blackheart has spoken of you before. I hope you will find me to be as adequate as the others and hopefully even more so. I see you have your sword and are not wearing armor. I will do the same. And if you are ready we can begin sparring?"

  "Blackheart, am I ready to begin?" Talon said with a smile.

  Blackheart looked at Talon and a big laugh rumbled out of him. He said, "You will never be ready enough for Carole, and I will ask her again and this time I hope she will hold back for your sake. Have fun Talon. William, I get you today."

  Blackheart and William walked a little farther over, but they were still within sight of Talon and Carole. Talon moved over and got into position. Carole said, "You might want to stretch. That will give me a little time to remove my body armor."

  Talon saw the wisdom in her advice and proceeded to stretch. While he was stretching he looked up and noticed Carole removing her chest armor. Once it was removed it left no question that she was a woman. Talon was still getting used to the idea of women Guardsmen. She finished getting her armor off and started to do some of her own stretching.

  When both of them were done they placed heavy leather sheaths over their swords. This prevented serious injury, but still managed to cause some black and blue marks and occasionally a few deep bruises. With quiet determination, they circled each other on the field. Talon sized up her movements and was impressed with her control. She made the first move with a jab to his open side. Talon easily blocked the jab with his sword. She followed it up
with a full swing towards his head. Talon ducked and shuffled to the left. He followed with a blow towards her side. She cracked her wrist to deflect the blow and missed. Talon struck her hard against her lower chest cage. Carole seemed shocked to have been hit and followed with a full swing at Talon's head. Talon ducked and swung again into her other side. Talon scored another hit and Carole jumped back, defensively putting some distance between her and Talon.

  Talon smiled to himself. He had been fighting for a few years before she was old enough to carry a sword. Patience was giving Talon the edge. Talon risked a short swing and was rewarded with a swift chop to his sword. That reaction told him he had her attention. She had underestimated him, but Talon knew he wasn't going to get such easy shots in for much longer. Carole swung directly at him and he met her blow with the same swing. They collided and she gave in and pushed the advantage. She followed through and scored a blow to the same spot on his lower rib cage. Talon felt the blow. He countered and swung to her open side. She deflected and swung again at him. Talon's sword caught hers and he inverted his wrist with a good tug and pulled her sword right out of her hands. Her momentum carried her forward and Talon tripped her back foot causing her to tumble next to her sword. Talon turned and swung to pin her to the ground, but was stopped by her. She had already retrieved her sword during the fall and easily threw off his attempt for a pin. This surprised Talon and he was thrown off balance.

  Carole noticed his stumbling and scored a clean kick to his knee, which caused him to end up on the ground next to her. Now, the race was on to see who would stand up first. Carole had the extra momentum and was on her feet waiting as Talon regained his stance. Both fighters stared each other down.

  Neither of them was paying attention to the other fighters around them and almost all of them had stopped fighting to watch the match between Talon and Carole. Once both fighters were ready to go at each other again, the circle of fighters around them broke into applause. Talon broke his concentration long enough to find out they were cheering them on.

  Carole faced the crowd for a moment and then made the first move. She aggressively came at Talon with a straight swing trying to score a hit on his upper chest. Talon waited for the right moment then took a step backwards and let her swing go right by him. As she was following through with the swing, Talon spun on his right heel and swung parallel to the ground and caught her in the small of her back as she went by. Talon heard a grunt from her as his sword connected. He had surprised her. She turned and recovered from being hit.

  Talon spun again to face her. She had already turned and was preparing another assault. She was obviously ticked off. Some of the closer fighters were laughing to themselves and unfortunately it was loud enough for her to have heard it. She came forward with a more controlled swing. Talon felt how much power she had as he blocked each hit. She pushed him back at least twenty paces by the time Talon was able to take back control. He pushed her back five paces when she let Talon swing past her. This left his right side open and he knew it. The blow came fast and it came hard. He gasped and recovered to fend off her next swing. Talon started to realize how good she was, very powerful for her size, but her temper needed some work. He smiled to himself, happy to have her on the team. They kept swinging at each other for the next few minutes. Neither one scoring a hit.

  Talon decided to try his sword trick one more time. He swung and caught her sword in his. With a flip of the wrist he tried to send her sword sailing. This time she was ready and she flipped her own wrist. With both of them doing this, their swords went flying into the gathered crowd. They looked at each other with surprise. After realizing what happened, Talon looked to see what happened to his sword. He saw Blackheart had caught his sword and another Guardsmen was holding onto Carole's.

  Blackheart laughed and flung Talon's sword back to him. "You don't seem to have lost your touch. Maybe I should try farm living." Blackheart laughed as he walked between the two. "Carole is one of the best I have. What do you think, Talon?"

  "I have never met a woman who could yield a sword with such force." Talon nodded at Blackheart and turned to Carole. "Once you learn to control your temper, you will far surpass any swordsmen I have ever met." Talon took in a deep breath and walked over to shake her hand. "How long have you been doing this?"

  "Thank you, both of you." Carole said as she shook Talon's hand. "I haven't been doing this very long. I am glad to hear that I am improving."

  "Improving, you are a natural." Talon looked over at Blackheart.

  "Everyone, continue with training. Stephen Loveland, William Nachtigall, Kenneth Layton front and center." Blackheart yelled those names and looked around to make sure he was heard. They all came within a few moments. "Talon let me introduce you to the Heartfelt part of the team. You know Stephen and William. This is Kenneth Layton; he is your Master Archer. Along with Stephen this makes two archery experts for your team, though Stephen is new to the program, so for now he is going to remain a swordsmen." Blackheart continued as Talon shook Stephen's hand. "You've met Carole; she is your master swordsman. Gentlemen and lady, Talon is your man now. He has been appointed leader of your group. I am going to retrieve the Redderin side of your team, so take some time to get to know each other." With that Blackheart disappeared from the group.

  "Why don't we take a few steps back to get out the way?" Talon said as the group moved out of the circle of fighters. "I am glad to have you all on my team. I choose some of you because of past experiences and Blackheart and Prince Christopher picked the rest of you. Is everyone ready to go?"

  A unison of yes' was heard.

  "Excellent. As soon as the Redderin Guardsmen arrive, we will spend the rest of the time training as a team, but for now let's continue with the maneuvers. The Guardsmen nodded and headed back onto the field.

  Talon watched them go and then looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him he risked touching the recent tender spot given to him by Carole.

  "She got you pretty good, Talon." Blackheart said as he walked towards Talon. "It seems to me that you are letting a lot of women get the best of you."

  "I laugh at your words, Blackheart. Marilyn got lucky with her blow and Carole just has a little more practice than this old dog." Talon said as he was taking off the practice sheath. "I was going easy on Carole. Next time she won't be so lucky. I am just glad she is on our side."

  Blackheart rolled his eyes, but didn't punish his friend’s ego anymore. "She will aid you during the trip. She hasn't been at this as long as we have, but it is coming to her naturally. I am surprised you didn't bring along the javelin." Blackheart said and ended it with a chuckle.

  "As much as you hate that weapon, I think you should try it. I would destroy you with it at a long distance. It's not that bad at close quarters either."

  "If I wanted to take care of you at a distance, I would have my archer fire a arrow through you. Speaking of which, are you going to need to be outfitted with one?" Blackheart asked.

  "Yes, I wouldn't mind having one as an option."

  "Consider it done. Bryant has the Redderin training on the other side of the castle. I have sent a messenger, so why don't we continue to spar until they arrive?"

  Talon bowed and escorted Blackheart onto the field.

  Both men went back to the fighter’s area. Talon took advantage of the time he was given and sparred with as many different opponents as he could. Each time he faced someone new he was able to remember more and more of his abilities. The sword felt better and better in his hands. After getting some more bruises, he remembered he was waiting for the Redderin Guardsmen.

  Talon looked at the back castle wall and saw Bryant Theos standing next to Blackheart. To Bryant's side, were the four Redderin Guardsmen that were to join unit two.

  "Talon, bring the Heartfelt Guardsmen over."

  Talon waved his unders
tanding to Blackheart and assembled the rest of the group in front the Redderins.

  Now that they were together, Blackheart called out each of the Guardsmen by name. Talon kept his eyes on each person as he mentally sized them up.

  "...Guardsmen Elizabeth Sanders. And that Talon is the members of your team, with the exception of Royal Man Holloway. Prince Christopher is arranging a meeting as soon as possible." Blackheart stepped out of the group and stood next to Talon. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Talon Bastian and he is going to be in charge of this happy bunch until the Northerns return Valerica to normal. I will leave you to conduct your business. Good luck."

  Talon nodded to Blackheart and faced the group. "Good afternoon. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Michael Talon Bastian, but call me Talon. Let's get some introductions. Why don't we start with Trall?"

  Talon listened as each person introduced themselves, but paid particular attention to the Redderin Guardsmen, who he was seeing for the first time.

  A tall woman with startling black hair greeted the group, "My name is Elizabeth Sanders. Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to great and bad things for the North." She stepped back and allowed the next in line to move forward.

  "My name is Samantha Le Sabre." Samantha was a little shorter than Talon, but carried herself in a way that spoke of confidence. "It feels good to be on the Heartfelt side for once."

  "Hello, my name is Yara Teroe." Yara was a full figured attractive brunette, who seemed better suited to Royalty than a Ranger. "I hope I can benefit the team."

  The last of the group spoke up. "My name is Alexandra Mitchell." Alexandra, the shortest of the four women, had short brown hair and a slight sparkle to her eyes. She stepped back and didn't add anything more than her name.

  Talon found it odd that she didn't elaborate, but given the circumstances, he could understand being preoccupied.

  "It is a pleasure meeting all of you and I am not sure how much time we will have before we are shipped out to Elizabeth Towne, but I hope to get more than acquainted with each of you. Guardsmen William Nachtigall,” Talon paused and pointed in William's direction. "is in charge of handling any and all supplies you will need."

  For the next half an hour the unit talked back and forth. Many of them had spent time together before. Unfortunately, a couple times, people remembered back when the two people were at war. Talon was hoping there wouldn't be any problems with old prejudices, but the war was still fresh in a lot of minds, including his.

  Talon wondered why Royal Man Caswel Holloway hadn't shown up and though it bothered him, he wasn't ready to make any waves, yet.

  The meeting winded down.

  "For those of you who need equipment go with William as soon as we finish." Talon looked over at Trall. "Anything to add?"

  "We have procured a section of the barracks for our guest from Redderin."

  "Do we have room assignments?" Talon said.

  "Yes, although they aren't really assignments. The area we are allowed to use has plenty of rooms. You can take whatever room you want."

  "Why don't we head over there now." Talon looked around and nobody seemed to object. "Before we go are there any questions?"

  The Guardsmen turned and started to talk to each other. Finally, William Nachtigall spoke up. "Do you have enough room for four Guardsmen?"

  "Yes. I think we have over twenty rooms." Trall said. "Why do you ask?"

  "Well, we would like to move into those. We really belong with the unit and besides those rooms are a whole lot nicer." William tried his best smile.

  Trall looked over at Talon, but Talon did nothing but shrug his shoulders. Trall answered for him. "I see no problem with it, but make sure you inform Caswel about what you are doing."

  Talon nodded at Trall and continued. "Since that’s settled, let's head over to the barracks. I want to have everyone in their rooms, by this afternoon." Talon turned and led them back inside castle grounds.

  The group continued through the castle grounds, until they came to the last set of rooms in the barracks. As the unit looked around inside, Talon noticed there was more than enough room for each member.

  The members of the unit disappeared until they had occupied a room and, even with the Heartfelt Guardsmen, they didn't fill up the area they had been given.

  The Heartfelt Guardsmen had taken a group of rooms together, while the rest of the unit had picked rooms with less planning. It wasn't long until everyone was back outside.

  "Let's stop for some food and then meet at the armory first thing. Thank you. Everyone is dismissed." Talon took a step back and motioned to Trall. The rest of the unit disappeared in what Talon thought was record time.

  Talon and Trall followed in the wake of the rest of the unit as they headed over to the Great Hall.

  Moments later; The Library Bedroom, Castle Heartfelt

  Prince Christopher stepped inside the library bedroom and was surprised to see his brother there once again. Christopher stood against the wall and waited to be acknowledged.

  King Heartfelt was deep in discussion with his first born, when he noticed Christopher walk into the library. The King waved his hand to cut off Philip and addressed Christopher. "Christopher, how are you, my son?"

  Prince Christopher nodded. "Excellent as always. I am sorry to intrude; this can wait for another time."

  "Nonsense. Philip, please wait in the chambers for a few moments."

  Prince Christopher cringed; knowing his brother wasn't very happy about being ignored for his little brother’s concerns. Christopher stepped aside to allow Philip to pass. Christopher took the silence from his brother as an indication of how angry he was with the situation, but put his brother out of his mind and addressed the King.

  "Thank you for the audience, father. I have come to report that both units are now complete and within a short amount of time will be ready to be shipped out to Markham and Elizabeth Towne."

  King Heartfelt sat back in his chair. "Good. Continue with the preparations and keep me informed as to the status of both units and the status of the army. We are going to resolve this before the summer yields to the fall. Pass onto Blackheart my happiness with the way this is progressing and tell your brother that I will see him before dinner this evening."

  Prince Christopher nodded. "I will."

  The Prince turned and couldn't wait to pass this to his brother. Christopher wasn't sure how much longer Philip was going to keep his temper in check.

  As he walked out of the bedroom, he found Philip gone. In his place was Sir Stamos. Christopher rolled his eyes as the advisor walked over. The Prince silently wondered how long this lecture was going to last.

  Later that afternoon; The Armory, Castle Heartfelt

  Unit stood in front of the armory. The entire group waited as William opened the doors.

  "Okay, who's first?"

  Talon pointed to the women from Redderin and they headed up to the front of the line. As the women walked inside, Talon noticed the unity within the Guardsmen and he quietly hoped to himself that the teamwork wasn't going to change once Caswel became involved.

  "I think this will be a great team." Trall seemed to be genuinely pleased.

  Talon looked around at each member and was feeling the same thing. "Yes, I am inclined to agree with that." Talon noticed a figure walking towards them from the front of the hall. Talon looked over at Trall. "Do you think that is Caswel?"

  Trall followed Talon's eyes and said, "I really can't tell, but I'm a little disappointed that he didn't show up."

  "I am really starting to wonder about him. So far, he is the only wild card." Talon looked back over at the figure and let his thoughts wander. The armory line was moving at fast pace and Talon said as much to Trall. "It won't be much longer before we are done here. I guess we will have to set up another meeting just for Caswel." The figure was close enough
for Talon to recognize him. It wasn’t Caswel, but Prince Christopher. "I guess the man in charge decided to stop by for a visit." Within a few moments the Prince was walking towards Talon. He kneeled down onto one knee and awaited the Prince.

  "Greetings Talon, please rise." The Prince gestured with his right hand and Talon rose. Prince Christopher noticed the commotion he was causing with the Guardsmen. "Continue on with what you are doing. Don't mind me; I just wanted to see how things are going."

  Upon hearing this, the Guardsmen went about passing out more supplies. Talon looked back at the Prince. "Things are really moving along."

  "Good, I am glad to hear it. I am trying to arrange a meeting with Royal Holloway, but he hasn't been very cooperative."

  "Well, we are jumping right into maneuvers tomorrow morning, so he can arrive whenever he's ready."

  "Good, since things are going so well, I guess I will leave you to your unit. Nice to see you, Trall."

  "Same here Prince Christopher. Send a greeting to Blackheart for me." Trall smiled at Talon.

  Prince Christopher chuckled and waved as he headed back towards the castle.

  Talon stepped in line behind Peter, who had been told by the Prince that he was now part of this team. Talon could still feel the excitement on him. Talon waited as William finished handing gear out to the Redderin Guardsmen and then to Peter.

  Talon's attention was brought back to the armory as Peter came out with his hands full. "Get comfortable with that sword, Peter, you are going to be using it a lot."

  "Aye, Talon. Listen, does everyone have a horse?" Peter shifted the weight and it looked like he was going to drop his equipment.

  "I guess we will have to ask. I will have a list for you, but I think we shouldn't have to worry." Talon looked around to find Trall. He was talking to Samantha so Talon stepped into the armory. "How is it going, William?"

  "Just fine, Talon. What are you going to need?"

  "I think the only thing I will need is archery supplies." Talon watched as William assembled his request.

  The Royal Guard used a medium range bow, since they learned early on that a long-range bow only worked if you were trained to be a marksmen. Talon inquired about getting a long-range bow. William nodded his head and pulled out some supplies from a different pile.

  "Had a few requests for these from the Redderin Rangers!"

  "Good. Anything else you can spare for me?"

  "You bet." William threw a couple of heavy shirts onto the pile. Next he tossed a few sturdy pairs of pants. Talon was glad to have those, since he hadn’t packed many things. "Do you have any daggers in the inventory?"

  “Yes." William disappeared into the back and reappeared with a longer dagger than Talon expected.

  "Thanks. I think this should be all I need." Talon took his load and headed back to the group and as soon as he left the armory, Trall passed him and got in line.

  Talon addressed the group. "I think we have done enough today, so let's reassemble on the parade field tomorrow morning and jump right into maneuvers." Talon watched as Trall and the rest of the Guardsmen walked out of the armory. He waited as William finished locking the door and then repeated his order to them. "For your information, I have been given a room in the common room, and it's one room down from Blackheart's and Trall's room. I am available anytime of the day or night." Talon looked over at Trall. "Let's call it a day."

  The unit took their new load of gear and headed back to their respective rooms. Talon and Trall helped each other as they headed back to their common rooms.

  Talon tossed his load onto the bed and followed behind Trall to his room. "Why don't we go to Minty's after you get settled?"

  Trall nodded his head as he tossed some equipment onto his bed. "Fine. I have to run an errand, so why don't we just meet there?"

  Talon nodded. "I will see you there."

  Talon returned to his room and started to put his new gear away.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  He smiled to himself as he walked to the door. It felt like his room was pretty popular. He opened the door and found Prince Christopher standing there.

  "Sire."

  "Mind if I come in, Talon?"

  Talon stepped back and allowed the Prince into his room.

  "What do I owe the honor, my lord?"

  "I finally got a hold of Caswel and met with the same amount of resistance from him. He isn't extremely happy with being assigned to your unit. I don't think I have ever met someone with a bigger ego than that man. We discussed his problems and rest assured I will have him at the maneuvers by the end of the week. Is that acceptable?"

  Talon nodded his head. "Of course it is, sire, but I haven't even met him and I already have a negative first impression. Hopefully, things will change, when we talk face to face."

  Prince Christopher walked to the window and gazed across the fields. In a moment he started to speak. "I was thinking about..."

  Knock, knock.

  Talon turned and wondered who else was going to stop by. He opened the door and was shocked to see King Frederick standing at the door. Talon fell to his knee. "Sire."

  Upon hearing Talon, Prince Christopher turned and also dropped to one knee. "Sire."

  The King blessed Talon's shoulder and walked into the room. He was wearing a thick robe and had a large journal tucked under his arm. "Rise, Talon. Rise, my son."

  Both men stood and exchanged quick looks at each other. The King occupied the spot the Prince had had at the window. Moments passed without anyone saying anything. Prince Christopher's curiosity led him to ask why his father was walking around the common wing.

  "Is anything wrong, sire?"

  The King smiled in his son’s direction. "Can't an old man wander around his own castle, just because he is bored?"

  Prince Christopher wasn't sure how to answer.

  "Don't answer that, my son." The King turned and walked over to Talon. "I found this journal after I spoke with you yesterday. I felt you would like to have it." The King handed Talon the large book.

  Talon took the book and inspected the cover. It read, "The Journal of Cavanaugh Bastian."

  Talon looked into the King's eyes with a face full of excitement.

  "Your grandfather wrote this during the first war I seated as the King. I hope you are able to draw strength from the power of your grandfather. Return it to me when you can."

  "Thank you, sire. My father wouldn't tell us stories about our grandfather, so I really never knew him. I don't know how to thank you."

  "No need to thank me. I..." The King stopped as he brought his hand up to his forehead. He started to lose his balance as a look of pain crossed his face.

  Prince Christopher grabbed his father and held him steady. In a few moments, the pain subsided.

  "Father, let me take you back to your chambers." The Prince's voice was barely a whisper. "I will be your strength."

  The King nodded his understanding and with Christopher's help they started moving from his room.

  Talon was confused and didn't know what to do, but the Prince met his eyes and nodded to him that it was all right. Talon let the Prince walk his father back to the chambers without question.