by A L Wright
Victor however, did not share that bond with her, and would continue to worry until he saw her again. One more reason why it was better for Victor to go after her than himself.
He just hoped they both hurried back.
Chapter 20
The village of Noble’s Rest had grown considerably since the last time he had been here. Villagers of all types filled the roads; the wealthier citizens riding in carriages while the poorer folks drove carts or walked while simultaneously dodging cart-wheels.
One thing most definitely had not changed. People parted the pathway quickly, making way for the Noble heading towards the Palace. Victor was glad to move easily through the crowd, yet he became apprehensive the closer he came to the last place he saw the first woman he cared for. The place where he left her body and fled from to wallow in his sorrow and guilt. Fled with his Prince and friend, and her newborn child.
And now he had purposely come back here to this place he swore he would never return to, seeking that same child. Nikka may be a grown woman now, but he would never feel any less protective towards her. Maybe someday he would admit to himself that his feelings were more than merely protective.
Heaving a sigh as he approached the Palace gates, he braced himself for what lay ahead. His horse slowly walked through the gates and ambled to the middle of the yard before stopping out of lack of direction from its rider. Victor was too busy attempting to control the onslaught of emotions that the sight of the Palace brought to him to worry about his mount.
“Sir?”
Startled, Victor looked down beside his horse to see a young boy addressing him.
“Sir, would you like me to take your horse?”
Victor acknowledged the boy with a grunt before throwing his leg over and sliding off his saddle.
“Keep my bags in the stable for now. I am not sure if I will be staying long.”
“Yes, sir,” the boy said as he walked away, clucking to the horse as they moved towards the stable.
No longer with a horse to use as an excuse not to enter, Victor grimly made his way to the main doors.
Nothing had really changed in his time away, it seemed. The black marble benches and columns still graced the entryway and foyer. The tapestries were the same and the faces that turned towards him were all familiar. Of course, there wouldn’t be more than one or two new faces, since the Choosings happened generation-ally.
“Well what do we have here?” A velvet voice came from behind a few of the other Nobles in the foyer. A tall, lithe woman with dark hair that fell all the way down her backside made her way around the others and walked slowly towards him.
“Vera. I see you still loiter in public areas. Always the gossip monger.” Victor had never disliked the woman, but his patience was not long enough to deal with her flirtatious ways right now.
“My but don’t you look rugged,” she growled. “You were always handsome and being away from the cleanliness and splendor of the Palace sure did not change that.”
He was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable being devoured by Vera’s eyes. Glancing around him, he saw that all the other Noble’s present were wearing smirks and eavesdropping intently and quite unabashedly on their conversation.
“I came here on behalf of the Prince. His daughter passed through here recently and I am to make sure she is safe. She does not often go far from home.”
“Oh, she is home now. Back to the Palace at last. She arrived here three days ago,” Vera teased him with her information.
“I must see the Patriarch and her as well.”
“Well. The Patriarch is not here at this time.”
“Not here? I have never before seen him leave for more than a few hours at a time. He should be back soon, then?” Victor asked.
“Well it seems he is taking care of some business in one of the southern villages. Something about horses ready for his elite guards or some such. The two warlocks rode with him.” Vera purred, moving just a bit closer to him.
“Warlocks? Who are these warlocks?”
“My, aren’t you full of questions! Are you now glad that I ‘loiter’ around the foyer? Hmm?” Vera reached out and ran her finger down his chest, placing her hand on his stomach.
“Vera, I am not interested in your flirtations. Your slithering self does not appeal to me.” He took hold of her wrist and removed it from his front, then let go and turned to walk away.
“Then who does appeal to you? Maybe the girl in the Slumber Chamber?”
Victor stopped in his tracks and whipped around to face her again.
“Oh, I see. You do care. Your Prince’s daughter was quite adamant that her girlfriend be turned. Of course, being the granddaughter of the Patriarch, she got her way. The girl is interred in the Chamber already.”
Victor was frozen in place, unable to say a word.
“Oh darling. It is so sad to watch someone’s heart breaking. If you decide to stay and rest here, just let me know what room is yours. I will help you forget her.” Vera had closed the distance between them once more, and was running her fingertips down his chest again. This time with both hands.
He grabbed her wrists and pushed her away from him. “I will be staying here, to wait upon the Patriarchs return. But you will never touch me again if you want to keep your hands attached to your arms.”
Victor turned and marched away, with Vera’s voice following him.
“You had influence here once upon a time, Victor. But without your Prince in residence you are nothing but a visitor. You should treat those of us who are important to the Palace with a little more respect.”
Victor had turned the corner of the hallway as she spoke the last few words. He smiled crookedly to himself. Seeing her lose her composure in front of the others was satisfying.
As he strode along the corridor leading to the east wing that held the guest rooms he walked past the opening that led off in the direction of the slumber chamber. He didn't even take the time to think about it, he just turned and walked through. This hallway led towards the heart of the palace, and the stairways that led below it.
He continued walking until he reached the stairs, descended them, and did not stop until he stood before the open door of the Slumber room.
The doorway was an open stone arch that led inside. The room itself was a crowded array of pillars, arches and other supportive structures. There were alcoves carved into the walls with candles in each one, and trinkets that each human that had been turned had left there as a symbol of leaving their old lives behind.
Gargoyles and other nocturnal creatures leered from the tops of the arches, pillars and from above the alcoves. Watching over the proceedings, guarding the ancient rite of being turned into a Noble.
Runes were carved all over the room, on every surface. And at the current time they were glowing brightly as if lit from behind by tiny suns. They were only lit like they were if the Slumber Chamber was occupied and active.
When the chamber was not being used, it would be sitting in the middle of the room. Once sealed however, it would slide below the ground and the floor would close over the top of it. The only way to know where the chamber sat originally were the five bright red stones set in an odd arc pattern in the one of the stone slabs in the floor.
Victor now stood looking down at those five stones, dormant and dull. His Prince had told him that the only way to release the Chamber before it had finished turning the human inside was by The Patriarch’s touching those stones simultaneously. It meant certain death for the human, as once the process is halted before completion it would immediately drain the person’s life force.
Of course, Victor would not try to have such a thing done. He may not be happy with the way things had turned out between his Princess and Friesa, but he would never be cruel enough to take away someone she cared for.
And it was obvious to him that Nikka did care for the girl. He truly wished it were him, but he had waited too long to reveal his feelings for her. Though had he r
eally planned to? They all lived happily in the Keep and there had been nothing to threaten that besides the goblins themselves.
But he always had Nikka close by. It was foolish of him to think that would never change. It was foolish of him to think that Nikka would never seek out companionship and love. Friesa gave her affections freely, whereas as Victor held them in reserve. Always regretting that he had not been able to save her mother, he had kept that a secret and had kept his emotions distant.
Only within the last several months did he realize that he had come to care for Nikka in the same way he had cared for Josaleene, and much more strongly. And when he heard the girls had ran to the Palace together his carefully built walls that contained his emotions cracked and tumbled down. Leaving his heart bare to the truth.
He loved Nikka more than he ever knew was possible. And now he stood above the Chamber containing her and Friesa, for who knew how long. He may not see her again for years. By the time she came out the war could be over.
They could all be dead.
Despairing that he may never again see his Princess, Victor slumped against the cold and damp stone wall and slid to the floor. There he stayed all the rest of the night, the gargoyles silently snickering at his stupidity.
Chapter 21
Hudreia was most impressed with the stock of horses that Mortul had access to. The humans that bred and cared for them were meticulous and painstaking in their efforts. And it most definitely paid off in the animals that they produced.
Nearly the whole village they were in consisted of horse breeding families and the farms for the hay and grains required to feed them both. There was only a small marketplace just big enough for small trade goods and the one or two merchants that brought in the textiles and metals that the humans needed from outside the village.
Otherwise the families traded directly with one another for food and services. It was a self-sufficient town and she could see that Mortul was quite pleased with it. The man he had in place as the mayor of the village was loyal to a fault to his Patriarch. And of course, he would be, he owed everything to the leader of the Nobles. Without him, his family would still be eking out a meager existence on the edges of Nobles Rest, attempting to keep their prized horse stock fed and profitable.
His fortune had come from a contract nearly twenty years previous, where his daughter was offered up to be a potential Chosen. Cece was picked, but subsequently had betrayed her father’s trust out of hunger for power. She had been punished, and her ashes now lay beneath the ground in the graveyard behind the Palace.
But Mortul was a man of his word, and he continued to honor the original contract.
Master Kroftman had made them all guests in his large home and had even vacated himself and his family to leave them all in peace during their stay.
Yosan’s grumblings about Mortul’s show of power had tapered off recently, as well. He was beginning to understand the intricate layers of the foundation Mortul had built in order to strengthen the lands and people around him, while also strengthening their security at the same time by turning more humans into Nobles.
Mortul had fortified the lands against any hostilities. Any fights or squabbles between villages were quickly put to rest with guards, rangers or the army that he kept afield so no one could easily know their numbers.
A knock sounded at the door disturbing the comfortable silence that had enveloped the inhabitants of the spacious family room. Yosan rose from his seat near the large hearth and answered the door.
He closed the door only a moment after answering.
“It was a messenger. He was dispatched from the Palace to bring this to you, Mortul. He said that Vera sent him.” Yosan handed the letter off to his old friend before moving to sit back at the hearth.
Hudreia watched as Mortul cracked the seal and read the message silently.
“Who is Vera?” She inquired.
“Vera is considered widely the court gossip and flirt. What she truly is, however, is an incredible information gatherer. Frankly, she is my personal spy. Not one thickheaded Noble in that Palace would ever know otherwise.” Mortul said as he scanned the contents of the note a second time.
Hudreia raised an eyebrow towards him. “Thickheaded, huh? These are the types you fill your home with?”
“They all have a purpose. Muscle, mainly. They were selected for their ability to defend my home. The smarter ones were sent off to the army outposts or to the rangers.” Mortul stood up and walked towards the door. “It seems my son’s old guard and friend has shown up at the palace. Vera was not sure of his intent, so sent me the message. I will go find Nikka and see what she thinks about it. Care to join me?”
She was out of her chair and grabbing her cloak before he even finished the question. Hudreia loved the crazy history of his family and just had to know how this new person fit in.
The night air was warm and threatened rain. Not that rain bothered her. She and Yosan had traveled wet more often than not, especially the first hundred or so years. Goblins did not always live in mild climates.
They found Nikka in the Kroftman stables, sitting in a stall next to a heavily pregnant mare. The horse was a beautiful buckskin, strong and quick-footed. She had not liked the warlocks at all and their care of her had taken more than a bit of magic to calm her. Nikka had marveled at the use of magic for this purpose, and after picking up on how to do it she insisted that she do it herself during their time there. It would be good for the bond, so Hudreia agreed.
They had been very lucky indeed to find an already pregnant mare, and one so well bred.
“I just gave her tonight’s injection of blood, so she’s a bit agitated. Let me come out of the stall.” Nikka rubbed the mare’s belly, then back, neck and nose before leaving her.
“It seems a friend of your fathers showed up at the palace after we left. I was unsure of his intent, so I wanted to ask you; how do you know Victor?” Mortul asked after she closed the stall door.
Nikka’s face flushed red and her eyes opened wide for a quick moment. “Ah, well, he is my father’s closest friend but has always been protective of me, like a guard. I am sure he followed to make sure I was alright.”
Hudreia smiled to herself. Nikka was enamored of this Victor fellow, but did not want to admit it for some reason.
“I know he was quite fond of your mother,” Mortul said.
“He… he was?”
“He was her personal guard, and took his charge of her very seriously. I am sure he worries about you in the same way.”
“Oh, well, that is true. I should probably go back and talk with him. Will it be okay to leave her now?” Nikka looked back to the stall.
“Of course, dear. I will be staying here to tend to the mounts over the next month or so. I will take wonderful care of her.” Hudreia assured the girl.
“Well then, let us gather up Yosan and our belongings. It is early enough in the evening that we can travel most of the way, and camp a mere couple of hours away from Nobles Rest.” Mortul stated, then turned and walked out of the stables, leaving them to follow behind.
When Hudreia came back into the house, Yosan was no longer at the hearth. She made her way down the hallway to the room they were sharing. Yosan was sitting in the window box when she entered.
“What was that all about?” Yosan asked her.
“Mmm, family drama it seems.”
Yosan grunted in response.
“Listen, I know we spoke of you returning with Mortul to the palace to head up the court, but I think there may be another opportunity to consider.” She made her way over to the chair next to Yosan and placed her hand on his knee.
“What would this opportunity be?” He asked as he placed his hand on hers.
“This friend of Mortul’s son, maybe he could be convinced to take you back with him to Dartein. Then you could see what he possesses in the way of power and maybe even see what kind of outpost he is in control of. It could be a way to set up a forward defen
se.” Hudreia had a million thoughts and possibilities running through her mind. Yosan squeezing her hand brought her attention back to him.
“You may be right. It could be a great chance to see what Mortul’s legacy is capable of. It would be best to bring him back into the fold, so to speak, so that we all stand solidly against the enemy.”
“I am glad that I did not need to convince you to see my reasoning on this point.” Hudreia winked at him.
“Oh, you may not need to convince me, but you could at least see me off with a proper farewell.” Yosan pulled her into his lap, making her shriek in surprise before his lips pressed down against hers.
Chapter 22
The ride back to the palace was quick and uneventful, except for the butterflies fluttering in Nikka’s belly. She had not been away from Victor like this before, not on her own, and the thought of him being angry with her made her especially nervous. Although, she was a bit relieved that she would not need to face her father. Yet.
Yosan and her grandfather had spoken of battle plans most of the way. Nikka listened in to try and keep her mind off of her coming meeting with Victor, but in the end, had retained very little of what they were talking about. There were a couple of mentions of creating more Nobles in a shorter amount of time, but her grandfather had some reason against it. She couldn’t remember what it was now.
Mainly because once she dismounted her horse in the palace yard all coherent thoughts fled her mind. She was so worried now about how much she had disappointed Victor that she barely had the willpower to face him. It was interesting though, how much she realized she admired him and hated to disappoint him. She had been well distracted by her friendship with Friesa that she hadn’t taken much time to ponder her feelings for the man lately.
She only had a brief moment to reflect on those same feelings before her grandfather ushered them all out of the yard and through the main doors. They were most of the way down the hall before she realized that having all of them ambush Victor at the same time may not be the best of ideas.
