Tales of the Northern Kingdoms volume 2

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "Or a weak lord?" she suggested with a wink.

  He glared at her, but she smiled. She knew that weak lords had weak guards and it wasn't that uncommon.

  A chamberlain welcomed them to Darkrock Castle with a deep bow.

  "The Countess will see you now."

  A countess! Billinda scoffed. No lord, then. That explained a lot.

  "Welcome." The countess was a beautiful woman with long, wavy, dark-blond hair. She wasn't as elegant as city noblewomen, but she had an embroidered gown and golden hairclips.

  Splendor put a knee to the ground to kiss her signet ring.

  "It's a pleasure to have visits," she said, staring admiringly at the blond prince. "No traveler ever gets this far. Who honors me?"

  "Splendor of Bold Castle and Billinda from Salamar," the prince answered.

  "Bold Castle? But it's a ruin!" the Countess said, puzzled.

  "It's true, my lady," Splendor answered. "That's why I'm wandering, looking for shelter."

  "You are very welcome." She took his arm and lightly caressed his tunic with a propitiatory smile. She couldn't take her eyes off him. "It is a pleasure to have a legendary prince as guest."

  Sniveling, simpering cow! I can't stand her! Billinda hated that kind of woman men seemed to adore. Splendor let her lead him to a table, apparently smitten.

  "Thank you, my lady."

  "My name is Isabrun, prince," she said almost kissing him.

  What a whore! Billinda hated the place more and more. A lord she could handle. A beautiful, lonely noblewoman... not so much.

  "Where is your husband, Isabrun?" Splendor asked as they sat, waiting for servants to bring in the evening meal.

  "My husband was disemboweled by a boar two years ago," the Countess answered. "I've been very lonely since," she added leaning towards him. "Unfortunately we didn't have children when he passed away..." She put her hand over Splendor's fingers. "How long will you stay?"

  "One night," Billinda snapped. "We're busy."

  "Billi, don't be mean!" Splendor scolded her. "We shall stop only one night, Isabrun," he told the Countess with another tone. "We're headed for the towns and we have a long journey ahead..."

  "I insist that you stay for a few days," the Countess said. "The journey till here must have been quite tiring already. I imagine you came on foot." She glared at Billinda who glared back.

  "Indeed, and we'd be grateful if you could give us horses to continue..." Splendor said.

  "Speak for yourself, I go on foot," Billinda retorted.

  "Billi, please!" he protested. "What's wrong with you?"

  "I don't waste my hard-earned coins to buy a stupid horse, all right? I'm not crippled and can walk on my own!"

  "Fine, forget it!" Splendor rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, Isabrun, apparently we don't agree on how to proceed."

  "I don't understand why a prince like you wanders with a woman so vulgar and masculine," the Countess said, batting her eyelids at him.

  "Because a bitch like you would have never been able to wake him up, all right?" Billinda screamed, losing whatever patience she had left.

  "Billinda!" Splendor's face-palm irritated her even more.

  "What?" she continued, glaring at him. "Those like her are insults to real women! I leave in the morning, with or without you! I'm not your caretaker, after all, and I won't let a stupid widow insult me, is that clear?"

  She stormed out of the great hall, still fuming. She better find a spot in the stables. Or in a room as far as possible from the lady of the castle.

  ***

  Splendor gaped as Billinda left the table in a fury. She must be very edgy in an inhabited castle to explode like that.

  "Leave her alone, you need someone like me, not that ignorant woman," Isabrun whispered in his ear.

  It was true that Isabrun was like the women he was used to. But he felt sorry for Billinda. What was wrong with her? Was she jealous of the noble widow? It was unlikely, but still...

  The Countess's table was rich and varied. Splendor had stuffed pheasant again for the first time since he'd woken up a hundred years in the future and tried a vegetable cake that tasted funny, but good. And there was the wine, from the vineyards of the countess.

  Splendor began to think he might enjoy staying at Darkrock. He retired with Isabrun who had made it clear she wanted him in her bed. Her bedroom was much like his had been, with a big canopied bed and carved wooden chests for clothes.

  He kissed her and let her undress him, but then he started feeling dizzy. It wasn't really the wine, it was... something else.

  He pulled away from Isabrun and tried to say what was wrong with him, but he passed out.

  ***

  Billinda had found a cot in the servants' quarters after eating in the kitchen with them. She wasn't asleep yet when the Countess came to call her with a frown.

  "Take the prince away before the curse hits my castle," she said bluntly.

  Billinda stared warily at Isabrun. The Countess looked spooked.

  Isabrun guided her through the castle and let her into her bedroom, where Splendor lay on the bed, half naked, fast asleep.

  "Again!" Billinda smiled and headed for the bed. "Come on, male sleeping beauty..."

  She leaned to look closer. Just like the long sleep. Splendor was under a spell again.

  I guess he'll need a chastity vow if he wants to stay awake!

  She briefly kissed him and waited.

  "Come on, Splendid Shining, wake up!" she said a little impatiently. "Our host has decided you're bad luck, it's time to leave this dreadful castle!"

  Slowly his eyelids fluttered open and then his eyes widened in shock.

  "Billinda! What... what happened?"

  He sat up and touched his head, but was obviously still dizzy.

  "You went back to sleep," she said. "What's the last thing you remember?"

  "Isabrun and I were... I don't know." He looked confused, but from the way Isabrun had looked at him and the fact that he was half-naked in the Countess's bed meant they'd gotten quite intimate, so Leondina's curse must have hit him again.

  "Let's go, Splendid Shining, the road is still long."

  "Billinda," he called with a sharp edge in his usually sweet voice.

  "What?" She turned to look at him.

  He had finished dressing and he rose from the bed.

  "My name is Splendor, all right?"

  "Splendor, Splendid Shining, what’s the difference?" She winked. "Let's go, the lady doesn't want you anymore. I hope she filled your belly at least."

  "Yes," he grumbled. "You're not nice, though."

  "Obviously my not being nice is what keeps you up and about," she replied. "Maybe because I couldn't care less."

  "You looked jealous of Isabrun," he said, following her outside of the main castle building, brooding.

  "I don't care what she does, as long as she does it away from me," she retorted. "I hate that kind of woman! Shall we go or not?"

  "I'm following you, am I not?" he said grumpily.

  Billinda led him out of the castle, pretending not to see his sad face.

  Things are getting complicated. No woman can touch him without sending him back to sleep... it will be hard finding someone to take care of him!

  ***

  As he put one foot in front of the other, Splendor kept musing about the lady of Darkrock Castle. He didn't remember very well what had happened with Isabrun, but it had brought back the memory of soft lips and small contented sighs. Ruth or Giselle nestling against him, batting their eyelids at him, smiling at him as if he were the only man for them, whatever that meant.

  And the meeting with the Fajrulo who had briefly become Adalbert the Minstrel reminded him also of his first crush. He'd been fourteen and Adalbert had told him the story of the Greatest Love and there was that blonde girl who kept wandering in his dreams...

  An unrequited crush for someone his father would have never allowed next to him. And now here he was, one century
later, traveling with an adventurer. Which drew a smile on his lips – imagining his stern father watching him trudge behind Billinda.

  "You are a prince, Splendor! How can you follow that lowly... being? She's not even a woman, look at her!"

  But if he looked at his savior, he saw only a blunt but bold young woman who was living on her own and didn't allow anyone to dictate her life. That was the most courageous thing he'd ever seen. He would have never dared disobey his father, but here was Billinda who had left home and her family to live life as she wished. Impressive.

  Since Bold Castle was lost, Splendor might as well find other things to do. City life wasn't really for him, but maybe eventually he'd find a place he could call home. Billinda would surely help him to settle down if he asked her...

  The blind minstrel

  Ilitan was a small town with wooden walls with several large gates, built around two main roads and next to a river Splendor and Billinda had crossed with a ferry service. Its economic base was trading, mostly furs, but the streets smelled like flowers.

  They reached the city in the early afternoon on the fifth month of their travels. The buildings generally had attics under their sliding tiled roofs and it was famous for a wizards' school and its clerics. The few guards let them in without questions and friendly locals told them the nearest tavern was downtown.

  "You will love Ilitan," they said. "Its thriving nightlife and talented street performers will keep you up all night."

  That wasn't exactly what Billinda and Splendor had in mind, but they smiled and thanked their guides, heading for downtown in search of the taverns and inns where they could at least spend one night – or one day, if they weren't able to sleep at night.

  Billinda and Splendor got lost in the maze of alleys and narrow streets, until music reached their ears. A dark-haired young man sat outside a music instruments shop with a harp, plucking at its strings with his eyes closed. The side street wasn't very busy, but a couple of children stared goggle-eyed at the musician from the corner with the main street where people strolled, ignoring the music.

  And then the young man opened his eyes and started to sing with a rich voice, which made Billinda and Splendor stop and look.

  "Listen, traveler, from your minstrel, the sad story of Prince Splendor. He was condemned to eternal sleep and he lost the paternal castle because of Leondina the Witch, who sent him to sleep one morning. Slept he did but it wasn’t death, and maybe one day somebody might bring him back..."

  Splendor frowned. "What the...?"

  "It's your story!" Billinda exclaimed.

  Splendor looked more closely at the fixed stare of the young man. "He's blind!"

  The minstrel stopped performing. "I might be blind, but I'm not deaf, my lord. Why do you interrupt my singing?"

  "Because he knows the story." Billinda chuckled. "Please, continue. Don't mind him."

  Splendor glared at her, but the minstrel resumed his song.

  "For many years he’ll sleep and maybe one day he’ll awaken but he’ll never be able to love and he’ll only remember the happy times when his life was normal and filled with joy..."

  "Why can't he love?" Splendor interrupted the minstrel again, but this time the answer came with music as the song continued.

  "Women lust for him at first glance, but the resentment of the evil witch allows no one to enjoy his beauty – he falls asleep almost at the first caress."

  "That's what happened with that silly Isabrun, right?" Billinda asked as the melody of the harp slowly faded to a stop.

  "I guess," the prince muttered, looking away.

  "You better take a chastity vow!" Billinda winked and Splendor sighed.

  "Splendor?" The minstrel set aside the harp and turned his face expectantly towards them.

  "Yes, I am he," Splendor answered gloomily.

  "The prince awoke!" The musician brightened. "May I touch you? So I can describe you better?"

  Billinda had heard that blind people "saw" with their hands.

  She observed the minstrel touching Splendor and settling back with his instrument.

  "Wonderful," he said, plucking the strings again. And again sang. "He’s handsome, his skin like a flower petal, soft lips and powerful chest, silky hair that shines in the sunlight, blue eyes that make the sky pale in comparison..."

  "All that only touching him?" Billinda marveled. "May I try?"

  "Hands off." Splendor slapped off her attempt at touching him, obviously upset by the strange description. "You know what I look like!"

  "I assume I got it right?" The minstrel beamed.

  "Absolutely. I could tell you what it's like to kiss him awake and..."

  "No, you don't!" Splendor threatened. "Enough already!"

  The minstrel smiled and rose to bow to them. "Thank you for your time, Prince Splendor."

  "You're welcome," the prince answered stiffly.

  "Listen..." Billinda pondered briefly. "You think he falls asleep if a woman touches him? Still? One century later?" she asked the minstrel.

  "That's what the legend says," he answered. "Leondina wanted him, but since he rejected her, the curse is permanent."

  "She could have set me free at her death." Splendor sighed.

  "Well, you don't know if she's dead," Billinda replied. "She's a witch, isn't she?"

  "If she's alive and I find her..."

  Billinda guffawed. Splendor was usually very sweet, but the minstrel's song must have made him even more nervous than hearing his story in a village tavern. But then, he'd been awake for five months now, no wonder he was realizing what had actually happened to him and was furious about it.

  "She's dead, my lord," the minstrel said. "Your father hoped her death would free you of the curse. He begged her to lift the spell, but she refused. So he threw her into the dungeon to prepare a pyre and burned her at the stake."

  "Which cursed him forever," Billinda commented, rolling her eyes. A dying witch might be strong enough to make her spells permanent, if only to spite the people who had killed her. "Thank you, minstrel, a very nice story." She gave him a couple of coins.

  "And you even pay him?" Splendor complained as she pushed him out of the side street and towards the main one where all the inns and taverns were.

  "Get moving, we need to find a place for tonight," she replied, amused.

  "Billi, sometimes I really hate you," he said.

  "That's probably why you can hang around me without falling asleep," she said. He grumbled something she didn't hear, but it gave her an idea. "Splendor, why don't we try?"

  And before he could object, she turned him around and kissed him like she had done in the ruins of Bold Castle. Then she pulled back and smiled at his startled expression and flushed cheeks. Splendor touched his lips in disbelief before focusing on her.

  "So?" she asked.

  "What?"

  "How do you feel?"

  "I... I'm fine, I think." He lowered his eyes.

  "We need a counterproof. Come!" She grabbed his wrist and found the alley with the brothels. She entered the first one and was welcomed by gasps from the "ladies" working there. All half-naked and all equally impressed by Splendor's good looks.

  "Come on, take your pick," she said.

  Again he had blushed, but he selected a pretty blonde. He didn't have to go all the way and have sex before crumbling to the ground, unconscious.

  I knew it! Billinda thought before crouching to kiss him awake.

  "You better make a chastity vow, honey," she told him, helping him to his feet. "Let's go..."

  ***

  While in Ilitan, Billinda decided she needed a map. Splendor was brooding after hearing his story transformed into a real legend and she wanted to see how far the story had spread. Her walking around at random didn't help much to understand how the world was made, even though she had a good sense of direction.

  She found a shop that was the size of a hole in the wall, specializing in thief supplies but providing also potions,
adventuring supplies and what she was looking for, maps. The shop's reputation was shaky, but she didn't have much choice in the small town.

  The interior was gaudily decorated and smelled of spices. The shopkeeper was male and probably drunk. When Billinda entered the small shop he was eating a snack that probably wouldn't help his slightly overweight body.

  "I'm Philuren, how can I help?" he asked, speaking very slowly.

  "Maps," she answered. "Show me what you have."

  The variety was poor, but the quality was tolerable and the price reasonable. There was only one map of the northern lands and Billinda frowned as she stared at it. It would have to do. She could add to it as she went along.

  She didn't haggle and folded the parchment to fit in her tunic pocket. She went back to the inn and found Splendor still brooding in the main room.

  "I have bought a map," she said, spreading it on the table. "I take it you can read and write?"

  He nodded, mildly interested, and leaned to study the map.

  "This is Ilitan, so we're here," he said. "I think my castle is somewhere here." He pointed as he spoke.

  "We should ask for a pen and ink," Billinda said. "To jot down our own notes."

  "I doubt the innkeeper has any," he said with a shrug. "We could ask the scribe next door, though."

  "Please read me the other town names," she said, staring at the map.

  He pointed at Salamar, Moriana, Raddanmor, Rothinelm... all the main cities were there. Probably not the smaller ones. Ilitan itself seemed to have been added later, probably by whoever had sold it to Philuren.

  Billinda was starting to have a clearer idea of where she'd been.

  "We can also use a piece of charcoal to write," Splendor said. "I can make a point to it and use it like a pencil. I'd have to wash my hands afterward, but it can be done..."

  "I'll bring you a piece of charcoal," she promised, folding the map again. "Or a pencil. If it saves room and expenses..."

  "Carrying ink is not nice when traveling," Splendor said. "Although we might find plenty of feathers to use as pens. No, a pencil is definitely better."

  "Let's go get one!" she said. "Then we can come back and have some food... what do you say?"

  Finally Splendor smiled. He nodded and rose to follow her back out into the busy streets of Ilitan.