Zehava looked over to his friend and shook his head. "Will you relax? You are worse than my little sister."
Dahak slowly made his way around to where they stood. He was still feeling uneasy but tried not to appear so by standing a little taller. "Sorry about that Meath, but with what everyone has been saying, you just start to believe it, ya know," He said with his head down, not wanting to look his friend in the eyes.
Both Zehava and Dahak's eyes focused on the Princess in both awe and admiration. "Your Highness," they both said with a slight bow of their heads in respect.
Nicolette was almost taken aback by the formalities. Though she was the Princess of the Kingdom and soon to be Queen, the last few days she had almost felt normal, as if her status meant nothing. All she could do was nod her head in greeting, but for the two soldiers that was more than enough.
"So what the heck is going on?" Zehava finally said, not being able to hold it in any longer. "In the last few days the whole country has gone ballistic and everyone is searching for you."
"It is a long story; one better told when we are not all standing here in plain sight for someone to find us," Ursa said urgently as he scanned the road and woods.
"Oh! Of course, climb in the back, there is plenty of room. No one will check back there." Zehava jumped back up to where he had been sitting and waited for everyone to get in so that they could start moving.
Once everyone was seated and ready, Ursa explained what had transpired the last few days. By the time the story was done, Nicolette was fast asleep on one of the wooden crates. She was using Meath's leg as a pillow and one of the hemp tarps as a blanket.
"Well, that all makes more sense than the rest of the rumors," Dahak said once the story was told, still feeling a little dumb for how he had reacted.
"It all sounds so unreal. I cannot believe what is happening. What is going to happen with everything now?" Zehava asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Ursa sighed. "I wish I knew. Our best chance is to get to Dragon's Cove before the news travels that far. We have to hope that Saktas tells the other Lords what really happened."
Dahak slapped Zehava's shoulder. "You had better tell him."
Zehava sighed and looked back at Ursa. "Saktas will not be telling the Lords anything."
"Why not - what happened?" Ursa asked, staring hard at the young man, waiting for a response.
"Well, we just came from Darnan after picking up some cargo. They found your old clothes when they searched his house. He refused to tell them where you were so he was branded a traitor - they hanged him," Zehava managed to explain.
Ursa's expression went blank in defeat. He rested his back against the wagon's side - a deep sigh escaped his lips as he shut his eyes and went still.
"Is he going to be okay?" Dahak asked, waving his hand in front of the Wizard's face.
They rode in silence for a long while. No one seemed to know what to say. The news of his friend's death had hit the old Wizard hard, or maybe it was the fact that the plan Ursa had hoped to set up had crumbled before it had even had a chance to begin.
"So what have you two been up to since I last saw you?" Meath asked, trying to lighten the mood a little. His eyes drifted to Ursa from time to time to see if he had come around, though Meath was sure he was deep in meditation.
"Not a heck of a lot when I think about it; just moving supplies for the army. We are taking this down to the Sheeva River Camp ‘cause there has been large amounts of barbarian attacks down there. They are going to try to go in and end the threat before it gets too far out of hand," Zehava answered.
"I figured you two would be right in the midst of all the action by now," Meath responded, confused.
"We were stationed in one of the eastern posts near Mandrake for several months. But all soldiers must serve their time as transporters for three months every couple of years," Zehava informed him. "There was not much action going on the eastern boarder so we decided to serve our time now.” He paused, looking at the reigns in his hands, before brightening. “So are you a Wizard yet?" Zehava asked, his eyes glistening with excitement. Dahak perked up with the topic change.
Meath chuckled, remembering the last few weeks he had served with his friends before heading back to Draco Castle, to begin his training. They had appeared to be more excited about it than he had been. "Well, I know more about it now than I did when we were together last - though I still have much training to receive before I could class myself a Wizard."
"You should show us something," Dahak said wide eyed with excitement, "anything!"
"Ya, I have only ever heard stories of what people with The Gift can do; I have never seen it firsthand yet," Zehava piped in, excited to see some of Meath's Wizardry.
Meath looked over at Ursa who still had his eyes closed and had not moved or responded in any way. Meath though about it for several long moments, but could not see the harm in it. "I guess there is no harm in that."
He held out his hand flat and almost immediately, a small ashen orb formed in the middle of his palm. Though Meath could have formed the fireball in full and cast it within a heartbeat, he wanted his friends to get the full visual effect. Slowly, he supplied more of his innate influence into the orb and soon vibrant yellows, oranges and reds swirled and danced within the molten sphere. His friends sat there staring into the flames with their mouths hanging as far down as they could go. Meath grinned seeing his friend's reactions, glad this was what they had wanted to see.
"What are you doing, you damned fool!" Ursa snapped. The orb of flames that had rested in Meath's hand wavered and hissed at being disrupted and bellowed upward just missing the canopy of the wagon before it dispersed. The sudden commotion in the wagon woke Nicolette. "I told you not to waste your powers, and what do I find you doing, showing off in front of your friends like some cheap jester. By the Creators grace, do you not realize what kind of chaos we are in? We cannot afford to waste any strength or advantage we have got!" Ursa bellowed in anger. "Our world is crumbling around us and you are doing party tricks. I thought I taught you better."
Meath let out an angry sigh at himself. "I…I am sorry," was all he could say.
"He did not mean anything by it, Master Ursa," Dahak said trying to help. The Wizard turned his attention onto Dahak, glaring at him sternly.
"I hate to interfere, but I can see the fires of Tarel ahead," Zehava said, hoping not to anger Ursa anymore.
"Good, can you get us in without being caught?" Ursa asked, sliding back behind a crate, forgetting the situation that had happened only moments ago.
Zehava smiled. "Of course we can. They will not look in here, I know everyone."
"Good. Once we are in, take us somewhere where no one will be around. We cannot be seen at any cost, and I mean that," Ursa said, covering his head with one of the tarps.
*****
Zehava pulled the wagon up to the guards post at the entrance of Tarel, where three guards were waiting for them on the road, while several others were around at different points of advantage. A hint of worry coursed up his spine at the thought of what would happen if they were caught, but he quickly pushed that aside, knowing they could not afford failure.
"Evening, gentleman," Zehava greeted the three in front of him with a smile, glad to see a face among them he knew well.
"Zehava, Dahak, I figured it was you two," The young guard said. "It has been long time my friends."
"That it has been Hyde - that it has," Zehava replied, climbing from the wagon and clasping hands with his friend.
"You are late!" A large, burly soldier barked out, less friendly. "Why?"
Zehava's façade changed with the tone in the guard's voice and he knew the true test here.
"Do you know what kind of problems are over in Darnan?" Dahak announced before Zehava had a chance. "Princess Nicolette has been kidnapped by two Wizards and they thought they had tracked them to Darnan. They were tearing through everything and detained us while they did so. No one wa
s allowed to leave until everything was searched."
"Ya, we did hear - that is why there is more security around," Hyde spoke, motioning to all the extra guards around.
The large guard eyed them suspiciously. "Well, we have also been given the order to search everything that comes in or out."
"You have got to be kidding. Do you know how many times we have been stopped and searched since we left Darnan?" Zehava groaned, irritated. His heart beating faster with every second, his sword arm tingled with anticipation and yet he did not really know if he could pull a weapon on his comrades.
"Oh leave them alone - we do not have to search army wagons," Hyde snapped back.
"Everything that comes in and out!" the guard barked. "Those were the orders."
"Well search away then, but we are heading to the tavern for a few mugs of ale and something to eat. So when you are done with your search, you can bring the wagon to the stables and tend to the horses," Zehava replied casually.
"You will go nowhere," the guard snapped, taking an aggressive step forward.
"Enough!" Hyde barked out. "Zehava, Dahak, go to the stables - and I will deal with this."
"You are the boss, Hyde," Dahak replied, jumping back onto the wagon with Zehava and slowly pulling into the town.
Zehava could hear vague parts of the argument that was occurring behind them now. "That was close," Zehava whispered.
Zehava pulled the wagon up to one of the less used stables, still feeling unsteady after the encounter with the guards. He motioned for Dahak to ensure the area was free of wandering eyes. Dahak returned several moments later saying the coast was clear.
"I had better tell the Stable Master that we are here so he does not come snooping around later." Zehava informed them, he was about to leave, but Ursa stopped him and grabbed a silver from his pouch and handing it to Zehava.
"Tell him you will be bringing ladies around tonight and would like some privacy, ‘til morning," Ursa said with a wink. Zehava smiled and nodded his understanding.
Meath helped Dahak tend to the horses once the barn doors had been secured. They got the feed and water trough ready and let the horses have their fill. Nicolette stretched and walked around in the barn to rid her legs of their stiffness. For once since their escape from Draco Castle, it felt like they were reasonably safe.
Soon Zehava was back with the okay that the stable master would let them have their privacy in the top loft, with no questions asked, as long as they did not burn the place to the ground.
"We must leave early - the sooner and the fewer eyes around the better," Ursa told the two soldiers, who he knew would be sleeping in the barracks so no one would think anything odd.
"We will be here before the sun comes up. But we had better go check into our quarters. If we are not there, someone might come looking for us. Like a certain guard looking to cause trouble." Zehava said with a roll of his eyes.
When the two were out of sight, Ursa turned to Meath. "Are you sure they can be trusted?"
Meath looked hurt that Ursa would say such a thing. "I would not have climbed out and stopped them if I did not know they could be trusted. We all trained together and fought together - they are as trustworthy as you would ever find." Ursa just nodded his head in understanding.
"We had better get some sleep. Tomorrow will come fast and trouble may come faster." Ursa yawned, holding the ladder for Nicolette and Meath to climb up into the loft above.
*****
The sun's rays had just started to break through the darkness from behind the towering mountains and the mist was beginning to lift from the earth's warm embrace. The air had a sweet smell, from the light rainfall they had had during the night. Ursa got up, walked over to the window in the center of the barn's loft, and looked out at the small farming town. Only a few people were up feeding their livestock this early.
Ursa sighed in frustration. He truly wondered if going to Dragon's Cove was the right answer. It had seemed the only answer at the time he made the decision. He hoped that once they were there, Lord Marcus would help them find a way to overcome the false Wizard Prince and all his treachery. He had already lost two of his good friends and he did not want to jeopardize anyone else's life, but he feared many more lives would be lost before this was over.
Meath woke to the smell of straw and dust. He opened his eyes to see that Nicolette had closed the gap between them sometime during the night and was now sleeping nearer to him. He smiled - she looked so relaxed and at peace, something he had not seen in her for the last few days. Meath slowly got up and moved off the stack of hay they had used for beds, making sure not to wake her. He knew they would have to leave soon and he would have to wake her, but he wanted her to have this peace for as long as she could.
Meath looked toward the window and saw Ursa looking back at him with a half-smile, on his face. He did not know what to make of it, as it was a look Ursa had never given before. "What is that look for?" Meath asked as he stretched and walked over to him. Ursa just turned and looked back out at the town and breathed in deeply. "Answer me, what was that look for?"
"You know, when I first found you out in the woods alone, I swore I would do everything in my power to give you the life you deserved. The life so many Gifted children never get - a life I myself never got." Ursa turned and smiled at Meath. "I know I have not been much in the way of a father to you in the sense that most fathers are with their sons. I believe that stems from my own lack of a father, but I have tried the best way I know how."
"I know that," Meath replied, taken aback by Ursa's emotional conversation. "You have always done right by me - do not think otherwise."
Ursa looked back to where Princess Nicolette slept. "I knew from the first day, when King Borrack first agreed to meet with us, that you two would grow to care deeply for one another." He turned back to the window and sighed. "I even once brought the idea to the King's attention of marriage; he even entertained the idea for a while. The thought of a warrior king with The Gift was intriguing to him. Yet he knew the people would never allow it, not this soon. Then, of course, bloodline…or rather lack of it." Ursa sighed again.
Meath stared at Ursa in utter shock. "Why did you not tell me of this sooner?"
"I did not want to make it any harder for you than I knew it would already be."
"Then why tell me now?"
Ursa looked back to Meath. "I wanted you to know that I did attempt it. As foolish as it was, I did attempt it."
Meath's eyes glistened with tears. "You should have told me sooner, maybe there would have been something I could have done to…"
Ursa held up his hand, cutting Meath short. "No, Meath - that is one of the reasons I did not inform you. There is no way that you two will be able to fulfill this childhood fantasy." Ursa grimaced in remorse at watching Meath's facial expression change from one of joy to hurt. "It is not written in the stars for you, my boy, and for that I am truly sorry. But you will find another and know these feelings again."
They stood there in silence overlooking the small farming town from the barn window. A mix of emotions stirred in the air between them.
"When this is over and all settles down, can we do some traveling and get away for a while?" Meath asked, watching a farmer tend to his livestock.
Ursa thought about it for a moment, knowing why Meath had asked such a question. "I think we could, yes. It might be good for the both of us to get away." Ursa turned his eyes back to the town and saw Zehava and Dahak strolling toward the barn. "It is time."
Ursa started toward the trap door to the loft. He removed the lock and opened it. Dahak peered in for a moment. "Okay, we are ready to go."
"Excellent, keep the barn doors closed until we are hidden inside the wagon," Ursa reminded him.
"Will do, sir…I mean, Master Ursa," Dahak answered and hurried down the ladder.
Meath watched Nicolette sleep for a few moments, so many emotions playing on his mind. He looked over to Ursa who was partway down the la
dder already and knew he was right. "It is time to go," He whispered, waking her up softly.
Nicolette smiled up at him - she had almost forgotten they were running for their lives. "What is it?" she asked, seeing the grin on his face.
Meath reached forward, pulled several pieces of straw from her hair, and showed her, his grin only going wider.
"Well, your hair’s no better," she laughed back at him.
*****
As they had hoped for, with the town mostly still asleep they had no trouble leaving. The guards at the west gates did nothing but nod their sleepy heads and open the gate to let them out.
It was not long until the group was making good time down the road, toward the river. It was not more than half a day's ride until they would reach the river crossing, though none of them knew yet how they were going to make it across without being seen.
There was only one way to cross the Sheeva River safely in this area. The river's current was violent and unpredictable, making travel across it dangerous and life-threatening. It spanned a thousand paces across in most places and thirty deep. A pulley system had been created, several ropes were anchored to each bank and large sturdy rafts had been built and attached to the ropes. Once a raft was loaded, its users could pull it across with a guide rope.
Meath stared out the back of the wagon and watched as they passed by trees. He noticed they were slowly becoming less dense and of a different species, the closer they got to the Sheeva River. Even the wildlife had started to change to hardwood creatures.
Dahak reached into one of the leather bags on the side of the wagon and pulled out half a loaf of bread and a block of goats' cheese, which he cut up and handed out to everyone.
"It is not a lot, but it will have to do until we get somewhere we can get more supplies. I did not get a chance to get any rations this morning in our hurry. Maybe we can get something at the Sheeva River's encampment, though I highly doubt it. I am guessing we are going to try to get through there as fast as we can," he said, enjoying his meal.
"So, how do we plan on crossing the Sheeva River without being seen?" Zehava asked.
The False Prince (Fall Of A King Book 1) Page 11
