‘Perhaps not here, Squire,’ answered the big Kitchen Master, nodding his head towards the children.
‘What are you talking about?’ Elliot asked curiously.
‘Never mind, Elliot,’ Squire Dale mumbled.
‘Squire Dale was wondering if there was anyone else who might attack us,’ said Eijelin perceptively. Dale and Tolly looked at Eijelin in surprise, and Tolly gave a quick nod.
‘Yes. That’s what Dale was wondering,’ he admitted. ‘You don’t miss much, little Princess.’
‘Princess,’ said Dale. ‘Your Highness, I beg that you and Elliot will remain in the castle right here until her Majesty arrives.’
‘I think Mommy’s sleeping. She stayed up late organizing the packing for our visit to grandmother so she decided to have a rest this afternoon.’ The little girl turned to the doorway. ‘Mommy!’ Queen Aithne, Duke Li and Princess Elizabeth burst into the room closely followed by Elliot’s older brother, Lieutenant Callum. The Queen rushed over to her daughter and knelt down, drawing the little girl into her arms. Lieutenant Callum hugged his little brother then joined the Queen, Duke Li and Princess Elizabeth to stand beside Dale.
The Queen spoke first. ‘Squire Dale, tell me exactly what happened.’
Dale relayed the events as they had occurred. ‘And so, if it wasn’t for Kitchen Master Tolly, I’m sure Eijelin, Elliot and myself would be dead,’ he finished.
‘If the Squire had not practically thrown her Highness out of the sand pit, the first blow of Henal’s sword would have removed her head,’ Tolly added soberly.
‘Elliot dragged me into the kitchen and barred the door like Squire Dale said to do.’ Eijelin smiled at her friend, who was now blushing.
‘From the depths of my heart, I thank you all.’ Queen Aithne’s eyes were full of tears as she once again knelt and hugged her daughter.
‘Mum! You’re squeezing the breath out of me,’ the little girl gasped, and everyone laughed.
‘Better you should die of being hugged, than at the sword of a traitor,’ said the physician.
‘Do you think there was only one, mommy?’
The Queen looked at her daughter sadly. ‘Linnie, there may be more than one.’ She turned to Duke Li, Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Callum. ‘Linnie and I are supposed to begin our travels tomorrow to Tarlique to visit my mother. Lieutenant Callum, I want to take Elliot with us, if you would consent to this.’
Callum hugged his brother. ‘You’ll be safer away from here for a while,’ he said, ruffling his brother’s hair.
‘Good,’ said Princess Elizabeth. ‘You’ll be aboard ship for some time, which is safer than staying here. Hopefully Danny will return quickly from the Province of the Guardians with information, but I think it’s still prudent to get the children away from here. I’ll remain here as Vicereine as Danny requested.’ She eyed at Queen Aithne curiously. ‘Why didn’t he ask you to remain? You are Queen and the most experienced, so you would be the logical person for the task.’
‘It was selfish Elizabeth. I just wanted to get Eijelin away from here. Danny knew this. At breakfast on the day Jaralina returned with news of the fallen, he asked me who would be the best person to act on his behalf. I suggested you. I’m sorry for the inconvenience it will cause you, with Li going back to Emerald. And your daughters will be missing you.’
‘Lerise and Jade will be just fine. They’re very capable young ladies. Stop worrying Aithne. I’m happy to act as Vicereine until Danny returns. I just hope I’m up to the task.’
‘You’re up to the task, Elizabeth. Of that I have no doubt.’
Chapter 10
Broken Leaf
Borgulnay frowned stubbornly as Kelian threw his pack to the ground in anger. This was the third night Borgulnay had refused to allow the Prince to take a watch.
‘Kelian, I’ve said this before, but we have soldiers here who are trained to stand watch and guardians who need little or no sleep at all. Besides, you are our brains, so we need you fresh.’
Kelian glared at him in disbelief and annoyance. The first night, he had ignored Borgulnay and settled himself with his back to a tree and his sword at his side. He woke the next morning to find himself well wrapped in a blanket and a cloak, with his pack under his head as a pillow. At first he was shamed to think he had fallen asleep but when he questioned Borgulnay and received only vague responses he became suspicious. The following night he sat awake and alert, his eyes following Timbul and Araas. Borgulnay roared laughing at Kelian’s face when he awoke the next morning, again warm, comfortable and reasonably well rested.
Once again he sat with his back to a convenient tree. He watched the two guardians intently. Both seemed focused upon their own tasks. Timbul was wetting down the fire and Araas was burying the remains of several wild ducks which had been very well received for dinner. Timbul had spent some time hunting with Gilgarry, Alexander and David, and the three men proved to be quite good with the bow.
Kelian frowned suspiciously as Timbul approached. ‘Highness, have you need of anything?’ asked Timbul.
‘Tim, I really do wish to prove less than a burden. I contribute nothing helpful. Surely the least I can do is to take a watch during the night.’
Timbul sat down. ‘Kelian, do you want me to be completely honest?’
Kelian rolled his eyes. ‘As a guardian I thought you were unable to be anything other than honest.’
‘That’s not necessarily correct,’ Timbul replied a little vaguely, ‘but if there’s something you need to know and I don’t tell you, isn’t that dishonest? In actual fact, we have more than the usual ability to stretch the truth, ignore the facts, skirt reality, and even lie outright. We simply choose not to do this. It causes more problems than a person can imagine.’
‘Just tell me Tim,’ said Kelian, feeling apprehensive about what Timbul might have to say.
Timbul looked Kelian in the eye. ‘You are our Prince. We honor you and serve you. For the soldiers, they’re proud of both their training and their abilities. They don’t need your help to do their job, and I’m sure they would find it a little insulting were you to continue trying. Araas and I will protect and serve you as it’s our duty and our honor to do so. We don’t need your help with our appointed tasks. Also, Borg said you were the ‘brains’. You didn’t seem to catch his meaning. You’re in charge. Borg is a fine Captain, but you are his Prince and he waits for direction and guidance from you. The more you talk to him, the more confidence he will have in you. You don’t need to be the muscles of the group. You need to be our leader. You need to be our Prince. This is where we need you. We need you to do your job.’
‘What if I make the wrong decisions?’
‘You’re very young, and until this moment you’ve been able to follow the guidance of others. But out here, away from Castle and in the middle of no-where, that luxury doesn’t exist. Your job as Prince of Alkira is not to be a soldier, but to take control of this situation and give your soldiers their orders. If you make a mistake…we all make mistakes. I will help you as much as I can, but you can’t avoid who you are. Regardless of your worry about the outcome of your decisions, you must take authority.’
Kelian sat staring ahead for several minutes. ‘Thank you, I understand now.’ He was silent for another moment.
‘So you should get some sleep,’ Timbul suggested.
‘I can’t sleep. I just keep thinking of Elena and her sisters…’ He sighed in resignation. ‘Timbul, could you…?’
Kelian woke the next morning unsurprised to find himself well wrapped, warm and reasonably comfortable. He lay still for a while, thinking of Elena. The first time he had seen her was at Lady Megan’s birthday celebration. Governor Ringo was always one for arranging parties and he felt that his wife’s fortieth birthday warranted a grand festival. He boldly invited the entire royal family and the families of every noble he knew and several he didn’t know, and even managed to get an invitation to the Marquis of Midway. Then he opened t
he gates of his mansion to the public and declared that all should be invited to attend such an important occasion. To his great pleasure almost everyone who was invited accepted his invitation, so the Governor’s mansion was filled with royals, nobles, villagers, and farmers, much to the displeasure of King Dannicus’ guards. Many nobles travelled great distances to attend the occasion, partly because the Governor and his wife were well liked, and partly because the King had expressed the desire to discuss matters of state with as many attending nobles as possible, in the week following the party. The Governor and his wife were delighted with this arrangement as this meant many extra guests who wouldn’t normally travel so far, just for the birthday of a Governor’s wife. The Governor spared no expense for the occasion which ended in an evening of music and dancing.
Kelian noticed Elena the moment he arrived at the mansion. He spent most of the day pretending he wasn’t looking at the beautiful girl with her blond hair elaborately looped and twisted atop her head, her pale skin with a dusting of freckles across her nose and her poise as she moved amongst the guests in a long dress, the hem of which touched the ground behind her. She was a kind and patient girl, taking as long to speak with villagers and farmers as she did with nobility.
He also noticed that Elena and her sisters Louisa and Immosey spent most of the celebration avoiding Luke and Rayne, the sons of Duke Samuel and Duchess Cassandra of Sunrise. The two haughty young men had been doing their best to compel the sisters to accompany them almost all day, and Immosey’s self-restraint was beginning to run short. Kelian’s temper was provoked when one of the boys made a lewd remark as the three girls once again tried to avoid their advances. Kelian almost intervened at that moment but with the meetings of state scheduled for the following week he did not wish to cause difficulty between any nobles attending. Political peace within Alkira was rare but the last few years had been fairly trouble free. So he had not interfered, though his every thought was on the lovely young girl, and what he would like to do to the two obnoxious young men who were becoming more and more inebriated as the evening wore on.
Eventually, Elena decided the only way to escape their unwelcome advances was to retire to her own room. Immosey followed seconds later to find her sister had been dragged into a nearby alcove and was frantically struggling for breath as Rayne pressed her up against a wall. Immosey flung herself at Rayne but was unable to push the young man’s large, strong body away from her sister, earning herself a bloodied nose and cheek as the drunken man backhanded her across the face.
Kelian could not help but notice that Rayne had followed Elena through the door and he dashed after the girls just in time to see Immosey fly backwards from the little alcove. He weighed up the situation in a second. Without hesitation he hauled the drunken man away from the struggling girl and with all of his strength and anger, slammed his fist into Rayne’s face. Rayne flew backwards, his body smashed through the beautiful stained glass door, and he landed sprawled in a pile of broken glass amongst the party guests. There was a gasp of horror through the crowd then complete silence as Prince Kelian entered the room and stood over the prostrate figure. Guards immediately rushed to stand defensively around the Prince. Kelian could see his father looking at him curiously from across the room.
A very shocked Governor rushed over to where the son of the Duke lay. He looked from the angry Prince to Rayne, his head shaking in disbelief. Duke Samuel and Duchess Cassandra pushed their way through the crowd to where their son lay upon shards of glass.
‘Governor,’ Kelian began calmly. ‘Please have this man removed to his room. He wishes to retire for the evening.’
‘Highness,’ said the Governor uncertainly, ‘what happened?’
‘We shall discuss the matter later, Governor,’ the Prince answered and Governor Ringo nodded his head politely.
Kneeling beside her son, the Duchess glared up at Kelian, her eyes flashing with anger. ‘I want to know what happened to my son!’
‘Cassie!’ said the Duke, as his face flushed. ‘His Highness will discuss the matter later.’
The Duchess was beyond reason. ‘What happened to my son?’ Her voice was a screech.
‘You wish to see?’ the Prince answered, his voice now dangerously cold. ‘Elena, Immosey, could you please join us?’
Elena and Immosey entered the room, obviously embarrassed. Elena’s elaborately styled hair was ruined, dragged down around her tear streaked face and falling past her shoulders where angry, red marks could be seen through her torn dress. Immosey stood holding her sister’s hand, with a huge red welt across her cheek and blood dripping from her nose.
The crowed was completely silent as they stared in shock. The Duchess stood up, her eyes fixed on the disheveled girls. There were cries from behind Kelian as Lady Megan and Louisa rushed past, gathered the two girls in their arms and led them from the room. Rayne’s mother shook her head.
‘I don’t know who you’ve become,’ she said and she turned to the Prince. Slowly she knelt before him. ‘Your Highness, I apologize. Do with him as you will.’
Prince Kelian extended his hand to the Duchess and helped her to her feet. He turned to Rayne who was now staring up at him apprehensively. Two guards lifted the young man and dropped him on his knees.
Kelian glanced around the room. ‘Governor Marnol?’ he called. The Governor came forward and bowed to the Prince. Kelian turned back to where Rayne knelt. ‘I hereby assign you garrison duty. Governor Marnol, do you have need of soldiers at Highview?’
‘Yes sir!’ replied Governor Marnol adamantly.
‘Good,’ Kelian replied. ‘Please arrange for Private Rayne to join our garrison at Highview. It is my hope he will serve diligently and regain his honor.’
‘Yes Highness!’ said the Governor enthusiastically. ‘Er… Highness, do you want me to sober him up a little?’ the Governor asked hopefully. Kelian hesitated for a split second, and then nodded as he remembered the sight of the two beautiful girls.
‘Stand up.’ Rayne got to his feet. ‘I trust you will learn respect and humility at Highview. From now on you may refer to Governor Marnol as General as that is his military rank. He’s tough but fair. Remember, your rank is Private and he is your General. You will obey him unquestioningly. You may consider yourself lucky I handed you over to the General and not to the King.’ Kelian turned abruptly and left the room. Governor Marnol motioned towards the door leading to a courtyard at the back of the ballroom and the newly assigned Private hastily made his way outside leaving a room full of surprised party guests and a King with a very proud look on his face.
‘Highness?’ Kelian opened his eyes as Borgulnay spoke, bringing him back to the present.
‘Borg, what time is it?’ asked Kelian.
‘The sun has been up for about an hour.’
‘Have you breakfasted?’ asked Kelian, noticing that Borgulnay’s boots were ashy as though he had been crouching near a fire yet his hands were clean as though he had been handling food.
‘Breakfast is prepared. There’s a small creek just beyond those trees if you wish to refresh yourself Highness.’
‘Thank you Captain,’ said Kelian. ‘I’ll take a little walk to the creek and then I would have you gather everyone. Whilst we breakfast I want to discuss our situation and decide on what our best plan might be.’
‘Yes sir!’ Borgulnay jumped up and hurried off to inform the others of the Princes instructions. Kelian rolled off his blanket and stood up. He took from his pack a small knife in a leather sheath and belted it to his waist. He folded his blanket along with the cloak he had used as a pillow and pushed them back into his pack, and then he made his way down the slope past the tree line to a small rocky creek. For the past three days, he’d had no time to wash and he felt filthy and smelly. The water was chilly but tolerable. He removed his clothing and waded into the deepest part of the creek to find it only reached his knees, so he lay down in the cold water and did his best to bathe himself.
He was
about to get out of the water when he heard a shrill, clear whistle from the top of the hill. He leapt from the creek and dashed to the tree line staring up towards the campsite. He could see Borgulnay standing at the top of the hill and staring west. He sprinted back to the creek, drying rapidly as he ran, pulled on his clothes and boots, grabbed his knife and dashed up the hill, buckling the knife belt around his waist as he ran.
‘What is it?’ he called as he neared the place where Borgulnay stood staring into the woods to the west of the campsite.
‘I was just calling David and Araas, Highness. They went out early to do a bit of scouting. We need to be sure we’re still on the right track. Oh, did I startle you?’ Borgulnay noticed Kelian’s dripping hair.
‘That was just a signal?’ asked Kelian, wanting to punch Borgulnay for the shock he’d received.
‘Yes. You did ask me to gather everyone.’
‘So I did. It would have been nice to have finished my lovely warm bath though, Borg. Where are Gil, Tim and Alex?’
‘Playing monkeys,’ answered Borgulnay, pointing to some tall, dense trees on a nearby hill, where the three men clung to topmost branches, gazing around at the surrounding terrain. He gestured to them and they swung quickly down through the branches, landed lightly on the ground and jogged down the hill.
‘We couldn’t see anyone, Highness,’ said Alexander, pulling twigs and leaves from his dark red hair. ‘Though it would be fairly stupid to assume that meant no-one was following us.’
Kelian flinched as Borgulnay let out another piercing whistle. A whistle sounded in response and several minutes later David and Araas appeared and made their way up the hill to where Borgulnay and Kelian stood.
‘Cassic is dead,’ said David bluntly, a mixture of anger of grief showing on his face. ‘His body is about three miles from here and there’s no sign of either Mathis or Kyle.’
‘Are there signs of a tussle?’ asked Kelian.
‘No Highness. It looks like Cassic was ambushed and then chased before he was killed.’
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 10
