I had to ensure that did not happen. I had to grow as much as I could before I took over the throne, so that Crilan would continue to thrive and people would still view us as a mighty Kingdom.
We had just finished lunch when Judby came into sight.
“Finally!” I exclaimed happily.
I jogged to my cabin, grabbed my bag, and met up with the guys on the main deck. Our disguises were on and I found it difficult not to laugh at Finn. He had a beard glued to his face and ratty looking clothes. He looked like the men you often saw who were too old to sail anymore, but still clung to their past by hobbling around the docks and telling their tales.
“Stop staring at me,” Finn ordered.
“But you’re so ridiculous looking,” I told him and started laughing.
“Me? You look like an old crone,” Finn countered.
He was right. I had fake grey eyebrows on, powder through my hair that made it appear grey instead of blonde, and was wearing a hideous brown dress that was baggy enough to hide my sword.
“I still think you’re beautiful,” Faxon said and winked at me.
Finn rolled his eyes, but didn’t take the bait.
The ship docked and the three old crones walked off the boat together. Faxon looked so convincing that I wondered how often he did this. We shuffled between all of the sailors and we muttered excuses as well as curses when we bumped into people. Faxon went to the left while Finn and I continued right. We had agreed to meet back up at the castle at sunset.
“This town is certainly busy,” I mumbled in my old lady voice.
“Too busy. Too many people,” Finn complained, sounding like the King of Blith.
We shuffled into the housing district and sporadically stopped to catch our breaths and listen to what people around us were saying. Most of it was just boring gossip about his wife cheating with her husband and blah blah. We weaved through the houses until we reached a tavern that was full of rowdy people. Finn tried to walk inside, but a man near the door stopped him.
“Whoa, Grandpa. This isn’t exactly your type of establishment,” the man, a brute at least six and a half feet tall, said.
“My wife is thirsty and this is the nearest place,” Finn told him.
The man looked at me and I tried to look as pathetic as I could.
“Alright, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
“Thanks, sonny,” I said and walked into the tavern.
There weren’t as many people as I would have thought for how loud it was, but I found us a table in a back corner, out of the way should any fights start, but close enough to listen in on most people’s conversations. I sat with my back to the wall and made sure to note where all of my exits were.
Finn hobbled up to the bar and ignored a couple guys making rude comments at him as he ordered. Once he had our drinks he hobbled over, accidentally spilling a bit on the ground as it sloshed around in the mug.
“Whoops,” he said to me and set the mugs on the table.
“You old coot,” I grumbled. “You spilled half my cup.”
“I could have spilled it all,” he argued with me, “or not gotten you a drink at all.”
Some of the people around us laughed at our arguments and quickly they relaxed. Two little old people were nothing to fear and that was exactly what we were going for. It didn’t take long for a group of people to come in and start heavily drinking. There were five men ranging from teens to late thirties and they looked like a typical group of bandits. Finn noticed them too and we sat quietly to listen to what they were discussing.
“Who’s working tonight?” one of them asked.
“Boss picks since it’s that special shipment,” another answered.
“Why’s he get to pick? Why can’t I be part of it?” the youngest looking one whined.
“He picks because he is the boss, you derf.”
They all had strange accents. Were they from here? Or had this boss brought them here.
“When’s the shipment comin’?” the second asked.
“Sunset like always. Dock on the back o’ the castle.”
“That’s the third shipment this month,” the young one said. “What are they gettin’?”
“Word is they’re stocking up in case Crilan tries anything. They don’t want to get turned to ash like those people in Trian did.”
“I still can’t believe Priam thought he could kidnap the Princess. Don’t he know Crilan’s King and Queen is crazy?”
“‘ave you seen the Princess of Crilan?” one of them asked.
Finn’s shoulders tensed and I patted his knee under the table to tell him to calm down and not react.
“No, ‘ave you?” the young one asked.
“She’s gorgeous! I saw ‘er fighting with the Queen once. Thought I might be seeing things. She moved fast and knew how to use the sword. I doubt Tamal here could beat her.”
“I’ve seen her fight too. She’s good.” The one who must be Tamal said. “But it wouldn’t be long before she threw her sword and her dress at my feet and begged for me to take her.”
The men laughed and jeered and teased him.
Finn clenched his hands into fists and slipped them beneath the table. I was having a hard time myself not saying something to them.
“I heard that bloke she’s engaged to was a pirate and the only reason he gets to marry her is because he defeated the Dragon of Crilan,” the young one said.
“No one’s defeated the Dragon,” Tamal said.
“He did,” I said in my old lady voice.
They all turned and looked at me in shock, noticing us for the first time.
“What did you say?” Tamal asked.
“That boy defeated the Dragon.”
“How you know?” the first guy who had spoken asked.
“Saw it. We just got back from there,” I told them honestly.
“You saw it?” the young one asked. “What was it like?”
“He moved faster than a man should and he cut the King a few times before pinning him on his back.”
“No way.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Why would the old bag lie?”
“Oy, I’m not a bag, ya child,” I grumbled.
“What ‘bout you old man?” one asked.
I looked at Finn and realized he was pretending to sleep. I kicked him and said, “Eustace! The boys are talking to you!”
He jerked his head up and snorted. “Wha’? Who’s talking?”
“Never mind, go back to sleep, old man.”
“Someone defeated the Dragon. Never thought I would see the day,” Tamal said with a laugh.
“Gentleman,” a voice greeted them as he walked in.
Fear constricted my throat and it became hard to breathe. Finn linked our hands together and I couldn’t take his reassurance to calm myself down. It was him. Him. Why was he here? Did he know I was here? Had he followed me?
I had begun to shake and Finn’s eyes widened in shock. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.
“‘ey Boss,” the young guy greeted the man.
He turned and looked at them and I ducked my head before his cognac eyes could meet mine. There was no doubt, it was him.
“We need to leave,” I whispered to Finn in a shaky voice.
Finn stood up, being sure to strain as he did it and tossed some coins on the table. He reached over and helped me stand up and then put his arm around my shoulders as we hobbled out the side door. As soon as the door closed, Finn picked me up and ran through the town to the side of the wall surrounding the castle. He set me down and knelt in front of me as I tried to control my panic.
“Tilia,” he whispered. “Talk to me. Why are you so scared? Was it that man? Do you know him?”
I didn’t want to tell him who he was because I was afraid he would try to confront him. If he did that he would not survive.
“Where’s Faxon?” I asked.
“Here,” he said and stepped around a large
rock near us. “What’s going on?”
“He’s here,” I told him. “He is here!”
His eyes widened and he took my hands in his. “It’s okay. Did he see you?”
“He looked at us, but I don’t think he used his ability. I didn’t feel that tickling sensation. He might have just assumed we were a couple of old people. I don’t know.”
“Okay, calm down. I’m here, right? I won’t let him hurt you again,” Faxon assured me.
“Again?” Finn asked. “Who was that guy?”
“Faxon, a group of guys called him ‘Boss’. They were talking about a shipment coming in on the castle docks. They said it was a special shipment. Third one this month. It has to do with being prepared if Crilan attacks,” I recounted for him.
Faxon rested his hand on my cheek and whispered, “Breathe, Tilia.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The terror subsided and I relaxed. “Thanks,” I whispered.
“Hey!” Finn yelled. “Fill me in, right now!”
“Sh,” Faxon ordered him. “Let’s find somewhere to talk and I’ll fill you in.” Faxon took my hand and led the way around the castle wall, towards the ocean. He peered around the corner and then led us away from the wall and towards the open field. “Tilia, sit down.”
I obeyed, but still clutched Faxon’s hand.
“That man has been causing trouble across the Realm of Olanze,” Faxon told Finn. “We don’t speak his name because it could draw his attention. Yes, that can happen.”
“Why is Tilia terrified of him?”
“Because he’s the one who hurt her on Drimla and implanted those things in her head that made her terrified of magic users and made her collapse in the arena last week,” Faxon explained.
Finn’s hands clenched into fists and he asked, “Why aren’t we attacking him then?”
“We can’t attack him. We have to find out what he is up to first.”
“If he’s dangerous, then we need to stop him before he causes anymore damage.”
“If we stop him now we might lose our best lead for finding out who is creating these devices.”
Finn and Faxon glared at each other in silence.
“Faxon is right,” I told Finn. “We have to observe. We need to find out who the creator is. If we find and kill the creator, then there will be no more devices available for purchase.”
“Exactly. And I’ll destroy the ones that are here,” Faxon said.
“Can you destroy them without setting them off?” I asked nervously.
“Yes. Don’t worry, there’s no risk of setting it off accidentally, Faxon assured me. “When did you say, the shipment was coming?” Faxon asked me.
“Sunset at the docks on the back of the castle.”
“Okay, we’ll observe from afar and then once I’ve determined who the seller is or how he is involved, we will go in and destroy the new ones. Then I will teleport to their storage and destroy the others.”
“What am I going to do?” I asked.
“You and Finn are going to apprehend the people who are working with them,” Faxon said.
“What if he is there?” Finn asked.
“I will handle him. Neither of you are to engage him. Understand?”
Finn and I nodded.
“Good.”
“I’m going to scout good lookout spots,” Finn said. “I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared before I could say anything and Faxon sat down beside me in the grass. “You okay?”
“Peachy,” I grumbled. “I don’t like being scared like that. I couldn’t do anything. How am I going to be able to protect the Kingdom, if one man makes me seize up with fear?”
“We all have something that scares us,” he whispered. “You just have to learn how to overcome the fear or use it to your advantage. Like when the chimera attacked us and they used your fear against you. Jared uses fear to make himself angry. He gets mad that he is scared and it makes him incredibly mad, and then he kills things to release his anger. I think you should be able to harness your fear in the same way. Hopefully, you’ll be a little more level headed than Jared. Sometimes he goes a bit off the edge in those moments and it is hard to bring him back down.”
“Is that what happened here, when he found Esmeralda?” I asked softly.
Faxon nodded. “Indeed, it is. I think he might have destroyed this entire place had that farm boy not been kind and given him water for Esmeralda.”
“What do you do with fear?” I asked.
He sighed. “I’m what Esmeralda lovingly likes to call, ‘broken’. I don’t really feel fear.”
“Never?”
He frowned and said, “Only twice in my life.”
“What happened?”
“The first was when I found you, after the device took your magic.”
That wasn’t a particularly fond memory for me either.
“The second was when you were afraid of me. You looked at me as if I was a monster. It hurt me more than I can express and I was terrified that you would continue to look at me like that.”
“Perhaps our relationship is a bad thing for you,” I whispered sadly. If I was the only cause for his fear and for the problems he had experienced lately, then maybe it was best if we distanced ourselves. It hurt to even consider it, but I would do what was best for Faxon.
“Quite the opposite,” he said. “You’ve given me life again. I feel for the first time in a decade. I was growing weary of life and then Jared asked me to tutor you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I told him honestly.
He hugged me against his side and said, “You have done nothing to hurt me.”
“But he could use me to hurt you. I would feel responsible.”
“No. Whatever he does is his doing. You are my shining star in the blackest of nights, Tilia. I will not let you go without a fight.”
I leaned against him and closed my eyes. Esmeralda was right, his friendship was one I would cherish forever.
He kissed my forehead, one of the few spots that wasn’t affected by the disguise and whispered, “You’re going to make a wonderful queen.”
“I hope so. I have huge shoes to fill.”
“Esmeralda does have big feet,” he muttered.
“Ha!” I said and sat up. “I’m telling her that you said that.”
“I’m back,” Finn said as he appeared in front of us. “There’s a spot on the other side of the docks that has enough cover we can stay there and watch everything.”
“Lead the way,” Faxon said and stood up. He held out his hand for mine and I let him pull me to my feet.
We entered the city again and merged into the stream of people.
“I hate these eyebrows,” I grumbled.
“Maybe you should pluck them occasionally,” Finn teased me in his old man voice.
“I’ll pluck my eyebrows when you stop whistling at those young girls!” I argued back.
“Stop bickering, you hags,” Faxon ordered with a croak in his voice. “I can’t go anywhere with you two.”
“You’re the one following us around,” Finn spat.
“Well I need someone to pay attention to me,” I griped.
“Better him than me,” Finn mumbled.
“Goat!”
“Hag!”
“Idiots!”
People laughed at us, but let us pass by with no concern. We walked to the far side and then Finn led us to the spot he had found. It was surrounded by thick, tall grass with a boulder behind us to protect our backs. We hunkered down and ate some dried meat while we waited for the sun to finish its descent.
As soon as it dipped below the horizon, a ship pulled up to the dock and four men came out of the castle and helped set up the plank and tied the ship. Two of the men were from the tavern, but the others were new faces. The people from the ship carried two crates carefully to the dock and the waiting men, but none of them was him.
“He’s not here,” Faxon said and e
xhaled a sigh of relief.
“Same plan?” Finn asked.
Faxon nodded. “I’ll freeze them, take the devices out and destroy them and you tie up the rest. Then I’ll release them and you guys run.”
“I can run,” Finn smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”
Faxon ran ahead of us and the men spotted him when he was next to the first man. Faxon waved his hand and magic rippled out like a wave and froze everyone that it touched. I ran to the nearest man and tied his feet and hands together while Finn worked on the next one. We ran from person to person until we got to the ones carrying the box. Faxon had already taken the devices and I watched in shock as he tossed them up into the air and made them disintegrate. We tied the remaining people and Faxon turned to us and nodded his head.
“See you in a few.”
“Be safe,” I ordered him.
Finn swooped me up into his arms and the men around us started trying to escape their bonds.
“Who the blast are you?” the guy from the tavern asked.
“Peacekeepers,” Finn answered.
“Now,” I ordered.
Finn obliged, running away from the docks and out onto our ship that was still docked. He took us all the way into his cabin and removed his fake beard before kissing me. “That was fun.”
“Set sail!” Faxon yelled above us.
Faxon stepped into the room and scowled. “I destroyed them all.”
“How many were there?”
“Counting the ones that were being delivered, seven.”
“Seven! That could take out all of the Kingdoms,” I gasped.
“This is bad. Way worse than I imagined it would be. We are going to have to find the creator fast.”
“Where are we headed?” Finn asked.
“Qual, the leader there is still on good terms with us, so we don’t need disguises to see him, and he should give us answers. I’ll be checking his place out anyway, but it helps to ask and hear what he has to say.”
“And if they don’t have any?”
Faxon sighed. “We’ll figure it out after we talk to them.” He left to his cabin looking worried.
“Let’s get these awful disguises off,” Finn said.
“What? You don’t like me like this?” I asked with a pout.
“When we’re both old? Yes. Now? No.”
Princess Triumvirate Page 9
