The Paladins of Naretia

by TP Keane

Chapter 22

  Ol?rin stretched his arms over his head and found his hands entangled in a wiry beard. He was sure it wasn't his beard as it was far too coarse. But just to make sure he ran one of his hands along the length of it until he reached a large fleshy nubbin.

  "Oie!" came a gruff voice. "Get yer fingers outta me nose."

  Ol?rin immediately retracted his hands and sat bolt-upright. Looking where his fingers had been, he found the furious features of Bernard staring back at him. The disgruntled dwarf gave a loud huff and turned onto his side, away from his travelling companions.

  Ol?rin wiped his fingers on his cloak with a shudder, before glancing at Aramus. He found him sitting up and propped against a large bolder. Like a black-feathered cloak, Aramus's wings were wrapped around both himself and the queen. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her eyes were firmly shut. Aramus, on the other hand, was wide awake, and the small shadows under his eyes hinted that he had not slept all night. But Ol?rin thought it must be just a trick of the light because the young man always slept well.

  He didn't quite know what to make of the sight of the two enemies cozying up together in the harsh light of a frosty morning. It was a sight he thought he would never see; Aramus and any woman in close proximity, never mind his mortal enemy the queen. Aria groaned and her bound hands became visible once more as they poked up beyond her feathered cape when she rubbed her eyes.

  "What the?" she said, lifting her head and staring wide-eyed at Aramus. "Get off."

  Aria gave the young man a hard shove with her shoulders and immediately Aramus unfurled his wings from around her. 'Ah, that's more like it,' thought Ol?rin with a little disappointment.

  "Och, can't a dwarf get a bit of sleep?" Bernard grumbled, only half-turning his head toward Aria. "Would ye stop yer yapping. The sun's no' up over the horizon yet, and all I can hear is you."

  Bernard huffed angrily and turned away again. Ol?rin suspected that his brusqueness had more to do with the fact that it was Aria who had spoken and less to do with him wanting sleep.

  "Good morning, Aramus, Your Majesty," Ol?rin said, inclining his head toward the two before fishing some browned apples and old bread from his hat. "Breakfast is served."

  Bernard righted himself with enthusiasm, but his interest was lost when he saw the meagre offerings.

  "That's no' breakfast! Ye wouldnae feed a baby bird wih' that garbage," he said. "Give me two minutes and I'll find the three of us a nice bit of boar, or a chicken at the very least."

  "I think you mean the four of us," Ol?rin said, knowing full well that he had left out Aria on purpose.

  "I'll no' stop ya if ye want tae share yer portions, but I willnae be sustaining the likes of her," he seethed.

  Ol?rin could see the queen open her mouth to say something back to the irate dwarf and raised his hand to stop her. Much to his surprise, she closed her mouth again and instead satisfied herself by returning Bernard's vicious looks.

  "In any event, we cannot light a fire to cook the meat, Bernard," he said. "Not yet, not until we are out of the mire and have some concealment from within the trees of Elwood."

  "How much farther?" Aria asked, much to Bernard's obvious annoyance.

  "Perhaps a day, but I am surprised you asked," Ol?rin replied. "I wouldn't have thought you would be so eager to join us on our travels."

  "I'm not eager to help you at all," she said. "But there are a few concerns which I am not sure you have thought of. For one, the elves sole purpose in life is to balance the world by removing all things which don't belong in it, or threaten it. I assume that Aramus here would be one of those threats, and they will not help you in your quest. Also, if you are trying to prevent his death, and the fulfilment of the prophecy, I'd wager the elves would thwart you in that regard too. Tell me, is it true his death might see the kingdom of Naretia fall? Because if it is, then I am surprised no one has told me of it."

  Ol?rin studied the young queen for some time. Her sweet-heart shaped face was a picture of concern, but he knew it had very little to do with whether or not Aramus lived, and more to do with how his death would affect her kingdom. From the corner of his eye, Ol?rin watched Aramus's interest pique as he listened in on the conversation. In a failed attempt to be nonchalant, he busied himself with trying to eat the hardened bread, his amber eyes only occasionally resting on the speakers.

  "It is unclear, Your Majesty, so we must err on the side of caution. Only a select few have been told of the prophecy, to protect Aramus, you understand? However, I am confident his human side will prevail and the potion Edwina has charged me to make will cure him of his father's curse, and his hold over him too."

  "Are you?" Aria asked, narrowing her eyes. "Sure, that is. If it should fail, if you are left with no other choice, could you see him killed? Could you sacrifice the lives of the wizard caste for the sake of the rest of Naretia?"

  Ol?rin was slightly taken aback by the question and he opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Edwina's words made themselves known in his head. "?while there is one decision I cannot condone, you may have to take it regardless. If you do, know that I am at peace with it." An odd weight landed in the centre of Ol?rin's chest as he wondered if this was what she meant. Edwina, thus far, had seen the need for an extra tear of life and it stood to reason that if she could foresee that, then perhaps she was warning him of the very real possibility that he would have to kill Aramus. But he had come to love Aramus, like the son he had never had, and the thought of killing him went against every fibre of his being.

  "May I ask you, Your Highness, why it is you would see Aramus killed so readily?"

  "'Cos she's a clag-tail," Bernard interjected, crunching the dried bread with ease.

  "Bernard, don't," Aramus said.

  Bernard shot him a deadly glance, but Aramus's brow had already been furrowed. His eyes shifted between Aria and Ol?rin, and Ol?rin could have sworn that there was a look of nervousness about him.

  "Because he killed my parents," Aria answered flatly, as though it was common knowledge.

  Ol?rin took in a sharp breath and fixed his eyes on Aramus. The young man bowed his head and let out a long weighty sigh. He dropped the bread from his hand and, after a few moments, looked sheepishly at Ol?rin.

  "Is this true, Aramus? Was it you who killed the king and queen?"

  "It was," Aramus replied quietly. "Although, I'm not sure how much of it was me."

  "What do you mean?"

  Aramus stood up, untethered the queen's binds from his belt and tossed it toward Ol?rin.

  "I mean that it was the first time I heard my father's voice in my head, the first time I dreamed, and the first time I had killed in cold blood. You found me when I was eleven, surrounded by fully grown men who would kill me. I only killed those few to survive, and would have died if you hadn't fended off the other seven. But that day, when the king and queen stood before me, I had no reason to kill them. I just did it, and I don't really remember why."

  "It's true," Aria added. "He had a fire in his eyes the day it happened, the same fire I saw as he killed the ogres."

  "But why didn't you tell me this, Aramus? If I had known, if only I had known?"

  "What? What could you have done, old man?" Aramus said, his voice a mixture of anger and sadness. Balling his fists he turned away from Ol?rin, like he couldn't bear to meet his gaze. "I didn't want to tell you because then you would look at me like everyone else did, like I was a monster. You were the only one who treated me as though I was normal, as though you actually cared about me, and I had never experienced that in my life.

  "At the time, I didn't know Dantet could control me, I thought it was something bad inside of me, and I didn't want to lose your respect. I didn't want you to look at me like that - like you are now."

  Without another word, Aramus took off into the sky and left Ol?rin still open mouthed. His head swirled with what all of this meant, and not all of it was about Aramus.

  "T
his is bad, this is very bad," he muttered. "The wizard caste kept this information from me. Why, why wouldn't they tell me?"

  "Perhaps they are not as united as you might think," Aria answered. "It was Mullrode, a member of the Order of Everto, who gave me the amulet to control the Dark One's. He agreed Aramus should be brought to justice at the very least. Perhaps he had a hand in it?"

  "Mullrode? That snivelling little pest? His boots have always been far too small for his own liking, and his impatience has been troubling, but I never thought, not for one instant? I have been away too long from the wizard tower. Six years. This Order of Everto is most troubling, most troubling indeed."

  "Sounds like thas Mullrode fella needs a good walloping," Bernard said, crunching on another morsel of bread. "Whot say we pay him a visit and give it tae him?"

  Ol?rin stood and paced the small rock whilst stroking his beard.

  "No, no, we have no time for that. We must get the last ingredient before we return to Lothangard," he said with a weighty sigh. "Come, this is no time to rest."

  Ol?rin picked up the tail end of Aria's binds and helped her to stand.

  "Whot about Aramus?" Bernard asked.

  "He will find us when he is ready."

  "And about my question, will you be able to see him killed if it comes to it?" Aria asked, walking behind Ol?rin as they clambered off the rock.

  Ol?rin's heart ached, but certain things were becoming clearer to him now.

  "If it comes to it, yes," he replied in a whisper.