Between Darkness and the Light

by Paul T. H. Mitchener

  With that, the young officer bowed, gave a quick, uncertain look at Alk, and walked off to join his men, who by now were enjoying hot food and drink around a fire. “I thought young Henry was off to sort out that shadow fellow,” Alk said in his usual blunt way, “so what’s he doing running around the woods with strangers?” Mylon shrugged his shoulders. “Well… we’ll find out soon enough… Just make sure the perimeter guards know they’re coming and to keep a lookout for them… We need to speak with them the moment they get back.”

  Again, Alk wasn’t too happy taking orders from Mylon or the way he dismissed him. Up to a few days ago they were both commanders in the King’s Guards. However, Mylon was now king and he would have to learn to respect that. He had been friends with Mylon a long time, long enough to know that, although Mylon was under a lot of pressure, he would always put his men and his friends before himself. So Alk just nodded in acknowledgement, then gave Mylon a brief bow and walked off to follow his orders, knowing only too well that Mylon would say no more on the matter until he had more information.

  Up to this point Hazel had said little. Standing to one side holding Bree’s hand and listening, they were both pleased to hear that Henry was safe, and excited to know that he would be back soon. Hazel was concerned, however, as to why he was returning, when in fact he should be on his way to face the dark one… And who was this stranger the young officer mentioned? “It’s a relief to know that Henry’s safe,” Mylon said, interrupting her thoughts. “My men will ensure that they get back safely.” Hazel smiled and without replying looked to Bree. Noticing that Bree had been crying, she said softly, “Come here, my dear.” Hazel leant down and gave her a hug. She, too, had tears in her eyes, and not of sadness or fear, but of relief.

  It was past midnight by the time Mylon had word that Henry and the others were just about to enter camp. His first thoughts were to inform Hazel and Bree, but they had saved him the trouble. Sensing that Henry was near, they were on their feet, eager to greet him and already halfway across the camp. He watched Bree as she stood anxiously waiting for her dear Henry to appear. He still couldn’t stop thinking about her and how much he envied Henry. He would give anything to be in his shoes. “My lord,” a concerned voice said, interrupting him. Now standing next to him was young Barhador.

  “What?” Mylon barked, realising that he had shouted at the young officer. Mylon smiled. “I’ll be with you in a minute.” Barhador bowed and walked off, a little bemused by his king’s manner. This obsession with Bree was affecting him more than he had at first realised. Only part of his waking thoughts were on matters in hand: the rest of the time he was thinking of her. “This must stop,” he said to himself firmly and then followed Barhador over to the bustle of excitement. “Settle down!” Alk bellowed. “And clear the way for your king.” Everyone stopped talking and stood to one side. “Haven’t ya all got something better to get on with?” At first no one moved: they had all stopped to look at him. “Go on… get!” he shouted, they all knew Alk well enough not to get on the wrong side of him. So, without a word, many of them rushed off in different directions but not all of them had duties to carry out. But it was clear that Alk was in no mood to argue with, so many rushed off just to get clear of him.

  Moments later, Henry appeared followed closely by Grog and then Nog. Henry senior appeared next, flanked by the two guards. “My sweet!” Bree shouted, rushing over to leap into his arms. For a moment they both hugged one another, enjoying each other’s company, totally oblivious to all the others around them. Hazel just stood to one side until they had finished and then it was her turn to hug her son. Sophia had kept herself back in the darkness, happy to take a back seat for once. However, on seeing her brother emerge into the clearing, she immediately went into a rage. He was told to recover the spearhead, so what was he doing here? But more worryingly, what on earth was he doing accompanying his nephew? She knew her brother well enough not to trust him, so what was he up to now? “What are you doing here?!” she screamed. Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked in her direction. Oblivious of others watching, she marched up to her brother and pushed him in the chest.

  Henry senior stepped back. “Woah… Hold on a minute, sis,” he said, putting up his hands. “What gives you the right to speak to me like that?!” she screamed in his face. “And what gives you the right to push me around!?” Henry screamed back. At this point nearly everyone in the camp was watching as the two immovable forces clashed. Neither was willing to back down. Sophia stepped right up to Henry, her face now only inches from his. “Don’t call me ‘sis’,” she hissed in a low warning tone that made it perfectly clear that he had crossed the line. “Aunt Sophia,” Henry called over. At first, she either didn’t hear him or didn’t want to, still locking eyes with her brother. “Aunt Sophia, please,” Henry said.

  Sophia turned to face him, but the look on her face made it clear that she wasn’t happy being interrupted. Henry placed his hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “We have the spearhead… or should I say that I have it,” he said quietly. The expression on her face changed from rage to surprise. “We met accidentally at the Hollows,” he continued, trying to defuse the dangerous situation between his uncle and his aunt. “But we have more to tell… but not like this… not shouting and screaming at one another.” He looked to his uncle, then his aunt. “We need to be united… a family.” Sophia went a little red-faced and without saying anything nodded, then walked off to calm herself, but not without shooting her brother one more warning glance.

  “Henry… my friend,” Mylon said, coming from behind and slapping him on the back. “You sure got guts,” he continued with one of his smiles, referring to him interrupting Sophia. “A weaker man would have kept well clear of that conversation.” Henry smiled back. “Or a wiser man,” he joked back. A short while later they were all sitting around one of the larger fires. Henry sat with Bree on his arm, with Mylon next to him, who was flanked by Poppy and Lilly. Alk sat opposite with Bert, Ben happily curled up at Bert’s feet, and the two sisters next to him. Sophia hadn’t spoken to anyone since her outburst earlier. Grog and Nog were standing just a short distance away from Henry, but were still close enough to listen to what was being said. Henry senior, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen: he had disappeared earlier on, and for some reason known only to himself was trying to keep his distance from the others. Henry was the first to speak, telling the group how the three of them ran into his uncle and James whilst being chased by Nosferats, but Henry struggled to speak of poor James without nearly breaking down. He felt Bree tighten her hold on him, which helped give him the strength to finish his tale.

  The rest of the group just sat quietly waiting for him to finish. His mother and Bree had tears in their eyes. Sophia just looked to the floor. There was nothing that could be said to ease the pain Henry must be feeling by having taken James’s life and in such a way. However, Sophia secretly blamed herself as well as her brother for James’s death; but if her brother was a more trustworthy man, perhaps Acca and she wouldn’t have needed to assign someone to watch over him. Besides, her brother controlled more than enough magical powers to protect himself and James from the Nosferats, so why didn’t he? Young Henry may be naive enough to trust his uncle but she knew him from old and a lot better than everyone alive. Over the years he had been anything other than trustworthy: he had always put himself before others for as long back as she could remember, and that wasn’t going to change overnight. “What are you up to?” she whispered to herself looking in his direction. Although she couldn’t see him, using her senses she knew exactly where he was.

  After a brief moment’s silence, Henry continued by trying to sound a little more upbeat when telling about the spearhead, but wisely decided not to show anybody. He was only too aware that the Aelfgar was not welcome in elven company. That being said, he felt he had to tell them everything. They were all risking their lives in being here, so at least they deserved to know the whole truth. By the time
he’d finished recalling everything and reliving what he had to do to James, he was noticeably shaken, Bree hugged him closer, and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek in an attempt to comfort him, but Henry was too upset and didn’t respond to her. Instead he looked down at his hands as if he was examining them. Mylon watched them both in the fire light but had to quickly look away. It pained him to watch Bree being so close to another.

  Poppy, as always, was discreetly watching Mylon’s every move and didn’t miss the fact that her King had feelings for the wood nymph and couldn’t really understand the attraction. To Poppy, Bree was an undisciplined, untidy woodland creature and in her own biased opinion nothing special to look at… But she was fully aware that she was looking at Bree with jealous eyes. Mylon was no fool and if he saw something in her, then there must be something special about her, something that she herself couldn’t see.

  “Stop staring at him,” Lilly whispered, nudging her. Poppy straightened herself up. “I’m not staring,” she replied in a hushed tone, now with a red flush in her cheeks. Lilly leant over to her. “He’s our king… so don’t start getting any ideas,” she whispered. Poppy turned to face her and was about to defend herself, but then thought better of it. Lilly was right: even if he didn’t have eyes for Bree, she was his personal protector and as such gave her no room for personal emotions. She could put Mylon in danger if she or Lilly let their guard down for just one moment. She gave Lilly a sarcastic smile and looked away, feeling embarrassed with herself. However, whatever she said to herself… or what her duties were… she still couldn’t deny her true feelings for him.

  Mylon turned to face them, making Poppy flush even more. “Have you two eaten yet?” Lilly stood to attention. “No, my lord… not yet,” she replied. “Thought so… then I strongly suggest that you do,” he said with one of his smiles. Lilly could see why Poppy felt the way she did about him: he was charming and caring. But there was something more about him: he had a kind of charisma that made everyone he met feel special and at ease. “We may have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and there’s no saying when we’ll have another chance to rest up… So go and eat.” He couldn’t help but notice the concerned looks on both their faces. He smiled again. “I’ll be alright,” he said, looking around him. “I’m in good company and quite safe enough until you both get back.” Neither Poppy nor Lilly were happy with the idea of leaving him. They should at least take turns, leaving one to watch over their king whilst the other ate. Noticing their apprehension to leave, Alk bellowed, “You heard your king… get a move on!” With that, they both bowed to Mylon and reluctantly walked over to where the cook had a large pot of broth heating over one of the fires.

  Bert was sitting on one of the large logs with Ben asleep at his feet. Ben was never happier than having a full stomach and a warm fire to curl up beside. Up to now, neither of them had said much, allowing Henry to finish and others to say their piece. However, both were relieved to hear that Henry now had the spearhead but didn’t say as much. “Where’s Walt?” Bert said almost absent-mindedly. Ben sniffed the air before answering. “Over there somewhere,” he said, but not indicating to Bert which direction he meant. “Is he still under guard…? Ain’t heard head nor tail of him since we left the city.” Ben got up and did two twirls before slumping back down. “If you’re that worried about the man, why don’t you go over and see what he’s up to?” With that, Ben laid his head onto his front paws and closed his eyes again. Bert looked down at him. He had known Ben all of his life and he could still find a way to wind him up the wrong way.

  Bert sighed as he got up. “Off to find your old mate?” Ben enquired without opening his eyes. Bert paused to say something but thought better of it, knowing that he would only get a sarcastic response. He turned and made his way across the encampment. Ben opened one eye and watched as he went, yawned, closed his eye again, and went straight to sleep.

  Bert found Walt sitting on a groundsheet on the other side of the clearing, leaning against a rock with a hanky in one hand and hot drink in the other. Although he wasn’t restrained, it was obvious that he was being watched over by the two guards sitting only a few yards away. Bert nodded to the guards, who in return smiled and nodded back. “Are they looking after you, Walt?!” Bert bellowed. Walt looked up and grunted something under his breath, kicking the ground next to Walt to clear it. Bert then sat next to him, looking out over to the campfires and said, “So what are your plans from here on in?” Walt didn’t answer. Instead he mopped his head and tried to pretend that Bert wasn’t there. He had never liked the man, even before he lost most of his teeth: it was only one punch, but to Walt it was unnecessarily violent.

  Besides, he was in no mood to talk and he certainly wasn’t ready for small talk with this man. However, Bert took no notice of Walt’s mood. He had something to say and now was as good a time as any. “We’ll need to know where your loyalties lie, Walt,” he said in a menacing tone, now looking directly at him. Walt looked Bert in the eye and quickly looked away again. “How do you mean…? My loyalties are as always… with lady Sophia.” Bert shifted so that he was now facing Walt. “You ave always looked after number one… So don’t go giving me no crap bout being loyal to Lady Sophia… I knows ya better.” Walt seem to sink back into himself and started mopping his head again. The two guards exchanged looks but both knew better than to interrupt Bert. “Well!?” Bert shouted. Walt dropped his drink and tried to stand up, but Bert was quick to grab his arm and pull him back down.

  “I know what you… and the others think of me,” Walt said sheepishly, “and perhaps you have reasons not to trust me… But you must believe me when I say that I would do nothing to endanger any of you… especially my lady Sophia.” Bert didn’t respond. Instead he sat staring at him as if he was weighing him up, released his grip on his arm, and slapped his hands on Walt’s knees, then got up, stood over him for a second before saying, “I hope what ya say is true, Walter… for your sake… ’cos if I fink for one moment…” He didn’t finish his sentence: he knew that he didn’t have to, as Walt understood perfectly what he meant. Bert smiled, slapped him again, this time on the shoulder, and walked off.

  Walter sat rubbing his arm as he watched Bert walk away. “I’ll show you,” he whispered, “I’ll show you all.” With that, he picked up his cup and with a great deal of effort managed to get up to make his way over to the cooking area to get a fresh brew, followed closely by the two guards. His cunning and closeness to lady Sophia had, over the years, kept him pretty much out of harm’s way. Even Bert would think twice before harming him in fear of upsetting Sophia, but he had always known that it would only be a matter of time before he had to make a choice and take sides.

  Alfwald has already demanded information from him… and made it very clear that he should relay to him as much information as possible regarding the movements of the guardians. In the past he would have had no hesitation informing on Bert and that damn dog. But it was a different matter entirely when it came to the two sisters: he would never knowingly put either of them in harm’s way, especially his lady Sophia. He had, however, already made his mind up about what he would do next. Even before Bert’s threats, he had decided that he would not betray any of them, including Bert and that dog, even if it meant putting himself at risk, which surprised him as much as it would have done anybody else. He knew, due to his past history, that nobody would believe him, so he decided it would be best to keep it to himself. He was planning to leave in the morning: his only chance of helping the cause was to try and lead Alfwald away from the group by misleading him. Alfwald had demanded information from him, so information he would get.

  Young Henry was sitting huddled up with Bree under one of the trees on the outskirts of the clearing, leaving his mother, aunt and uncle in Mylon’s company. They both felt that they needed a little time together. They still hadn’t spoken much since Henry’s return, but both felt comfortable enough to know that they didn’t have to: they knew how each other felt. That b
eing said, Henry did have to tell Bree that he was leaving in the morning, and that he wanted her to stay behind with Mylon and the others. She objected at first but understood why when he explained it to her. He had resigned himself to the fact that Grog and Nog would tag along and didn’t need or want anyone else putting themselves in unnecessary danger, and having no idea what he was going to walk into when he did finally face the dark one, or what would be required of him to succeed in defeating him, he had enough to worry about looking after himself, let alone worry about looking out for others.

  The night stayed mostly dry. Other than those chosen to guard the camp, it allowed most of the group to settle down to a good night’s sleep. But again Henry found that he couldn’t sleep: he just lay looking out into the night with Bree huddled asleep in his arms. If it weren’t for the circumstances surrounding them and if it had been another time and place, he would have enjoyed the stillness of the night and the company that he was in. He had just closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree when, without warning, all hell broke loose on the other side of the camp. There were suddenly guards and troopers calling out and running about in all directions, but Henry was sitting too far away to see what was going on or hear what was being said. Bree was now up and on her feet. “We’re under attack!” she shouted, without a second thought.