Rue swore again, more loudly, more boldly. Adaranth slapped her across the face. She didn’t even flinch.
“A strong mouse,” Adaranth whispered. “A very strong mouse indeed. Well, will you still be strong when your friend is dead?”
Suddenly, the dots seemed to connect in Adaranth’s mind. “You’ve already lost someone, haven’t you. The mercenary. You were with him, both of you. I had spies in Maplefrost, people who saw you together. Where is he now? Did he abandon you? Pretend to be a changed man and then leave you, going back to his old murderous ways? Or maybe he tried to kill you, and you ran. What was it, mouse?”
So spies had seen Thane, but apparently, it seemed that Adaranth didn’t know Thane was dead. Rue wondered if it could be used to her advantage. Could she make something up? If Adaranth figured out Thane was dead, he would stop looking for him. Stop the search, and set his sights elsewhere. He would wreak more havoc on the Kingdom, instead of focusing on trying to kill the mercenary. But Rue knew he would figure out the truth soon enough. She couldn’t keep underestimating the Prince.
“Do you know where Thane is?” Adaranth asked. And for once, it wasn’t a taunt. It was sincere. He had no idea what had happened to Thane. It was clear from looking at him that he wanted to know, desperately. Adaranth was going mad without knowing. Killing Thane was clearly the only thing on his mind.
“He’s a wanted fugitive you know,” Adaranth said. “I want to speak with him, that’s all. I want to know how he has managed to elude me.”
“You’re never going to get to Thane,” Rue said. “He’s safe, far away from you.”
“You know where he is,” Adaranth said. “I can tell. You’re not a good liar, mouse.”
Rue began to sweat. Could he actually tell she was lying? All she wanted was to plunge the knife into his heart. But she couldn’t. She tried to take her knife and stab him, but her hands wouldn’t move. They were trapped at her sides, as if by some kind of magic. She looked towards Abigast, his rapidly weakening body limp on the floor. He was using magic, that was the only explanation for why her hands wouldn’t move. Why was he holding her back? Why wasn’t he letting her kill this evil man who had killed him? She wanted revenge, she needed it. She stared at Abigast, silently begging him to let her do it. “Let me kill him.”
Abigast faintly shook his head. “I can’t let you,” he whispered. As Rue was about to speak out, Abigast began to murmur an incantation. Adaranth stared at him as Rue smiled. She had heard him practice the spell several times. She knew exactly what he was doing.
“What is he saying?” Adaranth demanded. “Tell me what he’s doing!”
Finally, as Adaranth tried to speak again, the spell became effective. Adaranth could not move his lips to speak. He was tongue-tied, rendered silent. His limbs were also still; the Prince was paralyzed. His facial expression showed horror. This was probably the first time ever Adaranth was not in control. For once, he was the prey.
“Abigast,” Rue said, running over to the dying man. It had taken all of his energy to perform that spell. “Let’s get you out of here,” she said, forgetting about the Prince momentarily. “Let’s get you to Maia. She can help you.”
“No,” Abigast managed. “It’s too late for me. I don’t have much time left, Rue.”
“I don’t want to lose you too,” Rue cried. “Don’t you leave me alone.”
Abigast frowned. “I’m so sorry. It was always meant to be this way.”
“You mean to say you always planned to die for me? How could you possibly know that, Abigast?”
“Wizards are supposed to be wise,” he answered. “I think I’ve gathered a lot of wisdom in my time, my apprentice.”
“What am I supposed to do without you?”
Abigast reached up to touch Rue’s face. He brushed a tear away. “You’ve learned a lot. It’s time for you to be the next wizard. You can bring justice, stop Adaranth. And then you can move on with your life, find happiness. You are still young, Rue. Not even thirty years old. There’s still a long life ahead of you.”
“Are you sure I’m ready to be a wizard, Abigast?” Rue asked.
He nodded. “Of course. You will be an even better wizard than I was. You do not have the burden of being Sluforn’s brother. There is nothing holding you back.”
“I’m going to miss you.” More tears fell.
“And I you.”
Rue held her mentor’s hand as his breathing became more shallow and labored. His eyes began to roll back in his head until he couldn’t keep them open anymore. Within minutes, Abigast’s life was gone. Rue squeezed his hand and stood up, brushing away the rest of her tears. She walked towards Adaranth, staring daggers into his eyes. The spell would last indefinitely until someone with magic interfered.
Rue would take the Prince to court. She would make sure justice was served. Thane’s and now Abigast’s deaths would not be in vain. She had lost her two best friends, the only two people she loved in the world. Adaranth had taken them away from her, and she would get her revenge.
She looked at Abigast’s body, remembering his final words. Rue would be a wizard now, she had power now. Though she didn’t feel ready, she knew she was. She had come a long way since the time she had first met Abigast. In all of the years she had known him, she had become strong. Yes, she complained that she was Abigast’s maid, but he had taught her magic too. It was time to put that magic to the test.
Chapter 8
Rue looked at the Prince one more time, contemplating whether she should just kill him or not. What if the court did not bring justice? What if they decided to let Adaranth go because they were basically his minions? If the Prince was corrupt, then the whole castle could be corrupt. The whole reason Abigast left was because of corruption.
Despite Rue’s thoughts, she realized that maybe it was best to just take Adaranth to court. The people of Slyfort and the entire Kingdom deserved to know what kind of monster had been ruling over them. That was true justice, the people learning of their Prince’s evil. Adaranth would not be able to recover from that. He had spent so many years carelessly using his power and ignoring the well-being of his people, that he had not stopped to think about what the consequences would be if his Kingdom learned of his evil-doings.
And if Rue were to kill Adaranth here, Abigast would be seen as a murderer. She would not taint his memory. She could never bring herself to do something like that, not after all Abigast had done for her. He was like a father and a friend, deserving to be remembered for all the good he had done. And at least he could be remembered that way. Thane would never be remembered for his final good deed; he would go down in history as the mercenary who had swept terror into the hearts of everyone he met. Rue was the only person who remembered him for the good person he became in the end.
“Let’s bring you to justice,” Rue said to the paralyzed Prince. “I’m going to take you to the throne room, sit you down on the floor, and expose you for who you truly are.” She spat in his face and looked into his eyes to see the flash of anger and hatred. If he could speak right now, he would scream. He would swear. He would kill her.
Rue murmured a levitation spell Abigast had once taught her and floated the Prince into the air. Surely, he was humiliated right now. To be dragged around like livestock, and he must have known what was coming. Once the court found out just how horrible their Prince was, they would have him slaughtered like a pig. The government was cruel, it was merciless. Yes, the court could very well turn out to be corrupt like Adaranth, but once they found out that he had put their lives at risk through the plague, they would be furious. He would not leave that room without a death sentence.
Yet, as Rue walked through the golden chambers, looking at the elaborate décor, she wondered if luck would be on her side. She could only hope that justice would follow through. “Wish me luck,” she whispered, to Abigast, to Thane, to anyone who would listen.
Once Rue reached the hallway with Adaranth in tow, she lept out of t
he way of a guard who swiped at her with his sword and recited a magic spell, immediately knocking the guard out cold before he had a chance to strike her. She sprinted down the hallway, Adaranth’s levitating body flopping in the air as Rue ran. Another guard yelled, attempting to stop Rue, ducking as she spoke the spell. He dived out of the way, and Rue swore, reciting the spell again in order to hit him. This time, the spell landed, and the guard fell to the floor, his sword clanking across the cold stone, the clang echoing across the still sleeping castle.
Finally, Rue reached the throne room, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She had never used the knocking out spell on a real person before. She wondered why not, why didn’t she use it the moment she saw Adaranth in his room? That would have saved Abigast. Her mentor and friend would still be here. This was not the time to dwell on that fact though, it was time to bring Adaranth to justice.
There were at least a hundred people in the room, all nobles from Slyfort, here for Adaranth’s usual court meetings. This was when he would typically discuss items of business, and probably his plans for chaos and evil. The group of people who had been whispering and chattering among themselves fell deathly silent as soon as Rue appeared with the levitating Prince behind her. She marched up to the front of the room, slamming Adaranth’s limp body onto his throne, still not allowing him to move or speak on his accord. Rue took her place in front of him, on the golden podium where the Prince was supposed to stand.
“Attention,” Rue said, ignoring the flurry of guards that had rushed into the room, weapons raised. None of them made a move to arrest or kill her, stunned at the sight of their Prince as a puppet. The nobles in the room stared at Rue, perhaps uncomprehending of this situation, far too much in shock to do or say anything.
“I am here today to tell you about a very evil man,” Rue said. She pointed at Adaranth, looking into his furious eyes. “Your Prince betrayed you.”
A few whispers started amongst the group, though most were still silent. Rue started to tell the story from the beginning, talking about Thane killing Sluforn and the plague being released on the Kingdom. She talked about Adaranth’s hand in the cause of the plague, how he banished Sluforn from the castle and Sluforn’s revenge. More and more whispers arose from the crowd, getting louder as Rue continued the story. By the time she got to Thane sacrificing himself for the good of the Kingdom, the audience could not contain themselves. Shouts rang out, some cursing Adaranth, but the majority was cursing Rue.
It made sense. Of course only a few would believe her at first. She did not expect to win the audience’s favor in the beginning. These were the same people who had allowed Adaranth to get away with many of his evil doings, they were involved, benefitting just the same as he did. But Rue continued speaking, painting a more and more vivid picture of Adaranth’s betrayal of his people.
Suddenly, Rue spotted Princess Maia in the crowd. She had slipped into the room quietly, unnoticed at first. Rue wondered whether Maia had worried when Rue and Abigast didn’t show up to her apartment after they were supposed to kill Adaranth. Thankfully, the Princess had found her way to the throne room, just in time to see Rue deliver her speech. If anyone could provide support to Rue’s words, it was Maia.
“Princess Maia,” Rue said, as the crowd continued yelling, “Will you testify that I speak the truth?”
Maia nodded, stepping forward. Somehow, she still managed to look elegant, despite the fact that many people were glaring at her, throwing invisible daggers into her back. When she reached the front of the room, she smiled and nodded at Rue, as if saying, “well done.” Rue certainly didn’t feel like she had accomplished anything, but Maia’s nod of approval made her feel slightly better for some reason, perhaps it was that warm smile that always provided calmness and reassurance that everything would be okay. After all the sadness the Princess had endured, it was evident hope was still in her heart.
“Everything Rue has said about my husband is true,” Maia stated, her small voice managing to reach across the room. “Prince Adaranth does not care about you. He would see you die before admitting to the plague. He would not lose sleep over your deaths, in fact, he would welcome them. The fewer people there are, the fewer people to challenge his power and authority. He is a monster; I have no doubt in my mind about it. Adaranth has done nothing good for the people of Galbar. He would rather see you suffer than actually help you. Your lives are like specks of dust to be brushed off, flies to be flicked away. Do you not see that? Do you not understand that?”
Someone in the audience stood up, rising to challenge Maia’s words. “Why should we trust either of you? We’ve never seen this Rue woman before, and you, you are just a useless toy, Maia, unable to bear our Prince a child. What kind of a worthless woman thinks she has the right to speak ill about our Prince? I think I speak for many of us when I say, let us hear from him. Let Prince Adaranth speak for himself.”
Rue sighed. She did not let Adaranth move, but she did allow him to speak. He gasped as if shocked at finally being able to move his lips. Adaranth immediately began to unleash a torrent of vile hatred on his wife and Rue, spewing vitriol. “Lies,” he hissed. “Do not believe these fools. They speak nothing but lies against me. All they want is to see me fall; they’d rather take my power for themselves.”
“Why would we want that?” Rue asked. She looked into the crowd. “Why on earth would we want Adaranth’s power? To be in charge of this corruption, to rule over a bunch of greedy, selfish, indulgent people like you, why would anyone want that? All I want is to see Adaranth dethroned. He is unfit to be a Prince, unfit to be the future king. He will do nothing but end up destroying you.”
“Arrest them!” Adaranth shouted. “Arrest them and cut out their tongues. These women have no place in my castle. I will not have people spreading lies against me.”
Maia and Rue’s gazes shifted towards the guards that had assembled throughout the room. There were at least twenty; they could easily overpower the wizard’s apprentice and the Princess. Rue didn’t have knowledge of enough spells that could would be quick enough to allow her to win against them. She wasn’t strong enough to fight all of them physically either. She looked at Maia. No way was that woman strong enough to hold her own against anyone. They could be killed at any second. Everything could end right here before Adaranth was brought to justice. Thane, Abigast, and Rue’s deaths would be for nothing.
“We won’t arrest them,” one of the guards said.
The veins in Adaranth’s forehead bulged. “Excuse me?”
The guard who had spoken stepped forward, heading up to the front of the room. “I was there the night Adaranth hired Thane to kill Sluforn.”
A few more guards stepped up. “We were too.”
“The story Rue has told is true. She is not a liar, and neither is Princess Maia. They both speak nothing but the truth.”
Suddenly, the court erupted in anger. “You let so many people die, your own people!” Someone shouted at Adaranth. “How could you? How could you allow us to die too, your own friends!”
“You’re all still here, are you not?” Adaranth asked. “None of you are dead.”
“My wife is dead!” Another person yelled. “I would have died too if the plague had gone on another day.” Everyone began to shout the names of people they had lost to the plague, not even the nobles had been spared. Adaranth’s smug expression did not waver, though if he could move, Rue suspected he would have attempted to run from the room and escape.
“We should have you killed!”
Finally, the smirk was wiped clean off the Prince’s face. He turned very pale. “We’ll have you executed for all that you’ve done. You’re a monster!”
“You would have your own Prince be killed? I am your ruler, I am your Prince, you cannot kill me!”
But the entire audience began to yell for Adaranth’s death, begging for it. The guards slowly walked towards him, raising their weapons, arms outstretched ready to take him away.
“So it’s settled then, we’ll have you executed immediately,” Maia said. She smiled with satisfaction, and Rue had a feeling she was the happiest person in the room. Rue herself was feeling happier than she had in quite a while too.
Chapter 9
The look on Adaranth’s face was one of pure hatred and fury. He began to scream profanities, while the crowd shouted right back at him, unyielding in their cries for his death. They were angry, rightfully so. The Prince they thought had cared about them turned out to be nothing more than a crook, a selfish devil who cared for no one but himself. He would have let them die if the plague went on any longer. He would have welcomed their deaths, as it would mean no rivals to the throne. Because of this, they felt betrayed, they felt wronged, and the blood of their loved ones was on the Prince’s hands.
“I watched my poor mother die in agony because of you,” a young woman hissed. “We had the best doctors, the best medicine, and it didn’t do a thing to help her. I watched her die, and I can never get those images out of my mind. You don’t feel remorse do you, Prince? You don’t care do you!”
Adaranth spat in response as the woman slapped him hard across the face, leaving a streak of red on his cheek. He called her a vile name, while the court’s guards prepared to take him away.
“We’ll take him to the gallows immediately,” one of the guard’s said to Maia. “There’s time for a hanging this afternoon. The entire city could be alerted right away. They could all be there to watch this horrid man die.”
“Ring the bells then,” Maia said. “Make sure everyone is there to see the downfall of a monster, the man who thought he could get away with whatever he wanted.”
“Yes, Princess, we’ll do that straight away.” The guard bowed and hurried away to ring the castle bells. They would be able to be heard all across Slyfort and the surrounding villages. Within days, news would spread all over the Kingdom of the ringing of the bells. It was a rare occurrence, and the Kingdom would wonder what had happened. In a few more days, they would all know their Prince was dead. They would all know what kind of person he was. Couriers would be sent throughout the land, delivering messages of Adaranth’s evil. Soon, a new Prince would take his place. The people would wonder what would become of the Kingdom in the dawn of the new reign. They would wonder if Adaranth’s father, the king, would ever recover from his illness, if he would ever realize what his son was like.
The Apprentice Page 5
