The King's Treasure

by Carol M. Vaughn

“Friends? Is that all we were to you?” He straightened up and scowled. Arianwyn pushed down the urge to take a step back, her eyes glancing to the side to ensure Sigurd and Wymond were nearby. “Were we really even friends, Jinny?”

  Arianwyn winced. “I gave a false name because I was afraid. Everything else I said or did was from me.”

  He stepped closer to her and she instinctively took a half step back. Immediately, Wymond inserted himself between them, placing one warning hand on Bernie’s chest. Sigurd's hand rested on his sword hilt. “As you wish it, lady. Have you any further commands for me?” Arianwyn shook her head. Bernie bowed again and walked away. Arianwyn took a deep breath, focusing on stilling her pounding heart, and hurried to the library. Anything to distract herself from the past.

  Bernie and Rael

  Rael stalked across the courtyard to the Arena. It was several hours after dinner and his temper was still hot. He tossed the door open to the Barracks, searching out the man who had sparked his ire. The men who had been sleeping sat up, rubbing their eyes. Those who were preparing for a new watch stood still, wary. It was never good when the king showed up here.

  Rael found the man he was searching for. He marched into the room and took hold of him by the shoulder. “Get up and get in the Arena,” he growled, shoving Bernie toward the door.

  Bernie staggered, grabbing a belt to keep his pants up. He snatched a shirt and pulled it over his head. He followed the king and his bodyguards outside. A quick look at the bodyguards told him this was not going to be a pleasant experience.

  Rael stopped halfway across the Arena and spun to face the man, arms folded across his chest. Bernie stopped with a good five feet between them and saluted. “Sigurd told me what happened,” Rael growled.

  Bernie frowned. “I'm sorry, Sire, I don't know what you're talking about.”

  The distance between them vanished. Rael lifted Bernie into the air, fists gripping Bernie's shirt. “I said, Sigurd told me what happened. After the meeting, you attacked Arianwyn.”

  Bernie's jaw dropped. “I-I didn't,” he stuttered. “I didn't lay a finger on her.”

  Rael threw him. Bernie crashed to the ground a good ten feet from where Rael stood. He didn't have time to gain his feet again before Rael snatched him up again. “You didn't have to,” he growled. “A verbal assault is an attack as surely as fists are.”

  Bernie struggled to free himself, then. Fear curled in his belly at the sight of the rage in the other man's eyes. When he struggled to free himself, however, the rage was replaced with satisfaction. Rael shoved him away again and smiled. “Defend yourself. You are more than welcome to strike should the opportunity present itself.”

  Bernie raised his fists defensively, eyes wide. The king struck like lightning. Spots danced in front of his eyes from the blow. Bernie raised his arms to cover his face, only to have his torso attacked. He backed away, struggling to keep his feet. At one point, he swung out. He hoped to land a blow and stop the fight. The king laughed. He caught Bernie's hand in his wrist and jerked him forward, slamming their heads together. Bernie crumpled to the ground, gasping.

  Rael stood over him. Two of the bodyguards had inserted themselves between them. “That's enough,” one of them said. “I'm certain he's learned his lesson.”

  Rael took deep breaths, hands still in fists. Bernie didn't move. He didn't dare. The king glared at him. “Stay away from her,” he said. Rael left through the side door, most of his guards hurrying to keep up with him.

  One stayed behind, offering him a hand up. “You're lucky,” he said.

  Bernie stared at him, automatically accepting the hand. “In what way?”

  “He wasn't angry with you, only irritated. If he had been angry, you'd be dead.” The guard clapped him on the shoulder and jogged after the others. Bernie stared numbly before making his way back to the Barracks. A quick check in the only mirror of the room surprised him. He wasn't as injured as he thought he'd be. The guard was right. It was just a warning.

  Bernie took a deep breath and returned to his bed. The other men in the Barracks made a point of avoiding eye contact. That was fine with Bernie. He would just as soon they didn't see his thoughts.

  The king wanted him to stay away from Arianwyn, but he couldn't. He still had a job to do. He pulled out the simple ring his new employer had given him, twirling it between his fingers. He thought his plot to marry Arianwyn, sell her for gold and then inform on the slaver to the king for more gold was clever. His employer was teaching him to swim in waters he had never even imagined.

  20-The Book of Dragons

  It was a few weeks after the council that winter arrived with a vengeance. The day began warm and promising, with the sun shining brightly and a gentle breeze blowing. By early afternoon, the gentle breeze had picked up, forcing people to bundle up and lean into the wind in order to travel. Clouds gathered rapidly at that point, filling the sky and blotting out the sun. As night fell, the temperature plummeted to below freezing. Bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, occasionally streaking toward the ground. Thunder rumbled as a deep counterpoint to the shrieking wind. Great drops of icy rain fell, freezing solid the moment they touched the ground.

  Amidst the storm, two giant shapes rose up into the sky. Lightning reflected off of the smaller, silver form, revealing a dragon. The light absorbed into the larger, black form of another dragon. The silver dragon shrieked into the wind, wings beating against it and forcing her into the sky. She twisted her head around to look under her wing at the black dragon following her. She snarled and magic surrounded her, streaking ahead of her and making it easier for her to fly up above the clouds.

  The black dragon roared acceptance of her challenge, using his strength to rise into the wind and above the clouds. The thunder drowned out the sound of their roars. The clouds hid their flight from sight.

  Arianwyn held a scroll from the library in her hands while curled up in bed. She yawned, bored. “Who in their right mind writes a treaty about how much grain is equal to money and what acceptable trade items would be?” she groaned to herself. She threw the scroll on the bed and lay back down, burrowing under her blankets. The fire flickered in the fireplace as a gust of wind blew down the chimney. For once she was grateful to have a room on the inside of the Keep, where the cold couldn’t seep through the windows. She sighed and sat back up, guiltily pulling the scroll back over to read it. Occasionally, she wrote down an unfamiliar word on a second piece of parchment.

  Time slipped by slowly. Arianwyn stretched and climbed out of bed. The candle had burned to a stub and needed replacing. Although she could call a servant to come do it, she did not. She remembered too well being a servant called to do tasks that were ridiculously simple. She had no intention of becoming that lazy. She pulled on a heavy fur cape over her nightgown and entered the reception chamber. Her sputtering candle provided the only light for the room. She walked over to a small table next to the wall and opened the drawer, looking for a replacement candle. She sighed. There was none.

  “That’s how it always goes,” she muttered. She walked out into the hall. Edmund and Halvard looked surprised to see her there. “Just a quick trip,” she told them. Already her feet were getting cold. She should have worn slippers. She picked up the pace, Edmund and Halvard following behind her.

  “Where are we going?” Halvard ventured to ask.

  She held up the now expired candle. “I need another reading light,” she explained.

  “You could have a servant fetch one, you know,” Edmund remarked.

  “Yes, I know. And I’ll bet you enjoy getting up in the middle of the night also.”

  He chuckled. “We’re already up in the middle of the night. It would reflect poorly on us if we were woken up.”

  She shook her head, laughing with him. “I can get one on my own.” :Are you awake, Parvati?: she asked. Silence answered her. :Parvati?: She stopped in her tracks, looking out the window at the storm. The glass shook in the panes. :Parvati, wh
ere are you?: She stretched her mind as far as she could sense, throwing her thoughts to the wind and hoping for a response. Her breath caught in her throat at the empty silence.

  “Lady Arianwyn, are you well?” Halvard asked. Arianwyn looked up at him, heart pounding loudly. She swayed where she stood, taking short, gasping breaths.

  “I can’t hear Parvati,” she whispered. She spun and retraced her steps, passing her room and heading higher up in the Keep. “I’ve been able to hear her since we were Bonded,” she babbled. She picked up the pace until she was racing down the hall. Edmund and Halvard kept pace easily, waving back the other guards when they arrived at the king’s door.

  Arianwyn did not wait for them to announce her presence; she pounded on the door herself, panic crawling its way through her body. The king did not answer quickly enough for her and she pounded on the door again. “Your Majesty!” she called through the door, jiggling the handle. It was locked. The guards looked uncomfortably at each other.

  “Lady Arianwyn,” Halvard touched her shoulder, “what are you doing?”

  Arianwyn looked wildly at Halvard, hardly able to explain herself why she was so worried when the door opened. Rael stood in the door, hair disheveled and eyes barely open. “What is going on here?” he snapped.

  Arianwyn spun back to Rael and lurched towards him. She gripped his nightshirt, desperate for something solid to keep her steady. For once, she was heedless of his anger. “I can’t feel Parvati. I’ve called for her and she hasn’t answered.”

  Rael took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He lowered his head for a moment, gripping the door jamb. He swore softly and opened the door wider. “Come in.” He loosened her grip on his shirt and guided her by the elbow. Arianwyn entered the room and he closed the door, moving immediately to the grate and opening the passageway. A powerful gust of icy wind whipped through the opening. He lit a torch in the fireplace and climbed the stairs. Arianwyn followed close enough on his heels that he stumbled slightly. “Ease off a little!” he snapped at her.

  They burst out the top of the stairs and looked around the cave. It was empty. Arianwyn pulled the cape closer about her, shivering. The wind gusted into the cavern, stray drops of rain blasting into their faces. The flame of the torch whipped and snapped, barely remaining lit. “Where would they go in this weather?” she called into the wind. She hurried to the edge, slipping on the iced over ground, as if gazing at the sky from the opening would grant her a vision of the dragons.

  Rael frowned and looked around the cave again. “I’m not certain. I cannot reach Charon. We should check The Book of Dragons,” he shouted above the wind. Arianwyn frowned and glanced back at him. He started back down the stairs. “It contains the known lore of the dragons. Perhaps it has an explanation for us.”

  Arianwyn hurried back to his side as he made his way back down the winding staircase. She stubbed her toe at the bottom of the steps and hissed sharply, pain radiating in her numb feet. Her toes had turned blue. Rael placed the torch in a wall bracket and closed the door. He then picked her up, ignoring her protest and scowling as they left his room. “Edmund, fetch slippers for the lady’s feet before she catches cold and kills herself.” Edmund saluted and jogged back down the hallway to her rooms.

  They arrived at the doors of the library and two of the king’s guards entered before them. By the time Arianwyn and Rael entered the room, the guards had searched the area and lit the braziers. Rael deposited Arianwyn in one of the chairs next to a brazier and wordlessly headed deeper into the library shelves.

  “Lady Arianwyn,” Edmund said, touching her arm to gain her attention. She forced a weak smile and gratefully took the slippers. Her feet were cold and being carried was embarrassing. Rael returned to her table with a large tome. He carefully set it down and unlocked the cover. Gingerly, he turned the pages, eyes scanning each one. Arianwyn moved closer, curious.

  The book was bound in dark leather with a golden clasp that held the book closed. On the cover, a dragon had been imprinted and leafed over in gold. The Book was nearly the size of Rael’s torso. Arianwyn knew she would need help putting it away if she ever pulled it out herself. The pages were worn and stiff, yellowed on the edges and forcing the book open when it was not locked. The letters on each page had been carefully inked on, each letter a work of art. Dragons were illustrated on a few of the pages, the vibrant colors appearing to have flecks of precious metals and stones ground into the ink. “This is beautiful,” Arianwyn said quietly.

  Rael hmm'ed quietly, still looking through the book. Arianwyn unconsciously leaned in closer to Rael's heat, their arms soon pressed together. He finally stopped turning pages. The illustration showed storm clouds with two green dragons in flight. His fingers skimmed quickly down the other page, eyes flitting from side to side as he scanned through the words. “Here we are,” he murmured. Arianwyn followed the direction of his finger, lips moving silently as she read the words. She gasped, covering her mouth and blushing. Rael glanced sideways at her, grinning. “Something wrong? This is what we had hoped would happen.”

  “Well, yes, but…I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. I thought they’d at least wait until we were married…” she trailed off as Rael chuckled and her blush intensified. She took a half step away from Rael.

  “Their mating has nothing to do with our mating.” His eyes glittered in the torchlight, a mischievous half grin on his lips.

  “Oh dear.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, feeling quite warm in spite of the cold.

  Rael chuckled again but relented. “We will check on them in the morning to ensure they return safely. Until then, go back to bed.”

  Arianwyn curtsied. “I’m sorry for waking you, Your Majesty.” He waved the apology away and carried the book back to the shelf. Arianwyn returned to her room, remembering at the last minute to fetch a candle before climbing into bed. She huddled under the covers, changing her mind about reading and tried sleeping instead.

  The night seemed to last forever. Arianwyn tossed and turned, occasionally reaching out her mind for Parvati and finding emptiness. She fretted with worry about the dragon. Then she wondered about her own situation. People were expecting her to lead and to rule. She was expected to marry the king, to have his children. Bernie was here. She had been intending to marry him. Now she was engaged to the king. Bernie knew she had lied to him. She buried her head under a pillow, willing the thoughts away. They continued swirling about her head.

  She eventually gave up trying to sleep and moved her reading materials into the reception room. She stoked the fire, adding more wood to chase away the chill and curled up in a large chair, lighting another candle to cast more light. She started reading the treatise on grains again, but tossed the scroll to the table and changed her mind. She needed something lighter.

  She pulled out an adventure story she had found buried in the library. Since she had found that section, she had been sneaking a copy at a time to her room to read when she felt overwhelmed. She shoved the parchment of unfamiliar words away, guessing at the meanings of words she did not know and reading on until she drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.

  Marie stoking the fire woke Arianwyn. She blinked, surprised, and stretched. Marie jumped. “M’lady! I didn’t see you sleeping there! Would you like me to fetch breakfast now?” Willow glanced over in surprise before slipping quietly into Alyssa’s room to prepare the fire in there.

  Arianwyn grimaced. “No, thank you. Would you help me dress?”

  “Of course, Lady Arianwyn. What would you like to wear today?”

  Arianwyn followed Marie back into her bedroom. “Something warm.” Marie chuckled and stepped into the closet, surveying the different dresses available. She pulled out a thick wool dress, dyed a dark chocolate brown color. Fur was attached around the neck and wrists. Arianwyn slipped out of her robe and pajamas, shivering, and quickly stepped into the dress.

  Marie pulled it up over her shoulders and used a button hook to quickly pull clo
sed the tiny opal buttons. The back of the dress came right up to her neck, before opening up in the front and scooping below the collar bones. The sleeves were loose, giving the benefit of using them as a muff. Arianwyn took immediate advantage of this, sliding her hands into the opposite sleeves. Marie returned to the closet and came back with a pair of dark leather boots, fur trimming the tops.

  Arianwyn sighed happily now that she was warm and sat down to allow Marie to fix her hair. Marie brushed out her hair. She pulled the front back and pinned it, allowing a few tendrils to curl down around her face. She added more opal studded pins to Arianwyn’s hair before stepping back. “Thank you for keeping it simple, Marie,” Arianwyn said, smiling at the servant in the mirror.

  Marie chuckled. “I just hope someday you’ll manage to lose your practical bent so I can dress you up as a lady ought to be dressed.” Arianwyn chuckled with her and returned to the reception room. “Would you like your breakfast now?”

  Arianwyn shook her head, opening her mouth to reply when a knock sounded on the door. She glanced at Marie, frowning. Marie hurried over and opened the door. She spoke quietly a moment with the page and then twisted around to speak with Arianwyn. “The king wishes to know if you will join him for breakfast.” Arianwyn stood up, nodding. She hoped he had news of the dragons.

  Marie trailed behind Arianwyn, struggling to add a few last minute changes and muttering about her going to see the king. Arianwyn strode down the hall, waving Marie away and trailing her bodyguards. The page who had carried the message barely managed to keep ahead of her, knocking politely at the king’s door when they arrived. Tad answered the door for Arianwyn.

  She slipped past him, curtsying to Rael, who waved her into a seat on the other side of a small table. Tad positioned himself next to the table and unrolled a long piece of parchment. Arianwyn winced when she realized he was outlining the king’s schedule. Rael saw her expression and grinned at her, rolling his eyes expressively. Arianwyn hid her smile behind a glass of warm milk.