by RM Wark
Lady Delia’s thoughts went back to the storm that had delayed the advance of Lord Conrad’s army for a time. She wondered if the same storm had kept the bird – and its critical message – away.
Lord Spencer continued with his story. “I shall spare you the gory details of the battle, but I can assure you that it was a good thing we went to Laredo, my Queen. It was a well-fought victory. I doubt the town would have survived without us.”
“Let us hope that the salvation of Laredo does not cost us Mt. Xavier,” quipped the Queen. She immediately regretted the harshness of her words. “Pardon me, Lord Spencer, I am grateful for the good news. These past few weeks have just been … very trying … for us all.”
“Aye, my Queen.”
“So tell me, what happened to the second army following the battle?”
“Most are dead, my Queen. A handful fled east, though I cannot say if they survived. The Eastern army destroyed much along their march. They shall be hard-pressed to find adequate food and shelter along their retreat.”
A small smile graced Lady Delia’s face for the briefest of moments as she reflected on the irony of the Eastern army’s position. It was quickly replaced with a frown when she remembered Lord Conrad. “And what of the other Eastern army? What of the others on the mountain?”
Lord Spencer shook his head. “I cannot say, my Queen. The Eastern army was busy working the catapults when I saw them last.” He paused for a moment, studying her face. “I know not what happened to the others. I only know that, had it not been for the bright red of your locks, it is unlikely I would have seen you in time.”
Lady Delia reached for her hair. The red color had come from her father, and for that reason she had always despised it. Until today.
*************
“I suppose this means you have changed your mind about returning to Thorpe?” Annoyed, Gentry ran to catch up with his friend.
“We must follow the girl. She knows the way,” Fallon explained.
“The way to where?”
“Wherever it is I am supposed to be.”
Gentry turned his gaze back to the girl with long black hair. “How do you know?” he asked.
“I just do.”
Gentry knew the futility of trying to get a more direct answer out of Fallon. He let it be. Still, the little girl made him uncomfortable. Why is she alone? Why does she not call out?
“Hello,” Fallon said upon reaching the girl.
She did not return Fallon’s greeting.
Gentry felt the little girl’s eyes upon him, which made him even more uncomfortable. She said nothing with her mouth, but she said much with her eyes. Her eyes told him she knew. She knew things about him that she was not supposed to know. Gentry felt his face grow hot with shame.
The little girl turned away from them and began walking towards the forest. Fallon quickly followed.
“Let us go, Gentry.”
Gentry did not want to follow the girl, but he did.
She deftly navigated various twists and turns through the forest, eventually taking them up a small hill where an old woman sat by a fire.
The old woman with clouded eyes smiled as they approached. “Hello,” she said.
“Hello,” they echoed.
“Tell me, how is my brother?”
“Pardon?” Fallon asked.
“Amos? How is he?” the old woman repeated.
Gentry and Fallon exchanged confused glances.
“I am sorry, madam,” Fallon said. “We do not know anyone by that name.”
“Amos of the Atlian Mountains. Aye, you know him.”
The old man in the mountain! Gentry felt immense satisfaction at finally knowing the old man’s name. “In truth, he is quite ornery,” he said. The words escaped Gentry’s mouth before he realized what he was saying. He glanced apologetically towards Fallon, who could only shake his head.
But to Gentry’s relief, the old woman laughed. “Aye, I do not doubt it,” she said. “He has always been that way … even before old age gave him the excuse.”
“How did you know we had been to see Amos?” Gentry asked.
The old woman smiled brightly. “I can still smell him on you.”
Gentry and Fallon both sniffed at themselves and shrugged, having caught no scent save their own.
“I do not believe we have properly introduced ourselves, madam. I am Gentry, son of Hammond, of Reed.”
“And I am Fallon, son of Tobias, of Reed.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“And might we know your name, madam?” Gentry asked.
But the old woman just smiled.
Wizards be damned. She is just like her brother, Gentry thought.
At that moment, Gentry noticed the little girl step closer to the old woman and place her small hand on the woman’s shoulder. He could have sworn the girl was glaring at him.
Did she hear me? Can she hear my thoughts?
*************
Ignoring the objections of Lady Tessa and Lord Spencer, Lady Delia left her castle the next day.
“I shall not remain as a coward in a castle when wizards and men are dying upon my mountain!” she insisted.
Unwilling to let her make the trek alone, Lord Spencer joined her. Philipe had tried to come as well, but the Queen would not allow it.
“Lady Tessa shall need help tending to the injured, my dear Philipe. I cannot let you come with me.”
She could not tell for certain, but she suspected there was a bit of relief mixed in with his disappointment at the news.
It took two days to reach the landslide. She could see remnants of the campsite interspersed between the dirt and rocks. She could also see pieces of bodies, bent and unmoving. The tears flowed freely from her eyes as she reached the first of the dead. She could not let this be his final burial. He deserved better. They all did.
“Help me move these rocks,” she instructed, and Lord Spencer obeyed.
With a flick of her wand, the young man’s broken body was lifted from the rubble and set down in a clearing. She was not very good at gauging the age of common men, but she guessed he was no more than twenty years old. Just a boy. His eyes were closed, as though he were sleeping. She bent down to brush his hair out of his face. I am sorry.
Just then she heard the sound of approaching voices. Lady Delia immediately dimmed herself, and with a puff of smoke, Lord Spencer disappeared, taking the form of a mouse. It soon became obvious that they need not hide. The voices belonged to a handful of men dressed in the white and purple colors of the West.
“Who goes there?” Lady Delia called out as she stepped from the shadows. Lord Spencer did the same.
Upon seeing the Queen, the men immediately bowed. “My Queen, you are alive!” they cried out in shock.
Lady Delia would learn that the men had survived the landslide, and that they had descended farther down the mountain when they heard the battle cry of trumpets in the predawn hours the following morning.
“But by the time we reached the battlefield, there was nothing left,” explained Michael, a young man with a thick blond beard.
A sense of dread filled Lady Delia. “What do you mean?”
“Lord Conrad’s army had already been defeated,” Michael said with a smile. “We saw them fleeing east with our very own eyes.”
The other men nodded in agreement.
“We were asked to come back up the mountain, and tend to our brethren who were trapped by the landslide.”
“Who asked this of you?” the Queen inquired, but her question was met with several looks of confusion.
“Um … I … I apologize, my Queen. It seems I do not recall,” stammered Michael sheepishly.
Lord Milton and his damn memory spells.
Though Lady Delia shook her head in disapproval, a smile played upon her lips.
*************
The old woman with clouded eyes remained silent for some time before speaking once more.
“You hav
e traveled far. Tell me, have you found that which you seek?”
It was not clear to whom she was speaking. As Gentry made no effort to answer, Fallon responded.
“No, madam. I have not.”
“And what is it that you seek?”
“A mountain, madam. A mountain with a pale green lake.”
“And why do you seek this mountain?”
“I … I do not know, madam,” Fallon answered honestly.
“You dreamed of it,” the old woman said.
Fallon’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “How did you know?”
The old woman smiled. “I know many things.”
Fallon was at a loss for words.
“You dream of the Orica Mountains and the twin lakes of green,” the old woman continued.
“Twin lakes?” repeated Fallon, confused. “But in my dreams I only ever saw one lake.”
“There is another,” the old woman insisted, “on the far side of the mountain. It has been many a year since I have seen it with my own eyes, but I know for certain it is there.”
Fallon did not doubt the old woman. “And where might I find these Orica Mountains of which you speak, madam?” he asked eagerly.
“You must travel to the East.”
“To the Eastern Territories?” Gentry interjected, his eyes wide with concern.
“Aye,” the old woman said. “The mountain you seek is in the East.”
*************
She had been tempted to continue down the mountain and confirm for herself what the young men had told her, but Lady Delia held back. She was not quite ready to face Lord Milton. Not yet. Her hand rested upon her abdomen for the briefest of moments. Besides, the men would need help retrieving the fallen from the rocks without causing another landslide, she reasoned.
They spent the next several hours pulling bodies from the rubble. Dust was everywhere.
It is from the rocks, she told herself. I cannot have been the only wizard to have survived the landslide. Her thoughts were interrupted by the shriek of a falcon flying high above her head.
“I believe your wife has found us,” Lady Delia called out, shading her eyes from the sun as she watched the graceful bird.
“Aye,” replied Lord Spencer, his voice filled with relief. “Hopefully she shall echo the good tidings of these men.”
The men stood in stunned silence as the falcon transformed into a wizard before their very eyes.
Lady Delia waited patiently for Lady Iris to withdraw from Lord Spencer’s embrace before she embraced the wizard herself. “Lady Iris, it is good to see you!”
“Aye, my Queen. And I am very happy to see that you are still among the living,” Lady Iris said, glancing uneasily at the pile of bodies that had been pulled from the landslide.
“These good men have told us that the battle is over, Lady Iris – that the Eastern army is fleeing. Is this true?” the Queen asked, changing the subject.
“Aye, my Queen.”
It was as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her, and Lady Delia found herself reaching for a nearby boulder to collect her balance.
“Lord Milton’s troops took the Eastern army by surprise,” Lady Iris explained. “Victory was relatively quick, but it did not come without cost,” she continued, her eyes growing soft. “They were counting the fallen when Lord Milton asked me to find you – to discover if you had survived.”
“Your husband saved me,” the Queen replied. She returned to the rubble in search of those less fortunate, and said no more.
*************
They had hiked in silence for much of the time since leaving the old woman and the strange little girl. They stopped at a stream to quench their thirst and sat down upon a log to nibble on some bread.
“You do not need to come with me, Gentry. I would understand.” Fallon said at last. He knew his friend had misgivings about going to the East, and he had misgivings about Gentry remaining in the forest. He was still haunted by his dreams.
Gentry sighed. “I just wish you could explain why it was so important to reach this mountain with the green lake.”
“Lakes,” Fallon corrected. “I wish I knew why, too,” he added.
“People are fleeing from the East, Fallon. There is talk of plague and drought and … and I have even heard whispers of evil spirits,” Gentry continued.
Fallon raised his eyebrow. “Evil spirits?”
“It is true. There was a man in the Toasty Scholar, in Bartow, who spoke of such things.”
“Perhaps he had one pint too many,” Fallon said dismissively.
“Wizards be damned, Fallon!” Gentry cried. “Listen to me. The East is not the sort of place we should be venturing to – not willingly.”
“You do not need to come with me, Gentry,” Fallon repeated. “I have told you from the beginning that you belonged at home. Go! Go to Daria and Luca. They need you more than I do.”
Gentry’s glare spoke volumes.
“You may go wherever you wish, Gentry, but I am going to the East.”
Gentry shook his head in frustration and stood up. “My place is with you. If you must go to the Eastern Territories – however foolish a plan that might be – then I shall go with you.”
Fallon was both relieved and slightly unnerved by Gentry’s words. “All right, my friend. But let us take leave of this forest. We have remained here far too long.”
“Aye, we have,” Gentry agreed, “but we do not know how scarce food may be in the East. I would prefer to hunt once more before leaving this forest.”
Fallon’s mouth began watering at the thought of squirrel meat. He could not argue with Gentry’s point.
“All right, my friend. There is not much daylight left. Perhaps we camp here for the night, and head to the East in the morning.”
Gentry nodded. “I shall not be long.” He picked up his bow and arrow and headed into the forest.
*************
Lord Milton arrived the day after the funeral pyre burned, setting the sky alight with an eerie orange glow for miles around.
Lady Delia could not blink away the tears fast enough as she watched him approach, surrounded by an entourage of eager followers. He looked so strong, so handsome. She wanted to appear strong as well, but she was failing miserably.
Lord Milton smiled broadly and pulled her into his arms as soon as he reached her. He started to lean in for a kiss – old habits were not easily forgotten – but caught himself in time and pulled away.
“My Queen,” he said with a small bow, “it is a pleasure to see you, as always. It has been far too long.”
She could feel his eyes searching her for answers, she could hear the pain and confusion in his words. “Aye, it has been far too long,” she agreed.
He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it.
“Shall we go for a walk?” asked the Queen, suddenly aware of the multitude of eyes upon them.
“It would be my pleasure,” he replied, offering his arm.
In some ways it was as though nothing had changed, and if she closed her eyes it would have been easy to imagine that they were simply on another stroll through her mountain garden. But of course, everything had changed.
They did not speak until they reached the edge of what had been the funeral pyre.
“How many perished?” Lord Milton asked, staring at the black ash that littered the ground nearby.
“Nine wizards were missing from the battle prior to the landslide. I know not how many are missing now. The battle claimed the lives of sixty-six commoners, and the landslide claimed the lives of fifty-one more.”
Lord Milton’s expression was solemn. “Many brave men and women died in our fight as well. Perhaps a hundred total.” He paused for a moment, staring out into the emptiness of the space before him. “I fear the wizards fared much worse, however. There were fewer of us to begin with.” His voice was unusually somber.
It was then that Lady Delia learned the names of
the fallen wizards: Lord Alfred, Lady Dreda, Lord Godric, Lord Kennard, Lady Kimrey, Lady Mildred, Lord Nigel, Lord Oswin ….
Lord Nigel. Lord Milton had continued to rattle off names, but Lady Delia remained fixated on the one that caused her the most pain. May he be at peace with his wife and his son in the next life.
“Many of them were ambushed in Laredo,” Lord Milton was explaining. “It seems we arrived a day too late.”
She could not bear to hear the anguish in his voice anymore. She grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him on the mouth. “You saved us all, Lord Milton. We shall be forever grateful.”
He pulled back from her once again, but the anguish did not leave his face.
“There is more, my Queen.”
“Aye?” She noticed that Lord Milton was no longer looking at her.
“Lady Eloise. She is with child.”
The news stunned her; it felt as though her blood ran cold.
“The child is yours?” she asked, but the look on his face had already told her the answer.
“I did not think I would ever set eyes upon you again,” he offered weakly.
She felt sick to her stomach but managed a smile as she lifted his face to meet hers. “Lady Eloise was always a great admirer of yours. I am not surprised she finally won you over.”
“I am truly sorry, my Queen,” he started to say.
“Do not be, Lord Milton,” Lady Delia said. “It so happens that I am also with child.”
Lord Milton did not reply. He merely stared at her in stunned silence.
“It is time I told you – told all the wizards – what happened to me.”
*************
Gentry had not been on the hunt for long when the little girl appeared before him.
