by Linda McNabb
Rhonan pointed to a flatbed wagon that was loaded with ale barrels and supplies. Young castle servants were struggling back and forth to a side door as they unloaded it.
‘I doubt they’d notice a few extra helpers,’ Kheron agreed with a nod. A minute later they were both bent double under the weight of ale barrels.
Rhonan walked next to one of the castle servants. ‘I heard the hunters brought a Shadow to the castle today,’ he said in a conversational tone.
‘There were four of them,’ the boy replied with a nod.
‘Really?’ Rhonan tried to looked surprised. ‘Where did they take them?’
‘Sam said they were being held in the front reception room. They’d be better in the dungeon if you ask me,’ the boy said with a scowl.
Rhonan just shrugged in reply turned away and took his barrel into the cellar. He and Kheron walked quickly through the kitchen before anyone could send them back for more.
They headed through the servant’s corridors towards the front of the castle and paused at the last door.
‘I hear voices through here,’ Rhonan said. His keen hearing told him that it was definitely his father. ‘Now what?’
‘We wait and see what happens,’ Kheron suggested. ‘Perhaps they will be left alone. Then we can go in and free them.’
Silence had fallen on the other side of the door and Rhonan pressed his ear to the cold wood. He could hear feet scuffling but nothing else. Had the hunters gone?
The door was suddenly yanked open and Rhonan fell forward into the room and landed on the floor. He stared up into the face of his Uncle Terac. The hunter glared at them with a triumphant glee in his eyes. Before either boy could react Terac grabbed them by the shoulders and dragged them into the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
A PONY FOR THE PRINCE
‘You seem to be making a habit of making it easy for me to catch you,’ Terac said, shoving the two boys over towards the rest of their families. ‘And just in time to be presented to the king.’
Bryn helped his son to his feet and Elezan gave him a brief hug.
‘What are you doing here?’ Bryn asked. ‘This is the last place you should have come to.’
‘We came to save you,’ Rhonan muttered with embarrassment and heard his Uncle Terac laugh.
‘Thank you,’ Elezan said with a smile. ‘It was good of you to try.’
Dyahn looked out the window and nudged Kheron before whispering. ‘Where’s Tryx?’
‘Waiting in the trees,’ Kheron replied quietly.
Dyahn grinned and turned away so that the hunters wouldn’t see.
‘Here comes the king,’ one of the hunters said, throwing open the large double doors that led onto the main front courtyard. The king and a group of people were leaving the festival and heading towards the castle. They had just passed a large fountain, which had two stone ladies standing in it, pouring water from jugs.
‘What is going on here?’ the king demanded as he stopped in the doorway. ‘Who requested my presence and interrupted my festival?’
‘Father!’ Terac called out as an older man with a shock of wavy grey hair stepped up to stand just behind the king. ‘I have brought a gift for King Lewas.’
‘Terac?’ Lord Hendrik replied, looking annoyed. ‘This is not the time for games.’ He was wearing the green tunic and trousers of a hunter, but cut in a style that showed they were not used for hunting. A deep green cloak hung from his shoulders. Golden buttons, fancy stitching and a fur collar transformed his cloak into one that almost rivalled the king’s.
‘He said he had a gift for me, Hendrik’ the king said. He flicked back his red and gold robes as he clasped his hands together behind him and he looked sternly at Terac. He had piercing blue eyes that looked cold and angry. His face was slightly red from the cold wind and his pale curly hair was flattened under his ornate crown. ‘It had better be good to interrupt the festival.’
Outside the festival was continuing but a lot of people were beginning gather to see what was going on.
‘Is it a pony?’ a small child asked, hurrying a few paces closer. He was a shorter version of the king and his eyes sparkled gleefully as he looked around for what the surprise might be.
‘You are not having a pony. You have been told a dozen times, Pettar,’ a stern looking woman said, pulling the young prince back. She was clearly the queen, and her crown almost fell off as she bent to drag her son away. Pettar pouted as his mother kept a firm hold on his arm.
‘Well, son, what is it?’ Lord Hendrik asked, looking a little worried that the surprise might not be good enough to appease the king.
‘Shadows, Father,’ Terac said with a big grin, then he stepped to the side and pointed to the elves with a sweeping motion. ‘Four of them.’
‘Really?’ the king’s anger evaporated instantly and his eyebrows rose so far they disappeared into his curly blond hair. The king began to walk slowly towards them. Seeming both keen to see the ‘gift’ yet a little cautious of it. ‘I see six.’
‘Two are not Shadows, Your Majesty. At least I don’t think the small girl is. She might be too young to tell,’ Terac replied with a sideways glance at his father. ‘One of them is a human who has been hiding Shadows.’
Lord Hendrik was following the king a few steps behind and he stopped when he came close enough to recognise Elezan. Instantly his gaze was as black as thunder and he glared at his daughter with a look that would make any man wither.
‘That is a crime as bad as being a Shadow. She will be treated as one,’ Lord Hendrik spat out in a tone that said he was not going to admit that Elezan was his daughter.
‘Bring them out here so I can take a good look at them,’ King Lewas ordered as he stepped back out to the courtyard. The young prince had come closer to look as well but his father pushed him back. ‘Bettra, take him away. They could be dangerous.’
The queen stepped forward and dragged Pettar off and sat him down outside on the edge of the fountain. The prince scowled and began throwing stones into the water but did not attempt to come closer again when the queen returned to her husband’s side.
Lord Hendrik strode closer and glared at Elezan and then his gaze fell on Dyahn.
‘You cannot treat us like this,’ Rhonan said, stepping forward to shield Dyahn. ‘We have done nothing wrong.’
Lord Hendrik shoved Rhonan aside and grabbed hold of Elezan and Dyahn. He gave them a push and they stumbled onto the grass next to the fountain. ‘We’ll deal with these ones later.’
Dyahn’s expression said she was angry and she leapt to her feet, clearly intending to retaliate. Before she could do anything a howl cut through the air, silencing everyone instantly. Tryx rose up from the trees where she had been watching and flew directly at the castle.
‘Call out the archers!’ King Lewas roared. ‘Take cover.’
Tryx dove down as if she would crash right into the castle and then pulled up at the last minute. The crowd at the festival began to run in all directions, each seeking a hiding place from the dragon. Some stayed watching though and didn’t seem bothered by the dragon at all. Tryx came back for another sweep overhead and shot out a jet of flame that seared the grass a few paces from the king.
‘It’s just an illusion,’ Terac shouted. ‘They are known for their tricks like this.’
‘I don’t think it’s an illusion,’ the king said shakily, pointing at the charred grass.
Tryx landed gracefully and started to advance on the party of humans and elves, but Rhonan stepped out to stop her.
‘No, Tryx. Let us sort this out,’ he said firmly. ‘I’m sure they will listen to reason.’
Tryx scowled and belched flame as she roared, narrowly missing the king. Then the golden dragon lifted into the air and landed on the roof of the castle. She flamed one last time before settling and watched with angry red eyes trained on the king and Lord Hendrik.
One of the cloth swathed men from the crowd that had stayed watching walked s
lowly towards them. The pace of his step said that he was very old and he leaned on an ornate white staff for support.
Rhonan narrowed his eyes as he stared at the old man. He recognised that staff.
‘Let my family go,’ the old man said, throwing back the cloths and revealing his bright red hair and long red beard.
‘Father!’ Falh and Bryn both said together.
‘Corbyn,’ Lord Hendrik said in a slow drawl, also clearly recognising the old elf. ‘I never thought you’d have the nerve to show your face here again. Have you come to give yourself up?’
‘I came to tell you to leave the elves alone,’ Corbyn replied calmly.
‘You’re a fool,’ Lord Hendrik said with a snort. ‘You’ll just be thrown in the dungeon with the rest of them. Why would you just hand yourself over like this?’
‘He is not here to surrender,’ Rhonan said and then turned to face the king and the hunters. ‘He is here to defend his kin. Surely any family would defend their own kin.’
‘Elves have the right to live free, just like humans,’ Kheron added boldly.
Corbyn slammed down his old walking stick as he approached the king.
‘My grandsons are right. Let them all go. They have done you no harm,’ he demanded in a voice that belied his age.
Lord Hendrik walked slowly forward and stopped just in front of the old elf. Then he turned to the king. ‘This is the Shadow who shot at you in the forest all those years ago.’
‘You know very well that I did not shoot anyone,’ Corbyn replied firmly and calmly. ‘It was one of your own hunters.’
‘Can you prove this?’ King Lewas came forward a few paces. He looked as if he would never believe such a claim.
‘Ask Hendrik. He knows the truth,’ Corbyn said simply.
Rhonan watched as his grandfather began to look uncomfortable but Lord Hendrik said nothing. Bryn walked slowly over to stand next to his father. He placed on hand on the old man’s shoulder in thanks.
‘Falh and I were with our father that day in the forest. It was the first time we had gone hunting out near the lake.’ Bryn spoke slowly and then looked directly at Lord Hendrik. ‘Hendrik, the king and his hunters were in the same forest. They did not want us around and told us to move on. They did not tell us to remove our deer though.’
‘Your deer?’ King Lewas tilted his head slightly in confusion. ‘All the deer in the forest are mine. You had no right to be hunting them anyway.’
‘We weren’t hunting your deer,’ Falh replied. ‘Your hunter was right when he said we are known for our illusions.’
Falh took a stone from his pocket and quickly drew on it. A few seconds later a small deer appeared several paces from the elf. It gambled around, chasing an insect and then nudged up against Falh, as if looking for food.
‘We were only practising our aim.’ Corbyn took up the story. ‘We cannot hurt these illusions and we do not hunt for sport, only for food. When your hunters forced us to leave the forest our so-called pet-rocks remained. We can only guess that one of your own hunters shot at one of our illusions and the arrow missed, almost hitting the king.’
The young prince was staring at the deer with delight and he turned to Dyahn and whispered softly. ‘How did he do that?’
‘It’s a simple trick really,’ Dyahn said, pulling a rock from her pocket and looking pleased to have an audience to show off her newly-found skills to.
Rhonan frowned at his little sister for a second, knowing this wasn’t really the time to be playing with pet-rocks but deciding to just leave her to it for now.
‘Elves have never harmed anyone.’ Elezan joined in, stepping up to confront her father. ‘And you know it. You were just jealous of their magic.’
Lord Hendrik looked a little unsure of himself for a few seconds then frowned. ‘Shadow magic is to blame for this, whether it was their arrow or not. They should be banished simply for that magic. It has no place in our world!’
‘I agree,’ King Lewas added. ‘I will not permit magic in my kingdom. Nor will I permit dragons!’
A heavy silence fell between the two groups as the king folded his arms defiantly and glared at the elves.
Tryx bellowed angrily and it shook the ground beneath Rhonan’s feet. She looked about to take off and fly the short distance to them but Rhonan held out a hand to tell her to stay there. She moved her feet in agitation and sent a dozen roof tiles cascading off the roof.
‘Father!’ A shout from behind the king made the side of his mouth twitch with annoyance.
‘Not now, Pettar,’ he admonished without taking his attention from the elves. He was staring at them as if simply glaring at them would make them admit that magic was wrong.
‘But father,’ the prince pleaded. ‘Come look at my pony.’
Rhonan’s attention flicked immediately around to the prince. The first thing he saw was a pink cat running across the cobbles followed by a playful snow-white pony. It was badly formed, and its head was far too large, but it was definitely a pony.
‘See! Magic. It must be banned!’ Lord Hendrik bellowed. ‘Now we have half-breeds as well! It will infect us all if we let it.’
‘Dyahn. You shouldn’t have done that,’ Rhonan hissed at his sister as he strode over and held out his hand for the rock. ‘Things are bad enough without you making a pony as well.’
‘I didn’t make it,’ Dyahn said with a grin. She opened her hand and Rhonan saw there was only one rock there. It had a picture of a pink cat on it. She pointed at the prince, who was holding a rock out to his father. ‘The prince did.’
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
NO MORE SHADOWS
Silence fell instantly at Dyahn’s words. The king stared, open-mouthed, and seemed to be searching for something to say.
‘Do you like my pony? I made it,’ Prince Pettar asked almost shoving the rock into his father’s hand and then showing it to his mother. Both of them looked shocked and the queen fainted.
Rhonan saw the crowd from the festival had been watching and were now starting to come closer. They gave the dragon on the roof a wide berth, but they closed in on the king, the pony and the prince.
‘Is the prince an elf?’ one brave person asked.
The king, still shocked into silence, began to shake his head vigorously. He grabbed the rock from his son and threw it into the fountain. The coloured pencil drawing washed away instantly and the pony faded away with a soft whinny.
‘Of course not,’ the king finally spluttered, looking shocked at such a suggestion. ‘The half-elf did it.’
An uneasy silence settled on the crowd. The king bent down to check his wife and she slowly came back to consciousness.
‘Lewas,’ the queen said softly as she sat up. ‘There’s something I never told you because I didn’t want you to hate me.’
‘What didn’t you tell me?’ King Lewas asked in a stony voice.
‘My grandmother was an elf,’ Queen Bettra said with a sigh as if a huge weight had been lifted by telling her secret. ‘I am part elf and so is your son.’
‘He can’t be!’ the king retorted, looking at his son as if he had just grown horns.
‘Elves are no different to the humans,’ Rhonan said, walking closer to the king.
‘Nonsense, we are not alike at all!’ Lord Hendrik snapped. ‘Their magic makes them different.’
‘What would you call the hunter’s ability to track elves?’ Elezan asked. ‘Surely that too is magic.’
‘Magic is not evil. It is simply part of who we are and it is up to us to use it for good purposes, not bad,’ Corbyn added. ‘We only create illusions and they cannot harm anyone.’
Rhonan was dividing his attention between the confrontation with the king and also watching the prince. The young boy fished the stone out of the water and dried it off on his tunic. The prince hurried up to Dyahn and held out his hand for the coloured pencils again.
‘Put that down, Pettar!’ The king said, finally finding his voice.
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br /> ‘Why? Are you going to lock me up like the elves?’ the prince asked, looking upset as he seemed torn between pleasing his father and his desire for his own pet-rock-pony.
‘Well… no…’ The king looked flustered as he finally bent down to help his wife to her feet. ‘Your magic is different.’
‘How?’ the prince asked.
The king opened his mouth but nothing came out.
‘Think about it, Lewas,’ the queen said slowly, putting one hand on her husband’s shoulder and forcing him to look at her. ‘Lift the price from the elves’ heads, or you will have to add me and your own son to that list.’
The king seemed tormented. His face twisted and contorted as he looked at Lord Hendrik for guidance. ‘Hunter, your word set the price on their heads. Do you still believe they shot me in the woods?’
Lord Hendrik shuffled as he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He looked at the king, then at Corbyn. Finally he turned back to the king. ‘I don’t know. It is possible he is telling the truth about the deer.’
‘Perhaps we should meet with the Shadows… Elves… and talk.’ The king looked deeply troubled as the reality of it all sank in. He looked over at his son and saw another badly formed pony nuzzling at his pockets, looking for a treat.
‘We are willing to talk,’ Corbyn agreed.
‘After the festival.’ The king was pale as he watched his son. ‘We will meet at the end of spring. I will ensure your safe passage.’
‘Now is as good a time as any,’ Corbyn said with a small shake of his head and then he raised one arm. Dozens of cloth-swathed people stepped forward. Some tall, some short and some were obviously children.
Everyone stared in surprise as they all removed their cloth headgear and every elf from Shaldoh stood before the king.
‘Either lock us all up or meet with us now,’ Falh said, grinning broadly.
Rhonan grinned too. He knew the king could not lock up that many people. Now they knew why Shaldoh had been abandoned.
