by Linda McNabb
Search Arandyl for Farren, Brax ordered Klel sternly. Boy not your concern now.
Tryx search, too. Tryx go with Klel. Tryx stepped forward to stand next to Klel.
‘You must remain in the valley, Tryx,’ Jerrik said sharply.
Tryx looked about to argue, but one glance from Brax silenced the smaller dragon and she stepped back a few paces.
Toby would miss his mischievous friend. He wanted to thank the young dragon for her friendship while he had been in the valley, but was prevented from doing so by Brax intoning the words to open the gate.
The old dragon’s neckband glowed brightly — and for Toby it was the first sign that his magic was truly gone. Usually he would hear the singing of the magic held within the gems. The singing was so loud that it had taken a long time for Toby to learn to ignore it. Now, there was no singing, no tingling sensation, and Toby felt his shoulders sag a little more. Until that moment he had hoped that some small amount of magic had been left in him. Something that would remind him of his heritage, but it seemed that his hopes had been in vain.
‘Toby, we have to go.’ Sanelle’s voice broke through his wallowing in self-pity; he looked up to see that his brown-haired friend was already sitting on Klel’s back.
Toby gathered the last shreds of his pride and fought back tears as he stepped up on Klel’s proffered leg and slid into place in front of Sanelle.
‘Consider you future before you make any final decision,’ Jerrik said softly to Sanelle before turning to Toby. ‘If there had been any way to let you stay, we would have been happy to have you in the valley.’
Toby took the outstretched hand of the village Elder and felt a small amount of comfort in the warmth of the old man’s grip. A second later, the Elder stepped back and Klel dived through the archway. In a heartbeat they had crossed from Dragon Valley into Arandyl. Toby didn’t even look back as Klel glided over the tops of the mountains. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t go back to his foster mother, Aggie, and admit that he had failed at yet another apprenticeship. He had to have a new master before he dared to go near her.
Toby had no idea where this particular gate led out to in Arandyl — wherever it was, he didn’t want to go. He barely saw the mountains blur past beneath the golden dragon, and he took little interest when the ground levelled out and towns and villages came into view. Toby rubbed at his nose a little irritably. There was a smell he recognised, and he sniffed at the wind a little deeper in his quest to identify it. It was sharp, not unpleasant but a little bitter, with a hint of salt that he could almost taste. It refreshed his mind and he looked down at the land below to see what could be causing the odd, salty smell.
‘It’s the ocean to the north, by the town of Northport,’ Sanelle said, seeing him sniff deeply again. She pointed ahead and Toby could see white peaks on a deep green surface that seemed to heave and roll as he watched.
‘I guess we’re heading to see Kaylene.’ For a few seconds, Toby forgot about the events of the day. He stared at the heaving, swelling waters until Klel turned sharply and dived down towards the ground. The bitterly cold wind bit through Toby’s tunic and stung his face like a dozen pins.
Yes, we visit Kaylene, Klel confirmed as a large town came into view. It sat right on the edge of the ocean and was dominated by a glittering, golden building on a hill. Maybe find trade for Toby.
Toby sighed as he was reminded of the reason he was back in Arandyl, and, although he wanted to visit his friend, he did not want to tell her about his troubles.
Klel flew in low over the town, causing more than a little disruption as everyone looked up and saw the golden dragon. Toby had no doubt that Klel’s visit would be more than welcome. The faces of the townspeople lit up in joy as they watched Klel fly past, and word seemed to be spreading ahead faster than Klel could fly.
Klel landed gently just outside the castle gates. The glittering gold that they had seen from the sky was now clearly visible as the ornately gilded roofs of the castle towers.
Toby slipped off Klel’s back, and his soft leather boots crunched on the icy marbled stones. He had expected it to be warmer now they had landed, but, although the wind was not as strong, it was just as cold. His breath came out in clouds of steam and the air pinched painfully at his lips. He had been in Dragon Valley so long that he had almost forgotten how cold the winter could be elsewhere. Right now, though, he had trouble remembering what it was like to be warm! His toes were numb and his teeth hurt when he sucked in a breath of the freezing air. Even the tips of his ears stung from the cold, so he flicked his hair over them to try to warm them a little.
‘Kaylene doesn’t need to know why you have left Dragon Valley,’ Sanelle said as a small crowd began to gather a dozen paces away. ‘We’re simply visiting an old friend.’
The huge iron gates remained shut as the guards stared at Klel. Clearly their training had not included what to do when a dragon came to the gates. One drew his sword, glanced at it and seemed to reconsider, then he shook his head and slid the sword back into its sheath.
‘Who goes there?’ his companion said boldly, stepping through the portcullis, the man-sized gate to the side of the main entrance.
‘We have come to visit Princess Kaylene,’ Sanelle replied. ‘We are friends of the princess.’
The guard looked as if he thought this unlikely and exchanged an uncertain look with the other guard.
‘Did you bring the dragon as a present for the king? His official birthday celebrations are not for another full moon,’ the first guard spoke up.
Klel not gift! Klel snorted indignantly, and a long thin flame licked the ground not far from the feet of the two guards.
‘Klel is a friend of the princess also,’ Toby added hurriedly as the guards looked about to revisit the option of drawing their swords.
By now, their arrival had attracted attention from within the castle as well. People were peering from every window and servants were gathered in doorways. The crowds inside the castle began to spill out into the courtyard as the guards backed away to the dubious safety of the opposite side of the iron gate.
‘Please inform the princess of our arrival,’ Sanelle said, moving so that she was directly between the dragon and the guards.
One of the guards headed towards the castle, but before he had gone a dozen steps he stopped. Something was going on in the grounds of the castle and Toby stepped closer to see what it was.
The crowds inside had been chatting among themselves, probably speculating what the dragon was doing there, but now they had fallen silent and were drawing back.
A single person came striding through the crowd and was heading for the gate with a determined, almost angry stomping of black-booted feet. Simple but elegant brown trousers were tucked into the top of the boots, and a tailored red tunic was held close at the waist by a golden belt. A stiff, red, three-cornered hat finished the ensemble — clearly this was a person of high rank.
The sound of boots striking the marbled stone entranceway was soon the only sound to be heard, and the guards stepped back, bowing low and not making any attempt to prevent passage through the gates.
It took only a second for Toby to take in the appearance of the person and, as his gaze reached the hat, he began to smile. Spilling out from under the hat were golden curls that could only belong to one person.
‘Kaylene!’ A second too late, Toby realised that he probably should have addressed his friend with her official title. A small gasp from the crowd confirmed this.
Just before she passed through the gates, the princess stopped mid-stride and glared around. Her pretty face was drawn up in a scowl as she looked for who had addressed her so informally.
As she looked through the gates, she saw the golden dragon and his two companions. Instantly the scowl vanished and she almost threw herself through the side gate as she rushed to greet them.
‘I thought you’d forgotten all about me!’ she said as she drew both Toby and Sanelle into a hug. ‘I’ve been
waiting for a visit for so long. How long can you stay?’
‘Oh… as long as we want, I expect’ Toby replied a little evasively.
‘I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your training, though,’ Kaylene said, pulling away and bestowing a kiss and a hug on the large dragon as if he were as harmless as a kitten.
‘You won’t,’ Sanelle said quietly. The comment was meant only for Toby to hear, but the princess turned sharply, her eyes intent and searching.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked bluntly. Subtlety had never been one of Kaylene’s strengths.
‘I’m not training at the moment,’ Toby replied truthfully.
‘Clear the crowds!’ Kaylene shouted to the guards without taking her piercing gaze from Toby. ‘Why did Klel stop your training? Did you do something wrong?’
Klel needs warmth. Go to roof to find sun, Klel muttered, seeming eager to leave.
Like Toby, he could sense that the princess was not in a good mood. With a single leap, the dragon lifted up and winged off to the inviting warmth of the glittering golden roofs. The princess stood staring at Toby as the crowds were quickly ushered off on their way, then her slightly puzzled and angry expression changed to one of surprise.
‘Why are your eyes pale grey? I thought they were purple. Aren’t all sorcerer’s eyes purple?’
‘They are,’ Sanelle agreed when Toby did not answer. The princess’s gaze flicked from Toby’s eyes to Sanelle’s purple ones and then back again.
‘So what are you going to do now that you’ve failed as an apprentice sorcerer?’ Kaylene asked bluntly.
‘Can’t we discuss this later?’ Toby had dreaded telling Aggie, but he hadn’t expected such a shocked reaction from Kaylene. ‘Why are you dressed like a boy?’
Kaylene scowled and her pretty blue eyes welled up with tears. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ she snapped and, with a dramatic flick of her golden curls, she turned and walked away from the marbled entrance.
Toby and Sanelle hurried after her as she stamped her way through the town and then turned up onto a bushy hill that rose from the far end of a park. Soon Toby was no longer cold, as they had to walk quickly to keep up with the princess.
The tiny princess pushed her way through the bushes, knocking snow from them as she went, and letting the bushes snap back at the two friends following. Toby knew not to ask Kaylene what was wrong — she would tell them when she was ready.
When they reached the top of the small hill, the princess stopped and sat down on the snow. She leaned back on the trunk of the snow-covered tree and stared out at the view with a stony face. It was clear that she was on the verge of tears, and she drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Toby and Sanelle sat on each side of Kaylene and kept silent. Toby looked out at the view and couldn’t help but stare — in front of them was a scene so interesting that he wasn’t sure where to look first.
CHAPTER FIVE
A FAMILIAR FACE
The ocean seemed to go on forever into the distance, right up to the horizon. The weak winter sun broke through a gap in the snow-laden clouds out at sea and the sunlight made the waves sparkle. With dark clouds in the sky it was hard to tell exactly where the sea stopped and the sky started.
Toby squinted into the distance and felt a sense of peace as he watched the waves and breathed in the fresh salty air. A loud crunching noise of wood on wood, followed by angry yelling, drew his attention to where the sea met the land. The waves were rolling in fast and, although the town was built off a small harbour, even the sheltered waters of the harbour were choppy and the waves tipped with white.
The noise was coming from several short, wide jetties which extended out into the harbour. Toby’s gaze was drawn to a ship, pitching wildly, which had struck one of the jetties, shattering part of the wooden structure and making a sizeable hole in the side of the ship.
Men were throwing ropes from the floundering vessel and those on-shore were doing their best to haul the ship to safety.
‘It looks like that will be the last ship in for the winter. We had a storm just a few hours ago that was worse than any I’ve seen. I’m surprised any ship survived that,’ Kaylene said as she watched the scene below with a blank expression. ‘It’s getting too cold for the caravans to travel anyway.’
‘What’s a caravan?’ Sanelle asked.
‘The spices, cloths and other goods the ships bring in are sold to merchants here.’ Kaylene stood up and pointed down to several large buildings just along from the wharf. Covered wagons were lined up into the distance and men stood watching the ship being rescued. Toby was sure he could smell cinnamon on the cold breeze. ‘The merchants take wagons out across Arandyl to trade.’
‘All the trading goods in Castletown come in by barge along the river. I never really thought about where it came from,’ Toby said as he watched the ship finally dragged to the safety of shallow waters.
‘You could join a caravan and be a trader,’ Sanelle suggested, earning herself a glare from Toby.
‘Maybe I’ll join the caravans, too,’ Kaylene said with a heavy sigh.
‘Why exactly are you dressed like a boy?’ Toby asked. He knew the princess had a fondness for pretty dresses and jewels, and her current attire was the last thing he would expect her to wear.
‘To prove a point to my father,’ Kaylene said, standing up and kicking at a tree trunk, sending a shower of snow over them all. ‘I want to rule the kingdom when I am older.’
‘Aren’t you next in line for the throne anyway?’ Sanelle asked, looking a little confused.
‘Exactly what I told him,’ Kaylene said, balling up a handful of snow and throwing it with great force at a bush. ‘But it seems the throne cannot pass to a daughter — only a son!’
‘Does he have a son?’ Toby asked. He couldn’t remember Kaylene ever mentioning a brother before. He shook the snow from his hair and stood up as she turned toward him with another snowball ready to throw.
‘He does now,’ Kaylene said, indicating the clothes that she wore. I can handle a sword as well as any boy, I ride, I shoot arrows.’
Footsteps were crunching loudly in the crisp snow and they were getting closer. Toby turned to see two castle guards heading their way. Kaylene saw them, too, and turned her back to them and stared out to sea.
‘Begging your pardon, Your Highness,’ one of the guards said as they came to a halt several paces away. ‘The king requests your presence at the tournament.’
‘Tell him I don’t want to watch,’ Kaylene replied without even turning to face the guards.
‘We are to escort you,’ the second guard insisted a little hesitantly. Kaylene’s temper was obviously well known.
‘I will return when I am ready,’ Kaylene said through clenched teeth. She turned to glare at the guards, whereupon they immediately began to back away and then turned and hurried back towards the castle.
‘What was that about?’ Sanelle asked, but the princess was too angry to answer.
Toby turned his attention back to the damaged ship and the activity down at the wharves. The rest of the cargo had been offloaded from the ship and the few passengers were making their way unsteadily down through the dock area.
‘It looks like they had a rough trip,’ Toby commented as one of the young boys staggered slightly and was hauled back upright by his mother. ‘What’s it like on the ships?’
When he received no reply, he turned and saw that the two girls had walked a short way down the hill. They were staring at the small crowd of passengers and both of them looked concerned. Toby hurried to join them and looked at them quizzically for an explanation.
Sanelle just pointed and said nothing. Toby looked in the direction she was pointing and he gasped. Walking slowly off at the rear of the crowd was a figure he recognised instantly — Blaise.
As if he knew he was being watched, Blaise paused, then turned and looked around. Toby yanked the girls back behind a bush and they
peered out between the branches. Blaise’s gaze swept right past where Toby and the girls had stood a second before. A short man in the crowd yelled something back to him and Blaise turned back to join the crowd.
‘What is he doing here?’ Sanelle muttered. ‘We’ve been wondering where he’d disappeared to.’ She turned to the others to explain. ‘He was living in our village for a couple of months after we’d got back from the valley. Mother tried to keep him there, but he disappeared when he was travelling from one village to the next. We’ve had no idea where he’s been since then.’
‘Never mind where he is now — more importantly, where has he been in the meantime and what was he doing there?’ Toby looked over at the damaged ship. ‘For starters, where did that ship come from?’
‘The nearest land is two weeks by sail,’ Kaylene said with a shrug. ‘I’ve never been allowed to go, so I have no idea where it is.’
‘I think we should follow him,’ Sanelle said, already walking off down the hill. Toby and Kaylene hurried after her.
It wasn’t hard to follow Blaise as he strode purposefully through the town. Most of the crowd had dispersed into different parts of the town, but one man remained heading in the same direction as Blaise. He was a short man, with a thick thatch of black hair and a confident, swaggering step. He carried a sack over one shoulder and, by the way he moved it from shoulder to shoulder, Toby figured it must contain something very heavy. A small, scruffy and very excitable dog ran a few paces behind, its little legs working hard to keep up with the man.
It was soon clear that the short man was with Blaise when they both stopped at the local stables.
‘He must be buying a horse,’ Sanelle suggested as they paused at the edge of the marketplace so they could watch what was going on without being obvious. ‘Or he’s left one there.’
It was more than any old horse that emerged from the wooden doors of the stables a few minutes later, though. An elegant horse, more suited to being ridden by a wealthy landowner, twitched against the heavy leather straps which were attached to an old covered wagon. Clearly the horse was not used to pulling a wagon and it was not impressed by the dog that was barking excitedly around its legs.
