The Path of Decisions

by Mike Shelton

  The streets were full of chaos. People ran everywhere. The children looked thin and hungry, and the adults were arguing and fighting. Darius wondered what had been going on by the north gate.

  They rode at a trot toward the castle. They passed Darius’s house, and memories of his mother flooded through him. He felt embarrassed for what he had done and had been about to do. As they neared the castle, soldiers approached from a northern road, led by Richard.

  “Father!” was all Darius said as they approached. What could he say? He had left in anger and had spent the entire time he was gone vowing revenge. He was still worried about being manipulated again.

  “Let’s go inside,” Richard motioned, as he called over some of the soldiers to help Leandra. He, like the guard, eyed Mezar. “A Gildanian?”

  “Yes, Father. My prisoner from Denir.” He saw Mezar stiffen at that. “But also my friend and savior, along with Kelln.”

  Richard raised his eyebrows but just motioned all of them inside, away from prying eyes.

  The soldiers took Leandra off to the palace healers, and Richard took Darius, Kelln, and Mezar into the palace offices. They walked down the long echoing hallways toward Richard’s private office. Darius knew the way well. One part of him felt happy to be back home, but another part felt anxious, wondering why he was called back so abruptly.

  Upon reaching Richard’s office, they all sat down. There was silence. Everyone looked at everyone else. Darius had never been great at communicating with his father.

  “How is Mother?” Darius finally said. “I received her letter.”

  “She has been a little unwell lately.” The councilor glanced out the window in the direction of their home. “But doing better.”

  “I need to go and see her.”

  His father nodded but seemed distracted. “In a while.”

  Darius tried to gather his thoughts together. He was still trying to come to grips with everything that was happening. What was Christine doing out in the middle of the fighting?

  “Councilor, did Alessandra reach you?” Kelln asked. “Sean is the traitor. He was the one who kidnapped Darius.”

  Richard let out a deep sigh. “Yes. She did reach me. I am not sure what to think. I knew Sean was ambitious, but I didn’t think he would go this far. Rest assured he will be taken care of. A group of guards headed out as soon as the girl reported back.”

  His father would not look him in the eye. Something else was going on.

  “Darius.” He sighed deeply once again. “You need to talk to the King before you see your mother.”

  Darius looked at him skeptically. His father looked very tired.

  “The King... why?”

  “Aren't you the leader of his Elite Army?”

  “Well... yes... but...” Darius didn't know what to say. Had the King found out what he was planning? Is he going to imprison me or strip me of my title? Did his father know? He knew something, that was sure. Too much tension filled the air. Maybe Richard was even enjoying the discomfort and secrets.

  Darius stood up. Might as well get this over with.

  Leaving Mezar and Kelln with a guard, Richard led Darius down the hall toward the King’s quarters, their footsteps echoing in the silence. A guard let them into the King’s suites. Pausing at the bedroom, Richard knocked and slowly entered. King Edward stirred in his bed and mumbled.

  “Edward, Darius is here.”

  “Oh... Darius!” The King rolled over to face the father and his son. He sat himself up with great effort, his face pale and gaunt. The powerful King of the Realm, Edward DarSan Montere, was physically drained and barely able to hold himself up.

  Darius didn’t understand what had happened. The man looked so pathetic and sad that Darius could hardly feel anything other than pity for the man who had pressed him into leaving Anikari, his friends, and his family.

  “Richard, please leave us.” Edward tried to wave his hand but instead started into a coughing fit.

  Richard bowed and began to walk out. Before leaving the room, he turned and looked seriously at his only son. He did look him in the eye this time. Piercing, stern, and serious. “Listen well, my son.” His voice was deep and gruff and full of emotion. Closing the door behind him, he left Darius alone with the King of the Realm.

  Chapter 19

  CATCHING UP

  The Field of Diamonds didn’t look as Christine remembered it. Dew sparkling on a soft green carpet of grass lying next to the Lake of Reflection— that was how things used to be, but now... maybe it had been the winter harshness and late spring. Maybe she wasn't seeing it through the same innocent, youthful eyes from before. The field was greening with the spring rains, but it just didn’t look as special as it once did.

  Christine stood for a moment leaning against a tree on the edge of the field. She took a deep breath to try and ease the apprehension before meeting again with Darius. Fresh leaves covered the tree, seeming even greener in the overcast and gray light of evening. Lightning stood nearby. The Cremelino grazed on tufts of new grass. Christine had pulled her long blonde hair back so the wind wouldn't carry her locks around. She watched the back of Darius up ahead of her. He must have arrived early.

  Darius seemed to be taller than before he left, and his shoulders were definitely broader. She had heard stories about him... or were they merely rumors? He had become severe and demanding, they said. He had saved Denir by order of the King but had defied his command and marched to Belor on his own. It didn’t sound like Darius to her, but then she had done things in the past year that were also hard to believe. She had met with the King and his Councilor, led raiders against the city, and stopped listening to her friends.

  The moment Christine had seen Darius on the road leading into the city, her life changed once again. She had heard people talk before about how one event or one moment in time changed them. She now believed it. The instant she saw Darius again had re-ordered all her thoughts and feelings. It had changed her. Feelings broke through barriers in her heart that she had set up for far too long.

  Go, child. It will be all right. Lightning nudged her on with calming thoughts.

  Christine looked back at Lightning and thought about the miraculous healing Darius had performed earlier in the day. How had he done it? He’d merely placed his hand over the horse’s wounds and healed her. What had he become while he had been away? She walked with some fear and trepidation as she approached him.

  Darius stood now at the edge of the lake. He was picking up small rocks and throwing them in, breaking up the smooth gray waters. There was a tautness to his broad shoulders. His almost-shoulder-length hair hung loose, blowing in the breeze. He threw the rocks farther and farther, harder and harder. Finally, he heaved a large rock and yelled toward the sky.

  Christine ran the remaining way across the field toward him. Something was wrong. “Darius, what is it?”

  He stood still, continuing to face the cloud-covered Superstition Mountains. When he finally turned around she saw a new heaviness in his eyes. Almost pain. “How are you, Christine?” He stammered and tried to smile, but she noted the exhaustion in his voice.

  Christine smiled warily but didn't quite know what to say.

  “You have become the talk of the town.” Darius smiled more and let loose a short laugh.

  Christine shared in his laugh. The release felt good. “I guess you’ve heard what has been going on with the farmers?”

  “My father and the King filled me in. I am surprised my father approached you like he did.”

  “My father died, did you know?”

  Darius frowned. “I am sorry, Christine. I really liked him.”

  Sadness hung in the air. Both just looked out across the lake.

  “Did you get my note?” asked Darius suddenly, referring to the day he had been forced to leave Anikari so quickly. Because of the suddenness of the King’s command, he had not been able to say goodbye, as Christine had been off in Forest View with her father.

&
nbsp; Christine choked back a sob at that memory, took a step toward him, and instinctively wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug. Darius held her in a tight embrace while she sobbed. It had been so long since she had cried. Only once since Darius had left, when her father had died. Since then she had become numb to everything but violence. The lost feelings of love had needed something in their stead.

  With a deep sigh she let all the pent up feelings out now— all of the fear and frustration she had gone through, and all the relief she had found since seeing Darius return. Her mind seemed clean for the first time since he had left.

  Tears ran down Darius’s face, warming Christine’s cheeks. His shaking arms held her tightly. She was not the only one who had suffered in the past year. Finally they pulled apart.

  “Will you tell me about your travels?” asked Christine after she had run out of tears.

  Darius brushed some dirt off a couple of large rocks, and they sat down at the edge of the lake. The sun peeked out briefly over the Superstition Mountains as if to say good-bye before it went down for the evening. It sent a momentary glow across the lake. They wrapped their cloaks around them against the growing coolness of evening.

  Darius told her about his ordeals, his successes and failures. He was embarrassed by some of the telling, yet still a sense of pride in all he had accomplished lifted him. He told her about Denir and Belor. He ended by explaining the feelings he had experienced while being held captive by Sean, thinking at first that he had lost all friends and all hope. Darius related how he had found a higher power and a sense of direction in the dark and lonely cave. As soon as he had realized he could always have hope, Kelln and Mezar had arrived and saved him.

  Christine listened attentively to Darius while holding his hand, rough with calluses. He finished up where they had seen each other that morning. She thought there was still a look of pain in his eyes. He held something back from her. She thought about all she had gone through that year and realized she couldn’t tell Darius of everything that had happened to her in just a few minutes either.

  “Darius, what did you do for Lightning?”

  Darius sat silent for a moment as if struggling with what to say. Finally he stood up and, pointing his hand toward a small pile of large stones on the shore of the lake, moved his right hand upward. The stones began to rise into the air. He then threw the stones high into the evening air and into the lake. The splash reached their feet.

  Darius looked at Christine, waiting for a response. Christine, wide-eyed, opened her mouth but then closed it again.

  “You think I’m a freak, don’t you?” Darius held his head down.

  Christine found her voice. “Oh no, Darius. I just don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen anyone do that before. You did heal Lightning, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. That was the first time I have done something like that… something good with my power. It felt so nice. As I told you, when I was held captive by Sean, I hit the bottom, and it was only when I let love and hope enter my heart that I broke through the barriers holding my powers away from me. Before that I thought it was anger that drove it. That was a hard lesson to learn, but it is so clear now. Love is so much more powerful than hate. I couldn’t bear to see Lighting hurt.” He looked intently into her eyes. “Or you hurt.”

  Christine’s eyes glistened with tears. She tried to blink them away but had to use the side of her hand.

  Lighting nudged up between them and looked at Darius. He nodded after a moment.

  “Christine, you have a pushy horse.”

  Christine laughed. “You gave her to me.”

  “So I did. From the beginning she whispered to me that I needed to bring her from White Island. She obviously knows more about what goes on around us than she shares.”

  “Don’t I know that.” Christine smiled and ran her hand down her horse’s mane.

  “She wants me to tell you what I am now.”

  “What you are? I don’t understand.” Christine furrowed her brows.

  “Christine, I am a wizard. One of a few in the Realm. I am a wizard with wonderful natural growing powers… many of which I still don’t even understand.”

  It’s about time.

  They both looked at Lightning at the same time and laughed.

  “She speaks to you as well as me. I wonder why?” asked Christine.

  Of course I do. Lightning spoke to both of them. It is the right of a wizard. It is why we were bred. It is they whom the herd of Cremelinos serve. It has been a long time waiting for a worthy wizard to walk the Realm again.

  “It was you I heard calling in my mind while I was in Belor, wasn’t it?” Darius asked the horse out loud.

  Yes. It was hard to reach you that far. But that is one of our gifts.

  “And talking to me?” Christine asked.

  That was a little more surprising. You must have some old wizard blood in your ancestry.

  Darius looked like he wanted to ask more but instead he grew solemn again.

  “Darius, what is it?”

  “There is more.”

  “More?” she stood up and stroked Lightning on the nose. “What more could there be after telling me you are a wizard? The first in many generations in the Realm. I admit it is all quite strange and unreal, but exciting also.”

  “And dangerous. Remember, there has not been much tolerance for wizards since the wizard uprising.”

  Christine nodded. “You said there was something else?”

  “I... uh... You won’t believe it, Christine.” Darius stumbled on his words. “I don’t know how to tell you.”

  “What?” Christine asked anxiously. “Your father told me his mother was a farmer. I always knew you had some good in you. Did you know my father’s father was from the city too?”

  Darius smiled. “It's not that. Oh, that's part of it, but there is still more to the story that you don’t know. No one knew.”

  “More?”

  “The King is sick—”

  “I know. The whole city is on edge. Declaring a new king might mean open warfare. A few factions among the nobles have already approached us about our support. Your father asked me to stop the fighting until an announcement was made. He seemed to think that maybe things would work out. I sure wouldn't want to be the next king.”

  “Neither would I, but...”

  “But what?” her eyes opened wide. Her heart fluttered and jumped.

  “But I am. I am going to be the next king.” Darius didn’t look to be joking. “There, I said it. Maybe it will help me believe it. I am going to be the next king, Christine. The next king of the Realm.”

  Christine sat down hard on the ground. She was stunned. Darius leaned down and then knelt beside her. His hair was longer and his jaw more firm. She wondered if she looked much different from when they last saw each other.

  “Go ahead and laugh if you want. I did at first.” A crooked smile emerged from Darius’s lips. “I have a lot to atone for and a lot to learn.”

  “How can it be?”

  “A little confused? So am I. It seems my father’s father, Alric, and King Edward were brothers. My grandfather was the oldest brother. He married a girl from the farmlands. His father, King Charles, disowned him for it and sent him away with a story to the people that he had been killed in battle. It was then that the old king had another son in his older years. That was Edward. So my grandfather should have been the next king, and then my father, and then...”

  “You!” exclaimed Christine. “I can't believe it. And no one ever told you?”

  “No. My father said he didn't even know until last summer. I guess that was why the King sent me away. I had to learn to lead, to be a king.” Darius laughed. “I almost fought against the King and my father because I hated politics. I blamed all of my problems on them. Now I am going to be king. Now others will blame their problems on me. How can I do this?”

  “Can't you deny it? Not take it? What about your father?”

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sp; “That's the same question I asked of King Edward. When Alric was banished, my father Richard was already born, so he was included in the banishment also.”

  “There are no other options?” Christine asked.

  “Not any good options. Naming someone outside of the royal line could cause civil war. The King told me about all of the fighting between farmers and the city. He said I was destined to be a king. Since he has no children alive, I am the only one who would be able to keep others from contesting the throne, as I am of the direct line. I alone could reunite the Realm, and since I am part farmer and a friend to those outside the city…”

  That brought a smile to Christine’s lips.

  Darius continued, “I could help heal the rift between the two groups. Of course I argued every point I could think of... but it was of no use. I have been walking around for the past hour thinking and trying to talk myself out of this. I don't have any idea how or what I am going to do as king, but I feel good inside after thinking through it all. I’m not confused anymore. The timing of it all is too coincidental not to be right. A few months ago I would not be ready for this. But I have come to peace with myself, and if this is my destiny, if that is what has been given to me, then I will do my best. And now I know God will help me.”

  “You will be wonderful.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  “I don’t know who knows about my growing powers though. That might still ruin everything.”

  “Will you tell them?”

  “How? I think they suspect something, but people don’t ask me directly, so I haven’t said anything.”

  “You’ll find a way, Darius. I believe in you.”

  A huge smile spread across Darius’s face. “Thank you, Christine. I have missed you so much! I have done some things I am not so proud of, but when I am with you, I feel that everything will be all right.”

  Christine felt she would burst with happiness at seeing him smile again. Her heart lifted, and she, too, felt better being next to him. “Both of us have learned a lot this year.”