More Tales of the Southern Kingdoms (One Volume Edition)

by Barbara G. Tarn

  He wasn't going to tell her about the kiss, but he had grown fond of the prince heir. It had been four very intense months.

  "Raju," she chided. "You promised to tell me everything."

  "I did tell you everything."

  "Not in front of the boys, I hope!"

  "Well, almost everything."

  "Yes, you enjoyed the belly dance, I got that." She shot an impish smile at him. "But what about Prince Tarun? Did he try anything?"

  "No, I told you, he's not like his father. He admires me a lot and for some reason wants to be like me."

  "And that's it?"

  "Yes, Shanti, that's it. Can we go to bed now? I missed waking up by your side..."

  She chuckled. "Love you, Raju."

  "Love you too."

  He gave her another long kiss before picking her up and taking her to their bed. If only the children weren't asleep in the same room... he'd make love to her until dawn! He'd have to be content with falling asleep by her side – finally, after four months. It felt good to be home.

  Narcoleptic Prince

  Priyanka elbowed Dilip during the banquet for their niece's betrothal. Puzzled, he glanced at his wife who pointed with her chin at their firstborn, Aditya.

  "Oh, no, not again!" Dilip groaned.

  Aditya was asleep again. He'd been complaining of excessive sleepiness or sudden muscle weakness for a few years now, and visibly fell asleep at unpredictable moments. He usually woke up suddenly and often disoriented or dizzy.

  It had started in Aditya's early teens. He was now nineteen, and even though he wasn't the prince heir, he was still royal blood of Gajendra. He shouldn't be so sleepy during the day and then stay awake all night.

  "His sleep patterns are so screwed up," Priyanka whispered, worried. "Sometimes he sleeps even while speaking or doing something, and then he doesn't remember anything!"

  The royal doctor was as puzzled as them. He had never heard of this sleep sickness and had no idea of how to treat it, therefore it was getting worse.

  Dilip pursed his lip, frowning in concentration.

  "Let me talk to Prem. We'll find a solution."

  "Which solution?" Priyanka protested. "There is no cure!"

  "Maybe the Underground People know the cure."

  Priyanka scoffed. "You speak of these people as if you knew where to find them! Just because they gave you your blond hair, do you really think they're going to help you?"

  "I won't know until I ask them," Dilip snapped. "And even though neither myself nor Prem have ever met one, I'm sure we can find information on where they dwell."

  Aditya's head popped up again and he looked around, lost. The people around him pretended not to see.

  "Take him to his room, enough embarrassment for today," Dilip muttered. Priyanka nodded. It was a shame for both of them that their firstborn fell asleep like that in front of everyone. And it was a source of embarrassment for Aditya himself, who was feeling worse after every episode, especially if it happened in public.

  Dilip met his brother's eyes. "Need to talk," he mouthed.

  Prem nodded. Not during his daughter's wedding banquet. Tomorrow first thing in the morning they'd meet in Prem's chamber. In the meantime, Dilip left the banquet too and headed for the palace library. He was almost sure he could find something on the Underground People.

  He only knew they weren't Human. They had long blond manes, blue or green eyes and pointed ears. The royal family of Gajendra had mated with them in the past, hence they were all blond and blue-eyed. Somewhere among the oldest scrolls there must be some hint of where these strange beings dwelled.

  The librarian was old and had a young assistant who was slowly learning where everything was.

  "Your highness." The elder had seen him grow up, but bowed to him nevertheless. "It's been some time since you came here."

  "I might not be king, but I'm incredibly busy with Aditya," Dilip said, looking around at the shelves.

  "Does he still fall asleep when he shouldn't?" the librarian asked.

  "Yes. You said there are no medical texts here, but what about something on the Underground People?"

  "The Genn!" The librarian brightened. "Of course, we have something... I think a couple of epics and maybe a collection of poems..."

  "Anything on where to find them?" Dilip asked bluntly.

  The librarian pondered. "I don't think anyone ever tried to locate them, your highness," he said at last. "But let's see what we have." He turned to the apprentice and instructed him to fetch all the manuscripts and books of a certain shelf at the top of the second corridor for which he'd need the ladder.

  Dilip tapped his foot impatiently while the librarian made room on the big mahogany table for the manuscripts. The apprentice had to do two trips up and down the ladder to bring down everything from the shelf of Genn works.

  All three sat around the table. "So, what are we looking for?"

  "If they have more knowledge than us about sicknesses, anything about their healers, but mostly where do they live now?" Dilip grabbed the first batch of manuscripts and started flipping through them. "Damn, what language is this?"

  "I'm afraid it's the Old Tongue spoken by the Magical Races," the librarian answered with a sigh. "Here's one in Gajendran, your highness, let me handle those."

  "You speak the Old Tongue?"

  "Not really, but I've seen enough of these to tell if it's fiction or something else. There was a time when they lived under the sun, but then something happened in the north and they retired underground, with the dwarves..."

  ***

  "Did you find anything interesting?" Priyanka asked as Dilip joined her in bed that night.

  "Not really," Dilip grumbled. "But all traces seem to lead to the Central Massif. Maybe I could just take Aditya there and see if we can find those Genn people."

  "I should ask my brother to send us Rajesh! That bodyguard saved Tarun from pirates and..."

  "No!" Dilip glared at her. "I don't need your brother's bodyguards."

  "But Rajesh is good!" she protested.

  "Yes, I bet he is. I'm not blind, Priyanka, I saw how you stared at him when he came here with Tarun," he retorted. "He is not welcome to come back, understood?"

  She scowled and rolled over on the mattress to give him her back. Dilip scoffed. She hadn't said anything when Prince Tarun had showed up four years earlier, but he wasn't stupid. He had noticed she had left the banquet earlier to go to talk to the bodyguard and couldn't keep her eyes off of him during his stay.

  Dilip was tired of women who were in love with someone else. First Rhea, the childhood friend who had been Prem's lover before his wedding. Now Priyanka, who in spite of being a princess seemed to prefer a commoner to him. What was wrong with women? Or with him? Why didn't they love him like he deserved?

  Aditya was more important now. He couldn't be a proper prince if he fell asleep in front of dignitaries. What if he fell asleep in bed with his wife? Besides, Dilip could see that the short naps gave his son discomfort. That he was always tired, which, at nineteen, wasn't normal.

  Dilip would help his son to be normal, and then he could consider his love life. Not that he was supposed to marry for love – like Prem had told him years earlier. But maybe he could have someone who truly loved him.

  Dilip didn't sleep much that night. First thing in the morning, he went to see Aditya and asked him how he felt.

  "I'm a mess," Aditya complained. "Sometimes I can't speak clearly, sometimes my knees buckle under me, or I can't focus, but I hear and am aware of where I am... I just can't react!"

  "I understand your anxiety and your fear, but have you noticed when these episodes happen? I mean, if something specific trigger them?"

  "I don't know!" Aditya sounded as frustrated as he felt. "Sometimes I'm laughing, sometimes I'm angry, it's sudden emotional reactions that completely knock me off and... I want to go to a monastery and not see anyone else for the rest of my life! Please, Father, spare me all this pri
ncely social life, I can't take it anymore!"

  "Come with me," Dilip said, trying to sound calm even though he was more and more upset. "Let's talk to your uncle. We must find a cure for this... unbalanced sleep pattern that you're having."

  Aditya's eyes were filling with tears, but he fought them and followed Dilip to the king's chamber. At forty-seven Prem was still the most handsome man of the kingdom, and a proud grandfather. Hitesh had married Jaya of Lakeshi and had had his heir already.

  "Yes, I noticed Aditya had dozed off," he said. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

  "That's why I'm asking you to tell me everything you know about the Genn," Dilip said. "I want to take Aditya to see them. They're magical beings, surely they have a cure for my son's drowsiness?"

  Aditya blushed and remained quiet. Prem pondered.

  "I have never met them myself," he admitted, thoughtful. "All I know is that they live in towns buried inside the mountains at the northern border of the kingdom and don't show themselves much anymore. I have no idea where the entrance to their underground cities is."

  "We had figured that out with the librarian," Dilip said, frowning in worry. "The Central Massif is the place to go, then. We'll find a way in."

  "Good. I'll prepare an escort..."

  "No, Prem." Dilip stared at his brother, determined. "I'll go with Aditya. Only the two of us. Incognito."

  "But it's dangerous!" Prem protested, while Aditya's eyes widened in shock. "What if he falls asleep and you can't handle him?"

  "I can handle my own son. And having no escort should keep us safe. I doubt the Genn would allow a big group of Humans into their dwellings. Two people? Maybe. We have more chance on our own."

  "I will try to stay awake," Aditya said with a shaky voice.

  "I will try not to upset you, since it's violent or sudden emotions that make you fall asleep," Dilip replied. "You will take several short daily naps and we'll stick to a meal schedule. We should walk to keep ourselves exercised and sleep at regular intervals."

  "You want to go to the mountains on foot?" Prem asked incredulous.

  "We will go upriver on a barge and then we will walk," Dilip said.

  Aditya brightened and nodded, eager to start his new routine. He didn't have to see people while he traveled with his father and that seemed to relieve him of some anxiety.

  Prem sighed. "Are you sure you don't want anyone? Not even our captain of the royal guard as escort?"

  "We're both trained warriors, Prem." Dilip snorted. "We can hold a sword and defend ourselves."

  "Then I can only wish you safe travel." Prem hugged Aditya. "Come back healed, Aditya, and I'll find you a bride."

  Aditya grinned.

  He was teary again when he had to say good-bye to his mother and his siblings, though. Priyanka wanted to come with them, but it was out of the question. There were other children to look after and she would only be a hindrance. Therefore she'd stay in Godwalkar with the other three offspring, two girls, sixteen and thirteen, and the little boy who was only ten.

  Aditya and Dilip took off their princely clothes and dressed like merchants – with a saber by their side and a walking stick. The father was blond and blue-eyed, the son raven-haired with hazel eyes, but their similar features with different colors enough to show the blood ties.

  They left the palace after lunch time, heading for the rivers to look for a barge going north, towards the source. Godwalkar was built at the crossing of two rivers, one coming down from the eastern side of the Central Massif, the other from the western side.

  They found passage to Rothrada that was upriver on the side of Lakeshi. If they found more information on the Genn there, they'd probably start walking, if not, they'd go further upriver until they found someone who knew more about the Genn than they did.

  ***

  Dilip watched Aditya sleep on the deck. A short nap, then the young man was up again, looking around with open curiosity. Godwalkar was out of sight and the river was flowing through hills and vineyards.

  The sun set, they ate travel provisions, and then lay on the deck, looking at the stars.

  "There are so many!" Aditya said, dreamy. "Once I dreamed I went there."

  "And what was it like?" Dilip asked.

  "There was a world like ours rotating around it. Maybe our world is also going around the sun?"

  "I don't know, Adi. Maybe the Underground People know more about the stars than we do."

  "I look forward to meeting them, then!"

  Dilip agreed, but at the same time he was worried. He wasn't sure what to expect. What if the Genn couldn't help his son?

  "Adi, do you have a lover?" he asked.

  "I don't sleep alone, Father," Aditya answered with an impish smile. "But I won't see her again after I marry."

  Dilip smiled ruefully at the memory of Rhea, discarded by Prem first, then by himself so he could perform his royal duty. Luckily by then she had fallen in love with someone of her status and was now a happy mother of two.

  "I hope you're not telling her that you love her," he said.

  "No, she insisted on taking care of me. She helps me relax and I sleep well after making love to her. I wonder if it will be the same with my wife."

  "Hopefully you won't have sleep problems with your wife."

  "Do you want to know who she is?"

  "No, Adi, unless you really want to talk about her."

  "Not right now. This new adventure is... Thank you for doing this for me, Father."

  "I wouldn't have let you go looking for the Genn on your own." Dilip still remembered when Aditya was a child and nestled against him to sleep. "Want to try to get some sleep now?"

  Aditya sighed and rolled on the wooden deck to lay his head against his father's shoulder. "Good night, Father."

  "Sleep well, Adi."

  ***

  Three days later they were in Rothrada, a relatively small town with poorly defined quarters and a good portion of it on the river shore. It traded metals and logs coming from the looming mountains, but the buildings looked dilapidated and the streets were full of stray dogs.

  Dilip and Aditya found an inn and asked for a complete meal – venison and vegetables with a jug of red wine – and a room. While they ate, they looked around at the loud and rowdy crowd. Almost none were openly armed, obviously a crowd of workers and fishermen out for a night of fun.

  "Is there a school or a place where we could ask for information?" Aditya wondered. "Maybe we should look for a guide to take us up the mountains?"

  Dilip hadn't thought about that, but it made sense. They should find a local who could take them up the Central Massif, even if nobody knew anything about the Genn.

  "There's a dwarf over there, probably came to town to trade metals," he said, discreetly pointing at a table where a black-haired dwarf was challenging a tall and blond barbarian to drink more than him. They were obviously both already drunk, and their shouts and laughter were covered by cheers every time they downed another goblet.

  "I don't think he'll hear us tonight." Aditya chuckled. "Maybe tomorrow morning, if he's not too hung over..."

  Dilip signaled the maid and asked her if the dwarf was a regular. She rolled her eyes and nodded.

  "Don't let him challenge you to who drinks more," she warned.

  "I won't. Is there a good time to find him not drunk?" Dilip inquired.

  "He comes to town only to get drunk. What are you looking for?"

  "A guide to take us up the mountains."

  "Then you better talk to his associate," she said. "See the tall, muscled man sitting next to him? Santoosh doesn't drink as much as Thosti."

  "Thank you." Dilip gave her a copper coin that she quickly hid in her bosom.

  Santoosh and Thosti were the last at the table and slowly got up, supporting each other, as the innkeeper threw out the last patrons.

  "Go get some sleep," he muttered to the two men, giving them a key.

  The rooms were up a flight of narrow stai
rs, and Dilip and Aditya followed Santoosh and Thosti, checking which room they slept in.

  In spite of going to bed late, both Dilip and Aditya were up early the next morning. They went downstairs and asked the maid if Santoosh and Thosti had left.

  "They're probably still snoring," she answered, amused. "They'll probably head back to their secret mine today, though."

  "What have they found?" Dilip asked, curious.

  "They claim to have found a mine of pure silver." She scoffed. "What they bring here isn't very good, though."

  "I wonder what the king would say, knowing someone is exploiting a silver mine without paying taxes," Dilip said, amused.

  "I don't think they found anything so precious," she replied. "They just like to boast. Santoosh is a blacksmith, but since he's met Thosti, apparently his skills have improved. Those dwarves know how to make weapons."

  "There must be a tribe of dwarves close enough to Rothrada, then," Dilip said. "Any Underground People?"

  "No, only Thosti and a few more dwarves," she answered, shaking her head. "Why, are you looking for the Genn?"

  "Yes, we've heard they have great healers among them and my son needs a great healer."

  "Since they usually don't ask for payment, they've been chased away from towns," she said with a sigh. "Human physicians were jealous, obviously..." She stared at Aditya. "What sickness do you have?"

  She was pretty and probably about the same age as Aditya. She looked surprised to hear the good-looking young man was ill and stared appreciatively at Aditya who blushed.

  "I sleep at the wrong time," he muttered, eyes low. "And I feel always tired."

  "Oh, my! Let me bring you a herbal tea that might help!"

  She didn't wait for their reactions and rushed to the kitchen. Aditya exchanged a puzzled glance with Dilip who shrugged. They had already tried all the tisanes available at Godwalkar, but maybe here they had different herbs.

  She came back with a smoking mug and more pastries.

  "This should keep you awake during the day and let you sleep at night," she said, putting the mug in front of Aditya. "And eat some more with it, it's very sour."

  Aditya thanked her and tasted the warm liquid. "Yuck!"