“Well, you are a lovely young lady and seem very sweet, but you made a mistake. Since you didn’t know that it was a mistake, I’ll allow you to correct it and then we’ll go from there.”
She looked crestfallen and confused. “I don’t know what I did wrong, but if you’ll tell me, I’ll certainly correct it!”
I laughed and offered her a smile. “My name is James. Not your highness or prince or anything else. Since I’d love to have you as my consort, I don’t want there to be titles between us. I just want us to get to know each other better and hopefully learn to love each other. If you think you can live with that, then welcome to the family.”
She exhaled as though she’d been holding her breath the whole time I’d been speaking. “James, I would love to meet your family and I was told that you’re waiting on a baby right now. I love children and will be happy to assist with childcare. I’d like to hug you now, since I’ve been fighting it all day.”
I grinned and opened my arms. She came to me and hugged me gently, to the sound of applause from the keep steps. We rejoined Lia and she crowed, “Well, big brother, I guess you owe me one now!”
“It would seem that way, damn it. I knew there was some method to your madness today. For a moment, I thought you’d turned nice.”
She gave a very fake attempt at an evil laugh. “Me, be nice? Why would I ever do that?” Then she smiled and hugged me. “I’m happy for you, but you should really let her meet the rest of the family, including that adorable and tiny baby!”
“Bring her up for me, please!” I abruptly ported to my bedroom door and knocked softly.
Lisa opened the door, and I waltzed into the room and the girls opened a path to Ivy, who had been moved to the big bed. I knelt beside the bed. “How are you doing, my beautiful lady?”
Ivy smiled but looked worn out.“I’m doing just fine. It was a lot of work and not something I’d want to do every day, but it was worth it. I’d like for you to meet your daughter,Jilcey. She’s the first Halfling human baby born in quite some time. She is by far the prettiest.”
Fighting tears, I looked into the precious and amazingly tiny face. That was when I knew what true love meant. I’d do anything at all for that tiny creature that was my daughter. Ivy asked if I wanted to hold her and I shook my head.
“The Prince can lift a ten ton boulder without thinking and smash it with a blink, but is afraid he’ll drop his baby? What would men do without us?” she laughed, and then cringed. Chloe was there in a heartbeat with healing magic coursing through Ivy again. Ivy sighed and relaxed. “Would someone hold Jilcey while I take a nap?” I was almost caught in the stampede, but was luckily pushed out of the way.
I joined Rose and Lia near the door and watched the girls fawning all over the baby. Lia caught Star’s attention and waved her out of the crowd and to us. When she got to the door Lia explained, “Star, you said that I could be your stand-in, and if I met someone who would make James happy, I could take your place in inviting them to join the family. I took you at your word and would like for you to meet Rose. She was working as a waitress in a pub and avowed she’d rather scrub floors. I thought she would like to be part of the family more. James has accepted her, after being his usual difficult self. I just wanted to make sure that it would be acceptable with you.”
“Of course it’s okay, Lia! I trust you completely, and if you and James both accept her, then I certainly do, too. It’s very nice to meet you, Rose. I’m Star, James’ wife. I guess you heard the name of the newest member, and I’ll introduce you around when things calm down.”
Star embraced Rose and asked if she’d been shown her room. When an overwhelmed Rose answered in the negative, Star took her hand and led her to the southeast bedroom, through the closet. Star stopped and flaunted the toilet and shower a bit to a grinning Rose, who was starting to relax with Star, but was still humbled by the size and features of the place. Star led her into the room. Since it wasn’t being used, I had to light the lamps and candles with an unnecessary wave of my hand. Rose jumped and Star promised she’d get used to strange things, being around this family.
Lia whispered, “Want her tested? If she fails and leaves, you won’t be as torn up as you were with those three who left. You really might as well find out early.”
“You know that I hate it when you’re right, don’t you?” I admitted. “Who should I get to test her? I’ve not been approved to do it, since I never use spell words. You don’t either, and that just leaves the aunts and consorts.”
“I’ll get Aunt Alba, of course!”
I sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. She teases me mercilessly about my girls.”
“Well, so do I, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t love you. I’ll grab Rose and Star and we can all three go. Star has even more pull than I do with Alba. If only I were a tiny, cute thing, too.”
“Little sister, I think you’re absolutely adorable. Consider that my thanks for bringing Rose here.” I hugged her. “Now let’s get this over with so I can see if she gets a tight uniform. I gotta see if she has a cute butt, after all!”
“See you soon, you horrible man.” And with a wave she joined Star and Rose.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I took a position at the door, opening it as Star and Lia spread the word about the baby. The aunts all started showing up, usually with my siblings. It finally dawned on me that my sibs were now the uncles and aunts and that little Jilcey would be even more protected than I was growing up.
My parents arrived and everyone stood aside for the new Grandparents. Ivy had awakened to a crowd of people, and my mother moved to her side. My father, being a powerful man and the king of an entire country, was handed the baby. He rocked and cooed and tickled her chin. Finally a great-aunt abducted the baby back. Mother and Father came to the door to chat with me for a while. Star, Lia, Rose and Aunt Alba returned from Wizard’s Castle and came through the door, with Rose in the lead. There was a bit of playful pushing as the girls rushed to get back in to see the baby. Rose was pushed into my father and reacted with a polite, “Excuse me.”
Everything changed when she looked into the face of the man she’d bumped into. She turned ghostly white and dropped into a curtsy, begging for forgiveness. Mom pulled her upright and chided, “My dear girl, there’s nothing to fear. My husband and I live in a crowded home and like it that way. We’re all jostling one another from time to time. But I don’t believe that we’ve met.”
I stepped up beside Rose. “Mother, Father, I’d like you to meet Rose. She has agreed to be my consort and join the family. She just didn’t know that all of this would be going on her first day here. She’s a bit overwhelmed and might feel more comfortable in a less crowded room.” My mother the Queen put an arm around the girl who had, hours before, been a barmaid, and guided her to an empty space.
I turned around, right into the half-grin of Aunt Alba. “I heard that you put your sister up to getting a barmaid for you this time. One of your girls has a baby so you have to find another girl on the same day?”
“Aunt Alba, It wasn’t like that at all! We went to the pub…”
“I’m kidding, Nephew,” Alba confessed. “Lia told me all about you inheriting your father’s reluctance when it comes to new consorts. It also seems that all your consorts have something else in common with your fathers’. I now get to come see you more often, with another novice to train.”
Later that evening, after Lia and Alba had joined us for dinner and everyone else had returned home, Lia disappeared. She reappeared shortly, strolling out of Rose’s room. She waved Rose over and they both disappeared back into her room. A few minutes later a very shy and excited looking Rose appeared, dressed in the uniform of a Wizard’s Novice, with a blank willow wand at her waist. Alba noticed her and stood up. “If I can get Lia to stay with Ivy and the baby, the rest of us should go to the range. That way, we can all get to know our newest Novice and she can have some fun learning some spells.”
“We all know that you’re just doing it as a favor and there’s nothing in it for you. We’d never think that you were being nice!” I teased.
“James, you go with them and make sure that their spells look nice,” Lia said, and winked.
I moved over to Lia so I wouldn’t be overheard. “Thank you, Sis. You’ve done so much for me today and I won’t forget it. I won’t ruin your evil reputation, though.”
She whispered, “It’s because I love you, Big Brother! I can ding up my reputation for that. Go have fun.”
I paced to the door where the girls were waiting and ported us all to the archery range.
I followed Alba and the girls to the range and shielded before I got to the line. Habit, training or common sense I’m not sure, but that would be one of the girls’ lessons today. A group of untrained or barely trained casters was the cause for Chloe to be called most of the time at Wizard’s. A slight focus followed by ‘what was that word…’ was almost always the signal for disaster.
The girls gathered in a large circle and sat on the ground. Everyone was getting a refresher course for Rose’s benefit. Alba started with Rose’s refresher on telekinesis. Next came the shield spell, with the traditional pelting with gravel that always caused Novices to squeal. I always enjoyed that part immensely, because I’m my father’s son and a bit naughty. They moved on to heal and then there was the secretive laughter of the hair removal spell.
The girls then took positions on the line and Alba double checked to make sure their shields were activated. She taught them the basic hunting spell. The weak magic arrow spell worked well for small critters and also taught the basics of projectile magic. And it was time for the wizard’s staple spell, the energy bolt. I watched as Alba gave Rose her instructions and the spell word and turned her loose. I ambled along, observing each of the girls, and felt pride. Now I could really understand the appeal that Alba had found in being an instructor. The girls that I’d given pointers to were performing admirably and I was sure they would be at the top of their ranks if they were schooled at Wizard’s Castle.
When I got to Rose, I watched to see if I could spot any problems. She was another quick-fire girl who would launch her spell as soon as she felt the magic begin to tingle. I walked up and had her stop for a moment. I asked her, “What do you see yourself as when you fill with magic?”
She shook her head and looked confused. “I just feel it in me and fire. I didn’t know that I could ‘fill up’ with magic. How do I do that?”
“Picture the place in your chest where you feel the magic tingle as a keg of ale. See in your mind that keg filling with magic as you focus. When it’s full, release it all at once, from the bottom up. It might take some practice, but that’s exactly why we’re out here on the range.”
She concentrated and turned back to the line. I watched as she focused and let the magic build. This time when she fired, she got the white hot metal that Instructor Alba had asked for. She turned around and grinned and Star shattered the calm of the target range with an ear-splitting scream.
Alba and I whipped around in her direction at the other end of the line of girls in time to see her crumple to the ground. My heart dropped to my feet as I looked for what could have caused her to drop. Kemma, who was in line next to her, dropped also and joined her on the ground. That’s when we spotted them. Three revenants had managed to dig under the castle walls and were taking down the girls like dinner at a buffet. Lisa, Alba and I all spotted them at about the same time. I was in the middle between Alba and Lisa, so I took out the one in the middle. Lisa and Alba torched the ones on the ends and we all raced for the downed girls. I was the first one to get to the unconscious girls. I quickly looked them over for physical injury; finding none, I looked with my ability to see magic. Both girls were completely drained and I knew that meant days of unconsciousness and brain-splitting headaches when they did come to. I focused on my room and saw that Ivy had relinquished the bed for the time being. I ported everyone on the range to my room, with Star and Kemma laid out on the bed.
Lia jumped up. “Oh, my stars, James! What happened to them?” She immediately went into the healing mode that she got from her mother, Chloe.
I told her, “I’ve examined them and it’s a complete magic drain on both. Look them over for me and see if I missed anything. We were attacked on the range by three revenants and these two just happened to be the closest.”
Lia shook her head angrily. “How the hell could that happen?! We’re inside a wizard-protected castle and they still got to us? What are we going to do?”
I glared at nothing. “I don’t know how, but I will stop this. They hurt my wife and one of my girls. I won’t sit still for this.”
Lia spoke softly, “I know you’re angry, but these girls are safe and the rest of your girls, especially Rose, could use some comforting.”
I took a deep breath, then blew it out. “Thank you, Sister.”
She winked and I went to where Alba and Lisa were trying to comfort Lynna and Rose. Lynna was much calmer than Rose, since she was older and had seen much more in her life. Rose had never even seen the flamestrike spell before, much less a creature called a revenant. In the space of half a minute, she’d seen three revenants and three very powerful combat spells. She was bordering on hysteria when I pulled her into my arms and held her. Catching Alba’s attention, I asked her to spread the word to Wizard’s. She nodded and ported out after turning Lynna over to a much calmer Lisa. Since Lisa had been on numerous patrols and had killed a number of the creatures herself, she wasn’t as shaken. What had affected her was seeing the two girls taken down, but she stayed calm until after the fight was over. I asked Lynna if she was going to be all right. She took a deep breath and nodded.
I then turned my attention to Rose. “Are you able to talk now, Rose?”
She answered in a quivering voice, “What were those things, and what happened to them? They just burst into flame and burned up! And what happened to Kemma and Star? Are they dead?” She put her face to my chest and sobbed.
“No, Rose, they aren’t dead. They were just knocked unconscious by the revenants magic-draining attack. The columns of fire were flamestrike spells cast by Lisa, Alba and me. We’re all okay, but Star and Kemma will be out for a while. We’ve sent for Chloe to double check, but her daughter Lia is really good and says that they are fine. I’m sorry about all this happening on your first day here. I’ll understand if you want out after this, and I’ll take you back if you wish. But I do want to say that I don’t want you to go.”
“This has been an incredibly intense day and I won’t say that I wasn’t tempted to have you take me back to my quiet life. But I don’t want to go back to that. I told you that I wanted to come here and be with you and your family, and I’m staying. But please, tell me that every day here isn’t like today!”
I promised, “It isn’t always like this. You just got lucky and happened to be here on the most stressful day in my history at Kethos! Tomorrow will be better, even though we’ll most likely spend it taking care of Star, Kemma, Ivy and the new baby. I’ll have some work to do with some of my siblings very soon, but that can wait until the girls have recovered. You might want to find a quiet corner, now that you’ve calmed down a bit, because this place will get crowded again very soon. Alba went to inform my father and the rest of the wizards about the attack and I’m sure they will be arriving soon.”
She nodded and squeezed me tighter. “I think I’ll go sit in my room when they arrive. Thank you for taking the time to comfort me. I felt on the verge of losing my mind for a moment.”
“You’re one of my girls! My job is to protect you and make sure that you’re cared for. Sometimes that might include just holding you through a tough time.”
She kissed me gently.
“That is allowed, isn’t it?”
“Allowed and welcomed, and now you better grab your seat, because I just heard the pop of ports outside the door.”
She walked to the closet that was the entrance to her room, grabbed a chair, and made herself scarce.
I unfastened the door to my room before the visitors could knock. My father, mother and Chloe all filed in and gazed around. Chloe immediately went to the bed where Star and Kemma were stretched out, unconscious. My parents asked for details and I explained everything that I’d seen. I advised them that the girls who had witnessed the attack were understandably shaken, but Alba and Lisa had performed admirably. My mother left the conversation when Father and I started discussing how to find the source of the attacks, and moved to check on Lynna and Rose. My father suggested that I ask Davie, Lia and Seth to assist me in a remote search of southern Itus. He conveyed that it would be a very boring job, but he couldn’t think of a better way to check for danger. He informed me that Seth, being Della’s son, had developed his remote viewing skill and could see very large areas at once. Lia and I had come up with the remote viewing technique after listening to stories of Dad’s adventures. It seemed that since Seth was half Naiad, he could enhance the skill much farther than we could. I didn’t know if I wanted to be the one who told Lia that Seth was better at something, but right now it wouldn’t matter. My father judged that since this threat affected his kingdom and not just my province, I was not to attempt to face the threat alone, once we’d located it. He knew that I was angry about my family being injured, but declared that we might need all the firepower that we could get to face someone or something strong enough to create revenants. I grudgingly agreed to sound a general alarm if we located the attacker.
James, The Crown Prince Page 19
