by Mike Shelton
Shaeleen looked away from Cole’s eyes. “I couldn’t risk others finding out, Cole. I still don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?” Cole said, raising his voice. He took a step away from her. A few townspeople walking by turned in their direction. He lowered his voice as he continued, “We serve the truth, Shae.”
“But Basil should be the king,” Shaeleen began to whisper. As soon as she had spoken this, pain erupted throughout her body. She almost fell over.
“Shae!” Cole said as he grabbed her and held her up. “You can’t mean that. It would kill you to live that lie. Besides, that’s not your call to make. The truth is the truth.”
Shaeleen took a moment to compose herself. They were only a few blocks from their home. She breathed deeply and continued walking, although somewhat slower.
“But I can’t let Calix rule,” she said finally. As her head began to pound, she knew that Cole was right. How can I live with this pain? “You do know what Calix is intending, don’t you? Siding with Commander Kerr is not very smart of him.”
Cole laughed. “Commander Kerr was not very happy with you or Orin. By the way, where is that little scoundrel? Is he still stealing and causing problems?”
Shaeleen stiffened. “That scoundrel, as you call him, saved my life more than a few times over the past two weeks—something that you should have been doing.” She knew she didn’t really mean to blame her brother, but she was tired and in pain. Cole was being so infuriating: putting his sense of honor and truth above the best interests of the kingdom—or of all Wayland, for that matter.
As they turned a corner, Shaeleen could see their house farther down the street. Their father stood outside, unhitching his horse from the wagon. He must have just finished making a delivery.
Cole put a hand softly on her arm to stop her in the street. She flinched and pulled away at his compassion. I don’t want to feel better right now. She wiped new tears away from the corners of her eyes.
“Shae,” Cole said, clearly confused at her reaction. “What has gotten into you? I am here to help and protect you. I would have gladly gone with you.”
I need to get home. Shaeleen started walking again, faster and more deliberately. “I had no choice, Cole—I told you that. Then I needed to get to Gabor and see the queen. And you seem to be doing just fine running Calix’s errands for him.”
Cole was almost running to keep up with her. “Shae, please stop and talk to me. I’m your guardian—your protector. But how can I protect you if you don’t let me know what you’re going to do? Aren’t you going to tell Prince Basil about his brother being the true heir?”
The question stopped her in her tracks, and Cole took a few steps past her before he noticed she had stopped. That is the question, isn’t it? That is what she had been wrestling with for over the past week. Would she tell Basil and destroy him and possibly the kingdom, or let the secret linger longer and destroy herself?
Looking past Cole, she saw their father stop what he was doing and look down the street at them. He yelled for their mother, and soon their father, their mother, and Alva stood in front of the house.
“Aren’t you, Shae?” Cole asked again. “Please listen to reason. We were sent to find the truth. Prince Basil is an honorable man. He will listen to the truth.”
“But I didn’t know telling the truth would be this hard.” Shaeleen felt the tears run hot down her face. “I never asked for any of this. How can the fate of a kingdom fall on my shoulders?”
“Honor and truth are never easy.” Cole sighed deeply and looked at his family down the street then back at Shaeleen. “But I am here for you, Shae. Talk to me.”
No one could understand what she was going through. The internal struggle was killing her. Why didn’t her brother see what was best for the kingdom? The truth wasn’t always the best way, was it? But, then again, she was supposed to be above the kingdom and represent all of Wayland. She growled in frustration as her stomach groaned and her head pounded.
“I…” She paused, still not knowing what to do. The IntelligenceStone was telling her to do one thing, but her heart was telling her to do another—and right now in the middle of the pain, the anger, the frustration—I will side with my heart! “I will tell Basil that his brother has sided with Commander Kerr and that they intend to take his throne,” Shaeleen said. Then her head exploded in pain.
Cole reached over and held her up, his eyes searching hers for understanding. “But the throne belongs to Prince Calix,” he seemed to plead with her to understand reason. “That is the truth and the law that we must uphold.”
Shaeleen didn’t want to hear reason or honor or truth right then. It was all too much for her. “Basil will make a better king.” Shaeleen pushed away from Cole and stood on her own. Cole backed away from her as she pushed her next words out through the pain. “He will be king!”
Instantly, Shaeleen leaned over and vomited at the strength of the pain from her lie. Three times she retched.
Her mother came running up to her. “Shaeleen, Shaeleen, what’s wrong?” her mother said as she came up next to Shaeleen. “Cole, go get her some water!”
Cole looked at Shaeleen with compassion in his eyes, but she only glared at him—she didn’t want his compassion at the moment. She wanted his understanding. They both knew she had lied. Shaeleen’s father joined her mother, and they helped her to the house. Her sister, Alva, took the water from Cole and handed it to Shaeleen.
She drank it down quickly, feeling it soothe her sore throat. Making her way to the kitchen table, she sat down.
“You look horrible, Shae,” Alva said.
“I’m fine.” Her head throbbed with the pain, but it wasn’t as bad as her stomach had been. She took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. It had been foolish to speak as she had; she knew the truth of it deep down. I just need some rest.
“Cole,” their father said. “What happened to Shaeleen? Didn’t you take care of your sister?”
Shaeleen looked up at Cole. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, other than that he had seemed hurt by her decision to not tell the truth.
“We got separated,” Cole said. “But she was able to take care of herself.”
Shaeleen let out a deep breath. At least he didn’t tell their father that she’s a TruthSeer and is sick because she just lied, or that Calix would be their next king. He was too honor-bound for that. He was still her protector even though she had treated him so badly. Awkward silence filled their small kitchen.
“Well, it’s almost suppertime,” their mother said. Turning to Cole and then to Shaeleen, she added, “Get cleaned up, then come back in to eat. We can talk about what happened then.”
“I’m not hungry,” Shaeleen said. In fact she was starving, but she couldn’t face sitting around the table with her family right then—the questions that would be thrown at her would be too much. She would have to lie again and again and again. It would be better to be alone.
“Neither am I,” Cole said and began to walk to his bedroom.
“We will meet the prince in the morning to report,” Shaeleen called after Cole. The pain from her earlier lies barely allowed her to think at all. “I expect you to be there with me.”
Cole turned around so fast he knocked a small wooden carving off a shelf—a carving that he had made when he was a small boy. Picking it back up, he said, “I will be there to report, and I expect you to tell him the truth of it all. That is what he sent us to find out.”
Shaeleen headed to her own bedroom, closing the door behind her. Then she slumped to the floor, her back to the door, and cried softly.
What will I say to Basil tomorrow? Is there anything to say that will save him and the kingdom?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Shaeleen looked out of a window of her home and sighed. A storm had come in from the east during the night and had continued into today. With Stronghaven being at the end of a peninsula, it was hit roughly
on all sides by the unrelenting rain and wind. To Shaeleen, the foul weather seemed to reflect her mood that day.
She dressed slowly, putting the pouch with the TruthStone into a pocket in her dress before pulling on her warmest cloak—which she knew would do nothing for her in this type of storm. It might keep a bit of water off of her, but wearing it would be close to unbearable with the humidity.
The weight of the TruthStone in her pocket was not only physical, but she felt as if the entire future of Galena and the continent of Wayland weighed her down. Sighing again, she then took a deep breath and opened the door of her bedroom. Two large candle lamps were lit in the main part of the house to offset the gloomy darkness from outside.
Shaeleen’s mother, Gleda, leaned over the counter in the kitchen as she kneaded bread. Alva sat at the table, a book open in front of her. She’d glanced up when Shaeleen had entered the room, but Alva didn’t say anything.
Shaeleen gave a half smile. “What’re you studying, Alva?” Shaeleen said, wanting to reestablish some sense of normalcy compared to the previous evening.
“History,” Alva responded, looking up through her long, straight, brown hair. “Boring as always. Why do we need to know about King Wayland and his founding of the kingdoms?”
“History is part of who we are, Alva,” Gleda, their mother, said without turning around.
Alva looked up at Shaeleen. Shaeleen thought about what sat in her pocket and about her last few weeks of travels. I have helped some people. “You never know, Alva, when you might become a part of history.”
Alva furrowed her brows and mumbled. “Verlyn, gemstones, King Wayland… I just don’t get why it matters.”
Shaeleen perked up. “What does it say about the gemstones, Alva?”
Alva pushed her book toward Shaeleen. “It’s all right here, if you want to read it. The gemstones came from Verlyn and were given to King Wayland to help keep peace in the kingdoms when he died.”
“I’d almost forgotten…” Shaeleen mused to herself. She needed to find Diamonique, the princess of Gabor, in Verlyn. Maybe she could find out more about the gemstones while she was there. She thought about Melindra, the keeper that had thrust the stone on Shaeleen only weeks before. Maybe I could find her or others like her. They could help me figure out what to do.
Shaeleen patted Alva’s head. “Thanks, Alva. Keep up your studying.”
Their mother turned around and smiled at Shaeleen. “Nice to see you are in a better mood this morning, Shaeleen.”
“I’m sorry,” Shaeleen said.
“Care to talk about it?” Her mother took a few steps toward Shaeleen, her hands still dusted in flour.
Shaeleen shook her head. “No. I can’t right now. Maybe later. Where’s Cole?”
“He already left—told me to tell you he knew his duty and would meet you at the castle,” her mother said.
Shaeleen frowned and mumbled, “His stupid sense of honor.”
“What was that?” her mother asked.
“Cole. He has to be right about everything.” Shaeleen gritted her teeth to try and keep from having thoughts of her brother spoil her mood once again. “His honor and sense of duty sometimes make me so mad.”
Alva nodded in agreement. “He never gets in trouble for anything.”
Just then, their father walked into the house. He looked soaked. Taking off his hat, he shook it out by the door. Then he eyed his daughters and asked, “Who never gets in trouble?”
“Cole,” Alva and Shaeleen said at the same time.
“Ahh.” Their father smiled at both of them. “He does have a propensity for telling the truth and for following orders.”
“Telling the truth isn’t always the best thing,” Shaeleen said. A slight throbbing started at the base of her skull. She pushed it back down. She needed to be more careful about the words she spoke.
“I think the truth is always the best,” her mother said.
“What if telling the truth hurt someone you cared about or even hurt the entire kingdom?” Shaeleen asked.
Her father and mother looked at her with surprise.
Her mother rinsed her hands. Then she came and stood by Shaeleen’s father. “Lies hurt people.”
Shaeleen grimaced at her mother’s words. A truth I know all too well. “What if a lie only hurt one person—terribly hurt them—but the truth could hurt thousands? Then what would you do?”
Shaeleen’s mother put an arm around her. “Shae, what is bothering you so much? Do you know something that could hurt someone? Does this have something to do with the prince and your errand for him?”
Shaeleen’s eyes filled with tears, and she blinked a few times to hold them back. Before she could answer, a knock sounded at the door.
Her father turned and pulled it open. Standing at the door was a boy, his unruly hair wet and plastered to his head.
“Orin!” Shaeleen rushed forward and pulled the boy inside, hugging him profusely.
He pulled away and asked, “Shae, are you all right?”
She only nodded and then turned to her family. “This is Orin.” She struggled to know the right words to say. She couldn’t tell them about his speed or the times he had saved her. “We met on our trip to North Bay.”
Orin nodded his hello to her family. Then Shaeleen glanced past Orin as her father closed the door. She saw a carriage outside, so she gave a questioning look at Orin.
“I thought it would be better than walking to the castle in this weather,” Orin offered.
“And where did you get it?” Shaeleen asked.
Orin shrugged. “I don’t think you would like my answer if I told you, Shae.”
“Well, that’s the truth at least,” Shaeleen said. She turned to her family. “I have to go to the castle and report back to Basil. I hope to be back later, but then I have another errand to run that may take a few days.”
Her father raised his eyebrows at her. “Is Cole going with you again?”
“I don’t know,” she stated flatly. “It depends on where his honor leads him.”
“Well, I would feel better if he did,” her father said. “I don’t like you suddenly traipsing around. You’re too young for this, Shaeleen. I know Prince Basil has asked, but I do worry.”
“I love you, Papa,” Shaeleen said and gave him a hug. “You just need to trust me for now.”
Her father opened the door for them, and she and Orin ran to the carriage. A driver sat up front, under a small covering of his own. But, by the look of his clothes, it didn’t seem like the covering protected him from the weather.
Sitting in the carriage, Shaeleen hardly noticed the finery of it all. The curtains stayed closed, and she sat deep in thought.
“Shae?” Orin turned to her with concern in his eyes. “Everything all right?”
No, everything is not all right!
She took a deep breath and tried to stop wringing her hands. It wasn’t fair to take her frustration out on Orin. “Just trying to figure out what to say to Basil.”
“Ahhh,” said Orin, nodding his head to tell Shaeleen he understood her dilemma.
The rest of the ride to the castle went by in a blur for Shaeleen. Scenario after scenario played out in her mind. None of which were good for everyone. Someone would suffer in all of this—her, Basil, the kingdom. She couldn’t stop all the pain.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up at the front of the castle. They waited in line for a few other carriages to drop people off under an overhang. Shaeleen took the few minutes to compose herself. She straightened her clothes, wiped her eyes, and tried to put a smile on her face. Whatever happened today, she needed to be strong.
As they climbed out of the carriage, a guard came up to them. “State your business.”
“Shaeleen, for Prince Basil,” she said, for she did have the intelligence and good graces to use his proper title when necessary.
The guard looked through a list of names on a small piece of paper and n
odded his head. “This way, then.” He waved his hand toward the door to the castle.
Shaeleen thought back to being brought here with Lady Judith, just over two weeks earlier and laughed. The release felt good. How my life has changed since then.
After they waited for a few minutes in another room, a servant came and led them to the throne room, where they waited again. Shaeleen was getting restless, and needed all of this to be over. She hadn’t seen Cole yet. After another hour, it was their turn.
Just as they stood to approach the prince, Cole joined them from behind. “Shae,” he said with a short nod of his head. “You look nice today.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Cole,” Shaeleen said, ignoring the compliment at first. Then she thought better of it and realized that Cole was trying to smooth things over. “I was worried about you. Are you all right?
Cole sighed deeply and nodded his head. “You are my sister, Shae, and I am also your guardian. We must stick together.” He had smiled as he said it, but there was also a warning in his undertone. Then Cole noticed Orin, standing on the other side of Shaeleen. “And what is he doing here?”
“He is my friend, as I told you, Cole.”
“Friends or not, we are here to see the prince,” Cole replied. “This is our business.”
“Hey, I’m a part of this too, Cole—like it or not,” Orin said, trying to stand up for himself.
Cole shook his head. “Fine, fine.”
As they entered, the prince stood up and motioned to the three of them, giving Orin a questioning look. “I will speak with you three in my private office.”
An officer of the castle led the three of them, walking behind Prince Basil down the hall. Shaeleen listened to their footsteps echoing off of the marble floors. She turned her head to the right at the sound of rain splattering on tall windows. Between the windows hung finely-made tapestries. Each step brought her closer to the point of decision. Each step she took seemed harder and harder, and she fell farther behind.
