We all chuckled and Lia declared, “You raised us all to stand up to abusive people, and look at these kids. It’s obvious that they’ve been abused. Except for the pretty Halfling here, and I’d say that there’d be a war if anyone tried to abuse her!”
I laughed. “Of that you can be sure. So far only one person has even laid a hand on her and when he came to, he realized that he shouldn’t do that again. Father, siblings, let me introduce you to the woman I’m going to marry, Tabitha Fairfoot.”
“Marry?” James exclaimed, “I guess you learned that ‘love at first sight’ thing from me. I just wasn’t expecting you two to fall for each other so quickly!”
Lia hugged Tabitha. “Welcome to the family, young lady. I hope you have better luck keeping your sanity around these men than I have.”
Father shook my hand and smiled. “I’d be honored if you’d allow me to do the ceremony for the two of you. That is, if we survive your mother!”
I laughed nervously at that. “All I can do is hope that my shield will stop her flamestrike. After being under her thumb for so long, the first thing I do is fall in love and decide to get married. It doesn’t matter what she says though, Tabitha is worth dealing with her.”
Davie nodded knowingly. “He really loves her, Father, and there’s nothing on earth that would change his mind. I am very happy for you, Seth. If there is anything that I or mine can do for you, just let me know. If you decide that you need a few dragons for a sendoff, just give a yell. Then maybe, just maybe your mother wouldn’t bother you so much.”
Everyone laughed and we got back to business. We decided that we’d go approach the king and take it from there. Tabitha decided that she was going with us and I wasn’t going to deny her anything. Then Anne spoke, “Seems like y’all be from sumwheres else. I reckon I oughta be there too since I’m from here, ya know?”
We couldn’t argue with logic like that, so she was included in the plan. I told some of the young men that I’d worked with that they should head east toward the woods and camp there. We’d be back when we were done with our chat with the king. I saw Father nodding his approval and smiling.
We gathered in a circle and I cast around for the capital city. It wasn’t very far away and I examined it with my remote viewing. There were huge storage areas for the grains and vegetables that came in from the farms. The city wrapped completely around the castle and looked fairly well off. The castle itself was a study in ostentatious living. The walls were huge; there were shops all around the courtyard that were decked out in flags and ribbons. But the castle itself I couldn’t understand! Who could ever have a need for that many stories and hundreds of rooms? I supposed we’d have to find out. I picked a spot fifty yards from the castle gate and passed the image to Davie. He’d have no trouble transporting us all and his magic would have recovered before we’d gone ten yards. Having a Mage for a brother could come in quite handy sometimes.
He ported us to the city, much to the shock and delight of Anne. She turned toward the castle gates and started walking. We caught up with her quickly. She hooked one arm around one of mine and with the other she did the same to Tabitha. As we got to the gate, the guard moved to block our path. Anne declared, “We’s from the farms and they’s with us,” gesturing with her head toward my father and siblings.
Once inside I exclaimed, “What was that all about?”
Anne grinned, “If you don’t give ‘um no time to think, they’ll suppose you knows what yer doin’!”
We all laughed because it was such a reckless and effective method of getting past the guards. I knew that my brothers were filing that information away to talk to their own castle guards about.
We approached the castle entrance and we knew that the herald would be our next obstacle. Lia suggested that we try a different approach and took the lead. As we drew near she smiled sweetly and oozed charm. “Excuse me, sir. These men are emissaries from the country of Eredwynn. They are traveling with their servants and myself and would greatly appreciate it if you would announce us.”
The man smiled back at her with a glazed look that made me wonder if all his brain cells hadn’t dropped below his belt. I didn’t think she was that cute, but she’s my sister and that made me a poor judge.
He bowed. “Of course, ma’am. I’d be honored to announce you and your company.”
I looked back at James and Davie, who both just grinned and shrugged. It wasn’t long before we heard, “A company of emissaries from the country of Eredwynn.” We rounded the corner into a beautiful throne room. Everything appeared to be encrusted with gold and gems. There were staircases on both sides of the room leading to an observation balcony. The dais that the throne was sitting on was at least two feet high, so everyone would have to look up to talk to the king, especially me.
I noticed that everyone else in the group was holding back and letting me go first. I guessed that since I’d started this project, I was going to have to see it through. I approached the edge of the dais and bowed. When the king nodded, I began, “Your Majesty, I came from Eredwynn as an explorer. I didn’t even know there was a kingdom here or even a human population. You can imagine my surprise when some of the first people I met here threw a rope around me, shackled my legs and put me to work as a slave. I find it hard to believe that a king as wealthy as Your Highness obviously is would condone the use of slave labor!”
The king replied, “Honestly, I don’t care where you’re from or what you think about my labor force. Now get out of my courtroom before I have you forcibly removed!”
I got a little angry. “Sticking children in a field to work because you need one more gemstone stuck on your throne is disgusting. I can’t believe that the people of this country would go along with this practice willingly!”
He snorted. “Some don’t, but they have their uses, too. I use them to convince the rest that they should. I’ll show you how…” He made a hand signal and I barely heard the whine of the bolts before they careened off of the shield Davie had placed around me. The sound of the stun spells being fired behind me was much clearer in the silent room.
My father stepped up and spoke, “Sir, by attacking an announced and proclaimed emissary, you have just turned this situation into a military coup. Consider your Crown forfeit. And seeing that it was my son that you attacked, you should consider yourself fortunate to be alive. Now someone drag this… man down here and bring rope to bind him. We need to announce to his people that he’ll be replaced.”
Lia exclaimed, “I’d be happy to bring him down, Father.” She lifted the deposed king from his throne and flew him ten feet above our heads, kicking and screaming. She lowered him down next to James, who had put his time around the fishermen to good use, and was binding his wrists behind him.
He was led out of the castle, into the courtyard where a group of guards started in his direction. My father stopped them with a raised hand. He floated fifteen feet into the air, causing gasps and a few screams from around the courtyard. He amplified his voice and spoke, “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention. Today your king received emissaries from the land of Eredwynn. During the discussion, your king attacked and attempted to assassinate one of those emissaries, opening himself up to a military coup, in which he was soundly beaten. He will now be judged and exiled for his crimes. The throne should be given to the next legitimate heir.”
A clear voice sounded behind us, “That would be me. In fact, I would have become king ten years ago if my usurping uncle would have relinquished the throne.” We looked around and all the guards and shopkeepers had knelt around the courtyard. The young man continued, “If you ladies and gentlemen would come back inside, my loyal guard will take my uncle off your hands. Any of the guard that isn’t loyal is being dealt with as we speak.”
My party turned and we followed the young man back inside the castle. Back in the courtroom once again, the young man introduced himself. “I go by Prince Aaron. My father was the king until twenty years ag
o. I was only five when he died under mysterious circumstances. My uncle took the throne and has held it through fear and tyranny even after I came of age. I know that this is your coup and you could claim the crown for yourselves, but I heard you were here with noble intent. I hope you’ll allow the crown to stay with me.”
I looked at my group and they were all looking at me. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. “It’s very nice to meet you, Prince Aaron. My name is Seth and we’re from Eredwynn. When my future bride and I came to your land, we came as explorers only. We both look young for our ages and were grabbed by guards at one of the slave farms. We couldn’t allow for the children there to be treated like that, and that is how all this got started. We didn’t come to take your country. In fact, I hope your land and mine can be on good terms.”
Aaron grinned happily. “Then join me as my friends. There is one thing that I must do that I promised myself would be done when my uncle was deposed.” We all followed him back through the courtroom and into the main castle. He led us to a doorway that was set into the wall. He knocked on the door and a view port was opened, then quickly shut. The door was unbolted and opened.
An old grizzled guard was on the other side. “What can I do for you today, Your Highness? The conditions here sure aren’t getting any better and food has been in short supply, as well.”
“The king has been deposed and I’ve taken over. I think you know what that means for these people.” He told the man to release everyone and the guard was very happy to comply. I told Lia that she should be on the lookout for injuries that she could fix, since her medical talent was much more advanced than mine. The old guard wasn’t exaggerating about the condition of the people locked up. It really hit home when a malnourished six year old girl was helped up the stairs and out of the dungeon. I was glad that the ex-king was already in custody, because I knew he wouldn’t be safe around Lia or me. Aaron asked a maid to get someone who could put the people that had crawled out of the dungeon into nice rooms, feed, and clean them up. Lia was busy flooding them all with healing magic and they were feeling much better, but they were all still weak. I hoped that the little girl had a family that would be happy to see her.
The little girl spotted Tabitha and latched on to her. The six year old was nearly as tall as my Halfling, but that didn’t matter to either of them. Aaron pulled Tabitha and me aside, and talking quietly so the little girl couldn’t hear, he recounted her story. He told us that the little girl had been playing near the front gate of the castle and her parents were walking behind her. The king had charged out of the gate on his horse, nearly running the little girl down. The horse had spilled the king and he was outraged. He had ordered her parents killed in front of her and her thrown into the dungeon until she was either dead or old enough to be interesting to him. Now she had no family and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with her.
Tabitha looked at me with weepy eyes. “Seth, I know we’re not even married yet but, can we keep her?”
Aaron looked at me and shrugged. “I’d be more than happy to sign the adoption papers myself. I know that there would be no objection. And while we’re talking business, what are your plans? Since you are the one that gave me my crown, I’m interested.”
“We’ve just been sightseeing, Your Highness. We really haven’t had any plans. Now, after all of this, I might want to return home and take the castle that my father has wanted me to take for a year.”
“So, you’re of noble birth?”
“Yes, Sire, my father is the King of Eredwynn.”
“Interesting.” He stood there lost in thought for a moment and finally snapped out of it. “The governorship of a large district has just opened up. Since you have shown that you’re an upright man, would you be interested in it? I think the job would be quite a lot like having your own castle, but without the military presence.”
“Would you allow me some time to think about this? My bride-to-be might be happier with a roof over our heads, and now that the young one will be joining us, I’d be more inclined to accept.”
Aaron smiled. “Of course, take a few days and rest up. Things will be a bit hectic around here for a while. I have a whole floor full of captured young ladies that my uncle kept as playthings to help and release. I’d offer you a room here but it wouldn’t be restful at all.”
I smiled. “I’m sure we can find a room at the inn that would suit our needs. We’ll check back with you in a few days, and hopefully things will be better situated.” I signaled my party that we were going and we all trooped back out and into the square once again. This time, we were met with happy cheers and applause from the guards and the shopkeepers. It seemed like we’d made the right choice in turning the crown over to Aaron.
Father looked at me kindly. “The best of luck to you if you decide to take that job. It sounds like it might be a place a man could make a difference. We’d best be going home, but if you ever need us, you know we’ll come.”
There were hugs all around and even Anne was included. There were startled screams and yelps as they ported out one by one. Finally only Tabitha, Anne, a shabby, scrawny little six year old and I were standing in the square. We walked to the gate and I asked a guard where we could find an inn. He gave me directions into town and we began walking.
I asked Tabitha, “Have you learned our daughter’s name yet?”
She grinned. “Her name is Tamia Hilbun for now. Once we get the papers from Aaron, it will be Stephenson. And I’d like to ask you, when will my last name be changed?”
I chuckled. “I suppose that we can do that tomorrow, if you’d like.”
Anne chimed in, “This is Omedo and the mayor ain’t closed yet. Y’all could do it now if y’all are in a rush.”
Tabitha gave me a sweet look and I had Anne lead the way to the mayor’s office. With just a short ceremony and a kiss, we were man and wife. Anne led us to an inn where I got two rooms. Anne volunteered to take Tamia while Tabitha and I celebrated our wedding night.
Chapter Seven
We stayed at the inn for three days, resting and taking care of Tamia. The child ate like there was no tomorrow and I could understand why. She’d been locked in that dungeon for six months with little to eat. It was obvious that she needed a while to recover. I gave Tabitha some money and had her get clothes for Tamia, Anne and herself. I’d hoped to get back to the uniform style clothing that Tabitha had worn on our hike. Now that I was very familiar with what was under the tight fitting material, it would make it that much more fun to look at! But since we were in the capital city of Omedo, we had to dress the part of upstanding citizens and not travelers.
Anne insisted that she was our servant or governess or anything that we needed. Tabitha told her, “You were a key player in getting us out of that camp and this whole thing started. I’m sure when we get to the district that Seth will be in charge of, we can find you a job.”
Anne smiled. “I ain’t lookin for some kind of noble type duty. If I’m y’alls governess, I’ll see ya every day and get to play wit’ my favorite lil’ girl. I thank ya kindly for the offer, but it just ain’t me.”
Tabitha nodded understandingly. “When I felt myself falling in love with a Prince of Eredwynn, I felt out of my depth. I know what you’re saying and respect that. I’m just glad that the Prince fell in love with me, too!”
I stared off as if remembering and spoke wistfully, “Ah, yes. Those tight fitting uniform pants and that adorable backside. How could I have not fallen in love with her?”
Tabitha blushed and swatted my arm. “Don’t talk about my backside in front of people! I think you just enjoy embarrassing me.”
“Oh, I do, my Lady! It brings out that rosy color in your cheeks that I find irresistible.”
As we walked toward the castle, I got the sudden feeling that Anne was the nanny of three. I’m sure that some of the people we passed thought that, too. She was only five feet two inches tall, but that was eight inches taller than me. Tabitha
and Tamia were almost the same height. It was just an odd feeling that passed quickly.
The guards remembered us and bowed as they allowed access to the castle. The herald announced us before we’d made it to him and ushered us inside with a smile. Aaron looked like a king sitting on the throne. Workmen had been stripping the gemstones from the throne and it looked like it would need some patchwork. When I saw that work had been done, it made me feel good about removing that tyrant from power.
Aaron greeted us happily. “Seth, my friend! I hoped to see you today. I have the papers for adoption of little Tamia right here, just waiting for you and your bride’s signatures. I was told about your marriage and congratulations! I hope that you’ve decided to take the position that I offered, because I had your wedding present sent to the vault there. I want you to know that the entire kingdom is indebted to you for putting all of this in motion. I’ve sent riders everywhere I could think of with your name, your wife’s name and your descriptions, proclaiming you the saviors of Gormesol.”
I could feel myself blush. “Aaron, Your Majesty, all we did was what felt right. We saw a bad thing happening and had to get involved. For the record, this young lady, Anne, was on the farm as a slave. She had as much, if not more, to do with the revolt as we did. I just don’t want her part in this to be forgotten.”
Aaron nodded. “You can call me Aaron, Seth. You’ve done too much to let titles get in the way. I wasn’t aware of Anne’s role in all of this.” He waved Anne to him as he wrote on a parchment. “My Lady, this grants you the title of Countess. Since I assume that you’ll be going with Seth and Tabitha, I’ve granted you a house and lands close to the Governor’s mansion in the city of Krose.”
Anne curtsied surprisingly well. “Thank ya, Sire. I ain’t gonna turn it down but I’m happy ya let me be close to the people I love. I think ya know that them’s the best folk a fella could wanna meet. I might not be at that house ya spoke of much ‘cause I’ll still wanna take care of Tamia. That gonna be ok?”
Seth, A Naiad's Son (Generations of Eredwynn Book 3) Page 6
