“I am not sure the boys here would love Ashleen. She is hard to handle.”
“Like her mother,” Baltus laughed.
“Ashleen has joined the Paladin,” Gwyndalin said. The King’s jaw dropped open. “She rides for Dracengard as we speak.”
Baltus narrowed his eyes and stared at her for a long moment before finally speaking. “What has happened? Why are you here?” But before he could answer they heard loud footsteps plodding along the stones.
“Where is she?” she heard her brother’s voice shout. “Where is my Gwynnie?” Gwyndalin turned to see Tythan walking quickly into the throne room, arms spread wide. She rushed to him and hugged him. “I have missed my big sister so much,” he said as he squeezed her close.
“I’ve missed you too, Ty.” She pulled back and turned to see Ariana standing beside Tythan. She released her brother and smiled at Ariana. “And who is this?” she asked.
“Ah, Your Majesty, may I present Queen Ariana,” Tythan said with a formal bow.
Ariana stepped forward smiling at Gwyndalin. “It is so nice to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you,” she said as she extended her hand. Gwyndalin looked her up and down and then raised her own hand and clasped Ariana’s fingers delicately.
Gwyndalin turned to look at her father. “She’s beautiful,” she said to him and then turned back to Ariana. “I can see why he married you.” Gwyndalin then turned away almost dismissively, to face her father. “I have urgent need to speak to you and Tythan. Is there somewhere we can sit and talk?”
“Certainly,” said the King. “Why don’t we all take tea in the solarium?” He offered his arm to Gwyndalin and she accepted with a gracious nod. He led her from the throne room without even looking at Tythan and Ariana. Ariana reached up and took Tythan’s arm with a frown and the two followed the King.
***
Gwyndalin was seated so that she could see the gardens. The flowers bloomed brightly and butterflies and bees flitted about. Tythan sat to her right and Baltus to her left. Ariana sat directly across from her. Cups of tea and plates of sugar cakes covered the table.
“Have you heard word of Riversmeet?” Gwyndalin asked.
“Yes,” said the King. “It was conquered by some upstart claiming to be a wizard.”
“What? When did this happen?” Tythan asked.
“We received word a few days ago,” Baltus said.
“And I was not informed?”
“I think you were busy at the brothels down the coast,” Baltus said. Tythan glanced over at Ariana, but she did not look at him.
“Have you heard about Avonvale?” asked Gwyndalin.
“What of it?” the King asked.
“It has also fallen to this so-called wizard.”
“The seraph save us,” Tythan muttered.
“And this is why Ashleen rides to Dracengard?” the King asked.
“Yes, she is taking Caerwynspire’s Dracenstone.”
“Dracengard,” the King said again with a little chuckle. “You sent your eldest daughter south toward the Wizard and his army to attempt to take a rock to a place that does not exist?”
“Of course Dracengard exists,” Gwyndalin said. “You must send Tythan to take Talisaria’s stone there as soon as possible.”
“Is that why you are here?” Baltus asked his daughter. “To convince me to put my trust in angels and dragons to save me from the darkness?”
“No,” Gwyndalin said as she leaned forward and placed her hand on her father’s arm. “I am here to take you to the White Fortress where you will be safe.”
Baltus pulled his arm away and shook his head. “No,” he said. “If this Wizard is going to march to Talisaria, I shall not abandon my kingdom and my people to his mercy.”
“I understand Father, but…” Gwyndalin began, but the King interrupted her.
“And I shall not send my only son and heir south into the belly of the beast. He shall go to Caerwynspire. Should I fall, he will be safe to take over the throne.”
“Father, I should remain here,” Tythan retorted.
“No, you shall go to the Fortress with a thousand men.”
“And your Dracenstone?” Gwyndalin asked.
“I do not care anything about the stone. It has no magical properties, I can assure you.” Gwyndalin frowned at him. “But, if it will make you feel better, I shall send it north with Tythan to the White Fortress.”
Gwyndalin sighed. She knew that Artur would be unhappy with this. He, as all Caerwyn, strongly believed in the old legends, and Gwyndalin did as well. But sending it to the White Fortress would be better than it remaining in Talisaria to be captured by the Wizard.
Following tea and cakes, Gwyndalin excused herself to take a bath before supper. Baltus took that as an opportunity to discuss his true plans. “Your sister holds too strongly to a bunch of old stories. The Caerwyn always have. There will be no magical creatures flying in to rescue us. We must save ourselves,” he said. “But she is correct about one thing—a war is coming. When the Wizard first took Beagonia he sent all of the kingdoms a letter stating that each could join his empire by turning over their Dracenstone and swearing fealty to him. No one responded, because no one took him seriously. That was clearly a mistake. The Stromland and Avonvale are two of the most powerful kingdoms in the realm. Much more powerful than ours. I shall not have us become drak food because some still believe in old stories.”
“You wish to submit to the Wizard?” Tythan asked.
“Let me finish,” Baltus said. “Caerwynspire has the most formidable military of any kingdom in the realm. They are our neighbor to the north and we have obviously been allies for quite some time. If we betrayed them to ally with the Wizard and the Wizard was defeated, Gwyndalin would not be able to stop Artur from taking all of our heads. Or taking the throne at the very least and exiling us.”
“So, what do we do?” Tythan asked.
“We play both sides,” Baltus smiled. “I have been a king for a long time. It’s all politics, son.”
“How do you mean?”
“You shall go north to the White Fortress with a thousand men to demonstrate your loyalty to your sister and Caerwynspire.” He then looked at Ariana. “My Queen shall take the Dracenstone south to the Wizard. She shall offer it as a symbol of good faith and inform the Wizard that we are willing to be his allies.”
“But if the Wizard is defeated, I shall be killed,” Ariana said.
“No,” said the King as he shook his head. “If the Wizard loses, Tythan shall convince Artur that my mind had failed and that you were just a poor girl caught in the middle, forced to obey her husband and King. I will be confined to my castle and Tythan shall rule the Kingdom. If the Wizard wins, we shall convince the Wizard to spare Tythan in exchange for his sworn loyalty. Either way, we survive. Talisaria survives.”
“But what of the dangers posed to Ariana?” Tythan asked. “You said Ashleen and I should not go south. Are you not placing Ariana in equal danger?”
“No, because Ariana is going south to submit to the Wizard. Ashleen is going south to fight him.”
“I still do not like it, Father. There is much danger between here and Avonvale.”
“I do not like it either, Tythan. But there is no other way to ensure our survival.”
Chapter 16
The Vagabond rocked back and forth gently as it sailed southward down the river. First mate Starron was acting captain and instructed the pilot to sail her slowly. They were not in a hurry—at least not yet. The orders from the Captain were that if Starron had not heard from him by nightfall, Starron was to leave the port at Elwood and sail south to a cove on the Glass Sea. The only reason the Captain would not have sent word was if he and Princess Terrwyn were in some sort of trouble and could not get away. So there was nothing for the crew to do once they reached the cove other than wait for the Captain to join them. That is, if he and the Princess could escape whatever danger they had found themselves in. The ship was
to wait at the cove for one week. If they did not hear from the Captain by the end of that week, they would sail up the coast and back down the Strom River, stopping at port in Caerwynspire where they would deliver Taite and the Dracenstones to King Artur and explain what had happened. Taite and the stones would be safe in the White Fortress. Because the clock would not start ticking on the week until the ship reached the cove, Starron was in no hurry to get there.
It had been a fight to convince not only the crew, but Taite to leave port at Elwood. No one wanted to abandon Captain Dillan and Princess Terrwyn, least of all Taite. At first, she began to cry and then she started to scream that she was being kidnapped by pirates. Stark had to carry her below deck where Starron met them and explained things to her. He told her Captain Dillan’s true identity. Taite’s eyes grew wide when she discovered Dillan was actually Prince Tybalt of the Stromland. They informed her that they were not pirates, but sailors in the Stromish navy. This comforted her, but she did not completely calm down until she spoke to her wolf Valko. After speaking to him at length, as a king would speak to his most trusted counsel, Taite announced that Valko trusted the crew and therefore Taite would as well.
Now Taite sat on the deck of the ship reading a book to several of the men who gathered in a semi-circle around her. She leaned back against Valko, who laid behind her. Stark sat beside Taite peering over her shoulder and trying to follow along with the book. Like most of the men on the ship, Stark could not read, and the last couple of days Taite had made it her mission to teach him. She enjoyed reading stories and the men enjoyed her reading to them. Taite had noticed the books on the bookshelf in Captain Dillan’s cabin. She had asked Starron’s permission to read them and he could not think of a single reason the Captain would not approve. But just to be safe, Starron checked all of them to ensure there were none an eight year old princess should not be reading. When Stark saw her reading on deck the day after they left port, he asked her to read aloud. The others started to come and listen as well. Then Stark asked her to teach him how to read.
So Taite sat on the deck of the ship reading as the light slowly began to fade in the night sky. Starron smiled to himself as he watched her read to the men. He was amazed at how attached Stark had grown to the little girl over the last couple of days. When the Captain had ordered Stark to rip the arms off of anyone that hurt her, the sailor had taken it as his personal duty to watch over her constantly. He even threatened to club members of the crew that used language Stark felt should not be uttered within the hearing of a princess. The crew quickly fell in line—no one wanted to mess with Stark.
Starron’s thoughts were interrupted with a call from his lookout. “Ship approaching aft!” Starron glanced to the rear of the Vagabond. He could see a larger ship some distance behind them. There was nothing unusual about the ship. It appeared to be larger than the Vagabond, probably triple masted. From this distance, one could not ascertain whether it was a trading ship, warship, or pirate. Starron decided not to concern himself with it—at least not yet.
“Let me know when you can make out the colors,” Starron shouted to the lookout.
“Aye, Sir,” the lookout shouted back. A bit later the lookout shouted again. “Ship approaching aft flying the home colors!” The crew began to murmur. A Stromish ship? Starron had assumed they had all been destroyed, but he did not know why he had made such an assumption. After all, there must have been other ships away from port when the invasion occurred. Was this a ship that had escaped the Wizard’s clutches? That could prove quite beneficial. Starron began to get excited. The excitement was echoed by the crew.
The Vagabond had struck its colors after docking at Lattingham as Dillan had desired to keep a low profile. They had not been raised again. “Raise the colors!” Starron ordered.
“Aye, Mr. Starron,” he heard a crewman shout and soon the flag of the Stromland was flying high above the mast.
Taite’s audience had abandoned the story and were all leaning over the port side railing to get a look at the oncoming ship. Taite stood and walked over to Stark as he stared at the ship in the distance. Valko followed her. “What is going on?” she asked.
“The ship sailing toward us is one of ours,” Stark replied.
“How can that be?” she asked. “Certainly the port at Riversmeet was captured and all ships with it.”
“It must have escaped,” Stark said.
“It is sailing fast,” she said.
“Aye,” agreed Stark.
“Shouldn’t a ship sailing that fast which had escaped Riversmeet be in front of us?”
Stark considered this for a moment. He watched the ship get closer and closer as the Vagabond made no effort to outrun or evade it. “Mr. Starron,” shouted Stark.
“Yes?” replied Starron.
“Did we sail past this ship while it was docked or at anchor?”
“No, Mr. Stark we did not.”
“Do you think it strange that it is behind us if it escaped from Riversmeet?”
Starron watched the ship. A ship from Riversmeet could be behind them if it was north of the city when the invasion occurred. That meant it would have sailed past the occupied city, but it was possible. Starron realized that he was trying to convince himself instead of rationally considering the possibility. Yes, it was possible, but as Stark had clearly realized, it was very unlikely.
“General stations! General stations!” Starron shouted, which ordered the men to ready for battle and the command was echoed by the crew, each of whom now realized what Taite had realized immediately—the oncoming ship was captured by the Wizard’s forces and they, not Stromish sailors, would be sailing it.
“Flight speed!” Starron shouted to the pilot as the crew manned their stations.
“Aye, aye!” the pilot responded. Unfortunately they had waited too long to prepare and the ship, much larger and traveling much swifter than the Vagabond, soon came abreast on their port side. Starron could not believe his eyes. A small band of Stromish sailors crewed the ship, but the ship was full of drakmere. The sailors were obviously being forced to sail the ship on fear of being eaten. As the ship pulled closer to the Vagabond, Starron met eyes with the pilot. Starron recognized him, but could not remember his name. He was a young lad, clearly terrified and Starron watched as he quickly looked away, not wanting to face the horror of what he was doing.
The archers on the Vagabond released a volley of arrows that downed several draks, but before they could loose another volley, dozens of draks began leaping from the ship to the deck of the Vagabond. Starron suddenly realized that they were here not for Dillan and his crew, but for Terrwyn and Taite. He saw Taite huddling in a corner behind Valko. In their rush to battle they had all forgotten the little girl.
“Stark!” Starron shouted. “Get the girl below deck!”
Stark gasped. He could not believe he had forgotten Taite. He turned and saw a drak moving slowly toward the Princess, intimidated by Valko who stood growling protectively between Taite and the monster. Stark ran up behind the drak and bashed it over the head with his club, knocking the monster to the deck. Stark beat it again and again, his body sprayed with green blood.
The Vagabond began to pick up speed and was starting to move away from the other ship. Two draks with battle axes began to chop at the mast. Starron drew his cutlass and, followed by two sailors, attacked the draks, backing them away from the mast. One swung his large battle ax at Starron and the first mate barely dodged the blow in time. Several sailors, led by Ramo, came up behind the two, stabbing the monsters in the back. The deck was being cleared of draks, but more were leaping aboard.
Taite sat against the starboard side huddled and holding her knees. Stark scooped her up in his arms and turned to take her below deck. Just as he spun around, he was struck in the face by a drak’s mace causing him to drop Taite before his limp body went flying across the deck of the ship. Taite landed with a thud, but looked up to see two draks standing over her. One reached for her, bu
t Valko leapt up and grabbed it by the jugular and the drak fell back as the wolf tore its throat out. The second drak grabbed Taite and spun around running for the side of the ship. It reached the edge and leapt back toward its own ship with the Princess. But Valko leapt after it, grabbing the drak by the tail in midair. All three fell into the water and the ships sailed away.
Starron watched the drak carrying Taite disappear below the waves with the little girl. “No!” he shouted. His eyes once again caught those of the pilot of the other ship. “Stop this!” he shouted at the lad. The pilot had tears running down his cheeks. “Save us! We have the Prince!” Starron shouted. The pilot’s eyes grew wide and he nodded. Starron watched as the young man’s expression changed to one of defiance. He swung the wheel hard to port and several of the drakmere fell overboard. Starron watched as the ship sailed away toward the eastern bank of the river. The ship was run aground with a terrible thud and crash. Starron knew the Stromish sailors aboard would be killed and eaten.
Meanwhile a few hundred yards behind, Taite broke through the surface of the water gasping for air. The drak had dropped her, but she knew it was probably still swimming around somewhere and she needed to get away. She swam as hard as she could, but it was slow as her dress and boots were weighing her down. She could see the eastern bank of the river. She knew she could make it. She had to.
Aboard the Vagabond, Starron formed the crew up around the three remaining draks who were still aboard the ship. The beasts hissed and spat at the sailors and swung their weapons wildly. Starron watched one drak’s eyes cut to the water. Starron realized it wanted to flee rather than fight. No sense risking any more lives.
“Run or we shall kill you,” Starron said as he stepped aside to leave an opening for the draks to escape. All three ran quickly to the edge of the ship and leapt into the water. Starron watched as they swam hurriedly away. He then turned to look at the mast. It still stood but had been severely damaged.
“Find us a good place to drop anchor for repairs,” he shouted to the pilot.
Dragon's Keep: The Complete Dracengard Series Page 28
