Her frantic pace slowed until she stopped a few feet away. She didn’t get a chance to ask Alexander a single question before the boy burst out incredulously, “Dahnner! How’d you get in here?”
Dahnner broke out into a relieved smile. “Guildmaster. You are well.”
Siobhan’s eyebrows rose. Oh? That expression looked genuine. The lieutenant had gone through a great deal of danger and effort to get in here to see Alexander. Perhaps the kid was right and his lieutenant was loyal after all. She was relieved for Alexander’s sake that it was true.
“Me? Sure, I’m fine.” Alexander squirmed until Grae let him down, then he went straight for the other man, not an ounce of fear in him. “But how’d you get in?”
“I saw you and two other men climb the wall here and make it over the edge. I thought maybe I could do the same.” He eyed Ryu Jin Ho with an expression of respect. “I wouldn’t have made it, if he didn’t decide to let me through.”
“I was curious what kind of determined fool would bull his way through, even with that many men taking aim at him.” Ryu Jin Ho’s tone added, My curiosity’s satisfied, you can die now.
Dahnner steadfastly ignored him. He ignored the two swords aimed at him as well and sank down onto one knee. “Master Alexander. You know, I take it, that Lorcan can’t be trusted?”
Alexander’s chin dipped a fraction in a sad nod. “Most of my advisors can’t be.”
“Yes,” Dahnner acknowledged, resigned and solemn, “I’m afraid you’re right. There’s few of us that you can trust. It has been like that since your grandfather’s time, although he had ways of manipulating them. I did my best to shield you from them until you were old enough to deal with them yourself, but…” he trailed off in a small sigh. “Half of the men in that army outside are mine, and if I tell them to stand down and guard you as we go home, they will. But I’m afraid the rest are loyal to Lorcan. What will you have me do?”
Siobhan had known, on an intellectual level, that Fallen Ward really had depended on a ten-year-old to be their guildmaster. Oh, the advisors and some of the lieutenants had obviously used the situation to their advantage, with the rest following the commands of their guildmaster with blind loyalty. But it was a different thing knowing that and seeing it with her own eyes. It was obvious to everyone watching this scene that Dahnner was literally waiting for orders. Whatever Alexander decided, Dahnner would do, and he wasn’t moving until then.
It was ludicrous. She wanted to hit him for putting that kind of burden on a child. In fact, she took a step forward, intending to do just that, when Alexander spoke.
“Dahnner. Will you really do anything that I ask?”
“Yes,” Dahnner responded without hesitation. “Anything.”
Alexander drew in a breath, as if drawing on an inner well of courage. “Become Guildmaster of Fallen Ward.”
What?
Siobhan lifted a hand to her head and smacked it lightly, sure that her ears weren’t working properly. What had he just said?
Dahnner seemed to be having the same problem as he stared at Alexander stupidly. “What?”
“Become Guildmaster of Fallen Ward,” Alexander repeated in that same tone.
Ryu Jin Ho made a ‘stand down’ gesture to the two men. He must have realized that the situation was not what he thought. This man wasn’t an enemy. He was a potential ally.
Dahnner gaped and spluttered and was perfectly speechless for a long moment. Whatever he had expected Alexander to say, it was not that. It was far from that.
Alexander seemed to realize that no one knew how to react to what he said. “Dahnner, if I go back with you to Fallen Ward, I won’t survive. They have an excuse now. I have been in an enemy city. There was at least one assassin that made it through all of my defenses and took me out. If one person can do it, others can as well. They will send an assassin after me and blame it on someone else.”
He was not wrong. Siobhan often thought of him and responded to him as if he were like any other ten-year-old child but the truth was he was not. He had been raised from birth to be a guildmaster. He had been trained in politics and infighting. When it came to economy and battle strategy, he was a novice, but that did not mean he was completely clueless on how to run a guild. The way that he spoke now, without any hesitation, made that very clear.
“We will protect you,” Dahnner argued imploringly.
Alexander immediately shook his head. “Dahnner, how long must I live in those gilded rooms without ever being able to live in the world outside?”
The question stopped Dahnner dead. It stopped him the way that an argument would not have. Siobhan understood exactly what Alexander meant. It was criminal, to her mind, to lock a child away from the world. No matter how expensive the trappings, it was still a prison. The price of being guildmaster was not worth his freedom.
Dahnner seized a different tack and tried arguing again. “But only a Jonquil can be Guildmaster of Fallen Ward.”
Siobhan had several choice things to say about that but fortunately she was not the one who had to argue with him.
Alexander seemed to anticipate this next argument as he gave Dahnner a sly smile. “Well then, join the family.”
Dahnner was back to spluttering. “M-me?!”
“It’s easily done. I write up a paper, sign it, and seal it with my blood and presto,” Alexander slapped his hands together and flung them wide like he was a magician at a magic show, “you are part of my family. Which would you prefer to be, my brother or my uncle?”
Siobhan slapped him on the back. “Smart, Alex.”
Alexander grinned up at her without an ounce of modesty. “Of course I am.”
“And so modest about it, too.” Siobhan was relieved to see that expression on his face. After last night, it was a miracle he could smile at all this morning.
Dahnner held his forehead as if it pained him.
“Brother or uncle?” Alexander prompted.
“You really won’t consider coming back?” Dahnner asked, ignoring the question.
Alexander gave him a gentle smile even as he shook his head no. “Life is better out here. I don’t want to go back.”
It was at this point that Darrens finally caught up with the group. He came in puffing for breath and took in the scene with a glance before asking Alexander, “This man really is your lieutenant?”
“He is.”
That was enough information for Darrens. He turned to Dahnner and said by way of introduction, “I’m Gerrard Darrens, Guildmaster of Blackstone. Who might you be? And what are your intentions, coming into my city as you have?”
Dahnner stood so that they were on equal terms before responding, “Troy Dahnner, Lieutenant of Fallen Ward. I had intended to come in here and negotiate to have my guildmaster back, but…” he stared at Alexander with unreadable eyes. “He’s now adamant about staying here. He wants to pass the position of guildmaster over to me instead.”
Darrens was just as taken aback by this announcement as they had been. He stared at Alexander with raised eyebrows. “Truly?”
“It’s dangerous for me to go back,” Alexander pointed out wearily, as if he were tired of repeating himself. “And Dahnner is a good leader. He’ll do a good job.”
“I don’t know the man, so I’ll take your word on that, but have you thought this through? We’ve been supporting you here because Rune kidnapped you, and we wanted to train you so that when you returned to Fallen Ward we wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by your people again. But if you stay here now, you won’t have that. How do you intend to live in my city?”
The question was a weighty one and it demanded an answer. Siobhan hadn’t thought that far ahead, but in truth, she should have. Alexander, no matter his education or prior station in life, was still a child and an orphan. Who would take care of him until he was adult enough to make his own living?
With supreme confidence, Alexander announced, “I’m joining Deepwoods.”
Siob
han’s head snapped around. “You’re what?!”
Darrens choked, caught off guard, then he opened up into a full belly laugh. He slapped his leg several times, roaring with laughter, nearly doubling over with mirth.
He was so loud she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Siobhan reached over and poked the man in the ribs, trying to get him to quit. “Will you stop? It’s not funny!”
“Hilarious,” Darrens disagreed, gasping for breath. “And I should have seen this coming.”
“How?” she demanded, not sure whether to stomp the ground or throw up her hands in confusion. “How can you possibly have seen this coming?”
Darrens tried to give her a pitying look but he was smiling too hard to pull it off. “My dear Siobhan, in the decade I’ve known you, I’ve seen you rehabilitate bad people and turn them into good ones. They all came from different backgrounds, with different stories, but you know the one thing all of them have in common? They never left.”
She had her mouth open, ready to say something, but what, she had no clue. His words robbed her off all rational argument. After all, he was right, and she didn’t have a single point to rebut.
“Once they know you,” Darrens continued, tone warm, “none of them can imagine leaving you. So am I surprised that Master Alexander is the same? Not in the slightest. In his position, certainly, I would choose to stay with you.”
Yes, well, certainly staying in Deepwoods would be better than going back to Fallen Ward, but…the situation being what it was, still…
Dahnner put the missing pieces together and squawked, “You’re choosing to stay with the guild that kidnapped you to begin with?”
“Yes,” Alexander answered forthrightly, not an ounce of apology in his tone.
Darrens held out a hand and offered, “Renounce your position of Guildmaster of Fallen Ward and your citizenship with Coravine and I’ll offer you full citizenship rights in Goldschmidt.”
Alexander grasped that outstretched hand and beamed. “Done. I have to give Dahnner right of guildmaster first, though.”
“Understandable. I’ll wait.”
“But what if I don’t want to be guildmaster?” Dahnner protested.
Alexander had this look on his face that said Better you than me but was wise enough not to say it. Out loud. “Do you have someone that’s a better fit? Someone that you can trust?”
“As a matter of fact, I—” Dahnner started heatedly only to fizzle out and deflate at the end, “—don’t.” With a growled sigh, he lifted a hand in surrender. “I cannot argue with you. You’re right, it’s too dangerous for you to go back, and while I don’t understand why you would want to stay here with them, I do think you should finally get to choose what life you lead. It was too unfair before, locking you away as we did. Even though we knew that, we didn’t have any other choice.”
“Do you accept?” Alexander pressed.
“Can I refuse?” Dahnner retorted dryly.
“No.”
“That’s what I thought. I guess I’ll be a brother.”
Alexander leaped forward and threw his arms around Dahnner’s waist. “YES!”
Dahnner relaxed enough to pat the blond head, something that could have been a smile on his face. “You brat. You always get your way in the end.”
Darrens cleared his throat. “I’m relieved this is happening, and it’s all well and good, but before you leave, you’re signing a treaty with us.”
Not surprised by this, Dahnner nodded. “Understandable. But only half the men outside are mine, I can’t control the others at this point. When I get back to Fallen Ward, I’ll clean house, but it’ll be rocky for several months.”
“I didn’t expect anything different. But the attacks on Robargean cities stop when you leave.”
“Yes. That much, I can promise.” Dahnner looked toward the far gate, where the fighting was still taking place, and his jaw tightened. “Let’s go to the Eastern Gate. I’ll get my men to withdraw and then we can talk treaties.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. And the rest? The ones that won’t follow your order?”
“They’re Lorcan’s men and corrupt all the way through. Do what you need to. I won’t complain.”
“Understood.”
ӜӜӜ
It took longer than Siobhan hoped, but not as long as she feared for Dahnner to convince his men to stand down. He gave orders for them to pack up and shift over to the far right of the road, making a clear division between them and Lorcan’s men. It was almost a precise division of half the army. Lorcan was bellowing something below, outraged that Dahnner was “Doing such a disloyal thing!” and “What do you think you’re doing, anyway?” but Dahnner ignored him completely.
He made all of these orders from the top of the wall, as no one had been able to figure out the logistics of getting him out of the city and back in again without opening a breach Lorcan’s men would be sure to exploit. Dahnner’s people were justifiably suspicious and nervous at this action, not sure if he was being threatened into all of this. That, actually, was what took the longest—reassuring them.
With that finally done, they left the wall completely and retreated to the first place that had enough room to fit everyone comfortably. No one thought it a good idea to go to the Blackstone compound. It would take more than thirty minutes to walk there and that was too great a distance from East Gate at that point. If something happened, Dahnner and Darrens needed to be able to respond instantly. So they went somewhere close instead, which just so happened to be Kaye Ruffner’s shop.
Darrens took one look at the half-painted store front, one side a dark forest green, the other with red lettering in a language he couldn’t read. He didn’t need any explanation, just turned to Siobhan and said, “Fei, again?”
“He was given water with sugar and peaches in it,” she sighed, beyond being embarrassed about things like this. “In his defense, he was painting the front for Kaye when this whole situation broke out. He’ll get back to it after the army has left again.”
Shaking his head, the guildmaster let it pass and stepped inside.
Kaye frantically went about collecting enough chairs for everyone and two small tables. Siobhan helped until they were settled, then she took a seat next to Alexander.
The boy turned to Dahnner and asked, “What do I need to write? To make you my brother?”
Dahnner still looked pained about this whole idea but dutifully dictated to Alexander what needed to be said. He did so slowly, giving the child enough time to write it all out.
Siobhan watched him through this process, letting the words flow over her. Darrens’ words aside, she’d had no intentions of keeping Alexander when the kid was first brought to her. For that matter, she’d had no intention of keeping Rune when she’d stumbled across him either. It changed with Rune as she got to know him, but Siobhan had never harbored the idea of keeping Alexander for one simple reason—she hadn’t thought she could. She’d been worried about him going back, as it felt like she was sending a helpless kitten into a den of vipers, but it had never occurred to her that he could actually stay. Because of that, she was caught mentally off-guard. Really, what was she to do with a kid in the guild? Four, maybe five years down the road, he would certainly be able to pull his weight, but right now? He had no real skills that she could use. Was she just to raise him until he was old enough to manage on his own?
And how had she gotten volunteered for this, anyway?
Grae leaned into her side and whispered, “What are we going to do with him?”
“How should I know?” she grumped back.
Not expecting her response or the tone it was delivered in, he sat back a little. “You didn’t consider this possibility at all? That’s rather unlike you.”
She aimed a glare at him. “I’ve had three hours of sleep and no breakfast. I’m tired and I’m hungry, and I resent both of those things, so I’m going to eat. Before making earth-shattering decisions. Alright?”
Being
wise, he simply spread his hands in surrender and didn’t say another word.
“There!” Alexander said with immense satisfaction. He handed the paper to Dahnner with the most genuine smile Siobhan had ever seen. “You’re my brother, and the new Guildmaster of Fallen Ward. Don’t try to give it back to me, I don’t want it.”
Dahnner handled the paper gingerly and with open morosity. “Understood.”
“Guildmaster Dahnner-Jonquil,” Alexander said with studied formality, “I notify you that I revoke my position in Fallen Ward. I revoke my rights of citizenship in Coravine as well.”
“Understood,” Dahnner repeated, dredging up a sorry smile. “Be happy here, Alexander. And if you aren’t happy,” he turned his eyes to Darrens, “tell me.” The words were clearly meant as a threat.
Darrens wasn’t the least bit provoked by this. “As I was saying earlier,” he drawled, “this is not my fault, but Siobhan’s. She’s the one that everyone falls in love with and can’t bear separating from. Blame her.”
“Oh, I do,” Dahnner grumbled.
Alexander was impatient at this by-play and demanded of Darrens, “Can I be part of Deepwoods now?”
“I hereby grant your request for right of citizenship in Goldschmidt,” Darrens stated drolly. “Your position in Deepwoods is acknowledged. I’ll make sure it’s written properly in the books later. Now. The new Guildmaster of Fallen Ward and I have terms to discuss so we can put a treaty together. Do you want to stay for that?”
Stay for hours of arguments and debate and yelling? “Not on your life,” Siobhan said vehemently. “I’m going for breakfast.”
“Lucky woman.” Darrens grinned at her, robbing his words of sting. “Go.”
Collecting Alexander with a sweep of the arm, she went, Grae quickly escaping with her. As they left the building, Grae whispered, “Do you think it’ll be alright, leaving it to them?”
Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) Page 25
