11. The Cunning of King Terribus
The days that followed were pleasant ones for Prince Marvel and Nerle,who were treated as honored guests by both the king and his courtiers.But the prince seemed to be the favorite, for at all games of skill andtrials at arms he was invariably the victor, while in the evenings,when the grand ball-room was lighted up and the musicians played sweetmusic, none was so graceful in the dance as the fairy prince.
Nerle soon tired of the games and dancing, for he had been accustomedto them at his father's castle; and moreover he was shy in the societyof ladies; so before many weeks had passed he began to mope and show adiscontented face.
One day the prince noticed his esquire's dismal expression ofcountenance, and asked the cause of it.
"Why," said Nerle, "here I have left my home to seek worries andtroubles, and have found but the same humdrum life that existed at myfather's castle. Here our days are made smooth and pleasant, and thereis no excitement or grief, whatever. You have become a carpet-knight,Prince Marvel, and think more of bright eyes than of daring deeds. So,if you will release me from your service I will seek furtheradventures."
"Nay," returned the prince, "we will go together; for I, too, am tiredof this life of pleasure."
So next morning Marvel sought the presence of King Terribus and said:
"I have come to bid your Majesty adieu, for my esquire and I are aboutto leave your dominions."
At first the king laughed, and his long nose began to sway from side toside. Then, seeing the prince was in earnest, his Majesty frowned andgrew disturbed. Finally he said:
"I must implore you to remain my guests a short time longer. No onehas ever before visited me in my mountain home, and I do not wish tolose the pleasure of your society so soon."
"Nevertheless, we must go," answered the prince, briefly.
"Are you not contented?" asked Terribus. "Ask whatever you may desire,and it shall be granted you."
"We desire adventures amid new scenes," said Marvel, "and these you cannot give us except by permission to depart."
Seeing his guest was obstinate the king ceased further argument andsaid:
"Very well; go if you wish. But I shall hope to see you return to usthis evening."
The prince paid no heed to this peculiar speech, but left the hall andhurried to the courtyard of the castle, where Nerle was holding thehorses in readiness for their journey.
Standing around were many rows and files of the Gray Men, and when theyreached the marble roadway they found it lined with motionless forms ofthe huge giants. But no one interfered with them in any way, althoughboth Prince Marvel and Nerle knew that every eye followed them as theyrode forward.
Curiously enough, they had both forgotten from what direction they hadapproached the castle; for, whereas they had at that time noticed butone marble roadway leading to the entrance, they now saw that therewere several of these, each one connecting with a path through themountains.
"It really doesn't matter which way we go, so long as we get away fromthe Kingdom of Spor," said Prince Marvel; so he selected a path bychance, and soon they were riding through a mountain pass.
The pleased, expectant look on Nerle's face had gradually turned to oneof gloom.
"I hoped we should have a fight to get away," he said, sadly; "and inthat case I might have suffered considerable injury and pain. But noone has injured us in any way, and perhaps King Terribus is really gladto be rid of us."
"With good reason, too, if such is the case," laughed Marvel; "for,mark you, Nerle, the king has discovered we are more powerful than heis, and had he continued to oppose us, we might have destroyed hisentire army."
On they rode through the rough hill paths, winding this way and that,until they lost all sense of the direction in which they were going.
"Never mind," said the prince; "so long as we get farther and fartheraway from the ugly Terribus I shall be satisfied."
"Perhaps we are getting into more serious danger than ever," answeredNerle, brightening; "one of the giants told me the other day that nearthe foot of these mountains is the Kingdom of the High Ki of Twi."
"Who is the High Ki of Twi?" asked Prince Marvel.
"No one knows," answered Nerle.
"And what is the Kingdom of Twi like?"
"No one knows that," answered Nerle.
"Then," returned the prince, with a smile, "if by chance we visit theplace we shall know more than any one else."
At noon they ate luncheon by the wayside, Nerle having filled his pouchby stealth at the breakfast table. There were great fragments of rocklying all about them, and the sun beat down so fiercely that the heatreflected from the rocks was hard to bear. So the travelers did notlinger over their meal, but remounted and rode away as soon aspossible. When the sun began to get lower in the sky the rocks besidethe path threw the riders into shadow, so that their journey becamemore pleasant. They rode along, paying little attention to the way,but talking and laughing merrily together, until it began to grow dark.
"Does this path never end?" asked Prince Marvel, suddenly. "We oughtto reach some place where men dwell before long, else we shall beobliged to spend the night among these rocks."
"And then perhaps the wolves will attack us," said Nerle, cheerfully,"and tear us into pieces with their sharp teeth and claws."
But even as he spoke they rode around a turn in the path and saw asight that made them pause in astonishment. For just before them rosethe castle of King Terribus, and along both sides of the marble walkleading up to it were ranged the lines of giants, exactly as they hadstood in the morning.
Nerle turned around in his saddle. Sure enough, there were the GrayMen in the rear--stepping from behind every boulder and completelyfilling the rocky pathway.
"Well, what shall we do?" asked the esquire; "fight?"
"No, indeed!" returned Prince Marvel, laughing at his friend's eagerface. "It appears the path we chose winds around in a circle, and sohas brought us back to our starting-point. So we must make the best ofa bad blunder and spend another night with our ugly friend KingTerribus."
They rode forward through the rows of giants to the castle, where theever-courteous servants took their horses and escorted them to theirformer handsome apartments with every mark of respect.
No one seemed in the least surprised at their speedy return, and thisfact at first puzzled Nerle, and then made him suspicious.
After bathing and dusting their clothing they descended to the banquethall, where King Terribus sat upon his gray stone throne and welcomedthem with quiet courtesy.
The sight of the king's crimson skin and deformed face sent a thrill ofrepugnance through Prince Marvel, and under the impulse of a suddenthought he extended his hand toward Terribus and whispered a magic wordwhich was unheard by any around him.
Nerle did not notice the prince's swift gesture nor the whispered word;but he was staring straight at Terribus at the time, and he saw withsurprise the eye on the top of the king's head move down toward hisforehead, and the eye in the center of his forehead slide slightlytoward the left, and the elephant-like nose shrink and shorten at thesame time. Also it seemed to him that the king's skin was not socrimson in color as before, and that a thin growth of hair had coveredhis head.
However, no one else appeared to notice any change--least of allTerribus--so Nerle seated himself at the table and began to eat.
"It was very kind of you to return so soon to my poor castle," said theking to Prince Marvel, in his sweet voice.
"We could not help it," laughed the prince, in reply; "for the roadwound right and left until we knew not which way we traveled; and thenit finally circled around again to your castle. But to-morrow we shallseek a new path and bid you farewell forever."
"Still," remarked the king, gravely, "should you again miss your way, Ishall be glad to welcome your return."
The prince bowed politely by way of reply, and turned to address thelittle maiden he had once saved from death
by poison. And so infeasting, dancing and laughter the evening passed pleasantly enough tothe prince, and it was late when he called Nerle to attend him to theirapartment.
The Enchanted Island of Yew Page 10
