“I think I may tell the council of my intentions today,” Ali-Ster confessed. “Don’t do it until after the hunt. Some sense may return to you in the woods,” Neron said. “Not likely,” the King smiled. Ali-Ster knew his cousin didn’t want to go back home, so he delicately asked, “When will you return as acting High Lord of Cloverfoot?” “I don’t know, don’t care,” Neron said as he looked away, out the window at the passing clouds.
“When I was sent away to war at fourteen I wasn’t very excited. I’ll be honest, I was scared. Then I got there and found it not to be half-bad. I formed a band of brothers and by the end I didn’t want to return to Falconhurst. You will make a family for yourself and rule a district in Fox Chapel. How much more could you wish for at sixteen?” Ali-Ster rhetorically asked.
“To be king,” his cousin finally smiled and said, “I just don’t want to be alone in Cloverfoot while my family is in the Capitol.”
“I’ll visit during my triumphant return to Donegal but as a guest of a lord I get to be the fox. That is if you finally get the stones to play me again,” Ali-Ster joked. “Agreed,” his cousin nodded.
Ali-Ster walked to the council meeting room and found both uncles already there. Tersen and Ryen stopped arguing when the King entered. The men rose and bowed, “My King,” said Tersen and Ryen smiled, “Your Highness.”
“My boys are excited about the hunt,” said Ryen, trying to lighten the tense mood between him and Tersen. “The Wamhoff boys finally ride again,” Tersen exclaimed. “Before we talk about the hunt, has anyone heard anything about Ali-Varis?” Ali-Ster asked. Both uncles hadn’t heard any news about the missing prince. The King worried about his brother by laws of wedlock but only for short spans of time. His days were packed full of decisions and meetings with his mind racing in fifty different directions. Thinking about his missing half-brother kept falling further down the list.
“Good uncle, will there be any boar on this hunt?” Ali-Ster wondered. “Only wild, if it should happen. I had my men stock stag, rabbit, kid goat and some foxes. I will have my guards protect us on the hunt so the King’s men can have the day to tend to any other matters his highness should see fit,” Tersen stated and waited eagerly for the King’s response. “That is a kind gesture, uncle,” Ali-Ster replied. “It’s the least I can do to relieve some pressure from the Noble King as I hear the people are calling you,” Tersen said.
Most guards on a hunt were used to direct the animals toward the hunters. Others watched to make sure no one tried to assassinate the royal family. Most guards hated the duty because several men over the years had been struck by errant arrows from the uncoordinated nobles.
The rest of the council entered and the meeting began. The King fought off the first topic of an arranged marriage to Rochelle Butrose from Greengrow. The seventeen-year-old weighed twice as much as Ali-Ster, but her father had gold and sworn swords. This only made him think about Leimur Leluc. He thought about telling the council of his plan to save their kingdom.
He came back to reality when Henley Moore said, “Mattingly is once again paying taxes and we are working off some foreign debt. But it is only enough to keep them from storming our shores. We will need other avenues of income to make our next set of payments. It appears releasing Jon Colbert was a sage move as opposed to ransoming him for one lump sum. Once Mattingly gets back on track, they will really help the realm.”
“The young man is already our wise King,” said Count Silzeus with a fatherly smile. Henley continued, “King Ali-Stanley has still left us in quite a way with several, no-nonsense banks. These are lenders that we can either send money to or they will come take it. And if they come, they will take much more than they are owed for their trouble.”
“Tell them we keep all our gold in Lightview,” Tersen chuckled. “Is this a big laugh for you? Lord Henley tells us we are in a dire situation and you jape at the Ellsworths, a loyal family who may just have enough gold to help the crown,” the King scolded. “I was only trying to lift the mood of this gloomy meeting,” his uncle explained. “Well, if you are here just to lift the mood, then leave. You can let the men take care of the problems of the realm while you prepare your next joke. Off you go, uncle,” Ali-Ster ordered. Tersen tried to laugh it off and thought the King was joking at first but didn’t receive a return smile or chuckle from anyone. The albino threw his chair on the ground and stormed out of the council room. “When will he learn he isn’t a member of the council and should stop attending our meetings? We don’t want his counsel, nobody wants his counsel,” Ali-Ster said and everyone laughed.
Tersen and Ali-Ster had never seen eye to eye on any matter concerning the realm. The hunting truce quelled the raging inferno for a few days, but Ali-Ster and Tersen went right back to being like two rams butting heads over a prize female. The two men verbally clashed like two criminals in the dueling yard but Ali-Ster had devised a plan to remedy the situation.
“We have news of your half-sister, Ali-Tiste Wamhoff. She has surfaced in Goldenfield and now serves Queen Leimur,” Derich Bonsfogger reported. “Where did you hear that?” Ali-Ster sharply asked. Derich replied, “From our usual sources in Sevring. They have never lied before. They say she has her sons there too. Her daughters, Telly and Elisa, have turned up in Lightview with Sir Anderley Ellsworth.”
King Ali-Ster didn’t even hear the second part of the news. My half-sister now serves the Queen I am chasing. How did she end up there? Will this make it easier? The Tiger Queen has already let one Wamhoff through her doors. The super kingdom is inevitable.
The plotting and killing in Donegal had scattered members of the ruling families all over the landscape and beyond. Family loyalty became blurry when there was only one option. Allegiance could only go so far when death stared a person in the face. When posed with the decision to die or defend another flag, most dropped to a knee and pledged loyalty to a new name.
“I couldn’t possibly imagine what she can bring as aid to Goldenfield. Had she stayed in Burkeville, she could have restored peace with the help of her King,” Lord Bonsfogger said. Ali-Ster immediately spoke, “Maybe we should look at Elisa Burke to rule Burkeville and stop the fighting. She has the claim. But Ali-Tiste can provide all the secrets. Who would know them better than the Duchess of Burkeville for twenty years? She knows how to attack each area to move straight into Falconhurst. She could tell the Queen all the river crossings and when tides are best to cross. Ali-Tiste also grew up in this castle and I am fairly certain she didn’t have her eyes and ears shut. These are only a few ways she can help the enemy. War is much more than two groups of screaming maniacs ramming blindly into each other. This is war. Right here, right now. If we don’t shore up Burkeville, all you men better don the armor and get ready to defend your Capitol because the battle will be upon us,” Ali-Ster warned his council.
I should tell them now so they have time to prepare. Should I tell them of my idea for the super kingdom? They will all love the new titles and piles of gold that go along with advancement. Neron is the only one I have told and his response has been anything but enthusiastic. I’ll take his advice and wait until after the hunt.
Ali-Ster’s nervousness won the battle and he did not mention his real intentions. He worried about the council in his absence. Only Ryen understood that everything could have a devastating impact if ignored. Most of the council members seemed content to let problems fester out of control. After only one month, he was already thinking about replacing some of them.
The next morning, he awoke to an unusually cool late summer day. King Ali-Ster broke his fast and took the wagon of food into the countryside. During his return journey, both sides of the Royal Road were packed with loyal citizens. The lowborn came to hail their Noble King. The cheering mob threw flowers and blew kisses. Some young women even passed out from sheer excitement after laying eyes on the handsome King. The older women cried and thanked the heavens when King Ali-Ster came into view.
This warmed Ali-Ster’s
heart but he knew he needed to do more for the realm. He looked at the hope and love in the eyes of the admiring citizens. He imagined the utter joy and elation his people would experience after he united the kingdoms. The anticipation to leave was tearing at Ali-Ster who yearned for an adventure outside the Capitol. Neron’s reaction worried the King but if anyone strongly objected, Ali-Ster was prepared to put heads on spikes to prove his point.
Ali-Ster lay in bed later that night and waited for Deydrana. The sexy castle handmaiden had been trading shy looks with Ali-Ster since he had returned from military duty until they connected the day of the mini-tourney. Her dark skin, eyes and hair appealed to the pale King Ali-Ster and greatly reminded him of Leimur. He had only started talking to her about a fortnight ago and had recently convinced her to help him with a problem. The King didn’t want to sexually disappoint his future wife, Leimur. She would expect a king to be an experienced man and Ali-Ster planned to practice with Deydrana until he left.
The young woman from the Teldeggion Empire had always smiled and quickly looked away when their eyes met in the castle. Ali-Ster had heard about sex from anyone who had a working mouth during his time at war, but tonight he would find out for himself. The King became very nervous as the time neared. He got up, paced around his chambers and thought about the Tiger Queen. He would have to put a prince in her belly to have an heir to the super kingdom. Ali-Ster daydreamed about how many kingdoms and empires would bow at their feet after they crushed any early opposition.
Later that eve, Deydrana got dressed and Ali-Ster watched her cover up a perfect body. As she left, Ali-Ster couldn’t understand all the hype surrounding sex. It was all the men could think or talk about when he was away at battle. The King didn’t really like it. The act was short, sticky, slimy and awkward. He did like the release of tension that had been built up for eighteen years, but that was all. He felt strange lying in bed, and even though Deydrana had told him the sex was good, Ali-Ster knew otherwise. He remembered some soldiers bragging about being with women for hours. Ali-Ster’s first experience only lasted a few minutes. To help the King, Deydrana had vowed to return every day and night until he left.
Ali-Ster awoke the next morning and prepared for the hunt. He broke his fast with his uncles and their sons. “How many hunts have you boys been on?” the King asked Ryen’s sons, Kryen and Tryen. “Ten.” “Twelve,” Kryen and Tryen said respectively. “Well, what is the plan, good uncle?” asked Ali-Ster as he bit into a blood sausage. Tersen spoke, “We will get to our spot around mid-day and start with a dinner while we plan our attack. I have my best hunting guards joining us for the afternoon. They will all be armed with a longbow in case of a wild boar attack. I hope you approve, my King.”
“Absolutely, you have done a fine job handling this hunt, uncle. I hope this gives us a chance to put our petty differences aside for good,” Ali-Ster said. For good it shall be because I am sending you away from the Capitol next week to visit the high lords of every region. I might just start with Mattingly. You will be gone but not soon enough, my albino uncle. The entire council has taken my side in this matter, so you can pack your trunks.
The time flew fast, and before Ali-Ster realized it, he found himself at the dinner table in the north west of the King’s Woods. A checkered wooden table and stools awaited the Wamhoff men. The table was covered with cheeses, breads and fire-roasted game of boar, mountain cat, elk and ram. Ali-Ster chewed on a charred piece of elk. He looked at the spears designed to hunt the wild boar, leaning against a mighty oak tree.
The long wooden spears had a curved cross-guard behind the metal spike at the point where it connected to the wood. This was so the boar’s jaw couldn’t get to the hunter. Ali-Ster had heard stories of men being gored by a wild boar after the cross-guard had been shattered and the spike went through the back of the animal’s neck. He had hunted the snarling beasts before but only on horseback with a long sword. The best technique the King had seen was letting the mastiffs clamp onto the boar’s neck until a man could come up and stab the beast in the chest. The high nose of the mastiff allowed the animal to hold its bite and breathe at the same time. The hunter had to beware of the strong boar’s shaking resistance, occasionally thrusting the mastiff into the line of the sword and creating an extremely dangerous situation.
The wind kicked up and Ali-Ster enjoyed the fresh smell of the woods and cooking food. “Did you bring enough guards, uncle?” Ali-Ster asked. His uncle looked nervous and spoke fast, “I wanted to assure a successful hunt. I can send some men away if the King so wishes.”
“Relax uncle, I only joke. This is the place for humor, not the council meetings. No, keep them here, it just seems to be an unusual number,” Ali-Ster calmly stated. He had been trying to be more tolerant of his uncle Tersen after hatching the plan to send him away. He knew he had to keep the albino happy so he didn’t stir things up while visiting the high lords of the land. Ali-Ster found his uncle to be childish and unworthy of living in the King’s Castle but he still had to be careful explaining the matter to the volatile Tersen.
“I think I will bag at least a twelve-point today,” Ali-Ster predicted. “I guess I shall go for the elusive twenty-point,” exclaimed his uncle Ryen and continued, “This is nice. With all the talk around the realm of the demise of the Wamhoff family, we still sit united. It will be up to the men at this table to uphold the proud Wamhoff legacy. Will we toil as the realm has for too long? We all loved Ali-Stanley but he has put a black eye on the family reputation. We must heal that black eye and improve upon our rich history. The throne has been in jeopardy before and the Wamhoffs were supposed to have lost the crown many times over. Yet here we sit with one of ours still wearing the crown.” Ryen smiled as he looked over the table of Wamhoff men.
Ali-Ster wore the seventh day crown of silver filigree. The twisted, thin strands of metal interlocked to make a round band surrounding the King’s head. The men all wore light layers of boiled leather under a black tabard featuring the royal standard on the chest and back. Ali-Ster planned to stay on horseback for most of the hunt. He didn’t want to be stuck on the ground if a boar attacked.
A guard approached the table with a silver tray of droppings. He presented them to Tersen. The albino pointed to Ryen and the guard brought them over to him. Ryen shook the tray and picked up the biggest piece. He broke it open and deeply sniffed the dropping. Ryen sat for a moment with his eyes closed before speaking, “It’s a healthy stag of about four years. Put the hounds on it toward the southwest,” Ryen ordered.
Tersen blew into the bullhorn and the call blared through the partly sunny day in the forest. Most of Tersen’s guards came after hearing the signal and surrounded the table. Tersen spoke, “We have found our animal. Round up the stag with the hounds so we can kill him.” “Yes, my lord,” the guards shouted as they moved from the open area into the thicker woods.
Ali-Ster looked over and caught a smile on his uncle Ryen’s face. He knew his uncle loved the hunt, and both men enjoyed getting out of the council meetings and into the fresh air of Falconhurst. Ali-Ster had almost fixed the sewage system of the Capitol but the fresh air of the King’s Woods still had a sweeter smell. Ali-Ster saw a patch of purple and red zinnias and thought about the purple Queen and red King. Some of the flowers had been eaten by roe-deer but were already starting to grow back.
Ali-Ster relished the moment. The responsibilities of being king already weighed heavy on Ali-Ster. He felt a duty to undo all the horrible wrongs his father had committed. He wanted to rule a just and moral kingdom. Honor needed to stand for something again without the exchange of gold to prompt it. The King had seen the suffering on his food runs throughout Falconhurst. He felt like the father of Donegal and truly wanted to be protector of the realm. The poor had been forgotten too long and Ali-Ster had empathy for the common man. He had served his military duty alongside them and never hidden with the officers in the pavilion. Ali-Ster remembered hunts from his youth that had prepared him fo
r battle. Ali-Ster had always contended that a hunt was more beneficial than tournaments centered around tilting. Tracking and killing an enemy simulated battle. It seemed the days of two armies facing each other in an open field were over. Sneak attacks and covert operations were viable methods in the new ways of battle. His uncle Ali-Samuel had made his legendary reputation as a soldier mostly with crews of less than one hundred.
The Wamhoff men passed around a lamb skin of wine and everyone took a drink. Ryen held the skin up before drinking, “Let’s start the next great round of Wamhoff stories today. This should be a memorable hunt.” The men all exclaimed, “Hear, hear,” before Tersen spoke, “I know I will try my damnedest to make certain it won’t be forgotten.”
“We should do this every fortnight from here on. Only the Wamhoffs,” said Ali-Ster. The King looked across the table to see Neron almost in tears. He assumed his cousin was scared of the hunt. Neron had always been un-athletic and everyone poked fun at the chubby teenager. Ali-Ster had made the sensitive boy cry several times over the years but always apologized afterward. Neron and Ali-Ster had become close after the King returned from the border war with Goldenfield. He trusted Neron with his deepest secrets, being positive the boy would never betray his trust. He assumed Neron would be too scared to deceive him. Ali-Ster knew he would probably have to help his clumsy cousin today.
The men stood and stretched their muscles to prepare. Ali-Ster patted his full stomach and chuckled at the fact that the first families hunted to feed their growling stomachs. The latter-day hunt had become quite a spectacle, especially on the royal level. The stocked woods and trackers taught the hunters to command a unit but it was hardly sporting. Encountering the occasional wild boar presented the only difficulty. The mastiffs were summoned posthaste to directly encounter the wild boar. He looked at his cousin, Neron, and the boy was fully crying now. Ali-Ster surmised he was extremely nervous because Tersen made Neron uneasy. Neron had always tried too hard to please his albino father. Ali-Ster had advised him to stop worrying about what Tersen thought and to live his own life.
Fractured Families (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga Book 2) Page 26
