“Your Majesty, it is an honour to serve you. I will do whatever you ask,” I reply. Something is going very wrong here; the carefully orchestrated public nature of my return means that neither of us are allowed to speak as we please. The prince has designed it that way.
“I want His Holiness to meet the people. I want him to travel around our land and spread the message of God. I want to bring salvation to our kingdom in this, our darkest of times,” says the king. There is such warmth and sincerity in his voice that, for a moment, I almost believe him. If it were not for Lady Vesta sitting quietly beside him, I might even have fallen for it. Instead, I see it for what it is – a cynical proclamation designed to buy favour from his audience.
“I would be glad to accompany him,” I reply. I do not add the caveat that he would need to be gagged and bound in order to make a good impression on anyone. Instead, I take a quiet satisfaction in knowing how badly Leo will do at the task laid out for him. It will be less than a month before the wheels begin to fall off. Then, Leo will be left as nothing more than an exotic exile, destined for no greater than a point of curiosity in the king’s court.
“It will not just be you,” the king continues, “there must be twelve. Twelve is your lucky number, is it not? Twelve peasants joined the school and only one remained, twelve heroes set out to Brightstone and only one returned. Will you survive a third time?” he asks knowingly. This question is asked in such a way that I am now certain his antipathy is not yet gone.
“If it is twelve then I humbly suggest that Ser Cai and I should accompany them,” interrupts the prince.
“Then you may, Prince Libran,” replies Lady Vesta on the king’s behalf. Until now, she has been so still and quiet that she hardly seemed to be alive. “But not, Ser Cai. He will have to earn his right alongside any other knight that wishes to ride.”
“Such as I. It would be an honour to join you,” declares The Bull from his seat alongside the prince. The man quite literally looks as though he is carved from a boulder. I wonder whether Lady Vesta would try and deny him a place.
“That’s correct, Ser Torryan. And the same for anyone who wishes to join us. In twelve days, a tournament shall be held. It shall be the greatest tournament that the kingdom has ever seen. It will be not only a celebration but a trial, a trial to determine who will ride alongside us,” announces Lady Vesta, clearly directing herself to knights and lords that surround us. It is not lost on me that she has added herself to the list without directly addressing the issue.
“I need servants,” adds Leo, never far from showing himself up.
“Then you shall have them, Your Holiness. The twelve shall be composed thus: Lord Leo, Prince Libran, Lady Vesta and Ser Gruffydd. In addition to these, I wish for the four greatest warriors in the kingdom and the greatest archer. How many does that leave, Vesta?”
“Three, Your Majesty,” is the almost contemptuous reply.
“And the three most devout servants that His Holiness could wish for,” smiles the king, unashamed at not being able to get there on his own. Then he begins to roar, like a great general, screaming on the field of battle.
“Mark it, people - this moment is the beginning of our greatness. We have been visited by God. For millennia, it has been written that He shall return in our hour of need. Witness, ladies and gentlemen, the truth of these words. The time is upon us. Twelve people shall set forward from our kingdom and change the course of destiny. We are the Saved that were written of. Thank you, Lord Leo.”
I’m not sure if he quite gets the reaction that he was seeking. There is certainly a bit of excitement around the room and several of the more boisterous, or perhaps loyal, knights cheer supportively as he finishes. Not everyone does though and I can only wonder how different it might have been were it the prince who had attempted such a rousing proclamation. As it is though, I look around the room and into the eyes of the people I respect: Lady Vesta, Selene, Shara, Prince Libran. Not a single one of them is even attempting to feign excitement. I am glad to be alongside them.
The End
To the reader, thank you for finishing! As anyone who's ever been through the process of self-publishing a novel can attest, every single reader means something to you. Not as a reading figure but as a living, breathing entity who's taken an interest in something you've done. Thank you. If you enjoyed then please take the time to leave me a review and do all the usual social media stuff. Reviews and publicity are vital to independent authors and your input could make so much difference to me. My website is www.talesofthezodiac.com and, from there, you can see the various links as well as exclusive TOTZ news!
If you are still with me then, in the next novel, we join Prince Libran. In his ongoing quest for equality, he establishes a 'round table' and sets out to win the kingdom round to his way of thinking. Needless to say, it doesn't all go to plan.
With thanks to Jackie Davies, Heather Kimber, Harry Roberts, Jazz Moll, Ralph Kariuki, Cheikh Badiane, Agathe Rerolle, Lara Tamim, Miriam Kyama, Daniel Pardo, Jake Mwangi-Powell and Christine Gitau. I couldn't have done this without your feedback and hard work.
Tales of the Zodiac - The Goat's Tale Page 24
