Alec the Wanderer: Generations of Eredwynn #4

by Daniel B. Harris

  Kyle was beaming as he walked to me. “Well, son, I told you about soft skin and pretty eyes. I wasn’t gonna take that much coin from ya, but since you’re family now, I suppose its ok.”

  The brothers walked up beside me and offered me their hands in turn. Adam said, “I reckon you won’t be takin advantage of her if she’s your wife. Since you’re a prince and all, and from what I hear you’re pretty rich, she won’t want for nuthin. Promise you’ll be good to her.”

  “You have my word that I’ll do everything I can to make Carol happy. She is a wonderful and kind person, but has no experience in the world, as the three of us have. That means that I’ll have to work extra hard to make sure she’s safe. I’m sure that I can do it, since I can lift two charging, young bulls off the ground with one hand.”

  They nodded, offering apologetic smiles.

  Kyle asked, “So where are you headed on your honeymoon?”

  I laughed. “To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of a honeymoon until you mentioned it. I’ll show you the way my father makes the hard decisions. Carol, my love, where would you like to go next? Do you have a place you’d like to visit for our honeymoon?” Kyle just chuckled.

  Carol looked at me shyly. “Did you know that I’ve never even seen the outside of a castle, let alone the inside of one? Do you think you could get us in a castle for a few nights?”

  I nodded. “I actually know a few people who have castles. If you don’t have a preference, we could go to Wizard’s Castle. I could introduce you to my mother and father. You could watch the wizard trainees’ work on magic and if my Aunt Alba is there, you could take the test. Of course if you pass, I’ve heard that you’ll have to sleep with one of the King’s sons.”

  Everyone laughed and Caroline rolled her eyes. We all went inside for an early dinner and chatted about the adventure that Caroline had during our short trip. Her mother was concerned that if two scary things happened in just four days, what her daughter’s life on the road full time would be like. I had to explain that I’d had months of walking without a single thing happening, and that our experience was out of the ordinary.

  A few hours before dark, Carol came to me and sat on my lap. She asked, “Are we going to walk to Wizard’s Castle or are you going to do that thing that you did to bring us here?”

  I chuckled. “I can port us if you’d like or we can walk. We’ll do whatever would make you happy.”

  Her family all smiled at my response and she said, “I am really looking forward to the castle and the magic that you spoke of. If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d prefer to port.”

  I kissed her gently and said, “If you’ll say your goodbyes, we can be off.” I turned to face Kyle. “We can travel anywhere that I’ve heard of in the blink of an eye. Any time she wants to come home for a visit, I can have her here.”

  Kyle nodded, even as his eyes were filling. “I know you’ll take care of her, son. Just don’t be a stranger and plan on bringing some grandchildren with you some day.”

  Carol blushed, and then went around hugging everyone. I shook hands and got a hug from Mitri. We gathered up our packs, I nodded to the family and we were on the road leading to Wizard’s Castle. Carol stopped and stared in awe at the huge buildings that I’d grown up in. I tugged a bit to get her moving and we made our way toward the gate. The guards smiled and bowed as we passed, causing Carol to grin up at me. As we walked through the courtyard, her head was on a swivel. She was trying to take in as many shops as she could, in case we needed something later.

  I pointed and explained, “That’s the tailor’s shop. The lady that works there used to have a shop in Valeview Castle on the cliff, but Father convinced her to move down here. Before we leave, maybe you can get some clothes that are suited to the road and are flattering, too. I can barely tell you’re a woman when you’re in that field worker’s get-up.”

  She smiled and nodded, then I led her into the receiving chamber. I whispered to the herald and then had to confirm what I’d told him. He stepped around the corner and in a loud voice announced, “His Royal Highness, Prince Alec and his bride, Princess Carol Stephenson!”

  Carol gasped and said in a breathless whisper, “My stars, I think that is me, isn’t it?”

  I chuckled. “Yes, my Princess, it is you.”

  We walked into the throne room and my father met us half way to the dais. He hugged me and proclaimed, “I never thought I’d see the day. She must be quite the woman to have snagged the wanderer.”

  I grinned. “Father, you have no idea. I’ve seen her take out a man three times her size with a skillet and a rattlesnake from fifteen feet away. Both times she acted to save my tail. I thought she was going to get away from me, so I bought a bravery potion from the apothecary and asked her to marry me. She might be a touch insane, because she said yes.”

  Carol spoke up softly, “It’s either that or she found that she was head over heels in love with a very kind man. Perhaps she was willing to do whatever it took to spend the rest of her life with him.”

  Father laughed. “It seems that this young lady knows exactly what she wants and gets it. It’s good to see you’ve found the one who will love you back. Have you told your mother yet?”

  I shook my head. “We just now arrived. I thought I’d go looking for her and show Carol around a bit.”

  Father nodded to a boy in the corner and he was off like a rabbit. “Jake will find her and send her this way. He’s better than a bloodhound when it comes to finding people to deliver my messages to. He’s only eleven and already has to fight off the novices when they notice him. I say, in a few more years he won’t be fighting quite as hard.”

  I laughed, and then turned to my Aunt Isabel. “Do you think that you could spare a maid to walk with Carol to the tailor’s? I’d like for her to get a couple sets of clothes for the road. I’m thinking that we could go with uniform style in a light green. She has beautiful eyes and green really makes them stand out.”

  Isa said, “Actually, I think that I’d like the honor of escorting her over.”

  Carol looked terrified and curtsied low. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  Aunt Isa hugged her. “You’re family, young lady. You don’t have to be afraid of us and you don’t have to curtsy. I’m just Aunt Isabel or Isa if you prefer. Those are names that I’d only let family call me.”

  Carol looked at her shyly. “Thank you for accepting me as family, Aunt Isabel. If I’m accepted by the rest of the family, I’m afraid I’ll never remember everyone’s name. I can barely remember Alec’s three brothers’ names.”

  Isa laughed. “That’s fine, my dear. We can’t always remember everyone’s name, either. Alec has thirteen aunts and most of them have children, so you can imagine that it is challenging. But let’s get you to the tailor so she can get started. I doubt she has time to get a set done before noon tomorrow, as it is.”

  Carol kissed me gently and I watched her leave the throne room. She wasn’t gone a full minute before the runner returned with my mother right behind him. She came to me and threw her arms around me. In her soft voice she stated, “It’s been three months since you’ve stopped in. You know I worry when too much time goes by.”

  I kissed the top of her head and replied, “I’ve brought news this time, Mother. I think that my wandering will have to slow down now. You see, I’m no longer wandering alone. I met this wonderful young lady and fell in love with her. We were married this afternoon in Tesil. She wanted to come here for our honeymoon. It’s a bit odd for me, because it seems I’m going home for my honeymoon, but it’s what she wanted and I enjoy making her happy.”

  She shone with happiness and pride. “I knew that you had too much love to give to only take care of strangers all your life. I knew that there was a special girl out there that you’d run across and wouldn’t be able to resist. So, what’s she like and when will I get to meet her? Does she want children? Is she a good cook and housekeeper?”

  I laughed. “Slow down,
mother. She went to the tailor’s with Aunt Isa and should be back soon. She has mentioned something about being blessed with children some day and she is a wonderful cook. She was living with her family when I met her, so I don’t know if she’s a good housekeeper. Whew! I think I got all the questions answered.”

  The herald stuck his head around the corner and signaled that there was someone waiting. Mother and I caught the signal and with a nod to Father, we went out the front of the castle. Mother took off for the tailor’s without a word and I could barely keep up. Just before we made it to the door, Isa and Carol walked out. Mother stopped in her tracks. “Oh, my stars, son, she is quite the beauty! Where did you say you found her?”

  “She’s a farm girl and her family’s farm is a mile north of Edil. Do you know where Edil is?”

  “Sure, when we cleared the old dragon’s horde cave that you’ve heard of all your life, there were people inside. Those people were from Edil and one of them was your Uncle Roger’s Consort, Kiena.”

  Carol walked over and stood by me, waiting to be introduced. “Mother, I’d like you to meet the love of my life, Caroline. She actually prefers to be called Carol.”

  Carol curtsied slightly as if unsure of what she should do. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, My Lady.”

  Mother smiled. “I’m very happy to meet you, too. My name is Alice or Mother. I knew I’d meet you someday and I’m happy that this is the day.”

  Carol looked confused. “Did you know me before, Mother?”

  My mother glowed at having a female call her mother. “In my heart I knew that there was someone that could steal my son’s affection. It would seem that you are that someone.”

  Carol grinned and happily accepted a hug. I had to break up the party because it would be dark soon and I thought Carol would enjoy watching the casters practice at the range. I told everyone where we were going and Aunt Isabel informed me that my room on the dorm’s fifth floor was still open. She suggested that I use the roof entrance, since the trainees had gotten used to not having men around. They’d turned the bottom four floors into clothing optional areas. I acknowledged the information and thanked her. At least I knew where we would sleep on our honeymoon.

  Chapter Four

  As we walked to the range, I gave her a rundown on the way things worked. I explained how the different classes lined up from right to left and the fact that I’d shield her for safety’s sake. I explained the skin-tightening sensation that she’d feel then shielded her so she’d know exactly what I meant.

  Carol said, “I feel like my forehead is trying to pull back to my ears. It doesn’t hurt, but feels strange.”

  “You’ll get so used to it you won’t even know you’re protected. I have my shield on almost all the time.”

  As we drew close to the range, there was a wave of silence that washed across the crowd of trainees gathered there. I was known by most and my reputation was known by all. Aunt Alba got everyone back to business and came over to greet us.

  “Alec, we’ve missed you around here! You shouldn’t stay away for so long; your mother has been pacing grooves in the floors for weeks now. Ok, that’s enough small talk; who is this lovely young lady on your arm?”

  I grinned because my Aunt Alba was famous for cutting to the chase. “Alba, I’d like to present the Princess Caroline Stephenson, my wife.”

  Alba’s eyes went wide and she giggled. “So you finally found the perfect young lady. You always swore that you’d never marry until that perfect girl showed up.” She hugged Carol. “You’ll have to tell me all about how you met and fell in love. I want all the mushy details. Have you ever given any thought to seeing if you could do magic?”

  I laughed. “I know why you and James’ Halfling, Ivy, get along so well. You both skip all over the place in a single conversation! She did mention once that she was interested in taking the test, but she was told that she’d have to sleep with the King’s son or sons, I’m not sure which. Now that she knows that isn’t exactly a bad thing, she might be interested, but I’ll leave that up to her.”

  Carol smiled and replied, “Nice to meet you, Alba. I would like to take the magic test, but I’m worried that it will be hard. If I passed, I don’t know how I’d train, because I’ll be on the road with Alec; and being away from him isn’t an option. I couldn’t ask him to stay, because that would be punishment and his wandering feet might steal him away.”

  Alba nodded kindly. “I’m glad you love my nephew and seem to understand him. As far as training goes, he could always teach you the basic usage of magic and then you could come by here and learn new words as you needed to. I wouldn’t give you a list of spell words, because that’s never worked well for us. If you’d like to take the test, it would only take a few minutes. It isn’t hard at all, and either something will happen or it won’t. Either way, I can tell you have Alec’s heart.”

  Carol looked at me nervously and then back at Alba. “All right, let’s do that test. Today is my wedding day and so I already have everything I need. If I don’t have magic, I’ll still have Alec and I’m happy.”

  Alba smiled and took her arm. She guided her away from all the noise of the firing line and to an open patch of grass. She sat down and invited Carol to join her on the ground. I took up a position behind Carol out of the way where I wouldn’t distract her, but could see her clearly. I adjusted my vision so I could watch for magic building in Carol and I waited. I’d seen the routine dozens of times, where focus would be explained and how to picture the desired result. The trainee or potential would be given an activator word and presto, something would happen, or not. I didn’t understand how Aunt Alba could go through the instructions, week after week, without pulling her hair out. Of course she didn’t know how I could live on the road without family around for weeks on end either. I supposed that proved that everyone had his or her own niche in life.

  Carol leaned forward slightly and focused on a fist sized stone that was on the ground between the two ladies and I moved closer to watch and listen. I scanned Carol for a buildup of ‘caster magic’ and saw nothing. I sighed softly hoping she wouldn’t be too disappointed. On a whim I scanned for psionic magic as well, but saw nothing.

  I began to move toward the ladies in case I needed to comfort my wife, when the stone between them began to rise slowly from the ground. I heard Carol softly say ‘telekinesis’ but the stone was already in the air! It shouldn’t have moved at all before she activated her spell! I looked at Alba and she was already staring at me. Carol turned to me and grinned, and the stone hovered. I smiled back as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  I exclaimed, “That is fantastic, Carol! Go ahead and drop the stone, because I want to see something.”

  The stone fell to the ground with a thud and she smiled. “What do I get to try now, my husband?”

  “Since you’re my wife and I’ll be working with you on your training, I’d like to try skipping to phase two. It shouldn’t be much more difficult than what you just did.”

  Carol was giddy with excitement. “Ok, tell me what you want me to do.”

  Alba was listening and watching intently while I instructed. “I want you to do the exact same thing, except skip the word that you used. If you can work the spells without the words, we’ll be close to advancing you past ‘Novice’, and right in to ‘Adept’.”

  Carol grinned and nodded; she turned back to the test stone and focused again. I scanned in every way I knew and looked around for a novice that might be playing a game that would get them reprimanded or expelled. This time there was no sound and the stone popped three feet from the ground, and hovered once more. I applauded and said, “Now let’s head down to the far end of the range with the novices. I want to try another spell that you might like.” We walked, hand in hand, with Alba following closely behind. She caught my eye and gestured her confusion. I discreetly shrugged and shook my head.

  At the firing line, I kissed Carol on the cheek and explained, “I’m going
to show you a spell and then I want you to try to duplicate it. It’s a simple, level one spell and you’ve shown that you pick up on those quickly enough.” She nodded and I looked down range. I fired a magic arrow at the closest target, causing a red hot spot to appear on the metal plate. Alba gasped when she saw what I was trying to do, but I signaled her to wait quietly. I prepared to cast healing and make a huge apology if I were wrong, because this spell could be quite painful to a wandless caster.

  Carol looked at the target for a moment and focused on what she’d seen me do, she then raised her hand. A golden streak of energy flew from her and struck the target. She turned to me and hugged me, laughing happily.

  Alba declared, “All right, that’s enough, Alec. I’m getting your father, Gwen and Della. There has to be an answer somewhere.”

  I laughed. “I hope you’re right, because my wife has gone out of her way to surprise and amaze me since I met her.” I turned to Carol and kissed her firmly on the lips, drawing whistles from the girls on the range. “You’re an amazing woman, did you know that? In the known magical history of Eredwynn, no caster could do that spell you just did without a wand. If they’d tried, it would have caused a painful burn at the very least. I can see magic in people and when it’s being used, in everyone that I’ve met, except for you. Aunt Alba has gone to get Father, Gwen and Della in the hopes that they’ll know why you can do what you do. I already know how you do it; you’re just an amazing woman!”

  “If I’m doing something so out of the ordinary that it can shake up the famous Princess Alba that badly, I’d like more of an answer than just being amazing.”