The Sword of Light

by Andrew G. Wood

  Finley was a little surprised when Imogen reached out and grabbed his hand, “Come on!” she said dragging him towards the door, I’ll take you to my father.”

  As they left the room, the two guards immediately made a grab for Finley, only to be told in no uncertain terms by Imogen that he was not to be touched. Both men obeyed her command although it was evidently clear both would have liked nothing more than to pummel him half to death if they could. Finley felt a little odd as the Princess held on to his hand as she led him down another corridor. He actually felt quite disappointed when she eventually released it as she ignored two more guards stood outside another door and let herself pass in.

  Finley quickly followed her before he got stopped and after letting Sessi in closed the door behind him. He turned to see the man he sought sitting behind his desk with a glass of brandy in his hand. “What is it my Dear?” the man said softly to his daughter, before looking over to where Finley stood, “And what are you doing with him? I asked not to be disturbed!” he added sounding not quite so graceful. “Please Father, listen to what he has to say,” Imogen said stepping back to the door and grabbing Finley’s hand again, leading him up to the King’s desk.

  From the look on the King’s face, he was not best impressed by seeing his eldest daughter clutching his hand. Finley didn’t want any more trouble and so did make an effort, albeit a rather poor one, to move his hand away from Imogen’s. Unfortunately, the Princess just clasped it tighter, “Tell him, Finley,” she said.

  “Well. Have you lost your tongue Boy!” The king snapped.

  Finley nodded and took a big intake of breath, trying to keep calm. Why were people always so difficult to deal with? After all, he was only there to try and save the man’s kingdom, and yet everything he did seemed to be wrong.

  Nevertheless, Finley started explaining the series of events as he had already explained to the Commander and the Princess. As he spoke, Finley was sure he could almost see the colour draining from the King’s face. “ I have just sent most of my troops away from the city on the advice of your friend Galdrac. Now you tell me Carison is the target?”

  “Sorry, Majesty. The Balgraf fooled us all.”

  Finley explained that they did attack Neylarin, just not all of them and that he couldn’t even be sure if the Elves were still in control of their capital since he had left when the trouble started.

  There was a long awkward silence, although made just a little better by the fact the princess still clasped his hand. “I will help where I can, and so will my dragon, although he got injured a little in the fighting,” he added trying to sense where Arach was and how he was feeling. Although some distance from him, he could feel the dragon was sleeping and thought it best he did not disturb him.

  “Where are the rest of your group?” The king asked wondering why he was on his own.

  “I have Sessi with me, the others all went to Balrach to see the Orcs. Galdrac said he needed to speak with them.”

  The king drank his brandy in one large gulp before gently placing the glass back down on his desk. “ I am told you are a powerful and dangerous young man, and that my son has foolishly given you his sword thinking it magical.”

  “It is magical Sire. The Sword of Light is very powerful,” he said interrupting the King.

  “You have it with you then?” the King asked. “Surely if this Sword of Light as you call it is so great you will be able to defend my weakened city?”

  Finley shook his head, apologising that was not the case and that his mother and Galdrac had taken it from him. “Apparently now is not the time for me to use it,” he added even though he still didn’t understand what either had meant by those words.

  “Father. The longer we stand here talking the less time we have to prepare,” The Princess intervened noticeably concerned about what was taking place. “Surely if we are to be attacked we need to get the guard ready and in position…I am frightened father,” she added.

  “I’ll protect you,” Finley suddenly found himself saying, before realising that was probably one of those moments he should have thought about what he was going to say before actually doing so.

  “You will stay away from my daughter. You need protecting from yourself! Guards!” the king shouted.

  Two burly looking men quickly entered the room, and Finley just assumed the King was going to relay his orders. While that was indeed the case initially, with the man giving the order for the city to prepare for an attack and for the gates to be locked. What happened next was somewhat more of a surprise. “Arrest this ‘Boy’ and have him thrown in a cell. If he so much as looks at my daughter again have him flogged,” the King commanded, “And throw that stinking mutt of his in with him.”

  Finley was so shocked by the words it took a few moments for them to sink in. “My pleasure Sire,” one of the guards said making a grab for Finley’s arm and pulling him towards the door. Sessi was about to intervene, and Finley could feel the wolf readying to attack, but he quickly asked him once more to stay calm. However, Imogen was seemingly not letting go of his hand without a fight and became quite vocal in her protest. Within a few moments, Finley found himself being pulled in both directions and the King and Princess exchanging what he could only describe as a verbal tirade of abuse at each other. Royals they may have been, but when it came to using certain expletives, they were up there with the best of them.

  “What is all this?” Came a woman’s voice. The room quickly fell silent.

  “I can hear you lot from the other side of the palace,” the newcomer said speaking a little softer. “Imogen my dear why are you hanging on to this Boy’s hand?”

  “Father wants to throw him in prison. I won't let him!” The princess replied sounding quite defiant in her words. Finley gave a rather bashful grin as he realised who the woman was and that he was probably directly responsible the royal family having a domestic feud.

  “Willem Dear. What has the boy done?” the Queen asked sounding far more regal and calmer than any of the other royals. In fact, Finley thought her entire demeanour somewhat becalming, thinking her a very elegant lady. She did not shout or curse, and when she walked it was done so slowly and gracefully. “Excuse me my Queen, but the boy assaulted us!” one of the guards stood in the doorway said.

  “Is this true…Sorry I do not know your name?” The queen asked turning to Finley.

  “Only so he could get the message to Father about the city being attacked,” Imogen said jumping to his defence before he could say anything.

  The Queen looked around the room, before turning to the guard, “Was anybody hurt?” she asked.

  The guard shook his head, “No Majesty,” he replied.

  “Then please let go of the Boy’s arm, and leave us to discuss this matter in private.”

  The guard in question looked somewhat disappointed by the command but bowed his head subserviently and respectfully before doing as was asked. “Now perhaps you will like to let go of him as well my Dear?” The Queen asked Imogen. “I am sure he will not fly off if you let go,” she said calmly.

  Unfortunately for Finley Imogen did as her mother requested, although not without first giving his hand a little squeeze before doing so. “And why is there a great dirty wolf sat in your office?” The Queen then asked her husband as she noticed Sessi. The wolf decided to make his move and went and sat over beside the Queen and licked her hand as a playful puppy might do. “Excuse me Majesty that is Sessi, he is my wolf…We have a link.”

  “You are a druid?” The Queen asked turning sharply suddenly sounding much more interested.

  “This is the Boy I was telling you about Clarice,” The King added, himself sounding much calmer than he had a few minutes earlier.

  “Ah the Dragon boy, who James gave the Sword too?” she asked checking she had the details correct.

  “I thank you for helping save my son. From what I hear you are quite the sorcerer,” The Queen added turning her attention to Finley. “And it appears m
y daughter has taken a shine to you,” she added causing both Finley and the Princess to blush.

  “That is not going to happen!” The king muttered.

  “Oh Willem, do be quiet. If Imogen likes the boy then so be it. They are still young, and it will do her good to be around other people her own age.”

  Finley was beginning to wish he was elsewhere as the Queen talked about him as if he was not even there. While in fairness everything she did say was complimentary and a far cry from what the King thought of him. It was very apparent to Finley that although the King was the one with all the power, it was actually the queen who had the real strength of their relationship. A calming woman who had quickly diffused a situation that had blown all out of proportion and one Finley felt the utmost respect for.

  “Now I assume you are preparing the city for this attack?”

  “Of course I am,” The King answered.

  “Good. Come along Imogen, bring your friend and his Wolf,” she said turning about and heading for the door. Finley thought it best to bow his head a little towards the king, “I will look after your family Sire. I promise no harm will come to them so long as I hold breath.”

  “You won't have any breath if you let anything happen to them. I’ll see to that!” The man replied still showing some aggression his way, albeit somewhat less than before.

  Imogen linked arms with her Mother and gestured for Finley to follow, leaving the King to himself. Puffing out his cheeks he felt Sessi nuzzle his hand as they walked, “Yes that did go well!” he mumbled down to his wolf in reply. When they reached the end of the corridor, the queen stopped and turned his direction, “You know my son James?” she asked, stepping aside to allow four guards to run down the corridor. Finley nodded that he did, “He is out with the soldiers now, Please find him and see he remains safe,” she added, her voice sounding somehow saddened.

  Finley went to turn to leave and find the young Prince as promised when he heard Imogen clear her throat and hold her hand out. Finley wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do with it, so took it in his own and shook it as he had done previously. Again, he could tell something he did wasn’t quite right, as he heard the Queen chuckling. Thankfully she leant over towards him a little and whispered, “I think you are supposed to kiss it,” she said with a smile.

  “Oh!” Finley replied suddenly feeling rather stupid.

  Holding Imogen’s hand in his own, he slowly lifted it up a little and planted the slightest of kisses on the back of her hand, before looking up for any kind of reaction. He saw the Queen nodding and Imogen smiling, so thought he had gotten right this time. “Until we meet again, Finley,” Imogen said giggling and linking arms with her mother once more, before giving him a slight wave of her hand and walking off down the corridor.

  Chapter 22.

  As the last of the people made it into the city of Carison, both sets of gates were closed shut and barred. The soldiers from the city’s Garrison quickly made their way through the streets and started taking up positions along the top of the wall. With King Willem having recently sent large numbers of reinforcements to the Elves and Dwarfs, as well as extra troops south to protect against the Orcish raids, those left in the capital mainly consisted of conscripts.

  While he did still have the main core of his Elite Royal Guards, these were not sufficient in number to defend the entire city. As a result, these highly skilled and experienced troops were kept in reserve to protect the palace and the Royal family. Only James, as one of those conscripted, should at least have been defending the outer wall with the others. However, as he was a Prince, he found himself, albeit somewhat disappointingly, with his small group guarding the city Waygate.

  James knew that his father had requested him to be kept far from trouble but to at least appear to be playing a part. If an attack came, those on the outer wall would naturally be called upon first, with those guarding the palace probably next in line. The prince realised that if the fighting ever got as far as him, the city and palace would have both been lost anyway.

  Regan, the tall, thin young man who had saved his life during the last attack was now bandaged up and back with the group. Although James had offered him the chance to remain in the infirmary a little longer to recuperate, the recruit had been keen to get back with the others. Since that last attack, James had seen the group bond so much tighter together, and Regan, the one he thought looked somewhat out of place, now was very much an integral part of it. The selfless show of courage in putting himself at risk to save James had undoubtedly seen him earn the utmost respect of the others. Even Jared and Leonard, who were both seasoned soldiers, appeared to show the young man a level of respect they had not shown before.

  James stood on the stone steps that led up to the building that housed the Waygate, somewhat annoyed that he was oblivious to what was actually going on outside the city. He spotted a familiar face turn in through the gates and walk his way, “Finley,” he mumbled to himself wondering what he was doing back in Carison.

  “Sir, Isn’t that the boy with the dragon? Only now he has a wolf instead.” He heard Seamus ask from just behind him.

  “It is. Let’s see what he wants,” James replied stepping down the steps to meet him.

  Finley spotted the Prince walking towards him and lifted his hand a little in greeting, before realising that was probably not the correct way to welcome a person of his standing. Instead, he paused and waited and bowed his head just a little as Galdrac had once told him to do, “Majesty,” he said before standing back upright.

  “Hello. You are back much sooner than we thought. What’s going on?” James asked.

  Finley suggested they head back towards the building and started to explain as they did. It was evidently clear that James was shocked by the Forces of Darkness merely bypassing Neylarin and heading in force towards Carison. “That will explain us all readying for an attack then,” he replied, glad that he had at last been given some information. While he knew from being sent to the Waygate something was imminent, he had not thought it an attack on such a scale.

  The Prince enquired about numbers, but Finley could only estimate at possible several hundred. The flying balgraf would probably already be in the area, “They are just remaining out of sight until their ground forces make an appearance,” Finley surmised, although in truth he wasn’t exactly sure that was true. With Arach still resting, he was surprised by how much he missed not having the dragon scout the local area for him. Seeing everything with a birds-eye view gave a much broader picture of the local area, and hence a much better idea of what was going on.

  James inquired as to where the dragon was, although it was evident the group all appeared to have taken an immediate like to Sessi. The wolf stood to enjoy all the attention as several hands took it in turns to pat and stroke him, and the fact Alvin was eating made him a little more popular than the others. “He seems very tame Sir,” Seamus said turning to face Finley. The fact somebody referred to him as ‘Sir’ caught Finley a little by surprise, and it took a few moments before he realised It was actually him being spoken too. “Don’t let him fool you. He’d have your hand off given half a chance,” he replied, feeling somewhat uncomfortable that the others appeared to regard him as their superior; a feeling that was foreign to him yet perhaps something he could get used to.

  “If there is a massive attack coming, would it not be better if you were on the outer wall Sir,” Casper asked aiming the question to Finley.

  “I’ve been told to behave myself and try to avoid fighting unless I have to. Plus I have promised the Queen I’ll keep an eye on James,” he replied. The moment those words left his mouth, Finley knew he should not have said them. The young Prince looked aghast as all the faces in his group turned to him, and it was apparent to Finley that they somehow looked at their leader a little less favourably because of them.

  James could feel the annoyance that his parents were interfering once more. First, they positioned him and his group so far fro
m any possible fighting they were never going to see any. Now they had only gone and asked possibly the most powerful sorcerer on the planet to be his babysitter. He suddenly felt torn as what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to prove himself not only to his parents but his small group as well, on the other, he didn’t want to disobey an order given to him, although it wouldn’t necessarily be the first time he’d pushed his luck in that regard. However, on previous occasions of him doing things he had been told not to, he had not been in the military and had done so more because of boredom. However, disobeying orders now, would not only affect him but those under his command as well.

  Finley quickly tried to change subject, by telling them of the fight that had gone on at Neylarin, and that Galdrac and the others had gone to the Orc capital of Balrach. Before anyone had a chance to ask any questions, he then moved on to how he and Arach had stopped the Orcish invaders on the southern tip of the human territories. Using his hands to demonstrate, he showed how the dragon had swooped down and made a noise to imitate the sound of the fire being spewed forth. “Whoah!” Jacob said visibly hanging on to every word Finley was saying.

  “Did you burn them all?” the youngster asked