by Mike Shelton
Richard almost stepped back at the look in her eyes, but he held his ground. The King was right; there was power there. “I heard that the King dismissed you. I ask again, what are you doing here?”
Christine held herself up tall and straight. Her eyes blazed deep into the councilor’s eyes. “I needed to talk to the King or to one of his councilors. He was supposed to answer us today. He didn’t have enough time earlier.”
“The King has other things to think about besides you,” Richard interrupted. “Are you sure you didn't overhear anything outside of the door?”
She smiled at him with force. “Would you believe me anyway?”
Richard’s head snapped back as if being pushed. He fought to keep control.
“How can you trust her? She is an outsider,” Sean said with disgust. “What do you want me to do with her?”
Richard was happy for the distraction. “Nothing, Sean. This isn’t your business. Just go and take care of what we talked about. I will take care of her. “
Sean turned and gave Christine a leering look of utter disgust. “Sounds fun.”
Richard saw a look of anger come over the girl. She stopped, almost as if listening to someone. Then she calmed herself down and relaxed. “You’re not worth it anyways.” She directed her comments towards Sean as he turned to go.
“What?” Sean spun around.
“Oh, nothing.” Christine gave him a sweet smile. “Just trying to convince myself not to hate you too much.”
Sean grunted and left, leaving only Christine and Richard standing face to face. Christine stood in defiance, not moving a muscle as Richard closed the door. He smiled inside at how she treated Sean. Maybe he had misjudged his son’s choices. She was definitely more than she seemed.
He closed his door and motioned for her towards some chairs. They sat down and he watched her look around his study and take in the surroundings. Dark cherry wood, with maps of neighboring lands, covered most of the walls. A semi-circle of chairs, a couch, and a small table took up about a third of the room. This is where he led her.
“What do you know of my son?” he asked with a softer tone after they sat.
“I know that he went away,” was all she said.
“You are trying my patience, young one. You are not allowed here in this part of the castle. You have trespassed. There are men who, if they behaved like you have done, would be sitting in a dark room awaiting punishment. Maybe even death.”
“You sent him somewhere to train,” she said, keeping her composure.
He could tell his words had affected her like he had wanted. “You have not heard from him since?”
“I didn’t even see him the day he went away. I had gone to Forest View with my father. From what I do know, he was only given a short time to prepare.” The last statement, Richard realized, was an individual attack on him. But he kept his mouth closed.
“I did not like the influence you had on him when he was here, and you could be punished, but for the sake of my son, though he will not believe this, I will let you go. Besides, the King is intrigued by you.” He wondered why he had offered that to her. Why was her presence comforting?
Christine smiled. “How so? I am just a poor farmer girl.” Sarcasm was becoming more natural to her in the councilor’s presence. She should be more careful.
“That is what I told him. But now . . . ?”
“Now what, councilor? Do you actually see a person rather than just an ‘outsider?’” She used his terminology boldly. She felt a small gasp of amusement from Lightning.
Watch out, Christine. Your boldness could get you in trouble.
Richard had to admire the girl. She was better at trading barbs than many nobles he had met in a long time. “The King thinks there is something more; however, I think it is just your level head and sweet disposition that has made an impact on his thinking.”
Christine just smiled. “Now who is being sarcastic, councilor?”
“There isn’t anything else, is there?” Richard raised his brows.
The girl froze for an instant. Only for a blink of an eye, once again as if listening to something. But before he could question it, it was gone.
“Now what else would there be, councilor? I’m not an evil wizard or sorceress sent to put a spell on King Edward,” Christine laughed.
For the third time that day, Richard was involved with someone mentioning the old magic. He hoped it was only a coincidence, but something tickled the back of his mind. The King had mentioned a power before. Was this young lady bewitching them all?
“I think I should leave now,” Christine interrupted Richard’s thoughts. “But the reason I came here was the petition.”
Richard didn’t believe the daring of this young lady. “As I told you before, we will get to your petition when we have time.”
Christine stood up and her eyes flashed brightly. “Councilor, time is running out,” she began. “I am only one of a few that want to settle these matters of inequality and unfairness with peaceful means, though that idea is quickly becoming unfruitful. I am probably the simplest, easiest one you have to deal with.”
Richard laughed. “Nothing about you is simple or easy, my dear.” He stood and motioned her to the door.
“Others are planning to take you to battle. I think it is ridiculous. But others don’t. We will be heard one way or another.”
“To battle?” Richard said with laughing hostility. “Do you not recognize that our army is the mightiest in all the lands? You would bring us into battle? We would squash you like gnats on a horse. Now get out before I change my mind.” Richard’s voice boomed as he opened the door. “And tell your friends that if they try to fight us, there won't be any of you left to write a petition.”
The councilor called for a steward standing at the end of the hall to escort the young lady out of the castle.
Christine knew she had accomplished all she could that day. The nobles and King Edward were blind to their cause. They used ‘we’ and ‘you’ as if the farmers and city people were not considered the same people. She realized in her heart that many of the farmers were right. The nobles would never listen to the farmers’ plight. They were blind to anything outside of their power. She knew Richard was right also. The king’s army would beat them away like flies.
Chapter Twenty One
THE FINAL TEST
“Good luck,” smiled Leandra, as she leaned into Darius with a quick rise onto her toes and kissed him. He was about to leave for his last field test to become the first full commander of the Elite Army. It had been four months since arriving in camp and almost three since becoming a team leader. Others had become team leaders since then, but no one else was being invited to take the final field test.
Darius rubbed his head from hitting it into a tree when he moved away from her. “What did you do that for?” She had been planting surprise kisses on him for the past few weeks. Ever since he had saved her from the men that Cray sent to test him.
They had enjoyed additional walks together since then, which were in fact relaxing and far less exciting than the first one. Darius had begun to like having Leandra around. She praised him and smiled at him, and was quite alluring with the looks she offered him. Above all, it seemed to make the other men envious of him.
“Why do you think?” giggled Leandra, her soft brown eyes sparkled with her usual mischievousness. “Why do you think people kiss, Darius?”
“I uh . . .” Darius watched some of the other young men from afar. Some were jealous of him, with all that he had accomplished at the camp in the few short months, but having Leandra on his arm really seemed to irk them. What would they say if they knew how nervous he actually was around her? Some of the men looked over towards the pair to see what was happening.
With an unexpected move, Darius grabbed Leandra around the waist and pulled her back towards him with force. Letting her feel a trickle of his power, he returned her kiss, letting his lips linger just a brief moment long
er than hers had.
Leandra's face turned a few shades of pink as Darius turned and walked towards Cray, who waited with men and horses to begin their ascent into the Superstition Mountains.
The other men behind him snickered and whooped and hollered. Maybe kissing her had shown them he was more like them than they thought.
“Don't say anything,” he said to Cray as he jumped on his horse.
“Who, me? What would I say to a young man who just about made a girl melt to her knees?” laughed Cray.
“I did not.” Darius looked a little embarrassed.
“Look back there.” Cray pointed towards Leandra, who still stood in the same place Darius had left her. She had a dreamy look on her face and smiled at Darius as if nothing else in the world mattered.
“Girls . . .” was all Darius said as he kicked his horse and headed up the mountain and out of the camp. Cray and two others followed shortly behind.
As Cray had promised, they stayed on the horses for two days as they climbed higher into the mountains. The ground and branches were covered in snow, but the days were clear. As they climbed to a higher altitude, the temperature dropped and Darius wrapped a double cloak of skins around himself. He could see his warm breath in the frigid air. Towards the end of the second day they stopped.
Cray took out a thick piece of wool fabric and moved closer to Darius. “You will now go blindfolded the rest of the way.”
“What?” Darius was surprised at the direction. “What will that accomplish?”
“It will make it more of a chore to get back to camp.” Cray smiled.
Darius looked around for the other men that accompanied him. They were off to the side, feeding the other horses. “You do know that I have other abilities that will help me get back?”
Cray smirked at him and hopped off his horse. “Don’t let everything hinge on that, Darius. You are here at the training camp for a purpose. To be trained in the King’s Elite Army, and then to follow the King’s direction in where he wants to send you and what he wants you to do. This final test of getting back to camp on your own, in the mountains in the middle of winter, will convince me and the other leaders you are really ready to have a full command of men under you.”
“I don’t need a lecture, Cray.” Darius furrowed his eyes at his trainer and tried to relax his clenched fists as he dropped to the ground. His legs still felt like he was riding the horse.
Cray walked closer to him. “I don’t pretend to understand what goes on in your mind.” He put a friendly hand on Darius’s shoulder. “I know this was not your choice to be here, but you have done well and I am proud of you.”
Darius took a deep breath and let it go, wisps of warm fog escaping into the cold air. “I am not mad at you. I just want to control my own life without others pulling the strings.”
The other man came over towards Cray. “Sir,” one of them said. “We need to keep moving before it gets dark.”
Darius reached over and took the blindfold from his trainer. With a smirk he said, “Lead me on, men. Let’s hope you don’t dump me off a cliff somewhere.”
A few hours later they stopped, removed the blindfold, and gave Darius a small knife and a day’s worth of water.
“You are on your own now, son.” Cray shook his hand. “Make a camp here for the night and then return to us at the base camp as soon as you can.”
Looking around himself, Darius saw he was next to a small creek with a large rock face behind it. Large pines surrounded a small field of snow. “Looks inviting.”
Cray smiled. “Use the knowledge of your training. There is plenty of food and shelter here; just be smart about it.”
The men took his horse and left Darius to head down the mountain, trying to get a head start to camp before darkness forced them to settle in for the night.
“And no cheating!” Cray yelled from around a corner.
Darius looked towards him with surprise, but he couldn’t see the men anymore. He could now instinctively bring up the power within himself. It isn’t cheating to use something that belongs to me. The power flared again. He pushed it back inside. He knew what Cray meant. He had been trained and had passed all the tests up until now; he could do it without using his power. It wouldn’t be hard, except for the fact that it was now a part of him, and he hardly had to think to draw on it in a time of need.
Darius looked in more detail at his surroundings. He could tell he was much higher than the base camp. The trees were not as dense. At this height and time of year, all but the evergreens had lost their leaves. He walked around with some difficulty in the snow and found himself on a large plateau, looking east. As far as he could see, the jagged mountains filled his vision, growing smaller and smaller in the distance, eventually disappearing into the fading purplish mists. He knew Anikari was in that direction.
Down by the stream a dozen yards away was an overhang of rock. With a few branches from the pine trees, he was able to make a small shelter for the night. Soon, with his flint and steel, he built a small fire and felt more comfortable. He didn’t worry about getting back too soon. He could survive out in the mountains. This was what he had trained for.
Darius had, in fact, already decided to stay out a little longer than would be expected. It would make Cray and the others worry for him a little longer. That would make them appreciate him more when he did arrive back in the camp. The men would admire him and he would now be their leader—the youngest of them all. He would be ready to march!
He thought of Kelln. This was the kind of adventure they had dreamed of as young children, and into their teen years. Maybe he would find a lost cabin or hidden cave. He felt better than he had in months. He wondered where Kelln was. The last he had heard of his friend was before he’d left to Belor to find out about his family and the troubles there. Darius smiled at the thought of the trouble Kelln could always find, no matter where he went.
He breathed in the cold air, relaxing, and his power pulsed. It gave him clarity of thought. The pine needles seemed clearer, his memory sharper, and the possibilities of what he could do started to open up to him.
This was the first time that he had felt free since leaving his home. He grabbed a dead branch and started to whittle as he pondered what to do to find some food.
He was finally in control.
Chapter Twenty Two
SECRETS SHARED
Christine, sitting atop her large Cremelino, raced through the trees. She weaved her head back and forth, trying to keep pine needles from slapping her face. She was glad it was winter, or the oaks, maples, and smaller brush would have made her ride more dangerous. Lightning kicked up dirt from the soft ground, spraying mud around about her and dirtying her white coat.
Taking advantage of a warmer than usual winter day, she had ridden Lightning out to the Field of Diamonds earlier that morning. Being there always brought solace to her soul.
The field reminded her of Darius. She missed him horribly and wondered when she would see him again. The year was coming to an end and it had been five months since he had left.
The petition had earned nothing from King Edward and trouble grew daily between the farmers of Anikari and those inside the city. Taunting and beatings had become more dangerous and frequent. The talk of retaliation on the part of the farmers continued to grow. Christine grew more and more unsure of a peaceful solution.
Sitting at the edge of the Lake of Reflection she had seen what she’d first thought were clouds. But on second glance she had recognized them as smoke. Dark, thick clouds of it coming from the direction of the farmlands.
With a silent thought to her horse to ride quickly, she had jumped up onto Lightning, and now they rode quickly through the forest between the lake and the farmlands.
Emerging out onto the road once again she sucked in a deep breath and clutched her chest with one hand. The smoke was thicker and billowing over the thinning trees and closest fields. It was in the direction of her family’s farm.
Lightning rode faster than what Christine had thought possible. Green and brown blurred around her as she streaked frantically down the road. Before turning around a bend she heard the voices of others and the loud crackle of the fire. The air seemed to warm and thicken.
The sight sickened her and she almost fell from her horse.
“Stop,” Christine voiced to Lightning.
In front of her blazed a fire, spreading across fields where spring vegetables would have been planted in a few months. Others were running around, trying to keep animals safe. What grabbed her attention, however, was the bright inferno at the back of their property, which used to be their family barn. The orange and yellow flames licked high into the sky with billowing smoke pouring from it, burning wood, hay, and food.
Their own house, at the far end of the property, looked safe for the time being. The wind seemed to be carrying the fire away from any homes at the moment.
Christine didn’t know what to do. Her eyes were burning from the smoky air and she wiped the tears from them with the sleeve of her coat.
A loud yell turned her attention to the side of the barn. It was a horrific scream that tore her soul. Squinting through the smoke, she saw her father running from the fire. A horrid sob escaped her as she urged Lightning forward and over a fence.
Keeping the edge of the spreading flames to her left, she spurred her Cremelino faster. Her father had fallen to the ground and the flames were quickly turning towards him. The back of his clothes looked singed.
The dry winter grass was instant fuel for the raging fire. A loud cracking sound followed by a crash alerted Christine to the fact that the barn was about to topple over. Nearing her father, she called his name.
He rose up on his elbows and looked at her. His face was streaked with soot and tears, with a large gash on the side of his head. “Go back,” his weakened voice yelled towards her.
