“I’m sorry, your highness. I think I wrapped it around my leg,” Kestrel answered.
“You down there! Hold still,” a voice shouted, and Kestrel looked up to see a guardsman standing at the edge of the bridge railing, looking at where his and Yulia’s light clothes stood out in the darkness. At the same time there was a crashing sound in the underbrush, as someone approached them as well.
Kestrel threw his knife at the guard on the bridge, then pulled his blue uniform shirt up over his head.
“Here, take this shirt,” he told Yulia as he extended the shirt to her. “Lucretia, return,” he then called out.
“What did you say?” Yulia asked as she bent to take the shirt.
“I was calling my knife to come back,” Kestrel said just as the handle smacked into his palm and his fingers wrapped around it. And then he was shocked as an arrow struck him in the chest, striking the shield on his left side and knocking him back into the water with its force.
Kestrel sputtered as he fell into the water and swallowed a mouthful. He flailed, and felt his hand land upon the rough skin of the dead lizard. There was an enemy very nearby, he realized; he had to react to protect the princess and himself. Using the lizard’s body as leverage, he pressed himself back out of the water and rose, then shook his head to clear the water from his eyes before he looked up again. Yulia was visible once more, and a guardsman from the palace held her securely, paying no attention to Kestrel as the girl struggled to free herself.
Kestrel threw his knife once more, fell backwards in reaction to his throw, then pushed himself up again.
After that it was a simple matter for he and Yulia to take the shirt off the dead man so that he would have something to wear, then cautiously climb up the embankment to get to the road, and they slowly hobbled down to where Greysen awaited them. While the boy was dressing, Kestrel took a drink of healing water, and poured some over his wounded leg. He then poured more onto Yulia’s scalp, and made her take a drink, before he and she climbed aboard his horse, and they began to depart from the Yellow Palace, the two freed hostages visible once again.
“We need to move quickly,” Kestrel urged. “They’ve surely not only found the dead bodies at the bridge, but the bodies in the steward’s office as well.” The escapees moved at a speed that allowed the boy to trot, until he was clearly winded, and then he and the princess traded places, while Kestrel, with his badly mauled leg, stayed in the saddle. They continued on with that configuration until they reached the crossroads where they turned north and started back towards Aunt Ressel’s estate.
During the night Kestrel tried to take a turn letting the other two ride, while he went afoot, as he had planned before his injured leg, but his hobbled pace slowed them down, and caused his leg to ache horrifically, so he went back atop the horse before they even passed through the village with the inn that he and Margo and Picco had stayed in, while the other two walked. When dawn arrived Kestrel could see his two companions, looking clearly exhausted from the sleepless night and the stress of their escape.
“Let’s stop up ahead by that brook and have something to eat,” he suggested, and they both readily agreed.
“Here,” Kestrel reached into his saddlebag when they pulled up beside the reeds that lined the water, and he pulled out fruit and bread, which he distributed to the others.
“Let me see your head,” he told Yulia, as he limped over to her with his healing water. “I’ll put a little water in your hand, and I want you to rub it on the wound,” he told the girl. “Then go ahead and take a drink from this,” he handed her the skin.
“Where are you taking us?” Greysen asked as he lay on the bank by the water.
“Today we’re going to an estate where two of my friends are staying. Then tomorrow or the day after we’ll all leave together and go to a manor house up near the Water Mountains. Then we’ll drop the others off there and the three of us will go to Hydrotaz.”
“Where in Hydrotaz?” Greysen asked. “I want to find my father.”
“What will I do in Hydrotaz?” Yulia asked. “Won’t my brother be in trouble for my escape?”
Kestrel pondered what to say. She might as well know the whole truth, he decided, painful as it would be to tell, and to hear. “Yulia, the officer back there told me that they planned to execute you last night, because your brother died. You are now the ruler of Hydrotaz.”
“Dead? My brother is dead? Horennst, dead?” Yulia was white-faced.
“That’s what they told me, and I don’t know why they would have lied,” Kestrel told her.
“Your majesty,” Greysen spoke up suddenly, now kneeling before the girl. “I pledge to help you return to Hydrotaz so that you may reclaim your family’s throne and rid our nation of the Graylee scum.”
“Is that why the goddess told you to rescue me?” Yulia asked.
“I don’t know. The gods have kept me busy the past year, and I never understand what they have in mind,” Kestrel answered. “It doesn’t do much good to question or disobey them.”
“What are you, some special servant of the gods?” Greysen asked.
“Yes I am,” Kestrel agreed, as he sat down on the grass and began to unwrap the shirt wrappedaround his shin. “I’m just not a very good one,” he said absently, “though I never tried to be one. I think they were desperate and willing to take anyone to do their work,” he mumbled as he gingerly pulled the cloth loose from his leg, where it stuck to the dried blood around his wound. He gave one last tug, and inhaled sharply as the cloth parted from his skin.
The monster had torn into his flesh very thoroughly; there were shreds pulled so far that he could see a strip of white bone exposed.
“I hope this wasn’t your favorite blouse,” he said absently to Yulia as he picked up the skin of healing water and let its contents dribble gently onto the wound.
“Oh heaven,” Yulia startled him as she commented from behind his shoulder, looking down at his leg. “One of the water monsters did that?”
“It did, with just one bite,” Kestrel grunted. He took a small drink of water, then put the stopper in the skin. “We need to get moving,” he suggested, as he stood and looked at the reeds growing by the stream, a sudden inspiration tickling his heart. He walked over to the reeds, limping heavily, then used Lucretia to cut several of them of varying diameters.
“What are those for?” Greysen asked.
“I’m going to make a set of reeds to play, like the gnomes use for music,” Kestrel answered.
“You need to ride the horse,” Yulia told him firmly, as he stood idly inspecting the raw materials of his new instrument. “We can walk.”
“How did you get across the water, anyway?” Greysen asked.
“I’ll tell you when we get to the estate,” Kestrel answered, as he settled into the saddle.
“I want to know now,” Greysen said stubbornly.
No,” Kestrel said in an impatient tone. “You’ve been less than cooperative on this adventure, and you need to learn that there are times a soldier bucks up and follows orders and doesn’t cause trouble. This is one of those times.”
“Greysen,” Yulia placed her hand on his arm. “Let’s get moving to this estate Kestrel promises us. He’s taken on a lot for us these past few hours.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Greysen said stubbornly.
“Tell us about this estate,” Yulia said as they returned to the road. “Is it nice?”
“It’s large, beautiful, comfortable, and owned by the sweetest grandmother you can imagine,” Kestrel answered. “Plus, it has a bathhouse with hot water,” he added as they began to move forward again.
“Now it sounds like heaven!” Yulia laughed. “Being free is a blessing; returning to Hydrotaz will be a double blessing; but taking a hot bath will be paradise itself!”
“Why are these people in Graylee being so nice to us?” Greysen asked.
“Not everyone in Graylee sees things the same way the prince does. The nation is in
turmoil,” Kestrel answered, “or it’s heading that way. The prince is under the control of the ambassador from Uniontown, and that’s what’s causing the nation to go to war with its neighbors. Uniontown wants to conquer all the lands of the Inner Seas, it seems to me, so that their gods can defeat our gods and be worshipped by us all.”
“Nicolai came from Uniontown!” Yulia exclaimed.
“Who?” Kestrel asked.
“The seneschal who persuaded us to attack the Eastern Forest, the one who told us to form an alliance with Graylee. Nicolai was a Hydrotaz lad who went away for two years, and when he came back to Hydrotaz, he had money, and bought influence, and became the seneschal of the royal court,” Yulia said. “He’s the one who made so many of the bad decisions that destroyed our country.”
“That fits in with the rest of the evil that comes from Uniontown. In Estone I fought their ambassador there, and we found that they carried out human sacrifice. It is an evil nation whose people follow evil gods, and it is destroying the way life has been lived in the Inner Seas,” Kestrel added. “But the people we are going to meet, they are residents of Graylee who are opposed to their prince and his misrule. That’s why we’re leaving the city.”
They continued to plod along at the pace of whoever travelled on foot, and stopped for rest twice more, before reaching the estate as sunset came.
“Kestrel!” Picco called as she saw him ride up and limp away from his horse. “What happened to you?” she asked, hugging him tightly and ignoring the others.
Margo came out and greeted Yulia and Greysen, then also hugged Kestrel, and looked down at his leg.
“It will be fine,” Kestrel told both girls. “I’ve put healing water on it. The princess was hit in the head; we need to look at her injury, and I’m sure these folks would like a real meal, and the princess would like a hot bath – I promised her one. While the boy might not like a bath, he’ll need one sooner or later.”
“You’ve got a princess?” Margo asked.
“This is the princess of Hydrotaz, Yulia, who was being held captive at the Yellow Palace,” Kestrel answered. “And this is her retainer from Hydrotaz, Greysen. I am going to take them to their home.”
“Picco, would you go send a groom around to take the horse to the stables?” he asked. “I’ll take everyone to the kitchen, and you can meet us there.”
The blonde girl ran off, and Kestrel took his staff from the saddle and used it to help him walk through the house.
They all settled into the kitchen, gathered around a table, and Margo and a cook provided items from the pantry that the travelers tucked in to. At Kestrel’s request they brewed a pot of willow bark tea, and he sipped the warm beverage, as did Yulia.
“So tell me now, how did you get across that water last night?” Greysen asked.
“What water, Kestrel?” Margo asked.
“At the Yellow Palace,” he answered.
“The lake that surrounds the palace?” Picco asked. “That’s a big lake.”
“I ran across it,” Kestrel said simply, “or all but the last couple of yards.”
“You ran across the water?” Picco said.
“Yes,” Kestrel answered, watching Greysen to see his reaction. “It’s something elves do, usually for fun. Last night I ran farther than I think I ever have before, carrying her highness, only it wasn’t for fun.”
“You’re an elf?” Greysen asked incredulously, pressing back from the table.
“I am part elf, part human,” Kestrel answered. “But I’m mostly elf,was raised as an elf, in the Eastern Forest.”
“Are the rest of you elves too?” Greysen asked Margo and Picco.
“Not me. I’d never seen an elf until we had one of the slaves that came from Hydrotaz,” Picco answered, and Margo nodded agreement.
“But you’re sitting here calmly with an elf! So are you, princess!” Greysen said incredulously.
“Calm down, Greysen. This man saved our lives; he’s shed his blood and he’s worked hard on our behalf,” Yulia told the boy. “Elf or human, I don’t think it matters. At this point, I’d rather be with a hundred elf-Kestrels than one humanNicolai.”
“He’s saved our lives too,” Picco said.
“You’ll find there are good-hearted people of all races Greysen, and it doesn’t matter what their ears are like, or what color their skin is, or how tall they are– the good ones are the ones you trust,” Kestrel said.
“I am exhausted, and I’d like to go to bed. Can you arrange quarters for our guests?” he asked Margo.
“Certainly. Would you like a bath before you go to bed?” she asked Yulia.
“I would love nothing more than a hot bath!” Yulia exclaimed.
Kestrel was joined on the way upstairs by the whole group, as Margo took them upstairs to show them their rooms while their baths were prepared, while Picco went to start the fire for the hot water in the bathhouse. Kestrel gratefully hugged Margo good night, then went to his room, and despite his pain he fell soundly asleep, exhausted by two days and a night spent rescuing the two Hydrotaz hostages.
Chapter 14– Departure from Ressel’s
Kestrel awoke in midmorning, and hobbled downstairs with his skin of healing water, a strap of leather, and his cut reeds. He sat down in the dining room and asked a servant for a cloth, which he soaked in the water then spread over his injury, as he ate breakfast in the bright, sunny silence of the dining room, and tinkered with assembling the reeds into a gnomish musical instrument. He sat there long enough to finish his meal and then limped out to the bathhouse. There were three empty wine bottles, and the stove was still warm.
Kestrel stoked a fire and heated water, then stripped off his clothes and climbed into a tub. Every muscle in his body seemed to appreciate the emersion in the heated water, and he closed his eyes as he lay back and relaxed. “It appears to me we won’t be going anywhere today,” Margo’s voice was nearby, and caused him to open his eyes.
“May I join you?” she asked as she started to run the hot water into the tub next to his.
“I would say be my guest, but the reality is that I’m closer to being your guest,” Kestrel replied as Margo lowered the curtain and entered her tub.
“I imagine Yulia appreciated the bath last night,” he said as he closed his eyes again. “You know, she was scheduled to be executed the night I got there! If I had been even a few hours late, that girl would be dead.”
“She says that you’re going to take them back to Hydrotaz,” Margo said.
“That’s what the goddess told me to do,” Kestrel replied. “So I’m doing it.” He reached down to the floor and picked up the reeds and the leather string, continuing to assemble his own pipes to play.
“And then what, after Hydrotaz?” she asked as she watched his fingers.
“I don’t know. I may have to help them for a while. I’ll probably have to return to the Eastern Forest again to have my ears trimmed back. I’ve used the healing water several times already on my leg; I’ll probably have elf ears by the time we get to your manor,” he rambled on. “That’s part of why I told Greysen and Yulia I’m an elf – they’ll know it no matter what in a few days.”
“The healing water makes elves’ ears grow?” Margo asked in confusion.
“No, it just makes my whole body heal – my leg of course, but other injuries too, like the cuts on my ears,” he explained.
“Well, I don’t know about the boy, but Yulia trusts you. We talked about you last night for one, two,three wine bottles,” Margo advised him.
“There’s not that much to say,” Kestrel protested. “But maybe you could tell her about Clarce.”
“His name may have come up too,” Margo agreed with a smile.
“Are you planning to stay here for the day?” she asked.
“I think we should. Yulia and I could stand to mend. Your aunt won’t mind us imposing on her, will she?” Kestrel asked.
“Aunt Ressel? She loves having company,” Margo answer
ed.
There was a comfortable silent interlude, then Margo spoke again. “So you can run on top of water? That must be amazing!”
“It is a lot of fun. It’s a favorite game for elves, not that we have a lot of lakes or big rivers to practice on,” he answered.
“I never would have imagined a few weeks ago that I would ever be in a situation where I was taking a bath and talking to an elf who had saved my life,” Margo suddenly pronounced. “Life makes some amazing things happen.”
“Life and the gods,” Kestrel agreed, thinking of his own past year. “Tell me, what is Yulia like? I’m going to have to travel with her and the boy for quite a while.”
“She’s young. She’s level-headed though; she grew up in a royal court and understands that plots and intrigue are everywhere. She’s not romantic in the sense that she thinks knights come riding in on white horses to save the day– even though that’s just what you did for her,” Margo answered. “But sometimes she forgets everything and she’s a young girl again.
“She knows that you’re amazing, and we told her repeatedly to trust you with her life. Shethinks you’ll have to beat Greysen into using common sense. And she wants to cut her seneschal in Hydrotaz apart into tiny little pieces,” Margo told him. There was a sound at the door, and they both looked up to see Picco, Yulia and Greysen enter the bathhouse.
“So this is where you two have been hiding,” Picco exclaimed. “We sat at the breakfast table forever expecting to see our two early risers!”
“We’ve decided that we’ll spend the day here on the estate and rest up before we move up to the manor,” Kestrel announced.
“Is that acceptable to you, your majesty?” Greysen pointedly asked Yulia.
“If Kestrel believes we should wait, I think it is appropriate. I saw his leg yesterday, and I’m not sure that one day’s rest will be enough,” Yulia answered, deflating Greysen’s rebellion. “How does your leg look today?” she asked.
“I’ll look at it,” Picco volunteered, strolling over to Kestrel’s tub. “Put your leg up here,” she ordered.
The Inner Seas Kingdoms: 02 - The Yellow Palace Page 23
