by K. E. Drake
“Oh? Who?” Ruby asked curiously, secretly excited at the thought of the prince wanting her to meet another one of his friends.
“His name is Roland. He’s the king of Kently and the general of its army,” Samuel explained. “I met him fourteen years ago when my father took me with him on one of his business meetings with Roland’s father, King Henry. Roland and his brother, Jeremiah, have been good friends to me.” The prince paused a moment. “Well... at least Roland has been.”
Before Ruby could ask what he meant by that, Samuel slowed to a stop as they came to the top of the hill where the land spread out even before them once again. He guided the horse to a halt, and Ruby reluctantly turned her gaze from him and breathed a soft gasp at the sight of the Scafell Bridge.
The bridge stretched across the gaping chasm where the two parts of land dropped straight down. Long, flat planks of dark wood formed the width of the wide bridge, and thick cords of rope crossed and knotted over each other, stretching from one end to the other of the gaping expanse.
The sound of water rushing wildly from the roaring river far beneath the bridge met Ruby’s ears. Struck by a dreadful thought, she snapped her gaze back to Samuel, her voice soft and pinched with fright. “I can’t do it. I can’t go.”
“Hey, hey,” Samuel soothed. He released the horse’s reins and moved to the other side of the animal. He lightly grasped Ruby’s right hand in his and brushed his thumb over the back of it. “It will be all right. Just stay by me, and you’ll be all right.”
Ruby only nodded, but the tight knot in her chest began to loosen as Samuel let go of her hand to stand at her side. He reclaimed the horse’s reins and together they crossed the rest of the distance and stepped onto the wooden planks of the Scafell Bridge, footsteps and hoof beats echoing as they made their way across the long platform.
When they had come halfway onto the bridge, a hoarse roar filled the air. The pair froze in their steps at the sound and a small, stone-colored troll deftly crawled from under the wooden floor of the bridge. The creature jumped up onto the rope and climbed up the cords with the speed of a scurrying spider.
The troll sprang from the ropes onto the bridge and landed with a thud just a few steps in front of the pair. Ruby and the prince stared in speechless shock as the troll pushed itself to stand to its hunched height of only three feet tall.
The troll wore only a pair of pale gray, threadbare pants, revealing most of its stone-gray skin and its gnarled torso and arms. Short, thin tufts of white hair stuck straight out of his balding head. He had long, pointed ears and its long nose twisted off to the side of his sagging face. He roared again, his voice stronger this time.
“I smell treasure! A rare treasure!” the troll shouted joyously, its voice rough and gravelly.
Ruby cast a sideways glance to Samuel. “You said that the troll was only a myth,” she quietly reminded the young prince.
“It is- was.” Samuel shook his head, not taking his eyes from the troll. “I can’t say how many times I’ve crossed this same bridge before, and this...thing has never shown itself before.”
“I wonder what makes this time so different,” Ruby mused aloud, drawing the troll’s attention to her.
“You have a treasure unlike any other that has come past me for the many years since I found this!” he exclaimed with an eager giggle and reached up to a thin leather cord that hung around his neck, clutching a small, glittering jewel between two bent fingers.
“Samuel?” Ruby asked, unable to turn her attention from the breathtaking gem. “Is that...?”
“The Danica Diamond,” Samuel finished in a hushed whisper.
“Yes, it is!” the troll replied giddily. “And I want your treasure to go with it.”
Ruby shook her head, her brow furrowing. “We don’t have any treasure, only a pouch of silver coins.”
“Oh, but you do. And it will be mine,” the troll repeated.
An idea began to form in Samuel’s head, and he kept his voice low so only Ruby could hear. “The legend of the troll that lives on the cliffs under the Scafell Bridge says that the troll tests the travelers who pass over to get the treasure he wants.”
“Test?” she asked incredulously. “What kind of tests?”
“Riddles!” the Troll exclaimed, clapping his gnarled hands with an ugly grin. “If I win, I get your treasure. But if you win, then you get mine,” he proposed, raising the Danica Diamond from its place at his neck. The jewel caught the sunlight and it glinted brilliantly off the silvery-white diamond.
“We can’t do that. We don’t even know what treasure he’s talking about,” Ruby insisted, gaping at the prince when the man seemed to be considering the risky proposal.
“All right, it’s a deal,” Samuel told the troll, then looked to Ruby with an expression in his eyes that told her not to worry.
The creature leapt in the air with another raspy shout and then proceeded with the game of riddles. “I am as tall as the mountain. My fire is like a fountain. My nails are as long as boards and my teeth as sharp as swords. What am I?”
“A dragon,” Samuel answered knowingly.
The smirk fell from the troll’s face. “That is correct,” he grudgingly admitted and then asked the next riddle. “I have many fiery eyes, my teeth have grooves. My arms reach to the sky, and my banner waves a mile high. What am I?”
Samuel didn’t speak and Ruby looked at him. His brow was furrowed as he thought. She turned to face the troll and almost asked in answer, “A palace.”
“That’s not fair!” the troll roared in anger and stomped his bare feet on the wooden floor.
Samuel’s gaze snapped to Ruby, a look of surprise written on his features. He opened his mouth to say something, but the troll asked the third riddle.
“Strong as the rushing river, as daggers in the storm. I am hot and I am cold. In the sky and under the ground, almost anywhere can I be found. What am I?”
Samuel tilted his head toward the cloudless sky, frustrated when he couldn’t come up with the answer. He and Ruby were quiet in thought for a long moment, the only sounds were the rush of a flock of bluebirds flying overhead and the roar of the rushing river below. Water.
“Water. The answer is water,” he answered with wonder.
The troll gave a shout, grinding its teeth. “That isn’t fair! I was supposed to win!” He threw his hands over his pointed ears and let out a piercing screech. He stumbled backwards and tripped over his own feet, landing in a shrieking heap on the planks of the bridge.
Samuel pulled Ruby behind himself, and she raised herself to her toes to watch over the prince’s shoulder. The troll wriggled on the floor and he gave great cries. His body began to dissolve until there was nothing left of him but a pile of dust and the Danica Diamond, which rested half buried in the scattering ashes.
“What just happened?” Ruby asked, her soft voice breaking the stunned silence.
“The troll has never been beaten at his own game. His loss was his end,” Samuel soberly explained. He stepped forward and knelt down to retrieve the jewel. He freed it from the leather cord binding it and wiped the last of the dust from the priceless diamond.
Ruby took the horse’s reins in hand and came to stand by the prince. “Was the diamond supposed to be here?”
Samuel shook his head with a slight frown playing upon his lips. “No. I tracked its location to the northwestern part of Kently.”
“Then how could it have come into the possession of that troll?” she wondered aloud.
Samuel said nothing, deep in thought.
“What will you do now?”
“We’ll skip the next destination and head straight for the palace. Then, to Tamall to find the Teryl Gem.”
Ruby only nodded, but she saw his wonder as he studied the gem and couldn’t help but feel happiness for him. “Congratulations.”
Samuel smiled then and stood back up. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Ruby’s heart
lifted and she gave him a shy smile. “You’re welcome.”
Together, they left the bridge behind and ventured into the kingdom of Kently.
Chapter Eight
Dinner with Royalty
The warm breeze of early summer dispersed the wisps of gray clouds that had veiled the sun, allowing golden rays to shine down upon the land of Kently.
Ruby and the prince traveled for four days through miles of lush fields, by numerous towns, and past countless plentiful farms. They stopped each night to make camp under the starlit sky and rest for the night. They resumed their journey to the palace each morning, switching between riding together on their horse and traveling on foot through the kingdom.
The afternoon of the fourth day, they finally reached their destination. Ruby was seated behind Samuel on the back of their horse as they entered the palace grounds, and she couldn’t take her eyes away from the palace of Kently.
The structure was constructed out of light-brown stones with an undertone of gold. Banners of pale-gold fluttered gently in the breeze upon the top of three of the many towers stretching high toward the blue sky.
Ruby looked around the grounds where maids, young stable hands, and palace guards went about peaceably doing their daily work.
“Here we are,” Samuel announced as they came to a stop at the stables. He swung a leg over the horse’s neck and soundlessly dismounted the animal. He looked up at Ruby and smiled at the dreamy expression on her pretty face. “I know how you feel. It’s the same way I felt when I went on my first adventure.”
Ruby tore her gaze away from the palace and heat crept up her cheeks when she glanced down to see the prince smiling at her. To distract herself, she moved to dismount, but Samuel reached up and gently grabbed her waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders, the side of her wrist brushing the scratchy, sandy-brown stubble at his cheek, and he lifted her down from the horse.
“What was your first adventure?” she asked curiously as he set her on her feet.
“It was a disaster!” he laughed. The action caused his chest to rumble, reminding Ruby that she still had a hold of his shoulders. She snatched her hands back as if his arms were letting off a flaming heat instead of a comforting warmth, but the prince didn’t seem to notice.
“It was seven years ago. I was sixteen and I was studying in my mother’s library when I found a map for a chest of gold that was hidden away here in Kently.” He took his hands from her waist and picked up the horse's reins, then started walking to the entrance of the stables with Ruby following alongside.
The thought of the young prince going on his first adventure brought a smile to Ruby’s face. “What did you do next?”
Samuel wordlessly handed their horse off to a stable hand and then turned his attention fully to Ruby. “I planned a quest to find the hidden treasure. A few days later, I finally convinced my father to let me go by myself and I traveled here. I searched for over a week but never found any gold.” He shook his head with a chuckle.
Before Ruby could ask anymore, Samuel indicated for her to follow him and then led the way to the front of the palace into a courtyard laid with brown rock. Rows of guards stood in position on either side of the entrance. They each wore matching uniforms of heavily decorated brown coats, black pants and boots, and dark gold caps. The caps had wide brims that shaded most of the guards’ faces, but the left side of the brims were pinned up to the rest of the cap, secured in place by a single, golden button with the kingdom’s emblem of a roaring lion’s head.
They came up to the looming, oak doors. Bars of pale gold twisted up and down the edges of the doors, providing a beautiful frame and highlighting the entry to the structure. The emblem of the lion’s head loomed in the center of the top half of each door, surrounded by the spirals of pure gold. The lion’s full mane covered most of its head, its jaws opened in a ferocious roar.
The two doormen posted on each side of the doors moved to open them for the pair. “Your Highness,” they each formally addressed in turn, nodding their heads to the prince of Avon as he walked with the young woman through the open doorway.
They stepped into the entrance hall and the doors fell shut behind them, but the daylight remained. It spilled in through the skylight, bathing the area in the golden warmth of the afternoon and highlighting the colors of vibrant gold and rich crimson the interior was decorated in.
Ruby followed Samuel as he led her up the carpeted stairs leading to an overlooking floor that opened to various corridors, and they went down the centermost path before winding their way through multiple halls. Soon they came to a spacious room decorated in ivory and white marble. A towering pair of white doors decorated with gold stood across from them.
A man in a brown and gold military uniform exited a room through that same doorway. A stray lock of short, pale-yellow hair fell free from under the soldier’s dark-gold cap to brush over his brow. His uniform fit perfectly over his trim build, and the charming smile on his lips matched the light dancing in his hazel eyes.
The young soldier turned in their direction and paused when he saw the pair across from him. “Samuel?”
Samuel closed the distance between them and clasped hands with the fair-haired man. “Hello, Gabe,” the prince greeted with a grin. “It’s good to see you again.”
Gabe patted the prince’s arm. “You as well, my friend.”
Ruby quietly shifted behind Samuel, drawing the soldier’s attention to her.
Gabe gave Ruby a pleasant smile, but his gaze flicked back to Samuel. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Ruby, a recent acquaintance of mine,” Samuel explained as he grabbed her hand and brought her forward. “Ruby, this is Gabriel Alecs, a captain in the army and a good friend of mine and Roland’s.”
Ruby bobbed a slight curtsy. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”
Gabe bowed. “The pleasure is mine, my lady.”
“Gabe, do you know where Roland is now?” Samuel asked.
“In the throne room with Colonel Sherwick,” Gabe answered, indicating back to the room he just left.
“Thanks, Gabe.”
“No problem. See you around,” the captain replied. He gave the prince a flourished bow and offered Ruby a handsome grin before stepping past them and disappearing into one of the nearby corridors.
“The throne room is right through here.” Samuel went to the entrance, and Ruby reluctantly followed as the guards posted on either side of the entryway pulled open the ornate doors to the throne room.
The throne room was filled with colors of rich cherry-red and dark honey-gold. Guards stood along each side of the room. Crystal clear windows that stretched from the richly polished dark-wood floor to the high, domed ceiling of pale gold lined the left wall of the long room.
A young man not much older than Samuel sat upon one of the twin thrones on a raised dais at the end of the room. He wore fine clothes of brown and ivory. A shining crown was pushed back on the cropped locks of his hair. Undertones of pale gold highlighted the strands, making the dark-gold color look almost golden-brown. A thin, faint scar sliced over the high bone of his left cheek and stretched towards his left ear until it disappeared into the closely-trimmed, dark-golden beard on his strong jaw, although the white scar did nothing to mar his handsome features.
“...You will take care of it won’t you, Colonel Sherwick?” The man on the throne questioned a tall, broad shouldered man who wore the Kently uniform and no cap over the thick locks of his black hair.
“Yes, Your Majesty. As soon as possible,” the colonel confirmed, his low voice rumbling in his chest.
“Very good. You are dismissed.” The king’s attention strayed past Colonel Sherwick as the officer offered a stiff bow. The king’s dazzling, aquamarine eyes lit up when they discovered the pair standing a few steps away from the dais. “Sam?”
“Hello, Roland,” he greeted, then his smile stiffened. “Colonel.” The prince watched as Colonel Sherwick bowed his head to Ruby, the officer
’s piercing, black irises trailing over the young woman from top to bottom and lingering on her a few moments too long.
Ruby fidgeted beneath the scrutinizing gaze, and Samuel placed an arm around her waist and drew her close to himself.
Ruby looked from the stranger to Samuel as she felt the prince’s arm grow warmer on her shoulders.
“My Lady, Your Highness,” the Colonel bid with a low growl under his breath. With that, he turned and strode out of the throne room.
“I never liked him. I always sense something...off when he’s around.” Samuel murmured to Ruby, a frown tugging at his lips. He took his arm from around her and turned to Roland when the king laughed.
Roland left his throne and came down the dais steps to the prince. “It’s good to see you again, Samuel. It’s been too long since I last saw you.”
“Roland.” Samuel’s laughter mingled with the king’s and they hugged, clasping each other’s arms. “How have you been?”
“Busy,” Roland replied good-naturedly as he pulled back, a broad grin spreading across his face, revealing the deep dimples partly hidden under his trimmed beard. “I don’t want to bother you with my work. What have you been doing?”
“I’m on another journey. My path went through Kently and I thought my companion would like to meet you.” Samuel turned the attention to the redhead, laughing to himself as she tried uselessly to smack dirt off of her black skirt. “This is Ruby. A recent acquaintance of mine.”
Ruby stopped and looked up to see the men watching her. She nervously clutched her skirt and dipped into a timid curtsey to the king of Kently. “Your Majesty.”
Roland closed the distance between and lightly grasped her soft hand in his own rough and calloused one, placing a kiss on her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet one of Sam’s friends.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said softly, a sweet blush rising to her cheeks.
