Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1)

by R. S. Williams

  “Yes,” Elijah replied, nodding and looking up. “I’ll be fine.”

  Merrick frowned and stepped back, leaving Elijah to stand on his own. “I’ve been working you all morning. Get some rest. Roderick will kill me if we both look haggard when the prince and his entourage arrive.”

  Elijah nodded. Grateful that he didn’t have to continue. He placed his sword down and looked up as Maevine came running down the path towards them.

  “Uncle Merrick,” she called. “King Roderick is requesting you and Elijah freshen up and join him in the main hall.”

  “Is there a special occasion or will standard attire be acceptable?”

  “The prince has finally arrived.” Maevine smiled as her eyes met Elijah’s. “His carriage was seen up ahead. He should be here in an hour.”

  Merrick wiped his hands on his trousers and picked up the moleskin he had lying beside his swords. He took a long drink and then handed it to Elijah.

  “Thanks,” he muttered before taking a sip of the water. It felt good to finally have something other than dry air flowing down his throat.

  His uncle slapped him on the back of the shoulder as he walked past. Nearly making him choke on the water. Maevine laughed as Eli spat some of it out. “Tell the king we will be there in an hour.”

  Maevine nodded, turned on her heels and skipped off back up the track she came down.

  “You two seem to get on well.”

  Elijah nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice to have a friend around here.” He looked down. “I was worried that I’d be on my own while you were training or whatever.”

  “You are never alone, Elijah.” Merrick nodded his head towards the castle. “Come on, we’d better get ready.”

  Once up at the castle, Merrick and Elijah split to go to their separate rooms. They were to meet up again in an hour outside the main hall. Which, if Eli remembered correctly, was the room directly in front of the main castle doors. Inside his room, he found they had already laid his clothes out for him on the desk, but they were not clothing he had ever seen before. Elijah picked up the small note next to them.

  Thank you for saving me. I expect to see you wearing it. S. x

  Elijah smiled. He had felt something between them, and he wondered if this meant she felt it too. I saved her. His fingers ran over her words, and he imagined her smiling face. Realising his wandering thoughts, he inspected his new clothes.

  He scrunched his nose at the leather armour that covered only the chest. Interesting. It was black with a diamond design and golden pins in each corner. It had matching braces along with a shirt and trousers.

  Trying on the clothes, he found they fit him perfectly. The long-sleeved top, although tight around his chest, showed off his growing muscles. The top hung lower than his belt, which also had space to put a weapon. Elijah looked down at himself. He didn’t know whether to be proud he’d been given a gift or embarrassed that the princess had chosen his outfit.

  Fortunately, he wasn’t given much time to do either as a knock came at the door.

  “Elijah, are you ready?” Merrick’s voice called through the door. He opened it and ran his hands down his leather armour. “Well, don’t you look dashing. New clothes?”

  “Yes.” He stepped out the room and closed the door. “From the princess.”

  “And what did you do to deserve those?” Merrick raised an eyebrow.

  “She nearly fell off her horse. I may have caught her.” Merrick’s face broke into a smile at his words. “It was nothing. How long have we got?”

  His uncle slapped him on the back of the shoulder for the second time that day. Although this time it was gentler. “Not long. Roderick hates it when people are late.” There was a mischievousness to his tone.

  As Elijah followed Merrick through the corridors of the castle, he noticed the servants were also in a different uniform and working harder than usual. The curtains were having the dust beaten out of them; it made Elijah cough as it entered his mouth and nose. He could hear Merrick chuckling to himself as he went along.

  A few more doors down, and around the corner Merrick and Eli came to a stop. The guards looked at Eli with surprise before bowing and allowing them in.

  “Merrick, I’m so glad you two could get here on time,” Queen Valerie said, sweeping over to them, her red robes gliding along the floor. “He will be here any moment.”

  “Your Majesty, who is it we have the privilege to be meeting?” Merrick asked with a bow. Eli quickly followed but said nothing. He noticed the princess was standing with her eyes to the floor and she was picking at her nails.

  “Prince John Rordan of Jereg. He and his father are coming to introduce him to Sienna.” Elijah raised an eyebrow at the king’s words. “They’re to be married.”

  Queen Valerie seemed happy about the prince coming to court her daughter, yet something in her eye caused Elijah to not believe the smile on her face. The princess, however, looked up as she feigned a smile and rolled her eyes at her mother’s statement.

  “Yes, I can tell from the look on your face you’re surprised, Merrick. But as Sienna is turning eighteen next year, she will need to be engaged.”

  Merrick shook his head. “That’s not why I am surprised and you know it.”

  Why does he look so angry? Is this something else I don’t know about my uncle?

  “Prince Conrad the Lord of Oakenburn will of course be escorting him. He hardly goes anywhere without his son, especially as his cousin’s wife has had a baby boy.”

  Valerie smiled. “Prince Claudius, such a lovely name. I’m sure that Queen Madeline is thrilled to be a grandmother.”

  Elijah noticed Merrick clench his jaw.

  “Oh, for god’s sake Merrick, it was years ago, surely you don’t still hold a grudge?” King Roderick asked, laughing at his friend.

  “Actually, it’s him that holds a grudge. Couldn’t get over the fact that Ysabel chose me,” Merrick replied.

  A fanfare of horns interrupted the conversation. Heads turned and feet shuffled as the queen beckoned for the group to take their places, stifling their protests into a silence befitting a royal appearance. Merrick took his place beside King Roderick, the queen on the other side. Both of them stood in the centre of the room. Elijah and Sienna stood a little way behind, but still in line. It gave him an excellent view of the room. He could see Sienna stood stick straight, shoulders as high as the heavens, her lips pulled into a distinct frown as the door opened. The trumpeters halted mid note as the door guard stamped his flagpole with a few poignant tap taps.

  “Announcing His Royal Highness Prince John Rordan of Jereg and Prince Conrad Applebottom, Lord of Oakenburn.”

  Elijah clenched his jaw trying not to laugh and flicked his eyes to look at Sienna who seemed to do the same.

  “Conrad,” Queen Valerie said, stepping forward with open arms. “How lovely to have you back in Adelith.” She placed a kiss on each cheek and held out her hand. Conrad kissed her ring as he bowed and then did a second bow to the king.

  “Your Majesty, thank you for receiving us.” The lord’s eyes landed on Merrick and his lip curled. “I did not realise so many people would be here to greet us.”

  King Roderick cleared his throat. “Merrick is captain of the guard. He will be with me for many meetings when not training the guards.”

  Conrad clenched his fists and put them behind his back. “Of course,” he replied. “This is my son, Prince John.” John stepped forward as Conrad gestured for him to move.

  He wasn’t a scrawny lad, but he wasn’t built to fight either. Elijah could see his armour was a little big for him and only worn for decorative purposes. Prince John bent to one knee in front of the Princess, his brown hair falling into his face. He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. As he looked up at him, she turned away and the prince stood.

  “It’s an honour to meet you, Princess Sienna.” He bowed his head. Elijah raised an eyebrow. He’d never seen a royal greeting before and didn’t realis
e how formal it was. Prince John looked up and his eyes locked onto Elijah’s for just a second before returning to smile at the princess and stand straight.

  “Sienna,” the queen hissed.

  “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said monotone, with a curtsey.

  “I expect we shall be seeing a lot more of each other soon. I also have a gift arriving, flowers for your garden. They should be here shortly.”

  “Thank you, Prince John. That is very kind,” said the queen before Sienna could speak any more.

  Without warning Elijah received a punch to the ribs from Merrick who, when he looked at him, had a stern face.

  “Stop laughing,” Merrick snapped at him under his breath. “You’re supposed to stand silent until spoken to.” Elijah curled his lips in to stifle the rest of his laugh.

  King Roderick looked round at them and Merrick shook his head.

  “Prince John, Conrad, you both must be tired from your long journey. Davnar here will show you to your rooms. Dinner will be served this evening, after dusk.”

  The guard holding his flagpole stomped it again, and the prince and Lord Conrad left the room. Merrick turned to the King and bowed. Elijah quickly followed suit, hoping it was the right thing.

  “Your outfit is very nice, Elijah,” the queen said as he stood straight with a smile. “I’m glad you wore it.”

  “So am I,” Sienna said, blushing.

  “Thank you for providing it. I shall see you later.”

  As he turned to leave, he heard Sienna say that she didn’t want to meet the prince alone yet. The king replied with something about the elite in the gardens. Elijah smiled and decided to spend the afternoon outside reading. Some time in the fresh air should do me some good.

  The gardens were simple enough for Elijah to find after he’d gone to the library and picked up a book. He wasn’t planning on reading it, but at least it would look that way when the princess arrived.

  There were guards already on the entrance and the prince, along with his father, was already inside. Eli walked along the dirt paths to the right, looking at all the herbs and flowers that were mixed. Miss Parquin would not approve of having these together. Gilliflower and Hartleys are not suitable to grow next to each other. As he got closer, Elijah could overhear their conversation.

  “John, will you calm your nerves? Everything is going well.”

  “Well? Did you not see the way she looked at me? She’s clearly not interested in me.”

  Elijah looked up as Conrad put his hands on John’s shoulders. “The girl has only known you for the five seconds it took for you to introduce yourself. Give her a chance to get to know you.”

  Spotting a bench, Elijah turned away and headed for it. Sitting down, he opened the book as the doors opened and guards in a black uniform entered. John paced, mumbling how his choice might not be the right one. “Should I settle for something grander or stick with the flowers?”

  Conrad clicked his fingers, and servants entered through the side doors with bundles of pink flowers.

  Eyes over his book, he watched the Elites walk past him, their long tops flowing behind them as they walked. The two at the front seemed to be men, but there was no mistaking the female guard at Sienna’s rear. Her brown hair was tied up in a tight bun and her eyes were watching everywhere but the princess.

  “Ah, my love,” Prince John said as she approached. He stepped forward with arms wide, but the two guards at the front blocked his path.

  “At ease, the prince may embrace me,” Sienna said, placing a hand on one of the guard’s arm. The blonde man nodded and stepped back out of the way. As they hugged, Prince John’s eyes caught Elijah’s, and he grinned. Eli’s stomach turned, and he leant back on the bench, burying his eyes in the pages.

  “I shall take my leave, I trust your guards can look after the two of you,” Lord Conrad said with a venomous twang.

  “You doubt their capabilities?” Princess Sienna challenged.

  “Begging your pardon, Your Highness. I meant no disrespect to your Elite. I merely worry for my son’s safety at all times,” Lord Conrad said with a bow. Elijah laughed silently to himself. Of course he did. What a suck up.

  “No offence taken,” Sienna replied. “I understand your sentiments. My father feels the same, I’m sure.” A formal response.

  Conrad strolled past him, making a tutting noise as he passed, and Elijah fought the urge to stretch out his legs and trip him up. Instead, he looked over his book again at the scene unfolding before him.

  “This is beautiful,” Sienna said.

  “Your gift.” The prince gestured to the pagoda covered in pink flowers. On the table in the centre was a three tiered cake. “What do you think?”

  “It’s stunning, thank you. These flowers…” Sienna moved onto the pagoda and sniffed them. “What flowers are they?” She coughed, and the sound made Elijah’s hair on his arms stand. She turned, her palm in view, and her fingertips were red raw.

  Elijah stood up and walked over. “Sorry to interrupt, but what flowers are they?”

  “Excuse me? This is a private meeting and you should address me with ‘prince’,” Prince John snapped.

  “What flowers are they, Prince John,” he said the prince’s name through gritted teeth. He took Sienna’s hand in and touched the tips. They were bumpy.

  “They’re Aacrina, a pink flower from Thir. They’re supposed to bear the meaning of love.” The prince pouting in disgust at Elijah’s outspokenness. “I don’t see why you need to know so much about them.”

  “Because-” Elijah started to speak, but the princess’s legs gave way. The blonde guard made a quick dash and caught her in his arms.

  “You,” Elijah said, pointing to the other male guard.

  “Sahab,” he said, offering his name. “Sahab Menda.” His dark skin told Elijah he wasn’t native to Adelith.

  “I need you to go over there and grab me some Gilliflower. Now!” Elijah pointed to the small flowers in the patch closest to Sahab. Not slowing down, Elijah rummaged through some other flowers, trying to find the herb that Miss Parquin had taught him how to use on allergic reactions.

  “Gianna, get a healer,” the blonde one called, and the female dashed from the gardens as fast as she could.

  Elijah pushed more flowers out of the way until he came across the plant he was looking for. King’s Pokeweed was small and dark green, so it could be easily hidden under normal shrubbery, but Elijah had seen some, ironically, poking out from under the violet chirshots. He grabbed a handful and went back to the princess.

  “Do you have a pot or a helmet or something?” Elijah asked whoever was listening.

  “How is that going to help her?” He heard Prince John mutter.

  “I have this.” The elite pulled out a trinket box from his pocket. “Just take the stuff out and give it back to me.”

  Elijah poured the contents onto the floor and stuffed the Pokeweed into the box. Sahab arrived and Elijah added in the Gilliflower.

  “Give me your sword, I need to use it.” Sahab handed it over without question, much to the blonde boy’s dismay.

  “Shut up, Leon.” Sahab frowned and folded his arms. “You always think you’re right.”

  Elijah used the hilt to grind the ingredients until it made and paste and then applied that to the princess’s mouth and nose.

  “Is that going to help her?” Prince John asked, taking a step closer.

  “It won’t stop the reaction, but it’ll slow it enough for us to get her to the infirmary.” Elijah wiped his hand on his trousers and picked up Leon’s trinkets.

  “Give them back to me later. I have my hands full,” Leon snapped, standing up with the princess in his arms. “Come on, let’s get to the infirmary. Whatever you did might not last long.”

  Elijah stuffed the trinkets into his pockets and followed them to the infirmary.

  9

  Chasing Tails

  “Will you stop bloody pacing,” Merrick his
sed, grabbing hold of Elijah’s arm.

  “I can’t,” he replied, shaking him off. “What if I did something wrong, and she’s not okay? What if the Princess doesn’t wake up?”

  “Then it’ll be Prince John’s fault and not yours,” Merrick said, clamping his hands around Elijah’s arms to stop him from moving. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Elijah took a deep breath in and let it out again. Waiting for a healer’s deliberation, especially when you aren’t allowed in the room, was terrifying.

  Elijah nodded his head, and Merrick let go of his arms. He rolled them forwards and backwards to release some tension and moved to lean against the infirmary wall. As his back touched the wall, two of Sienna’s guards turned the corner. Sahab and Leon, if I remember correctly.

  “How is she doing?” Sahab said, cocking his head to the side.

  Leon scoffed. “They will not tell us anything. We just have to stand here and make sure no one goes inside without permission.” He took up a position outside the door with his back to the wall. “We are only her bodyguards after all.”

  “Yes, well, you might feel that way Leon, but I actually want to keep this position and I can’t very well protect the princess if I am not sure where she is.”

  “Gianna is inside,” Merrick said. “She’ll make sure that healers and physicians only attended to the princess. The king is in a meeting with Lord Conrad discussing what happened and where they got the flowers.” Sahab went to speak, but Merrick held up a hand to stop him. “I hope your concern is only out of duty. Remember, she is a princess and therefore not available to you.”

  Elijah thought back to the other night where he and the Princess had been hiding from the guards. She’d been close enough to kiss, and he’d wanted to kiss her. His eyes flickered towards Merrick. He would have to keep any feelings he had in check and make sure they didn’t grow into anything more than duty. Sahab nodded his head in agreement with Merrick.

  “How is she doing?” Prince John asked as he walked up to them. “The princess, my love, is she okay?”