Chartile: Prophecy (32 page)

“
When you chose to be
Queen, you gave up every right!” Valar cried and slammed his fist
on the desk.

Valin stood, silencing whatever retort Piper
was about to throw. He leaned in to his father, who turned away
from Piper and breathed through his nose. “Let me speak with her,”
Valin said. He turned to Piper, pleading with those bright blue
eyes. “Please.”

Valar nodded, and left the room, slamming
the door behind him. Valin pulled a decanter and two small, crystal
glasses from the shelf behind him. He poured a splash in each
glass, and offered the first to Piper.

“
The finest brandy in
Cannondole. Made by the father of the young man who helped Dimitri
find me, I might add.” He grinned and drank the thick, luscious
liquid. Piper took a sip. It was like nothing Piper had ever
tasted, and its effects were nearly as instant as the Dwarvik pearl
wine.

Valin refilled his glass and leaned against
the bookcase behind him. “I had rehearsed this conversation much
differently,” he admitted. Piper remained silent and sipped at her
brandy. “There was supposed to be mention of my father attempting
to remain your advisor before any talk of marriage.”

“
You forget I have the
returned kings at my side,” Piper replied icily. There was more
edge to her voice than she had expected, and she hid her face in
her brandy glass.

“
Yes, and they are
children who know nothing of our laws and customs.” Valin said more
kindly back. “They are nothing more than symbols of hope. Though,
admittedly, that is much of what Chartile needs at the
moment.”

“
I have promised myself to
Dimitri, Queen or no. I can do as I please.” Piper placed the
crystal glass on the table.

“
I do not wish to come
between you two. Not in that way. If he is where your heart truly
lies, then I will not force myself to you. I only ask that you
consider our proposal so that my father may still act as your
advisor from a distance. So long as there is both a King and Queen,
a Royal Advisor is not required.”

Valin drank the rest of his brandy in one
swallow. He walked to the desk and pulled a small box from one
drawer. He stood before Piper then bowed to one knee. Her heart
beat wildly in her chest, and she shook visibly from both fear and
confusion.

“
Piper, I will treat you
with the respect I know you deserve. Not just as a Queen, but as
the lady you are. I will not push, I will not pry. I will be
whatever you need me to be when you need it. I love the people of
Chartile as much as you, and only want the best for them.” He
opened the box and a brilliant sapphire necklace dazzled in its
depths. The stone was as large as a quail’s egg and caught the
morning sun like a thousand stars. “This was my mother’s, and I
promised her I would give it to my future wife. All I am asking is
for you to keep it until you have made your decision.” He reached
for her trembling hands and placed the box between them. He closed
her hands around it and kissed them gently. Then, he rose, bowed,
and left the Piper in silence.



Leo lay awake staring at the wooden beams of
the ceiling above him. His friends had not yet stirred, but he
could hear the sounds of early morning birds outside the shutters
of their window. He had not slept well, despite the mattress the
Sisters of the chantry had so graciously donated. Their
conversation with Piper about life in Chartile after the ordeal
with Taraniz had left his mind buzzing.

You could always stay, she had said. I can
give you whatever you desire.

But what Leo desired most was to go home. He
wasn’t a fighter like Jayson, or a diplomat like Jack. He had no
place in this world, or much less so than his friends believed. He
never wanted to be part of this prophecy, and he still wasn’t sure
if he believed it. He still held to a strange hope that he had
perhaps fallen out of their tree fort and was lying unconscious in
a hospital somewhere.

Everyone seemed to expect so much of him.
His parents, his teachers, his friends, even himself. And he had
always delivered. But he knew things about his world, about Earth.
He was like a fish out of water in Chartile, and he didn’t like it.
He had never felt so helpless, despite the sword beside him and his
ability to conjure a flame in the palm of his hand.

The prophecy said four kings would return to
right the wrongs. Well, this was wrong. All of this. This should
never have happened, he knew it. No matter what anyone said, it
would still fall back on him to fix everything. Leo always fixed
everything. The ability to get them all back home where they
belonged was his responsibility alone. And the only way he could do
so was to be involved in the murder of Princess Taraniz. Jayson may
have had visions of killing someone, but Leo didn’t want blood on
his hands any more than the rest of them did.

There was a quiet scraping outside the door,
and then a soft knock. Leo rose, dagger in hand. He reached for the
door handle and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see
Dimitri behind him, a finger pressed to his lips. The boy hadn’t
heard him move from the bed.

“
It is our breakfast,”
Dimitri whispered in Leo’s ear. He opened the door, and removed a
tray from a folding table outside the door. Another small table
held a pile of their clean and laundered clothes. Leo grabbed the
clothes, thankful for clean jeans once again, and closed the door
behind him.

Jack sat awake on his mattress, rubbing his
eyes from the light pouring in the door. Dimitri set the tray of
food on a small table beside the door. Leo passed out their
clothes, dropping Jayson’s directly on the still sleeping boy’s
face.

“
Should we wake him?” Jack
asked, stifling a yawn.

“
No, let him rest,” said
Dimitri through a mouthful of apple.

There was a scream down the hall toward
Valin’s quarters. Dimitri grabbed his sword, dropping the apple,
and rushed down the hall.

Valin was already a few paces ahead of him.
A woman bolted toward them, frantic and shaking with fear. Valin
caught her in his arms.

“
Krista, what is it?” he
asked. The edge in his voice betrayed the fear he attempted to
hide.

“
The girl!” she cried.
“She attacked Master Valar!”

Valin released the woman and continued his
course down the hall. Dimitri and Leo followed close behind, and
they could hear Jack bringing up the rear. Valin rounded a corner
in the hall and up a very short flight of stairs. He threw the door
to the study open, and found Valar closing the bedroom door.
Dimitri, Leo and Jack charged into the room, weapons out and
ready.

“
Father,” said Valin
concerned. “Krista said—”

“
I am alright,” Valar
reassured his son. “I suppose she was only acting out of habit. She
does not trust easily. We will work with her.”

Dimitri gave a small laugh. “I wish you luck
in your endeavor.” he said. “Piper will change for no one.”

“
She will have to if she
is to be Queen,” said Valar sternly. He raised his hand to silence
Dimitri’s rebuttal. “Let her finish dressing in peace. We will send
for you when we prepare to discuss further plans.”

“
We always eat together,”
Jack protested in a small voice.

“
Today I need to speak
with Piper alone.” Valar nodded curtly, and ushered Dimitri, Jack
and Leo to the door. Valin strode to the desk and sat. Dimitri
glared at him and stormed back down the hall.

Once back to their room, Dimitri dropped to
the bed, ignoring not only the plate of food, but a rather confused
Jayson who sat on the floor, rubbing his eyes.

“
Where’d you guys go?”
Jayson asked sleepily.

No one said anything at first. Jack and Leo
kept glancing at Dimitri, looking away quickly.

“
Valar surprised Piper,
and she attacked him on accident,” Leo finally said.

“
Everyone’s okay,” Jack
added, taking a piece of cheese and passing the tray.

Dimitri grunted. He shook his head and
gathering his clothes in a huff, heading to the washroom to
change.

Several minutes later, a knock on the
bedroom door made them all jump. Dimitri, who had returned from the
washroom much calmer, rose from the bed.

“
Who is it?” Dimitri asked
gruffly through the closed door.

“
Krista, my Lords,” said
the timid voice of the woman who had rushed from Valin’s quarters
earlier. “I am Lord Valin’s servant, my Lord. He and Master Valar
have asked me to escort you to the morning meal.”

Jayson leapt from his seat on the floor and
pushed past Dimitri to open the door. “You mean there’s more food?”
He asked.

Krista’s eyebrows furrow, and she nodded at
the strangely dressed, young boy before her.

“
Yes!” Jayson exclaimed.
Jack and Leo joined him at the door.

“
This way,” said the
woman, and looking slightly confused at the entire situation, led
them down the hall.

At the bottom of a magnificent, sweeping
stair stood Valar dressed in his usual stately clothes. He smiled
at them, and ushered them into the next room.

Piper was already waiting with Valin, but
the boys hardly noticed. The table was piled high with fruits,
biscuits, and suckling pork, which was about as close as Jayson,
Jack and Leo were likely to get to bacon in this world. Their
mouths watered, and it took all their will to remain poised and
polite as they walked to their chairs, respectfully allowing Krista
to pour them drinks from a water pitcher.

Dimitri took the seat beside Piper, who sat
at the head of the table. She smiled weakly at him as he kissed her
on the cheek.

“
Are you alright?” he
asked. He did not bother to hide the glare he aimed at Valin as the
man sat across from him on Piper’s other side.

“
Yes,” said Piper softly.
“I thought someone was trying to break into the room.” She gave a
small laugh. “I suppose I am not used to such things. Servants and
being Royal.”

“
It will come with time,”
said Valar, taking the seat at the other end of the table. He
accepted a plate of pork from Jack as he spoke.

“
So, speaking of royal and
all that,” said Jayson through a mouthful of food. “How long are we
staying here?” He had forgotten how much he missed having a meal at
a table, or having a familiar meal at all. The Dwarvik food had
tasted well enough, but he missed meat, and meat was not something
one easily came by when living at the top of a steep
mountain.

“
That is in part why we
are gathered here this morning,” said Valin politely. “We will be
leaving at nightfall back into the forest.”

“
Do you have a plan so we
will not be seen?” Dimitri asked.

Valin nodded through a sip of wine. “To a
degree. I have been closely monitoring the schedules of the
soldiers surrounding the manor. I know precisely when and where
their guard duties are changed, and which soldiers we can more
easily slip past.”

“
If you knew all this, why
did we not use this way to get into the manor in the first place?”
Dimitri asked, his tone growing more hostile by the moment. “Why
did you not tell me of this before when I went back to get Piper
and the boys?”

Valin looked at Dimitri sternly, his face
set and his icy blue eyes reflecting the chill within. “I did not
wish to use this way so as to draw suspicion in attempting to use
it two days in a row. Simply because these men seem controlled by
Taraniz in some way does not mean they have lost their wits. They
continue to act ordinary and outwardly appear themselves. I
distracted them last night. Tonight, we need a new distraction, and
I am open to ideas.”

“
What happens once we get
to the castle?” Leo asked. “Valar said you were going to help us
sneak in there.”

Valin nodded. “You are quite correct, my
King.” Leo looked back at his plate and blushed at the address. He
tried to form a protest, but the words would not come, and Valin
continued on.

“
When my father returned
here, we began discussing plans. I have, over time, procured Royal
tabards, including three from the squires of the Lords of
Aerandale, Willowford and Stratford. Once we reach the palace, we
should blend in, at least more easily. In this way, we can search
for the orenite circlet, and hopefully not be found.”

“
Fantastic,” said Dimitri,
and his sarcasm was palpable. “We can discuss how to get into the
castle once we know how to get out of here. It has not passed my
notice that Valar, whom I might add is currently at large, is not
trying to hide, even within the walls of this home. You talk of our
plans in front of your beck-ands! How do you know we won’t be
walking into a trap?”

Krista slammed the pitcher of water down
beside Dimitri’s plate. He had not heard her approach and jumped
unexpectedly.

“
There are more of us
loyal to the cause of replacing Princess Taraniz than you may
believe, Master Dimitri.” She refilled his glass and walked stiffly
back to stand at the wall of the room without another
word.

There was an uncomfortable silence for
several moments. Only the sounds of the boys devouring food broke
the quiet.

Leo’s face suddenly brightened. He swallowed
his mouthful of food and spoke. “Hey! I’ve got an idea!”

Chapter Twenty

Cadenceberries

The soldiers in Cannondole stared at the sky
above them. It had been clear with a bright, golden sun all day.
But a massive storm had suddenly rolled over the town and was
threatening to bear down on them. The soldiers scratched their
heads and tugged at their beards. It appeared the very center of
the storm hung directly over Lord Valin’s manor.