Dragons and Destiny (29 page)

“So what now?”
asked Niaill.

“We keep
tailing until we’re told otherwise. Susa Julia and Alyei know by
the way, she was intending to inform the Baron and the Captain
about me. The prince and his companion are not to be told. The
elder two will keep council and are probably relieved that the
Avuzdel are here. They’ll not act any different. The two youngsters
are a different matter.”

“They’re still
in danger?”

“Better safe
than sorry. If the prince were to die either in Argyll or Vadath
the political repercussions would be enormous so every precaution
must be taken. Asya and I are ‘every precaution’.”

“You’re
Avuzdel,” Niaill said as if that explained everything. “So how long
do you have?”

“They’re
staying about three days,” Danal answered. “You?”

“I’ll wait with
you,” decided Niaill. “It’s a Long Leave so we can afford to wait a
few days. Then we’re off to Taraya’s rtathlians. It’s been a while.
Nadala and Teriyei aren’t coming this time; she’s going to nisit
relations in Argyll. You can tell me all about the adventures you
must have been having, you know, spying, the odd theft and the
like.”

“In
return?”

“A good meal at
the
Raging Jezdic
and a full and detailed rendition about
what’s been happening within the Ryzck.

“Two meals,”
countered Danal.

“Two meals,”
laughed Niaill, “as long as you come up to the picnic mound with me
tomorrow. I’ve got an urge to see it again.”

“Deal,”
pronounced Danal.

* * * * *

Elliot and
Robain

“Did you
managed to speak to Rilla?” asked Elliot of Robain two days later,
the day before they were due to leave Vada.

“Yes I did,”
replied Robain. “I feel like a member of the Express. I’ve got
letters from her to her family in Stewarton now.”

“She’s not like
her sisters is she?”

“Now that I
think of it, no, but life would be dull indeed if everyone was the
same. Rilla’s quiet but nice in her own way.” Robain looked at
Elliot, “you liked Zilla, didn’t you? More than you should.”

Elliot sighed.
“I can’t get her out of my mind,” he admitted, “I try but her face
haunts me.”

“I’d say you’re
showing the classic symptoms of young love.”

“Even if I am
it can’t go anywhere,” said a morose Elliot.

“Because you’re
a prince and she’s the daughter of an innkeeper?” Robain’s voice
was tinged with scorn but Elliot didn’t respond,

“That might
have been the case before I came on this trip but not now. If I
really wanted to marry her my Father could probably have arranged
it, though the Dukes in Conclave would have had collective
apoplexy.”

“Could have?
Past tense?”

“I am
betrothed,” answered the despondent Elliot and with a sigh that
travelled all the way down to his boots. “The betrothal is
sanctified. In the sight of God I am already married.”

“I didn’t
know,” said Robain, placing a comforting hand on Elliot’s shoulder.
“Is she a nice girl this fiancée of yours? Do you love her?”

“I hardly know
her,” Elliot replied, “but James has told me about her. She’s his
sister.”

“What’s her
name?”

“Isobel.
Margravessa Isobel Cocteau. She’s a bit younger than me, never been
at Court and is convent educated. I suppose I’d rather her than a
complete ignoramus. At least we’ll be able to talk about books and
things. James says she enjoys reading. I like to read too, much of
what you read about is jolly interesting. All Zilla could be is a
mistress and I couldn’t do that to her, not that we had long
together, not long enough to really know, not deep down.”

“Sometimes it
doesn’t take long,” observed Robain.

“I’m all mixed
up inside. Is it love Robain?”

“Or
infatuation. Is that what you’re asking?”

“I suppose
so.”

“Either, both,”
Robain answered. “I certainly fancied enough girls when I was your
age. Never felt that I was falling in love with them though. So
there’s no easy answer I can give you. You’ll have to work it out
for yourself. It’s a part of growing up.”

“How do I work
it out?”

“You looking
for advice?” Robain sat down beside Elliot.

“Yes.”

“Then my advice
to you is to carry on with the tour. Don’t try to forget about
Zilla. Let your memories flow. Try to enjoy yourself and if at the
end of your tour, if you still feel the same, make your decision
then. You might decide that duty to Isobel comes first, perhaps you
won’t. As you say, you were only in Zilla’s company for a few days
and I agree that it’s not long enough.”

“Philip would
say duty first.”

“Perhaps Philip
would be right, you’re a prince, a future king, you’ve been taught
duty first, self second right? Rather like an officer is taught to
put the men and women under his command first. A good officer
always sees to their comfort before his own. Also, time is a great
healer, I should know. You don’t forget but time blunts the
pain.”

He sighed,
memories of his childhood on Hallam coming to the fore.

“I spent longer
with her than I did with Isobel,” said Elliot.

“True, and you
are formally betrothed to the girl. You also have to remember that
she is of your class, brought up to know her duty.”

Elliot
nodded.

“Brought up to
know her duty,” repeated Robain, “what is expected of her. Zilla
has not been brought up so. Perhaps in the long run you’ll be
happier with Isobel, Zilla might not be happy with life in the
south.”

“You think
that’s important?” Elliot asked, “surely if we love each
other?”

“I do. Anyway,
how do you know that she is thinking of you as you are of her? She
might have forgotten about you already.”

“I never
thought of that,” gulped a stunned Elliot. “Do you think that’s
possible?”

“Takes two to
make a relationship and neither of you made any promises to each
other did you?”

“Well, no.”

“So let’s get
on with the tour, things might look different by the time you head
for home and, and, cheer up for lai’s sake.”

“I’ll try,”
said Elliot, “and thanks.”

“Good lad, and
if you need to talk come and ask. I’m a good listener.”

“I will,”
promised Elliot.

* * * * *

AL607 - Second
Month of Winter (Vadthed)

Elliot

“It was pretty
decent of Merchant Urquhart to offer to put us up like this,”
announced Elliot to James. “They didn’t need to either, we could
have found rooms at one of the hotels, there are plenty of
them.”

“This is better
than any hotel,” said James, lounging in one of the comfortable
chairs in their host’s drawing room. “It’s far nicer than even one
of our manors though the rooms are so much smaller.”

“I’d like a
house like this,” admitted Elliot, “a real home and I might build
one. Even grandfather escapes from the palace to that hunting lodge
of his at least once a year, though that’s a place which takes
uncomfortableness to its absolute limits.” Elliot suppressed a
shiver. “That winter when he took us, do you remember? I’ve never
felt so miserable.”

“It was cruelty
to dumb children,” agreed James.

Elliot laughed,
“well you’ll never have to go there again. Trip over and you return
to Cocteau and Katia. You staying there?”

“That largely
depends on you. If you want me to continue to attend you, you only
have to ask.”

There is a
position open for a gentleman of the bedchamber,” twinkled Elliot,
“would that do?”

“Perfectly and
you know it, now let me cuddle down into the cushions of this oh so
comfy chair and have a nap. It’s so wonderful to feel warm again.”
He closed his eyes with a theatrical gesture.

Elliot
continued to sit on one of the other chairs, dreaming into the
fire.

The journey to
Stewarton had been an unpleasant one. As Robain had predicted, the
delayed winter rains had arrived, turning the West North Trade
Route into a seething mass of mud and running water. From sixteen
miles a day, their previous average, they had been lucky to do six
and often much less.

Cold, wet and
miserable, they had struggled on. Behind them Danal and Asya had
been just as cold and wet and Danal had cursed these crazy
southerners for wanting to travel in the middle of the rainiest
months of winter.

It was now well
into Vadthed and they had arrived at Stewarton well behind
schedule.

Philip had gone
to make his report to the Murdoch Ambassador in Argyll. Robain was
in the next room (there was a connecting door) sorting out his
uniform which had been sent on from Settlement. He had been told
that he would be starting a temporary assignment as aide to the
Garda General commanding in this area as soon as Philip and the
others were ready to leave Stewarton for Port Lutterell on the
eastern coast. Derek Merriman, recovered from his injuries had
rejoined the party and would resume his protection duties.

Elliot didn’t
want Robain to leave them, he had asked him to stay but Robain had
reminded the prince that he was a serving officer and that the
decision wasn’t his to make but if it could be arranged he would to
go with them to the port where Elliot would take ship for home.

Home - to Court
- to his marriage with Isobel. Elliot had not managed to forget
Zilla. As the days passed he realised he didn’t want to.

Love at first
sight. I used to laugh when I heard people say it.

The four
southerners and Robain were staying at the home of the triplet’s
eldest sister Zala and her husband Matt, who Elliot had found out
was one of the richest, if not
the
richest merchant in
Argyll.

The Urquharts
had five children, who unlike Elliot who had been kept in his own
rooms of the royal nurseries as a child, roamed the house almost at
will, much as Elliot would have liked to have roamed the palace.
They didn’t have tutors or governesses either. The Urquhart
children went to school, even the youngest, who was four and who
attended a small nursery establishment every workday morning.

Also residing
there was Tala, Zala’s younger sister, a Journeyman Technician and
as Elliot had realised, a very clever and independent young woman.
She worked at the main Technician’s Guildhouse in the business
quarter of Stewarton.

She had
promised to take Elliot and James for a visit during the next few
days. Matt, Zala’s husband had also offered to take the four to the
Council Chambers to see Argyllian government in action. They had
also been promised a sail round Lake Stewart. Even lazy James was
looking forward to that.

Elliot wondered
sleepily how long it would be before Philip returned. He was to
bring back any letters the Ambassador had been keeping for them,
together with news from home.

Home. Why is
grandfather standing on his head?

Elliot had
succumbed to sleep and was dreaming of a blond girl riding her pony
through the mist. However hard he tried to catch up with her she
stayed out of his reach.

He was wide
awake the next morning and sitting with the family at breakfast;
crisp fried tranet with equally crisp buttered wheat-toast, an
expensive luxury, when Matt turned towards his guests and asked
what they were intending to do that day.

“Tala and I
will be off to work presently and I wondered if later some or all
of you might like to visit the House?”

“The House?”
queried Elliot, confused.

“Where I work,”
explained Matt. “Our main offices are here, also a small
warehousing facility. We have larger warehouses on the outskirts of
town and others dotted round the country, mostly at the docks of
Port Lutterell, Port Wylie and Settlement. Makes for easier
transportation. No point bringing the goods we trade in here only
to send them back out again.”

“That makes
good sense,” Elliot observed. He had received a fair grounding in
economics from his tutors. “Transport is very costly.”

“Incredibly
so,” agreed Matt, eyeing his young guest with interest. “It’s nice
to meet someone with an appreciation of what its like to be in
merchanting. Would you like to come and see us in action
today?”

“Very much
sir,” Elliot answered, “if its not too much trouble and I won’t be
in the way.”

“I’d like to go
as well,” volunteered Derek who knew that at least one of them
would have to go with Elliot.

Philip had
brought back disquieting news the previous evening.

The attack on
Elliot at Settlement had not been an isolated incident. There had
been two others.

The first had
been an attempt on the life of Elliot’s father.

Prince Paul had
gone riding in the forest that surrounded one of his manors with
only a few attendants and the party had been ambushed by a group of
ruffians. In the short but bloody fight had ensued the prince had
been wounded, although not seriously and two of his bodyguards had
been killed. The surviving attackers had fled into the forest when
they had realised that their attempt had not been successful and so
far had not been caught.

The second
attack on the royal family had been less direct.

It had been
poison. Fatal doses had been found not in one but two of the dishes
intended for the three princesses, Elliot’s sisters. The poison
hadn’t been distributed evenly inside the dishes and an attendant
had died after one spoonful. The princesses and another attendant
had been ill but had recovered.

“I’ll go
along,” offered Philip. “I’m interested too.”

“That’s settled
then,” announced Matt. “James, what about you? I know Robain is
going in with Tala. His General is out of town.”