Hatchling (Tameron and the Dragon) (24 page)

"Why were you in the forefront, lord prince?"

"I was the only one with a sword. Aylar and Jarrett only had staves, knives, and a bow. Besides, it's my duty to protect them, not the other way around," Tam said. "I'm just lucky I've had so much training from Commander Stine. It's been a hard winter this year and those wolves were hungry." He was hungry now, too, and signaled for a servant to refill his plate.

"I've seen her with the other guards," Mauric said enthusiastically. "She's as good as a Guildmaster back home."

"Where's that?" Tameron murmured through a mouthful of food.

"Athlath. It's just north of here, on the other side of the Wall. I was training to be a man at arms for Lord
Duven, since my father was one before he was hurt and had to go back to the farm. We were being attacked by Lord Sonder's men over a border dispute, and part of the outer castle wall started coming down on me during a sortie. The enemy had dug a tunnel beneath it. I suddenly found myself back at my family's farm. Once I returned, my lord sent me to the king to have his mage test me to see if I was possessed of a demon, born to magic, or lying about running away. There aren't any other wizards in my family, you see, so people wondered. When the mage said I needed training, they sent me here to see if I was strong enough to cross the Wall. I'm glad it was summer at the time! They must have felt me go through, because I wasn't here a day before a mage found me and had me sent to the College in Kelemath. Oh, how I love it there! They taught me that I wasn't evil, and showed me how to go from place to place wherever I wished." Mauric's eyes were bright with joy. "The Sandega family bid for my contract before I was even done with my training, but I couldn't believe how lucky I was when the Protector himself asked me for my services. I miss my family, of course, but he told me I may visit them in a few years. I just hope I don't frighten them!" He laughed.

Tameron's head whirled. What he saw as a prison was a haven to this other boy. The Protector had showed Mauric true kindness, not just the mask of stone Tam was used to seeing. Perhaps if he and Mauric became friends, things might go better with his father as well. He would give anyt
hing to see the tenderness his father had showed him in Kelemath once more.

He leaned towards the other boy. "I usually go to sword drill two hours after breakfast," he said. "At least I did before. Once I go again, you can spar with me if you like."

Mauric's face lit up. "Lord prince! Thank you very much! I haven't had much practice for a long time, but I miss it."

Tameron was pleased. It was nice to have someone look up to him for a change. If he could follow his father's commands and make a new friend in the process, so much the better. Maybe Aylar was wrong about mages. He felt sorry for Mauric, who was apparently suspected of evil just for having powers that were considered normal here. Maybe Outside wasn't as wonderful as Jarrett had thought it was.

Then again,
Jarrett will never speak of Outside to anyone else again. But that's not Mauric's fault.
He noticed that everyone was done, including the young mage, and were waiting for him. He stood, nodded his head to Mauric, and left the room.

The young mage also departed, no doubt having other duties. Tam didn't insist on following him around. He decided to test the limits of his authority once the crowd had dispersed. Hadn't the Guardian assured him that all was well? "Escort me to the drill room, please," he said. The soldiers stood still. He tried again. "Escort me to the Protector's presence, please." They continued to remain rooted to the floor. He moved towards the hall leading that way anyway. One guard stepped out and blocked the door. As he continued to walk towards her, she put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

He stopped. "Escort me to my room, please," he said quietly. That order they obeyed.

He was still a prisoner.

Chapter 13

That afternoon Tameron returned to his usual routine. He was glad to remove the boots, but knew what a trap that minor satisfaction was. If he gave into the temptation to wear the slippers outside this room, his boots might not be here when he
got back. However, his window was now unlocked. Being able to breathe fresh air when he wanted to was a change for the better. Tam grimly applied himself to his studies again. There
had
to be something in one of his books to set him free.

Today he chose a book on strategy, clearly one left for him by Stine rather than anyone else.
You must know the enemy's actions and plans in order to make your own,
the author thundered in the introduction, as if he hadn't learned that years ago. After reading a while, he took a short break by the window and watched the guards. The ones on duty walked in a pattern, one he was so used to that he normally didn't notice it.

Today he did.
I suppose I never considered them a possible enemy before,
Tam thought, and grimaced. He took notes about their normal paths on the flyleaf of a storybook he used to like when he was much younger. Then he tried to guess how long they took to go from point to point along the northern wall.

He hurriedly set the book down when his evening meal was brought to him on a tray. He ate, barely tasting what was on it, then went back to his vigil. The night-chill finally forced him to close the window, and it began to
grow dark. As far as he could tell, the soldiers' guard-pattern changed after the sun went down and the night-wards were set on the gate. Soon it was hard for him to see outside except where the sentry-lights were set.

Of course! His room was still light. All someone had to do was to look up, and it'd be obvious how he was staring outward. He turned off the glow-lights in the small study area, and brightened them in the privy. Then he went back, first closing the thin dividing-door, and waited for his eyes to adjust.

Tam was right. Three or four of the guards were circulating in the darker areas of the courtyard, and he probably wouldn't have noticed them if he hadn't taken this precaution. He went back to the bedroom and made further notes on the inside of the cover, then jammed the book behind the small chest in the privy, where a telltale line of dust showed where the servants hardly ever cleaned. Then he brightened the lights back up near his bed, but not the one near his desk. If they believed him to be retiring early, who was he to dissuade them?

Fortunately he'd had the bed moved directly over the grill before he'd ridden off, and nobody had changed it. Tam took the tile from over the grill that funneled sound from the room below into his, and listened to the chatter in the audience room. As always, his father listened to judgments in the evening, claiming he felt sharper then. The Protector sounded fair as he gave his decisions to those who asked for his help. Yet, who decided which cases were chosen? Did Jarrett really have to pay everything just to get a hearing? Or was the Guardian correct about any wealth handed over being only a pledge that was usually returned?

Tam suddenly sat up. Two people were arguing right outside his door! "It's not right," said Lorin's voice. "How dare they treat the dragon like this?"

Oh, Lord and Lady, not
that
again!
Tameron thought. He rose from his bed and moved closer to the hallway.

Another guard spoke. Tam almost recognized the voice, but not quite. "You're out of your mind! You're going to get me in trouble, too. Go bother someone else."

"Don't you see, that's why they're keeping him shut away! They have to keep him from his true destiny or lose all their power! He's our only hope!"

"If you keep this up I'll have to report you to Stine. She already warned both of us to leave him alone."

"One word with him, that's all I want. What can that hurt? If he tells me to leave, I will. Don't you want him to remember who his real friends are on the day we all hope for?"

"Enough.
I remember who
mine
are right now. Leave!"

Tameron was disappointed when he heard Lorin's footsteps going away. His head ached again.
Run, boy, run...
came the old woman's voice, the one he'd heard in dreams. Now he knew it wasn't Stine's or his aunt's.
Who are you?
he cried mentally.
Don't you have any other advice?
He closed his eyes to shut this annoyance out, only to see a vision of the stone dragons on his father's palace in Kelemath stretching their wings...

He suddenly found himself
beginning to fall, but caught himself by grabbing the door-handle. If he made too much noise, the guard would be in here asking inconvenient questions. Tam shakily stood all the way back up and stumbled back to his bed. He must have overstrained his leg, though he hadn't been on it that much. Then again, he'd been closed inside this room so long he probably
was
becoming weak despite his exercises.

It took him much longer to go to sleep that night even with the tile placed back over the grill to muffle the sounds from below. His dreams were confused; he was back in Kelemath this time, only Marysa was there too, leading him through the hall from the Council Room to the locked and barred chamber that held the Empty Throne. A dapper, dark-haired man with a ridiculous goatee and a red silk robe followed along behind him, chattering nonsense about staying out of trouble, while the Guardian stood watch for all of them near the door to the Council Room.

Tameron woke up in the darkness, panting for breath. Once he calmed down, it was obvious what was bothering him. Lorin's vague hints about dragons and Kelemath earlier had clearly combined with his own desire to see Marysa again. He had been with the Guardian today after not seeing her for over a week. Tam had no idea who the man with the goatee had been, but since the fellow wore a red silk robe, he was probably a mage in the back rows of the Council that Tameron had seen last fall or even earlier. Why his night-vision hadn't included Stine, Tam had no idea. Considering the last time he'd dreamed about the commander, she'd thrust a sword through his belly, it was probably just as well.

He fell asleep again, certain he'd figured it all out. The next morning he discovered a written schedule left on his desk. A good thing he'd been careful with the storybook he'd made his notes in! He rushed to see if it had been moved. No, there it was, peacefully resting behind the linen chest in the privy.

Was that really the best place for it? If a servant finally did look there, wouldn't he or she be suspicious? Tam picked it back up, brushed it off, and put it back in the case near his bed where it'd been before. He'd put any further notes there and commit as much as he could to memory.
I hope they can't take my mind away from me!
How ironic that sleeping in Aylar's barn was the only time he'd ever had true privacy, whether he lived in a castle or in a small mountain cabin.

He looked at the schedule again. This morning he was to be escorted to
the morning meal. Then he'd be brought back, or taken to the Guardian, to study books given him or to listen to her wisdom. After two hours of that, he'd attend sword drill with Stine and the other guards.
At least that part hasn't changed,
he thought with relief. After the mid-day meal, he would join the Protector to observe how a mage with his power gave justice. In the evening, he was to rest for an hour after dinner in his room, then attend his father once more to discuss the day's cases with him and Lady Kiliane. He wouldn't be expected to stay up as late as the Protector normally did. Considering that his father preferred to sleep till noon, then work half the night through, Tameron was certainly glad of
that
.

Tam shook his head ruefully. Now he had far less time for any recreation tha
n when he'd been here last fall.
Well, I brought it on myself, riding off the way I did. If I'm going to be Protector after Father, I’d better become used to it. It's time I began carrying my share of the burden. At least I'll get out of this room for most of the day!
 

He was going to miss riding or being outdoors, but understood why it wasn't part of his day, at least not yet. That would have to wait till the Protector trusted him again. Despite the Guardian's assurances, his father was probably still angry.

Besides, he really didn't want to try to do much till he got new boots. He could always use the practice ones for drill, but those had to be turned in before washing up. He normally wore his own, not the hacked-up things that stank of a thousand bouts, but today he thought he wouldn't mind so much.

After the morning meal in the hall,
where he sat in the center seat of the high table in lieu of his father, he was escorted back to his room. A new book lay on his desk. He sighed, and began to read. It turned out to be a history of the wars that threatened Fiallyn Mor's existence until the First Guardians raised Wizardwall to protect everyone inside. Tameron was fascinated by the drawings of the lands Outside, and copied them on what was left of the flyleaf in his storybook.

These maps can't be right
, or someone's lying to me. Athlath isn't even listed on the land to the north--this one shows nothing but tiny bits with names so small I can't even read them. And the place Jarrett talked about, Ramius, is all the way over to the left. How did he ever hear of it? I don't think the expeditions that leave Warding go that far. How old are these maps, anyway?