Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (38 page)

Fredrick sat watching her scribble notes furiously with a smug look on his face. She just couldn’t help it. She fought him but she couldn’t help be a leader.

“We don’t have room for
two hundred,” she said to him.

“Fields.”

She nodded then wrote more orders to create a place for the Kusira to squat while they were in Danyc, barrels of water and care for their horses would have to be prepared. Extra guards would be placed around their encampment in case there was trouble. In the six years since they were forced out of Danycia they had not shown any aggression and had even s
ent word of apology with gifts.

Pearl finally stopped writing to look at her cold food. She handed all her notes to the page, who ran off to deliver them. People around the room received their orders or invitations to the war room meeting and l
ooked up at Pearl and the King.

Tomas picked at his food. He looked pale. The King asked if he was unwell but he didn’t answer. Glory and Jimm chatted and laughed, possib
ly the cause of his discomfort.

Fredrick leaned over to look in Pearl’s worried eyes, at her lips, and said, “I thought you said you didn’t want to be queen.”

“I don’t,” she bristled.

“You certainly look and act like one.”

“Is this the time for this conversation?” she asked annoyed.

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, apologizing. “I’ll harass you later. Besides, I have to find a time and place where it is convenient for you to run away from me.”

She stood, furious and embarrassed, thou
gh no one heard what he’d said.

“And you prove my point,” he stated, taking a bite of food.

She lowered herself in
to
the chair slow
ly, unable to think what to do.

He said quietly, menacingly, “I am going to get you in a room and lock you in with me. You are going to tell me what is going on in that head. No running away, no pushing away, no ignoring what is happe
ning between us and no excuses.

“I am fed up with not knowing where your heart is. One moment I’m getting a kiss and the next I think you are finished with me. I’m a tired old man. And I’m lonely. You are the best thing in my life. I feel like
a real man when I am with you.

“So in that locked room you are going to tell me what you want. I’m at my limit, Pearl.”

She stared at her food. A single nod was all she gave him.

The war room was abuzz with questions waiting for the King to arrive. When he did, with Pearl in tow, he pulled a seat for her to the table. The others stood or took chairs. Pearl had always stood. Always behind him, to the side. Now she was offered a seat next to him.

“We have news that there is a large group of almost two hundred riders coming this way from the west. They are Siri and Kusira.”

A rumble rose in the room. Pearl said, “We don’t know anything about their visit, just that they come together. I have given instructions for Marshalls to escort them, since they may be the best suited to defense if there are witches involved.” She nodded to Kel, Krisa and Pat, who quietly left the room, ready to ride.

Fredrick got their attention again. “We are setting up a camp for them in the north fields. Men will be posted around the encampment to ensure the safety of our citizens. Our messengers had flown to us with the news so we have time to prepare. The Siri and Kusira are to arrive in the next day or two. When they do arrive I want everyone available to meet here in the war room with their leaders.”

Pearl stood, her robes visible, her hatchet hanging at her side. “We still don’t know much about what happened after their…god…died. They assured us their magic died with him, but we cannot be too careful. If anyone has doubts, if anyone experiences anything unusual please inform me right away.”

Fredrick announced, “We want as little traffic as possible in the castle for the visit. We are going to ask that all unnecessary visitors return home or take lodging in the city. City security will be increased. The castle itself will become a Keep until further notice. Enough staff will be on hand to assist those of us staying. Everyone in this room will be asked to stay.”

“We don’t want to panic anyone,” Pearl added. “If the Siri are with the Kusira I suspect they are acting as guard. We are in no better hands.”

“Lady Doran has already issued orders so if you can assist your men and get the castle ready we’d greatly appreciate it. I’ll be in my library if anyone needs anything.” He pointed to two of the high ranking officers to follow him. Fredrick squeeze
d Pearl’s arm and stood to go.

Amias called out to his men. They stood in a circle around him getting orders for their next task. Coral stood watching Pearl. The others wandered out to tackle whatever tasks they had in front of them.

“Do you want to walk?” Coral asked her and Pearl nodded.

They moved down the corridor slowly as people rushed around them. “I had hoped this would be over,” Pearl said. “It’s been six years. I was almost normal again.”

“I don’t think we’ll ever be normal, god-
smiter
,” Coral laughed.

“You may be right,” Pearl agreed. “But why now?”

“We will know when they get here. We just need to be prepared.”

They turned into the corridor that led to the gardens. Courtiers were being shooed back to their rooms and took exception to Coral and Pearl bein
g able to stay. Pearl grumbled.

“You don’t like cas
tle life, do you?” Coral asked.

“No. I’d rather be out on the road with the Marshalls. Or at home. I have no use for all of that.”

“Yet you are here.”

“You are here. My family is here.”

“And this is where the spiritual leader of the land is needed. Not at home far away from everyone.”

“That too,” she said quietly.

“It’s a burden.”

“There is not much to do other than be a trophy, a symbol, standing with the King.”

“Is that all you are?” Coral asked. “I’m pretty sure that isn’t it.”

“That is what I’m needed for here in Danyc. I give orders to the Brothers and Sisters of the Faold to rebuild. But there is still wariness among the people. Maybe I’ll arrange a trip to the Retreats, to the Sanctuaries. It will give me a purpose.”

“Would you be running away?” Coral asked.

“From what?” Pearl demanded.

“All of this. The castle, the courtiers, the responsibilities. The Queen’s suite. The King.”

“Why would I run from him?”

“I don’t know. Why do you?” Coral asked.

Pearl didn’t answer. She c
ouldn’t. She didn’t know
why she ran. But she just knew she couldn’t have stayed in that library any longer to endure any more kissing. If she had stayed she would have failed to keep her strength. She would have given it all away for passion. A passion that couldn’t lead anywhere.

“We have talked before about Fredrick. You look at him the way I look at Amias. I know it.”

Pearl squinted in denial. “He’s too old.”

“Now you are making excuses to not love him when you do. What’s wrong?”

“He’s a King,” she cried. “He’s not a Tucker. His family has ruled this land for a thousand years. Their portraits are on the walls all over this place. I have no business being here. I have no business being in his presence, let alone in the Queen’s suite or in his bed.”

“If he wants you there you have every right to it,” Coral told her angrily. “I dragged you away from that life. You became a courageous, skillful child who has grown up into a beautiful powerful woman. You are educated. We took you as our own to give you a name and a title. No one can strip that of you now.”

“He wants a wife. I just can’t be a queen.”

“Then be his woman.”

“Then he would be no better than Tucker and I would be no better than a whore.”

“Pearl, that’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. I am either a queen or a whore. I refuse to be either.”

“So you will be Pearl the god-
smiter
. The King-
smiter
because you can’t allow yourself to love him. And you won’t let him love you.”

Pearl had no answer to that accusation. She just teared up. “He wants me to talk to him and tell him what’s wrong. I just can’t.”

“You’d better do it or I’ll drag you to him myself and tell him what’s what. And I’ll let him beat you for being stupid too.”

Pearl gaped at Coral. “You think I’m being stupid?”

“Yes,” she told her. “I do. I want you to be Pearl. I don’t know who this wishy washy rag is that you become sometimes but that’s not the Pearl I know who would pull off a god’s knockers and toss Sisters around like straw in the wind. I want to see the Pearl I saw sitting
beside
the King tonight, giving orders, encouraging her people and taking charge. I want to see the Pearl who sat in the Queen’s seat at dinner, sending men all around the castle to do her bidding in the face of unknown danger. That woman the King depends on to be strong
with
him not instead of him.”

And Pearl stopped walking. Coral looked at her strangely. She grasped Coral in a hug and whispered, “Coral, there are times I don’t feel myself. I told you I can’t trust my heart. But the times I sit with him, when I act, when I am the woman you want me to be, that is when I am myself. At times when Fredrick and I fight I feel things that aren’t from me. Something is wrong. We are watched. Do you think…”

And Coral knew. She drew herself away from Pearl and nodded, wiping away the tears from Pearl’s face. “So, if you are you when you are with him, he will help you fight. We must all fight. The Kusira are coming. We will get to the bottom of it. Go to him. You need him and he needs you.”

Before they could take another step, Pearl and Coral heard a giggle further into the gardens. “Did they make up?” Pearl asked and carefully strolled toward the laugh. Coral was right behind her. But instead of finding a betrothed couple sharing a few moments together they saw a sight they never thought they would ever see.

Up in a tree, with her feet dangling, crinoline on the ground, was Glory. And Jimm sat on the thick limb with her. She had a twig in her curled hair and her cheeks were more rosy than normal with the exertion of getting into the tree. She waved down at them and teetered.

“What are you do
ing?” Coral asked with a laugh.

“Well if Pearl can climb trees then I can,” she called out. “Though I’m not very good at it.”

“She’ll be wrestlin
g pigs next,” Jimm called down.

Pearl hitched her robes up and grabbed at a limb. She hoisted herself up to sit on another large branch off to the side. Coral declined the invite to join them, saying she’d be a bad influence on Darius. She waved an
d left the three of them alone.

“Remember when we were little?” Pearl asked. “We had so much fun in this garden.”

“There’s Father,” Jimm said, nodding up to the window of the library, where he stood watch
ing them.

Pearl smiled up at him and waved. She glanced over to the windows that led to her new room. “Glory, my balcony is large enough for a few chairs. We shall have tea over the gardens when we get it fixed up.”

“That would be lovely,” Glory said. “Do you think we could get someone to bring us tea here in the tree? I like it here.”

“You are stuck, aren’t you?” Pearl laughed.

“Maybe a little,” she said looking down. “But I don’t mind. I was always envious of you two. Playing in the trees, with the dogs, having fun.”

“But you liked the dresses and the ladies and parties.”

“I did,” she admitted. “But I wish I was more like you.”

“You were, in your own way,” Pearl told her. “When faced with danger you took hold and became a god-
smiter
too.”

“I’m impressed you could keep your dress clean and your hair curled doing it,” Jimm told her with a straight face then they all laughed. “Do you want to come on the hunt with me tomorrow?”

“Me?” Glory asked. “You don’t really kill things, do you?”

“Not really. It’s a gentleman’s version of a ride with the Marshalls. Though they don’t have stories nearly as good and they wouldn’t dare …”

“Oh!” Pearl blurted, interrupting him. “You haven’t heard. The castle is on lockdown. The Kusira and Siri are riding in, two hundred strong.”

“What?” Glory asked loudly. “The Kusira?”

Before she could explain King Fredrick entered the gardens from the side and sauntered over to them. Pearl smiled at his mischievous gr
in. That was the real Fredrick.

“Children in trees,” he called out. “I ordered these gardens closed.”

“And I ordered them open for us,” Pearl said. “We are taking a vantage point to look for Kusira witches lurking in the bushes.”

“And who are you to override my orders?” he asked coming to a stop before her.