Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools (41 page)

Sebastian waited impatiently outside the door of the queen's chambers. Three moons had passed since the final battle for Keladon and the palace was beginning to return to some semblance of normality. The shattered front doors had been repaired and Sebastian's arm had nearly finished healing. Cornelius too was well on his way to a full recovery. Sebastian had visited him in the hospital only that morning, and the little warrior had been full of energy and raring to get back into action. He had also mentioned that he had something to tell Sebastian; something that would have to wait until they could speak in private.

Over the past weeks, Sebastian had barely had a chance to speak to Queen Kerin. To begin with he had been in the hospital, unconscious and feverish. He had missed her triumphant coronation. True, she had visited him a couple of times later on and had thanked him profusely for his help. But the two of them were aware that their conversation could be overheard by patients in the surrounding beds, and there had been no opportunity to speak of what was in their hearts.

Now at last she had summoned him for a private audience. He felt nervous and slightly sick, which he knew was an indication that he was in love. But he did not really know what he was going to say to her. It had been difficult enough when she was a mere princess. But a queen? What did you say to a queen?

The door of the chambers opened and Malthus came out, looking well pleased with himself. Sebastian had not entirely approved when he heard that the skinny manservant had been appointed to the queen's staff. He remembered how Malthus had refused to help him when he was locked in the cells and knew that he wouldn't have lifted a finger to fight for the princess's right to the throne. But he was a survivor, the kind of man who would switch his allegiance at a moment's notice. The rumour was that things were really looking up for him. He was actually receiving a wage these days.

He smiled at Sebastian. 'Ah, Mr Darke. I trust you are well.'

'Well enough,' said Sebastian. 'No thanks to you.'

'Oh, come along, you don't harbour a grudge, do you? I was only looking after my interests.'

'As you still are.'

Malthus smiled thinly and gave a polite bow. 'Her majesty will see you now,' he said and ushered Sebastian inside, closing the door behind him.

She was standing in front of the marble fireplace, dressed in one of the beautiful brocaded gowns she had recently taken to wearing. Her face was dusted with white powder, her long hair tied up in an intricate bun, and he thought that she seemed so much older than when he had last seen her. She smiled at him, but it was a polite, reserved smile.

'Sebastian,' she said. 'You are quite healed, then.'

He went down on one knee and bowed before her. 'I am the better for seeing you,' he said.

'Ah, ever the charmer. And how is Cornelius?'

'Nearly mended. He'll be out any time now.'

'I'm pleased to hear it.' She gestured to him to sit in a nearby chair. She chose another a short distance away. They sat looking at each other in silence for a moment. It felt decidedly awkward, as though they were meeting for the first time. Finally the queen spoke.

'Sebastian, the kingdom of Keladon wishes to express its gratitude to you for the services you have rendered to us. It is my intention to give both yourself and Captain Drummel the freedom of the city and the annual sum of three hundred gold crowns to be spent on whatever is your wish.'

He stared at her. She sounded so cold and aloof, as though she was speaking to a stranger.

'The money is to be paid on—'

'Why are you talking to me like this?' he interrupted her. 'We're friends, aren't we? After everything we've been through together, I would have thought that we could at least talk to each other like normal people.'

'I think I
am
speaking normally. Now, the money is to be—'

'Forget the money! I'm not interested in money! I came here because I wanted to tell you what was in my heart.'

She shook her head. 'Sebastian,' she said quietly, 'I know that you once had feelings for me—'

'What do you mean, "once"? Nothing's changed . . . has it?'

She studied her feet for a moment. 'Alas, everything has changed. I'm Queen of Keladon now and must behave like one. I can no longer act on whims and fancies.' She lifted her gaze to look at him. 'Sebastian, the adventure we had will always be with me. But now my duty is to my people. I told you, what seems like an age ago, that my first real act as monarch would be to marry Prince Rolf of Bodengen.'

'Yes, but that was before . . . before we . . .' Sebastian got impulsively up from his chair and moved towards her. He kneeled before her and took her hands in his. 'You don't love him,' he said. 'I
know
you don't. You're doing this because of a royal duty. But I believe that you care for
me.'

'No.' She shook her head. 'I don't. You are mistaken.' But tears glittered in her eyes as she said it. 'You must understand, my life is no longer my own. It belongs to the people of Keladon, the people who fought – and in some cases gave their lives – so that I could sit upon the throne. By making this alliance with Bodengen, I will be ending centuries of bloodshed between our two kingdoms.'

'But what about
you?
What about your happiness? And mine? Don't we deserve any?'

She was trying hard to maintain her dignity. 'Sebastian, ask whatever you wish and if it is in my power, I shall grant it. But not that. I cannot give you that. I'm sorry.'

He let go of her hands and got back to his feet. He felt crushed, desolate. He walked across the room and stood looking moodily into the empty hearth. 'Then do not ask me to stay here and watch you throw your life away,' he said. 'I will leave . . .'

'No, Sebastian, stay here. You can make a good life for yourself. You'll meet a nice girl who you'll fall in love with—'

'I thought I already had.' He glared at her. 'But somehow it got complicated.'

'Well then.' She thought for a moment. 'The offer of money still stands. I wish to reward you for what you have done. Won't you at least allow me to do that?'

He shook his head. 'Please arrange to have the money sent to my mother in Jerabim. I have no need of it.' He bowed politely and then turned towards the door.

'Sebastian!' For a moment her regal poise slipped and she sounded like the girl he remembered. 'Please, tell me that you don't hate me.'

He looked at her long and hard, and for a moment he forgot who she was. 'Oh, Princess,' he said, 'I could never do that.' He felt his own eyes filling with tears and hurried to the door. He glanced back once and saw that she was sitting in her chair, her head bowed, her shoulders moving gently up and down. Tears were making lines in the white powder on her face.

He wanted so much to go back to her but knew in that moment that he could not. She had shut herself off from him and would never allow him to get close again. He closed the door and walked quickly away.

He went to the royal stables, looking for Max; and was surprised to find that Cornelius had discharged himself from the hospital and was sitting on a hay bale, chatting to the buffalope. Sebastian paused for a moment outside the stall, listening to their conversation.

'Did you see those soldiers go flying when I slammed into their shields?' asked Max. 'It was incredible. They should call me Max the Mighty.'

'Well, you should have seen my Golmiran death roll on the staircase. I don't like to boast, but it was a personal best. I still haven't worked out how one of them managed to wound me.'

'Maybe you're a bit out of condition.'

'Nonsense! Why, I'm in my prime. Once this wound finishes healing up, I'll be ready for just about anything.'

'What about more adventures?' asked Sebastian, stepping into the stall.

Cornelius grinned. 'Why not?' he said. 'It's getting a bit too quiet here for my liking.'

'Oh, I don't know,' said Max. 'Let's not be hasty. The food here is excellent – they really know how to look after you.' He gave Sebastian an enquiring look. 'How did it go with the queen?'

Sebastian sat down on a bale and tried not to let his disappointment show. 'Not great,' he admitted. 'She's going to marry Rolf of Bodengen.'

'I see,' said Max. 'Well, no, not exactly a result.' He thought for a moment. 'Maybe she'll keep you on as her "bit on the side".'

Sebastian glared at him. 'I hardly think either of us would be happy with that arrangement.' He looked at Cornelius. 'You knew this would happen, didn't you?'

The little warrior shrugged. 'I . . . suspected as much. Sebastian, you have to understand, she's the queen now. There are all kinds of things she'll have to do. I'm sure she cares for you but, let's face it, you're just—'

'A jester. And once again, it would seem, an unemployed one.'

'I'm sorry, my friend, but I'm afraid only fairy stories have happy endings.'

'Hmm. Well, it's not all bad news. She's giving you a gift of three hundred gold crowns a year.'

Cornelius stared at him. 'You are joking,' he said.

'No, I'm deadly serious. We both get the same. Except I don't want mine. I've arranged to have it sent home to my mother.'

'A wonderful gesture.' Cornelius thought for a moment. 'My parents are already disgustingly rich, so there's not much point in me making a similar arrangement.'

'Did she mention giving
me
anything?' asked Max hopefully, but the two men ignored him.

'So,' said Sebastian, 'there's not much point in hanging around here. I have no wish to see her marry that slope-headed oaf.'

'Absolutely not,' said Cornelius. 'Which brings me to some rather interesting news.' He paused for a moment and looked around, as though nervous of being overheard. 'You left the hospital well before me, but you remember the old fellow in the bed next to me?'

'Vaguely He was in a bad way, wasn't he?'

'Yes, he'd been wounded in the final battle at the palace. Nathaniel, his name was. I could see that he wasn't going to last very long, so I spent quite a bit of time talking to him. He'd been an adventurer when he was a young man; spent most of his life in the port of Ramalat on the east coast. He'd been planning to head back that way for one last adventure, but realized now that he would never see it again.'

'How very sad,' said Max. 'I wonder if they'll be bringing round some dinner soon—'

'Shush!' said Sebastian. 'Go on, Cornelius.'

'Well, in his final hours, when he knew it was all over for him, he gave me something.' Cornelius glanced round again, then reached into his tunic and pulled out a folded piece of yellow parchment. He opened it and passed it across to Sebastian. It was clearly ancient, mottled by the passing of time. It appeared to be some kind of a map.

'What is it exactly?' asked Sebastian, turning it this way and that to try and catch the light. 'This brown ink is so faded, I can barely read it.'

'It's not ink,' said Cornelius. 'It's written in blood. And it's a treasure map. It shows the location of the lost treasure of Captain Callinestra.'

'Captain who?' asked Max.

'Callinestra!' said Sebastian. 'Surely you've heard of him? Father used to tell me stories about him when I was little. He was this legendary pirate king who was said to have amassed an incredible treasure and hidden it in a secret location. But . . . I always assumed it was just a story.'

'Not according to Nathaniel. He told me that when he was a youngster, he was cabin boy on the captain's ship, the
Ocean Star.
It seems that he was entrusted with the map when the ship was finally overrun by a band of rival pirates. Nathaniel escaped, but the captain and all his crew perished.'