Fan Fiction ❯ Spirit of the Dragon ❯ In Pursuit ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter Twenty

Was the Prince an absolute fool? Did he ever stop to think about his actions before carrying them out? A ruler that judges on impulse was possibly the worst kind: how could he ever hope to lead a nation, when he could not protect himself? Prince Acanthus needs someone to knock him into place. It seemed that no one could control him when he lost his temper, either that or everyone was too afraid to try. Well I'm going to try.

Such were the thoughts that went through Crowe's mind three days before. In the meantime, King Cornelius gravely gathered his troops. It was a miracle a lot of them were stationed in Azalea. They were all knighted lords, who received plots of land in exchange for their fealty to him (Lord Oxalis among them---whom Crowe had not seen or spoken to since Acanthus' Coming-of-Age party four months passed), and thus usually spent their days overseeing the cities and land they were assigned to maintain. But in times of uncertainty, their families ruled in their absence, and there was a grand barracks constructed in the city to house the men while they waited for orders.

It was a shame the Prince had run off in a frenzy. Otherwise his men could have gone before him. There was no knowing what had become of Acanthus.

Oria had mentioned the Golden Age of Drunesmerre, when the Crown Prince was always surrounded by a company of seventeen magic-bearing riders known as the Fleur-de-lis. Their history was very much woven in legend, so it was doubtful that many accounts of their heroic deeds were accurate, but Oria strongly believed the men had existed, and were revered so fervently (even by Drunesmerre's foes), that there was a time when all the land was safe from harm. Such a problem as Betony being seized would never have existed.

But the problem very much did exist, and there was nothing King Cornelius could do about his son's foolish errand, until the Rose Cavalry had been collected outside the castle gates. Crowe had sheepishly followed the man like a shadow, as he went to see his men off.

She recognized a few faces from the party, although she couldn't put names to any of them except the jovial Oxalis. He sat high upon a blood-red bay, which he trotted over to her as she approached.

"Hello there, Lady Crowe." He greeted her like a friend, even though she would not have been able to picture him before now. The middle-aged man was decked out in silver armor, and a green cloth with a golden bird stitched across its folds adorned his broad shoulders. The other knights were dressed the same way, but the animals across their chests were different, and she came to the conclusion that they were heralds.

Oxalis turned slightly, and she realized the cloth was part of a long green cape. "So I hear you are to leave with us?"

"Yes." Her voice went higher than she liked it to. It revealed her nervousness. "I finally convinced the King." After I convinced myself. She thought grimly. It was not a pleasing thing to leave Kale behind, even for a short while. He had cried and cried until she thought her heart would break. Frostleaf promised though, that the baby would be taken care of. And one of the wet nurses would attend to him regularly.

Her encounter with King Cornelius had been an unpleasant one. She had felt his eyes on her like a teacher skeptically regarding one of his troublesome pupils. She knew it was a lot to ask, to come with them. But she won him over by offering her expertise on Gardrothian warfare, for she was a duxess, the next highest thing to a valderes.

Thinking of her old occupation brought pangs to her chest. She missed her army: The Bifrost warriors. But most of all she missed her sivs: Dakarai, Verrik and Caleb. She had appointed them herself, to help her command. They were her loyal supporters. Her friends. And if they truly had merged with the Blackwren Army to attack Veridea, well…then there was nothing left of them. There was something so profound, about the solidarity among those who had fought together on the battlefield. It was like no other friendship she had ever experienced. Her friends would literally lay down their lives for her, and she would do the same for them. How could a single fire destroy that all? It was incomprehensible.

Seeing the hundred horsemen behind Oxalis, chatting and smiling at each other's jokes, made all of these losses come rushing back again. So much had been lost. So much…

Three days ago, the Rose Cavalry had gathered at the castle gates, and now she rode alongside them on a tall black mare called Nightingale, out of Four Crossings.

The road outside of Azalea had been easy to manage. It was constructed of ground shale cemented into the soil. The only breaks in it had been the cobblestones whenever they neared a city.

But now that they left Four Crossings, after resting the night, the rode abruptly became dirt. Any huts or mills that had lined the paths before disappeared altogether, and they were entering a dense forest.

"This road is the only boundary between Starwood and Hartwood." Oxalis said, riding up beside Crowe; there was enough room for exactly two horses to move freely abroad. "My beloved land lies to the east." He pointed leftward.

It was hard to see Oxalis' face, for his eyes were shaded by a weighty helm. A few cropped brown hairs stuck out beneath its surface.

"Starwood." Crowe said, recalling their brief conversation in the dining hall.

The trees here were massive, with thick red trunks and foliage at their crowns that arched clear into the cloudless cerulean sky. They brought shade in the cruel summer sun, and sent patterns of leaves filtering over the mounted soldiers. Crowe and Oxalis rode towards the center of the procession. An aloof-looking lord called Lethris was up in the front, leading them.

She felt naked without her weapon. The glinting metal of armor around her kept sending her subconscious mind messages of upcoming battle. But for obvious reasons, she was not permitted to carry one. It was just as well, she supposed. This way she could not be expected to hurt this kingdom that had adopted her, or her old one. Besides, she wasn't too fond of risking her life just now. Not with a child to protect. Her presence there served as guidance only. And perhaps if something bad had become of Acanthus, she could convince Ronori to be merciful. Of course, that was if he was the one behind all of this. It was highly probable.

Ronori… so I might face him once again. She had grown a lot since their last meeting. But would she become the lovesick puppy she always did? No matter how much she thought she could handle him, he always managed to throw her off. Just one look into those dark bewitching eyes…

Nightingale snorted, and she barely had time to pull to a stop before slamming into the horse in front of her.

"Why are we stopping?" Oxalis asked no one in particular. He began to move up to the front. The soldiers parted for him.

There was something Crowe did not like about this change of pace, although she wasn't sure why.

"Call up the Gardrothian!" Someone shouted. She grimaced and sent Nightingale up between the knights.

"What is it?" She had not gotten a good look at Lethris until now. He was younger than she had anticipated; he couldn't have been older than Ronori. He was thin and lithe, but malignant, as the double-bladed sword hanging at his waist implied. Like the others, he wore a herald across his chest. It was a coiled snake.

"What do you make of this?" Pale green eyes watched her steadily. His voice hadn't been unkind, but it was not kind either. In fact, there was no expression in it at all. She found it unsettling.

"What do I make of what?"

He slowly lifted a hand to a tree up in front of him, where an arrow was embedded in its trunk.

Crowe shrugged. "It's a territorial mark, that stands as a threat to enemies. I thought you knew that."

"I am not talking about that." The tone in his voice remained steady, but she got the impression of impatience. "Why is there another?" On the other side of the road, there was a parallel sign.

Crowe frowned. Somehow she had not noticed it. "That's a barrier mark."

"That is what I suspected." She was surprised Lethris knew of such a thing. Barrier marks were a very modern discovery.

"I fail to understand." Oxalis came up behind them.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Lethris jumped easily off of his towering stallion (the man was very tall), and approached the disturbance. Crowe pondered over what he was going to do, while she focused on the back of his head. Unlike the others, he wore no helm, so blond hairs hung loosely down to his shoulders.

Lethris stooped to pick something up from the dirt; it was a smooth round pebble. Then with a flash he was hurling it through the air and there was a crackle like lightning, followed by crashing thunder. The sound wave swept over the soldiers instantaneously, causing many horses to cower and shy. Had they not been the fine trained beasts they were, some would undoubtedly have thrown their riders.

The pebble bounced off an invisible barrier in a shower of sparks, and they fell down to the dirt like rain. Crowe tilted her head to the sky as they fizzled and died.

Lethris was unfazed by the occurrence, and calmly returned to his mount. "Sorcery. How do you suppose we get passed this?"

Was he testing her? "There is a counter-spell. Although I am not properly trained…"

"Do it."

Her eyes flicked with a bit of anger. "I am not a sorceress, in case you haven't noticed."

"You are a blackblood, are you not?" Still in that deadpan voice.

That was a little offensive. "I prefer to be called a Gardrothian, if you don't mind." He was right though. All Gardrothians had bit of magic in them, whether they wanted it or not. This was why she could sense people's emotions so readily. Perhaps this was another thing she did not like about him. He emitted no emotion.

"Of course." Lethris said. "I must apologize for my brashness."

"I guess I could try." Crowe followed his example and went to the barrier. She cautiously lifted a hand, and pressed her palm to the surface. It felt warm, as if she were touching skin. Then she moved her fingers in a circle, creating a transparent sign. "Sino nomei parrafai." For a moment nothing happened, and then a burst of red light caused her to stagger a few steps backward. There was a sound like breaking glass as the arrows' hold was shattered. That was unusual. It really shouldn't have worked.

"Nicely done." Lethris nodded to his men, and they started to move again.

Crowe stood silently in the road, letting soldiers pass as she stared dumbly at her hands. She had never been able to successfully cast a spell, let alone counter a strong one. There was something very uncanny about the whole thing.

And how had Acanthus already made it through, if they couldn't be that far behind him? There was definitely an element of iniquity in the air; a twinge of foreboding she couldn't shake. Something deadly was lurking in the deep.