by Gin Hollan
"Cultural studies?"
"Exactly. I haven't got a clue about a country's predispositions, only their military strengths and weaknesses. Tell me, what do people do where you're from."
"What they do? In what way?"
"Diplomatics. How do you convince people to work with you, instead of against?"
Arabeth wanted to take him seriously, but the question was odd. "Are you feeling alright?"
Andun shrugged. "I have no allies inside this country. Mardell has been working against me for too long and I am only just waking up to the truth, it seems."
"I'm sorry your friend turned her back on you like that."
"Clarice has always been weak."
Arabeth was hesitant to speak. Was there really a good chance he would lose his throne? Maybe. What life would he have then? Would he be the kind to spend the rest of his days playing political games to get back what was lost? It was human nature. We want to maintain our sense of normal.
"I know people who can help you," she said. "But theirs is a long game. The first thing we need to do is send out messengers to any potential ally you have. We need to find out who still sides with the throne." The only way she knew to do that was to enlist her mother's spy network. "We should travel as far and as fast as the horses could handle.."
"Our government is run by a council of twelve elected officials, but the throne has one-to-one voting power, as well as veto power. That is the only thing that gives my voice strength. If somehow Mardell uses this time to change that structure, it's all over. No country leaving a monarch system has ever gone back."
"There is something of an advantage to being royalty. You will have the power to move the people. We cannot underestimate the fact that people idolize royalty."
"Interesting."
"People will see you as the ideal leader, once we expose Mardell's duplicity. Again, not my strength, but I know people for whom it is second nature."
He simply nodded. "I need to walk. I'm getting saddle sore." He dismounted and took a minute to stretch Arabeth did the same.
"This will have to be our last break. We can't afford to get caught."
"You don't need to tell me that," he snipped. "The funny part is that Mardell still sees me as a child. He forgets I was raised as a tactician. I feel well-suited to that mantle."
"Glad to see you've got some fire in there," Arabeth smiled and clapped him on the back.
They walked in silence and haste for a short time before remounting, then travelled straight south, stopping only to let the horses drink and graze for a short time every few hours. Arabeth checked her pocket watch to keep them moving. Soon the night started to creep in, and as dusk turned to darkness, town lights came into view.
"Remember your disguise, Prince Andun," she said.
"I have my story. I'm Leonard," he said. "A young foreign student, out to see the world by horse and backpack, looking to understand the world outside his own."
Arabeth chuckled, "You've given this a bit of thought."
"A good story should be fun. A whimsical, adventurous spirit in a 15-year-old is easy to sell."
"Just remember that when you're surrounded by people and you start to wonder if they see through it. Appearance sets the stage, but attitude and bearing sell the disguise."
"I remember," he huffed. "Once more and this counts as nagging, you know."
"I realize we were keeping score."
"I'm going to die of boredom out here if we don't do something to pass the time."
It was late afternoon as they neared the town. Looking ahead, Arabeth saw a familiar figure sitting on the roadside. Sam! Arabeth picked up her pace, relieved and excited to see a friend.
"Hey, what's the hurry?" Andun called after her.
She turned and waved him forward. "He's a friend. He's also the reason we got away."
As Arabeth drew close, she thought expression was odd. "It's good to see you, Sam. I was worried that Melanie's plan might not work."
His expression made her pause and she stopped a few feet away.
"You two took your time getting here," he said stepping forward.
"Well, no... Melanie sent us-"
"Enough. Let's get going. We need to reach Starsfall tonight."
Arabeth and Andun exchanged a look.
"What's your hurry, Sam? If you've been waiting, then it's not because you're being followed. I think a little explanation is in order."
"This is neither the time nor the place." He turned and walked away.
Arabeth tried to ignore the growing knot of concern in her gut, but the habit of years fought within her. "Sam...." She bit her lip. Maybe he was right. They could talk later. She didn't know what he'd been through or how he had managed to escape. Her trite comment that there was no good excuse for bad behaviour died on her lips. This was Sam, after all.
Maybe he just needed to get far enough away to feel safe. It had been quite some time now since she had last felt safe, and she hadn't been dragged away by power-hungry traitors.
Sam was without a horse, so she dismounted and walked with him. They skirted the little town Andun had suggested they stay. Travelling past dinnertime and into twilight, they covered fair bit of distance but Arabeth worried that the horses were getting exhausted. They had barely a break before heading back out on the road and Davin wasn't getting any younger.
"Sam, slow down. Tell me what you're thinking."
The look on his face was almost hate. He wasn’t looking at them, and she feared for whomever he had in mind. Arabeth stopped and took a step back, putting her hand on Davin for comfort.
"Did you know?" he turned to glare at Andun. "You know we've been lied to our whole lives, don't you?"
Andun frowned back. "You'll have to put some meaning behind your accusation before I can say what I do or don't know."
Sam looked back at Arabeth and his expression softened lightly. "We've been lied to… by everyone."
"Repeating the same words won’t add to my understanding. I know about the war that had our ancestors locked behind the mountain, and the lies that kept us there."
He shook his head. "No, not those ones."
"How many more can there be?" she scoffed. "That's quite enough, I think."
Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her close then leaned in to whisper. "Everything is a lie." He pushed her away and stalked off down the road.
Did he mean this? This was an act? His anger was a show... but why? Or did he mean Andun? She glanced at the kid. He seemed sincere. She was going to over-think it to the point of paranoia if Sam didn't elaborate soon. She'd let it slide, for now. If he wanted to talk in code, he should have worked it out with her in advance. Then it hit her... they had. It was ten years ago, but they were simply trying to get her out of a mess at the time.
Arabeth smiled then covered it. He was being serious right now.
"Can we stop a moment? I drank too much coffee," Andun asked. "That town." He pointed.
He'd been trying to get there ever since they left Ocean City. It must be the next location.
"I agree. We're wearing the horses down." She stared at Sam a moment. "You can go on ahead, if you want, but we need a break."
She turned and nodded at Andun. "Go ahead. We'll follow."
Andun hesitated then walked away, down the road.
// Chapter 30 //
Sam reached out and grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?"
Arabeth glared. "Trust me."
"You mean trust him."
She pursed her lips, considering how to make him understand. "As you have realized, there is more going on here than meets the eye. He has a bigger role in future events, and he needs my help. And eventually, my parent's help."
"What do you mean?"
"I can explain as we go."
Sam hesitated, twitching his head to one side as he seemed to wince. "We have a lot to talk about." He pulled her to a stop then reached into one of her jacket pockets. Pulling out the red crystal, he walk
ed to Davin's saddlebags and dropped it in with the mute ones.
"What was that about?" she asked.
“Putting on a bit of a show. Don’t worry.” He took one of her hands as they started walking again. "Let's catch up before he gets us lost."
"A show? For who?"
"The crystal watchers."
"Who?"
"I meant it when I said everything we’ve been told was a lie. I learnt a lot when I helped you two escape. One thing - one critical thing - is that we weren't only locked behind the mountain. We have been controlled, in a sense. You and I, for example, were manipulated into choosing our occupations, friends, and more."
Arabeth stared, not quite sure what he meant by that. She was sure of one thing, though. "Andun hasn't been lying to me."
Sam stopped and faced her. He held a hand fingers upward, palm toward Arabeth. "Mirror me but don't make contact."
Curious, Arabeth raised her hand.
"See? You can easily anticipate what I'm about to do. You 'read' me. Our temperaments match, our work choices compliment, and when you got married to the wrong man, I shut down."
Arabeth lowered her hand. "That's all because we've been friends forever."
"How could we have been friends, otherwise? When we first met, we had virtually nothing in common." He took her hand again and resumed walking.
"We met at the public swimming pool."
"And you hate swimming."
Arabeth shrugged. "What does it mean, though? You talk as though we're predestined."
"I'll admit, freewill is still a factor and I believe in fate's hand, but there's another designer at work. We've been 'tuned' to each other."
"What?" He was making her nervous with his insistence that they were programmed, somehow.
"I haven't got all the facts yet."
"And how did you find this out?"
He looked up at the sky, making an odd face. "Melanie."
"Okay, how did she find out?"
"These odd crystals... they are used for communication."
"Right, I know that part."
"They can also be used to share memories."
That sounded delusional. Her eyes narrowed as he waited for her to accept what he said. "You need sleep," she said.
"I'll show you how, once we have a bit of privacy. She knew you'd be a sceptic, so she showed me how."
"Why didn't she show me any of this?"
"Training happens in layers. She didn't find out until later, when they made her appointment official."
Arabeth sighed. This needed to be a dream... a weird one, but still a dream.
"Andun is going to start coming apart at the edges," Sam said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"His memories are not his own. They call it memory cloning. It a kind of brainwashing."
Arabeth squinted at him.
"He's not the real prince, but he's been given all the prince's memories. They'll fade and start to clash with his own."
"You're going to say that's another trick done with these crystals."
He nodded.
"Why did they do it?"
"Until you rescued him, they were using him to find the places the prince hid things. I'm not sure what was hidden, but apparently they need them to make changes to law."
"So, things like a Royal Seal and so forth?"
He nodded. "That sounds right."
"Interesting theory," Arabeth sighed again. "I'm afraid you've been misinformed."
"It’s true," he insisted. "The real prince is held prisoner until this fake one can get all the items. Then they will both mysteriously vanish, or worse."
"No, this is the real guy. Someone mixed fact and falsehood, to slow us down, to make us doubt," Arabeth insisted. "I don't care how perfect this... memory manipulation is, he would show symptoms. Moments of confusion and the like. And he hasn't been gathering proof of his identity or royal seals and so on."
Sam grimaced and shook his head. "We'll do it the hard way then. When he starts to fall apart, don't say I didn't warn you."
Arabeth didn't have a response for that. She was sure he was wrong about Andun, and he was certain he was right. Arabeth picked up her pace until she caught up with Andun.
"There's a part here?" she asked him.
"Yes, the last one." He was fidgeting and looking around as though he expected an ambush. "You're sure we can trust your friend?"
"Mostly. He won't do anything to harm us, if that's what you mean."
"And he trusts you, but not me. That's clear."
"It'll take time."
"We trust in layers," he said, showing odd maturity for his age. "The last piece is in the livery here, in the tack room."
"Easy enough. I'll keep the stable master busy," Sam said, having caught up. "Walking in like this, it'll be easy to convince them we need a horse doctor." He patted Daven on the neck. "She's been through a lot, lately."
They found the livery on the near side of the town and with it coming to dusk, the stable master was doing his preparations for night. Sam walked slower than Andun and Arabeth, looking concernedly at Daven as he did. As he kept the stable master busy outside, Andun went to the only fully enclosed space inside.
"It should be inside one of the storage lockers, at the back." He walked to a wall of lockers, to the one furthest from the door. Moving a few items out for Arabeth to hold, he slid a four inch panel open. Inside, he pulled out a long, jagged shape and stuck it quickly in his pocket before sliding the panel back into place, making it nearly invisible again.
"How did you know that was there?" Arabeth asked. She wanted to poke at the potential memory gaps, hoping that made the fading of the implanted memories less jarring.
He simply grinned. "Same pattern. I know the general spot and the rest is logic."
That had been his answer in every location.
"How many more towns are there?" Sam asked.
"That's it. I just have to combine them now and take them to the Council. I think I should get a new disguise."
"Not here," Arabeth cautioned.
"As soon as possible," Andun said. "The key will take me directly there."
"Take you?" Sam asked.
"I'm not sure what that means, but without the key, there's no way to tell where to go."
Arabeth put both hands in her pockets but snatched them out immediately, surprised by a sudden contact from Melanie. Her friend was nearly screaming as though the volume would get Arabeth's attention even when not touching the crystal. She eased her hand back into the pocket, this time prepared.
'Arabeth, Graham came back. He's building explosives and talking like a madman. He says Blastborn has been destroyed. You have to go back to Owen and figure out what's going on.'
"I know that look," Sam said. "That usually means there's trouble."
"Graham is in Owen, building explosives and babbling."
A flash of anger crossed Sam's eyes. "Why?" He stood up and crossed over to the coat rack, pulling it roughly off. "Clearly we need to intervene."
"Agreed."
Andun raised his hand to ask a question. "Aside from being your friend, who is Graham?"
"That's all you need to know. And that we are going to help him. I suggest we find you a safe place to hole up." Sam had his boots on now.
"We'll come up with a plan on the way, I'm guessing?" Arabeth asked.
"You need me. I know that city like the back of my hand," Andun said. "Where is he being held?"
"Some place called the Manor." Arabeth reached into her pocket, hoping for an update from Melanie.
"You're saying this has nothing to do with me," Andun's voice lowered as he looked from one to the other. "And you want me to hide away until you get back?"
There was a silence amongst the group for a moment.
"Where is the honour in that? You've been helping me. It's easy. If we get captured, I don't know you guys," Andun said with a mischievous look in his eyes.
"No, since Andun
is being hunted, we will leave without him," Arabeth held up one hand to forestall any argument, though they seemed perplexed by her phrasing. "It will just be myself, Sam, and a rookie reporter looking to make a name for himself as we head to Owen. After all, we would be idiots to risk the future King. That alone would be treason."
"Do I have to wear that horrible itchy tunic again? You know that's the same as torture, right?"
"As a reporter, you prefer clothing that lets you go unnoticed. There is a certain logic to it."
Andun gave a mock shudder. "As you command, Lady Arabeth."
Arabeth lightly smacked her for head. "What was your name again, boy?"
"I am known only as That Knave, my lady."
"Ah, right. Leonard, the amateur jester."
"Are you two finished?" Sam frowned. "It sounds like you're rehearsing to get caught."
"We'll need to get him shaved and dye his hair black this time." Arabeth winked at Sam, catching him off guard which made her smile more broadly.
The joking helped with her nerves and she hoped it helped the others as well. It wasn't technically far to Owen from here, if they went straight. They'd need a third horse or a buggy.
"What if we don't go the usual way down?" Andun suggested.
"Is there another way?" Sam asked.
"I've seen maps where a tunnel is drawn in. It's not on the official map. All we have to do is find it."
"I like stealth," Arabeth waved for him to continue talking. "But are you sure that's not the shuttle track?"
"Do you have your map?" Sam asked.
Arabeth pulled it out and set it on the table between them, now that Sam's curiosity had been drawn out.
"If you follow this edge," his finger traced but was marked as a cliff. "Where it passes this group of trees, there is a steep line almost straight down. There should be ropes to help with descending. If there's a shuttle, there will be tracks."
"What can you tell us about Owen?" Arabeth asked. "I only got the most cursory of information while we were there."
"As with all the kingdom, rule of law is handled by the regional Men-At-Arms. This region is handled by the Grimshaw's clan, when they get along well enough. About ten years ago Bandor Grimshaw was forced out. They haven't sent a report to the capital since."