Dryw Henge
Page 32
The Prince knelt down beside her and wrapped his arm around her and held her while she wept.
“We all make our own choices. I think Aland would have felt the same way if something had happened to you.
“I know he’d not want you to blame yourself in anyway.”
She nodded, “You are right, he would have wanted only the best for me and our child.”
*
Leo was adjusting the stirrups on his saddle when the Princess strolled up to him.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?”
“I was just heading up to the castle.”
“Liar!” she laughed.
“I just did not know what to say and was sure you were spending time with your family.”
“Will you come back?”
“Of course, but in time. I spent so much of my life sheltered in that small village. I need to see some more of the realms and perhaps find my place in the world.”
“You are taking the staff.”
“Officially borrowing. Your father made it quite clear he wants it back.”
“Don’t forget me.”
“Of course not. After all it’s not every day a lowly peasant like myself gets to spend time with a Princess.”
She smiled, “Well I think you’ll become something much greater than a peasant boy one day.”
“Perhaps, and when that day comes I’d welcome the counsel of a much-loved lady of the realm.”
Fayette leant forward, kissed Leo on the cheek and pressed a broach into the palm of his hand.
“Look after him Sumnar. Don’t let him get eaten by any dragons.”
“Milady.”
The two of them walked their horses out of the main gate and across Ampheus’s drawbridge that had been repaired. “We have one more stop to make before we start our travels.”
“The convent?”
Sumnar nodded and they cantered through the meadows which were a blanket of bluebells that had burst through the grass only a few days previously. Sumnar picked up some bunches and placed them carefully in his saddlebag. “Sister Hulda always loved bluebells.”
They reached the convent and dismounted their horses. Sumnar pulled a shovel from his pack and they both strolled to the west of the convent.
“Sister Hulda loved this orchard. Said the apples were so sweet they made the best apple pies in the whole of Terramis. She was not wrong.”
He strode up to an apple tree with a heart carved into it.
“Leo dig here. Nice and deep. Be careful of the roots. Don’t damage any of them. I’ll be back in a while.”
He strolled to Sister Hulda’s grave and sat leaning against a tree nearby.
“I miss you, but I believe we finally have peace in the realms. It would have been a fine time to grow old together. We’d have grown grey, our eyes faded, our limbs brittle. We could have rested and watched sunsets and strolled through the woods. It would have been perfect. I have taken a young man under my wing. He is gifted and if given the right guidance may one day be counsel to the King himself. Armanar has asked me to show him the world such that it is. So, I will be gone a while. Watch over the orchard, ensure the trees grow sturdy and strong. Enjoy your peace my love.”
He returned to where Leo stood over a hole, perhaps two feet by two feet, but six feet deep as instructed. Sumnar retrieved a metal box from his saddlebag. “The blacksmith made it for me.” He opened it and both looked at the remaining two totems.
He knelt down and dropped it into the ground. The two of them filled it in, smoothing out the soil on the surface with their feet.
“Keep it safe…” said Sumnar under his breath.
Then he smiled, “Terramis, Gamura, Aquamura or Windstrom?”
Leo pursed his lips. “I’ve never seen the sea.”
“Aquamura it is.” Sumnar placed his arm around the young boy’s shoulder.
“Let’s go and have some adventures!”