The Legendary Inge

by Kate Stradling

  “It’s an old man’s job,” he retorted, for once forthright. “You put a horse out to pasture when it’s of no more use to you! Half a dozen colonels twice my age could serve the position well and would be grateful for the post! I belong on the battlefield!”

  “I belong with my family,” Inge replied. Then, impishly, she added, “I feel like I should tell you to try and bear it as best you can.”

  Again that muscle along his jaw moved. “You’re not helping.” On those words he stalked away from her.

  She followed. “Who said I was trying to help? I’m stuck, you’re stuck. At least now you know what it feels like.”

  “I’ve always known what it felt like.” Abruptly, he turned to her with firm resolution. “I will obey the king. You will obey the king. That is the end of it.” They had reached his office in the military wing. Having said his piece, he strode inside and shut the door in Inge’s face.

  “How rude,” she said to the wood. Then, in a louder voice, she called, “I still outrank you, you know.”

  The door opened again. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I shall take my leave of you now and tend to my duties.” Raske made a sarcastic bow before shutting the door again.

  “What cheek!” Inge’s heart raced with delight. She liked to see him behave rebelliously for once, even if he still had every intention of obeying the king’s decree. Instinctively she wanted to see more, to discover how far his rebelliousness might push him.

  “Blame the exhilaration of the moment,” she murmured under her breath, backing away. Perhaps it was better that a door separated them. Raske had serious matters to consider, and Inge was suddenly not in a serious mood at all.

  Chapter 15: Little Sister

  Inge expected that, from henceforth, one of Raske’s underlings would see to escorting her from place to place. She was, therefore, shocked to see him on the other side of her door when she opened it the next morning.

  “Hello,” she said, a note of wonder in her voice.

  He didn’t meet her eyes. “His Majesty King Halvard has commanded that His Highness Prince Inge resume training with the castle guard.”

  Almost two weeks had passed since the sinister trap outside her bedroom door. Her leg, too, had all but healed from its injury at the mire. It only made sense for her to resume her charade as the prince-in-training.

  “I was expecting Lind to come,” she said as they walked.

  “Lind has left for the border,” Raske replied.

  Inge stopped dead in her tracks. “What? Why?”

  He appraised her with carefully hooded eyes. “Because that’s where his company and commanding officer are. Dalstrom and Modig, too. They’re not part of the castle guard and were only here because of their colonel. Come along, Your Highness.”

  She resumed her path, silent in her dismay. His manner of speaking made it sound like he had completely cut ties with his men, that he had ordered them back to the border without a second thought. “They were loyal to you,” she murmured reproachfully.

  “They’ll be loyal to their new colonel as well. Such is the measure of a true soldier. Was not loyalty one of your father’s prized virtues?”

  He knew it was. Her father had enshrined it in Gunnar’s sword. But the atmosphere of distrust and hostility among the castle guards was a dangerous obstacle. Raske had the authority now to induct new members into that company. He might have easily brought along his loyal men to better establish his position, and yet he had sent them away instead.

  “Is it not important for a leader to honor his men’s loyalty?” she questioned.

  He stopped, a furrow between his brows. “Are you going to miss them so very much?”

  “We’re talking about you, not me!”

  “I honor the loyalty of my men by allowing them the chance to exercise it in its proper frame,” he said, his voice steady. “To hold back those loyal to me would be to dishonor them, Your Highness. In that same vein, to assume disloyalty from a new company of men dishonors them as well.”

  It was a pointed rebuke. He knew of the muted hostility cast upon him by half the castle guard, in other words. Instead of shoring himself up with allies, he moved forward in full confidence of success on his own merit. This was Raske the warrior, ready for his next battle.

  Abruptly Inge swept past him, ashamed of herself. In the same position, she would have allowed fear to dictate her actions. Raske was bold and capable, and she was a weak child in comparison.

  Not half an hour later, she witnessed that boldness in action. Some of the guards thought to demonstrate their discontent by ignoring their training orders. Raske ruthlessly felled two of them and invited any others who wished to brawl with him to step forward.

  “I find I have some extra energy this morning,” he said, a dangerous light in his eyes.

  No one took him up on the offer. His brief show of force had convinced any other malcontents that it was folly to challenge him.

  From there the training passed quickly. Raske demanded excellence, even in mere exercises. By the session’s end, Inge could not pinpoint any animosity toward the new captain at all.

  He really was the consummate warrior, set to excel in whatever situation he encountered. If she wasn’t so relieved, she might have resented him for it.

  ***

  “What’s that commotion by the gates?” Inge asked two days later. She and Raske had emerged from the castle for training, only to discover half the company of men clustered around the fence that separated the training yard from the city proper. Citizens sometimes gathered to watch the military maneuvers, but the soldiers were supposed to ignore them.

  Raske scowled and wordlessly strode forward. One of the soldiers caught sight of him and let loose a sharp whistle. The others at the gate scrambled back to their assigned positions in the training yard, leaving behind the object of their attention: a pretty blonde who appeared disappointed to see her audience scatter so quickly.

  Inge stopped short in horror. “Nea!”

  Silence flooded the yard. The soldiers all glanced from Inge to the newcomer at the gate and back again. Next to her, Raske tensed, on his guard as the two sisters stared at one another.

  Dismay shone plain on Inge’s face; confusion briefly crossed Nea’s. Then, she burst into laughter.

  In a few swift bounds, Inge closed the distance between them, a blush burning her ears. Her sister was supposed to be miles away on a dairy farm, not loitering around the castle training grounds. Inge had sent word about the family’s move, but she hadn’t been allowed to disclose her masquerade as a boy, or even that she was living at the castle at all. Nea’s advent would only cause trouble.

  The younger sister was doubled over now and fighting tears. “Oh no, Inge!” she protested. “I hardly recognized you! Your hair! Your clothes!” Then, she dissolved into another bout of laughter.

  Inge grabbed her by the arm. “What are you doing here?” she hissed.

  Nea was younger than her, but she was taller by two inches. Her figure was better, too. She straightened her stance with a dimpled smile, still fighting her mirth. “Well, I—” she started, but her attention shifted to Inge’s cropped head. One hand absently reached upward. The tears summoned by her laughter suddenly spilled down her cheeks as her smile wavered into dismay. “You really cut it all off,” she said in an unsteady voice. “That was a drastic way to deter the dirty old man. Inge—”

  She choked on her sister’s name. In a blur of emotions, she threw her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder.

  “Nea, it’s all right,” Inge whispered. “Everything’s all right. Didn’t you get my letter? Everyone’s safe.”

  Nea nodded. “I know. It’s just—you sent me away!” She drew back with watery eyes. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? And now I come back, and this is the state you’re in! My poor sis—”

  Inge clapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish that word. The whole of the training yard might be listening. Some of t
he guards certainly knew the truth—there had been six or eight of them in the throne room that first morning, but she didn’t know how far that truth had spread. She glanced self-consciously over her shoulder just in time to hear Captain Raske signal the start of the training exercises. The castle guards, wary of having been caught out of line once already, had their attention fixed upon him.

  Across the yard, her eyes met Raske’s. He tipped his head to one side, an almost imperceptible gesture that told her to guide her sister elsewhere for their conversation. Inge grabbed Nea’s hand and together they skirted around the edge of the training yard, and then beyond, to one of the castle walks. It was deserted at this time of day.

  “Keep your voice down,” Inge instructed all the same.

  “What is going on?” asked Nea. “Are we allowed to be here?”

  Inge scowled. “I’m allowed to be wherever I want. Sort of. Look, how did you come here? I mean, why the castle, of all places?”

  “It was the only place I knew to come. Your letter came by castle courier—and quite a stir that caused at the dairy, I’ll tell you. What’re you doing here, anyway, and dressed like a boy! You could pass as an older version of Eirik or Einar!”

  “Oh, rub it in. How far does gossip spread in the countryside? Did you hear that the king adopted a new prince?”

  “Yes,” said Nea in confusion. “Did he really, though? Honestly, the gossip at the dairy was mostly rubbish. I never knew what to believe there.”

  “He did, and I’m it,” said Inge flatly.

  “You’re what?”

  “The prince.”

  Nea’s face twisted into a mix of bewilderment and disbelief. “Huh? That’s the most impossible—!”

  “I know,” Inge interrupted. “It’s completely stupid, but I’m stuck here until King Halvard gives up and lets me go again. What are you doing away from the dairy, anyway?”

  “Why should I have to be there? You only sent me there to get me away from Ulfred, and he was arrested.”

  It was the first Inge had heard of this. “Arrested?” she echoed.

  “That’s what I heard at the dairy, so I finished out the month, received my wages, and went on my way. And, as it turns out, it was perfectly true. I went to the house and talked to some of the neighbors, and they all said he’d been thrown in prison.”

  “When?” Inge inquired.

  A throat cleared behind her. Both girls jumped, only to discover Raske observing their conversation. From the yard came the sound of one of his underlings calling training commands.

  Inge wasn’t totally surprised to see him there. She was supposed to have someone with her at all times, after all. “Do you know anything about that?” she asked.

  “Yes. I signed the arrest warrant.”

  Inge gaped.

  Next to her, Nea asked curiously, “Are you the one who let him go as well, then?”

  “What?” croaked Inge. Raske straightened his stance, the same question mirrored on his face.

  “Well, he was let go, and he’s gone into hiding. That’s what the neighbors said. Someone had a letter from him, or something. He was let go in secret and told he needed to keep out of sight, so he’s gone to another province until the charges against him go away.”

  Inge glanced a wordless question to Raske. He shook his head. He knew nothing of this.

  “Did they say when this happened?” she asked Nea.

  “No. Does it matter? You don’t think he’d try get to the little ones, do you?”

  “The king had them placed on one of his estates,” said Inge. “They’re safe—as safe as anyone can be, at any rate. Gunnar’s here, in the smithy,” she added.

  “The smithy?” Nea’s wary eyes shifted in Raske’s direction.

  “A lot of things have happened,” said Inge.

  Her sister made a disgruntled face. “And all while I was shuttered away in the countryside.”

  “Which was for the best.”

  An inborn streak of rebellion surfaced in Nea. She couldn’t deny her sister’s assertion, so she turned her attention instead on Raske. “And just who are you, anyway?”

  “Nea!” Inge hissed.

  “Don’t ‘Nea’ me! I don’t care how handsome he is! He doesn’t have to be listening to our every word, does he?”

  Mortification crawled up Inge’s spine. “He’s the Captain of the Castle Guard. I’m supposed to be under watch any time I’m away from my own rooms.”

  “Tried to run away?” Nea wryly guessed.

  “No. I haven’t been given the chance.”

  Raske listened to the whole conversation with no change to his expression. It hadn’t fazed him in the least when Nea said he was handsome. But of course it wouldn’t, Inge thought. He was so full of confidence that a trivial remark like that would only seem natural to him.

  “Can I take her to Gunnar?” she abruptly asked. “Do I need an escort? I know the way there by now.”

  He glanced in the direction of the training yard. Wordlessly, a set expression on his face, he swept past the pair of girls to lead them to the smithy.

  “I’m not allowed to go anywhere on my own,” Inge grumbled as she hooked her arm in her sister’s. Nea’s brows arched, but she said nothing.

  They did not get far. As they reached the end of the walkway, a door leading into the castle opened. King Halvard emerged with Princess Signe on his arm, seemingly intent upon taking a morning turn around the gardens.

  Raske stopped short and bowed in deference.

  King Halvard looked past him. “And who have we here?” His piercing eyes scrutinized Nea from head to toe.

  Signe was less formal. “You look just like Prince Inge!” she declared. “Only more feminine, of course,” she added kindly to Inge.

  Nea suppressed a snicker.

  “Your Majesty, Princess Signe,” Inge said to the king and his daughter, “this is my sister, Linnea. She just arrived from the countryside. I was going to take her to see our brother, Gunnar.”

  “How lucky of you to have a sister!” Signe cried. “I’ve always wanted a sister! Was Inge a good little brother to you, Sister Linnea? He’s been a good little brother to me.”

  To her credit, Nea didn’t laugh outright. “Oh, yes,” she replied, her mouth twitching. “Inge’s always been very good.”

  Signe seemed to understand that she was being laughed at, but she didn’t grasp the reason.

  “Are you part of your father’s circle spell as well?” King Halvard asked out of the blue.

  Nea shifted uncertain eyes to Inge, who answered. “All of us are part of it. Even Lisbet, and she’s only four.”

  King Halvard did not pursue the subject further. Instead, he shifted his attention to Raske. “You were on your way to see Gunnar, was it? You’d be better served to take her to the rest of the family. I’ve received reports that some of them are testing their caretakers’ every limit.

  “You do know how to look after your own brothers and sisters, do you not?” he added to Nea.

  His imperious tone cowed her. “Yes,” she meekly said.

  “You have more brothers and sisters?” Signe asked, an innocent sort of envy in her eyes.

  “There are four younger than us,” Inge told her.

  “Oh! I should very much like to meet them. Papa—”

  “You may visit the smithy for an hour,” he interrupted, ignoring the hope in his daughter’s plaintive eyes. “After that, Captain, you will escort the young lady to the estate where the rest of her family resides. My son, you may accompany them,” he added grudgingly.

  “Papa, I should very much like to go as well,” said Signe, and she clasped his hand in hers.

  He looked her over from head to toe. “Yes,” he said, to Inge’s utmost surprise. “Yes, you may go if you like. It’ll give you a diversion. We have guests scheduled for dinner, and you would hardly want to be a party to that dullness. Who was it again, the Sparre family? Yes, I think that was it. Count and Countess Sparre, and
their son Mikkel. Dull business, Signe. Go with your brother and have an entertaining afternoon.”

  Inge watched the predictable change that coursed over Princess Signe’s face. Mikkel Sparre, whom she secretly loved, was coming to dinner on the very day she had asked for leave. A blush rose to her lovely cheeks. “Oh, Papa,” she said, her voice faint. “How noble of you to let me go, when you would be left alone with guests! I cannot—I will not leave you to such a fate! Please forgive my fickleness. How could I possibly leave my dear papa under such circumstances?”

  He smiled kindly, and Inge knew without a doubt that Signe had just been swindled. King Halvard was a wily old man, much wilier than Inge had ever imagined.

  “Raske, I’ll have official orders for you in an hour’s time,” he said. “You may continue on your way.” He slipped his arm through Signe’s then and led her up the path, away from the trio. He did not acknowledge Inge or Nea as he passed.

  Nea exchanged a glance with her sister, sympathy and awe in her eyes.

  “Come along,” Raske prompted the pair.

  At the smithy, Gunnar, all sooty and singed, caught his younger sister in his arms and swung her around. Nea laughed like a child as he set her down again. They chattered at one another and teased Inge together, just like they had in days long past. Master Kettil allowed his apprentice the hour. Captain Raske remained nearby on guard. When the allotted time had passed and not a moment later, he stepped forward to confiscate the pair of girls from their brother.

  “When shall we see you again?” Nea asked Gunnar wistfully.

  “No idea,” he replied. “Inge comes to visit me every few days. You’ll have to keep all the little ones in line until she can return to you.”

  “And how long will that be?” Nea asked Inge.

  Inge looked expectantly to Raske. He merely arched his brows, a wordless rebuke that she was seeking answers from the wrong source.

  “Everything goes according to King Halvard’s whims,” she said.

  “And you will obey the king,” Raske added, his voice firm.