"Palon," the king said, addressing the Captain of the Guard. "Search the town, search the woods. I want that bastard found alive."
"Sire," there was hesitation in the guard's voice. "We're not even sure we know what he looks like—or how old he is."
"I don't care! If you find a weakened or sick man that no one knows, bring him to me."
"Was it Fenrir?" Rose said, and then backed up when she realized she'd asked it aloud.
Rose shrank back at first, but when the queen smiled at her and nodded, she stepped up to the bed. She spotted her mother in the corner waiting patiently. They didn't make eye-contact, but the two would talk when they could.
"Rose," Stolgard said. "Can you tell us all what happened?"
Her voice shook at first as she spoke, but as she continued the tale, it gained confidence.
"Child," Stolgard held up a hand, interrupting her. "He spoke the spell in Common Tongue?"
She nodded. "I can repeat it if you like."
"Oh no…no," he shook his head. "Don't ever do that, child. Haven't I taught you that much?"
"Stolgard—" the king narrowed his eyes at him. "I thought magic didn't work—"
But the old man was already pacing faster and harder than the king. "Blasphemy! That fool! Such a thing is forbidden!"
The king and queen looked at one another. The king balled his hands into fists. "You are certain it's Fenrir?"
Stolgard stopped, his back to the king. He half-turned from his waist. "There is no doubt. Only he would be so bold as to muddy magic like this. He must be caught and made to unmake his spell."
With a glance at the queen and Prince, the king strode from the room. Rose stole a glance at her mother as she brought a pan and towels to the bed. It was her duty to look after the prince as he lay unmoving.
Fenrir had stolen Richard from her once again. Just before he was to ask her to be his queen. She wasn't going to just sit back and idle her time away this time. She was going to find Fenrir and bring him back, limbless if need be.
And Stolgard would force Fenrir to remove the spell on Richard.
She slipped out of the prince's chambers and went to her own quarters. There she dressed for travel, slipped on her sword—specially made for her by her father—and packed a few of the herbs she needed for spells in a small bag she wore at her hip. She kept the necklace on as well, tucked under her shirt.
She had some money for food if she needed it, but she doubted this would be a long trip. The farmers and villagers outside the city had a healthy dislike of Palon's guard because they weren't treated with respect. But several of the larger families liked Rose. She was a commoner. And she had helped them with magic now and then.
That would be a good place to start looking for Fenrir.
* * *
Traveling was slower than she imagined and it took her most of the day to get past the city's gates to the cross roads. The main graveled path out branched off into four directions. South, east, and west to neighboring villages where farmers grew the king's crops and took care of the king's animals.
Once there she saw Palon's men splitting up in all three directions.
None of the soldiers took the southeast road to Townsend Court. It was a smaller village. Only three families lived there in peace.
It was a five hour walk to Townsend and the sun had already set when she reached the village gate. It had been years since she'd visited anyone here and wondered if anyone would remember her, or she would remember them. One yank on the rope and the bell rang loud behind the wall. Dogs barked, someone yelled and she looked up.
"Oy—you know it's late?"
She nodded. "I do apologize for intruding at this hour. But as you said, it's late and I need a place to stay for the night."
One side of the gate opened with a grinding noise. Rose walked through as the young man and what could only be his twin, descended the look out where he'd questioned her. The two waved as they approached and an matrons woman yelled at them from Rose's left.
"Aye but it is a young lass," said the woman. She took Rose's hand. “I'm Gayle Tupton. Self-made greeting committee."
"My name's Rose." The woman had a firm grip. "I really hate troubling you…"
"No trouble at all. Please, we were about to sit down for supper. Join us. And we have a spare room for the night." She gestured for Rose to follow her and the two young men walked behind her.
The house was large and sprawled over the right side of the village. The center table was long and sturdy and seated up to twelve people. Every chair was filled as the twins and Gayle set the plates and bowls of food on the table. Gayle introduced her husband Kraig, and the twins as Brendon and Glendon. A woman resembling Gayle set pitchers of water on the table, and Gayle introduced her as Lavender, her daughter. The others names and faces came to her in a blur as her stomach growled at the aroma.
Rose was surprised how hungry she was once she sat down. Roast chicken, spiced and peppered potatoes, peas and garden greens blanched and skillet cooked with pork fat. There were biscuits and cow's butter along with pitchers of Kraig's mead. It was the best in the kingdom.
And of course once all was settled, it was Brendon who brought up the question as to why she'd come.
"I'll bet it has to do with what happened at the castle today," Gayle said as she poured herself another mug of mead.
Rose frowned at Gayle. "How would you know what happened?"
Brendon waved his hand. "Lungren, our other brother, works at the stable. He came home not long before you arrived. Told us there was an attack inside the castle walls. They say it's Fenrir." Everyone laughed nervously.
Rose looked at each of them. She wasn't sure if they believed the story or not. "Yes the castle was attacked, and the target was the prince. He's been placed under a sleeping spell. Nothing Stolgard does will revive him. The king sent his soldiers out to find Fenrir."
Everyone glanced at the other. Rose frowned as she watched this and was doubly troubled when no one commented. She put both hands on the table. "What? Does someone know something?"
They looked away.
She stood up as the silence stretched longer. "Please…you have to tell me. Do you know more of what happened today? Don't you fear Palon and his soldiers? You should. When they're done scouring the other villages for Fenrir they will come here."
"No," Brendan said. "They won't."
"Of course they will. They'll follow the trail to Townsend."
Lavender put her hands in her lap. "Rose…please sit down."
She did but she'd lost her appetite. "I don't understand."
"Rose," Kraig spoke up as he moved his biscuit around in the gravy from the roast. "The king doesn't even know this town is here. He hasn't known for over two years."
"Doesn't—" she shook her head and looked at each of them. "No…no that's not possible. Of course he knows it’s here. I mean I know it's here."
"That's because I want you to know."
Her back straightened at the new voice and she turned in her chair to see a young man standing at the door leading to the bedrooms. He was tall and lanky, with smooth skin and a boyish face. It looked to Rose as if he'd grown faster than his body could keep up with. His hair was long and blond and hung over his shoulders. His green eyes pinned her to her seat. He wore a blanket over his shoulders and she could see a bandage over his shoulder and around his chest.
Thomas.
"You should be in bed!" Gayle said as she stood and bustled over to him. She put her hands on his shoulders and tried to turn him away.
A smile cracked his serious expression. "I'm fine. Really. I just need rest."
"Well you're not going to get any rest upright like this. Now you get back to bed and I'll bring you some supper." She started pushing him away.
"I want to talk to Rose."
"Not now. You need to rest. Look at you—you're sideways."
"I'm like this become some idiot over-blew her spell and dropped an iron chandeli
er on my head."
Rose jumped up from her seat, ran to her belongings and withdrew her sword. She pointed it at the man in the doorway. "You are Fenrir! You…you've been in the castle the whole time! Coming and going, just biding your time to attack Richard again! And to think I trusted you!" She swallowed. "I arrest you in the name of the king and will bring you back to the castle to withdraw the spell from Prince Richard!"
Thomas's eyes widened when he saw the sword. He quickly put himself between it and Gayle. "First—it is very rude to pull a sword on someone in another's home. And secondly," he arched an eyebrow. "The spell worked?"
Rose hadn't expected that kind of reaction. Nor did she expect that Kraig would come up behind her and take the sword from her hand. "Hey!"
"He's right. You'll not be pulling swords on my wife's guests. Thomas here has lived in this house for nearly two years. He's toiled with us, harvested with us, rebuilt this house and taught us all rudimentary magic. Magic that was forbidden to us because we weren't allowed to learn it. You will not treat him as if he's some kind of criminal."
"But that's Fenrir! There's a standing warrant for his capture and return to the castle."
"Oh?" Thomas pursed his lips as he reached out and braced himself on the door frame. His first display of weakness. "If I've committed such violent acts against the kingdom, then name me five. But you can't count today."
Rose opened her mouth to regale them all with the atrocities of this man's crimes—but—other than the incident that morning—she had very little knowledge of what Fenrir allegedly did. "You put a spell on the prince."
"That's today. I am as surprised as anyone that it worked, what with all the interference from you," he said as he leaned heavily on the door. His hand shook when Gayle and then Lavender helped him back down the hall. Rose followed them, not wanting him out of her sight. Though, from the way he was moving, it didn't look as if he were going to run.
They steered him to a back bedroom. It was small and modest, but well kept. Shelves were stacked with books, many of the titles she'd seen in Stolgard's study. Odd murals were painted on the ceiling and walls, images of stars and symbols that she only half recognized. Trinkets and handmade wonders sat around the room and even on a bed in the far corner.
Thomas rested back on the bed on a mountain of pillows. Lavender put a blanket over him. "Will you eat?"
"If you made it, I will eat it."
She put a hand to his cheek and stood. Rose put a hand on Lavender's sleeve as she passed and when the woman looked at her, she said, "How can you treat him with such kindness? He's put a spell on the prince."
Lavender smiled at Rose, but it wasn't a pleasant one. More like the look one gives an idiot child. "He did no such thing."
"I saw him."
But she shook her head. "Rose, he is the prince."
* * *
Sometimes there were no words for feelings. They just simply existed. If anyone asked how Rose felt as Lavender and Gayle brought Thomas food and drink, took his temperature and checked his bandages, she would have simply said, "I don't know."
She watched him eat part of a biscuit as her mind crowded with questions. They sat alone together.
"I—I don't believe you," she blurted out.
Thomas brushed her off with a shrug. "You're not supposed to. That's the way Stolgard's spell works."
Stolgard? It was true she didn't really like the old magician, but this just sounded too unbelievable. "I don't—"
He held up a hand. "I just need you to listen. First, I'm sorry you were involved in what happened this morning. I honestly didn't think you had the courage. You never showed that mettle when you and I were playing. Yes, you could outrun me, but out magic me? You couldn't even light a candle."
Rose blinked.
"Rose, whether or not you believe it, I am the prince."
"You expect me to believe you're Richard? You're too old. What are you—my age? Richard is two years younger than me."
"Yes," Thomas said. "We were born on the same day."
"We had the same wet nurse. Our parents are friends. It's why your father is my father's personal blacksmith."
Rose narrowed her eyes at him. What he told her wasn't a secret, but it wasn't all that well known either, except to a few close friends. "You learned that from me in the market."
"Rose Red—you have to listen to me."
She stood and quickly moved away. Only Richard had ever dared to call her that.
He smiled. "You hate that name."
"What you're saying can't be true. If you were Richard, we wouldn't be the same age!"
"Using powerful magic ages the spellcaster. I'm older than I should be because I've been using magic for nearly two years to keep this village hidden. Away from Stolgard's eyes, away from the tax collector, away from the soldiers. I've made this place my haven because these people realized immediately who I was."
"You don't look anything like Richard!" Rose was getting upset. Not so much because of the man's audacity, but because his words struck a chord somewhere inside of her.
"Because that's part of Stolgard's magic. I don't look like Richard to you. Take a very hard look, Rose," and with that he sat up and stared into her eyes. "I have my mother's eyes. My hair is the color of my father's. And I have my grandfather's gift of magic." Abruptly he fell back into the pillows. She was sure the circles under his eyes were darker. "They're looking for me. Stolgard is looking for me. I can feel him tapping the walls of this barrier again and again. I should have known to wait before I tried this stupid idea. I'm so tired, Rose. So tired of fighting to get back what was mine." He looked at her. Really looked at her. In a way only Richard had ever looked at her.
Rose sat back down in her chair.
"Rose, if anything happens to me, they will find this village. And they will take everything these people have worked so hard to build. Do you understand that?"
"No," she shook her head. "I don't think they will. The king is a fair man—"
"My father is under the influence of Stolgard, Rose," Thomas's voice was insistent. "What he says is law. And for the last five years he's been putting himself into a position to be king. Replacing me was just the catalyst for what was to be his finale this morning."
"No," she was getting frustrated with him—frustrated with the whole situation. "Richard will be king if something happens."
"No," he shook his head. "He won't. Because he won't live long enough."
She put her hand to her waist where her sword had been. "Then you did put a killing curse on him. You're a murderer."
"I put him to sleep so that I could think clearly again, Rose." He put his hands to his temples and rubbed them. "I will not force you to believe me. And none of us here will hold you. You're always free to go. But I do ask that you listen to me."
"Listen to you…" she lowered her hand. "That's all I have to do?"
He nodded. "I want to tell you what happened…and let you decide for yourself if you'll help me regain my life."
* * *
It was nearly dawn when Rose arrived at the city gates. The guards there gave her entrance with only minor scolding. Her mind replayed everything Thomas—No Richard—had said.
"Did you ever wonder how I did magic so well and yet I wasn't to learn it, though my own grandfather had been a master at magic?"
A few of the shops along the way opened as she passed. The town blacksmith was already stoking his forge, and a fruit and vegetable peddler was enjoying a morning drink.
"I learned the truth from my grandfather before he died. I learned why spells had to be spoken in the Fatan tongue. And I learned that Stolgard wasn't the trusted friend my father believed him to be."
The Doddards waved at Rose as she passed. Their three kids ran around the front door to the seamstress' shop, laughing and giggling. The littlest one couldn't keep up, so she decided to sit at the front door and eat her hunk of cheese.
"There were documents, old tomes and records,
of spells, and they were all given in the common tongue. Stolgard wasn't around, so I tried a few of them. Being a student of magic yourself, have you ever wondered why your will and intent can be so focused on the magic you wish to create, but when you speak the spell there is always that eighty percent chance it will fail? Or go horribly wrong? Well Rose, it's because the magic taught to us is created so that's exactly what happens. Magicians are given a handicap from their first spell. We're taught to fail, and we don't even know it."
Rose passed the second gate that lead into the larger merchants areas. The breaking sunlight glinted off the glass shop. Havarti's beautiful stained glass creations gleamed and cast brilliant colors around her.
"When I taught you the correct words in Fatan, you were able to adjust, weren't you? Magic is the expression of intent. When we speak as I'm speaking to you, I'm intending to share information in a language that you and I can understand. I think in common tongue, and you hear in common tongue because I speak in common tongue. When we cast the intent of the spell with words we don't know their meaning too, then the two work against each other."
She passed the shops and meandered up the hill to the castle. "Hey Rose—that a new book?" Miu called out from the tavern.
Rose nodded and clutched the small handmade book to her chest and continued on walking.
"We're not taught the Fatan language because it is said to be irreverent. And yet, we're expected to cast spells in that language. You know the kindling spell—the one to set a fire? In Fatan we say Risu a' bil neen. Do you know what that means? The translation is roughly quench the candle. Yes…startling isn't it? If I intend to light the candle and yet speak 'quench the candle,' the two war with one another. Strong magicians have their intent win out—but that's how Stolgard finds the strongest of them and sends them to live with the Guild. So when I rewrote the spell to say 'I call upon the fire Goddess’s wrath to ignite the spark of life,' or some such nonsense, I nearly burned the castle down. I completely destroyed Stolgard's study at the age of ten."
The castle doors loomed in front of her and the guards saluted as she neared. The one on her right turned and allowed her entrance. With a nod, she moved through and her heart skipped a beat.
Once Upon A Kiss: Seventeen Romantic Faerie Tales Page 40