Dream of Empty Crowns

by M. J. Sewall

  Loren said, “We don't want trouble. We are only here for the day, looking for transport. Maybe you could…”

  The man in front of them pulled his shortknife. Gordon could just see the sharp blade in the darkened alley.

  Loren started to say, “There's no reason for that…” when Aline acted.

  She ran just a few steps and then actually ran up the wall. She bounced off of it and twisted her body, catching the first, larger man by the neck. She used her own body's momentum to flip the man onto the ground. She punched the man just below the throat and he was on his back, gasping for air.

  Before Gordon or Loren could register what was happening, she was already flying at the other man. He seemed just as surprised as Gordon and Loren were. He fumbled for his knife. She flung her body around and kicked him in the face. She took the second man's head and smacked it on the cobble stone street. Both men were down and didn't come back up. At least, not by the time they had left the dark alleyway.

  “Are you all right, Gordon?” Loren asked Gordon as they made their way through another narrow passageway.

  “Am I alright? Is she alright?” Gordon said. “Are those men going to be alright?

  “I don't care,” said Aline as she led them up a series of narrow passageways. Gordon looked at Aline and she wasn't even breathing fast. It was like nothing had happened at all. Gordon had questions for Aline, but he decided to save them for later.

  Gordon had Loren's arm around his neck and was helping him walk. Loren said, “In case you were wondering, you don't want to make her angry.”

  Gordon replied, “Uh, I'll write that on my list of things not to do.”

  They found their way into a courtyard where vendors were selling fruits, fish and other things. As they rounded the corner, they saw a large banner on the second level balcony with an upside down triangle. They made their way to the stairs leading to the balcony. Gordon and Aline helped Loren struggle up the stairs. Before they could get to the door, it opened and a woman pointed an arrow gun at them. She was not smiling.

  “So that's how you greet your favorite daughter?” asked Aline.

  “My only daughter, you mean. Aline, what are you doing here?” The woman did not immediately drop the arrow gun.

  “Believe me, you are my least favorite mother. But right now, we need a friend. Loren is hurt and we're all being hunted. What about it Sandrell, feel like being our friend?” asked Aline.

  The woman looked at the boy and Loren, then back to her daughter. She saw Loren's leg and lowered the arrow gun. “Come on in. I've got some spice tea and some clean cloth for that leg. I knew this day was going too well.”

  The woman led them into the house. She put the arrow gun on a nearby table and went to the kitchen without saying anything. They were all in a small room with a round table. Gordon helped Loren to a chair.

  “Your… mother?” asked Gordon, “Why…”

  “I don't want to talk about it, in case you were wondering,” said Aline.

  The woman came back with four cups of tea and a bowl of dark brown sweet salt. Gordon took the tea, but politely refused the sweet salt. The woman seemed offended by everything they did, by their very presence. As Gordon looked around at all the weapons hung on the walls, he wondered what Aline's father must be like.

  “Come on, Loren,” Aline's mother said, “let's see your leg.” Sandrell had Loren straighten his leg and unwrapped the cloth that was brown with dried blood. She shook her head and said, “You're a healer, so you know you'll live. I just hope the other man looks worse.”

  Loren grimaced and said, “I'd rather not talk about the other man. And we have more important things to talk about than my leg.”

  The woman noticed Gordon looking at the weapons on the walls. “We are a warrior family.”

  Loren said, “You certainly don't hide your beliefs either, Sandrell. That's quite the statement to have hanging off your balcony.”

  “Of all the kingdoms, I'm the saddest to see yours go. It was the world's last hope. The least I can do is hang that banner. The real ways I'm helping the cause, I do in secret… so far.” said Sandrell.

  Loren replied, “It's not over yet. The kingdom may still be saved. There is much to do, and we're always looking for more allies.”

  Sandrell sat. “I've told Mantuan, and I'll tell you, I'm a woman who plays the odds. I do my part just in case, but I think your kingdom is too far gone to come back. If I'm wrong, and I think there is a chance to win, you will have all the weapons and help you need. I have a few allies of my own. I keep telling Mantuan…”

  “Mantuan? You spoke to him? When? Where?” asked Aline.

  “Three days ago in this very room. He was traveling with a few men, not disguised in the least. I would love to see Trunculin's face when he is told that Mantuan is still alive. He will probably wet himself,” said Sandrell, just finishing wrapping Loren's leg in clean white cloth. “I will admit that seeing him out in the open like that gave me a little hope… but just a little.”

  “Did he tell you his plans? Where he was going next? I've not heard from him in months,” said Loren.

  Gordon gave Loren a strange look at hearing this. How did he know Mantuan? How many secrets had Loren kept from him? He was having a hard time waiting to have his questions answered. He felt his anger slowly growing, then looked at Loren's leg and told himself to be patient.

  “Didn't say much, but I can tell he's got big things planned. He must be close to putting them in action, to come out in the open. I don't know which way he was headed,” she turned to Gordon with a sneer, “so, who are you then?”

  Gordon looked to his uncle, not knowing what was okay to say, and what was not.

  Before he could say anything, Aline said, “Mother, this is King Gordon.”

  The woman started to laugh. It wasn't a little laugh, but the laugh of a person who has just heard the funniest jest in her life. “I'm sorry boy, but I've never seen a king from your land who hasn't been through at least three or four trials. I guess that's why the official portrait is done late into their kingship. I have socks older than you, boy.”

  “We need safe passage to Thure. We'll also need some weapons,” said Aline.

  “Well I wouldn't say I have any friends exactly, but I know a few people that might help. I know of a ship leaving tomorrow for Thure. I might be able to get you on it. But right now, it seems like you all could use a nice hot bath.” She looked at Gordon. “Even kings can stink.”

  Chapter 15: Fear and Chocolate

  While Rolem was busy showing the new king Asa around the palace, the firstcouncilor went to see Brenddel. He was still uneasy about what had happened with the crowds. In his many years as firstcouncilor, he had never lost the love of the crowd before. He was always able to make them love him, the fools, even in his younger days. He tried to push those thoughts from his mind. Right now, he needed to know what was happening in the search for Gordon and the traitor Loren.

  “Anything yet?” asked the firstcouncilor.

  Brenddel reported, “We're making progress. We have found out where five of the seven waterships were headed. Three of them had pilots that we suspect are troublemakers. We found several kingdom symbols turned upside down on them. The other two ships were launched by lesser officers, and the pilots were just as unhappy as we were when they found out. Either way, they most likely switched ships in the night. That's what I would've done.”

  “We must find them. And I need to know if Mantuan is still alive,” insisted Trunculin.

  “I watched Mantuan fall. He is dead. I want the traitors just as much as you, but the boy's vision cannot be real. And why do we still need the boy anyway? We have a new king now.”

  “It's not enough,” stated Trunculin. “The crowds will eventually accept this king because they have no choice. But if Gordon was to come back, someone might give him shelter and then he could tell his story. He would be an ex-king calling the new king illegitimate, and me a liar. That woul
d start trouble. Or, he finds his way back here with Mantuan and an army and takes his crown back.”

  “That won't happen. Mantuan is dead. The traitors can't be that stupid, the boy's weak, they are traveling with a servant girl who worked here in the palace. I'm sure I injured Loren when they were escaping, and besides all that, I will find them,” Brenddel said.

  Trunculin said, “No doubt, Brenddel. It's just that rarely are things this out of my control… but I need you to do something else for me. Since there is no former king for the king's meal, I need you to go in my stead.”

  “Me? I don't have time to babysit the king. Why can't you do it? Isn't it some ancient custom that you must eat with them? I need to get things ready for the search,” said Brenddel.

  “A few of the councilors have a problem with the way I handled things. I have to go put my foot on their throats. It might take all evening. Besides, you can leave tomorrow. There have been too many sightings of those shadow fin things for the airships to be travelling at night. It's not safe.”

  Brenddel hesitated, “Fine. I'll hold the king's hand for a few hours. But then I must prepare. I have to be ready for anything.”

  Brenddel walked off before the firstcouncilor could say anything. Trunculin didn't mind missing the king's meal. At least that was one unpleasant thing he would not have to do today. He left thinking about how much he did for the kingdom; things that no one will ever know or appreciate.

  Brenddel had only stayed through one king's meal. Usually he was too busy with the security for the crowning event. But since Trunculin had changed the order of things. There was no king to transfer power from, so he would be eating alone. The crowds had made Trunculin more nervous than Brenddel had ever seen him.

  He saw the boy, Asa, sitting in the middle chair. He wasn't eating. As he approached the table, he noticed that no one was talking to the boy either. Rolem must had finished his tour and left him alone. He normally did not rank high enough to sit at the table with the king. The most he could do was stand behind him. Brenddel looked at the boy and thought that he was the smallest king he had ever seen. The boy had to be thirteen to put his name in, but he looked much younger. And very uneasy. Brenddel thought the firstcouncilor would break the boy's neck getting the crown on his head. He had been scared then, and it looked as though the young king's first day had not gotten much better.

  He approached the boy and said, “Hello, my king.”

  The poor boy jumped in his seat and almost let out a yell. Brenddel noticed, with anger, a few titters and small laughs from surrounding tables.

  “S…s…sorry. I didn't see you walk up. Do you know where… that man that was showing me around went?” Asa asked timidly.

  Brenddel's said, “I'm sorry, my king, but Rolem does not rank high enough to sit at the table with you. But I do… at least tonight.”

  The boy gave a small smile, no longer feeling quite as alone. Brenddel said, “I hope it will be okay if I eat with you. I am…”

  “The firstman of the kingdom, the great warrior Brenddel,” The boy looked down at his plate again. “I know who you are. I have a whole army at home, and I have three of you.”

  “I'm sorry… what do you mean, my king?”

  “Little soldier men.” Asa made a motion with his fingers to show how big the soldier toys were. “You are my favorite one… I even painted one with your firstman stripes. The likeness is okay, but the ones I painted came out pretty good.”

  Brenddel smiled a little, using muscles he hadn't used in a long time. But he couldn't help it. He was always surprised how popular he was in some of the villages. “I had forgotten about those. Someone showed me one of them once; it was a terrible likeness, looked nothing like me. But they did get my arms right.” Brenddel made a fist and raised his arm, flexing his muscle. The boy smiled for probably the first time that day. Brenddel realized he was smiling and abruptly stopped, clearing his throat.

  Asa didn't know what to say. Finally he managed, “Do you… know what happened to Gordon?” asked the new king, looking down again.

  Brenddel said, “The firstcouncilor told you what happened. He told all of the crowds what happened. He ran away. Why do you ask, my king?”

  “He's… he was my friend. We're from the same village. I know Gordon never really wanted to be king, but it just doesn't sound like him to run away,” said Asa.

  Brenddel didn't know what to say, or how to help this boy. He knew that Asa was Trunculin's first choice, until someone put Gordon's name in the tower instead. This little king would never get the truth from Trunculin. But, the distractions might help him, thought Brenddel. The training would start the next day with others, while Brenddel was away. He might be gone from the kingdom a while, and he was afraid of what this timid king might become under Trunculin.

  Brenddel lied, “I don't know why he did it. Gordon was not alone, we know his uncle was involved. It's a very brave thing to accept all this responsibility. You know that more than anyone. I guess Gordon just got scared.”

  Asa just looked at his plate of food again, picking at it once more. Brenddel had never been around children, not even when he was a child. He went into training soon after Mantuan had found him. He remembered how he felt walking into the training yards when he was only nine years old. The world must seem that scary to this new king.

  “You know what always makes me feel better when I'm scared?” asked Brenddel.

  The boy looked skeptical, “You don't get scared…”

  Brenddel leaned over to the boy. “Only fools never get scared.”

  Asa smiled a little.

  “Whenever I've had a hard day, the thing that always makes me feel better is chocolate.”

  “Chocolate?” asked Asa.

  “Yes. Sounds strange, I know. But nothing is more calming than chocolate. I always take a bit of chocolate before a battle.” Brenddel raised his hand for a servant girl to come over.

  The new king smiled a genuine smile, as the girl brought over the largest chocolate pie he had ever seen. Brenddel smiled at the king and gave him a small nod. Asa's plate of food was cleared and he ate chocolate pie for dinner.

  Trunculin was quietly listening to the secondcouncilor of the lower council and a leading councilor of the upper council bicker back and forth. They railed at Trunculin, and waved their arms wildly while talking about 'tradition' and 'death of the law.'

  “Are you just going to sit there? What do you have to say?” asked the secondcouncilor.

  Trunculin replied, “Oh, I think you are doing quite well without me saying a word. In fact, if you'd like me to leave so that you can have a discussion about me, I will oblige. I don't really have to be here for you to have this pointless debate.”

  “Pointless!? You had no right to do it. The choosing and the crowning ceremony have to take place on different days. Even the king's meal was changed. Chaos! It has never been done,” said the secondcouncilor.

  “…And to tell the crowds that we approved the maneuver. Unforgivable!” said the other councilor.

  “Wrong and wrong,” said Trunculin. “Section 2239. The great law book is there for any councilor to use. The precedent is there, just as I said. We didn't have time to have them on two different days. It was done once before. And the crowds are restless. They were… not themselves because of what they'd seen the day before, when Gordon collapsed…”

  The secondcouncilor interrupted, “Yes, we all noticed the difference. What happened was a rejection of what you were trying to do. The crowds turned on you…”

  Without warning, Trunculin rose from his chair and struck the councilor across the face, “You know how I hate to be interrupted.” The secondcouncilor was shocked and immediately sat, holding his face.

  Trunculin came around the desk and towered over them, “Gordon seemed to immediately steal their hearts, and then he suddenly collapsed in agony on the stage the next day, then he fled the kingdom. Too much trauma on the people will make them unhappy. When the peo
ple get too unhappy, they look to the palace. If there is no king in the palace, they get even more nervous. I know you think I've done some terrible thing. But let's be practical, laws need to be passed. The kingdom needs to be run. It's not run by the king, but the people don't know that. They see a day with no king… even one day… and they fear. You want the people in the throes of fear?” Trunculin looked at each of the men very closely, staring at them one at a time. “And let's not, for even one moment, forget who gave you your positions. It wasn't any king, was it?”

  They knew well that Trunculin handpicked all of the councilors. The two men looked at each other and refused to meet Trunculin's stare, “You still should've consulted us, then we would not have looked so foolish, not knowing what was going to happen. That puts us in a very bad place with the rest of the council.”

  Trunculin stared at both men, then quickly grabbed both men by the arm, and said with his famous smile, “Perhaps you are right. I made decisions quickly. In the future, I will try to keep you two more informed. Come now. It's been a rough couple of days. Let's go get something to drink and put it past us.” The two men gave a small, weak smile as they all exited the room.

  The firstcouncilor knew he had won the day. Losing was never an option.

  Chapter 16: First Training

  Sandrell took Loren to meet her friends for transport the next day. The baths and having clean clothes had helped everyone's mood. They insisted Gordon stay behind as he may be recognized with all the sailors going in and out of the port. Even one person spotting him would put them all in danger. Better to stay put in the house with Aline as his guard.

  After they left, Gordon asked, “Did you really grow up here?”

  “No. I told you I grew up in Aspora,” answered Aline. “I also said I didn't want to talk about my mother. Nice try.”

  Gordon shrugged and went to one of the weapons on the wall. It was a beautifully carved wooden pole, with a long curved blade at the end. It was easily one and a half times as tall as Gordon.