The King looked startled. Edward was a bit startled himself. He forced himself to look levelly at his father. ‘Is Bart’s mother the Queen of Pirainia?’
‘I have told you all I know,’ replied the King. ‘You might be surprised to discover that orphans are not my primary concern, Edward. To rule a kingdom, one must –’
‘Your Majesty,’ interrupted Dani. The King glared at her.
‘Forgive me,’ she continued, ‘but a lot has happened recently and we are all tired and eager to hear the truth. Bart, here, has certain powers that he has recently learnt to use. He has overcome the blocking spell within the castle. If necessary, he can find out what happened by looking into your mind.’
The King looked suspiciously at Dani, and then at Bart. Edward shot a glance at Bart. He suspected Dani was bluffing and that Bart had no such powers, and that the blocking spell was still operating, but hoped Bart would realise what Dani was doing.
‘Yes, it’s true,’ said Bart. ‘I can do it. It might hurt a bit, though.’
The King scowled at him and then stared out the window. There was a long silence and then he spoke. ‘Everything I did, I did for the kingdom,’ he said gruffly. ‘Remember that, before you judge me. A king must do what is needed to safeguard his realm.’
He took a deep breath. ‘Bart is the firstborn child of the Queen of Pirainia. When I became King, there was a dispute between Tintarfell and Pirainia over the islands that lie in the lake that separates our kingdoms. Diamonds and other precious stones had been discovered on them, and both countries claimed ownership of them. The dispute escalated until war seemed likely.
‘I discovered that the Queen of Pirainia had recently given birth to a son, and arranged for him to be kidnapped. It was a daring and difficult mission, but my soldiers were successful. The baby . . .’ He gestured at Bart. ‘You . . . arrived at the castle the day after an orphan girl.’ He nodded at Dani. ‘You. Your father had been killed while hunting, and your mother died in childbirth.’
Dani nodded. That was what she had been told.
‘Rather than keep the boy prisoner,’ continued the King, ‘I decided the best place to hide him was in open view. We pretended that you were twins, and treated you both as normal orphan servants. No one knew who Bart really was. I told the Queen of Pirainia that she must step back from the islands, allow us to have them, abandon all talk of war, and ensure there was always peace between our countries.’
‘Or you would kill Bart,’ said Dani.
‘I prevented a war in which thousands on both sides would have died,’ snapped the King. ‘I did what a king has to do. I made a hard decision that was in the best interests of the kingdom. I took no pleasure in it.’ He pointed at Edward. ‘That’s why you will never be a good king. You’re too weak.’
Edward clenched his fists, but forced himself to speak evenly. ‘So when I told you that Bart had been kidnapped, you were worried because you thought the Pirainians had discovered his identity and rescued him.’
The King nodded. ‘Exactly. Without our hostage, the Pirainians would be free to attack us.’ He addressed Bart.
‘I am sorry it had to happen, and I am sorry you found out, but I would do the same again. I did it to protect the kingdom.’
There was an uneasy silence and then Edward spoke. ‘You could have stepped back from the islands and allowed the Pirainians to have them, Father. Or you could have divided the islands and shared them. Either of those things would also have avoided war.’
The King stared at Edward, and then looked away.
‘I did what was best for Tintarfell.’
‘What about the spell that blocked Bart’s powers within the castle? Who did that?’ asked Dani.
‘Many years ago there was a sorcerer called Ganfree Banfor,’ said the King. ‘He wandered all over, and would do anything for gold. I knew Bart’s parents had powers over animals, and that Bart would have inherited them.
I didn’t know if his powers could be used on people, and I didn’t want to find out. I thought the blocking spell was a useful precaution.’
Bart leaned forward. ‘Is the Queen – my mother –
alive?’
‘She is,’ said the King. ‘And your father, too.’
‘I could go to them,’ Bart said, to himself more than anyone else. Dani shot him a look.
‘Now I need to know about your sister,’ said Edward to his father.
‘What about her?’ replied the King. ‘You know what happened. She was killed by my father’s adviser, Horatio Tolmond.’
‘Is that true?’ asked Edward.
‘Of course it’s true.’
‘Remember, your Majesty,’ said Dani, ‘Bart can find out the truth by looking into your mind. And now that you’ve admitted kidnapping him, he might not do it gently.’
The King looked uncertain.
‘I have seen the secret passage that connected your room to your sister’s,’ said Edward. ‘Which is worse, Father, telling an unhappy truth willingly, or having it ripped out of you? Which is more kingly?’
The King looked sharply at his son, chewed his lower lip, and then seemed to reach a decision. ‘Dalinia was weak. She couldn’t make decisions. She would have ruined Tintarfell. When our father died and Dalinia became Queen, we were in the middle of the dispute with the Pirainians over the islands. They were about to attack us. I knew what we had to do to protect ourselves, but she wouldn’t act.
I begged her to deploy the army, but she wouldn’t. I came up with the plan to kidnap their Queen’s son, but she refused to carry it out. She wouldn’t do anything. I told her that if she was unable to lead, she should step down and hand the crown to me, but she refused.
‘If I had not done what I did, our kingdom would have been attacked and defeated. I have no doubt about that, and that is why I sleep well at night. Yes, it was a horrible thing to do but, again, it saved many lives. I killed her, but I saved the kingdom. I became King, Bart was kidnapped, and we have had fourteen years of peace. Anything I did,
I did for Tintarfell.’
‘And when Horatio Tolmond discovered what you had done, you killed him and his son,’ said Edward. ‘Was that for the good of the kingdom too? Or did you do that to protect yourself?’
‘It was . . . necessary.’
Edward shook his head. ‘All my life I’ve tried to be the son you wanted. I’ve tried to be ruthless . . . but I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to be like you.’
‘Careful, boy. I may be sick, but I am still King.’
Edward now knew what he had to do. ‘You have a choice, Father. I can tell everyone what you did to your sister, and to Horatio and his son. Once that is known, I’d suggest that one way or another, you wouldn’t remain King for long. The people would be disgusted. There may even be a revolt. Think what harm that will do to the kingdom you care so much about. Or, you can announce that you’re giving up the throne because of ill health and that I will succeed you. If you do that, only those within this room will ever know the truth.’
The King stared out the window for a long time. At last he spoke. ‘I am sick,’ he said distantly. ‘I know I was poisoned, but the doctor has said I will never fully recover. If I do what you want, I would stay here.’
‘If you wish,’ replied Edward. ‘You will be treated well, but you will be under guard, and you will have no power.’
The King gave Edward a long, calculating look, as if assessing his options. Eventually he sighed and looked at the ceiling. ‘I will stand down, but first I would speak with you alone, Edward.’
Edward nodded. Dani, Bart and Gambon left the room.
The King looked closely at his son. ‘From somewhere you have found strength.’
Despite everything, that hard-won compliment meant something to Edward.
‘You need strength to be King,’ his father continued.
‘Yes,’ replied Edward, ‘but that’s not all you need.’
The King frowned. ‘When your mother died . . .’ he said haltingly, ‘. . . love died for me. That is not an excuse for what I did to my sister, as that happened years before. But that is why I have not . . . helped you . . . as I should have. I could not rise above her death to love you as I should. It was my failing, not yours.’
Edward felt a lump in his throat. He knew how hard it would have been for his father to say those words. He was about to reach over and embrace him, but then he remembered what his father had done. He was a liar, a kidnapper and a murderer. It was too late. All his life Edward had wished that he was more like his father, but now he was glad that he was different.
‘Thank you,’ he said formally, and then called Gambon to come and carry him from the room.
And so he did not see, for the first time since the death of his wife, tears run down the cheeks of King Corolius the Fifth.
Dani and Bart sat next to each other on Dani’s plain bed in the servants’ quarters. Edward had offered them more comfortable rooms in the castle, but they had decided to stay where they were while they worked out what they were going to do. Dani had asked Bart to come to her room because she could no longer bear the awkwardness between them. She wanted to clear the air.
‘Bart, I’m sorry that in the dungeons I just wanted to escape and not help anyone.’
Bart shrugged. ‘You’d been through a lot. I mean, you’d rescued me twice and sacrificed most of your life for me. No wonder you were sick of it.’
‘Well, good on you for standing up to me. You’ve never done that before.’
Bart smiled nervously. ‘It was a bit scary.’
There was a silence and then Dani spoke again. ‘And I understand why you didn’t tell me that you’d found out that we weren’t really brother and sister. You were trying to protect me.’
‘I guess. I didn’t want it to be true, so I just tried to ignore it.’ He looked at the floor. ‘Would you have made that sacrifice for me if you’d known I wasn’t really your brother?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Dani. ‘But I didn’t do it just because you were my brother. I did it because you were such a good brother.’
‘Well, it was an amazing thing to do,’ said Bart. He took a deep breath. ‘I have to go and try to find my parents. And maybe even brothers and sisters.’
Dani grimaced at his use of the word ‘I’. Previously, it had always been ‘we’.
‘I know,’ she said as calmly as she could, but the idea of him leaving filled her with dread. ‘Maybe Edward could send a message to your parents and they could come here?’
Bart shook his head. ‘I want to see where they live.
I mean, it’s my home, and I’ve never even been there. Edward said that he’d write me a letter explaining everything and put the royal seal on it so they’ll know I’m not an imposter.’
‘Great,’ said Dani hollowly. He was going away. After everything that she had been through, she was still going to lose him. Her most important job had always been to look after and protect Bart. What would she do now?
Bart continued, excited. ‘And then I want to go back to Gildarin and learn how to heal animals. I could see myself living in the forest and doing that!’
‘Sounds wonderful,’ said Dani, trying to sound pleased. ‘I always said life would get better, didn’t I?’
She told herself that it would be good for him to go away. He was growing up and it was time for him to become less dependent on her. He needed to learn how to make decisions and do things by himself. She tried to convince herself that Bart leaving was all for the best, but her heart was breaking. She realised she would never hear him tell her another story and had to fight to control herself.
‘D, I . . . I wouldn’t have got through it without you,’ said Bart. ‘Not just this last bit, but . . . all of it. You did everything for me. Remember when I used to cry at night? You’d always cheer me up.’
Dani nodded, feeling tears behind her eyes. Her brother –
no, not her brother, but her best friend nonetheless – was leaving.
‘How come you never cried?’ asked Bart.
Dani shrugged. ‘If we’d both cried, there wouldn’t have been anyone to do the cheering up. And I did sometimes, when you were asleep.’
Bart shuffled his hands together. ‘I’m scared of leaving,’ he said.
Dani tried to pull herself together. She had to be strong for him. ‘That’s normal. You’re going to be fine. And if anything bad happens, you can just summon a lion.’
‘Will you . . . ?’ he began, and then stopped and looked away.
Dani guessed what he was trying to say. ‘Yes, of course I’ll come and visit you. And you can visit me, too.’ She hardened her voice, pushing back the sadness. ‘You know, in the forest, after we had that argument and I stormed off, I realised that I’ve hardly ever been alone my whole life. It’ll . . . it’ll be good for me.’
‘Oh. Then you won’t . . .’ Bart swallowed. ‘I meant . . .’ He took a deep breath. ‘I was hoping that . . . you might come with me.’
Dani looked up at him, slowly understanding. She started to reply, but joy filled her up and she couldn’t talk. She grabbed him and hugged as hard as she could, tears rolling down her cheeks.
‘Is that a yes?’ asked Bart.
Dani, still hugging, nodded into his shoulder.
Bart hugged back. ‘I was scared to ask. In case you said “no”.’
Dani knew what she wanted to say, but it took her several attempts before she could get the words out. ‘I’d never say “no” . . . to my brother.’
Chapter 30
A Good Beginning
Dani and Bart stood on either side of Edward, who sat in his newly designed wheeled chair. It was morning, and they were just outside the city gates, looking east along the road they had all travelled along when they had left the city several days earlier, and over the hills that rolled away towards Pirainia.
Gambon, who had pushed Edward’s chair from the castle, and on the way named it a ‘wheelchair’, stood behind it, holding its handles. Bart held the reins of Midnight, a gift from Edward, and Dani held the reins of another, smaller horse. She was slightly nervous about riding, but she knew that Bart would help her.
‘I need to make a fresh start with Pirainia,’ said Edward, ‘and to create a peace with them that is not based on threats or fear. I hope that when you two get there, you can help me.’
‘Of course,’ said Bart.
‘You know, Edward,’ said Dani. ‘I thought you would have been completely devastated by your injuries. The old Prince Edward wouldn’t have bounced back like this.’
Edward looked at his legs. ‘I’m not going to be doing much bouncing. It’s no fun being like this, but . . . well, I lost a lot, but I learnt a bit, too.’
‘A few days ago the thought of you ruling the kingdom would have filled me with horror,’ said Dani. ‘But now I think you’re going to be all right. Anyway, if you do anything bad Gambon will knock you on the head. Won’t you, Gambon?’
‘Definitely,’ said Gambon, and then suddenly looked awkward. ‘I mean, no, your Prince, I mean your Majestyness, I mean . . . um . . . what do I mean?’
The others laughed.
‘It’s all right, Gambon,’ said Edward. ‘If I ever start acting like I used to, you have my permission to knock me on the head.’
‘Goodbye, Edward,’ said Dani, and hugged him. Then she hugged Gambon, and Bart gave Edward a hug.
‘Wait,’ said Edward as they were about to mount the horses. ‘I . . . I want to thank you. Both of you. I mean, I learnt from you both. I leant how I wanted to live.’
As Edward watched Bart and Dani ride down the hill and away from the city, he wondered what he would have done on the castle roof if th
ey had not appeared when they had. Would he have accepted Randling’s offer and joined him? Or would he have had the strength to refuse? He didn’t know. But when he had seen Bart and Dani up there, he had known that he could not betray them again.
He remembered with shame how, on the cliff, he had tried to bring himself to kill them both. At the time, he had thought that the reason he couldn’t do it was because he was weak, but now he wondered if perhaps the reason was that there was a part of him that was good. If there was, he decided, he would try to grow that part as big as it could get.
Down the hill, a warthog dashed out of the forest. His friends leapt off their horses and hugged it.
Edward smiled. It was time to go. He knew that he would miss them terribly, but he had work to do, and he wanted to make sure that he had time at the end of the day to practise drawing with his left hand. He still felt clumsy, but he had promised himself that he would work hard and improve.
‘Let’s get back to the castle, Gambon.’
Below him, Dani and Bart, once siblings, now friends, gave Flango another pat and remounted. Bart shut his eyes, a look of concentration on his face, and then both horses started to walk forward.
Bart opened his eyes and smiled. ‘There we go,’ he said.
Dani remembered the rush of energy she had felt when she had first escaped the city and walked down this road a few days ago. Back then it had been tempered by her worry about Bart, but now she was truly happy. They were together and free. She only needed one more thing to make it perfect.
She looked at Bart. ‘Will you do something for me?’
‘Well, if you add everything up, I think I still owe you, so yes,’ replied Bart. ‘What?’
‘Will you tell me a story?’
Bart smiled. ‘Sure.’
And so, as they rode away to discover more of the world with a warthog trotting beside them, he began his tale.
‘Once upon a time . . .’
Acknowledgements
Pan Macmillan has been fantastic again. Everyone there who worked on this book did a great job and helped to improve it. In particular Claire Craig, as always, showed enormous skill and great judgment, and it’s a pleasure to work with her.
The Twins of Tintarfell Page 23