“Brother, you don’t have to leave,” Sandrea said lightly. “Where will you go?” She asked when Bren refused to turn around and look at her.
“To the mages, to start my training,” Bren replied as he began shoving clothing into the pack. “I should have gone there years ago. Mother always said you must know and understand the people whom you rule.”
“Mother thinks I should…” Sandrea began to say before a sharp glare from Bren cut her off.
“What would you do with two crowns?” Bren asked. “Father meant for me to hold the title, so I shall. Now, if you don’t have anything else to whine about, I suggest you leave.”
“You’re a horse’s rear,” Sandrea exclaimed from behind him. “Take whatever you want, I don’t care if I ever see you again,” she continued, throwing the rings on her fingers at him.
Bren turned around and picked up the rings. Bren knew them well, having played with them often as a child. One allowed the wearer to speak to animals and the other would turn into a sword. Chuckling to himself, he rolled the rings in his hand. He fondly remember when Sandrea was only a few years old and he would show her all of the things their father had left behind. She had never left his side, but as time passed their mother had spent more time with Sandrea and soon he was no longer her loving brother but the enemy.
Slipping the two rings on his finger, Bren pulled a small grass ring off his own. It was his prized possession over everything else he had owned. His father had given it to him when he had been three and they were out on a ride. It was the first time Bren remembered his father doing magic. Setting the grass ring on his table, Bren scribbled a quick note.
Dear Sandrea, I shall always love you as you are my sister, but I can no longer stay within this house. One day things might change and I can come home, but until then watch over mother for me.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Bren hefted the pack over his shoulder and rushed down the stairs. The guards paid little attention to him as he slipped out the gate and into town. He didn’t know if his mother would send soldiers looking for him, but if she did, he planned to be far away before she had the chance.
Thad continued his steady walk forward. He had no clue how long he had been walking. Time felt different here than in the outside world. There was no huger, no thirst, but he still got tired. Cursing his missing foot, Thad looked down at its metal replacement. There was no magic in here so now all the weight of the metal appendage made it a chore to lift.
Oddly though, he found that his magical eye still worked and he could see just fine. There was just nothing to see. Everything was bland and grey in both the normal and magical spectrum.
When a small dot of color in the distance caught his attention, Thad forgot about the weight of his foot and the tiredness in his body. He ran with all his might in hopes that another being inhabited the void. Thad didn’t care if it was a monster or human, just as long as it was something. “Better to de dead than alive another day alone,” Thad thought honestly to himself.
CHAPTER II
Bren felt a keen sense of being alive as he made his way out of the city. In all his fourteen years, he had never been outside the capital alone. Even during his short visits outside of the palace, he had been heavily guarded. Bren knew that the road could be dangerous, but he cared little for that fact at the moment.
The roads were alive with travelers and merchants as spring was in full bloom. Bren watched the other families as he walked along the edge of the road. Every time he saw a mother fussing over her child, he felt a pang of remorse run through his body. Each time that he began to feel down, a heavy nudge would hit him from the side and the air was filled with a loud rumbling bark.
Bren absently reached down and patted Avalanches head. To Bren, the rock dog had always been a friend, but he knew that she wasn’t a creature that was seen every day and drew more than her fair share of looks. Avalanche looked much like a dog through her skin was made of a slate grey stone that was cold to the touch and her legs ended more in stumps than paws. It was her eyes that really grabbed ones attention though, as they were made of large bright sapphires. Bren cared little for that, Avalanche had been his only real friend in the castle outside of Thuraman and had always been there to comfort him.
Bren could feel the eyes of the other travelers on him, but paid them little heed. He was used to being watched though not so overtly. He knew that he stood out in his finery but there was little he could do about it.
“Boy!” Bren heard a voice holler as he walked down the road. Looking over his shoulder he spotted an older gentlemen riding on a rickety wagon staring down at him.
“Yes good sir, can I assist you,” Bren replied hesitantly.
“That you can, by getting in this wagon,” the man answered sternly.
“Sir?” Thad replied confused.
“Look boy, I might not be the sharpest sickle in the field, but I know a young lord when I see one,” The old man said leaning down giving Thad a firm look. “If something were to happen to you, we would have soldiers combing the roads making the lives of us common folk’s hell. Now get in the wagon before I thump you a good one child.”
Utterly surprised at the man’s attitude Bren walked to the back of the wagon and pulled back the tarp. “What about my dog?” Bren asked, looking back at Avalanche who gave out a loud bark and bounced around him.
“Dog? Are you sure that’s what it is?” the old man said, looking at Avalanche unconvinced. “I am sure your…dog… can keep up with these old horses.”
Thad gave Avalanche a pat on the head and crawled into the back of the wagon. He soon found that he shared the space with bags of what he was sure were seeds and a young girl that looked a few years older than him.
“Don’t be too mad at granddad, he always acts like he has a burr between his toes,” the girl said with a kind smile. “My names Faye and that’s my granddad Doren. We live on a small farm a few days ride from the capitol.” The young lady held out her hand toward Bren in a slightly awkward manner.
Bren took her offered hand and brushed her knuckles lightly with his lips as he had been taught to do. “I’m Bren. I live in the capital, but I am headed for the Mage’s Tower to train,” he replied with little confidence in his voice.
“The Mage’s Tower,” Faye said her eyes lighting up brilliantly. “I have heard stories about it from some of the people in town. Grandma Mercy and mother said that they knew the mage who created the Tower when he was just a boy. Though I think they’re just telling me a few stories, but mom has a ring that lights up though it’s no very bright.”
“Your mother knew Thad?” Bren asked, his heart starting to beat incredibly fast.
“That’s what she says,” Faye replied proudly. “Mom said that he didn’t always go by Thad though. When she met him, he used the name Mark. He even worked on our farm.”
“I can’t see my dad ever working on a farm,” Bren said laughing. When he saw the girl’s eyes go wide, he knew that he had said something that he shouldn’t have. “I mean I can’t see the great mage ever working on a farm.”
Think before you speak. If they learn you are the prince, they might just tie you up and send you back to your mother. I am sure that by now she has guards looking for you. Tonight, you should slip away and keep off the roads until you get closer to the border.
“I want to see the farm,” Bren replied to the staff. “Mother hardly ever talks about father and I want to know more about him.”
I knew your father better than anyone. If you wish to know something, why not just ask me?
“Because I have heard your stories about father a dozen times over and they are all the same. I want to hear something new about what he was like before you or my mother knew him,” Bren replied stubbornly.
“What are you doing?” Faye asked, looking at Bren her eyes full of curiosity.
“Just thinking,” Bren replied, glad that the girl had seemed to miss his statement about Thad being his father. “Do yo
u think your granddad would let me work on your farm some?”
“Why not, just ask me boy,” Doren yelled from the front. “You don’t think that this thin piece of cloth keeps me from hearing ya’ll yakking away do you?”
“No sir, I just didn’t want to bother you,” Thad replied hesitantly.
“Such a polite boy, aren’t you? I don’t see why you can’t work on the farm. To tell you the truth, might do you a bit of good. From the looks of you, I don’t think you have done an honest day’s work in your life and every boy should have the pleasure of an honest day’s work.”
“How long will it take to reach your farm?” Bren asked nervously.
“We should arrive late tomorrow night,” Faye replied quickly. “Most the time it takes a bit longer, but granddad doesn’t like to sleep on the road so he only stops a few hours at a time to let the horses rest.” Faye leaned down and placed her mouth only a few inches away from Bren’s ear. “To tell the truth, grandma makes him take someone with him. She says otherwise he’s likely to fall asleep on the road and end up halfway to Rane.”
Bren and Faye continued to talk and trade stories. Bren would tell her what it was like to grow up in the capitol and she would tell him about her life on the farm with her brother and cousins. To Bren, her life seemed new and exciting. There might not be any large parties or function, but it seemed as if she had the one thing he had always desired, freedom. Bren had always had to be somewhere for something that his mother considered important. He could count on one hand the number of times he could remember a full day where he had not been hurried about the palace.
As interested as he was in her life on the farm, she seemed just as interested in his life. Her main questions seemed focused on his mother’s horses and the many banquets that he was forced to attend. “They really serve five separate courses of food? What happens if you get full?” Faye asked laughing.
“If you get full you simply take a few bites of the course and then sit it aside. My mother insists that you take at least five full bites of any food during a dinner. I remember one time we were visiting an older duchess and she served this horridly cooked venison stew with far too much salt and I was forced to take those five bites. I thought I was going to be sick,” Bren replied, his stomach churning just from the thought of having to eat at the duchess’s estate ever again. “Don’t get me wrong, most of the time the food is great, but every now and then we visit some lady that tries to impress my mother with something exotic and that never bodes well for my appetite.”
Faye had told Bren that her granddad liked to travel through most the night, but he hadn’t truly expected that to be the truth. Sure enough, the wagon rolled on even after the sun dropped below the horizon. Tired and out of energy, Bren pulled a thick blanket around his shoulders and closed his eyes.
Shortly after his eyes closed, Bren felt something heavy push against his side. Cracking open one eye, he looked to his side to see Faye had decided to use his shoulder as a pillow. He could hear her steady breathing. Strands of her sandy blonde hair covered her face, hiding her deep blue eyes, but the peaceful look on her face was still enchanting.
You shouldn’t let her get so close, Thuraman said. His voice echoing in Bren’s mind, filled with contempt.
What is she going to do, bite me?” Bren replied sarcastically.
She just might, though not just with her teeth. I have told you time and time again that women are not to be trusted. They will do everything they can to make sure that you do what they want. Be wary that you do not make the same mistakes as your father.
“I am starting to understand why my father didn’t listen to you often,” Bren answered back snidely. “I have seen men and women both manipulate others into doing what they wanted. Like how the stable boy always makes the girls give him a kiss before he will saddle there horses.”
I think it is more the girls give him a kiss so they don’t have to do it themselves. Thuraman shot back.
“I think you are just trying to find a reason to be mad. Whatever it is I don’t want to keep hearing about it. I don’t feel such a pressing need to keep you, that I won’t drop you in the next lake I see,” Bren answered back angrily.
No matter how far away you run I could still talk to you. And even should you shut me out of your mind, one day you would need me and call for me. It was the same with your father. He always threated to leave me behind, but he never did. I was as much a part of him as his own arm, just as I am a part of you.
Bren tried to ignore Thurman’s words, but they haunted him. The staff was right, it was a part of him and the only real connection he had to finding his father. As he drifted off to sleep, Bren imagined breaking the staff in a hundred different ways. He knew that he wouldn’t do it, but just thinking about it seemed to quell his anger.
Thad was awoken when he heard Doren talking to someone. At first his mind was too hazy to hear the words, but when he heard his own name his became fully awake.
“Yes sir, Prince Bren is missing. He is a young lad about fifteen with reddish-blonde hair, green eyes and well-built for his age, though still a bit on the skinny side if you ask me. The queen is offering a good reward for his return should you come across him.” Bren heard a deep voice say from the other side of the canvas.
“Haven’t seen no one like that, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled,” Doren replied back.
Bren breathed a sigh of relief when Doren didn’t give him away. He had expected the old farmer to tell the guards right where to find him and had already moved to the back of the wagon ready to make his escape. Bren settled back down under the covers once the wagon began to move again, but his nerves were wound too tight for him to fall back asleep. After more than an hour of restlessness, Bren pulled back the canvas and climbed on the thin bench beside Doren.
“You think it’s a good idea for you to be sitting here in plain sight when you got half the kingdom looking for you boy?” Doren asked, his tone even and harsh. “I don’t know why you’re running or what you’re running from, but I think you better get to talking before I start fancying that reward.”
“It’s my mother and sister sir,” Bren said in a way of explaining, but the old man just looked at him with a face that said he would have to do better. “They won’t let me out of their sight and everything I do is wrong. I want to do more with my life then end up being a chip for my mom to marry off for political reasons. She has already had me meet three different women from neighboring kingdoms. My father left me to rule the Mage’s Tower in his steed and that’s what I aim to do.”
Doren looked at Bren for a long time without saying a word then he breathed a heavy sigh. “Sounds like the same thing all kids say when they reach your age. If you ain’t learned anything yet then learn this, life is not fair. That aside, I think some time on your own might just be good for a boy your age, so let’s make a deal. It’s already late in the planting season, but thanks to some heavy rains the south fields got flooded and need replanting. That’s why we had to rush to the capital to buy more seed. You help us with the planting and I’ll look the other way about your disappearing act.”
“You have a deal,” Bren said, holding out his hand eagerly.
Doren gave a long loud laugh. “I don’t think you will be thanking me after a few days on the farm.”
CHAPTER III
Just as Faye had said they reached the farm late the next evening. Bren looked around but saw no sign of Avalanche. “Have you seen my dog?” He asked Doren as the old man climbed down from the wagon.
“Here and there though not for a few hours,” Doren replied as he stretched his arms and legs. “I remember a time when I could spend weeks on the wagon without so much as an ache. These days it only takes a few hours for my bones to start feel like there rattling apart.”
“Granddad you’re not going to start your week long complaining already are you,” Faye said coming up beside Bren. “If you hate it that much then you should have had someone else go.”
>
“Women won’t even let a man enjoy his complaining in peace,” Doren said melodramatically before waving them off as he turned and started unhitching the horses from the wagon.
“Let’s go inside and I will introduce you to the rest of the family,” Faye said grabbing Bren’s arm and pulling him behind her.
Bren silently let Faye drag him into the large farmhouse. Inside what he found was far different than he had expected. He had envisioned many different things about what to expect, but none of them were close to what he found. The common room was large and filled with chairs and a massive fireplace. Bren could see a wide set of stairs leading to a second floor and a large table through one of the doorways.
“We have a visitor it seems,” A lady about his mother’s age, wearing a plain wool dress said, appearing from the other room.
“Mother this is Bren,” Faye said smiling brightly. “He is Mark’s son.”
Bren let out a heavy sigh. He had hoped that Faye hadn’t been paying attention to him and that he could pass his time here without that mark of distinction. “Hello miss,” Bren said after a long silent moment.
The older lady looked him over carefully before a wide smile spread across her face. “You do look a bit like Mark did when he was your age, though the red tint in your hair makes you look a bit more dashing. Don’t you think Faye?”
“Mother!” Faye said, her face blushing a light pink.
“So what do we owe the honor of having the prince come to our home,” the lady continued smiling.
“He said he wants to help out on the farm,” Faye said meekly, looking down at her shoes.
“Is that so? Following in your father’s footsteps I see,” the lady said, her hand covering the smile spreading across her face. “Well I am Faye’s mother, though most people simply call me Clair. The rest of the family went to sleep some time ago, but I am sure you will get to meet them soon enough. Now let’s get you fed and in bed, I am sure father will want to get you started early in the morning.”
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