by Garry Spoor
-What the hell are you talking about trees for? What do trees have to do with anything?-
“They were trees, they were all trees. Somehow, in some way, they were turned into trees.”
-Did you happen to take any blows to the head while you were in the Maligar?-
“Fine, don’t believe me, but I’m telling you, they were turned into trees.”
-You worry me, sometimes.-
“I worry myself, sometimes,” Kile said, tossing an old blanket onto a pile of new straw. Lying down, she stared up at the rafters. “It’s only that it’s not all coming together. Some things still don’t make any sense.”
Grim sighed. -There are some things we are simply not meant to know.-
“Like my father. Why did he wait until now to tell me I wasn’t a Veller?”
-Your father? Now we’re talking about your father?-
“Yeah, I spoke with my father. Or at least I think I did, I mean, it could have been a dream or something.”
-You spoke to your dead father. Right. I’m out of here. Take care of yourself.-
“Very funny, Grim.” Kile closed her eyes. “I should probably get back to the Manor House. They’ll be looking for me.”
~~~***~~~
“There you are. Wake up.”
Kile opened her eyes to see Daniel staring down at her again. He looked annoyed, but he always looked annoyed these days. She was sure something else was bothering him besides her.
“I bring you your supper, and you’re not in your room. Even the guards didn’t know you left. What did you do, fly out the window?”
“Something like that,” she said.
“I see you found Emara, or do you two just share a common taste in clothing?”
“How did you know I was here, anyway?” she asked, slowly getting to her feet. She brushed the straw from her robes.
“Please, I might not understand you, but I do know you. This was the first place I looked. You always went to the stables when you wanted to think.”
“Am I that predictable?”
“Hardly, but you do have some habits. Now, let’s get you back to your room.”
Her room? Funny, it didn’t feel like a room. It was more like a cell, but if she wanted the answers she was looking for, it was the best place to find them.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Kile said, turning to the mountain pony. “Grim, I’ll see you later, okay?”
-I’ll be here. All alone. With no apple pie in sight.-
“I’ll see what I can do.” She laughed and lowered her arm for Vesper to climb on. He took his usual place on her shoulder.
Before she could walk away, Grim called out to her. -Child, the answers you seek are right in front of you. You need only open your eyes.-
“What do you mean?”
-You’ll know when you see them.-
“Come on, Ki. What’s taking you so long? The king wants an audience with you after you clean yourself up, that is.”
“I’m coming.”
She followed Daniel out of the stables, staying a few steps behind him since he didn’t seem to want the company. He was in a hurry to get back to the Manor House. It was only after he passed the curly-haired man, with the long shaggy beard, he slowed his place.
“Why did you sneak out, anyway?” he demanded when she finally caught up to him.
“I don’t like being a prisoner. I never quite got used to it. It’s a funny little quirk I have.”
Daniel sighed and his whole demeanor changed. For the moment, he was the Daniel she remembered.
“You’re not a prisoner, Kile.”
“I’m not? You locked me in my room, you left me with no clothes, and you posted guards at my door. What am I supposed to think?”
“Okay, I’m sorry. There was a lot going on and we didn’t want you to—”
“What, to run away?”
“You do have a habit of doing that.”
“I don’t do well in captivity, and I don’t like being kept in the dark.”
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said again. “There are things we can’t tell you. At least not yet.”
“We? When did you and Roland become so… buddy-buddy?”
“When I became his personal physician.”
Kile stopped walking. “When did that happen?”
“Well…” Daniel said, turning to look at her. But he never looked at her, not directly. “It was when you were in the Tower.”
“You mean before the script, before we even sailed to that island. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it never came up.” He shrugged.
“Well, that would explain the extra coins in your purse. The private practice must pay better,” Kile said when she started to walk away. This time, Daniel had to catch up.
“It’s not just the coin,” he tried to explain. “I felt confined in the Littenbeck Hospital. My skills were being wasted. Working for the king, I have more freedom.”
“And the Hunters?” she asked.
“The Hunters are gone, Kile.”
“Not the new ones, not the… Veller… Hunters.”
She still didn’t like the name. It didn’t quite roll off the tongue.
“I never wanted to be a Hunter in the first place, you know that. The only reason I joined was to learn how to control my Edge. Besides, why do you care about it? You’ve already left them, twice.”
“That’s completely different.” She waved him off. “I thought, with something like this, something that obviously means something to you, you would have wanted to share it. We spent all that time on the ship together and you didn’t think it was worth mentioning?”
“I told you I was thinking of leaving the Hunters and that I might have another job lined up.”
“Yeah, you said you were thinking about it. You never said you actually did it. You led me to believe you were still a Hunter all this time. I was afraid the Sons of Terrabin were pressuring you, and here you are, the king’s physician. You didn’t think it was worth sharing?”
“Why? It’s not like you share anything. You share more with that damn horse of yours than you do with me or anybody else. You’re more like those animals—” Daniel quickly stopped himself. “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t,” he stammered.
“No, you’re right. I’m more like an animal than I am like a vir.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“No, but that’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”
“No, but you have to admit, you spend more time with animals than you do with people.”
“And what’s wrong with that? At least animals don’t try to deceive you.”
“Nobody is trying to deceive you, Kile.”
“Sure, whatever.”
They walked the last block in silence until Daniel stopped at one of the doors and knocked three times. A small window opened and two eyes peered out.
“Daniel Leary, King’s Physician,” Daniel announced in an authoritative voice.
There was a short pause before the eyes disappeared, and the window closed. A few minutes later, the door opened. Daniel stepped aside and waved Kile through.
Inside, the room was dark and the air was cool and damp. Two guards stood on either side of the door and watched Kile suspiciously as she moved to the center of the floor. When Daniel followed her, the door closed and locked behind them. For someone who wasn’t a prisoner, Kile felt like a prisoner. The only thing missing was the chains.
A door, on the far side of the room opened, creating a pathway of light that crossed the floor, ending at her feet. The silhouette of a man in long black robes stood framed in the threshold. Kile was amazed how much Jerald reminded her of Ravenshadow. The king’s adviser walked toward them with a trail of darkness following him. When he reached them, he looked at Kile with disdain before turning his attention to Daniel.
“I see you finally found her,” he said. Clearly he would have been happier if she had remained lost.
“I said I
would,” Daniel said.
“Yes, you did, didn’t you? Well, it would seem we have to get her… cleaned up first, before she can see His Majesty.”
“Of course, sir. I’ll show her to her room.”
“You will find suitable clothing has been provided as well as soap and water. Make sure she uses them.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Um, excuse me. I’m right here. I can hear you,” Kile interrupted.
“My apologies… Mistress Veller,” Jerald said with a stiff bow. “I did not mean to… offend.”
Somehow, Kile didn’t believe that. “Look, if Roland wants to see me, I’ll go to him now. Just lead the way,”
“Ah, Mistress, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You’re not exactly… dressed to see the king.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood you,” Kile said. “I thought you said he wanted to speak with me, not my clothes.”
One of the guards snickered and Jerald shot him a look that quickly silenced him. Somehow, she sensed she wasn’t the only one who disliked the man.
Forcing a smile, which didn’t fit his face, Jerald turned back to Kile. “The king is busy at the moment. Mr. Leary will show you to your room, where you can freshen up before you see him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to deal with.”
Pulling his robes around him, Jerald turned his back on her and walked away.
“Funny how some people light up a room by leaving it,” Kile remarked. She heard the guard behind her snicker again.
“Come on, Ki, you shouldn’t annoy him like that,” Daniel said when he led her to one of the side doors. “He’s the king’s adviser. You should show him a little respect.”
“I was,” she protested. “I was showing him as little respect as I could.”
She heard the guard laugh before the door closed behind them.
Up a flight of stairs, across a hall, left at the corner, and down another hall, Kile was back in her room. It was exactly as she’d left it. Of course, that was only a couple of hours ago. The only thing different was a plate of food on the table and a green dress carefully draped over the back of a chair.
“This must be what Jerald wants you to wear.” Daniel picked up the dress and held it out to her.
“Surprisingly, I kind of figured that one out for myself,” she said.
She took the dress from him and tossed it on the bed.
“What? You don’t like it. I think it’s rather pretty.”
“If you like it so much, you wear it.”
“Come on, Ki, it’ll bring out the color of your eyes.”
Kile slowly turned toward him. “You know, you’re starting to scare me right now.”
“What?”
“Just… nothing.”
Daniel walked over to the table to examine the plate of food. “This is cold. I can get you something else from the kitchen if you’d like.”
“What is with you?” she asked.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Is this what you mean by having more freedom? You’re acting more like the king’s servant than the king’s physician. Don’t you have some healing to do or something?”
“I was told to see to your needs,” Daniel said.
“My needs? I don’t need anyone seeing to my needs. I can see to my own needs, thank you very much.”
“It’s either me or the nonays,” he threatened.
“Don’t you dare bring them in here.”
“Then behave yourself.”
“Fine, if I promise to wash up and put on the dress, will you go away?”
“If that’s what you want.”
Kile looked at him suspiciously. “Seriously? Since when has it ever been that easy?”
“Hey, I’m only looking out for you.”
“You have been, haven’t you? Ever since the Tower.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were waiting for me outside the Tower. You paid for the damage Grim did to the stables, you insisted on accompanying me to Azintar. You’ve been keeping an eye on me this whole time, haven’t you? That means Roland must have put you up to it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Daniel said a little too quickly.
Now some of the pieces were starting to fall into place.
“Well, at least that explains something, but why?”
“He worries about you, Kile. You gotta know by now, he cares about you.”
“This is not happening.” Kile turned toward the open window. The thought of flying away again was tempting.
“Besides. If I’m to be the royal couple’s physician…”
“The what?” She turned on Daniel. “There is no couple. That is not happening.”
Daniel grinned. “We’ll see,” he said in a singsong voice.
“Out!” She pointed to the door. “Get out, or I will set every dog in the Manor House on you.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” Daniel held his hands up and backed toward the door. “But if you need—”
“Out.”
Daniel closed the door behind him, leaving Kile alone in the room with the green dress. She picked it up, turned it around, and threw it back on the bed.
“Tell me, Vesper. Why did I ever leave the Maligar?”
~~~***~~~
After washing up and taming her wild hair, Kile reluctantly put on the green dress. It was pretty, in its own right, but it wasn’t her. She would have preferred a pair of pants.
“So, how do I look, Vesper?” she asked the yarrow.
-We eat now?- he said.
“That bad, huh?”
Walking over to the table, she took a closer look at what he left for her. There was a plate of salad, which was half-eaten, and an empty bowl that once contained a soup or maybe a stew.
“It looks like you started without me,” she said, pulling apart the salad.
-Hungry,- the yarrow replied.
Kile pushed the tray away. It didn’t matter anyway, she didn’t have much of an appetite. It was something Daniel had said in jest that put knots in her stomach. The joke about the royal couple may not have been a joke after all. Roland was king, and as king he must have an heir, and to have an heir, he must have a wife. The thought scared her more than the Maligar. Roland already asked her once to stay with him; that was before she went to the Tower. She never gave him an answer because she didn’t have one. If he asked her tonight, what would she say?
A knock on the door saved her from having to think through the problem. When she opened it, she found Daniel standing on the other side.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Don’t tell me you were waiting all this time,” she said.
“No, of course not. I… I had other things to do.”
Kile glanced over at the chair in the hall. Somehow, she didn’t quite believe him.
“So, Roland finally has time for me?” she asked, walking back to the bed. She held her hand out for Vesper, who quickly climbed up her arm and took his place on her shoulder. He seemed to have a problem with the green dress’s ruffled collar and kept chewing on it, to get it to lie flat.
“Don’t you think you should probably leave him here?” Daniel suggested.
“Why would I do that?”
“Well, it’s not very… proper, if you know what I mean.”
“Now you sound like Jerald.”
“I’m just saying…”
“Well, don’t. Are we going or not?”
“After you,” he said, stepping aside
The Manor House was well kept but had that rare quality of being stuck in time. There was a lingering smell of stagnation that flowed from underneath every surface. Daniel led her through the halls, passing more doors than Kile cared to count. There was no way she’d be able to find her way back to her room without his help.
“So, is this still part of your duties, to keep an eye on me?” she asked.
“Something like that.”
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“Does this mean you are now my personal servant?”
Daniel laughed. “Hardly. We’re a little short staffed here, this not being the king’s residence. So, we all have to pick up the slack, and since nobody else wants to come within a hundred feet of you, I’m stuck with the job.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. You scare people, Kile.”
“What did I do?”
“Well, for starters, you flew a dragon into a large black cloud that nearly destroyed half a province and came out without a scratch. It’s not exactly normal, so the people around Yuton are a little… unsure about you.”
“I didn’t cause the Maligar,” she protested. “I stopped it.”
“Oh, I know that, and so does Roland, which is why we’re having the ceremony here.”
“Ceremony? What ceremony?”
“An award ceremony, in your honor, as well as a few other locals, soldiers from the town, you know. You are going to be knighted.”
“Me? Knighted? When?”
“Tomorrow evening, if all goes as planned. It’s one reason we didn’t want you running away.”
“I’m going to be knighted? Does that mean people are going to start calling me, Sir Veller?”
“Well, no, it will be Lady Veller, or maybe even Dame Veller.”
“Those aren’t much better.”
“It’s not all that important, what they call you.”
“It is to me.”
“What I mean is, it’s more important they accept you.”
“Why? Why should I care if they accept me?”
“Well… I’m not supposed to tell you.”
“Why not? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Oh, look. We’re here,” Daniel said, stopping at one of the doors.
Kile looked up and down the hall, but there were no marks on any of the doors to distinguish one from another. Were they really where they were supposed to be, or did he just want to end the conversation?
Her question was answered when Daniel pushed open the door and steered her into a well-lit and finely furnished, room. The floor was covered with a plush red carpet and the walls were paneled in walnut. A high ceiling supported a silver chandelier, which hung over a large table set for two. A roaring fire in the fireplace added warmth to the atmosphere. The only thing out of place, which instantly spoiled the mood, was Jerald.