by L. EE
Father wrapped an arm around Andy’s shoulder and the pair followed the steward through the growing throng of servants and other castle staff, stopping on a royal blue carpet some twenty feet from the grand staircase.
Razen summoned a group of six young girls wearing identical royal blue dresses with freshly starched lace aprons and headscarves. Each held a basket of flower petals. It quickly became clear they had been drilled with instructions, for they stood artificially still and gazed up at Andy and the King with wide eyes.
The first guests appeared on the stairway, the governor of Oops and his wife. At Razen’s nod, one of the maidens sprang into action, showering Andy, Father, and their guests with a handful of petals.
“Thank you!” Andy said, batting the confetti away.
“You remember Governor Woodgate and his wife, Lady Elizabeth?” the King introduced.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty! We’re so happy for you,” the dignitary greeted.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced,” Andy replied.
“Prince Andrew, you must be so proud to know you are the heir,” the governor’s wife presumed.
Andy nodded and smiled, at which Razen ushered the dignitaries into the dining hall. The sequence repeated itself as more than two hundred officials, dignitaries, and all manner of other notable persons filed through.
Viceroy Stoneshield and Regent Bellum both reported that the actions taken after the last war council were proving effective and no further citizens had been turned into vulture-people.
By the time the last guests straggled by, Andy’s feet had grown sore, his arm tired, and his smile plastic. The flower girls lagged. If one ran out of petals, Andy would whisper in her ear when Razen wasn’t looking and relieve her of further duty, which always drew a worn-out but grateful smile. Two or three of the girls chanced to give Andy hugs before dissolving into the crowd.
When most guests had joined the party, the King shook one foot then the other, attempting to regain feeling in his feet.
“You too?”
“These receiving lines are always brutal,” Father affirmed. “But it’s part of our job.”
Andy nodded.
“What say we join the festivities?” Father suggested.
“Gladly.”
Andy drank a glass of water and helped himself to appetizers brought around on trays by white-gloved servants. He spotted Cadfael across the room and approached. The beefy man cleaned up nicely. The fringe around his balding head lay flat and properly groomed, and he wore a white linen tunic with a wide ruffle over his muscular torso.
“Andy!” Cadfael boomed. Taking a serious tone, he added, “I’m sure everyone has said it many times already, but congratulations. I will be honored to serve you, my prince.”
“Thank you, Cadfael. That means a lot. I am honored to have you on our side.”
As they spoke, a maiden in a white dress appeared in Andy’s periphery. He turned to look and stopped mid-sentence. Cadfael noticed and chuckled as Hannah approached. She had pulled her golden hair back in a braid and wore a crown of flowers. Instead of the functional work attire Andy was accustomed to seeing her wear, she wore a long white cotton dress with poofy sleeves. Overtop of that she had layered a white corset with a skirt that extended to below her knees.
She looks amazing!
“Congratulations, Andy!” she said as she waltzed over. “Are you enjoying your big night?”
Razen cut Andy’s reply short as he announced from atop a chair, “If everyone would clear the floor, we will begin the dance portion of our festivities.”
Everyone complied, and shortly Razen reappeared in the clearing. “His Majesty,” he introduced.
The King strode onto the dance floor. “Thank you, Razen. And thanks to everyone who worked so hard preparing our celebration tonight. Your effort means a great deal to me and tells me you love me and my son.”
Hearty applause erupted. Cadfael and Lucee, who had joined her husband and daughter, compelled Andy forward. The crowd parted and he joined the King.
“Prince Andrew!” one of the onlookers yelled.
“We love you!” chimed in another.
Several more exclaimed their sentiments until the magistrate waved his arms for silence.
“Thank you again. Prince Andrew, is there anything you’d like to say?” Father inquired.
Andy snuck a quick glance and caught Father’s wink, then took a deep breath. “I don’t know how much you’ve all heard about how I came to learn I am King Hercalon’s son, but it’s been an unforgettable experience. I feel so lucky.”
Several listeners sighed happily.
Andy glanced at Father once more, then around the room. All eyes locked on him.
“As your prince, I will do my part to defend our land from our enemies. I love you all and don’t want bad things to happen.”
“Hear, hear!” someone shouted, precipitating more applause.
Father quieted the gathering, then added, “As you all know, I love dancing, and no celebration in Oomaldee would be complete without it.”
A murmur of chuckles rippled through the onlookers.
“So tonight, I want to share the first dance with Prince Andrew and the partner of his choice.”
“Me?” Andy questioned.
“Select your partner, and I shall do likewise. Then we’ll dance the Saltito together.”
“With your permission,” the King said to Cadfael, “may I have this dance with your wife?”
Lucee glanced at her husband who nodded his approval, and she took the King’s hand.
Andy, who had not lost track of Hannah in the crowd, locked eyes with her over the throng. He felt his stomach tense as he mouthed hopefully, “Dance with me?”
Hannah blushed. Then, encouraged by her father, she glided forward.
Andy and Hannah shifted uncomfortably next to each other until Father motioned for the musicians to begin. Hannah kept glancing from her mom to the floor and back to Andy.
Focus. Remember the steps. Don’t make a fool of yourself, Andy coached himself.
As the dance began, he bowed to Hannah. Despite his brain’s coaxing, the instant Andy’s hand met Hannah’s he felt his cheeks warm. A smile he’d tried to suppress now spread broadly across his face. He wiped his brow with his free arm and heard a giggle escape from his partner.
Father and Lucee stepped left then right, forward then back in unison, followed by one hop on each foot. Andy and Hannah mimicked their movements.
Forward slide left. Forward slide right. Both couples repeated the first steps four times, moving forward, then spun around and retraced their steps after two repetitions. Then hop, then spin, then slide left. Andy chanced a glance at Father, who beamed with enthusiasm.
As the dance neared its conclusion, Andy realized he was focusing on Hannah rather than his feet. He laughed, drawing another giggle from her.
The music stopped and everyone applauded. Both couples bowed, thanked their partners, and clapped. Lucee put her arm around Hannah’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze before leading her back to Cadfael.
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself, Andy. Couldn’t help but notice your cheeks got a bit rosy,” Father remarked with a twinkle in his eye. As they left the dance floor, other couples took their place and the musicians started up again.
“Yeah,” Andy grinned. “Of course, you looked pretty happy, too,” he added, changing the subject. “What were you thinking about?”
“Your mother.” He paused before adding, “Your mom is a very good dancer.”
“Really?” Andy questioned. He had never seen her dance, and was finding it hard to picture.
“We used to tear up the dance floor,” Father added with a chuckle.
Andy smiled.
As the night wore on, Andy grew weary of all the fuss people made over him. He recalled Father’s words: “Ruling well is about the people, not you.” All the same, there was only so much praise a guy
could take.
Andy spied Alden as he appeared from the hallway leading to the kitchens and headed his direction.
“I haven’t seen you all night!”
Alden wiped his brow. “I’ve been helping my mom in the kitchens. This is the first break I’ve gotten. What’d I miss?”
Andy recounted the highlights, including his dance with Hannah. He hoped he didn’t betray the pitter-patter his heart he felt even now.
“Alden, we need more wine,” Ox informed, approaching from behind. He rattled off a list of vintages that needed restocking before adding, “Andy! Congratulations again. I’ve been tied up in the kitchens, but I’m glad I saw you on your special night.” The burly man not-so-gently patted Andy on the back.
“Thanks, Ox,” Andy replied, recovering from the jolt.
“Well, I best head down to the wine cellar,” Alden said after Ox left.
“I’ll go with you. Save you a trip.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. I’d love a diversion about now.”
“Okay, suit yourself.”
The boys made their way down the grand staircase and through the mingling crowd that filled the entry hall. Andy politely acknowledged every well-wisher, much to Alden’s amusement.
“Where is the wine cellar?” Andy questioned as they continued down the stairs, passing the servant’s quarters.
“Right here,” Alden indicated, stopping at the dungeon door.
“It’s in the dungeon?”
Alden smiled. “Nope, that way.” In the blackness, Andy couldn’t see where Alden pointed, but his nose picked up a musty odor.
Did something die in here? I don’t remember it smelling this bad since Abaddon took over the dungeon that time. Andy shuddered at the memory.
Alden quickly lit a torch on the wall and walked twenty paces to the left, stopping before a wooden door Andy had never noticed before.
“The wine cellar,” Alden declared.
Alden fitted a key into the lock and the door creaked as he pushed it open. In the dim light, Andy could barely make out the flat ends of miniature wooden casks lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Each container looked to be an eighth the size of the barrels Andy usually saw.
“Wow! I had no idea.”
Alden laughed. “Come on, let’s get what we need.”
Within several minutes, both the boys struggled toward the entry, each bearing two casks.
“They’re heavier than they look,” Andy observed, exiting the wine cellar.
Alden set his casks down and locked the door behind them. Andy’s nose again objected to the musty odor as Alden extinguished the torch and replaced it on the wall.
In the blackness, the boys heard the scuffling of feet approaching on the stairs.
“Who could that be?” Alden puzzled in a whisper.
“Let’s wait and see.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Deliveries
Concealed by the darkness, the boys crouched on the far side of the wine cellar door, listening to the footsteps grow louder. A minute later, the torchlit silhouette of a short man with beak-like nose and bulging eyes waddled to the dungeon door and disappeared into its depths.
“Come on,” Andy whispered.
Alden nodded, following closely.
Thanks to the gold key Andy kept in his pouch, the boys found themselves on the landing in the stairwell leading down to the cells. Andy felt naked without Methuselah, and he gave a thought, instantly causing the blade to appear in his hand.
Alden’s eyes opened wide,.“Whoa! How’d you do that?” he whispered.
The blade extended, but this time it exuded a dim glow rather than a brilliant beacon.
“It is alive!” Alden mouthed.
Andy grinned, then motioned, indicating to pursue Razen.
Silently, they made their way down the main hallway lined with cells, passing Sir Kay and Sir Gawain. They motioned the statues to keep quiet when they began to stir, then stopped before entering the large open area where they’d practiced sword fighting. All the while, the musty stench grew stronger.
A rat scuttled across their path, startling Andy as he prepared to look around the corner into the tapestry-lined area. He strained to hear footsteps and breathed a sigh of relief when his ears detected them. Methuselah’s light dimmed further as Andy and Alden crept around the corner, and Andy’s peripheral vision caught Razen disappear through a tapestry. They pursued in stealth, pushing aside the wall hanging to discover a tunnel they had never seen before.
“Do you suppose this is where those vulture-guys who regularly parade through the dungeon disappear to?” Alden pondered quietly.
Andy shrugged his shoulders before continuing pursuit.
Up ahead, the boys heard the sound of stone sliding across stone and saw dim light escape from a secret opening into the tunnel. Andy and Alden slowed their pace. The stench grew stronger as they approached, and Andy’s eyes watered.
“My liege,” they heard Razen say.
Ignoring the vulture-man’s greeting, the boys heard Abaddon’s hushed growl, “Father, I’ve summoned you from beyond the grave, for I need your help.”
Andy whirled his head around to Alden, eyes wide.
Razen’s and Abaddon’s shadows danced on the tunnel wall, making the two look larger than they were. Andy could not make out a third shadow.
“So I was informed,” another voice replied. “Highly unusual and highly disruptive.”
“I’m sure it was,” Abaddon replied without apology.
“You’ve gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, my son. Evil sorcerers, dark magic. Your hatred has changed you. Not to mention your appearance—a shapeshifter? Imagine my astonishment. Is revenge really worth all this?”
Evil sorcerers? Hatred? Revenge?
Andy again looked back at Alden, neither knowing what to make of the conversation.
Abaddon interrupted, “I didn’t summon you to hear your rebuke. I called you to assist in procuring a second Stone of Athanasia.”
“A second one? But why?”
A long silence followed before the dragon responded, “Methuselah.”
“The sword of legend? It has appeared?”
“Three times the blade has…” Abaddon hesistated before bellowing, “The boy who wields it must die!”
Without warning, a duet of worry-filled voices sounded in the tunnel: “Andy? Can you hear us?” Then everything went dark.
Andy landed with a thud in the middle of the family room, drawing a shriek from Madison who had been watching television. He tried to orient himself.
“No! Oh…I was about to find out more about Abaddon,” Andy harrumphed.
“Thank goodness you’re okay, Andy!” Mom sighed, touching down on the floor next to him and giving him a hug like an anaconda.
“It’s been seven hours since you left us at the water park, and we were getting worried,” Dad intoned, reaching behind him for the arm of the recliner and lowering himself into it.
Madison sat up ramrod straight on the couch and looked about, a gopher scouting the landscape. “Why are you dressed like that?” she interrogated.
Andy looked down at his new black robes with the crest of King Hercalon on the left sleeve and tried to explain. “They’re my new dress robes. Father threw a huge party tonight—” He stopped, realizing it would make no sense to his audience.
“Well, you look better than you did the last time you disappeared,” Madison quipped.
Dad cleared his throat. “We’ve explained the situation to Madison.”
“You’re my half-brother?” his sister chimed in. “Maybe that explains why you’re so weird.”
“Maddy,” Dad growled.
“I saw a note in that little trunk a couple weeks ago addressed to Prince Andrew. I figured it was just one of your little dweeb friends, but flying off on a dragon?” his sister continued.
Andy couldn’t help but smile at Madison’s attempt to camouflage how im
pressed she was.
The doorbell rang, interrupting the reunion.
“Who could that be at this hour?” Dad questioned, rising to answer it.
Andy followed, curious. Dad shooed him away from the door, so he took up a position by the front window. Moving the curtain back, he spied a Sir Gawain’s Delivery Service truck parked by the curb.
“I’m sorry to disturb you at this late hour,” the delivery man apologized. “I thought I’d finished all my stops, but on my way back to dispatch, I noticed this letter wedged between the seats.”
Andy abandoned his post and joined Dad at the door. The driver wore a confused expression as he handed over a large envelope.
“Not your typical letter,” the man observed.
Dad accepted the envelope and said, “Thank you for your trouble. I appreciate your diligence.”
Andy did a double-take. Did he just say diligence?
Back in the family room, Mom asked, “Who’s it from?”
“Not sure. Looks like a child judging by the packaging.”
When Dad turned the envelope toward Mom, she rose to examine it more closely.
“What is it?” Madison insisted.
Andy noticed a coin crudely affixed to the upper right corner. It bore King Hercalon’s image.
“What is it?” Madison repeated.
“It’s from Oomaldee,” Andy confirmed, drawing a questioning look from his sister. “I’ll take that,” he added, holding out his hand.
“But it’s addressed to me,” Dad countered.
Andy sat up. “Really? What’s it say?”
Dad opened the envelope and handed it to Mom.
She studied the coin. “This is the first time I’ve seen him since…”
“You okay?” Dad asked, his attention focused on the letter.
Mom nodded unconvincingly.
Madison’s eyes ping-ponged between her parents.
Dad scanned the letter and noted the signature. He announced, “It’s from King Hercalon.” He read to himself, nodding several times. He grew still as he turned to the second page.
Andy’s curiosity begged to know what Dad found so engrossing. “Well?”