An uneasy silence followed. Banfor smiled, reassuringly this time. ‘Worry not; I will not succumb.’
‘But couldn’t you have rescued Sonya?’ asked Ruby.
‘Emily managed to mask her location, even from me. I knew she would be able to detect any mental activity on my part aimed at finding or releasing Sonya, and if she did, she would harm her. Emily said that if I wanted Sonya released, I had to help her defeat the Nareeans. Meanwhile, she organised the attack on Taroom, and another fake assassination attempt, again blaming the Nareeans. As you all know, the armies met and if Roderick had not appeared when he did, we would now be at war and many of you would be dead.’
‘Would you have used your powers against Nareea?’ asked Sonya.
‘Not willingly. But she had a soldier behind you who, if she had signalled, would have put a sword through you.’
A thought tugged at Roderick. ‘You said the Queen could detect anything you did. You helped me break the cockroach’s cage. Didn’t she detect that?’
‘At the time she was in deep discussions with her advisers, so I took a chance. I think she noticed something had happened, but she did not know exactly what. After that, though, I could feel her monitoring me more carefully, so I could not risk doing anything else.’
Roderick remembered the powerful command to ‘keep going’ that he had felt when he was wedged in the crevice and ready to give up after his failed rescue of Sonya. ‘Before that, when I fell off the cliff, you helped me then too.’
‘No, I did not,’ said Banfor.
‘Then who was that? Who sent me the message to keep going?’
Banfor gave him a long look, and then another small smile crept onto his lips. ‘That, I suspect, was you.’
The old man sank back in his seat; he was obviously tiring.
‘She was Queen over all Baronia,’ said Sonya. ‘Wasn’t that enough? Why did she want to start a war?’
Banfor shrugged. ‘Power can be addictive. Once someone has some, they want more. Conquering Nareea may have first entered Emily’s head as an unrealistic fantasy, but it became her burning obsession. If she had succeeded, that wouldn’t have been enough either, and she would have looked for another target.’
‘The real question is this,’ said Sir Drayshus. ‘What do we do with the Queen now? If she can control people’s minds, then no gaol will hold her. And if we exile her, then she will either return or create trouble elsewhere.’
‘The crimes she has committed are primarily against your people, not mine,’ said King Melane. ‘But perhaps you should ask yourselves if she has done enough ill to forfeit her life. A person who had committed these deeds in my kingdom would face death.’
Sir Drayshus looked at Banfor. ‘Many have died for less.’
‘No,’ said Banfor firmly. ‘If we kill those who have done wrong, then we become killers. When I started using my powers, I did not intend them to lead me towards evil, but they did. If we kill in the name of justice, then perhaps next time, or the time after that, we will kill with less cause.’
He paused, and looked at Sonya and Roderick in turn. ‘There is another way. I may be able to neutralise her powers. Perhaps just for several years, but perhaps forever. It is a tricky procedure, especially with someone who will fight all the way, and I am not at my peak. But if I succeed, she will no longer have her powers, and you will be able to safely contain her in a prison. If later on her powers start to return, then someone,’ he looked at Roderick, ‘may be able to sense it, and repeat the neutralising procedure.’
‘But you are so weak,’ said Ruby.
He smiled fondly at her. ‘I will sleep long tonight and regain strength.’
‘What about the cockroach?’ asked Roderick.
‘She is your responsibility, Roderick,’ said Banfor. ‘You tamed her. What do you think should be done?’
Roderick thought a moment. ‘Send her back?’
‘Indeed.’ Banfor nodded. ‘She is free now. Her cage is gone. Let her rejoin her kin. Now I must rest. Tomorrow will be a battle. Not one with swords, but a battle nonetheless.’
CHAPTER 27
A FAREWELL
Roderick waited outside the small tent where Banfor and the Queen had been since early morning, trying to mentally eavesdrop on what was happening. There was no sound or sign of movement, but he felt conflict, commotion and static. Throughout the morning the struggle had ebbed and flowed. Sometimes it appeared that Banfor was succeeding in sucking the Queen’s powers out of her, while at others she seemed to be pushing him to the brink of exhaustion and collapse. He wondered how long it could go on.
The middle of the day came and went as the struggle continued. Eventually, as the afternoon shadows lengthened and the day’s warmth began to fade, he sensed a huge flurry of activity and then . . . nothing. He didn’t know who had won, but he was sure it was over.
Sir Drayshus, Ruby, Chester and Sonya were all waiting as well, sitting under nearby trees. Roderick beckoned them over, and pushed the tent flaps aside.
Both Banfor and the Queen lay still, either asleep or unconscious. The Queen was stretched out on the ground on her back covered by a rug, whereas Banfor looked as if he had been sitting and had fallen backwards against the tent wall, which now cradled him. Drayshus and Chester carried him outside and propped him up under a tree. Drayshus motioned for guards to surround the tent.
Ruby put a cup of water to the old man’s lips. He sipped, gingerly opening one eye, as if to check if it was safe, and then the other. He looked several years older than he had the previous night, and he hadn’t looked that good then.
‘It is done,’ he croaked in a hoarse and wavering voice. ‘She has no powers left.’
‘Well done!’ said Roderick.
‘Done. Yes.’
‘We’ll get you warm,’ said Sonya. ‘Some soup.’
‘You’ll be strong again in no time,’ said Ruby.
‘No,’ he said, with great certainty. ‘I will not.’
‘Of course you will!’ said Ruby.
‘Do not argue.’ Each word, each breath, was an effort. ‘It took all my power.’
‘Don’t talk. Save your strength,’ said Sonya.
‘For what? I am dying.’
There was a shocked silence. Roderick sensed it was true. Perhaps the others did too, because this time there was no argument.
‘You knew this would happen, didn’t you?’ he said.
Banfor smiled weakly. ‘Do you remember . . . how shocked Emily looked when she saw me . . . for the first time at the palace?’ he asked.
Roderick nodded.
‘Do you . . . know why?’
Roderick shook his head.
‘How old am I?’ he wheezed.
Roderick had always thought of him as an old man. Now he looked like a husk, a container with the life sucked out. He shook his head.
Banfor heaved a breath. ‘I am thirty-nine. Two years younger than the Queen.’
Roderick tried to hide his own shock. Banfor looked double that age.
‘The misuse of my powers aged me . . . and not just on the outside. They sucked the life out of me. The reason I stayed . . . in the mountains . . . for so many years was not just because I was scared to return to the world . . . it was also because there was no love of life left in me. All the good things had been burnt away. I was . . . dead inside. So I hid away . . . and wasted my life. That is what these . . . exciting powers can do, Roderick. Remember that.’
‘But the Queen. Why does she not look old?’
‘She has used . . . her powers to keep herself looking young. But on the inside she is like me. Over the next few days, you will see her age . . .’
Sonya took his hand. ‘You are wrong,’ she said gently. ‘All the good things in you have not been burnt up. You cared enough for me to leave the mountains, you sa
ved us from the Queen in the battle and now you have sacrificed yourself to make us safe from her.’
A smile struggled onto Banfor’s face. ‘For so long I was too afraid of my own weakness to re-enter the world . . . and over the last few weeks Emily . . . has tempted me in every possible way . . . to turn back down the dark road. Today she did the same. Together, she said, we could rule the world. Perhaps we could have. But I am glad we will not.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I have finally acted the way I should have . . . the first time I left the mountains. For the last fifteen years I have existed, but I have not lived. But in these last few days I have discovered what life can be . . . what it should be.’
He squeezed Ruby’s hand. ‘Goodbye, courageous girl. Do well, and keep fighting for what you believe in.’
He beckoned Chester in. The bear knelt beside him, eyes glistening. ‘Goodbye, big, strong bear. My oldest friend and, for many years, my only one. I know the world can be confusing, but you will always find a way.’
He motioned to Roderick and Sonya and they each took one of his hands. He pulled them in and hugged hard. ‘That is what I have waited too many years to do . . . I did not think it would ever happen. Sonya, never feel guilty that I had to leave the mountains. It was the best thing I have ever done . . . Be happy and live well.’
He turned to Roderick and stared into him. ‘How did it feel to sit atop Grynaldeen in the sky controlling her? Did it feel good?’
Roderick thought back. ‘Yes. It was amazing.’
Banfor gripped Roderick’s wrist tightly and his eyes blazed. ‘Beware that feeling! It is poison! Power takes more than it gives. Promise me you will use your powers properly. And seldom.’ He squeezed tighter. ‘Promise!’
‘I . . . I promise,’ stammered Roderick.
Banfor relaxed his grip and spoke softly and warmly. ‘You have done much good, Roderick. You stopped a war, and saved many lives . . . No one expected that of you, not even yourself . . . You have overcome much. Especially your own fear. It need never rule you again . . . Be strong, and do not be afraid to ask for help.’ He heaved another breath. His eyes were dull. He grasped Roderick and Sonya’s hands. ‘Goodbye . . . my children.’
‘Goodbye . . . Father,’ said Roderick. He tasted the word. It felt odd, but not wrong.
Sonya squeezed his hand. ‘Goodbye, Father.’
Banfor’s final words were just a whisper. ‘I will miss the fishing . . . I liked fishing . . . Take care of Chester.’ His eyes fell shut and Roderick felt a great current of power surge from Banfor’s hand into his own. Then nothing.
His father was dead.
CHAPTER 28
BY THE STRIVER AGAIN
After the death of Banfor, Roderick sent Grynaldeen home. He tried to let her know how important her contribution had been, but it had probably got lost in the translation. In any event, the cockroach looked extremely relieved to leave.
Roderick, Sonya and Ruby decided to return Banfor’s ashes to his home, the Circle of Mountains. Sonya wanted to see the place where her father had lived, and of course it was Chester’s home, although the bear was uncertain where he was going to live now that Banfor was gone.
First, however, Roderick and Sonya had to visit Gwenda. They travelled with the Baronian army back from the Nareean border towards Palandan. Drayshus had taken control, and the Queen was respectfully, but heavily, guarded. At first she tried to persuade the guards who surrounded her that she was the victim of a terrible injustice, but it had no effect as Drayshus had ordered them all to wear earplugs made from dried tree sap.
As far as Roderick could tell, the Queen’s powers were completely gone and, as Banfor had predicted, she was aging before their eyes. The change was extraordinary. Within a day and a half she had become an old woman.
On the second morning of the ride Roderick saw Fromley tentatively position his horse beside Sonya’s. At first he spoke staring at the ground, but later on they were still riding next to each other, and he even made her smile once or twice.
Shortly after, to Roderick’s great delight, Fruitcake trotted out of the woods. He had made it back from the Circle of Mountains! Roderick fed and watered him happily, and rode him the rest of the way.
They reached the turn-off to Indinwick on the afternoon of the second day. Roderick knew Drayshus was eager to get back to Palandan, so it came as a surprise when he called a halt and ordered camp to be set up. He then asked Roderick to walk with him.
They followed a small stream through the woods. Eventually Drayshus spoke solemnly and, for the first time, with some deference. ‘Sir Roderick, you are the Queen’s son.’
‘It seems so, yes.’
‘And so you are next in line to the throne.’
‘Wait. Shouldn’t it be Sonya?’ Roderick asked. ‘She’s the Queen’s daughter, and she’s older than me.’
‘It is the law that sons inherit before daughters.’
‘Isn’t that unfair?’
Drayshus spread his hands. ‘It is the law. Roderick, despite the doubts of many, you have proven yourself a worthy knight. Without you we would now be at war. If the accusations against our Queen are proved at her trial – and I have no doubt that they will be – then part of her punishment will, of course, be her removal from the throne.’
Roderick could guess what was coming next.
‘Which means that you will be the next King of Baronia.’
Even though he knew it was coming, it still made his head spin.
Him – king? It was bizarre. Scary. And just a little bit exciting.
‘Ahh,’ he said eventually. Was that a good response?
‘It is a big job,’ said Drayshus.
No kidding, thought Roderick. Just like the Earth is a big rock and Grynaldeen is a big bug.
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Yes, you may decline – in which case your sister would be next in line.’
‘Uh-huh,’ Roderick responded uncertainly.
‘You need time to think, I take it?’
Roderick nodded.
‘The Queen will be tried as soon as we return to Palandan. It should be over in two weeks. That is when we shall need an answer.’
‘Do you think I could do it?’
Drayshus studied him. ‘With respect, Sir Roderick, a month ago my answer would have been no. But since then you have done things that I would never have believed you capable of. If you decide to take on this challenge, be assured that I will, if you wish, be at your side to offer all the support and assistance that it is in my power to give.’
He extended his hand, and Roderick shook it warmly.
The next morning they said their farewells. Drayshus led the army back to Palandan, and Ruby, Sonya, Chester and Roderick travelled to the farm. While Ruby took Chester for a walk, Gwenda, Roderick and Sonya talked. Gwenda confirmed much of Banfor’s tale, and added a detail of her own.
‘I never knew who your real mother was,’ she said. ‘Larn would never tell me. Now I understand why. And he insisted that we never tell you that we weren’t your real parents.’
Sonya drummed her fingers on the table. ‘Well, I promise you that I’m never going to refer to that horrible woman as Mother.’
‘Yes,’ added Roderick. ‘When Sonya or I are naughty, you’re the only one who’ll ever have the right to send us to bed without dessert.’
Gwenda laughed, a relief to everyone after all the intense revelations.
They stayed for a week, walking, sitting by the fire and playing card games. Roderick, for the first time since he had become a knight, was able to tend his beloved herb garden. When it was time to go Roderick did so in the knowledge that he would be back soon, and that the place where he grew up still felt like home.
Roderick, Ruby and Sonya travelled north on horseback, with Chester striding along beside them. Ru
by trotted ahead with him at one point, allowing Roderick to broach the subject of Fromley with Sonya.
‘How did his apology go?’
‘Best one I’ve ever had.’
‘So did you forgive him?’
‘Maybe,’ she said, smiling. ‘But I might let him beg a bit more before I do completely.’
There was something about the way she said this. ‘But surely you can’t like him. I mean, he kidnapped you.’
‘But in a very charming way. We had a great time for weeks. It was just the last few minutes that were unpleasant.’
‘You mean the bit where he delivered you into the hands of paid thugs so they could hold you prisoner. That bit?’
‘Well, as I said, he apologised for that and anyway he was just . . .’
‘Following orders. Yes, I know all about that.’
‘You’ve done that a few times yourself, haven’t you, Roderick?’ chimed in Ruby, who had drifted back to them.
‘Hey, this is a family argument, thank you.’
Roderick was glad to see that Ruby and Sonya were quickly becoming friends. They had long discussions about the future of CAKE and Sonya’s continuing involvement in it.
Ruby had spoken with both King Melane and Sir Drayshus before they had departed, and they had both agreed to meet with her again to discuss CAKE’s proposals for change.
King Melane had also agreed to find out who was responsible for the arrest and subsequent death of Ruby’s mother. Ruby had believed him when he had said he did not know about it. After all, Ruby figured, it would be hard to be king. There would be so much to do, so many things to think about.
The Adventures of Sir Roderick, the Not-Very Brave Page 26