by Fran Jacobs
"I know the risks," he said seriously, "and I'm willing to take them." Teveriel brightened suddenly. "Besides, I'm always looking for something to write a new song about. This would be perfect for me. The Shadow Seer escaping his parents to find out the truth of his birth." I frowned and Teveriel laughed. "Anyway," he continued, "you need me. I can't very well leave you to make your way to White Oaks alone. You wouldn't get very far at all and I'm a master at sneaking away from parents."
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Oh," he said simply, "because I ran away from my parents when I was fourteen." The look on his face told me that he didn't want to talk about why that was, so I just nodded. "Candale, I know that you're going to do this, whether I'm with you or not. I would feel better if I was with you, rather than here knowing you're out there alone. And I'm sure that, with me, you'll have a better chance of avoiding being captured, either by Prince Gerian and the guards or by the Order."
"As with the spying on Mayrila," I said.
"Yes," he agreed. "We weren't caught then."
"No," I said. "But I do regret doing that. None of this would be happening to me now if I hadn't spied then."
"Yes," Teveriel said, "I suppose that is true, in a way."
"I really hope that I don't come to regret this as well," I said softly.
"So do I," Teveriel replied sombrely.
***
At the end of another lesson with Kal, nearly a week later, I was given the message that Teveriel had everything ready and we were set to go that evening. Kal also had a small vial of sleeping potion for me to slip into Trellany's drink and I could see the disapproval in his eyes as he handed it to me. Then he gave me a small coin, with what looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes on one side, hanging on a leather cord.
"What's this?" I asked.
"A gift, from Teveriel. He said that it will bring you luck. Apparently, when he was in Idryan trying to decide where to go next, he flipped this coin. It landed the bird side up, to mean he should come north to Carnia, which he did. He said that it was the best decision he ever made, that the coin has to be lucky and that's why he wants you to have it."
"Oh." I narrowed my eyes. There was writing above the phoenix. "Calias Tavan," I read out loud. "Hmm, the gods ... the gods selected?"
"Chosen," Kal corrected. "It's Idryan, as you already know, and Tavan means chosen."
"Ah." I gave Kal a grin. "Your tutoring of me is clearly paying off."
"I know that you're being sarcastic, Dale, but yes, I think it is. As the Idryan words that mean 'chosen' and 'selected' are fairly similar, it was an easy mistake for anyone to make."
"I shall just take your word for that." I hung the necklace around my neck, tucking the coin out of sight beneath my tunic and got to my feet. "I had better get going or Trellany will become suspicious. I just want to say thank you before I go. I really do appreciate all your help, Kal. I hope you know that."
"I'm always here to help you, Candale," Kal replied, looking up at me. "Even if I do think that this could be done some other way, I have to trust that you know what you're doing."
"I do," I said.
He nodded slowly. "I shall have to take your word on that. But, please, promise me that you will be back for the spring. It will break Aylara's heart if you're not here for the betrothal ceremony."
"Of course I'll be back," I said. "I wouldn't miss that. It's too important to me."
"And I want you to promise me that you'll be careful. I know that King Sorron trusts Teveriel, otherwise he wouldn't let the bard be so friendly with you, and that's helping me to feel a little more at ease about this, but I'm still worried, Candale. Anything could happen to you, out there. Please, just promise me that you will take care."
I wanted to laugh that off, tell him he was starting to sound like my father, but I could see that he was really concerned and I couldn't laugh at that. "I promise you, Kal," I said, "by Drakan, by all the gods, that I will take care of myself and I will be back in the spring for your betrothal. I'll be unable to sit down, but I will be back." A faint smile crossed his lips and then he got to his feet and pulled me roughly against him in a hard hug that almost robbed me of breath.
"I'll miss you, Candale," he whispered into my ear.
"I'll miss you, too." I eased away. "And you take care and look after Aylara for me."
"I will," he said.
And, with that, I left him.
***
I slipped the contents of the vial into Trellany's wine that night, as we sat down to play a game of chess. I felt a pang of guilt as I did it. Trellany had been nothing but honest with me and now I was drugging her and sneaking away. It wasn't a good way to treat the woman who had saved my life, but I felt as though I had no choice. She was appointed by my father, I couldn't be sure I could trust her and I couldn't take any risks. I had no intention of spending the whole winter in my bedroom, as I had the summer and autumn.
Trellany grew tired and eventually fell asleep, right there in the chair. I covered her up with a heavy blanket and even paused to slip off her boots, to make her a little more comfortable. Then I quickly wrote two notes, one to Trellany, to apologise, and one to my family, to apologise and to reassure them that I would be fine, that I would return in the spring and that they should try not to be angry with me as this was something that I had to do. I left the notes on the table by the chess set where I knew Trellany would see them when she awoke.
When that was done I headed into my bedroom to pull on several more items of clothing to keep me warm on the road, then my black, hooded cloak, chosen so no one would be able to see my face. Then I stooped to pick up my saddlebags. They were heavy, but soft, crammed with several changes of my plainest clothing. I had also packed my razor, a small travelling mirror, a brush and comb and my three-headed dragon signet ring, which I had wrapped up and hidden away in a small leather pouch, just in case I should need it to prove who I was. I was leaving everything else up to Teveriel, just as he had told me to.
I was terrified, as I slid along the dark corridors. I kept glancing back over my shoulders just to see if I was being followed, if perhaps the Royal Guard were still under orders to keep an eye on me, but I couldn't see anyone. My heart was racing, there were butterflies in my stomach and I felt almost sick with nerves, but I was determined to do this.
Teveriel was waiting for me in his chambers, a lute strung across his back and his saddlebags stacked neatly beside the door. I think he had been pacing back and forth because he looked flustered and impatient when I arrived. He took one look at me, when I slid in through his door, and burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked indignantly, lowering the hood of my cloak. "It was your idea for me to wear this, so that no one would recognise me."
"And no one will," he said, and poked me hard in the ribs. "How many layers are you wearing there, Candale?"
"Five," I said. "Two shirts, two tunics and a coat and then this cloak. So six, I guess, if you count the cloak as well. It will keep me warm. I get cold easily, you know."
"I can imagine, skinny thing like you." He beamed at me. "Those six layers almost make you look the size of a normal man."
"Hey!" I exclaimed, and caught his hand as he tried to poke me in the ribs again. "I'm not that thin!" Teveriel laughed and I found myself smiling. He was teasing me, as a friend would tease another friend. I was no longer Prince Candale to Teveriel; I was his friend Candale. He had dropped the use of my title, but it was more than that. I was a friend that he could speak honesty to, a friend he could tease and poke in the ribs, and that meant more to me that I could begin to say. "At least I'm not a peacock," I told him, releasing his hand in such a way that it knocked him off balance. "Why do you get to wear fancy embroidered clothes and I have to dress like a peasant?"
"Like a peasant?" he said, straightening out with a sudden step. "Ever seen a peasant in the well-cut and perfectly tailored garb that you're wearing now? No, I didn't think so." He brushed
at the dark grey velvet doublet he wore beneath his midnight blue coat. "I don't think that you'll want to sleep every night out in the cold, so if I'm going to play for our supper in a tavern or two along the way, then I have to dress as though I have a margin of talent. Therefore I'm wearing clothes that will reflect that. Hopefully when an innkeeper meets me he'll believe that I must be talented, to have been able to afford to buy clothes like this, and therefore he'll want to employ me. If it's a rather poor tavern he'll think that he has a good bargain by getting a bard like me to play there and, perhaps, if we are lucky, offer us a little more than just a roof over our head and our supper for my playing."
That made sense. "Yes, I see. Sorry."
"Why?" Teveriel asked. "You weren't to know that." He shrugged. "I don't know what will happen, Candale. It's very likely, considering that it's winter and customers to taverns are rare, that no one will want to put us up and I'll have to use some of the coin that I have to pay for our room and board. But it's worth a try. I just hope that you're worth all this!"
He was teasing me again, I could tell by the look in his eyes, but this was something I took seriously. I didn't want Teveriel to be out of pocket because of me. "You will be repaid," I told him. "I'll make sure of that."
"Candale," he sighed, "I was just teasing you. Money doesn't matter to me. If it did, I'd stay here."
"I know, but I still mean it." Tev just sighed and I shrugged, awkwardly. "Well ... maybe we should get going?"
"Yes." Teveriel thrust a bag at me. "That is for you," he said. "Inside, there's some blankets, food and a copy of the map and a compass, should we get separated, not that we will."
"Thanks."
The bag was heavy, as were my own saddlebags but I was well padded with all my layers, so it wasn't too uncomfortable, although the weight of it did make my knees buckle a little. Teveriel lifted his own bags up onto his shoulders, effortlessly, and not for the first time I envied him his stronger build. "You look like a pack horse," I told him, with a smile, "with all that stuff slung across those huge shoulders."
"Not huge," he told me, opening the door for me to slide out into the corridor. "They're perfectly proportioned, as men should be. You, my prince, are a skinny stork."
"I'm not that thin," I said, as we padded down the corridors.
"No," he agreed. "No, Candale, you're not. You need to learn the difference between when I'm teasing and when I'm serious."
"Most people don't dare to tease me," I said, "in case I choose to clap them in irons for their cheek." Teveriel gave me a quick glance, to see if I was joking, or being serious. I grinned at him. "You need to learn the difference between when I'm teasing and when I'm being serious," I said, in a bad imitation of his voice. Teveriel just laughed.
We walked on, creeping down flights of stairs and along darkened corridors, until we reached the ground floor. There, Teveriel started to lead the way towards the garden door, instead of to the main doors that would lead out to the stables. "This isn't the way to the stables," I said quietly.
"No," Teveriel agreed. "It isn't. We can't go that way, or ride out through the front gate. The guards will ask questions and it's very likely that Prince Gerian told them not to let you out."
"What about Midnight?"
"Midnight?" Teveriel gave me a blank look.
"My horse. What about the horses?"
"Oh." Teveriel shifted his bags a little higher onto his shoulder. "I've gotten us new mounts," he said. "Two horses and a pack pony. I left them in a stable in town for us to pick up. I thought it better than having them tethered up outside the gates and asking the guards to look after them. I didn't think it would be a good idea to get the guards too involved or you too close to them. This does mean we're going to have to walk down there to collect them, though, but I thought it the best option in the end."
"But why?" I whispered in dismay. I loved Midnight, it would have been so grand, to ride on his back across the snowy countryside, when it did finally snow, of course. I was disappointed that Teveriel was now destroying my romantic illusions about this grand adventure with his practicality! "No one could catch me on Midnight, should my father send men after us."
"Yes, but my horse would not be able to keep up," Teveriel said. "And I'm fairly sure that horse of yours is a fine beast and, therefore, more likely to get us noticed in taverns or accused of being horse-thieves. And if we aren't accused of being horse-thieves then we're likely to become victims of one. Besides, we can't get into the castle stables, let alone ride out through the front gate, without alerting people to what we're doing!"
"But I haven't any money to pay you for new horses," I whispered. "I-I don't have any money at all! Tev-"
Teveriel gave me a sad look, almost pitying. "I know that, Candale," he said. "I've paid for those horses myself, with the money your mother gave me for playing here at Court." His green eyes darkened. "I feel a little guilty at repaying her kindness by carrying away her son like this."
"She'll understand," I said softly. I hoped that she would. I hoped that they all would and that they wouldn't be too angry with me. I was sure about the former and not at all convinced about the latter. My father had said that I could be angry for a long time. Well, so could he. I had inherited it from him, after all. I hoped that at least their preparations for my sister's betrothal ceremony would help to take their minds off their wayward son. "And I will pay you back. I'll see to it, somehow, that you're paid back for all of this."
Teveriel shrugged. "As I said, money doesn't bother me. I'm used to having none, so when it's all gone, it's all gone. Don't get anxious about this, it isn't important enough."
I didn't answer him, but my mind was made up. I would keep a mental note of it all, add it all up inside my head, and make sure that Teveriel got every coin back and extra on top, for everything that he was doing and risking for me. Whether he liked it, or not!
It was cold and dark outside in the gardens. I could hardly see anything and there was a sharp chill in the air. My nose started to run almost instantly and my hands were freezing. I reached into the pocket of my coat for my gloves and struggled to slip them on with the heavy bags on my back. In the end I had to stop and put the bags down, while Teveriel stood there waiting, eyes bright, masking his impatience very badly. His foot was almost tapping as he stood there, shifting his weight from foot to foot, as he watched me. When my gloves were on I dug around in my saddlebags for my spare pair. "Here," I said, shoving them Teveriel's way. He took them with surprise and I saw his eyes brighten, but I cut him off before he could begin to thank me. "My spare pair," I said. "I'm not sure if they're going to fit your monster hands or not, but I thought you might as well have them. Having only two hands, I can't very well wear two pairs of gloves."
"No," he agreed. "Thank you." He dropped his bags so he could pull the gloves on. They were soft leather, embroidered with silver around the top, as were the pair I was wearing, though mine were decorated with fancy beadwork as well. Not plain at all, but then I didn't think that that many people would pay that much attention to our hands. He smiled at me, flexing his fingers within the leather casing of the gloves. "They fit perfectly. Thank you. Gloves weren't something that I thought of."
"No," I said. "I know. You've been away from Carnia for a while. You've probably forgotten how bitter it can be here." I gave a shrug. "I'm sure you'll get used to it again, though."
"Yes," Teveriel said. "I'm sure I will." He stooped down to pick up his bags again. "Come on."
"Where are you taking me?"
"Curious aren't we," Teveriel said. "Can't you just trust me?"
"I do trust you. I ... I know about the Truth Stone. Why didn't you tell me?"
Teveriel ground his teeth together and dropped his bags again. "Because I didn't want you to know. You're my friend, Candale, and I wanted you to trust me because I'm trustworthy, not because you knew that I couldn't betray you. I wanted it to be a natural friendship, like the one you have with Kal, not one bui
lt on bonds and oaths."
"I do trust you, Tev," I said. "You should have trusted me enough to tell me. You should have trusted me enough to know that I would trust you regardless."
Teveriel just looked at me, eyes wide with surprise, and then we laughed.
"So," I said, when the laugher had died. "Will you tell me where we're going, for my curiosity's sake?"
"I can do that," Teveriel replied, with a grin. "We're going through the back gate."
"Aren't there guards there as well?"
"Fewer guards," Teveriel said, "which made it easier for me to bribe."
"I can't see how any guard, bribed or not, would let me sneak out."
"Not you, no," Teveriel said. "But a young lady of the Court, whose husband you're leaving to escape with me, yes."
"Lady?" I shook my head. "Oh, no, Tev, no one would fall for that!"
"No?" He reached forward and drew my hood back up around my face, drawing it forward and reaching beneath it to arrange my dark curls, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he worked. "Candale, you're a little tall for a lady, yes. If you can draw yourself in a little and keep your eyes to the ground, your face turned down, then I doubt they'll pay you that much attention. I'll just say that you're shy, an easy lie for them to believe, I'm sure. Any lady would be a little shy if she was running away from a rich husband to be with a mere bard."
"Very romantic," I muttered under my breath. "And not very original."
"Guards are often guards for a reason, Candale. They often lack the brains to be anything else. Besides, the fact it's such a clich� is what makes it so believable. A lady who fell in love with a bard, just like out of a song, would then want to sneak away in the night to carry on that theme. And I, as an intelligent bard, would want to sneak away so that her husband couldn't beat me senseless for seducing his wife, if she were to confront him and tell him openly that she was leaving him. No, Candale. My lady you are now and my lady you shall remain, at least until we are out of Carnia Town. Those layers help. They change your shape enough that you do not look like yourself. You don't look like a lady either, but you don't look like yourself."