Ellenessia's Curse Book 1: The Shadow's Seer

by Fran Jacobs

  "Yes," he agreed, watching my attempt to hide the long, straggly lengths of my hair behind my shoulders with amusement in his eyes. "Scrubbing pots and pans will put strength into a man."

  I flushed scarlet and hid it by bowing my head. "I missed you, sir," I said.

  "I missed you," he responded, and then he embraced me, pulling me into his arms.

  "We should talk," I said, when he eased me away. "I have so much to tell you. I-I presume you want to know everything?"

  "Yes," he said. His eyes became sad. "But I dread to ask."

  "Shall we sit down?" I suggested.

  "Yes, somewhere a little more private, though."

  He led the way into another room, a private sitting room, where a couple of chairs had been set out around a low table which contained everything needed for a cup of tea. The cups and plates were hand-painted and I was sure Sorron had brought them with him, all the way from Carnia Castle, with the silver spoons and silver honey pot. I couldn't imagine, for one second, that there was a complete set of anything like this in White Oaks.

  "Tea?" Sorron asked.

  "Thank you," I said, to be polite, more than because I wanted any. While at White Oaks I had drunk more than enough cups of tea to never actually want to drink the stuff again.

  We sat down and I watched as Sorron poured us both out a cup of tea. "I've asked Chesar to fetch your things, while we talk."

  "I'm to move in here?"

  "Of course you are. And Trellany and Teveriel as well. How is she, by the way?"

  "Restless," I said, with a smile. "She doesn't like being ill anymore than I did."

  "No, I can imagine." He turned to look at me. "I've appointed two more guards, Milan and Breskarn, to stay with you in public," he said.

  I nodded. "I had expected as much."

  "They will take their orders from Trellany, but you needn't worry too much about them. They're both very good at staying out of sight, even when in full view, so you won't feel like you're a prisoner. I thought you might appreciate that."

  "Yes," I said, taking the cup of tea that he held out to me. "Thank you."

  "So," Sorron said, "tell me everything, from the beginning."

  "I-I don't know how to," I said. "I don't know what to say." I lowered my head over the teacup so Sorron couldn't see the expression on my face. I hadn't thought it would be this hard to tell him what I was, what had happened to me, but it was, because once I had told him, everything was going to change.

  Sorron studied me. "You are the Shadow Seer," he said finally.

  I nodded, feeling tears fill up in my eyes.

  "Have ... have you had a vision?"

  I nodded again.

  He set down his cup of tea and leaned forward in his chair to touch my arm. "Son," he said very softly. "Dale, tell me in your own time, but please, tell me. Trust me."

  "You wanted proof," I said, staring still into my cup of tea; it was easier than looking at him. "And I can't offer a lot, only a book that Calran put together, of all the Seer sources. I ... I hope that will be enough, because how else can I prove to you that I see these things?"

  "Candale," Sorron said gently, "your words are proof enough. In Carnia Castle, what you were going on was just conjecture. You could offer no real evidence, you were swept away on the basis of what one book, and Mayrila, had to say to you and because of some strange dreams that you were having, that weren't even visions --"

  "No," I interrupted, "they weren't. How did you know that?"

  Sorron shrugged. "How could they be, Candale? From what you told me, they weren't actually about anything and were more a warning than a prophecy." He released my arm, sat back in his chair and reached for his cup of tea. "But things are different now and if you tell me you've had a vision, then I believe you. I know that you'd never lie about that." He took a sip of his tea, his blue eyes studying me over the rim of the delicately painted cup. "So talk to me, Candale. Tell me what happened."

  I started slowly, telling him everything from meeting Talira in the tavern, through to my vision, my trip to the stone circle and why I had felt the need to go there. I also told him about having seen the child again, and what Teveriel had found out about the word 'Ellenessia'. In fact, the only things I left out was the kiss I had shared with Hazel, and the book that Teveriel had brought me for my birthday. They were private, personal.

  We took a break, midway through my retelling to have supper and so I could rest my throat. During the meal Sorron told me what had been happening at home, how my family had reacted to the news I had gone, how they dealt with it, and how life had eventually continued as before. He also told me how the preparations for the betrothal ceremony were going. It seemed that Aylara and my mother could agree on nothing and my father and Kal were wisely staying out of it.

  After supper I continued with my story, while we sipped a fine white wine that my grandfather had brought with him. Sorron travelled in great style, it seemed. Along with the fine porcelain cups and silver honey-pot and spoons, he had brought wine, rich food and items of furniture, collapsible chairs, cots and tables. There would be no sleeping under makeshift shelters on the muddy ground on the journey back. We would be travelling home in comfort, in a way that was befitting of a king and his grandson.

  It was late when I had finally finished my story. I was exhausted and, for the last hour or so, my words had been sleepy and punctuated with yawns, but I'd been determined to finish my account. When I was done, I lay my head down on the arm of the chair and gave Sorron a sleepy grin. "Any questions?"

  "No," he said softly, and I could see that there were tears in his eyes, although his face was blank. Years of council meetings had taught my grandfather how to mask his facial expressions and to hide his emotions. I was hurt that he felt he needed to do it from me. "No, son. No questions. Now, I have things of my own to tell you. Do you think that you're up to them now, or would you prefer to wait until morning?"

  "What things?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

  "About the Order."

  I sat bolt upright, my exhaustion gone. "What did you find out?" I demanded.

  Sorron grinned at me fondly, through his own tiredness. "I knew that would wake you up."

  "Please, tell me!"

  Sorron's smile faded. "It wasn't easy, the winter made it difficult to carry out this investigation properly, but we were able to track down the men who had written to Lykeia. They were arrested and questioned, with the aid of a Truth Stone, which gave us a little more to go on, but not as much as I would have liked. Those men have, of course, been put to death ..."

  "Yes," I said, uneasily. That wasn't a surprise to me, it was the punishment for traitors, after all, but it still made me feel uncomfortable to learn that three men had died because of me.

  "We learnt that the Order of Culdenth Hyun is Idryan in origin and their name means 'Golden One'. It was founded by a man who called himself the Oracle of Light, an Idryan prophet, by all accounts. He foresaw the birth of his opposite, the Shadow Seer, who would see darkness and death where he saw light, order and beauty and he established the Order to be on the lookout for his opposite so that they could kill him. Apparently only one of those two prophets is seeing the future that will be, but neither the Seer, nor the Oracle, will ever know which one. No one will, not until the prophecies begin to be fulfilled. This Oracle wanted to lessen the chance that it would be his opposite's future by having him killed before he could speak his prophecies."

  "I ... I can understand that," I said, quietly. "What I saw, it was awful ... human sacrifice. Grandfather, if killing me might actually stop that --"

  "No!" Sorron snapped. "No. There is no proof that killing you would stop what you see. What is destined to be may happen whether you see it or not. Killing the messenger does not change the content of the message, after all. And, at least this way, we are prepared. Besides, you're not responsible for what you see, or what may happen because of it, and I won't have you say otherwise."

  "Yes,"
I said. "Yes, I-I'm sorry. Do ... do we know why they're trying to kill me, without knowing for sure I'm the Shadow Seer, I mean?"

  "Yes," Sorron said, a little more gently now. "And it's fairly simple, Candale. As far as they know, you have four out of the five signs needed to be this prophet. That makes you the closest to the Seer that they have ever seen and that made them nervous. They decided to kill you rather than take the chance that you weren't him."

  "Nervous!" I gasped. "I could be an innocent boy, a-and they would take my life just because they're nervous!"

  "Yes," Sorron said. "I'm afraid so. And I don't know why this is, Candale. Why they're not waiting until they have more evidence, such as the awakening of your gifts. I can only guess that it's because the Order believe it will be easier to do this now, before everyone knows who you are and more attention is drawn your way. Or perhaps they wanted to kill you before you could speak even one word of your first prophecy. I don't know and it doesn't really matter what the reasons are, only that we keep you safe from any future attacks. Tival tells me that it's very difficult to attach a magical shield to a person and it would be impractical to try and shield Carnia Castle, so I think that we will simply have to get you another guard, a mage. They will be with you in public, to protect you from any further attacks, and they will shield your suite so that you can be safe there at nights. I want you to choose this guard, Candale, because I want it to be someone you're happy with, someone you trust, although I will still have them swear on a Truth Stone. And, as I know how much you hate keeping secrets, I will allow you to tell them everything, if you want to."

  "Thank you."

  He gave me a knowing smile. "You have someone in mind to be your new guard?" I nodded. "A young lady, perhaps?"

  "Why do you say that?" I asked suspiciously.

  My grandfather grinned at me, a bright, youthful, mischievous grin. "Tival told me everything that you've been up to and all about a certain young lady who had caught your eye. Hazel."

  I squirmed uncomfortably and then shook my head. "I do have someone in mind," I said, "but not Hazel."

  "No?" He looked surprised. "Why not?"

  "Because she does have feelings for me," I said. "I can't expect her to be close to me, guarding me, feeling the way she does, when nothing can come of it. And," I took a deep breath, "if she's not my bodyguard, then something can happen between us. I-I can't marry her, I-I know that, but we can be friends and maybe ..."

  "Lovers?" Sorron suggested softly.

  I blushed and shrugged my shoulders, trying to pretend that he hadn't said that to me. As close as Sorron and I were, I didn't feel comfortable talking about this with him. "Perhaps," I said. "Perhaps not, but the possibility will always be there. But if she were my bodyguard, then nothing could ever happen, it just wouldn't be right. No, I want her brother, Silver, to be my guard. I trust him, as much as I do Hazel, and he is good company."

  "Yes," Sorron said dryly. "I have heard about his little glamour spell on you. You showed bad judgement, Candale."

  "Yes," I said. "But it was something I felt I needed to do."

  "Hmm. All right, I can't fault your reasons and this is your decision. You will go and speak to Silver about this tomorrow. To Tival, too. Silver is your choice in bodyguard, so I expect you to make the arrangements."

  "Yes, sir," I said. "Of course I will."

  "Good. Now, there is one last thing, which I'm afraid you won't like very much. We can't be sure if the Order does know the truth about you. They may have simply located you here and done nothing more than that. Because of this I think it's for the best if we keep who you are, that you're the Seer, a secret. You cannot tell anyone else, except Silver, who you are. And that, I'm afraid, does include your parents."

  "Why?" I whispered.

  "It will hurt them to know the truth, Candale. When you ran away, Gerian and I were forced to tell Silnia and Aylara that you believed you were this Shadow Seer. They were very upset and to tell them, and Gerian, the truth, that you are this prophet, that you aren't Silnia's son and are already aware of that, will devastate them. I'm not sure that they will be able to keep that pain from the public eye and we don't want to give the Order any reason to be suspicious about you."

  "What will we tell them then?" I asked. "They're going to want to know something."

  "I'll tell them that you were wrong, that you're not the Seer after all. I don't think it needs to be any more complicated than that. It's what they want to believe, after all."

  "But this isn't something small, grandfather. I'm going to have visions, hear voices. I don't know if I can hide that from them indefinitely."

  "We will try it," Sorron said, "and see how it goes. Perhaps we can hide the visions behind the mask of your fits? After a while I'm sure you'll find it easier to hide this and you will always have my support and help."

  "You'll try not to let father be too hard on me? He's bound to gloat, when I tell him I'm not the Seer."

  "I think he will just be glad to have you home again, Dale, but I'll ask him not to mention this to you. I'll suggest that it's for the best if we all forget everything that happened before you left."

  "But he'll still expect me to be happy about this, won't he?" I asked. I shook my head. "I hate it, Grandfather. Being this person, what might happen to me because of it a-and I hate that I can't depend on my own parents for support."

  "But you have mine," Sorron said. "Isn't that enough?"

  "Yes," I said. "Yes, of course it is."

  "I know this will be hard, Dale," Sorron said, "but I do think it's important to try, especially when there is a chance that the Order will eventually stop coming after you. The Seer myth said that it would take a year for you to come into your gifts, after your illness. If we can hide this secret until then, perhaps they will think that they have made a mistake and leave you alone."

  "And what if they do know about me?" I asked. "What if the attacks don't stop in a year, or so, and it's because they did spy on me and know who I am?"

  "We will deal with that if it happens, Candale. I'm sorry. I know that isn't much comfort and that this is a lot for you to try and cope with, which is why I'm going to ask you to leave the Order business to your father and me. Try not to worry about it, just let us handle it."

  There was a hard look in his eyes and I knew that this was an order, not a request, so I nodded.

  "Good. Tomorrow I will take a look at the Rose Prophecies for myself. I will also read Calran's book and, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to take a look at your notes. I want to be as informed about all of this as I can be."

  "Yes, Grandfather."

  "Good," he said again, with a smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get some sleep. It's been a long day for me."

  "Yes." I rose to my feet. "Good night, Grandfather."

  "Good night, Dale."

  My grandfather's man-servant, Chesar, was waiting for me in the other room. Chesar had been in my grandfather's service since before I was born. Now in his late middle years, his brown hair was streaked with grey and he was going bald on top, his face was lined with wrinkles and his belly had spread beneath his blue tunic. Vaguely I wondered when it was that he had been last measured and fitted for new clothes, as what he wore didn't fit him in the slightest. Or perhaps he just wanted to deny that he was getting larger, so he continued to jam his body into clothes that were too small for him, the same way that I'd wanted to deny getting thinner in those first few weeks of my illness.

  Chesar bowed as he soon as he saw me. "I have unpacked your things in your room, Prince Candale," he told me. "And your friends are settled in theirs, although I imagine that they're asleep now. As you and your grandfather should be." His tone was verging on a lecture; he took his duty, the care of my grandfather, very seriously. I could tell that he wasn't happy with me for what I had put Sorron through while I'd been away from home and then for keeping him up so late when he finally arrived to take me back. I wasn't happy with it either. I felt
guilty and ashamed.

  "I know," I said softly. I glanced behind me into the other room. My grandfather was still in there, although I wasn't sure what he was doing. "He looks so tired."

  "He is, Prince Candale. It was a long, hard journey for him. He isn't a young man, you know."

  "I know. I'm sorry. I wish that I hadn't put him through all this."

  "Perhaps, Prince Candale," Chesar said in a firm voice, "you should keep such thoughts to yourself? A prince shouldn't publicly express his regret to the first person who's around to hear it."

  "No," I said. "Of course not." I bit the inside of my mouth before I started to apologise. A prince rarely apologised. This was my first reminder that I was no longer Candale the lord's son, but Prince Candale and soon I'd be home and I'd have to try and be him again. And I wasn't sure that I could be. Things were different for me now and I suddenly felt as though I was going to be pulled apart, with visions and secrets pulling me one way, politics and my old life pulling me the other. I was afraid that there would be nothing left of me at the end of it all.

  I didn't sleep very well that night and woke with the sound of the first bell. I got dressed quickly and padded out in to the sitting room where I found Teveriel and my grandfather, both dressed, sitting silently together. A tray of plates, covered in silver lids, which I assumed was breakfast, was set out, clearly waiting for me.

  Teveriel got to his feet, and came towards me, as soon as he saw me, a relieved smile on his face. "Candale," he breathed, and then he looked shocked and bowed his head. "Prince Candale," he corrected. "Good morning."

  "Tev," I said. "Don't start with the titles, please. We're friends."

  Teveriel glanced nervously at Sorron and then back at me. "Things have changed," he said quietly, in a voice meant only for me. "Please, don't put me in a situation like this. Alone, it's different, but in public I have to do what's right."