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

by Fran Jacobs

  "Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "Call me what you want."

  He gave me a wicked grin. "What I want?" he said. "Anything that I want?"

  "No," I said, with a grin of my own. "Not anything."

  "I didn't think so," he said, with an exaggerated sigh.

  "Glad to see it's only you calling me by my title that's changed."

  "You're still my friend. That isn't going to stop just because I'm damn uncomfortable with our current situation." He dropped his voice even further; it was now just a whisper that I had to strain my ears to hear, as he said, "I have your book. I wasn't sure if you wanted anyone to know about it, so I sneaked into your old room and took it from its hiding place when everyone else had gone. I'll give it to you later."

  "Oh," I breathed. "I had forgotten about that. Thank you."

  "It's all right, Candale. It's not something I think either of us really want to leave lying around. I can't imagine that you'd want anyone to find it, to know about you, and I don't want King Sorron to see it because I can't be sure how he would feel about such a gift. I really don't want to get into anymore trouble, not when I'm in enough trouble already."

  "Has he said something to you?" I asked, glancing Sorron's way quickly. "About you coming here with me, helping me to escape?"

  "Not yet," Teveriel said, with a shake of his head, "but it's only a matter of time, surely?"

  "I don't --"

  "Boys," Sorron's voice was heavy with amusement as he cut through my half spoken sentence, "I'm sure the two of you can find plenty of time later to plot and plan. Breakfast is getting cold."

  Teveriel bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Sire," he said, taking his seat quickly. It was only then that I realised just how hard this had to be for him. He had to have breakfast with his king, a man he had probably never thought he would have a conversation with, let alone share a meal, and he had to do it with the fear of what might happen to him hanging over his head. He knew that I would defend him should Sorron or, more likely, Gerian, decide that he should be punished in some way, for helping me, but it still couldn't be easy to sit there and relax. And all of this was made harder with the blue liveried servants walking around, waiting to serve us, and the wall of Royal Guards lining the back of the room, watching us with their professional, steely gaze.

  I sat down close to Tev, flashing him a supportive smile, while my grandfather leaned over to uncover the first of the breakfast dishes. "You know what you need to get done this morning, Candale," Sorron said. "Afterwards you can spend the day how you wish, with your two new guards to keep an eye on you, of course." He turned and waved his hand at two tall, rather burly men, who then stepped forward from the line of guards at the back of the room. "Meet Milan and Breskarn!" They were clearly brothers, with the same sandy hair, shorn close to their skulls, blue-green eyes and similar build, although one was slightly taller than the other. They seemed to be in their early thirties. My heart sank, as I studied them and they regarded me in turn, calmly and coolly. They would definitely be good at their job, a little too good, I feared.

  "Hello," I said, awkwardly, not sure what else I could say. The brothers bowed in response and I sighed.

  "Breakfast?" Sorron asked, cheerfully.

  ***

  When breakfast was over I escaped, flanked by Teveriel, who stuck as close to me as he could, and my two new guards. It was still early, before the bell for breakfast had rung, and the other students were just milling around the corridors as they always did, on their way back from the bathhouse, or just meeting each other before they went down to eat. But they stopped what they were doing to stare at us as we walked down the corridors. I didn't blame them for it. It was probably the first time that many of them had seen two armed men and, now that they probably knew who I was, it was the first time that they were really aware that they were looking at a prince. It made me feel sad. Only the day before I had been one of them, and now I was someone completely different.

  I was too nervous to knock on Silver's door, so Teveriel did it for me. Silver opened it, looked at me and gave me a nervous bow. "My prince," he said, but there was a twinkle in his silver eyes and he smiled when he straightened. "An honour."

  "Can we talk?" I asked in a flat voice. I wasn't in the mood for this sort of teasing.

  "Of course." Silver moved aside to let me into his small bedroom. There wasn't enough room for us all, so Milan came into the room, while his brother stood guard outside. I sat on the only chair, Silver and Teveriel on his narrow, unmade bed, while Milan stood close to me, like a statue holding a sword.

  "I'm surprised you let me in," I said.

  "You feared I'd turn you away?" Silver asked.

  "Something like that, yes."

  "I wouldn't do that, Prince Candale," Silver said, leaning back on his bed until his back touched the stone wall. He stretched his long legs out, one crossed over the other, as he looked at me. "Have you been to see Hazel yet?" I shook my head. "That might be just as well. She probably won't want to see you, or at least, Willow won't let you see her."

  "What has Willow got to do with anything?"

  "When the news reached us yesterday, and Hazel started to cry, Willow became her protector. She ushered me out of there so that they could be alone and, I have to say, if she won't let me in there to see Hazel, I don't think she will let you in, even if Hazel did want to see you herself."

  "I never promised Hazel anything," I said, knowing that was no excuse.

  "I know that, Candale. And so does Hazel. She always knew that nothing could happen between the two of you, that you would leave in the spring and she would probably never see you again, but a small part of her still hoped that perhaps she could have you. In her dreams, in her fantasies, you gave up your title to be with her, or married her and defied your family. She knew it was unlikely, she knew it was a dream, but she still secretly wanted it. Now you're a prince and she knows that she can never have you. A lord with a mage, that's possible, but a prince, the prince, with a mage? No, she knows that can never happen and knowing that broke her heart. She will get over it, Prince Candale," he said that firmly, to reassure me and it was comforting to know. "She's only fifteen, this won't destroy her, and in time, knowing Hazel, she'll forgive you. Probably not before you leave White Oaks, but certainly before you die. She will be all right."

  I forced myself to smile at him. "Thank you."

  "And we are still friends, Prince Candale, although it may be a little hard for me at first." Then he laughed. "I would be an idiot to not want to be friends with a prince! It can offer me position, power! Besides, you might chop my head off if I refused." He laughed again and Teveriel chuckled softly, with a nervous side-long glance at Milan, who was still standing, expressionless, next to me. I wondered if having that look was something that they had taught him along with weapons training. Then Silver sighed. "It was a joke, Candale," he said.

  "I know," I replied. I pushed my hands between my thighs, nervously. "I'm sorry. I'm just finding this rather uncomfortable."

  "You're not the only one," Silver said quietly. "But it will pass."

  "Yes." I took a deep breath. "Silver, I came here because I have to ask you something."

  "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds intriguing."

  "Well ... that attack against me, it wasn't the first and we now fear that my ... my enemies have magic at their disposal. Well, we now have to assume that they do. When I go home I'll be unprotected from a magical attack unless ... unless I take a mage with me to be my guard ..."

  There was a pause and then Silver whispered in a tight voice, "Me? You want me?"

  I nodded. "You would have to leave here --"

  "I know that," Silver said. "And I would have to leave my sisters, but, Dale, they have each other and I would have to leave here anyway when I graduate, for field training. Everyone has to strike out alone at some time and I'm sure Hazel and Willow will understand. Besides, the last thing I want is to have to stay here and listen to my siblings
complaining about the evils of all men." He shrugged. "Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a position at Court, Candale, so, if you're sure you want me, then I'll be honoured to come."

  "All right," I said. "Thank you." Then I hesitated. "Field training? What's that?"

  "It's similar to when green guards or soldiers are sent to tackle brigands, to get them used to battle. Mages, when we graduate from White Oaks, go out into the world and use our magic productively. We help farmers, when there's a bad summer or an influx of some sort of disease threatening crops, or perhaps go to sea, help control the weather for trade ships, and so on. I was due to head out in the early summer, but I'm sure there will be no problem for me to leave now instead."

  "It won't be straight away," I said. "My grandfather has a few affairs to take care of first and Trellany isn't back to full strength yet either. It will probably be about a week."

  "All right," Silver said. "That gives me enough time to get organised and say my goodbyes." He cocked his head. "Do you know why these people were trying to kill you? I mean, I know you're Prince Candale of Carnia," his tongue stumbled over my title, "but you aren't the only heir. There is always your sister, and your father still stands between you and the throne. It just seems a little curious to me that they're picking on you ... or is it not just you?"

  "No, it's just me," I said, in a tight voice, glancing quickly at my new guard who was staring off impassively, seemingly uninterested in this conversation. I took a deep breath. "Milan, Silver is to be my new guard. I need to tell him some things. Please wait outside for me."

  Milan didn't hesitate. He gave a curt bow and then left the room, closing the door firmly behind me. I pressed my legs tighter together, around my hands, took a deep breath, and then started to tell Silver everything.

  As I spoke, I watched the expression on his face change. A look of shock, then pain passed across his face and then, finally, he just looked grey and ashen, as he stared at me, unblinking.

  "There isn't any doubt?" he asked finally.

  "I had a vision," I said. "So, no, there's no doubt."

  "So, this is why you asked if magic could take away a man's dreams," Silver said, more to himself than to me.

  "Yes," I said. He was still staring at me, as though he'd never seen me before. "Silver, you have to try not to stare at me like that."

  "Stare at you?" He shook his head, blinking rapidly. "Oh, I'm sorry. Your news, it unsettled me. I'm sorry." But his eyes were still as large as saucers inside his head.

  "Silver," I gasped, "please. I'm the same person I was an hour ago."

  "No," he said softly. "You're not. An hour ago you were Prince Candale of Carnia. While yesterday you were my friend Candale, a lord's son. Now you are Candale the Shadow Seer, whose visions are of death and whose mother is a powerful witch." He swallowed and smiled at me but it looked forced. "I'm just wondering," he said, "who you might be tomorrow."

  I forced myself to smile back. "Sometimes I wonder about that as well."

  Return to Contents

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  HOMECOMING

  On a cold spring morning, a little over a week later, I left White Oaks.

  The last week of my stay had been hard. Gone was the pleasant comradeship I'd shared with those in my class, replaced by a nervous sense of awe. Eventually the stares, the whispers, the general discomfort that I'd felt every time I left the suite, had become too much and I'd ended up staying in there. I only left to take a bath, when I knew that everyone would be in class. I couldn't stand to see anyone, to see how they were looking at me now. It just hurt too much.

  What hurt the most was that Hazel wouldn't see me. I went to her room several times during that last week, but Willow was always there to pass on Hazel's message, that I should just 'bugger off' and 'leave her be', and 'hadn't I done enough'? Willow would then ask me why I couldn't seem to understand that Hazel didn't want to see me. She would suggest that I was stupid and she felt sorry for the kingdom if that was really the case. But I just ignored her and continued to come back every day, trying to show Hazel that I was sorry. The day before I'd left White Oaks I handed Willow a writ, before she could even open her mouth. It was a free pass to Carnia Castle that simply stated that should Hazel, and anyone with her, ever come to Carnia Castle, then they would be brought directly to see me, given good quarters and be taken care of. Willow had just stared at me, wordlessly, as she looked at the rolled up piece of parchment that bore my three-headed dragon seal. It was the first time I'd ever seen her so quiet and, as I'd turned to go, she'd promised that she would give it to Hazel and that Hazel would come to see me sometime in the near future when she was over all this. And that, as hard as it was, had to do for me.

  My last night in White Oaks was spent in the private sitting room of the Royal Suite getting drunk with Tev, Silver and Belyisia. We were trying to make the most of our last night together, but Hazel's absence was painfully felt, especially when Silver left early to spend time with her and Willow. That didn't stop us from drinking most of the brandy my grandfather had brought with him, though.

  There was a moment, during the later part of the evening, when everything had started to fade away from me. Tev and Belyisia had been arguing about the purpose of religion and I'd been staring at a dark shadow on the wall. I wasn't sure why it had caught my attention. Perhaps I'd been afraid that it would take shape, become more than just a shadow, or perhaps I'd just been unable to focus my eyes properly. I wasn't sure later. All I knew was I found myself staring at it, and that the next time I had blinked my eyes, time had passed. I wasn't sure how much, but I had totally lost the thread of the conversation going on around me. But, it didn't last long. Teveriel had a short attention span, especially when drunk, and he soon changed the subject to something else and I was able to join in again.

  And in the morning, just after breakfast, with a pounding headache and a dry mouth, we set out.

  It wasn't a journey that any of us were looking forward to. Teveriel and Silver were both uncomfortable being in such close proximity to their king, and all three of us were uncomfortable about being surrounded by so many guards. Even though we had furniture with us - cots, chairs and tables - servants to wait on us and cooks to prepare our meals, I found myself thinking fondly of our journey to White Oaks, hard ground, rain, cold food and all. And it was a relief, at least to Teveriel and I, when we finally got back home.

  Silver, on the other hand, stared at the towering grey walls of his new home, with wide eyes. When we entered my suite his mouth actually dropped open and he stared at everything, unblinking, his hand touching everything I owned as if he couldn't believe it was all real. I felt a little that way myself because it felt strange to be home again, surrounded by all my familiar things, after having been away for so long. My rooms were cleaner than when I'd left them, and the fire had been lit and the curtains drawn back. There was even a vase of spring flowers, a gift from my mother, in every room, making the place smell sweet.

  When Silver had finally recovered from the shock of it all, he shielded my rooms with his protection spell and then Milan took him to his own rooms to unpack, while I went to have a bath. The water had already been drawn for me and there were freshly filled vials of bath salts and a cake of soap set out around it in preparation. It felt good to remove my travel-stained clothes, and the sword that Trellany and my grandfather had insisted I carry, and climb into the tub. I sank back, letting my dark hair fan out around me, while the hot water eased the knots from my saddle-sore body.

  I soaked in the tub until long after the water had gone cold and my skin had wrinkled, and only got out when Trellany knocked on the door to tell me that my family had arrived.

  For an hour I sat and talked with them, telling them everything I could about my time away. I felt a little anxious when I came to tell my father of how I'd worked in the kitchens of White Oaks and the Golden Ox, not sure how he would react. Only he surprised me by
telling me how he thought such experiences would be good for me, that they would put me in touch with those who I would serve and protect as king. Then he told me what had gone on while I'd been away, frequently being interrupted by Aylara as she thought of something she felt was important to say, even if it had no bearing whatsoever on what my father was saying at the time. Not once did Gerian, or anyone else for that matter, mention my running away, or why I'd gone, and I was sure it was because Sorron had been true to his word and asked them to not mention it to me. It didn't feel as though those topics were being deliberately avoided, instead it felt as though they just didn't exist, that there was nothing wrong in the world at all.

  When they'd gone, Trellany turned to me with a smile. "Would you like to open your gifts?" she asked me, gesturing towards the pile of neatly stacked parcels that had been brought for me.

  "Of course," I said, with a grin, rubbing my sore ribs. "Do you think all that embracing was some sort of sly punishment? Or do you think that they were just that glad to see me again?"

  "A bit of both," Trellany replied, with a laugh.

  "It was good to see them again," I said. "I had no idea how much I missed them until they were standing here, holding me, even Father. I thought I might actually cry."

  "You have a close family, Candale," Trellany said. "And a forgiving one."

  "Yes," I said. "I know." I knelt down in front of the wrapped parcels set out neatly beside my table, and Trellany sank onto her haunches beside me, her hands dangling between her knees. "I'm going to have supper here in my room, I think. Enjoy having some privacy and so I can relax after the long journey and --"

  "You're not ready yet to face the Court and all their whispering," Trellany said. "That's understandable."

  I frowned, biting my lip. "Have you become psychic in those months in White Oaks?"

  "No," Trellany laughed, shaking her head. "I just know you a lot better. Besides, I wouldn't be ready to face the Court yet if I were you." She turned to Milan and Breskarn, my silent, always still, bodyguards. "You can leave," she told them. "The prince will stay here tonight. There will be no further need for you."