To Make a King

by Kristi L Cramer

  And once exposed of her plot and deceptions, the witch had tried to take Aslynn to hell with her, as a gift to her master. And so she would have done, had Adam, Sebastian, and Katrona not saved her.

  After all that, how could Aslynn profess to love this hateful woman?

  Looking down, Aslynn saw her twin standing in the street with Edward at his right side, Mari and Artemis at his left. In that moment, he looked up to her and met her gaze. Time seemed to slow as he smiled at her and then mouthed words she could almost hear.

  “Love through it all.”

  Then he turned back to face the witch. Aslynn knew he was offering his love and support. Even standing there, beside Edward. There had been more than a little love lost between those two, yet he could do it.

  “Love is everywhere, everything, all the time,” Meedo said, and slumped even more in her grip. She and Adam had to let him down into a sitting position against the rampart. “All you have to do is feel it. I get it now.” His eyes closed, and his breath stilled until he became a single point of peace in the surrounding madness.

  Aslynn looked over at her husband.

  “It’s not as hard as you’re making it,” Adam said, taking her hand.

  “How do you know...?” she began in protest.

  “We are one, beloved. I can see your thoughts in the mirror of your eyes. You think you could not possibly love Tawnia. But you love me.”

  “Of course I do!”

  “And you love Sebastian, Katrona, Meedo, and yes, even Edward, though you would deny that you do. Would it be a stretch to say you love Mari of Dewbury? And Melanie? And—”

  “Yes, I love each of one after a fashion. But how—”

  “You can love without liking. Love a part without affirming the whole. Love her because she brought Katrona and Edward into this world.”

  “Oh!” Aslynn thought she had a glimmer of understanding. This thing called love was not given with conditions or strings attached. It was not reserved for those who said or did only the right things. It was not something to be earned or bestowed only upon those one deemed deserving. It was basic, fundamental.

  In the streets below, Tawnia raged, screaming obscenities at all those gathered.

  “Choose love,” she said. “Or chance ending up like that.”

  “Exactly,” Adam agreed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  In her rage, Tawnia was beyond knowing what words she was speaking. She didn’t know her actions, her tone of voice, her volume. She only knew a burning inferno inside her that had to express itself somehow. And her target.... Her target was indiscriminate. She didn’t recognize anyone who stood before her, she only knew they were the source of pain for her. The people gathered before her, and many more she could not see, offered her something that felt uncomfortable, that poked and pressed into places she hadn’t felt in years. It pried at the locks securing her heart and plucked the loose strands of her hatred and fear and rage, trying to unravel the tapestry she had made of her life.

  But though they did their worst, she could block it all. They would never find her weakness; they would never find the tool to destroy her!

  ⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝

  Sebastian watched in awe as Tawnia’s raging degenerated into bloodcurdling screams and growls and yowls of fury and hatred. There was nothing left recognizable as human.

  “Oh dear,” Katrona said, her voice barely reaching Sebastian over Tawnia’s tantrum.

  Before he could wonder what she meant, the cloud expanded, enveloping everyone in impenetrable darkness, filled with hissing and hot, blasting air. Sebastian fell to his knees against the onslaught.

  Then, as quickly as it had expanded, it retracted, streaming back toward Tawnia. Only when it returned to its point of origin, nothing was there. The cloud shrank to a pinpoint of blackness before vanishing completely.

  The only one left standing was the soul-eater.

  Silence filled the air. A total absence of sound that left Sebastian wondering what was next. He climbed to his feet and looked around, seeing Katrona and the Sisters of Charity helping each other stand. Beside him, Artemis whined, and he held out a hand to help Lady Mari up. She smiled gratefully and straightened her dress. Edward rose to his feet as well; he and the mercenary army exchanged glances, all wary.

  “Hmm,” the soul-eater said, sounding disappointed. “What a colossal waste of effort.”

  Sebastian was not sure if she meant the entire affair or only Tawnia’s self-annihilation. Looking around, she lifted a hand. Then, she was gone.

  “What more?” Edward asked, his pale face and shaky voice clearly communicating his upset.

  “It is done,” Katrona said, approaching with the support of two nuns. “Mother turned her back on our love. Her hatred has consumed her.” Tears streamed down the young girl’s face, and the older nuns comforted her. “She...won’t be back.”

  “And the other one?” Sebastian asked.

  “She couldn’t outstay her summoner.”

  “Hise?” Oatfeld asked, all business, as though none of the supernatural happenings had touched him.

  “Later,” Edward said. “We will deal with him later.”

  “Then, as far as I can see, there is only one detail left,” Sebastian said. He and Edward faced each other, and Edward looked wary. Sebastian held out his hand. “Your coronation, brother.”

  Edward smiled, and clasped his brother’s forearm.

  ⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝

  The tiny boat rocked gently at its mooring, occasionally thumping against the dock, cushioned by the braided rope bumpers.

  Sebastian was aware of the motion, but his attention stayed focused on two logbooks on the tiny desk. One old, weathered and worn, the other shiny and new. Both leather bound, both with the words “Captains Log” stamped into the cover.

  Gently, Sebastian lifted the old book and turned to the dedication page. The inscription read: “Tempter of fate, doomed to sail on and sail on. You will never call any port home, until your own mystery is solved.”

  Sebastian thought about the words Meedo had spoken to Aslynn: “Love is everywhere. All you have to do is feel it. I get it now.”

  Could that have been the solution to the wanderer’s mystery? Love? Such a simple thing to have answered so many challenges of late.

  He set the old logbook back down on the desk, knowing there would be time to read it later. The new logbook felt clean and fresh and somehow bold his hand, as if fearlessly awaiting new adventures. Sebastian opened it, thinking Meedo must have filled the old one and was preparing to begin the new, but the inscription on the dedication page caught him by surprise.

  “Sea bred, land bound, your destiny follows both. Be true to it, and happiness will follow.” Beneath the words, a small crest: a sailboat with the name Remini on the side. He turned to the first page.

  “I gift you my boat. Her magic is waning, but she is a sturdy craft and will serve you well.” There was no signature, and no one named as addressee, but Sebastian knew the message was for him.

  “I can’t believe he’s gone,” a voice from behind him said. Sebastian turned to find his twin standing in the companionway.

  He nodded. “He will be missed. But I think he knew he might die here.” Sebastian indicated the new logbook in his hand. “He left Remini to me.”

  Aslynn approached and he held the book open for her to read the inscription and opening page.

  She read it, then looked up into his eyes. He saw worry there. “What will you do?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing, for the moment. There is no need to rush any decisions. My future has changed, and that swiftly. There’s a lot to think about. And there’s someone I want to spend more time with.”

  “Lady Mari?” his twin asked.

  “She.... Her friendship has meant a lot to me in the last few days. I want to get to know her better.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I don’t know. Perhaps she would like to travel, too, a
nd see more of this world we live in. But right now, Edward needs me here, to back his claim to the crown.”

  “Which reminds me of why I came to find you,” Aslynn said. “Bishop Paul wants to run through the ceremony and asked that you be there. You need to say something about the abdication.”

  Sebastian chuckled. “You’re still not sure Edward will make a good king, are you?”

  “Not entirely. After all, he was ready to kill you today in order to get the crown.”

  “Only because he thought it was the only way. Even before I offered to abdicate, he knew he could not kill me. He is no butcher, despite his mother’s best efforts to make him so. He is his father’s son as well.”

  “But he has always been such a selfish, spoiled child.”

  “He’s a grown man now, Aslynn. One who realized in time that it took no killing to make him one. We shared teachers, remember? Master Jabari and our father have given Edward all the knowledge and skill he needs to be a fine king. You’ll see.”

  “You would make a better king.”

  “No. My heart was never in it. You know that.” Aslynn sighed, and Sebastian touched her shoulder. “Have faith, at least until he gives you reason to doubt.”

  “As you wish, because you wish. Now, come. Bishop Paul is waiting.”

  They rode up the steep trail from the port in silence and the gathering dusk. There would be a very short amount of time to rehearse the ceremony, and Sebastian had much to think about concerning his speech. What words would convey to the people of the Bonnie Isles the trust he felt in his brother?

  Skirting the main courtyard where the coronation was to be held and the crowd was already gathering, Sebastian and Aslynn rode up to a secondary entrance and slipped inside.

  ⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝

  Saint Michael’s Chapel was silent when Edward walked in. He saw Katrona kneeling in prayer, hands clasped before her, her face uplifted to the sunlight streaming through the stained glass window.

  It felt peaceful in the chapel, he decided. Perhaps it was simply that he finally knew peace in his heart and soul. After so much time spent in anger, plotting and scheming Sebastian’s downfall, he was getting what he had always known should be his.

  But no, victory was not what gave him such peace: the crown was more like treasure found on shore after a storm. His peace came from something deeper, though he didn’t know how to put it in words.

  As he approached his sister, she turned to look at him. He noticed her face had more natural color to it since she’d finally eaten, though there were still dark shadows around her eyes. She smiled at him, and he helped her to her feet so she could hug him.

  “I’m so proud of you, Edward,” she said. “I know the choice you made was not an easy one.”

  “No, it was not easy. I’m not entirely certain how I made it. One moment, I was ready to kill my brother if he gave me the slightest excuse. He was standing there, and I had him....” He stopped, shaking his head.

  “God gave you the strength, Edward, and you chose the right path.”

  “Yes, it was suddenly clear that nothing had been clear up until that moment. I could see that I had never wanted to kill Sebastian, that I didn’t want the crown if his death was the cost.”

  Katrona hugged him again. “You are stronger than Mother and the soul-eater gave you credit for. Strong enough to choose against them.”

  Edward shook his head again. “When Maudette reminded me of our deal, I thought I was lost. It was the worst feeling I’d ever had. I thought I had to do what she wanted of me. But when I realized Sebastian was right, it was freeing. I realized I had held the key all along. I had only to choose right and goodness and love to set my soul free from Maudette’s pact.”

  Katrona was smiling. “Some people never find that answer. They think they can never change their mind. They torture themselves with guilt over their actions and decisions, never knowing their punishment is of their own making. God loves us—all of us—with a deeper, truer love we can only guess at. Such love lets us make our own way in the world, lets us stumble and feel the consequences when we fall. But His love is always there to help us stand again. We need only reach out and take His hand.”

  “I’m just very glad I found out before I made a mistake I would regret forever.” He smiled at his little sister. “I’m glad someone was listening to your prayers.”

  She smiled back, but before she could answer, they heard people entering the chapel.

  Adam Wingfield, Bishop Paul, and several ministers of state came in, ready for the coronation rehearsal. They were scarcely settled when Sebastian and Aslynn entered.

  “All right,” Sebastian said. “Let’s do this, shall we?”

  ⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝

  Jared stood on the steps of the keep, looking out over the courtyard and the crowd gathered there. The people were confused. He could hear it in the questioning tone of their muttering conversations. He could see it in the way people looked about, not in search of friends to greet, but rather answers.

  The royal bodyguard felt confused, himself. There had been no official announcement or even a statement about the afternoon’s events. Jared had witnessed Prince Edward’s insurrection, and knew the reasons for the supernatural events that followed, but he did not know what to expect now.

  But, if there was one thing he had learned as a bodyguard, it was that with patience, most things would be revealed.

  It troubled him that he had not been privy to the coronation rehearsal, nor able to perform his duty while Sebastian had gone down to the port. Instead, Jared had been sent with a troop of guards to secure the devastated village, checking for anyone hapless enough to have been caught in the witch’s rampage. And in search of Earl Hise. It was important work, to be sure, but he didn’t know why he had been sent. He wondered if he had somehow offended the prince, or failed him in some way.

  While he waited, the sun set and evening shadows deepened to dark—the traditional hour for making kings. A hush fell over the crowd as the giant doors opened behind him.

  A shocked murmur ran through the crowd, and Jared longed to turn and look, but his duty forbade it. He was only to watch the crowd, looking for danger to his charge.

  But as Prince Sebastian walked by, Jared couldn’t help it.

  Prince Edward walked beside Prince Sebastian, wearing the gold circlet belonging to the crown prince.

  Thinking it was some kind of trick, Jared took a step forward. After all, Prince Edward had come to the gates for the very purpose of stealing the crown from Prince Sebastian. But before he could even conceive what plan Prince Edward might have to coerce his half-brother into relinquishing the crown, Prince Sebastian looked over at him and smiled. Something in his smile told Jared that everything was going to be just fine.

  The princes strode to the edge of the top step, and Prince Sebastian raised his hands for silence, which fell instantly.

  “Good people of the Bonnie Isles,” he began, “I know you have many questions about today. The short answer is Tawnia, formerly my father’s queen and the mother of Prince Edward and Princess Katrona, chose this day to return. She thought she could pit her son against his brother. She thought wrong. Together, with all of you, Edward and I resisted her hate. Together, we demonstrated the highest and best defense a family can offer. Love. Tawnia could not accept it. She was consumed by her own hate and rage.”

  Prince Sebastian paused, letting his words sink in. Jared looked around at what faces he could see in the darkened courtyard. The people were rapt in what the prince was saying, and the silence held.

  “So much has changed with this event,” Prince Sebastian went on, his voice seeming to echo across the great open area. “I know you are surprised to see my brother wearing the heir’s crown. Perhaps you ask yourselves if Tawnia hasn’t really won, and all this is just some elaborate ruse. I can only assure you it is not. Tawnia would not miss this chance to proclaim her victory.

  “Those of you who k
now me well know I...felt a lack in my skill and passion for ruling. I’m not ashamed to say I feared my father’s crown would not sit so well on my brow. In truth, I tell you some men are not made to be king, while others wear nobility in their very bones, where it waits to be discovered in its own auspicious moment.

  “Today, my brother proved himself both noble and just, endowed with enough courage and strength to make the finest of our island’s kings bow in respect. Upon this demonstration, I offered to abdicate in his favor, believing and trusting his rule of this kingdom will be the best for the people and the land.

  “So join me in acclaiming Edward as our king! Long live King Edward!”

  And the crowd shouted, “Long live King Edward!”

  But under the shouting, Jared heard Prince Sebastian say to his brother, “If you fail me in my expectations, brother, rest assured I will hear of it and return from whatever reaches of the world I travel. I will take this kingdom back.”

  Prince Edward smiled, and said, “I do not expect to fail you, brother. Nor my father, either.”

  “Good.” Prince Sebastian smiled, too. “Good.”

  Bishop Paul strode forward then to give the coronation speech, bestow the purple cloak across Edward’s shoulders, and the crown of the state upon his brow.

  And the people of the Bonnie Isles shouted again, “Long live King Edward!”

  Epilogue

  Sebastian heard the cheers echoing down the corridor as he walked slowly away from the main doors. He felt drained of emotion and a hundred years older than he had felt that morning. But even still, there was an energy thrumming inside him like rigging in the wind: expectations of travel and adventure.

  He smiled to himself. Time enough to seek out new worlds. His wandering steps had taken him upstairs to the guest wing, where Lady Mari quietly closed the door of one of the rooms.

  Clearing his throat to announce his presence, he spoke when she turned, startled to see him. “My lady. How is the Baron?”

  “He is resting, Highness,” she said, curtsying.