And your skill as a sailor thought Elwin, but he kept the thought to himself. It was not something that needed to be said. It was already being spoken in everyone's eyes.
Recognizing the unspoken praise, Jon seemed to stand a little tall that night. Elwin smiled, I wonder what he would feel if he knew it was the prince of Ceredigion he had saved? Then again, I doubt it would matter. To Jon, any life was a life worth saving.
Colin nodded, giving Sea Bird an admiring look.
"Well," said Jon. "I'm not goin' to ask you what you be runnin' from. That I guess is your own affair. But I be needin' to know where I be takin' you. If I was to guess, I would say to the south. King Jerran and his men can't reach you there. At least not yet."
"Did Count Murray not tell you?" Elwin asked.
"Nope, he only said you be in some trouble and might be needing me to get you free of the county. I was to wait for you in the marshes. If you should up, I was to head for sea and ask questions later. The Count said that's all I needed to know, and I would be safer the less I knew. That was good enough for me. I already knew you were in trouble; that robed thing and all." He shook his head as if trying to forget what the Red Robe had done to him. At the Dryrot Inn, the thing had tossed Jon around like a rag doll.
"Well," said Elwin, trying not to sound relieved. If Jon did not know where they were supposed to go, it would make it easier to get him to take them where Elwin wanted. "We are not going south. There is something I need to do. I can't tell you what it is, Jon. I can only ask you to trust me. I know without a doubt that you can be trusted, but the Count is right. What you don't know won't hurt you, and I fear if you did, it just might. All the same, you will need to be careful. Never let anyone know that you helped me, and you might want to stay away from Port Murray for a while." Jon frowned.
Elwin let his eyes drift over the rolling waves of the sea. "I need you to take me to Aonach."
Jon still frowning said, “Eoin, if that is truly your name, though I be willin' to bet it isn't. But then I also be willin' to bet I'd rather not know your true one, now would I?" He gave Elwin a hard look. When Elwin didn’t respond, Jon went on. "No, I don't think I want to know. As you were sayin', what I don't know can't hurt me none. Yet I still say that sailin’ south, maybe to the Empire or the free cities would be the wiser choice, but if you say Aonach, then the city of Aonach I shall take you." He looked up at the sky. Then he looked back at Elwin. "May the luck of them Northern Lights shine on all of you... I have a feelin' you'll be needin' it."
With that, the stocky sailor came to his feet. "I better go check and see what damage that storm caused." Then Jon turned and began his inspection of the boat.
Colin watched him go, “He never asked why we were alone. Doesn’t he think it odd we arrived with no escort? I mean we are only a bunch of teenagers.”
Pallas smiled, "You come from the world of nobility," he pointed out. "Jon is from a different world, he has been fishing and working for a living since he was younger than us. To him, we are old enough to take care of ourselves.”
“I don’t think your father will see it that way,” added Colin. “He must be pretty mad about now.”
“Furious is more likely,” agreed Pallas.
Elwin nodded in agreement. Dovan would be beside himself with anger and worry. For that Elwin was sorry. Dovan was a good man whom Elwin loved like a second father, but he was not going to be put up somewhere while his sister needed him. Elwin looked out to sea, I am coming Leina, I am coming.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ruan Deuchar, Lord Baron of Keloran sank into a high-backed chair. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. I am tired, he thought. So very tired. The red velvet of the chair felt soft beneath his leathery skin. It was of royal design, and no less than two hundred years old. The wooden arms and legs were polished to a glossy reddish-brown. It was a royal chair fitting for the palace; however, the elegant chair only reminded the lord that he was not where he wished to be. He did not belong in Gildas, the gold city of Strigiol. In the northern city of Keloran there were no such luxuries as red velvet cushioned chairs... not even in the baron's castle. Like the Baron himself, Keloran was shaped by the harsh north country of Strigiol. The cities and castles of the north were built for protection and survival and were not places of comfort or prestige. Like the castles, the northern lords were very different from their counterparts in the south. They were the defenders of the Kingdom, and these warrior lords of the north always felt ill-at-ease in southern Strigiol. Ruan was no different.
In the south, nobles of both low and high status struggled and manipulated for power and position. It was a game to them, or so it appeared to Ruan. The north was a harder, yet simpler life. In the north, you knew who your enemies were and who were your friends. In the north, things were clearer. Gildas, the capital of Strigiol, with its shimmering towers and luxury, filled rooms was anything but simple. Gildas was a city of intrigue, luxuries, and games of power; games which could and often did have deadly outcomes. Gildas was no place for Ruan. However, he had always been faithful to his oath of allegiance to the king; the same king who had also been his childhood friend. That oath over the last few years had become increasingly strained, but still, Ruan had never broken it or even considered breaking it, until now.
Ruan opened his eyes. Try as he might, he could not sleep. In his hand, he gripped a folded sheet of very expensive parchment. Imprinted on its surface was the emblem of the black eagle, the royal crest of the Cameron family, and king of Strigiol. Oaths were not easy to break, nor should they be broken; at least that is what Ruan thought and believed. Ruan did not want the title of oath-breaker. It did not help matters that the oath he was now considering to breaking was to his king. An oath that only a few years ago, he had happily sworn to Jerran. King Jerran was his closest friend or so Ruan had thought. To break his pledge with Jerran would mean he had given up on the king, and more. Ruan would be forfeiting a lifelong friendship. He knew once he decided to break his oath, there would be no turning back. Ha! Who are you fooling? Is it not already too late?
For what seemed like the hundredth time, he unfolded the tan parchment. The writing was that of a southern Strigiol noble. Ruan had never been able to master the calligraphy of the lords of the south. Participating in the southern courtly ways was less important in the north. In the north, Southerners were considered manipulative, conniving, and overall a bunch of arrogant snobs. While in the south, Northerners were deemed ignorant barbarians, and backward farmers, who had no idea what culture was all about.
Ruan held the parchment before him.
“Our good Lord Baron Ruan Deuchar of Keloran, We regret that your request to leave the capital and return to your lands in the north cannot be granted at this time. We are on the brink of war with Mythra. At such a time as this, we cannot spare you. Your advice and wisdom are far too valuable. Kambrya will soon return to the days of old... the days of peace will come again. Strigiol will be the creators of that peace, and our lands and people will be whole once more. Then it will be time for homecomings.
Until that time, we need you Lord Ruan Deuchar.
King Jerran Cameron of Strigiol,
High King of Kambrya,
Lord and protector of the peace and justice.”
Wearily, Ruan folded up the note. Needed? Holding the parchment between his thumb and forefinger, he began to tap the letter against the chair's wide arm. How can I be needed? I can't even see the king. The guards are tighter than ever. This note was probably not even written by Jerran. No, it is not the king who keeps me here, but the Prophet. Well, Torcull, you may control the crown, but you do not control me. I will not stand by and disappear like all the others. No, Torcull, if you want me dead, you'll have to come after me. I will no longer do your bidding or play this game by your rules. With or without the king's promise, I am returning to Keloran.
Ruan looked up from his thoughts, as the door to his room suddenly opened. Startled, he saw a woman
with flowing brown hair step forward. She wore a long dark blue dress with white fringes on the collar and sleeves. Around her narrow waist was a belt of white cotton. She stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind her. She had a certain grace about her, and not the forced grace of a Southerner, but rather the natural grace of one born with self-confidence and inner beauty. Here was a woman who knew who she was and had no desire to be anything else. Ruan admired that. He always thought that one of the most irritating things about southern Strigiol was that you never knew who anyone really was.
A small smile crossed her round face. "Good evening, Lord Baron. May I come in?"
Ruan weakly returned her smile. "Eilidh, when does a wife need her husband's permission to enter their home?"
Eilidh stepped fully into the room. She met Ruan’s eyes. "Often of late, my husband. You have been distant lately, and this..." She hesitated as she looked about the room with distaste, "is not our home."
Ruan nodded. "You are right. Lately, I have not been the attentive husband I should be. Please forgive me. As you say, I have been preoccupied of late, and you are also right that this is not our home. I think it is past time we left here. I grow tired of this place. We have been away from Keloran too long."
"The king's permission?" Her eyes tensed as they fell on the parchment in Ruan's hand.
"No, I am afraid it is not." He slipped the tan parchment under his wide gray belt. "The king, if it is the king's hand, has ordered me to stay here in Gildas."
"Then you … we will go without his permission?"
"Yes."
"You will be named a traitor."
"I know. But I... we... cannot stay. I do not wish to leave our daughter without a father, nor their mother without her husband. If I stay, that will be the end result. It also might be the same result by leaving, but at least I will go down fighting. It is too much to sit here and wait for Torcull to come for me."
"Nor do I wish to be without you. But to leave will be seen as a threat to Torcull's authority."
“True, yet if I stay, I am sure my life will be a short one. Torcull already sees my friendship with the king as a threat. I can stay here no longer."
As if the mere thought of his death was more than she could bear, Eilidh hurried across the carpeted floor. She dropped to her knees. Her long white arms pulled the seated Ruan close. "Yes, my love, let us leave this place. Let us go home. I do so wish to see our daughter again."
"It will not be easy." He did not try to pull away from her. He felt comforted within her arms. "We will be pursued and hunted. Even Keloran may not be safe."
"Why?" she asked pushing back her long black hair.
"Once it is discovered that we have left the city and fled north, an army will be sent after us. Maybe even the Black army. Keloran will be a threat to the invasion of Mythra. They will not allow a potential enemy to be setting at their back."
She nodded sadly, "I had hoped once we left the capital, the king would see that we are not a threat. You would never raise an army against him—never! Even now, Jerran must know that you are faithful to him."
"It is not the king, but Torcull I fear, and the time of keeping to ourselves or ignoring that which is happening has come to an end, my lady. Torcull has marked me. I regret that my actions have brought you into this. I have entered into a game I cannot win. But I must try.”
She held him closer. "I have been in it since the day we wed, my love. I would have it no other way. You are a good man, Ruan. A good man. You stand up for what is right. It is wrong for the king to persecute you."
Ruan sighed, "Perhaps I am not as good as your eyes see me to be. Was I not in Easland
and Lyndland? And there I saw things. I saw horrible things. Things that no knight should let happen. But I did nothing to stop it, nothing at all!" There was bitterness to his words. "Oath or no oath, I saw and knew it was wrong. And still, I did nothing." He let his head fall upon her shoulder. "I am ashamed, my lady."
"Hush! I will not hear such talk."
"What have I done?"
"Please, Ruan. Do not talk this way. Things will work out. You will make it so." She then jumped to her feet, "Oh, my!" Her face reddened as if she were a child. "I had forgotten. Forgive me my love, but I have brought someone who wishes to have an audience with you."
"Now? Could it not wait until later? Eilidh, I am not in the mood for visitors."
"No, it cannot wait."
"Who is it? Why can't it wait?"
Eilidh turned with her smooth inner grace, and before the baron could question her further, she glided back across the room with light, delicate steps. Opening the door, she moved off to one side. Another woman stepped through the open door. She was both tall and beautiful. A deep pride could be seen in her watchful eyes. She moved with the air of authority, yet at the same time, there was a quite hesitation, as if she was no longer as sure of herself as she had once been. Her dark hair was pulled back and held in place with strands of silver threads. From her ears hung diamonds of unimaginable wealth. In the lamplight of the room, her full golden silk dress shimmered. Next to this woman's dress, Eilidh's blue dress seemed understated and crude.
Ruan's mouth dropped open. He leaped from the chair. Before he had even come completely to his feet, he dropped to the floor. With one knee firmly planted on the floor, he kept his eyes on the carpet. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and placed his other hand on his chest. "Your Majesty, the Light of Strigiol," he breathed the formal address given to the queen of Strigiol. Then he added a northern touch. "The march has begun, and I await the honor to serve."
"Is he always like this?" the Queen asked, looking at Eilidh. Her voice was firm yet gentle.
"Yes, your Majesty," Eilidh answered with a smile. "Most northern men are. Ruan is no worse than others and better than most."
"Men," the queen of Strigiol sighed. "Must they always be so overly dramatic?"
"Yes," Eilidh responded wryly. "I believe they do."
"Please stand, my Lord."
Ruan came to his feet. He gave a short bow. "Your Majesty."
"I will come to the point," the queen said bluntly. "Your good wife tells me you plan to quit the city. Is that right?"
Ruan gave Eilidh a long, questioning look. He was not surprised that Eilidh had known of his plan before he had told her. Eilidh always knew what he was thinking, usually long before he did. But still, to tell Catriono Cameron, the Queen of Strigiol and wife of King Jerran. This is madness! All of his plans were coming undone.
"Be at ease, Ruan. May I call you Ruan?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. You do me a great honor." He gave the queen a slight bow of
his head. "But you must know that your husband, King Jerran, has requested that I stay here. His Majesty says I am needed."
"No, Ruan, I did not know that. I have not spoken to my husband in over a month. We..." a sad look crossed her face, "We have drifted apart. You have seen him recently, or so I am told. So you should know what I mean. The king is less than the king he once was. Oh, I know he was not a great king like his father, but he was a good man, Ruan. He truly was. You were once his friend. You know he was good once." Her body was held with rigid dignity, but her eyes faltered as if she feared Ruan would argue over that.
Ruan swallowed. Regretfully, he did know what she meant. "Yes, your Majesty, the king was a good man. I believe he still is. However, he has been misguided."
"I hope you are right," she sighed, relieved that he had not said she was foolish for believing so. "Though I fear I no longer have your faith. I still love him, but I can no longer trust him. Like you, I am no longer safe in Gildas." The words came out of Queen Catriono's mouth as if she could hardly believe they were her own. She, the queen, not safe in Gildas?! It was almost laughable. "Others now have the trust of my husband. And I have become an unwanted burden. Those who I once called friends now shun me." Her face turned red. Ruan could not say if it was from anger or embarrassment. "I have become a liabi
lity to the noble's ambitions. And though I no longer hold the king's trust, I still have enemies. Powerful enemies, Ruan. Enemies who fear I will try to sway the king... and I would if he would listen, but ..." she let her words drop off. "And then there is my son, the prince. He is but five years old. I fear for him. I will do anything to see him safe and away from this madness. That is why I have come to you, Baron. You may be the only lord of the land who will still listen to his Queen. And if you cannot help the queen of Strigiol, which I would understand, then I ask you to help a mother save her child." She let her eyes drop to the floor. "Will you help me, Lord Baron? You are my last hope. The danger grows, and I have nowhere else to turn." The proud woman almost shook. It was humbling for the Queen to ask for help, especially from a northern lord.
Ruan was at a loss. He was not the best person to ask for help. "A safe place, your Majesty? I don't know if there is a safe place, especially for the wife and the son of the king." Ruan was blunt. "What you are asking will be dangerous, your Majesty. You are requesting help from the helpless. I may not be the best of choices. I fear the Prophet wishes me dead. I have no proof, but I believe it to be so."
"You may not be the best of choices," the queen admitted, "but you are the only one I have. I know we have never been close, Lord Ruan. But I need your help." She seemed close to tears. "I have nowhere else to turn."
"I am not refusing, your Majesty. I only mean to warn you. I will be a hunted man, more so with you and the Prince with me. It will look as if we are conspiring together. It will appear that we are trying to bring forth an uprising to overthrow the king. And I guess they would be right." Ruan knew to survive he would need to find a way to overthrow the king and put the king's son on the thrown, making the queen regent. It was not a very likely scenario, but it was all he had, which was more than a few minutes ago. "It would not be the first time a child was used to overthrow his father. "It could mean a civil war, or we might have to flee the country. However, if you still wish to join with me, I will not say no. We are few, but together we may survive. So, to answer your question, yes, your Majesty, you may join our mad dash for Keloran. It would be an honor to be in the company of Queen Catriono, and it’s nice to know that not all my oaths need be broken. If my queen and prince need my help," he gave a short bow, "I am theirs to command."
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