The Eldentimber Series: Books 1 - 3

by Tapscott, Shari L.

  “I knew you would come,” she says.

  “What’s happened?” I ask as I grasp hold of her shoulders.

  “Marielle and Kara…” She bites her lip and stares across the cottage, her gaze landing somewhere between the wall and the floor.

  Cold, quick terror snakes through me. I squeeze her shoulders, demanding her attention. “What’s the matter with them?”

  Bea shakes her head as tears again build in her eyes.

  “We don’t know.” She gulps in a lungful of air. “Marielle’s running a fever, and she’s delirious. Kara…Kara…” Her voice cracks, but she composes herself. “She’s burning up as well, and she can’t be roused. She hasn’t eaten in hours.”

  I fly up the stairs only to find Bea’s words to be true. Marielle’s face is clammy, and she thrashes in her sleep. Downstairs, Kara whimpers from Rella’s arms.

  “What about the village herbalist?” I ask when I join them again.

  Rella turns her weary face to me. “None of her herbs grew well last year, and she has none left. She keeps giving away her services and hasn’t been able to buy more.”

  The woman rocks her granddaughter, and the way she holds the baby makes me think she’s already given up.

  As I push through the door, I glance over my shoulder. “I’ll be back with help.”

  I will find someone. But who?

  ***

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but there is nothing I can do.”

  I glare at my father’s physician. “You can’t? Or you won’t?”

  The man looks up from his book, irritated that I didn’t leave at his dismissal. “Princess, you know very well I can’t offer my services to every penniless peasant that falls ill. There is an herbalist in the village. Let them seek help from one of their own.”

  I clench my hands at my side. This man is my last resort. Marielle and Kara will die if I don’t bring someone back with me.

  “Please, Erther, I beg you. The herbalist cannot help them, and they can’t afford anyone else.”

  A physician’s maid clears her throat from behind me. With downcast eyes, she brushes by and murmurs apologies.

  She places a book on the Erther’s desk. “I apologize for the interruption.”

  Erther dismisses the girl with a wave of his hand and turns back to me.

  “Seirsha, child.” He clasps his hands on his book and gives me a look that tells me I’m about to receive what he deems to be great words of wisdom. “You should not worry yourself with the affairs of those so much lower than you. You are our princess, and as such, you have the responsibility of keeping your hands clean from the petty troubles of the lower classes.”

  I want to lash out at him, but I hold my tongue.

  He smiles as if he cares more about me than his book. “What if you were to contract this illness? Please don’t jeopardize your health.”

  Not trusting myself to speak, I only nod and turn on my heel. Every bit of me wants to slam his door. I shut it softly behind me.

  “Your Highness?”

  I startle at the voice.

  Erther’s maid’s eyes flutter to the ground. “There’s a physician in Thernrow.” She looks up, her expression warm but nervous. “He will help the lower classes, even if they cannot pay.”

  Thernrow is five hours away by horse, and I have never been there myself.

  I run a hand through my loose, wild hair. “What’s his name?”

  “Master Kendal Aimlin.”

  “And you’re sure he will do it without expecting reimbursement?”

  The girl shrugs, helpless. “He treated my brother, Your Highness, when he almost died of infection.”

  It’s a long ride. Will Marielle and Kara last that long? But what choice do I have?

  “Thank you.” I grasp her hand. “Truly.”

  She nods, her eyes earnest, and then she squeezes my hand and disappears down the hall.

  ***

  “Oh, there’s a good darling.” Pippa tucks the baby closer to her mother. “She’s nursing.”

  My knees almost buckle, I’m so relieved. “What did you give them?”

  “Just a little of this and that.” The princess looks up, a weary smile on her face. “I’m no stranger to the herbalist’s quarters.”

  “How long do we have?”

  Her small smile fades. “I don’t know. The tea I gave them brought the fevers down, but it’s only a temporary fix. Luckily, it was enough to wake Kara so she could eat.” She clenches her eyes shut and then opens them again, determined. “We need to leave now.”

  “When do I give them the tea again?” Antone asks.

  He looks near death himself, but I don’t think he’s ill. He sits on the bed next to Marielle and rubs his sleeping wife’s shoulder.

  “Every few hours,” Pippa answers. “It won’t hurt them. Keep them as comfortable as possible until we return.”

  Bea squeezes my arm. “Be careful.”

  I nod and give her a quick embrace.

  Rella joins us. “I don’t know what we would do without you.”

  “We’ll be quick,” I promise.

  Pippa and I leave the cottage and meet Archer by the stables. He’s already waiting with our horses.

  “How are they doing?” he asks.

  “Better for now,” Pippa answers.

  Archer hands me my mare’s reins. “We could send a messenger to the physician.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think he’ll ride five hours without a personal plea.”

  Pippa accepts her bow and quiver from her husband and secures them to her back. Not for the first time, I wish there were a weapon I knew how to wield. Perhaps Rigel will teach me to shoot someday. If he returns.

  I roll my shoulders, dismissing the melancholy thoughts. I don’t have time for them.

  The guards don’t question us. They’re used to our rides by now. Of course, this time they have no idea we’ll be gone well past dark.

  We’ve ridden roughly three-and-a-half hours when my hind-end gets sore—and only four when it goes numb. I have no idea how the knights travel for days. Even with my inexperience on long rides, we make decent time and reach Thernrow by mid-afternoon.

  Despite the urgency of our mission, I can’t help but marvel at the village in the distance. Metal sculpted rooftops gleam in the daylight, topping tall, impressive buildings and manor houses. Here too, stone dragons flank the entrance. The sculptures, though impressive, are considerably smaller than our own stone sentries.

  We ride through the gates. Just like the village surrounding the castle, the beauty is a mirage.

  Villagers watch us. With gaunt faces and sharp eyes, they have the look of men slowly starving to death. These people are drowning in poverty. I feel guilty for the quality of my own clothes and horse, and I try to avoid their eyes. Still, I feel their attention.

  Pippa twists in her saddle, looking down one street and then another. “How do we find the physician?”

  We’ve come to a plaza. A dry fountain towers in the middle of the square with nothing but withered leaves and dirt in its pool. The sculpture in the center, a knight standing off against a water-breathing dragon, still gleams in the light, barely tarnished. The contrast of the opulence against the air of abandonment is disconcerting. Truly, I’m surprised a thief hasn’t stolen away the sculpture. At the rate in which Errinton deteriorates, it’s only a matter of time.

  Across the square, a tavern door stands open, and it looks like it’s held in place with a stone that might have once belonged to the fountain’s foundation. Despite the early hour, the place seems to be the only establishment with patrons. Bard-song floats to us through the door. Blocking the entrance, a man leans suggestively over a serving woman who’s practically spilling from her bodice.

  Archer frowns at the tavern and says, “Wait here.”

  He excuses himself past the couple at the entrance and disappears into the building.

  My mare shifts underneath me, picking up
on my discomfort. A cluster of women gathers nearby. They whisper to each other as they watch me and Pippa. A little farther down, a man loiters under a building’s overhang in the bare shadows of mid-day. His intense stare makes me nervous.

  I glance at Pippa to see how she’s fairing under the villager’s scrutiny. The princess surveys them all, meeting their eyes, unafraid—unashamed of what she is. Her expression is in no way unkind, but it certainly announces she’s not a person to be trifled with.

  Archer steps out of the tavern before anyone can accept the challenge in Pippa’s gaze. I am grateful for that. Errintonians—peasants and nobles alike—don’t take well to being put in their place.

  “The physician lives a few streets down.” Archer mounts his horse. “But they said not to expect much.”

  My heart sinks. He has to help.

  Archer leads us to a manor house. A shutter hangs askew on the bottom story. At one point in time, one of the glass windows was broken, and it’s been boarded up to keep the weather out.

  “Are you sure this is the place?” I ask, incredulous.

  Archer shrugs. “Only one way to find out.”

  I swing down from my horse. I give the door three good raps with the iron knocker. The sound echoes through the entry on the other side of the door. I wait several moments, but no one answers.

  Has the manor been deserted?

  I look back at Pippa and Archer and raise my hand in question.

  Archer nods to the door. “Try again.”

  I’m about to knock for the second time when the door opens. A lean woman with hard eyes stands on the other side.

  “I’m sorry, but Master Aimlin—” She stops abruptly, running a sharp eye over my gown. Her attention drifts to Pippa and Archer.

  Hoping to take advantage of her temporary distraction, I step forward. “We’re here to see the physician.”

  She continues to study me. I think she means to send us away, but after a moment she stands aside, allowing me entry. “You may take the horses around the back to the stable,” she tells Archer and Pippa.

  I follow the woman inside. At one point in time, the physician must have been a very wealthy man. The house is large; the entry staircase is grand. Polished wood gleams, a testament to the care of the keeper of the house. But there is a noticeable lack of grandeur. Tapestry rods hang empty, and no art adorns the wall. There is no armor, no rugs. The house is a skeleton.

  The woman leads me to a closed room and motions for me to wait. She knocks on the door, and a man instructs her to enter. They speak for a moment, and then she waves me in.

  The physician sits at a desk, wearily rubbing his temples. “Agnes, would you—” He jumps when he sees me and stands quickly, bowing. “Your Highness.”

  The woman’s face mirrors the physician’s shock.

  “Master Kendal Aimlin?” I ask.

  He nods and sets aside a pair of reading lenses. “What may I do for you?”

  He’s younger than I expected—only five years older than me, ten at the most. His eyes are kind, and my confidence is renewed. “I’ve come seeking your help.”

  Master Kendal listens as I explain the situation, but his expression becomes troubled as I near the end.

  “Your Highness,” he says. “I would do everything in my power to help you, but I do not have the supplies.” He motions around his bare room. “As you can see, I’ve already sold everything I can. There’s nothing left.”

  I run my hands through my wind-knotted hair, ready to give in to despair.

  When he sees my distress, he quickly stands aside from his chair. “Please, sit.”

  Gladly, I accept his offer. I can’t believe we’ve come all this way just to be thwarted once again by my lack of gold. Why did wasteful, hateful, drunk Calden receive an allowance? What have I ever done to make Father hate me as he does?

  The physician wrings his hands. “I’m truly sorry—so sorry.”

  My fingers rub the pendant at my neck as I rack my brain for a solution. Suddenly, my fingers go still.

  No. I won’t do it.

  This pendant is the most precious thing I own. What if Rigel doesn’t return? It will be the only token I have to remember him by.

  But if I don’t, Marielle and Kara will die.

  Gritting my teeth, I pull the pendant over my neck and offer it to the physician.

  He shakes his head and holds out his hands to stop me. “No, I can’t—”

  “You must,” I say with more force than I intend. I shake the pendant. “These people mean everything to me.”

  He accepts it with a tentative hand, and then he shakes his head as he examines it. “This is exquisite. Are you sure you are willing to part with it?”

  I’m going to be sick. I fight back a wave of nausea. “Take it.”

  Slowly, he nods and tucks the pendant in the coin pouch at his side.

  It takes very little time for the physician to pack, and soon we’re on our way.

  At Thernrow’s gates, Kendal pulls his horse to a stop. He quickly climbs the steps to the guard’s barracks where he is greeted by a man on duty.

  “Why are we stopping?” Pippa asks.

  “Kendal must barter with the knights’ physician for supplies.”

  Pippa frowns. “Are you all right?”

  I nod, not quite looking at her. They don’t need to know. It would only make them feel bad.

  It doesn’t take Kendal long. He comes down the steps with a small leather pouch in his hand. Without a word, he offers it to me.

  Why would he give me the medicinal supplies?

  “What is this?” I ask as I take it from him.

  “The change.”

  I almost drop the bag. I don’t want this money.

  “You keep it.” I push it back at him.

  Kendal shakes his head. “It’s far too much. I won’t accept it.”

  I grit my teeth and stare at the physician. When he doesn’t relent, I shove the gold in my satchel.

  It’s late when we arrive back at the castle. The guards are too drunk to notice us, and we manage to slip in undetected. It’s a good sign they aren’t on alert. No one has noticed my absence. No one has cared.

  Bea answers the door as soon as we knock. With great relief, she greets me. Her eyes light with hope when she sees Kendal standing with us. Stepping aside, she quickly motions us inside.

  Rella immediately takes Kendal upstairs. Archer, Pippa, Bea, and I wait by the fire. Bea looks better than she did when we left. Pippa’s tea must have continued to help.

  Archer stretches and warms himself by the fire. Pippa joins him, and he wraps his arm around her shoulders. Exhausted and heart-sick, I sink into Rella’s chair.

  Bea kneels on the rug in front of me. “Did you meet any trouble?”

  Out of habit, I reach for my pendant. Bea follows the movement, and I quickly drop my hand. “No.”

  “Where’s your pendant?”

  I turn to the fire. “I must have forgotten to put it on this morning.”

  “Seirsha.” She sounds like she’s going to cry. “You sold it, didn’t you?”

  Pippa and Archer look over, startled.

  I shrug as if it’s not important. “It’s all I had.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us!” Pippa sets her hands on her hips. “We would have paid.”

  I shake my head. “What’s done is done.”

  Archer frowns but pulls Pippa to him when it looks like she’s going to argue. He shakes his head. Resigned, she sets her cheek against his chest.

  I set my head in my hands and rest my elbows on my knees.

  In what seems like ages later, Kendal comes downstairs with Rella and Antone on his heels. We all look up, expectant.

  “They’ll be fine.” Kendal turns to Pippa and gives her an approving look. “If it wasn’t for your tea, I don’t think the little one would have made it.”

  Pippa beams, and Archer squeezes her shoulders, obviously proud of her.

  “I
would like to keep an eye on them.” Kendal turns to Rella. “Do you think you could spare a quilt? I’ll sleep in front of the fire, if that’s all right.”

  Rella’s eyes go wide at the thought of such a fine man not only asking for lodging in her home but requesting to sleep on her floor as well.

  “You are more than welcome,” she says. “But please take the back room. Bea and I will be more than comfortable on the floor.”

  Kendal shakes his head. “I will not cast you from your beds.”

  Archer, Pippa, and I leave them to argue over the sleeping arrangements. I shut the door quietly, not wanting to wake up Marielle or Kara, and then I pause. After fetching the coin pouch from my mare, I pour half the contents into a flower pot by the door. Soon it will be warm enough to plant, and Rella always grows summer flowers. I cover the gold with a layer of dirt so it won’t be noticed by someone passing by.

  Not able to stand it any longer, Pippa finally asks, “Whatever are you doing?”

  I stand and wipe my hands on my skirt. “They’ll never accept it directly.”

  Archer smiles. “Are you finished?”

  “Almost.” I think hard, trying to remember the layout of a little map scratched in the dirt. I smile at the pouch when I remember where the little girl’s house was. She gave me something dear to her, and tonight I will return the favor. “I have one more stop.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Adrinel should have been back long before now. Something is wrong.

  The dragon’s cave isn’t very far, only half an hour’s walk. In fact, if it weren’t for a few tall, thick pines, a person could see the entrance from the castle battlements. Fortunately, you can’t.

  The route isn’t exactly a trail, but I’ve walked it enough I know which animal paths to follow. I’m not feeling very optimistic about my outing. I see Adrinel in the sky above the castle when she is here. For days, I’ve watched the clouds, hoping for a glimpse of her. I’ve seen nothing.

  Still, the weather is fairly warm, and the birds and squirrels chatter from the trees. Pippa’s right. It’s good to be away from the castle—and it’s even better to leave the horse behind.

  Careful not to catch my skirts on a prickly bush, I climb over a boulder near the top of my path. I glare over my shoulder when something snags me. I give my skirt a tug, hoping it won’t rip the fabric. I pull myself onto the short ledge and stop to examine the damage.