Dragon's Keep: The Complete Dracengard Series

by Christopher Vale

  Chapter 5

  The receiving line to greet the newly wedded couples was long, but Willem and Geoffrey were near the front of it. The ceremony had been a beautiful affair, the hall filled with flowers of various colors as guests from throughout the realm crowded in to witness the union of Sephene to Erec and Terrwyn to Dillan.

  Sephene was lovely in a flowing blue gown that came low off of the shoulders, but covered her arms to the wrists. She wore white gloves covering her hands. Upon her head was a silver tiara embedded with blue stones. Erec matched her in a blue suit with doublet. Draped over his shoulders however was a cape of deep red that had belonged to his father and a golden crown sat upon his head.

  Terrwyn wore a stunning gown of soft garnet, her arms bare from the shoulders, but her long white gloves covered her fingers to her elbows. She wore her mother’s golden crown upon her head. Dillan had no clothes fitting for the occasion as all of his had been lost either when Riversmeet was sacked, or all non-essentials were tossed from the Vagabond to keep her afloat. His wedding suit had been aboard. Fortunately he was near enough to Erec’s size that with a few adjustments from a tailor, was able to fit into one of Erec’s green suits and doublet. He wore a golden crown that had been presented to him as a wedding gift by Willem. Elwood had not been sacked during the war and Willem still possessed a sizable collection of crowns from his late father. No one knew where any of the Stromish jewels were.

  Eamon stood ahead of Willem and Geoffrey in the receiving line, chatting away to Willem, happy to see a friendly face. He did not know many of the guests there having flown with Jade across the ocean alone to attend. His mother and grandmother were traveling to Caerwynspire for Lisabeth’s coronation.

  “You remember my grandmother, don’t you?” he asked Willem.

  “Duchess Sibilus, of course,” Willem replied.

  “It was her suggestion that I ask Lisabeth to marry me,” Eamon said.

  Willem smiled. “Well, it is certainly a sensible arrangement.”

  “Jade and I fly to Caerwynspire after this to attend Lisabeth’s coronation. I’m hoping for an answer then.” Willem nodded. “Are you coming?” Eamon asked.

  “No, I am afraid I will not make it. We have a lot going on to reorganize Elophborne. I had to choose between the wedding or the coronation, and I really do not know Lisabeth very well. I mean had it been Ashleen…” he let the words trail off as both he and Eamon looked down at the floor as they remembered their friend with sadness.

  Eamon turned to Geoffrey. “So, how is it getting your big brother back?” he asked in an attempt to change the subject to something more pleasurable than Ashleen.

  Geoffrey stared at Eamon blankly for a moment before finally speaking. “Well, his first act was to brand my mother a traitor and have her arrested, so it has been a bit of a rough transition.”

  Willem sighed. Eamon turned to him. “Sorry,” Eamon said. Willem shrugged.

  Eamon was next in line to greet the newly wedded couples so he turned his attention in that direction. He stepped up to Sephene and bowed at the waist, kissing her hand and congratulating her before shaking hands with Erec. As he stepped past to give Terrwyn a hug, Willem stepped up to Sephene.

  “Congratulations, Your Majesty. The ceremony was beautiful,” Willem said as he bent over and kissed the top of her hand.

  Sephene smiled warmly. “Thank you, King Willem,” she smiled.

  Willem stepped in front of Erec and the two embraced. Geoffrey stepped in front of Sephene and reached for her hand, but she quickly jerked it away. “I know you collaborated with the whore,” she spat at the boy, the disgust clear on her face.

  Erec quickly placed a hand on her arm. “It is alright my love, please calm down.”

  “It is not alright,” Sephene almost shouted. “A lot of good people died while he worshiped at that witch’s feet.”

  Willem glanced at Erec who gave him an apologetic smile. “Come on,” Willem said as he pulled Geoffrey away from Sephene. So much for their relations getting back to normal.

  Willem greeted Terrwyn with a hug, she had tears in her eyes as she pulled him tight. “I am so glad you came,” she whispered in his ear.

  “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” he whispered back. “You look more beautiful than all of the flowers in the hall combined.” He pulled away and shook Dillan’s hand, but Dillan pulled him into an embrace as well.

  “It means the world to us that you came,” Dillan said. “And thank you again for the crown.” The two chuckled.

  Willem watched as Terrwyn turned to Geoffrey. He was very relieved when she did not react the same way as Sephene. Instead, Terrwyn wrapped her arms around Geoffrey.

  “It is so good to see you,” she said and then lowered her voice. “Do not worry. Sephene will come around.”

  Geoffrey chuckled. “I really do not care if she does,” he said causing Terrwyn to pull away. A smile remained on her lips though.

  “Well, thank you so much for coming. I am sure Taite will be very excited to see you. She is over there,” Terrwyn said nodding her head to where Taite stood talking to Tallah and Merdith.

  “Thank you,” he said and then stepped in front of Dillan and shook his hand. Geoffrey looked him up and down. He resented Dillan for Anne had promised to give the throne of the Stromland to him. “Be careful, Your Majesty,” he said, receiving a quizzical glance from Dillan. “The last time I attended the wedding reception of a Valestead woman in this hall, she cut the groom’s head right off his shoulders.”

  Dillan glanced at Willem and then at Terrwyn, unsure of how to respond.

  Terrwyn spoke for him. “Yes, well at least Anne did some good in this war by getting rid of that wicked old Wizard,” she smiled.

  Geoffrey’s face turned stern. “You have no idea what you are talking about. Empress Andalynn tried to stop the war. She tried to save us all.”

  Willem quickly grabbed him by the arm and jerked him away. “That is enough,” he said before mouthing the words “I’m sorry” to Terrwyn and Dillan. To Willem’s relief, Terrwyn and Dillan waved his concerns away and then greeted the next guests.

  When they were out of earshot Willem stopped and stared at his brother. “What are you doing?” he asked in a voice filled with exasperation. Geoffrey only shrugged. Willem was about to scold him further, but then thought better of it. He did not need to alienate his little brother anymore than he already was. Instead Willem hugged him. “Alright,” he said as he pulled away. “Let’s go talk to Taite.”

  “Alright,” Geoffrey said.

  “Now you see the two girls with her?” Willem asked to a nod from Geoffrey. “The one to her left is her little cousin, Merdith. That’s Sephene’s baby sister.” He turned to look is brother in the eye. “Do not tweak her nose,” he cautioned. “Understood?”

  “Yes,” Geoffrey said with a roll of his eyes.

  “Good. Now the other girl is Tallah. She is the one I told you about.”

  “The one from your dream?” Geoffrey asked.

  “Yes,” Willem replied. “Apparently nephilim, like you and I can see things like seraph. Visions or whatnot. What happened to her and all of our people in Elophdale was horrifying.”

  “That was the Wizard’s doing, not Anne’s,” Geoffrey said quickly.

  Willem stopped. “Please quit defending her, at least until we leave Avonvale. Can you do that for me?” Willem asked. “Please.”

  “Fine,” Geoffrey said with a huff.

  “Thank you. Now I want you to be especially nice to Tallah. I intend to invite her to live with us.”

  “Really?” Geoffrey asked.

  “Yes. It’ll be good to have a little sister, right?”

  Geoffrey smiled a happy smile, something Willem had not seen him do in a very long time. “Yes,” Geoffrey said.

  They stepped up to the three girls and both gave flourishing bows. “My ladies,” Willem said, “What a pleasure to see you!”

  “Willem!” Tait
e squealed with excitement as she rushed into his arms and gave him a big hug. She was beaming. It was a happy day for her. She’d always loved Sephene and now she was her sister. Combine that with Captain Dillan, as she still preferred to call him, becoming her brother and Taite might have been even happier than Terrwyn and Erec about the wedding.

  “You brought, Geoffrey!” she exclaimed and pulled away to hug Geoffrey as well. “I’m so excited to see you both. Wasn’t the wedding beautiful?” she said as she began to talk Geoffrey’s ear off.

  Willem turned to look at Tallah. “Hello Tallah,” he said with a friendly smile.

  Tallah curtsied. “Good evening, Your Majesty,” she said very formally.

  Willem laughed. “Please cut that out. And call me Willem,” he said. “I was hoping for a hug,” he said and he saw Tallah’s face brighten as she jumped toward him and in to his open arms.

  Willem squeezed her tight and when he pulled away he dropped to one knee so as to not tower over her. He motioned to Geoffrey. “This is my brother Geoffrey,” he said.

  “Yes, of course, I know,” Tallah said and curtsied to Geoffrey. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”

  Willem was quite proud of his little brother who bowed at the waist in return. “The pleasure is mine, My Lady,” the prince said.

  Tallah blushed at being called a lady.

  “Are you happy here?” Willem asked.

  Tallah nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes. Terrwyn and Erec are very nice to me and Dillan and Sephene too. I mean, everyone is.”

  “Good,” Willem smiled. “I am glad. You are Elophbornt, however, and I wanted to offer you the chance to come back to Elwood with Geoffrey and I. You could live in the palace with us, and…um…well you could be like a sister, you know. We lost our sister during the war and it would be nice to have a lady around again.”

  Tears began to build in Tallah’s eyes. “Really?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Willem said. “Really.” Tallah threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. “Is that a yes?” he asked with a chuckled and felt her head nod against his shoulder. “Very good. I’ll make arrangements with Erec for you to come back with us.”

  “Thank you, Your…er…Willem. Thank you so much,” she said.

  Chapter 6

  Eamon stood with several of the Paladin at the White Fortress. Tomfrey, Rodrick, and Auberon were there. He had asked them how he could go about taking the Paladin trials. The conversation had naturally turned to Lisabeth since they were all gathered there for her coronation. Eamon turned to look at her. He had never seen her in a gown before. Her face was painted and he thought there was no one in the Realm as beautiful as her. She might even be prettier than Ashleen.

  Lisabeth gave him a little smile. She was standing with her mother and speaking with Eamon’s mother and grandmother. No doubt Sibilus was telling them both what a good match Eamon would be for Lisabeth. Basically the same argument he’d already made on his own behalf.

  He turned back to the Paladin. “I’m surprised Lisabeth was allowed to take the throne without being a Paladin,” Eamon said causing a burst of laughter from the knights. Eamon smiled. “What?” he asked wanting in on the joke.

  Auberon, already starting to feel loose from drink threw an arm around the lad’s shoulder. “Well you see, Your Highness, the only people with the right to insist that the Queen be a Paladin are the Paladin.”

  “But I thought the Council of Lords…” he began but Auberon waved him to silence.

  “After the treachery of Lord Tarlton, we don’t give a bear’s behind what the Council says,” Auberon laughed.

  “So, you don’t mind her not being a Paladin?” Eamon asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Auberon said. “After what she’s been through, the Paladin Quest is easy. But she’ll take it and she’ll pass it.”

  Rodrick took over from there. “Basically, Auberon gathered all the Paladin and all the nobility in a room and said Lisabeth was going to be queen and if anyone had a problem with it to speak now…” Rodrick started to laugh and had to pause to catch his breath. “So he could cut out their damned tongue.” All of the Paladin were rolling with laughter at the memory, and all clearly had had much more to drink than Eamon.

  “By the seraph I thought that old bastard Lord Hollis was going to drop dead from shock right there,” Auberon said accompanied by his booming laugh.

  As the Paladin continued to laugh about it Tomfrey stepped over to Eamon, threw an arm around his shoulder and guided him away. “Let’s get you another drink, Your Highness,” Tomfrey said.

  Eamon glanced down into his cup. “I’ve still got…” he began, but Tomfrey silenced him when he took the prince’s cup and guzzled it down himself, handing Eamon back an empty cup. Eamon nodded. “Another drink then,” he smiled. Tomfrey chuckled.

  After filling their cups with ale, Tomfrey led Eamon outside of the hall and out onto the walls of the White Fortress over looking the northern Scorched Mountains. They walked along the wall in silence for a long time.

  “Is there something you wanted to speak about Sir Tomfrey?” Eamon asked finally breaking the silence.

  Tomfrey smiled and pointed out at the mountains. “Do you know why they call these the Scorched Mountains?” he asked the young prince.

  Eamon nodded. “According to legend a battle between the seraphs and shedom, the dracen and drakons grew so intense the whole of the mountains were set ablaze by dragon fire.”

  Tomfrey nodded. “You were at Dracengard. You’ve spoken to seraph, you fly on the back of a dracen. You know it is more than legend.”

  “Yes,” Eamon said.

  “I mean, surely it was an exaggeration to say all of the mountains were on fire, but the gist of the tale is probably accurate, don’t you think?” Tomfrey asked.

  “Probably,” Eamon agreed.

  Tomfrey nodded. He then pointed north. “According to legends the gate to Abaddock is buried out there somewhere. Under a mountain. If it ever opens again Caerwynspire will be the first line of defense. As badly as we fared against drakmere I do not think we will last long against an army of shedoms, drakons, and se’irim. Do you?”

  “Probably not,” Eamon agreed.

  “Nevertheless, our duty is important. The Caerwyn are here to defend the Middle Realm. That is our entire purpose. That is why we train from childhood to fight.”

  Eamon nodded but wondered if there was a point to any of this.

  “I overheard you speaking to Lisabeth in Talisaria.”

  “Ah,” Eamon said finally understanding where this was going.

  “You are a Caerwyn by blood. You are the Queen’s cousin. You are of the same line as she and her father, King Artur, before her and her sister, Ashleen. And let us not forget, you yourself were trained to fight by Paladin. I agree with you, Your Highness. I agree that you would be a good match, not just as a husband, but as a protector of Caerwynspire.”

  “Well, thank you, Sir Tomfrey,” Eamon smiled.

  “But if you try to usurp Lisabeth’s power, or treat her badly in any way, I will hold you down while Sir Auberon cuts off your balls.” With that Tomfrey smiled a toothy grin. “Are we clear?”

  “Crystal,” Eamon said and then took a drink.

  “Excellent. I cannot wait to welcome you into the Paladin. Let us know when you believe you are prepared to take the quest.”

  “Alright, I…” Eamon began, but Tomfrey looked past him and bowed low at the waist.

  “Good evening, Your Majesty,” the knight said causing Eamon to spin around and see Lisabeth walking toward them along the wall.

  “Good evening, Sir Knight,” Lisabeth said with a nod of her head, a wry smile on her face.

  “Good evening, Your Majesty,” Eamon said.

  “Good evening, Your Highness,” Lisabeth replied. She then narrowed her eyes as she stared at them. “And what trouble are you two up to?” she asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” Tomfrey said as he slapped Eam
on on the shoulder. “The young highness just wanted to know what he needed to do to take the trials, that’s all.”

  “Really?” Lisabeth asked, unconvinced.

  Tomfrey turned to stare at Eamon. “Isn’t that right, Your Highness,” he asked.

  Eamon nodded. “Quite right, Sir Tomfrey.”

  Tomfrey turned back to Lisabeth. “Well, Your Majesty, if you will excuse me I think my cup is empty,” he said as he looked into the cup. He realized it was still quite full and quickly brought it to his lips and drained it. “There, now it is,” he smirked. “Good evening,” he said, then turned to Eamon. “Good evening, Your Highness,” he said with a bow of his head.

  “Good evening, Sir Tomfrey,” Eamon said.

  Sir Tomfrey walked along the wall back toward the hall leaving Lisabeth and Eamon all alone. The new Queen turned to face Eamon. “What was that really all about?” she asked. Eamon smiled, but said nothing. Lisabeth raised her eyebrows. “Fine,” she said when she realized he was not going to come clean. “I had a long conversation with your mother and Aunt Sibilus,” she said with a laugh.

  “I saw,” Eamon replied with a smile.

  “Your grandmother is certainly a determined woman,” she said.

  “I guess it runs in the family,” he laughed as he stared at her.

  “Yes, well, I’ve spoke to my mother and others and…” she paused and turned to face him. “I will accept your proposal,” Lisabeth said matter-of-factly.

  “You will?” Eamon asked, clearly surprised.

  “Yes,” Lisabeth said. “After all, in the interest of Caerwynspire…” she began, but was silenced when Eamon leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Eamon pulled away and looked at the scars on Lisabeth’s chin and lip. It made Lisabeth uncomfortable.

  “Why do you stare at my scars that way?” she asked.

  “I am sorry. I am just marveling at how you Caerwyn women can be scarred from battle yet remain the most beautiful ladies in the realm.” She smiled and pulled his lips to hers as she melted into his arms. They remained on the wall for a long time that way.