“It’s beautiful, Cassandra.”
Cassandra only smiled and looked at the standard.
“I’ll make sure it is first thing that is brought over the wall.”
“Over the wall?”
“Once we know everything is in place, we’ll be bringing a full blown assault over the north wall.”
“But the north wall is impossible to mount over, the woods are so dark. The marsh is so thick, it has never been done.”
Taleon smiled. “For by Thee I have run through a troop, and by my God we will leap over that north wall.”
“How?”
He smiled and laid his finger over his lips. “It’s a secret.”
“You’d better keep it that way.”
“Oh, I will. Come, your father wants to see you and I think it would be best if he received this from your hand.”
Together they folded it and Cassandra tied a white ribbon around it.
“There.”
Taleon smiled.
When Cassandra presented the flag she had sewn mostly by herself, King Aric’s eyes filled with tears.
“Cassandra. This shall mean so very much to me. Now, I wanted to see you about a few details for your journey. There has been a long discussion about how you should arrive in the valley, and at last it has been agreed upon. Do you think you can manage a horse bareback?”
“Bareback?”
“Yes.”
“I have never tried it.”
“Well, we can amend that. Before people rise in the morning, Taleon will be taking you out and down most of the mountain. From there, it won’t be too hard find your way. I wanted to take you, but the risk is just too great.”
“Of course, Pappa.”
“Once we know Archibald’s plan, we will lay siege. If possible, we will try to get you out first, but the likelihood of that is slim. Finding you will be one of the prime objectives when we reach Chambria. While you are there, find a way to escape or hide once we start to take the city. Understand?”
“Yes, Pappa.”
“I am telling you all this now so you will remember it, so in the morning you aren’t so nervous you might forget it.”
“Thank you, Pappa.”
“I love you, Cassandra.”
Cassandra flung her arms around her father’s neck. “I love you. Your standard will always fly in my heart no matter where I am.”
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the day of Edith’s wedding arrived. The day dawned bright with promise. In the early afternoon, Blake and Edith wed, Cassandra watched with joy as she held Brendan in her arms.
Feasting and dancing followed, and Cassandra found herself swept into a group of girls who were not engaged to dance.
“They are a handsome couple, are they not?” whispered one girl to another.
“I can’t wait for my wedding day.”
“Did you hear that Ellie and Horace are engaged?”
“No!”
“Yes, it is quite true.”
“You know what young man I saw talking to your father the other day?”
“Who?”
“Raymond.”
“Raymond! Are you sure?”
“Quite. They talked for a long time.”
“I hope so, and I hope it was about me.”
Amused, Cassandra listened to all of their hopes and dreams of marriage, husbands, homes, and babies. She was quite surprised when one girl turned to her and asked her a question.
“Do you know who your intended is, Cassandra?”
Cassandra looked at the girls, baffled. “I don’t know.”
“You and your father haven’t talked about it?”
“No, we haven’t at all. We have been too busy.”
“Is there someone you would like to marry?”
Cassandra blushed and shook her head.
“There must be some striking young man who has caught your eye, or do you intend to wed a stranger? I would rather marry for love than anything, but what about you?”
“I do not know. I was told that I would marry well as a child and that love would have nothing to do with it. That I understood, but my Pappa is so different from my uncle I do not know.”
“But is there anyone you like?”
Cassandra’s mind whirled and then her eyes fell on a suitable but mischievous answer. “Yes, but I am afraid our marriage could never be. It is just too impossible, though I am quite in love with him.”
The girls leaned forward with excitement. “Who?” they asked beneath their breath.
“I really shouldn’t tell you,” Cassandra said with a modest downward gaze.
“Oh, tell! We won’t betray it to a single soul, we promise.”
Yes and it will be in the next country by tomorrow morning if I was serious... “Well, are you sure?”
“Oh, quite; not a one shall hear his name from our lips.”
“Well, all right. His name is...” Cassandra let them hang dramatically on her pause before shyly raising her eyes to meet theirs. “Brendan.”
“Brendan!” the girls exclaimed in disgust at being thwarted. “He is just a baby.”
Cassandra giggled. “Yes, I know, but I have quite lost my heart to him.” She glanced over the crowd to see Edith glowing with her new happiness, Brendan sound asleep between them. They adored him. How she would miss them both. They were right; it was time they moved on, both of them. Soon the kingdom would be ready for their return and they would move back into Chambria, but until then they needed to build a home of their own.
The girls changed the subject, but Cassandra dove deeply into her own thoughts.
Taleon caught her eyes. He was among the dancers with a young lady, a very young lady. The small girl barely reached his waist, but she was dancing with the best of them.
Cassandra watched and waited far into the evening. No one asked her to dance. She was dressed as one of the common people, but she was not common. It wasn’t that her feet itched to dance or that she really longed to, but her heart felt a little miffed that no one would ask her.
Quietly slipping away, Cassandra climbed to the top of the tower and watched the festivities from above. Unexpectedly she found her father coming to her side.
“What are you thinking about, Cassandra?”
“Hopes and dreams, I guess. Who will I marry when you are on the throne?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Am I still engaged to the second prince of Shalsburg?”
“No, he is happily married to a duchess of his own country. Otherwise I would not risk sending you down there. You are too precious to marry just anyone.”
“Who would you wish me to wed?”
“He is a man of wisdom and honor and truth, one who will stand by you and be a strength and assist you in ruling the country.”
“Who is he?” asked Cassandra, mentally thinking how like Taleon it sounded.
“He shall be a man of your choosing, Cassandra, and as long as he holds all of those character qualities, I shall be a satisfied father.”
“But what of connections, title, riches, land, and wealth?”
“If you wish to marry a man who has all of that and what I mentioned, I shall more than happily bless your union. But there is no need to worry about how our country will do when I come back onto the throne. I have agreements with the countries surrounding us, none need to be strengthened by a marital tie. Cassandra, you are free to marry whomever you please, be he peasant or prince, as long as he passes my approval. Come, we should not exclude ourselves so from our people.” He offered her his arm and she took it, leaning her head against his strong, battle wise arm.
Upon setting foot downstairs, Cassandra was besieged by a group of small needy orphan children to amuse them, and so she did. As the hour grew late, she found more than one small head pillowed against her lap while she told them a story. Resting her back against the castle wall, listening to the music, and watching the dancing, she slowly found her eyes drooping shut.
Cassandra awoke when a small head was lifted from her lap. She started slightly.
“Shh,” came a soft voice. It was Taleon. “Stay still; let me get these little ones in their beds. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Cassandra looked around her. The children that had fallen asleep beside her were the orphans—the ones with no one to call their own.
It took Taleon a few trips to relieve Cassandra of all the small slumberers. That left her alone in the dark and cold to think, to realize where she would be before the next break of day, and it frightened her.
As Taleon carefully cradled the second-to-last one in his arms, Cassandra followed his example by taking the last small sleeping girl. The importance of what she was about to do struck her in the heart. For them—all of them, and the children that they would have—she was doing it so they would have a future.
Tucking the last two little ones in their beds, Taleon closed the door.
Cassandra had to say something to distract herself, “You are good with the children.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Taleon whispered as they started walking.
“Do you have brothers and sisters?” she asked as the question occurred to her.
Taleon smiled, but it wasn’t one that reached his eyes. “Not that I remember at least. I was on the streets ever since I can remember. It’s all I ever knew until I made the mistake of stealing from one of Archibald’s soldiers. He had a dozen hot raisin rolls. I didn’t think the man would miss one. He turned around just as I grabbed it and pulled out his sword and I knew I was done for. The soldier was going to run me through for laying my dirty fingers on his rolls.
“Just as I expected it to be all over with, someone pushed me aside. It was your father and a group of his flash fighters. He fought with the man, mounted his own horse, picked me up off the street, and rode off with me. I didn’t know what to think. It was sort of like a dream— when your hero comes to save the day. Just because he was my hero didn’t mean I won immediate favor in his eyes. My thieving ways weren’t looked kindly upon by your father, but he straightened me out.”
“I would have never guessed.”
“Guessed?”
“You always seemed so...I thought you were the son of a noble.”
Taleon’s mouth twinged with a smile. “Your father is the closest thing I have ever had to father.”
“You are his son, aren’t you?”
“In his heart, you will always be first.”
“Even if I don’t deserve it?” Her voice was nervous as her thoughts traced back to a few minutes earlier.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But I can’t help thinking it. I am so clueless sometimes.”
Taleon turned and unexpectedly placed his fingers under Cassandra’s chin, so he could look into her eyes.
A lump rose in her throat and butterflies whirled around in her stomach. “I am afraid I will fail him, Taleon.”
“Never be afraid of failing, Cassandra. Just make sure you are strong enough to pick yourself back up. He wants you to do your best. That is all he asks. That is all anyone asks.”
“But if I fail him, I won’t be able to look him or anyone else in the eye ever.”
“Then don’t fail.”
“Taleon, I am not like you. I can’t just—”
He laid his finger on her lips. “Not a word of it. Your father doesn’t love you because you are like me. He loves you because you are you. Nothing in the world will change that. Don’t look at failure, because then you will fail. Just do your best.”
“And if my best isn’t enough?”
“There will be no regrets.”
Cassandra leaned against him. He was so strong in so many ways.
“You know, there is one girl I didn’t get a chance to dance with tonight.”
“Who?”
There was a smile in Taleon’s voice. “You. Should we amend that now?”
Cassandra looked up into his face. “There is no music.”
“I don’t need music to dance. All I need is a willing partner.”
“Well, this partner is willing, but she would like to propose something else.”
“What is that?”
“We save the first dance for the victory of my father—a dance in the great hall with marble pillars and a polished floor and music.”
“Agreed. Good night, Cassandra; I will see you in a little while.”
“Good night, Taleon.”
It was her father’s gentle touch and tender words.
“Cassandra. Cassandra.”
She forced her weary eyes to open.
“Hello Pappa,” she whispered. Butterflies tangled her stomach in knots. A cold rush of fears and nerves washed over her. Tears started to come and she wanted to roll into a small ball and disappear, but she couldn’t.
I am needed. I need to do this. My Pappa will be on the throne before winter, before harvest comes. He will be king of all Chambria. Be brave and stow your fears away. All will be well. Just believe.
Her father’s arms were around her, holding her close, so close she couldn’t breathe—but she didn’t want to breathe. All she wanted was that feeling to last forever, to hear his noble heart beating always beneath his chainmail, to feel his strong arms surrounding her, to feel safe always.
A moment later, he slowly released her.
“Come Cassandra, the day awaits.”
Chapter 30
It was still dark. Not even hints of daybreak shone on the horizon. Rising, Cassandra quickly changed into the peasant gown that had been provided for her from a new arrival from the valley. It was a bit snug, but it gave the impression that she wanted to give her uncle. Cassandra then slipped on a pair of shoddy peasant shoes. Over it all, she put on her thick, rich, warm cloak to keep away the cold morning air.
Glancing around the room, Cassandra wondered how long before she would return to Raven Castle. If she ever would. Opening the door, she found her father waiting. She slipped her cold hand into his large warm one and held tightly. They walked into the courtyard where Taleon was waiting with Keenan.
As they reached the horses, Cassandra dropped to her knees. “Can you send me out with a blessing, Pappa?”
King Aric rested her hands on her head. He prayed a blessing over his daughter, then pulled her to her feet. Pulling her into a long-lasting embrace, he then lifted Cassandra up into the saddle.
Taleon had already mounted. The gate was open.
“I love you, Cassandra. Be careful,” he whispered huskily.
“I will be. I love you, Pappa.”
And with that they rode through the gate.
A lump rose in her throat. Tears blurred her vision. She wanted to break down and cry, but no, she had a mission to accomplish.
It seemed forever that they rode in silence, swiftly descending the mountain. Coming within sight of a road, Taleon pulled up his horse. Cassandra followed his example.
“That road will lead you to the capitol,” Taleon said with a nod.
Cassandra took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Taleon dismounted and assisted Cassandra down from her horse. Taking off the saddle, he brushed down the horse to remove the signs of the saddle, then turned to Cassandra.
“I guess that is everything then,” he said, a lump rising in his throat.
“Thank you, Taleon.”
For a long moment neither said a thing but gazed down the road where for them, for everyone, lay the fate of Chambria. Her whole life depended upon her next move.
“One suggestion,” said Taleon, turning back to her. “Let your hair down. Let the wind and ride tangle it. You will be more authentically distressed.”
Cassandra smiled, undid the ribbon from her hair and shook her dark head until it ached and her hair flew about.
“That’s better, but I suppose I should be sending you on your way.”
“I suppose. The sooner I leave, the sooner I will return.”
Cassandra walked over to her horse and took a handful of mane in her hands, waiting for Taleon’s assistance.
Gently he put his hands on her waist and started lifting her onto the horse. A moment later her feet were back on the ground and she was spun around to face him.
“Promise me you’ll be safe, Cassie.”
“I will, Taleon.”
“Do you remember what I made you swear?”
“Yes, I do. I will not betray you ever.”
“Cassandra, I don’t know why I have this feeling, but I cannot deny it. I release you from your pledge. I take it all back. You may tell your uncle whatever you wish.”
“I will not betray you or anyone else, Taleon, much less my Pappa.”
“But you may have to.”
“No.” Cassandra said firmly. “I never will.”
“Listen to me, Cassie. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. You are going into a lion’s den. Use whatever weapon falls into your hands. Whether it be words or a sword, use it wisely and with great care, for there is no knowing when it may turn to bite you.”
For a moment Cassandra did not reply. “I will, Taleon.”
“Good, because I—I...”
His grip became tighter and Cassandra found she was holding her breath—for what she did not know, but she was.
“Cassie,” the tone in his voice, the look in his eye, spoke what his words would not.
What am I thinking; she is a princess. The princess.
“Taleon, I...”
“Shh, don’t speak,” he said, laying a finger on her lips. “You must be going.” He pulled her closer for only a moment, then lifted her onto the horse. Cassandra’s hand caught his as he released her. He raised it to his lips, tenderly kissing it. He released her hand.
“Until we meet again, Taleon?” she asked, dying to say more, but the words would not come to her.
“Until we meet again, your highness.”
The word struck her with a pang. Highness. He had not called her that since the day he had called her a pain. The words flashed through her mind.
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