“And the slaver on the dock?” Tawnia asked. “The one you convinced to share the ship’s location? Do you tell us you did not seek to change anything there?”
Meedo chuckled. “I only showed him the Truth around himself. To some, it is a painful thing. If you do not believe, ask the young princess. She has the gift.”
Isaiah studied his youngest child, and she nodded once.
“Katrona, come here,” Isaiah said. She stood and walked quickly and decorously to his side. “Are you a Truthseeker, my darling?”
She stared at the table when she spoke, but her voice piped clearly for all in the room to hear. “Yes, Father.”
“Does the stranger speak Truth?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Will you sit beside me and act as my Truthseeker today?”
Katrona looked up at him with troubled eyes. Isaiah wondered how such an old soul could reside in such a young body. “As you wish.”
A chair was brought for her and she sat beside her father, back straight as a sword blade and eyes downcast.
“Very well, then. Let us continue. We have determined that someone, a woman, wanted Sebastian to disappear, and hired slavers to steal him away. But we do not know whom, and we do not know why. Correct?”
Master Jabari nodded.
“May we go back to the issue of why Mr. Meedo summoned Sebastian in the first place?”
The stranger inclined his head in a bow to Isaiah. “Certainly, Your Majesty. I’m afraid, in the end, it may indeed have some bearing on why he was kidnapped. But let me start from the beginning.”
As Isaiah listened in awe, the stranger told of the storm and his rescue, how he learned of Sebastian’s mystery, and the princess’ wish to help the boy discover who he was. He told how he initiated his investigation, the results, and that he had summoned Sebastian that morning to attempt a reading into his past, to try to find clues that would solve his mystery.
“I get a strong feeling from the lad—excuse me, the young man—that he is a very important player. Perhaps that is why he became a target. Whoever this woman is, I think she felt threatened by the possibility of Sebastian’s true identity becoming known, so she made a bid to remove him.
“And now, with your permission, Majesty, I would like to try that reading,” the stranger concluded. “I think we could learn the Truth.”
“Here? Now?” the king asked. “With everyone present?”
“As I said, I believe Sebastian is important. Whatever the Truth is, it will affect everyone here.”
⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝
Katrona watched as her father glanced at her mother, and wondered if he saw how nervous she was. Katrona herself wanted to ask to be excused. If she remained as Truthseeker, she would be placed in an impossible position. She suspected the truth, and her mother’s part in it, and she did not want to have to lie to protect her. But how could she not? She knew if she tried, she could make even the stranger believe her.
Her mother did not say a word to discourage this event. She sat absolutely silent and still: frozen, pale, waiting. Katrona opened her mouth to speak, to ask to leave, but no sound came out. She felt paralyzed between Truth and love for her mother.
“Very well,” the king said at last. “But I hope it will be worth postponing supper even longer.”
Katrona saw her mother slump, a minute movement, and then noted the stranger’s slow smile. Something had just happened, but Katrona wasn’t sure what.
“I assure you, Majesty, you will not be disappointed.” The stranger stood and began to walk around the room, extinguishing every other candle, sending the room into an eerie half-light.
“I believe it was not random chance that brought me to your kingdom, Majesty. I have felt the forces of Fate and Destiny moving ever since my arrival. They are gathering here, now, in this very room. Expect change.”
The stranger’s voice had taken on a singsong cadence, and he moved around the room smoothly, seeming only to point at the candles to make them go out.
Fascinated, Katrona watched him as she would an accomplished professional. His actions created just enough mysterious energy to enthrall, but not overwhelm, and the delivery of his words, all Truth, left the listener focused on each word so no one would tune out and miss his meaning.
“There are ribbons that run through each of us,” Meedo said. “Like a bead, we slide along between our beginning and our end, from the past to the future. Our ribbons become entwined with those we know—touching, crossing, knotting.”
Then he was back where he started. He stood behind Sebastian’s chair, hands propped on the back.
⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝
Sebastian could sense Meedo without turning around. And he could feel a lightning charge in the air, like something coming together and concentrating itself just above the center of the table. A “something” that felt somehow familiar.
“Each ribbon remembers where the bead has been, carries a piece of that energy, and that is what I see. In this room, the pattern is complex. It took me a while to sort out the pattern I have been looking at since I arrived on these shores. Now....”
Sebastian heard a sharp intake of breath behind him, as if what Meedo was seeing caught him by surprise. In his periphery, he saw Meedo’s hand raise, pointing at the air above the table. Sebastian thought he could see an image stirring there.
“Now, a guide is coming to lead us into the thick of the past. Can you feel it, lad? Princess? Concentrate with me.”
Sebastian recognized the comforting presence he had known at the most troubled times in his life, most recently on the slave ship. As he thought about it, the image seemed to coalesce above the table. Beyond it, he could see Aslynn’s face rapt in concentration. Incredibly, she seemed familiar with the presence, too.
The image continued to gather, slowly taking the form of a woman.
All eyes turned as the king rose to his feet at the same moment the queen fainted, sliding to the floor with only the sound of fabric rustling in the stillness. The king didn’t appear to notice his wife crumpled on the floor, he had eyes only for the ghostly figure above the table. The Minister of Justice moved to help her, but stopped at the king’s words.
“Aslynn, is it you?”
“Mother?” Aslynn echoed, on her feet, too. “Mother!”
Sebastian couldn’t take his eyes off the figure, feeling elated, yet confused. Why would Aslynn’s dead mother be so familiar to him?
“Katrona, is this True?” the king asked, and Sebastian found his eyes drawn to look at the youngest princess, along with everyone else in the room.
Katrona swallowed audibly before answering, her gaze moving from her father to the ghost, then back to her father. “Yes,” she whispered. “It is the ghost of your first queen, Aslynn.”
The king gaped at the ghost, reaching a hand out toward it. “Aslynn, I....” He stopped, as though realizing something. “Why?”
The ghost smiled at him and held out her arms to either side, pointing at Aslynn and Sebastian.
“My love,” the ghost said. “I am protecting our children, as I have done since my death.”
“Children?”
Sebastian’s gaze found and locked with Aslynn’s. Everything snapped into focus, like up until that moment he had been looking at life through thin gauze. The depth of feelings between them, their intensely strong friendship, all but reading each other’s minds at times.... It all made sense now. Aslynn was his....
“Twins,” the ghost said. “I gave birth to two babies that night. A boy child, and a girl.”
“But, I never knew....” A fire lit in the king’s eyes as he turned to where Tawnia lay crumpled on the floor. “She told me there was only one child.” Sebastian watched as he made the leap in logic. “She...she sold my son onto that slave ship!”
“I protected him when the ship sank, and changed his appearance to hide him until he could defend himself from any harm. Until it was safe to reveal that he is a True
prince, and the rightful heir to the throne of the Bonnie Isles.”
Heir to the throne? The thought hadn’t yet occurred to Sebastian. He was going to be king. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. But he knew who he was now. It had been right there in front of him all along, if he had known how to look.
The king was speaking again. “...have anything to do with your death?”
“Only in that she didn’t try to save me. I don’t know if she could have saved me, but she and the midwife did not try.” The ghostly form flickered, and then flinched as though in pain. “My time is short, my love. Take your firstborn as my final gift to you.”
Sebastian shot to his feet. “Mother!”
The ghost smiled. “My bold, brave son. I love you. And you, daughter of my name, I will be with you always.” The voice was fading. “Isaiah, my love....”
“Aslynn,” the king whispered. The image vanished, leaving the room silent.
“Is this to be believed?” the captain of the guard asked at last. “This...ghost has made serious accusations against the queen.”
“Katrona?” the king asked, turning to find his youngest daughter gone from his side. He turned to his other side to find the queen no longer on the floor, and Edward no longer in his seat. A click sounded behind him, and he spun around, but no one was there.
“The passages,” Aslynn blurted. The king frowned, but nodded.
“Alert the guard, Captain. That woman is not to get out of this castle, especially not with my children.”
Chapter Eleven
Katrona could hear her mother muttering as she led them through the dark passages, but she couldn’t understand more than a few words like “spell” and “finished”.
They had made two strange choices for turns before Katrona realized her mother was crying with growing hysteria.
“Momma?” she asked, tugging on the sash of her mother’s dress. “Momma?” she said again and stopped, causing Edward to bump into her from behind and pulling Tawnia to a stop in front of her.
In the absence of light, Katrona heard a rustle of skirts that told her Tawnia had fallen to her knees. Her sobs grew louder.
“Why have we stopped?” Edward demanded. “The stranger will catch up!”
Tawnia choked back a sob, and Katrona felt her reaching out to them, pulling them close. “I’m sorry, my darling, I’m afraid I’m lost.”
“Lost!” Edward exclaimed. “Can’t we just go out the next door and find out where we are?”
“No!” Tawnia said. “I’m sure the stranger’s lies have turned your father against us. He’ll have us killed if we are caught.”
“Mother, you know that’s not true. Father would never hurt us,” Katrona said soothingly.
“He thinks I killed his wife and stole his son, but it’s all lies. The stranger told him lies!” Tawnia begged Katrona to believe, but Katrona knew the Truth.
“You mean Sebastian isn’t really the heir?” Edward asked, confusion plain in his voice. “You mean I am, just like you’ve always said?”
Trust Edward to focus on only one thing, Katrona thought.
“Oh, my son, of course,” Tawnia said, blindly pulling her two children into a hug. “We just have to leave until the king realizes the stranger is telling terrible lies.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Katrona asked.
“He will. He must. I need only to renew...renew...restore his faith in me.”
She was talking about renewing the spell—the mythical, infamous spell over the king. Of bending him back to her will and bringing him back under her power. Restoring his faith by stealing away his doubts.
Valid doubts raised by the appearance of a ghost. A real ghost summoned by the stranger, after the king agreed to the ceremony. And that agreement had somehow signaled the failure of Tawnia’s spell.
Katrona did not know what to do. The secret was out, and there would be no putting it back. Her father would not hurt any of them. Katrona knew this, but her mother would no longer be queen, and that would destroy her just as surely as a death sentence.
But could they expect any better if they ran?
“Momma? What about today? Sebastian’s kidnapping?”
“I had nothing to do with that. Katrona, my darling, you must believe me.”
Katrona sighed and stood, pulling her mother to her feet. “It’s going to be all right, Momma. I know where we are. I will take us to where we will all be safe.”
⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝
In the confusion after the queen’s departure, while the guard was called out and instructions given, Aslynn made her way across the room to Sebastian. Adam only hesitated a moment before joining them.
Sebastian turned as she approached, and took the hand she offered. “What do you know?” she said. “Twins.”
“It doesn’t feel so strange,” he said. “It feels right.”
Adam stepped up and clapped Sebastian on the back, then he did a double take. “Well, look at you. Most folks see a ghost and go pale, but you...you get a tan.” Adam took a closer look. “And your eyes aren’t blue anymore, they’re green. Your hair is darker, too, more like Aslynn’s. In fact, you look a lot like Aslynn now.”
“He still looks the same to me,” Aslynn said.
“It makes sense,” Sebastian said. “The ghost, our mother, said she changed my appearance to protect me after the ship sank. She must have changed me back. Aslynn and I are twins. Why shouldn’t we look alike?” He held out his hands and Adam studied his darkened skin. “Does it suit me? Or do I look like a stable boy who needs a bath?”
“You look as handsome as ever,” Aslynn said, smiling.
“You look like a prince,” Adam said, and bowed low to him, in part just to see him wince. “And you were worried about your lineage, Your Highness.”
“Oh,” Sebastian said abashedly. “That prince and heir thing.... I don’t quite know what to think about that.”
“You’ll love it,” Aslynn said, grinning at her brother’s discomfort.
“This from a princess who can’t stand learning how to be a proper princess.”
“Well, considering the source of my lessons....” She paused thoughtfully. “What do you think will happen when they find her?”
“Her crimes are serious,” the king said. All three youths jumped to find him standing so close.
Feeling somewhat guilty about his yet-to-be-declared feelings for Aslynn, Adam had to fight not to move to put something between himself and the king.
“Attempted murder,” the king continued. “Contracting with slavers. Kidnapping. Not to mention something very close to regicide in letting my queen die in her childbed. And Mr. Meedo informs me of a spell she had cast over me that allowed her to influence me when she wished it, which constitutes witchcraft. If she were anyone else, she would be locked up for life. But she was a queen, even if by foul means, and she is the mother of two of my children. I do not know whether banishment would be a more fitting fate.”
“She would be unable to practice dark arts in a convent, Majesty,” Meedo said, stepping closer to the group. “The Sisters of Charity are a fine order.”
“And you can keep an eye on her there,” added Master Jabari from behind Adam. “There are some enem...people who are best kept close, rather than experience their surprise return.”
“Point taken, Master Jabari. And a fitting solution. Now you...,” said the King, turning to Adam, “what are we going to do with you?”
“Me, Majesty?” Adam did not fail to note the royal “we”.
“We understand you had something to do with today’s events.”
Adam straightened his shoulders and stood at attention, knowing he had nothing to be ashamed of. “I was present, Your Majesty.”
“A little more than present, we think, young Lord Wingfield. There is the matter of our daughter Aslynn’s life, and you risking yours to save her.”
“Yes, Majesty,” he replied solemnly.
“We are m
ore grateful to you than we can tell, Lord Wingfield. We shall not forget. We will send word to the Duke, your father, for he will wish to know how he sent us his child, but we now find ourselves in the company of a man.”
“I could risk no less than my life for Princess Aslynn, Your Majesty. She is my friend, and...and more.” Adam couldn’t believe he let that slip out. Now the king would think.... “I mean....”
⇜⊂⊃⊂⊃⊂⊃⇝
King Isaiah smiled at Adam, judging the boy to be in the throes of young love, earnest and serious, and not a fickle summer romance. “We will speak of this later, the two of us. And, of course, Aslynn.”
Aslynn, who had been about to protest, took both her father’s arm and Adam’s, and smiled, letting Isaiah know the feelings were mutual.
Whatever might have been said next was interrupted by a slight scuffle from the secret passageway. They all turned to see Katrona backing into the room, tugging on her mother’s arm.
“Come, Mother, you will be safe,” she said. “I promise.”
Queen Tawnia drew herself upright at those last two words and glared down at her daughter. “You promise?” she hissed. “You betray!”
“No, Mother. Don’t say that!”
“I have been betrayed by my own daughter, but I will not lose.” Tawnia drew herself up and surveyed the room.
In amazement, Isaiah watched as she strode right up and put her arms around his neck. “My love,” she said sweetly, “you do not truly believe all these accusations against me? You surely do not believe what this stranger tells you?” Her fingers twined in his hair as she moved even closer. “I am your wife. You don’t even know this man.”
“I find I do not know you,” Isaiah said coldly, feeling nothing but disgust for the creature in front of him. “And I believe my daughter, who told me the stranger and the ghost spoke Truth.”
The queen’s voice dropped in pitch, becoming seductive. “Even so, is what I did really so wrong? I never meant for anyone to be hurt. I only wanted what was best—”
“Wanted what was best for you,” the king finished for her, reaching up to pull her hands away from him in revulsion. “You no longer have power over me, and you never will again.”
A True Prince Page 10