“Are you going to see who that is?” asked Queen Tanya. “Or do I have to get out of bed?”
King Arik immediately sat up and opened his eyes. “I thought I was dreaming,” apologized the king. “Stay in bed, Mother. I will see what the problem is.”
The queen laughed. “Now that woke me up more than the knocking did. I am not even showing yet.”
The king grinned and hurried to the door. He cracked it open and saw a Red Sword officer with a grim face waiting on the other side.
“I am sorry for disturbing you, King Arik,” apologized the soldier. “I know that you had a late night of it last night, but I think this warrants your attention. We had a fairy arrive from Sordoa. She reports that two Knights of Alcea and two unicorns are in dire need of healing.”
King Arik’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that Wylan and Sheri were the Knights of Alcea being referred to. The only other Knight of Alcea in Sordoa was Prince Darok, and he was at the opposite end of the country. If it was two of them hurt, it had to be the human couple. The king frowned deeply, but he didn’t respond immediately. Obviously a healer needed to be sent, but that was something that Prince Oscar would normally handle. The prince knew the locations of all of the healers. He would know who was closest. After a healer was dispatched, the prince would notify the king so that they could discuss the problem with the king’s advisors. King Arik knew that there was more to the problem. The officer would not have come to the king otherwise. The king looked into the officer’s eyes questioningly.
“What is the rest of the message?”
“That was the entire message,” replied the officer hesitantly, “but I think the fairy is lying.”
“Lying?” echoed the king. “Why do you think that?”
“I heard her talking to another fairy,” frowned the officer. “She indicated that the two Knights of Alcea were really dead.”
King Arik gasped loudly, grabbing the queen’s attention. It was one thing for a Knight of Alcea to be wounded and need a healer. It was a more frequent occurrence than the king would have liked, but the Knights of Alcea tackled only the toughest tasks. Injuries were not uncommon. It was a far different story to hear talk about the death of one of the king’s chosen.
“What is it?” asked Queen Tanya as she arrived at the king’s side.
“Wylan and Sheri,” King Arik replied softly, supreme sadness evident in his voice.
The king and the officer stood facing one another, and neither of them spoke. Tanya knew what Arik had meant when he mentioned the names of the two Knights of Alcea. Only their deaths would strike him so hard. She eased in front of him and addressed the officer.
“Call the Council of Advisors together,” instructed the queen. “They are to assemble immediately. And inform Prince Midge to halt all outgoing fairies.”
“And detain the fairy from Sordoa,” added King Arik. “She has some explaining to do.”
The Red Sword officer saluted and retreated. The queen closed the door and stared at the king.
“What is wrong with the fairy from Sordoa?” she asked.
“The fairy reported that the Knights were wounded,” explained the king, “but she was overheard saying that they were really dead. I will not stand for the truth being withheld from me.”
The queen could see tears starting to well up in Arik’s eyes, and she knew that she had to keep his mind occupied with something other than the deaths of two Knights of Alcea.
“Let’s get dressed,” Queen Tanya said authoritatively. “As long as the Council is being assembled, this will be a good opportunity to discuss what has happened so far.”
The king nodded absently and began getting dressed. Neither of them spoke again until they entered the council chambers. Some of the advisors were already there, but not all of them. Some of them did not reside in the Royal Palace. Prince Oscar was one of the advisors already present, and he was orchestrating the morning meeting. Fairies buzzed nonstop to and from the prince, and servants brought in trays of hot tea and fresh bread. The king and queen grabbed cups of tea and chunks of bread and waited silently for the rest of the advisors to arrive. The king was anxious about the delay, but he wanted to avoid repeating anything, and he wanted everyone’s input. When General Gregor arrived, he called the meeting to order and demanded that the Sordoan fairy repeat the message. She delivered the exact message that Twerp had requested.
“Are Wylan and Sheri alive?” asked the king.
“I do not know,” frowned the fairy. “I have delivered the message that Twerp asked me to deliver.”
“Then why were you overheard saying that they were dead?” scowled the king.
Prince Midge was alarmed by the king’s words. The fairy people were sworn to the Bringer and it disturbed him greatly to think that one of his people might deceive the Bringer. He settled on the king’s shoulder and glared at the other fairy. The tiny woman bit her lip and trembled slightly.
“Twerp changed his message,” the fairy offered timidly. “I do not know why, but he said they were dead at first. I have not told anyone that they were dead. I only remarked to another fairy that Twerp changed his message. Someone must have overheard me say that.”
“Show us the images,” demanded Prince Midge.
The fairy instantly complied, showing the original message and the eventual one. King Arik was satisfied that the fairy was not deceiving him.
“Where were Wylan and Sheri supposed to be when they were struck down?” the queen asked the fairy. “Was it at the Doors?”
“No,” answered the fairy. “I am stationed at one of the Doors. Both of the Doors have already been removed. I think they were going to attack the mages, but I am not sure.”
“Did they know about the fear spell?” asked the queen.
The fairy frowned and looked confused. It was obvious that she did not know what the queen was asking. Prince Oscar quickly glanced at his notes until he found what he was looking for.
“Did Thrip arrive down there?” asked Prince Oscar.
“Yes,” the fairy nodded, grateful that she did not have to answer the queen’s question. “Thrip arrived a couple of hours before Twerp. He said that he was searching for Wylan but couldn’t find him. He asked me if I knew where they were, and I said that I did not, but I suggested that he look near the enemy camp.”
The King looked questioningly at his father.
“Thrip was carrying word of the fear spell to Wylan and Sheri,” explained Prince Oscar. “It looks like he arrived too late.”
King Arik bit his lip in concentration and began pacing the floor. Eventually, he turned to face his father.
“I do not want any more attacks on the black-cloaks,” declared King Arik. “Get that word out immediately. And get a healer to the unicorns in Sordoa. We will resume this meeting as soon as that is done.”
“The closest mage we have is Podil,” stated Prince Oscar. “She is a Sorelderal elf, and is highly skilled, but she is not close to Caldar. She is in Pontek at the other end of Sordoa. I have already sent a fairy to summon her to aid the unicorns. Prince Midge and I will immediately dispatch the other messages you requested. We will be right back. It won’t take but a minute.”
The two princes left the room, and General Gregor stepped over to the wall map of Alcea. He spoke to no one in particular, but all heard his voice.
“Sometimes we forget that the fairies cannot deliver messages instantaneously. While they fly faster than we can imagine, Alcea is a great nation, and it spans hundreds of leagues in each direction. For example, the time it takes a fairy to fly from Caldar to here and then send another fairy to Pontek, followed by a unicorn ride back to Caldar, will take almost an entire day. That is a long time for two unicorns to lie bleeding.”
“What is your point, General?” snapped the king. “Are you reminding me of how I am wasting the lives of Alceans?”
The general turned around to face the king. His face showed no sign of hurt from the king’s attack. He knew the strain
that King Arik was under, and he knew how much the king blamed himself for each and every death.
“No, King Arik. The point is to remind everyone here of the vast distances involved in this war. You depend upon our advice, but I often think that such details escape our notice. We have grown so accustomed to people stepping into this room from the other side of the world, that we forget the limitations that we have to deal with within our own country.”
“I think I understand where you are coming from, General,” interjected the queen. “Perhaps we would be wise to station healing mages throughout the country to respond to problems like the one we face today. Are there other resources that we should consider doing the same?”
Prince Oscar and Prince Midge reentered the room.
“I don’t know about stationing other resources,” Lord Markel responded, “but I think we need to recall our Knights of Alcea from Zara. We had a close call in Lanoir, and now a disastrous one in Sordoa. These Federation armies are going to tax our forces to the limits. We need our people here to help us.”
“I agree,” offered Lord Clava. “The wars of liberation in Zara cannot succeed if we fail here in Alcea. The Knights of Alcea are the most potent weapons we have. I suggest that the king recall them.”
So more of them can die, the king thought bitterly. The queen knew what was going thorough her husband’s mind, and she did not want him to express his thoughts out loud.
“There are only four Knights of Alcea left in Zara,” stated Queen Tanya, “I also think they should be recalled, but no one else. The small contingent of Rangers over there are needed where they are, and they should stay there. As for Jenneva, she is not in Zara. She is in Cordonia seeing to the movement of Doors from one Universe to another. She will be returning here today after the final set of armies arrive there.”
“General Ross and General Haggerty,” nodded Prince Oscar. “They should be arriving in Darcia at this very moment. They are the only Federation armies due to arrive in Alcea this day. If I may also offer my agreement of having the Knights of Alcea return to Alcea for the next couple of weeks, I do so. I know that they are instrumental in running things in Zara, but their skills are sorely needed here at home. The wars in Zara will run on our schedule, but here in Alcea it runs on the Federation’s schedule. We need them, King Arik.”
“It would be a mistake to remove Karl Gree from Tyronia,” declared Theos. “Unlike the other Zaran countries under the thumb of the Federation, Tyronia has no Ranger to guide them. There is only Karl, and the Tyronians will see his removal as a breaking of faith. They depend on him daily.”
”I can live with that,” conceded Prince Oscar. “If Karl is instrumental to the Tyronians, then let him stay, but the others are not tied to any one country as Karl is. Alex, Tedi, and Natia should return to Alcea.”
King Arik nodded his approval. “See to it after the meeting. Where do we stand on our own actions against Force Targa?”
“We have two days before the first of the Federation armies arrives in Targa,” answered General Gregor. “I have already managed to sneak the Alcean Rangers out of the city as well as two-thirds of the Red Swords. The final third of the Red Swords are due to depart today. That is going to leave little protection around the king, and that concerns me greatly, but we need to draw our forces out of the city quietly to avoid tipping off the enemy spies.”
“I am still here,” Theos stated gruffly. “No harm will come to King Arik.”
“What are the plans for pulling out the regular army?” asked Tedi’s father. “It will not be possible to sneak them out unnoticed.”
“You are correct, Lord Markel,” answered the general, “but it will be too late at that point for the Federation spies to do any damage. The Rangers and Red Swords total four-thousand men. Their primary goal the first two days is to simply harass the enemy and slow them down. Once the Federation troops arrive in Danver Shores, there will be no more armies coming from Zara. All Doors will be out of commission, so the spies cannot get word back to their homeland. At that time the six-thousand men of the Targa Army can openly march out through the city gates. That is when the real defense of Targa will begin.”
“And that will be?” asked Lord Clava.
“In five days,” answered the general. “The Rangers and Red Swords only have to harass the Federation armies for a couple of days. They are up to that task.”
“Have there been any more discipline problems with the regular army?” the queen asked the general.
General Gregor frowned and nodded. “Even more than the last time we spoke. I am at a loss to explain it other than guess that they all know the war is coming soon, but I am finding alarming levels of irritableness, not only among the soldiers, but the palace staff and the citizens, too. Everyone seems to be snapping at one another for no apparent reason.”
“That is hardly the spirit we expect within a city about to be under siege,” replied the queen. “It was certainly not the spirit of Tagaret during the last war. Everyone came together like never before.”
“And it made a great difference,” nodded the general. “That is why I find this irritableness alarming. Now is not the time for it.”
“Carry on,” King Arik said abruptly as he turned and headed for the door.
Queen Tanya and Prince Oscar exchanged worried looks, and the queen left the group and hurried after the king. The room fell silent as the royal couple exited the council chamber. When they were gone, Arik’s two fathers huddled together.
“I am worried about him,” Lord Clava said softly. “He is taking these deaths too hard.”
“The Knights of Alcea are all personal friends to the king,” replied Prince Oscar. “A certain amount of such feelings is only natural.”
“It goes far beyond that,” countered Lord Clava. “He is blaming himself for their deaths. It will destroy him.”
Prince Oscar sighed and nodded. There was no use in denying the truth, and Lord Clava knew well the boy he raised as his own. “I don’t know how to handle it,” he admitted. “Nor does the queen. We can stand here all day and say that such feelings are illogical, but that will not stop the king from having them. What do you want me to do?”
It was Lord Clava’s turn to sigh. “I truly do not know. If I did, I would do it myself. I am just worried for him.”
“We all are,” agreed Prince Oscar. “That is one of the reasons why I readily agreed to have the Knights of Alcea return from Zara. The one person who might be able to get Arik to snap out of this is Alexander Tork. Arik still sees him as his mentor.”
“And he can accomplish what the queen can not?”
“More than the queen and two fathers put together,” smiled the prince. “In fact, I sometimes think our advice is discounted because we are relatives of the king. Alexander Tork has a history of speaking plainly to kings, and Arik will know that the words spoken are true and unbiased. He will listen to Alex.”
Lord Clava nodded with satisfaction and drifted off. Prince Oscar was about to leave the room to send out the fairies to Zara when Zalaharic approached him. The elven healer nodded to Prince Oscar and then to Prince Midge on Oscar’s shoulder.
“I was wondering a few things,” Zalaharic began. “Both of you saw the images of Twerp. What did you make of them?”
“They were fairy visions,” answered Prince Midge. “What is there to think of? They were true replications of the original events.”
“True replications,” offered the elf, “or true events?”
The fairy prince frowned in confusion, and the elf smiled.
“Twerp contradicted himself,” the elf continued. “Both statements could not possibly be true. Are fairies prone to lying?”
Prince Midge blushed bright green, and it was obvious that he was uncomfortable about the questions being asked.
“Let me save the fairy prince from some embarrassment,” chuckled Prince Oscar. “While the fairy people are generally honest, they have been known to lie when t
hey think a lie is the only way to achieve their goal. If Twerp did lie, and it is obvious that he did at least once, he would not do so in a malicious way.”
“Then what was his goal?” asked Zalaharic.
“To get healers,” Prince Midge declared. “I should think that much is obvious.”
“For whom?” asked the elf.
“Ah,” Prince Oscar nodded. “I see where you are going with this. You think Twerp wanted us to think that the Knights of Alcea were still alive so that we would send healers for the unicorns?”
“A valid question,” responded Zalaharic. “Prince Midge, would a fairy think that King Arik would value the life of a unicorn any less than a human?”
“I would not think so,” frowned Prince Midge. “The Bringer is known to be thoughtful of all his subjects, but Wylan and Sheri were no ordinary humans. They were Knights of Alcea and close friends of the king. Such people are guaranteed to get the attention of King Arik, no matter what race they are.”
“Well,” interjected Prince Oscar, “that sheds light on one of today’s mysteries then. Those unicorns must need healing rather badly. Twerp was trying his best to see that they got the help that they needed.”
“I concur,” replied Zalaharic, “and that means that the unicorns are very close to death. They need help as quickly as we can get it to them.”
“I agree,” nodded Prince Oscar. “I have already sent a fairy to summon Podil. She is the closest mage.”
“The closest,” retorted Zalaharic, “but not the quickest. Unless my calculations are off, a unicorn from Tagaret can reach Caldar before Podil can. She is farther south, requiring the fairy to fly much longer before she even starts her journey to come back north.”
Prince Oscar frowned and pulled out his notes. He made some quick calculations and nodded vigorously. “You can beat her by two to three hours, but aren’t you needed here?”
“I am needed where the situation is most grim,” answered Zalaharic. “I would not care for my absence to be noticed unless it is necessary.”
Prince Oscar nodded as the elf turned and walked away.
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