Princess Electra Book 4 School of Medicine

by Dory Lee Maske

  Chapter 40

  Fernland's Castle

  Electra waited all morning near the drawbridge to the castle, anticipating Dorian's arrival. She was surprised when he finally rode across in the company of El Grande, the Gypsy leader who had been allowed to settle his people in Henge.

  She waved to Dorian as he crossed the bridge.

  "I hoped you would arrive today," she said as he reined his horse to a stop beside her. She glanced at El Grande and decided not to say too much in his hearing. "El Grande, what brings you back to Fernland?"

  El Grande tipped his cap to Electra. "We met along the way. I bring a message for Take the Thief. Perhaps you know where I might find him?"

  Electra thought it best to deal with El Grande before conferring with Dorian. "He is close by. I will show you the way."

  The two men dismounted and followed Electra to the marketplace. She noticed the bulges in the saddlebags on Dorian's horse. He must have brought a large selection of weapons along to show Prince Oswald.

  They passed by the empty bakery stall and turned toward the stock yards. Electra stopped in front of Take's shack and knocked on his door.

  Take opened the door, surprised to see who had come calling.

  He looked from one to another. He knew Electra well. He had lived briefly at the Gypsy camp in Henge so he also knew El Grande. He stared at Dorian, wondering who he was and why he was here.

  Electra followed his thoughts with amusement. "This is Dorian, a friend and a sword maker from Helsop," she said. "And Dorian, this is my friend, Take the Thief, or should I say, Take the Prince?" Electra asked with a flourish of her hand.

  Take blushed furiously. "What do you mean by that?" he snapped.

  "Serafina told me." Electra tried to hide a smile. "It is not a secret is it?"

  Take looked around to see if any stranger was in hearing distance. "Come in, all of you." His face betrayed his irritation.

  They all stepped inside the dusty shack, empty save for three cots, now that the theatrical props had all been moved to the new theatre on King's Lake.

  El Grande reached into his tunic. "I have a message for you from old King Blackwell. I'm afraid if it was a secret about him being your father, the secret is out. He's been telling anyone who'll listen."

  Take broke the seal and opened the note from his father.

  My son Take,

  You must return to Henge without delay. Come alone or bring your actor friends—it doesn't matter. I plan to take back my throne from your pompous brother. I will find a way to get our generals to support me. Then it will be up to me as to which of my sons succeeds me when I die and I'll tell you now that you are the front-runner.

  Your father and future king,

  Phinneas Blackwell

  Take crumpled the letter in his fist and ran his fingers through his hair. "Wonderful news. I'm now the front-runner to become the future king of Henge." The sarcasm in his voice alarmed Electra.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Read it yourself," he said, tossing her the crumpled note.

  Electra scanned the note quickly.

  "Serafina said there was tension between the Blackwells but I never imagined it would come to this." Electra read the note a second time, more slowly, shaking her head. "What will you do?"

  Take shrugged. "Stay as far away from Henge as possible, for one thing. I should send a reply—tell him I'm not going back to Henge, nor do I want to be the future king—but that might only make things worse." He looked at El Grande. "Do you think you could just tell him I've left and you couldn't find me?"

  El Grande shook his head. "I have to live there. I dare not make him angry. At present he trusts me more than he trusts his soldiers. That is why he chose me to carry the message."

  Electra took a deep breath. "I am sorry, Take. I do not envy your situation. I will tell no one about your relationship with the Blackwells. If there is anything I can do to help..." Her voice trailed off and she tilted her head toward the door as a signal to Dorian that they should leave.

  Outside the shack, Electra whispered to Dorian. "Thank you for coming. I see your saddlebags are full. You have brought weapons to show Prince Oswald?"

  "I have." Dorian glanced back at the shack they had just left. "Is that really a son of Blackwell lives there?"

  "He is, but it is a long story and one I should have kept to myself."

  Dorian cast one last glance at the dilapidated shack and looked back at Electra with worried eyes. "We have had no word from Dagon as yet."

  Electra sighed. "If all went as planned they should have reached Hammer Haven by now." Electra understood the worry in Dorian's eyes. His son, Tandor, was one of the five men who had accompanied Dagon. "I am sure they are fine," she said, wondering if they were even still alive. She changed the subject.

  "I wanted to meet you at the drawbridge because I thought you might be intercepted by one of the royal guardsmen and relieved of the message I asked you to write."

  Dorian looked puzzled for a second. Then he nodded. "Yes, of course. The message that is supposed to be from Dagon." He reached into his tunic and pulled out a rolled-up scroll. "I wrote it exactly as you wrote it, but changed it to look like Dagon's handwriting," he said in a low voice.

  Electra reread the message she had written to appear to be from Dagon.

  My Dear Electra,

  Some person or persons have made an attempt to break into our supply of the white powder. For the time being we are allowing no strangers into the village. You may tell Prince Oswald that I will send a man along with this message and a selection of weapons we have for sale. If he wishes to put in an order we will do our best to supply it. I hope you will be returning soon.

  With affection,

  Dagon

  Electra considered the message and decided it needed one small addition. She turned to Dorian. "Would you add these words to the end? 'We have a few taken ill here'."

  Dorian nodded but his face had a questioning look.

  Electra brought out a quill and ink from her bag. "I need a reason to return to Helsop without delay and a 'few people taken ill' will give me the excuse I need."

  Dorian made the addition, blew on the ink to dry it and returned the scroll to Electra.

  "Good," she said, putting the scroll in her pocket. "Is anyone ill, by the way?"

  "No. Your students seem to be looking for signs of illness to practice on. That may be why no one is admitting to having any." Dorian smiled.

  Electra laughed out loud. She had not suspected that Dorian had a sense of humor. "I can understand their reluctance." She thought of her fledgling crop of medical students and realized she missed them.

  "Are the twins or the panther causing any trouble?"

  Dorian considered the question before answering. "People are on guard around all three, but I think they have become a bit proud of housing such a unique brood in their village."

  "As am I," Electra admitted. "I miss them all fiercely. Let us go then and show our Helsop wares to Prince Oswald. Hopefully we can both return home to Helsop on the morrow with Sandovian coins in our pockets."