by J Battle
Sam closed his eyes and screwed up his face, as if that would make them go away.
‘And what about you?’ He turned to Gorge.
Gorged clenched his jaws and looked away.
‘We haven’t got time for all this!’ snapped Lipsich. ‘Which one favours the prince?’
‘I don’t know; they all look the same to me.’
‘Well, we have to…’
There came the sound of running feet from below.
‘Quick! Take one and let’s be off about our business.’ Lipsich reached for Sam.
‘Yes… you take him Lipsich, and I’ll take these two, just to be sure.’ Arthgren grabbed Gorge and Tom by their arms.
Then they ran from the courtyard.
‘You’re going to get yourself caught, you know,’ said Tom, grunting as he was dragged along by the boy-thief.
Although the palace guards were rushing about and making all sorts of noises, they were disorganized enough to allow the abductors and their prizes to pass unseen from the Palace and its grounds.
Soon, they’d left the radiant greensward that surrounded the palace and were amongst the first growths of tangleweed that threatened to choke the life out of the plant life that still remained on Fairisle.
Hidden from view, they worked their way along a sly path that they had cut themselves earlier and, panting and sweating, and with more than one or two sharp words between the two men, they arrived on the little beach to one side of the harbour.
‘T’ain’t room for three of em,’ said Lipsich, with a quick shake to Sam’s shoulders. ‘We should have got ourselves a ship, I’d say. That would have been better.’
‘We saved a fancy purse of coin by just fetching the boat, and a ship would need a crew, and a crew would be full of eyes. We agreed before we even started.’
‘But we didn’t know there be extra, did we? I say, we’ll leave this heavy one behind, we should.’ He gave Sam an extra hard shake to emphasise his words.
‘No, we’ll take them all, there, Lipsich, and no more argument from you, if you please.’
They planted the boys on the sand just above the water line, with stern words not to move, and they began to tug at the little boat they’d tied up earlier that morning, to enable their escape.
‘If I end up drowning in that there sea, I’m pulling you down with me,’ said Lipsich, with half a snarl and half a laugh.
‘No need for such nonsense. Here, put him there, and I’ll put these here, and we’ll be fine enough.’
With the boys positioned as indicated, and Lipsich between them, Arthgren gave the boat a mighty shove and threw himself over the side.
The men took up their oars and began to pull themselves away from the glory and dismay of Fairisle.
‘Mister, where are you taking us?’ asked Tom, rising a little from his seat.
‘Sit thee down, boy. Before you end up all wet and cold,’ said Arthgren, through gritted teeth, as he pulled on his oar.
‘We’re taking you to the bottom of the sea, boys, and that’s surely the truth,’ hissed Lipsich, with a giggle.
‘Shut your mouth there, Lipsich. No point in frightening them like that. Bad enough we’ve had to take them at all.’
There was silence for a short time, broken only by the slap of the sea against the boat and the groans of the rowers.
‘We’ve missed dinner, ain’t we Gorge?’ whispered Sam.
Gorge glanced from one man to the other before he answered.
‘There’s still supper, Sam.’
‘Did you bring any food with you, mister? Because we missed our dinner, and we’re all hungry, we are,’ said Tom, this time keeping to his seat.
‘Shush lads. We’re about our business here, and we’ve no time for talking.’ Arthgren tried a little smile, to soften his words.
‘I don’t think he’s got any food,‘ Sam whispered, sadly.
Gorge nodded, and he wrapped his arms around himself, as the cold air made him shiver.
After another hour or so of silence, Lipsich withdrew his oar from the water, and held it upright between his knees.
‘Right there, Arthgren. It’s time to make a decision, I reckon. We can’t take ‘em all ashore, because I don’t think he’ll like it. He’ll say we’ve messed up and all, and he won’t pay us the rest we’re owed.’
Arthgren didn’t react for a time. He stared at his associate, with one hand holding his oar steady in the water.
‘What would you do then, Lipsich?’ His tone was as cold as his eyes.
Lipsich grinned. ‘Why, I’d toss this one here overboard, and then I’d say to myself here, eeny meeny mini mo, and whoever my hand fell on, he’d be over the side and all.’
Arthgren sighed, and then he studied each boy in turn. He couldn’t make his mind up which was the prince’s son. They all looked just like boys to him; nothing more; nothing less.
‘Which of you lot is the prince’s son?’ he asked.
‘Don’t say nothing!’ said Gorge, quickly, before his friends could speak.
‘Why…?’ began Sam.
‘Because whoever’s not the prince’s son will get thrown overboard, I reckon,’ said Tom.
‘Tell me boys, or I’ll just toss one of you into the water and see what happens then.’
Tom smiled his sweetest smile.
‘We’ll let you know if it’s the prince’s son you’ve thrown away.’
‘Come on!’ snapped Lipsich. ‘I’m fed up to me back teeth with all this cheeky nonsense, I am.’
‘They’ll tell me, don’t you worry about that.’
‘We ain’t got all night. He’ll be expecting us, and you’ve seen him mad. I don’t want to see him mad at me.’
Arthgren rubbed his hands across his face, and he sucked on his teeth.
Then he glared at the boys for a little longer.
‘We could…’ he began, working it out as he spoke. ’We could go a little further east, and drop two of them off, and then row back up to the meeting place. And give him the one boy, and get our money. That’d work, wouldn’t it?’
Lipsich glared at him for a moment, and then he turned and spat into the sea.
‘And if he sees us? If he sees us trying to make a fool of him? What do you reckon? He’ll smile and say ‘that’s fine by me, because I have one boy who might be the prince’s son.’ Do you reckon he’ll say that? Or will he take that big sword of his, and slice our heads right off?’
Arthgren shook his heavy head.
‘We could be all sly about it, and he wouldn’t know.‘
‘Well, Arthgren, let me tell you this. I ain’t taking the chance. Not for these here boys, and not for you.’
With an awkward action, he lifted the oar and swung it at his associate’s head. But he was too slow, and Arthgren was able to get one broad hand on the shaft, and he tugged and he pushed, with all of his strength.
Both men were standing in the boat, wrestling over the weapon, when a wave splashed against the side of the boat and the boat rocked, sending them over the edge to continue their struggle in the depths below.
Chapter 3 Lord Richard
Lord Richard rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, and then he stretched; groaning when he felt his back click.
They’d been a week on the road now, and if he was this tired, how must his poor wife and the girls be feeling? This was the first time any of them had left Misthaven in years and the carriages were not nearly as comfortable as they looked on the narrow, twisting roads.
He smiled as he saw his youngest riding towards him, comfortable on the black pony he’d presented to her when she reached 18 Falls of Leaves, just six months past.
‘Father, dearest,’ she said, as she pulled up, and her smile was as wide as his. ‘Are we nearly there yet?’
He sighed dramatically at the oft repeated question. ‘Well now,’ he said, rubbing one hand in his neatly trimmed beard. ’Let me see. If my reckoning is anywhere close to being right, we’ll com
e to the end of North Road around midday, and then we’ll be on Rizer’s Edge, unless we’re all lost, and doomed to walk through the Northern Heights for the rest of our damned lives. And from there it will be but a few hours before we turn south again.’
‘Is that why you have had your hair cut and changed into finer clothes, because we might meet people of importance?’
He glanced down at his clothes. Well, it was one of his best coats; three-quarter length, of a stiff brocade with deep blues and purples running through it, and a fine ruffled collar; and his long leather boots gleamed with the effort Jumba had put into their polishing.
‘This old thing?’ he said, dismissively, with one hand on his collar.
‘You’ll ruin it for sure with the dust of the road,’ said Alice, with a little shake of her head.
‘Who knows who we might meet on the road, my dear? And it wouldn’t do to be underdressed when we come across one of the King’s courtiers, would it?’
‘Speaking of chance meetings, father dearest, will we meet Giants, do you think?’ she asked, with breathless excitement.
‘Mayhap, my dear, for they are seen in these parts.’
‘How big are they, Father?’
‘Oh now,’ he sighed, and turned his horse a little away from her. ‘If you were talking to a Giant standing beside you, from atop of your birthing-day present there, and not your poor old pa, you’d still be looking up at him.’
She looked up, as if there was in fact a mighty Giant standing before her, just waiting for her clever words.
‘Clara says they’re only tall men, and not real Giants,’ she said, allowing her pony to take a half-step backwards.
‘Ah well, your sister knows a lot about some things, I’d say, but she should be wary about talking about the things she knows less about, she should. If she sees one on the road there, she’ll know the difference soon enough.’
They rode side by side in silence for a while as the little caravan made its way along the North Road.
His timing turned out to be spot on, as they arrived within sight of the blasted oak that marked the beginning of Rizer’s Edge as the sun reached its highest point in the sky.
The North Road broadened out into a wide flat area of dusty earth, edged by a few hardy growths of disparate bushes.
On the far side, the road grew narrower and became Rizer’s Edge, rising steeply, with green forested land dropping to the left and bare knuckles of unforgiving rock descending on the right for several hundred yards, before they began their climb to the mountains above.
The carriages pulled up in a half-circle as Jumba and the other servants set to making a meal for everyone.
Lady Lisbeth climbed down from her carriage with a groan; her long golden gown not really suitable for the journey, or the cold wind that blew continuously through these northern heights.
‘Husband,’ she said, as Lord Richard dismounted nearby, ’we could turn around now and make our way back home, and we’d hardly be missed by the king.’
He smiled and stroked the neck of his dark brown horse.
‘We will be there soon enough, my dear, and then we can rest. If fortune smiles upon us, we will be there three days before the celebrations begin, so there will be time to relax and rest, and prepare ourselves.’
She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.
‘I’d sooner have stayed at home, with the girls.’
‘Well, the invitation was quite specific, I think. We were all invited, and we would not like to slight King Eron; not when he wishes us to bow our heads and raise our voices to celebrate his 10 years on the throne.’
‘I knew him as a prince, and there was little special about him then, and I’d be surprised if much has changed since.’
‘Shush now with that talk, my dear. It is not wise to insult our king.’
‘If he’s insulted by the truth, it is hardly my concern.’
He sighed and draped one arm across her shoulders. ‘Come, let us eat. Young Alice is excited enough for a barrel of puppies at the thought of seeing a Giant, though Clara doesn’t believe they are real.’
‘Are you talking about me, Father?’
He turned and smiled at his eldest; so unlike Alice. She was tall and pale and fair, and so quiet and still that it was often hard to notice she was even there. Alice, on the other hand, was always talking and moving about with a swish of her dress and a tinkling laugh.
‘You’ve caught us again, my dear, but we’d only be saying nice things about you.’
Clara wrapped both hands around his upper arm. ‘Perhaps I should wear a cow’s bell, so you always know when I’m here.’
‘What a good idea. I’ll order one to be fitted just as soon as we pass a few cows.’
‘Well you’d best be sure it’s a pretty one, with gold and jewels aglittering.’
Lisbeth smiled at the playfulness of her usually quiet daughter. Perhaps the arduous journey was of some value after all.
It was only mid-way through the afternoon when Alice’s wishes were fulfilled.
Jumba was riding ahead of the line of three carriages when he saw them, standing beside the road and apparently deep in argument.
He turned immediately and rode back to the caravan.
‘My Lord,’ he said, his voice hoarse. ’There be Giants ahead. Two of them, I reckon. What do you want to do?’
Lord Richard looked ahead along the road. ’Well, we can’t go off the road to go around them, and if they’re taking the same road as us, we may as well travel together, if they are friendly. Did they appear friendly, do you think?’
‘Not to each other, I don’t reckon, from what I saw,’ he grunted.
‘Let’s ride ahead and have a few words, and see where that gets us.’
Together, they trotted ahead.
‘If you’s going to be my Squire, you’s got to call me Sire, and you’ve got to bow your head like, when I speak.’ This was the larger, rounder of the two, standing with his back to the road and glaring at his companion.
The other Giant shook his head and rested both hands on his own not inconsiderable belly. ‘You ain’t king yet, so I’ll just keep on calling you Belloom, when I’m not calling you a fool, if that’s all the same to you. And, if it ain’t, do I look as if I care?’
‘Now, Ferrooll, is that any way to talk to your king?’
‘I’m talking to the dumbest Giant on the hill, so this is how I’ll talk. If ever a more stupid Giant turns up, then I might think again.’
‘Good day, good Giants. How does it go for you?’ Lord Richard called out before they got too near, to give fair warning of their approach.
Belloom turned then, and it did take some time to complete the operation.
‘See now, Ferrooll, them’s humans, and they know a thing or two, they do. Now, little man on a horse, tell me this, if you can reckon in that little head. I’s going to be king, and this here fool Giant who wants to be my squire, he won’t call me Sire. Now, that’s wrong ain’t it?’
Lord Richard pulled up his horse, and glanced at Jumba.
‘Well now, good Giant, I know the human king, King Eron, and he likes to be addressed as Your Highness, or, if he’s feeling more than a little full of his own importance, Your Majesty.’
Belloom mouthed the words slowly, before he turned back to Ferrooll. ‘Your Highnesty. I like’s the sound of that. You can call me your Highnesty, and you can curtsy when you see me first.’
‘Curtsy! I ain’t curtsying for no-one.’
‘Forgive me, Your Highness,’ said Lord Richard, ’but ladies curtsy to the king; men bow.’
‘See there, Ferrooll. Even the little man knows to call me your Highnesty.’
‘Well, I’ll just call you Sire and have no more to say about it,’ replied Ferrooll, with a sigh and a frown.
‘Are you going west on this road, kind king and squire?’
‘West?’ Belloom scratched his head. ’Well, if that way is west, then that’s the wa
y we’s going. I got myself all turned around talking to this here fool squire, and I didn’t rightly know which way I was to be going.’
‘I knew,‘ said his more than a little surly squire.
‘In that case, would you allow us to accompany you on the road, because we are going the same way?’
Belloom smiled at the man. ‘I’d say, if you have food and ale, then ye’ll make fine road companions.’
‘Oh, well, we don’t have any ale, and just enough food for the journey.’
‘You don’t have any ale? Did you hear that Ferrooll? They are about the land without ale. Who ever heard of such?’
‘We don’t have any ale either, Sire,’ said Ferrooll, with an edge to his tone.
‘We could perhaps offer a small snack by way of thanks to our kind Giant friends,’ suggested Lord Richard.
‘Well now, that’d be fine enough for a summer’s morn, don’t you think Ferrooll?’
’S’long as I get my share.’ Was the grunted reply.
Chapter 4 Boys
‘I’m hungry,’ moaned Sam. ‘We missed dinner, and I think we’ll miss supper too, because it’s getting dark, I see.’
‘Someone will find us, soon enough,’ said Tom, leaning over the side of the little boat, with his hand in the water. ’But, if I can catch me a fish, I‘ll be sharing it with you.’
‘You can’t eat a raw fish,‘ said Gorge, as he watched the lengthening shadows.
‘I don’t like the dark, and I’m not eating raw fish,’ said Sam, as he moved closer to Tom to watch what he was up to.
Gorge moved quickly to the opposite side of the boat to keep it balanced.
He looked away from the setting sun, and his eyes adjusted to the dim light. In the far distance, he could see specks of white; bands of white even.
‘That way is land,’ he said, pointing. ‘That’s the way we’re going, I reckon.’
The other two turned and followed the direction of his outstretched hand.
‘Why is it white?’ asked Tom. ‘Land ain’t white. It must be a cloud.’
‘No, it ain’t a cloud. I can see clouds up there in the sky, and that ain’t one of them. And it’s sitting still. It ain’t moved since I saw it. I think it’s snow, or ice or something.’