THE TERROR OF THORN
CHAPTER 1
Xander had awakened early this morning, beating Aubrey out of the bed he now shared with her. It had been over a year since they had been married, a decision Xander was growing to hate each passing day, but what could he do? Aubrey vowed to crush the elves of Norraya out of spite, just because they had shown him kindness along with the Baroness Shelia and her daughter Mesha.
Xander knew his wife Aubrey, known to most as the Princess of Rangel, was determined to ensure he remained alone in the world with only her to turn to. Xander could easily escape the Palace with his ability to teleport but where would that leave his allies? Xander had thought he wanted to return to Rangel from his seclusion but now his simple one room shack in the Norrayan Forest seemed a lot more inviting than the soft furs and lavish tapestries which now surrounded him. Xander thought on this as Aubrey began to stir.
“You are up earlier than usual my love, are you finally going to take up sparring with the guards again instead of practicing in here all the time? They have dropped subtle hints that they want to test their skills against you again.”
Aubrey’s words brought back a painful memory for Xander, during his first couple of months living at Palace after being married to Aubrey. When Xander first was married, he initially tried to make the best of his situation and enjoyed the comradery he had with the guards. His life was not perfect, but he did begin to enjoy himself as the Royal Consort until the day he defied Aubrey’s wishes. She had wanted him to attend her best friend Mellony’s party and he refused, citing the way she talked down to him and basically being disrespectful. Once Aubrey saw he wasn’t going to budge she had her personal guards flog him, tearing much of the flesh off his back. Xander was sleep and unarmed at the time and had no way to defend himself, any real friend of his would have gave him a fighting chance. After his flesh was whipped off of his back, they crudely bandaged his wounds and he was dressed up and made to attend the ball anyway.
Aubrey’s friend Mellony heard about everything that happened and she spent the whole night laughing at Xander’s predicament. Xander stayed at the party until well after dark pretending to chat with the noble males he found obnoxious who constantly reminded him it was his own fault for not obeying his wife until Aubrey finally took him home. Upon reaching home was when Aubrey finally saw the damage done to his back and horrified she sent for her healers which he refused until she threatened to have the guards help the healers out. Since that time, Xander stopped sparring or even talking to anyone in the palace guard once he reached the conclusion they were not friends, they were just men doing a job. Xander thought about that time and absently rubbed one of the scars on his back, then suddenly remembered he had not yet answered her question. “I do not wish to spar with the guards Your Highness.” Xander said as he rose from their bed and looked out at the morning sky.
“Are you ever going to stop sulking Xander?” Aubrey began as she got out of bed. “You used to love sparring with them, now you barely speak more than three words to them like they do no exist. It isn’t their fault you had gotten me angry, if you want someone to blame it’s your own fault. What would I look like, the future heir of Rangel unable to handle her own man? No one in this entire Queendom would take me serious.”
“Your Highness, if you are forcing me to do something it will be as you wish” Xander said as he turned from the window and looked in her direction.
Aubrey knew when she had been outmaneuvered. She really didn’t like ordering her husband around, at least not in private; she just wanted a friend, something Xander was certainly not. He reminded her at every instance that she was the Princess and he was little more than a slave. The way he constantly agreed with whatever she wanted him to, and basically shutting her out of his emotions. Apologizing was hard for her, but she had tried any number of gifts she was told men covet. He never wore any of the outfits she bought him unless she mentioned it, and the prize warhorse she had bought for him had barely been ridden. She even bought him a new sword from the finest blacksmith in Rangel and he didn’t even enchant the thing. If she demanded he go spar with her guards, then he would have more reason to become more distant then he already was. He was polite in public but rarely had anything to say, even when her mother the Queen tried to engage him in conversation. Many of her friends noticed he never mingled with the other men, but whether it was because he was a child of war or was just anti-social was lost upon her. Aubrey sighed as she heard a pounding on the door.
“Xander answer that door and tell whoever it is they had better have damn good reason for banging on my door like they own it” was the words Aubrey was barely able to get out of her mouth before her mother Celeste, the Queen of Rangel opened the door up.
“Aubrey get up now and start fixing yourself, I have just received word that women from Thorn are on their way to the palace as I speak. They were either captured or begged asylum but I am sure Anaya would not even bring them in my presence if it wasn’t important.”
Xander had never seen the Queen so animated, even when she left the room she seemed to be flustered. Xander though had his mind in other areas, namely her mention of Thornians. Five years ago their neighbor to the south, the Kingdom of Thorn conspired with their neighbor to the west the Ingland.
They had launched simultaneous attacks that had even trapped Aubrey a fate she was lucky to escape. Xander’s mother however was not so lucky. She was in charge of a decent size outpost, the closest to the Thornian border. The Thornians attacked without warning and not only killed his mother, but desecrated her body as well. Xander could still remember the screams of the many Thornian soldiers he killed before making his way into the great Norrayan forest where he honed his enchanting skills.
Aubrey looked at Xander and although he tried to hide all his emotions from her, sometimes he was an easy read. It was obvious by the furrowing of his brow he was in deep thought, probably at the mention of Thornians coming to the palace. Aubrey had never actually seen a Thornian before, but was assured they all looked exactly like Xander. She knew Xander blamed her for not being able to come to his mother’s aid years ago against Thorn, but she really didn’t care, Aubrey felt she had done enough but could tell there was a deep seated resentment. Aubrey noticed Xander begin to pace around the room and Aubrey could sense he would be trouble.
“Xander sit down” Aubrey commanded as she walked over and put her arms around him. “These people will be our guests until determined otherwise. You will act as the Consort to the future Queen, which is to be welcoming and polite especially since my father has long since passed and my mother refuses to find some else. I will not be kind if you disobey me on this, now get dressed” Aubrey said as she called for her ladies in waiting to dress her.
Xander dressed himself as he had never had any use for the male slaves she provided him, they were well taken care of but after what she did to him, he doubted she would be as kind to them if they made a mistake in her presence.. Xander dressed in his livery and walked out of the wing of the palace he shared with Aubrey.
“Good morning Xander” Rolle the new Captain of the guard addressed his acquaintance from the years ago when they were both leaving for the commitment. Xander walked pass him like he wasn’t there. Rolle was in his fifth year as a Palace Guardsman as most of the guards Xander knew from his first time around had already completed their time and moved on. Xander met Rolle long ago when he was first starting out his commitment, and wasn’t surprised that Rolle got a spot at the palace. Rolle was an absolute mountain of a man, what he lacked in skill he made up for in brute force. Xander used to spar with Rolle and the other guardsmen, especi
ally with Vincent until that day they tore the flesh from his back. Rolle was picked for Captain because of that, even though he owed Xander a debt of gratitude for saving his life years ago, he put his duty to the crown first. Xander hadn’t said two words to him since then, their only involvement with each other is if the enchantments on their armor ran out. Xander walked to the throne room where Celeste was already talking with Aubrey along with Elizabeth Brightly the High Witch of Rangel and Anaya Shield, High General of the Queens Armies.
CHAPTER 2
“Your Majesty, I thought it best if they were brought straight to you without delay. I believe one of the Thornian women is someone of importance, and if she is to be believed, then she has powerful enemies in Thorn.” Anaya said as she talked to the Queen.
“There are four women along with what I think are guards, four men in total. The weapons from the men have been taken and currently they are in the company of some of my more intimidating witches” the High Witch spoke, her voice giving away the fact she was genuinely excited.
“Xander, go play the host to our guests, entertaining them, feeding them and that sort of thing. Keep the witches around and it might be a good idea to bring in a couple of guardsmen, make sure they are armored. Make sure you are clear that our guests are not to be harmed, we are just putting a little nervousness into them” Aubrey said as she returned to the discussion her and the rest of the group was having.
Xander relayed the information he was given to a guardsman at the door, his name Xander was unsure of since he had stop caring about anything they do. After a few moments Xander saw armored men entering the dining hall along with what had to be the witches the High Witch was talking about. Xander sighed to himself and went into the sitting room where he knew his “guests” were located.
Xander opened the room and right away felt weird, everyone in the room was as pale as he was and they all had his mane of red hair. There were four men standing off to a corner, with the typical build for a Thornian male, shorter in stature and slighter in frame than the average Rangelian. One turned to face Xander and by his movements Xander could see the man could be dangerous, he had the gait of a swordsman. The women though, were what really took Xander back.
There were four Thornian women and if Xander had to guess, he would say they were all between 16 and 21 summers and not a day older. Where most of the women from Rangel were soft around the middle due to their lack of work, these women looked frail in comparison, not that it was a bad thing. Xander studied them as he walked deeper into the room and although they were sitting down, Xander could tell they were nowhere near Aubrey’s size. Xander was definitely taller than everyone in the room and Aubrey was taller than he by at least two inches. Xander tried not to show the surprise he had on his face but they all were definitely wearing it on theirs.
“Hello I am Xander please follow me for some refreshments while you wait on your audience with the Queen” Xander said as he turned his back to them.
“What in the hell is one of our countrymen men doing here? Are you one these slaves or sumthin lad?” Xander heard someone say, a question he chose to ignore. Xander reached the dining area and could see the Palace Guard suited up enough to take on a small army. They were intimidating in themselves but the witches is who got the “get me out of here” looks Xander thought. A careless display of fire magic was being used and intimidation was there game, they were good at it. Xander led them to their seats where the slaves had begun to lay out food for them with more on the way.
“Aye lad, how did you come to be in Rangel, I wasn’t aware of any of our kind running around Rangel, they aren’t known to keep prisoners alive, well at least for long anyway.” One of the men asked Xander, a man of around 35 summers if Xander had to take a guess and the one he identified as a swordsman earlier.
“I was born here” was the only reply Xander gave.
“He is a child of war” Xander could hear one of the witches behind him speak up, her name he didn’t know and her face he did not see. “That means his mother was defiled by your countrymen as they raped and pillage their way across our land.”
Xander feel the tension in the air between the Rangelians and the Thornians, but mostly from the Rangelians. Xander had no love for the Thornians and did not want to be in their presence, but his part in the Queen’s game was clear and Aubrey was even clearer about his role.
“So Xander, what do you do at the Palace other than serve good food” one of the females said, a striking beauty with high cheekbones and hair reaching well past her narrow waist.
Xander never got a chance to answer that question as he got the signal the Queen was ready to hear them out. Xander led the women to the throne room, where the Queen was already seated. Xander dropped to one knee as the Thornians got the picture and followed suit. Four chairs were pulled out for the women, leaving the men confused as to where everyone would sit.
“Your Majesty, by your leave I will take the others to our practice field, I think they are up for some sparring.” Xander said trying to sound as upbeat as possible.
“You have permission” was all the Queen said as Xander left with the men.
CHAPTER 3
Xander led the men to the area where he used to spar with the palace guard an area he wouldn’t admit he was happy to see. There were some Palace Guardsmen there, but they paid them no attention and kept doing whatever it was they were doing. Xander could tell the Thornian men were excited to spar, they seemed to keep one hand on their sword belt even though it was empty. Xander gave who he thought was their leader a wooden sword and took up another one. Xander had fought and killed many Thornians before and wanted to take his rage out on any of them he could find, with sparring being a way he could successfully do it without angering anyone.
“A sparring session huh” Xander could hear Rolle’s deep but unmistakable voice. “No one spars on my field without going through me first. I have been waiting to test my skill against you again Xander” Rolle said in his normal carefree voice.
“Go spar someone else Guard Captain, you have many men under your command” Xander said as he started twirling his practice sword.
“So that’s how it still is huh Xander? What if I just stand in the middle of the ring until someone beats me” Rolle said as he stopped his joking and stood in the middle of the circle Xander was getting ready to use.
“Gentlemen” Xander said speaking to the Thornians. “The Captain of the Guard has volunteered to show you the Rangelian style of dueling as well as any other places of note” Xander said as he left the area leaving Rolle alone with his Guardsmen and the Thornians. Xander went back towards the throne room and decided to test something he had been working on, a listening device. Xander returned to his room and pulled out some parchment.
Xander loved the rush he had gotten from enchanting but rarely had time to do it just for fun. If Aubrey knew Xander had a hobby, he was sure she would dive right into it with him and buy all kinds of things for him. If Aubrey wanted to be this all powerful princess Xander was going to let her, just without the true side of him along for the ride. Xander scribbled down the symbols for ‘hear’ and poured his ether into it. He had tried earlier but found out his material he used was wrong, stone was too heavy. Xander quickly made a twin to the paper he made and left towards the throne room where he could hear chairs moving, a sure sign the meeting was over. Xander figured it couldn’t be too hard to just stick his paper on Aubrey somewhere the next time she had a private meeting.
CHAPTER 4
JANUS
King Janus looked around his war room and noticed some empty chairs, some prominent nobles were missing, not that it was unexpected. His power play with the merchant Javik had proved disastrous when he threatened to take away his land if his daughter did not agree to marry him. Javik was the wealthiest man by far in the kingdom with his wealth surpassing even that of the monarchy. Janus could still see Javik’s face as he got up and waltzed out of the throne room, Janus shoul
d have dealt with him right there but he underestimated Javik completely.
Javik had been smart enough to keep his money in hard gold and probably foresaw the day they would run afoul of each other. While Janus had lustily taxed all of citizens he could, Javik spent time employing and feeding the poor. He had a sizable force behind him when Janus had his soldiers try to retrieve him from his home and they were much more well-armed than thought possible. The traitors killed as many of Janus’s men as they could before fortifying their position, starting a civil war. He smiled as he thought of the men helping Javik, Javik’s allies were not liked by Janus because they resented the way he came into power.
Erik the Red had expanded the Kingdom by conquering all of the small surrounding nations up until the border of Frahse. Janus had no idea while the common people loved him so much as he took many men to war with him. At the height of his power, along with his magically crafted weapons, Erik took on the powerful Queen to the north. The Rangelians proved to be too powerful a foe although the Enchanter dealt more damage than he took, it was a war he would lose. Janus sent a secret message to the Queen saying he would give her access to Erik’s position so she could finish him, if she promised not to invade. The queen accepted his offer but had additional terms stating that she wanted a certain amount of food every year as well as land up the pass. Janus agreed and Erik was slaughtered, but all was not well.
Janus, then the Duke of Douo sieged power after Erik’s death and ended the war but questions lingered on how the Rangelians knew who to attack and how they even got his location. Erik never adorned himself like other leaders and unless you knew him personally, he could pass for any other soldier. Many spoke out against Janus’s rule and thought Erik’s sister Vlada should have been regent until she passed in childbirth. The whispers Janus then heard was many thought Vlada and Javik’s daughter Samantha should rule. Janus crushed all who openly defied him but still there were whispers. Then an idea struck, one that could have changed things permanently.
The Terror of Thorn: Child of War: Book 2 Page 1