by Rachel James
“Good Lord, to where exactly? We want to be going down, not up.”
A loose rock gave way beneath her feet, she gasped and closed her eyes to regain her composure.
“My lady?”
She nodded, although realized her guards could not see her. “I’m well enough.”
It seemed an age before the sunlight peeked through at the end of the tunnel, and Alys hoisted herself up and accepted a hand up from her father.
They sat on the rocky ledge that looked over their home, in silence, as the reality began to sink in. Now, considerably higher up, Shieldoks could be seen patrolling the entire area.
The night air was crisp, and Alys shivered. Niall passed his mantel to her, which swamped her small physique. “Thank you.”
Niall placed an arm around her waist and helped her up the path. “Where are we going? What could be up here that would cause you to go through that hideous tunnel?”
“You’ll see.”
They finally neared a building set inside the mountain rock itself. Her mentor, dressed in his familiar pale-grey tunic, opened the large oak door.
Alys gave him a familiar hug. “Calipher.”
Calipher greeted them with a raised eyebrow and a nod of silence and escorted them through a dark passage lit only by a single torchlight. The passage wound downwards, and the sound of water trickling reverberated around the cave-like chambers.
A cavern appeared within the rock, and a stream of rushing water cascaded off one of the boulders. They continued on, where the shape of the natural rock formed entire rooms.
“Come,” said Calipher. “You must be weary. I’ll show you to your chambers where you can wash and rest.”
Niall glanced at Cabel, who looked like he was experiencing some kind of dream.
Cabal said to Niall, “If we can find this place, don’t you worry the Shieldoks will, too?”
Calipher turned and stared at him. “Have you ever found us before?”
“No, but—”
“I’ve been up this mountain for nearly twenty years and have never been discovered—the door to this cavern is impenetrable. We’re quite safe up here.”
Niall slept the entire day, and after waking he spotted that his clothes had been washed, and a plate of food awaited him.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” said Cabal.
Niall rubbed the slumber from his eyes and turned over, staring at the cavern ceiling which sparkled most unnervingly. “So where are we, who is this mysterious Calipher, and what are we planning to do?”
“Woah, there, friend. How are you today? Aye, I’m fine, thank you. Did you sleep well?”
Niall shifted his legs off the bed and threw the cover at Cabal. “Aye, all right. How do you fare?”
Cabal shrugged. “Just trying to work all this out as much as you. While you’ve been deep in slumber, I have been doing a little snooping.”
He passed Niall a bucket of water and then grabbed a grape from his plate. “This Calipher fellow is some hermit who’s been teaching Alys for years. Training her for something big, goodness knows what. He and the praefect have been preparing for this invasion for a long time. Though why he never mentioned this to any of us, is beyond me.”
“And this?” Niall gestured to their surroundings.
Cabal quirked his eyebrow. “An underground hideout. The place contains everything it needs to survive. There’s a gap where the sun peeks through, running water… even a place to grow things. Remarkable I say.”
Niall narrowed his eyes. “But for what purpose?” He must converse with the praefect.
He found him with Alys and Calipher on a raised platform in the centre of the cavern. Alys had changed into a cream wool dress, a silver girdle accentuating her waist, her hair flowing freely down her back. He took a double glance—she looked at home in her surroundings and was clearly comfortable around her mentor. How had he not known all about this? Of course, he knew she was prone to sneaking off, but...
“Niall,” said Druce, “You must have many questions.”
“I do my lord.”
Druce gave a small smile. “I suppose you wonder why I didn’t keep you informed. Don’t take it personally, please. I had to know who remained loyal to our cause.”
Niall nodded and glanced at Alys and Calipher.
Druce cleared his throat. “Calipher trains Alys in personal warfare, just as her mother was trained before her.”
“Why be so secretive? This custom is practised in many royal households.”
“Calipher is the guardian of this mountain and has committed to a life of solitude here—you see this location must remain a secret, for it has been a place of escape for many of Rivalyn’s monarchs.”
“Until today.”
Druce nodded in resignation. “Aye, these are exceptional times.”
“This is your plan? To hide up here for how long? You are prisoners in your own panic chamber.”
Alys stared at the trickling waterfall. She ran her hands through it, watching the water running over her fingers. “Nay. You and Cabal will accompany me. There is a river that runs through the mountain which leads out into the Great Forest.”
Druce cleared his throat. “You most certainly will not. We will stay here until we either forge a more suitable plan or wait for the Shieldoks to leave.”
“They are going nowhere, Father. This trauma has triggered Mama’s sickness again—I doubt she’ll survive up here for too long. Nay. It is time I took a stand.”
“You seem to have a strategy, daughter...”
Her breath hesitated, and her voice wavered as she spoke. “I do. I shall find the Sword of Rivalyn, appeal to the council to recognize me as ruler, raise an army, and fight the Shieldoks out of our kingdom.”
Druce chuckled. “Alys, we have no idea where the sword is.”
“So I will search the land until I find it.”
The praefect paced, his arm gestures getting larger the more he spoke. “The notion is entirely ridiculous. Scour a country as vast as Rivalyn? Assuming it still lies within our boundaries. What if the Shieldoks took it? It could be on the other side of Holmorra for all we know.”
Alys frowned. “We do naught by hiding away here.”
Calipher cleared his throat. “Naught?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Forgive me, Calipher. I mean no disrespect. There is, of course, a place for prayer...but...”
Her tutor stood, with his hands tucked inside his sleeves. “You are mistaken, my lord. Alys has everything she needs.”
Alys blinked. “I do?”
“The sword I gave you on your eighteenth birthday belonged to your mother.”
She gasped and withdrew the blade from her belt. “This is not the Sword of Rivalyn.”
Calipher smiled. “Indeed not my dear. It is far too small, and too new, although it is similar in appearance, in all but size. Aloedia had it made to remind her of the Sacred Sword, but one that she could use day-to-day. The Rivalyn Sword was too precious for her to use in battle.”
“I don’t understand. How can this be of help to me? The council will not recognise it as the Sacred Sword.”
“Nay, that they will not, and it still does not prove you are the true heir, even though it did belong to Aloedia.” He moved toward her, took it from her grasp, and held it up to the light, and as it caught the sun’s rays, the writing on the blade lit-up. “But the inscription will lead you. ‘Treow ferrum wealdon pax servat creda.’”
Niall took the sword from Calipher and examined it himself. “A true blade wields peace and saves with faith.”
“You can read Old Wealdic?” Alys asked.
Niall nodded. “Aye. Did you know this was there?”
“Of course. I confess to having puzzled over the riddle many times.”
Niall shook his head. “’Tis no riddle. It refers to the armour of God.”
Alys pulled a face. “Could it truly be so simple?” She walked over to the podium, where Calipher’s Bible rested
. She hastily thumbed through the pages.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
She glanced up, her eyes shining. “The blade is the sword; truth is the belt that holds the sword...” She retrieved her weapon from Niall. “Peace are the shoes, faith is the shield, and saves...well that is the helmet. A true blade wields peace and saves with faith.” She turned to Niall. “How could you know that?”
Niall shrugged. “I have come across it before, although where, I could not tell you.” Niall spoke to Calipher. “This does not lead us any closer to where the Sword of Rivalyn might be. And...if you knew this all along, why not offer it sooner?”
Calipher shook his head. “Admittedly, I never saw a connection between the inscription and the armour of God. However, I swore an oath to guard this blade here on the mountain, and not part with it until Alys’s eighteenth birthday. It would lead her to the true Sword of Rivalyn when she was ready. I therefore vowed to train Alys in the old Wealdic ways, and knew the Almighty would tell me when the right time came for Alys to begin her search.”
Niall stood to his feet. “She is right. A ruler cannot sit around whilst chaos ensues. Even if naught comes of it, we have to try something. I will go with her.”
Cabal rose also, with his arms folded. “Well, if he’s going, I will too.”
Druce toyed with his beard in deliberation. “I don’t like it.”
“Father, I beg you.”
He sighed.
“I will be careful, please, have some faith. You and Mama said so yourselves that I had to earn the people’s respect. I need to do something.”
He tilted his head, “I think your mother meant to feed the poor, not become a warrior princess.” He brought Alys into his embrace. “Very well, child. May God lead you, be with you, and go before you.”
Alys leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. “He always does.”
Chapter Six
She awoke abruptly, her sheets saturated with night sweats, and linens clinging to her body. Alys’s nightmares had returned. She splashed cold water on her face and lit a candle.
A knock sounded.
“Aye?”
“My lady, are you well?”
Alys opened the door ajar to glimpse Niall outside her quarters. “I’m fine. Just a bad dream.”
He studied her countenance. “You’re shivering.”
She looked down at the bumps now appearing on her arms.
Niall edged past her and wrapped a fur cloak around her shoulders. “Come, sit.”
Even though to have a man sit on her bed in the middle of the night was entirely inappropriate, she obliged him, thankful for the company.
“What ails you, Alys?”
She shook her head. “Something awoke me, and I just have this awful feeling...” She pulled her cloak closer to her body, and her eyes settled on the sword resting on the table. She reached out for it and traced her fingers over the inscription. Alys furrowed her brow. “What was Aloedia trying to tell me? The belt of truth...breastplate of righteousness...the gospel of peace...the shield of faith...one would think they were steps, or stages or something. Sounds like a list of instructions.”
Niall frowned in thought. “Or a map.”
A map? “What are you thinking?”
“Well, Calipher was instructed to stay in the mountain.”
“Aye.”
“He gave you the sword here?”
“Aye again.”
“And the only way off, other than through the palace, is via the river which leads out to the Great Forest. Isn’t there a rope bridge there?”
“You mean Weylin’s Belt? Aye, it crosses over the river and leads to the monastery—” she paused as Niall’s eyes widened. “Weylin’s Belt… The belt of truth. The parts of the armour...are landmarks?”
“Well, if it takes us to the monastery, mayhap that is the gospel of peace. But the breastplate of righteousness?”
“There’s only one way of finding out. We must head to the bridge and see what we find there. We may discover another clue.”
Alys rested her head back on her pillow and stared at the sparkling ceiling. The rock formation looked like stars in the night sky.
“Tell me about this Sword of Rivalyn,” said Niall. “Why is the weapon of such importance?”
She twisted round to her side and leaned her head on her palm. “Mama used to tell me the stories of old. One particular tale was of King Terynon, who I now know was my great-grandfather.
“There was unrest in the land. People were starving because the Shieldoks kept raiding our villages and robbing the common folk of their food. Shieldoks were everywhere. Terynon sought the Almighty One for deliverance. It is said, God told him to wield his sword, and raise it to the heavens.”
“Like Moses and his staff?”
“Aye, or like Joshua. Anyway, he lifted his sword, and the blade turned into flames.”
“Like the burning bush?”
“I would imagine. From that day forth, my people have seen the sword as a sign of God’s power and anointing, and passed on to Quaid, and later Aloedia.”
“But how did this help defeat the Shieldoks?”
“The king raised an army, and, in the Great Battle of Rivalyn, when he lifted his sword to heaven, they defeated their foes. The Shieldoks were obliterated. Even they, who do not follow the Almighty One, revere its powers.”
Niall’s hands formed their familiar steeple underneath his chin.
“I know so little about you.” Alys sucked in her breath at the sudden outburst. Had she just said that out loud? She caught his gaze, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He carried such a presence of control—she could not fathom what it was about him.
“I’m not a man of deep character. There is little to know.”
She quirked her eyebrows. “Truly? I think there is far more to you than you let on.”
He glanced at her, hesitation showing in his features.
She sighed. “You’ve never hidden that you are a wanderer, at heart.” She shook her head. “I live in fear there will come a day when you shall continue this pilgrimage of yours...wherever it is that you are going.”
“You do not wish for me to leave?”
“Nay,” she whispered. “Not ever.”
She caught her breath at his intense stare. She sensed his longing to talk to her about whatever it was that he withheld.
A loud thud caused her to jump off the bed.
Niall opened the door to reveal Cabal.
“The others are stirring, my lady. Your mother would like to converse.”
She watched Niall silently leave as she responded to Cabal. “Aye. I shall make myself ready and go to her at once.”
Ariana pushed passed her guards and entered. “My lady, you appear quite flushed. Is everything well?”
“I’m anxious about today, I suppose. Leaving Mama, Father, and you.”
“But I thought—”
“Nay, you must remain and take care of my mother.”
Ariana exhaled. “Thank the Lord. As much as I would love to go on an adventure with that good-looking guard of yours, I’d rather stay here and, you know, live.”
Alys smiled. “It will be a dangerous venture. I am sure I will rest far easier knowing you are safe here. So, you’d best fix me your tightest braid, for I doubt I’ll be able to do anything myself. And who knows how long we’ll be gone.”
Her maid helped Alys dress into her tunic and tie her hair away from her face. She secured the sword around her waist and finished her outfit with a full hooded cloak. Now she was ready for anything. She hoped.
Niall closed his eyes as he sat inside the vessel.
�
��Are you well?” asked Alys.
He grabbed the edges of the boat, his knuckles turning a fierce white, and he forced a smile. “As soon as we are down the mountain.”
Cabal laughed and gave his arm a firm tap. “You’ll be fine. Just a bit of water.”
The rocking motion stirred his senses and brought back the memories of being lost out at sea, for days on end. The taste of water on his lips, but unable to quench his thirst. Water was unforgiving, like a sleeping monster that willed being awoken. Still, he’d managed the river ride from Dyrah to Rivalyn several times. This was no different.
They picked up pace as they plummeted down the mountainside, sending their vessel spiralling around narrow passages. His stomach lurched as they dropped suddenly, and water poured into the boat, soaking his feet. They hit the river hard, over and over. Cabal used the oars to keep them from crashing into the sides. They hurtled further down, and at tremendous speed they appeared outside—the sunlight blinding them as they exited the mountain.
Alys gasped.
“Here,” shouted Cabal above the deafening noise. “Take an oar.”
Alys took one and Niall two, together they followed Cabal’s instructions and rowed skilfully through the rapids. The river wound around the mountain, and straight through the Great Forest. The current began to slow, and they steered to the bank.
“We should jump off now,” said Alys.
Niall moored the boat, eager to put his legs back on land once more. “Which way to the rope bridge?”
Alys glanced at the sun’s position. “Head north-west until we find the path which will lead us straight there.”
Cabal gathered their belongings and followed behind them.
Alys cast her eyes over Niall’s appearance. “How did you manage to get so wet?” she asked, a wry smile forming on her lips.
He frowned and gazed down. Annoyingly, his foot squelched as he moved. “How did you stay so dry?”
She shrugged.
Cabal leaned over as they walked and whispered in his ear, “I’m as dry as can be. Next time, try keeping your eyes open.” Niall edged his elbow skilfully into Cabal’s chest and grinned in satisfaction at Cabal’s groan.