Chapter 17: Chapter Sixteen

Jac woke them before sunrise the next morning. The guard returned their horses to the stable and in reasonable condition, considering their night of firefighting. Del thanked him and she and the others gathered their things and met in front of the inn.

In the first light of the morning, the inn looked a little less dreary. Jac brought their horses around two at a time. She noticed they had been rubbed down and the saddle blankets had been cleaned. Certainly not the work of the King’s Guard. As the others were mounting and arguing over who should ride with whom, she pulled Jac to one side of the yard.

“Here,” she said, placing a small coin purse in his hand.

“Oh, no, my lady,” he said. “I could not…”

“You can and you will. And give this to Ada.” She pulled a gold piece from her pouch where she’d kept it stashed for emergencies. Not even Maug knew she had it.

“My lady…”

“Tell her…tell her not every lady refuses to see.” Jac looked confused but only nodded and bowed deeply.

When she returned to the horses, she found everyone mounted and, to her surprise and amusement, Albaran and Shorgus riding double.

“He can’t ride, so it made sense for him to ride with someone,” Maug said. “He refused to ride with me. Wymar demanded his own horse, and the mage said it would ‘add authenticity to the disguise.’”

Del tried very hard not to look at the mage and ranger after that, for fear she would break out in giggles. They had no trouble leaving the city. The morning traffic was heavy, and the guards were bleary-eyed as they watched the carts and horses passing by. Once they were out of sight of the city walls, they turned into the forest beside the road and headed south once again.

The trees provided them with a way to travel unseen, but there were drawbacks. They had to move more slowly, of course, even on the horses. And it was difficult for even Maug to keep them on the right general course. They took turns riding ahead to make sure they didn’t stumble on a sudden farm or out of the way homestead, which slowed them even more. The only one who truly enjoyed their time in the forest was Tafa. She alternated riding on Del’s shoulder and Shorgus’s pommel, where he chatted with her about everything they saw as if he was an attentive tour guide.

When they paused for the evening meal, the ranger suggested they find the road again in the morning. Del was still reluctant. She was far less concerned about making good time now that they had Wymar. Their safety was what mattered.

Wymar posed his own set of problems, though. He ignored Del completely, except when silently glaring at her. But the others in the group took the brunt of Wymar's entitled attitude. He demanded their servitude, expecting them to cater to his every whim. Everyone ignored him except for Albaran, who seemed to think it his duty to do as the future king asked. This self-imposed duty made the others uncomfortable. Especially Shorgus. He watched the two with concern as he sipped from his pink cup and fed scraps of meat to Tafa in his lap.

As the evening wore on, Del's patience waned as well, and she found herself becoming more and more willing to entertain the ranger's suggestion. It became clear there was still a need for haste, if just to be rid of Wymar.

The next morning they set out toward the road. It took them longer than she’d hoped, but by midday they were once again traveling with the other traffic toward Kingsland. They passed through two towns, both smaller than Daybridge but still large by town standards, without issue and, by the end of the day, they had traveled twice as far as the previous day.

Despite their relatively easy day, Del didn’t want to risk staying in an inn for even one night this close to the capital. No one except Wymar disagreed, and he kept his protests to pouting, mostly. They had trouble finding a stretch or road that wasn’t surrounded by farms or homes, though, and so it was well past dark when they finally stopped in a small patch of overgrown woodland.

“This may be the last wilderness we see for a while,” Maug said as he tended his horse. "This close to Kingsland, everything for miles around will be occupied." Del nodded.

“We’ll ride through the night if we must.”

“Not to pry,” Shorgus said from his blanket. “But do we have a plan once we get to the capital?”

“Honestly, I figured if we got that far, we’d just wing it.” She was only half joking.

“So the ‘seat of our pants’ plan?” the mage said. “I like it.”

“I don’t think there is much to plan until we arrive. I’ve only seen Wranbanise Castle from a distance once, so I have no idea how difficult it will be to enter.”

“It will not matter,” Wymar said. “Once we are in the capital, I will only have to tell the guard who I am. They will get us into the heart of the city.”

“They will get us to a dungeon,” Maug laughed. “The King’s Guard are the ones looking for you, remember? Do you think they will care who you say you are?”

“I can prove who I am, and the guard in the city will be honor bound…”

“They will be bound to not want to lose their heads. It doesn’t matter to them who should be king, only who has the power to execute them for treason,” Del said.

“It is not treason,” Wymar exclaimed.

“Technically, no,” Del said. “But that is certainly what the current king would call it and as he is the guy on the throne and the guy heading the push to kill us, we should probably avoid alerting him to our presence until we have a plan on how to deal with him.”

The next day on the road was a battle from the start. Wymar had decided Albaran should lead his horse since, evidently, the strain of holding reins was just too much for him. Del nearly hit him again out of frustration. Instead, she forbade it and they went on as they had the day before, with Shorgus and the ranger in the lead, her and Wymar riding middle and Maug bringing up the rear. The younger man looked at her with such hatred she was happy they wouldn’t be stopping again before Kingsland. She didn’t think she could sleep comfortably around him.

They passed half a dozen groups of soldiers of various sizes without issue, but around midday, their luck finally gave out. A small patrol of King’s Guards broke away from the traffic heading north and into their path. They had no choice but to stop.

“Where are you going?” The lead guard asked Del. Shorgus and the ranger were closer, but he ignored them completely.

“Kingsland, of course,” Del answered with as much contempt as she could muster.

“What is your business in the capital?”

“My business is my own.” The guard rode closer to her. She casually laid her reins over the pommel of her saddle. She needed her hands free if this went poorly.

“I ask again, my lady,” the guard said sternly. “What is your business in the capital?”

Beside her, Wymar began to speak. She snapped her head around and glared at him so forcefully he broke off in mutters. The guard looked at him suspiciously.

“Oh, Aris, dear, don’t be rude,” Shorgus said airily. “We are heading to the capital for the mage assembly, of course.”

The guard looked at him for the first time and scowled. Thankfully, Albaran kept his face to the mage's back.

“The assembly,” he said absently as he looked them over again. “And why would a lady be accompanying a mage to the assembly?”

“Because she needs magic, of course,” Shorgus said.

“What need of magic would an Aurelin have?” Del thought his contempt ironic, given that magic built the capital city and mages managed all places of healing.

“My brother,” she spoke up, motioning to Wymar, “is in need of special healing.”

“What is wrong with him?”

Del pursed her lips in irritation. “He is…delicate of mind,” she finally said. Beside her, Wymar’s face turned a deep red and he bared his teeth at her. “As you can see,” she said calmly.

“The assembly began two days ago,” the guard said.

“Yes, yes,” Shorgus waved a hand. “We are not important enough to be a part of the actual meetings. We simply wish to employ some of the mages there.” Smart, Del thought. He made them not important enough to note, but not poor enough to abuse.

“Fine,” the guard finally barked and waved them on. Everyone was silent for a long time after. Finally, Wymar found his voice.

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“If you ever,” he hissed, “disrespect me like that again…”

“You’ll what?” Del rounded on him. “Run away and get yourself captured?”

“I will see you punished no matter who—”

“Punished for what, saving your hide?” She spat. The mage had moved ahead enough to be out of earshot, but Maug moved his horse closer to theirs.

“Would you rather get to the city with your pride or your hide intact?” He asked.

“This is none of your concern, dirtpaw.” Del grabbed him by the arm and pulled him hard enough he nearly came out of his saddle.

“If I hear that word from you one more time, you will spend the rest of this journey hog-tied on the back of my horse. The hell with appearances. Do you understand?”

“You can not abuse me. I don’t care whose bastard you are.” Del let go of him in surprise.

“What?”

“I heard you talking the other night. I know you are the old king's bastard. And I know you are jealous because the Velli chose me instead of you.” Maug snorted behind them.

“You,” Del said slowly, “You think I’m jealous of you?”

“Of course you are. Who wouldn’t be? They overlooked you in favor of me. But I will be king and I will punish you for this insolence. Don’t think I will not just because we are family.”

“Have you considered,” Maug asked lightly, “that it is not the best idea to threaten the people protecting you when you still need them?” Wymar ignored him.

“We are not family,” Del said. “You are a fool, a selfish, arrogant fool in a long line of selfish, arrogant fools. I am not jealous of you, Wymar. I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed we carry the same blood.”

Wymar just scowled and rode forward, leaving Del and Maug alone.

“You know,” Maug said. “I think, if we do manage to put him on the throne somehow, we should run the first chance we get.”

The last town they had passed through was nearly two hours behind them when night fell. The traffic on the road was sparse, but not completely gone.

“How far to Kingsland?” Maug asked.

“If we stick to this pace, we should be there by noon tomorrow.” Shorgus said.

“We should walk the horses for a bit,” Del said, climbing down. “It won’t look good if one of them drops dead in front of the gates.”

“I will not walk,” Wymar said stubbornly.

“You will get off that fucking horse or I will drag you off,” Del said, walking toward him. The others were already dismounting.

“That is the last time you will speak to me like that,” he said defiantly, and climbed down from his horse.

“Well, at least you got down,” she said, turning to give her horse a pat on the nose before taking up its reins. Behind her, there was a flash of light and a grunt. She turned to find Wymer laying on the ground at her feet with a slightly smoking dagger at his side and Maug standing over him.

“The little retch tried to stab you,” he said, examining his bruised knuckles.

“If I had known you were going to punch him, I would have saved the light show.” Shorgus wiggled his fingers with a chuckle.

“Well, better safe than sorry,” Maug said. He nudged Wymar with his foot. “What are we going to do with him now?”

“I guess he gets his wish,” Del said. “We’ll have to put him on one of the horses. He’s too heavy to carry and it would look suspicious besides. Someone will have to ride with him to keep him from falling off.”

“I’ll do it,” Maug said. “Look a bit weird for anyone else.” It was a statement to how much he hated Wymar that he didn’t take the opportunity to make a jab at Albaran about his riding skill.

They made sure the unconscious Wymar had no more hidden weapons, then placed him in front of Maug and started off again. After a few hours, they all remounted and ate a late supper in the saddle. The traffic on the road at night was considerably different from what they saw during the day. There were a few farmers with carts of fruits or vegetables, making their way to an early market in one town or another, but many other people were on foot. Most of them were not Aurelian, or if they were, they hid it well. They avoided looking at the group and, most times, hurried past them as if they feared being stopped and questioned.

Del wondered where they were going or where they had come from. It made her think of Ada. Were these people destined to live in the dark alleys of some city, relying on the kindness of strangers for their survival?

“Hey, you alright?” Maug had ridden up beside her without her noticing.

“I am.”

“You’ve seemed a little tense since we found Wymar.” Del gave him a wry look. “Ok, we all have, but you seem more so.”

“I wish we could go back to the way things were,” she said. “Just you and me and Tafa, going where we wanted. No one trying to kill us, no idiot boy king, no saving the world.”

“It wasn’t all sunshine, though. Lots of sleeping in the woods, hard travel, bare meals…oh, wait,” he laughed and so did she. “Don’t worry, things will be back to normal soon. Just got to make it into the most heavily guarded city in Aurelia, then the most heavily fortified building in Orvesa, then get out again before the king we installed decides to hang us.”

“Just that, huh?”

“Just that,” he agreed.

Riding like this, Del could almost pretend it was just them again, running from or to the next town to line their pockets with enough to enjoy an inn and some ale. Admittedly, the slumped form of Wymar riding in front of Maug did ruin the illusion a bit. That and the occasional sound of Shorgus chuckling at Albaran as his horse wandered off the road.

“Seriously, Del, we’ll get back there.”

“You don’t want to move on to bigger and better things now that you’ve had a taste of traveling with royalty?” Del asked.

“I think I have had my share of royalty,” he poked Wymar in the back of the head.

“Even me?” She laughed.

“Nah, you’re not royalty. You’re just Del. Besides, we have to start thinking about savings. We need to have enough to settle down when you get too old to keep up with me.”

“Me?” she said dramatically. “Maugrian Bikan, are you calling me old?”

“Not old,” he grinned. “Just…well experienced.” She reached over and punched him lightly on the shoulder, but smiled. She felt better than she had in days.

Just after sunrise, Wymar woke up and threw such a fit they had to stop. Maug practically threw him from the horse before getting down himself. Del offered a hand to assist him up, but he ignored her. She saw his jaw was a spectacular shade of purple.

“The mage can help you with that,” she said. He spit on the ground at her feet. Maug huffed disgustedly, but she held up a hand to stop his comment. “We are hours from Kingsland. All we have to do is get there and get you one the throne.” She decided not to mention they had no clue how. “You need us to do that.”

“I don’t…”

“You do, and you are smart enough to know it. Let us get you there and then you will have a whole kingdom to rule and we will be nothing but an afterthought.” He looked at her with hate in his eyes.

“I want the elf,” he said. “When this is done, I will make him pay for—”

“No,” she said.

“I want…”

“I said no. Do you want the throne or not? Without us, you have no chance and I am telling you, I will knock you out again myself and leave you here before I let you threaten anyone.”

Wymar looked at her for a long time, then looked at Maug.

“Fine,” he said. “I understand.”

They remounted, Albaran again riding double with Shorgus. Traffic on the wide road was heavy in both directions and grew heavier the closer they got to the capital. When the gates of Kingsland came into view, Del had to make herself keep moving.

The pearl stone rising nearly twenty feet above the city walls shone in the morning sun with an unnatural light.

“Made by the Velli, you know,” Shorgus said over his shoulder. “Over 600 years ago and still not a scratch on it. Incredible.” Even Albaran stared at the gate, eyes wide behind his kaffa.

Tall towers flanked the gate with the red and white banners of the King streaming from them. Guards moved around them and in the crowd of traffic, trying to get into Kingsland. And that traffic was nearly at a standstill.

“Shorgus,” Del waved him closer so she could speak quietly. “Is the mage assembly still going on?”

“Probably,” he shrugged. “I heard it talked about before I left Vintera. The magic of some of the defenses in Kingsland have begun weakening and the last king agreed to a contract to fix things but the new king doesn’t like it, or some such. Regardless, these things usually last weeks.”

“Ok, we’ll stick to that story if pressed.” Beside her, Wymar’s eyes narrowed, but he did not protest.

Around them, people on horseback and on foot crowded in. Large carts full of food and wears drove through with little regard to who was in the way. It was loud and hot and she had to put most of her attention to keeping her tired horse from snapping at the passing cart horses.

A few guards walked among the people closer to the gate, but they seemed to be trying to keep order more than anything else. In the tall towers, more looked down over the crowd, but they too only seemed to look for people causing delays. Just inside the gate were a dozen men and women in fine black coats and no weapons. They stopped nearly every traveler that passed under the pearl stone.

One man, slight and older than the rest, stood out to Del. He was dressed in a similar black coat but his had gold embroidery and the beads in his short hair sparkled like glass or crystal instead of the dull wood and stone of his fellows. He didn’t stop anyone, but he scanned every newcomer with an intensity that said he was looking for something important. She wondered what it was. Just before they reached the first tower, he spotted their group.

At first he skimmed over them as she had seen him do everyone else. But his attention came back to her and she saw him pass over their party again and his eyes grew wide. He ran to the nearest guard and began talking animatedly and pointing.

“Uh oh,” Maug said behind her.

“You saw him too?”

“Saw what?” Wymar asked.

“Just someone taking a little too much interest.”

“Stick to the story and we’ll be fine,” Shorgus said from the front, but he sounded tense.

As they watched, the guard and the little man stopped talking and started making their way through the crowd to them. Del tried to relax, but the urge to run away was strong and made her fidget. When they finally reached them, they did not stop at Shorgus, although the little man gave Albaran a long, appraising look. Del prepared to speak, but to her surprise they passed by her and Wymar as well and stopped in front of Maug.

“Good day,” the little man said. “I am Davos, a member of the high council of Aurelia. Are you Maugrian?”

Del looked back to see her shock mirrored on Maug’s face. He looked at her, but she didn’t know what to do. She saw him place a hand on his coat, over a dagger he kept there, but she shook her head. People around them had taken notice of the special attention and they would never make it out of the crowd alive if a fight broke out.

“What is the meaning of this?” She asked in her best angry rich lady voice. “Why are you questioning my servant?”

Something in what she said appeared to make the man happy. He smiled brightly up at her.

“You must be Evandella then,” he whispered. Her wide-eyed shock must have been all the confirmation he needed because he nodded, still smiling. He turned to address Maug again. “If you would just come with me, please. You can leave your horses here. I will see the guards tend to them. We can walk the rest of the way.”

“The rest of the way where, exactly?” Maug asked.

“To Wranbanise Castle, of course.”