Avalyne Series 01: The Queen of Carleon (8 page)

‘
You will get to see your family,’ Keira declared, fascinated to know what kind of people had spawned such a fearless creature as Celene.

‘
Yes,’ Celene nodded, ‘although there will not be much time for reunions. We need to make haste to reach our destination.’

‘
We are in your hands Celene,’ Arianne replied. ‘You know the Northern Province far better than I.’

‘
Thank you Arianne,’ Celene said grateful for the faith being given to her. However, there were some things that she had to know about their quest. ‘Arianne, we know that you have your reasons for telling us little but we must know something of what is happening if we are to be of any use to you.’

‘
Yes Arianne,’ Keira added her voice to lend weight to Celene’s entreaty. ‘Please tell us what you can. You don’t have reveal everything.’

Of course they had a right to know and her reasons for keeping silent were good ones. The Enemy’s resources were unknown to them. They knew that he was powerful and he could call down Mael from the Aether but could he see the past, present and future as Queen Lylea could. If so, was he looking at her  now? Watching her with a reptilian third eye, carefully charting her flight from Sandrine?

Lylea had told her that there was a task to complete before they reached Mael’s Pit and for the sake of her friends, it was best to keep it silent. If the Enemy knew what she intended, he would also know what it was she sought. Arianne had asked for more detail but her mother was as cryptic as always and being her daughter did not allow her any special consideration from Lylea. She wondered if this was her own good or simply because it was Lylea’s way. One thing had stood out above all the warnings and instructions the High Queen had given though Arianne did not fully understand it.

‘
Your blood is more than just human or elf. Your grandfather was sired by a god and that too runs through your veins. You will do well to remember that.’

Arianne
knew that her family line was descended from the Celestial Enphilim but she had no idea how that manifested itself in her. If there was power in her, Arianne had never seen it.

‘
I will tell you what I can,’ she said after a moment. ‘The Enemy is not known to my mother. She cannot see him but she knows that he is powerful indeed. Perhaps not strong enough to strike directly at Dare while he surrounded by an army but more than capable of killing him were he to come face to face with the king. We do not know if he can see us but we must take precaution.’

‘
Is that why we had to leave in such secret??’ Keira ventured a guess.

‘
Yes,’ Arianne nodded sombrely. ‘Because I want the Enemy to think that I am still in Sandrine, not coming for him. If I am unseen by most in the city, that can be explained. I am after all with child, a difficult pregnancy might warrant the need to be sequestered until the babe is born. Better yet, if Dare pursues us, the Enemy might think that he is the one who is going to confront him in the Frozen Mountains, not us.’  

‘
So he will not realise that we are actually on are way well before Dare leaves Sandrine because he thinks you are still in the city.’ Celene nodded in understanding.

‘
If he is using agent to watch over me, yes,’ Arianne nodded. ‘I can get to him before he realises that I am no longer at Sandrine. We must reach him before the second full moon.’

‘
We will have to ride hard,’ Celene said with a sigh. They would have to remain hidden from the Enemy but also keep one step ahead of the King. As someone who was accustomed to riding with Dare, this would not be easy to do.

‘
We must,’ Arianne whispered. ‘I have to reach the Enemy before I will give birth to a demon.’

Arianne closed her eyes in anguish, unable to speak any further because the horror of that was more than she could bear. Her body shook with emotion and her hands tightened around the reins of her steed with such intensity that her knuckles became white. Tears wanted to spill from her eyes at the unfairness of her lot but she knew that it would avail her nothing. It would not change that the Enemy was going to harm her baby unless she prevented it.

‘It will not happen,’ Keira assured her, her hand still in the queen’s and she squeezed tighter because her anguish was so exposed that there was nothing else left to say assuage her fright.

Arianne looked up and met
Keira’s gaze, grateful for the support.

‘I swear to you Arianne, not only as your friend but as your loyal subject, I will die before I allow my future king to be blighted with an obscenity. We will stop him Arianne, I promise. We
will
stop him.’ Celene said firmly.

Despite Celene’s confidence, Arianne knew the quest ahead was nowhere as easy to accomplish as her words implied. There was real danger ahead and every likelihood they could lose their life in the process. However, it meant a great deal to her that her friends were at her side and that she was not totally alone in what awaited her in the Frozen Mountains.

‘Thank you,’ she replied, her voice filled with emotion, ‘I do not deserve friends such as you.’

‘
Well,’ Keira declared with a hint of mischief, intending to bring a smile to her friend’s face and dispel the heavy mood of the moment, ‘That goes without saying of course.’

When Dare awoke the next morning, he found himself alone.

His aching head reminded him painfully that the evils of drink should never be underestimated. Grimacing at the throbbing inside his skull, he sat up in his bed and stared for a moment at the empty space beside him and wondered where Arianne was. Slightly disappointed by her absence, he was not so drunk the night before to forget the heat of their lovemaking. It would have been much nicer to suffer the drumbeat inside his head if he could lie in bed with her.

No doubt she was somewhere in the palace, attending
to her own duties, most likely conferring with the seneschal regarding the comfort of their guests this morning. He supposed she would appear soon enough.

Still
when he climbed out of bed, a feeling of uneasiness came over him he could not explain.

Ignoring it
, he went about the rituals of morning, dressing and making himself ready to move about his court and appear kingly as he did so, still dogged by this odd sensation that something, somewhere was not right. These were instincts he had relied upon for much of his life and had saved him more times than he could count. Why he should be visited by them now, in a place he should have felt the safest made him tense. When he emerged from the royal chambers, he was gripped by this feeling that something was lurking in the periphery, waiting for an opportunity to ambush.

Making his way to the
Great Hall which had been cleared of the previous evening's decadence and readied for breakfast, Dare was certain that the others would be awake by now, headache or not. His long friendship with them had taught him one thing about his former travelling companions, not even Balfure could keep them from a good breakfast. Indeed, before he even reached the large doors that emptied into the room, he could hear the chatter emanating from the corridor. The sound of their animated voices brought a heartfelt smile to Dare’s face for it felt like old times again.

However, before he could
join them, he heard a familiar voice call.

‘
Dare.’

Dare glanced over his shoulder to see
Aeron behind him. Of course it was, he thought silently, Aeron was still the only person he knew who capable of sneaking up on him. As the elf approached, Dare stifled the smirk that wanted to come as he noted the prince did not have the usually spring in his step that the king was accustomed to seeing. In fact, for someone so light on his feet, it was safe to say that at the moment, the expression on Aeron’ face was positively grim.

Elves were notoriously bad drinkers but
when Aeron and Kyou resumed their playful rivalries, all good sense left them both. Last night, their competition was joined by Tully, Ronen and himself to a lesser degree. However, they were accustomed to drinking; Aeron was not.

‘
How do you fare this morning Aeron?’ Dare asked.

‘
I think I’m going to be ill,’ Aeron grumbled.

‘
The nearest window is that direction,’ Dare said helpfully.

The
elf gave him a look through narrowed eyes. ‘If you were truly my friend you would kill me and end my misery.’

‘
I thought elves were known for their ability to endure,’ Dare teased. ‘I am certain that your suffering will pass.’

‘
Not soon enough,’ Aeron grumbled as the two resumed their journey into the hall where the smell of food was wafting down the hallway towards them.

‘
Tell me,’ Dare asked as they approached the entrance. ‘Did you see Arianne anywhere?’

‘
No,’ Aeron shook his head. ‘I have not. Why?’

‘
It’s just that I have not seen her this morning,’ Dare replied, feeling once again that uneasiness, ‘I wonder where she is.’

‘
She is probably seeing to your guests,’ Aeron responded, noticing the concern in Dare’s face as real worry.

Dare supposed
he was being ridiculous. After all, they were host to some of the most prominent people in Avalyne during this celebration. Aside from her mother and their friends, there were Lords from other cities in Carleon in attendance and he could appreciate Arianne feeling a little self conscious playing hostess to such a prestigious collection. She was Queen as long as he had been King and while he had numerous chances to prove himself since beginning his rule, Arianne’s opportunity to shine in her position was limited to occasions such as this. Prior to the arrival of their guests, she had been a flurry of action, moving across the palace, ensuring everything was perfect.

‘
I am sure that you are right my friend,’ Dare smiled and then patted Aeron on the back and grinned, ‘Come along Aeron. Let us get some food into you. I am certain, meat off the bone, tender and red, covered in thick gravy and eggs bubbling with fat will make you feel so much better. All that food churning in your belly, bubbling with last night’s spirits…..’

Aeron
glared at him and muttered under his breath, ‘and they thought Balfure was the
evil
one.’

*****

If there was one thing Dare knew he would never become accustomed to since becoming king, it was the practice of everyone rising to their feet when he entered a room.

While he resigned
himself to his fate in the company of his subjects, it was even more disconcerting when he saw it performed by his
friends
. These were the people with whom he had travelled the wilds of Avalyne, whom he had shared a campfire and had gotten drunk with in taverns. They’d fought together and bled together. They even mourned as one. Their friendship was far too deep for this formality to ever feel appropriate.

Nevertheless it was a burden of his station and he bade them to sit as soon as
they had made the attempt. Beside him, Dare heard his best friend snigger in discomfort, feeling some vindication for his earlier teasing because Aeron knew just how much he loathed the ceremony and pomp that accompanied his title as king.

At the long dining table in the Great Hall, the servants were working busily to see to the needs of his guests, walking up and down the large room, filling up goblets and setting down trays of food. They kept their heads bow
ed and tried to go about unseen as they carried out their duties. Directing this activity with the expertise of a battlefield general was a thin, hollow cheeked man with an aquiline nose and an impeccably groomed beard named Esau.

Esau had come into Dare’s service when the king had finally regained control of Sandrine Keep. Esau’s family had served the Keep and the kings within
it for five generations and now that a king had returned, he wanted to serve House Icara again. Dare, who knew nothing about maintaining a castle, was more than happy to appoint Esau his seneschal and the man had never given Dare cause to regret it. 

As he approached his seat in the centre of table,
Dare noted that Tully and Kyou were already well into breakfast if the pile of food on their plates was any indication.  Also present this morning was Lord Navarre of Varaen, who had wisely retired early the night before, engaged in conversation with his youngest son Adevane. Both nodded at Dare in greeting as he walked past them and took his place at the table.

Navarre ruled the Varaen
in the Southern Province before the occupation of the kingdom by Balfure. As an elder statesman approaching his seventieth year, Navarre was an able diplomat who had little taste for power but knew how lightly he needed to tread around Balfure to spare his people molestation by Balfure’s Berserkers. During those dark days, Navarre had managed to reach an accord of sorts with Abraxes that allowed him some control over his city .

When Dare
staked his claim upon Carleon, it was Navarre who was his strongest ally after Ronen. He had known Dare’s father and played intermediary between the would be king and the other leaders of the fragmented kingdom as Dare rallied the support needed to launch the assault against Balfure. During that time, Navarre earned Dare’s respect by his wise counsel and a real friendship was forged between the two.

The first thing Dare noted when he sat down was
Ronen. The Bân, seemed preoccupied and barely acknowledged the king next to him, not that Dare was concerned about that. No, it was the look on the man’s face that left prompted him to speak as he was being fussed over by one of the servers.

‘
You seem troubled,’ Dare remarked quietly once his meal was laid out before him.

Ronen
glanced at him slightly startled, having not noticed that Dare had sat down. ‘It is nothing,’ Ronen said quickly, trying to shrug off his distracted state.

‘
Come now Ronen,’ Dare insisted. ‘it does not appear to be nothing. We are friends, tell me what bothers you. I know with Aeron it is clearly too much drink.’ He threw a teasing smirk at the elf who had taken the seat beside him.

Aeron
glared at Dare through narrowed eyes and then muttered something in elvish that was not at all appropriate for repeating. Dare chuckled inwardly, he didn't think elves knew
such
words.

Ronen
managed a smile at Dare's attempt to lighten the mood and then exhaled deeply, expelling his reservations and deciding that Dare was right. They
were
friends and he would only work himself into a state if he did not voice his concerns. ‘I cannot find Celene.’ He admitted.

‘
That is hardly a cause to worry,’ Dare said smoothly. He had learned a long time ago that Celene was not like most women. Being of Angarad, she was accustomed to going where she pleased and any man who married her needed to accept or be prepared for a most tumultuous union. While she had taken to married life quite well, Dare suspected that there was always going to be a part of Celene that remained the free spirit who travelled with him, Aeron and Kyou across Avalyne.

‘
She is probably somewhere with Arianne. I have not seen the queen this morning either,’ Dare confessed.

‘
Under most circumstances, I would not be concerned,’ Ronen explained because he too knew the woman he’d married. Part of why he had fallen in love with her was because of her strong, independent nature. He would no sooner try to tether her spirit then he would trying to pin a cloud in the sky. ‘But...’ his words faltered because he could finish speaking.

‘
But?’ Dare stared at him and by now even Aeron was paying attention.

‘
She took her sword and her travelling clothes.’

Now he understood
why Ronen was concerned. Celene would not take her sword with her unless she was fully intending to use it and the absence of her travelling clothes meant that Celene intended to do that somewhere other than Sandrine. However, what could possibly warrant such a departure from the city without at least giving her husband
some
word of it? It was not like Celene to behave so thoughtlessly.

As he pondered this, Dare was suddenly revisited by the uneasiness he felt this morning when
he awoke to find Arianne gone. Of course, he’d told himself that there were a dozen explanations for that and now that he knew Celene was gone, it was highly likely that the two were together. Suddenly Ronen’s comment about Celene’s sword made him anxious.

‘
Ronen, have you see Arianne at all this morning?’ He ventured to ask. It was entirely possible that the duo had chosen to leave the walls of Sandrine for a day of exploration. After all, the countryside beyond Sandrine was quite breathtaking, to say nothing of the spectacular waters of Lake Tijon that sat within sight of the city.

The Lord of
Gislaine’s eyes widened, realising that perhaps his situation was not unique and shook his head in reply, ‘No, I have not.’

Still refusing to
think the worst, Dare rose to his feet and addressed not only his guests but the servants in the Great Hall.

‘
Has
anyone
seen the Queen or Lady Celene this morning?’ He asked out loud, silencing everyone in the room with the question.

Tully stopped
eating in mid-chew as Dare spoke because until that moment he assumed that Keira had gone off with the Queen and Celene. He didn’t expect to her wait around their chambers until he woke up this morning especially after drinking himself silly the night before. In fact, he had not thought twice about where Keira might actually be and that made him feel a little guilty now that Dare was asking after the Queen and Celene.

There was a long pause as Dare waited for
someone to answer and was not comforted by the blank stares he received in return because no one could give him an answer. The lack of response was not merely to confined to the guests but also the serving staff. The servers, compromised of young men and women, whispered amongst themselves as they tried to remember when each of them might have seen the queen. Finally it was Esau who stepped forward and spoke on their behalf.

‘
Sire, no one has seen the Queen at all,’ Esau declared.