Pendant of Fortune (56 page)

“
She came running into the playroom one day. We thought it was a game, but she was frightened. I just remember her hustling us into a wardrobe, covering us with clothes, and telling us to stay there. I could smell the fear on her and I wondered what could possibly have made her so scared.

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You all know, of course. We’d heard the shouts outside the window, but they were far below and we felt so safe in the palace that it never occurred to us that we could be threatened.

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We lay there trembling until we heard a commotion. Someone had run into the playroom and was begging the nurse to hide him. I had to hold my paw over Archer’s muzzle when he recognized his older brother’s voice.

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Our nurse wouldn’t put him in the wardrobe. She said it was locked and that she’d thrown the key away. He begged her, but she said all she could do was dress him in her robes. Perhaps he could pass for the nurse.

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The rioters broke in ten minutes later. They weren’t fooled. We heard them yell, heard the nurse scream, heard Archer’s brother’s terrified yells and heard them stop abruptly.”

Volle shivered, and even Lord Wallen seemed mesmerized by Tish’s story. The wolf paused and then went on. “They threatened to kill the nurse. She said she wasn’t a fox, that she didn’t know any foxes, that she didn’t know where any foxes were. They left her alone. Eventually.

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When they’d gone, she whispered to us through the door not to worry, that we’d be all right now, that we had been very good and had to wait just a little longer. It was hours later that she opened the wardrobe, and the sky outside was dark.

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She had a small cloak with her and she gathered Archer up in it. ‘We have to leave,’ she told me. ‘Your mother and father will be here soon.’ She kissed me, and Archer and I held paws until she lifted him in her arms and left. And that was the last I saw of him.

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My parents didn’t come until later. I was too scared to go anywhere but the playroom, even though the body of his brother was lying there, getting cold. It was savaged almost beyond recognition. But there was something left on it—a small gold pendant.”

Volle made the connection then, and his jaw dropped at Tish’s audacity. Tish had stopped in front of the King, and had started talking again by the time Wallen jumped to his feet. “The same gold pendant that everyone in his family wore. The same pendant that Archer wore when his nurse smuggled him out of the castle.” He turned to look at Volle. “The same pendant he passed on to his son.”

He laid the pendant on the table in front of the King as the audience erupted in disbelief. Volle heard Lord Wallen yelling, “This is impossible!” and someone in the audience yelling, “Noble blood!” The rest of the remarks were lost in the tumult.

Alister was on his feet, paws in the air, shouting, “Quiet! Quiet!” After a few minutes, his words had some effect and the people who’d been standing sat down, except for Lord Wallen. The stag was trembling with fury, but restrained himself until Alister looked at him and nodded. “Lord Wallen?”

“
This is preposterous,” the stag thundered. “This story is even less probable than the last. Lord Tistunish—I mean no disrespect, of course, but it was on his recommendation that this fox was brought into the castle to begin with! And he promised conclusive proof. I hardly think that a childhood memory retold by the oldest active peer is conclusive. No disrespect intended,” he repeated as he sat down.

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Lord Tistunish?” The King had bid Alister sit with one motion of his paw. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at the old wolf.

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None taken, Lord Wallen,” Tish said. “What my junior peer says is quite true. I would not accept the story on my word alone. That is why I brought this.”

He pulled one paw from his pocket and placed a worn wooden box on the table, then opened it in front of the King. “This is the pendant I took from his brother’s body that night in the playroom, because I wanted to remember. I never told anyone I had it, at first because I was scared of being a thief, and later because Bucher and his family were so unpopular, it seemed pointless to raise old ghosts.”

The King lifted a small piece of gold from the box and examined it, then compared it to the pendant Tish had taken from Volle. He looked up. “Would you like to examine them, Lord Wallen?”

“
I certainly would!” The stag stomped around his table and joined Tish in front of the King. He reached out and then drew his paw back, as though the pendants were something dirty. Instead, he peered closely at the two pendants for several long minutes. Finally, he placed them carefully down and marched back behind his table, without a word.

“
Lord Vinton,” the King rumbled, turning to him, “or rather, Volle. How long have you had this pendant?”

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As long as I can remember,” Volle said truthfully.

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And where did you get it?”

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My mother said it was all my father had left us.”

The King nodded, slowly. “Lord Tistunish, you never noticed it until this retreat?”

Volle stood. “If I may, your Majesty?” His mind was working furiously to figure out what he could say that would be enough of the truth without being too much. The King nodded to him. “I did not wear it when I first came to the palace. I didn’t know what it was and I feared that it might be inappropriate, coming from Ferrenis as I was. I didn’t even bring it, in fact. I left it with a moneylender who was a friend of my mother’s.” That was all true enough. “When I returned to Ferrenis recently, I retrieved it from him, and upon returning here, I felt more comfortable and I knew that it wouldn’t cause any trouble, so I wore it. Lord Tistunish was very surprised the first time he saw it, but I didn’t know why.”

Tish gave him the barest of nods, and turned to listen to the King. The large bear was looking back and forth between Volle and Tish, and then turned to Lord Wallen. “Do you wish to mount a challenge to this before we enter my deliberations?”

“
I don’t believe I can, your Majesty.” The stag rubbed his antlers. “Unless there is someone else present who was alive during Bucher’s reign. But if this fox is indeed descended from that—”

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Very well,” the King said firmly, cutting off the stag’s words. He picked up the pendants and examined them, then looked at Tish. “Lord Tistunish, you admit you were mistaken about Volle’s parentage?”

“
Our information said that his father was a Tephossian noble who had disappeared. He fit all the information about the former Lord Vinton, and I had no idea Archer had survived. I never saw the pendant, and those who did had no idea what it meant.” Tish spread his paws. “I regret my mistake, but I think it is an honest one.”

“
We would tend to agree.” The King shuffled both pendants back and forth in his paw, rubbing his chin with the other. Slowly, he dropped Tish’s pendant back into its box, and held out the leather strap to Volle. “You may have your pendant back,” he said.

Volle walked forward and took it, trying to read the King’s expression. Tish picked up his box as well, and they stood side by side, waiting. The King faced them, but Volle had the impression that he was looking through them rather than at them. Finally, he spoke.

“
We can find no reason that Lord Tistunish’s story should be false, nor any other logical reason that these two should be in possession of identical pendants. Our decision is to accept this account of the fox Volle’s ancestry.”

“
Thank you, your Majesty,” Volle said, and walked back to his table, feeling suddenly very important. Tish returned to his seat, tail wagging. Lord Wallen looked blackly across the dais at Volle, but Streak and Helfer were smiling broadly. It occurred to Volle that he had never known his father, and it was possible that he was related to a royal Tephossian house. He wondered to himself whether that would make a difference.

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And our decision,” the King said, looking sternly at the stag, “is final.”

Alister quelled the scattered applause from the crowd. “We have one more matter to resolve,” he said. “Lord Wallen, are you also presenting this case?” The stag nodded. “Lord V—Volle, you are handling your own defense?” Volle nodded. “Lord Wallen, go ahead.”

The stag rose as Alister sat. “My Lords and Ladies, your Majesty, it is our intention to show that the fox known as Volle appropriated some highly confidential documents from the office of the Minister of Defense and intended to bring them to a foreign power.”

He picked up one of the pages from the table. “Just over a year ago, plans were made to move our army into a strategic zone near Ferrenis—or so it was rumored. A set of plans was drawn up detailing these movements, and was left in the office of the Minister of Defense. They were stolen.

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This fox was apprehended running away from the office. He was the only one nearby. It is true that the plans were not discovered on him, but there was no other possible suspect. He was placed in prison and interrogated, but he refused to reveal where he had hidden the plans. After a few months—”

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Six months,” Volle snarled.

“
Lord Vinton…Volle, please,” Alister said.

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After a few months,” the stag continued, “he managed to escape with the help of a duplicitous guard. He fled immediately to Ferrenis, a foreign power. Obviously he has been working for them all along.” He shifted slightly, looking around, and then sat down quickly.

“
Volle?” Alister smiled.

Volle stood. “My Lords and Ladies, your Majesty…” His mind whirled, making sure that what he would say would refute all of Wallen’s arguments. “It is true that I was near the office of the Minister of Defense. I had heard about the war plans and was worried. When I got to the office, I saw the plans, but I didn’t get close enough to see very much. I heard movement and was worried about being caught, so I ran. Next thing I knew, Dereath and some guards had cornered me and I was being hauled off to prison.” He emphasized Dereath’s name. Wallen winced slightly as he did.

“
My escape from prison was orchestrated by Dereath. He was hoping I would lead him to the place the documents were hidden. He was, of course, disappointed, and even more disappointed when I managed to slip through the trap he’d set. Upon finding myself free, I couldn’t imagine returning to the palace, where I’d be considered a criminal. The only place where I knew I would be safe was at home in Ferrenis. So that’s where I went.

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Lord Tistunish, who had always been my friend, believed I had been framed. He pleaded with me to attend this retreat so that I could make sure my case was heard. And that is why I am here today.”

He sat down after that, and bowed his muzzle to the King.

“
Thank you both,” the King rumbled. “Lord Wallen, have you any rebuttal to Volle?”

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Your Majesty, without the documents, there is little we can offer in the way of proof. But we did petition your Majesty for the right to call a witness, and we would like to do that now.”

The audience stirred slightly. Volle shot a look at Tish, who looked bewildered; beside him, Streak looked incredulous. The King, if he knew that the witness was dead, didn’t react. “Go ahead, Lord Wallen.”

“
I would like to call Bayard Lilian.” He looked expectantly out at the audience.

Volle followed his gaze. Most of the audience looked bemused and were looking around at each other. Except for one.

Slowly, Streak stood and walked up to the dais.

The room fell silent. Volle stared at the wolf, who avoided his gaze until he stood before the King, and then he glanced quickly over at Volle, his ears down, tail limp behind him.

“
Bayard Lilian?” The King glanced at Volle, then back at Streak.

Streak nodded.

Alister said, “Respond to the King when addressed, please.”

Streak looked up. “Yes, your Majesty,” he said so softly that Volle barely heard it.

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You are aware of your duty to your King and your gods, and you will tell the truth?”

“
Yes.” The wolf’s voice was barely a whisper. He cleared his throat and spoke a bit louder. “Yes, your Majesty.”

“
Lord Wallen, proceed,” the King ordered, sitting back.

Volle tried not to betray his nervousness as the stag prepared his papers. He didn’t think Streak would give him away, but the wolf would find it hard to lie to the King. Tail curled under his chair, he watched and said a quick prayer to Canis.

“
Mister Lilian, where did you first meet the defendant?”

Streak glanced at Volle, then turned to face Lord Wallen. “In prison.”

“
You were working as a guard?”

“
Yes.”