Rise and Fall (41 page)

“He always felt it wasn’t his place to interfere directly in such matters,” said Jonrell. “It was just his way.”

“Well, his way turned out not to be the best way,” she said in a bitter tone. “Doing something could have saved hundreds of lives—thousands after we go to war.”

“Are you certain it cannot be avoided?”

She shook her head. “Yes. Maybe if you showed up right after your father’s passing, but not now. Everyone knows your sister suffered in some way from Nareash as well, and many wonder if it affected her mind.”

I hadn’t thought of that.
“What do you think?”

“I don’t know. I only spoke to her briefly at your father’s funeral. Given the circumstances of our conversation, it was hard to say.”

“Then why does everyone have so little faith in her ability to rule?”

“Because she was never prepared to rule a kingdom. Even after you left, your father never brought her into council, and she showed little interest in such things. From what I hear, she is trying her best, but she’s in over her head. She doesn’t know the relationships or who to trust and everyone is trying to use her to push their own agenda. The queen lacks the basic knowledge and confidence to rule effectively and the dukes know this.”

Why didn’t you continue with your studies after I left, Elyse? I tried to tell you how important they would be one day.
He changed subjects. “Tell me about the dukes. What are their positions?”

“What you’d expect. Tomalt is gathering his forces under the guise of training exercises after being slighted by your sister.”

“How so?”

“He wanted to be made commander of the kingdom’s armies and she turned him down.”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like she is as foolish as you think.”

“Jeldor made an appearance at your father’s funeral but was insulted by just about everyone and no one has heard a thing from him since he returned to Ithanthul.”

“Typical.”

“Bronn…”

“Bronn?” said Jonrell cutting in. “Don’t tell me Duke Alnane is dead?”

Jaendora nodded. “I’m afraid so and Bronn is definitely not his father’s son. He is as arrogant as ever,” she said in disgust.

“Alnane was at least someone you could reason with,” Jonrell said in frustration.

“Not Bronn. You know he was once betrothed to your sister, but the King called it off after some questionable behavior on his part. He took the king’s funeral as an opportunity to make a play for the throne by marriage, but to your sister’s credit she turned him down. Probably one of the smartest things she’s done since taking the throne, though few others see the kind of person he really is.”

“Unbelievable.”

“It gets better. There are rumors that he and Conroy have become close since Alnane’s passing.”

“Really?”

“Those are the rumors.”

“Interesting.”

“Yes. And Conroy’s been the most mysterious of all since the king’s death. He didn’t come to the funeral, citing his duties at the High Pass. Since then, little information has made it out of his lands.” She paused. “He is the one I fear most.”

“No argument here, but he isn’t my concern now. You haven’t mentioned Olasi. I assume he is still loyal to the crown?”

“As loyal as ever,” Jaendora said with a nod.

Jonrell let out a sigh. “Thank the One Above. He’s just strong enough to give Conroy reason to pause. Besides, knowing Conroy, he’ll sit back and wait before making any moves. Tomalt is my real worry for now. If I hurry, maybe I can help Elyse mend that relationship and avoid any bloodshed.”

“Then I take it you won’t be staying for the night? I was hoping you’d fill me in on your interesting choice of company.”

He chuckled as Jaendora’s hard exterior finally showed signs of softening. “They definitely make fools of themselves in any formal setting, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Now, you’ve really piqued my interest.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait to hear those stories until this mess is sorted out.”

The governess nodded but said nothing else.
She’s waiting for me to stand up first. I’d completely forgotten what it felt like to be of royal blood.
He rose and helped Lady Jaendora to her feet.
I’m suddenly remembering how much I hated the formality of my station.

The door burst open and the commander’s hand immediately moved to his sword hilt before recognizing one of Lady Jaendora’s guardsmen. He bowed at the waist. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, My Lady,” he paused, glancing up, “and My King.”

“Prince,” said Jonrell, correcting the guardsmen. “My sister is our Queen.”

“Yes, My Prince,” the guardsmen said in response.

“What is the matter, Lieutenant?” asked Jaendora.

The guardsmen extended his arm and handed her a message. “Best if you read it yourself, My Lady. It just came in.”

She gasped as she read. Despite his curiosity, Jonrell waited patiently for her to finish. She looked up, her face more pale than a moment prior. “It looks as though I won’t be hearing those stories any time soon. Tomalt has claimed Namaris and the queen intends to take the city back. She is planning to march any day now. You must hurry before she does. Last I heard her army isn’t capable of laying a proper siege.”

Jonrell’s heart sank at the news.

Welcome home.

* * *

After the gut wrenching news, Jonrell excused himself from Lady Jaendora to attend to his company of men. The governess stayed near the ship, out of everyone’s way. A string of messengers had come and gone during the time it had taken to unload the ship and secure their provisions. The governess handed slips of paper to them before each went scurrying away.

The Hell Patrol set off down the main thoroughfare where the throngs of people lined the streets in a much more civilized manner than before. It didn’t appear as though news of the attack on Namaris had spread as quickly as the commander would have thought. Most in the crowd wore a wide smile with hopeful eyes and shouted words of encouragement. However, Jonrell noticed several times where whispered words changed that expression to one of despair and their cheers to pleas. He glanced at the City Watch, who in full armor, formed a protective barrier from the eager masses.

The sooner we leave here the better.

Jonrell looked about at his soldiers, proud how they handled the crowd, refusing to encourage the masses for the good or the bad.
They’ve never experienced anything like this before. Now that I think about, when have I?
He spotted Yanasi off to one side. She wore a frown as she scanned the crowd of strangers. Her frown grew deeper as she glanced at Rygar.

Jonrell allowed his horse to drift back from the front, nudging his way alongside her. “You hanging in there?” he asked.

Her head whirled around, snapping her ponytail like a fiery whip. “Sorry, Sir, you startled me.”

Jonrell flashed a reassuring smile. “I didn’t think that was possible in all of this,” he said gesturing with his hands toward the masses. “Tell me what happened.”

“What makes you think anything happened?” she asked.

Jonrell tilted his head and gave her a knowing look. “Yanasi.”

“I feel so out of place. It’s like everyone is staring at me.”

“They’re staring at all of us, but at me especially.”

“That’s different. They’re supposed to look at you.” She paused, her voice barely a whisper, causing Jonrell to strain to hear each word. “But they stare at me, just like they do with Kaz and Crusher…only different.” Her eyes moved back up to Rygar before drifting down to her saddle once again.

The commander looked up and saw Rygar carrying a wide grin. The mercenary dipped his head toward the crowd several times and Jonrell noticed a group of young girls, decked out in their finest, on the receiving end of each gesture. As they passed the girls, they scowled while the older women ignored Yanasi altogether. On the other hand, men of all ages had noticed the female mercenary, dressed in tight leathers. They gawked and leered and whispered.

Jonrell felt himself become flushed with anger. He met each of the onlooker’s eyes with an icy stare until they averted their gaze in shame.

“Do you see what I mean?” asked Yanasi, her voice full of dismay.

The commander caught himself, realizing his hand drifted to the dagger at his belt.
One Above, what’s the matter with me?
Despite the lewd comments from Raker and the attention drawn by other soldiers, he hadn’t been that protective of her as she grew older. She could take care of herself. But seeing her hunched over and helpless to defend herself against an enemy she was unaccustomed to brought up all the protective instincts he had when he first found her.
She was so young and fragile then.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

Jonrell shook his thoughts away, remembering where he was. “No. Of course not. You did nothing wrong. The young girls are jealous of you because deep down they wish they could just run off and do what they wish with their life.”

“Then why don’t they?”

“Opportunity. Money. Other reasons that can be overcome. All except their own fear. And they see you, a soldier, able to live without relying on anyone else. And they realize they’ll never have that. You’re living their dream whether they realize it or not.”

“Really?” she asked, her face lighting up.

He nodded. “And the older women? Jealous as well. They see a woman both young and beautiful and they know you have your whole life ahead of you. They can never recapture that. So they choose to ignore you so they don’t have to come to terms with the decisions of their past.”

She smiled, something she was often too shy to do. “You really think I’m beautiful?”

“Of course. Why do you sound so surprised?”

“It’s just… you’ve never told me that before.”

Jonrell stopped for a moment trying to remember the last time he said as much to her but couldn’t.
One Above, forgive me. I guess Cassus was right, she needed my approval more than I realized.

“Well, that’s my fault and I apologize. Maybe it’s because I know how much you hear that stuff from Raker and some of the others when they joke around with you. I guess I didn’t want you to assume I was doing the same.”

“Raker’s never called me beautiful,” she said with a pause. “And it’s different coming from you. You’re like a brother to me. I don’t even like to think about where I’d be if you hadn’t taken me in,” she said.

The commander felt his eyes watering and quickly coughed into his hand. “What do you say we don’t think about that then?”

She nodded. “Agreed.”

“Good. Why don’t you go keep Hag company in the back with the wagons?”

“Why is that?”

“Well, it’ll keep you out of sight some, especially from the men. I’m afraid their motives are much less innocent than the women,” he said, glaring at a man in the crowd.

“I think I’m fine now,” she said with a grin.

I don’t know if I’ve seen her smile this much in a week, let alone a day.
“Good.” He looked up at Rygar who was now throwing an occasional wave toward the crowd and he frowned.

“It’s ok,” said Yanasi.

“No. No, it’s not,” he said, shifting in his saddle.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

He set his jaw. “Go be a big brother.”

* * *

The Hell Patrol finally neared the other side of Floroson after a slow and arduous journey through the city, its main avenue winding through each district in a haphazard pattern. The once boisterous crowds had faded away with the exception of a few stragglers who contented themselves to walk alongside the band of men.

“Has your people’s excitement worn off already?”

Jonrell recognized Kaz’s deep voice masked in broken Cadonian. “Perhaps. More likely they’ve heard of Tomalt’s attack on Namaris and their optimism wanes.”

Kaz grunted. “A fickle people.”

“They’ve been given little reason over the years to be anything but that. Hopefully, we can help my sister change their view.” When Kaz did not respond, Jonrell looked over to him. Through narrowed yet distant eyes, the warrior stared at a large cathedral, sunlight bouncing off of its bright, stained-glass windows. Jonrell recognized the look. Something sparked within Kaz’s memory.

Upon passing the building with intricate stonework, Kaz shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Jonrell waited.

“The patterns built into the walls are very familiar,” Kaz said.

“How so?”

His hand moved from his eyes to the goatee at his chin where it rested while trying to recall his thoughts. “It’s very odd to remember this way. I’m not sure what I can trust as being real or if my mind is making these things up.”

“Just take your time. Don’t force it.”

“Tell me about that building we just passed. We passed others similar in appearance today. What are they?”

“Cathedrals. Places we go to worship our god, the One Above.”

“And they are all built the same?”

“More or less. It gives people comfort to have a familiar place during their travels.”

The warrior worked the space between his bottom lip and chin, massaging the area with force. “As a boy, I helped build places like that.”

“A place of worship?”

Kaz shook his head. “I don’t think so. I don’t know any gods from my past.” He paused. “But those symbols built into the stonework…. There were buildings lined up, one after the other in patterns of blue, far more detailed than those we just passed.”

Jonrell was confused. “Did you design the buildings?”

“No. I just helped build them. I think it was part of my training. The labor acted as a form of conditioning.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I see these memories as an outsider would, watching myself move about. At other times, it’s like I’m reliving the memory. This was one of those times. I was a boy and I was with many others near my age. I felt the chisel in my hand and the vibrations from the hammer shooting up my arm as I formed the stone block. I felt the sweat bead on my forehead as I lifted the stone into place and smelled the mortar as I joined that stone to the others.”