Richard Tuttle - Sapphire of the Fairies

When Fredrik was as presentable as hecould be after sleeping in his clothes, he turned and walked outthe door. The guards had a carriage waiting for him and, once hewas in, they rushed him to the Royal Palace. Fredrik was escorteddirectly to the Throne Room where King Alfred was waiting. Theguard escorting him whispered something in the servant’s ear andthe servant scurried up to the King and relayed theinformation.

“I see the lodging in our innsis not to your liking, Lord Wason,” the King stated. “Perhaps Ishould extend rooms in the Palace for your comfort.”

A shiver ran down Fredrik’s back as hethought the King must know about the house he had occupied lastnight. Slowly it dawned on him that the King probably was referringto the state of Fredrik’s clothes. Some travelers slept in theirclothes and armed because they did not trust the innkeeper to keepthem safe while they slept. “I am afraid it was a long dayyesterday, Your Highness. I know that Melbin is a city wheretravelers are safe, but I was so tired I must have fallen asleepbefore I could undress.”

“Understandable,” the Kinglaughed. “You probably indulged yourself in a bit of merriment lastnight to toast the conclusion of your hunt for thewitch.”

Fredrik noticed that the King’s laughhad been forced and the body language of the servants and theguards, who had not been withdrawn, told him that he was a suspectin the escape. “Actually, it was simple fatigue,” Fredrik stated.“The witch has led me on a merry chase for some weeks and I mustadmit that many of those nights did not afford a bed as comfortableas the Fluttering Jib.”

Frowning, the King tried a differentapproach, “I am told that you had a party of four with you when youarrived and they left you late last night. Did they have someurgent task to fulfill for you?”

This part Fredrik had rehearsed in hismind last night. “They were not my servants,” Lord Wason declared.“They belong to Captain Grecho of the Cidal Mercenary Company. Theyare on their way north to negotiate a contract. They had agreed tobe my escort while I was chasing the witch. When I informed themlast night that my search had ended, they took their leave andcontinued on their mission.”

The King’s frown grew as his browknitted and his eyebrows lowered, darkening the monarch’s eyes.“Then I am to believe that they did not effect the release of yourwitch last night?” King Alfred said with a rising voice. “The veryprofessional escape, I might add.”

Fredrik knew it would come to this andrealized the next few moments would decide his fate, whether it bedeath or freedom. “What do you mean escape?” he shouted. “You can’thave let her escape.”

The room grew very tense and the guardsappeared to tighten their hands on their weapons. “I am sorry formy outburst,” Lord Wason said softly while consciously clenchinghis hands to appear furious with the King’s poorly guardedprison.

“I beg the King’s pardon forwords spoken in haste, but the thought of her being free againboils my blood,” Fredrik humbled with the sound of forced softness.“The men of Captain Grecho obey my command and are loyal to theLord of the Manor. They would not take it upon themselves to free awitch that I wished imprisoned.”

The comment about loyalty had beenmeant to impress King Alfred that if he detained Lord Wason, hewould be striking out against the Cidal Mercenary Company, which,while not true, would cause the King to tread more lightly towardsFredrik. “May I ask if the woman could have possibly used magic toescape and if Your Highness has any indication of where she hasgone?” Lord Wason queried.

The King, after a minute of studyingFredrik, motioned for the guards to leave. “This has never happenedbefore,” conceded King Alfred. “The witch was drugged which shouldhave made it impossible for her to use magic and there was a stubof rope found attached to the flagpole which would indicate amundane rescue. Although, the cell was still locked and the purposeof the rope makes no sense. It was long enough to reach the bottomof the cell, but it was next to the wrong cell and the loose endwas not in the cell. I am afraid that there is little informationthat I can supply to help you locate her. If I receive furthernews, I will send a messenger.”

Fredrik bowed and left the throne room.He spurned the carriage, which was waiting for him and walkedbacked to the Fluttering Jib lost in thought. As he entered thecommon room, he noticed Yolinda Obanik sitting by herself at one ofthe tables. He nonchalantly walked over and sat down. The crowd wassparse for the morning meal and the serving girl appeared promptly.He ordered a concoction of eggs and cheese and turned towardsYolinda.

“You are alone,” Yolindawhispered while holding her mug of coffee to her lips. “Where arethe others? What has happened?”

Fredrik acted like he was havingpleasant conversation with a stranger. “They rode out last nightand are waiting for us north of here. I can’t explain it all now,but if your business in Melbin is complete, I would suggest that weleave.”

“Is everyone all right?”Yolinda demanded.

“Niki has been drugged to keepher from using magic,” Fredrik explained. “She was unconscious whenshe left. Everyone else is okay.”

“Be ready to leave in fifteenminutes,” Yolinda whispered. “I will get the ingredients needed tohelp Niki. We will meet you at the stables for the Bosun’s Chair.”Yolinda placed her coffee mug on the table and disappeared out thedoor of the inn.

Fredrik finished his breakfast and wentto his room to gather his belongings. He removed the red velvetsuit and dressed in a gray woolen tunic and matching breeches.Carrying his gear down to the stables, he paused to inform theinnkeeper that he was leaving. When he reached the stables of theBosun’s Chair, Mikal was waiting for him holding both his blackstallion and Yolinda’s white mare. Yolinda hurried along the alleyand mounted without a word. Silently the three rode through thestreets of Melbin and out the North Gate.

When they were well away of the gate,Garth demanded an explanation of the events of Melbin. He toldFredrik to start at the beginning and leave nothing out. Fredrikwas just finishing his tale when they left the coastal highway andheaded for the sea. “I think I know the cove that Tanya is speakingof, although it is not a particularly safe spot to wait,” Garthcommented.

Garth was pleased to see that Arik wasat least alert to the danger when the young warrior jumped downfrom his hiding spot in the rocks to welcome them. “I guesseverything went okay,” Arik smiled at Fredrik.

Arik led them into the cove to whereNiki was stretched out on a blanket. Kalina quickly dismounted andknelt at the girl’s side to examine her. “Get a fire going and putsome water on to boil,” she demanded.

“This is not a safe place fora fire,” Garth cautioned. “Can it wait until we find a moresuitable place?”

“No,” replied Kalina. “Thedrug can be very harmful, especially if they were not carefuladministering it. The fact that she was about to be executed couldbe enough reason for them not to care how much they used. I mustget some tea into her.”

Kalina removed a parcel from her pouchand handed it to Tedi. “Mix half of this into a tea and see thatshe drinks all of it. Return the unused half,” Kalinaordered.

Kalina went to her horse and removedthe long, canvas wrapped package and laid it on the ground.Stopping, she unwrapped the Sword of Heavens and picked it up.Holding it out from her she started to rotate in a circle andfinally stopped when it tingled.

“It is as much west as it isnorth,” Garth surmised.

“Yes,” replied Kalina dryly,“and you want to take us further north.”

“The children are gettingbetter every day,” Garth explained, “but they are hardly ready tobattle the world. The delay of a week will not matter in the courseof the Prophecy and they will be one week better trained for it.Besides, if we let the situation in Alcea totally crumble, theProphecy can not be fulfilled. Remember, one of them is supposed tolead Alcea to greatness. How can that be accomplished if Alceadoesn’t exist anymore?”