Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) (12 page)

Ernst frowned. Yes, in his mind, the Duke had deserved his fate. Talbot was the only person who seemed to agree with him.

“I suppose he doesn’t. Do you fear for your life, Talbot?”

The prince
looked at Ernst questionably
. “Why should I
?”

“Well, you seem to fit the profile. Arrogant, selfish, and uncaring; you’d make the perfect target for
t
he Rogue.”

Talbot scoffed. “I don’t think so, Ernst. I have no say in the world. The Rogue only kills people with the power to make bad things happen.”

“What about Prince Orion? He was in the same position as you, but
t
he Rogue still killed him.”

Talbot shrugged. “Prince Orion’s father was on the verge of death. He would have
ascended the throne
soon.”

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you,
Talbot?” Ernst asked, smiling his crooked grin.

“Always. Now, what say you we head to the palace? If Aston wants to catch the Rogue, the palace is the perfect place to start.”

Ernst nodded and followed after Talbot. He pulled his cloak closer to his body, fingering the dagger at his waist. If it wouldn’t
have
blow
n
his cover and ruin
ed
his plans, he would
have
kill
ed
Talbot then and there. Instea
d, he would do what he ha
d come to
do
. He
would kill the king, and then he’d make plans to go to Fridel, where his next target would be waiting for him.

Talbot wouldn
’t have to worry about his life
or his problem with Aston Smith
for much longer.

“You never really le
ave a place or person you
love;
part of them you take with you,
leaving a part of yourself behind.”
- Unknown Author -

Aston woke the next morning to laughter coming from the kitchen. He stretched and yawned, blinking the last of his dream from his eyes. He sat up slowly and looked around, momentarily forgetting where he was. Delgrab walked by and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Morning,” he said, continuing towards the kitchen.

“Morning,” Aston yawned in response. He stood and followed Delgrab, wondering what the commotion in the kitchen was about. He st
ifled a laugh when he walked into the chaos.

Alys and Jade were standing in the middle of the room, covered in flour. As Aston watched, Alys grabbed a handful and threw it at Jade, laughing as Jade squealed and ducked around the corner, running into Aston. Aston caught her by
the shoulders and held her away from him
, not wanting to clean he
r mess with his shirt.

“Morning,” he laughed
, raising an eyebrow at her appearance.

Jade looked behind her, smiling when she saw Delgrab holding Alys in the middle of the kitchen.
“Morning.. .excuse me,” she
said, stepping o
ut of his arms and going toward
the wash room.
Alys followed her after planting a soft kiss on the tip of Delgrab’s nose.

Aston shook his head
as the women walked away and entered
the kitchen, offering to help Delgrab clean while Alys and Jade washed up.

“What was that about?” Aston asked.

Delgrab shrugged.
“Who knows? Alys told me she was going to wake Jade and make breakfast. Next thing I knew, I heard laughing, screaming, and sq
uealing. And now I have a
mess to clean up.” Though Delgrab tried to appear angered, Aston could see the light in his eyes saying he was more amused.

“Jade and I have to leave today. You unde
rstand that, right?”

Delgrab nodded. “You have to get to
Northsbury
before
King Roland
is killed.”

T
his time, it was Aston’s turn to nod.
He looked at his friend with a determined fire in his eyes. “
The Rogue might be the only person who can clear my name. If he caught any glimpse of me…”

“I understand. Do you really think he’ll walt
z up to King Donn and say ‘I’m T
he Rogue Royal. Your son is incompetent?’”

Aston laughed aloud.
“No, Delgrab. I don’t know what I’m thinking. I just know I have to try, and that catching the Rogue is the only thing I can think of right now.”

Jade
emerged from the washroom then
dressed in her white blouse and brown pants and came to say goodbye to Delgrab.

“I’m assuming we are leaving now?” she asked Aston.

“After a quick breakfast, of course,” Alys announced as she came back into the room.

The look in her eyes told Aston that he would do best not to argue.
He nodded.
“Of course, Alys, after breakfast.”

The woman smiled and went to her kitchen. Sounds of cooking could be heard soon after: simmering bacon, crackling fire, and the clanking of pans. It didn’t take Alys long to have everyone seated at the table and eating their fill. Aston excused himself while Jade was still eating to prepare the horses.

Jade helped Alys with the dishes before turning to Delgrab. “
Th
ank you for everything,” she said, smiling at him. She wanted to hug the big bear of a man, but she still felt a little uncomfortable. She knew that Aston trusted these people with his life, but she was still a stranger to them.

“You are welcome here anytime,
l
ass,” he said,
placing a chaste kiss on the back of her hand
. Jade left then, going into the back to say her farewells to Alys as well.

Delgrab walked outside, where Aston was already waiting for Jade, the horses ready to go. The knight
grabbed
his friend in a hug
.
“Goodbye for now, Delgrab.”

Delgrab leaned in close to Aston, whispering in his ear.
“You take care of her, Aston. She needs you.”

Aston nodded at his friend, a small smile gracing his features. “I will.”

Alys came out
of the cabin and grabbed the knight i
n a hug, squeezing his arms to his sides. Aston laughed, pushing Alys back and giving her a gentle hug in return.

“You be safe, Aston Smith. Do you hear me?” she scolded, tears in her eyes.

Aston nodded.
“I will, Alys. I’m going to
fix this, I promise.” Seemingly convinced, Alys smil
ed at him, pulling him forward
and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Ja
de came out of the cabin
and walked over to her stallion, clambering on. Aston followed suit, hoisting himself onto Sterling. With one last look at Delgrab and Alys, standing arm in arm in the cabin’s front yard, Aston and Jade rode into the forest.

*
*

“How far is Northsbury
from Fridel?” Jade asked Aston.

Aston frowned.
“It’s almost a two day ride. I’m afraid we
can only rest as long as the horses need to.
I ca
n’t afford to miss t
he Rogue.”

Jade nodded and turn
ed away. The Rogue Royal was a touchy subject for her. She needed to tell Aston what she knew, but she feared he would abandon her. Instead, she kept her secrets inside.
“I guess it’s good that we stayed with Delgrab and Alys, then. It was nice, sleeping in a real bed, having dinner with real friends.”

“That won’t happen very often as long as you’re with
me, Jade. I don’t have friends
aside from Delgrab and Alys. Even in the palace, I
was always alone,” Aston warned her.

“I don’t mind. I’m sorry I was a bit…stuck up when we met. I’ve never been on my own before. I’ve always had my parents arou
nd to take care of me,” Jade apologize
d
.

Aston
met her gaze and smiled. “It’s fine. We should hurry, though. The Rogue was supposed to be at
Northsbury
in two days.
If we don’t ride faster, he will kill the king and leave before we ever get there.”

Jade nodded her agreement and urged her horse int
o a brisk canter
, allowing Aston to move ahead of her and lead the way.

*
*

As night fell, Aston was forced to slow down. He couldn’t see where he was going anymore, and his knight’s training didn’t help this far from Fridel. It had been almost a year
since he’d been to Northsbury.
He’d gone with Talbot and King Donn the winter before for the king’s winter ball. The path was unfamiliar, and, for the second time since his death sentence, he found himself afraid.

“Is something wrong, Aston?” Jade asked, bringing her horse up beside Sterling.
She gazed around at the surrounding trees.

“I’ve only been to Northsbury o
nce, and it was always daylight when we were travelling. We can’t stop here, though. If we don’t make it there by tomorrow evening, we will be too late to save the king.”

“Do you really care about the king’s life
, or do you just want to catch t
he Rogue?” Jade asked him.

As
ton whipped his head to the side
, narrowing his eyes.
“I may be a wanted man, Jade, but I’m still a knight at heart. Saving the lives of innocent people will always come before my own gain.”

Jade nodded and
turned
away from his pierc
ing gaze. “If you go with what t
he Rogue says, the men he kills aren’t exactly innocent.”

“Are you condoning killing these people?” Aston asked,
reining
Sterling
in
and turning in his saddle.

Jade stopped as well but didn’t turn to face Aston.
“I’m not saying it’s right, what he’s doing. I’m just stating an opinion,” she explained, slowly urging her horse forward again.

Aston was forced to follow.
“To answer your question, yes, I do care about the king’s life. More than my own. You have to care more about the lives of other people to be a knight. That’s not saying that finding the Rogue isn’t just as important to me, but if I can stop it, I won’t allow the king to die.” Jade nodded,
seemingly
convinced. “We can go faster now
. This road leads to King Roland’s castle
,” Aston added, l
ooking down. Jade followed his gaze
, noticing they were on a well-traveled dirt road.

As they quickened their pace, Jade glanced sideways at Aston. She sent a prayer upwards, though she wasn’t quite sure what to pray for. Should she pray they
would arrive
in time to stop
t
he Rogue and capture him? Should she pray they arrive
d
too late and
t
he Rogue
would
already
be
gone? Aston and
t
he Rogue w
ere both people she cared deeply
about; she didn’t want either of them to be hurt.

With a jolt, Jade realized that she couldn’t keep her promise to Rich
ie. She wanted to help Aston clear his name,
but she couldn’t condemn Ernst in his place. She cursed under her breath, fighting the tears welling behind her eyes. She was going to have to choose between Ernst and Aston. After knowing Aston for just a couple of days, she found her choice was becoming harder to make.

*
*

Jade startled awake, quickly realizing that they had stopped and Aston’s hand was on her shoulder.
“Are we there?” she asked,
sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
Aston had allowed her to sleep the night before, saying they would be in Northsbury soon enough and that they could slow down.

“Yes, Jade. Welcome to
Northsbury
,” he said, gesturing ahead of them. Jade followed his movement, and her eyes widened as she took in the city. She’d
traveled to Duke Roland’s
every year with her
family
in the winter, but she never paid much attention to the city. She spent the ride there in a carriage, her nose stuck in a book.

She’d never realized before how beautiful the city was. Where Adion was broken stone streets and drooping trees,
Northsbury
had streets made of cobblestone and tall, elegant, blossoming shrubs. As they made their way down the street, Jade took in the well-maintained buildings, the smiling citizens, and the flowers blooming in wooden boxes on every window sill. Aston looked a bit uncomfortable, walking in the middle of the day through town, but no one spared him a passing glance.