Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (18 page)

“Whatever happened to simple Brother robes and ugly Sister gear?” he asked as Glory twirled for him in a frilly orange dress.

“But t
hose were awful,” she told him.

“I think I prefer them to all this lace,” Kel told her. “Won’t these dresses get dirty when you fall in mud, brush the horses and climb trees?”

“I have riding dr
esses for them,” Coral laughed.

“Horses?” Glory protested, wrinkling her nose. “We are going to ride in a carriage this time.”

“What’s wrong with horses?” Kel asked, grabbing her up into a hug for a tickle. “They were perfectly fine for you for weeks.”

“I think Mothe
r is spoiling her,” Coral said.

“I’m going to ride,” Pearl announced. “I’ve even got my own hatchet.”

Mother gasped at the small hatchet hanging from Pearl’s belt.
Coral’s father had a local blacksmith make a replica of the Marshall’s hatchets with
mother of
pearl inlay in
the handle and her name engraved at the base of the blade.
Kel examined it and made a sound o
f approval.

“Leather chest armor next!”
he declared to Mother’s horror.

“Now that is quite enough,” she told them all, “We are going to see the King, not his Army’s General.”

The girls were put to bed early that night since they’d start their journey at sunrise. They tried to stall to visit with Kel but they finally went, leaving Coral and Kel in
front of the library fireplace.

“It’s not a campfire but it will do,” he said stacking another log.

“Do you think it is safe for us to go to the city?” she aske
d.

He shrugged. With a glance over his shoulder at her he said, “I gave as full a report to the King as I dared. Apparently when our Amias arrived at court the King was about to be wooed by t
wo sisters in veils
. He
was the one who
stopped them, like Pearl and Glory have done. So the King has experienced
firsthand
some of the …peculiarities of the situation.”

“Amias did?” she asked.

Kel nodded. “The King has arrested as ma
ny Brothers and Sisters of the Faold
as he can find. He’s brought so many in
who
have had absolutely no involvement that it’s quite hard to determine what should be done for fear of prosecuting the innocent.”

“There must be many in hiding,” she said. “It was easy enough for me to discard my robes and change my name.”

Kel nodded. “When I gave him the story of our journey he demanded you come to court with the girls. That’s when I told him that Brother Karl was Coral Marden. You should have seen the man laugh.”

“Laugh?”

“I told him Amias doesn’t know you are his betrothed and he thought it was great fun.”

“Strange sense of humor.”

“He knows Amias and his father well. I think he just wants to play a prank on our dear Captain by not telling him. But if he tries to put you in Brother robes for the wedding I’d start to worry.”

Coral couldn’t help but laugh at the imagery that comment produced. She became pensive again and asked, “Do you think he will want to go through with it?”

“Why wouldn’t he? He’d be a fool not to marry you.”

“That’s nice to say,” she said with a smile.

“You ride a horse well, don’t belch too loudly after a hearty meal, and can make Brother robes look somewhat appealing. You are a catch.”

She threw a small book at him and he caught it, laughing.

“And you have an accurate throwing arm.”

The early
morning departure was full of excitement. Glory and Mother rode in the carriage and Coral and Pearl rode horses next to Kel. The entourage of servants traveled in
carts or on horses at the rear.

The signposts marked with X’s had been removed along the highway and people once again waved greetings as they saw the travelers on the road.
The threat of fever was slim now that the
Sisters had been caught. Most believed they had been responsible for the illness.
It may have just run its course but Coral reasoned that if the storms had not occurred naturally
the fevers may not have either.

When they stopped for food, drinks and rest Mother
stepped out of the carriage. T
he servants immediately got to work
in preparation
. Coral and Kel had a chuckle remembering their long journey north and having t
o do everything for themselves.

“I can see why Glory is so happy,” Kel said as a blanket was spread for her on the soft grass at the side of the road.

“She’s landed in the lap of luxury,” Coral told him. “With Ruby gone Mother has someone to pamper again. I was never one for tolerating it.”

He grinned
and watched Pearl as she checked over the horses and made sure they had water and small apples she’d brought from home. “Have you heard from Krisa?”

“No, not yet. I’m sure she is well. I miss her terribly.”

“Pat will take care of her. He’s a good man, young but competent.”

She nodded. Mother called them over to have food with them. They sat in the sun eating fruit and drinking tea like they were having a picnic in the garden. Kel showed Coral a fancy carved piece of melon and they laughed again
at
the contrast
between this day and
how they’d always traveled before. Mother looked at them
as though
she wasn’t sure if she should be insulted or not but with a pat on her arm from Coral she brightened. Coral couldn’t
imagine her mother riding horse-
back without a bath for days, with mud on her dress and sleeping on a bedroll among a do
zen or more road-toughened men.

When they reached the crossroads
garrison
late in the evening
near
sundown
they found a message from Amias to Kel.
He took it with him to his bunk in the communal barracks but didn’t share it with Coral. She was extremely curious to know what he’d written. Mother was put out to sleep on a bunk in a barrack but agreed to when Glory said it was great fun and they could share one. The servants slept in the wagons and Mother’s personal maids slept in the carriage.

Pearl and Coral were tucked in together when Kel came in with a lantern and set it on a table at the head of his bunk. He sat and wrote a letter, referring to the one he’d got from Amias earlier. When sealed he stood and walked over to Coral’s bunk.

He whispered in her ear, “I have been told to keep Amias’ letter to myself so I’m
going out to smoke my pipe. If you read it it’s your choice. I had nothing to do with it.”

And there it
was, left open on the table. Coral snuck out of the bunk and over to the table. She sat to read:

My Friend, Kel,

I hope this letter finds you healthy and in good cheer. First, I must apologize for my behavior the last time we were together. I am forever wishing things had not turned out as they had, but I cannot change the past. I can simply apologize for it.

Please, tell me the children are well and safe and that you finished our mission successfully. I received word from the King that our troop arrived to report but I’ve had no further word of our men or the girls.

I am at home with Father. He is improving but not yet able to journey to the city. I have begun building the new manor for my bride though I’ve postponed the wedding. Father and the King are urging me to complete my task and retrieve the woman but I can’t bring myself to do so yet. I have a ghost haunting me.
If I thought it tortured me before, I was mistaken.

I must ask a personal question, and in that light, please keep the contents of this letter between us. What of Brother Karl? Have you taken her to wed? I have no claim and should not have reacted the way I had. Again I apologize deeply for my actions, my friend, my brother.

Forever your servant in friendship,

Amias Natan Filbar Doran

Tears filled Coral’s eyes as she returned the letter to the table
. She
blew out the lantern and returned to th
e bunk, where she silently wept until she fell asleep.

Mother pointed out a strangely shaped apple tree to Glory. Its branches all seemed to point in the same direction, like it was being swept by a strong wind.  “You remember this tree,” she told her. “This is the tree that tells you where the King is.”

And as soon as they made the next bend in the road they could see far off in the distance the city and in the middle on a rise was the castle. Glory clapped her hands and stuck her head out the window of the carriage until they were close enough for her to see the city from inside. As they entered the outer city wall the sun was going down so windows in houses and shops began to light up with lanterns and hearth fires. The city was much bigger than
Brynntown
so it took time to make their way through the streets to the inner wall at the castle. Guards saluted Kel, who introduced the party belonging to
Lady
Marden
of
Wickton
. The guards checked the carriage then a
dmitted them through the gates.

Servants rushed forward. A finely dressed man assisted Mother and Glory from the carriage. The girl was beaming and nudged Pearl when Pearl was lifted down from the horse she rode. Kel helped Coral down, who straightened her skirts and wondered if she should have ridden the last of the leg of the journey in the carriage. Her riding dress was wrinkled, she smelled of horse and she walked stiffly since her rear
end hurt from sitting so long.

“I have to check in,” Kel told her. “If I can I’ll see you this evening.”

The ladies were kept occupied by hanging their dresses and settling into their room. All
four were to stay in the suite provided by the King. It had two attached rooms with a sitting area in the larger. They had a small dinner and tea and when the girls started to yawn it was time for bed. They had a big day ahead of them with a brunch planned with other courtiers, an afternoon in the gardens and then a dinner party with the King. Glory fell asleep
whispering to Pearl her dream
of
attending
a festive ball where all the ladies wore pale cream gowns but she had on the most brilliant blue with silver sparkles. Pearl tsk’d at Glory but secretly she fell asleep happy, wondering how a street rat like her could end up here. She wondered how Tucker’s face would look if he knew where she was.

Coral was called out of brunch by an invitation by the King to visit him in his library. When a manservant deposited her at the door she knocked timidly.

“Come,” a man’s voice called.

As she entered the library the man
nearing forty
stood to greet her. He bowed and offered her a chair.

“I am Fredrick,” he said.

“Oh, Your Majesty!” She curtsied and
stood without taking her seat.

“Sit,” he commanded and she did. “This is my library, not my war room. I hope you can be comfortable here. I won’t expect you to bow and grovel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she smiled, not exactly able to relax in his presence.

He sat back and put a foot up onto his opposite knee. He studied her. “So you are our Brother Karl.”

She winced slightly. “I was,” she told him. “I was a Brother of the
Faold
until recently when I denounced the robes.”

“So I heard. The brave Brother who has been escorting three small girls across the land to take them to the Sisterhood then deciding to defect. You kept them from those very same Sisters,
risking their wrath and put yourself and everyone else in danger.”

“It sounds quite traitorous when you put it that way,” Coral said slowly, beginning to get nervous.

“It sounds q
uite heroic,” he said, smiling.

“Your Marshalls were heroic. I was simply taking care of the children.”

“They tell it differently,” he told her, standing. “They admire you greatly.”

“I feel the same about them.”

“And one in particular?” he asked with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

“I have become friends with them all,” she told him, refusing to admit what he
was trying to urge out of her.

“I was certainly surprised to find out that our Brother Karl, hero of the people, was none other than Coral Marden, the very young woman who I’d personally betrothed to Amias Doran. And he turned out to be the Captain of the Marshalls who escorted you to safety.”

“Strange set of circumstances,” she agre
ed, nodding.

“And he doesn’t know!” he laughed, slapping his hand down on his desk. “Sergeant Kel tells me Captain Doran was smitten with you and left on less than favorable terms. So he has no idea our Brother Karl is his bride to be. I am delighted with this outcome.”