Return to Caer Lon (14 page)

“I am fine.”

Neither
man
looked convinced by her bravado.

“I assure you… I am simply light-headed.”

Her confused eyes begged
Derek
to help with the pretense. Her cheeks were
terribly
pale
. H
e looked desperately for an excuse to explain her swoon.
The prince suddenly remembered about her skipped breakfast.

“Here.”

The bread was scorned and held the mark of the knife he had used to cut it. Some crumbles fell on the table. Friar Johan mewled, torn between his duties toward the fragile lady and his beloved charges.

The shock from her vision rushed back making her tremble, but
Sacha
smiled bravely.

“I can
’t
eat in here,
Derek
…”

“The hell with-“

“My
l
ord!”

His swearing finally bested the monk’s hesitation. The little man trotted toward them to help her stand.

“Please, my dear. You will take some fresh air while I look for something sweeter than dry bread for you.”

The glower Friar Johan gave
Derek
got lost as the prince escorted the pair outside, watching
Sacha
like a hawk.

Settled on the stone bench in front of the scriptorium,
Sacha
sampled her bread, now covered with creamy butter and honey.
Derek
walked back and forth in front of her. She took a sip of milk and sighed.

“
Derek
can you stop? You are making me dizzy…”

“You are dizzy because you skipped breakfast.”

Derek
sto
pped pacing
. It was his fault. She had
n’t eaten
because he had selfishly declared t
hey go once he had finished
while she was
still
poking at hers
.
He did not even remember why it had seemed a good idea to do so at the time.
She was already tired, fooling him with brio
,
as usual, and he had pushed her too far. She too had slept poorly and she was so slender… Idiot. He growled, furious with himself.

“I am adding a new rule. No more skipping meals.”

“You may want to write them down.
There are so many
I fear I
cannot remember them all…
”

And now s
he was making fun of him.
Derek
started pacing again, his annoyance changing target
s
.

“This is not funny,
Sacha
.”

“No, no it is not.”

Her retort clamped his mouth shut. The beautiful lady shook her head, her luminous eyes capturing his.

“I saw you entering a fire.
Then darkness attacked and you…
”

Her voice broke. It never occurred to him to question her vision this time. She was
scared
. For him?
Derek
felt his anger melt away.

“And where were you?”

Was she safe, at least?

“I… I don’t know.”

I was looking at you embracing death.

Sacha
bent her head. Her hands rested on her lap, her fingers closely knitted together. Following her stare,
Derek
noticed she was shaking. He wrapped his own cloak around her, rubbing her arms up and down swiftly. Somehow, he doubted the ice in her veins came from the cold breeze swirling around the courtyard.

The angst in her stare burn
ed
into his stomach to a point he wanted to roar. Appropriate
words seemed to elude him as always, and as always he wished he had kept his mouth shut as soon as he spoke.

“It won’t happen,
Sacha
. Even you cannot drive me so insane
that
I throw myself voluntarily into the flames. Eat.”

Why did he always manage to sound so bluntly arrogant? He saw the storm brewing on her face as the last words were out, chasing away the doubts and the fright.
Sacha
opened her mouth, ready to give him a piece of her mind,
so
he took refuge behind the plate, with his best imitation of
Elwyn
’s coy smile.

“Please?”

The mimic blew out a good part of her tantrum.
Derek
could tell she was still annoyed with him, but he caught a flash of amusement on her face despite her stern expression
. His blue eyes twinkled
with relief
.
Sacha
took the plate, suddenly highly interested in her food.

Chapter 14

To
My Lord Guardian, greetings,

Our journey goes eventless. We had hoped to find our friends in Saint-Stephen, but unfortunately they have already moved to their summer residence. We will thus resume our travel shortly to join them. Your daughter is very anxious to see her brother again.

I hope this letter will find you all in good health. Please assure my mother of my faithful devotion.

Yours truly,

A

Geraint
pushed the short letter away with a grunt. He resisted the urge to crush the paper into a ball
to
thr
o
w it into the fireplace.
Ylianor
would certainly want to read it herself. It was tempting nonetheless.

The note did little to reassure him.
Derek
had encrypted his message in a way that only few people could understand it.
Camelot
had been called the Summer Country when the Pendragons ruled the Kingdoms. And if he was not mistaken, Saint-Stephen Monastery was in a small town about half a day from the frontier that separated
Pemfro
and
Camelot
.

The middle-aged man straightened up in his seat, his back tensed against the furniture. The
q
ueen
-
he would never accept to think of her as any less than such
-
had arranged for everyone to believe
Sacha
was in bed, in theory fighting a strong fever. Only he, Jeffrey,
Ylianor
and the maid Agnes were allowed to her chambers. At the same time, two of his men had been sent to the
n
orth to check on the advance positions there, and officially,
Derek
had gone with them.

So far, the lies were holding, but it had been only two days… He had been edgy ever since they had discovered
Derek
's
and
Sacha
’s getaway, unsure about the feelings whirling inside him.

He worried about his children, including
Derek
, whom he considered a son. He was angry at his reckless daughter and her
hot-headed
prince. He hated himself for waiting all those years, witnessing how
Wolfryth
plundered his neighbours’ lands
,
without being able to stop him for fear
of
attract
ing
attention
to
the
duchy and the
royal family. Maybe
Sacha
had had a point; he should have st
oo
d up for what was right a long time ago.

Being right did not make up for her disobedience, or
Derek
’s. Those two
had
spent years snubbing each other, harrying everyone around, and the one day they decided to pair
up, it only attracted more trouble.
He snorted.

Geraint
reread
Derek
’s message, trying to decipher more from the cryptic words. Yes, they were safe and sound. But no, they were not coming back.

Ylianor
entered the room, her royal stance masking the worry he knew was agitating her. He pushed on
to
his feet instantly.

“My
l
ady.”

“I am sorry to disturb you, Sir
Geraint
, but I heard that a courier arrived earlier…”

“Yes. Please; this comes from
Derek
.”

Ylianor
walked to the seat he was
offering
her before she allowed herself to take the letter. She read, her blue eyes caressing the paper as if it w
ere
h
er son
she was coddling. When she was done, she took a careful breath
. Her
hand trembled slightly when she handed back the missive,
t
he quivers quickly controlled.

“They are alright.”

Geraint
nodded silently, looking for a way to tell the anxious woman his deductions from
Derek
’s implies. She preceded him, however.

“They are going to cross the border, aren’t they?”

“I fear so.”

They fell silent, both parents crushed by the significance behind the news. As the
rightful
heir to the throne,
Camelot
was the most dangerous place for
Derek
to be
. The
dangers he encountered would extend to whoever traveled with him; namely,
Sacha
. No one could predict if they would find help in their quest, or threat. Years under a madman
's
tyranny could transform the most faithful supporter into a desperate traitor. Not to mention
that
Wolfryth
would be free to attack the prince at his will...

Geraint
broke the heavy silence first, standing to face the fire.

“This is madness…
How on earth did they come to the conclusion
that
Elwyn
is
i
n
Camelot
’s territory?”

Ylianor
bowed her head an instant, getting her
bearings
, before she explained about
Sacha
’s dream. Speechless, the
d
uke took another minute to digest her story. For him, his children’s gifts were never a cause of doubt, only of worry. Anot
her cause of worry
.

“She might be wrong.”

Ylianor
gave a tight smile at the man’s feeble attempt to push away from reality.

“I dread she is not, dear friend. It is very dubious
Sacha
opened up
to
Derek
about her
visions
. S
he knows full well how he is most likely to react. They must have found another clue leading to
Camelot
.”

Geraint
sighed,
and
then stepped back.

“I am sorry,
Ylianor
.”

The blond woman nodded slightly. Now there was little they could do but wait, and pray for the better.

oOo

The short rasp on his door woke up
Sebastian
and he did his best to straighten up. Any effort to use his arms left him drenched in sweat while his entire body burn
ed
with pain. He gr
ound
his teeth and tried to present a calm face to his visitor.

“Come in.”

The woman who entered the room was probably the last person he thought would pay him a visit, and
she
was certainly not Agnes.

He had not seen the little maid since her confession. Another servant had brought his meals and when
ever
he asked about
Sacha
’s maid, the man explained with a sad movement of the head she was taking care of her mistress, who was
apparently
harassed by a terrible fever.
Sebastian
had frowned
the first time he heard the tale
, but kept his mouth shut.
Visibly
, the castle was supposed to think his cousin was in her chambers and
Derek
… God knew where. He had hoped for
Ylianor
or even his uncle to come and explain, but none had showed up. Some explanations would have been great
though
, especially given who his visitor was.

“Lady Sonia..
.
”

The brown-haired woman smiled and nodded in return to his greetings.

The Countess of Gosharling, Sonia’s mother, had been a close friend of the late duchess of
Pemfro
. She had sent her daughter to
Haven
the previous year, when
Elwyn
and
Derek
had been knighted and
Sacha
officially made her debut.

Sonia’s allure and manners had instantly attracted attention. However, in spite of some light flirting here and there, she discouraged all potential suitors the same way
Sacha
did, sometimes more coldly, if ever possible.

In spite of that common trait, the two maidens had never really gotten along, probably because rumours
said
the only man likely to interest Sonia was
Derek
. The prince knew that and avoided her like plague, except of course when
Sacha
was around… De facto, neither
Elwyn
nor
Sebastian
dared to approach Sonia of Gosharling.
Sebastian
shifted in his bed, uneasy to find himself alone with his cousin’s nemesis.

His visitor stopped inspecting the various phials and bandages set on the table and came to sit near his bed, on the chair Jeffrey had used earlier to examine the nasty cut on his left arm. She smiled, and
Sebastian
smiled back, surprised.

“I thought you could use some company, since your best friends are out of the Castle and your cousin is not well…”

Her honeyed tone changed surprise into suspicion. What did she know about his friends? He made an effort to keep doubts out of his reply “That is very gracious of you, Lady Sonia.”

Her smile still in place, and warily friendly, she gestured at the display of medicine.

“Sir Jeffrey is obviously using
a complete
panoply on you. I trust his methods are efficient?”

“I do hope so,
m
y
l
ady.”

The chitchat was misleading. What did she want? He could not help but think of a feline hunter playing with its prey.
Sebastian
winced. The role of
the
mouse was never to his liking. The young woman stayed quiet for a few seconds and he used the silence to observe her more closely.

She was indeed attractive, in a glamorous way. He had to compare her to
Sacha
, though he knew the comparison would probably irritate the latter
to no end
. Like her cousin, the Countess favoured long gowns which sculpted her willowy figure. Both had gracious faces, with high cheekbones and delicately hemmed lips. However the similarity stopped there.
Sacha
had green eyes, shining like clear jade, while the other woman’s stare was as dark as obsidian.

Those dark eyes had returned to him now, and he struggled to adjust his posture in the bed, grunting when using his damaged arms triumphed over his stoic poise. Warmth ignited her eyes an instant and
Sebastian
stared the fire spreading there, fascinated, as she helped him up against the pillows. Her hands were blissfully cool through the fabric of his shirt.
A blue-green mark impaired the inner side of her forearm, intriguing.

“I never saw anything like this…”

“Only my family is allowed to wear it. It’s a protective rune.”

The burn in his tortured muscles decreased significantly
. He sighed in relief and looked for a new position in the bed
.

“Thank you.”

“You are badly hurt, my lord. Will you ever be able to wield a sword again?”

Her question echoed the doubts that assaulted each of his conscious moments, when the effect from the drugs Jeffrey served him started to fade.
Sebastian
closed his eyes an instant to find a suitable answer
. W
hen he opened them again,
Sonia
had already moved away and was walking towards the door, apparently having taken his silence for a dismissal.
Sebastian
obliged himself to voice his own fears out loud.

“I do not know.”

Sonia nodded, thoughtful.

“I
use to
have great respect for the men of the
b
ow.”

Then she smiled once more, and left.
Sebastian
let his head fall on the pillow, exhausted and wondering what to make of her last comment.

oOo

When
Ylianor
entered
Sacha’s
quarters, the girl was seated at the table, sewing. She jumped on
to
her feet and bowed clumsily in her haste, not daring to straighten or even look up.