The High King: A Tale of Alus (45 page)

The horse picked its way over hills and down through the many dales of Marshalla in its ever steady progress towards the north. The air was almost uncomfortably warm due to the summer sun, but if Simon were still in Rhearden, it would almost assuredly be that much warmer and humid from an ocean full of water besides. After all the time spent in the southern climate, this heat did little to slow his progress though he did make sure to pace his mount that much more.

Simon looked around him as he traveled. The hills continued to rise in steadily steeper climbs as they progressed. The land consisted of rock as well as carefully preserved farm lands and pastures. Though plainsmen would find the lands quite unusual, those who had lived here all their lives would find nothing overly interesting about this particular terrain. For Simon who had been exiled for almost three years now, however, it was like riding through a paradise. One could never explain such feelings of love for a land that had always been a harsh holder of life for the northern peoples except to say the old maxim: `distance makes the heart grow fonder'.

Stopping atop one of the final hills separating him from his destination, Simon could nearly make out the spires of the distant capitol's keep. It was still a purplish haze on the horizon, but such a view meant he would arrive in the city just before the onset of darkness if he continued his careful pace. Looking down into the vale directly below his vantage point, the man spied a sparkling lake surrounded on three of its four sides by the dark pines and oaks native to the area. People clustered on the open side and many of them were easily seen frolicking in the waters from the hilltop. It was a good way to gain a respite from the heat, he thought. Looking to the road topping the far hill, even more villagers, and those willing to ride out from the city for the day, were coming towards the cooling waters.

Simon shrugged to himself. He was not here to sight see and, though a swim sounded enjoyable after the long day's travel, this traveler had other matters to attend to before he could begin to relax. It was possible that Simon could question some of those gathered around the shores for more information on Hala, but he doubted that they could tell him overly much of what he needed either. With a little gentle prodding, his horse began its descent into the small valley and the lake lying within.

It was as he navigated the worn trail, that a new group of visitors neared the lake and began drawing an incredible amount of attention to their arrival. Their initial number had to be little more than a dozen riders, both male and female, but the swarm of people closing around them made the exact grouping impossible to judge from a distance. His curiosity aroused, Simon urged his steed towards a greater pace while still remaining careful about the animal's footing.

It wasn't until the man was nearly to the edge of the crowd itself that he noted that more than one of the riders bore the armor of the royal guards. Simon had only seen the armor once before in person back in a time that had been favorable to the Aramatheas. A lesser noble of the southern border had passed through Bearden on his way home and he and his father had just so happened to be visiting the town on business when the man had arrived.

That man had generated nowhere near the popularity of this assemblage. Simon soon wondered just who from the nobility could draw such adoration from the populace in these times of oppression. Only one person he could think of was popular with the people in Marshalla these days and surely a queen would not forsake her fortress.

His curiosity peaked the man slowly forced his mount through the crowd. More than one person turned to curse him as he continued ever deeper into the throng, but Simon wouldn't turn back until he knew the source of the people's interest.

One irritated reveler finally turned to shout at him, "Who do you think you are, man? Are you a nobleman that you think you can tread over me with your horse?"

Simon fixed him with a cool stare before softening into his businessman's smile. "I am an admiral's brother, does that count?"

The man appeared somewhat taken aback by so casual an answer, but soon regained his composure and retorted, "Sure you are, boy, and Alyanna over there is my cousin."

"Ah, so it is the queen that they protect," Simon replied ignoring the man's sarcasm and thrusting a thumb in the direction of the guards.

"Are you daft? Of course, it's the queen. Didn't you see her arrive?"
"I spotted her entourage from atop the hill and I confess that I did not know that it was her. This makes it that much more imperative that I meet her."
The older man laughed in a loud guffaw and nudged one of those nearest him. "Did ya hear him, Horace? He wants to meet the queen."
The other nodded with a grin plastered across his face. "He has balls enough to think so."
The older man suddenly sobered and gave Simon a much more wary look. "Unless Horace, he is here to try and kill Alyanna. Perhaps that is why he is truly here?"
Simon fixed the man with a new icy stare as he urged his steed forward once again nearly running over the man named Horace. "If I were here to do so, I would have used a bow. That is an assassin's weapon or perhaps a dagger thrown from a tree, I am not here to do any such thing, however, and would be ill prepared if I were. Excuse me now; I need to speak to the queen."
The old man looked worried still and angry over being pushed aside so brusquely to boot. Rather than allowing Simon to make his introduction quietly, the man shouted, "Guards, guards! I fear this man wants to do the queen harm! Guards, protect the queen!"
As a unit, the guards moved to defend the woman that Simon still had not had the time to spy. Five of them in the black and gold of Marshalla bearing a burnished, bronze rose upon their breasts sought out the source of the cries. They spotted Simon easily enough atop his riding horse and the crowd gave way quickly to their spurred mounts as well. The five of them would have been nothing to his brother he thought ruefully, but the man was not a warrior of his brother's class and never had the prayers of being so blessed. Instead of fighting or subduing their blades with casual flicks of powerful wrists, Simon moved casually forward until they were surrounding him.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he said with a nod and a tip of his hat. "Nice weather."
The first of the guards snorted and replied, "A good day to die if you are planning anything against the queen."
Simon slowly drew his rapier making sure to extend it with the handle end extended to the guards. He passed it hilt first to the man who took it warily. "I am on business from the Taltan continent, Rhearden, if you would know it by name?"
The guard shook his head all the while keeping his eyes glued to the rider before him who seemed too comfortable amongst five armed guardsmen. Such casualness meant either the man was just as he seemed or was a fighter of such high caliber that he truly did not fear such odds. The man finally shook his head again and even replied, "No, I can't say I do. What business have you here?"
Simon shrugged. "Shipping, trade, and perhaps an alliance now that Marshalla governs the whole of the southern peninsula. I have the seal of the king of Rhearden himself should my words not be believed. I prefer showing such a valuable mark only to one of nobility, but should you require I might be persuaded to show you first. Do you know what the seal looks like to confirm such authenticity?"
The guard again shook his head in now complete perplexity.
Simon sighed and shook his head as if in regret about dealing with incompetents. "Fine, I suppose that only leaves the queen to verify my story. If you would be so kind as to lead me to her, I will gladly throw myself at her mercy." He clucked to his mount and the horse started forward slowly once more.
The guard, left stupefied by matters that he had never been trained for, turned in stunned silence to do just as Simon had asked. The others fell in around him as their leader had done. They could decipher even less of the conversation than he after all. The men in the crowd were left equally speechless which Simon counted as a blessing since a protest could have easily reminded the guards that he could still be a threat to the woman they protected.
With the added strength of the guardsmen and their steeds to move the crowd aside, Simon quickly spied the queen and the remainder of her soldiers. He was almost as stunned as the guardsmen when he spied Alyanna seated astride her steed amidst her lovely maids, one more lovelier than the next it seemed. They were as Simon had been told by Cardy and others that he had spoken to on the way, nearly naked in the midst of their public and worrying nothing over their indecency. Such an attitude nearly made him forget that such was wrong in the everyday society he knew of to date.
As they approached, the queen and her ladies quickly turned to see what the fuss was all about. They had heard the cries, of course, but such cries were often issued out of the stupidity of ne'er-do-wells for the most part. They had gotten used to that kind of negative attention long ago and knew that the guards would handle such situations with alacrity. To see the men returning with a prisoner, or whatever one could call a man who seemed to be leading the guardsmen instead of their leading him; that was a bit unusual.
Simon took in the woman he believed to be the queen. A crown of jewels that amounted to an incredible amount of wealth sat atop the shapely blonde’s head. Her hair and make-up were immaculate even after the several mile trip to the lake, breasts as perfectly formed as he had ever witnessed (though such a magnificent view was almost unheard of, of course), a trim waist leading to the colorful, half-transparent scarves that all the women wore to partially secure their secrets and finally his eyes rested upon the legs of a goddess. He quickly returned his eyes to her face despite the obvious lure of the exposed attributes the woman chose to reveal.
The guards stopped as Simon halted less than two paces from the woman. Another guard, whose bearing easily showed that he held rank amongst these men even if the gilded sword hilt and the rings on a hand held in a sling were not enough to separate him from the others, interposed himself between Simon and the queen. His eyes spoke much of the danger of facing this man, even with his only having one good hand.
Before Simon could say a word to this newcomer, the captain of the guard spoke to the lead guard beside him. "Aban? Why have you brought this man to the queen?"
Looking quite embarrassed, the guard known as Aban seemed unable to find the words. Simon spoke instead, "I'm afraid that he could not answer the questions I posed to him. I asked to speak to the queen because I am afraid only one of nobility could do justice to my needs. I have a seal from the king of Rhearden that only a noble could verify the truth of its authenticity. If I could show the queen...?"
The captain of the guards held out his hand. "I will verify your seal."
Surprised by the man's audacity, Simon began to pull the scroll with the attached seal from his travel bags. The spy was beginning to be especially glad that he had thought to have Gerid get the document for him before they had left for each other's journeys. Still not believing the captain's abilities, Simon tried again, "But if your guardsmen couldn't verify such a document, wouldn't the queen be the logical choice to do so, captain?"
The man gave him a closer look before taking the scroll from Simon. "You seem bent upon bestowing this into the queen's hands, sir. Might I inquire as to why?"
"I apologize, captain, if you can verify its worth then I defer to your abilities. I did not know that her guardsmen had such talents."
The captain raised the scroll closer to his eyes and used the sun's light to bring out the subtleties of the seal. He nodded and handed the scroll to the queen behind him. "You fail to realize the validity of your own statements. A noble would, as you say, know a true seal and most would know of its origin if it came from a royal house. I am Alyanna's cousin aside from being her captain of the royal guards." The man turned to look at the queen who had opened the scroll, "So, cousin?"
"A writ asking for passage and giving limited authority to his servant, one Simon Aramathea."
The captain looked to the sky in thought. "Aramathea? Don't I know that name from somewhere? Why have I heard that name?"
A moment later and Alyanna chuckled, a lilting, little laugh that surprised Simon anew with its music. Her memory then surprised him immediately after as the woman stated, "You should know the name, Baitrum. They were known for the best dairy products on the entire continent, but I could have sworn that their line was slain years ago in a fire."
Simon couldn't control his face before his pain was evident there. Quickly calming his features, he spoke with only the slightest quaver in his voice, "You are nearly correct, your highness, but both I and my brother did survive the massacre of our holdings."
"Massacre?" the queen demanded with a suspicious arch to her brow. "That is a strong word, Mr. Aramathea."
"But too true, I am afraid."
Alyanna held up her hand to silence anymore of his words. She turned around in the saddle and seemed to be looking for someone. With consternation written across her face she asked her captain, "Baitrum, where is Serra? I wanted her to pass out the alms while I talk with the emissary from Rhearden. She was here only moments ago."
The captain looked around quickly (more worried than the queen, if Simon had to guess) and confessed through clenched teeth, "I don't know, my queen. It's not like her to disappear." He gestured to Aban and Laith. One man turned towards either side and began to search the crowd.
Alyanna turned to one of her maids and passed her a pair of large pouches. They appeared heavy by the way the women struggled to pass them across the short distance from horse to horse. "Julia, Phoena, be a pair of dears and give these alms to the people." Turning to the crowd she spoke loud enough to be heard over the fairly quiet murmurings, "My people, I know times have been harder of late. If you would follow my maidens nearer the shore, they will spread what wealth I have to give to you to help ease the burdens of the High King’s taxes. I will visit with you as time permits shortly."
The crowd obeyed unquestioningly and followed the pair of women flanked by two guardsmen. Suddenly Simon found himself astride his mount and nearly alone with the queen. Guardsmen sat in relaxed caution, eyes trying not to stare at any one man, even Simon, as they watched out for their queen. Baitrum seemed less relaxed as he fully ignored the man before him and looked for this Serra that Simon had no knowledge of as yet. He assumed that she was one of the maidens and wondered if someone had chosen to kidnap her for ransom or, knowing the beauty of the other women, worse.
The lieutenant must have thought that he saw her as he spurred his stallion into a quick trot towards the shore of the lake. A pair of the guardsmen drew closer with his parting and one looked from Simon to the queen and back again. Alyanna ignored the guard as she focused her attention on the man before her. After a moment's thought, the queen gestured towards a nearby oak that marked the fringe of a small grove. "Let us speak in the shade, Master Aramathea. The sun is too near its crest now for my skin to appreciate."
With a little nudge in the horse's flanks, the beautiful woman proceeded to the shade that she had mentioned not bothering to see if Simon would follow. He followed promptly behind the queen and couldn't help considering that the view of the woman from behind was equally entertaining.
One of the guardsmen dismounted ahead of them and pulled down a soft-looking blanket to lay out flat beneath the spreading branches of the oak and its nearest companions. Alyanna and her remaining hand maid, a blond with dark green eyes whose features were only the slightest bit below that of her mistress, were dismounted and nearly stepping upon the blanket before the poor man could finish pulling the corners straight. Not knowing what else to do, Simon once again followed.
Confidence beginning to fail in front of such grace and the woman's dismissive nature, Simon was forced to consider what it was that he hoped to accomplish with this woman. If she knew of the rebels, how would he get past her icy exterior to discover the fact? As Simon approached the edge of the blanket, the man halted not knowing if he was to advance or remain standing. She was a queen after all and there had to be some form of protocol for such a confrontation.
The two women reclined comfortably onto fluffy pillows brought from a small wagon that Simon had missed coming into the clearing beside the lake. The two of them spoke quietly for a few moments and Simon had almost wondered if the queen had forgotten about him, when Baitrum returned with a second rider trailing him. The other rider rode behind him with a blanket drawn tightly about her shoulders, blond hair cascading over her shoulders atop the concealing cloth. He knew it for concealment as if the woman were guilty or marked with the guilt. Whether she was someone that knew of the missing maiden or was the actual girl the royals were looking for only minutes ago, Simon did not know and was trying to ignore her when the queen leaped to her feet.
"You had me... us, worried, Serra," Alyanna scolded in a tone that denoted concern for a friend rather than a queen making demands of a servant. "Where were you? You should have warned me or the guardsmen that you needed to leave. Most of the people like what we are doing, but many would consider you a prize if only for your pretty head not to mention the politics of your position. What were you thinking?"
Alyanna paused as she noted the quiet stare being leveled at Simon from the girl atop the horse. Simon noted the pause and looked first to the queen and then to the young woman. His face lit with surprise upon noting the girl's features with more concentration than before. His mouth dried up. Simon knew that he wouldn't have dared speak for fear that this apparition would disappear from what must assuredly be a dream.
The girl spoke and sent ripples through him as he realized that only the living could put sound in one's ears. She spoke quietly, even as her eyes remained
apprehensively on him, "I am sorry, my queen, but I couldn't help myself. My shock at seeing this man forced me into hiding, I'm afraid."
Alyanna turned contemplatively towards Simon. "He can do you no harm, Serra. Why would you need to escape the ambassador? Surely he is very nearly harmless, at least within my guards' protective circle."
"I didn't mean fear of him harming me, my queen. In fact, I very much doubt that this man would ever intentionally harm me. I was afraid that I would disappoint him instead. An older brother's standards are hard to achieve and I fear that he will not approve of who I have become."