A Charm for a Unicorn (20 page)

"Stop, stop them I say!” It was Sylvain, leaping into the fray and pulling the dogs off, flinging them to the side.

Suddenly a strong wind rose, and picked him up. Renaldo was face downward, so he saw everything. The hounds, the hunters, Sir Wulfe and the royal party all dwindled as Sylvain, Leonie, and he rose as if cupped in a giant hand made of soft air.

The breeze carried them over the forest and toward the setting sun. Sylvain sat numbly, staring at them. In his arms, Leonie huddled and shook. Renaldo tried to say something, but the wind took his voice away. He held onto Leonie and tried not to panic. He wanted to ask her how she felt or if she was badly wounded, but the noise was too great, even if this whirlwind was gentler than any he'd seen. After what seemed a very long time, it deposited them in the courtyard of Castle Veil.

"Are you all right?” he cried, as the wind finally ceased. But she didn't answer, she just lay curled in a tight ball, her face hidden in her arms. He tried to turn her over, but she moaned with pain. His hands, he noted with horror, were red with blood. Some of it was his, but most was Leonie's.

"Leonie!” he cried again. Then he turned toward his brother. “Sylvain, help me!"

The front door banged open and Ann and Sir Casper dashed out. Ann came first, holding her skirts high, her face very pale. “Leonie!” she screamed, dropping to her knees next to her sister.

Their father arrived and knelt by Leonie's still form. He touched her gently. “Leonie, can you hear me?” he asked. She gave a sort of shiver. “Ann, go prepare her room and tell Cook to put water on to boil. Hurry!"

Ann got up, and, wringing her hands, ran back into the manor. Renaldo was still sitting next to Leonie. He dared not touch her. A small trickle of blood had appeared beneath her. Wordlessly he pointed to it.

Sir Casper uttered a cry and pulled his daughter over but Leonie kept her hands pressed to her face. Between her fingers ran ribbons of blood. “We have to get her inside,” said Sir Casper to Sylvain.

Sylvain didn't waste any time. He scooped Leonie in his arms and hurried up the stairs. To Renaldo the wizard said, “You can wait in the kitchen. I'll be down to tend to you in a while.” He didn't pause for an answer, but ran into the manor, calling for someone named Bob to fetch his dried herbs.

Renaldo wanted to help, but he couldn't even walk. Without his crutches, he had to hop and crawl up the steps. His arms and back hurt terribly. He wanted to find Leonie, but in the kitchen a short, round woman grabbed Renaldo firmly by the sleeve. “Sit down, young man.” She pointed to a chair. With a no-nonsense look, she bade him take his vest and shirt off. Then she brought over a basin of water and washed his arms and back.

"You have some nasty bites, but they are not deep. Your leather vest helped greatly.” She bound up his arm after slathering a bright yellow salve on it and gave him a clean shirt.

"I'd like to go see Leonie,” said Renaldo.

"You'll just be in the way. Sir Casper is a good healer, you can trust him to do his best."

Ann rushed into the kitchen a moment later.

"How is she?” Renaldo asked, rising from his chair.

Ann stopped and looked at him. “She's been terribly mauled.” Her face crumpled. “I need some more hot water.” She took a cloth to protect her hands and lifted the kettle from the stove. Then she turned to Cook and said, “This is Sylvain's brother, Prince Renaldo. Renaldo, this is Cook. Can you get the guest room ready for him?"

Cook nodded. “You look like your brother.” She watched as Ann left the room, then patted his shoulder soothingly. “There now, you look worn out. I'll make you some tea."

He protested, but she bustled about the kitchen, getting another kettle from the cabinet and filling it with water from the sink. The manor was old, but it had all the modern conveniences like running water and copper heating pipes, Renaldo saw. When the tea was brewed, he sipped it gratefully. The pain in his arm and back had nearly faded.

Then Cook disappeared for a while to prepare a room a room for him.

A man came in and dropped off a bucket of fresh milk and a basket of eggs. He introduced himself as Bob and didn't say anything else, but went back outside and came back a while later with a pair of crutches. Again, he said nothing but propped the crutches next to Renaldo.

"Thank you,” said Renaldo. The crutches looked a bit dusty, as if they'd been sitting in a shed for a while. Cook bustled over and wiped them with a damp cloth, all the while chattering about nothing in particular. But Renaldo found the gentle chit-chat about the cow, the rose hip tea, the garden, and the early frost soothing.

Sylvain came downstairs and Cook treated his bites too. He'd been bitten on his hands and on his legs. He winced as Cook bandaged him up.

"How is she?"

"I don't know. The magician chased me out of the room.” Sylvain sighed. “I'm sure she'll be all right."

"How are you?"

"All right, I suppose.” Sylvain made a face. Sir Casper said he'd send for a Crow Caller so we can tell our parents what's going on. Our mother is probably mad with worry."

Evening turned to night, and the night deepened. The Crow Caller came and took the princes’ message to the king and queen of Windtide. Renaldo's worry about Leonie did not abate. Then Sir Casper came into the kitchen. Renaldo noted that he'd changed his robe and washed.

"How is she?” he asked, for what seemed the hundredth time.

The wizard sat at the table. “Her face will be scarred, but otherwise she is all right. Here, let me see your arm."

Sir Casper gently unwrapped the bandage and examined Renaldo's wounds. His expression never changed, but Renaldo could sense his fury. Two red spots appeared on his otherwise pale cheeks as he replaced the bandage. “The muscle is torn, but it will heal with no complications,” he said, his voice faltering. He looked at Sylvain's bites too, and then put his hands on their shoulders.

"Thank you for saving my daughter. Without you, she would have been torn to pieces. Sir Wulfe has made a grave mistake. Tonight I will draft letters to the magicians’ guild. I also need to speak to your father. I will summon him tonight with one of my whirlwinds. It would be best if I did it while your mother is still in Querel. You can give him your version of the story alone."

"I sent a message by Crow Caller, but I agree that it would be best to talk to him in person.” Renaldo's whole body began to tremble. He put his hands flat on the table and pressed down hard. “Can I see her?"

Sir Casper nodded. “If you wish. She's asleep. I gave her a potion."

"I'll take him upstairs, sir,” said Cook. She put a pile of dishes on the table and motioned for Renaldo to follow her. To Sylvain she said, “I'll be right back down to fix you some dinner. You look famished."

The crutches were a bit short for him, and his arm still hurt, but Renaldo managed. The stairway was wide and the stone steps shallow. A long, red and blue rug covered the floor in the upstairs hallway. It was worn in the middle. Cook led Renaldo to a gray wooden door with a crystal doorknob.

Renaldo turned the knob and pushed the door open. On a narrow bed beneath a tall window, Leonie lay without moving. The curtains were drawn; soft light came from the fireplace in the corner of the room, and from lamps set on the table at the foot and at the head of her bed. There were two chairs in the room. Ann sat in one, and in the other was a tall, pale man with a thatch of straw colored hair and pale blue eyes.

"How is she?” Renaldo asked Ann.

Ann's eyes were swollen and her cheeks were sticky with tears, but she managed a smile. “Don't look so worried. She's going to live."

The pale young man stood. In a low voice, he said, “Here, take my seat, Renaldo."

"Thank you.” Renaldo paused. “Have we met before?"

"I'm Claude. The mouse.” The man gave a crooked grin.

Renaldo blinked. “You were in Sylvain's pocket. Did Leonie's father change you back?"

"Yes, he did. And he gave me some clothes.” He tilted his head up and sniffed the air. “That smells like dinner. If you'll excuse me, Lady Ann, I think I'd like to go wash up."

Only then did Renaldo notice his bloodstained hands. Seeing the direction of his gaze, Claude said, “I'm a magician, so I helped Sir Casper."

"You did a marvelous job, thank you,” Ann said. She stood and said, “Renaldo, I'm going to show Claude to his room and get him settled. Will you watch Leonie for a while? If she starts to wake up, call for my father."

"Of course.” Renaldo moved the chair closer to Leonie. When the door closed behind Ann and Claude, he leaned over to look at her carefully. Her face was heavily bandaged, as were both her arms. One of her hands was bandaged, but the other was not, so he reached over and took it, holding it as carefully as he could. Her hand felt warm, but terribly fragile. He felt tears running down his cheeks, but didn't care. He didn't care about anything except Leonie. He knew his mother and father would be frantic with worry, but that made no difference to him either. Even his lost leg seemed unimportant. A leg he could afford to lose, but not Leonie. How could he go back to his kingdom without her? As he held her hand and gazed at her, it occurred to him that he simply could not.

From outside, he heard the unmistakable sound of a whirlwind. He stood, leaned carefully over Leonie's bed, and parted the curtain. Her room overlooked the courtyard. In the dark, it was hard to see who had arrived. But then the front door opened and yellow light spilled out.

Renaldo drew his breath in. His father stood in the courtyard. King Miles was red of hair, ruddy of cheek, and notoriously short of temper. Renaldo had always been a little afraid of his powerful father, all the while doing everything to please him. The king hesitated a minute. Obviously he had been summoned by Sir Casper's whirlwind, and that form of transportation was reserved for emergencies. Renaldo could understand his father's unease. Also, he'd never concealed his contempt for the wizard of Windtide.

Sylvain appeared on the steps and his father looked up, an expression of relief on his face. They embraced, and went into the manor.

After what seemed a very short lapse of time, Renaldo heard footsteps on the stairs, and the door opened. His father strode in, followed by Sir Casper.

"Leave us,” said King Miles, not even glancing at the wizard.

The wizard bowed, and left, closing the door softly behind him.

"Father.” Renaldo stood, balanced on his one leg.

His father's face turned ashen. “I heard you'd lost your leg. But seeing it is altogether different. What happened? Why did you fight in a war that didn't concern you?"

"I had no choice at first. Sir Wulfe banished me with a whirlwind, and sent me far to the north of Querel. A recruiter found me, and it was either join the fight, or lose my life. I preferred to take my chance on the ship."

"But, afterward, you could have told the captain!” His father's voice rose, and Leonie stirred, moaning softly.

"At first I was afraid I'd be ransomed, and I didn't want that.” Renaldo spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. He sat back on the chair and looked at Leonie. She was motionless except for the slight movement of her chest as she breathed. “I got to know the men on board. I fought with them, and they were my comrades in arms. After a while, I couldn't tell anyone who I was, because I didn't want to abandon my friends. Can you understand that?"

His father pulled up the other chair and sat in it, leaning toward him. “Yes, I think I can. I fought too, you know. When Bromley took the south of Windtide, I was there. We lost more than just land. We lost many good men. I've always rued losing the south of Windtide, but losing my men hurt more. Good men are impossible to replace.” He paused. “I heard you'd come here to ask for this woman's hand in marriage. Is that true?"

Renaldo took a deep breath. “Yes. This is Leonie."

His father shifted on his chair, making it creak. “Sir Casper told me what happened. I agreed to back his complaint with the wizards’ guild."

"Thank you, Father."

"I did it also for you. Sir Wulfe overstepped his bounds."

"Has my mother returned yet?"

"No, she'll be returning by coach. The queen's guard is with her. She will be safe,” he said, anticipating Renaldo's next question.

Renaldo nodded. For a while they sat in silence. Then he took a deep breath, and said, “Father, did you know that Leonie's mother had a charm of wild magic upon her?"

His father gave a start. In the firelight, his eyes glittered. “I heard it only after she died.” He twisted his hands together. “The charm held me in its sway. I would have given up my kingdom for her. Luckily, my parents and advisors convinced me that my duty lay with my country."

Renaldo looked at Leonie, lying as still as a wax statue on the bed. He reached over and took her hand. “How did the negotiations go in Bromley?"

His father shrugged. “I didn't get to finish."

"Thank you for coming."

His father looked at him sharply. “I thought to arrange a marriage for you with one of your cousins. But the news about Querel stopped me."

"Stopped you? Why?"

His father leaned his elbows on his knees. “I will fight for Windtide. I won't let Bromley swallow us whole. When I heard that the princes of Querel had ceased fighting, I closed my own negotiations. Bromley isn't interested in peace. It wants all of Windtide, then it will turn its attention to Querel. So far, the only thing protecting Querel is the mountain range."

"How did you hear about the princes?"

"Your mother sent a Crow Caller to me with the news. She said it was Sylvain's doing, somehow."

"It was.” Renaldo gave a soft chuckle, then sobered. “I will fight for Windtide as well. I can still sit on a horse, and battle holds no fear for me."

"We haven't declared war yet, and I'll put it off as long as possible. If Bromley wants to make trouble, it will, but I've abandoned hope of recovering the southern lands we lost. The negotiations were getting nowhere. All they want is to put your cousins on my throne. I refused."

Renaldo thought for a minute. “Does that mean that the succession has been altered?"