Children of the Sun and Moon (32 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lakin re-read
the message he had received from Duke Dubar, and was in shock. Two
days earlier, they had captured the queen. Koral and Eric were
spotted, but escaped. (this brought a sigh of relief) And of
course, the usual demand he be made king. Leaning back in his
chair, he stroked his chin. It didn’t matter that Dubar had the
queen. What mattered was the prince and princess had escaped. He
could just imagine what would have happened if the bumbling idiot
of a duke had actually captured them. Lakin sighed, and wondered
what should his next move be? He couldn’t make the duke king. That
was never part of the plan. The only good he had seen from the duke
was to create chaos in the Central Lands, taking his eyes, as well
as others, off the prophecy being fulfilled. Smiling, he sat back
and composed his reply.

“The Easterners
ships are no longer in sight, my lord,” said Sol.

The duke raised
his head and looked at the page. “Good. Please send for Captain
Moore. Tell him I wish to speak to him at once.”

Sol bowed and
left to find the captain.

Duke Dubar was
devastated. He, as well as Baron Lychen and Captain Moore, had
figured the Easterners were under their control. The events of two
days ago showed they had seriously underestimated their companions.
They had shown up in his audience chamber that morning, telling him
they had heard a rumour royalty was in the city and were going to
be boarding their ship. When Dubar had asked them why they felt
this would happen, they fully admitted they had ransacked a small
village and taken captives to be sold as slaves. Duke Dubar was
appalled by this, and had stated that fact. The Easterners response
was to laugh, and suggest a trap be set. They then left to finish
loading their ships, for they were preparing to leave that evening.
Not even one word came from them when their captives were taken,
and the trap sprung. The duke had nearly fainted when he was
informed the prince and princess were the ones who had boarded the
ships, but had escaped. He was pleasantly surprised, though, when
Captain Moore had shown up with the queen in tow.

Immediately he
had ordered sweeps be done of the city, but when no sign of them
had been found come morning he had called off the search.

“You wished to
speak with me?” asked Captain Moore.

Duke Dubar
looked up from the papers he had been reading. A strange glint was
in his eye.

“Do you know
what these documents are?” he asked the captain.

“No, I don't.
If you only brought me here to ask ridiculous questions, then I'm
going to take my leave. I do have a prisoner to interrogate.”

The duke
smiled. He knew how much joy the captain got from his dealings with
prisoners, and figured the queen would hold even more joy for him.
“These papers state that in the event one of royal blood is proven
to have magical abilities, then they lose their title and all which
goes with it.”

Jacob became
even more upset. “It wasn't the king who has these abilities, it's
the queen. She may lose her title, but Jeremy is still ruler of the
Central Lands.”

“Yes, this is
true. Unless his wife comes forward and claims he has abilities as
well. Should that happen, then an inquiry will come about. Even
when it is proven he does not have abilities, the people will never
believe he was unaware his wife and children all possessed these
abilities. He is done!”

Captain Moore
smiled. “If a confession is what you are wanting, then I must get
back to my prisoner. The sooner she makes that statement, the
better it looks for us.”

Elizanne was in
poor shape. After her capture, the captain paraded her through the
streets leading to the castle. Rotten vegetables and fruit were
thrown at her the entire walk, which left the queen disheartened.
She didn’t expect the inhabitants of Keenley to come to her aid,
but she didn’t think this kind of hatred would have been present.
Had the queen been able to lift her head, she would have seen the
looks in the people’s eyes. Very few were doing this out of hatred.
The rotten food was given to them by the soldiers, and all ordered
to toss it at the queen. Punishment if the order was disobeyed, was
death.

Once arriving
at the castle, their route changed. Elizanne was blindfolded, and
moved through a courtyard, then what sounded like a stone door
opened. Unfamiliar stale smells assaulted her, and it was then
Elizanne became afraid. They travelled down many flights of stairs,
and then another door opened. Blindfold removed, she was thrown in
a small cell, and whipped until she lost consciousness. For the
last two days, this had been her horror. Whipped until unconscious,
then woken up hours later and have it done all over again. This
last time, however, was worse. Salt was applied to the new wounds
and when she collapsed, Captain Moore only let her stay this way
for a few minutes before forcing her to stay awake the rest of the
night, constantly throwing water on her if she should nod off.
Finally, in the early hours of the morning, he had taken her to the
Room.

The Room
doesn’t look very spectacular, but the moment you enter a feeling
of dread overwhelms you. In the middle of the room sits a chair
below a hole in the wall, which at certain times of day, casts
light on it. When you’re seated in this chair, and the light shines
on you, everything else is blocked out. Elizanne knew something
wasn’t right the moment she sat in the chair, and strapped down.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a chill passed over
her.

“My dear queen,
are you comfortable?” asked Jacob in a sugary voice.

She did not
answer, which didn’t surprise him.

“I am certain
by now you have noticed an odd sense in this room. Perhaps you had
a chill pass over you? Well, you should know this room has been
around since before the Wizards War. Many people were interrogated
by wizards, sitting in that very chair. The magic from blood
spilled from those who possessed magic cover this entire room. In
essence, the life force of so many wronged make up this room.”

The chill
returned, and Elizanne knew he was not lying. It was if the people
who had been tortured before had left a part of themselves in the
room.

The captain
smiled at Elizanne. He leaned towards her and got so close she
could smell the sweat on his skin. “When I am through with you,
there is nothing you will not admit to,” he whispered in her
ear.

“We shall see
about that, Captain Moore,” she replied and he was amazed at the
defiance in her voice. He had thought her to be broken already.
Jacob had seen the look in her eyes as she was being paraded
through the streets, and had assumed her spirit had been
diminished. The whipping and being denied sleep, he had thought
would have finished the job. It never took him more than three days
to get people talking. It was his gift.

Unsure as to
how he should proceed, he regained his composure and left the queen
alone in the room. Soon the sun would be up, and beating down on
her through the slit in the wall. Guards came into the room and
were told she was not to be fed or allowed to fall asleep. Elizanne
took in a deep breath and awaited her fate.

The duke poured
himself a drink, and sat at his desk. He was expecting Lakin to
reply to his message at any time. “He cannot deny me the crown
now,” he muttered to himself, smiling and slowly sipping his drink.
Of course, his message had all but demanded he be made king.

Selwell felt
that perhaps he hadn’t been clear enough with his previous letters
and this was why the Tower had not seen fit to crown him.

A knock on his
door brought him out of his reverie. “Enter.”

Sol entered and
handed him a note. “This just came in from the Tower, my lord.”

Smiling, the
duke took the message. “Thank you,” he replied, and when he noticed
the page still there added, “you are excused.”

Sol tried to
hide his disappointment. “As you wish, my lord,” he said, bowing
and left the room, conveniently leaving the door ajar.

Selwell slowly
sat back in his chair, staring at the folded paper. For some reason
the moment the page had handed it to him, a sense of trepidation
had crept over him. He sighed deeply, confused as to why he was
taking so long to open it. When the doubt started to subside, he
opened the letter.

Dearest Duke
Dubar,

Wonderful news
to hear you have captured Queen Elizanne, and after she had shown
herself to possess magic. Although I am certain you are going to
attempt to get her to confess to other, shall we say,
indiscretions, I demand you cease all attempts immediately!

I hereby order
you to make an example out of her. Place her in a cage and hang it
from a post positioned in front of the castle. Keep it high enough
so people are unable to rescue her, but where the townsfolk are
able to see her rotting. Give them stones, rotten fruit and pointed
sticks to throw at her. Make sure she remains in that cage until
long after she has died. Let her corpse send a message!

As for the
Prince and Princess, I am sure you are doing all you can to find
them. Please keep me informed.

Sincerely
yours,

Lord Lakin

Selwell was
stunned. Nothing written about giving him the crown, the strange
order to cease getting a confession from her and then the way she
was to be dealt with. It was fitting, but not without a confession.
They needed it to make it a legal punishment, but nothing shocked
him more than how it was signed. Lord Lakin. The signature alone
spoke a thousand words. Although it was a fitting title, given how
much control he had over the Central Lands, never had Lakin used
it. The duke was suddenly frightened. Had he overstepped by
demanding to be made king? Was this Lakin's way of letting him
know? Too many thoughts flitted through his mind, and none of them
were pleasant.

“Bad news my
lord?” asked Sol.

The duke looked
up at the page. “Where is Captain Moore?”

“Last I saw
him; he was in the courtyard training with a few of his men.”

“Please ask him
to attend to me as soon as he is able.”

Sol bowed, “Of
course, my lord.” Upon leaving the study, he couldn't help but
wonder if the expression he saw on the duke's face was a good sign,
or horrible one.

Arriving at the
courtyard Sol heard the grunts of the captain. There in the middle,
he stood alone. Moving through his exercises, he looked at peace.
Spotting the page, he stopped. “Do you require something, page?” he
asked with a sneer.

“Duke Dubar
wishes for you to attend him in his study as soon as you are able
to, captain,” responded Sol, his voice showing no sign of being
intimidated.

“Fine. Tell him
once I am cleaned up I will be there.”

Sol nodded and
left. On his way back to the duke's study, he couldn't help but
notice the similarities in the moods of both the duke and the
captain. Something very wrong was going on in the castle, and he
wasn't sure if he wanted to be around when it all came to a
head.

Just over an
hour later, Jacob entered the duke's study. The first think he
noticed was the haggard look on Dubar’s face. “Is something the
matter?” he asked, sitting himself down.

Before the duke
could answer, two guards burst into the room. Jacob jumped to his
feet, for they were the two he had set to watch Elizanne.

“My Lord, the
Queen is gone!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

A poor night’s
sleep and an early cold morning meal had Koral and Eric in a foul
mood. They had been devastated after watching their mother be taken
away, but that had turned into anger. The rest of their group was
not fairing much better. They had to leave the area, and quickly.
Soldiers were certain to start doing regular searches of the
surrounding forest in hopes of capturing them, but Eric and Koral
had refused.

“We have to
save her,” yelled Koral. She and Eric had been arguing all morning
with the rest of the group.

“You must see
this quest through, then we will focus on your mother,” was
Gillock’s calm reply.

Grund, however,
had heard enough. “Ye be willin' to destroy yur world fer this?” he
asked, his gruff voice sounding deeper and menacing.

Eric started to
reply, when the goblins came up and stopped him. “Wez not gos
homes. Wez gives ups alls forz youses,” said Nak, is voice full of
emotion. “Yous fails, wez dies”

“As do we,”
stated Glavlin.

Eric glanced
around at all the faces staring at him, and finally saw things in
perspective. “They are right, Koral. We cannot be selfish in this.
Too many could die.”

Koral, having
come to the same conclusion, hung her head in shame. “I am truly
sorry,” she said quietly. Looking up at those regarding her, they
saw the tears.

Gillock reached
out and took her hands. “We are close to finishing this task. Where
we need to be is a less than a week away.”

Koral nodded.
“Then we should be on our way.”

Maeve, having
remained back so as to not interrupt the confrontation, moved
forward. “There are soldier barracks to the west of us.
Unfortunately, we have to pass near them to get to Deaths Boundary.
My contacts have said most of the soldiers have been on training
patrols even further west and north. If we are lucky, there won't
be many around to worry about.”

“We will be
moving through the forest, but following the same direction as the
road,” stated Darly. “Leaving the horses behind will make it easier
to keep our trail hidden.”

“The moving
will be quick, where permitted,” added Mekken. “Everyone is going
to have to maintain my pace. Once we are past the barracks there
should be less trouble.”

Everyone
agreed. Mekken and Darly took the lead as scouts, followed by Maeve
and Glavlin. The goblins and Gillock surrounded Eric and Koral,
with Grund and Drundle bringing up the rear.