Authors: Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
It wasn’t until they had finished eating that the crew of the
Snake’s Bane
, led by Boson Pinchpurse, arrived. Ned touched Colin on the shoulder as he took a place on the bench beside him. “Sorry, lad. We tried to give chase in the
Bane
but he were long gone. Some fisherman said he saw the blackguard trying to dock at his island, but a mermaid was screaming at him and wouldn’t give him a chance to unhitch his swans so he could fly away on them. That’s what the fisherman said, leastways. Too much ale, I’m thinkin’.”
“Believe it or not, Ned, he was probably cold sober,” said Colin, who was not, and was very weary besides.
“Anyway,” said Ned, “this fisherman says the last he seen of the wizard ’e was headin’ out to sea.”
“He did say he was going to see the princess,” Maggie said.
“Yes, ma’am, and he’ll have a bit of a trip in that little boat of his. But them giant swans the lad here told us of will be makin’ their own wind, and it’s too calm for the
Bane
to make much headway, so we lost him, as I said.”
“No matter,” said Lord Rowan. “Now that we know how to break his spells we can supply everyone, including Princess Pegeen, with liberal amounts of salt. I doubt he’ll stand much chance of being nominated on his personal integrity alone. Especially not after I lodge my complaint with the council.”
“You know,” said Maggie, “I’m not so sure this country and our magic folk are deteriorating at all. Your ancestors Rowan the Rampaging and Rowan the Reckless would never have thought to lodge a complaint with the council over a wizard-induced misunderstanding.”
Rowan laughed. “No, more likely they’d have slaughtered every available wizard and gypsy in the land.” He hugged Amberwine, who sat at his side sipping tea from a pottery cup. “Not to mention the lady.”
“We’re lucky you came when you did,” Colin said.
“Well—yes. It would have been better if I’d come with you at once, but I’m still Rowan enough that I listened to my pride for awhile before I set out to follow you. I’d decided by the time I met Zorah that I was no fit king, or even much of a hero, if I let my sister-in-law do all the rescuing in the family. And when Zorah told me the mess you’d got into…” He glared across the table at Xenobia and Davey.
“How did you know where we were, though?” Maggie asked.
“Zorah said you were off to find the Sorcerer of Dragon Bay, since she’d extracted Colin’s promise to get that scamp’s heart.” He indicated Davey, who studied the food he was carefully masticating twenty chews to the mouthful, “And the last day, your Aunt Sybil’s budgie bird come bringing us a message that you’re up t’ the sorcerer’s place and something was amiss.”
“We was about to leave port when ’is lor’ship come askin’ for you, lad,” said Neddy. “We didn’t like leavin’ you, after you’d saved the ship and all, but when we went back to the rock, you was gone. So as I say, we was just lucky he come when ’e did.”
“Whew,” said Maggie. “
You
were lucky!”
“I have some unfinished business,” said Rowan, rising to his feet. “It pains me, sir,” he said to Davey, “for His Highness of Ablemarle is a fine man, or bear, depending on how you look at him, and he tells me you’re his son and acquitted yourself nobly in the dragon affair. But you’ve offended the honor of m’ lady and for that you’ll have to answer.”
“No!” Zorah lept to her feet as well. “Do you think I brought you here so you could kill him?”
Rowan looked bewildered. He was honor-bound to Zorah as much as he was to avenging the insult. While he was trying to decide if it was more important to avenge a reputation lost than to reward a life saved, Amberwine tugged on his sleeve till he sat down.
“I only regret we let the villain get away before we got that heart for Davey,” said His Highness. “He was such a good boy once.”
“Is this it?” asked Amberwine, pulling it from her pocket. Its jeweled light danced across their eyes.
“Winnie,” said Maggie, “How ever did you…?”
“When your uncle put the bear to sleep, Maggie, I saw it sitting about, and dropped it in my pocket while they were all watching you. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed important to you,” she said the last to the bear as she gently set it in his paws.
His Highness rose and made Amberwine a bow. “Madam, if I wouldn’t wet you to the elbow in so doing I’d kiss your hand.” He climbed heavily over the bench and lumbered on his hind legs to where Davey sat beside his mother. The cynical smile on Davey’s lips as the bear pressed the crystal against his empty beast underwent a subtle change. “Be a man, my son,” said the bear as the light gradually was absorbed into Davey. While everybody was busy feeling touched, the bear changed back into human form and embraced his son.
The innkeeper’s wife screamed at the naked prince as she had not screamed to see a bear at her table. Rowan hastily handed the prince a cloak. Enchantments were sometimes careless about details.
“Ah, yes,” sighed Xenobia. “I believe I do like you better in that form.”
“Can you forgive me my callousness, dear lady?” asked the prince, who, if not young and handsome, was, as they all knew, brave and kind and intelligent, which was the same thing, only better. Actually, Maggie thought he still looked like a bear. His hair and beard were dark and curly, and before Rowan had produced the cloak his body hair had seemed equally copious—and he was a short, stocky, sturdy-built man. But what had been little dim bear eyes were now luminous and chocolate-drop brown as they looked kindly at the gypsy woman. “Had it not been for you I’d now be a hearthrug for that murderous magician.”
“Had it not been for me, you wouldn’t have been in such a condition. Of course I forgive you, Worthy…” and they went on in that vein for some time, until they too finally stopped to watch the long, passionate clench that Davey and Zorah were indulging in, much to the general edification of the crew of the
Bane
, who had filled up the rest of the inn and were cheering and laughing and taking bets on how long the couple could hold out without coming up for air.
Finally they did, however, and Davey, handing Zorah the empty prism that had once imprisoned the best part of him, sighed. “Ah, Zorah, darling. And to think I didn’t know I cared!”
It was altogether an extremely long night. If matters had been left strictly up to the initial participants in the situation, everyone would have retired early. But the crew of the
Bane
had seized the occasion as one suitable for celebration and a great deal of drinking, singing, and lying ensued on the part of all and sundry.
At one point in the festivities, Colin returned to the
Bane
to pick up his kit, guitar, and Obtruncator, plus the soggy remnants of his beloved fiddle, rescued by Neddy from the rock. He returned the sword to Rowan. “I thank you for its use, sir, but it didn’t suit me like my fiddle did. That’s ruined now, but I can make merry enough with my guitar, if Neddy and his hornpipe and Tom on the concertina give a hand.”
“Suit yourself, lad,” said Rowan. “But I have a wish that you’d hold on to Obtruncator a spell longer. I’d the feeling there was something following us in the wood almost until we approached the Bay.”
Colin groaned, as he had had more adventure than he expected ever to want to see again. “Of course you needn’t go back with us,” Rowan said quickly. “The captain tells me he’ll be delighted to have you on the
Snake’s Bane
. Say the word, and I’ll ask him to ’prentice you as an officer trainee so that you can accept an admiralty I’d like to offer you in the King’s Navy—if I’m the king, that is.”
Colin nodded, but said, “That’s kind of you, my Lord, but I’m afraid my new friends might be put off a little at such grand promotions not obtained—er—in the line of duty. I’ll see you safely to the castle, and perhaps you could use my services till you’re ready to return to Queenston for the election? I’ve never been to court before, other than as a student. I might wait there till the
Bane
returns, to sail with her next time around.”
No sooner had the
Bane
put to sea than the gypsy band came tumbling into the town. Rowan was saddling his horse when Prince Worthyman and Davey came to tell him that they wouldn’t be going along back to Castle Rowan after all. “I’ve decided not to return to Ablemarle for now,” the prince explained. “I want to spend some time with Xenobia and my son here, and now that I’m not in a cage I rather enjoy the gypsy life.”
“Will you let your brother know you’re alive then, Highness?” asked Rowan.
“Only if he gives you any trouble when you take over rule of Argonia. Perhaps then I could be a bargaining point…”
“Spoken like a born statesman, Prince.” Rowan’s huge hands engulfed Worthyman’s as he said goodbye. “I hope I may count on you for advice, in case I’m elected.”
The coming of the gypsies to Dragon Bay was not to be the last event that morning to ruffle the town’s composure.
Suddenly people ran screaming in an orgy of frenzied terror as Grizel and Grimley flew low over the streets, as though they were looking for someone.
“Eeeeeek!” shrieked the innkeeper’s wife. “’Tis the sorcerer’s revenge! They’ve returned to murder us all in our beds!”
“You’re not
in
your bed,” pointed out his lordship, “But Mistress Maggie and her cat are. I suggest you fetch them here.”
A tangle-haired Maggie was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she came downstairs, and Ching had to pause to wash a paw, having yet to complete his toilet.
After good-morning-did-you-sleep-wells all around, Rowan told her what he had in mind. “You talk to the cat, lass, do you not?”
She yawned and nodded.
“Do you think he’d serve as me recruitment officer for a moment or two?”
When Maggie had secured Ching’s agreement, he walked out a short way from them, and in one or two flips of his tail, he was joined by both dragons, right there in the middle of the corner at Bayshore and Second Avenue.
In a moment he came sauntering back to Maggie and Rowan. “You can tell him,” Ching said, “that the dragons will be happy to move out to his place in exchange for their own sheep and cattle herds and all the enemy bandits they can eat. I think they’d go for anything that involves eating and flying about, but Grizel says they were thinking of moving to a better neighborhood anyway, with more room, as there may be little dragonets along in another year or two.”
Maggie told Rowan, who gave the dragons the universal sign for victory.
Ching continued. “And if you don’t mind very much, witch, Grimley would like to know if the Mighty Enchantress—I suppose that’s you, as you’re the only one answering a description anything like that—would very much mind restoring his fire. Grizel is delighted to cook for him, naturally, but he says he misses the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.”
22
It was still chilly early morning when Winnie hugged Maggie one more time, carefully, with one arm only, for the other cradled little Bronwyn. They had breakfasted in the kitchen, to save time, and Rowan and his lady had risen early to say goodbye.
“I wish you could stay longer,” Winnie said. “It’s been so much brighter here with you about.”
“It certainly has,” said Cook, handing Rowan a lidded basket. “After you shined the brass, polished all the silver, cleaned the chimneys, swept the entire keep from top to bottom, waxed all the floors, and washed the walls and windows, not to mention laundering the carpets and draperies, it’s very bright around here indeed. Tell me, is your sort of witchcraft common? I hope not, or you’ll put the entire servant class on the streets to beg…”
“At least she’s earned her ride out of the rowan groves by polishing all the diamonds in Grizel’s new nest,” Rowan laughed.
“Ching did say Grizel greatly appreciated my little house-warming present,” Maggie admitted.
“I wish you’d let her take you all the way, or at least let me provide you an escort, if you won’t wait until after the coronation when we all come north for the christening,” said Rowan, who was now officially king-elect. Maggie had stayed to help and keep Winnie company while Rowan was in the capitol for the tribunal and for the many other government conclaves that eventually led to his selection as king. She had spent the last six weeks helping Winnie pack what she wished to take to Queenston and make arrangements for the management of the estates in their absence.
In a day or two, the soon-to-be royal family would be leaving for the capitol, and Maggie really did need to return now to Fort Iceworm. Aunt Sybil’s budgie, flying high above the rowan trees, had brought word that while Sir William’s health had vastly improved, his temper had not. Granny Brown did not possess Maggie’s administrative abilities, and had already turned Sir William’s solicitor into a weasel and one of the local merchants into a raccoon. So it was time for her to return home, but she was in no great hurry to get back to what awaited her.
“I’ll have escort soon enough,” she reminded Rowan. “I’ll be traveling in your lands almost the entire two days’ journey till I’m to meet Xenobia’s caravan, and that whole way I’ll be in plain view of Grizel and Grimley’s patrol flights.”
“Very well, lass, I know you’ve your own mind, and that’s been to my benefit. Are you sure there’s no royal boon I can grant you in parting?” Maggie shook her head and occupied herself with undoing her pack to check it one more time.