“When will I be able to see her?” I asked.
“For now, Grandfather will decide,” said Erien. “You still have to learn to use your powers before you can undertake such a long and dangerous journey.”
I nodded while I ambled beside him on my horse, and the cool forest breeze brushed my face as we rode. It had rained the night before, and the forest smelled fresh and new. Tiny droplets of water glistened on emerald leaves, which rustled in the summer breeze and fell to the ground creating little pools on the forest floor.
I tried to concentrate on keeping my horse from wandering off to eat some foliage. It was starting to get dark, and the orange-pink sky was steadily growing dim as we rode along a long worn-out path, back to Silverthorne Castle.
I was plodding along behind Erien when he suddenly stopped.
“Wait!” he said softly, but his voice was tense.
Just then, Erien turned his horse and unsheathed his sword. I whipped my head around, fear rising in my chest. Had Oblek found me again? Were the Shadow Guard here?
A group of men was circling around us, coming out from their hiding places behind the trees. I didn’t even hear them approaching. I guessed learning shielding was not going to help me at that particular moment.
“Get behind me,” Erien said, with an authority in his voice that that I had never heard before.
I moved my horse, but the men were closing in. They were dressed in filthy, brown rags and most had bandanas tied on their faces, obscuring their identities.
“Bandits,” hissed Erien, and jumped off his horse, scowling. “Won’t be much of a fight.”
One of them caught my horse’s bridle. I tried to wrench it away, but he held on tight. Another man caught my leg, and his companion pushed me from the other side, causing me to fall off the horse with a thud and bang my head on the forest floor. I was stunned for a moment as I tried to get up. Rough hands caught hold of me, and I couldn’t get free; there was nowhere to run.
I started to panic. Erien had said these woods were safe, but it wasn’t looking that safe to me right now. The men were now coming at us from all sides. They had surrounded us, and they were still quietly moving forward.
Then the man at the front spoke. “What do we ‘ave ‘ere?” he said, in a strange guttural voice. He had dark matted hair and black, rotten teeth and was the only one who didn’t cover his face. “You look very much like the girl the Shadow Guard are offering a huge reward to capture.”
Erien glanced at me for a second. “You have the wrong girl,” he said, taking a step forward.
The leader just laughed at Erien. “No, in fact, I think I have exactly the right one,” he said as he advanced, with a nasty looking, rusted sword in his hands.
One bandit with filthy, rough hands was still holding on to my arm. They all looked pretty dangerous to me, but Erien didn’t think so. He was going to take them on on his own. What was he thinking? Was he mad?
“Let me go! Let me go!” I screamed and kicked, struggling to get free.
I managed to squirm away from the clawing hands but fell backwards rather painfully on my behind. The bandits had started circling, and my hesitation cut off our escape route. Most of the bandits carried knives and iron implements that served as weapons, although only the leader had a sword.
Suddenly a voice in my head spoke, “Do not worry, little one, I am here.”
I looked up to see Snow flying down towards us, her huge wings spanning out and covering the sky. On her back, looking furious, was Uncle Gabriel, brandishing his flashing sword in his hand.
“Erien!” he barked, as the pegasus landed in the middle of the circle of bandits. “Take Aurora and get back to the castle.” He jumped easily off the pegasus. “I will handle them.”
“He’s a mage,” said one of the men, taking a step back.
“So what? He’s only one. We’re ten of us. The young ones won’t be much trouble. Capture the girl, hand her over to the Shadow Guard, and collect our money—simple,” the bandit leader said, letting out a sick, twisted laugh.
I was terrified. Did Uncle Gabriel really think that he could fight so many of them?
“You dare to threaten a lord of Eldoren,” said Uncle Gabriel, looking more menacing than I had ever seen him. “I have had reports of a group of bandits in these woods that have been terrorizing travelers. I think this is a perfect opportunity to get rid of you lot for good.”
The bandit leader sneered, “You’re just one old man. What can you do?”
Another bandit didn’t look too convinced. “That’s the Duke of Silverthorne himself,” he hissed in the leader’s ear. “I was in his dungeon for three years. Maybe we’d better get moving.”
“He’s got no guards,” spat the leader. “We’ll finish him off here in the woods and make an example. The nobility think that they can do whatever they want. But I will make them pay for it. I will make ‘em think twice b’fore—”
His words were cut off as Uncle Gabriel swung his huge sword, cutting down the leader in one clean sweep. He fell to the ground in a mass of crimson while another two bandits dropped their weapons and ran for their lives.
“Who’s next?” said Uncle Gabriel, whirling his sword in his hand with such dexterity that I could only look with wonder. I needed to learn to fight like that, I thought suddenly to myself.
The rest of the bandits were still closing in on us.
“They are just bandits; none have magic. I’ll take care of them,” said Uncle Gabriel. “Go! I will see you at the castle.”
Twilight was upon us, and dark shadows moved about the forest floor like additional warriors in the fight. Uncle Gabriel took a step forward towards a group of three bandits, who were now looking very unsure of themselves.
“Create a shield, and get on Snow,” said Uncle Gabriel to me quietly, so only I could hear.
I nodded, closed my eyes and concentrated hard. I infused myself with the white light and drew a magical shield around myself. Snow was struggling, as two bandits caught her mane. She could have flown off, but she was waiting for me.
“Shield yourself, and run towards me
,”
said Snow’s voice, calming my distressed mind.
I looked around; we were completely surrounded, and the bandits were still coming. They were now circling Uncle Gabriel and Erien. I got up from a sprawled heap, gathered my skirt, and ran towards Snow. It was hard, trying to concentrate and keep my shield around me at the same time.
Suddenly a knife came whizzing towards me and bounced off my invisible shield just inches from my face. I whirled around to see Uncle Gabriel shoot bolts of white light from his fingertips, and two men crumpled before my eyes. There were four more bandits left, and they were advancing, with two more still holding on to Snow. How many of them were there? I couldn’t even count. They kept materializing one by one, out from behind the trees.
“Run now!” Uncle Gabriel said urgently to me. “Erien! Go with her.”
“But I want to fight,” said Erien childishly.
Uncle Gabriel looked furious. “By the Gods, Erien, I said go now! Hold your shield until you are both out of harm’s way.”
Erien ran with me towards Snow.
I looked back for a second and saw that Uncle Gabriel was now battling the rest of the bandits with his sword. He whirled around and fought like a young man. I was amazed at his agility and strength. I ran as fast as I could and pulled myself up onto Snow’s back with the help of her mane. Erien fought the men holding the pegasus, and I had to admit he was pretty fast and quite a good swordsman. The bandit’s weapons were flung away as they ran from Erien’s flashing sword. He jumped onto Snow behind me.
“Shouldn’t we go back?” I said to Erien. “What if Uncle Gabriel needs help?”
Erien laughed, completely undaunted. “Oh, Grandfather can take care of himself,” he said. “It’s the bandits who you have to worry about. I just hope he doesn’t hurt them too badly; the last lot couldn’t stand trial for a month until they had healed.” He laughed again, as if at some secret joke.
Snow cantered gracefully along the forest path, spread out her powerful white wings, and flew off into the sky towards Silverthorne Castle.
13
The Heir
By now the whole of Silverthorne Castle was awake. Uncle Gabriel came striding into the courtyard with a thunderous look on his aging face.
“How did he get here before us?” I asked Erien. “The last time I saw him he was battling bandits in the woods, and now he’s back here at the castle as if he never left.”
“The forests around these parts have gateways that lead in and out of the castle,” whispered Erien. “The fae have left them all over the place. We used to use this one very often when we played Princes and Dragons.”
I nodded, understanding. Rafe had explained about the fae gateways.
Aunt Serena followed her father and appeared just as angry as him. Uncle Gabriel looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. First, he called to some of his guards and gave them the precise location of the bandits.
“We really need to have a talk, young lady,” said Uncle Gabriel, coming up to me. “Do you not understand the dangers that surround you, or do you openly want to defy authority? Tonight’s performance has greatly disappointed me.”
I hung my head in shame. I didn’t want to be a disappointment, I just wanted to have some fun and learn about this world, so that I wouldn’t be as ignorant about the dangers anymore.
“How could you sneak out of the castle without telling us?” Aunt Serena added. She also looked extremely upset. “I was almost eighteen summers before I was allowed out of the castle alone. You’ve only been here a few days and already you are sneaking out and getting caught by bandits in the woods. What if there was something else out there other than just bandits? You may not have been so lucky.”
“And you,” she said, turning to Erien, “have you no sense? Aurora has no way to defend herself yet. Do have any idea what losing her would mean to us, to the kingdom, to all the kingdoms? I cannot even begin to think what will happen if she . . .”
“Enough, Serena,” said Uncle Gabriel sternly. “This is not the time and the place to talk about this. We shall retire for the night, and in the morning we can decide what has to be done.”
“All right, let us go back inside,” said Aunt Serena. “It’s late and you must be very tired.”
I nodded.
“And Erien, you are confined to your quarters until I say otherwise. Is that clear?” said his mother, looking at her son fiercely.
Erien just nodded, looking very sheepish.
“It wasn’t his fault; I made him take me. I threatened him,” I lied, trying to save my cousin from a seriously long grounding. I hated lying, but it would be just horrible if Erien were blamed because I begged him to take me.
“I highly doubt that,” said Uncle Gabriel, “but, all the same, I will have to have a talk with you, young man. Now, I don’t want any more arguments from you, Aurora. Get to your room immediately, and stay there.”
I knew better than to argue when he was in this mood and nodded. I had expected the punishment to be worse. The note of finality in his voice was enough for me to know that there was no use arguing now.
“Sorry, Snow,” I said to the pegasus in my mind. “I nearly got you captured again.”
“I’m fine. Just get some rest, my dear,” said Snow.
I half turned to see Snow being gently led away by one of the other grooms.
“Snow?” I said. “How come you let the Duke ride you? I thought only the royal fae can ride a pegasus.”
“No, my dear one, a pegasus has a choice whom they allow to ride them,” said Snow, still walking away. “Your uncle came to me, told me you may be in danger, and asked for my help to get him there in time.”
“You can speak to others too?” I asked, genuinely surprised.
“Not exactly. I can understand what people say, although I cannot reply,” said Snow.
“Thank you,” I said, meaning every word. What would I have done without her?
“No, no, my dear little princess. I am here to protect you. Call to me whenever you are in trouble. Wherever I am, I will come to you,” said Snow as she walked gracefully away into the duke’s magnificent stables, her beautiful wings shimmering white in the moonlight.
The next morning was awkward. Uncle Gabriel didn’t speak to me at breakfast. I guessed he was still very angry about last night. The breakfast room was a light and airy place. Not exactly a room, but a lovely little gazebo, which was attached to the informal dining room of the castle, overlooking the vast gardens of Silverthorne Castle.
Aunt Serena made polite conversation, and Erien, completely unaware of the tension in the room, was tucking away into his eggs and fried ham like it was his last meal. Everything was delicious, but I couldn’t eat. I played with my boiled egg and nibbled on a slice of freshly baked bread filled with delicious dried fruits and nuts. I then washed it down with a cinnamon-infused honey and milk concoction, which was apparently Erien’s favorite and something the cook always made when he was residing in the castle.
I was supposed to go straight to my room after breakfast, but I meandered a little, strolling through the flowering courtyards and long corridors until I ended up, quite unconsciously, outside Uncle Gabriel’s study.
I heard Aunt Serena mention my name, and I went closer to have a small peek, since the door wasn’t completely shut. I knew it was wrong, but my curiosity got the better of me.
“She must go,” Uncle Gabriel was saying.
“It will be difficult for her to stay hidden,” said Aunt Serena.
The door opened suddenly, and Uncle Gabriel’s stormy face came into view.
“Come in, Aurora,” said Uncle Gabriel in an exasperated voice.
I rolled my eyes. How did he know I was eavesdropping? Aunt Serena smiled at me as I entered the room and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. What had they been talking about when I had very rudely interrupted them? I wondered.
“Well,” said Uncle Gabriel curtly, rubbing his temples with his fingers. “Sit down, Aurora.”
He sounded tired. I was getting a little worried about where the conversation was leading. I tried to fight the panic that had started accumulating in my chest. Would they throw me out just because I went into the woods? Would they punish me because I was eavesdropping? I had no idea what they were going to say or do. I sat down on the chair next to Aunt Serena.