Chapter 6-3
2006 Words
“I don’t understand. Were you not speaking to His Highness? Didn’t you say he wanted to speak with me?” The captain frowned, “I see… Is he now planning to send me on some impossible mission where my life will virtually be forfeit? Is that what it is?” The captain sighed and sipped his tea. “At least then, I may have the chance to redeem myself in his eyes.”
“No, I’m afraid your situation is both better and worse than that.” Danton glanced at him, “You may still serve the royal family but not as you have been used to.”
“Am I to become a servant then? For mercy’s sake, man. Spit it out. What is my fate to be?”
Prince Tarkyn walked out into the clearing, “Your fate, should you choose it, is to serve me.”
The captain threw down his cup, scrambled to his feet and, despite his warring emotions, bowed deeply. He stayed bent over, hand on heart until Tarkyn permitted him to rise. When the captain straightened, he swayed slightly, still weak from his injuries, but his face was an impassive mask.
“You may be seated before you fall over. Danton, you may procure us both another cup of tea since Captain Harkell seems to have thrown his last one away.” Tarkyn paused. “Out of interest, did you check whether the captain was armed?”
Danton bowed his head in apology, “No, Your Highness. I did not think of it.”
Tarkyn looked at Harkell, “I will depend on your honour to answer me truthfully. Are you armed?”
After a fractional pause, the captain answered, “Yes, Your Highness. I am carrying a small knife inside my left ankle.”
“Be so good as to hand it to Danton, if you don’t mind.”
“I would prefer to keep it, Your Highness.”
Tarkyn gave a gentle smile, “I’m sure you would. However, despite the wording, that was not a request.”
“I beg your pardon, sire. Here.” Captain Harkell drew out his knife and handed it to Danton with a hand that still trembled from the aftermath of the attack on him.
Tarkyn watched the man closely, checking for any signs of subterfuge, trying to gauge his calibre. The captain was in his mid-thirties. His dark wavy hair was matted with sweat and his soft brown eyes roved the clearing looking for clues about his location and the threats facing him.
“Captain Harkell, I am sorry that Danton misled you into thinking that my brother had returned for you. I myself do not like to deal in such subterfuge. However, we feared you had lost the will to live and so, Danton gave you a reason to recover. He did not so much lie as word things ambiguously. I beg your pardon. As his liege lord, I must take responsibility for his behaviour.” Tarkyn threw Danton a look of displeasure while he waited for the soldier’s reaction.
The captain was not yet able to deal with the subtleties of Danton’s veracity. He frowned, “So how long have I been here? I must have been here for weeks. My back has already healed.”
Tarkyn smiled and shook his head, “No. Danton cut you down from that tree less than two hours ago. I healed your back. Remember the stream of strength that came into you through your shoulder? That didn’t take weeks. It took less than an hour.”
“Did you do that? That’s amazing. Hmm.” The captain accepted another cup of tea from Danton with a nod of thanks. “So, why would you help someone who had ridden out to capture you? At least, I presume that’s what we were doing. Prince Jarand didn’t say more than that we were trying to track down some sorcerers that Greyskies had seen in the swamp. But when you turned up, I assumed that must have been what we were doing.”
“I sensed your pain.” Tarkyn shook his head and grimaced, “Your suffering was so intense that it transmitted itself to me.”
“That doesn’t mean you had to do anything about it,” said the captain stiffly, embarrassed at having shared his experience.
Danton glanced at Tarkyn and smiled, “You don’t know this prince. It absolutely meant he had to do something about it, especially when it was our ploys that made you fail to protect Prince Jarand.”
“And so now what?” asked the Captain, “Will you force me to stay here and serve you as some sort of prisoner of war?”
“I thought you were honoured to serve the royal family,” said Danton dryly.
The soldier ran his hand through his matted hair. “I am… or I was. I still am. But I have always served Prince Jarand.” Harkell brought his eyes up to meet Tarkyn’s. “If you and he are in conflict, what sort of loyalty is it that changes horses in mid-stream? One can no longer simply say, ‘I am loyal to the royal family.’ You can’t be loyal to all members of the royal family at the same time anymore.” He dropped his head into his hands. “I’m confused,” he mumbled.
After a moment, he raised his head. “So, before I confuse myself further trying to decide what to do, do I in fact have any options? Or it is as I suggested, that I am being held prisoner?”
“Hmm, Interesting question,” said Tarkyn. “No. You are not being held prisoner. But what your options are, I have no idea. I would not bank on a warm welcome back in Montraya but you must be the judge of that. Perhaps you can roam the countryside and pick up work elsewhere. Perhaps you could become a mercenary away from Jarand’s eye. I am not well versed in these things.” The prince shook out his cup and stood up. He gestured to indicate that Captain Harkell could remain seated. “However, I do not want you by my side unless I have your full support. If you stay with me, you must swear an oath of fealty to me. I will not endanger the people I am with, by countenancing the presence of someone with uncertain loyalties. If you cannot give me your pledge, you are free to go.”
A look of panic passed across the soldier’s face. “Your Highness, must I decide so soon? My world has been turned upside down and I need time to think. My loyalties, my beliefs and my honour are dragging me in all directions. I can’t think straight. Even the information I have about you is in complete conflict. On what am I to base my decision?”
Tarkyn stood glowering down at him, “You could start by considering that Jarand had you flogged and I healed you.”
Harkell shook his head, “It is not as simple as that. It was inevitable that I face the consequences of my failure.”
Tarkyn threw up his hands impatiently. “I am not going to vie with my brother for your loyalty. I will say this one thing, even though you may place little value on it. No one in my service would ever be treated like that, no matter what they had done. I have had two men killed who tied me up and beat me, nearly as badly as you were flogged. Other than that, the worst anyone has endured is a tongue lashing.”
“I need time,” reiterated the captain stoically. “I would not wish to give you my service half-heartedly. I need to be certain.”
“You have two hours,” said Tarkyn shortly. “After that, I leave and you will remain. Danton, stay with Captain Harkell and give him whatever assistance he may require.” Just as he was about to leave, the prince turned back and said, “And Danton, since our friend’s sojourn amongst us may be unexpectedly short, I urge you to remember your vow of secrecy.”
Danton bowed his head, “Yes, Your Highness.”
The two ex-guardsmen were left alone in the clearing.
Captain Harkell glanced sideways at Danton, “You must think I am ungrateful not to jump at the chance of serving your prince after he has put himself out to rescue me and heal my wounds.”
“I think Tarkyn values honour and will respect your decision, whatever it is.” Danton shrugged, “You could have thanked him for his efforts. I think that would not have been too much to ask. And me. I am the one who cut you down and carried you back.” Danton made a mental note to apologise to Rainstorm for not acknowledging his contribution at this point.
“I’m sorry. I was overcome with confusion when the wrong prince appeared. I do thank you both. Without your intercession, I think the crows would have picked the flesh off my back while I hung there.”
Danton gave a shudder. “What a ghastly thought. How is your back now?”
Harkell moved his shoulders back and forth experimentally. “Not bad. A bit stiff but not bad.” He looked at Danton. “So tell me. What do you think I should do?”
Danton knew he was being asked as a fellow officer who would understand loyalty, not as Tarkyn’s liegeman. “I can’t decide for you. Ostensibly, I too have changed loyalties. I was a palace guard in Tormadell and loyal to the king until he turned on Tarkyn. But in reality, I grew up with Tarkyn and have always served him, body and soul.”
“And what would you have done if he had flogged you and left you for dead?”
Danton frowned, then shook his head. When he had repeated this sequence, Harkell asked what he was doing.
Danton smiled wryly, “I am trying to imagine Tarkyn doing that to me. I just can’t. I’ve been whipped scores of times, but not at Tarkyn’s instigation. He fought to save me. He is my liege lord and as such, I trust him and expect him to look after me, even as I look after him. If he did anything like that to me, I could no longer feel safe around him.”
Harkell gave a short derisive laugh, “I have never felt safe around Jarand. I never expected to. So his actions today have not betrayed my trust in him because I never had any.”
“So why do you follow him?”
“Because he is my prince. Because my family have lived on his lands for generations. Because that is what you do, if you live near Montraya.”
“In other words, you never thought about it.”
“No, I didn’t. And even after the flogging, if I had survived, I wouldn’t have. It is only because you and your lord challenge me now, that I even begin to think about the possibility of a different life.” The captain stared into the shadows of the surrounding trees, “So what sort of life would I expect if I chose to stay?”
Danton’s eyes narrowed, “I find your question offensive. A life of service to His Highness is not designed around your comfort. I will not try to entice you or dissuade you, based on the lifestyle.” He shrugged, “That may change anyway. It has certainly changed radically for me. You must make your decision purely on the basis of whether you can commit to Prince Tarkyn.”
“I can’t think. Am I permitted to walk around?”
- Writer
