The Wizard's Curse

Chapter 2-2

When they arrived back at the stream, Rainstorm was sitting where Tarkyn had left him, methodically breaking bits off the end of a stick, just as Tarkyn always did. As they approached, he looked up and Tarkyn could see the strain on his face.

“I’m really sorry, Tarkyn…” he began.

Tarkyn waved a hand. “You have already apologised. Once is enough. I accept your apology.”

Rainstorm let out a sigh of relief. “And are we still friends?”

“Yes. We are still friends.” It looked as though he would say more but then changed his mind and said, “What needed to be said has been said. Let’s leave it behind us.”

“But will you trust me to keep your confidence next time?”

Tarkyn looked at him for a moment. “Probably. I don’t think you’ll pull a stunt like this again, but you might blurt something out if you were angry. So, it would depend what it was.”

Surprisingly, Rainstorm took this in good part. “Fair enough, Your Highness.”

Tarkyn’s eyebrows twitched a little at Rainstorm’s use of his title. It suggested a certain distance in their relationship that had not been there before. But Tarkyn did not comment on it, deciding to give things time to repair. After all, he couldn’t berate Rainstorm one minute for being too familiar and then criticise him for being too formal the next.

“Come on,” said Tarkyn, offering his hand. He pulled Rainstorm to his feet. “Let’s go back and plan our next moves.” He gave a little smile. “While we’re walking back, you can put their minds at rest about my wellbeing, if you like. You could also let them know my suggestions for future actions. That will give them time to think about it.”

While Ancient Oak went out of focus to mindtalk with the others, Rainstorm frowned suspiciously at Tarkyn and asked, “What are you smiling at?”

Tarkyn’s smile broadened. “Having all of you looking after me. It’s quite nice in its way.”

“Haven’t you always had people looking after you?”

Tarkyn considered for a moment before replying. “I suppose so. Certainly, in a practical or material sense. But most people looked after me as part of their role. Looking after my needs was the job that they were paid for.”

“What?” Rainstorm looked profoundly shocked. “Did none of them genuinely care for you at all, Your Highness? I can’t believe that.”

Tarkyn gave a rueful smile. “I’m sure some of them did, but they would always have had the ulterior motive of making sure they kept their position in the Royal household.”

“What about Danton? He seems to care about you.”

Tarkyn put his head on one side. “You know, it has only been since he came to find me that I have really understood how much.” He shrugged. “The trouble with being a prince is that you just don’t know who would still be there if you didn’t have the power, money and influence.”

“So, why is it any different with us?” asked Ancient Oak, joining the conversation.

Tarkyn was a little taken aback but made a recovery after a few moments’ thought.

“It feels different. You two came to see if I was all right, not because I was in danger or because the oath required it. Waterstone spent hours, days, looking after me when I was recovering when there was no payment or requirement to.” He nodded at Rainstorm. “You came swimming with me in that freezing stream yesterday because you knew I’d been upset. You didn’t have to. You could have stood on the bank or not come down to the stream with me at all.”

“Well, obviously, we’re not interested in money, but maybe we just want to share your power and influence,” suggested Ancient Oak, playing devil’s advocate.

Now, a hint of uncertainty passed over Tarkyn’s face.

“Stop it!” Rainstorm intervened firmly, “Tarkyn is only just learning to trust us, or anybody for that matter. Don’t confuse him.” He glanced up at the prince. “You were right the first time. We do care about you, above and beyond the oath. You know for a fact that I do because I wasn’t even under the oath to begin with. And I couldn’t give a toss for power and influence.”

“I’m sorry, Tarkyn. I was just teasing,” said Ancient Oak, giving his adoptive brother a pat on the back. “I care no more for power and influence than I do for money. Woodfolk are used to having a fair say in things that matter. It’s usually a given, so it’s not something we hanker after.”

Tarkyn’s face relaxed into a smile, but Ancient Oaks’ last words had given him food for thought. As long as the woodfolk had a fair say, they wouldn’t be angling for power; but if he upset their traditional decision-making too much, he would become the focus for power and attract the same sort of conniving attention that he had been the target for at court. So far, he had insisted that the woodfolk keep their decision-making capacity, but the urgency of recent events had meant that he had taken the lead on planning out their activities. With a jolt, he realised that he was quickly slipping back into his more accustomed role of being dictatorial.

“Ancient Oak, you’d better send everyone another message asking them for any other better ideas, if they have them, about what we should be doing.”

Ancient Oak regarded him quizzically for a moment before going out of focus to relay the message. When he had finished, he said, “I wasn’t trying to make a point, you know.”

“I didn’t think you were. I just suddenly realised the dangers of assuming too much authority. I can do it, but it will have consequences for me as well as for everyone else.” Suddenly Tarkyn grinned. “I can remember when Waterstone first offered me his friendship, I told him I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t just using me for his own ends. That’s the problem with wielding too much power. You can’t be sure of anyone.”

Ancient Oak boggled at him. “You said that to Waterstone? He must have been livid!”

Tarkyn chortled. “He was. He was furious!” Then his face fell. “But soon after that, the controversy over Falling Rain’s exile reared its head and he began to realise why I was so circumspect about professed friendships. In fact, when he realised the complications, he nearly retracted his offer of friendship to me altogether.”

“Wolf’s teeth, Tarkyn. That was a bit rough.” Ancient Oak frowned. “I’m surprised at Waterstone. You can’t just be a person’s friend one day and then change your mind when it gets a bit difficult. True friendship is not like that.”

Tarkyn gave a slight smile. “Don’t judge him too harshly. He was the first woodman to risk getting to know me. Neither of us knew at that stage how we were going to co-exist under the oath. Neither of us knew that I wasn’t going to assume total control. If I had done so, his friendship with me would have made him a target for woodfolk seeking to influence my decisions, just as I had been a target for those seeking influence with my brothers at court. He wasn’t sure that he would know how to manage that…and on top of everything, I still didn’t fully trust him at that stage.”

“Still…”

Tarkyn shook his head. “No, not still. It was really just Waterstone’s way of saying he didn’t know how to cope with the challenge of being around me. He’d just wrecked part of the forest with his temper too. So, he was feeling very bad about that and was worried about it happening again.” Tarkyn shrugged. “That’s the main reason I maintain my permission for him to attack me if he needs to, and why I have given it to you two and a couple of others, as well. Damage to the forest is too wicked a consequence for a temper outburst, especially when I am perfectly capable of defending myself.”

“I didn’t realise he’d damaged the forest,” mused Ancient Oak. “He hasn’t told me any of this.”

“Hasn’t he?” Tarkyn grimaced. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you either, then.” He thought for a moment. “But all the home guard know about the damage to the forest. We all worked on repairing it together. So, it’s not really a secret, is it?”

“So, what decided you to trust him in the end?” asked Rainstorm.

Tarkyn glanced at him. “Trust you to be the one to ask the awkward question.” He shook his head. “Now, that really would be breaking Waterstone’s confidence to tell you that. You will have to ask him and see whether he will tell you. I don’t feel that I can. However, I can tell you that it was an act of extreme courage on his part that decided the issue.”

“What? Did he save your life?”

“Rainstorm, I’m not going to tell you. So stop guessing. He did save my life at one time but that could just have been the oath, so it proved nothing. You will have to ask Waterstone. And don’t say I asked him to tell you, because it is totally up to him. Clear?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” replied Rainstorm meekly.

Tarkyn gave a short laugh. “And I think we have had quite enough of the ‘Yes, Your Highness,’ ‘No Your Highness.’ You can go back to calling me Prince or Tarkyn anytime you’re ready.”

Rainstorm grinned. “Thanks, Prince. If you’re sure that’s not being too familiar.”

“Don’t push your luck, Rainstorm.”

The young woodman sighed. “I can see why Waterstone thought it was a challenge being around you. It really is quite tricky trying to figure out how to act with you.”

“Oh, good,” replied Tarkyn, completely unfazed by this little gambit. “The world is back on its axis then. It’s well-known that I’m difficult to be around. Ask anyone. So, if you’re finding that too, everything must be back to normal.”

Rainstorm subsided with a little huff, and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Tarkyn ruffled Rainstorm’s hair and gave him a couple of hearty thumps on the back. “Come on, Rainstorm. We’ll sort it out. We’ve only had one run-in with each other, so far, not counting your fight with Danton. Considering how much you like to rub people up the wrong way and how difficult I am to figure out, I’d say we’re doing pretty well.”

Rainstorm pushed his arm away but gave a reluctant smile. “I guess we are, if you put it like that.”

As they approached the firesite, Summer Rain came down to meet them.

Tarkyn frowned in sudden anxiety. “Is Autumn Leaves all right?”

The healer smiled reassuringly. “Yes. He’s fine. I wanted to talk to you about Golden Toad, Rushwind and Ibis Wings, the woodfolk we rescued.”

“Go on.” As he spoke with Summer Rain, Tarkyn noticed with some trepidation that his two companions were making a beeline for Waterstone. However, as his attention was being firmly claimed by Summer Rain, there wasn’t much he could do but leave Waterstone to his fate.

“You know that Golden Toad and his family contracted an infection some time ago that robbed them of their mindtalking abilities?” asked Summer Rain. When Tarkyn nodded, she continued, “I was wondering whether you, as forest guardian, could use your esse to restore their mindtalking. They would be much safer if they could keep in contact with everyone else.”

“Yes, they would. I would be pleased to help them if I can,” replied Tarkyn, “provided, of course, that they feel ready to trust me. I will discuss it with them after we have decided what we are all doing.”

Meanwhile, Ancient Oak was reproaching his brother. “How could you threaten to withdraw your friendship from Tarkyn? What sort of friendship is that?”

Waterstone looked bewildered. “What are you talking about? I’m still Tarkyn’s friend. At least I am, as far as I know.”