A Tale Of Time

Eleven

                                                                                                                                                                Age of Ayznver

                                                                                                                                                                Year 750B

                                                                                        ARIANA

THE CASTLE was exactly how I thought it would be. The foyer was impeccably cleaned with glistening clean checkered floors that spread to tall velvet colored walls. High above anywhere anyone could reach by hand were rose glass windows that seemed to tell stories I could spend hours deciphering. Beside the huge doors and the huge imperial staircases were giant marble columns adorned with creeping ivies. But the star of the show must have been the pedestals on either side of the room which atop them were hand-painted glass vases filled with red roses.

"No portraits...?" I asked as I stared at the castle in awe. I'd always thought that there would be grand paintings and now that there weren't, I was disappointed. I guessed I'd hoped to see what my parents looked like.

"Probably removed. No one wants their reign to be looked upon by the previous monarchs they'd killed." Zachary said, dryly. "See the marks in the walls?"

And I looked, past the opulence of the velvet covers and saw the marks from a removed picture. It made me angry in an instant. 

"Let's find them."

Zachary nodded with a small smile and took my hand again, leading me carefully towards the staircase on the left. We stalked up the stairs, eyes trained on every possible place from where someone could emerge. It was odd, I'd admit for no one to be here. No guards, no Beserkers or no Ayznverean soldiers scrambling about? It was so odd...

Zachary noticed it also, "Where is everyone?"

I shook my head. It was already so odd that we'd passed freely to the castle without encountering anybody hostile but to successfully infiltrate their base of operations without resistance?

This screamed of false sense of security.

"They're luring us in." 

Zachary nodded as we reached the landing. "It appears so. Do you want to fall back?"

I didn't. I knew that the last thing I wanted was to run now when I could see the people that ruined my life. And I knew they were here with all my soul. The same way I knew who I was.

But I couldn't be selfish like that. I had Zachary to think of too.

"Let's fall back."

He nodded, seeming proud of my choice. So with haste, we rushed back down the stairs, leaving the beautiful, corrupted castle behind...

"Leaving so soon?"

The door shut in our faces just as we got there, revealing two guards with crude clubs in hand. We hadn't noticed them and now they were grinning like they were sure that they had an upper hand. 

Zachary swore and pulled me back, "Dwarves."

One sneered, "Don't call us that, Helirean!"

"Shut up!" The other said, smacking his counterpart with his club.

I swiveled to face the Rebel King.

I knew he was the Rebel King because he dressed like a man who had everything. Clad in gold and purple robes that billowed about his rail thin frame with the extravagance of way too many yards used because he could. His shoes glistened black against the bright chandelier lights and his hands shone with diamond rings, the pinnacle of the ostentation being the one gold signet ring in the middle of the right hand. His skin was pale like his grey eyes and his salt and pepper hair slicked back and tied in a ponytail. He had a smirk on his face.

"I take it you're the princess?"

I frowned and stepped closer to Zachary whose arms came around me. He answered instead, "Who are you?"

The Rebel King smiled, like he was humoring Zachary, "His Royal Majesty, King Edmund Erfjord of Ayznver."

"LIAR!" I said because he was an imposter. He was living another person's life, a life he'd stolen without a care.

Edmund frowned, "She is the princess, is she not? She definitely looks like her mother." He looked at me like I was an petulant child. "Not as wise looking. But living with commoners can do that to a Royal."

I wanted to hit him with one of the dwarves' clubs, "And whose fault is that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" He shrugged, "The kingdom had weak monarchs and there was a need for a change in government-"

"And the people? Most are dead or have run away. Who are you ruling over?"

He waved his hand like my point was moot, but his jaw was hard set, "They're foolish. They could not see good rulership if it hit them in the nose."

"And who made you the judge of what good rulership is? What are the parameters you used? Your own selfish gain? Your own sense of self-importance?"

I was being reckless. I shouldn't aggravate him, I knew and Zachary did too, obvious from the way his elbow dug painfully into my ribs. The worst thing that could happen was if he ordered us dead now with the guards I knew were well hidden. But this self-righteous man needed his ego taken down a notch.

His eyes burned with irritation, "Take the Helirean away and bring the princess."

The two dwarves left their spots by the door and grabbed Zachary by the arms, trying to pull him away at their master's instruction. But Zachary did not budge, not even when their tiny hands strained with exertion.

Erfjord frowned, "Is it too troublesome for you both?"

The dwarves began to pull harder, large eyes wide with fear as they screamed at each other to pull harder.

Yet, Zachary wouldn't move. His eyes were trained on me as if asking me what to do next. 

I stared at the dwarves, thinking about what I knew of them. In Ayznverean culture, dwarves were said to be adults cursed to coexist with their child-like selves. They were often insulted and ostracized. These men probably weren't employed in my parents' time and any current employment must have been under Erfjord's thumb. They were helpless and I knew as surely as I did my name that if they could not move Zachary they would die at Erfjord's hands. 

"Please go."

Zachary's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He looked at me critically and must have seen my need to avoid more casualties because he nodded. The dwarves pulled with more vigor, hiding their shock at my own request. I only hoped they remembered that they owed me when they were deciding where to put Zachary. 

As they took him towards a far off wooden door, Zachary stuck out ten fingers secretly so only I could see. 

Ten minutes.

I nodded slightly in compliance and faced Erfjord who smiled sweetly, stretching out a pale, sickly hand, "Shall we, my dear?"

THE  BREAKFAST was lavish.

The grande, oval-shaped mahogany table was laden with platter upon platter of food. For a country that was in shambles, Erfjord did not spare any expense to remind his non-existent dinner partners that he was king. 

"Have a seat." His voice was jovial but I knew it was an order. In order not to provoke him, so I could survive long enough to get out of here, I graciously curtsied and slowly made my way to the tail of the table. It was irritating that I had to sit as a guest in what should have been my home when this impostor sat all pompous and proud at the head.

"Take anything you want."

I looked at the table and was ashamed by how quickly my stomach responded. Eggs cooked in every possible manner were coupled with sweet bread that filled the air with a mouth watering fragrance. The meat: ham, beef, chicken, lamb, pork and other exotic kinds had been placed at the center beside the cheese and the varieties of sea food. I wondered where he got seafood from. There were no large water bodies around Ayznver. 

"Specially imported."

"What?" I looked up at him. 

"The fish. It's specially imported. I like to have the best things. As a king should, don't you think?"

I gritted my teeth, "Of course."

He smiled and began to take some of the sliced ham to put on his plate. I refused to touch anything.

"Why did you do it?" I said softly, without accusation though I wanted to spit on his face, "Why did you betray them? You were my father's general and my mother's friend. My godfather. Why would you do this to the people who trusted you so much?"

I'd heard stories from older soldiers about how the King and Queen trusted two families implicitly: The Escalens and the Erfjords. And the latter had betrayed this trust so cruelly.

Erfjord smiled wistfully and bit on a slice of bread, "They were weak, as I said before. Forgiving everyone for everything, letting refugees enter the kingdom. They reduced themselves to associating with commoners, simple rabble. That is not how a ruler should be." He was so impassioned it was almost admirable, "A ruler should be fierce and above all else! They shouldn't have to reduce themselves to making deals with barbarians!" He fixed his gaze on me, "Which you have done."

He gaze shifted to a glare, "What did you offer Helirix to help you in this war? The Tahjan, though young, is a cynical bastard. You must've offered something he could not refuse. What was it? Agricultural proceeds? Your people as slaves? Part of the land?"

Myself.

"Proceeds," I lied coolly, "They're short in food supply."

Erfjord nodded and leaned into the seat, finishing off his slice, "Good idea nonetheless. I do not believe that you would be capable of taking back the kingdom. Though I must commend you for pushing us back as you have. The Escalen boy must be as determined as his father."

Pride filled me, "He is."

He picked up a slice of fried salmon with his fork and looked away from me probably mourning the way the sky had darkened with smoke. His peaceful bubble was being invaded.

"Your wife? Your daughter?"

I had to keep him talking. There were no clocks in the room so I could not tell how many minutes I had till Zachary came. But if I could stall longer, surely...

"I took care of them... but that's not what I wanted to discuss with you."

He wanted to speak to me? "That's why you let us pass so easily."

"Yes. I couldn't risk you being killed for no reason."

I stared at him and the sickening expression on his face, knowing that I would not like what he had to say.

"What do you want then?"

He smiled like he had a secret I should know.

"I want you to marry me."