Chapter 8

Prince Fiere poured himself a flagon of wine and opened the doors which led out onto the balcony of his chambers. He breathed in the fresh night air and took in the peace and solitude of the cool evening.

The day had passed mostly uneventfully following their arrival early in the morning. He had decided to leave Shay alone for the day but had regular reports sent to him and Meerde reported on Andy’s progress. Andy was in a stable condition but his wound would take longer to heal than Meerde had originally thought the day before.

Fiere had met his father, King Mayle, briefly during the day. Fiere had given a full account to his father regarding the discovery of Shay and her father in the forest. He informed his father that Meerde was attending to the girl’s father who was wounded and that they would be staying at the keep until her father recovered.

The King was accustomed to Fiere’s generosity but trusted his son’s judgment and so accepted Fiere’s report with little question. Mayle was also preoccupied with arrangements for his wedding to Lady Maica and thus also paid less heed to other matters.

Fiere also reported on his journey which he had been returning from when he discovered Shay and Andy.

Fiere had been to Arstor, a village on the northern border of Ethlerry. Skirmishes with tribes from Bollom, a neighboring kingdom had been reported. The skirmishes were small but the frequency was increasing and there was no clear reason for the unrest. Fiere had met with the leader of Arstor and the opposing tribe and a truce had been agreed. Both tribes had accused each other of attacking them at night and both denied that they were responsible for the attacks.

Fiere had arranged a joint army comprising of men from each tribe and the area had been swept for intruders but nothing had been found. Following the search, the tribes had agreed to a truce and Fiere had returned. It troubled him that there was no obvious explanation or reason for the violence and he could not help but feel that something more was amiss.

Nevertheless, a truce had been agreed upon and was being honored for the time being.

Fiere sipped his wine as his thoughts turned to Shay.

She was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. He knew he had a weakness for beautiful women but Shay made him weaker than any woman ever had before. But he felt there was something more that attracted him to Shay than simply her beauty. She had a strength about her that made him want to get to know her better. She was holding up remarkably well under the circumstances and he was encouraged by the strength she showed. Despite her strength, she appeared to be very respectful too. He expected though that it was due to him being royalty. He knew people could be like that in the presence of royalty. They did not know how to behave with royalty and were afraid that they would insult royalty by accident. He wondered if this was the case with Shay.

He closed his eyes remembering her big hazel eyes. He wanted to take her hand and walk with her for miles and miles and talk and get to know her. But he had questions. And an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Try as he might, he could not understand why. There was nothing about Shay that suggested she was a threat. Her father too. In his condition, there was little he could do.

Fiere’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his chamber doors. “Come in!” he called.

The door opened and his friend whom he had left in the woods when he returned to the keep with Shay and her father entered. Bradell was his name.

Bradell closed the chamber doors behind him and crossed to Fiere quickly. He was breathing heavily and had hastened to make his report to Fiere following his arrival.

Fiere poured a flagon of wine for Bradell and waited patiently as Bradell regained his breath.

Fiere stepped out onto the balcony of his chambers and looked to where the sun still glowed below the horizon.

“Did you find anything?” he asked.

Bradell shook his head and droplets of perspiration from his hair took flight. He sipped his wine and swallowed slaking his thirst. Then he shook his head. “Nothing and something Fiere.”

“Spare me the riddles, friend. What is it?”

Bradell spoke between sips and breaths. “I found no horse tracks at all. I scouted the area widely thinking that perhaps they had moved some distance from where they were attacked initially. Nothing.”

Fiere had suspected it might be the case. He was silent as he considered the information. His stomach clenched uneasily. He could not understand why Shay would lie to him about whether they had horses. He wondered if he should ask Shay about it directly.

Then he noticed Bradell seemed uneasy. “What is it?”

“There is more reason to question how they got there. The ground is soft, and tracks are easily made. There is no wind and the area is sheltered from the elements.”

“Yes?”

“No tracks are leading to where we found them other than our tracks. No horses or people's tracks. But their tracks are very clear where we found them. I also could not find evidence that any tracks had been erased.”

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as the gods could tell us the truth. It’s as if they appeared out of nowhere. Almost as if someone put them there.”

Fiere felt a chill run down his spine and a shiver of unease raised the hairs on his arms. His stomach clenched further. “What about her father’s sword?”

Bradell shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Sorcery?” Fiere asked stating what neither of them wanted to.

Bradell was silent for a moment and made a sign in the air which was used to protect the person against sorcery. “I hope not but it is the only possibility I can think of considering the evidence.”

Fiere sighed. “I have to agree. But please tell no one unless I say so. Clear?”

Bradell nodded hesitantly, “But please do not dwell on this Fiere. Your father’s wedding is so near and we may now have an enemy within the walls. Sorcery never appears as what it truly is until it is too late.”

Bradell dispensed with the usual formalities. He had grown up and trained with Fiere and they were good friends.

“I am well aware of that,” Fiere said, his tone asserting his authority and making it clear Bradell had overstepped the mark. He knew though that his reaction was due to his sensitivity to having the reality and gravity of their situation pointed out to him.

He bid Bradell good night and returned to the balcony with more wine. He knew he had to deal with this situation quickly before something went wrong. His father would never forgive him or trust him again if he had brought an enemy within the walls of the keep. He knew in his heart that he should have Shay and her father removed from the castle immediately. They now represented a risk at a time when the castle would soon be full of important visitors from all over the kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms too. Security had to be as tight as possible for his father’s wedding.

But Fiere wanted to get to know Shay better. He sensed that while Shay appeared to have lied to him, she did not represent any substantial danger. Or perhaps he desperately wanted to believe that. Besides, her father was not going to cause any kind of disruption in his state which was not being faked. He pondered the situation over another flagon of wine before he turned in for the evening.