Chapter 11

“You asked for me, your majesty?” Wahleia asked as the doors closed behind her and what was becoming known as her entourage.

Looking up from where she had been watching her child feeding at her breast, the queen answered, “Yes I did, please everyone be seated and have breakfast with me. I see my daughters took the task upon themselves to ask you to join me.” Looking at her daughters, she added, “You two do know we have messengers for these tasks, don’t you?”

The queen’s daughters did not look ashamed or repentant at all and Wahleia took it upon herself to offer a defense for their actions, “Actually I think they prefer to deliver messages to me themselves as they have become very fond of my wolves and to be truthful the wolves have grown fond of them as well.”

The wolves in question were even then taking up what was becoming their normal positions at the feet of the girls who, after taking a bite of their food, began to openly offer tidbits to the wolves.

The queen gave the girls a scowl and then addressed Wahleia saying, “The reason I asked you to stop by this morning is that overnight several messages came in and some of them will affect you. First, a ship arrived just after dark, the message I received from the captain was not good on the overall, though for you the news is better. The captain informed me, he will be going out again in two days, sooner if he can complete the provisioning of his ship faster. If you are going to take your chances on the ocean that ship might be a good choice for you.

“Second, a rider arrived during the night, bringing word my wayward husband and brother should return sometime late today. Exactly when they will return we do not know. According to the note and the rider they sent ahead, they’re bringing captives with them and cannot travel nearly as fast as when they left.

“I’m glad the king is safe but other than any wounded traveling with him, what does his return have to do with me?” Wahleia asked.

“The rider told me the prisoners are from north and east of the escarpment. I was wondering if you might stand beside me to see if you might recognize any of them. Two already are claiming to be sons of clan chiefs, if they are, we might have even more problems with another war to the north.”

“I’ll be happy to stand beside you, though you should know, I have no relatives north of the cliffs.”

“I never said you did, but if these boys are who they say they are, you might have seen them when you were traveling with your grandfather,” the queen replied.

“As you wish, I’ll return this afternoon once I close the wagon for the day,” Wahleia offered and started to rise, the queen stopped her, saying, “Wait please, the information of my husband and his return was not why I asked you here. If you have time now, I would like to settle my debt with you as you have fulfilled your side of our agreement.”

Settling back into her chair, Wahleia offered, “Your majesty, I would have done the same for anyone. I don’t require any additional payment from the realm or from you as its queen or my patient’s mother. It was in a situation where you feared for the life of your son.”

“I appreciate you declining my offer but there is much more involved than just the concern of a mother for her child. If I were to allow you to refuse on those grounds, I would be a poor ruler. Word could get out that I broke our agreement once the danger to my son had passed, whether or not that was true. Now with war coming, it is even more important the monarchy keeps all of its agreements and commitments, whether they were made as individuals or we made them as rulers of the kingdom. The people have to know we can be trusted. You see, as the wife of the king, I speak with the authority of the king when he is unavailable and if he were here, he would say the same. You should know I have more to offer you in compensation than he does as I do not believe his or my brother’s collections are as large as my own,” the last was said with some pride in her voice as well as a giggle.

“Collection, your highness?” Wahleia asked.

Smiling, she answered, “I was not born a queen and I certainly was no twittering innocent waiting for my family to arrange a marriage for me, not that it would have been possible, as my family were no more than farmers. No, I, like my brother and my husband, started out with nothing but a desire to see the world and with some luck, good fortune came our way.

“For me, the break came when a small group of orc raiders attempted to loot our farm. My father went out to defend his family with a bow I used for hunting, and a sword that hung over the fireplace. He started by putting an arrow in one of the orcs and then had to match swords with the other two. Growing up I never knew my father could use a sword, as that sword had never come down off the mantle in all my years. The one he shot first was not as dead as my father thought but instead of joining his friends against my father, he fled towards the hills. I was watching him run away and before I knew it I picked up the bow and arrows as well as my spear and went after him. I followed him for nearly an hour though I should have stopped sooner because I could have easily stumbled into an ambush myself. Fortunately, there was nothing of the sort and when I could, I killed him from a distance with an arrow. His scream brought out others from the direction he was fleeing when I shot him.

“Thankfully, I did not approach the one I shot too soon, as I saw his friends coming my way. I thought I would wait for them as I still had some arrows left. To make a long story short, I was able to kill his friends and then search their bodies. Finding a few coins as well as recovering my arrows, I then followed their trail back to where they had come from and discovered enough bedding for maybe ten orcs. Thinking they might be out looting themselves, I waited for them to return, watching to see if they brought back anything worthwhile. The first two back brought nothing and I killed them, just as I had the others, hiding their bodies and making the camp look normal with a small fire, I tended from time to time.

“Just before sunrise I discovered I had misjudged the number of orcs in the party. The last group I thought would have three in it, returned with five as well as two captives. Thankfully the orcs came straight into camp passing between me and the fire making good targets of themselves and before they could do anything, I shot two. Two of the three remaining had the captives on ropes and wouldn’t let go of them. I shot them as they tried to escape, dragging their captives with them away from the fire but the captives were nothing more than anchors, sobbing on the ground, keeping the orcs in the light of the fire and out in the open where I could shoot them. The girls just collapsed to the ground and didn’t move.”

“The last orc was the real prize. He was smarter than the rest because while I was shooting the first four he slipped into the shadows away from the light of the fire. We stayed like that neither of us moving, afraid of making a sound and giving our position away. He knew I had a bow and I thought he did as well. We stayed until the sun was creeping over the horizon and the shadows we were hiding in started to fade away. Looking around I didn’t see him and hearing nothing but the captives who were still terrified lying where they had collapsed, I figured he had fled in the darkness while his companions died. There was nothing I could do though, even if I knew where he was, as I was out of arrows having used up both mine and the few I had picked up when I had the chance to go through the camp.

“What broke the stalemate was my desire to free the girls who were still out in the open tied to their dead captors and having no success in freeing themselves. Stepping out from my sheltered position, I had only taken a few steps towards the girls when the last of the orcs charged. Why he didn’t try to block my spear, I have no idea, other than being outraged at me being a girl and slaying the rest of his companions. In any case, he charged me, sword upraised, screaming at me and ready to strike, all I could do was brace my spear before he got to me which turned out to be enough since he impaled himself trying to get to me. I was not out of danger though, as he still had his sword and he swung at me, forcing me to let go of my spear and dive away. I couldn’t get my spear back then but that did not matter since I was faster than he was and soon his blood loss had weakened him to where he collapsed. Moving behind him with my dagger, I slit his throat and got my spear back.

“Finally I was able to free the girls who had watched the fight in fear and returned them to their homes. This earned me the title of village protector and orc slayer. I was paid well by the families whose daughters I had saved. More important though, was the stash of gold and gems the orcs had stolen from other families and I had recovered. Since I did not know where the treasure came from I hid it and kept the information to myself, allowing me to improve on what I owned. What’s more, once I was older and experienced in protecting myself, I became a guard for one of the caravans which led to other adventures.”

Finishing her tale, the queen looked at all who were sitting around the table, listening to her story and added, “That is my only story I will share with all of you today. Each of you has lessons yet today, so off with you for the rest of the morning.”

As one would expect, the young people, both the queen’s children as well as Wahleia’s wards, groaned as they were dismissed and went off to their lessons. Rising, once the door was closed, the queen turned to yet another door, this one towards the family’s quarters, saying, “Before the five of them can sneak into the hidden passages to spy on us, let us depart for a more private chamber.”

Walking with the queen, Wahleia was wondering what exactly was going on when the queen continued, saying, “I told you of my beginnings because I have a personal request to make of you and with the background I just gave you it should not sound as if I am deranged. Let me start by saying the captain who brought me the information about who was going to attack Greenwater is an old acquaintance of mine and I trust him more than most. So I have booked passage for your party plus your animals.”

Wahleia stopped them immediately at the queen’s statement, asking, “Your majesty, I know I don’t understand much when it comes to being a monarch, but why are you booking passage for me?”

Walking again, the queen waited for Wahleia to catch up before saying, “Because I am planning on sending the representatives of Greenwater with you.”

“Who would these representatives be?” Wahleia asked as the queen started up a circular flight of stairs.

The queen’s voice was grave when she replied, “I am personally asking you to take Renn, Anni and Conni with you when you leave; for them to travel with you as you head south to find your future husband. When it is time for your wedding they will not only my witnesses to your wedding but they will also be the official representatives of Greenwater; of course, their guards will also travel with them and with you.”

Looking over her shoulder, the queen saw the shocked look on Wahleia’s face but said nothing. She concentrated instead on the stairs as she carried her youngest child in her arms up the stairs. Stopping on one of the landings, the queen handed her baby to Wahleia and stepped up to a heavy door. Bringing forth a key she wore around her neck, she opened the door and stepped through, all Wahleia could do was follow. Once on the other side of the door the queen shut and locked the door behind them. She then proceeded up a short flight of stairs opening into what, to Wahleia, was a lavish sitting room with couches and chairs as well as tables arranged around the room.

Seating Wahleia in a chair, the queen took the one facing her after taking back her baby. She then opened by saying, “This is my most private and secure chamber here in the castle.” Continuing, she said, “The most troubling news the captain brought was that Greenwater is to be attacked. How soon is still a mystery to us but he thought it would be before the seasons change, he also said the attack will be coming out of the south.”

“I thought Greenwater was a strong city,” Wahleia said.

“It is and against any one city we are more than capable of protecting ourselves. The alliance of the southern city-states has now put all that into question. How many men they will be sending north we do not know. An attack against us here in any force will become a siege and the outcome of one of those is always questionable until it finally ends. Then there are spies and assassins of which we have already had one attack against my family that you were fortunately there to help defeat. Who knows how many other assassins are out there or attacks we may suffer. I suspect they are just waiting for an opportunity to strike.”

Continuing, the queen added, “So with the possibility of a siege and with an unknown number of assassins about, I would prefer to not have my entire family all in one place, where one incident going badly could mean the death of us all. So, instead of waiting for the fates to decide what will become of my family, I will harken back to my roots, to being the daughter of a farmer. When I was young I would watch my father use the wind at harvest time to separate the chaff from the grain, even though he would lose some grain, he didn’t worry as the wind would scatter the loose grain about to grow in new places.”

“You are to be my wind Wahleia, some day when it is safe, and if I can, I will send word to you that my children can return home. Until then and if safety never returns to us here in Greenwater they can start their lives anew, maybe someplace where Renn may serve as a squire while Anni and Conni can be ladies in waiting to a Queen. At some future time, if they so choose, they may wish to return to avenge their family. Either way, they will be away from here and safe from the coming war.”

Wahleia did not know what to say, the thought of taking more people with her, was frightening. She had started this journey alone, had acquired two slave that she felt obligated to look after, and now was being asked to be responsible for three more people. With the guards and tutors this would double or triple the size of her party and she didn’t know if she was up to the responsibility. Looking around the room to give herself time to think, Wahleia could see tapestries hung on the walls. Each of the tapestries depicted a battle against creatures Wahleia’s grandfather told her about sitting around the campfire growing up, but never seen herself half believed his tales.

Wahleia was still looking around trying to frame a reply to the queen’s request when the queen rose stepping up to the largest tapestry. With Wahleia still quiet, but watching, the queen offered, “Your next question should be why I would trust you with nearly of my family. I have three reasons, the first being you have already acted to save their lives, this tells me that you have no ill desires for them, for if you had, all you would have had to do was let nature take its course and evil would have befallen them. Since we both hail from the same region, I would suspect your customs come from that region and are like mine. If you save a life, you become responsible for that life from then on. The second reason I ask this of you is that all three of them know you, like you, and trust you. If I am going to send them out into the world then I would rather it be with friends they and I both trust rather than with unknown strangers; I know friends will look after one another.”

Taking a moment before continuing, she went on, “The last reason is personal to me: I consider you as close to a friend as I have ever had here in Greenwater,” she paused then because Wahleia’s face showed amazement at this statement. She waited for a moment and then continued, “Yes I have my various ladies in waiting and others who scurry around the court, but all of them have their own agendas as well as their family agendas to deal with. This puts their loyalties in question at times, which means my husband and I must guard against false motives constantly. Since you first arrived here, you have stated you will be leaving, because of this the various factions have discounted you and left you alone, making you a good candidate to be my friend, even if it is only for a short time. This situation is a shame really, a few of those were good people when I first sought their assistance, but one by one, they have all failed me. Now I must keep them at arm’s length which precludes me from trusting them completely and from being my friends.”

“Now their loss is your boon because as I said downstairs I have traveled far and in doing so I have seen things and collected even more. In my collection, there are many things a person such as youself on your journey might be interested in.”

Pulling back the tapestry, the queen revealed a roughly finished hole through the wall that went from as high as her head down to the floor. The hole did not open to the outside of the castle, as Wahleia expected, but revealed a tunnel, going where she did not know. She knew she was higher than the castle walls, as the view she had from the windows in the sitting room showed the castle walls below her. Once she got over her surprise at what was before her, Wahleia could see the hole was more of a doorway with a passage leading away from where they stood. She moved next to the queen, as the queen showed no concern even while holding her child in her arms. Stopping to inspect the tapestry, Wahleia was surprised as the edging appeared to be some type of very fine fabric, light to the touch. She had no idea what it was made of but whatever it was, it was as if it wasn’t really there.

When Wahleia appeared to be finished looking at the edges of the tapestry, the queen explained, “This once belonged to a very distinguished man and people spoke of him in hushed tones, suggesting he was a wizard. I did not believe the tales people told of him until I met him. Afterward I too thought he was and wondered if he could be even older than what the people suggested though he looked very good for his age.”
“How old was that?” Wahleia asked.