Chapter 42: Hello and goodbye

I went out of my way to act like nothing happened the night before with Chandra. She mostly relaxed during breakfast and seemed to let go my teasing her from the previous night until I told her that I needed to check her wounds. She blanched at that.

I led her into the carriage and pulled the curtains closed. I peeled the bandage off her face first. It looked like a week old scratch that so far had healed cleanly. I readied one of the bandages that she had brought and replaced the dressing on her cheek. Chandra didn't even fight me when it came time for me to check the wound on her breast. That wound had healed more thoroughly than the one on her cheek and I replaced that bandage with a light pad.

"Try to keep the bandages clean and dry. If you do then tomorrow I'll have Megan take the bandages off," I tapped her on the nose. "They are both healing very well.

"Chandra, I am sorry that Megan made an issue of it. That was not my intent." She just looked at me. I couldn't read her expression.

Her continued silence unsettled me. "Be careful out there, I expect something to happen soon. Now get."

"Thank you, Milord," She responded and left the carriage. I still couldn't read her expression. I wondered what she was thinking. Unless her grandmother was part of the equation, serious and quiet did not describe Chandra. Something was amiss.

Of course I was trying to figure out the thought process of a teenaged princess that was training to be a priestess of the sword goddess.

I leaned back in the comfortable seat of the carriage and considered what Steven had planned. There were too many options for him to choose from. An accurate guess required more information.

Megan and the men were quiet this morning; everyone but me seemed to be a little on edge.

"Ok. Listen up, everyone. At the next town Hector and Armand will split off and buy some supplies, I want to replenish our fresh food. Don't do anything silly, just in and out. Ok?" The two men acted like my recommendation made sense, so I left it at that.

We came to a town around midday. It was called Miner's Glade, or something like that. The soldiers went in with a shopping list and some of my money and came back out with more provisions than I expected.

"Everything go well, Hector?" I asked when he returned my unspent money.

"Yes, Milord, the midday market didn't have many people," He responded. Both Hector and Armand were a quiet pair and I liked it that way.

"Good. Stow the goods and mount up."

The next five days of travel passed smoothly even though I could see the tension in my companions. Steven and his lackeys hadn't popped their heads above whatever gutter they happened to be hiding in.

We arrived at the last of the mining towns before the passage between kingdoms. The walled mining town that guarded this side of the mountain path blocked the way down from the heights. Getting through it would be a challenge even if Steven decided not to show up.

Fat Chance.

As I expected, the gates were closed. The city had a stone wall that butted up against the side of the mountain. Breaching the twelve foot high wall with the current tools of the land was not going to happen. Not unless the attackers had a lot of ladders and were willing to loose a lot of men. A short tower on each side of the gate guarding against an unknown foe.

According to Chandra, this town had a population of four hundred people and the garrison could house two hundred soldiers. Keeping that number of soldiers away from their normal duties would become prohibitively expensive. Only if the city had a legitimate fear of a serious attack would they house more than a few dozen. The closed gates signaled to me that Steven was in residence. I stopped us about fifty yards from the city gate and rode forward alone, until someone yelled for me to halt at ten yards out.

"I desire to use the mountain pass," I called out

"Stand where you are, my lord. Duke Steven has called for your arrest," the man on the gates yelled back. The left gate started opening, each spanned six feet. I turned and called Chandra up to join me.

Eight men came out; most had their swords drawn.

I pointed to Chandra. "This is the Crown Princess Chandra Rosewood. Do you bar her passage as well?" I demanded.

Chandra looked uncomfortable; the attention disturbed her. The men, on the other hand, were taken aback. This was something that they did not want to deal with. Royalty can get you hung. Dukes can too, but Royals trump dukes.

"Sheathe your weapons in the presence of Her Highness, or I shall have you whipped." This they did as quickly as possible. I now had the high ground.

"Is Duke Steven in the town?" I had my sword out and pointed to the closest soldier.

"Yes, Milord." He looked nervous.

"Then you will take us to him." I sheathed it to show that I did not consider them a threat anymore. "The rest of you will escort the Lady Megan into this flea-bitten town and see to it that she comes to no harm. If I get a bad report from her about you, I will see you hung. NOW Move!" I barked.

Six of the men went out to assist Megan leaving two soldiers to lead us into town to the rear walls that guarded the pass. We were led to the guardhouse, a large stone building in the rear of town. Most of the other buildings in town were old and constructed from a mixture of stone and wood. The residents did not look happy, they were dirty and sullen. I wondered how long the gates had been closed in anticipation of our arrival.

"Do you feel the anger?" I asked quietly. Chandra nodded tightly, something obviously bothered her. "Be on guard, this could get ugly if we let it get out of hand."

We dismounted when they did. The lead soldier was about to open the door to announce us when I barked a soft 'Quiet' at him. I drew my sword and had Chandra do the same.

"You two, watch our horses." This, they did with obvious relief.

I strode in with Chandra on my heels. To my left I glimpsed an opening with a dozen soldiers eating at a long table. Straight ahead held a portal that held rows of bunks, movement came from the other side of it. A door remained closed beside the staircase that ascended to the right.

I gestured to the men eating. "Get up and go into the sleeping area. Anyone that does anything dumb, I shall have hung. Now move." They followed my instructions and stopped eating, rose and shuffled into the rear of the barracks.

There were men in various stages of dress. "Where is the Traitor Steven?" I demanded of them. Even Chandra gasped at that. Three of the men bristled and began to make a move towards us, when I headed them off.

"I'm here on behalf of the Crown Princess. If you doubt me, ask her yourself." I gestured to Chandra, who still hadn't uttered a word since entering the city. Three of the older men still looked belligerent. I had no intention of giving them a chance to do anything stupid before I could finish off Steven.