Chapter 12

The swim to land was less exhilarating than Jorgarn expected. In fact, he was freezing and extremely unhappy when he arrived ashore. If he had worn his sword, he likely would have drowned. He worried someone would recognize him in port. It wasn't like he was invisible in the land of his birth. The belief that he could defeat without a weapon almost any armed attacker in his brother's service was comforting, but not comforting enough to alleviate his unhappiness.

The trek to Gorin's home added to Jorgarn's frustration. It took him four hours to cover the distance in his wet clothing. The current had pulled off one of his boots. He expected to arrive at his mentor's farm just before dawn. Instead it was two hours after daybreak.

He was dirty, bedraggled and angry when he finally wended his way up the lane.

Gorin gaped in surprise when Jorgarn found him in the fields.

"Creations, boy, look at you!" Gorin said. "I hear things are going well in Emertland. What are you doing here?"

"Is Eslada alright?" Jorgarn said.

"She's fine," Gorin said puzzled.

"Are you certain?" Jorgarn insisted.

"I'm positive," he said. "I saw her not long ago. She asked me to contact Melodart and see if he is able to accompany her to Emertland. I won't be able to travel for another few days. She wants to leave immediately. The Princess' ascension is near."

Jorgarn rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I know," he said. "So she is permitted to travel?"

Gorin stopped what he was doing.

"What is happening, Jorgarn?" he asked urgently. "Is Lady Eslada in danger?"

"Not now," he replied. "She might be if she announces she is leaving for Emertland soon. Where is Pietro?"

"Upland," Gorin said. "At least that's the rumor. He hasn't been at the manor in a few days. Is that imbecile planning something?"

Jorgarn nodded gravely.

"Lord Longview? Is he in residence?" Jorgarn inquired.

"He is," Gorin said with a slight smile. "Do you plan to visit him? If you do, you might want to dry off a bit. You can do that while you tell me why you look like a drowned rat."

"I need you to get Lady Eslada back here," Jorgarn explained. "I only want to deal with this once because if I have to say it twice, I'm going Upland myself and Pietro will not be back. Can you get her here? I only want a select few to know I'm here. There is much at stake – including Eslada and Denae's safety."

Gorin took Jorgarn by the arm. He felt the man tense.

"I'll go this minute," he said. "Now why don't you relax a bit inside? She was going to the dock to see when the next ship to Emertland is leaving. I'll catch her on the road."

Jorgarn nodded.

"I'll finish hoeing the... ," he paused. "What are these things?"

"Potatoes," Gorin said. "Haven't you eaten a potato yet? You've been there, what, six or seven weeks?"

"I've seen them," Jorgarn said. "I didn't know they were edible. The King and the Princess just pushed theirs around on their plates. I did the same."

"You have dined with the Royal Family," Gorin said. "You called the Princess by her given name. You have progressed more quickly than we expected. Well done!"

Farther than you think, Jorgarn thought.

"When do you expect your promotion?" Gorin asked. "Will you take the oath with the rest of the class or were you too far behind?"

"Go!" Jorgarn said with exasperation. "I promise, I will tell you everything while Lady Eslada is preparing. There is a ship in port that will be leaving as soon as I return. The sooner Eslada is back here, the sooner I'll tell you what has been happening and the sooner she can depart."

Gorin nodded and headed for his horse. Jorgarn picked up the hoe and got to work.

Jorgarn had managed to clear two full rows before Gorin returned.

"I've brought in a helper and I want you to meet him, Lady," he said loudly. Eslada's frown turned to shock when Jorgarn turned around. He looked nothing like she had seen him a few weeks earlier. His hair was close cropped. His face was tanned. His shoulders appeared to be broader.

"Jorgarn!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I was just on my way to meet you in Emertland. Some idiot captain said he couldn't leave until his cargo arrived. I even offered to pay him double but he said his cargo would be unhappy if it arrived and the ship was gone, whatever that means."

"It means he feared I would have killed him if he left me here," Jorgarn said with a shrug. "Sorry. Are you well, Lady Eslada?"

"I am fine," she said. "I got the most wonderful letter this morning. Well, two actually. One was an invitation to help the Princess prepare for her ascension and the other was to tell me how well you were doing."

She paused.

"Why are you here?" she asked suddenly. "Nothing has happened to you, has it?"

"No," Jorgarn said with a smile. "I was, however, a bit worried that I would have to fulfill my promise to you. I came here to ensure your safety. Are you permitted to go to Emertland?"

"Permitted?" Eslada scoffed. "Yes, Jorgarn, I am. In fact, your father said he thought it was a good idea for me to go. Things have been tense at the manor since you left. Pietro has been ridiculous. I understand now that he kept himself in check when you were around for fear you would harm him. He asked your father to send him to Upland to check out the manor there. From the Queen's letter, I get the impression that you've mentioned Pietro a time or two. Now, what is going on?"

Jorgarn gave his friends a brief capsule of what had been discovered. Gorin was incensed and Eslada's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I was to be auctioned off to a Lord in Emertland?" she raged. "The same group of bastards who could have married me 10 years ago? The Creator be damned before that happens. Which one? Which one of those bastards wanted to steal me as his wife?"

"I believe the plan was to make you Queen, Lady Eslada," Jorgarn said with a hint of mirth in his voice – just enough levity to anger Eslada even further.

"Symington," she hissed. "I wouldn't marry that toad to be Queen of the Known World. Is he hanging by his sac in the dungeon yet?"

For the first time, Jorgarn got a hint of the spirit that Torbert and King Landor had alluded to. What he had seen before hadn't come close. He couldn't help but laugh.

"You find this funny?" Eslada asked brusquely as she slapped Jorgarn on the arm. "If not for a bit of happenstance, your father would be dead and the Princess would be in Pietro's hands."

Jorgarn shook his head.

"It never would have happened that way, Lady Eslada," he said. "Her Knight Protector would have been more than a match for anyone Pietro dispatched."

"Unless he was in on it," she seethed.

"He isn't," Jorgarn said. "On that I can swear an oath."

"And who is this Knight?" she asked. "Does he come from a good family?"

Jorgarn laughed again – drawing more ire from Eslada.

"He comes from a terrible family," Jorgarn admitted. "His father is an ego-maniac and his brother is a lunatic. His stepmother doesn't seem too bad – a bit feisty perhaps, but not too bad."

Gorin dropped the mug of tea he was carrying to Eslada. It took Eslada a second longer to make the connection.

"You!" they exclaimed together.

"Him what?" another voice asked from the doorway. Melodart entered unannounced.

"He's the Knight Protector!" Gorin said.

"Not yet," Jorgarn confessed. "She awaits my answer when I return from my mission. But, as the Princess has said, that is secondary to what must happen here. Lady Eslada, you know that you likely will not have a home to return to after the Ascension. The Emperor will have been alerted. He will kill Lord Longview for permitting this."

"And let Pietro assume control?" she asked. "That is ridiculous."

"Pietro will be dead," Jorgarn said without emotion. "Sir Torbert is working with the King, Queen and Princess to develop a plan. I spent the trip across working on my own. I think they will agree to it or at least incorporate it into theirs. Pietro will die for his actions. I should have killed him before I left but I worried that I would be forced to assume his position if I did. It was selfish and I put you in danger. I doubt you will be permitted to travel back to Longview."

"I will come back at least once," Eslada said. "I can't pack everything I want to keep and I doubt the ship could hold it if I did. To do it would be to alert Pietro something is on the horizon. For now, I assume the plan is to let him believe his plan is working."

The trio discussed their next move for only a few more minutes – during which periodically one would say "You're the Knight Protector" in a voice filled with wonder.

The group broke up only when Melodart announced: "Well, I need to go. I have much to do and only a short time to do it. May I assume you'll wish to leave as soon as possible tomorrow?"

The Princess had spent the better part of the afternoon staring at the water from the buttresses atop the castle.

"He's fine," Rayna said. As always, the Princess' friend and faithful companion was at her side. "Pernice says that a Legion of angry Velottans would have a tough time with Jorgarn if he was peeved. He has a wee bit of a temper – or so I hear."

"I didn't realize how connected I was with him until he was no longer near," Denae admitted. "It's like a part of me is missing. I just want him back with me."

Rayna had not been filled in on portions of the Princess' plans. Denae hated to deceive her friend but Rayna had been trying to provide a counter-weight to Denae's excitement.

"So he has agreed to be your Knight?" Rayna asked.

Denae shook her head sadly.

"I think it surprised him when I asked," she confessed. "I admit that I played that part badly. If I had understood the nature of my connection to him earlier, I would have never set that plan in motion. I'm worried that he'll think me to be a frivolous child – or worse, a manipulative one."

"Do you plan to tell him the rest of it soon?" Rayna asked. Although she was out of the loop on most things, she knew the look on Denae's face.

"The rest of what?" the Princess asked. "I told him of our bond. Father says Jorgarn's will strengthen once he accepts his role – I mean mentally accepts it. Right now, he's fighting the bonding because he feels unworthy of the duty."

"Not that bond," Rayna said as she tapped her friend gently over the heart. "This bond. I can see it when you speak of him. Does he know of that? You know as well as I do that nothing official can come of it. Do you really want to torment yourself that way? Do you really want to torment him?"

Denae closed her eyes and pictured Jorgarn.

"There is a way and no, he doesn't know how I feel," she said. "When he returns, he will be appointed as Lord Tremaine. I've spoken to Father and although he is reluctant, he understands that those lands are mine to do with as I please when I ascend. The only real problem might come if Jorgarn accepts the title and leaves the guards. You know, there is no official residence for Lord Tremaine. It would be somewhat awkward for him to reside at the castle if he didn't want anything to do with me."

Rayna smiled warmly and patted her friend's hand.

"He cares greatly for you," Rayna said. "But he has you on a pedestal. He views you as the future ruler of a powerful nation. He views himself, well, he views himself as Pernice. He is a simple man with simple goals. He and Pernice are not much different. There is a story going around about a meal he shared with little Merg. Jorgarn told Merg that the only reason he was a noble and Merg was a messenger was the accident of birth."

Rayna's smile widened.

"After being around him for the last few weeks, I can picture him saying that," she said. "But he doesn't view your birth as an accident. He can't love you until he forgets you're the Princess and simply looks at you as Denae. That is to your advantage, for now. He will make a valuable ally for you if you entwine his life with yours."

Denae looked toward the sky.

"Do you have suggestions as to how I might accomplish this?" she wondered dejectedly. "I can see that you're correct. He acts as though I'm made of porcelain. I can't even get him to call me by my name. It's always 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Highness.' It's been a struggle to get him to even call me Princess. At least that I could pretend is a term of endearment. How can I get him to see that I view him as a man, not just as a warrior or a future subject?"

"You might consider asking him for weapons training," Rayna suggested. "I mean, it would come in handy if someone tried to get close to you. Maybe ask Jorgarn to give you pointers with a dagger or even a short sword."

Denae brightened.

"I would like that!" she said. "What else?"

"From what I've read, Longview is somewhat more rustic than we are," Rayna continued. "Perhaps you could have a chaperoned hunt. Your father still has some game lands, doesn't he? Perhaps take two or three days – at least two so you can camp overnight. You'll have to have a chaperone. Maybe Sir Torbert would agree."

Denae's eyes showed that she was pondering the possibilities.

"Of course, there is one other obvious solution," Rayna said. "You could simply bide your time. Once he is your Knight and is around you often, he will loosen up. He'll see the real you behind the royal façade. And the real you is pretty difficult not to love."

The rain kept Jorgarn from helping the sailors on the way back. He could handle his own in decent weather but he was a danger to himself and to others on a slippery deck.

Instead he stayed below and listened as Melodart and Gorin joined Eslada in peppering him with questions.

"You should have agreed to be Knight Protector immediately!" Eslada railed. "Jorgarn, it is an honor above anything else. To be selected as Knight Protector to the Queen is the highest compliment you will ever be paid. Not only are you valued for your weaponry skills, but you are valued because of your intellect, your demeanor and your charisma."

"I believe it is more a reflection on quality of the Noble Guard candidates than my abilities," Jorgarn answered. "It is a pretty thin class."