Knife of Rebellion: Battles of Eyenwar, Book 1

Chapter 24- Lily Lady

"In that case, we need a base of operations, a place to accumulate as many forces as we can." Surprisingly, the suggestion comes from Monika.

"If I had a place to send them, I can have whatever forces Torrain can spare moving there by tonight." I supply.

Garen speaks up, "I had thought about this. I was planning to use my families northern retreat. I have never visited it personally, but I know where it is. And as far as I know, Alaric doesn't know anything about it."

"Why do you say that?" Mirabel asks, her usual curiosity peaking through.

Garen shrugs uncomfortably, "My father told me about the castle, suggesting I live there after Alaric became king. He himself had only visited it a few times as a child, but my grandfather made it his chief place of residence. Alaric never knew about it because I don't think my parents wanted him to know. Even then, I think they knew that there was something... Ruthless about Alaric. I think they worried he might try to hurt me to secure his place as king."

How Garen had lived with that knowledge for so long, I don't know. Why he didn't run, I understand. He could never abandon his people to a man like Alaric, brother or not.

"So, where is this castle exactly?" I ask.

"About ten miles from the northern Gricadan border, in a dry canyon nearly seventy miles long." Garen answers. I wonder to myself what a canyon is.

"If that's our destination, we better get moving." Branon offers, "That's nearly a two week ride from here."

"Hold on a minute," Ragna demands, "you will be taking Monika with you, as well as a detail of my most trusted guards."

Garen manages to keep the shock from his face, but Branon looks like he just swallowed a watermelon whole.

"That could be very dangerous..." Garen says slowly, looking at the gentile Monika.

Monika clears her throat daintily, "I may not be a warrior like my sister, but I have my own ways of taking care of myself."

Ragna nods, "She is to be my advocate in all things. Her word is my word."

That is an awful lot of trust to be placing in anyone, even a daughter. Perhaps there is more to Monika than I thought.

We stay and talk out endless details long into the night. The truth is that for all our planning, it means nothing without the Gricadan resistance fighting with us.

We leave the next morning, early. Only the guards who were not included in our late night discussions got any sleep, and the rest of us are nearly falling off of our horses. Ragna added another carriage to the one we already had, and we cleared enough space for one person to lie down on top of Monika's blankets. We've taken one hour shifts of sleep, starting with Mirabel and Monika, but it's hard to get any real rest in a jostling carriage.

Life goes on like that for a week as we pass through grey rocky landscapes, encased in grey, cloudy skies. It's dreary, bumpy, and drought with high tensions and harsh words. It's only made worse by the daily frozen rains falling on us. Garen says the further north we get, the more it will rain, possibly even snow. It feels like the hot and windy climate of Cantabrar is an entirely different world from here.

It makes me think longingly of the frosted trees of the Torranian Forrest. By this time of year there would be the very first dusting of snow, decorating the pines and the bare trees in sparkling white. The children would be dancing under the snow flurries as the caravans hurry to their winter lodgings. Soon, it will be winter solstice, and parents will give presents they acquired during the summer trading season.