Chapter 7
Discovery
Dearekk awoke screaming. His whole body jerked out of bed in a cold sweat as he tore himself away from his nightmares. They were getting worse. He saw friends and family torn apart in front of him, he felt the pain of innumerable wounds, and he relived memories that were not his own.
He lay in his bed, trying not to remember the dreams. It was a curse. Most dreams he could not remember if he tried, but these, it seemed he could not forget. His father and the men had returned to the castle earlier that afternoon. Rith was still grim, and more than one soldier had been killed by traps along the way. Oh, the traps were subtle, well hidden, but he could almost smell the elves that crafted them. A pit of wood spikes that were yet green, nets made of razor sharp mesh, an unexpected avalanche of boulders, all reeked of the elves’ magic.
Dearekk got up and walked his window where the moonlight was streaming in. Then something caught his eye. A light in the courtyard, but no one should be up this late. Quickly pulling on some decent clothes, Dearekk hurried down to the courtyard.
The source of the light was young boy was at the stables, saddling up a horse. He looked about thirteen, and a messenger’s bag was slung over his shoulder.
“Hey! Boy!” Dearekk called out, and the young boy whirled around, fear in his eyes. When he saw Dearekk he relaxed, but only slightly.
“Milord,” he said relatively stiffly. “I did not think anyone would be up this late.”
Dearekk eyed him, feeling slightly suspicious. “Neither did I,” he simply said in return. Something was not quite right; the way the boy didn’t meet his eyes, he seemed to be hiding something. “What are you holding behind your back?” Dearekk questioned.
At this, the boy went completely stiff. “That is confidential, milord,” he replied, his eyes hardening.
Something told Dearekk this was no love letter. “Confidential to your prince?” he asked darkly. “Boy, if I were you I would hand over that letter now.”
“I cannot do that, sire,” he spoke back, staring strait ahead, right past Dearekk. “I was given orders from the Captain of the Guard to give this letter to the Duke of Raydale.”
“Well now you have orders from your prince to surrender the letter and never speak of this,” Dearekk said coldly. What was going on? Why wasn’t the boy listening to him?
The messenger boy seemed to be contemplating his options. Finally, and very stiffly, he held out his hand, and gave the letter to Dearekk.
Dearekk took it quickly, “Go back to your home, and do not tell anyone of this. If you are asked, you delivered the letter safe and sound to the Duke of Raydale.”
The boy nodded grimly, then turned on his heel and left, his figure disappearing into the blackness of the night. Dearekk just stared down at the letter. Slowly, his opened the seal, and pulled out the letter. It was in his father’s hand, and his eyes began to move over the letters, drinking in the words. Then he froze. His whole body stiffened, except for his hands. His hands were shaking as the paper slipped from his fingers, and fell onto the dusty ground below him.
(A/N What did Dearekk see? Who knows? Haha, well okay, I do. :) So I know this chapter is short, and the next one will be short as well. But I expect that Chapter 9 will be relatively long and will hopefully explain a lot of things.)