“If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say Ave there for me,
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me” -
Frederic Weatherly
My heart grows lighter as Raven's Peak grows ahead of us. This time, I know better than to look forward to a warm welcome. Yet I can't help but feel excited about being reunited with my family. My brothers won't dare to send me away so soon after my return from being kidnapped.
My heart plummets to the depths of Folki's caves. “Caith, something is wrong in Raven’s Peak.” What I first mistook as dark flags due to the distance, becomes black ones waving in the wind. “Do you think Darkeland invaded?”
“No, they have not.”
This journey has taught me, that whenever Caith has this ring of certainty in his voice, questioning him wouldn't be of any benefit to me. I remain silent until he answers - as I have also learned that he always provides an explanation.
“I have no idea what it could be, but my guess would be that someone of your family has passed away.”
My breath hitches. “Why?”
“Because those are flags of mourning.”
My already jumbled brain gets more tangled in confusion as I try to make sense of his words.
The stabbing pain in my heart subsides as Caith's warm hand takes mine. “Aebbé, no matter what awaits you in there, you will be fine. You will make it through. The past week you have proven that you are strong.”
I squeeze his hand. “Thank you.” A sigh escapes my lips. “Let us go.”
Caith covers his head with his cape; then thinks the better of it. He takes the cape off and throws it over my shoulders. “It will be better to cover your face for now.”
“No-one will be able to recognise us anyway,” I say. My hair looks like a bird’s nest. My face is bruised. Our clothes are caked in blood, and dust. Pieces of our clothes are torn off and missing.
“I would rather not take a chance until we know exactly what is going on in there.”
Forcing my tired burning feet to survive the last stretch, we push forward. The glaring sun burns my scratchy eyes; eyes surrounded by purple-black rings. My stomach is a mad beast tearing through itself. The last three days have been the toughest ones since my escape.
“We should go to your Order first. Prince Eoghan might be able to tell us exactly what happened,” I say after a while.
Caith nods his reply as our first obstacle approaches: entering the gate. The guards stop and search everyone passing into the city. The heavy flow of people and wagons seem impatient to enter into the city's safety.
“We won’t be able to enter without exposing me.”
“Just give me a minute. Keep your face covered at all costs,” Caith says before disappearing into the throng of people. A minute later he resurfaces, animatedly talking with the guards who shake their heads vehemently. Just like that, the guards change their attitude and nod slowly.
Caith turns his head and winks to me.
Lacking Caith's stealth, I am forced to join the flow of people waiting to enter the gate. I end behind two old women carrying baskets on their heads. I try to eavesdrop to their conversation, in order to absorb all the news of the past month or so.
“It is a pity that Altha from down the road has lost her baby. She will be forced out of the property because she does not have an heir for her husband - may he find peace with the innocents and a place in the Halls of the Council - anymore.” The one old woman chatters to the other. She does not sound if she has any pity for poor Altha, but rather as if she delights in the fact that she could be the one to share the news with her companion.
“I doubt the baby was even his,” her companion replies.
“Do you know who else was left heirless? King Friduric - may he find peace with the innocents and a place in the Halls of the Council.”
My heart pounds in my head. Friduric. Friduric is dead. The blood rushing through my head prevents me from following the rest of the conversation.
Dead - like the man I shot, and the one I killed with my sword, and all the others I killed. Dead, like my father - like those boys. Just dead.
"Heirless."
Heirless?
Caith takes my hand and pulls me closer when I am within his reach. We enter the gate without any further problems.
“You can let your breath out again.” Caith says jokingly.
I do not speak until we are a safe distance from the gate. “How did you manage to get us through?”
Caith just smiles at me.
“I guess that the answer is in the water?” I answer myself absentmindedly.
His smile broadens.
“It is Friduric. Friduric is dead,” I blurt out as I study the Ardam crests that are becoming clearer on the flags.
Caith turns to me, but does not answer straight away. I struggle to see the thoughts that flash through his eyes as he takes my shoulders between his hands. “Aebbé, I am sorry for your loss. I can only imagine that you hurt so much at this moment, but you have to push through. You have to be strong. Everyone will now look at you. But tonight I vow to sneak you out of the castle, and you can do just what you want. If you want to cry, you can, and if you want to chop a tree, I’ll help you. Aebbé, now be strong.” He interlocks his fingers with mine, squeezing my hand.
We weave through the tents until we reach prince Eoghan’s tent. Caith enters the tent without waiting for the astonished elf at the entrance to announce us.
Eoghan is standing with his arms folded, studying the large map on the ground on which he is standing intently. He looks up when we come to a stand still. “I should have you beheaded, at this very moment. But, because I used to respect you, I will give you exactly thirty seconds to tell me why you are not a traitor to our Lord,” Eoghan says without looking up.
“I missed you too Eoghan. You should greet your friends before you threaten to kill them,” Caith says unflinchingly, with the broadest smile on his face.
Eoghan does not answer him.
“I know you will make a great king Eoghan. You proof it over and over again.”
Eoghan still does not answer.
“I rescued Aebbé from captors near the town of Drako. We were pursued, and had to defend ourselves numerous times. We lost our horses in the attempt and have been walking since the dawn before last, hoping that we would reach Raven’s Peak before the next group of pursuers reach us.”
Eoghan looks up. “The king was murdered in his own bed. Ferdaid has assumed the throne. We are starting to lose the war. The Third One was here. She searches for our lord.”
“I leave for seven days and you allow everything to fall to pieces. I take back my words that you will make a great king,” Caith replies, throwing his hands in the air in mock exasperation.
“You know I should have you beheaded and captured.”
The lack of sleep and my aching muscles have rendered my patience thin. “I offer Caith my protection, because I owe him my life. I would really like to return to my family now so I can mourn the loss of my brother,” I interject while tapping my feet.
Eoghan seems to notice me for the first time. “I hold you to the little honour you have left, Caith, to return here after delivering the princess Ardam to the king.”
“I will.”
“I know,” Eoghan answers and returns to studying the map.
“Aebbé, I will return you to your family.” Caith turns around and walks out of the tent.
I remain behind for a moment, the urge to say something that will prevent Caith from losing his life weighing heavy on me.
“Prince Eoghan, I am not familiar with the rules of your Order, but I owe my life to lord Caith. He has saved me too many times the past seven days. I would take it as an insult to my family if any harm was to befall him.”
“Caith No-Name will not die. He will remain the leader of this Order until he chooses to step down. Ardam princess, please return to your family now. I have much contemplating to do about this war.”
Without another word, I exit the tent and join Caith. The elves stare at us as we move through the camp in deadly silence. I do not know why they did not stare at us before we entered prince Eoghan’s tent. Caith is a traitor to his Order. Humans would have rushed to him, confronted him and tried to arrest him. The elves just stared at him with a cool indifference
that seemed to shout ‘Traitor’.
“I assume you know of a way to enter the castle without passing the guards and all that?”
“Yes, I do. I am not supposed to share it with anyone, but I am quite certain that I can trust you.”
My attempt at lightening the mood is rewarded by Caith's brilliant smile. “I suppose you can.”
“Then just follow me.” I lead Caith to the outskirts of Raven’s Peak. We approach a grate. “If you tell anyone about this, I would be forced to kill you.”
“I swear on Khairrim Cadeyrn that I will not talk about this.”
“Good.”
We enter a market that is thriving, despite the war. I push through the humdrum of people and enter a small alleyway obscured by the market stalls. I push a small door open. We enter a small room. It reeks of urine and other unpleasant smells.
“I do not see any way out of here.”
“Have a little faith.”
I place my hands on the left hand side of the wall and push. The wall does not budge.
Caith places his fingers on both sides of my body, next to my hands. I move closer to the wall to make space for him. His familiar scent of just-baked bread and water spray ensconces me. His hands flatten on the wall.
The moment I start to push, he pushes as well.
Seven days ago being so close to Caith or any man would have made me feel very uncomfortable. I guess that I will still feel uncomfortable around anyone other than Caith, but having Caith this close to me is reassuring.
“The door is not meant to be opened from this side,” I say and turn around.
Our faces are very near each other. If I stand on my toes and Caith reaches down, our lips could touch.
Caith looks at me intently, dark waves crashing in his beautiful eyes. “Aebbé, I do not want to crush you.”
“I do not crush that easily.”
“I am referring to the door. Will you allow me to push alone?” Caith says.
My face heats up as I look at the wall, and back to Caith. “Oh, yes, of course.” I step out of his arms to his side.
He barely breaks a sweat before thee wall swings open. Caith takes my hand and leads me through the dark tunnel. He closes the wall after we entered.
“I have only been in this tunnel once, and only when I was quite small.”
“How many tunnels are there leading out of Raven’s Peak?”
“More than one lifetime's worth of exploring.”