Chosen Ones (14 page)

“On this night, we eat salted fish. Why do we eat salted fish on this night of the year, and on no other night? To remember that the Lord of Hosts brought us here across the great salt sea, to this good and fertile land. When we eat this fish, we remember what our Lord has done and look forward to what he wil do. Brothers and sisters, let us eat, let us remember, and let us hope! One day the Lord wil return! We live in hope!”

There was silence in the garden for a moment, broken only by the sounds of munching. Julia, who didn’t like fish but figured this was no time to be picky, placed the morsel in her mouth and tried to swal ow it quickly. After each person had eaten, Gaius resumed his speech.

“Friends, we must never forget who we real y are! We are the ones whom the Lord brought across the sea. We are the ones to whom he gave this fair land. We are the ones with whom he entered into a covenant, pledging to be faithful to us just as we were faithful to him—forever. Forever!” Gaius looked around him. The tone of his voice changed again as he began to speak of how things had gone wrong—the great Question of Aedyn, Julia remembered.

“But there were those who wanted to be kings themselves. They wanted to rule, not to serve. They wanted power, not responsibility. We were betrayed, and we are now al slaves of the dark Lords of Aedyn. Their power comes from weapons, not from justice. This is not the way things were meant to be!

We are faceless and nameless to these dark Lords.

Yet—” and here a note of quiet gentleness came into his voice—“each of us is known by name to the Lord of Hosts. And nothing the dark lords can do wil change this!”

Grunts, applause, and shouts echoed around the garden. But Gaius had not yet finished.

“Every year—every year for five centuries—we have hoped for deliverance. We have gathered in this garden to remember the past and hope for the future. Here is the throne of the Lord! And here is the altar at which the Lord made his covenant with us!

They al lie in ruins. Stil the Lords of Aedyn rule, and stil we are trampled under their feet. But one day our paradise wil be restored, and we shal once more be free!”

The crowd roared its approval. They lived in hope, even if each year that passed saw that hope dwindle a little. And who could live without hope?

Gaius paused. Normal y, at this point in the story, he would ask them to be patient and faithful, and wait in hope. But tonight his message would be different.

“My friends, we believe that the Lord who we seek wil one day appear in this land—his land! We believe that he wil return, overthrow tyrants and despots, and establish his own righteous rule. And tonight I have good news to be proclaimed throughout this island.”

The faithful gathered there were very stil , not quite daring, after al the long years, to believe what they were hearing. This was what they had waited generations to hear, and it was almost frightening to believe that the day might be upon them. Gaius’s bright eyes scanned the audience, waiting for the right moment to deliver his message.

“Tonight is different! For the Lord of Hosts has sent his messenger to prepare his way in this land and in our hearts! You al know the great prophecy of the coming of the Fair Strangers, written in our sacred books. The coming of these strangers was to be a pledge that the Lord himself had heard our cries and taken pity upon us. One of them wil deliver us! What we have longed for wil take place! The Lord wil deliver his people from bondage!” The crowd fel suddenly and completely silent as Gaius stepped down from the stone throne. He returned a moment later leading Julia, her white robe highlighting her long golden hair. As she stood before them Gaius bowed down before her, then turned to the people.

“The Deliverer is here!”

The crowd rose to its feet. Time stood stil . And Julia, who had never been anyone of much importance, found herself al of a sudden very shy and very excited at the same time. Final y, Gaius spoke again.

“Let the word spread throughout this land. The Lord of Hosts is coming! The old sorrows wil pass away. The Lord wil make al things new! You al know what needs to be done. Let us prepare for the restoration of Aedyn!”

The cheers resounded throughout the gathering night, wafting even up towards the distant citadel.

The days of the Lords of Aedyn were numbered.

W
hat’s that noise?”

Deep within the forest Peter and the two slaves halted. Their horses whinnied, made nervous by the noises to the west. Andrew and Philip glanced at each other and nodded.

“It’s coming from the garden. It’s the night of the Great Remembrance.”

Peter looked askance at them. “What remembrance?”

“We ought to go there at once,” Philip said. “It is a gathering of those who trust in the Lord of Hosts. It is a time when we hear the great story of our past.

The dark lords suppress al talk about the Lord of Hosts. They hope that this wil make us forget about him. But we could no more forget him than we could forget our parents or”—he exchanged a significant look with Andrew—“our children.”

Peter did not understand at al but saw no reason to argue. They rode slowly towards the garden, guided only by the newly risen moon as they went along the darkened trails in the forest.

It was not long after—in fact, only a few moments later—that they rode into the garden. Peter recognized it instantly from the night they had spent there—it felt like ages ago. But the place was no longer abandoned. A group of men in green mil ed about excitedly. And who was that old man who seemed to be the center of attention? Why had Philip and Andrew rushed to speak to him?

And who was that woman in white, sitting on the throne? She looked vaguely familiar. And then Peter stared with astonishment. What on earth was Julia doing on that throne?

Julia became dimly aware of movement on the edge of the garden. Three new people had arrived.

Two were slaves, doubtless late for the ceremony, but the other was different, his hair much fairer than the raven locks that surrounded him. Peter!

She clasped her hand to her mouth. She had never thought to see him again. She had never
wanted
to see him again. He was her brother, but he had betrayed her…hadn’t he? Julia was rooted to the spot, frozen by indecision. Part of her wanted to rush and embrace her brother; the rest of her wanted to run away from him as quickly as possible. And so she turned her head away from her brother.

Peter stared at his sister, wanting to embrace her—an emotion he could not recal ever feeling before. Yet she showed no interest in him. Was it that she was afraid of him? Or that he had done something wrong? Surely she realized that he had tried to save her life! Like Julia he stood stil , not knowing what to do.

For some moments al was stil and silent. Then Gaius strode forward, took Julia by the hand, and led her toward her brother.

“I think there has been some misunderstanding between you,” he said with his characteristic simplicity. Julia’s eyes flashed angrily.

“I

think

it

is

rather

more

than

a

misunderstanding, Gaius. I would cal it a betrayal.” Gaius nodded. “Ah,” he said. “And so it might seem to one who did not ful y understand what he had seen. Come. Let us sit together and talk awhile.” He turned and gestured them toward the pond that stil shone silver. Peter and Julia sat down beside him at the bank, trying very hard not to look at each other.

“Peter, why don’t you begin?” Gaius asked gently. “Tel us what has happened these past two days.”

Peter took a deep breath and then found that he didn’t real y know where to begin. But, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Julia, he knew that he had to begin with her.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I thought they were men of reason. I thought they were”—he gulped—“scientific. And they told me I could be a prince.” He glanced at Julia shyly. “The lords had told us we were condemned to death—something about treason, I think. I decided to make a deal with them. I told…I had already told them how to make gunpowder, and al they needed was something to fire it in.” He paused and again glanced sideways at Julia, who was trying her very best to look as though she were ignoring him.

“I told them I would show them how to make a cannon if Julia was set free.”

Julia’s eyes flashed open. So she had misheard…

“They agreed. I was put under house arrest while I designed the cannon, but I designed it so that it would fail. I would be there at the testing, and hoped that I might be able to get away in the confusion of the explosion that I knew would occur. I knew I might not have been able to, but I was happy to take that risk.”

Gaius nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“The captain of the guard insisted on firing the cannon. It was then that I realized I would be able to escape. I walked towards the horses and took my chance. I had left a bag of gunpowder open near the cannon. The sparks from the explosion would have made that explode as wel . Nobody could see anything because of the smoke and I was able to get away on a horse.” Peter shrugged and started picking absentmindedly at the blades of grass around his knees.

“And now, Julia,” said Gaius, ever so gently,

“perhaps you might tel your brother how you experienced things.”

Julia was not sure what to say. What she had learned in the last few moments had made her deeply ashamed. She ought to have trusted Peter.

He got things wrong, but he had not let her down.

There was a world of difference between failure and betrayal.

“We were in that Great Hal and we had just been condemned to die. Then I caught snatches of a conversation…I thought Peter was making a deal to save his own life. I had no idea that he was trying to save mine instead.”

“What happened next?” the monk prompted.

“I was taken to a prison cel . They cal ed it the Death Cage.” She fel quiet for a moment, and then spoke quickly, staring her brother hard in the eye. “I was about to lose my life and I believed I had already lost my brother. I don’t know which would have been worse. And then I remembered the Lord of Hosts. I cal ed to him and he sent me rescue.” Tears pricked at Julia’s eyes, and she too developed a sudden interest in the grass. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, and then she picked up her head and looked at Peter. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Come now,” said Gaius. “The time for tears and distrust is passed, and we have more important work ahead of us. Lukas!” He cal ed over, and Lukas detached himself from his band of men and made his way over to the pond. He knelt beside Gaius, nodding his head in a brief greeting to Peter.

“The time to fight is upon us,” said the monk.

“But first there is the matter of the children.”

“As soon as we fight, they’l die,” said Lukas simply. Gaius nodded, agreeing.

“So we’l have to free them first!” said Peter, and Julia raised her head and smiled at him. “Which leaves us with just the smal matter of finding where they’re being held.”

“Ah,” said Lukas. “Now in that, I believe, I can be of some assistance. Geoffrey!” He cal ed out, and one of his men hurried over. “We need information on the children. Tel Gaius of your scouting mission.” Geoffrey was a sturdy man, not yet forty, and his arms rippled with muscles. His face was stoic as he spoke.

“There is a building that nestles against the hil side below the castle. We had always assumed it to be a storehouse for grain—for al we know, it
was
a storehouse until we escaped and they took the children—but on our last patrol outside the forest we noticed that the guards outside it had been trebled. It is surrounded by high wal s, so high that two grown men could not see over them if one stood on the other’s shoulders. The only entrance is a gate set into the wal s. We could never hope to break it,” he said.

“And you’re sure the children are being held there?” asked Julia.

“So much as we can be, my lady,” said Geoffrey. “What other reason could they have to guard it with so many men?”

“And how do we get the children if we can’t get through the door? Do we climb the wal s?”

“I think not, fair one,” said Lukas. “The children would never be able to fol ow us out—not silently.

And we could not risk the notice of the guards.”

“This would be a perfect time for a bit of your gunpowder,” said Julia, and Peter gave a sound that was almost a laugh.

“Would you take us there?” he asked Lukas.

“Maybe we’l see something…maybe we’l find a way.”

Lukas glanced at Gaius, who nodded his approval. He stood, holding out a hand to help Julia to her feet. “You’l have to keep up,” he said. “You must move silently. And you must move swiftly.” They stood just below the brow of a wooded hil , looking at a building in the near distance. Peter shaded his eyes, so that he could see better in the late morning sun. They had been walking al night, but far from being exhausted Peter was eager—

perhaps a little too eager, in Julia’s mind—to storm the prison.

“How far is it from here?” he asked, his eye keen on the building.

“It is a half hour’s walk, Lord Peter,” replied Lukas. “And we would not be seen for the first twenty minutes, as we would be passing through the wood.