The Blind King (18 page)

“I
t won’t be
long now, my lady,” Shala said in an effort to calm Aubriana’s nerves. The
princess had been restless since she entered the carriage, and the long ride
was not helping the situation.

Aubriana nodded.
“It seems to be getting farther away the longer we travel,” she said. “It feels
like we’re never going to arrive.”

“We’re less than a
day away now,” Shala informed her.

“I hope he’s being
treated well,” Aubriana said. “With the king away, there’s no way to know if
his orders are being carried out.”

“Queen Ryshel is at
his side,” Shala reminded her. “Don’t worry, my lady. He is safe. I’m sure of
it.”

Again Aubriana nodded. She wanted to believe
Shala, but until she had her son in her arms, she could not be certain. Ryshel
was supposed to be out of prison, but there had been no word at the time of
Aubriana’s departure. She hoped the queen was safe, and that she was being
treated well at the hands of the Na’zorans.

“Shall we play a game, my lady?” Shala asked,
trying to calm the princess. She produced a deck of cards from her bag and shuffled
them.

Aubriana only pretended to care about the game. Her
mind was whirling with possibilities, and it was too difficult to concentrate
on the rules. After losing two hands, she bid Shala to put the cards away.

As the carriage continued to roll, Aubriana stared
out her window, hoping to see familiar terrain that would indicate her arrival
at the palace. Finally, after days of travel, the palace came into view.
Aubriana could hardly contain her excitement. “We’ve arrived!” she shouted.
“The palace is just ahead!”

Shala sighed, relieved to finally be back at the
palace. Any longer and she was certain the princess would have clawed her way
through the carriage walls.

Aubriana barely waited for the carriage to come to
a stop before she flung open the door. Without the aid of any servants, she
exited the carriage and ran up the palace steps. The marble floors echoed
beneath her feet as she ran through the palace to her son’s room. To her
delight, he had not been moved. His laughter filled her ears, nearly stopping
her heart. Pushing open the door to his chamber, she beheld Ryshel seated on
the floor, with Rayne in her arms. She was reading him a story, and he was elated.

Looking up from the book, Ryshel smiled warmly at
the princess. Pointing, she whispered to Rayne, “Look who’s home.”

The little boy looked up to see his mother, and
immediately jumped to his feet. “Mommy!” he cried as he ran to her.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Aubriana scooped
her son into her arms and squeezed him tightly. Showering him with kisses, she
said, “I love you so much.” Rising to her feet, she also hugged Ryshel. “You
have risked your life for my son, and I shall never forget it. Thank you,
Sister.” She kissed Ryshel on both cheeks.

“He’s a sweet little boy,” Ryshel said. “He has
missed you greatly.”

Hugging Rayne to her side, she said, “You must be
missing your own children, but will you at least stay the night? We could have
dinner together, and you could depart first thing in the morning.”

Ryshel did not want to refuse Aubriana’s offer,
but she was aching to return to her home. “I’ve been away too long already,”
she said. “I was hoping to return immediately upon your arrival.”

“I understand,” Aubriana replied. “My journey here
felt like an eternity.” Reaching out to hug Ryshel one last time, she added,
“Have a safe journey, Sister.”

With a nod, Ryshel rushed to her room, which was
situated next to Rayne’s. Without the aid of servants, she packed the few
possessions she had acquired into a small bag and exited the palace. Aubriana’s
coach had not yet departed. Her belongings were still being unloaded.

Approaching the coachman, Ryshel asked, “Can you
take me back to Ra’jhou?”

“I can, Your Majesty,” he replied. “But I’ll need
some time to get fresh horses.”

“Of course,” she said with a sigh. Any delay was
painful, as she desired nothing more than to return home to her family. A
carriage, however, was not the only means of transportation. Deciding on
another course of action, she headed to the royal stables.

Hurrying to the rear of the palace, she paid no
mind to the dirt that was collecting upon the tail of her dress. This was no
time to bother with proper manners. Her heart desired home, and she did not
care if she arrived a mess. Stepping inside the stables, she declared, “I
desire a horse.”

“These horses belong to the king, my lady,” the
stable hand replied, looking down at his shoes.

“The king has given his permission, I assure you.
I am Queen Ryshel of Ra’jhou, and I need you to saddle a horse for me this
instant.”

“Right away, Your Majesty,” the boy said, running
to obey her command. Within minutes, he had a black horse saddled and ready to
go.

“Do you have anything I can use for a bed along
the trail?” she asked, knowing she would have to make camp at night since she
would not be sleeping inside a carriage.

“I have a bedroll here,” the boy said. “And a
blanket too. They are stored for servant use and not fit for a queen.” The boy
spoke in a hushed tone, almost ashamed he had mentioned such poor items to a
noble lady.

“Those will do nicely,” she replied.

Without question, the boy retrieved the items and
tied them behind the horse’s saddle. He led the horse to the queen and offered
her the reins.

Taking the reins, Ryshel hopped up onto the
horse’s back. Reaching into her purse, she drew out two gold coins and tossed
them to the boy. “For your services,” she said. Nudging the horse forward, she set
out toward Ra’jhou.

R
acing across
the landscape with the wind rippling through her hair, Ryshel felt truly free.
It had been too long since she’d enjoyed the simple pleasure of going for a
ride. She dreaded the thought of having to stop and make camp, but neither she
nor the horse were capable of going forever. Her journey would take time, but
she would push herself as far as she could before stopping.

As she crossed the
border into Ra’jhou, she witnessed firsthand the devastation that had occurred in
her kingdom. Villages stood in ruins, farmlands were burned, and there was no
sign of life. Staring at the remains, she realized she had slowed the horse to
a walk. Though she yearned to be home, she could not take her eyes off the
senseless waste of life and land. Dismounting, she entered the burned-out village
for a closer look.

A charred doll
caught her eye among the rubble. Kneeling down to pick it up, she turned the
blackened toy over in her hand. Had the child survived? Would Na’zora’s mages
have spared her? Ryshel was certain they wouldn’t. How better to instill fear
into your prey than to murder children? A gentle rain began to fall, stirring
the soot that remained. Ryshel coughed slightly, taking one last look at the
village. Mounting her horse, she continued along her way, dreading what else
she might see.

A full day passed
before she came upon the next village. This time, she did not stop. Her heart
was still heavy from the first, and this would only add to her sorrow. How
could such loss ever be replaced? She knew many of her citizens were safe within
the castle, but she wondered how many had been lost. Even one was too many.

For days she rode
on, passing village after village. No place was left untouched by the war.
Finally, the mountains came into view, and the castle was visible in the
distance. Her mood turned lighter as she imagined her reunion with her children.
Never again would she leave them, not even for a day.

As she approached
the castle, trumpets rang out. A scout had spotted her and recognized her as
the queen. Duke Arden took note of the commotion and made his way to the castle
steps. Ryshel was dismounting her horse as he reached her.

“Daughter,” he
said, wrapping his arms around her. “It’s good to see you.”

She squeezed her
father tightly. “I feel like I’ve been away forever,” she said. “You must tell
me everything. How did Efren manage this victory?”

“He arranged an
alliance with the dwarves,” he explained. “Not only that, he stopped all
supplies to Na’zora’s mages from the elves of the islands, and he invented a
weapon that explodes on impact.”

Ryshel stared
open-mouthed at her father. “How did he manage these things? And how did he
keep them secret?”

“After Aubriana’s
betrayal, he trusted no one fully. He’s had servants switched out repeatedly, and
told the rest of us only bits and pieces of his plans.”

“He probably needed
me,” she said with regret. Her eyes looked to the ground. “I should have been
here.”

“Things here could
not have gone better,” Arden replied. “You did what you felt you should do, and
Rayne is safe and sound because of it.” He hugged his daughter once more before
ascending the steps at her side. “Let’s let the king know you’ve returned,” he
said with a smile.

The sound of the
trumpets had already alerted the king. A servant had announced the queen’s
arrival and had summoned the royal children. They stood together with their
father in the corridor, awaiting Ryshel’s entrance.

Upon seeing her
children, Ryshel dropped to her knees and spread her arms wide. Hugging all
three of them together, she could not contain her tears. “I’ve missed you so
much,” she declared. Kissing each of them, she repeated “I love you” to each
one.

Rising to her feet,
she stepped forward to her husband, who stood patiently waiting for her to
finish kissing the children. Without a word, Ryshel wrapped her arms around his
neck, standing on tiptoe to squeeze him as tightly as possible. He buried his
face in the crook of her neck as tears filled his eyes.

As they finished
their embrace, Efren said, “I am incomplete without you, my love.” Kissing her
softly, he felt whole once more. Her familiar touch and the warmth of her
presence had been sorely missed.

Taking his hand in
hers, she promised, “I will never leave again without you at my side.” This was
a promise she intended to keep. From now on, they would act as a single unit,
rather than two individuals.

“I guess we can
send King Tyrol home now,” Arden said, chuckling.

“He’s still here?”
Ryshel asked.

“Indeed,” Efren
replied. “He has been a guest in our cellars, awaiting your safe arrival.”

“Is it safe to
release him?” she wondered. “He might return with an army.”

“That’s unlikely,”
Efren responded. “The dwarf army is still here, and they’ve agreed to stay
during the rebuilding.
He will have to wait until he’s sure they’re gone
before he tries anything. I don’t think he’ll be too eager to face those
firebombs again. He has no mages left and little chance of gaining more.”

“I’ve seen the devastation he caused our kingdom,”
she said, looking down. “He does not deserve to go free. He should answer for his
crimes.”

“Punishing him further may result in a renewal of
hostilities with Na’zora,” Arden cautioned. “Rayne is far too young to ascend
the throne, and rivals might come forward should King Tyrol meet his demise.”

“I agree,” Efren replied. “We must send him home
unharmed. For now, only his pride is wounded. Causing strife within his kingdom
might prove detrimental to our own.”

“Then let him go,” she said. “Perhaps he will
bring punishment upon himself someday.”

“Our dwarf friends are helping strengthen our
army,” Efren informed her. “We will not be so weak if Tyrol chooses to invade
again in the future.”

Ryshel nodded, trusting in her husband’s wisdom.
He had already proved himself a competent wartime leader. Gathering her
children to her side, she asked, “Shall we sit in the gardens? I long to look
upon the mountains awhile.”

Together they stepped out into the sunlight,
making their way to the gardens. The gardens were green and pleasant, as if no
war had visited the kingdom. The battle had ceased before they were destroyed,
as the villages on the outskirts had been. In time, Ryshel knew the entire
kingdom would be restored to this same level of beauty. Soon the people would
have new homes and farms, and once again the kingdom would prosper. All they needed
was time and the leadership of a devoted king.

Taking his wife in his arms, Efren said, “It’s
good to have you back.” He kissed her soft lips and hugged her tightly. His
family was once again complete, and his kingdom had not been lost. Despite his
reluctance to take the throne, he had proved himself a capable and loving
ruler. He took joy in the presence of his reunited family. With Ryshel at his
side, he would rule over many long years of peace.

Lana Axe lives in the Missouri countryside
surrounded by dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles. She spends most of her free time
daydreaming about elves, magic, and far-away lands.

For more information, please visit:
lana-axe.com
.