The Wizard's Curse (Book 2) (13 page)

“Do I get any say in this?” asked Waterstone.

“No,” said Tarkyn briefly, not even looking at him “This involves protocols that have been laid down for centuries. None of us has any say in it.”

“Well, what is the least punishment that can be given?” asked the woodman.

“In court? I have never known of anyone to lay a hand in anger on a member of the royal family and survive.” Tarkyn regarded him sternly. “They have always, without exception, been killed on the spot or been hanged within a few days.”

“But Tarkyn, I mean, Your Highness.” Waterstone ran his hand through his hair. “I remember you saying that if we had been at court you could not have saved me, and yet I am still here.”

“That was for only threatening me. You only actually laid a hand on me the second time when I had already given you permission. You have never actually hit me without my permission. However, Danton here knows that an adopted member of the royal family requires the same treatment as a natural member of the family, don’t you, Danton?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And that therefore your crime is punishable by death.”

“Yes, my lord. I do know that.” Danton’s tone was resigned. He brought his head up to look at the prince and said proudly, “I am sorry I have let you down, Your Highness. I said I would serve you all my life and I have. I had hoped I could have given you more than this short time. But my will is yours to command, now and always.”

Waterstone felt as though his heart was breaking. He couldn’t believe that events had moved so quickly. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest and his legs shaking and wondered vaguely whether they would give out beneath him.

“Please, Your Highness. Is there nothing that can be done?” Waterstone’s voice sounded nowhere near as calm as Danton’s had. It was pitched high with strain.

“The Sovereign may grant clemency,” said Stormaway appearing suddenly in their midst.

“I am aware of that, Stormaway, but I am not sovereign lord of sorcerer and wizards,” objected the prince.

“No, my lord. You are not. But in the woodlands you are sovereign and although Watertsone’s right to be called a prince is not geographical, your sovereignty is.”

The prince’s eyes narrowed. “But even though I am liege lord of the woodfolk, surely Kosar is sovereign of the forests since they are part of the kingdom of Eskuzor.”

“Do you still give him your allegiance?” asked Stormaway.

“No,” answered Tarkyn firmly.

“Then neither the forests nor the woodfolk are beholden to King Kosar. Your father made you sovereign of both in your own right.” Stormaway shrugged and smiled. “Of course there is the slight issue that Kosar may not know this but I have in my possession papers drawn up under your father’s seal that verify it, should a dispute ever arise.”

During all this debate, Danton stood stolidly at attention, watching Tarkyn, his fate hanging in the balance.

Finally Tarkyn turned to his liegeman standing so rigidly before him. “Lord Danton. You have heard this discussion. I have now established, rather to my surprise, I must admit, that I am sovereign lord within these forests and so I may grant clemency if I so choose.However, I wish to ensure that Waterstone and Ancient Oak are not just paid lip service. I would not wish to treat a sorcerer’s crime against them any differently from a crime against me. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I understood that right from the beginning.”

“And yet, Danton, I cannot imagine you ever coming close to hitting me.”

Danton looked profoundly shocked, “Of course not, my lord.”

“So you see, Danton, you have in fac
t
no
t
understood from the start what Waterstone is due or you would never have hit him.”

Danton bowed his head, “I stand corrected, my lord. However, once I realised what I had done, it was I who told Waterstone that my life was forfeit.”

“I see. I am pleased you did that. It shows that you respect Waterstone as you should, even if you have attacked him.”

“Your Highness, it was only because Waterstone specifically asked me not to, that I did not address him as Your Highness right from the start.” Despite his predicament, the ghost of a smile appeared on Danton’s face. “Although I may not have accorded him the same respect as I give to you, I believe I still wish to pay him more signs of respect than he wishes to receive.”

Tarkyn gave a grunt of laughter. “I can imagine that. So, my lord Danton, when I think back to the altercations between Waterstone and myself, the only difference is that I was able to throw up a shield when Waterstone first attacked me that prevented him from touching me, whereas Waterstone could not do that when you attacked him.  In fact, I suspect that Waterstone’s attack would have been more ferocious and prolonged than your one punch on the chin if I had allowed him to reach me.”

“And what punishment did you decree, Your Highness, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“None. The oath did it for me. A large tract of forest was damaged.”

“And what if he had laid a hand on you before you gave your permission?”

Tarkyn thought carefully. “This is where we come to the crux of the matter. If I had been caught unawares, I may have flung him away from me but then I would simply have kept him at bay until he calmed down. I would not have exacted the death penalty. But in a woodman’s case, whether I like it or not, the oath exacts its revenge on the forest. However, you are not a woodman. You’re a sorcerer and should know better.” He looked across at Waterstone and added hastily, “…. about protocol, I mean. And since the oath will not exact a punishment on you, I must.”

Images flashed through the prince’s mind of the punishments exacted for disrespect. He thought about his brother holding court and what he would have done. He thought about the incidents with the woodfolk and how he had handled them. Tarkyn ran his hand through his hair. He realised he had reached a point where having no assumptions left him without a foundation for his decision. There were no longer any absolute rights and wrongs. Everything hinged on his judgement. He thought of asking Waterstone or even Danton to decide the punishment but realised he was just dodging his responsibility.

Finally, the prince drew a breath and said, “Within the forest, my word is law. Having nothing else to guide me, I choose the road with heart. Danton, you have served me well, and truly. You have left all your friends and family to search me out and you have risked your life and our good opinion of you in the service of the woodfolk and me. You have also shown that you do honour Waterstone.” He paused. “Because of these things, I will waive the death penalty. But there must be some punishment. I have tried to hit upon something that will affect you, at least to some extent, in the same way that damage to the forest affects the woodfolk…. Therefore, I decree that from tomorrow onwards, while you live within the forest, you must wear the same attire as the woodfolk.”

Danton blinked, “I beg your pardon, my lord?”

Tarkyn gave a slight smile. “Although you have done wrong by hitting a member of the Royal Family, you do not deserve to be severely punished for a small altercation between friends in a context far removed from the formality of court. I know your clothing and appearance are important to you. So, your punishment is that you will wear woodfolk attire…with pride,” he added dryly.

An involuntary shiver of released fear travelled down Danton’s spine. He gave a small bow and spoke with heartfelt sincerity, “Thank you, Sire. I am overwhelmed by your generosity.” As he straightened up, he glanced at Waterstone, “However, I am not sure how complimentary it is to the woodfolk to decree that their way of dress is a punishment.”

Tarkyn laughed. “It would not be a punishment to most people.  I myself find their clothing very comfortable, practical and attractive  in its way. However, I know it will be a challenge for you to forgo your fine clothes.”

Danton gave a little sigh, “Yes, it will be, Sire, but I could be regretting so much more than losing my fine wardrobe. So I will accept it with equanimity.” The blonde sorcerer’s eyes narrowed as he gradually focused on the woodman, “Do you know, I think we may be able to improve the cut of these clothes of yours, Waterstone? And some touches of subtle embroidery down each side of the front and perhaps a little on the sleeves could do wonders.”

“Danton,” said Tarkyn gently. “As long as you understand that in the world of sorcerers, Waterstone is a prince and that even though he does not want that formally recognised, he is worthy of your respect.”

Danton immediately became serious, “Waterstone has always been worthy of my respect, regardless of his status.”

“Be that as it may,” said Waterstone gruffly, entering the conversation,
“I understand enough to know that I need to give you permission to hit me, if we are to be able to have decent conversations that may get a bit heated at times. I’ll be talking to Ancient Oak about that too.” He looked across at Stormaway. “And you? You’re not the hitting type really, are you? You can have my permission if you want it. I’m not having these shenanigans again. What a nightmare!” He heaved a deep sigh of relief. “I’m sorry Danton, for what I said….and for what you’ve just been through. I wouldn’t have wished that on you for the world.” He clapped his arm across Danton’s back. “Come on. I think we all need a drink after that.”

As they turned to walk back to the firesite, Tarkyn said, “Waterstone, I would prefer it if this were kept between the four of us. It was after all, a matter of sorcerer’s law, not woodfolk’s.”

Waterstone glanced at him. “I wouldn’t dream of demeaning Danton by sharing it with anyone, other than Ancient Oak, of course.”

Tarkyn was left feeling that he had once more blotted his copy book in Waterstone’s eyes. Sensing this as he came up beside Tarkyn, Stormaway gave the young prince a clap on the shoulder, saying in a quiet but carefully carrying voice, “Well done, Your Highness. I have never seen or heard of such sound judgement combined with such clemency before. You managed to find a way to save Danton from certain death while preserving both your own and Waterstone’s honour. I don’t know whether your father would have approved. In some ways, you are stronger and kinder than he. Your brother certainly wouldn’t approve. You showed great strength of character to go against years of tradition to reach your own judgement.”

Waterstone stopped dead ahead of them and turned around. “Sorry, Tarkyn. I was judging you by woodfolk standards. Thanks Stormaway,” he added, not for a moment deceived about the purpose of the wizard’s little speech. “You’re right. Tarkyn does deserve acknowledgement.” For the first time he took in the lines of strain around Tarkyn’s mouth and said slowly, “I guess that was just about as hard for you as it was for all of us, wasn’t it Tarkyn?”

Tarkyn nodded shortly but made no other reply, clearly not comfortable with discussing it in front of Danton.

The woodman gave his head a little shake. “You sorcerers are a scary bunch with your draconian approach to punishment. I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to risk going to court in the first place.”

The prince ignored this little jibe and asked, “Waterstone, what did you say, as a matter of interest, that so incensed Danton that he lost control?”

Waterstone eyed Tarkyn, “Danton had just finished telling me what an honour it is to serve the latest generation of forty-eight kings….”

Tarkyn smiled broadly, “with which, I’m sure, you were in full accord.”

“Hmph. Then I said that, in that case, he’d been pretty quick to abandon Kosar who, let’s face it, has more right than you to his subjects’ loyalty.”

Danton listened in silence, his face set, rigidly back in control but still obviously unhappy with the conversation.

“Oh my word, Waterstone. You really were playing with fire, weren’t you?” Tarkyn glanced at Danton, “My friend here has talked very little of his decision to come after me and leave the King’s service. But knowing him as I do, I would hazard a guess that it was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make.”

Danton looked up and met Tarkyn’s eyes. He shook his head and smiled, “No Tarkyn, it wasn’t. I have always been your man. You just never tested me. What was hard was coming to terms with losing my faith in two people whom I had revered all my life. As I was saying, before I so rudely interrupted myself,” said Danton with a flash of humour, “even if my loyalty lay with you, I always considered it an honour to be asked to serve any member of the Royal Family. But no longer. Now, I only consider it an honour to serve you.”

Tarkyn smiled slowly, “Danton, I fear I have grievously underestimated you.”

“No, my lord,” said Danton, “You have underestimated yourself. You never gave me or anyone else the chance to stand by you.”

“Perhaps not. But I would not have wished to place anyone unnecessarily at risk on my behalf.”

Danton gave a proprietal smile. “You see, Waterstone, why it is such an honour to have been asked to serve His Highness?”

“I acknowledge Tarkyn’s integrity but we weren’t asked. We were forced,” pointed out Waterstone. “And it is your culture not ours that reveres generations of kings. We don’t even acknowledge any difference in rank.”

“Except mine,” put in Tarkyn.

“Yes, but that’s force, not belief,” said Waterstone conversationally, at which point he became acutely aware that he was in the midst of three people who were finding his words offensive.