CHAPTER TEN
Duke Selwell Dubar could not believe his good fortune. For years, he, along with Baron Lychen, had been trying to find a way to sway the king’s loyal subjects. Raising taxes, making longer work hours, giving little in return and all under the king’s seal. None of it ever worked. It was as if the people of the Central Lands just would not believe their king would be the one behind it. It was almost too easy; it ended up being his own family which would spell his doom. The duke knew there was no way the people could remain loyal to him now.
When the courier pigeon arrived, telling him the king had been placed under house arrest for harbouring those who possessed magic, Dubar had fainted. It was not the fact that the king was under house arrest, which made this so wonderful. It was the fact he had known four people in his household possessed magic. Now, the king was vulnerable. He was only left with his oldest daughter and his two guards. Dubar knew all along Korben would be a problem, but none of it mattered now. So long had he desired the throne, so long had he tried to take it. As always, though, King Jeremy’s loyal subjects overthrew his ideas, and that was all about to change.
Today, as he did every day, Dubar opened the secret door into the throne room. It was treason to enter here when the king was not in residence, although Jeremy had long forsaken this castle. Today, as every day, he seated himself on the throne. Slowly he lowered himself into the wood and gold seat, his extremely round body barely fitting. That didn’t matter to him though; it felt so right sitting here.
For nearly twenty years, he had been in charge of this castle, and the south Central Lands. It disturbed him that even after all these years; his people would treat him as just another duke. Yes, they were his people, not the king’s, and it annoyed him whenever Jeremy would visit. The people would swarm the castle to see him, drinking up his every word, praising him at every mention of his name. When their own duke, who walks among them every day, would usually be snubbed and ridiculed. Dubar didn't realize it had to do with the fact he raised the taxes, he was well fed while many starved or that he rode through the town in a carriage, ignoring those who wished to speak to him. In his mind, it was all because of Jeremy! Duke Dubar felt the city folk deserved to be treated like the disgusting dogs they were, and every time Jeremy visited, he took it out on his people. All this would change soon enough, though. Once he was king, the people would either treat him with the respect he deserved or die in the dungeons. Moreover, no one would ever be allowed to mention the name Jeremy Traven. If they did, they would be killed on sight.
Dubar opened his eyes and came out of his daydream, smiling. Baron Lychen was due to arrive within the next month to discuss plans, and the ambassador from the Eastern Lands was due to arrive at about the same time. He wondered how the good baron would react once he found out the Emperor of the Eastern Lands was interested in helping them overthrow Jeremy. In Keenley, it wasn't unusual to see travellers from the Eastern Lands. This city was the only place they were able to trade. With it being the only area along the Sea of Arran with a port, it had served the kings of the past well. The Easterners were a ruthless bunch of cutthroats, and it was decided long ago they were not welcome in the Central Lands anymore. Dubar was well aware of the Easterners abilities, and planned to use them a lot in the coming coup. Getting up from his seat, he moved back towards the secret doorway. It would not do to be seen leaving here.
Slowly he made his way back to his rooms. When he had first discovered there was a passageway leading from his room
to the throne room, he had considered it a sign. A sign the goddess of the stars approved of his desires for the crown. He was positive Almena wouldn't have shown him the way otherwise and refused to look at it any other way. He did not realize his current set of rooms was used to house the king’s personal bodyguard.
Within moments of him re-entering the room, there was a knock on his door.
“Enter,” he shouted, upset he was being disturbed before morning meal.
The page entered cautiously. Although Dubar was not a very imposing man, the page knew the temper his duke possessed. He was short, overweight with salt and pepper hair cropped short in the most unflattering way. The only thing interesting at all about Dubar’s appearance was his eyes. An unusual dark green, which most found difficult to look straight into. Slowly the page approached, afraid if he moved too quickly his duke would be offended.
“Well, what is it?” Dubar snapped.
“A mmmessage,” stammered the page, handing him the paper. “From Maget Tower.”
Duke Dubar had been expecting this. Smiling, he reached out to take the parchment. “Thank you,” he said in his most soothing voice. “You may leave now.”
Relieved, the page turned and ran out of the room.
Dubar held the parchment, his hands shaking. He hoped what was written inside would make him temporary ruler, giving him the power of the king. He was mistaken.
My dear Duke Dubar,
By now, you are aware of the situation regarding King Jeremy. It was with great regret that the Order had to put the king under house arrest, but we thought it was in the best interests of the kingdom. It would appear that Prince Eric and Princess Koral are indeed the twins from the prophecy.
Selwell paused in his reading. This was perfect. Everyone will be so distracted from this; they will not see the war coming. Of course, he was a bit concerned with Baron Lychen. Why hadn’t Allen mentioned this little bit of detail? Ignoring his doubts, he read on.
Although it is dictated that you should become temporary ruler until the King is either cleared or charged formally, we have decided not to grant you this. With the prophecy being involved, it was the Order's decision that we be placed in charge of the Central Lands. Again, this will only be temporary. Once the twins are captured or stopped, ruling will then revert to you. I hope you understand our position.
On another note, all of the Magima there are to return immediately to the Tower. The soldiers can remain in your care. Please inform them at once.
Your humble servant,
General Traug
Duke Dubar was stunned. Control would revert to the Order, and he would still be the pathetic duke. However, he thought to himself, if he could catch the twins, the power would be his.
His musings were interrupted by another knock at his door. “Yes, what is it now,” he snapped, angered again.
He put his temper in check when Vernia, a very powerful Magima, entered. “I was hoping to find you at morning meal, my duke,” she purred.
Her appearance always shocked him. She was unusually tall, with blonde hair and the bluest eyes. Although blonde hair was not uncommon, hers was so bright it sometimes appeared white. Her eyes always felt as if they were piercing into your very soul.
“I am sorry,” he said, once again trying to be in control. “I have had many things to do this morning and have not yet left my quarters.”
Vernia smiled a knowing smile and Dubar thought she might know his little secret. As if sensing his uneasiness, she continued speaking. “I understand we have been recalled back to the Tower.”
Dubar was annoyed; he had just finished reading that letter. “I received a letter of my own,” she stated quickly, again as if sensing his uneasiness.
Dubar eyes her suspiciously. “Yes, they wish you back.”
“Then my brethren and I will leave immediately.” Then she bowed low, turned, and was gone before Dubar could make a sound.
“Good riddance,” he muttered. He never did like having so many Magima staying here and was not at all sad to see them go. The growling in his stomach told him his morning meal was long overdue. He quickly composed a response to the letter, sent it off to the general, then headed to the great hall to eat.
There was so much planning to do, and Selwell was not sure where to start.
After the morning meal, he decided to ignore his regular duties and went straight back to his rooms. He advised the guard outside his office door that
he did not want to be disturbed by anyone except Captain Moore. Selwell had sent word he wished to speak to the Captain of the City Guard, who was also once a Maget soldier, and assumed he should be arriving shortly.
The guard nodded, but Dubar was already shutting his door.
“So much to do, so much to do,” he twittered to himself. The Magima had already left, and in secret, one less group to worry about, so he was free to scheme uninterrupted. He had just finished laying out the papers, which held their previous plans, when Captain Moore arrived. Dubar loved the air surrounding the captain. He carried his head high, averting his eyes for no one. His six-foot five, tanned frame alone was daunting, never mind the well-toned muscles and shaved head. His eyes were soft, a deep, soothing brown, and his face was kind. The people of Keenley loved their Captain Jacob Moore. “If only they knew the truth behind those eyes.” Selwell thought.
Although Jacob appeared to be for the people, he was all about power. His face would contort into the most evil grin, one that even frightened Duke Dubar, when plans of over-throwing the king were discussed. Dubar was quite thankful the captain was on his side.
“The Magima have been sent back,” stated the captain.
Dubar smiled. Of course, the captain would know they had left, that was his job. “Yes,” he responded. “It should make planning things easier. We will not have to meet in secret.”
Captain Moore gave the duke a sideways look. “You are so certain they do not have any spies inside the castle?” he questioned.
“I am confident they do not,” came the reply.
Captain Moore smiled back. “They never did seem to care much about the goings on in this castle. Too concerned about magic and that prophecy.”
At the mention of the prophecy, Selwell’s face clouded. Jacob noticed it immediately, but was not sure as to what could be his reason. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“I received a letter today, telling me I would not be placed in charge. All royal matters are going through the Order.” Dubar watched for a reaction, and was quite disappointed that the news did not appear to affect the captain.
However, Captain Moore was indeed disturbed by the news and knew Dubar wanted a reaction. He was not about to give him one. “Why?” he asked, his voice calm.
“Because the prophecy may be fulfilled,” spat Dubar. “Apparently Jeremy’s children are whom the Order has been seeking all these years. They say I will be placed in charge once all this prophecy business has been taken care of.”
Captain Moore broke out into a grin. Seeing the horrified expression on Dubar’s face, he knew he had better explain himself and quickly. “This is perfect,” he yelled, unable to contain his emotions. “Don't you see it?”
The obviously confused look on Dubar’s face answered his question. “The Order will be going after the twins. This means they will be asking my soldiers to do some of the legwork. They will want us to patrol the near regions.” He stopped then, thinking this information would be enough for the duke to figure out the rest.
Dubar’s face turned red. “What is your point?” he screeched, his voice so full of rage the captain thought Duke Dubar may order him slaughtered. Of course, this just made Jacob laugh.
“You fool! It means I can take my men on training exercises and practice raids. We can say it is all in the name of stopping the prophecy. They will never suspect it is to attack Jeremy.”
Dubar was about to go on another rant, and stopped, letting Jacob’s words sink in. Jacob watched as Dubar’s face went from sheer anger to joy. “This is perfect,” he exclaimed, then turned back to the papers on his desk. “We must come up with a plan then.”
“We must wait,” came the captain's voice. “We cannot make plans without our eastern friends. To do so may anger them.”
Duke Dubar sat roughly, into his chair. “You are right. I had forgotten how temperamental they could be. What do you suggest?”
“I will get my men ready. As soon as we have received word from the Order we will begin,” he told Duke Dubar. Then, he bent in closer to Dubar, his voice lowered and his face turned into that horrible grin. “When our friends arrive, we will be ready to take over the Central Lands.”
Standing up, he bowed to Dubar and walked out, leaving the duke with mixed feelings about how the meeting went. Sighing, he decided to pen another note to General Traug. “Offering my help may speed things along,” he mumbled to himself.
Captain Moore paused outside the door, took a deep breath, and then headed for the barracks. He was not as sure as Duke Dubar that the Magima did not have someone spying on them. Every time they met, Jacob was sure someone was watching them. Sometimes it was just a feeling, others he swore he would see movement out of the corner of his eye, and this time was no exception. With the Magima gone, he knew it could only mean they had someone inside the castle under their control. It unnerved the captain to know he was being spied on, but understood why. To see if anyone they spoke to possessed magical abilities. Jacob immediately pushed those thoughts out when he arrived at the barracks. There was too much planning to be done now and he could not afford to be distracted.
Sol slowly moved back into the secret passageway behind the curtain. He was glad when both Duke Dubar and Captain Moore stated they felt the Magima did not care about their plans. They were quite wrong, of course. The Magima for some reason were very interested in these two. He had hoped his days of spying were almost done, but when he read the parchment sent to Duke Dubar, he knew different.
Sol knew he had to play dumb when Vernia approached him. If she found out he had read it, she would be very upset. Of course, he was well practised in the art of acting scared. Being only fourteen, little things like that amused him. Sol ran down the passageway, not afraid of being heard. These walls were magically sealed. Sol always felt special because even Duke Dubar did not know there was a passageway behind one of his many silk curtains. It was supposed to be used to spirit the king away if trouble arose, leading him outside the castle walls. This fact amused Sol too. Now he was the one spiriting away to report what he had heard, and he knew Vernia would be most happy to hear it.