Chapter Thirty-Three
A Royal Guest
If it hadn’t been for their wrist watches, Anne Jenkins would never have known if it was day or night. However, Paula blew apart that comforting thought when she pointed out that they didn’t really know what time it was here.
“We could be six or seven hours out,” she said. “Or even more.”
Anne was left with only the passage of time to record. And that soon got very tedious. They had slept and then they had woken. Food and water had been brought to them once more, but this time Sir Morgan wasn’t with those that brought it. The men had leered at them, but had done nothing more. When they left, the door creaked and groaned as it closed behind them. It had been like that since it had been battered the other day. And every creak and groan made them all jump.
Anne often wondered what it had been that was trying to get in, and Linda had screamed in the hours that they slept as she had dreamed of the long tongue that slipped under the door. The event itself was like a dream, a dream that faded and slowly became distorted. Had it really happened? Had they actually seen what they thought they saw? After all, when the door burst open, there were only men standing outside.
Hours passed. Then an unexpected guest arrived.
The door creaked and groaned once more. As usual, the first hint of it startled them. But this time the door almost flew open, and Christine and Linda both screamed as a man was hurled into their midst, the door immediately closing behind him. The man landed on top of Paula and Anne. He landed heavily, and in pain. He cried out as he landed. Paula wasn’t too happy about it either.
“Ow!” she shouted, struggling to get out from under the legs of the new arrival. “Bloody Hell! Get off me! You weigh a ton!”
Anne was in no better position. The man had landed right on top of her, and she found herself face to face with him. He smelled of sweat and blood and his face was bruised and bloody. She tried to push him off and he shouted out and began to struggle.
There was instant panic.
Christine and Linda thought they were being attacked, and began to smack the man, hitting him on the back with their fists, and pulling at his arms and legs as they tried to drag him off their teacher.
As the man flailed about trying to protect himself, Paula was hit by one of his out-stretched arms, and she quickly retaliated.
Suddenly the dungeon was filled with shouts and screams as Anne and the four girls fought with the intruder, finally pushing him off. But their success didn’t stop their attack. As Anne got clear and stood up, the four girls kept beating the man on his back as he now cowered on the floor, trying to protect himself from the blows. He shouted out, pleading for them to stop.
“Stop! Desist! I surrender! Stop I say!” he shouted as Paula, Linda, Jo and Christine all smacked and kicked at him. They hit him hard, as if taking out all their anger on this one person.
Anne finally put an end to it all. “Stop it, girls! Leave him alone! Come on, now!” She pulled at the girls who reluctantly obeyed, leaving their victim alone at last. Anne beckoned them to join her.
“Come over here. Let’s find out who he is before we kick him to death!”
The man groaned and crawled towards the wall, where he propped himself up. He still looked in pain, and Anne saw the bruises and blood on his face much more clearly.
“Who are you?” she asked him.
He answered her question with one of his own. “Is this any way to treat your future King?”
Paula stepped forward and kicked his foot. “You aren’t our future King! You look nothing like him!” she said in an angry voice.
Anne pulled her back. “Paula! Stop that!”
The man looked more hurt by Paula’s words than by her kick.
“I am so!” he blurted out and sat up as he spoke. The sudden movement caused him obvious pain. He grabbed his left shoulder and fell back against the wall. When he spoke again, it was in a more subdued voice.
“I am Carl L’Hage, Crown Prince, and heir to the throne of Ellerkan and the Realm of Halafalon…” His voice trailed off and he seemed to lapse into unconsciousness. He breathed heavily and loudly.
Linda was as defiant as Paula. “Never heard of it!” she shouted back at him.
Anne scolded her. “Stop it now! We don’t know where we are, remember? We aren’t in Manchester anymore, that’s for sure! He could be telling the truth!”
Christine put her hands on her hips. “If he’s who he says he is, then what’s he doing in here with us?”
They all stared at him. Carl mumbled his answer.
“They mean to kill me…and to kill my father…They mean to take the crown from him…”
The sudden return of L’Roth and Sir Edmund from their quest to retrieve the children who had escaped them had caused an exchange of strong words with Sir Henry. But the sight of their Royal captive brought further argument and confusion. At first, Sir Henry had been appalled, but then L’Roth had pointed out the obvious.
“If I am to be King, and you mean to support me in this quest, then all those who now claim the crown as their own must die, be they young, old, or mere infants. If you cannot face this, then our enterprise is already lost. What say you, Sir Henry? Do we proceed? Or do we throw ourselves before the Prince and beg his mercy?”
L’Roth’s words placed Sir Henry on the spot as all his men stood around and waited for his answer. He rose to the challenge, ordering his men with a flourish to take the injured Prince to the dungeons.
“Tonight, he dies and our journey to Ellerkan begins!” he cried.
His words were greeted with a loud cheer. L’Roth and Sir Edmund exchanged glances but kept silent.
With the cheers still ringing in their ears, L’Roth, Sir Edmund, Sir Morgan and Sir Henry all gathered together in the apartments of the North Tower. There was food and wine on a large table, much of it still left over from midday. L’Roth filled a goblet and tore a leg of meat from a roasted fowl.
“You threw him in with the rest?” he said to Sir Henry, taking a gulp of wine. “Was that wise?”
Sir Henry was dismissive. “No wiser than taking him in the first place. But it matters nought. They will all face the same fate tonight.”
“Food for your witch!” L’Roth sneered, and bit hungrily into the leg of meat.
His words angered Sir Henry. “She is no witch! And remember, our success depends on her!” He calmed himself before continuing.
“The artifact is finished. While she rests we should make our plans. The capture of the Prince brings a greater urgency for speed than the loss of alien children. The time has come for us to strike!”
Sir Edmund also ate from the food at the table. “Aye! ‘Tis true!” he said with his mouth full. “We should march on Ellerkan now! We should take them by surprise, while they idle in the sun and make eyes at the Queen’s waiting wenches!”
“No!” L’Roth said sternly. “We follow the plan we set, but with one change. We send word of our intent and the news of Prince Carl’s death to his father.”
There was an outcry at his words. Sir Edmund almost choked on his food and Sir Morgan got to his feet and cried, “Madness!”
Even Sir Henry was confused. “What folly is this?” he asked L’Roth. “You would warn them of our approach?”
L’Roth was unrepentant. “Aye! And give them time to prepare!”
Sir Edmund threw aside the meat he ate. “You would have us face the King’s army?”
“Aye!” L’Roth said again. “Every man-Jack of them! I want them all gathered in the field before us! Before the very walls of Ellerkan! With all to see the outcome!”
Sir Henry now saw his intent and nodded. “Yes,” he said slowly, and then with more vigour. “Yes! ‘Tis the best and only way!”
Sir Morgan was outraged. “How can you agree to this? Our forces are meagre! We need surprise, not chivalry!”
Sir Henry turned to him. “We need no more than what w
e have! We have the artifact!”
There was silence in the room, a silence only broken by L’Roth. His expression was hard and his eyes filled with fire as he spoke.
“We will announce our intent. And before all at Ellerkan I will lay my claim to the throne. A rightful claim, a claim that should have been made by my father in the name of my mother, the eldest child of the King! And when L’Hage leads his mighty army against us, we will blow him, and his army, all the way to Hell!”