“It’s impossible not to make a trail through terrain like this. Speed is our best option.”
They kept going for a good hour before Oakentere stopped and listened.
“They must have picked up speed as well because we are not losing them.”
“I can’t go on like this forever, Tere,” Queen Amrya stated, breathing heavily.
“I know. I will think of something.”
Then he started off at the same speed again.
They walked for a half an hour when the forest opened. Along the open terrain, Oakentere moved even faster, but it felt little faster since the journey got easier. As they passed some great rocks, Oakentere stopped.
“You must continue. I will wait for them here,” he said as he removed his bow that hung across his back.
“Should I take Endir?”
“No, it takes too long. He’ll be just as safe with me as with you. Go now.”
“Take care.” She knew he was right, so she obeyed and continued. Oakentere waited for their pursuers to come into sight. He put four arrows on the ground beside him and kept waiting until they were as close as he dared let them. He raised the bow and aimed at the person walking behind.
The first arrow pierced the chest of the man walking at the back. The others turned to look after their comrade, and the second arrow hit the one in front in his back. The third soldier turned towards Oakentere and was hit by his third arrow. The last soldier picked up a horn and blew it as loud as he could while trying to run away from Oakentere’s arrows. Oakentere sent out the fourth arrow, but the soldier outran it. Oakentere picked another arrow from his quiver and could only see him as a shadow behind the leaves. He shot the last arrow more on chance than on aim, but the horn stopped and he heard something fall to the ground.
He put his bow over his head and onto his back, and ran to catch up with the queen.
“Was that horn from the soldiers following us?”
“Yes.”
“It was a signal to call for aid or give up our position to others.”
“I was afraid it was something like that.”
“So what do we do now?” Queen Amrya’s voice trembled as it had done on the day of the battle.
“We keep on walking. The soldiers have to find the place the sound came from first, then they need to pick up our trail; remember, they have to walk just like us. Most likely, they will be hours behind us when they pick up our trail. In some hours, it will be dark, and they can’t keep tracking in the dark.”
“But can we walk in the dark?”
“Not really, but we must try.”
They kept to the easy terrain but slowed down to a more agreeable speed.
***
“Can you estimate the direction of the sound?” Theyrin said to one of his trackers as they heard the horn blow.
“Southeast, probably three or four hours away.”
“They have come a lot further than expected; we will be half a day behind when we pick up the trail.”
“By then, it’s already dark, and we can’t track in the dark.”
“Take ten men and find and follow the tracks. We now know they are heading towards Engriole. We’ll go back to the road and go by horse, and cut them off in the morning.”
“Sure, we will go straight away.”
“As soon as you spot them, sound your horns and we will know their position.”
The tracker took the most able runners among them and took off in the direction the sound came from. Theyrin took the rest of the men out towards the road where they kept their horses.
***
“Are you planning to go on all night?” Queen Amrya asked Oakentere. They had walked for hours without the sound of any pursuers, and the darkness was falling over the Teigldur forest.
“I guess we need to rest sooner or later, but we have to press on more.”
They walked steadily, not running or hastening like earlier, just walking.
“There is no way we can make up a fire tonight. That’s too risky, but there are some hours I cannot read direction because of the darkness, and then we can rest.”
“Okay,” she replied, not sure if she could keep going so long with no rest. “Could we sit down for a bit? I am exhausted.”
“Sure. Can we get to the top of this ridge?” he said. “It won’t be long, and it will be easier to hear if anyone comes.”
Queen Amrya didn’t respond. She hadn’t even noticed that they walked upwards. They walked on for a good twenty minutes when Oakentere stopped.
“This is a good place to rest.” He untied Prince Endir and handed him to Amrya, who sat on the grass. He turned away while she put the child to her breast. The forest was all quiet except for the content gurgles from the baby.
“My Lady,” Oakentere said. "Did the road cross many bridges?”
“Not any large ones, but I guess there are several smaller ones over passing streams.”
“I might know a way we can lose our pursuers. Would you consider walking all night and rest in the morning?”
“How can we rest during the daytime?”
“If we are far away from where they expect us to be.”
They waited a half an hour before they walked again.
“What is the plan, Tere?” she asked upon realizing he would not tell her by himself.
“There’s running water down there, and it is hard to track someone through water,” he said. “So if this is a stream that crosses the road, we could walk in it out of the forest to the other side of the road.”
“But wouldn’t they see us immediately if we are not in the forest?”
“That is why we rest in daytime and walk during the night.”
Amrya said nothing and just followed Oakentere close by.
“I know it is risky, but I fear it’s our best option,” he said.
Last time they waded through water to cover their tracks, it had been day and they were hot from all the running. This time, the water felt a lot colder.
“Do you think we have to wade for a long time?” she asked.
“For a good part of the night, I guess. Try not to make any sound just in case,” he whispered.
“Okay,” she whispered back.
“Try not to make a sound when you walk as well.”
Walking in the water without making any sound seemed impossible. She tried several ways, but none of them were particularly soundless. She tried to spot how Oakentere walked and realized that he hardly made any sound. During her upbringing, she had been taught to walk in several different ways, all after what was expected for a princess at certain ages and occasions. She remembered how she had followed after her nanny as she demonstrated the proper walk for her. Now she followed Oakentere in the same manner. The first she noticed was that he never lifted his foot out of the water, which was painful until her feet got used to the water. Then she noticed how he felt the rocks lay steady before putting his weight down. It was like she was a little princess again, concentrating hard on walking. It had to be hours gone by before she realized she no longer had to think over how she treaded.
First, they heard the voices, then they saw the fire, and at last the road. The queen got dismayed, but Oakentere walked on. She pulled him by his shirt. Can’t you see the guards, she mimed with her mouth as she pointed towards the fire. Oakentere nodded.
“We can’t turn back; we have spent too much time on this now. We’ve got to try passing them.”
He took her hand, and they waded silently together. Now her focus was back on every single step she took. They could make out the voices of two people, and they only talked about trivial matters of how cold the nights were despite the fact that it was almost summer, and how they longed for a proper bed. She pulled Oakentere by the arm and pointed up the stream.
“The horses, do you see the horses?” Her whisper was barely audible. Upstream, before the bridge where the road passed, there stood six horses. There were most likely six soldiers that had camped t
here for the night because they had water for the horses there. The horses were tied up by the river, three on each side. The two people that were talking by the fire were guards while the other ones slept.
“Let’s hope they’re friendly,” he said. He squeezed her hand a little harder and continued carefully.
Chapter 14
It seemed as if the horses slept, but ten feet away, the horse closest to them turned its head and looked at them. Oakentere crouched and held his hand up in front of him as if he wanted to pat it.
“Nice horsy,” he whispered as he continued towards them. The horse growled, and the other horses came alive. One of them whinnied out loud.
“What’s with the horses now?” one man by the fireplace said.
“Probably just a fox that scared them up. Shall I take a look?”
“Sure, will you?”
One man got up on his feet, Oakentere pulled Queen Amrya along and squatted down in between the horses. This boy has valor, Queen Amrya thought as he hid behind the very horses that were giving them away. She herself was paralyzed by fear.
“I can’t see anything,” the man standing said.
“You’ve got to go and calm them so they don’t wake the others.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the one that’s best with the horses.”
The man nodded and walked towards them. Queen Amrya realized that Oakentere surely never had dealt with horses before, and she was the one that was best with them. She got up and pulled the upset horse by its reins so his head came down. She patted his face. She lay her cheek towards the horse.
“Easy boy – easy,” she said with a low, almost humming voice. Oakentere saw what she did and did the same to the one that had growled. Slowly, the horses calmed down. The man approaching them was only four feet away from the horses as he stopped.
“And that’s how good I am with horses; they calm down if I only get near them,” he said with both arms up in the air in victory.
“Maybe you should just stand there, then,” the other one replied.
No, please don’t, Queen Amrya thought.
The man stood there and waited before he returned to the fire.
“Nah, they’re quiet now.”
Queen Amrya breathed out. They patted all the horses, and the horses made no sound as they waded under the bridge. The forest stretched over the other side of the road, and they did not have to wade very far before they were out of sight for the soldiers. Oakentere stopped and turned as the last remains of the soldiers’ fire disappeared.
“My Lady, you saved my life down there. I’m in forever debt to you,” he said.
Queen Amrya laughed. “I have lost count of how many times you have saved my life. The debt is mine to pay.”
“Now at least we are in a place they are not looking for us.”
They kept in the stream until they were out of the woods.
The first steps back on dry land, Queen Amrya felt numb in her feet after cooling them down for so long.
“We’ve got to run,” Oakentere said.
“Why?” She looked around to see if anyone followed them.
“Just until the heat is back in our bodies. We can’t make a fire.”
“Okay,” she replied.
He started slowly, but still she had trouble following. Her feet wouldn’t obey her. They ran for almost half an hour before Amrya stopped.
“I’m sorry; I can’t run anymore.”
“It’s okay. We will find a camp soon. The sun is soon rising.”
During their run, they had passed a spot where the forest had overgrown the road, and a mile to the south, they could see a thin line that was the road that she only a few days ago had traveled in a royal carriage the other way. Straight ahead, she saw the plains of Eistella and knew they were only a few miles away from the borders between Gardir and Eistella. That comforted her because their pursuers would follow her all the way to the gates of Engriole and the plains would be the most dangerous stretch of their journey.
“Let's camp over by those rocks,” Oakentere said. “Then we can dry our clothes on the rocks.”
“What do you mean by our clothes?” the queen said with a stern voice as she followed him over to a small group of large rocks that lay in the field.
“We can’t sleep in wet clothes. We will freeze.” Oakentere removed the blanket that tied up the little prince and gave him to Amrya. Then he removed his bow, quiver, and his swords. “Take off your shoes and stockings.”
She did as he said but assured herself that was as far as she would go. Oakentere placed her shoes and stockings out on a rock. He removed his own and did the same.
“These are leftovers from yesterday. It is all we’ve got left, so please eat.” Oakentere sat down by her feet and gave her food. He lifted his jacket and shirt and placed her naked feet onto his warm stomach. She felt the warmth flowing to her feet and couldn’t help thinking about how uncomfortable this had to be for him.
“If we are cold, we don’t sleep very well, and we need to sleep,” Oakentere said. “My shirt and jacket are still dry, so I will take off my wet trousers and use my jacket to cover my legs. I guess Endir’s blanket is large enough to cover and keep both of you warm.”
The queen nodded but said nothing. They ate the last of their food in silence. It tasted foul but did well for a hungry and exhausted body.
After the meal, Oakentere got up. He removed his pants and placed them over a rock, then he lay down, using his jacket as blanket for the legs. Queen Amrya looked at him. She had expected him to tell her she also needed to get out of her wet garment, but he didn’t. She thought about just sleeping in her dress despite how cold she knew it would keep her. At last she placed Endir on the blanket and got up. Unused to walking barefooted outside, she tiptoed over to the nearest rock. She stripped off all her wet clothes and hung them to dry. As she got back, she curled herself and Prince Endir into the blanket. All the time she had kept her eyes on Oakentere, but not once had he turned to take a peek. The blanket did keep them warm. For the first time in many hours, she wasn’t freezing. And as the sun turned night into day, she was fast asleep.
***
Only two days after the court, General Sarim was back on the parade square with the same entrusted officers. This time, they didn’t enter the court, but the parliament facing it.
“And the matter of your visit?” the guard outside the king's council asked as the general had inquired to meet with the king’s council.
“It is matters concerning the death of our king,” Sarim replied.
The guard entered and, in a matter of minutes, they were shown in.
“And what is the nature of the general’s visit to us this time around?” Kaene, the leader of the council said. He gazed at the general with hatred in his eyes, and Prince Adrian, who sat beside him, looked down into the floor.
“I am ready to admit my errors,” Sarim said as humbly as he could. The officers accompanying him all looked down.
“Your errors?” the leader of the council said, his voice still sarcastic, but his eyes showed relief, even the prince looked up.
“It was emotional for me to see our king so brutally murdered, and in my frustration, I saw that the information given the savages had to come from here, and the only logical explanation, even how far-fetched it sounded, was that you had betrayed him.” Sarim strolled in front of the council, looking at every member, and ending his gaze at the prince. “But Prince Adrian to betray his own father?”
The prince nodded; he knew by himself that he could do nothing like that.
“Then it occurred to me; what if the information came from somewhere else?”
“From where?” the leader of the council asked.
“From Engriole, of course. The leaders in the city have betrayed us and our king.”
The leader of the council was about to protest but held himself back. No matter how farfetched it was, it would get the allegations away from
them.
“Who would profit from the savage attacks on the road to Engriole?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s the merchants of Engriole, for everything that the savages steal, we must go back and buy more. I believe they have supported the savage attacks for years, and our king’s hard work to secure the road threatened their business.”
“It’s true; Engriole has not done its part in securing the road.”
“We should claim a joint rule over Engriole so we can supply troops on both ends of the road and stop their contact with the savages, then the road, and the whole of our country will be safe from the savages.”
“Why do you tell us this? Until the prince is appointed king, the court’s high council rules the land. It’s their decision.”
“I know, and we will talk to the court, but here is also an opportunity for the prince to show his devotion and valor. I think he should lead the negotiations.”
“Do you think King Godobar will give up sovereignty over Engriole simply because we ask it of him?”
“Of course not. We must ride out with the full strength of our army and siege the city. Then I think he will be reasonable soon enough.”
“We need to discuss this matter in private, if you will be as kind as to wait outside. We will be quick.”
The general and his officers walked out of the large hall and waited outside. They said nothing because they didn’t trust the ears that might listen to them. They just stood outside in utter silence until the doors opened and they could step inside once more.
“We have considered your proposal and agreed that it is good. We will join you over in the court, and Prince Adrian will lead the endeavor.”
“This pleases me to hear,” General Sarim said. “I believe you will be just as great a king as your father was.”
Chapter 15
Queen Amrya had slept well during the day. She had been exhausted after going throughout the night, but also because she kept the warmth. Oakentere had given her a good advice, and she excused his naiveté. He probably just passed on advice given to him as a child and didn’t know how inappropriate it was to offer such a suggestion to a queen. She slept so soundly that Prince Endir struggled to wake her up when he was done sleeping. He was small enough to crave a lot of sleep but had also slept through the night. In the afternoon, Oakentere had woken up and offered to look after him so she could sleep more. She woke up when it was almost dark again. Oakentere and Prince Endir were gone, but she didn’t feel worried at all. She got up and found her dress and the nurse’s overcoat. It was dirty and worn by the journey through the woods. She sighed as she examined the clothes. Still, they were dry, and that was the main issue. She was buttoning her dress as Oakentere got back.