AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You won’t like the next part. We’re going to dull your hair with ash from the fire. That white mane will draw too much attention.”
“Won’t a big lanky man with ash in his hair wearing a shirt four times too big also draw attention?”
“Perhaps in the castle, but not in these lands,” Lucan replied. “Peasants make do with what they have, and they rarely have baths.”
Peasants suffered terrible fashion, in addition to poverty and starvation. That was probably something that should be addressed, Sebastian mused.
Outside, Lucan’s horse nickered and pawed the ground, impatient.
“What about the horse? It is a fine animal.”
“Yes. Too fine for our uses. We will sell it for something less fine. Ideally, two mounts.”
“I do not know how to ride.”
“You will learn. My suggestion, sire, is to go deeper into the forest. We can make our way to the Kingdom of the Verdant Green, where your family historically has friends.”
Seb thought about that for a moment, before becoming distracted by memories of the previous evening.
“The soldiers who took the castle. They wore red. But none of the kingdoms on this continent wear red.”
“No. They do not.”
“Where does?”
“I have to imagine they were from the Isles.”
The Isles were a cluster of distant landmasses not connected to the main continent. They were considered mysterious and unreachable, for the currents that moved around them were rough and treacherous, and there were many reefs and rocky outcroppings that seemed to have been designed by nature herself to impale ships. Fairytales claimed that the Isles were not inhabited by men at all, but by a separate race of half-animal, half-fairy creatures who could survive those rough terrains. When Sebastian had spoken to his mother about the Isles, being a curious young man, she had laughed at that fanciful notion and told him it was a poor place entirely inhabited by common people barely eking out an existence.
“The Isles are so small. Barely there. I was told they were home to no more than a few hundred peasants.”
“All kings once came from a few hundred peasants,” Lucan said grimly. “I am sure edicts and pronouncements will soon make it clear who has attempted to take the throne of Force. These hours are precious hours, and these days are crucial in your ongoing survival, sire. We must reach your allies before the forces who corrupted the castle guard reach us.”
“I have no allies. Nobody knows me.”
“Your family has allies. Your blood has allies. Nobody likes the idea that they could be slaughtered, and their kingdom routed overnight. You will be protected by other royal houses who do not wish to have a hostile kingdom on their doorsteps. Pax and the Verdant are both going to be on your side.
“So why are we going to the Verdant? Why not Pax? My father was of the house of Pax.”
Sebastian had always wanted to go to Pax, where it was said gold flowed in the very rivers. A richer, more lavish kingdom did not exist, and he very much felt himself belonging there. He had no interest in the Kingdom of the Verdant Green, which produced much of the foodstuffs for the continent. It was probably nice enough, but it did not excite him.
“There are high mountains between Force and Pax, whereas passage to the Verdant Green is merely through the Deep Forest, which provides cover and is less taxing. I am a better ranger than mountaineer.”
What Lucan really meant, of course, was that Sebastian had some chance of surviving the forest, and no chance whatsoever of surviving the mountains.
“There is also the advantage of the Verdant being much closer. A week of travel, perhaps longer if we need detour to avoid enemies. Pax would be two at the very least, and the mountains are rife with dangers.”
“Verdant it is,” Sebastian agreed, as if it had ever been a question posed to him.
Lucan nodded. “There is a forest border town not far from here. That is where we will sell your finery and the horse, and gather supplies and fresh mounts. We must do so quickly, and hope that the interloper’s forces have not already made their way there.”
“They called him the Death King!” Sebastian said, suddenly remembering. “That’s what they said… they wanted to bring me to the Death King. Do you know who that is?”
“I do not,” Lucan replied gravely. “It sounds like the kind of name that might be given to a bandit rising to power among simple people.”
Sebastian very much enjoyed the latent derision in Lucan’s tone. It made him feel better to look down on whatever man had deprived him of absolutely everything in a single night. His enemy was powerful, but talking about him like he was nothing but a simple peasant certainly helped Sebastian’s mood.
“We must move, sire,” Lucan reminded him. “We must sell what we can and move toward the Verdant Green in haste.”
