The Lost Endeavour Page 17

He let her hand go then, and she was looking out the window of the master’s rooms over the city surrounding the castle. A different view from her last room, and yet it all felt like a prison. Would they truly work together? Could she save them from whatever the mage had called forward? Would Dray ever forgive her if she failed?

  Chapter 24

  Dray was roused from sleep by the sound of horses and armour. He looked out the edge of the window at the group below, unsure if he wanted to be seen or not. There was no sign of the forest men, but it appeared that the soldiers knew to wait. He rolled his shoulders, stiff from his night sleeping against the window. It wasn’t that he had intended to keep watch; it was more that he couldn’t face sleep. And Ana had found him anyway.

  “It is time,” the king said behind him. He nodded before he turned. Belle had returned to the tribute, and there had been no explanation given as to why Phillip hadn’t been presented to the king as requested. Nor was it clear where he had gone.

  Belle was sure he had been taken and murdered in retaliation for freeing the girls and killing some of those men who had taken them. But he may have escaped another way. It was only as Dray looked at the king straightening his jerkin that he hoped Eilke had managed to take him back to the Near Folk, despite his parting words.

  “This might not be a good idea,” the king said.

  “Only one way to find out,” Dray admitted, opening the door for him.

  “Bring out the tribute,” a soldier called, and Dray paused in the doorway.

  “Is that usual?”

  “I don’t know,” the king said.

  A line of women moved below them across the forest floor towards the soldiers. Dray looked down on the heads that passed beneath them, nine in total, and wondered what the lord was playing at.

  “Are you trying to cheat the kingdom?” the same soldier asked. His voice was stern, but there was something a little rehearsed in his words, and for a moment Dray wondered if there was a play that went along with such a tribute. He had been to collect enough of it himself over the years, yet he had never been selected to collect this tribute. He also wished he could see the man through the leaves to see who he might be.

  “There is a question as to the tenth. For I have two beauties good enough for a king.”

  “Bring them forward,” the soldier called.

  The king made to step forward, but Dray caught him by the arm. “Wait,” he whispered.

  “Why not offer both?” the soldier said as the two heads moved out, walking closely together, one dark and one light. An uneasy feeling filled Dray’s chest.

  “This isn’t going to end well,” he murmured.

  “The greater the tribute, the greater your loyalty to the crown,” the soldier said.

  Dray tried to place the voice. He was sure he would know the man, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to stand before the group and find out.

  “Why not ask the king yourself what he thinks?” the lord said.

  They wouldn’t get the chance to meet the group on their own terms.

  “Your Majesty?” the lord called. “Care to make the decision now?”

  The king growled. Dray pushed ahead of him along the narrow walkways and down through the tree. He pushed the door open carefully, taking in the two women, who were surprisingly calm. Although he knew that Belle had been crying most of the night in fear of what had happened to her father, she looked refreshed. The lord’s sister stared ahead. The group of soldiers before Dray was made up of twelve men. Fitting, he thought, although he wondered if they thought there was a chance they would need to convince the tribute to travel with them. There were two carriages, which he should have expected, and Dray wondered if he had been too long out of the capital.

  “Captain Sterling?” A soldier Dray knew well stepped forward, then saluted with a fist across his chest and a controlled bow.

  “Captain Barlow,” he returned.

  “Why are you…” the soldier started, then saw the man behind him step out from the tree. He stared for a moment before looking to Dray. Dray nodded once, and the man dropped to his knee, the men behind him following. “Your Majesty,” he stammered. “We did not expect to find you here.”

  “I was taking some time to visit the provinces,” Ed said, as though it were perfectly normal. “You may rise.”

  “We had heard…” the man continued to stammer.

  “What did you hear?” the king asked, sounding far more like the king he was meant to be than Dray had ever heard him.

  “That you had run away,” Barlow said matter-of-factly as he climbed to his feet.

  “As though I were a child?” the king asked.

  The man looked him over, and a murmuring started amongst the men behind him. They might have seen him for more than what he was before. But Dray still wondered if they were more the regent’s men than the king’s men. He cleared his throat.

  “The tribute, Your Majesty.”

  The king turned and looked over the group. “You may guide them to the carriages, Captain. Is that not what you are here for?”

  “There need only be ten.”

  The king nodded.

  “There are eleven,” the soldier said slowly, as though explaining it to a child. The king sighed, and the man snapped to attention.

  “There are ten,” the king said calmly, “and a companion of mine. I would appreciate it if you would allow her ride with the others. We lost our horses. I would not wish to make the lady walk any further.”

  Well done, Dray thought. He had saved them both without naming which he was to take. Although after the hours Ed had held the crying woman last night, Dray imagined it was Belle he would not let give herself away. He wondered how long it would take for her to become what she had been in the forest. Annoying. Dray leaned forward and indicated the carriages to the two women with an outstretched hand.

  “You would steal my sister?” the lord demanded.

  “Is she not tribute?” the king asked. Dray wondered at the calm façade and how much longer he would be able to maintain it. The captain had his hand on his sword, Dray noticed. Did they expect a fight for these women?

  “My lord,” Captain Barlow said, stepping forward as he gestured to his men with a short wave. “You were to provide tribute and have done so. Are you no longer willing to give to the kingdom?”

  “Of course not,” the lord said through clenched teeth.

  “My father is safe?” Belle asked as she was ushered into a carriage with the other women. It appeared the soldiers were ready to take the tribute whether it was being given willingly or not.

  Dray nodded and could only hope he was right. She looked at him with such hope he wondered if it had been a mistake. Eilke may have returned to his people alone. He didn’t owe them anything.

  “You cannot take them all,” the lord called.

  “Your Majesty,” Captain Barlow said, indicating one of the carriages. “There is room for you to ride inside. I think it best at this stage.”

  The king looked to Dray, who gave him a small nod. This was going better than he had expected, but it could be a very different matter once they were on the road. These men might have other ideas.

  “You cannot take them,” the lord roared. Men appeared from the trees, swords and arrows trained on the soldiers.

  Captain Barlow looked at Dray and then sighed. “There is always a drama with this tribute. Their fathers don’t want to give them up, their mothers try to give away girls not worthy of the tribute, or lords don’t want to show their loyalty to the crown.”

  “I am loyal,” the man spat. “I give willingly to be part of this kingdom. But you have a selfish boy of a king who would steal my sister.”

  “She is tribute,” the soldier said simply.

  “And the other?” the lord sneered.

  “His friend. Forgive me, my lord. I am but a captain in the King’s Men. I am his to do as he directs. It is not for me to question his choice of friends.” He bowed again.

>   The lord scowled down at them but did not call off his men. Dray had developed a new respect for Barlow. At the smell of smoke, he turned and noticed two soldiers towards the back of the group armed with bows; each had a flaming arrow nocked. Definitely a man brighter than Dray had previously given him credit for.

  “Would you like a horse, Sterling, or will you ride above?”

  “I’ll ride above for now.”

  Barlow nodded and, as Dray climbed up onto the front of the carriage the king had climbed into, he looked back to the paling face of the lord.

  “I ask again, my lord: do you offer this tribute willingly?”

  “Yes,” he growled.

  “Excellent,” Barlow said with a clap of his hands. The soldiers moved to the carriages and their mounts, and the convoy started to move out. Dray could still smell the smoke of the flaming arrows, and he wondered if they were still trained on the men of the forest.

  They travelled in silence for a time, and then Dray climbed down along the edge of the carriage as they made their way through the trees towards the main road that cut through the kingdom towards the capital. He opened the door and edged inside.

  All ten girls could have easily fit into the one carriage, but they had spaced them out. It might take a day or two, and Dray imagined they could rest. Or if they played difficult, the soldiers would fit as well. Every face turned to him, and a girl stood and offered her seat, as it was close to the king. Dray held out a hand to allow her to hold on as she made her way down the carriage to another seat. When a wheel hit something, the whole carriage swayed and someone gasped. Dray searched the ceiling for a hand hold.

  “Sit down before you squash someone,” the king said. Dray nodded and sat heavily into the vacated seat.

  “So,” he said, unsure where to start. “This is a nice way to travel.”

  Belle started to laugh and then rubbed her hand across her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she had any tears left. “It is better than walking, perhaps.”

  “It isn’t as smooth a journey as it appears,” one of the girls said. Dray looked up as they were all jostled about. It might have been better if they were squashed in together to prevent such movement. The seats were unpadded wooden benches.

  “We could ask for a horse,” he said to the king, who smiled.

  “And miss this adventure? We will be fine.”

  “I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

  “We seem to have found a group of soldiers not trying to kill me, yet. And we managed to save both Dahli and Belle from the lord. Things are looking up.”

  They went over another bump, and Belle was almost bounced off the seat. The king reached out and pulled her close. “You can hang on,” he said, pulling her arm through his.

  “What shall we do when we reach the capital?” Dray asked, trying to ignore the rising heat in the young woman’s face as she smiled at the king.

  “Find Ana first,” he said, and Belle’s smile slipped.

  “We may not get that chance. I think your uncle will have other ideas.”

  “Well, I doubt he can lock me in my room,” the king said, sounding like a child.

  “Where do you think Ende is?” Belle asked.

  “He might very well be there waiting for us,” Dray said. “He seems to know where he is needed.”

  “He’s not good in castles.”

  “He might not be that willing to help,” the king said softly. Dray looked around at the women, wondering what they thought of the conversation. “He hasn’t been himself since we entered the forest.”

  “Let’s just wait until we are out of the forest before we breathe too easily,” Dray said softly. “The lord is not so happy about his sister joining us, and that he could not keep Belle for himself.”

  “The king said she was to come,” one of the women offered. “He can’t go against the king.”

  “I haven’t been heard too much so far.”

  “We know you,” the woman said, smiling shyly.

  “More and more know who you are,” Dray said. “That may work in our favour.”

  The king sighed and nodded once.

  “I think I’ll stay close for now,” Dray continued. “I’ll talk to Barlow when we stop.”

  “When will that be?” one of the other young women asked.

  “Once we are out of the forest,” he said, looking at the faces focused on him. The lord’s sister must have been in the other carriage. He would need to check that for sure and ensure she hadn’t been left behind. He looked at Belle, her arm through the king’s and her head resting on his shoulder as they silently bumped their way out of the forest. He wasn’t sure that the young man would give her up now, whether she was willing tribute or not.

  Chapter 25

  Ed tried to look like the king he hoped they thought he was as he sat amongst the women in the carriage. He was starting to feel quite claustrophobic. The dim lighting through the narrow windows, the heat of the bodies, Dray watching him too closely…

  He glanced at the man from time to time and tried to determine what he was thinking. Dray might have been doing just what he was designed for, watching over Ed. But the number of soldiers around them made him far more nervous than he anticipated, and if they turned on him, he wasn’t sure what he could do. Or what danger that might put the women in.

  The captain had seemed very sure of himself when he’d collected the tribute. It might be that he would claim the lord refused to hand them over. But would the women be heard if they spoke against them? If there was a chance the men could turn on him, Ed doubted the women would survive.

  He glanced down at Belle on his shoulder. She sighed softly in her sleep, her body relaxed against his. Her hand rested on his arm, where he had put it. He had so very clearly made a choice, although he wasn’t quite sure what that choice was. He just couldn’t leave her behind. He only hoped Dray had been right about Philip and that he had returned to the Near Folk. They might be able to find him later.

  She moved in her sleep. Her hand slipped from its loose hold on his arm and fell across his lap. Ed took it in his and then looked up at the raised eyebrow and slight smile on Dray’s face. He sighed. The soldier nodded once, and then the carriage jerked to a stop. Belle sat up with a sharp intake of breath and pulled her hand from his, her face reddening as though she might have done it in her sleep.

  The door swung open and Captain Barlow stood in the doorway. “We shall stretch our legs.”

  There was a general murmur, and several girls moved forward to step down. The soldier cleared his throat, looking at Ed directly. Silence fell over the carriage as they turned to look at him.

  “I think the ladies are in more need than I,” Ed said, indicating the door. He followed them out and then waited to offer Belle a hand as she appeared in the doorway. Dray grinned in the dim light behind her.

  She stepped down and then stopped, her hand still in his, and he turned his gaze to more soldiers than he’d realised had accompanied them.

  “Your Majesty?” a soldier asked, stepping forward.

  Ed nodded once, although the man didn’t take to the knee as the others had.

  “Your uncle has been looking for you,” he said.

  “Has he indeed?” Ed asked.

  “Did you run away?” the soldier asked.

  “I apologise that I don’t know you by name,” Ed said, well aware of the large man standing beside him. He wondered if Dray would pull a sword on his own men if required to save him. “I have not had my uncle’s luxury of spending time with soldiers.”

  “Major Field,” the man said with the smallest bow of his head.

  “Major,” Ed returned without a bow of his own. This man clearly belonged to his uncle. He glanced around at the women standing by the side of the road, then looked back at the trees not so far away. They had waited until they’d left the trees, and Ed hoped it would be enough to keep them safe.

  He looked for the olive-skinned sister of the lord, and she gave him a small smil
e and bow of her head when their eyes met. The major looked at her and then back.

  “Do you want tribute?” he asked.

  “I thought them mine already,” Ed said, suddenly aware of Belle’s hand in his. “Are they not the kingdom’s to give to prove their loyalty to the crown?”

  “The crown,” the man said.

  “Is it not mine?” Ed asked.

  “Did you run?” the man asked again, his voice flat and unfriendly.

  “You forget yourself, Major,” Dray said.

  “As do you, Captain. I understood you had run from duty, after a girl.”

  “Barely,” Dray whispered. Ed wondered what exactly he meant. That he hadn’t run from duty, or that she wasn’t just a girl. “I am true in my duty as a captain of the King’s Men,” he said clearly. “I protect my king.”

  “Mmm,” was all the man said.

  “Did you think the tribute would need more protection?” Dray asked. “We have seen some strange sights in the Near Forest.”

  “I think they can handle ten women,” the man said, looking around. Then his gaze rested on Belle, his eyes lingering on her face and then her hand in Ed’s. “Although there appears to be an extra.”

  “My companion,” Ed said quickly. “A friend the soldiers were kind enough to make room for.”

  The man said nothing, but only looked her up and down again. To her credit, Belle stood still beside him, although her hand squeezed his a little tighter.

  “How long will we remain here?” Ed asked, looking around for Captain Barlow.

  “Not long. We will travel through the night and stop further along the road.”

  Ed looked out at the sky then, which was just starting to darken. Had they travelled so long already in the carriage? Could he survive bumping through the night?

  “Would you rather camp, Your Majesty?” Dray asked him.

  “I trust Barlow to know what he is doing.”

  Belle tugged at his hand.

  “What is it?” he asked, leaning down towards her.

  “We could use a little… break,” she murmured, leaning in towards him.