A Ward's Tale

Chapter 31

Vanessa jumps off the stage running towards the burning carriage. Her arms lift, swing in a wide circle then come down towards the carriage. A rumbling under the earth shakes the ground as water bursts from the well at the center of the town. The water rises into the sky then comes down on the carriage and into the busted window. Vanessa pulls her arm back and the door flies off. Walter falls out of the carriage and into her arms. He is burnt but alive. Vanessa holds him tight.

"Guards! Arrest that man! He is to hang for the attempted murder of my son!" King Charles' face is red with anger. Then he runs to his son. He holds both Vanessa and his son. Guards surround the hatted man who shows no sympathy.

"You are a weak king." He spits before being taken away.

Fury ignites within me but I force myself to run towards my family and not the man. If I were to get near him I would ruin the goal of peace. I would not be able to contain myself and would run him through with the nearest sword.

Vanessa looks up at me as I approach them. Her eyes are black then she blinks and they are back to their normal brown color. Tears water in them. I shake my head, I must have imagined them black. But I am cautious just the same.

"He is hurt badly." Vanessa says, looking down at the burns that mar Walters' right side. His clothes are charred where the fire touched.

"Get him back to the castle and to Gayle." Peter says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We'll take care of things here." Valerie stands next to Peter. Anger and disgust written clearly on her face. She had warned us of the possibility of something happening, we just thought it would happen to one of us. We were prepared to defend ourselves. We had a plan to protect the King. We were not prepared for someone to hurt Walter.

King Charles gathers Walter in his arms and he and Vanessa get into the other carriage. I try to stay but Peter ushers me into the carriage with them.

"You need to go with them, protect them. We will break up this crowd with the guards."

I can't argue. I can't waste time. Walter needs me. Walter moans and I jump into the carriage. We take off back to the safety of the castle.

Next is all a blur as we rush to the physician's room. Gayle's assistant hurriedly cuts off Walter's charred clothes as Gayle mixes up a medical goop. He slathers it on Walter who moans in pain. Vanessa sits by his side holding his good hand while King Charles sits on the other side, hands clasped tightly tighter. I stand in the corner not sure of what to do or how to help. Every time I step in I get in the way of Gayle or his assistant. So I stay back and watch. Much of Walter's right shoulder was burnt but his layers of clothes had saved him. Gayle explains that he may have some scarring, especially his hands where the most skin was exposed, but nothing handicapping. From the looks of the clothes, the torch hit him directly in the right bicep area and started spreading quickly.

"If you hadn't acted so quickly, he would have been much worse off." Gayle says once he's finished applying the goop.

"Vanessa saved him. She moved before I registered that the carriage was the one with Walter in it." Gayle smiles softly at Vanessa. He places a hand on her shoulder. "You may stay for as long as you'd like."

Gayle motions for me to follow him into the hall. "I take it the rally did not go well."

"It seemed to be going well, we had some people come out saying they had magic before this man shouted and threw a torch into one of the royal carriages, the one Walter was in. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to do."

"We are about to enter into a challenging time. You must stay strong in what you believe and stay strong in the faith of your family."

I nod. "May I go sit with him?"

Gayle leads me back in. He checks the goop, cleaning and reapplying as I sit beside Vanessa. I put an arm around her and she leans into me.

"That bastard is going to pay. How could he be so evil?" Vanessa says softly. I feel an energy radiating off of her that makes me shutter. A dark outline appears around her, pulsating with her anger. It diminishes as she breaks down crying.

I am worried for her. I can tell her magic is strong but there is something off about it. I will have to talk to Peter about it when I see him. For now I comfort her and watch Walter sleep.

In the next week everything gets worse. The townspeople are divided and knights are breaking up fights everywhere you turn. The magic in the air is turning chaotic and rampant. People's harvests are being burned. As we near the end of fall I fear they will not survive the winter.

I pull myself from the window. In the distance a plume of smoke is rising. Someone's crops are burning.

"I have caused all of this. If I had just been patient and not let Valerie get to me." I curl up into a ball at the end of my bed.

"It is not all your fault. The King made his choice to announce it to his people. He could have told you no." Peter says crouching in front of me. I don't lift my head and hug my legs tighter.

"Rissa, you are stronger than this. We just need to figure out how to appeal to both sides." He touches my shoulder and I look up into his hazel eyes as he stands in front of me. I want to believe him but the weight of the destruction outside holds me down. Even the usual comfort of his touch can not pull me up.

"I do not believe I am, Peter. This magic is strong, not me. I could not even do anything when Walter was on fire. Vanessa took control. And speaking of her, I am worried about her. That black magic is still in her. I can feel it." I leave out that I feel as if the black magic is in me also, although I only feel it when I am near her.

"She does concern me with the darkness that is in her. But I believe that she is still within the grasp of saving. As is everyone here. We just need to find a way to show everyone that there can be a balance. Nothing can be given without being received."

I nod at his words. Something shifts within me. I can not sit here withering in my own fear. There are hundreds of people living in fear right now. Action is what started all this and it is action that must stop it.

"We need to get everyone together. I have a plan to stop all this pain."