The Cold Light Fades - Book 1 of the Crystal Chronicles

Chapter Four - Flash Backs and Dreams

By the following midday, Alesson was desperate to get out of his father's chambers, which he had come to know as his prison. He had been rudely awoken before breakfast time by Trengar, who had insisted that he help Alesson get up and dressed. Alesson had felt much better, but that had not stopped his father from mothering him constantly and complaining about everything. Alesson thought that if he heard Trengar say 'You need more rest Alesson, but don't worry you'll be back on your feet soon' one more time, he might scream.

After being woken up and dressed, the maids arrived to change the beds and deliver the breakfast. It was at this point that Frostbite had been told to go back to the royal courtyard. The house cleaners were disgusted by the state of the bed, which was full of dried sticky webbing, the sweat of a young male body and the hair of a moulting wolf. Alesson had been helped by his father to the dining room, where they had eaten ham, eggs, and toast, under the disgruntled gazes of the maids.

After breakfast, Alesson felt almost back to normal. Trengar however, insisted on carrying him to a nearby padded chair and propping him up with cushions, even though Alesson was sure he could have walked to it by himself. He was dressed in a basic brown tunic, his hair was ruffled and unbrushed, and even though his father had helped him wash, Alesson still felt very grubby.

Across from Alesson sat his sister, Linta, who was wearing a long flowing white dress, she looked clean and pristine in stark contrast to how Alesson felt. She had been there since early morning and had arrived with Deltain for their morning lecture. The lesson had not gone smoothly; the king who had invited himself along, to keep an eye on Alesson, seemed to delight in going off topic and chatting to Deltain.

The lecture, which Deltain had introduced to them as 'a list of dos and don'ts regarding diplomacy,' had started out well. Linta, as always, had become quite involved. The discussion had turned into a series of role-plays where each of the twins would take it in turns to try to diplomatically solve a problem. Linta loved this sort of thing, and normally she was an expert at it. However, when practicing diplomacy with her father and Deltain, who could not be swayed by fluttering eyelashes and dimples, the game became very different and much more difficult for her. Eventually when the twins started losing, the king and the Sage decided to show the twins how it was done, so the elders commenced their dealings, which went on forever. In the end, the pair declared the deliberations a draw and left the twins feeling even more confused than ever. They then took their leave and left the twins to await lunch.

"So, did any of that make any sense to you?" Alesson asked his sister.

"I understood it when we were doing it, but when they tried to demonstrate the 'finer points of diplomacy' as they called it. It seemed like all they did was argue," Linta replied.

"I don't think I like this whole diplomacy thing," Alesson grumbled.

"You're not supposed to like it Alesson," Linta replied. "Remember Deltain said that 'as the king or queen, everyone will want a piece of your power for themselves' which I think means that everyone will think that you owe them favours and the trick is to get them to give you something back in return."

"So why not just say 'I'll give you this, if you do this for me'?" Alesson asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's just what's expected," Linta shrugged.

At that point, the maids returned with the twins' lunch which consisted of bread, cheese, and fruit. Once the twins had finished, King Trengar returned and looked Alesson up and down. "Do you feel ready to get some fresh air?"

"Oh, I sure do," Alesson said quickly, eager to escape the confines of the royal apartments.

"Good boy, I believe there's someone downstairs who still needs your attention," Trengar said.