The Broken Crown

Chapter 51

Raymond

 “We’ve received troubling news,” Raphael said. His expression was grave and there was sadness in his posture that Raymond had never seen before. “Lord Thomas of Wolfsbane reports large masses of rebels are assembling in the wilderness, remarkably close to the sanctuary of the Bad Family.”

 “We should move north, then, shouldn’t we?” the newly appointed Timothy Valior said. He was the brother of Anne and Tatiana and had been an obvious choice for the position as new Head of Security. Unfortunately he was both young and quick to temper, and some whispered dark things of the Valiors.

 “I wouldn’t act too quickly,” Jonathan said. “It has been centuries since Erik ruled the north, but still they have a great deal of supporters. The northerners are hard to deal with; it is as though their beliefs are frozen under a glacier, waiting for the right time to emerge.”

 Raymond could not help but feel grateful that Jonathan was still there, ever the voice of the people and of reason. He was growing older now; streaks of grey parted his dark commoner’s hair. They looked at each other for a moment and Raymond gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

 “I hear you,” Thomas said, and Raymond was surprised that he sounded as though he were about to disagree, “but I think we all agree this rebellion has taken too many lives already. Two members of the King’s Council no longer sit amongst us. Every year, we lose hundreds more due to this war. I know I am not alone when I say that I want peace now – peace to get to know my wife, peace to start a family, peace to give this kingdom a rebirth.”

 The moment Thomas mentioned his wife, Raymond understood his argument; the dwarf was married to the woman of his dreams, yet he barely had time to spend a moment with her. They had been married for years, but they still seemed newly-weds.

 “Thomas is right,” Raymond said finally. “You and Celeste have been married for – how long is it now?”

 “Four years.”

 “Four years,” Raymond repeated. “And she is without child. We put our lives on hold for this war, but look at us; our aging is not put on hold, and the world still moves around us. It is time for this to end, and end for more than a few months at a time.”

 Thomas looked away, blinking several times. Raphael rested his hand in his hands, breathing heavily. The Council was silent for once.

 “Alright,” Jonathan said, with a single nod. “Alright.”

 “Raymond.” The King looked at him, but it was not the King’s eyes Raymond met; it was the eyes of his brother. Suddenly he remembered something vaguely, a sunny afternoon with yellow corn blowing in the wind, holding a wooden sword as the fought as two great lords of legend. “I trust you to lay a strategy.”

 He wished he were a lord of legends now; that victory was in the cards. He nodded. “Of course.”

 It did not take long to assemble an army. Scouts were sent out to report of the exact position of the rebels and soon enough, Raymond and his advisors were moving around small wooden figures on a map.

 The day came when they set out. Raphael rode, but no longer in the front, no longer a leader. Alex still seemed vigorous, even if his energy had a hint of melancholy. His white horse moved like a ghost through the late spring rains.

 “Rains are a good symbol,” he said one night as the army tried to keep dry and warm after a day of riding. “It is the symbol of cleansing, of new beginnings.”

 “In our religion, it is the symbol of hopelessness,” Raphael muttered angrily as he shivered in the cold. They were now far enough north that their breath formed little clouds of fog. Above them, the sky broke in thunder.