The Kingdom of Noitcif

Chapter Twelve - The Present

  When Espen and Lysander returned back to the main island of Noitcif, the young king went back to his suite, hoping to have a little free time to think about all he had seen today. However, that was not to be the case, for as soon as he shut the door to his room, he heard the doorman greeting someone.

  "I believe he is in his bedroom, Sir," the doorman stated.

  In little time, one of the servants knocked on Espen's door before letting himself in with a low bow. "The messenger, Tarquin Hollingberry to see you, my king."

  "Oh, all right!" Espen responded, glad that it wasn't someone with a problem he needed to rectify. "Tell him I'll be right there."

  As Espen exited his bedroom, he saw Tarquin waiting near the door.

  As soon as they made eye contact, the messenger gave a low bow and exclaimed, "Greetings, my good king! How are you this fine afternoon?"

  "Very well, thank you," Espen replied with a grin.

  "I was coming to see if this would be a good time for me to take you to the horse stables."

  "Oh!"

  Suddenly, the memories from yesterday evening after the coronation ceremony came flooding back to him, and he remembered that Tarquin had brought up taking him to see the Noitcif horse stables the following day. The thought had completely slipped his mind in the midst of the events going on around him, but it was all coming back now.

  "Yes, this is a fine time!"

  "You are not needed anywhere else?"

  "I don't believe so..." Espen responded, glancing to the doorman for support, who only shrugged.

  "Well, what I have to show you is rather important, so no one will blame you if you are absent for a bit," the messenger reassured with a mysterious wink.

  Espen and Tarquin walked out of the double doors at the top of the castle and descended the spiral staircase leading around the outside of the tallest tower. Espen loved that staircase, for when a person was on it, they could go almost anywhere in the castle they liked, as there were bridges and ramps that were attached and led in all directions. The previous evening, after he had gotten home from the ceremony and celebration that followed, Espen and Lee Rose had climbed to the very top of that staircase, and the young king was astonished at the view. He could see almost all the islands of Noitcif, laid out in their splendor in the rays of the setting sun.

  But now, Tarquin was leading Espen to the bottom of the tower, which ended on the cobbled ground. The royal messenger led him through the maze of houses nestled at the bottom of the fortress until they came upon a large building with a thatched roof and stone walls. From the whinnies that were echoing from inside, Espen knew they had reached their destination.

  The horse stables in Noitcif were not dank and musty, like the stables in Meadow Brook had been. Instead, this barn was sheltered, warm, and cheery, and the sunlight was filtering through skylights on the ceiling; tricking the mind into thinking the horses were all outdoors on a bright summer day.

  "Well, hello there, Tarquin!" a tall, burly man exclaimed, sauntering towards them with a bale of hay under one arm and a bucket of water in the other. "And King Estevan!" he greeted with a hearty bow, gently setting down his burdens as he did so.