Heir

Chapter 1, Scene 7

Niels knew he wasn’t supposed to be there. One of the advantages of being a half-blind hunchback was that he often got overlooked. His pet theory was that people simply chose not to acknowledge anything they found too unappealing to consider. Whatever the reason, Niels found it easy to move quietly through the halls and grounds of Darkmoor Castle without anybody questioning whether or not he should be there. So now he sat crouched in a dark corner of the coach house, behind a couple of barrels, looking on as Prince Kylian’s private carriage rolled into the room.

A moment later, the prince himself appeared in the coach house to welcome whoever had arrived in the carriage. Prince Kylian was a young man, only twenty years of age, the youngest prince of Royaland to live outside of Highcastle. He reflected more of the queen’s appearance than that of the king. His hair was long and wavy. His eyes were like polished blue sapphires. It was said, too, that he had inherited his mother’s disposition. He was a man of alternating great ambitions and dark moods. Right now, Niels observed that he seemed intensely excited about his arriving guest.

The door of the carriage swung open and a figure emerged. Layers of black cloaks made the figure almost shapeless, but it stood just a little shorter than the prince once it had stepped out of the carriage. A sort of headdress that combined elements of a turban, mask and veil concealed everything but the guest’s eyes.

“Prince Kylian, I presume?” The stranger had a woman’s voice.

“Ambassador Teya,” the prince acknowledged, “it is an honor to finally meet you and to speak with you in person. I trust that your journey was not unduly stressful?”

“I am accustomed to journeys both long and dangerous,” the ambassador said, “our discussions shall soon reveal whether the trials were warranted in this case.”

“I assure you that I am as committed as you are to making it so.”

The prince half-turned and another figure stepped into view. He was a tall, imposing man with white hair and extremely pale skin. His eyes were a pinkish hue, and his body rippled with exceptional musculature.

“This is Hoth, the man I mentioned to you in our correspondences.” Kylian introduced the man. “His father was one of your kinsmen who washed ashore on the coast of our nation. He is a great hunter and has rendered faithful service to me and my family.”

Hoth spoke a short phrase in a language Niels didn’t recognize while performing a strange sort of bow with his left hand shielding his face. The foreign ambassador responded with another short phrase in the same language, but made no corresponding gesture.

“If you will excuse me, Prince Kylian, I am weary from my journey and would like to rest before we begin our dialog.” The strange woman said.

“Of course.” Kylian nodded politely. “If you will come this way I will show you to the guest chambers I have set aside especially for you.”

As the prince and his guest began to move away from the carriage, Niels leaned forward to try to maintain his view of them as long as he could. In doing so, he tipped one of the barrels he was hiding behind just enough to cause a metal horseshoe to fall off the top of it and clatter on the cobblestone floor. Niels immediately froze. While the prince and his guest continued without pause, Hoth had stopped in his tracks to look around. Niels saw the hunter’s eyes track towards the barrels, and he hoped beyond hope that he was deep enough in the shadows so as not to be seen. The albino paused, and took a sharply inhaled breath, like a wolf sniffing for prey. The hunchback didn’t dare breath. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, Hoth finally shrugged and followed after the prince.

As soon as there was nobody in sight, Niels got to his feet and hurried out of the coach house, making his way on gimpy legs back into Darkmoor Town, which surrounded the castle on all but the south side. Once out of danger of being caught spying, he paused to catch his breath. His mind was reeling from the implications of what he’d seen. Prince Kylian was entertaining a foreign ambassador. He wondered if King Caiden was aware of this. He doubted it. If that were so, the ambassador would be entertained at Highcastle. For the time being, Niels didn’t know what all of this meant, but he did know there was bound to be some great opportunity to be had in the knowing of it. But an opportunity such as this had to be seized upon cautiously. He would need allies and intermediaries, people whom owed him favors.

Just then, Niels saw a boy running by with a large basket of apples slung over his shoulder – on his way to market, no doubt.

“Trent!” Niels yelled after him. The boy stopped, perked up, and cast his eyes left and right, looking for whoever had called his name.

“Over here boy!” Niels called again. He had the boy’s attention now. “Spare a moment for old Niels.”

“What is it?” Trent asked when he had joined Niels in the shadow of the house the older man leaned against. Trent was tall, strong, and strikingly handsome for an eleven-year-old boy. He was exactly what Niels wished he had been thirty years ago, instead of the awkward, misshapen youth that he was.

“Has your mother returned yet?”

“No, she hasn’t.” Trent answered. “She told me not to expect her for a week, at least.”

“Ah, I see. Did she ever tell you what her business in Rockisle is about?”

“No. She said it was a family matter, and that she would tell me about it when she returned.”

“Very good, Boy.” Niels acknowledged. “I hope that her journey is safe and prosperous. Now get yourself back to work.”

“Yes, Sir.” Trent excused himself.

Niels thought on that. ‘A family matter’ must mean it had something to do with the boy’s father. What else could be so important that it would compel his mother to make such a long journey, and yet, not bring her son with her? The fact that she needed Niels’ help to secure a means of meeting with somebody of importance in Rockisle, suggested that the boy’s father was also somebody important – perhaps a member of one of the merchant families. Niels knew that he would get to the truth eventually. What mattered now was that he was in need of somebody that owed him a debt, and Tildy wouldn’t be back for awhile.

While Niels contemplated his circumstances, another situation was playing out across the street from him. Three young women strolled, arms linked in arms, down the side of the road, absorbed in their own, half-whispered conversation. They suddenly came to a halt when they realized a young man stood directly in their path. Jorn was tall, broad shouldered, even handsome, but known around town to be a bit of an oaf. When the girls stopped and looked up at him, he addressed the prettiest one.

“Hello, um, Bailey.” He fumbled with his words. “I, uh, picked these for, um, you.”

He produced from behind his back a bouquet of wildflowers picked from the moors that surrounded the town and castle, and thrust them in the general direction of the girl.

“For me?” The young woman feigned an innocent smile as she accepted the bouquet.

“Yeah, they’re, um, for you.” Jorn confirmed. “Do you, uh, like them?”

“They’re very pretty.” Bailey observed.

“Oh, uh, good.” The young man was obviously glad to have the girl’s approval. “So, uh, I was wondering if, hmm, you might like to, um, go for a walk with me?”

“Well, you see Jorn; if anybody else had given me these flowers I would be charmed. But, because it was you, they… don’t… mean… a thing.” Any trace of charming innocence disappeared from the girl’s face as she dropped the flowers, a few at a time, to punctuate the last few words of her statement. They now lay in the mud at her feet, where they were soon trampled by her and her friends as they slipped past Jorn and continued on their way, laughing scornfully as they went. Jorn looked forlorn as he dropped his head in disgrace and shuffled away in the opposite direction.

Niels watched the whole thing transpire. Again, none of them had noticed him observing, because most people chose not to acknowledge him if he didn’t assert himself. He thought about the haughty young girl and jilted young man, and he knew that, sad as it may be, there was yet another opportunity to be had here.

*****