A Princess's Sword

Chapter 15

He gasped, "Arilina! But why are you—? I mean, you are supposed to be—?"

"Nice to see you again too, traitor."

"What ever do you mean, calling me a traitor?" Ithagar questioned.

"There is an attack on my castle tonight from your kingdom, and you ask me what do I mean?" I exclaimed.

"But how did you—? I mean..." he trailed off as he struggled to find the right words.

"I found a piece of paper that fell off you when we first met. You know, I am surprised that you came back. I guess since you did not know we knew about the attack, you figured you would be safe. But now I need to figure out what to do with you." When I finished, I put my helmet on, tucking my hair under it. Then I said, "Come with me." To my surprise, he followed without protesting. I led him into the castle and to the throne room, where Father sat alone reading from a paper. He looked up when we entered.

When he acknowledged me I started in a deep voice. "Sire, this is his royal highness, Prince Ithagar from Brinderia. He tried to enter the castle, but I was able to stop him."

"How interesting. Knight, what is your name?" Oh no! I thought frantically but knew that honesty was always best. I took my helmet off silently.

Surprise filled his face, but when he regained his composure he spoke, "Arilina! I will deal with you later. Now, go to your room. Once the battle starts that will be the safest place for you." He turned back to the prince and studied him for a minute. Finally, he spoke, and asked a strange question, "Are you willing to help us, Prince Ithagar?"

"Yes, your majesty. It is true that I was aiding my father at the start, but I am now glad to say that I am no longer helping him." Something snapped inside of me; I had to leave to keep myself from bursting out with indignation. Father was so engrossed in Ithagar he did not notice, but I felt the prince's eyes on me.

I slipped back to my room and took off the suit of armor. Sighing, I placed the outfit on its stand in the closet. I paused before I put the helmet on because it looked dusty. I searched around my room for a piece of fabric to clean it. Finding a rag, I sat on the bed and cradled the headpiece in my lap. After several minutes of rubbing, the metal shone in the light of the candle I had lit. I set the helmet in its proper place. Just as I finished, there was a soft knocking at the door.

"Yes, come in," I replied as I adjusted the helmet so it was perfect. I turned around and was met by a young servant girl.

"Your highness, his majesty wants to speak to you," she curtsied when she was done speaking.

"Thank you for telling me, did he say where?" I asked, bending down to look into her young face.

She blushed and softly answered, "Yes, your highness, the evening room." When she had finished, she curtsied again and darted out of the room. This is what I had been dreading. Even though Father encouraged me to practice things that usually only men did, he discouraged me dressing as a man.

I made my way to the evening room. Taking a deep breath, I eased the door open. The room was lit by candles scattered through the room and a roaring fire at one end. Two people were seated before the blazing fire. I recognized Father, but the other man's face was in shadows and I could not tell who it was. There was an open chair in between them and I settled into it. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at the man in darkness. I inhaled sharply as I realized the man was Prince Ithagar.

Doing my best to ignore him, I turned to Father and said, "What do you want with me, Father?"

"Well, I was hoping we could get this issue with Prince Ithagar cleared up."

"What is there to clear up? He betrayed us and was assisting his father, who might I remind you, is attacking us this very hour!" My voice reached a feverish pitch near the end of my tirade.

"But I no longer support my father," Ithagar interjected.

"Oh, and you expect that if you say you are on our side we will believe you?"

"Arilina!" Father's stern voice stopped me. "I believe that you should hear what Ithagar has to say and then make your decision."

"Fine." The prince told his story, working his way from the first day of planning with his father to the present.

When he had concluded his narration, I was silent, but my mind was screaming at me. Half of me wanted to believe him, but the other half insisted that he was lying. Even if the attack came tonight as he had told us, maybe it was part of the plan to make us trust him. I thought of something else then. If I trusted him and he was telling the truth I could have my friendship with Ithagar back. But if he was lying and I believed him there was a distinct possibility I might die along with my family and kingdom. If I did not trust him and he was truthful the only thing I could lose was Ithagar.

I rose to my feet and said in a loud voice, "Father, I do not trust this man and neither should you. Now, if that is all you wish to discuss with me, I see no reason for me to stay here, so, therefore, farewell, Father." I stood and walked away without a backward glance at Ithagar. I could barely keep my emotions controlled. I knew that I could not go back now.

An idea came to me, then. I thought through it and realized that the plan was almost completely safe, but I needed to hurry. I put my cloak around me and picked up my bow. I threw the hood over my head, casting my face into shadows. I did not want to be recognized and stopped by someone. Glancing around, I directed my steps to the highest tower. I made it to the top shortly after and scanned the surrounding ground. My eyes caught a glimmer of light. I strained my eyes and saw more light being revealed. I put an arrow on the string.

۩۩۩

The face of Brinderia's king was illuminated in the flame of the last hour candle. The flame wavered then extinguished itself in the liquid wax.

"Lanterns." The king whispered the word, but since all was silent, the whole assembly heard it. Soon lanterns began to cast a glow on the cave.

The king faced the army and spoke, "Men, now, I believe, is the time to strike. If my calculations are correct, Alderia will be caught by complete surprise. Ready yourselves, soldiers." Turning to the men with picks, he said, "Dig! Dig till the stars glow down on us!" He strapped his bejeweled sword to his side and fitted his helmet on his head.

The men swung their picks in rhythm, but they still tried to be as quiet as possible. They finally made a hole in the ceiling. Dirt rained in the hole, but the workers continued to work. Soon, the opening was big enough for four people to go out at the same time. The king ordered his men to march up the previously made steps. They filled the archery field. But, unbeknownst to them, right outside the archery range, the Alderian force awaited.

۩۩۩

When Arilina had turned away, Ithagar's world seemed to collapse. His father had disowned him, so he was no longer a prince. The girl that he loved had declared that she did not trust him. He was incredibly confused and about what he should do. The king cleared his throat and Ithagar realized he was still sitting beside him.

"Well," began the king, "I have to check if everything is going well." The king left, and Ithagar once again sank back into the swirling black of chaos in his head. Then, like a ray of light, he knew what he had to do.