Prince of Time

Chapter Thirty-Two - Preludes to Warfare

“What?” Zeno gasped.

“My squire,” Tobiah repeated, patiently. “My private servant and soldier.”

The prince had summoned Zeno in the early hours of the morning. The conversation had taken longer than it should have, the young magician still being half-asleep.

“You want me to be your squire?” Zeno checked. “To serve you in the army?”

“Yes,” Tobiah rolled his eyes. “Don’t you want to join the war?”

“I think I’ve already said…”

“Oh yes,” Tobiah nearly smiled. “The pacifist bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard no longer,” Zeno grumbled. “We come back half-dead and all we get is: ‘Well done, now go and clean those crucibles.’ Scarcely a word of praise. Nothing.”

“You didn’t do very much magic,” Tobiah pointed out.

Zeno scowled. “I think staying alive through all of that was fairly magical.”

Tobiah laughed. “Zeno, do you want to see this through to the end or not? Do you want to come to the ends of the earth, to darkness and despair and danger, to face Finem in battle? Or do you want to stay behind and clean crucibles?”

Zeno’s eyes sparked. “I think I’ll be fighting the apocalypse right there with you, your highness, pacifist or not.”

Tobiah grinned, teeth glinting. “Good. Find yourself a uniform. Welcome back to the service of the prince.”

“So they won’t give you a dragon?”

Three cadet soldiers from the First Tier, dressed in fresh uniforms, walked sullenly across the scrub grass, kicking at dust.

“No,” Nicanor said, mournfully. “They won’t even let me try. I’ve only ever had three dragon flights in my life, and they were just once-round-the-castle things. You’d think after all I’d done…”

“I know what you mean,” Pepper agreed. “All of that and we’re still cadets?”

“The thing is,” Maple voiced the unspoken fear, “did we do anything worth recognition at all? I mean, really?”

“Of course we did,” Pepper’s voice was clipped. “We did so many things.”

“We fought a few bandits,” Maple counted on her fingers. “We more-or-less rediscovered Etheron for the western kingdoms. There was the business with Ane and the unicorns. You fought your beast. But, to the Masters, does that really count as anything?”

“What Ane did does,” Nicanor said, firmly. “I know. I have friends amongst the unicorn hearts. I asked them about it. What she did is unheard of. I suppose that’s the problem.”

“No proof,” Pepper sneered. “No evidence. No witnesses except each other and the gift bearer himself but what does that count for?”

“They still think he’s in league with Finem,” Maple sighed. “I know they do.”

“Are we sure he isn’t?” Pepper chewed on her lip. “I mean, completely sure? He’s…sort of…well…remember the girl?”

“It’s not him,” Nicanor said, firmly.

“Agreed,” Maple nodded. “He’s not always got the moral high ground but with Lym…”

“And Ane,” Nicanor added.

“Ane?” Pepper wrinkled her nose. “What happened with Ane?”

“He made sure they were fully aware of her healing skills and how much he owed her for them,” Nicanor explained. “He spoke in private to the Master of Unicorns. He managed to persuade them to take Ane to the front line as a healer.”