The Prince's Thief

15. The Planting

The sun had just begun to rise as I felt the crunching of straw underfoot. By the time the sun was no longer hiding behind the mountains, William, Elyhas, Tristan, Arthur and I were mounted and had left the city walls of Calber behind us along with a dozen other men.

We never did make it to Mordaen.

An ambush lay in wait for us in the Valley of Gale, and they had sunk arrows into three good men before we even knew they were there. The fight was chaos, for we were blind in the thick bush, and every position but ours had higher ground. I watched as a fourth man wearing Calber's colours fell to the mud. Filled with fury and heartache, I let an arrow fly, which embedded in the open, laughing mouth of one of our adversaries. Dozens more enemy men were racing down the hills to where we sat like pigs awaiting slaughter. Four men at least ran directly for Arthur, already battling two. Elyhas bravely fought beside William, the two of them together fighting four, having defeated a fifth. Every person whore wore the colours of Calber was already outmatched, and at least thirty men more were approaching, all screaming variations of the same deadly thing:

Kill the Prince.

I wasn't sure what possessed me, for in a sound mind I would never have dared try it, but then, it felt as though I had done it on instinct. I had vowed to protect Calber, and Arthur, and my friends and comrades were dying around me, with no hope of survival.

Ten men hurled backwards with a single glance, another four crushed by a falling tree. I could feel the warmth of my magic in my eyes, and with a mere thought, I snapped the neck of the man rushing towards me with a sword, and he crumpled to the earth.

"Sorcerer! They have a sorcerer! Find it! Kill it!" Screamed a voice, and all those in the colours of Calber took a second to look shocked, but quickly returned to their fighting before stopping to wonder who it may be.

I let two arrows fly at once, each finding its target in the backs of two of those attacking Arthur, leaving him still with two more. In the busy distraction of the fight, I sent six more men flying backwards, knocked unconscious upon contact with the ground. We began to stand a chance at surviving. I drew my sword just in time to block an attack, and put him on the defensive. It did not take long to finish him, though my victory was short lived, for more men began to pour down from the hills. I drew my bow, igniting the tip of the arrow with a few uttered words, and let it fly. The man it embedded in fell, screaming, and rolling on the ground, allowing the flame to catch on the dry brush that was well-sheltered from rain in the dense wood. Soon, the upper half of the hill was engulfed in flames, not yet jumping across the stream to the lower half were we fought, and the ambushers were blocked from reaching their companions. Without the ability to get to us, the ambusher's reinforcements retreated, leaving us to finish those unlucky enough to be caught on the lower side of the stream.

When the last enemy man fell, there was but a few seconds of silence, before Arthur commanded we return to Calber immediately.

"Quite the stroke of luck, that fire starting when it did," Elyhas commented cheerily, but William scowled.

"Not luck, Elyhas. Magic. Sorcery. Within the lands of Calber. To think, we fought next to one, and didn't even know it..." William trailed off in disgust. Elyhas shrugged.

"Saved our lives, didn't he, if there was a sorcerer?" Elyhas pointed out. William scoffed.

"Likely only to demand favour from Prince Arthur or the King," William muttered. Elyhas sighed. Arthur remained silent.

"Well, if I knew who he was, I'd thank him personally for saving my skin-and yours," Elyhas retorted, "He saved our Prince's life, whoever he is. If he wanted to demand something, he'd make himself known. Don't you think, Faye?"

Elyhas bringing me into the conversation caught me off guard, and I shrugged.

"We'd likely all be dead without that fire," I replied, "Including Prince Arthur."

William made an irritated noise, and Elyhas smiled at me approvingly.

Returned to Calber, the King was not pleased to hear our news. He was even less pleased to hear of the possibility of a sorcerer amongst those in his castle, for the King despised sorcerers and magic alike.

"I want every man alive that was there on their knees before me within the hour," The King commanded. Elyhas, William, Tristan and I were forced to our knees almost immediately by the Kings men, and were soon joined by all those uninjured enough to walk that returned with us. The King walked up and down us in a line, asking odd questions here and there, before his eyes fixed on Tristan.

"Stand," The King hissed, and Tristan rose, "You returned with an injury our physician confirmed should have killed you, an injury far too healed for the time passed since getting it, and injury that shoulder never have healed, but then healed so well you would not know it ever occurred. Magic was used to heal you, do you deny it?"

Tristan bowed his head, and I felt my heart clench. No, you idiot! Don't! I pleaded, but only in my own thoughts, I will not let you sacrifice yourself to save me from this.

"I do not," Tristan replied.

"Then you leave me no choice but to conclude it is you who dares practice magic," The King hissed, drawing his sword so quickly I almost didn't have enough time to react. No sooner had the king raised his sword to end Tristan's life, did he find his sword knocked out of his hands, making a lot of clatter as if fell to the stone floors some distance from him.

"I will not let you harm an innocent man," I whispered, standing slowly, and feeling eyes burn into me, including Arthur's, "Not when it was I who healed Tristan, and I who set fire to the hill today."

The King laughed, and then curled his lips into a snarl.

"So be it, witch, for tonight you shall burn," He hissed.

"Father, perhaps you ought to reconsider. Faye, though practicing magic is outlawed, has saved the life of every man in this room, including myself, and that was just today. Who knows who she has saved, and how often, before today? I beg of you, banish her, but do not have her executed. I owe her my life. Left me repay her that debt," Arthur suggested to his father, who looked furious, but convinced.

"Very well," The king muttered through gritted teeth, "You are banished from the lands of Calber for the remainder of your life and in your death. If you step foot within these lands again....You. Will. Burn." The king spoke the last three words in a slow, deliberate voice. I bowed my head, and was escorted from the court, to my fathers home to collect a few belongings, and then to the edge of the city.

And so, I left all that I knew, and stared into the green abyss before me.