Through the Portal

Chapter 8- Valerice

        Andrero flinched visibly at their father's harsh words. Valerice made no movement.

        "If Andrero had not been an imbecile and insisted on trying to spy without any clear idea of how or where, none of this would have happened." The king lapsed into silence as a physician came in through the door after the servant who had been sent to fetch him. He walked to the prince and set his bag on the floor, reaching in for bandages and ointments. As he began to roll up Andrero's sleeve to check for injuries, Andrero shook him off and stepped forward.

        "How can you sit there so calmly and say that?" Andrero demanded, his voice soft but menacing.

        "I can say this because it is true. If you had not run off I would not have had to send your sister to come release you from the dungeons of the Malamiko. Because of you, lives have been lost, and our men are still fighting our enemies while they should be training and fortifying the gates of our city against our enemies that close in daily."

        "Then why did you send men? Why not leave me in their clutches if it would have made things easier?" Andrero hissed. "Why not just leave me there to die?"

        "You know why we could not do that." The king was on his feet. He walked down from the dais until he stood nearly nose to nose with his oldest son. "They would have used you as a bargaining chip."

        "You could have just left me with them. You have no reason to take me back. You have told me many times that I am as useless as a sick newborn calf with only three legs. You have told me that as many times as you have told me that my sister alone would make a better ruler than I would with every king who has come before to guide me."

        The king looked ready to strike Andrero, and Vlaerice could tell that he was struggling to find words. In the end he left without a word or a backward glance. Valerice stayed rooted to the spot for a moment before she dismissed the physician. He followed the king out, but left his bag behind. Valerice walked over to the bag and pulled out the bandages and ointment. She stood and began to bandage a cut on Andrero's arm.

        "He does love you," she said quietly as she worked methodically, cleaning the wound and applying the ointment. Andrero winced as the ointment touched his open flesh.

        "If he does why does he not say so?"

        "You make it hard on him." Valerice's voice was soft, she began to wrap his forearm with a length of clean bandage.

        "So you blame me too for our father's poor health," Andrero cried, snatching his arm away from her.

        "I never said that," Valerice replied quietly, regaining control of his arm and finishing the bandage. She moved onto a cut on his face across his temple.

        "You say nothing, but I know that you see more than anyone knows. You know far more than any of father's advisors, you know more than anyone in the three kingdoms." Valerice said nothing, just pasted the thick green ointment over the cut. Andrero winced again. "Father is right. You would make a far better ruler than I would."

        "Be that as it may, you are the next in line for the throne, and must learn to not throw yourself into danger when it is not necessary." Valerice began to inspect him for any more injuries, and noticed a slash on his back near his right shoulder. She stood behind him and removed his robe and shirt sleeves. He stood there and let her clean and bandage his shoulder.

        "You sound just like father and his advisors. Although I suppose you are one of his advisors now. Do not try to deny it," he said as Valerice made a small noise behind him. "Whether you are an official advisor or not, you have more pull in his decisions than the rest combined."

        "That is not true."

        "Yes it is." Andrero turned to look at her, and Valerice saw a fire burning in his eyes, and knew that he was only barely keeping his temper under control.

        "Why are you upset?" she asked him.

        "Why am I upset? You should know, you know me better than anyone else. I suppose that's how you knew exactly where to look for me." His voice was venomous. Valerice said nothing. "You always know what I'm doing, what I'm planning, where I'm going, who I'm with. It is impossible for me to lie to you. How is it that you know everything?" Andrero gave Valerice a measuring glare. "Do you spy on me? Is that how you know everything?"

        "No." The word was cold and hard, and Valerice's face was expressionless, and her voice lacking of all emotion. "I have never spied on you, I have no reason to."

        "You are just like father! You treat me like a child. You, my sister who is two years my junior. You scold me, and belittle me, you always try to show me up. You try to make me look unfit for the throne."

"You have no base for these claims, and if you did they would still be untrue. I love you my brother, I just don't want to see you hurt."

        "No, you just want me to fail so you can swoop in and save everyone. Father always said how much you were like mother, but you are nothing like her." Valaerice turned away like she had been slapped. "She would have never treated me like this, like I am not good enough to be king. She would have never let you and father treat me like I am just a child who cannot cope with the world outside the city walls."

        "You are treated like this because it is true," Valerice said, her voice rising as she turned around. "You act like a child because you want our father's attention, but you get angry when he becomes upset with your poor actions. If you want his attention all you have to do is work hard, and stop acting like you were born yesterday."

        "You are just jealous because I am the next in line for the throne." Andrero turned up his nose at her.

        "If I were jealous, you would know."

        "No, I wouldn't. You hide your feelings from everyone, and yet you know exactly how everyone else feels. How is that? You are as snobbish as anyone I have met!" Andrero advanced on her. Valerice saw in his eyes that his temper he had so carefully kept in check for so long had finally boiled over. She expected him to shout, she expected him to strike her, but she did not expect what happened next.