More Secrets and the Horse Race - Book 8 - The Frencolian Chronicles

Chapter 5

Having prayed and assured himself that he could 'wait on the Lord' and at the same time, move closer to his throne room, Luke walked the perimeter back to the other side.

Expecting the others to be there waiting for him, he said, "If it's quiet out there, and we all agree, we'll find a way to be closer to our throne room... I need to put most of what I've heard and read here into the back of my mind and quell my emotions for now so I can deal with what I'm able to announce and to manage. You must stay here, Minette, and keep safe. One of us will come back for you, or maybe we four will need to return here." Lifting his gaze up, then around, he realized that two of them were not there. He asked, "Where are Loran and Minette?"

Granville answered, "We took the trunk off the vent and they went down to listen and hear if there are people still in the library, if not they'll trigger the door to open it, hoping no one will be right there or it must be closed in a hurry and bolted again. They shouldn't be long. We hoped to help you move closer to the throne room as you wanted, Luke.

"Meanwhile, I'd like to explain some of how Loran and I were raised. Before we were even ten years old, we were told to imagine that our lives represent the pages in a book, twenty-four pages in a day, one for each hour. Each day is a chapter; the total number of chapters in a month, making the book which needs the patience to stitch all the folded pages together and bind it into its cover. But all we can work on at one time, is one page. What would you wish to do, Luke, in the next hour to write the first page of your new chapter? To pray? To wait, or to move closer to your throne room?"

Luke thought for a moment, then said, "To pray; because the first need to pray about, is that in our waiting, God makes a way for us to safely enter the throne room where I resume the power to make plans for the safety of my sister and my cousins, as well as plans to rescue the stolen children. If the first day is a chapter, then, at the end of that chapter, today, I would like Jobyna here with me, or I with her wherever she is. But I'm not considering the more evil matters in this kingdom. There's too much, just too much to deal with. Perhaps I wish to force too many chapters into one day."

He smiled a rather grim smile, saying, "It is enough and so very hard, to wait..."

"You over-think it, Luke, over-state it. Simply said, the safety of your sister, your family, and the children, is first in your mind and heart."

"The children are so important. Father always said that children are priceless, irreplaceable, they are our future; he so loved us and the people, the children of the village..." Luke bowed his head, shaking it. "It's overwhelming..."

Loran stepped close to Luke, saying, almost in a whisper, "Listen to me, Luke. Do not fear the disappearance of the children who were stolen from your city and villages of Frencolia. Granville and I believe that they will be safe and be saved, through our prayers."

"I, I feel so alone even though I know God is on our side," Luke said.

"I believe that do know you're not alone; we have each other and we have our God. And, Luke, there are what you might call, 'agents' —leaders from our cities —relatives even —right here with you, working for you... they've been in Frencolia for years."

"The lords?" Luke asked.

"Yes. And another secret —we are grandsons, both of us, of Lord Farey. Our father is Lord Farey's Son. And our mother's father is Lord Shellac, meaning he is our maternal grandfather. Our parents and our brothers and sisters were raised inside the hidden kingdom of Frencolia."

Luke now understood the warm greeting when he'd arrived with Loran and Granville at Lord Farey's house. Their grandfather. "I know now where you both gained your great wisdom. What a blessing to have such wise, godly grandfathers and to have them still alive to guide you."