Last Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 2), page 6
The alley was shaded by the tall wall that surrounded the castle grounds. The coolness of the afternoon sent a shiver through her. Summer had passed into fall and the days couldn’t decide if they wanted to be warm or cold. The cool day did offer her the opportunity to wear clothes that helped hide her appearance. With her cloak pulled tightly around her and the hood below her eyes, she walked quickly out of the alley and into the city. She needed to get away from the castle as quickly as she could. All the responsibilities and duties that had been thrust upon her finally were so overwhelming she just couldn’t take it anymore. Lord Martin was handling many of the daily duties of running the kingdom, but he was constantly worrying about this thing or that. Everything was a crisis to him and he was constantly badging her to make decisions that he wanted her to make.
She missed the days when she and Melanie could ride out into the forest for a day’s adventure. The first thing that she would do when she returned back to the castle after her walk would be to find her friend and take two horses for them to ride. She was the queen! She should be able to do anything she wanted. But it had been even longer since she had seen her other friends in the city. The ones who really needed to see her.
With a long stride, she made her way through the crowded streets towards the center of the city. Keeping her eyes low and avoiding eye contact with anyone, she was able to maintain her anonymity. The last thing she needed was to be recognized in the middle of the street. It wasn’t long before she found herself on quiet streets near the main city walls. She knew exactly where to go, as she had been there a hundred times.
The house looked the same. It was really more shack than house. A dirty curtain hung in place of a door. With winter coming, it would take more than a curtain to keep the cold out. Something would have to be done about that.
“Hello?” Elissa called through the doorway.
“Yes?” the voice was soft and quiet.
Elissa stepped through the curtain and was met with a joyous shriek.
A little girl rushed at her and put her arms around her, squeezing her tightly.
Elissa pulled away just so she could see the smiling face. “Mary! You are on your feet! You are well?”
Mary gave Elissa a toothy smile. “Yes. I am better!”
Elissa knelt down and pulled Mary back into a hug. She held her close and tight.
After some time, it was Mary who pulled away. She wiped a tear from Elissa’s cheek. “You are crying. Are you sad?”
“No,” Elissa said with a wide smile. “I am happy to see you up and running around. The last time I saw you, you were so sick.”
“Mommy said it was because of you!”
Elissa shook her head. “Oh, no. It was all you. You are strong.”
“She is right,” a voice said from the doorway.
Elissa stood to see Mary’s mother carrying a bucket of water.
“Hello, Minnie!”
Minnie bowed her head and curtsied. “Your Majesty.”
“Minnie! We are friends, you do not need to do that!”
“But you are the queen,” Minnie said. “It is what is proper.” She set the bucket on the ground just inside the doorway.
“Mary is doing so well!” Elissa said.
Minnie tapped the bucket. “It is the clean water. When you told us to start using the well in the center of the city, it seems that many of the sick got better.”
“That is good news!” Elissa said. “I thought the water from your well tasted funny.”
“It had been so long that we have been drinking that water, it seems that we did not realize how bad it was. The water from the other wells actually taste better!”
Minnie looked over at the bucket and said, “It is clean enough, but there is very little for us to use. We use the water from the old well for cleaning. But we don’t cook with it. We don’t want to get sick again. But that little amount is hardly enough for us for the day.”
“Why can’t you get more water? There should be enough for everyone.”
Minnie shrugged her shoulders. “There is always a line at the well. The merchants can get a full bucket, but they only let us get a little. They say they don’t want the well to go dry.”
“Who says this?”
“The city guard at the well.”
“I was told by Lord Martin that the well runs deep and there is more than enough water for the whole city.”
Minnie shrugged. “I can only take what they give me.”
An angry look crossed Elissa’s face. “Do you have another bucket?”
“Only this one.”
“A pot?”
Minnie gave Elissa a small pot which Elissa used to empty the bucket.
As Elissa turned to leave, Mary asked, “Where are you going? Are you leaving?”
Elissa smiled at the little girl. “I will be right back. I am going to get you some more water.”
The closest clean well was near the center of the city, one street away from the main market center. There were about fifty people in line, about half of them merchants. The rest were clearly from the edges of town, as they were dressed in raggedy, dirty clothes. A handful of city guards stood around to ensure peace. Three of them were doing the work of hauling the water up while the rest looked at the crowd with as stern a look as they could muster.
Almost as soon as Elissa stepped into line, someone stepped in behind her. With three city guards working the water, the line moved fairly quickly. Elissa kept facing forward with the hood pulled low so that no one would see her. But her thoughts were on how the city could get more water to its people. The river was only a mile away and it carried fresh and clean water. Why couldn’t someone figure out a way to get water from the river into the city? As the line moved forward, her mind continued to ponder the question and search for an answer.
Before too long, Elissa was next in line.
The city guard took her bucket without a word and poured about a quarter’s worth into it. He motioned for the next person to move forward. The man was well dressed and presented his bucket to the guardsman, who filled it almost to the top.
Elissa stayed at the front of the line, watching he man walk off with a full bucket. Then she looked down at hers.
“Move along!” the city guardsman shouted. “You’re holding up the line.”
“Fill my bucket up, please,” Elissa said softly.
“It’s all you get,” the guardsman growled. “Move along!”
Another man stepped past her, pushing her aside. He was carrying two buckets and they were both filled up to the top.
“Why does he get two full buckets?” Elissa asked, her voice as soft as she could make it.
“That is Master Brian. He is the owner of the Golden Chalice Inn. Two buckets barely keeps his business afloat.”
“But I cannot cook with so little water. Please fill my bucket.”
“Move it!” the guardsman yelled. “Or I will move you and give your water to someone else!”
Elissa cast off her hood. Even before she could say a word, a collective gasp spread through the crowd. “How about now,” Elissa said with a firm voice. She wanted to yell back, but she held her anger in. “May I have a full bucket, now?”
The guardsman’s eyes got big and he stumbled as he tried to bow. With his eyes cast down, he said, “Of course, Your Majesty. You may have all the water you want.”
Elissa turned to see everyone drop to their knees. She shook her head at the display. Whoever thought of forcing people to bow in the presence of a king or queen was just silly. “On your feet!” She said angrily. To the guardsman, she said, “Look at me!”
The guardsman did. His face was white with fear and his hands shook.
“Why is it that you were not going to give me a full bucket?”
“I…I… did not know that you were the queen.”
“Who did you think I was?”
“I…I… don’t know. We had orders!”
“From whom? And for what?”
“The merchants and others can get full buckets. The rags from the wall only get a quarter bucket. It is what we were told to do!”
Queen Elissa stepped up onto the edge of the well and turned to the crowed. “Listen up! Anyone who comes to a city well will get a full bucket. No one will go thirsty, and no one will go lacking.” She looked down at the guardsman, who was still shaking. “Is that clear?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” the soldier said.
***
Lord Martin shook his head at her. “My dear,” he said with a fatherly voice. “I know that you thought you were trying to do good, but with several of the wells undrinkable, we cannot be giving away so much water to everyone.”
Elissa stood in front of Lord Martin and Lord Kirwal, governor of the city of Tyre. Lord Kirwal was staying in the city to help the queen govern. He was the eldest and most experienced lord, as well as being one of her father’s most trusted confidants. For the moment, he remained silent, allowing Lord Martin do all the talking.
“Am I not the queen?” Elissa asked trying not to let her emotion show in her voice. “Did you not all swear fealty to me? And Lord Martin, was it not you who demanded that I be given the throne?”
Her arms were crossed and her mood was sour. She did not like being treated like a little girl. But that is what they always did to her. When they needed her to act like a queen, they let her. But once they began to disagree with her, they turned on their fatherly voice and treated her like a little child. Nothing made her angrier.
Lord Martin cleared his throat and glanced at the Lord Kirwal, hoping to gain backing. But the governor of Tyre had conveniently grabbed a nearby goblet and was taking a drink from it.
“Your Majesty,” Lord Martin said. He was hoping more words would come, but they did not.
“Queen Elissa,” Lord Kirwal said in his deep voice. He stepped forward once Lord Martin ran out of words. “We of course all have sworn our fealty to you, but also to this kingdom. Being queen is more than just wearing the crown. It is making sound judgments that benefit the kingdom as a whole. Kings are not just born, they are raised. Boys are taught and instructed from the youngest ages to handle situations just like what you experienced in the city. Water is scarce right now. We have to properly ration the good water. The merchants rely on good clean water to help serve their guests. What they are allotted right now barely allows them to serve those guests.”
“And what is allotted for the people of the slums barely allows them to live!” Elissa snapped back, raising her voice. “No one seems to care about them. They are allowed to just live and die without anyone really thinking about them. Those wells have been polluted and are making many of them sick.”
Lord Martin returned a compassionate look and replied, “No one knew, your majesty. If we had known, then…”
“No one knew because no one cared!” Queen Elissa shouted back. “My father was a great man, but he never noticed people in the slums. They are the ones who work the land outside of the city or sweep the garbage from the streets. And his ignorance of the issue does not make it right for us to let those people die because they don’t have water! You cannot live on a quarter bucket of water a day. You cannot cook or bathe with that much. If something isn’t done soon, then it will not only be the slums that are sick, the whole city will be diseased.”
“And that is why we are here,” Lord Martin said as calmly as he could. “Lord Kirwal and I were in fact discussing the problem as you came in.”
“Without me?” the queen asked. “Lord Martin, you gave a great speech at my coronation about how I am ready to lead this kingdom. But you don’t really believe that because any time there is a crisis or some decision to make, I’m not involved.”
“But you are so young, and have so much to learn.”
“Then why make me queen at all? I didn’t want it. No one else wanted me to have it. But here I am, the queen. And you two sit here in my throne room and try and figure out the kingdom’s problems without me. This is going to change. Right now.”
Lord Kirwal cleared his throat and glanced at Lord Martin. “Being queen is one thing,” he said. “But maintaining your rule is another. You need to keep the peace and protect your borders from our enemies. This means that the king – or queen – of the kingdom needs to have the army on its side. Now we don’t have a standing army, and the knights that so powerfully protected us and helped maintain the law are no more. Now, I’m not judging that decision, as I too thought it had many merits. But even with the city guard, there is a precarious void that has yet to be filled.”
“What are you saying? Are you saying that the city guard is not behind me?”
“No! Not at all. But you don’t have the threat of the knights to keep the peace. The city guard are a fine mix of the best of the former Royal Guard and the best of the former Karmon Knights. They are all devoted to you. But the rest of the city, the rest of the kingdom needs to learn to trust you. This will take time. Soon enough, when you have more experience making life and death decisions, they will come to trust you. But right now, you have to trust us that we will make the best decisions for the kingdom. Just until you are ready.”
Elissa took a deep breath and let the words of Lord Kirwal sink in. He was right. She shouldn’t be expected to know how to be a great leader from day one. It would take time. But that didn’t mean she should be ignored or her ideas trivialized. “Fine,” she said, still trying to keep her emotions in check and not let her voice get loud and angry. “But from this moment forward, everyone will get the same amount of water. Even the people along the walls, the ones the guards call rags, will get a full bucket, just like everyone else.”
“Your Maj…” Lord Martin started to say.
Elissa cut him off with a finger pointed at him. Her eyes were narrowed and full of anger. “I will grant you that I don’t know everything that I need to know to run this kingdom. But when I make a decision, it stands. Whether you like it or not. Understood? And if we are short of water, then it is your responsibility to figure out how to find more water.”
Lord Kirwal spoke up before Lord Martin could continue arguing. “Very well, Your Majesty. We will be spending the day discussing this very issue. And when we have some solutions, we will discuss them with you.”
“Good,” Elissa said. Should could feel tears of anger and frustration well up in her. She hated them and the fact that she couldn’t control them. Before they started pouring down her cheeks, she marched out of the room.
Lord Martin let out a long sigh when the doors were closed. He shook his head and said, “She is too young, too emotional. This is why a queen cannot rule without a king. She needs stability.”
Lord Kirwal gave a slight nod to his head. “You may be right, but so is she. The rationing of the water was not just. There are many people in the city, and they must all be considered equally.”
Lord Martin walked over to the small table that held a pitcher of sweet wine and poured himself a goblet. “Considered, yes. But treated equally? Commerce has never been better. We have many foreigners visiting the city and they are spending coin in the inns and taverns. If they run out of water, ale, and food, they will go away. Shall we get back to discussing the treaty with Thell? Something that is a bit more important.”
“And the water problem?” Lord Kirwal asked.
“That will have to wait,” Lord Martin replied. He guzzled his wine down and poured himself another. “The queen needs a husband who can rule this kingdom sooner than later. After that little emotional episode, it cannot be more clear.”
Lord Kirwal glanced at his goblet and wondered if he should take another glass. The sweet wine that Lord Martin had brought in was a bit stronger than he was used it. After a moment, he said, “Just be careful what you ask for.”
Chapter Seven
Conner fought off the urge to shout their names. He actually cupped his hands at his lips and was about to call out, when he realized that would only draw attention to himself. If they were gone, then the bandits were likely nearby and his shouting would only bring them right back into the clearing.
They had camped in a small clearing with a thick, thorny hedge along one side and an opening into the forest on the other. He thought about racing into the trees to try and pick up their trail, but then he took a second look at their supplies and the unburnt wood sitting in a pile. Things were too neat. There were no signs of a struggle or any evidence that they were taken against their will. Conner let himself take a deep breath.
With his heart no longer beating hard in his ears, he thought he heard the sounds of giggling. At first he was not sure that’s what he was hearing, but after keeping himself still for a moment, he picked up the unmistakable sound of high pitched giggling.
“Steven, Laurin!” Conner called out in a voice just above a whisper. He moved closer to the thorny hedge, where he thought the giggling was coming from.
He was greeted with silence. Conner moved even closer, right up to the hedge, turning his head so that he could hear better. Still as a stone, he kept his ears perked for any sound.
Suddenly there was a burst of laughter from right behind the hedge. It was too thick to see through, but it was clear that at least one person hiding behind it.
Louder, Conner asked, “Laurin, is that you?”
Stifled laughter answered him at first and then, Steven said, “Yes, it’s us! We’ll be out…in a minute!”
Relieved, Conner returned to the center of the camp and started working on the fire. Hopefully they would be able to make good use of it. The forest was teeming with small game, so surely a rabbit or squirrel would get caught by his trap.
A few minutes later, Laurin and Steven came out from behind the hedge. There was a wide smile on her face and her cheeks were flushed as she kept glancing over at Steven. Steven sat down next to Conner to help start the fire.
