Chapter V

         Now alone in the room with the royal family of Secoco, the Allorisian messenger looked uncertainly around the room until the queen helpfully gestured toward two empty couches in the corner. The messenger sat on the smaller, and the king and queen left a spot for their daughter between them on the larger.

         “So” the king began, “you wished to tell us something regarding your king?”

         The messenger nodded gravely. “You see, Your Majesty” he said, his professional demeanor strained nearly to the point of break by exhaustion and worry, “after Princess Jessica was taken, the King of Alloriz increased the guard around the city walls and doubled the patrols in the streets. When the end of the morning’s shift saw the princess still unreturned, he doubled the patrols again and instructed them to begin searching the people’s homes; anyone who refused was to be put in the stocks.”

         The queen appeared disturbed at this revelation, but her husband only leaned forward slightly, folding his fingers in front of him. “I see” he replied slowly. “And am I to understand that you are questioning his judgment in this course of action? Would you prefer the man not do everything in his power to locate his daughter- and your princess?”

         “Of course not!” the messenger stammered, avoiding the royals’ gaze. His handkerchief flicked out again, and he in wiping his brow took a breath to collect himself. “Forgive me, Your Highness” he managed, forcing his eyes to meet those of the man sitting opposite him. “I intended nothing untoward.” The king softened, and the queen gave a slight smile of encouragement despite her concern.

         “The king of Alloriz is a great man” the messenger continued, “and even those subjects who have been… affected by his recent orders share in his grief over the princess’ disappearance. We love our king, Highness, and unflinching we trust in his judgment, but I fear his grief has shaped him into someone no longer himself.”

         The queen’s smile disappeared. “And how is your queen?” she asked.

         The messenger shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “When she learned that Princess Jessica had been taken, Her Majesty was overcome with heartache and took to her private chamber. When I was dispatched for Secoco the next afternoon, I overheard that she and the king were cancelling all appointments and that she was not to be disturbed under any circumstances.”

         The room was silent at this, and Princess Jules felt her mother’s fingers wrap themselves around her hand. She squeezed her mother’s hand softly, and felt safe in its grasp.

         “I should go to them” the queen decided.

         “It does sound like the two of them could use a shoulder to lean on right now” the king agreed.

         “I want to come too.”

         Princess Jules had been silent to this point, hanging on every detail of the messenger’s tellings of Alloriz, and the determination in her voice masked nearly all of its shaking.

         The king paused at his daughter’s interruption. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to this, Julia?” he asked. The strength and pain he saw in her face gave him all the reassurance he needed to see.

         “Very well” the king said, “we can spend tomorrow readying a travelling party and the two of you can leave the next day. This man will stay here until he recovers from his travels and then escort you back to Alloriz.”

         “Of course, Your Majesty” the messenger replied. “Your hospitality is very much appreciated.”

         “If you speak with one of the stewards outside the door, they can show you to one of the palace guestrooms” the queen added.

         The messenger thanked the king and queen again, then gave a deep bow before leaving the dining room.

         When he had left, the family stood. The queen pulled Princess Jules into her, resting her chin on the princess’ head. “In the meantime” she proposed, “we should assemble a group of knights to aid in the search- who knows what manner of evil may now be working against Alloriz?” Princess Jules tried very hard not to cry onto her mother’s shawl.

         The king nodded his assent. “That does appear the best course of action” he said. “I would think a small party, with varying specialties for orienteering, reconnaissance… and, if necessary, combat.” The princess winced at the thought that her friend might now be the prisoner of someone or something of unspeakable violence, but found the strength to steel herself.

         “Agreed” the queen replied. “As our best tracker, Lady Petra ought to be among them.”

         “And Sir Marcus, our swiftest rider” her husband answered. “The journey to Alloriz’s outer borders requires six days’ travel- with him setting the pace, they might be able to reach them in four.”

         Something about the messenger’s description of Princess Jessica’s disappearance had been troubling the Princess of Secoco’s thoughts for some time now, and not until this time of consideration had she been able to voice them. “There’s no way they could have taken Jess without anyone in the entire castle seeing or hearing them” she reasoned. “What if whoever took her cast some sort of spell to put everyone to sleep or teleport her outside the city walls?”

         Despite the circumstances, the king was delighted by his daughter’s ingenuity. “I’d considered that as well” he said. “The group will need a mage, but Maester Omin is deep into his research of the Keywind phenomena that sent Maester Lucen to the infirmary last fortnight; who else is there in the academy that is skilled enough for this sort of mission?”

         “Perhaps Maester Bryan?” the queen suggested, flooding the princess with confusion and concern.

         “Bryan?” she asked. “But he’s never left Secoco for more than a few hours to gather reagents!”

         “And it is about time that he set himself to higher pursuits than isolated study and transfiguring hairstyles” the king countered authoritatively. Princess Jules started to protest, but had to agree that of her friend’s accomplishments were generally amusing and ephemeral in equal parts.

         “Yes, Maester Bryan will complement the strengths of Sir Marcus and Lady Petra rather nicely” the queen said contemplatively, lacing her fingers in front of her. “But none of the three know the Northern regions: they will require a guide.”

         The king sighed. “Such is life in a peaceful Tricivitas” he replied. “Unless escorting diplomats, most of our knights never see much beyond our territories.”

         “Sir Willian and Sir Andreas delivered tinctures and winter clothes to the villages up the shore last season” the queen ventured.

         “And Lady Mica dispatched that group of clawspiders out in the Western Caves” the king added, though with the lack of conviction shared by his wife’s original proposal.

         Disheartened as she was by her parents’ trepidation, Princess Jules felt a spark of inspiration.

         “Sir Malcolm, then” she said.

         The king and queen looked curiously at their daughter. Princess Jules hesitated, but pressed on. “I know he hasn’t been a knight for so long as most others,” she conceded, “but Father, he has seen more of Tricivitas in his few years away than most will see in their entire lives.”

         The King of Secoco raised a pensive hand to his chin. “Sir Malcolm is uniquely qualified to serve as a scout if the search extends beyond Alloriz,” he considered, “but I do not know much regarding the Lord who trained him in the use of bow and blade. If- no, when Princess Jessica is found, will he be ready for what comes next?”

         “He bested a dragon!” Princess Jules exclaimed incredulously.

         “And even he admits that he was lucky to have survived!” the king replied swiftly. Then, seeing how his reaction had crushed the girl, he laid his hand softly on her shoulder.

         “Perhaps that was too harsh, I apologize. Sir Malcolm is a good man, and we are glad to see you defend him so- I did not mean to imply otherwise. However, if I am correct in my suspicions about the motives of Princess Jessica’s kidnappers, we would be sending him against a darker threat than any in Secoco have seen for some time.”

         Though she did not understand her father’s warning, the princess felt the air in her lungs go to ice. Her next breaths were heavy ones, and her next words a gasp.

         “But what could be worse than dragons?”

         “Only men” the queen replied, grasping her husband’s meaning. She looked back to him to elaborate.

         “When the princess was taken, there was no attempt at deception or misdirection” he said. “Those who took her wanted her disappearance known. However, there has been no demand of ransom, which leads me to believe they are after something greater. They know a search party must come for her, and they have already had one week to prepare- when we do find her, they will be waiting…”

         The queen took her daughter’s hands. “When you are queen, my love” she whispered, “these will be the most grim decisions you will have to make. Could you send men so young to war? Will you risk your friends to save another?”

         Trembling, Princess Jules wrenched her hands from her mother’s grasp. Overcoming each choking sob as it rose in her chest, she shut her eyes and thought of the Princess of Alloriz, captured and alone away in strange lands. She wanted to scream, but felt herself comforted by sudden warmth in the surrounding darkness. Looking to one side, she saw Maester Bryan smiling back at her; to the other side, Sir Mal gave a small nod. Turning back over her shoulder, the princess saw the knights her parents had already selected, their expressions stoic and determined. Behind them were the combined armies of Alloriz and Secoco, standing in ranks and saluting her as one. Slowly, Princess Jules opened her eyes, their sapphires flaring cold in defiance.

         “I trust in my friends” she vowed, “with as much faith as I have for your knights and in your wisdom, I trust in them. They will find Jessica and they will bring her back to Alloriz, and they will come back to us- all of them will come back to us.”

         The princess sighed, and felt her breathing calm as her mother and father contemplated her judgment. As the king and queen deliberated wordlessly, Princess Jules felt herself tearing apart as their silence filled the chamber.

         When she thought she could bear it no longer, the king turned to her. With a sigh, he said, “It is settled then. The four of them, Sir Malcolm included, shall leave tonight for Alloriz.”

         Consumed by a maelstrom of pride and love and terror, Princess Jules finally allowed her tears to fall. The queen moved to comfort her, but stopped as she saw the princess look up toward her, her defiant stare restored.

         “We will send an attendant to notify Sir Marcus and Lady Petra” the queen said, “but I think you should be the one to speak with Sir Malcolm and Maester Bryan- wish them well, be their light.”

         Princess Jules wiped her eyes and nodded. Her mother smiled sadly at her, and the King and Queen of Secoco left the room together.

         “They’ll find her” the princess told herself. “They have to.”