Alphande'

The silence at most was deafening. I would scream, but it would have made no sense. I would have not been heard. I was separated from the rest of the world by fortified walls of granite deep under the king’s castle. To say it was a cell would be an exaggeration as the wall and the granite door stood only three feet apart, making a shallow corridor lined with shackles. After every five or so chains, there would be a lamp burning and from what I could see, I was the only living thing left down here. My closest neighbour five chains away was dirty rags and pure bone.

I was shackled to the walls, my arms stretched above my head and wrists cut up from the manacles. This dungeon was not made for punishment, only for torture and death, and from my death, escape was not a reality.

I turned my head back to the wall and tried to peer through the narrow slit in front of me. No light came through of course it the served the purpose of bringing air and food and I was left to watch darkness.

“Dinner.” said the jailer as he pushed a wooden spoon filled with sloppy army rations through the slot.

“I’d rather rot.” I said as I boxed it away with my elbow.

“And you will, if you continue to refuse my food.” This voice was different. Calm, self-assured—regal. I was speaking to the king himself.

“I wonder how is it I am being graced with your presence this morning, Your Majesty. I said with a bit more vigour fighting the dust from my throat so my voice wouldn’t crack.

“It is afternoon actually, but being down here you wouldn’t have noticed. There used to be light coming from the streets above, but I had to make some adjustments since the passing of my dear brother. They are more suited for this purpose wouldn’t you say Evander, darkness for dark hearts?” He continued, “I must give it to you Evander, when it was reported that you weren’t eating, I was extremely certain that you would have given in by now. But a whole week without food or drink, by Avandor I must say that is impressive.”

“As I said before, I’d rather rot. And there is no need to greet me falsely, I am sure Margaret told you who I am.”

“Yes, yes she did.” he chuckled amused. “An interesting turn of events if there ever was one. Lacore really did pull a wool over my eyes. He had two probable heirs, while I searched for only one. How unkind the world was to me.” he paused. “Well I don’t have to think of that now, since thanks to you Ivaner, my worry has been cut in half.”

“You are most welcome.” I said sarcastically.

“It is most interesting what learning about oneself does to people. You were once one of my best soldiers, poised to lead the entire army of Gé Addar one day, you knew that. Yet how quickly you turned from my grace to forage among savages.”

“The Nuwanhe aren’t savages.”

“Really, I couldn’t have convinced you otherwise before. I remember clearly that it was your mandate to wipe them clean from the earth. Surely one little lie couldn’t have made that much of a difference?”

“It was not one lie, not a single deceit, you killed my father and mother so that you could have the throne for yourself, made war with an innocent nation to cover your faults and then chose to victimize those who knew the truth and stood against you. How is that in any way a small lie?”

“When you put it like that, it does sound horrid.” he said with fake remorse. “But I did it for the good of the nation, the wellbeing of Gé Addar. Without my help this nation would have been overrun by foreigners and lacking in development. I have made this country stand tall among all nations. I have made it the strongest it has been in centuries. I my dear boy, will not apologise for that.”

“But the cost…”

“Everything comes at a cost, you more than anyone should know that.” He said effectively shutting me up. For the first time I actually felt small and ashamed. How had I been swayed to follow this madman in the first place. I thought I knew so much, but was truly ignorant. Lord Brenthart, my father, was right about the king. Yet it was for this king I ended his life. Avandor has been very fair, I would feel sorry for myself but I knew that my end was well deserved. My choices though misinformed, were still mine and I should reap the rewards of my treachery.

“Is there something I can do for you today? I am sure you didn’t come here just to gloat and watch me rot.”

“No I most certainly did not. There is something that I require from you. Guards open the door.” he commanded and soon the granite slab was removed from in front of me. The torch light hit my face directly and I looked away from the sudden brightness.

My eyes adjusted and I looked at him. He was just as I remembered, tall, broad shouldered and wickedly handsome. It was looking at his face now that I could see the similarities in our form and face. The same deep blue eyes and angled jaw lines, our hair was the same texture, but instead of pale gold, it held the darkest black. It was parted off centre and the shoulder length tresses held in place by a twisted gold coronet.

“I see you have dressed well for the occasion.” I said as I leaned my head to the side. “It is not every day, that a pretender meets the heir apparent of the country.”

His smile twisted to the side. “That equally applies to both of us wouldn’t you say? Aren’t we both pretenders as you called it?” I looked at him and smiled, but I tore him up with my eyes. He returned the glare. His hand flicked quickly from under his obsidian cloak and up to my face. In it he held three smooth stones one blood red, the other blue and the other white with gold accents. The red and cream one I had found in Evander’s clothes when I took it from him. I thought them of no importance so I just placed them among his other belongings. “Where is the green one?”

“Excuse me?”

“The green stone of Mern, where is it?”

“Forgive me, but I do not know of what you speak. I was never a collector of useless baubles.”

“Useless baubles! How ignorant you really are. These baubles as you called them were what gave our ancestors their extended abilities. The red for speech with wolves, the white for foresight, the blue for strength and the green which I want, communion with Verdans.”

“I had always wondered about Evander’s abilities. Amazing that it lay in those trinkets.” I said looking at the three stones in his hand and then looked up to his face. “I don’t know where the fourth stone is and even if I did I would not tell you. Besides, you have three of the gifts, shouldn’t you be satisfied?”

He turned away from me biting back his ire. “You fool, they will only work individually in the hands of the first born. If they are to work for us we would have to possess all four stones together for the power to be realised. That is why I need to know where the green stone is?”

“While that is all very interesting, I do not know where the green stone is.” I said plainly.

He struck me once across the face and a trickle of blood leaked from my nose. “You are not in the position to play games with me Gareth.” he said stepping closer until his face was only a foot away from mine.

“Yet it seems I am.” I said facing him head on. “Uncle.” I smiled.

“If you refuse to co-operate…” he started to threaten me.

“You are going to do what? Have your men beat me up. Fine go ahead. You still will not get what you want.” I leered.

He inhaled deeply through his nostrils and then stepped back. The angry twists that gone from his slightly wrinkled face smoothened out and he adapted a face of complete calm. I knew that he was more than upset and his anger had reached dangerous levels.

“The nine.” He said simply holding out his plain hand to the guard without looking away from me. The guard stepped forward into the pale light leaving the nine tailed leather switch in his hand before disappearing into the dark background. “I was prepared for your stubbornness, in fact it was one of your traits I admired the most. Or at least it was the most useful to me. You never did know how to take instruction, even from your own father.”

“Leave Brenthart out of this. He was a good and…”

“What? Honourable man?” he finished. He said as he let the tails of the whip skim the ground as he paced slowly. “He wasn’t, he was a traitor and he got a traitor’s death and quite rightly at your hands.” he stopped and looked up from the floor and at me. “You have one more chance, where is the Verdan stone?”

“I do not know.”

“So be it then.” he said and like nine prongs of lightning the leather and metal whip cut across the left side of my face and upper body. Nine wheals with fine droplets of blood stippling the ridges welled up immediately. I bit back my anguish as I would not give him the pleasure of watching me scream. “Have you changed your mind about telling the truth? The Verdan stone, where is it?”

“You can go to hell.” I said and spat at his feet.

“It seems you will have to keep my place warm until I arrive then.”

Repeatedly the whip cracked each time taking skin and blood with it. Every nerve in my body protested as more skin was dragged from the underlying muscle. Blood ran from my shoulders to the floor in terraced swirls and I felt my life draining away with each lash, tear and drop. Yet I refused to scream. I couldn’t anymore as my pain was beyond that. I simply drooped forward, the manacles being my only vertical support as my legs had failed me. Suddenly he stopped hitting me. Maybe it was after fifteen lashes or was it fifty?

He stepped forward and using two fingers lifted my head up to face him. I could however look no further up than his chest as blood from my forehead dripped down my face and into my eyes. “You really do share my blood, my brother, your real father, also took long to die. I had to plunge the dagger twice in his heart for it to stop moving.” He then dropped my head and stepped away. “Cut him down and clean him up. If he lives through the night, put him in the holding cell and have a healer tend to him. I still haven’t gotten what I wanted, so ensure that he lives.” He instructed his guards and came and stooped in front of me. “This could have gone more easily. If you only told me what you know Gareth. But as I said, you are stubborn. I will get it eventually, but not tonight it seems. This business has been quite unpleasant and grimy,” he said as he brushed his fingers together. “And my new wife is expecting me at dinner and I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.” he patted my cheeks twice before getting up.

“Tell Margaret…” I said slowly and huskily as I choked over my own blood.

“Tell the queen what?”

“Tell her that I keep my promises.” I said as the world around me shifted into darkness.