Epilogue #2
Addax was looking at the king with wide eyes. “My lord… your generosity is overwhelming,” he said. “Forgive me for behaving like an idiot, but I simply do not know what to say. I am ashamed that I am not more eloquent in my response.”
Henry held up a hand to ease the man’s sense of embarrassment. “Addax, you are a king,” he said quietly. “You have married my niece, so we are joined by marriage. While I cannot return you to Kitara, I can do this. You deserve nothing less.”
Addax had to sit down. In fact, it was Emmeline who stood up and directed her overwhelmed husband into a chair. As she stood next to him, holding his hand and beaming, Addax took a deep breath and tried to control his shock.
“My lord,” he said, feeling a lump in his throat. “Never did I imagine I would be so honored. I am without words, but know my gratitude is limitless. I am your servant for life.”
Henry was pleased with how shocked Addax was. That told him how much it meant to the man. Essien, standing on the other side of his stunned brother, seemed just as pleased for him. He was patting his shoulder and his head, congratulating him, as Henry fixed on him.
“Essien,” Henry said. “There is a small fiefdom known as Binchester which borders your brother’s lands near Middlesbrough. I am certain your brother would not mind having you as a neighbor, Lord Binchester.”
Essien suddenly had much the same expression that Addax had. His eyes widened and his mouth popped open as an unexpected gift was bestowed upon him. Emmeline left Addax long enough to give Essien a congratulatory hug, but she had to pull up a chair for him, too, so he could sit down.
The al-Kort brothers were both overwhelmed.
Happy that he’d managed to flap two unflappable men, Henry suddenly developed an appetite and departed for the great hall. But Christopher remained, watching Addax and Essien become accustomed to what they’d been given. Nay, earned.
They had earned this.
Every bit of it.
“You should also know that Henry has sent envoys to Kitara to see what has become of your father those years ago,” Christopher said softly.
“It is a diplomatic mission under the guise of establishing a trade treaty, but the truth is that he is trying to find answers for you both. He, too, was a child when he lost his father. He thinks enough of you both to help you find closure.”
Addax and Essien both looked up at him, but it was Addax who spoke. “Truly, I am speechless,” he said. “I do not even know what to say.”
Christopher smiled. “Say nothing,” he said.
“But know that this is where you belong, Ad. When I found you those years ago, it was not by chance. It was providence. You were meant to be here, in England, because I believe you are meant to be a guiding force in a country that is constantly trying to tear itself apart. I am growing older. Someday, I will be gone, but you will still be here, God willing, to help make this country what it was meant to be. A place where our children can raise their children in peace. A place where the king of an ancient kingdom brought his wisdom, and his experience, and helped make England a place he can be proud of. Nothing is ever by chance in this life, Ad. God always has a plan.”
With that, he left Addax and Essien and Emmeline to ponder the turn the day had taken. While Essien eventually wandered over to the hall to celebrate his good fortune, Addax and Emmeline remained in the solar.
Emmeline had pulled a chair up in front of her husband, leaning forward to hold his hands as he struggled to accept all he’d been given.
She simply sat there, watching him, a proud expression on her features until he was ready to speak.
As he looked into her eyes, he felt like the most fortunate man who had ever lived.
Every dream he’d ever entertained had come true.
Perhaps the path to reach it hadn’t been easy, but that made the victory all the sweeter.
“When I left Kitara, I thought I’d lost everything,” he finally said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I never expected anything more than to survive. But this is more than survival.”
Emmeline smiled. “It certainly is,” she said. “How proud I am of you, Ad. The Earl of Deira. It is well deserved.”
“Is it?” he said, looking at her. “I am still trying to accept that I should be so honored. I already have everything I could have ever wanted—you, my sons, a prosperous life. Do I truly deserve it all?”
Emmeline was still smiling when she reached into the pocket of his tunic and pulled out the pin she’d once given him.
He never went anywhere without it. Every moment of the day, the gold pin was with him, reminding him of the most important things in life.
Reminding him of who, and what, he was. She held it up for him to see.
“What does this say?” she asked softly.
Addax could see the word, faintly. After a moment, he, too, smiled. “Worthy,” he whispered.
Emmeline came off the chair, kneeling between his legs as she gazed up at him. Her hands went to his face, a face she loved so well, as she pulled him down to her for a gentle kiss.
“You are,” she murmured. “You are worthy. Of everything.”
In the years to come, the standard of the Earldom of Deira was a red banner with a fearsome black dragon on it, and it became one of the most recognizable banners in England.
As Addax had hoped, his sons went on to do great and noble things in the politics of England, with one marrying into the royal family.
Another married into the House of de Wolfe.
The al-Kort family became legendary, the bloodlines of ancient kings mingled with the bloodlines of the Plantagenets.
They were known for their fierceness, their brilliance, and their wisdom.
Amare, the last kaara ejadar, would have been proud.
His teachings to his young sons bore fruit not in the sands of Kitara, but in the green fields of England and beyond.
His influence was felt for generations to come, and the dragon-headed dagger, carried by Addax, was passed to the firstborn son of every generation.
So was the “worthy” pin.
The Black Dragon, and the tale of Addax and Emmeline, lived on in ways they could have never imagined.
A love story of legend.
* THE END *