Chapter Nine
Ten days after the message was sent to Leitis in Vale, a reply finally arrived in Junacave, though it wasn’t from an eagle.
Trumpets blaring alerted Dagan that someone was arriving in the kingdom and whoever they were, they were royalty.
By the time he made it down from the wizard’s tower to the main hall, Sidonie was already there with the queen.
“Who is it?” Dagan whispered to Sid.
“We’re not sure. Bree said she wasn’t expecting anyone until the tournament—”
Sidonie’s words were cut short when the doors to the hall opened and the colors of Vale, purple and white, were displayed prominently on the surcoats of the two knights that entered first, followed by Celeste.
“Aunt Celeste? This is a surprise…” Bree said, though she couldn’t help but feel worried.
“Breestlin, dear, I am terribly sorry to show up unannounced. I’m afraid it was necessary, however. We didn’t feel that sending a messenger or eagle would be safe, in case they were intercepted.”
“Oh no, Celeste. Is it Grandfather? Should I call for Mother?” While they knew his health was poor and fading, it seemed too soon for him to be gone.
“No, no, nothing like that. The message I bring doesn’t actually involve our family, at all. I came because Leitis asked me to.”
Dagan’s ears perked up at the mention of Vale’s wizard.
“Can we move to a more… secure location?” Celeste said, removing her gloves and hooded overcoat.
“Of course,” Bree replied, then she led Celeste, Dagan, and Sidonie to the council room in the guardhouse.
They each took a seat at the large wooden table in the center of the room, while a servant lit a fire in the hearth. Celeste waited until the servant stepped out and they were alone.
“Leitis received a visitor shortly after he arrived back in Vale. I wasn’t privy to their conversation, but it left him visibly shaken.
I asked him if there was anything I could do to help and he asked me to come here, to see you.
I won’t pretend that I understand the situation, entirely, but I will try my best. Apparently, there was an incident, at the summit? ”
“I didn’t realize anything had happened at the summit…” Bree said, looking over at Dagan, whose face was suddenly looking pale. “You said you failed the test.”
“I did fail the test, thankfully...” Dagan replied with a frown. “But… I’m not the only one here who took it.”
Bree averted her eyes to Sidonie, who was sitting very still, across the table from her.
“It was an accident!” Sid blurted out, then she stood and started pacing the room. “I just picked up the ball and tried to hand it back. I didn’t mean to touch it. How was I to know that the damn thing would start glowing and…”
“Oh, dear…” Bree was beginning to piece it together. “You took the test, Sid? And won?”
“I would hardly consider it winning,” Dagan grumbled, running his hands over his face.
“But doesn’t that mean…”
Everyone was silent for a moment.
“Luther,” Celeste began, “if I remember his name correctly—the wizard of Taten—is the one who sent the visitor to Vale. He saw you leaving with Leitis and his son, and since he didn’t recognize Dagan, he sent word to Leitis instead.
The new Elder Mage has been named, only they don’t know who she is.
Leitis pretended that he didn’t know you when the visitor asked.
He told me if they knew who Sidonie was, it would put her in danger. ”
“Oh, my.” Bree stood and moved around the table, to where Sid was still pacing, and took her hands. “Whatever happens, Sid, know that you are my friend and my guest. As long as you are here, in Junacave, you have my protection. Always.”
Bree wasn’t sure what protection she could provide against magic, but she wanted to make Sidonie feel safe in Junacave. Sid nodded and looked over to Dagan.
“What will I do?” Sidonie asked. “I don’t even know what an Elder Mage is responsible for. And I don’t have full access to my powers, either. If someone was to find me here… I can’t put everyone in danger.”
“That is where the second part of the message may be of some help,” Celeste chimed in. “Leitis said that you will need to find your father. That he could help you with your magic.”
“How are we supposed to do that? All we have is a name—Zaine. We don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“Leitis did send something with me, a stack of journals. He said that you left without them and perhaps they could help you. I have them in my trunk.”
“Well,” Dagan said, “it’s a start, at least. We can try using the scrying mirror, as well. Maybe this time we’ll get lucky.”
~*~
The first day of the tournament was a rainy one, but it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirit.
It was the second week of spring and excitement filled the air.
The fishing challenge went off without a hitch and the day’s catch was the largest in the past several years.
The second and third days went just as well, with much nicer weather to accompany it.
The fourth day was the most interesting to Bree, as it was the day of the archery tournament and she had always found the archers to be so graceful and fluid in their skill that it was a pleasure to watch.
That was followed by an entire day of intense sword fighting, which Bree found was rather painful to witness up close.
Even though it was required for competitors to use a blunted sword, there were still injuries, including a man taking a jab to the eye.
Finn didn’t seem to mind, as he sat by her side for the entire day, cheering on his favorite challengers.
She thought it was nice to see him enjoying himself.
He had been sulking around the castle since Adelphie left.
Though he hadn’t enjoyed the company of the other Sabras, he was obviously sad to see her leave.
But since Finn hadn’t mentioned it, Bree pretended not to notice.
Overall, the first week of the tournament was a success.
Bree knew she should be happy and proud that she could carry on the tradition that her great-grandfather had started so many years ago.
However, all of the excitement had worn off by the first day of the second week, which was the day of Rowan’s knighting ceremony.
Just like her grandfather had done for other knights who earned their title in battle rather than the tournament, Bree had decided to make Rowan’s ceremony separate from the others.
It would be more special this way and had been the plan for over two months.
However, that was before Rowan found out about Sarita.
Since then, he had stayed away from the castle as much as he could for the past few weeks and even when he did make an appearance, he barely said three words to her.
“Do you think he will even show?” Bree whispered, sitting on her outdoor throne, looking out at the grounds of the tournament.
The morning dew was still shining on the grass below as the crowd was gathering.
Cicilly and Sarita were chatting in their seats beside Bree, on the raised platform, giving them all a great view of the battlefield.
“I’m sure he will,” Finn replied, leaning in from a seat behind her, but his tone wasn’t very convincing.
“I probably wouldn’t, if I were him.”
“Rowan takes his duties seriously. I think he will come—for his father, if nothing else.”
“I should have listened to you, Finn. I should have told him when he returned. Just like he said…”
“What’s done, is done. You can’t change the past any more than he can. You were just a child back then, Bree. You had no choice but to do as the King wished.”
“I just wonder if things could have gone differently…”
The sound of the trumpet interrupted her thought.
She looked up to see the crowd parting. She caught a glimpse of Sidonie amongst the faces, who was beaming at the horse and rider coming through the gathering.
Dragon was practically unrecognizable, outfitted in blue and gold, as the horse marched toward the throne with his rider in matching colors.
It was the first time Bree had ever seen Rowan in an official military uniform, but she couldn’t appreciate how it fit his form because her stomach was in knots.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sir Nicholas approaching her.
He bowed before his queen, then laid his sword at her feet.
It was customary for a king or queen to bestow the accolade of knighthood unless the knight-elect was a direct descendent of a royal knight, which Rowan happened to be.
Bree looked over at her mother, who smiled and nodded.
Then Bree did what her father would have done and picked up the sword, holding it out to Nick, who took it and bowed again. Bree could tell that this was a proud day for Nick, who for so long had lost hope of his only son following in his footsteps.
Rowan dismounted and one of Sir Ainsley’s squires took the reins from him, but not before Rowan gave Dragon a signal to stay. The horse made a short snorting sound but remained in place. He was just glad the horse had cooperated thus far.
He approached the throne, avoiding glancing up at the queen, no matter how much he wanted to.
When he reached his father, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
He hadn’t seen a knighting ceremony in over eight years, so his father had made him practice what to do.
He only had to kneel and repeat a few lines, thankfully.
Once Rowan finished his oath, Nick tapped the side of his shoulder with the blade of his sword, then the top of his shoulder, followed by a gentle tap on the top of his head. He repeated on the other shoulder, again ending with a tap on the head.
Nick then took the sword and drove it into the ground, directly in front of Rowan. This was to signify that he was finished with his part. All that was left to do was for Rowan to pull the sword from the dirt below, accepting his knighthood, and he would become a royal knight of Junacave.