patience, my friends. But what were you saying? I have never heard such a ramble, except from the mouth of old Clifford himself.”
“Indeed, that was a superlative ramble,” Clifford bowed his head in respect, “A
“Enough, there,” the Admiral cried, “Every moment that is spent in foolishness is a moment that is bought with the blood of our countrymen. We have news as well, Alfonzo. Gylain seeks the Holy Graal, and sends Nicholas Montague to retrieve it.”
“Indeed?” Alfonzo returned. “Then perhaps the advantage is ours once more.” He turned to Vahan. “We will have to send a group of rangers to stop him, but we do not have enough to spare as large a force as he has. Would your king send soldiers to aid them against Montague, Vahan?”
“A brilliant idea, Alfonzo,” cried Vahan Lee, with an uncharacteristic strength of purpose when a return to France was mentioned. “I will have them for you; I will leave at once,” and he jumped up from his seat as if to set off that very moment.
“Wait, dear friend,” laughed Alfonzo, “There are others who must go with you and we have yet to decide who they will be.”
“Yes, of course,” and Vahan sat down slowly, the color remaining on his cheeks.
There was a brief silence, but Ivona took the chance to speak. “I will go with those who seek the Graal,” she said. “I will go to find the blood of my savior.” Her emerald eyes shone oddly in the dim room, and as she looked around the table there were none to meet her gaze. She was terrible to the eye, yet not from power, or evil, or madness. It was her beauty that made her great and her spirit that made her strong. The only one who could stand the siege of her eyes was Horatio. As she looked at him, her lips curled into a simple smile and she laughed with her characteristic, regulated mirth.
Celestine joined Ivona in her laugh – though silently to herself – and turned to face Alfonzo. “I have found my youth,” she whispered, “And my faith is returned.”
Alfonzo nodded and said to the council, “You will go, Ivona, for your purity will aid in the quest. William tells me it is also for your father that the graal is sought, and that fate only provided the directions. Let it be you who finds his cure, lest failure leave you broken. Who will go with her?” He looked to Willard.
“The king cannot leave his country,” Willard said after a short silence.
“But this is not your country,” William gruffly returned, “It is Gylain’s. And that is why you must go: he will be searching for you with his restless passion. Your presence will only endanger those you are with. And you forget that there are none among us who have defeated nature as you have done. I would have expected less from the son of your father, but you are strong; and it is strength that rules nations. Nicholas Montague strives for the graal as well as us, perhaps, but the forests of the Cervennes are the greater danger. They are as ancient and troublesome as the deepest forests of Atilta, and as you near the temple you enter the realm of the Titans. They have destroyed greater islands than Atilta, in the past.”
“Very well,” Willard answered, “I will go with Horatio and Ivona. The rest of our party must be raised in France.”
“Have no fears of that,” Vahan said, “For there are many interesting people in Bordeaux.”
“We will see.” He glanced at Ivona for a moment, then continued, “What of the rest of you?”
“I will pick up the work of Lord Milada, as best I can,” Alfonzo said. “From that I expect I will have little rest, for the nobles are afraid of Gylain. Milada has done what can be done with them. I fear our only hope is to forget them and appeal directly to the citizenry. Either way, an army and the defenses must be raised to protect the western coast. Gylain will not be long in attacking.”
“As for me,” the Admiral said, “There is work to be done with the navy. We sent the harbor fleet into a retreat, but Gylain’s navy will soon return from abroad, in company with that of Hibernia. We must drill our sailors and weaken his navy. How, I do not yet know.”
“Leave the weakening to the Fardy brothers,” said the brown Fardy.
“Lend us but a little patience,” the blond brother added, “And we will wrest the water fortresses from him, by force or by deception.”
“Deception?” Clifford asked, “Then you will need my assistance.”
With that the council came to an end. No time was wasted in farewells. The first to leave the enclave were Willard, Horatio, Ivona, Vahan Lee, and Meredith, taking the Treeway south once more, to the rebel harbor. The first four disembarked for France before noon had passed and the last remained to repair the rebel fleet and carry out the changes the Admiral ordered. The Admiral, however, with Barnes at his side, took the northeastern road to the rebel city, to train and recruit for the navy. The Fardy brothers and Clifford traveled with him for a time, but took the road to Eden in the end.
Chapter 54
The sea rolled softly in the breaking dawn, the sun’s muffled rays soaking into the swell. The cloud covering was light, and the sky was clear but for a few puffs of white to contrast the soft pinks and oranges of the sunrise. The only sounds were from the creaking timbers of a small cutter with two masts: each with three, loosely drawn sails, in addition to a giant jib that spread from the bowsprit to the quarterdeck.
There were two men on deck and one on the mizzenmast keeping watch. The first man was average in height, though with a strong frame and noble bearing. His nose was straight and long, his hair thick and black, his eyes a mysterious gray. His companion was lesser in stature and greater in belly, with a chin that had long ago lost its form; his head was as bald as his face. They were enjoying the birth of the new day without speaking, but as it arrived the taller man spoke.
“What has happened in your absence, Vahan?” Willard asked, “For the politics of France holds the fate of Atilta.” He was silent for a moment, then went on as if no time had passed. “Look at how quickly things change – for where I was an animal, I am now a king. I can only question how different the two are. And look, I think of you as an old, trusted friend, though I have only known you a few days.”
“Yes, and I think you the same,” Vahan’s eyes sprung a subtle leak. “After our adventures in the forest I have become quite fond of you. I only wish we did not find ourselves in this horrible mess.”
“If we were not in it, perhaps we would not have found ourselves at all. But listen: what is this foreboding that has overtaken you? Since our escape from Castle Plantagenet you have been taciturn and keep to yourself, even at the council; though I realize there were many ears there, and half as many mouths.”
Vahan sighed. “I have been surmising evil for my countrymen. These are the times of traitors and my sovereign is easily swayed by the whispers of his counselors and would-be allies.”
“You fear the Chevalier de Casanova, then?”
Vahan Lee almost fell backwards in his surprise at the hearing the name which had long held scepter over his thoughts. “How do you know of him?”
“De Garcia whispered his name in my ear before setting off our catapult. ‘Beware de Casanova,’ he said, ‘For he lurks in the shadows.’ Since then I listened, and it chills the marrow in my bones to think such men find favor in the eyes of fate.”
“Yet fate is a faithless mistress. He came to France from his master in Hibernia as I left, but there was no time for me to personally see to him. Let us pray the king has not given him his ear.” Vahan shivered. He was a different man in France than in Atilta. In the one place he was the second man of the kingdom and respected by all; in the other he was a hapless noble without authority. And authority makes a man of him who wields it.
“Not ear enough, at least, to betray your journey to Atilta, for Gylain did not know you other than as Alfonzo’s companion. If he had it would have gone worse with us. Yet the King of Hibernia – the Emperor of the Three Kingdoms – is more to be feared than his servant de Casanova, in political realms.”
“Have no fear for politics, for I am now returning to France. Politics is my slave and I will have him arrested the moment he displays himself. Then I will send a battalion against Montague, to aid you in the quest for the Holy Graal.” A shade passed over Vahan’s face. He continued in a whisper. “I fear it is unwise to disturb such sacred places, Willard. There is much power in the hidden places, and much evil to be unleashed. It is for the good of Atilta, perhaps, but it can only harm my native France.”
“I am as anxious as you, but we will have to see.”
“What of Ivona: do you also fear for her?”
“She is a woman, Vahan. If I did fear, it would be wasted, for where the shoulder cannot push the water can still flow. She would need only to smile and the devil himself would serve her.”
