The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz

Cedric Archer had never traversed the Rathark Mountains south of Ratharkin.  The wide valley of Llyn Tywyson split the higher ranges off from the gentler slopes to the north that gradually lessened to the rolling hills of Meara.  The southern mountains were steep and heavily forested; there was little land suitable for farming, so most people had settled in the north. 

The small troop of knights and soldiers followed a road that had once been a narrow track.  Over time it had been widened to accommodate wagons. The occasional switchback along the road limited the size of a wagon that could be hauled, and a double team of horses would be out of the question.  It was maintained well enough to indicate to Archer that is was frequently used.  They rode single file so as not to crowd the horses.

Although the air was cooler than in the valley, there was a heaviness to it that told Archer there would be a storm before the day was through.  The light load on the pack horse made it likely they would reach their destination by the end of the day.  Or perhaps some other accommodation.  The forest was thick enough that it was hard to judge the position of the sun in the sky, but Archer thought it must be late in the afternoon.

A flash in the sky above was followed shortly by a loud clap of thunder.  The noise startled the horse of one of the soldiers ahead.  It skittered sideways but was quickly brought under control.  Archer’s mount remained placid.  There was another clap of thunder and then the downpour began.  The column paused so the men could extract cloaks from their packs.  Archer threw the shabby cloak he had packed over shoulders that were already close to being soaked. 

As they continued forward, the road became muddy.  There was an advantage to being at the front of the line rather than the rear; Archer and his horse were now splattered with mud to add to their discomfort.  Little rivulets of water flowed down the road, gradually becoming larger as the rain continued.

The riderless horse in front of Archer slipped and almost went down, pulling its wet lead free from the soldier who had been holding it.  Confused and frightened, the horse backed into Archer’s mount along the upward slope to Archer’s left.  There was just enough room for Archer to move his horse along side, grab the loose lead and urge the horse forward beside his own mount.  The soldier ahead reached back and grabbed the lead as Archer held it forward.  With a nod of his head the soldier moved forward with the horse following, calmer now that control had been re-established.

Archer breathed deeply and moved his horse back toward the centre of the road.  The rain was lessening, and as he looked to his right, he could now see the steep drop just beyond the edge of the road.  He said a fervent prayer of thanks under his breath and crossed himself.

An hour later, the trees began to thin.  They rounded the final switchback, and before them loomed the fortress.  Archer stared; it looked impregnable.  At the cleared summit of the mountain, two concentric walls protected the inner castle, the cleared ground between them a death trap for attacking soldiers.  Along the inner, crenelated wall stood several watchtowers.  Even higher above rose the central castle keep.  The entire valley below would be visible from there. 

Sir Iain Cameron was impressed.  He also realized that getting into the fortress would be easier than getting back out.

Chapter 10 His Life As a Puppy


           "We're here!" Kelric crowed. He bounced once impatiently on Mummy's lap as the driver opened the carriage door before he remembered she preferred him to sit still. The warning squeeze of her hands on his waist reminded him that he had to let the queen descend from the carriage before he could get down himself. He positively quivered with longing, for beyond her, he could see the pale yellow sand and the long spit of piled up rock extending into the waves that marked the western end of the cove. And beyond that he could see the waves crest in a white ruffle before rushing up the sand.

          The King gave his hand to the queen, then handed Mummy down, and Kelric eagerly scrambled out after her, too impatient to wait to be lifted down. A green and white striped pavilion had been set up on the beach and the royal party was wandering toward it, talking as they went. There was a wonderful smell of roasting chicken on the air, and Kelric could see that a pit had been dug in the sand a little way off from the pavilion. Four large chickens were slowly being roasted on a spit above rose red coals.

             Bishop Duncan and Lord Dhugal walked to either side of the queen who carried the puppy. Lord Dhugal was trying to avoid the puppy's eager efforts to wash his face. Papa strolled after them, hand in hand with Briony who swung on his hand and skipped at his side in her own eagerness to get down to the beach. The King escorted Mummy behind them and Kelric and Uncle Seandry brought up the rear. Once they had reached the pavilion, the queen set the little dog down in the sand where it at once began to run about in ecstatic circles, wriggling with delight at being free. Kelric grinned as he watched the puppy, feeling the dog's pleasure and excitement in waves, and gave a great wriggling leap of happiness of his own. He plopped down in the sand at once and pulled off his short boots, eager to get his bare toes in the sand, even while he watched the puppy continue to run about from one person to another, leaping, wriggling and wagging its tail as it went.

         Nobody scolded the puppy or tried to calm it down in its excitement, Kelric observed. Had he been the one doing all that running and jumping, either Mummy or Papa or Nurse, or possibly Uncle Seandry would have hold of him by now and would be telling him to settle down. Perhaps life as a puppy would be more fun than life as a Ducal heir and Earl of Lendour.

        For the rest of the day, I'll be a puppy too, Kelric decided. He stood up, looked around and spotted the puppy near the queen, sniffing the air just before it bounded off down the beach toward the water, yapping loudly at the nearest flock of seagulls. Kelric ran after him and did his best to imitate the puppy's high-pitched bark. He was too happy to care that his yapping didn't sound at all convincing. He waved his arms over head, sending all the seagulls flapping off. A flock of sandpipers hurried away also, their thin legs almost invisible against the glossy dark sand at the water's edge. Then all of a sudden, Kelric found himself lying face down in the sand after tripping over a bit of driftwood. The fall was hard enough to knock the wind out of him for a moment. As Kelric lay and gasped for air, he noticed a small, feathery body lying half-buried in the damp sand. It was covered with a buzzing cloud of small black flies. The dead gull's beak was open as if it had been calling for help when it died, and Kelric felt desperately sorry for it, suddenly. He reached out a finger to stroke the feathers.

           "No, no, Kelric. We don't touch dead animals, remember?" Papa's voice asked, unexpectedly from from over his head. "It might be nasty."

             Kelric felt Papa's hands on his ribcage and he was being lifted up and set on his feet. Papa leaned down and brushed the sand from the front of his tunic, quickly yelping and standing up when a wave surged up the beach and caught both their feet.

           "There goes _that_ pair of hose," Papa said with amused resignation. "Fortunately, your mother has brought dry clothes along. But for now, you might as well go barefoot, I suppose." When they had reached the dryer sand higher up, Papa peeled off Kelric's wet sandy green hose and Kelric happily buried his bare toes in the sand. He loved being barefoot and wished that Ducal heirs didn't have to wear shoes all the time. He was unimpressed by all Nurse's scoldings about poor children who had to go barefoot even in the coldest weather and would have loved to own even one pair of shoes, while luckier little boys like him had dozens of pairs. Going barefoot in the winter wouldn't be very nice Kelric thought , but he positively envied those children in the summer time. Especially now that he was standing and wriggling his toes in the warm clean sand.

         "I've got my puppy, and I see you've caught yours too, Alaric," the King said.

          Kelric grinned up at his Godfather, gratified that he'd noticed Kelric was a puppy today. The King had the greyhound puppy tucked under his right arm. The puppy's tail was lashing and he was straining upward in his eagerness to wash his master's f ace with his tongue.

           The king gently enclosed the puppy's muzzle in his free hand. "Thank you, you're a nice little dog, but I don't need a bath, right now."

           Kelric once again regretted that he didn't have a proper tail, but he gave Papa's cheek a nice, wet swipe with his tongue.

          "Kelric, good lord !"

          The King roared with laughter while Papa wiped his cheek dry with his sleeve and gave Kelric a glare of exasperated affection.
"I should be grateful that he's onlya puppy, today," Papa admitted as the three of them started back toward the pavilion. "After I told Kelric about seeing the Queen's Zoo in Beldour, he insisted he was a monkey. He spent the next three days climbing  everything."

          "Maybe you should have told him about the camels, instead?" the King suggested, still laughing.

          "No, Kelric doesn't need any encouragement when it comes to spitting."

          "I can spit almost as far as Uncle Seandry, Sire " Kelric told the King with pride. "Do you want to see?"

          "I'm sure you can, Kelric, but I don't need a demonstration right now."

          Oh." Slightly disappointed, Kelric went hand in hand with Papa, having to trot a bit to keep up with the two very tall men.

          "Where did that puppy come from, Kelson?"

            "He was a wedding gift to Araxie from Prince Cuan," the King answered. "I'm still not sure if it was a genuine gesture of goodwill, or a sneaky form of revenge for the fit King Colman threw when he heard Araxie and I were married."

            "He seems to be a very good tempered pup."

           "He is, and he's very affectionate and fairly intelligent. The second this wiggly little fellow was let out of his basket, Araxie bonded with him. She's always loved dogs and I rather like him myself. He's incredibly destructive, even so. He's chewed up two of my boots, so far – from two different pairs, of course. And when you live in a castle, it's awfully hard to persuade a puppy not to make puddles indoors."

            "You can always have new boots made, but keeping one's wife happy is an important art to learn," Papa observed. "How have you and Araxie bonded?"

            The King just smiled. "As you've seen since we've been here, Alaric."

            "A month in Dunluce with her does seem to have done you some good--knocked a bit of sense into your head, at least," Papa chuckled. "She's a fine lass, Kelson. The more I see of her, the better I like her."

           "Odd, I was about to say the same thing about her," the King said.

           "The signs are good that you esteem her somewhat more than just liking her," Papa said, watching the king sidelong.

            "If you're asking do I love her, the answer is yes," The King said. "But it's based on more than just physical passion, Alaric. We enjoy talking to one another, too. She's full of ideas; she makes me laugh, and she plays a mean game of Cardounet."

          "I'm glad to hear all of this, My Prince. The old "carnal level" is very helpful in dynastic duties, but marriages based solely on physical passion can go sour rather quickly. Marriages last better when the husband and wife like one another during their waking hours, too.
        "Of course, I'm still glad to hear you've been paying attention to the dynastic side of your marriage," Papa teased. "Look at raising that puppy as practice. Of course, one toddler can be more destructive than an entire litter of puppies. Kelric is the scourge of Coroth Castle all by himself."

        Kelric trotted along, wondering what Papa had meant by "old carnal level." He was relatively sure that Papa _must_ have meant "carnival" rather than "carnal" but it hardly mattered as he had no idea why they'd want a "carnival" when they were alone together in the first place. Carnivals meant lots of people in the streets having fun, some of them in masks and costumes, and they were always very noisy and crowded. But when Papa and Mummy went up to their bedroom alone, it meant they didn't want anybody else around, not even himself or Briony. Grownups were endlessly mysterious.

                 "I see you've captured the pups," Bishop Duncan said as they came back to the pavilion.

                "Aye, and we've been comparing notes as to which one is more destructive," the king said. He bent over and set the greyhound puppy on the straw matting where he immediately bounded off to greet his mistress.

             "Kelric won, without a doubt," Papa said and mussed Kelric's hair with an affectionate hand. "He can climb, and he has thumbs."

             "He has quite a reputation to live up to yet, though," Bishop Duncan teased. "As Alaric Morgan's son, and all."

           "He's only three," Papa said dismissively. "Just getting started, really."

            Kelric made a face, not fancying being called "only" three. He'd felt quite grown up on his birthday, and he could do all sorts of things now that he hadn't been able to do when he was two.

             "Wherever my mother is now, I'll bet she's enjoying watching Kelric," Bishop Duncan chuckled. He put his hands on his hips and his voice was a half-octave above normal when he spoke again. "Alaric Morgan, when you're a grown man, I hope you have a son who's exactly like you to repay all the anxious moments you have given me!"
               
             To Kelric's amazement, Papa suddenly cupped his hands over Kelric's ears although he could still hear the grown men laughing

            "Don't give him any ideas now, Duncan," Papa objected. "Poor Aunt Vera, I did rather wear her out before I left for court. But if she had her way, Kelric would never let me  sleep at night."

Kelric looked around uneasily. First his dead grandparents, then Saint Camber and now this mysterious lady, Aunt Vera. Just how many dead people werewatching him, anyway?

I love seeing our fabulous ladies, Richenda and Araxie, having a friendship talk, with subjects Kelric did not understand. So much fun seeing Queen Araxie in this way and the king apparently listening while riding next to the carriage, just shows how much he loves his queen, too.
Thank you Shiral. Can not wait for the Puppy, or should I say puppies, at the beach scene.

Chapter 9 In The Carriage
       "We adults do talk all the time, don't we?" the Queen asked, smiling at him. "We can't even go down to the seashore without discussing it first."

        Kelric nodded and grinned.

         "Well you did give us a lot to talk about, my love," Mummy said. "Has Saint Camber ever visited you before? He's certainly never visited me."

         Kelric shook his head. He was a little bored with St. Camber right now. He wanted to look out the window instead. It was always fun to go through Coroth -- people always waved and smiled at him and at Briony.

          "Speaking of St. Camber, how are Rothana and Albin adjusting to life in Rhemuth?" Mummy asked. Kelric decided to listen instead. Grownup conversation always mystified him. What did the Princess Rothana and Albin have to do with Saint Camber? Especially Albin, whom Kelric considered to be a tremendous baby.

           "To tell the truth, I haven't seen very much of Rothana since Kelson and I got back from Dunluce," the queen said. "Albin spends a large part of each day up at the castle so that Rothana can concentrate on engaging new teachers for the schola. Meraude can't get enough of her grandson. And Rothana is legitimately busy right now."

      "I thought she had accepted the need to live in Rhemuth."

       "She has, but that doesn't mean she's entirely comfortable with it, yet," the queen said softly. "Her being there has stirred up some talk at Court of how things really stand between her and Kelson which has been uncomfortable for all three of us. She feels that the best way to allay the gossip is to stay down at the Basilica as much as she can, and only be seen in the same room with Kelson and I at large court functions. I daresay she' s right about that.I think actually seeing us married has been difficult for her in another way.”

          "Yes," Mummy said softly. "Now it's irrevocable, and she can't ever have him back."

           "Even though she brought us together and insists this is right and what she wants for him, she's realized how much she's given up." Queen Araxie smiled wistfully. "It would be hard for any woman to give up Kelson I think. Even with the most unselfish motives in the world. I certainly couldn't do it, now."

          "Fortunately,  youdon't have to," Mummy said gently. "And how was it down in Dunluce, together?"

            To Kelric's surprise the queen blushed bright pink at this ordinary question even as she smiled. She bent her head low and stroked the fuzzy coat of her greyhound puppy sleeping curled up in her lap.

           "It was very nice," she said softly, smiling.

         "From the look on your face, I'd say it was even better than 'very nice,'" Mummy teased smiling, her blue eyes twinkling. "And very good for Kelson, too. I've never seen him more relaxed or in better spirits. Alaric says so, too."

        "He does  look well rested, doesn't he?" the queen said eagerly. "Part of my reason to get him down to Dunluce was for a rest cure. He worked tremendously hard all summer, and I thought he looked exhausted after all the wedding celebrations were over. It took him a little time to relax once we’d arrived even so. I think he half-expected Circassian guards to leap out from under the rosebushes, at first."

             "I hope he didn't sleep through your  whole  time at Dunluce." Kelric looked up at Mummy in puzzlement. She was smiling at the queen, and she looked as she did when she and Papa had playful moments together.

            "No, he didn't," the queen replied, unable to keep from smiling. Then she laughed aloud. "I thought I was prepared for all the curiousity I'd face at court when we returned to Rhemuth, but it was even more intense than I thought."

         "About..?" Mummy asked slyly, still smiling.

         "About whether I was... well." Queen Araxie took a deep breath looking very shy.

          Kelric knit his forehead in complete puzzlement over her hestitation. Why couldn't grownup ladies just _say_ things without being mysterious all the time?

          "With child," Mummy said softly. "Well Kelson does need an heir, my dear."

         "I know, and I very much want to provide him with one. More than just one. I want to give him lots of beautiful, healthy little Haldane children."

          "Nigel and Alaric and the entire privy council will be very glad to hear that," Mummy chuckled. "Any luck so far?"

          "Unfortunately not yet," the queen murmured. "I want babies too, and not just for the sake of the succession. I see how Kelson is with Kelric and Briony and  with little Albin and Conalline, too. He'll make a wonderful father to his own children.”

           Mummy nodded and smiled. "The signs of that are very good. And he's had excellent examples in Nigel and in his own father, too."

           "And in Duke Alaric," the queen finished, now teasing Mummy in her turn.

          "I daresay," Mummy said, looking embarrassed and pleased in her own turn. "We're trying for another baby ourselves."

          Kelric looked up at Mummy in dismay. "No!"

           "Darling, why not? Wouldn't you like another little brother or sister?"

           "No! You're _my_ mummy!" He threw his arms around Mummy and hugged her even as he glared up at her.

           "And you can't share me?"

           Kelric shook his head emphatically.

         "But you already share me with Brendan and Briony."

         "They were already here when I got here. No more babies!"

         "Oh dear," the queen laughed softly at Mummy while she kept caressing the puppy.

        "Are you worried that I won't love you as much anymore?"

         Kelric nodded.

        "You don't have to worry about that, Kootik. You're my darling boy and you always will be. And even if I have more babies, you'll always be Papa's eldest son and heir."

          "I will? I thought Brendan was his heir."

          "No, my love. Brendan is already the Earl of Marley because he inherited it from his father who's dead now. You will be the next Duke of Corwyn because you're Papa's first son. That's what it means to be a Ducal heir and that' s why people wave to you when you ride through Coroth."

           Kelric considered this. "Am I a nearl, too?"

            "Yes. You're the Earl of Lendour and you have been since you were born."
               
            "I have? Where is it?"

            "Up north and west from Coroth. In the Lendour Highlands."

            Kelric considered this. "Nobody told  me I was a nearl." He giggled. He'd misplaced his toys and even shoes and gloves, but it was funny to think he'd misplaced his whole  Earldom.

       "But everyone knows, all the same darling." Mummy smiled and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. "For now, Papa is taking care of Lendour for you until you come of age, just as I manage Marley for Brendan."

        Kelric screwed up his face. "Why can't I run Lendour now?"

         "Mmm, it's very hard work, running an Earldom, darling. You don't know how yet, and if you tried, you wouldn't have any time to play with your boats or go to the beach."

          "I shouldn't like that," Kelric admitted. "But when will I get my heresy?"

         To his indignant amazement, both Mummy and the queen burst out laughing.

         "It's a mercy Archbishop Bradene didn't hear  that  question," Mummy sighed as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve, still laughing. "The correct word is in-her-itance, Kootik, my love. Heresy is saying or doing something that goes against God's law."

           "They do sound alike, and it was a very good guess, Kelric," Queen Araxie added smiling at him. "And I think the Archbishop would understand what Kelric  meant  to ask.”

            She laughed suddenly. That does remind me of a funny thing that happened at Court, last week. Albin has learned how to undress himself, lately. He's very proud of this accomplishment. And he's taken to demonstrating it for anyone who will watch."

             "Anyone?" Mummy lifted her eyebrows.

             "Archbishop Bradene was a bit startled to have Albin pulling off his little clothes right in front of him on the Royal dais," the queen went on. "Not as embarrassed as Rothana, though. She ran and grabbed Albin with one arm and his clothes with the other and hustled him out of there while I distracted the archbishop."

          "What did Kelson do?" Mummy asked while laughing.

          "He was no help at all," Queen Araxie said with playful severity. She leaned to her right, turned her head toward the carriage window and raised her voice.
"He sat on his throne and watched the whole thing, laughing fit to die."

         The king spurred his horse forward and leaned down around Briony, setting his hand on the carriage window frame. "Well it was funny” he protested. "There was Albin, naked except for his little boots, positively glowing with pride while poor Bradene was looking everywhere else and at everything but him." He winked at Kelric before straightening in his saddle.

            "Now then Sire, don't go giving Kelric any ideas about how to amuse visiting Bishops," Mummy protested. "Poor Rothana!"

               Kelric stuck out his lower lip, not liking the suggestion that HE would take to undressing in public - or copying anything else that Albin might do, for that matter. He was almost a whole year older, after all.

            "I'm sure Kelric knows to keep his clothes on in public, Richenda.," Queen Araxie smiled at Kelric. "He's already much more grownup than Albin is."

            Kelric beamed back at the queen in satisfaction. He'd liked her right away this summer, even before she'd married the king. She could tell the difference between a big boy and a big baby like Albin. "You're very pretty," he told her frankly. "Almost as pretty as Mummy."

              Queen Araxie's cheeks went pink and she smiled at him.

             "Thank you," she said simply and leaned over to kiss the top of his head. "That's high praise from one of yourmummy's children."
Her shift of position had awoken the puppy in her lap which yawned widely.
 
             Kelric forgot the queen entirely as he gazed at the puppy's bright brown eyes and at the moist, glossy black nose that twitched at the scent of him.

           "Who polishes the doggie's nose?" Kelric asked as he stretched out his hand to stroke the top of the little dog's head. A wet, raspberry pink tongue unfurled from the puppy's mouth between sharp white puppy teeth, straining up toward his face to give him a dog kiss. Kelric patted him in delight. The long slim tail at the puppy's other end began to wag enthusiastically.

           "Stroke him gently, darling," Mummy reminded him. "He doesn't belong to you."

           "I know," Kelric said cheerfully, continuing to stroke the soft fur. "Oh Mummy, I wish  I  had a tail!"

            "Darling!" Mummy laughed. "What would you do with a tail if you had one?"

            Kelric rolled his eyes. Even though Mummy was very quick in many ways, she sometimes asked entirely silly questions.
"I'd wag  it, of course." What else would a person do with a tail?

             Out the carriage window, he could hear the king laughing aloud either at what he'd said or, and the rumble of carriage wheels lurching over uneven ground as the driver turned his team and stopped the carriage. Outside the carriage, Kelric could see the ocean and everyone could hear the soft rush of the surf.

             "We're here!" Kelric crowed.

Thank you all so very much for your input. I regularly do Tai Chi, and had the feeling that might be one Camber might do, maybe just for the meditative aspects of it.