The Sentinel of Cassendar: Resquarian

As the bright light faded, and Galen could see again, he looked around to see himself sounded by Elites as he knelt by the king’s side. All around him, Navalian soldiers who could get way were running towards the north as many others continued to die at the hands of Elites and Siccarian soldiers. To Galen it was nothing but a blur. He fell back off his knees and sat down on the ground, hanging his head, and trying to take deep breaths.

He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had let Belleth and Darron take his High Captain, but what else could he have done? The king would have died if he had not healed him quickly. As it was, King Leal would be weak for many days with his blood loss. Galen would have to give him some medicine soon to make sure an infection did not set in the healing wound.

He did not how long he sat there next to the king. The sounds of battle started to fade as the Navalian soldiers either left or were silenced forever. Galen could do nothing but look at the ground, feeling exhausted. He was tired from the fighting, tired from healing the king, and not able to deal with what had happened.

“Galen,” said Lord Ethen quietly as he kneeled down next to him. Galen could see he was holding Dracia’s sword. “Are you injured?”

Galen took another deep breath and shook his head. “I am not,” he said as he still looked at the ground.

“And the king?”

“He was hurt fairly seriously, but I believe he will fully recover after some rest,” said Galen.

It was true the king would fully recover physically, but what would be his mental state when he woke up and realized what had happened? They could not leave the High Captain where she was. They needed to go after her, to save her from whatever fate awaited her in Navalia with Belleth, but how could they with so many dead around them, with their king unconscious and unwell.

“We will need to get him out of here and somewhere he can rest,” said Lord Ethen. “We need to get back to Winsdell.”

“How can we go back?” asked Galen as he looked up at Lord Ethen. “How can we go back without her? What will the king do when he wakes up and realizes she is gone? What will my brother do when we return without his High Captain?”

“We will not leave her there forever, Galen, but we have to go recover and plan. We still have a large force left, and I don’t believe they will kill her. It seems Belleth wants her for something. If she wanted to kill Dracia, she would have done it here.”

Galen nodded. “But what will they do to her before we can save her, my lord?”

Ethen sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know if we want to think about it. We cannot think about it, not yet. There is nothing I want more than to ride to Navalia now and recover my cousin, but it would be foolish. We will have to do this the right way,” said Lord Ethen.

“Galen, Galen!” yelled Lexine as she spotted him. She ran to him and kneeled next to him, grabbing his arms. “Are you well?”

Galen nodded as she noticed her brother laying on the ground. Tears came to her eyes, as she let go of Galen and grabbed her brother’s arm.

“He will be alright, Lexine,” said Galen quietly. “He was injured, but he will pull through.”

She nodded as she looked her brother over, a few tears falling down her cheeks. “Where is Dracia? She didn’t go after the fleeing soldiers, did she?” asked Lexine as she looked around.

Galen looked at Ethen who closed his eyes. “Lexine, she is not here,” said Galen slowly.

“What do you mean, she is not here?” asked Lexine. “She didn’t really go after them, did she?”

“No, she did not go after them,” said Galen as he looked at Lexine.

Lexine looked around frantically. “She is hurt, isn’t she? Where is she, Galen?” asked Lexine as she looked at Galen. “Oh gods, she is…” Lexine couldn’t seem to make out the words. “She is…”

“No, she is not dead, Lexine,” said Galen putting his hands on her arms. “She is alive, but she was taken. Belleth, Darron, and that other woman took her. I think they took her to Navalia.”

Lexine leaned back from Galen. “They took her? You let them take her?”

“I had to see to your brother. He would have died, Lexine. My High Captain commanded me to heal the king, and I did what I had to,” said Galen.

Lexine’s breath hitched as more tears came out of her eyes. She looked at Galen and nodded. “I understand, but we must go after them now. They could not have gotten far,” said Lexine.

“I think they are already there. You know the power Belleth has. I think she can travel very quickly,” said Galen.

Lexine shook her head. “What can we do? We cannot just let her go. We cannot let them keep her.”

“Of course not,” said Lord Ethen. “We need to see to your brother first, and come up with a plan. I think we need to retreat to Winsdell. Let me go locate Lord Owin, and he can have the soldiers and Elites see to clean up and farewells. We can travel quicker with just a few Elites and our small party.”

Lord Ethen stood up and walked away to go find Lord Owin. Galen and Lexine looked at the king as he lay still, his chest rising up and down with each breath.

“Can you tell me what happened?” asked Lexine.

Galen recounted for her what he had saw from the time he had left her after he couldn’t stand being out of the battle anymore. He explained how he had looked and looked for the High Captain to finally find her as the king was stabbed in the side. He told her of how Darron and other disgraced Elites kept them from helping the king. He explained to her how he had to leave the High Captain to see to King Leal and save him.

When he was done explaining, Lexine sat back and looked down at her brother. She reached over and moved some hair off of the king’s forehead as she looked down on him with concern.

“You really believe he will be well?” asked Lexine softly as she continued to look at the king.

“He will not succumb to his injuries. You can check him over yourself if you like,” said Galen.

“No, I trust you,” she said. “He will not be well, though, will he? When he wakes up and realizes she is gone, he will not be well at all.”

“We must help him to realize we will get her back because we will, Lexine. If I have to go myself to Navalia, I will. We will not let the High Captain suffer under the hand of Lady Belleth any longer than is necessary. As soon as we get back to Winsdell, we will plan her rescue,” said Galen.

Lexine continued to smooth her brother’s hair as she looked at him. They waited several minutes, as Elites and soldiers worked around them to see to the bodies of those of Lanoxan and Siccaria who had fallen. It was all very surreal to Galen as he sat in the bloodied snow, next to the unconscious king, knowing his High Captain was in trouble. He thought of what must be happening back home. Roderick was probably pacing the floor of one of the parlors or walking the hills, waiting for them to come back. What would happen when Roderick realized they had come back without the High Captain? What would his brother do?

“All is set,” said Lord Ethen. “I had some Elites gather our horses as well as the High Captain’s. She would want him taken care of.”

“What do we do with Leal?” asked Lexine.

“He will ride with me, and I can support him,” said Lord Ethen.

He kneeled down next to the king and lightly shook him. The king’s eyes blinked open, and he looked up at Lord Ethen and then over to Lexine and Galen.

“Lexine?” he asked quietly “Where are we?”

“We are still on the battlefield, but we are going to get you home,” said Lexine. “It will not be easy, but soon you will be in your bed.”

“But Dracia,” he said as he propped himself up and looked at Lord Ethen. “They took her. We must go after her.”

“We will get your queen back, your majesty, but first we must take care of you,” said Lord Ethen. “You will have to stay calm if you want to help Dracia, do you understand?”

“How can I stay calm?” asked the king. “What if we are too late to help her?”

“I don’t believe they will kill her,” said Lord Ethen. “But we will need to go get her quickly which means you need to do as I say.”

“Listen to him, Leal,” said Lexine as she took the king’s hand. “We all want Dracia back, but first we need to get you home.”

The king closed his eyes and nodded as Ethen positioned himself behind him. He put his hands under his arms and lifted the king up as he stood, Galen helping to steady the king. The brought him over to the horses where two Elites stood that Galen recognized as Justin and Cian.

“Do not worry, your majesty,” said Elite Cian as he held Lord Ethen’s horse. “The Sentinel will not stand for anyone taking our High Captain, especially some traitorous bastards who dare wear the Sentinel colors.”

“We offered to ride out now to go find her,” said Justin as Lord Ethen boosted the king up onto his horse. “But Lord Ethen believes it is best to retreat and come up with a plan first.”

“It is the right course, your majesty,” said Lord Ethen before he mounted his horse behind the king. “I need you to trust me.”

The king nodded, his eyes closing, seeming to slip back unconscious.

“Galen, do you have medicine with you that will help keep the king calm?” asked Lord Ethen.

“I do,” said Galen after he helped Lexine mount her horse.

“When we stop tonight, give it to him. As he starts recovering at all, he will not be so easy to placate,” said Lord Ethen.

They rode as far as they could until the cold night air made them stop. The king was in and out throughout their ride, many times asking for his queen. Lexine spent much of the journey silently crying, and Galen had no words to comfort her. Galen gave the king medicine for pain and to help keep him calm as soon as they stopped. They managed to get him to eat a little and drink some water before seeing that he was warm as could be so he would hopefully spend a few hours asleep.

No one talked much around the fire. Galen could hear Elite Justin and Cian whisper to each other every now and then. Lexine laid her head on Galen’s shoulder, and Lord Ethen seemed to be in deep thought.

“We all need to sleep as well as we can for a few hours,” said Lord Ethen. “I wish to press on as soon. The quicker we are back in Winsdell, the sooner we can find a way to save Dracia.”

“You do not need to worry about getting her back, my lord,” said Elite Cian. “She is our High Captain and the queen of our kingdom. The Sentinel will not stand for her being held. We will see to her rescue at the first opportunity.”

Justin nodded. “We will also see to the deaths of ever single one of the traitors. What they have done can have only one consequence, though I would like to make Darron’s death a little longer and more painful than the others.”

“I am sure you would, but I doubt either of you get a chance to put a finger on Darron,” said Galen. “When my brother hears of all that Darron has done, Roderick will let no one take his vengeance from him.”

Justin smiled grimly. “I will be glad to let him have it.”

They rest of their journey was exhausting and quiet. As much as Galen wished to be back in Winsdell, he dreaded their eventual arrival. He did not know how he was going to face his brother without the High Captain. He was afraid Roderick would blame him for her capture. Galen supposed he did blame himself in some ways. He never should have listened to her command to stay away from the battle. He was her second, and his place was at her side. Even with her ordering him away, he should have known better than to let her ride into the fight alone.

They entered Winsdell the second night of the journey. It was late, but Ethen wanted to press on. The king was more awake, but he was very quiet. His eyes looked glassy, and his mind seem to be elsewhere. Galen knew it was mostly the medicine he had given him, but he also wondered if the king couldn’t deal with the reality that he was facing. Their small party rode up to the palace, Galen jumping off his horse to help Lord Ethen with the king.

They took King Leal to his room, meeting a concerned Malven on the stairs who walked with them, letting them into the king’s rooms. Galen and Ethen helped the king to lay in his bed as Malven walked in. He looked at both Lord Ethen and Galen, seeming to want to ask a question but not being able to get the words out.

“The queen?” he finally asked with dread laced into the two words.

Galen looked down as Ethen said, “She was taken by the powers that rule Navalia. We believe she is being held in the winter palace.”

Malven took a few breaths while he stared at Lord Ethen. He finally nodded his head and said, “I should see to my king, if you will excuse me for a few moments. I will see him cleaned and dressed in fresh clothes.”

Galen walked with Lord Ethen out into the sitting room of the king’s chambers. He went over to the fireplace and raised his hand to make the small fire in the fireplace rise higher. Galen looked to Lord Ethen as though to say something to him when there was a knock at the door. Before either could answer the door, it opened and Lexine walked into the room.

“Galen, you need to come downstairs for a moment and talk with your brother before he wakes the entire palace and village,” said Lexine.

“What did you tell him?” asked Galen.

“Nothing, I said I would come get you,” said Lexine.

He nodded. “Stay here in case the king needs something, Lexine. I will come back up and check his wound as soon as I can. Tell Malven after I look the king over, I will decide if we need another healer to see to him.”

Galen walked from the room and down the stairs. He found Roderick pacing in the entry hall, Lady Selene was at his side in a nightgown and robe.

“Roderick, how did you know we were back?” asked Galen as he reached the entry hall.

“I had some attendants keeping watch at all hours to see when you would ride up. I heard it was only a small party. Why did you come back by yourselves? Was someone injured?” asked Roderick.

“The king was stabbed in the side during the battle, but I have seen to his injury. He will be sore and tired for a few days, but he will recover fully,” said Galen.

Roderick nodded. “Is Dracia with him? I would hate to disturb her, but I would like to see her. We didn’t part on the best terms, and I would like to make peace with her as soon as I can. There is also something she needs to know very soon, something perhaps you or a healer could help with.”

Galen hesitated. This was the moment he had been dreading. How could he even begin to tell his brother what had happened?”

“Galen, is Dracia with the king?” asked Roderick.

Galen shook his head. “She is not.”

“Did she stay behind to lead the Sentinel? I can’t imagine her leaving the king if he was hurt. Was there something she needed to see to?” asked Roderick.

Galen swallowed. “She is not with the Sentinel, Roderick,” said Galen in a voice that sounded strange to him.

“Where is she, Galen?” asked Roderick as he stepped forwards towards Galen.

Galen tilted his head and looked at his brother. He looked down for one moment, and Roderick grabbed his arm.

“Where is she? You must tell me,” said Roderick desperately.

“She was taken,” said Galen as he looked at the ground, not able to look at his brother. He heard Lady Selene gasp and felt Roderick’s hold on his arm tighten.

“Taken?” breathed Roderick.

Galen nodded and looked up at Roderick. “She was taken by Belleth and Darron, and I let it happen, Roderick. I am so sorry. I didn’t want to leave her, but the king was going to die, and she ordered me to see to him.”

Roderick let go of Galen and seemed to be in some state of shock or fury or perhaps both. He stood there in front of Galen as Galen felt tears pool in his eyes.

“Roderick?” he said quietly. “I am sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

Lady Selene walked over and grabbed Galen, pulling him into a hug. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Galen. Your brother knows it,” said Lady Selene as she held Galen. He put his arms around her and let his tears fall.

“Did they take her to Navalia?” asked Roderick as Galen let go of Lady Selene.

“They said they were taking her there,” said Galen. “I imagine she is in the winter palace.”

“If I leave tonight, and ride with few stops, I can be there in a little more than four days,” said Roderick.

“What are you talking about, Roderick?” said Lady Selene. “You cannot think you can go by yourself and storm the winter palace.”

“I will not leave her there,” said Roderick. “I never should have left her side. I should had made her listen to me.”

“Of course, we will not leave her there, but if you go now, by yourself, you will have no chance of helping her. You will only get yourself killed,” said Lady Selene.

“What do we do, then? You know how much danger she is in there,” said Roderick loudly. “She doesn’t even know, Selene. She doesn’t know how delicate her situation is.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Galen, his head snapping up to look at Roderick and Lady Selene.

They were both quiet as Roderick paced around the entry hall again, and Lady Selene looked at Galen as though she was considering what to say to him.

“What is it?” asked Galen.

“I believe your High Captain may be with child,” said Lady Selene.

“Did you just say you believe Dracia may be with child?” asked Lexine as she walked down the stairs quickly behind Galen.

“I did, because I believe it may be true,” said Lady Selene. “She has been ill for a while. She has even been vomiting. She is tired all the time, and her mood is irregular. It is exactly how my sister acted during her first few months.”

“You are saying she could be carrying Leal’s child. She could be carrying the heir to the throne of the High Palace,” said Lexine.

“Or the one of the next High Nobles of Siccaria,” said Lady Selene.

“I must go get her, now, Selene,” said Roderick.

“We must go get her, brother, and we must not fail,” said Galen. “Lady Selene is right. If you go now with no plan, by yourself, you will not save her and you will die. We will need to do this the right way.”

Roderick stopped pacing and sighed.

“When will the Sentinel get back?” asked Roderick.

“I am guessing no later than the day after tomorrow,” said Galen. “Elite Cian and Justin rode back with us.”

“Once the Sentinel is back, I will meet with them, and we will make a plan quickly and leave directly. I will not stand for her being in the hands of the Navalians for more than one day than is necessary,” said Roderick. “I will stay here in the palace until I leave.”

“I need to see to the king,” said Galen as he nodded.

“I will see to getting you a room, Roderick,” said Lexine as Galen turned to walk up the stairs.