Homecoming
The castle loomed large before me
in the gray dawn fog. It was dark, built of large stone bricks, and ivy grew in
trails all over it, clinging in the spaces between the bricks. The trot, trot
of the horses hoofs on the courtyard was soothing, a distraction from the
hollow feeling at the base of my stomach. I'd forgotten it was so damn BIG! I
swallowed and glanced at my companions to try to quell it. They flanked me, one
on either side the Count and Countess of Sangny. They did not look particularly
rich or distinguished, these two, until one noticed that Jehanna's clothing,
while practical, was well made and of expensive cloth and that Ronald wore a
large, glittering ring. The palace gates had just opened for the day and the
stream of people going in and out of the large, ivy shadowed main gate was
small.
"Impressive,
isn't it," my male companion said, "I always forget how imposing it is when I'm
away". He was a small man, neatly dressed and nondescript, with sandy hair and
rather colorless eyes which shifted in unease. I hid a smirk; Roland was always
uncomfortable in the city. As we drew near the palace liveried grooms took the
reins of our horses.
The one who held the reins for me
was familiar, blond haired and brown eyed, and I frowned, trying to identify
him. "Norman, isn't it?" I questioned, swinging lightly to the ground. He
looked at me and I could almost see him
trying to remember who I was.
"I'm afraid I can't recognize you,
your lordship" he said " although you do seem familiar". I smiled; maybe it
wouldn't be so unpleasant to renew old acquaintances.
"Don't you remember me?" I asked,
feigning a hurt look, " you used to give me horse rides when I was this high"
and with my hands I indicated a length two feet off the ground.
He looked at me intently, brown eyes narrowing. Then
he looked at my companions and I could see the light of recognition dawn in his
eyes. "Your Highness," he said with a broad smile, "how you've grown."
"Not so much," I said with a self-deprecating smile.
"You're still growing, though,
aren't you?" he asked. I smiled and didn't say anything but was reminded that I
did seem to have stopped growing and
might be short forever. And when I said forever I really meant it. Shrugging
off reflections on my mortality (or lack of it), I turned to my companions.
By this time Jehanna and Roland had dismounted. Jehanna cleared her throat and said, "Don't let's keep his Majesty waiting Random."
"It's not like he'll be worried about me," I said bitterly.
"Random, hush!" she said through grated teeth. "We know you don't like him. Announcing it to the world at large won't do your chances of survival any good." We proceeded into the palace. The halls were hushed at this hour of the day, cool and hung with tapestries.
I remembered these halls, remembered chasing through them with my sister and crashing into courtiers and foreign dignitaries, remembered peering into the throne room to see my beautiful mother, dressed and bejeweled like a cherished doll, sitting serenely next to my father. I remembered getting caught by my tutors, preparing to go quietly to the nursery, while Mirelle took advantage of her tender years to through a screaming fit, insisting that she WOULD NOT go back to the nursery. I smiled fondly, remembering how she always got us out of trouble by going to papa and sniffling angelically. "Daddy, we didn't mean to…" was her standard line and everyone knew that father would let her get away with murder.
By now we had reached the throne
room. The doors were made of a gold colored metal and were closed. Roland gave
one of the footmen a letter to deliver to the king and we waited. After half an
hour had passed I murmured "See. He doesn't
want to see me after all." Jehanna looked at me with the air of one whose
patience had run out. "Random," she said sharply, "shut up."
I smiled mockingly, "Shouldn't
that be: shut up YOUR HIGHNESS".
"You did an awful job of
raising him," she muttered to Roland, "he has no respect for his elders. Oberon
will be pissed ."
"You DID have some say in his upbringing, dear," he said "and you were
the one who was responsible for his education in etiquette".
A footman had reached us by now
"His Majesty is in the dining room and said the prince might as well join the
family for breakfast. He will see Lord and Lady Sangny tomorrow at dawn."
Jehanna looked at me with a hint of
sorrow in her grey eyes. She stepped forward and hugged me hard "Take care
Random. Remember all that we have taught you. You will always be welcome at
Sangny".
Roland shook my hand and gripped
my shoulder "Use your head and you'll be fine." They walked away from me and I
felt abandoned. This was the second time in my life that I was being left alone
in an unfamiliar place. "If you'll follow me Your Grace" the footman said. I
followed him through half remembered halls until we reached the dining room.
He opened the door and bowed me
in. There was a large table with nine place settings. At the head of the table
sat Oberon, King of Amber. He looked at me with those penetrating green eyes
and gestured for me to come forward. He was still big. Larger than life he
seemed, the invincible king of Amber. "Welcome home, Random" he said in a matter of fact tone of voice.
I seethed inside. First my
mother dies, then he sends me as far as he can while still keeping me in Amber
and now, when I've finally found a measure of happiness with Jehanna and
Roland, he yanks me home and greets me as if he's never sent me away. I made
sure none of the resentment showed on my face as I bowed and said calmly
"Sire." Jenna had taught me some things.
"We are not normally so formal,
Son" said the king of Amber gesturing for me to take the unoccupied place near
the foot of the table "at least not in private". I barely managed to hide my
frown at being so addressed. He certainly hadn't acted like a father any time recently.
I made my way down the table,
looking at my brothers and sisters as I passed them. Benedict sat at father's
right hand. I had memories of this seemingly stern man picking me up and
tossing me around and teaching me the basics of fencing. Our eyes met as he
gave me a rare smile and mouthed "later". I nodded.
The red-heads were still as
thick as thieves. Fiona and Bleys were leaning towards each other and
discussing something, effectively ignoring the rest of the room. Brand wasn't
at the table and I was glad of his absence. He had often teased me in my
childhood. I remembered that Bleys was usually kind.
Julian grunted at me while
watching Fiona and glowering. I would have to find out what was up with him.
Gerard greeted me with a smile as
I sat down feeling relieved. At last, someone who I had seen more recently than
eleven years ago. After I was sent to the Sagny's Gerard made it his
responsibility to visit me every year on my birthday, always bringing a gift
and a joke. I responded to his greeting fervently, happy to sit next to someone
I knew.
Corwin sat opposite me and I
snuck a glance at him. This was the brother I most admired, from what I had
heard about him. A soldier, but not obsessed with war, A poet but not a fop, a
courtier and a noted diplomat. He smiled and greeted me. He had generally
ignored me in favor of Mirelle, a fact which had bugged the hell out of me when
I was a kid. Now though, I saw it for what it was: an indication of good taste.
Flora was the most enthusiastic
about my return. "Random" She said in a high pitched, excited voice. "It will
be nice having someone near my age around the palace". I smiled at her,
remembering how she had sobbed at my mother's funeral and how she had hugged me
hard before my departure.
While on one hand I was relieved
that my homecoming had gone smoothly,
on the other hand I was upset that there was no fuss. I come home and none of
my brothers or sisters can be bothered to great me properly after such a long
absence. I remembered my childhood nickname "The Spare Prince". Well, I
thought, I'll have to work on changing that.
I stood in the courtyard, stretching
after a fencing match with Ben. He certainly did not believe in sparing his
students. If we hadn't been using practice foils, I'd have been shish kabob.
I'd been in Amber a week and was doing my best to adapt, though I'd been unable
to suppress a wave of homesickness when Jenna and Roland returned to Sagny.
Another reason I was having
problems was that the halls of the palace were full of memories of my dead
mother and Mirelle. Mirelle had been an annoying little pest, loved by all, and
I hadn't realized how much I myself loved her until it was too late. Jehanna
had told me once that she must have known, that all little siblings know that
they are loved. I wished that I believed that.
I now knew all of the major nobles
on sight. They were all very respectful and seemed to think that my status as a
Prince of Amber gave me more power than it actually did. It seemed that I had
reverted to being "The Spare Prince". I had no official duties which was
annoying. Hell, even Flora had responsibilities.
Apart from Ben and Gerard, my brothers seemed to have made a pact to ignore me.
Oh, they greeted me nicely enough, but apart from that they never talked to me.
Although I should have known better, I was hurt by their behavior. They all seemed like such nice people, Corwin
especially.
One bright spot in my homecoming
was Flora. She was close to my age and so
glad to have a companion. She was a fun person to be with, nice and caring and
always in touch with the latest gossip. She was a bit of an airhead, sure, but
brains never equated with niceness. Witness Fiona, who was always frosty and
delighted in being mysterious.
As I stood there in the courtyard I noticed Corwin making his
way towards me. He smiled, a flash of
white teeth shining against the black of his beard and moustache. "You must
have been fencing with Ben" he declared. "That's the only reason you would look
so beat up".
Corwin laughed and said ruefully
"Don't I know it. But he is the
best". Than in an off hand way he said, "Listen Random, Bleys and I are going sailing.
Would you like to come?"
"Sure" I said delightedly "When?"
Corwin smiled "Meet us in the
courtyard in an hour."
After he had walked off, my
Amberite genes kicked in. Why was he being so nice to me after ignoring me for
a week? I told myself I was being too suspicious but still wandered off to find
Gerard and tell him of my plans, just in case.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The island was perfect, I decided
as our boat pulled up to it. It was little more than a hill in the water but at
least it had grass and was far from Amber. Bleys and Corwin were very good
company and I was very happy I had accepted their invitation. They had
discussed politics and sailing and the court and countless other things, always
including me in the conversation.
"Random, take the picnic basket
please" Corwin said, "Bleys and I will bring the drinks".
I hopped out of the boat and waded
to shore, the heavy picnic basket in my hands. As I reached land I turned to
see the little sailboat moving away. Bleys waved at me, and Corwin laughed as I
stood there shaking my fist at them.
I opened the picnic basket as I settled down to wait. At
least I'd have plenty to eat.
When
I pushed back the hamper lid I swore. Some joker had filled the hamper with
rocks.
I waited and waited and the sun
finally set. My stomach growled and I drank some water which flowed from a
spring, trying to fill it. As I sat there cold and hungry on that island in the
middle of nowhere I swore that I would make my brothers pay. I sat there and contemplated my revenge and finally I
heard a voice calling "Random".
Good old Gerard, I thought out as
I called out "I'm here Gerard" quickly, irrationally afraid that he would leave
without me. On our way back to Amber Gerard told me how he had rung (quite
literally) the truth out of Bleys and Corwin. It was nice to think of them
suffering and I smiled.
As we approached Amber Gerard said
"I know you've provocation, but don't try to get even Random. Corwin and Bleys
are too powerful for you to face"
"Gerard" I said in a low tone "I
do thank you for your concern but if I don't make them pay, I won't be able to
respect myself." He looked sad but did not comment as we made our silent way
back to the palace.
Some days had passed since "the Incident" as I referred to it, had
happened. Life had continued as usual. Corwin and Bleys had refrained from
boasting about the way they had tricked me under threat of punishment from
Gerard. Eric was back from whichever shadow he'd been in and it was very
satisfying to see him bait Corwin about the succession.
I had begun to feel at home at
Court. Gerard had taken me in hand and I was now assisting him, helping keep
track of the Navy and the Merchant ships. I no longer felt like the spare
prince but still bided my time, waiting for the day I would pay Corwin back. I
knew he was too powerful for me to attack directly so I bided my time, waiting
for a good opportunity. One day I was given a perfect cover.
Flora rushed up to me and told me
agitatedly that Julian had thrown a glass of wine in Corwins face. I smiled.
This was perfect.
"No I don't think it's funny
Flora" I placated my outraged sister as she demanded furiously whether I liked the family feuds. I went shopping
with her to pacify her. Flora was like that once. Gentle and easily upset about
family quarrels.
That night I got up early before
dawn. I snuck to Corwin's room and gently opened the door. I heard light snores
arising from the direction of the bed. I smiled. Good. The sleeping powder I
had slipped into the roast at dinner had worked. I hadn't eaten, pleading an
upset stomach.
I crept into the room stealthily
and made out the outlines of the object of my search near the bed. I doctored
it as planned and made my way back to my room to sleep.
I made a point of arriving to
dinner late so as to be inconspicuous. It was a good thing I did for as I
walked in I saw that only My Father the King and Flora were there. Oberon
smiled at me as he said "For some reason, the entire family seems to have
overslept."
Flora yawned and lifted a delicate
hand to cover her mouth as she said "Good morning, Random"
I sat down and waited. By ones and
twos the family gathered in the breakfast hall. I waited some more. Finally
Corwin limped in, his foot wrapped in a bandage.
"Trying to start a new fashion
Brother?" Eric questioned with a smirk "You won't succeed". I suppressed a smile, admiring the way Eric
managed to put two put-downs in one sentence.
Corwin glared at Eric. "Someone" he growled shifting his gaze to
Julian, "put a spike in my boot". It was obvious to the whole table that Corwin
suspected Julian. Julian himself looked puzzled but did not deny doing it.
Oberon smiled. It was the first
sign I had seen him amused and I had wondered if he was capable of levity.
"Until you find out who that someone is, Corwin I suggest you not accuse
anyone."
Corwin flushed for a minute as he
sat down. Coming from our very hands-off father, that statement was equal to a
command to leave the perpetuator alone until there was proof of guilt.
"After all" Oberon continued "You
wouldn't want to accuse the wrong person". As he said this his eyes found mine.
There was an approving glint in those green eyes and unnoticed by the rest of
the family he winked at me before turning back to his breakfast. No one else learned the truth and Corwin
blames Julian to this day. That was the first time I felt at home in Amber.
What I did to Bleys is…. a story
for another time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I let my voice trail off and looked at Vialle. She seemed
pensive. Halfway through my story she had adopted a "listening" look. I
couldn't tell if it was from boredom or fascination and I fervently hoped it
was the latter. After all my life depended on it. She came to herself with a
start.
She smiled at me and said " Thank
you for the story your highness, I've seldom been better entertained."
"Well?" I prompted "What have you
decided?"
"I will marry you," she said. I
relaxed, only to tense again as she continued "on one condition."
"Anything in my power, Lady" I said
warily, wondering what she wanted and whether it was something I was in a
position to grant.
"My condition is certainly in your
power" said the Lady Vialle, a glint of humor dancing in her sightless eyes "I
want you to complete your story the next time we are in private."
I stood and gave her an
extravagant bow "I think I can safely promise you that". She had an unexpected
sense of humor I mused. As I escorted her to the door I smiled. Maybe being
married to her wouldn't be as bad as I had feared.