Disclaimer: As usual: I don't own it, and I have not and don't intend to make money out of this fic.
Current Music: Blind Guardian – "Nightfall on Middle Earth" (needed something stronger again – and it ROCKS!)
CHAPTER 15
Sparhawk had sent one of the castle guardsmen out to the Pandion chapterhouse outside of the city walls to notify his squire Khalad of his plans once he had left the royal bed chamber. Well, technically, Khalad deserved better than to be thought of as "Squire"; by now, he was an apprentice knight of the Pandion order of Church Knights, and an extremely good one at that. But the young man thought of himself as Sparhawk's squire, as he also was the oldest son of Kurik, squire of both the prince consort and his father before him, and as it was tradition in his family to serve the Sparhawk family. The current Sparhawk did not want to offend Khalad by neglecting to tell him that he, although getting on in years, was off to a new adventure again.
Heldin, his right-hand man in matters of the Pandion order, would take care of the knights until he got back – and hopefully afterwards as well, as the patriarchs in Chyrellos finally were to decide on a new preceptor for the black-armored Elenes. After all, Sparhawk was only the interim preceptor – not that they had not tried to push him into taking on the position permanently long enough...
He also arranged to have his horse saddled and to have a few packhorses burdened with tents, rations and whatever else they would most likely need on their journey, then he went back to the room in which they had found the dead courtier, where the others waited for him.
"Danae, the next time you tamper with your mother's tongue, warn me," he told his daughter flatly and without preamble.
"I didn't really have to do all that much," the princess defended herself. "She was very mad at the people who tried to kill you. All I did was to make her sort of forget that she wants you at her side all the time."
Sparhawk decided to drop the matter at this point – after all, he could not be mad at Danae for very long anyway, and her intervention had helped him to get Ehlana to consent to a punitive expedition...
Belgarath, who did not say anything to the exchange between this special father-daughter combination, was surprised when Aphrael admitted her 'tampering'. Of course, the Gods of their world could overbear the wills of mere humans whenever they wished to do so, but in general the individuals knew they were being manipulated. Obviously, this Child Goddess could change the attitudes of people so subtly that they never realized what Aphrael did to them. Very interesting indeed...
He glanced over to the door that had just opened. A rather husky young man with broad shoulders, black hair and a closely cropped beard of the same color entered the room and greeted everybody; obviously, he knew Bevier, Ulath, Tynian, Vanion and Sephrenia already. Then, he strode over towards the two disciples of Aldur.
"Well-met, neighbors. My name is Khalad; I am the squire of Prince Sparhawk. And you are...?"
Polgara inclined her head politely. "My name is Polgara, and this is my father Belgarath. As to who we are... well, I believe the other people in this room will be able to fill you in about it more effectively than us, as the story is quite unbelievable."
"That it is, indeed, friend Khalad," Tynian took over from the sorceress, who didn't quite know how to believably explain just how they had gotten here and who they were. "Let me explain..."
It did not take long to fill the young man in about what the group had learned about their visitors and about what had happened in the throne room; Khalad merely nodded during passages of their account and seemed to accept what was being told to him at face value. As Sparhawk finally mentioned to him just who Danae really was, he could not keep from laughing out loud.
"So my dear brother has a Goddess going after him? Poor Talen – he never had a chance in the first place!"
Talen was the son of Kurik and a former whore from Cimmura, who had grown up on the streets as one of the best thiefs one could think of; he had served Queen Ehlana as a page on the voyage to Tamul and now was a novice in the Pandion order. Princess Danae had adamantly stated countless times that she would marry him, and although Talen shrugged it off as a young girl's whimsical statement, he already seemed to know that getting away from her was not going to be easy.
Aphrael, who was still in the appearance of Princess Danae, smirked at him. "You're right – there is no place he can run to where I won't find him. I already badgered the Elene God into leaving him to me, so the deal is already done!"
Khalad laughed again.
"Too bad I can't tell him about this – not that it would do him any good, anyway..."
Suddenly, the door flew open and Dorgatan entered the room at a run. He had been out in the courtyard, trying to locate just where the Energy that was being drained out of Belgarath's and Polgara's world was flowing to.
"I found it!" was all he said to them. Then, he turned towards the newest incarnation of Aphrael and talked to her at length in the compelling language of the Gods.
Finally, the Child Goddess nodded. "I understand. Now I can feel it, too. The disguise is very clever – but once we knew what to look for, we were bound to find it sooner or later. We should leave soon. But first: Everybody but Dorgatan please turns around and faces the wall. I would like some privacy."
Obediently, everybody turned around. Belgarath, who couldn't conceal his curiosity, whispered to Bevier: "What is she doing?"
"I believe she is about to split her newest incarnation – that of the princess – off her Goddess self, so she can be here and with us at the same time," the Arcian replied. "She doesn't want to watch her while she does it."
"Exactly, Bevier. You can be such a nice boy."
"... when you don't set your mind to be stubborn, that is."
Two nearly identical voices behind them told them that the process had been completed; next to the princess stood a rather small girl of about six years. She looked like the princess must have looked when she was her age, and a confident smile was on her face.
"Hello again, Belgarath and Polgara. This is how most people see me. You can call me Aphrael – or Flute, if you prefer."
She blew a cute little melody on the rack of pipes that had appeared in her hands, which looked exactly like the one Dorgatan had held when he had found the two sorcerers.
"Well, what are you waiting for – let's go!"
It did not take long for the group to clear the roads of the Elene capital. Soon, they were riding through open land. Sparhawk sat on Tieran, the young and fiery offspring of late Faran, Aphrael in front of him, leading the way. Belgarath, Polgara and Dorgatan were following right behind him on Feliad, Dorim and Zandail; Vanion and Sephrenia formed the next row on a rather placid Appaloosa mare and the white palfrey Chi'el, and the three other knights and Khalad brought up the rear behind the packhorses. Thus, they cantered off into the east.
There you go, two new chapters! Hope you enjoy! Dunno whether I'll write tomorrow – still have proofing to do. But I'll write more this week, I promise!
Feedback appreciated!