-2-

Snowed Under

"Pride defeats its own end, by bringing the man who seeks esteem and reverence into contempt." - Henry Bolingbroke

"Where are they" said Snowe, pacing back and forth along the Razril docks. With him stood a contingent of Knights-in-Training, one of whom held a spyglass to his eyes, peering out into the rainy darkness of the sea.

"Hm, no sign of 'em, Commander" said Spyglass, wiping the wet lens on his shirt and tucking the glass into his belt. "What now"

Snowe nervously ran a hand through his hair as he paced. This wasn't the way it was supposed to work out. He'd received a message from Colton of Kooluk scarcely twenty-four hours after assuming the position previously occupied by the late Glen. The message had warned him of the impending invasion of Razril, as well as pointing out-quite arrogantly in his opinion-that Gaien had no intention of aiding them. His heartbeat spiked to a hundred before he read the next lines, the ones that would set him apart from Glen and every commander before him.

However, we offer an alternative to annihilation. Give Razril to us and there will be no more violence than necessary. Your people will remain safe under the Kooluk banner.

Snowe had jumped up at the thought of what this might do to his image. Surely, if Kooluk could not be prevented from attacking, then his astute decision to prevent any unecessary loss of life would hail him as a hero to his people. Yes! That had to be the answer. They would remember him for this for years to come.

He closed his eyes and smiled, imagining the parade in his honor, thrown by the very knights and citizens of which he had now been charge. Breathing deeply, he could smell the scent of rose petals tossed like confetti at his feet. The roar of the crowd, the adulation of the young women, and, most importantly, that look of disappointment nowhere to be seen anywhere on his father's smug face. What was pointedly absent from the vision was him.

You're gone now, Allen, he thought. It's me they'll follow, me they'll look up to.

He tried to muster up the animosity he'd felt in that moment of terror when Glen had disintegrated before his very eyes, but the conscience he tried so desperately to suppress welled up beneath his armor and forced him to feel just the slightest pang of guilt.

No, I..I..I did nothing wrong, he thought, trying to banish the contradictory feeling, You murdered our commander. I saw you. Jealous, that's all you were. Jealous of my family, jealous of my status. You tried to take that from me, and you got what you deserved.

But he was gone now, and Snowe was still here, commander of the finest soldiers on this side of the ocean. Heck, the finest soldiers anywhere. He would finally be recognized for the talent that had been overshadowed by the deceit of his friend. No, former friend. His father had taken Allen in and he'd repayed Lord Vingerhut by setting his only son up for failure. He'd been poisoning Commander Glen's mind against him ever since the attack on this ship where his arm had been immobilized.

They just didn't understand.

But all that was about to change. The message had instructed Snowe, if he accepted conditions, to wait on the docks two hours after midnight. A longboat bearing the Child of the Sea God, Troy himself, would arrive and, should Snowe be waiting, signal Colton's fleet to the docks.

Snowe had told no one about the clandestine meeting before him, excepting, of course, the trainees with him, fresh men whom he thought were mostly free of the lies spread by Allen and Glen in the past weeks. When they'd expressed concern about a trap, he's assured them that he was more than a match for Troy, whose only claim to fame was a gimmick intended to inspire fear in lesser warriors. But not Snowe, he knew better.

It had been raining since they took to the docks at ten minutes till meeting time, and as they stood there growing more and more wet, cold, and miserable, more than half an hour had passed with no sign of the longboat or the legendary Troy.

"They said they'd be here" shouted Snowe. He stomped his foot and rudely snatched the spyglass from the trainee.

"Aha" he said, pointing out into the dark. The trainees swiveled their heads and squinted their eyes, trying to see what their commander might be imagining. "Here comes the boat! Though I thought Troy to be more fearsome..."

Soon, even in the rain, everyone could see the longboat coming in silently to the port. It held only one passenger, and if it was Troy, then maybe Snowe had been right about the legend surrounding him. It seemed to be a normal soldier, dressed in the arms of Kooluk, a scroll case clutched tightly in a mailed hand. The sword at his waist remained sheathed.

As the boat docked, the man stepped onto the slick stones, nearly losing his balance. Only a swift hand to the mooring post kept him from tumbling backward into the deep where he would most assuredly have sunk to his death.

Snowe didn't try to hide his smile. Let this arrogant lord of Kooluk know that he was up against Snowe Vingerhut. Here in Razril, he was in charge.

"Careful, Troy" said Snowe, deliberately omitting any respectful honorific"Rain tends to make things a little slippery." His trainees giggled because they assumed it was the proper thing to do.

The Kooluk man stared out with heavy, dark-rimmed eyes, twisting his scruffy mouth into a smirk. "I ain't Troy. He's gone. Told me to bring this." He handed over the scroll case and, without any further ceremony, started back for his boat.

Could he do that? Snowe wondered. Could he dismiss him so curtly? Images of Glen and knighthood and his father flashed with lightning quickness through his mind on a course of action. Should he reprimand the Kooluk man? Imprison him? Kill him? Let it go? The whole situation had taken him by surprise and, due to the training lost in the time his name was smeared, hadn't yet learned to adapt to these situations.

He quickly removed the scroll from its case and read it, memorizing the words before the rain dripped them off the page.

Commander,

We have fulfilled our orders and therefore must withdraw our previous bargain to you. We depart your waters even as you read this to return to Kooluk. But worry not; no one will know of your potential treachery, unless you choose to tell them, of course.

I truly pity Razril for the cowardice of its Commander. Think on the meaning of the words 'loyalty' and 'duty' while you sit in your office, knowing that you remain free for another day, through no part of your own.

Our courses may merge again one day.

Snowe tossed the scroll to the ground, his hands quaking. No! This couldn't happen! He was finally in the position his birth demanded of him and he was still being mocked. The bastard hadn't even bothered to sign the message. His chance for glory was fading, like Troy's ship in the night, and he would be damned if he let it stand.

"Men, to the Maiden" he said, his mouth a tight line. He puffed out his chest, then noticed that everyone, the Kooluk man included, was staring incredulously at him.

"Did you not hear me? I said to the Silver Maiden. Now"

"Um...why...sir..er..Commander" stammered one of the trainees, an obviously impudent kid whose name wasn't worth remembering.

"We've been tricked. That coward Troy is fleeing. Best we get him when he least expects it. Now, go"

"Is this guy serious" said the Kooluk soldier.

The trainees weren't sure if Snowe was or not, but they weren't about to disobey orders. They hustled down the dock toward Razril's flagship.

"Yeah, good luck with that" said Kooluk, chuckling loudly.

"Where do you think you're going" said Snowe, a triumphant smile on his face as he pulled his blade free from its scabbard. He lowered it at the Kooluk man.

Again the soldier laughed and turned his back, lowering himself into his own longboard. "Sure, kid. Don't hurt yourself with that thing."

Snowe was appalled. How dare this man walk away from him? Even the dregs of Kooluk society were mocking him. He lunged at the soldier, but his foot caught a puddle and slid from under him. He toppled face-first onto the wet dock and his sword skittered from his hand into the water, where it sank with a plop. Through the humiliation roaring in his ears, Snowe barely heard the Kooluk man's laughter as he sailed away.