Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.
Beta: Thanks again to Dawn! I think she may be having second thoughts...
This is the second installment in my "Chivalry" arc. 1. Chivalry, 2. Lion House Restored
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in flavor but is AU in some ways.
Chapter 18
Time continued to pass quickly and without incident. Keith and Allura were on-guard and watchful, but nothing happened. Perhaps the king was wrong in his concern over him being a target. But that didn't explain the threat to the queen.
It was now just two days before the games and the lord of the house was to take the names of the participants to the castle on the morrow. Each house could enter five contestants in each skill, but a warrior had to participate in all five events to be considered for overall champion. Keith would be the only one from Lion House to be eligible for that honor.
There was a lot of joking and boasting going on at breakfast about who had been nominated by the trainers and Akira. Many dropped comments that it was unfair that Eleanor would be unable to compete as she was sure to take the archery contest. Keith enjoyed the slight color that came to her cheeks at the praise. These men didn't give compliments just because she was pretty. They truly meant it, and that's why it meant so much to her.
As they were finishing breakfast, a rider from the castle arrived and asked to speak to Lord Kurt. The messenger and the lord disappeared into his quarters.
Something's happened, Keith thought as he gazed at the closed door. Feeling a hand on his arm, he turned to Allura. "Something's up. I can feel it."
"Me too," she replied.
Just a short while later, one of the young boys came to the table. "Akira, Lord Kurt requests your presence in his chambers."
Nodding, Keith replied, "I'm coming." Pushing back his stool, he looked at Allura who nodded. Following the lad, Keith went to the lord's quarters and requested entrance. When it was granted, he saw both men gathered at the fireplace, concern etched on both their faces. "Did you need me, my Lord?"
"Indeed, Akira. King Olen needs you. The queen has gone missing."
"When?"
The messenger spoke, "We believe she was taken yesterday afternoon on her return journey to Altea. King Olen thought she would be safest at the castle for the games and sent word for her to journey back in time for the posting of the contestants."
Keith was full into his authoritative role and continued with his questioning. "What of her guards?"
"All found dead about ten miles from the castle."
"What did those that she had stayed with have to say?"
The messenger was once again ready. "No one in the city saw the queen once she left the city gates. They did not know that she was missing until our search party informed them."
Keith was working to put all the pieces together, "How did King Olen find out about the abduction?"
"A letter was found in the throne room. It contained a lock of the queen's hair. That was all."
The castle actually didn't sound like a safe place. The queen would have been safer in the neighboring kingdom, but Keith understood the need to have loved ones close. None of that mattered now, the question now was, what was he supposed to do to save the queen? Looking to the messenger, he asked, "Does King Olen want my help?"
Shaking his head no, the young man said, "King Olen appreciates any assistance you can give, but he wants you to participate in the games."
"But that could endanger the queen."
Lord Kurt interjected, "Actually, the king thinks that your participation will cause the ones responsible to tip their hand. You see, if you participate and are on the verge of winning, those responsible may do something rash to keep the one they want to win on top."
Keith gave them a crooked smile, "So, the king wants to use me as bait?"
The messenger shifted uneasily on his feet. "I don't think… I mean, I'm sure the king…"
Raising a hand, Keith said, "It's okay. I understand and I'm willing to do what is needed."
The messenger added, "The King's goal is to find those responsible and remove the threat. This means he is quietly trying to locate the queen before she is released. Those responsible will not threaten the royal house after this."
Keith knew that those responsible would face a painful death for abducting the queen and threatening the royal family.
The messenger bowed in his direction as Lord Kurt said, "Thank you, Akira." Then the lord dismissed the messenger. Once the young man had left, he turned to Akira, "What do you make of it?"
"Well, it's obvious that they weren't making an idle threat and that they may actually harm the queen. However, that step may be more than they want to take. The end of the games is all the time we have. They will either return her alive or dead at that time. If they haven't gotten what they want, they may make further attempts on the family." Thinking for a moment, he said, "I'd like to go out for the next couple of days and see what I can find. I'd like to take Eleanor and Doren with me."
Surprised, the lord asked, "Doren?"
"Yes, he's becoming a skilled fighter. And," pausing here for a moment, he added, "if Doren were to help locate and return the queen, I believe that King Olen would not be able to deny it as an act of valor."
The words were not lost upon Lord Kurt who nodded and said, "Take what you need and leave when you are ready. The tournament starts precisely at noon on Monday. If you are not there for the first event, you will be disqualified for overall champion."
"I understand, my Lord. I will be back in time. We'll prepare to leave immediately." Bowing to the lord, he took his leave.
Finding Allura and Doren, he briefed them on his conversation. Doren was incredibly excited as he realized what helping locate the queen could mean to him. They gathered their supplies and headed out to the castle to find someone who could take them to the spot where the queen disappeared.
They arrived at the spot where the queen was taken by mid-afternoon. Unsure if the servant could be trusted, they sent him back to the castle. Dismounting, the three fanned out to look for anything that might help them. It was difficult to tell as the ground had been heavily trampled by King Olen's men as they cleaned up the bodies and searched themselves. Keith had no idea how the king had managed to keep this a secret so far. The king must have sent a very small group of men… and obviously ones that didn't know much about crime scenes or tracking as he looked at the disarray around him.
After searching the immediate area for over thirty minutes, Keith caught Allura's eye and shook his head. She understood that there clues at this point would be few. They would need to go into the forest on either side of the road and look for signs.
Twenty minutes later, Doren called out to them. When everyone had located his position, he pointed to some threads on a limb and evidence that horses had been in this section of the forest.
Keith clapped the young man on the back and said, "Excellent job, Doren. Would you like to lead the way?"
Nodding that he would, Doren followed the trampled greenery to a nearby stream where the trail became lost.
Keith eyed the stream and turned to Doren. "What lies upstream and downstream from here?"
"Upstream from here is only forest land until you reach the next province. Downstream you will find forest, but it leads to town."
Thinking carefully, Keith said, "Are there any of the noble houses close to this stream?"
Doren's eyes grew wide at the implication. "This stream will come within a mile of Eagle House before it flows into the town and after that, it will pass within two miles of Bruin House."
Thinking back to his run in with Wesley at the market and his vision of fighting Wesley at the games, it seemed clear to him, that Eagle House was the most likely culprit. However, he couldn't tell Doren about the vision, so they would have to find hard evidence linking the House to the kidnapping. "Let's go downstream and see what we find. I think the queen must be located somewhere near the town as she would need to be returned soon after the games." Keith's horse started side stepping and he reined in the impatient animal. Patting it on the neck he said, "I'll take the far bank, the two of you take this side."
Two hours later, they had seen evidence that the group had left the water a couple of times, only to return to it further downstream. They stopped now as Doren pointed out a trail that crossed the stream. "Eagle House lies about a mile in that direction," Doren said, pointing to the far bank where Keith was.
Looking at the trail, Keith said, "It's possible that they exited the stream here and went in either direction on the trail. However, I don't think it likely."
"Because they would be afraid someone would see them." Allura added.
"Indeed. While this isn't a main road to Eagle House, it gets enough traffic that it would be taking a huge chance." Doren said in agreement. "I doubt it is one that they would want to chance."
With those words, the three continued downstream. About a mile and a half down the stream, there were signs that several horses left the stream and headed into the woods on the Eagle House bank. They soon lost the trail as the woods thinned and there were large rocky areas.
In was now early evening and shadows were lengthening.
Dismounting, they stopped to eat a cold meal. Not knowing if those that had abducted the queen were nearby, it was safest not to light a fire. Once they had their meal in hand, Keith laid out their plan. They would return to Lion House for the night. Tomorrow, he would go into town and see if he could learn about anything unusual going on at any of the Houses and he would be noticed. Hopefully, the other houses wouldn't be interested in whereabouts of the other two. Doren and Eleanor would scope out Eagle House from a distance as well as outlying buildings. They would watch and wait to see if they could find anything unusual.
On the way back to Lion House, they discussed which noblemen might be participating in the games that started the day after tomorrow. It seemed that Wesley would indeed be the toughest competition.
Upon reaching the house, Keith sent Allura in to ready their room for the night while he assisted Doren with the horses. Once he was sure that she was away from the stable, he turned to the young man as he pulled off a saddle. "Doren?"
Throwing the saddle over a rail, he turned and said, "Yes, Akira?"
"I'm putting my trust in you, Doren." Keith's tone was dead serious and his eyes bored into the young man.
"Eleanor," stated Doren without any surprise.
Nodding his head, Keith said, "Yes. Eleanor."
Doren walked forward and put his hand on Akira's shoulder. "I know the honor you are giving me by allowing her to go with me. She is a mighty warrior in her own right, but I know what you are worried about. We are dealing with men who are not above using a woman to get what they want and if your woman got in the way…" Doren saw Akira's hands tighten into fists. He would not want to be the man that messed with Akira's woman. "I will protect her with my life as I would Sophia."
Keith's unclenched his fists. He was still anxious about letting Allura go on the mission, but it was necessary. Doren's words made him feel easier. There was no doubt in his mind that the young man would give his life. What more could he ask? Nodding at Doren, they completed their tasks and headed in to apprise Lord Kurt of what they learned.