Branded Mage (2 page)

He could hear the princess saying something
, but the meanings behind the words were lost to him as he fought to stay awake. He felt the shackles being removed from his body and the princess caught his head as he fell forward, cradling him like a child in her arms. He was lifted into the air by a pair of strong arms. He opened his eyes to see Bren’s worried face as he bounded down the corridor. He fought to keep down what little he had in his stomach, but it was a short lived fight. The continuous bouncing of Bren’s steps was more than he could bear. He hoped he hadn’t gotten any on the princess, but any other thoughts were soon forgotten as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Thad awoke to find himself in a richly furnished room with dark stained wood walls with a raised multicolored tile ceiling. He attempted to sit
up and get a better look at the room, but the movement was repaid with sharp pains in his head and chest. An older lady with auburn hair and a motherly smile gently pushed him back down into the soft mattress. “Young man it will not do for you to be moving around just yet. You have been sleeping for two days and it will be days more before you are anywhere near recovered from the beggar’s cough. Now be a good lad and drink this.” He didn’t know how she managed it but her voice was both kind and commanding at the same time. She pushed a cup filled with the most horrendous smelling and bitter sludge he had ever encountered. The woman made him drink two more cups of the revolting concoction before wiping off his face and chest with a warm rag and then she finally let him be and left the room.

His solitude was
short lived as the queen and princess escorted by Bren and two other guards soon marched into the room. The princess he was always happy to see, even the sour faced Bren was welcome, but laying sick barely able to move the queen was the last person he wanted to see. The princess’s face looked worried and to his amazement the queen’s face was furrowed slightly giving off an air of concern.

Maria quickly came to his side and gently picked up his hand, while the queen paced back and forth chewing on her thumbnail. The whole thing was so outrageous that he would have laughed if he didn’t think it would cause him to go into a coughing fit accompanied
with a fair dose of pain.

“Are you
feeling better?” The princess asked, her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. It was as if she was afraid of the answer. The queen stopped her pacing and looked at him. The pained look on her face was even more evident than when she had first arrived, even Bren’s demeanor seemed to slightly shift as they waited for the answer.

Every second that he lay silent caused the queens frown to deepen. She looked as if she
were arguing with herself, and Thad was thoroughly enjoying the show. One look at Maria’s face ended his fun. He hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were slightly puffy as if she had been crying and the look she held for him now left little doubt about why she had been crying. As much as he was enjoying the slight agony the queen was in, he couldn’t let Maria suffer for his amusements.

Thad made his best attempt at a smile, and he seemed to do a fair job of it from Maria
’s reaction. “I don’t feel up for running across the Queendom, but I do feel much better now.” He felt Maria squeeze his hand, as most of the worry drained from her face. The queen however continued to look agitated, meaning it wasn’t his health that had her in such a bothered state. From the way her eyes kept darting over to where he lay, it obviously had something to do with him. What could it be? It nagged at him for a few moments, but in the end he just didn’t have the extra energy to spend on trying to work out the mystery.

The princess began to ch
atter on about everything that had been happening over the past few weeks, while the queen began to chew on her thumbnail again. This went on for a few minutes with him commenting on something the princess would say from time to time so she wouldn’t think he was ignoring her. Something he had learned to save himself much grief, then one of the younger guards came in the room and whispered something in the queen’s ear that made her go ridged for a few brief moments.

“It seems our visit must be cut short,” the queen said quickly regaining her composure.

The princess gave his hand one last gentle squeeze
before going to join her mother. Bren whispered something to the queen who gave him a tight faced nod then left the room, leaving him alone with the massive guard captain. As soon as everyone was gone Bren locked the door from the inside then grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and took a seat next to his bed.

“You know boy
, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for you to just become the princess’s guard. One day she will be queen, and you could be her captain. From experience I can tell you it’s not a bad deal.” Bren studied him for a few seconds before shaking his head. “I figured as much. I was a lot like you when I was younger. I always dreamed of gaining my freedom, especially after I was set guarding the queen. She was only eight years old and had noticed me working in the horse stables at the palace. She demanded I be made her guard. At first I thought it was a great advancement until I learned that the only time I had to myself was in the privy, even my bed was placed in her room. I was a nineteen year old boy forced to babysit a spoiled rotten eight year old queen. Her mother had died earlier in the year and her only other family was her aunt who at the time was trying to instate herself within the palace. When the queen refused her, she responded with assassins. Between the threats on her life and the war with Abla she lost any semblance of childhood.”

Th
ad looked at the guard confused. It was an interesting story, but he couldn’t see the reason for it. He tried to ask Bren but the burly man just ignored his question and continued on.

“Around the age of sixteen she had blossomed into a fine young woman, and the country was doing great, but she had no true friends. At that time I was the only one who she would speak her mind to. Over the years I had not only gotten used to her little quirks
, a part of me had grown to love her. When she was nineteen she had planned on marrying me but there was such an outcry from the ladies of the court that Serena ended up calling it off. Shortly after Maria was born, the assassination attempts started again. We learned that Serena’s Aunt had married the King of Abla and was once again after the throne, this time with a supporter. That’s when she changed. She became cold with everyone except Maria. She only saw everyone else as pawns. She only saw how they could best serve her, not as individuals. Now she is at a point where her country is in civil unrest and one of her most valuable assets has refused her. For the first time in her life she is at a loss as to what to do. At first she believed you would come around and join her willingly, but she is not so sure now. Maria has told her that if she gave you your freedom, you would willingly support her, but if she did that the ladies of her court would perceive that as a weakness and work to undermine her authority in an attempt to seize control. So, what is she to do? I don’t doubt that she will visit you soon. Most likely alone, I only ask that you listen to her and try and work with her, or at the very least not against her.”

Thad rubbed the sides of his temples as he tried to work through everything Bren had said. “I can understand what you mean about the ladies of the court, but why tell me the rest?”

For the first time he could recall Bren gave a slight smile. “I have always believed the more you understand someone’s situation, the easier it is to look at things from their perspective and are often more inclined to help. Now I must attend to the queen’s protection. I hope you will consider everything I have said.”

Alone again with only his thoughts
, Thad mulled over everything Bren had said. He didn’t want to be a slave, but was he being selfish? To answer his question he was not being unreasonably selfish, but selfish all the same. He didn’t feel that he should have to give up all his freedom. Maybe the queen would be willing to come to an agreement. If he were to take on the mantle of a slave, he would do everything in his power to support the throne and provide free magical items to the queen and her household. He could do that, as long as he kept his freedom to continue his partnership with Monique, and the ability to travel as long as he was not needed for a Queendom specific task.

Shortly after nightfal
l Bren’s prediction came true. He was awakened by a gentle taping on his arm. The queen stood next to his bed wearing a light pink nightgown that hung loosely on her body giving out only barest hint of what lie underneath. Her touch was soft and in the pale moonlight that drifted through the small window of his room, her alabaster skin almost glowed. It reminded him of the tales of fairies he had enjoyed as a young boy. Sitting lightly on the edge of the bed folding her hands neatly in her lap she let out a barely audible sigh.

“For such a young man you have become a very large thorn in my side. Is working in the palace so deplorable that you would rather die?” She said cocking her head, frowning slightly.

“No it’s just that …. No matter how hard it was … I was free.” His words even sounded childish to himself but at fourteen maybe fifteen depending on how long he had been in the dungeon
he figured he was entitled to a little childishness.

Something akin to sympathy
appeared on her face. “I know it doesn’t seem fair and you would be right, but there are some benefits to be had. Under our protection you would have a much easier time when you traveled though the Queendom. Not even one of the peerages would dare harm or hinder you without fear of consequences. And I can honestly promise you would never want for anything.”

“Will I be allowed to travel, or will I be forced to spend my days trailing behind the princess?”

“Is that what you want, the freedom to travel within the Queendom?”

Thad rubbed his hands over his face letting out a grunt.
“It’s not just that. I have a partnership with Monique and the Rose Trading Company. I want to pursue my magic no matter where that takes me. I don’t mind helping out the Queendom, but I just want the freedom to do what feels right.”

“What feels right?” The queen asked laying a comforting hand on his arm.

Thad shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. If I didn’t know the princess, I might have joined with the people who attacked the palace, but having dealt with the bloodthirsty earlier in the year I was sure it was just another Ablaian plot. I doubted we would be treated any better under their militant rule.”

The queen
’s grip tightened on his arm and a small frown replaced her typical stoic demeanor. “Yes that is something that needs to be addressed before it turns into a full rebellion. As for your problem, as long as I reign I will allow you full freedom that would be allowed to any female born, with the exception that when called upon you must present yourself before the throne in a reasonable period of time. I would also request that when in the capital you take residence within the palace, and before you leave I ask that you advise us of the expected location and duration of your journey.”

Thad tried vainly to hide the smile from his face. She was offering much more than he had even considered. It wasn’t actually true freedom, but it was close. “I agree to your terms Your Majesty.”

“May we drop the Your M
ajesty and my queen, at least when alone? I have so few people who call me by name, and if it is possible I would like you to be one of them. It’s Serena by the way.” She didn’t wait for an answer but gingerly left the room leaving him in quite contemplation of the night’s events.

CHAPTER II

Thad walked
through the early morning snow and throng of carpenters and stone masons looking for Millie, the builder who the queen had hired to build him a workshop in the southern corner of the palace grounds. She was a well-built lady with a body that spoke of hours of physical labor alongside her workers and slaves. She was a tad overbearing, demanding he call her, “my lady” and often commenting on how he was just a “mere male.” A few times she even threatened to take a lash to him for requesting changes in the architectural designs. Even with all that he couldn’t bring himself to hate her.

He found Millie studying the building designs
while flipping through a small stack of parchment. She was chewing on one of the many beaded braids of brown hair that seemed to sprout from her head. He knew that meant she was in a sour mood and he should try and stay as far away from her as he could, but for some reason he found it enjoyable to pester her when she was in a foul mood.

“My Lady, how
does this fine morning find you?” He tried to make his tone as light and cheerful as possible knowing it would grate on her nerves all the more.

“As if my day wasn’t bad enough, y
ou might just want to scurry away before I bend you over my knee and beat my frustrations out on you. I told the queen that working in cold weather would be slow, but she still demands that we hurry! I’ll be damned if I’m going to build something that will fall down in the first stiff wind. Why don’t you go on about your magical nonsense, I could care less.”

Her words were clipped and harsh and her face even more so
, as if daring him to contradict her. Thad liked to get under her skin, but he didn’t fancy the idea of being publicly whipped. He didn’t doubt for a second that she would carry through on her threat. Mage or not, she only saw him as a spoiled fifteen year old male.