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"What if I could prove his innocence to you?" asked the prince.

"Prove his innocence?" echoed the king's advisor. "I do not see how that is possible, but even if it were possible, the man is the father of Prince Zinan of Borunda. I cannot think of a less likely person to be placed in the royal palace of Arin."

Prince Antion rose and began pacing the floor of the office. Evan looked on with concern for the prince, but he did not speak. Finally, the prince returned to his chair and sat down.

"What I am going to reveal to you is a secret that you must swear to protect under penalty of death," Prince Antion said slowly and sternly. "You may reveal it only to the King of Arin and no one else without the express permission of the king or myself. Is that understood?"

"I fully understand the nature of my position and the gravity of secrets presented to me by the royal family," stated the king's advisor. "Your father has never felt the need to express the penalty for disobedience in such a way."

"Were my father here," retorted the prince, "we would not be having this discussion, Evan. This man must be protected at all costs, and my father would understand that. I am now going to make you understand that as well. Do you accept my terms?"

"I do," the advisor nodded after only a brief moment to consider the gravity presented by the prince's attitude.

"Princess Orenda had two sons the night she died," the prince revealed. "Twin boys were born the night of the fire, and no one in the world knew about this except the father who managed to save one of them from the inferno that Naveena created to kill the princess. For sixteen years, Zalman has had only one goal in his life, and that was to preserve the life of his other son. If the tales about Zalman are true, then why has Borunda never sought Prince Zinan's brother? Why have they never acknowledged his existence? And why would a man kill his beloved wife and only save one son to take with him? Why wouldn't he kill both sons or take both of them with him? Think Evan."

"Just because the man claims that there was another son proves nothing," countered Evan. "Can he produce the boy?"

"The boy, as you call him, is with Zalman at the Palace Shadow," declared Prince Antion. "King Caedmon has already seen the son. He is a twin and the spitting image of Prince Zinan. His voice is the same, and I, among others, have tried to kill him on sight."

"This is incredible," gasped the king's advisor as the prince's words finally sank in. "Are we to protect the son as well?"

"No," Prince Antion shook his head. "I will be taking the son with me on my journeys."

"Is that wise?" asked Evan. "If he looks like Prince Zinan, that would draw unwanted attention to yourself."

"I know," admitted the prince, "but it is necessary. Do you remember discussing my problem with the Talent, and the need for me to find a master of the Talent?"

"Certainly," replied the king's advisor.

"I am still on that quest," stated the prince, "and Jared must accompany me. You see, Evan, Jared is also filled with the Talent, but he has the capability to use it. We must find this master together and discover what bond exists between us, for there surely is a bond."

"I must meet with Zalman," declared the king's advisor. "Take the key and wait in your father's office. I will have Zalman brought to the palace."

"Have them bring Kerzi as well," suggested the prince. "He knows the truth about me and Zalman, and you can get him set up while he is here."

"What about the boy?" inquired the king's advisor. "I would like to see him with my own eyes."

"He is no longer a boy," smiled the prince. "He is the same age as Prince Zinan. Leave Jared at the inn. I do not want him exposed to the palace staff at this time. If you must see him, Kerzi will take you to him."

"That is acceptable," agreed the advisor. "Go to your father's office."

Prince Antion took the key and unlocked the connecting door to the king's office. He heard Evan summon a guard and issue instructions. The prince amused himself by browsing through the books on the shelves in the office until he heard the merchant's voice coming from Evan's office. He stood by the connecting door until he heard the guard leave and the door close before entering Evan's office to greet Kerzi and Zalman.

Evan interrogated Zalman for two hours, asking about every little detail he could think of to trip up the man's story. In the end, Evan was satisfied that Zalman was telling the truth.

"I would have found this story to be unbelievable if it was presented by anyone other than the Prince of Arin," Evan admitted, "but I am a believer now."

The door to the office suddenly burst open and Prince Antion quickly turned his face away to avoid being recognized.

"King Hector has arrived after a hard ride," announced a soldier. "He is demanding an immediate audience with you or Prince Antion."

"Show him into the office immediately," replied the king's advisor. "We will have no need of guards. Just send him in alone."

The guard nodded and withdrew.

"You can hide in your father's office," suggested Evan.

"I will stay here," declared the prince. "I must hear whatever it is he has to say."

"But King Hector will recognize you," Evan pointed out.

"I will trust King Hector with my secret," stated the prince, "but Kerzi and Zalman can wait in my father's office."

The two men had barely made it through the connecting door when King Hector barged into the room. He stared briefly at the bearded man and then nodded his recognition.

"Excellent that you are both here," declared King Hector as he closed the door. "We have a problem. I will not bore you with the details just yet, but King Caedmon is most certainly being held against his will in the royal palace in Tarent."

"Give us the details," Evan said calmly as he indicated a seat for the Salacian king.

"I will stand," King Hector shook his head. "I have not spent so many hours in a saddle in a long time. My family is a week behind me."

"Why did you leave Tarent without my father?" asked Prince Antion.

"We had no choice," answered the Salacian king. "The Borundans isolated him by placing him in the royal wing. King Rihad and I made a stand when it came time to leave, but Prince Zinan told us that your father had left the day before. We rode hard to catch up to him, but we soon realized that it was a lie."

"Are you sure he was not killed on the way home?" asked Evan.

"Fairly positive," nodded King Hector. "I was so upset at the time with the Borundans antics, that I did not think clearly, but after two days on the road it hit me. We smuggled King Caedmon into the palace in one of the Salacian carriages. We were not sure how we would get him out, but we had several options planned. Other than sneaking him back out in the carriage, all of the other plans revolved around him having a horse. We took two Arin horses with us and attached them to one of the carriages as if they were spares. If your father had indeed left on his own, he would have taken one of the horses. There is no doubt in my mind that the Borundans lied to us. What I cannot know for sure is if they forced him to leave in the presence of Borundan soldiers. He would not have taken one of our horses in such an event."

"You must tell us everything you can remember about the journey," declared Evan. "Leave out no small detail in your telling."

"Indeed," interjected Prince Antion. "Arin lives will depend on it."

Prince Antion and Evan listened intently as King Hector related his remembrance of the trip to Tarent. He had just recalled his observations of the last time he had seen King Caedmon.

"So the king indicated with finger talking that there was a note?" asked Evan. "And that was the last time that you saw him?"

"That is correct," nodded King Hector. "Soldiers escorted him out of the room, and while King Caedmon was leaving, he signaled clearly that he had left a note. Now, many people had seen him enter the room with a large bound volume. He was the last to enter, and it is unusual that someone would bring reading material with him to an event as formal as a coronation, so I imagine many eyes must have been diverted to him at times during the ceremony. In fact, that evening I had many people ask me about the book King Caedmon had been reading during the coronation. Several mentioned the paper that he placed in the book."

"So he placed a note in the book and then signaled you that he had," frowned Evan. "How was that supposed to help if you did not have access to the book?"

"That is the thing," King Hector continued. "When the soldiers escorted him from the room, King Caedmon purposely left the book on his chair. I think he made a show of the book and the leaving of it so that I would retrieve it after he had left, but there was a flaw in his plan. Before anyone could move, Prince Zinan swept by the chair and seized the book on his way out of the room."

"And the note was seized by the enemy," Evan nodded sadly.

"It would appear so," agreed King Hector. "I did examine his chair before I left the room, just in case I was mistaken about his intentions, and I did find another slip of paper wedged into the back of the seat, but it is only a short poem, a ditty that is well below his skill as a poet."

"What did it say?" Prince Antion asked anxiously.

"I have it here," replied the Salacian king as he extracted a very small slip of paper from his pouch. "I will read it for you."

No nation southward flows

The flowers all are set in rows

Amidst the early morning dew

For Glynis there is such a view

Makes one reach from on his toes

"Were it not for the mention of Glynis," frowned Evan, "I would not attribute such poetry to King Caedmon. I suspect he may have written it while under a great deal of stress."

"He is a much better poet than this," agreed King Hector. "I wish he had left the poem in the book and the note in the chair."

"This is the note," Prince Antion declared. "My father can be quite devious when he wants to be. He would never be so obvious when seeking stealth as to utilize the large book for anything but a smokescreen. You have discovered exactly what he wanted you to find, King Hector."

"This poem?" balked the Salacian king.

"Yes," Prince Antion nodded exaggeratedly. "These five lines are my father's last words to us. They are his instructions."

"No nation southward flows?" Evan questioned as he looked at the first line of the poem. "Is he suggesting that no one attack Borunda over his capture?"

"Or is it a play on words, an anagram of sorts?" posed King Hector. "Did he wish to say Antion rather than nation?"

"Meaning that the prince must not go to rescue him?" suggested Evan. "That certainly makes sense. Arin could ill afford to lose the Crown Prince and the king."

"Salacia is prepared to mass her armies with those of Arin for the march on Tarent," King Hector declared. "It burned me to leave Borunda without your king, but I could do little with three-dozen men."

"Let's move on," urged Prince Antion. "We can argue later over who will rescue or avenge my father."

King Hector's eyebrow rose at the prince's words, but he nodded in silent agreement. "Line three is obvious to me now that we know this to be instructions from King Caedmon. I should have realized it sooner. Amidst the early morning dew speaks of a time of day. Whatever the rest of the poem says, King Caedmon is framing it around the predawn hours of the morning when sentries wobble and dream of bed."

"So he is giving us a time frame for his rescue?" inquired Evan. "How can he mention a time of day, and not the day itself?"

"He has no way of knowing when help might arrive," answered Prince Antion, "but it indicates that he does not expect the Borundans to kill him. I find that encouraging."

"So he will be prepared for action each and every morning before sunrise," nodded King Hector. "That does make sense. He always was an early riser, and it would be the best time for an attack or a rescue."

"Line five appears to speak of stretching," commented Evan, "as if you were reaching for something on the top shelf, or over your head."

"I agree," nodded King Hector, "but it doesn't tell us much."

"Perhaps he is describing his location?" questioned Prince Antion. "There are several levels to the royal palace in Tarent."

"True," sighed the Salacian king, "but merely indicating that he is on the top level does us little good. The palace is quite large."

"Line two describes a flower garden," interjected Prince Antion. "The flowers all are set in rows. I have never seen the residency section of the palace in Tarent. Is there a garden there?"

"There is," stated King Hector. "In fact, there are several gardens, and most of them can be seen from the residency section. I am afraid that the clues are too sparse to tell us what King Caedmon had hoped to tell us."

"Assuming our thoughts are correct so far," the king's advisor said, "there is only line four to consider, and it makes no sense at all. For Glynis there is such a view. What can he possibly mean? Princess Glynis has never been to Tarent."

"Nor is there a garden view from her rooms," added Prince Antion. "I am at a loss to discover my father's meaning, but I know what the course of action must be. I will not let my father rot in the palace in Tarent. We should get General Fergus in here to prepare the army to march."

"I agree," nodded King Hector. "The Borundans have committed an act of war. The Salacians will gladly join with your forces, Prince Antion. There is no greater bond in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms than the one that exists between Arin and Salacia."

"Wait," frowned Evan. "Have both of you lost all sense of reason? King Caedmon's message said that there was not to be an invasion. No nation southward flows. It is the first thing he spoke of, and one must assume it to be the most important."

"I still think General Fergus should be in on this discussion," insisted the Arin prince. "Whatever we do, the army of Arin is bound to be involved."

"You are the Crown Prince," nodded Evan, "and under the circumstances, I will serve you as I have served your father, but I urge the greatest caution in regards to this situation. Think for a moment what the Borundans may be trying to accomplish with this seemingly foolish gambit."

"Provoke a war?" questioned the prince.

"And make it appear that Arin is the aggressor," nodded the king's advisor. "Even with the Salacians at your side, your armies will have to fight for hundreds of miles to reach Tarent."

"And the Borundans will be able to pull their armies from Dulga and the east," sighed King Hector. "They will greatly outnumber us."

"And they will have supplies handy," Evan pointed out. "We will have supply lines stretched over hundreds of miles. Let me summon General Fergus as you requested, Prince Antion, but I plead for rational thought before decisions are made. The general is prone to hastiness, especially where the royal family is concerned."

"I understand," Prince Antion said softly. "I am not anxious to spread Arin or Salacian blood across the miles between here and Tarent, but I will not accept the situation as it exists."

"Are you prepared to reveal your disguise to the general?" asked Evan as he nodded in the direction of the king's office, "Or would you prefer to wait elsewhere?"

"General Fergus will now learn of my disguise," conceded the Arin prince. "I cannot put my own interests above the welfare of my country. Send for him."

A runner was sent and General Fergus hurried to the office of the king's advisor. He had been informed of King Hector's arrival and was expecting the summons to appear.

"King Hector," bowed the general. "Prince Antion, how may I be of service?"

The prince had purposely kept his face averted from the doorway so that the runner did not see him, and he was shocked when the general addressed him calmly.

"How is it that you recognize me so easily?" asked the prince.

"Please, Prince Antion," smiled the general, "I have not obtained my lofty position by remaining ignorant of what goes on around me, especially when it deals with the royal family. This is your second visit to Anatar in the last few weeks. I have a small, trusted squad that keeps its eye out for you and makes sure that you are not followed or accosted."

"You are spying on me?" questioned the prince.

"No," the general shook his head. "I am looking out for the country's royal family. There is a great difference. My men are not concerned with what you do, or where you go, only that you remain safe. They have orders not to follow you outside the boundaries of Arin, but when you are at home, we will make sure that no assassins take aim at you."

The prince was concerned that he was followed to the statue. He had promised his father to maintain that secret.

"Was I followed this morning?" Prince Antion asked.

"Unfortunately not," sighed the general, "and I will have a talk with my men about that. They assumed that you have not left the Palace Shadow yet."

"Do not disparage your men, General Fergus," ordered the prince. "Had they followed me, it would have wasted valuable time. I want you to disband or reassign the squad detailed to spy on me. I will not have my actions under scrutiny."

"You misunderstand," frowned the general. "I have no intention of scrutinizing your actions. I am sworn to protect you, and that is all I seek to do."

"Let him do his job," interjected King Hector. "The very fact that you were surprised by his knowledge of your identity proves that he is loyal and performing as he should." Prince Antion's mouth opened to argue, but King Hector raised his hand to silence the prince and continued, "I know exactly how you feel, Prince Antion. I was a prince once myself, but you will get used to it. It appears that your father chose well when he selected General Fergus to lead the army. His discretion has been most admirable."

"Alright," agreed the prince. "This is neither the time nor the place for this conversation. Show the general the note, and bring him current with our discussion. I need to get some food."

"Go into your father's office," suggested Evan. "I will have several plates of food delivered to you, and I will gather you when the general is current with the situation."

Prince Antion walked through the connecting doorway to his father's office. Zalman and Kerzi were sitting and talking quietly and he informed them that food would soon be delivered. He unlocked the door that led to the corridor outside the office and then sat in a chair in the corner of the room that was not visible from the door. Zalman and Kerzi gathered around and asked what was going on. The prince explained the whole story and then there was a knock on the door. Kerzi hurried to answer it and accepted a large tray with bread, cheese, and meat on it. Kerzi placed the tray on the desk and closed the door. The three men moved to the desk and began to eat.

"The poem intrigues me," Zalman said. "Why do the royals excel at such endeavors as concealing the truth?"

"I am not sure that they do excel at it," pondered Prince Antion. "I think everyone employs such tactics at one time or another, but it is the royals who are usually pointed at and discussed."

"That makes sense," nodded Kerzi. "I've met many a merchant who could say things in such a way that its meaning changed depending upon who was listening."

"I suppose you are right," conceded Zalman. "Perhaps I just have a sour taste in my mouth because of the way the Borundan royal family treated me."

"Princess Orenda was part of the royal family," interjected Prince Antion. "She did not treat you poorly."

"No, she didn't," agreed Zalman, "but she was ostracized because of it. Our romance created a rift between Orenda and her brother. I always felt bad about that. Eugeon was not a bad man. At first he acted merely as if I was not quite good enough for his sister, but as our romance developed, he became quite bitter and adamant that she should leave me. That attitude hurt Orenda a great deal."

Kerzi had written the poem on a slip of paper and had been staring at it while he ate. "Who is Glynis?" he asked.

"She is my sister," Prince Antion answered.

"Is it just the two of you?" asked Kerzi. "I mean do you have other brothers and sisters?"

"No," Prince Antion shook his head as he finished his chuck of bread. "It is just the two of us. I should get back and see what General Fergus thinks of the situation."

Prince Antion rose and started towards the connecting door, but Zalman's hand reached out and grabbed his arm. The prince turned with a questioning gaze.

"Just the two of you?" asked Zalman. "One prince? One princess?"

"Yes," frowned Prince Antion. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nothing wrong," replied Zalman, "although royals tend to breed more like rabbits. I am thinking about the poem."

"What about the poem?" asked the prince.

"For Glynis there is a such a view," stated Zalman. "Your sister has nothing to do with Tarent, and she is unlikely to be involved in any rescue attempt, so one wonders why your father mentioned her."

"And you think you know?" asked the prince.

"I do," nodded Zalman. "He used your sister's name because he dared not mention the name of Orenda in case the note was discovered. The significance is that she is the lone princess of Arin, as Orenda was the lone princess of Borunda."

"Why would my father be talking about Princess Orenda?" Prince Antion asked.

"Because that is where your father is being kept," declared Zalman. "Her rooms are directly over a flower garden in the rear of the palace. It all makes sense now," he said excitedly as he snared the paper from Kerzi. "He is housed in Princess Orenda's suite above the garden. He will be prepared each morning before sunrise to be rescued, and do not start a war to retrieve him. It all makes sense."