Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools (8 page)

'Cut it off? You couldn't even reach it!'

More laughter from the mob, but Cornelius simply smiled. 'Don't take my word for it!' he shouted. 'Please, step up here and find out for yourself.'

There were shouts of encouragement from Red Beard's companions and he looked around at them for moral support, before shrugging his powerful shoulders, hefting his huge double-handed sword and stepping forward to meet Cornelius.

'Take a step back, Sebastian,' said Cornelius calmly; and Sebastian did as he was told.

Watching the scene, Sebastian would have sworn that Cornelius barely moved. The manling gave an almost imperceptible flick of his wrist, the silver blade blurred into motion and the big man grunted in surprise, clutching at his stomach. He dropped to his knees, bringing his head into range of Cornelius's sword. Cornelius whirled round, the blade flashed a second time and the man's body crumpled slowly to the ground, while his head bounced down the steps and rolled back towards his comrades, a surprised expression on its face. The Brigands all stood there staring down at it in stunned amazement.

'Does anybody else fancy their chances?' roared Cornelius. But evidently nobody did. Muttering and cursing, the Brigands turned away and began to trudge towards the other wagons.

'Cowards!' snapped Cornelius, spitting in their general direction. 'Come on, supposing I tie one hand behind my back, how about that?'

There were still no takers.

'Never did come across a Brigand who had much aptitude for hand-to-hand combat,' growled Cornelius. 'A pity – I was just getting warmed up.' He glanced at Sebastian and winked. 'You acquitted yourself well, lad. We may make a soldier of you yet. Now, I'll stay here just in case any of those barbarians decide to come back for another try. You nip inside and see what it was that those guards sacrificed their lives to defend.'

Sebastian nodded.

He turned, pulled back the curtains and stepped into the gloomy interior, remembering as he did so that the last person who had tried to enter had been treated rather harshly. In the same instant, something hard crashed down on his head with terrible force, knocking him to the floor. He crouched for a moment on his hands and knees, a myriad multi-coloured lights dancing around inside his skull, glad that he'd still been wearing his jester's hat, which had absorbed some of the impact. He was vaguely aware that somebody was approaching, doubtless intent on making another attack. Without hesitation he launched himself head?long at the dimly perceived figure, knocking it backwards into the depths of the carriage. His arms closed around some?body's shoulders, there was a sudden clatter as a heavy object struck the floor, and then the figure was tipping back?wards onto what felt like a feather bed and struggling to escape his grasp.

He lifted a fist to strike but it suddenly occurred to him that this adversary was a good deal more fragrant than the Brigands he had encountered outside. His upraised hand brushed against a velvet drape, so he grabbed at it and tore it down, allowing a sudden flush of light to enter the interior.

He found he was crouched on top of a girl – a beautiful one at that. She lay there glaring up at him, her green eyes narrowed to slits of anger, her full red mouth arranged into a disapproving scowl.

'Take your hands off me, imbecile!' she shrieked. 'How dare you touch me?'

Sebastian frowned, but released his hold and moved back off what he could now see was a silken couch.

'Sorry,' he said. 'I thought—'

'I don't care what you thought!'

'Are you all right in there, lad?' he heard Cornelius shout.

'Uh . . . yes, I'm fine. It's just some stupid girl who tried to brain me with a' – he looked around a moment and found the culprit lying on the ground – 'a chamber pot.' Thankfully, it appeared that the rather fancy porcelain pot had been empty when she had used it.

'Some stupid girl!'
she cried, looking absolutely horrified. 'How dare you? When my uncle hears of this outrage, he'll have you and those other Brigands hunted down like—'

'Hey, whoa, just a minute!' Sebastian glared at her. 'I'm no Brigand! In case you weren't listening, my friend Cornelius and I just saved you from that rabble. We . . . we rescued you.' His own words surprised him. He had not until this moment realized that this is what they had actually done.

'Really?' She looked far from impressed. 'And where are my guards?'

Sebastian frowned. 'All dead, I'm afraid.'

'Oh. I see.' The girl looked aside for a moment as though she could hardly believe her own ears. 'What? Every last one of them?'

'I believe so. We haven't really had time to look properly. We were just trying to work out what it was the soldiers were guarding so tenaciously. Have you got treasure in here?'

The girl stared at him. 'They were guarding
me,
you cretin. Have you any idea who I am?'

'Umm – somebody with a pretty high opinion of herself, judging by the fuss you're making.'

The girl stood up, her hands on her hips. She glowered at him. 'I am Princess Kerin of Keladon.'

'Keladon! Oh, that's a coincidence, that's where we . . .' Sebastian's voice trailed off as he registered fully what she'd said. 'I'm sorry, did you say, er . . .
Princess?'

'Yes, you oaf. Princess Kerin. King Septimus is my uncle.'

It took a while, but Princess Kerin eventually calmed down enough to accompany Sebastian outside, where they found Cornelius still guarding the doorway. It was clear from the sheepish expression on his baby face that he had heard every word. He immediately turned to face her.

'I am your humble servant, your highness,' he said and bowed his head in reverence.

'There's no need for that,' she told him irritably. 'You can stand up.'

'I
am
standing up,' said Cornelius humbly.

'Oh yes, so you are! Gosh, you're really rather small, aren't you?'

'Small of stature, but with the heart of a giant, Princess. I am from Golmira, the kingdom of the—'

'Whatever.' Princess Kerin clapped her immaculately manicured hands together. 'So – what's happening out here, then?'

'The Brigands are looting the supply wagons, your highness. I thought it best to allow them that in exchange for sparing this carriage. And just here, I'm afraid, is where your noble Royal Guard made their final stand.'

He indicated the litter of dead men sprawled around the entrance to the carriage. Princess Kerin looked down at them and her eyes widened in shock. She looked for all the world like somebody who had just awakened from a terrible nightmare.

'Dead?' she whispered, as though unfamiliar with the word. 'How could they be dead? They . . . they . . .'

'They gave their lives to protect you,' said Sebastian.

She nodded. 'They were brave men. I would ask you to collect up the insignia of each of them. When I get back to Keladon, I shall write to each of their families and—

Her voice choked up and for an instant tears filled her eyes; but she seemed to make a conscious effort to pull herself together. She lifted her gaze from the dead men to a couple of hairy villains who were rifling through a large trunk that they'd pulled from a nearby caravan. One of them had found a frilly gown and was holding it up against his hairy chest, as though considering trying it on. She seemed to steel herself and a hard expression came into her eyes. She seemed, once again, cool and imperious.

'If you hadn't come along when you did, I'd probably be a captive by now,' she murmured. 'Nasty, filthy brutes! Probably haven't bathed for weeks, and I bet they never clean their teeth.' She turned back to look at Sebastian and Cornelius and the tears were quite gone. Sebastian was astonished by this sudden transformation. 'It seems I'm in your debt,' she said calmly. She glared at Sebastian. 'So I'll overlook the fact that you jumped on me.'

'It was self-defence,' retorted Sebastian. 'You hit me with a—'

'Your highness, may I ask how you came to be out here in this desolate place?' interrupted Cornelius, trying to head off a potential row.

'Oh, that was my uncle's idea. He sent me off as part of a deputation to meet Queen Helena of Bodengen, which borders our lands. She has this supposedly handsome son, Rolf, who she's anxious to get married off. Uncle Septimus seemed to think it would be useful if I got to know him. Has his mind on some kind of alliance, I think.' The princess rolled her eyes as though it was all too much effort to even talk about.
'Anyway,
I'd seen a painting of Rolf and he
did
look quite hunky, so I agreed to go.'

'Well,
naturally
,' said Sebastian, but she didn't seem to notice his sarcasm.

'When I got there, I discovered that the court painter had made Rolf look considerably more attractive than he actually was. He'd neglected to record the missing teeth and the sloping forehead. So I insisted that we come straight back, and that's when those awful Brigands ambushed us.' She sighed. 'I suppose I should have listened to the captain.'

'The captain?' echoed Cornelius.

'Of the Royal Guard. A lot of his men had fallen ill and were unable to accompany us. He said we should wait a few days, until they were back up to strength – but I insisted on leaving straight away. I'd promised Uncle Septimus that I'd be back for my birthday'

'Your birthday?' Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

'Yes. My seventeenth. It's tomorrow.'

Sebastian could scarcely believe his ears. 'So, let me get this straight. All these men died . . . because you wanted to get back for your birthday?'

'Uncle Septimus was quite insistent,' said Princess Kerin. 'And how was I to know that we would encounter Brigands? Uncle Septimus said that he had a special surprise for me and urged me not to delay.'

'Very nice, I'm sure,' snarled Sebastian. 'And I hope worth the lives of—'

'We shall of course accompany you back to Keladon,' interrupted Cornelius hastily. 'To ensure your safekeeping. But we have a few preparations to make. Please bear with us while we get things organized.'

'But Cornelius!' Sebastian was indignant. 'She—'

'We'll, er . . . go and see what needs to be done! Why don't you return to your quarters, your highness, and leave this rough work to us?'

Princess Kerin frowned, then shrugged. 'Very well,' she said. 'But don't be long. I get bored very easily.'

She turned and slipped back in through the curtained door?way. Sebastian made to follow her, his mouth open to say something else, but Cornelius clutched the hem of his singlet and dragged him down the stairs.

'Cornelius! What are you—?'

The manling said nothing but continued to pull him across the plain, stepping carefully in and out of the fallen soldiers. When they were a decent distance away, he stopped and looked up at Sebastian.

'You need to cool down a bit,' he observed in hushed tones.

'But didn't you hear her? She said—'

'I
know
what she said,' hissed Cornelius fiercely. 'And yes, she's decidedly spoiled and quite annoying. But don't forget, she's a princess.'

'A spoiled brat, more like,' growled Sebastian. 'Why, for two pins I'd put her across my knee and—'

'- and she'd have you hung in the market square in Keladon for the amusement of the population. The likes of us don't go criticizing the likes of her and you'd do well to remember that. From here on in, we just say, "Yes, your high?ness, at your service, your highness!" and do as we're told. The last thing we need is for her to take offence at us.'