Bronze Magic (Book 1) Page 52

  Danton inspected her handiwork and raised his eyebrows. “This is a very clear map. That’s the stream there, is it?” he asked, running his finger over a wavy line that ran down the middle of her diagram. When Sparrow nodded, he frowned and said slowly, “So that’s the patch of beech trees we slept in last night and there’s the clearing where we had breakfast.”

  Sparrow regarded him with some surprise. “You’re quite good at reading maps, aren’t you?”

  Danton looked puzzled, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Sparrow shrugged and smiled, “Tarkyn is terrible at it. I thought maybe all sorcerers were.”

  “Are all woodfolk good at reading maps?”

  “Not everyone.” She smiled, “But most people are better at it than Tarkyn.”

  “Well, I think you’ll find most sorcerers are better at reading maps than His Highness. He has never had a very good sense of direction.”

  “No, he’s hopeless.” Sparrow looked at him severely, “But you mustn’t think he’s bad at everything because he’s not.” Danton was intrigued to realise that Sparrow was now championing the prince. “Anyway,” she was saying, “as he’s a forest guardian, he doesn’t need a good sense of direction because the animals will guide him.”

  Danton frowned, “I beg your pardon? What do you mean, the animals will guide him?”

  Sparrow smiled sunnily at him. “Tarkyn can mind talk with forest creatures. Well, not mind talk, exactly. He uses pictures but it works the same. So he can ask an animal or bird to show him where to go or to find things for him.”

  A thoughtful expression came over Danton’s face. “Or to keep watch over someone?” he asked slowly.

  “You mean the eagle owl,” said Sparrow inconsequentially. She nodded. “Tarkyn used the eagle owl to find you and then to watch you until the others came.”

  “I see.” Danton pondered for a moment. “I suppose he hasn’t had time to talk to me about the owl this morning.”

  The little girl put her head on one side. “Don’t worry. He’s not trying to trick you. Anyway, that’s another thing he’s hopeless at, tricking people.”

  Danton smiled suddenly. “You do know him well, don’t you?”

  Sparrow nodded, “Dad and I looked after him all the time he was sick and that’s how we all became friends.” She looked down at her map and started working on it again as she talked. “And now Tarkyn’s my uncle, and Dad and Ancient Oak are his brothers.”

  Because she was concentrating on her map, Sparrow missed the look of consternation on Danton’s face. As the silence lengthened, Sparrow looked up.

  “And how did His Highness become part of your family?” he asked carefully.

  “My Dad and he became blood brothers, so Tarkyn could become a woodman. No one has ever become a woodman ever before. That’s because Tarkyn was really brave…and the oath of course.”

  “And who is your father?” asked Danton tightly.

  “Waterstone, of course.”

  “I see.” With years of court training coming to his aid, Danton managed to produce a small smile to cover his concern. “Same green eyes. Same light brown hair. I should have known.”

  Sparrow laughed. “You’re silly. We’re all like that.”

  “I know,” said Danton lightly. “I was joking.”

  Sparrow considered the guardsman. “I like you. I’m glad you’re Tarkyn’s friend.” She paused as she decided to confide in the sorcerer. “I felt Tarkyn’s feelings when he saw his brothers riding through the forest.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “They were very bad to him. People have been so mean to him and he doesn’t deserve it, you know. He thought no one would be his friend any more after what happened.”

  Danton looked thoughtfully at her. “You know, I wasn’t there, and each version I heard was more terrible than the last. But I have always been his friend and I always will be, no matter what he’s done. If he lashed out and killed all those guards, he must have had a good reason.”

  Sparrow’s eyes widened. “You think Tarkyn did that? … And you still want to be his friend?” She shook her head emphatically. “No, it wasn’t like that at all.” She told him Tarkyn’s version and added, “But Tarkyn still thinks everything was his fault because it was his fear that made the shield go wrong.”

  “But I hope he can see that his brothers’ action precipitated the situation and at the very least, they should share the blame,” put in Waterstone, as he rounded the corner to join in the conversation.

  Danton scrambled to his feet. Despite any misgivings he might have about Tarkyn being considered a member of a woodfolk family, the sorcerer was determined to behave correctly. He bowed and said, “Your Highness, I beg your pardon for not showing you due respect earlier.”

  Waterstone looked over his shoulder and, seeing no one there, asked, “Who are you talking to?”

  “You, my lord. If I had realised….”

  Waterstone cut across him, “Now settle down. What’s Sparrow been telling you?”

  “That you are bloodbrother to the prince,” replied the sorcerer.

  “True enough.” Waterstone frowned at his daughter, “But I was going to let Tarkyn tell Danton that himself, Sparrow.”

  “Your Highness, I would never have questioned your right to tell me what to do if I had known. Why didn’t you tell me then?”

  The woodman frowned. “Because I was speaking to you with the authority of a woodman as I told you. I did not ask Tarkyn into my family to hang my consequence on his shirttails. I have sufficient of my own, as does every other woodman or woman.” He bent down, picked up Sparrow and swung her onto his hip as he spoke. “And Danton, much as I appreciate the honour you do me in recognising my right to that title so unquestioningly, I have no wish to be referred to as ‘Your Highness’.”

  A hint of panic flared in Danton’s eyes. “Your values are so alien to me. I can’t imagine anyone in Tormadell not flaunting such a connection with a prince.”

  Waterstone’s eyes narrowed, “Now, let us be completely clear on this. I would never use any connection I had with Tarkyn, either as a friend or as a brother, to my own advantage. To do so would be to use him as a commodity and betray his trust in me.” A wave of pride and gratitude broke around the three of them. Ignoring it for the moment, the woodman clapped the bemused sorcerer on the shoulder with his free hand. “Don’t worry. It will be easier than you think. There are less rules in our society, not more.” The woodman smiled broadly, “And just to make you feel more comfortable about it, I will undertake not to call you ‘my lord’ in return!”

  Before Danton could react to this last sally, Waterstone called quietly, “Come on, where are you, Tarkyn? You must be here somewhere. I can feel you.”

  Tarkyn appeared around the bend in the track through the brambles, grinning, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just coming to find Danton and stopped when I heard what you were talking about.”

  Danton’s looked puzzled. “How did you know he was there?”

  “Didn’t you feel the wave of feelings?” asked Waterstone.

  Danton’s face cleared, “Was that you, Sire?”A smile dawned on his face, “I can see why you feel that way. I, too, would be proud to call Waterstone my friend.”

  Waterstone, usually so rock solid and imperturbable, was clearly flustered by this remark. He cleared his throat and managed, “Thank you, Danton, I am honoured by your words.” The woodman glanced wryly at Tarkyn. “You are a lot quicker off the mark with your offer of friendship than your liege was.”

  “Ah, but my liege’s trust in you has paved the way for me and I do not have his experience of betrayal to overcome,” said Danton gently. “To the unjaundiced eye, your integrity shows through in everything you do.”

  Waterstone cleared his throat again and asked the prince, “Is he always this embarrassing?”

  Tarkyn gave a short laugh. “Only to people he likes. Now if you don’t mind, you two, I need some time to talk to Danton before this meeting.”
>
  “Well, don’t stand all over my map because I haven’t finished it yet. It’s to show Danton everything,” said Sparrow.

  Tarkyn ruffled her hair as Waterstone carried her past him. “We won’t. I promise. I’ll see you in a little while.” He turned to Danton, “Shall we go back inside?”

  When they were both seated inside the small shelter, Danton said, “I don’t know why you would rather be in here than out in the forest.”

  “Privacy, Danton. Privacy. You can’t tell whether woodfolk are anywhere near you unless they choose to let you know.”

  “Are there things you wish to say that they may not like to hear, Sire?” asked Danton, with a faint edge of eagerness in his voice.

  Disappointingly, Tarkyn shook his head. “No, Danton, there are not. But there may be things you wish to say that they may not like to hear.”

  “Oh. I see. And I am free to say what I like?”

  “Yes, my friend. It is much better that you talk to me about it here rather than stir up ill feeling outside.” Tarkyn smiled at him, “So. What would you like to say or ask?”

  Danton looked down at the ground for a while then brought his gaze up to meet the prince’s, his purple eyes twinkling with mischief. “They have funny voices, don’t they? It’s really hard to switch from listening to one voice then tuning in on the next, isn’t it?”

  Tarkyn nodded, smiling, “Yes, very. You get used to it after a while but it is hard. Waterstone is often hard to hear properly when you’re near a stream. Autumn Leaves’ voice gets lost when a sudden gust of wind scatters leaves. Their voices blend in. I thought there was running water nearby for days when I was semi-conscious and all the time it was Waterstone talking to me.”

  “And it’s just as well their voices are different because how are you supposed to tell them all apart?”

  Tarkyn laughed. “You get used to that, too. They all look completely different from each other to me now. But they didn’t at first.”

  Danton became more serious, “Sire, I am very confused about the proper way to act. I don’t want to offend anybody but the woodfolk’s behaviour towards you offends me continually. None of them show you the proper respect due to your station.”

  The prince regarded him thoughtfully. “And what about Waterstone, for instance? Do you think he does not respect me?”

  “He doesn’t use your correct title. He doesn’t bow to you. He doesn’t treat you with the respect due to a prince.”

  “Danton, that was not my question. I said, do you think Waterstone does not respect me?”

  Danton thought hard. Slowly, he shook his head. “No. I couldn’t say Waterstone does not respect you.” A reluctant smile dawned. “In fact, I would say he respects you a great deal. In fact a great deal more than many of the courtiers who have given you all the ostensible signs of respect.”

  Tarkyn watched the sorcerer work his way through this new perspective. “And which do you think I would consider more valuable?”

  Danton smiled, “Sire, I am not a fool. Obviously, just from the questioning if nothing else, you consider Waterstone’s respect to be more valuable.” He put his head on one side as he thought about it. Then he shrugged and said slowly, “And I suppose I would have to agree with you”

  Tarkyn pulled a stick off the interior of the shelter and began to break pieces off the end of it. “Do you know, Danton, it has taken a long journey for all of us to get to where we are now. On my own, I have had to decide how I wanted to be treated. I could have insisted on rigid court etiquette. But can you imagine how hard it would be for Stormaway and me to train an entire nation of people in something of which they have little knowledge and consider to be mildly ludicrous?”

  The blond sorcerer did not reply but looked thoughtful.

  “Had I done that, they would have respected me less and resented me more. I could have forced them. In fact, the home guard would willingly have tried to learn had I insisted, but their actions would not have been marks of respect. They would have been gestures to humour me.” Tarkyn sighed, “And so I chose to relinquish the etiquette in favour of developing, I’m not sure what you’d call it, perhaps terms of engagement between them and me.”

  Danton sounded sceptical. “And what does that amount to?”

  “I respect their opinions. They respect mine. I am consulted on anything important.”

  Danton snorted, “I should think so.”

  “Ah, but when they have all worked as a mind talking unit for centuries, it is difficult for them to remember an outsider exists, let alone to include me in their debates and planning. The simplest things have required a lot of negotiation.”

  “And is that it?” demanded the guardsman. “Your only authority is that you are consulted?”

  The prince gave a slight smile. “No. The oathbound woodfolk know that I can issue a command at any time but again, if I overuse it they will respect me less, not more.”

  Danton’s eyes narrowed as he thought back over the morning. “Yet it seems to me that you do command a certain respect, more than your words would lead me to expect.”

  Tarkyn’s eyes twinkled, “Well, of course, I suspect my status increased considerably when I became part of Waterstone’s family.” The prince rolled up his sleeve. “See my scar? It’s a beauty, isn’t it?”

  Danton frowned at it. “Stars above, that was a huge cut. And it’s gone green! That can’t be right.”

  “That is the other reason I command respect, much more so than for being a prince. Because I am a forest guardian.” Tarkyn smiled broadly, “You won’t believe this but it turns out I’m a character straight out of one their woodfolk legends.”

  Danton’s eyes grew round. “You’re not serious.” Then he frowned, “I can’t believe you’re able to trick them into thinking you’re a legend. You’re so bad at prevaricating.”

  The smile wiped off Tarkyn’s face and a wave of anger hit Danton. “No. How could you think I would stoop to such a ploy? Of course I couldn’t sustain a pretence like that. Anyway, I wouldn’t dream of demeaning the woodfolk like that, even if I could.”

  The blond sorcerer looked confused. “I apologise, my lord, for upsetting you. But you can’t seriously mean you’re a legend…can you?” A glimmer of unease crossed Danton’s face.

  The prince gave a bitter laugh. “You may well wonder at my sanity. But do not fear; I am not a rogue.” Tarkyn suddenly realised that Danton would only know the official version of events. “Danton, I did not attack those guards.”

  His liegeman managed a smile. “I know, Your Highness. Sparrow told me what happened.”

  “But you didn’t know that, did you, when you sought me out…” When Danton gave the tiniest shake of his head, Tarkyn leant forward and laid his hand on the guardsman’s knee, “Thank you, my friend, for your faith in me.” He smiled as he gave Danton’s knee a final bracing pat. “Having come this far, don’t give up on me now. I didn’t make up the legends of the forest guardian. You ask the woodfolk. Remember those special powers I told you I’ve developed? Apparently, they are what define a forest guardian; healing, making plants grow, communicating with animals…”

  “The eagle owl,” said Danton shortly.

  Tarkyn nodded “And the storm yesterday? I drew the power for that from a venerable old oak tree.”

  Danton’s eyes widened. “Did you power that whole attack on the storm?”

  “Pretty much. Stormaway drew on the oak’s strength through me.” Tarkyn had found a green stick among the mesh of twigs that made up his shelter. He broke a piece off and proceeded to make it grow as he talked. He threw a quick glance up at his friend but returned his gaze immediately to his little project, “So you see,” he said, holding up the flourishing little sapling, “Strange as it may seem, I fit their description of this mythical being.”

  After a short, rather strained silence, Tarkyn said quietly, “I’m still me, you know. I heard Waterstone saying to someone yesterday that a lot has changed but a lot is
still the same and I guess that is how it is with you and me.” He gave his friend a warm smile. “I hope, if you came to find me knowing I am exiled, that you must care for more than the court’s etiquette.”

  “Of course I do, Sire. I care for you.” After a slight hesitation, Danton’s eyes twinkled, “No matter what sort of weird being you may have become.”

  Tarkyn laughed. “I, too, care for you and I am glad that you are here.” He handed Danton the little sapling. “There. You can find somewhere to plant it and watch it grow until we leave.” He grew serious. “Now Danton, there are a few things we need to sort out. Firstly, you have my permission to retaliate if any of the woodfolk attack you, but no deaths or serious injuries.”

  “Thank you, my lord.”

  “And secondly, you also may call me Tarkyn, as the others do, if you wish to. And I would like you to follow Waterstone’s lead on how to treat me. Do not feel obliged to bow, nor to stand when I do, etcetera.”

  Danton swallowed, “I am honoured, Sire…,Tarkyn, that you should allow me such freedom.”

  The prince gave a little smile. “I don’t think you’ll find it very much different in terms of freedom. You’ll still be subject to my…requests. But you can query them if you have a good reason to. I do expect respect from people including you, but not in the form of titles and points of etiquette. Just remember: the lack of protocol does not mean lack of respect. The woodfolk just have a different way of showing it.”

  “I will do my best to fit in.”

  “It would please me greatly if you could.”

  Danton hesitated. “Sire, you said I could speak freely?” When Tarkyn nodded, he continued, “Sire, I am concerned about your oath to the woodfolk. Where does it leave people like me?”

  The prince looked at him, long and hard. Danton fidgeted, worried that he had been too bold but Tarkyn was merely thinking it through. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it, to be honest. Let me see. I have to protect the woodfolk. Their fate is my fate, their just cause is my cause.” Tarkyn ran his hand through his hair. “Well, as a prince of Eskuzor, I would expect to protect anyone who needs it. So that is not necessarily in conflict. My fate is linked with all the peoples of Eskuzor and I would make anyone’s just cause my own.”