WeatherMaker Hearts Desire Prologue
Chapter 35: New Dreams

The journey across the seas took several days, but when at last the watchman above them in the crow’s nest called that land had been sighted, there were cheers all around.

Shawn stood beside Annabel on the deck as the harbour drew closer to them. They exchanged excited glances, before looking back towards the land.

When their ship drew up gently against the harbour and was docked, Shawn was one of the first to walk down the gang plank and step upon solid land once more.

‘Gods does it feel good to be standing on home soil again.’

‘You’re telling me’ Annabel threw her hands up in the air, spinning once as she walked forwards, the hem of her dress twirling around as she went.

She stopped suddenly before Shawn, drawing closer to him, their faces inches apart. Annabel smiled seductively before speaking.

‘I need a bath’ she said.

Shawn threw his head back and laughed out loud.

‘I hear that’ he said. ‘I might just join you.’

‘Don’t be silly’ Annabel slapped his shoulders. ‘There wouldn’t be enough room for both of us in the same bath.’

‘God will you two stop flirting’ Carrot moaned at them at he floated past. ‘I’m getting sick of listening to it.’

‘We have to settle the new men in their place’ Flute Stick added appearing beside them. ‘Don’t forget why we’re here.’

‘I know’ Annabel waved them away. She considered Shawn for a moment, giving him a scrutinising look, hands placed upon her hip. ‘We settle the soldiers’ she said, ’then the bath.’

He smirked at her.

‘Fine’ he said.

They led the collection of men through the harbour, the sailors, fishermen and other common folk watched the strange band saunter by with casual disinterest before getting back to their business. The sight of these men and soldiers had become familiar to them, and they cared little for them in their minds anymore.

Just outside the harbour, was a camp, where a portion of the men they had gathered in the few months that had gone by now stayed. Tents were lined up in a small area, where bored and tired figures milled around without purpose.

It took several hours for the new men to be organised amongst those already there. Each had to be found a place amongst the others, a tent of their own and food.

‘This is your new home’ Annabel announced to them. ‘You will be staying here for a while until you receive further orders.’

‘I like my old home better’ one man instantly replied while another protested about taking orders from a woman.

It took a long while to settle them down as they began to scuffle and fight amongst themselves.

When they were finished, one of the men asked Flute Stick, ‘when do we get our horses?’

Flute Stick shot the man a comical expression, which turned into a glare.

‘You don’t get your own horses’ he replied shortly. ‘Who do you think we are?’

‘Oh.’ The man said. ‘I was sure we would get our own horses.’ He shuffled off, grumbling under his breath.

‘Well’ Shawn huffed loudly and deliberately. ‘Since we’re done here, I think I’ll go and do other things.’

‘Me too’ Carrot added, his accent strong. ‘I’m going for a drink, if any of you would like to join me?’

‘We should go see Farrell’ Shawn suggested. ‘Just to see if he’s ok.’

‘I’m sure he’s fine’ Flute Stick replied carelessly. ‘You two go check on him. Carrot and I are kicking back. Have fun. Bye!’

Carrot and Flute Stick wandered off in one direction, and Shawn and Annabel went the other. When they reached the house of healing situated at the end of the harbour, they entered the building.

Farrell’s expression broke into a wide smile at the sight of them.

‘Oh at last!’ he declared. ‘Human company! I’ve been so bored stuck here. Oh…and how was your trip? I hope everything went ok. You got everything done that you wanted didn’t you? I hope it all went smoothly.’

‘It went well enough’ Shawn nodded to him, pulling up a chair beside Farrell’s bed. ‘We got the men we needed. Adam will arrive sometime later with the rest, when he replaces another ship.’

Farrell nodded eagerly at that. ‘Hey Annabel, it’s good to see you.’

‘It’s good to see you too’ she replied. She had pulled up her own chair beside Shawn’s. ‘I’m glad to see you in good health. I prayed for your wellbeing.’

‘Did you also sacrifice a goat?’ Farrell asked sarcastically after laughing at her for several seconds. ‘You know I don’t buy into that nonsense.’

‘Stop that’ Shawn glared.

‘When will you be able to leave?’ Annabel continued.

‘I would leave now if I could. But you know what the healers are like…’

‘I hope you’re listening to them’ Shawn said sternly.

‘Yes….’

’You nearly died. I do hope you are listening to them’ Shawn repeated.

‘Yes….’

‘Hmm.’ Shawn turned away.

‘So what was it like?’ Farrell asked Annabel. ‘You’re first journey across the sea?’

‘Well…it was exciting to say the least. I would very much like to revisit the place, when our circumstances are a lot different.’ She touched her own face briefly, where the bruises and cuts were still healing. ‘Have you ever had to go there yourself?’ she asked Farrell.

‘Sometimes’ Farrell shrugged, ‘once or twice a long time ago, when I was a soldier in the kings army.’

‘Shawn and I agreed that we would visit the place together again one day. They have the most beautiful mountains and lakes there, and strange silver fish that glisten like jewels.’

They talked like this for some time until Shawn asked Farrell the whereabouts of Tristan.

‘I don’t know. He hasn’t returned since you left. Barrel and Woodworm have returned already though…they’ve brought some more men…’

‘Where’s Arlen?’

‘Don’t know’ Farrell replied to Shawn. ‘Barrel and Woodworm might know. They’re fishing by the rocks.’

Shawn and Annabel met Barrel and Woodworm a short time later and asked them about Arlen.

‘Don’t know’ Barrel laughed at them, staring down at his open palm as a crab scuttled across it, the sunlight shining off the scar that covered one side of his face. ‘Woodworm, do you know?’

‘He’s on the beach over there’ Woodworm indicated without looking. ‘He’s been acting so strange lately’ he said, casting his lure out again. ‘He just stands there alone talking to himself. I think he might have gone mad.’

Shawn and Annabel went to replace him.

‘I’m surprised to replace them together’ Annabel commented. ‘I always thought that Barrel got on Woodworm’s nerves so much.’

‘Who knows’ Shawn shrugged, ‘I’m sure there is a lot about both of them we don’t know, and the others too for that matter. Maybe they’ve known each other for a long time.’

When they had found Arlen, it was indeed as Woodworm had described. He stood there, a figure out of place in the middle of the beach, just staring out towards the sea.

Shawn came up behind him.

‘Arlen?’ he said tentatively. ‘Are you ok?’

‘I’m getting old now’ Arlen was saying in a far off voice. ‘My life is half over….I’m fifty years old….half a century…..so old………..Ramana would have been thirty eight by now….but Amaia is still young…maybe I will die of old age before I replace her….maybe I will be killed before that…’

The two of them left him alone, deciding silently between them that perhaps it was best. They returned to the inn where they had a room each waiting for them.

As they ascended the stairs, heading to the rooms above, Carrot called out to them.

‘Hey! You over there! Yes you! How about a drink?’

‘Not now’ Shawn groaned. ‘I’m tired.’

‘Oh come on’ Annabel encouraged. ‘Why don’t we have some fun?’

‘You go’ Shawn said to her in a quiet voice. ‘I…I think I need some rest.’

‘You’re worried about Farrell and Arlen aren’t you?’

‘I just….think I need to be alone for a moment. I’ve been surrounded by nothing but sweaty men for the last few weeks…’

‘And one sweaty woman’ Annabel smirked.

‘You stay and drink’ he said to her.

‘Fine. If you’re sure. Goodnight Shawn.’

The men below them began to cheer as Annabel made her way back down the stairs.

‘Pull up a chair for the lady!’ Flute Stick hollered. ‘Let’s have a drinking game, and see who passes out first!’

Annabel sauntered towards the bar and tucked her skirt behind her to sit as one man pulled back a chair for her at the table. She reached for the tankard that Carrot slid across the table at her, and began to drink with the rest. And then they began to sing.

Over mountains and over road

Through caves and trees and hills and snows

There lies an inn all worn and old

Crumbling in the icy cold

We’ll patch her up and add some paint

One small job this surely aint

Men and women now all as one

A poet in search of a good story

And passers by now just for fun

Returned the old to all its glory

A big bright fire, a burning pyre

Left outside the scare the ghouls

Whilst inside the strumpets sing

And dancers with bells they ring

Sing and clap and laugh out loud

The noise from far it draws a crowd…

Shawn reached his room and closed the door, muffling the noise from downstairs. He thought for a moment of how scared Annabel had been when they had first met her, how uncertain she had been in their presence days after that, and how comfortable she felt with the soldiers now. It was as if she had grown up with them, like Shawn had, as if they were all part of the same family. He thought of how much she had changed in the short time he had known her, and wondered if he had changed also.

I wonder if my mother and sister would recognise me when I finally return.

He slouched over to the bed, and fell back upon it, falling asleep in minutes.

He was woken sometime later when Annabel came to his room. She shook him gently awake and he sat up, seeing her there now wearing her nightdress. She carried a small lantern in one hand, and a cup of steaming liquid in the other.

‘Hey’ she whispered quietly to him. ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you.’

Shawn smiled. ‘You could never disturb me’ he whispered back. ‘I’m surprised you….’

‘What?’

‘Well I thought you’d be….you know…..a little drunk?’

‘I am not as irresponsible as some of the men’ Annabel replied quietly, ‘and besides, I’m used to the stuff.’ The inn now was utterly silent, and the hour was very late. ‘I brought you something to drink’ Annabel said.

‘Alcohol?’

‘No. It’s just a sweet drink.’

Annabel handed him the cup and Shawn sipped it, tasting the hot liquid, it was flavoured sweet honey and lemon.

‘It’s nice’ he said.

‘My mother used to give it to me before bed’ Annabel explained. ‘She used to say it would help me sleep. But I don’t think it ever did.’

‘So why are you giving it to me now?’

Annabel shrugged. ‘Just an excuse to see you I suppose.’ She smiled. ‘I just wanted to see if you were ok.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Good. Then I will see you in the morning.’

She headed back to the door, turning back and winking at him before slipping through and closing it after her.

Shawn finished the rest of his drink, and went back to sleep.

In the house of healing, Farrell slept.

His mind had become uneasy since his injury; no longer did he have the dreams of the figure in the woods, the one that might have been his daughter.

No longer did he constantly hear the words, replace me.

Now he dreamt of something else.

Farrell walked through familiar rooms, places he had spent so many years in. It was his old home. Not run down and empty as he had come to know it, but as it used to be. Back in the day.

But something was different. There were so many vases and jars about the rooms that held a dazzling array of brightly coloured flowers. Flowers of every kind that Farrell knew of, and some that he didn’t, filled his entire house. He then heard singing coming from the next room, a beautiful angelic voice, sung in a high-pitched melody.

Farrell moved slowly to the next room, towards the voice.

He saw Ramana.

She was gliding about the room as she sang, placing more flowers she held in a bundle, into waiting jars already filled with water.

‘They are beautiful’ she said back to him as she continued. ‘Aren’t they?’

He came up behind her and took her hand, pulling her gently around so that she turned to face him.

‘What are you doing here?’ he said. ‘You’re supposed to be dead.’

Her expression did not change. She drew slowly back, still holding the remaining flowers, her hand slipped from his grasp.

She walked past him, and vanished.

Farrell looked around.

Ramana was gone, along with all the flowers.

Farrell woke. It was still dark in the room around him. It was still dark through the window outside.

He lay there in silence, wondering what time it was.

He lay there in silence, waiting to go back to sleep.

Farrell woke again sometime later, seeing the early morning rays of the rising sun shining faintly through the single window in his room. He heard the gulls cry outside as they soared through the sky and over the sea, and even indoors from where he lay; he could smell the salt in the air.

Farrell heaved himself out of bed and made his way gingerly towards the window. Though it was early, figures were already milling about outside, and he could see the fishermen readying their boats docked at the harbour, preparing to sail away out to the open sea.

Farrell watched the outside world for a long while, recognising two figures that passed his window, walking side by side across the harbour. They were the figures of Shawn and Annabel, walking together close to one another.

He felt a lonely pang in his heart then, thinking of how much he missed Ramana, how much her absence had affected so many. Like a void in his soul that could never be filled again.

He forced himself to turn away from the window. Suddenly he spotted on the mantelpiece near him a miniature statue of the god Filis, the young boy with his six wings and long horns.

Farrell sneered at it, moving back to the bed and lying down again, feeling bored out of his mind. He waited for sleep to come again. Just to pass the time. He would be waiting for several hours. But when he did finally manage to sleep again, he began to dream.

The house had fallen quickly silent; there was not a sound to be heard. Farrell listened carefully, noticing more of the candles being blown out as Ramana crept through the manor, teasing him. Before long, the only light that existed, was that given by the moon, pure white against the dark sky above, frozen in the air in its celestial beauty.

Farrell stepped slowly across the hall, moving carefully to avoid bumping into something. He moved into the next room, taking in what little he could see. Dark shapes, and outline of the furniture.

He looked around him; utter silence was all he experienced now. He saw no movement. Farrell spoke, but it felt like he was addressing the very darkness himself.

‘Ramana?’

His voice, though he spoke it softly, sounded loud in the still world around him.

‘Where are you?’ he whispered now, as if speaking to himself.

He felt a touch from behind him, arms reaching gently around him, holding him tenderly. Ramana rested her cheek against his back, sighing deeply, content.

Farrell lowered his head, smiling. He lifted his hands to Ramana’s arms that held him, holding her to him.

‘I love you’ she whispered from behind him.

‘I love you too’ Farrell responded.

He heard her sigh happily again.

She let go of him, and he turned, but she was gone.

The next he saw her; she was waiting on the stairs. Noticing that he had spotted her, she skipped away, heading up the stairs towards their bedroom.

He followed her, stepping carefully through the darkness and up the stairs. He reached the open door to their bedroom. Two hands reached out of the shadows and grabbed him, pulling him into the room.

Farrell bent forward and kissed his wife, the two wrapped up in each other’s arms. Farrell felt something strange, like an electrical current running through his body as he touched her. The hairs on his body were standing on end as they caressed one another.

He pushed her back into the room, further and further until the back of her legs touched the end of the bed. She slowly fell back onto the bed, inviting him towards her. Ramana reached her bare foot out to him, running it down Farrell’s chest. Through the closed window, the full moon shone, and Farrell could see his wife lying back on the bed. Her long beautiful black hair thrown back and her arms above her head as she watched Farrell expectantly. The clouds gliding across the sky outside concealed the moon once again. The bedroom fell into shadow, and Ramana’s outline as she lay on the bed, became concealed.

The room became suddenly cold. Farrell heard Ramana shifting on the bed before him, perhaps moving away to give him space to enter. Farrell moved onto the bed, reaching Ramana who had crawled toward the headboard. Bearing over her, Farrell felt a cold draft on the back of his neck, though the window was closed.

He lifted the skirt of her dress up, running his hand up her thigh. Ramana shivered, her breath shuddering.

The room felt cold, felt icy.

Ramana grabbed his shirt roughly, ripping it apart and tearing the buttons away, running her claws down his chest.

Farrell woke abruptly, startling the healer that stood over him.

‘Oh sir’ she gasped. ‘You gave me such a fright.’

‘What are you doing?’ Farrell snapped at her, heart racing.

‘I’m just checking on your injuries’ the lady replied evenly. ‘And I think I might give you something to help you sleep’ she added, ‘you are ever so restless.’

Farrell didn’t answer as he lay his head back down. He stayed there silent and still, as the healer carefully pulled back the bandages that covered his chest to check on the burns beneath. It was a nasty injury, and the scars were likely to remain grotesque for the rest of his life.

The healer worked quickly and replaced the burns with fresh bandages. She gave him two drinks, one to help him sleep and another to ease the pain. Then she left. Farrell shifted uncomfortably, propped on several pillows with his arm in a sling. The lump on his collar bone still had not gone down yet.

He took a deep breath, and was asleep shortly after, the drug quickly taking effect.

‘I like the feel of the water between my toes’ Annabel was saying as she splashed her feet in the sea.

‘Do you like the feeling of fish nibbling your feet?’ Shawn asked.

‘That would tickle a lot I imagine’ she replied.

They sat now at one of the smaller harbours built closer to the water. Beside them small boats rocked in the water, which was cool and refreshing. They were alone here at this time, and had the place all to themselves.

‘I love the fish here’ Annabel said kicking up the sand beneath her and watching through the clear water as the fish quickly gathered to eat what they could replace. ‘They’re all so tame.’

‘A lot of people swim here I suppose.’

‘You know what I love more than fish?’

‘What?’

‘Starfish.’ She beamed at him. ‘Do you like starfish?’

‘They’re ok I suppose.’

‘You don’t like them?’

Shawn shrugged at her. ‘It’s just a fish.’

Annabel tutted, rolling her eyes at him. ‘That’s such a man answer. I think they’re so pretty. Like sea horses, they’re so unusual. It’s almost as if they’re from a different world.’ She winked at Shawn. ‘Don’t you think?’

‘Maybe’ he replied shortly.

‘You’re so funny.’

‘I don’t mean to be.’

‘That’s what makes you so funny.’

Shawn shook his head at her, frowning.

‘Why don’t we go for a swim?’ she suggested.

‘Now?’

‘Yes.’

‘I thought you didn’t like the water that much’ he said to her.

‘Some days…when the water’s not too cold…well…’ she went on with a sly grin. ’The truth is I want to see you swim.’

‘Oh?’

‘Come on’ she said eagerly rising to her feet. She pulled her dress over her head, leaving only her white under dress on, before moving forwards and sliding into the water.

‘Come in’ she called back to him. ‘It’s lovely and refreshing.’

‘It’s not too cold for you I hope.’

‘It’s just about right’ she answered. ‘It’s lovely and cool.’

Shawn took his boots off, standing and pulling his shirt over his head.

Annabel watched him closely, taking in his muscular chest and lean frame as he slipped off the harbour and made his way through the water towards her. She purred to herself as he came within reaching distance, lifting her eyes up to him, while his eyes travelled down.

‘Come on’ she said, pushing herself back into deeper waters and swimming away.

He followed after her.

‘Where did you learn to swim?’ he asked.

‘There is a small lake near where I used to live. My brother and I used to go there a lot when we were young. We used to play games in the water, like tag, and hide and seek…..he would always win.’

‘Sounds like fun’ Shawn raised an eyebrow mischievously.

‘No’ Annabel sang back. ‘You would only win.’

‘All the more reason to play’ he said moving closer to her.

She swam away from him, enticing him to follow.

‘Let’s see how far we can swim out.’

They ventured into deeper waters, diving down to see what was below. Shawn took her hand as they swam together below the surface, pointing out to her a shoal of jet black fish with pointed tails that darted past. She smiled to him, and nodded back. They dived several times, coming back up for air after seconds. When Annabel began to grow tired, Shawn let go of her hand.

‘Stay here for a moment’ he said to her. ‘I’ve just found something.’

She waited for him as he dived down once again, surfacing a short time later some distance away.

‘Ana!’ he called to her, and she swam over to him.

When she had reached him, he held his hand out to show her something he had found.

Sitting on his palm, was a little starfish.

‘What are you going to do when all this is over?’ Annabel asked him when they had left the water.

Her skin had become wrinkled she had spent so long in the water, as had Shawn’s. They both sat now in the sun to warm up after swimming for so long in the cool water, still wearing the damp clothes they swam in. They were seated upon the harbour again.

‘Don’t know’ Shawn shrugged. ‘I never really thought much about it. Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted to be a soldier like my father. I suppose that’s sort of what I’m doing now.’ His eyes grew distant then as he thought of Brice. ‘He was a good soldier’ Shawn continued, ‘my father. When I was young…seeing him in all his armour, mounted upon his war horse…..it was so incredible. I remember thinking…that I wanted to be like that some day.’

‘I’m sure it was very exciting for a little one’ she agreed. ‘I never saw such things.’

‘Well my father and both of his brothers…Farrell and Arlen…they were all soldiers….so….’ he shrugged again. ‘I suppose I was inevitable that I wanted to be the same.’

‘He died in battle didn’t he?’ Annabel asked him, speaking to the water before her.

‘Yes’ Shawn answered quietly.

‘Do you worry…….that the same might happen to you?’

‘Well…we all die in the end. And it’s just the path I’ve chosen.’

‘But…’ Annabel went on, worry creeping into her voice. ‘What if you die?’

’What if you die?’ Shawn countered turning to face her.

They stared at each other for a moment, before each looked away.

‘What did your father look like?’ Annabel asked after a time.

‘You know I…’ Shawn lowered his head, ‘I don’t remember…’

They both stared out to sea. The water was still like glass, and there was not a breath of wind in the air.

‘What do we do now?’ Annabel asked after a time. ‘What happens from here?’

‘I suppose’ Shawn said raising his head, ‘we just wait for the prince to return.’

They sat together in silence. Above them the lazy clouds drifted overhead.

‘Farrell’ Ramana sang. ‘I make you a cake!’

Farrell stared at her with a flat expression, sitting upon the hillside that overlooked their little town.

‘It’s lemon’ she said presenting it. ‘Your favourite.’

She cut him a small piece and held the fork to his mouth. Farrell watched her, then leant forward to eat the slice.

‘It’s good’ he said.

‘I know’ she beamed. ‘The cakes I make are always nice. Do you know why?’

‘Why?’

She leant forward and whispered in his ear. ‘Because I make them.’

Farrell couldn’t help but smile as Ramana leant back.

She tried a piece of the cake herself.

‘It’s perfect’ she said.

Below them in the field grazed a black stallion, around him were many chestnut mares, some with foals, some of which were black. The day around them was picturesque.

‘I was going to make a chocolate one tomorrow’ Ramana said, staring down at the cake she held in her hands. ‘You like chocolate don’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Not as much as lemon though.’

‘No.’

That sat in silence side by side, looking over at the town below them.

When Farrell next glanced beside him, Ramana was gone.

Farrell woke to hear a strange noise. He leant forward a little, trying to see out of the open door to his room. He heard the strange noise again, but this time he could identify it. It was the sound of footfalls. Someone was running.

Farrell placed his free hand on the side of the bed, pushing himself up with a groan. He swung his legs off the edge of the bed and rose to stand; thumping across the room he placed a hand on the doorframe. He leant forwards and looked both ways down the corridor, spotting a young boy standing at one end. When the boy realised he had been seen, he slipped out of view.

Farrell cocked his head curiously, straightening; he made his way in the direction the boy had gone.

He reached the room at the end of the corridor, a larger room, where many patients stayed together in one place. All of them were asleep, but around the room scattering about, were several boys, varying between the ages of seven and sixteen.

As Farrell watched them, he noticed they were up to mischief. Some of the boys were swapping the patients medicines, some of them were tying the patients to various objects around the room, so that when they stood, they would take with them whatever they were tied to. Some were swapping their food and their clothes. The boy that Farrell had seen called out to the others in a harsh whisper.

’Hey stop someone’s seen us.’

All the boys stopped what they were doing instantly; standing where they were and looking extremely guilty.

Farrell glanced about the room.

One of the boys approached him. ‘What happened to you?’

‘Yeah’ another asked stepping forward. ‘Why do you have that bandage on your chest? And why is your arm in a sling?’

‘What’s beneath the bandage?’ another boy asked. ‘Show us.’

Farrell looked from one face to the next as they watched him eagerly.

‘Show us’ another boy repeated moving closer. ‘Why are you here? What happened to you?’

‘I was…’ Farrell began, ‘…in a fight.’

‘Are you a soldier?’

‘Yes I am’ Farrell said to the boy who had spoken.

The boys began to move closer to him, no longer guilty but curious.

‘Show us what’s beneath the bandage.’

Farrell lowered his head, using his free hand to carefully pull back the bandage on his chest, to reveal the burn and scarring.

‘Cool’ many of the boys said at once moving closer still. ‘How did you get that?’

Farrell replaced the bandage, patting it back down carefully against his chest.

‘I was fighting against another soldier’ Farrell said, taking a seat beside the door.

‘Was he big?’ asked one of the boys.

‘Was he scary’ asked another younger boy.

Farrell glanced towards the younger boy with a smile.

‘He was the most terrifying man I have ever seen in my life, with glowing red eyes like a demon’s, and great horns that grew out from his helmet, cruel and twisted they were. He wore a long cloak that was red like blood, and armour that was carved from human skulls. And by his side, he carried a massive hammer, wreathed in flame.’

‘What does wreathed mean?’ one of the younger boys asked.

‘It means the hammer was made of flame’ a boy said.

’It doesn’t mean it was made of flame’ another argued.

‘Anyway’ one of the elder boys interrupted loudly before an argument could break out. ‘What happened next?’ he asked Farrell. ‘Did you kill him?’

‘I did’ Farrell leant forwards, whispering dramatically. ‘But it was no easy task mind you. He was huge, a monster of a man. Eight feet tall at least and built like a mountain. One hit from his mighty weapon and I would have been dead! Squashed like an ant!’

The younger boy’s eyes grew like saucers as they tried to imagine such a thing.

‘There I was…’ Farrell spoke in a hushed tone, ‘facing this monster alone in the heat of battle. He had me in his sights, and I saw death in his eyes. If I had died that day by his hand, my soul would surely have spent the rest of eternity burning in a pit of fire. I knew that, but that did not faze me. I marched before him, raising my sword up high as he turned to face me….’

Farrell told the boys of great tales and stories of his past in battle, and the many victories he had won and battles he had fought throughout the better years of his life. He spoke for a long time until one of the healers came in to shoo them away, grumbling angrily at the games they had played on the patients earlier. The boys all scattered in different directions so that the healer could not catch them, quickly vanishing from sight like wisps of cloud on the wind. Soon enough, the room was as it was before, silent, as it should be.

‘Are you sure you are well enough to be walking around?’ the healer asked Farrell sternly.

He simply waved the man away without properly answering.

After that, he decided to sit outside the healers on a bench in the sun, sitting sullenly on his own and watching as others went about their business around him. Lost in his thoughts, he was far away.

Hours later he was visited by Annabel.

‘There you are. I couldn’t replace you inside.’

Farrell blinked in surprise as he straightened up. He had been in a trance, just staring off into nothing.

‘Oh…what…?’

‘I have some bad news’ she told him seriously. ‘The prince has returned.’

‘Isn’t that good news?’

‘He says the king knows about us and that he’s sending a small army here to kill us.’

‘Oh’ Farrell replied flatly.

‘And we can’t leave yet’ Annabel added, answering the question before Farrell had a chance to ask it. ‘Adam has yet to return with the other men we’ve gathered and we cannot leave without him. It would surely mean his death, and the death of all the men we’ve worked so hard to gather. ’

‘So…’

‘We risk waiting for him’ Annabel concluded. ‘The king should be here in days…’

Moments earlier

The horse rode into the camp fast, followed by a host of men about thirty in number. The rider who led them called out to herald his arrival, his state in panic.

In no time at all many had gathered around him.

‘What’s going on here?’ Shawn hollered as he strode forwards towards the disturbance. And then he saw the prince.

‘Tristan’ Shawn said in surprise. ‘You’re back. What’s wrong?’

Tristan wheeled his horse to face him, breathing heavily, pulling off his large brimmed hat and wig as he did so, and wiping off the make-up around his eyes. Because of who he was, when he set out to recruit men he always did so in disguise. Most would not spare him a second glance, dressed as he was in the bright travelling clothes of a gypsy.

‘We’re in danger’ Tristan gasped. ‘You have to listen to me.’

Behind Shawn Annabel stepped to one side slowly to get a better look at one of the riders in the group behind Tristan. His eyes were white and he stared off into nothing. Blind Annabel thought.

‘The king…’ Tristan breathed. ‘My father…he knows about us…he’s sending men here to kill us all.’

‘Oh shit’ Woodworm spoke from the crowd.

Barrel began to cackle beside him.

’Does he know about you’ Carrot asked the prince.

‘Thank the gods no. Not yet anyway…not to my knowledge...’ He spoke louder now, addressing the others. ‘We have to leave. It isn’t safe for us here.’

We can’t go yet’ Flute Stick told him.

‘Why not?’

‘We’re still waiting for Adam to return with the rest of the men we gathered across the water. If we go now…..we cannot leave him to his death…and the men…’

‘When are your father’s men supposed to get here?’ Shawn asked.

‘Two days maybe…three at most’ Tristan uttered, ‘but we could still leave.’

‘If the king replaces the men we gathered here after we are gone’ Woodworm said, ’then he will kill all of them. They are clearly foreigners and clearly prisoners. He wouldn’t want them here. Who would?’

‘But…’

The prisoners are clearly branded’ Shawn explained showing the naked flesh of his forearm to the prince. ‘He would kill all of them and any associated with them. You should know that.’

Beside him Annabel had exposed her own forearm also. She and Shawn both shared the same mark, a burn in the skin. The twisted symbol branded them to all as prisoners and worthy only of a quick death if found out. Carrot and Flute Stick shared the same mark also.

‘It was not easy getting those men’ Shawn explained. ‘Sacrifices were made. If Annabel or I were to be seen with these marks we would be arrested and killed. We are putting our lives at risk to get these men…we cannot leave them now….’

Tristan looked as if he were about to say something, but the words seemed caught in his throat.

‘What will happen’ Carrot asked the prince, ‘if the king found you? Would he kill you?’

‘I don’t know’ Tristan shook his head. ‘I can’t be sure…’

‘We cannot go’ Shawn said firmly. ‘Too much is at stake here.’

‘We can stay for at least a day’ Annabel said lowering her arm. ‘Can’t we?’

‘I….’ Tristan began. ‘I have to think.’

He dismounted his horse and strode away, brushing his blonde hair back in frustration.

It was decided later that they would wait. In that time, Tristan could not settle.

He did not sleep, he did not rest, nor did he eat. He simply stood at the harbour, staring out to sea, willing for the ship to return. And when he was not staring out to sea, he was staring at the hills behind him, where his father’s men would surely come from.