Alek was not too sure this plan would work, but he had no choice. If a convoy such as this was seen traveling as is, it would give any of Fallon’s men a chance to strike. But if it looked like a cortege of the king, they would think twice about attacking. Fallon is easing himself into Dain’s realm, but even he’s not stupid enough to attack a royal convoy in the open. He hoped. Alek reined in next to the knight and saluted. “Captain Valdor, I presume.”
“Yes. You must be Alek Morgan, the king’s right hand man.”
“The position is a lot less glamorous than you make it to be, Captain, but I’m he. Is everything set? Everything accounted for and ready to move out?”
“Yes, sir. All five hundred and sixty-three people, twenty horses and sixteen cattle. All here, and ready to move.”
“Take it easy, Captain, for the well being of the infirmed, but don’t tarry too long in one place. The sooner you reach Mercer, the better.”
“I agree.”
“I think if you take the lead in shifts, you can travel continuously without stopping too much. Do you have enough supplies for the entire trip?”
“Yes. We may have to stop occasionally for the older ones to stretch their legs, but other than that, we shouldn’t even have to stop too much for watering the horses.”
“Good. I don’t feel confident about this, but there’s really no choice. Mercer isn’t large, but it’s not heavily populated. There should be ample room for these people to find space of their own.”
“Even if we win this war, Fallon knew just how to hit us. He’s taking out the cities one by one, leaving few survivors to scramble for safety. There will be years of rebuilding; it will cost much. I fear we may never again see a kingdom shine as brightly as Aelethia once did. There’ll be too many scars.”
“Just like five hundred years ago during the Great War, people were scattered all over the kingdom, displaced with no hope. We somehow pulled ourselves from the dust. I believe we can do it again.”
“Aye. We are a resourceful and strong people.”
“Get moving, Captain, no more time to tarry. I’ll go on ahead and make sure the king is ready for what is coming.”
The knight nodded to Alek and motioned for his guardsmen to move out. Alek stood and watched as the twenty wagons, with the remainder of able body men and women on horseback, and the livestock following behind, rode out of the ruins of the city and onto the road toward Mercer.
He kicked his mount into a gallop and headed to the mining roads around the lake and on to Eston. If he pushed his mount hard, he could reach the castle in less than a week. He said a silent prayer to the God of safety that the caravan would reach the walls of Mercer without incident.
He worried that he had put the people in an open position, and in doing so, made them a target for Fallon’s troops. War was not a safe place for civilians, and there were always casualties that you couldn’t foresee, but he didn’t want to have to explain to Dain why five hundred plus innocent people were lost to a stupid idea. He sighed. The city held nothing for them anymore, and they would eventually die off from sickness, disease, and hunger if he had left them there. Now they risked death by ambush. Was there nothing simple anymore? Was there no way to stop Fallon in his tracks and rid this kingdom of his poison once and for all?
He hoped he could get to the castle before too much else happened. Dain was dealing with so much in such a short time, and protecting Melenthia was the top priority. Alek didn’t want to be the one to give him more challenges. Finding out about Amaris would be daunting. Alek had sent word into Mercer that these people were coming, and it was the garrison commander there that signed the order for the evacuation wagons and guards. Dain would be upset, but, hopefully, he wouldn’t be angry with the decision Alek had made on his behalf. He thought it would save time, and time was not something they could afford to waste, in any capacity.
***
The morning after the picnic, Melenthia came into the dining hall for breakfast and sat down in the chair next to Dain. He looked at her and noticed the ruby and silver pendant around her neck. The chain was long, and the silver heart hung low and sat just above the swell of her bosom. He smiled. She caught the smile on his face and to where his eyes were occupied.
He said, “The accessory you wear this morning is exquisite. I was correct. It goes with your hair.”
“My mother.”
“What?”
“You said you hoped I would tell you someday why I fancied it so.”
“So I did.”
“It reminded me of my mother.” She lifted it up from where it lay and looked at it for a moment, then continued. “She wore it every day. She never took it off. She slept in it, even wore it in the bath. My father bought her trinket after trinket, but she never wore any of it. I asked her about it once. She said it was the first gift my father ever gave her, right after he told her he loved her. She said that was enough for her.” She paused again, as if the memory struck her. “She said that when I was old enough, she would give it to me. Then I would have a memory of her, and my father’s love for her.”