Chapter 9

         

          Marie’s heart raced as the men approached. She let down her guard and thought only of the children. Tears flowed and she did not try to stop them.

          “The children! They are gone! Where can they be?”

          The company halted in a thunderous chorus of hooves. All dismounted, but the Prince remained sitting above them a little longer, as was his privileged station in life.

          “These children of yours seem to be one step ahead of us, madam,” the Prince said. “I find it curious that they can outwit you,” he added, looking down at the stooping figure of Baldric.

          “Once perhaps, but not twice my lord,” and he took to sniffing the air.

          “Oh we must find them! I fear what may befall them alone in the woods.”

          “Fear not, my lady,” the Prince said as he swung a leg over his steed and landed smartly. “They will not be alone for long. Come. I believe that Baldric has picked up a trail.”

          He offered his hand to Marie. She fought the urge to spit upon it and instead bowed low as a servant should. As they walked away, the Prince’s horse snorted and shook its head. Marie looked back over her shoulder, met its gaze and smiled.

          “He is on the hunt!” the Prince said, admiring his man.

Baldric led them on a circuitous route west through the village. It was the same twisting route that Savannah had taken. Marie found it curious at first but when she imagined her frightened daughter bravely trying to save the village, a fresh flood of tears flowed down her cheeks.

“I say again, fear not. You are in good hands,” the prince said and Marie let him pat her hands in comfort. “We did not find the orb where Saphrasus led, only that it had recently been unearthed. So you see, we have a mystery that only children can solve. Perhaps we must think like children to find them and then all of us will be pleased.”

          He smiled, but it was a cold, mirthless smile. Marie fought the urge to slap him. Baldric led the party to the western woods, his head jerking to and fro as he desperately searched for whiffs of orb in the gentle wind.

If he were an animal, Marie thought, he would be a bloodhound. Good, he is leading us towards Savannah’s burial spot for the orb.

     “Aye!” Baldric cried and the crackling timbre of his ancient voice turned Marie’s stomach. Marie too could see Savannah’s mark on the oak tree. Baldric was clearly excited but she would not want to be near him when he was angry.

     “Noooo!” he cried, falling to his knees when he saw the unearthed grave. He would rather have the orb be lost and buried forever than to know that someone else has his prize. And when he turned around the look he gave Marie was the look of death. The cold hand that she had felt before now gripped tighter around her heart.

     “I see the children are one step ahead of us again,” the Prince said, almost cheerfully. “Baldric, weep not. I too share your pain, believe me, but I am excited that the hunt is on. The orb lives again and we must simply match wits against children. Surely we can do that?”

His address was for his own benefit as Baldric was focused only on revenge.

But his master was right. Now was the time for clarity of mind. What had transpired? Baldric wondered. How could Saphrasus not know that the orb had been removed from its resting place? Why did he lead them away when they were so close?

“We have a conundrum,” the Prince began, clearly revelling in the sound of his own voice. “The orb was lost to the north of here for many years. This morning Baldric picked up the scent of the orb in your cottage,” he added, turning sharply towards Marie. “In the children’s room.”

He walked back from the mound of earth and looked Marie in the eye. “Under a child’s cot.”

He let the word hang in the air and Marie truly believed that she was caught.

“Your son’s? Nathaniel? Would you hide such a treasure with an innocent child?”

Again he stared deep into her, as he no doubt had done to other subjects before pronouncing sentence.

“I think not. I am a good judge of character. You would not knowingly endanger your children. And this morning you were clearly distraught by Savannah’s disappearance. I do believe we have been outwitted by children,” and the idea of it caused him to laugh. “Baldric, first they unearth it and leave it buried in the north. But you caught a whiff of it on a northern breeze that reached the castle and sent forthwith your bird as a scout. The bird watches, and must have seen them return to the site to unearth it yesterday to spy on their treasure, but leave it there. Then they steal back to the woods, unseen by your raven, to re-locate it in their room, for we all know the powerful desire cannot be denied for long.”

He licked his lips as he remembered the feeling of power that enveloped him when he owned it.

“Your bird does not return to tell you of its discovery. Most strange. Where did it go?” he asked Baldric, but he did not wait for a reply as he walked slowly towards him.

“This morning, when we set out for the village on your advice, the children deceived us and quickly re-buried their treasure. Then the raven appears with its news, which was really … not … new. Do you have an explanation?” he asked, towering over Baldric.

“I saw a raven yesterday.”

“You did?” the Prince asked, turning back towards Marie.

“Yes. I was in the field. It was interested in the few cobs of corn we were able to plant. At first, I tried scaring it away, but in the end I felt sorry for it. It seemed simpler to feed it, so I took a cob that was only fit for pigs and gave pieces to it. It did not trust me, at first, but once it had a taste of the corn it stayed by me all day. Everyone called me a scarecrow,” and Marie smiled at the memory, “but it got me out of the fields and kept the bird away from your choice crops, my lord.”

“Ah, so you see Baldric, your bird can be charmed by a lovely woman offering treats, as can I.”

Marie’s skin crawled at the touch of his fingers upon her cheek but she willed herself to blush and lowered her eyes.

 “Perhaps it is more than a flying instrument of ticks and fleas,” he said, turning back to address Baldric. “But we must punish it as we would any man who fails in his duty to me.”

“No my Lord! I mean, allow me to punish Saphrasus. We still need him to find the children,” Baldric pleaded.

“Yes, you are right. But once he is of no further use,” he said, but did not finish his sentence.

“Caw!”

Saphrasus returned in a flurry of black feathers and alit on Baldric’s arm. Baldric walked away from the group so as not to be overheard.

“To the south, my Lord. Saphrasus has spotted them heading along the river.”

“And is that what your nose tells you?” the Prince asked Baldric.

Baldric raised his arm and Saphrasus flew to a nearby branch. His master focused on sniffing the air. He dropped to his knees to confirm the orb had been there. The intoxicating scent brought pleasure to the old man. He closed his eyes and breathed in the fragrance as though it were a lover’s perfume.

“Yes, yes, get on with it man! We know the orb was there, but where does the trail lead?”

Baldric snapped out of it. His Prince was not a patient man. Baldric stood and sniffed the air in all directions. He could find no hint of it to the west, the north or the east as he circled the area. The scent was only from the south.

“They went south, my Lord. The scent is strong.”

“Good. Now tell your bird to fly ahead and bring us word of them. And bring the horses,” he shouted to his captain. “We shall be upon them in no time! And the children will be safely returned to their mother, of course,” he added, softening his tone in order to soften Marie’s defences. “You shall ride with me. I trust you enjoy a good ride?”

“I am not experienced in the ways of horses, my Lord.”

“Ah, then simply hold tight and trust in me.”

The captain returned with the Prince’s horse, a powerful black stallion. When it approached the two of them it whinnied in protest.

“Charlemagne! Be calm! Where are your manners? This is not the first pretty woman you have seen?”

Nor the last, no doubt, Marie thought. Please calm down.

“There, there, Charlemagne,” the Prince soothed as he patted his horse on the nose, “she is but a light thing and the ride will not be long.”

          It shall seem an eternity. Marie smiled as the Captain helped her mount the horse. She put her arms loosely around the Prince’s stomach. What I would not give for my dagger now.

          “Tighter, my dear, much tighter. Lead on, Baldric!”

 

          “Savannah!”

Nathaniel yelled but he could not see his sister. He held firm to a tree branch and searched the waters with his right hand. He grabbed an arm and lifted her head above the water. She coughed up a lungful of water when she broke the surface. Nathaniel pulled her close until she too could hold fast to the trunk. The tree was now free to flow with the strong current and the children rode it south, away from the castle.

“Oh Savannah, what were you doing?”

“I was saving you.”

The children rode in silence through the rushing water, both of them holding on for dear life. Eventually the river widened and the current slowed, but now they were further from the bank. A raven landed on their log and seemed to brighten their spirits.

“Duff!” Savannah cried. “It is so good to see you.”

“It is, but I do not think you can help us now,” Nathaniel added. “We must hold on until the tree gets closer to the shore.”

“But you can get word to Mother. I know she will be worried. Fly, and tell her, if you can. We are safe, and the orb is safe, on the far bank.”

“But tell Baldric that you could not find us. It is best if they think us drowned.”

 

          Duff returned to find the Prince’s party dismounted and Baldric sniffing along the river’s edge.

          “Ah Saphrasus returns,” the Prince said. “Have you seen them?”

          Duff ignored the Prince and landed on Baldric’s arm. “No, my Lord,” Baldric answered, shaking his head. “And the scent is lost here.”

          “The children’s footprints are clear in the mud. They definitely were here, but how could they disappear? Can they swim?” the Prince asked, turning on Marie.

          “No my Lord. They know not to approach the water.”

          The Prince saw the fear rising in her, but he did not bother to console her. “I see. Are there tracks further south?” he asked his Captain, but the Captain shook his head No. “Then we can only conclude that they attempted a river crossing, unless they are hiding in a tree?”

          All heads gazed up but the forest held no secret.

          “Alas, it is what I feared. Baldric, tell your bird to search the far bank for footprints or any sign of them.”

          Baldric did so. Marie prayed for Duff to find some sign but when he returned he would not meet her gaze. Instead, he landed on Baldric’s arm and Baldric, too, shook his head.

          “Dispense with your bird! He is of no use to us here. Have it search further afield.”

          All watched as Saphrasus flew south once again, as Baldric instructed.

          “I fear the orb lies at the bottom of the river. We must retrieve it! And return the children’s bodies, of course,” he added as an afterthought. “Who can swim?”

 

          Duff altered course and flew west across the river as soon as he was out of sight. After flying west for a mile he turned north and flew hard to his home. He took care, as always, to approach unseen by anyone in the castle, and landed on the barred window of the castle keep. He squeezed through the bars, flew down ten feet and perched on his master’s arm.

          It was a long conversation for there was much to tell. The dishevelled man in the tattered rags and long red beard fought hard to control his emotions. There was joy that the orb was found and the children safe, but it was mixed with fear that his family would attempt his rescue. He wanted to tell Duff to forbid it but he knew his wife would not listen and he suspected his children would not either. Instead, he told Duff what story he would tell the Prince to keep him alive, and gave instructions for Marie and the children.

          Duff flew to the window, squeezed through the bars and once again John wished he was a bird. Then he sighed deeply and set about willing his shrunken body back to life. He began by lifting the chair that was his only companion in this solitary jail.