Chapter 10

         

          “Can no one hear me? Who  … can … swim?”

          The Prince asked his question again in a calm voice, but his men, who knew him, knew that he grew angrier with each passing second. He did not like to have to ask twice. His men, burdened with leather and metal to fend off sword thrusts, avoided the water unless it was to fish from its banks. They looked at each other, then back to the swift running current, and debated which they feared more; the river or their Prince?

          “My Lord, I am able to swim a little.”

He was the youngest of the guards and eager to earn his master’s favour.

          “Excellent! And your name?” the Prince asked.

          “Edward, sire.”

          “Excellent Edward. You look to be a strong young man. You will go far. Trust me.”

          “Thank you, my Lord.”

          Marie watched the scene from her own private hell. Despite her own despair, she could not stand by and allow this to happen.

“No!”

          The Prince turned slowly to face her. “What did you say?”

          Marie knew she had crossed a boundary. “I mean, I fear that he too will be lost to the waters. There must be another way. Ask your man Baldric if there is some other way of detecting the orb.”

          “A fair question. Well is there Baldric?”

          “No my Lord. The orb becomes an ordinary stone when it is in earth or water. Only in air does it come alive.”

          “Ah, it is as I thought. So there is only one choice, my lady,” he said with the slightest of nods towards Marie. Then he turned to Edward and whispered, “Search the bottom for bodies. It is likely one of them has it in their pocket. I know I would.”

          Edward took off his tunic and was bare from his leggings up. He was a strong, handsome young man of perhaps twenty years. Marie thought that this could be Nathaniel in ten years, risking his life for naught.

          “God be with you Edward.”

          Edward turned to Marie and bowed low. “Thank you, my Lady.” Then he bowed low to Prince Hadwyn, breathed deeply to fill his lungs and dove into the water at the point where the children’s footprints ended.

          All watched in silence, and growing impatience in one case.

          “Well, where is he? He should know better than to keep his Prince waiting.”

          But there was no sign of him and Marie grew worried. It was a half minute or more. How long could one stay under? The cold hard hand tightened around her heart once more.

          “Help!”

          Everyone looked downstream. Twenty yards away, Edward’s head appeared but then he was lost again in the foam of the rapids.

          “Do something!” Marie yelled.

          “Can anyone else swim?” the Prince asked, clearly not demanding an affirmative response.

          “No my Lord,” his men mumbled.

          “Ah. Our hands are tied.”

          “No they are not!” Marie screamed as she ran away along the riverbank.

          “After her!” the Prince ordered his men.

          Marie scrambled through the woods, glancing towards the river whenever she could. She caught glimpses of an arm, and once his head, as the river swept Edward away. Soon he would lose all strength and slip under for good. What could she do?

          “Edward!” she screamed, “I’m coming.”

          Marie ran ahead of where she last spied him. Yes, that will do. She ran to the water’s edge but she was too weak to pick up the decaying tree limb resting on the bank. But the sound of the royal guard renewed her hope.

          “Hurry!” she yelled to the Captain. “Pick up that end and we will hurl it into the water.”

          One man scrambled down the bank to help Marie pick up the smaller end. The Captain and another lifted the heavier end. With a grunt like rutting pigs, the four were able to free the limb from the mud and toss it into the current. They watched as the water took hold and carried it away. The limb grew smaller and their hearts grew heavier as it floated away alone.

          “Good-bye Edward.” Marie made the sign of the cross and then turned to go with the men.

          But as the limb floated away, a hand reached up from the waves and grasped hold of it.

         

          Further downstream the children were engaged in paddling and conversation. The paddling was difficult, the conversation moreso. They clung to the tree with their left hand and used their right to attempt to paddle their barge towards the western shore.

          “Mother must be going out of her mind thinking us drowned.”

          “Savannah, I know, but we told Duff to get word to her.”

          “Yes, but,” and she lost her thought as her head went under the water.

          “Savannah!” Nathaniel cried as he caught her left arm and pulled her back to the log, “you must hold on.”

          “I know, but I am getting tired.”

          “Then hold onto it with both hands. I will paddle, but it does not seem to be getting us anywhere.”

          “Thank you. It is just that Duff has to find Mother alone but she will be close to the Prince.”

          “You are right. It will have to be a sign. And speaking of signs!”

          “What?”

          “That willow tree, up ahead. See how the river bends? The land juts out. We are close, Savannah, and that willow branch is our lifeline. See how it hangs out over the river?”

          “Yes, but it is too high. I could never reach it.”

          “No, but I could. I need to climb over you so that I can get to the end of the log.”

          “I am afraid.”

          “I am too. But I am also cold, and growing tired. We have to get off this river or we will not last the night. Savannah, be brave. Alexander, help her.”

          Savannah, you can do this.

          Savannah nodded and clung tight to the log. Nathaniel stopped paddling. He used both arms to pull himself higher up on the log, with his hands positioned under his stomach. Then he pushed up against the log so that his torso rose a few inches. In one motion, he pushed off with his left hand and moved right over top of his sister. It was not a smooth motion and Savannah nearly fell off, but she held on tight as he scrambled over top of her.

          “Good,” Nathaniel said, panting for breath. “Now we both need to inch over to the end of the log. I will grab the willow with my right hand and grab you with my left. Then you must hold tight to me. Can you do that?”

          “Yes.”        

          “Good.”

          Both were in position as the willow grew more and more inviting.

          “Ready Savannah?” but Nathaniel did not wait for a reply. The branch was nearly in reach. He stretched out his right hand and caught hold of the end as the log drifted beyond it. “Now hold onto me!”

Nathaniel grabbed his sister’s right forearm with his left hand and she grabbed his arm with her left. The two watched the log float away, their only hold on life being Nathaniel’s hold on the willow.

“That was good Savannah. Now I will need both hands to pull us in. You must hold me around the waist and release my left arm.”

Savannah took a deep breath and then used Nathaniel’s left arm to pull herself closer. She grabbed a firm hold of his waist with one arm before freeing his. Nathaniel felt the weight of his sister pulling him down so he quickly grabbed hold of the willow with his free left hand.

“Give me a moment to gather my strength.”

Savannah held fast to Nathaniel.

“All right,” he panted, “I will start to pull us closer.”

With slow, jerky motions Nathaniel moved them towards the bank. But after a few minutes he added, “Savannah, I need to rest. I do not know if I have the strength to pull us to safety.”

Savannah, can you touch?

“What?”

“What?”

“It is Alexander. He wants to know if I can touch,” Savannah explained.

Hold your breath and lower yourself, but hold onto Nathaniel’s leg. If you can touch the river bottom you can walk towards the bank and push Nathaniel forward.

“He wants me to hold my breath and go down to the bottom of the river so that I can push you closer.”

“It will not work. I am too heavy.”

“Not in the water, Alexander says. Your weight is less then. And I am strong. We must try, Nathaniel.”

“Yes. Hurry.”

Savannah let go of his waist and clung to his left knee, which was just above the water. She held on tight, took a deep breath and lowered her body underwater, desperate for her feet to touch bedrock, but they swung freely.

Lower.

She did not know if she would have the strength to climb back up his leg should she not touch ground, but she did as Alexander said. Her hands slid down from his knee to his ankle. Her left foot touched something. Yes, a large rock.

Push up Savannah, and to your right.

She did. And Nathaniel was surprisingly light. She lifted Nathaniel six inches. That was enough for him to pull himself an arm’s length closer to the bank, with Savannah in tow. When Savannah tried to touch bottom once more, both feet could touch and she gave Nathaniel an even stronger push. She let him pull her closer to the bank. On the third try, she touched bottom easily. Her heart was racing. She knew they were close, but her lungs were bursting. She would not have the strength to climb up his leg. Instead, she saved all of her strength for one last push to get him closer. It was a mighty push, but now she was spent.

Let go.

What?

Let go, Alexander said again.

And she did. Her body rose, her head broke the surface of the water, she gulped down glorious air before slipper underwater again. But a strong arm grabbed her right arm and pulled her towards the bank. Then Nathaniel grabbed her under both armpits and held her head above the water.

“I can touch now,” he said, his head just above water. “Stay calm and I will pull you in.”

She did not panic. She did not resist. She was just thankful the ordeal was over.

 

“I am sorry, my Lady,” the Captain said to Marie. “He was a good man.”

Marie nodded but said nothing. The four of them walked back to the Prince and Baldric in silence.

“A foolish attempt at escape!” the Prince said.

          “A foolish attempt at rescue,” she replied.

          The Prince’s face turned rosy, only for a moment, but long enough for his men to see his true colours.

          “Allow me to offer you the hospitality of Castle Kesselring. Baldric and his bird have failed but my hounds may be able to answer this riddle. In the meantime, I hope you can find some comfort in my offer.”

          “You are most gracious. Thank you.”

          “Have you ridden before?” the Prince asked when the party had mounted their horses.

          “Briefly, a long time ago, my Lord.”

          “Then I will go slow with you.”

 

          “Duff!” Nathaniel cried. It was one of the few times they spotted him first. The children were lying on the bank, absorbing the sun and avoiding the breeze, when he came into view.

          “It is good to see you again,” Savannah said when Duff landed. “Have you told Father?”

          “Caw.”

          “And Mother?”

          “Caw!”

          “Is that because Mother is never alone?” Nathaniel asked.

          “Caw.”

          “But we must get word to her. She will worry herself to death. You suggested a sign,” Savannah said as she reached into an inside pocket. “My sharp stone!”

          “You mean you held onto that stupid stone when we were in the water? It would pull you down.”

          “It is not that heavy. Duff, you could carry Nathaniel’s flat stone. Are you strong enough to carry this?”

          Savannah held the rock. Duff landed on her forearm but struggled with the rock. He was finally able to balance it in his beak and he took flight.

          “Wait!” Savannah screamed.

          Duff circled before landing, happy to drop the heavy stone.

          “Alexander says we need to keep our heads warm. We hid dry clothes on this side of the river.”

          “Caw.”

          “Including two woollen caps. Get the stone to mother and then return with the caps. You will need to make two trips.”

          “Caw.”

          Duff was able to grasp the stone again and then was away.

          Make a fire.

          “Are you sure?”

          “What?”

          “Alexander says we must make a fire.”

          “That makes sense,” Nathaniel agreed. “We need to dry our clothes and warm ourselves. Night will be cold.”

          “But the Prince’s men would see the fire.”

          “More likely they think us drowned and we are safe.”

          “Oh.” Another chill swept through Savannah as she thought of what her mother was going through. “I will gather kindling.”

          Nathaniel found two stones and dried pine needles and patiently nursed the spark into flame. An hour later the two were warming themselves by the fire, happy to be on firm ground.

          “Alexander, tell us a story,” Savannah requested. “And make it a happy one.”