The Enchanter of Rangel: Child of War Book 1 (20 page)

Aubrey was quiet all the way back to the palace. Keeping her head covered, no one recognized her until she came upon the palace gates.

CELESTE

             
“Where is my daughter” screamed the Queen at the High Witch. “I have the most powerful human in all of existence along with all of her most powerful witches and a couple of men with swords cowered you and took off with my heir. Perhaps I should have you replaced with your son, at least he took down a fair number while you were standing around!”

“My Queen, our powers cannot be used at this
range, we most likely would have set the palace aflame and killed you along with everyone else. Right now I have the Second and Third witch flying around the country side attempting to locate her”

“I don’t need attempts, I need success!” screamed the Queen as Hawk, the new Captain of the palace guard busted into the room.

“Your Majesty, excuse the interruption but she has been found and her captors slain. She is on her way to you as I speak.”

The Queen took flight out of the room just as Aubrey was walking up with the boy enchanter and one of her guards, Frowley if she was correct.

“My baby!” The queen said as she hugged her close. “What happened to you? Tell me this instant!” she said as she led Aubrey into the throne room motioning for Frowley to follow. Hawk led Xander up to his room as Frowley closed the door to the throne room behind him.

“Mother I noticed one of the palace slaves stank something awful, when I looked up and saw he was missing many teeth and some were rotted, I began looking around. When I saw many I did not recognize
, I began to panic, when I saw a sword hilt I knew something was wrong. I told Patrick my worries and he went to see for himself.”

“Patrick was a hero today Aubrey, he slew a great many bandits in the hall, helping the palace guard tremendously. I do not know how many we would have lost had he not been there” the Queen said.

The High Witch smiled inwardly as she heard this news. She really pushed ahead the assault and it almost worked according to plan. Patrick was supposed to save the princess along with a great many nobles, effectively ending their desire not to see Patrick and Aubrey together. Elizabeth thought about this as Aubrey began to speak.

“When I saw one of them make towards you I screamed. A couple of them turned their attention on me so I
fled, I wanted to lead them away from you. I ran towards the north tower and tried to unlatch the door there, then everything went dark.”

“If I may your Majesty, I can take it from there. I will ask if it wouldn’t be better if I could tell you the story alone.” Frowley said.

“That is unnecessary; the High Witch needs to know exactly what she will be dealing with. She was going to deal with the bandits anyway, along with other incoming threats” said the Queen.

“Well her highness did get the door unlatched I saw as they hit her from behind. By the time I got there they escaped through the side door and the boy enchanter came out the room. I told the lad he better follow me to help the princess an order to which he complied which shocked me. I was half way expecting a stab in the back as we made our way outside. They had horses waiting so it took us a bit to get our horses. We caught up to them at one of the side gates as they cut down the watch stationed there. We joined in a four on two
fight, your majesty the boy cut a grown man into two pieces! Never seen anything like it, not in the war, not even in a book or a play. We then caught up to the brigands and saw the Princess get slapped down, Xander recognized one of the assailants and then it was hard to watch.”

“Hard to watch?
What did they do to you Aubrey?” said the Queen as she held her daughter.

“It wasn’t to her your Majesty, it was what he did to the men holding her,
it wasn’t natural. It was like he had the bloodlust upon him. He had the mind of the men from Thorn, it was like he wanted to kill more than just the men, he wanted to kill their souls too. It was like watching Death herself walking across the battlefield, like he was an extension of her, like he was Death’s Hands. That what he is Death’s Hand” said Frowley looking shaken.

“Well it was only because of that magic sword he has with him” the Queen started, hoping to scare the High Witch should she have any desire to go against her power. “I’m sure anyone could do the same.

“No mother,” Aubrey said shaking. “The sword was part of it, but whoever he hit with the sword had it lucky. The man who hit me had it worse than everyone, I do not think he was lying when he said he was trapped into slavery. He dropped his sword and killed another child of war after the man begged him not too.”

“What do you mean after he dropped his sword he killed the man?” asked the High Witch, not sure if she heard correctly.

“My Lady, he killed the man with his bare hands. I have never seen anything like it and hope I never will. The bloodlust was upon him, he fought more savagely than any Thornian I have ever seen. Death’s hand I tell you, he was Death’s Hand. I tried to pull him off of the bandit but he kept attacking over and over again before he crushed his skull like a sour grape with a small boulder. He then took the man’s weapons and said they were his to begin with and calmly walked back to the road. If I have to get into anymore scraps like that, he is a man I would rather have behind me than in front of me. Child of war or not, you saw the last devastation a red haired enchanter brought upon us. That boy is better off made friend than enemy. Sorry for speaking so frankly Your Majesty.”

CHAPTER

             
Xander was asleep as a figure climbed into his bed. The individual wrapped took off her clothing and wrapped herself around Xander’s body. Xander felt softness in the bed with him and sprang awake.

“
Shh Xander, it is just me” said Aubrey as kissed his neck.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” said Xander.

“I’m trying to repay you, what you did was very brave today” said Aubrey as she snuggled closer.

“I don’t need repayment I am a slave” said Xander as he turned away from her, afraid his body would react to her closeness.

“Xander I heard what you told that boy, is being here with me really all that bad?”

“It is what you represent Your Highness” said Xander.

“Just call me Aubrey when it’s just the two of us.”

“I cannot Your Highness, a slave speaking familiar with the royal
heir? I would be whipped” said Xander.

“Xander I am going to on a trip to ask your Mother’s permission to marry you. I can’t imagine her saying no to me, and I know I could make you happy. I can leave if you want but could you at least think about my proposal? I would much rather
have a willing spouse than an unwilling one.”

“Your Highness
are you asking me to marry you? That would be scandalous, what would your mother say to such a union?”

“I doubt my mother would mind much, just as long as you are loyal to her.”

“Can I have some time to think about it?” asked Xander not sure where to go with current events.

“You can, but know I plan on heading out no later than the day after the morrow. I cannot allow you to marry another and I know many would be asking for your hand. Better than that, you would no longer be a slave, you would be my consort.” Aubrey got up from his bed and fixed herself as she walked down the stairs. “See you tomorrow Xander.”

Xander woke all the way up when she left and pulled out his book to talk to his father.

“Dad, a lot has happened since we last spoke”

“Like what son?”

Xander relayed the story about the attacks and his eventual save of the princess along with her proposal.

“You don’t need my help son, just think, I was there as a conqueror, and now so are you, in a different way.”

“This is not a time for joking, I need help.”

“You do not; you are telling me one of the most powerful women in all of Rangel wishes you to be her lifelong mate. That is probably every males dream in Rangel. Your kids will not know banishment or slavery and you could move your mother to this Valley place you talked so highly of. You could learn to love her.”

Xander closed his book as he thought about what his dad had said.

CHAPTER

“So now you are trying to take credit for the attack on the Princess deeming yourself the hero instead of the Lion Heart?” Asked Durgard.

“I am no hero, and you may think what you want” said Xander as they finally left the forest of the elves.

“Is that the way you got the nickname Death’s Hand sir?” asked Zellon.

“It is the very same way” said Xander.

“Well it sounds like a load of cow patty to me” said Durgard. “First you expect us to believe that you saved Valley instead of the men who fought off the bandits that attacked them due to your genius, never mind you were a mere boy at the time, and then you saved the Princess and she asked you to marry her instead of the story we all know is true.”

“I am curious, what is the story you know as truth?” asked Xander.

“The only real truth, that Patrick fought off the attackers while the Palace Guard rescued the Princess” Durgard said.

“And how did Aubrey and I become engaged” asked Xander.

“I should gut you right here for talking about the Princess like you are old friends, no matter here comes our escort, a real witch. Now tell your lies to her” Durgard said as a woman approached them.

“We heard that you were with the invaders, that you planned attacks just to become a hero. And that you asked the princess to marry you, when she said no you threatened to kill the Queen. Then you led her into a trap and when it didn't work you walked away, knowing until your death she could not marry another” said Zellon as they walked towards the witch.

“I did not think you had it in you,” said the witch to Durgard. Mere men traveled into the great forest and captured Death’s Hand. Maybe all of you are not as pathetic as I once thought, good for nothing but breeding and labor” said the witch as she walked up to Xander, her icy glare attempting to bore through him.

“Your gaze does not frighten me witch” said Xander meeting her glare. You may frighten those around me but you do not as much as illicit a tremble from me.”

“And what a mouth you have on you” said the witch as she walked around Xander. “My orders were to bring you in, and in good shape. I could strike you down now and no one would be the wiser.”

“I would not try that if I were you” said a voice off in the distance. Suddenly six men armored in the plate of the Palace Guard came into view.

The witch silently cursed to herself as she as careless not to notice that many men wearing noisy plate armor sneak up on her.

“We were sent by the Queen to make sure you found your way back to arena without any mishaps” said one of the armored men.

“Looks like our playdate will have to settle for another time” Xander said to the witch as he walked towards the guards. “Where was I in my story Mr. Zellon?”

“You were at the part where the princess proposed.”

CHAPTER

The next couple of days went by quick for Xander, he was brought meals to his room and did not see Aubrey at all. He heard bits and pieces about what happened after the attacks, such as the death of four of the Palace Guardsmen. The majority of the bandits were killed outright but a few escaped into the countryside after killing several notable nobles. The military was mobilized to scour the countryside for the remaining brigands and rumors of a war between Rangel and the Kingdom of Ingland were brewing. Xander continued enchanting pieces of armor for the guard, basically making the gauntlets grant strength when used in conjunction with either a shield or weapon. All of the Guardsmen decided to use the Warhammer over the war axe now it could be wielded as easy as a sword and deliver four times the force it used to.

Xander was not happy about how his enchantments were used to kill so called criminals, but all of that came to an end when he was summoned by the Queen. Xander thought it was unusual, as he had not been out of his room for a while and the fact the majority of the Palace Guard seemed to be in their plate armor, preparing to go somewhere.

Xander entered the throne room and bowed his knee before the Queen.

“Enchanter, I am sure you know you are to marry my daughter, the Heir to Rangel. As custom she has went to ask for your mother’s permission to marry her son. I received a raven, that on the way there along with a contingent of Palace Guard and 3 military companies, were informed the Kingdom of Ingland has declared war and has begun streaming into Rangel. My daughter as is her duty never made it to your mother’s outpost, but instead opted to go help in the fight like the warrior Queens of old. She does not need your mother’s permission for such a union between you. She is the princess and you are a male, she can marry whoever she fancies.

As Queen of Rangel, I deem you betrothed. As such, I am satisfied with my Guard, even more so with the upgrades you have made. You are to go along with my guard and bring the Princess back safely into the palace. Aubrey wanted to give this to you as a wedding present, but I feel the need is dire and you would need this right away.