Warrior Princess ~ Chapter Five

The first thing I thought of the next morning, was finding out about my mother. I got dressed quickly and ate the breakfast that was waiting for me.  

“Miriam?" I called. Once I had finished. 

"Yes M'lady?" She asked coming into the room. 

"Good morning Miriam. Would you know where my father kept all the documents and reports?" 

"I think I was then in some drawers by his desk while I was cleaning in his study M'lady."  

"Thank you. I think I'll go look through them. See if I can find anything." She nodded and started clearing the breakfast dishes. I turned and left the room, making my way to my father’s study. Soon I was sitting at his desk with a pile of papers in front of me. I had been looking through them for a while when Cedric came in. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at the pile of papers. 

"I'm looking through all my father’s documents and records to see if I can find anything about my mother." 

"Do you want me to help?" 

"I'd be very grateful if you did." I said smiling. He sat down, taking half the pile, and starting to look through them. Half an hour later we had gone through them all and found nothing. I sat there for a while. My elbows on the table and my head in my hands. "I don't know what to do." I finally said. "I had thought there would at least be something in all those." I looked up at him. What do you think I should do?" 

"Well, there's still the people in the village." I nodded and got up. 

"Thank you for helping me. I'm going to go the village and see what I can find out." Cedric stood up. 

"But, Rachel. You can't go on your own. Let me come with you." I shook my head. 

"I'll be fine on my own. Besides, I'll have Destrier with me and I won't even be going toward the army." Cedric sighed, and nodded reluctantly. I smiled at him, then turned and hurried out to the stable. "Destrier?” 

"I'm here." Destrier said, coming over to me. I smiled and stroked his nose. 

"Good morning! Cedric and I looked through all the documents and reports this morning, but we couldn't find anything about my mother. So I want to go to the village and see if anyone there knows anything." 

"Are you planning on just going with me?" He asked with a little snort. I nodded. "Are you sure that's the best plan? I know you're a good fighter, but it's still not wise going out on your own." 

"I know Destrier. But I'm not even going toward the army. We'll be fine." Destrier shook his main slightly and I could see he wasn't completely convinced. But he didn't try to stop me, so I got his saddle and bridle and quickly got him ready. It wasn't long before we were riding out toward the village. We cantered over the hills and then into the forest. I smiled, enjoying the wind in my face and the rustling of the leaves on the trees. After a while we came to the edge of the forest and looked out toward the village. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't very small either. I took a deep breath and rode toward the closest house. Once I got to it, I dismounted and knocked on the door. An old lady opened the door. 

"Hello my dear." She said with a warm smile. "What can I do for you?" 

"Hello." I replied with a slight bow of my head. "You see, I'm looking for information about my mother who died when I was very little. Her name was Ellyn Hewan." The woman's face turned pale. 

"I... I'm sorry. I cannot help you." She hurriedly shut the door, and I could hear her fumbling with the bolt. I turned back to Destrier. 

"What do you thing that was about?" I asked. 

"I don't know." He shook his main. "Are we going to the next house?" 

"Yes." I nodded. "We're going to every house until we fine what we're looking for." We went over to the next house and I knocked on the door. A young mother opened the door. A little girl peeked around her skirt. I smiled at them. "Hello. I'm looking for information about my mother, Ellyn Hewan." The woman's eyes grew wide, and she snatched up the little girl. 

"P... Please. We don't want any trouble." She slammed the door shut and bolted it. I looked at Destrier, he just shook his head. We got the same reaction at the next house and the next. In fact, it was the same at every single house in the village. Old woman would turn pale, mothers would clutch their children to them, and men would look at us with a mixture of anger and fear, before locking their doors and windows. By the time we got out the village I was not only very disappointed, but thoroughly confused. 

"I don't understand it Destrier. Why did they all act like that?" 

"I don't know. It doesn't make sense." We rode for a while in silence. 

"I guess we had better head back." I said with a sigh. Destrier just gave a little nicker. Just as we turned toward the forest, I caught a glimpse of a house, not far away. "Destrier. Look, over there. There's a house." Destrier turned and looked where I was pointing. 

"Well, I guess we'd better go see if there's someone there who knows." I nodded and we rode toward the house. It was a reasonable size, not very well tended but not falling apart. I dismounted at the gate and walked up the path to the door. At my knock, the door opened, revealing a man I guessed to be in his forties.  

"Hello Sir." I said. "I was wondering if you knew anything about my mother, Ellyn Hewan?" The man’s eyes grew angry and his face went red. 

"How dare you come here! Your mother and her people caused enough trouble. No doubt you're just like her." He spat on the ground in front of my feet. "I won't have anything to do with that type again. Now get out of here!" He turned and slammed the door shut. I stood there for a minute, staring at the door, before hurrying back down the path to Destrier. 

"I wasn't expecting that." I said, swinging myself into the saddle. "Why do you think he was so angry?" 

"I don't know." Destrier said, turning back the way we came. "It's very odd. Everyone we met seemed either scared, angry, or both." I sighed and nodded. 

"I wonder if I'll ever find out about my mother." 

Warrior Princess ~ Chapter Four

I stood silent, the skirt of my black dress blowing in the cold wind, as I watched four soldiers lowering my father into the grave. Not one tear had I cried when I found out he was dead. I didn't cry now either. I wish I could. It would be better than this awful emptiness. Caitlin's eyes were red and I could even see tears in Cedric's eyes. But mine were dry. I stood there for a long time after everyone else had left. Not crying, not saying anything, just standing. Wishing. 

I felt Cedric place his hand on my shoulder. "Rachel. The officers want to talk to you. I think they're worried that you won't be able to lead us after this." 

"I'm coming." I said. I placed a flower on my father’s grave and then turned and walked away with Cedric. As we walked I could feel him watching me. I said nothing. When we reached my fathers study, Cedric opened the door for me. I was painfully aware of the few empty chairs where my Father, the General, and a few of the officers used to sit. I moved toward my chair but Cedric stopped me. 

"Your place is now there." He said pointing to my father’s empty chair. "You are our leader now." I nodded and reluctantly sat down in the chair. I turned to one of the servants. 

"Could you find Caitlin and ask her to come here." He nodded and hurried out the room. A few minuets latter Caitlin came in. I motioned to what used to be my chair. She nodded and sat down. Finally I addressed the men sitting around the table. "You wished to meet with me?" 

"Yes." One of the men said. "We want to know what you are planning on doing?" 

"What do you suggest?" I asked. 

"I think we should attack them now. While they are still weak." 

"No." Another interrupted. "To attack now would be folly. We are weaker than they are." 

"Yes" agreed another. "We must wait. Get our strength back." 

"No, we must attack now." Said yet another. "If we wait we will be letting them grow stronger. Giving them a chance to get re-enforcements. Our only chance will be to attack now." I sat silent, listening to them argue, but finally it was too much.   

"Enough!" I said, standing to my feet. They all fell silent. "Arguing like this will not get us anywhere. We must work together." I sat back down. 

"Rachel." Caitlin said quietly. "You're getting flustered. Maybe you should go out for a ride. Then when you get back you will be able to deal with this better." 

"You're probably right." I said, nodding. I stood up. "We will continue this latter." I turned and left the room. Cedric hurried after me. 

"Please, let me come with you." I nodded. 

"I would be grateful if you would come." I said. "You too Caitlin." She nodded. Soon we were riding out, away from the castle. We cantered a while, then slowed down to a walk. 

"How are you doing?" Caitlin asked. 

"I don't know really." I said with a shrug. "I just… I feel like I'm going to fail everyone. I know my Father seemed to think I was good enough, but I don't. I'm not ready for this. I don't know what I should do. I just want what's best for everyone else." I fell silent.   

"Rachel, we don't expect you to be your Father." Cedric said softly. "But you are our leader. We need you. I know you can. Caitlin and I will always be here to help you if you need it." Caitlin nodded. 

"Thank you." I couldn't think of anything else to say. We rode on in silence for a while, till finally Caitlin spoke up. 

"Rachel? Did your father tell you about your mother?" 

I shook my head. "No." We rode on, each of us lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly I stopped. "Oh! I wonder..." 

They both looked at me. "What?" Cedric asked. 

"Could it be that my Mother’s death has something to do with this?" 

"I don't know." Caitlin said. "I mean, why would it be?" 

"Well..." I thought for a minuet. "My Father has never wanted to talk about my Mother. Whenever I tried to talk to him about her, he gets this strange look in his eyes. When the news came that Tirindalle had come, I saw the same look in his eyes. 

"I suppose it could be a possibility." Cedric said. "Did your father ever say anything that could give us a clue?" 

"No. Nothing." 

"Perhaps someone from the villages will know. Surly someone has got to know about what happened." Caitlin said. 

I nodded. "They might." I looked up at the sky. "We've been out for a while. We had better be going back." We turned our horses around started making our way back to the castle. 

  

~ 

As we finished unsaddling our horses, a servant came running into the stable. "Your Majesty. There is someone here to see you." We looked at each other, and then hurried to the throne room. I almost sat down in my own chair, but Cedric stopped me and pointed to my father’s chair. I sighed, nodded, and sat down. Cedric and Caitlin stood beside me. In front of us stood a seventeen year old boy, with dirty blond hair and brown eyes. 

"Your Majesty, my name is Arthur." He said with a bow. "I used to be the squire of Prince Tirindalle, but I was able to escape."   

"And what are you doing here?" I asked with a frown. 

"I do not like what the Prince has been doing, and I don't want to be a part of it. I want to help you stop him." 

"How do I know you are telling the truth? For all I know, you could be a spy from the Prince." 

He looked down and his eyes were almost sad. "Please, I know what the prince can do. Let me help you." He sighed. "Even if you don't trust me. Please let me stay here. I don't have anywhere else to go." His eyes almost pleading. 

I looked at Cedric and Caitlin. "What do you think?" 

"I don't know." Cedric said, frowning. "There is a very good chance that he is a spy..." 

"But we don't know for sure." Caitlin said. "I suggest you let him stay here, but always have someone watching him. Just don't let him know he's being watched." 

"I suppose that is the best plan." I said nodding. I turned back to Arthur. "I will let you stay here." I sent servants to get a room ready for him, and then told one of the guards to keep an eye on him. Then I left. 

That night, I visited the stable before I went to bed. I sat on a pile of straw beside Destrier. I didn't say anything for a while. Just sat there. Finally I spoke up. "I'm going to try find out about my mother. Tomorrow I'm going to the village to see if anyone knows anything about her." 

"Very well." Destrier replied with a soft nicker. I smiled and got up. Patted his neck, and then turned and made my way back to the palace.