Chapter 21

Guards poured into the room, their shimmering spearheads tilted towards Matrim. Inch by inch, they marched closer. They pulled their spears back, preparing for the strike—
“Stop!” The Enchanter’s voice rang through the hall once again.
The guards looked at him in consternation and lowered their spears as he glided down the marble steps towards them. He rubbed his white hands together, and smiled menacingly at Matrim. Though the young man was breathing rather quickly, no sign of fear marked his countenance.
All in all, he cut a dashing figure, defiant, youthful, brave. The nobles’ ladies peered from behind their peacock-feather fans, a sort of frightened admiration shining in their bulging eyes. They waved their plump hands before their heavily powdered faces. Poor boy! The Enchanter was a deadly enemy…nothing could help the young fellow now.
The Enchanter turned swiftly to the Chancellor. “You will now bring Her.”
“But of course…” Chancellor Iawokim gave a crafty smile. He gestured to the nearest guard, whispered in his ear for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Quickly!”
The guard left the room. He appeared a moment later, escorting a tall slender girl dressed in a beautiful scarlet dress.
The Enchanter smiled slowly. “Matrim, my dear nephew, you have allowed your weaknesses to overcome you. You must harden your heart against such silly sentiments and fleeting emotions such as pity and justice…” He spoke the words in a sneering, condescending tone. “I know best in all things. Rest your mind, and I shall make all the decisions for you. I am the all-powerful. Leave everything to me.”
The Enchanter laughed raucously, his head thrown back. Then he continued. “If you were anyone else but my nephew, you would be dead for speaking such blasphemy against my Royal Highness. However, because you are kin, I shall have mercy upon your wretched existence, granting you one chance to regain your acceptance into the Royal Family.” He stepped towards the guard and took the hand of the slender girl, leading her across the room to Matrim.
Roland, behind the statue recognized her as Layleh, the Chancellor’s eldest daughter. The fair headed youth gazed at her, muttering nervously to himself. “Sure! She’s Matrim’s old friend, childhood playmates they were. Now they’re aloof, a bitter quarrel occurred between them, I believe. All the better for Matrim, too, for Layleh is a proud, cold girl.”
The Enchanter brought Layleh face to face with Matrim. “This is your chance, Nephew. Marry Chancellor Iawokim’s daughter, Layleh, as a sign of your loyalty to me, and you shall once again be accepted into this court. However, if you refuse, you will be exiled from this city, never to return.” The Enchanter gripped Matrim’s sturdy shoulders with his pale emaciated hands. “So what is it, my boy? Nephew or exile?”
His black eyes met the calm, cool gaze of Matrim-- and wavered. Layleh reached out her slim hand for Matrim to take, her head haughtily tilted on one side. Layleh’s red hair shone like gold in the dim hall which was lit only by torches burning in brackets along the walls. Her lashes drooped momentarily over her deep and limpid eyes, but when she looked up into Matrim’s face, the lad saw that they were icy, vacant, and cold. Outside the hall, the sun had set. The city was clothed in darkness.
Silence reigned in the hall as Layleh lowered the heavy fringes of her lashes. “All will be forgiven, Matrim, if you but take my hand.”
A torch sizzled in the bracket beside them. Everyone in the hall was motionless and deathly silent.
The brilliant moon suddenly shone into the hall as Matrim stepped back. Away from Layleh— away from the countless treasures and riches that his future could offer— away from the pomp and splendor of the corrupted court— away from the fraudulent and evil ways of the enemies of Justice.
Matrim spoke in a voice thick with emotion and quivering with passion. In ringing tones, his honest words laid mayhem in the hall.
“Sir…My answer is this: mountains of shimmering gems, castles of gold, caverns brimming with diamonds—the greatest treasure in the universe cannot buy my honor! No price can buy my integrity! No temptation plotted by my foes could turn me from following my conscience! Nothing can prevent me from rebelling when Justice is abused!
“And as to the question of Nephew… well, sir… I have found that you never were my uncle.”
The Enchanter’s eyes burned with hate and terror. The hall was in an uproar! Nobles turned to one another, exclaiming loudly. Some ladies fainted dead to the floor and had to be borne out of the room.
Matrim continued. “My father ruled this land justly until the day he died. By reading the castle records, discovering secret historical documents, and consulting some honest advisors of my father who had gone into hiding when you came to the throne, I found that my so-called “Uncle” was but a usurper, who, by dastardly means, had seized the throne, claiming he was my father’s long lost brother.”
“Stop!” Chancellor Iawokim was trembling from head to toe. “This is intolerable! Guards, seize him! Take the insolent knave away until the Enchanter has reached a conclusion regarding his punishment!”
The guards ran forward. Matrim laid the first two men flat on the floor with a swipe of his fist. But the guards were too many for him, and at last, he was dragged from the room.
The Enchanter was escorted from the room into his chambers. The nobles, scribes, and advisors filed out, muttering in astonishment, horror, and amazement.

* * *
Jane drank her tin cup of water and gave a deep sigh. She placed it back on the edge of the well, and, lifting up her crimson skirts, climbed quickly back into the carriage. The cushioned seats would make a comfortable stay for the night, but the noises from the forest around the carriage were enough to give her goose-bumps.
The driver had tied up the horses, giving them enough room to graze to their heart’s content. A wolf howl rang through the chilly night. Jane pulled the curtains shut with a click, and pulled her knees up to her chest as she shivered. The night was cold.
Oh, where were Andrija and Will? How was Matrim? Oh, how she wished she had never gone with Matrim to the castle. It was so frightening here alone. Who knew what strange creatures dwelt here in the forest?
In the midst of these whirling thoughts, she fell asleep.

* * *

Andrija and Will paced the dark streets of the Enchanter’s city. The moon shone bright overhead, casting silvery shadows over the tiled streets. Andrija had pulled a dark hood over her head, as had Will, and they limped along, looking like beggars.
They had decided that this would be a good disguise, a precaution against the many robbers and vandals in the city. Andrija stepped gingerly over a prostrate tramp. The man groaned for water. Will took a small leather canteen from his pocket and gave it to the man. With a muttered word of thanks, the man drank thirstily.
Andrija shivered. This was an appalling place, full of filth and vagabonds, criminals and loot.
Will, looking around him, had fallen quite a ways behind Andrija. In the darkness, Will looked around, searching for Andrija’s dark hood. He spotted her, and then opened his mouth wide. Her hood had fallen from her head, and her golden hair spilled out over her shoulders. She seemed not to notice and continued walking. Before Will could warn her, something moved quickly from behind a moonlit pillar. It was a figure draped in dark robes—quietly skulking in the shadows, following Andrija! Will’s heart thumped painfully, and he darted into the darkness, where he sprinted after the girl and her unknown pursuer.
He was four feet away from the shadowy figure. The hooded fellow was hidden behind a crate in front of Andrija. As he waited for the girl to pass by him, he rose slightly, ready to pounce.
“Yahhhhh!” Will was upon him in a moment. The dark robed figure bellowed in surprise and then fought back with a vengeance. Fists flew! Will kicked savagely at the figure’s shins, the strained silence occasionally rewarding him with a muffled groan or strangled curse when he hit his mark. The foe’s fist caught him in the belly unawares, and Will gasped for air. This stranger was putting up a tough fight!
Will was tripped by a glancing kick to the knee, and he grappled wildly for his puffing opponent as he fell. He caught the man’s knee and yanked with all his might. There was a crash as the stranger landed on the crate, splintering it into a thousand fragments of wood.
Then, there was silence until a stifled voice cried: “Mercy!”
Will stood victorious over his enemy, and called for Andrija to come near. As he stood to one side, moonlight fell upon the dark figure lying upon the tiled street.
“Why! It’s only a boy!” Andrija cried with concern.
Will looked closer. “He must be around my own age!”
The hood fallen from his face, the strange boy peered at them from one badly swollen black eye. Blood oozed from a cut on his lip. Will leaned over and helped him to his feet. “You put up quite a fight,” he said grudgingly, still panting and eyeing the boy with suspicion.
“I suppose I must be a sight,” sighed the strange lad. Then he caught a glimpse of Will’s face and smiled wryly, feeling his cut lip gingerly with a finger. “But you don’t look any better than I do.”
It was true. Will’s face was black and blue and his nose was swollen twice its usual size. One red scratch ran up his right forearm, while he limped with his left foot, his shin badly scraped.
“What’d you attack me for anyhow?” crossly demanded the fair-haired boy.
“Now don’t you look at me that way!” cried Will defensively. “It was you who began it by skulking after Andrija.”
“I had reason for it!”
“Pah!” Will laughed with derision.
“I did!”
“What reason?”
“I recognized her immediately from a description a friend gave me.”
“What’s the name of this friend of yours?”
“Sergeant Matrim Elnar.”
At the name, Andrija visibly paled. “That name is dead to us,” she remarked coldly.
The fair-haired boy looked at her, shocked. “What? Matrim? Who stood up before the Enchanter himself in defense of you and your friends?”
Now it was Andrija’s turn to stare. “What?”
“My name is Roland, and I was a close friend of Matrim’s.” In a few moments, the boy had explained Matrim’s plan and everything that had occurred in the last few days of Jane’s absence.
“You mean… Matrim did not… abduct Jane? I…I thought…” Andrija stammered and trailed off, a rosy red color dancing in her cheeks. “Then Matrim is good! Oh, Matrim is good! I told you so, Will. I did tell you so! Oh, I’m so glad. I’m so very glad, I don’t know what to say! I’m speaking like a fool, but I…I don’t care! I could dance for joy! Oh, where is he? Where is Jane? Where is Matrim? Take me to him!”
A chill wind whipped against their faces, hiding the moon behind thick clouds.
Roland blanched. He looked at the ground, then up at Andrija. Then he stared at the ground again. He tried to speak, but words would not come. His hands hung limply at his sides.
The color faded from Andrija’s face as she met his eyes, and then she fainted dead away.

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:( This was definately the hardest chapter for me to write... *sighs dismally and starts typing Chapter 22*