Return of the Stormcriers

CHAPTER 27 - AWAKE

  Movement was the first sensation Prince Nathan became aware of. He could feel the jolt of hard footfalls, the feeling of running, yet his legs were not moving. Was he being carried? Why would someone be carrying him? Perhaps he had fallen asleep somewhere he should not have and his father was carrying him back to his room. But his father had not carried him in years, and why would he, the High King, be running through the castle like an undignified child?

  He forced his tired eyes to open slowly with what felt like an exorbitant effort for what should have been an almost imperceptible task. Uneven patches of dirt and grass revealed themselves to his blurry sight, seeming to undulate with the uneven motion of running, his vision tilting slightly with each alternating step. The familiar jangling sounds of chainmail reached his ears as a pair of armored boots crossed his field of vision. He turned his head to see who the boots belonged to and saw Jahn running beside him, his mouth set in a grim line.

  "Prince Nathan, you're finally awake!" a relived voice called out as he shifted. He turned his gaze upwards to see the lower half of Captain Gattis' face as the burly soldier ran with him in his arms.

"Where are we?" Nathan managed to croak, his voice dry and cracked with disuse. His Captain slowed to a halt, bending to set the Prince onto the ground, gingerly placing him on his feet. His knees buckled as his feet touched ground, forcing Gattis to grab his arm and support his weight.

"We are a day and a half out of Stormcliff, my Prince," Gattis said quietly as Jahn and Paul, who Nathan had not noticed before, stopped beside them, breathing heavily.

A day and a half? Is that how long he had been asleep? His head pounded and his vision swam from the sudden transition from laying to standing. He racked his memory as to why they would be travelling on foot away from the palace, and what had caused him to fall deeply unconscious.

  The memories flooded back to him as waves of sadness cascaded over his body like ocean breakers on the rocks below the crags of his home district. His father was dead. Cut down in his own room; no goodbyes, no last words, life stopped short unceremoniously with no one around to offer him comfort as he passed across the veil. Bernoulli and Gattis had convinced him to go into hiding until his brother returned to the castle but they had been attacked on their way out of the castle and Helvar had been killed by those traitorous guards. He had expended an exorbitant amount of his power to protect his surviving men from the attack. Evidently he had been successful, but if he had been unconscious for almost two days it had come at an almost lethal cost. If he had expended much more of his energy he may not have ever awakened again. The memories and emotions fought to overwhelm him but he pushed them aside with all of the mental strength he could muster. There was not time to dwell on the past, there would be a time to mourn later, he needed answers now.

  "What is our destination? And have you heard any word from the castle since we left; is Bernoulli still alive? Has my brother been found?" The questions tumbled from Nathan's mouth like rocks rolling down a hill, once they began they could not stop.

"We have received no news since we fled the castle, but that does not spell ill tidings, we have been avoiding the Imperial Road so as to keep from being seen," Gattis responded gently. The Imperial Road was the longest continuous road in Verden, stretching from the capital Stormcliff in the west, to the eastern coastal city of Kysst, the capital of Esterwyn province. "As for our destination, there is a town called Highmill roughly a days journey from here where we can find lodging while we wait to return to Stormcliff. You will have to hide your face and lose your royal attire as swiftly as possible to keep from being recognized. We will keep you hidden and safe within your rented room  until it is time to return you to the palace."