Preparing for Council

Demetrius was awakened by a figure he had never seen before. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, “who are you and what do you want?” The figure held out a robe and motioned for Demetrius to get up. Demetrius grumbled “it isn’t even light out yet. What are you doing to me. I don’t want to wear that; it looks funny. It’s plain blue, no decorations or anything and dark. I don’t wear dark colors like that.” All the while he was grumbling he completed his morning toiletry and slipped into the robe. It felt cool and warm at the same time he shrugged, shook his head and followed the dark figure. The torches were lit in the hallway and Demetrius caught a glimpse of his guide, he was shaved bald and wore a robe like the one Demetrius was were. “Where are you taking me? I demand to know!” When he got no response, Demetrius turned and attempted to walk back, towards his room, sharp pain shot through his legs and he found himself hurrying to follow the dark figure. The pain subsided when he got withing a few feet of his guide. Demetrius stared the figure in front of him, his palms were damp and there were beads of perspiration on his brow. The hallway was cold and sloping downward. “Where are we going?” He hated the sound of his own voice, not only did it echo as if they were in a stone cavern, he thought he sounded like a child. He muttered under his breath, “I am the crown prince, I am twelve years old, I am almost a man and certainly not a simpering child.” he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Where are you taking me?” There, he thought, that sounded better. He got no answer. Then he thought about the severity of the charges that his father, the king, laid out before him last night. What if this was a kidnapping? What if he were kept prisoner in a dungeon until he was an old man. What if the people of Fair Kingdom, forgot all about him, and when he finally got out as an old man Bellatrix was ruling and no one would even talk to him. What if. . . .

Demetrius bumped into the silent dart blue figure. The form stepped aside. Demetrius could see into the room. There was a light shining from a table in the center. There were shelves full of books and scrolls all around the edges of the ring of light. The figure motioned for Demetrius to step into the circle of light and walk up to the table. He turned and tried to look at the stranger’s face but he had pulled his hood up and all Demetrius could see were shadows. He turned toward the table and let himself be guided until he stood inches away from the edge. The table was covered with books, each one had a name on the cover. There was Bellatrix stamped in gold lettering on a purple book, he reached for it and felt pain shoot through his hand all the way to the elbow. He jerked back, stiffened, turned toward his companion. “What is with all the pain? I am the crown prince, I should be able to go anywhere and do anything I want to.” Even has he said the words, he wondered if they were true, no he realized, they weren’t true. He couldn’t go anywhere he wanted or do what ever he wanted. The robe that must be it. He started to pull the robe off, the figure stopped him and pointed to a large book directly in front of him. Demetrius Solidarius was written across the the dark blue cover in pale blue almost silvery script. He reached tentatively and touched it carefully with one finger the cover felt warm almost alive. He lifted the cover slowly expecting pain at any moment; instead he felt a comfort spreading through his fingers, up his arms and into his torso. He looked down and read his birth announcement

Magnus Dante Solidarius highest ruler of Fair Kingdom and his wife the Honorable Queen, Matilda Callisita proclaim this 34th day of the month Opal in the year of the Lizard 5056, that Demetrius Salidarius, born early this morning as two moons lit the sky, is now Crown Prince of Fair kingdom.

He skimmed through the rest of the page detailing his height, weight, head circumference and length of his hands and feet at different stages of his life, there was also a tuft of white/blonde hair in a small pocket sewn into the page. He started to pull it out and felt the presence of someone standing close. Demetrius jumped he had almost forgotten that he wasn’t alone. He turned the page, there were pictures here, he touched one, as it grew to fill the page he could see it moving as if he were standing at a window watching a sturdy, small boy with very blue eyes walk over to a woman sitting by a window sewing, push her sewing basket over, spilling thread, needles, buttons and pieces of material, then climb onto her lap, push a book into her face and demand “read”. He chuckled to himself and turned a few more pages until he found a picture of him and his little brother, he ran his hand over the faces, the picture filled the page and he saw himself with Ian running through the yard, he trampled the mint in the kitchen garden he could still remember how good it smelled as his watched the memory. He saw the look on his brother’s face when he blamed him for the carelessness, Ian never fought back only cried, and looked at Demetrius with shock and betrayal. Ian had been sent to his room for the rest of the day. The picture faded and Demetrius touched it again, trying to get the vision of his brother back, he felt sad at the way he treated Ian but wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t do the same again, he hated being sent to his room. “He could handle the indoors better than I” he muttered under his breath. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling that was trying to get hold of him. he turned a few more pages an another painting came to life. He was in the arena learning to wield a sword. He had had some skills, he watched has his younger self defeated his opponent. The other, larger boy fell to the ground, Demetrius instead of bowing and helping him to his feet, swatted his buttocks with the flat of his practice sword. Some of the spectators laughed, the boy on the ground didn’t, he rolled away, stood on his own, turned his back to Demetrius and walked away. Demetrius felt a strange emotion, he didn’t understand. He tried to recapture the levity of the moment but he couldn’t. He turned a few more pages. There were samples of he scholarly work, poems he had written, and mathematical problems he had solved. He started to feel proud of himself again then a few pages later he saw the sickness. The pictures of the sickness made him shudder, he didn’t want to remember any of that. He touched one of the pictures and he could see himself and his brother lying on a bed with their tiny sister between them their mother and father were sitting by the bed. Mother leaned against the head board, Father sat back in his chair. All their faces were whiter than anything he had ever seen. Demetrius couldn’t remember this scene the way he had remembered the previous two. He watched as the doctor came in with cups containing an odd purplish, red liquid. He helped all of them drink, their skin was regaining color they all started to look alive. Wait his brother wasn’t swallowing, the lifesaving liquid was running down his neck. This must have been when his brother had died. He remembered waking up weak and frail and being told that Ian had died. As he watched he realized that he and his sister had been very, very close to dying as well. He tired to study his parents faces but the picture faded back into the page. Demetrius slammed the book closed, with a shudder. He couldn’t identify all the emotions that coursed through him.

“What is the meaning of all this?” He turned to face the figure, he tried to sound firm, in control but tears ran down his cheeks, his vision blurred. He started running he didn’t know where and he didn’t care, he ran into a rack of scrolls, he heard them clatter to the floor, he was sure some protective clay tubes had broken, he couldn’t pause to care, he kept moving. Pain shot through his legs, he stumbled and fell, the stone floor felt hard, cool, old and oddly comforting. Demetrius pulled his knees to his chest and sobbed. He felt himself be lifted, cradled like a small child. The physical pain subsided but the emotions still ran through him like a storm. Happiness, fear, relief, terror, accomplishment, failure, longing, it was all too much. Back in his bed, Demetrius buried his head in his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

When he woke his chamber was dark, there was a small candle flickering on his study table. He rose weakly and opened the curtains, looked out to the late afternoon shadows on the court yard and gardens below. He rubbed his hands over his face. “How long have I been sleeping?”

“Two days.”

Demetrius startled at the sound of the voice. “Two days!” He looked around for the speaker and saw his tutor sitting at the table reading an old scroll. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and sat down across from Master Bertrand. The yellow bearded man pushed a plate of boiled eggs and fruit in front of Demetrius.

“Eat. Your father left for the meeting with the Red Rulers this morning. When he returns the council will meet to determine your discipline. We have two or three days to prepare.” Demetrius ate the eggs and fruit slowly, he looked around his room and wondered if he should tell Master Bertrand about the blue robe and the visit to the library or what ever that was, underground, and the blue guide. He turned all the thoughts over in his mind until the plate was empty and he still couldn’t think of how to describe it. Was it a dream or was it real? It felt real, more real than the chair he was sitting on and the table in front of him. He almost choked when he saw the blue robe folded neatly on a shelf with other robes he hardly ever wore. He blinked a few times to be sure that he was really seeing it there.

“Here, drink this.” Master Bertrand pushed a tall cup into his hand. He looked into it almost expecting a reddish/purple tea, it was the yellow, sweet milk that he drank every morning. He let the rich, spicy, sweet liquid slide down his throat and closed his eyes. His world seemed to right itself, when the cup was empty he set it down on top of his cleaned plate and smiled.

“You do like your Bosern milk don’t you.” The older man chuckled and moved the dishes to the side of the table. “Let’s take a walk around the garden then look at your options for your defense at council.” Demetrius’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak. Master Bertrand smiled at him, “your father left instructions that you were allowed outside as long as you are with me, and we don’t leave the immediate castle grounds.” He nodded then sighed as he stood. He was being restricted to the infants play area and kitchen gardens but at least he was allowed outside. The sentry standing at the door nodded at them, as they walked down the hall to the courtyard.

“A sentry, the king is serious about me staying in my room isn’t he?”

“The sentry isn't there just to keep you in your room. He there to run for the doctor if you should need it. When we couldn’t wake you we sent for her and she told us that it seemed that you were sleeping the sleep of deep emotional distress and would waken when you were ready. But she also said that if you started grunting like a Bosern to send for her and she would bring you some herbs to waken you.” The older man looked down at his charge and watched him carefully as they walked around the perimeter of the courtyard. “You are awfully quiet, I didn’t think that the threat of council was enough to make you sleep for two days, but something has effected you. What is it?”

The air was filled with loud grunting noises, Demetrius looked up to a blur of fur and feathers heading right for him. He felt thick three toed limbs grip either side of his waist and he surrounded by a strong wing. Demetrius struggled to get the creature off him and set it on the ground. “Missed you too Alfie.” The Bosern stood on two legs and its ears reached Demetrius’s shoulders. The creature waddled along side the boy with its undamaged wing around his shoulders like a best friend. The three walked together for a few minutes then Demetrius turn to face his second father. “I think that I will accept, what ever discipline the council sets down for me.”

The older man stopped walking, put his hands on the boy’s shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. Then said softly “When you are ready to talk about it I’ll be here. We will go over the laws and suggested punishment, over the next few days. The council will want to know how you plan to correct what you did was wrong.”