Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 149

Chapter 149: Flight from civilization
From the next town, Trace dispatched letters to his family and to Katia and Jin. Well, Anaisa did on his behalf. They were not yet fifty miles away from the palace. Though he could feel the weight of Oakdown’s commands weakening, he was not yet free.

He desperately wanted to be free.

If the man pursued them, caught up with them, would the commands take hold again? Or once broken, would they be gone forever?

He did not know.

The letters warned of what was happening, and that they should stay safe, avoiding strangers or running away entirely until the matter was settled one way or another. He felt much better paying the extra it would take for the delivery to be rushed on the fastest horses possible.

At any rate, the letters should reach their recipients before an assassin or kidnapper would.

Trace threw a silent thank-you to the king for the generous pay he had been receiving in the princess’s service. Of course, risking his own safety should pay well, he reasoned, but it hadn’t particularly done so in the army.

It was nightfall far too soon, and the group decided that camping in the forest would be safer than staying in an inn still so close to the city.

“One month until the wedding,” Anaisa frowned into the campfire. “We only have a month to figure this out before Sapphira is doomed.”

“Why wait so long?” Trace wondered aloud. It seemed strange to leave any time for people to intervene and thwart the wedding.

“Unstable power breeds instability,” Anaisa sighed. “Changes make room for more changes, and rapidly. Barnabas didn’t take power from my father by openly, or even covertly, assassinating him, because that would have made his own position tenuous at best. An assassin’s place in the world is always open to being taken from him.”

Trace glanced at her as she stared into the firelight, continuing.

“Politics are dangerous. Different than war, perhaps, but deadly nonetheless. Barnabas was far more clever than I thought. By making my father take himself out of power–worse, confessing that the power never should have been his in the first place–the power appeared stable. From the view of the subjects, the power wasn’t changing hands, it was simply being restored to where it rightfully should have been all along. Masterful.”

“And the wedding?” Trace watched her face harden as he gained a glimpse into the childhood his wife had endured, and the world as she saw it.

“Sooner would change power too quickly. It would seem forced, and suspicious. The people would not have time to absorb it, get used to it, anticipate the wedding. After all, a royal wedding is something to be greatly enjoyed by all. A public holiday, dancing, raucous parties. To cheat them of the chance of looking forward to it and saving a little money to spend wouldn’t endear Denholm or the princess to anyone.”

“That makes sense,” Trace swallowed, “It just seems risky.”

“It would be far riskier to plunge forward with a rushed wedding and make everyone ask why. Especially since Barnabas will take power. Taking things a little slower now will make it smoother when the king mysteriously dies or abdicates despite being in peak health and the prime of his life.” Anaisa sighed. “I suppose he’ll wait six months or a year, at least, for that, if he can manage it. He gets impatient. Likely the king will have a ‘sudden illness’ and appoint a proxy ruler for a time instead of transferring the power outright.”

“That’s devious.” The man shook his head. He wished he could talk more, add more information, but so long as they were within the radius of Oakdown’s power, he wasn’t entirely free to give his thoughts and opinions on the matter, or reveal any additional information that Anaisa didn’t already have.

A few feet away, the doctor snored, and Deborah rested, lightly dozing.

“I think he’s gotten little sleep lately, caring for the queen while she’s labored.” Anaisa smiled a little sadly at the doctor. “He’s a good man. I hope…” She didn’t voice the rest of her thoughts.

But Trace knew.

“Ewan will be all right,” He told her. “He has to be. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Can we make sure of that?” Anaisa turned to him. “Is it within our power to make sure that weak premature infant lives as we gallivant across the countryside?”

“Two magic users, a wet nurse, and my brave, amazing wife? Of course we can.” Trace grinned at her.

“Three.” She replied.

“Pardon?” He blinked.

“Three magic users, and your plain, normal, unmagical wife.” One corner of her mouth lifted.

“She has magic?” Trace glanced at the resting woman with new eyes. “What does she do?”

It made sense that Sanders would send someone magic to help them, he just hadn’t put it together. He was so grateful to have the baby fed that he hadn’t asked any additional questions about the strange woman.

“Deborah made me beautiful for the ball,” Anaisa told him, her eyes unfocusing slightly as she pulled the memory back. Trace reached over and took her hand, startling her.

“You were dazzling then, but I much prefer you as you are now.” He said honestly, but then paused, thinking about that evening. “The sparkling, that was her power?”

“She has the power to create temporary gemstones,” Anaisa explained. “Sanders taught her that she could create such tiny ones as would make one’s skin, hair, even eyes, shimmer like a night sky. The dress may have been my favorite, however.”

Trace nodded thoughtfully. “What a strange power. It’s a wonder that Sanders thought of such an application for it. I don’t think I ever would have.”

Anaisa glanced at the woman, who appeared to have fallen fully asleep, little Ewan beside her.

“That’s… well. There’s something else we need to talk about, once we’re far enough from the city. Deborah told me before we left about her husband’s and baby’s deaths. Someone tried to recruit her for a job, and when she declined, they threatened her. I think it was Barnabas, or at least Conlan acting on his behalf. I think he had her family murdered.”