“I am sorry ambassador,” Castimir said. “Truly I am. I had no idea of his fate.” His words were sincere, and Theodore saw the suddenly shamed look in his friend’s eyes.
You laugh too quickly for a diplomat, Castimir, he mused. If you are to take on the role the Wizards’ Tower has asked of you then you will have to learn patience and to treat every word as if it was a trap.
The conversation ended as whispers of excitement rippled through the occupants of the royal box. Theodore saw a King’s messenger kneeling before the monarch, who was standing, reading a letter in absolute concentration. Captain Rovin appeared at his side, grim-faced as ever.
A silent moment passed during which the tension was so great that Theodore wondered if a foreign nation had announced its intention to declare war on Misthalin. Then the King’s expression changed to one of excitement.
“Bring her to me!” he shouted. “Immediately.”
Can it be?
The King’s messenger stood and waved. The signal was repeated and passed on, out of the sight of the onlookers. After a few moments, as murmuring grew, an escort of yellow-clad soldiers of the city guard marched forward with a small group clustered in their middle.
“She’s here,” someone whispered amongst the crowd.
“Can it be true?” another asked. “Has she really come?”
“That’s what the messenger said.”
“It is her. It’s Kara-Meir!”
Theodore’s blood froze. His vision blurred slightly, whether from a thankful tear or from his earlier combat he could not tell.
“Is it her Castimir?” Ebenezer asked. “My eyes are not so young as yours.” Doric walked to the box’s edge to see for himself.
Theodore wiped the moisture from his eyes and looked again. At the centre of the yellow escort were six figures. The first was a man whose hands were bound before him. Behind him came a boy and a blonde-haired girl, ushered forward by three cloaked figures who came last.
“That could be Kara’s younger sister, if she had one,” Castimir observed.
As they neared, Theodore saw that the man at the front was missing his nose.
“Well, Kara-Meir, you have come,” King Roald called. “As you promised you would.”
Two of the three cloaked figures pulled their hoods back.
And Theodore grinned.
“It’s her!” Doric said. “She seems unhurt!”
“And Arisha, as well. Thank the gods.” Castimir gasped.
Behind him, Theodore sensed a movement.
“So that is Kara-Meir?” Lady Anne whispered in his ear. “She is pretty, in a certain peasant sense no doubt, but she does remind me of a wild cat. I suppose some men’s tendencies lean that way, however. If they are low-born.”
Theodore didn’t answer, for Kara began speaking.
“I have come, and I know that I am later than I promised,” she shouted up. “But I bring you the impostor, Pia, and her accomplice who tricked many good people out of their money by using my name. And I bring you also a wanted felon from The Wilderness who had taken shelter in a barn to the east of Varrock. I have provided your messenger with a list of his associates, who now lie slain and untended. Fourteen of them.”
The crowd gasped, and then clapped wildly.
It is your gift Kara, Theodore thought. You have always been able to win people’s hearts.
Eventually, the King held up his hand for silence, which the crowd granted with some reluctance.
“Captain Rovin tells me that these fourteen outlaws are wanted for serious crimes, each with a considerable bounty on their heads. You claim that you and your companions dispatched all of them? Three against fifteen, including your prisoner?”
Kara-Meir smiled now, her own urchin expression filled with mischief.
“No, Sire… and captain,” she said. “I accounted for them alone while my friends prevented any from escape.”
A murmur ran through the crowd, and someone clapped at the reply that left Captain Rovin speechless. King Roald laughed.
“Even my best knight would have been hard-pressed to accomplish such a feat.” Theodore felt the monarch’s eyes turn on him for a second. “But you must come up here-you and your friends-and tell us of your adventures. Come, we will have music, we will have celebration! Take the prisoners to the dungeons, for they will be dealt with later.”
The crowd responded to his commands with yet more cheering as Kara ascended the wooden steps, followed by Arisha and now, as they neared, Theodore saw for certain that the tall hooded man was indeed Gar’rth.
My friends. All safe and well. Thank Saradomin.
A guard seized the girl Pia, and she cried out.
“Please Kara. You know we are not bad people!”
The crowd laughed gleefully.
“You promised.” At that, Kara turned to the monarch.
“Sire, may I ask that you not separate the girl and her brother?” Kara spoke loudly, so all could hear. “They should remain together, and I would appreciate it if they were kept away from this fugitive. I also wish to speak to you about their fate, for they are little more than children, and I think I can offer the crown a suitable bargain for their disposition.”
“She does not lack for boldness, this wildcat of yours,” Lady Anne said softly, a touch of irritation in her voice. “Coming here and presuming to bargain with a King whose lineage goes back over a millennia. Very bold indeed.”
“Kara knows what she is doing, Lady Anne,” he replied without anger.
“The justice of Varrock is not usually open to negotiation,” King Roald said, though his mood still seemed light. “However, in consideration of your reputation and the honesty of your friend, Squire Theodore, and of the gift of justice that you have delivered here today, we shall hear what you offer, and consider it with a generous heart.”
He saw Kara look toward him and nod in greeting, and suddenly he felt Lady Anne move close behind him. Very close indeed.
Too close. An obvious ploy to state her intention to Kara.
If Kara noticed, she gave no sign, and turned aside to sit on an empty chair at King Roald’s side. Quickly, both Arisha and then Gar’rth were presented to him and dismissed, for the monarch’s attention was entirely held captive by Kara.
As Arisha approached, Castimir advanced to meet her. Theodore caught her smile as they drew together in a long embrace.
“Well, Gar’rth, you are looking well.” Ebenezer’s first words to their friend were hesitant.
Can he now speak the common tongue? Theodore wondered. If he can, there is much I would ask him. When Gar’rth responded, it was plain how far he had come.
“Ebenezer, I am happy to see you. I have learned your language since Falador, thanks to the monks of the monastery. And with Arisha’s help.”
“Then we must sit and speak, Gar’rth,” Doric said. “For I have much to ask you, as I know we all have.”
“Some of your questions must wait,” Gar’rth replied. “I will answer those in private. Alone. But Arisha will tell you of The Wilderness.”
Gar’rth gave Theodore a long look, his dark eyes settling on Lady Anne next to him. He frowned slightly. Lady Anne laughed.
“Your friend is not from these parts, is he?” she said. “We must welcome him to Varrock, Theodore. Tell me, where do you hail from?”
For a cold second no one spoke.
“He comes from the southern islands, Lady Anne,” Castimir answered quickly. “You have heard of Gar’rth, have you not?”