Ceridor (Danubian #4)

2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Fifteen years later, West Danube Region

2446, two years before Lantern

Prince Johannes Ott, age twenty-one

The traveling band of the Danubian King camped on our front courtyard in the late afternoon, just outside of the palace. I watched them from the window, trepidation settling deep into my gut as evening wore on and Ulbrecht the Great shared an early dinner with his men and laughed at their jokes by the campfire.

It meant they would not be sharing dinner with the West Danube region's petty king—my father—tonight, because my arrogant fool of a father had refused them. The High King of the entire Central Danubian plains was eating outside like a lowly soldier, and while Ulbrecht laughed and ate with his men in good humor, the message was clear.

When Ulbrecht the Great rose to power, he'd summoned the kings and had them sign a Treaty of Peace, basically an agreement of non-aggression against him. But now he was consolidating all the petty fiefdoms such as ours under his domain and asking the regional kings to swear loyalty to him as their High King.

We were the final western holdout for Ulbrecht to secure his border with Helvetica, the ancient Swiss feudal republic just an hour's ride west of here. The fact that my father thought his alliances with other northern and western petty kings would keep him safe tonight baffled me. And I was the one Father always accused of acting like a child.

Princess Alodia Effie, my twin and older sister by a few minutes, reached for my hand and squeezed it. "I don't like how this looks, Johann."

I sent her a worried glance, which she sent right back.

I lowered my voice so no one passing through the hallways would overhear. "Stay in your room tonight. If something happens, I'll protect you."

My sister was strong—always had been—but I had combat training, and Father hadn't allowed her to do more than archery lessons. I did a mental scan of my body to check how ready I felt: I was bruised and shaken from Father's rage last night, unfortunately a near nightly occurrence of him getting too drunk and taking his anger out on me. Still, I could be ready to fight at a moment's notice to defend my sister if events took a turn.

With everyone acting like things were normal, I struggled to judge how much danger we were in. But seriously, Father refusing the strongest warlord in the region, the Danubian High King—how could this possibly end well?

Effie tugged on my arm. "I have a better idea. Komm. "

She dragged me to the kitchen where we loaded up with two baskets apiece full of sweet bread rolls, crackers, savory cheeses, and jars of the honeyed tea our region was famous for.

"What are we doing?" I whispered, a shiver running down my spine as my suspicions rose.

Effie marched straight out of the castle and to the High King's camp. I followed after her, remembering our playdates as children with her always declaring she could defend herself.

To my surprise, Ulbrecht the Great was still sitting around the fire with his men, not off in some tent separated by his station. The men around the outer circle let Effie through with curious smiles, but I received glares of suspicion. I kept close to my sister, lest they detain me and separate us. I had trained to fight, but I was not battle-hardened like these men who had conquered this region, pushing the Danubian borders outward and securing alliances.

Ulbrecht was chatting with a large man with dark hair next to him who must be S?ren, his best friend and foster brother. We'd of course heard about them. These men were only in their thirties, but they were already legends.

The camp fell silent as my sister walked right up to Ulbrecht and cheerfully exclaimed, "Welcome, High King Ulbrecht! My brother and I were so excited to have you and your men for dinner, only to find you still out here. So we brought snacks."

Ulbrecht watched as Effie knelt to unload her basket, but one of the men leapt from his seat so she could have it. My sister took the seat and passed around the rolls and fresh cheeses, sliced meats and jams, then motioned for me to bring my baskets over and she passed around the tea, explaining how it was honeyed by the bees our region was famous for.

She smiled graciously, utterly wooing the men in no time flat as they thanked her bashfully and took the offerings while I stood frozen with my heart in my throat. Father was going to kill us for this. Or rather, as always, even when he was mad at Effie, he would take it out on me.

I was twenty-one—around the same age of many of these men—and yet for the sake of one day inheriting my kingdom, I regularly tolerated beatings from a monster.

Ulbrecht spoke. "My messenger came back saying that King Ott was too busy to host us."

Effie motioned for me to sit next to her. I moved to the side closer to Ulbrecht, though there was no way I could truly protect my sister with us so surrounded.

"My brother, Prince Johannes, couldn't take over for our father fast enough," quipped Effie.

I stared in shock at my sister. " Effie. " She was all but committing treason verbally, stopping just short of it.

"Johannes."

Wrenching my eyes from my sister, I realized Ulbrecht had stood and offered his hand. In disbelief I shot to my feet. I shook hands with him, and then, my mind finally catching up to what was happening, I knelt in the dirt and kissed his knuckles.

I spoke quickly while I had the chance. "The kingdom of West Danube is not yet mine. If it were, I would choose an alliance under your leadership, High King, for the sake of my people and our economic prosperity."

He took my hand and raised me to standing. "I hope your father comes around. We'll be here in the morning if he'd rather host us for breakfast."

That was generous of him. Just the snub this afternoon would be enough for a lesser man to take offense.

"Our father is not worthy of such a son," said Effie bitterly. "Father regularly beats Johannes so severely my brother can hardly walk the next day."

I gasped in shock, turning to my sister in dismay. "Effie, please." Shut up!

One of Ulbrecht's men spat in the dirt. I jumped when Ulbrecht put both hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up at him.

"Come back with us, to my capital," ordered the High King, his dark brows furrowed and his brown eyes both determined and angry. "You can train and join us on our campaigns."

I couldn't believe he'd offered me the chance to fight for him. "Th-thank you, sir. It's an honor, but I could not leave my people."

And no way would I leave my sister here. Someone had to talk Father down from his more insane and drunken ideas—he threatened to marry Effie off at the slightest whim! I feared what would happen to her, and to the people here, if he were left truly unchecked.

Ulbrecht released me and nodded to Effie, bidding her to rise. She curtsied and he reached for her hand and kissed it. "Your name?"

"Alodia Ott, sir."

"Princess Alodia, thank you for your kindness and honesty. I hope to have an alliance with your family by morning."

Effie curtsied again. "I hope as well, High King."

As soon as we were out of earshot of the camp, I whispered harshly. "What in all of heaven was that?"

My sister blew a blonde curl out of her face. "Hopefully, I just saved our lives."