Deragan Sword Prophecy: Book 01 - Kainan Page 11

  As they approached Kainan swallowed hard, there seemed to be a lump in his throat that just would not budge; his hands were sweating and as he grasped the sides of his cloak his stomach turned over sickeningly. In front of him, closed and bolted were heavy oak gates that stood twenty feet high protecting the entrance to the castle and to the left of them was a smaller door which was cut into the wall. As they moved together towards the smaller door, the two heavily built guards who were stood at either side stepped out of their shelter. They were dressed in light metallic armour and the two swords crossed with a dragon with green wings were emblazoned across their chest plates. Drawing their long swords towards them they stepped forward. As Arweyn and Kainan drew nearer and realising who she was they stood back allowing them to approach. Bowing courteously the first guard raised one hand to his chest and nodded his head respectfully; whilst the second guard opened the smaller inner door to allow her through, he too bowed raising his left hand to his chest before addressing her.

  “My Lady, Lord Detaine has been searching for you all night.” He informed her, ignoring the pounding rain on his face. Turning to Kainan he raised his eyebrow at him.

  “Who is this?” The guard questioned, raising his sword suspiciously towards him and looking hard to see inside his hood. Not wishing to be recognised Kainan stepped back behind Arweyn, pulling his hood further over his face and hiding within its depth.

  “No, please lower your sword everything is fine he is with me,” she said quickly, raising her hand and stopping him. Stepping forward towards the guard she whispered quietly, glancing sideways at Kainan.

  “Please don’t look at him he has a vile disfigurement, I would not like you to be inflicted with terrible nightmares after seeing such a sight. I’m taking him to the medical chamber so we may attempt to heal him.” She instructed with emphasis. The guard screwing up his nose in disgust slowly began backing away from him.

  “Your uncle has ordered us to bring you straight to him if we found you.” The guard insisted.

  “Then I will go to him straight away,” she promised.

  “Do you wish an escort?” he asked, still eyeing the stranger in the hooded cloak suspiciously.

  “No thank you, that will not be necessary I will be fine,” she assured him.

  “My Lady.” Bowing once again he stepped backwards allowing them to pass. Arweyn took Kainan’s arm firmly and moved him forward quickly. She could not afford for him to be mistaken for Gareion, she had to get him to her uncle. The guardsman’s eye followed his every step with suspicion, still with one hand on the hilt of his sword.

  Quickly hurrying through the opened doorway they emerged into the courtyard of the castle. Slowing down, almost to a stop, Kainan stared all around him taking in as much as he could. Grapevines now empty of their fruit clambered up the sides of the heavy stone walls of the courtyard. What caught Kainan’s eye however was an enormous stone statue of a dragon that sat in the middle of a water fountain in the centre. Walking over to it curiously he stopped and leaning a hand on the low wall of the fountain he side jumped up onto it. Standing up he slowly raised his hand to the dragon’s snout and rubbed it gently. He frowned; something seemed strangely familiar about this dragon. Tilting his head slightly he stared into the dragon’s eyes. Why would this dragon be familiar to him? He ran his fingers down the dragon’s throat and then stopped at a small indentation; he poked it wondering what it was for.

  “Kainan!” she called to him. “What are you doing?” Turning around he saw her standing in a doorway that led into the castle. “Come on, hurry,” she urged, beckoning to him. It was still early and no-one else seemed to be around. With any luck she hoped, they would get to her uncle without being stopped. Jumping down quickly he jogged along to catch her up, and placing a hand on her arm held it firmly.

  “He has a vile disfigurement!” Folding his arms he huffed at her, and raising one eyebrow a disgruntled look spread upon his face. Arweyn sucked her bottom lip, she was not certain if he was toying with her or not. Pulling his hood down he shook the rain off himself, and then beamed with an infectious smile.

  “That has got to be the best line I have heard in a long time!”

  “Well it worked didn’t?” she congratulated herself, grinning back at him relieved and stamping her feet on the large mat by the door. Shaking off the excess rain water that had gathered on her cloak, she continued into a vast inner hall.

  “It sure did.” Kainan agreed still chuckling to himself as he followed her inside. Suddenly he stopped staring in awe all around him.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, nudging him playfully with her elbow.

  “What?” He glanced at her frowning, and then raising his eyebrows he said. “Yes it is just…. Well look at the size of this place. It is bloody massive!” Spinning around he looked up above him. It was the only words he could think of to describe what he was seeing. It was truly spectacular. It was so high inside the centre of the hall that Kainan could not even see the ceiling. The floor was made from solid marble and had a shine upon it that was equal to that of a glistening lake in the afternoon sunshine. There were large golden chairs and tables decorated with vases of flowers and ornaments lining the edge of the walls. Even the walls themselves were decorated in blue and gold leaf paint, it was all extremely lavish. In the centre of the foyer was a beautiful, sparkling, crystal staircase that rose from the ground floor and separated in the middle, each staircase winding its way up floor after floor.

  “Are you sure you are okay?” she asked again, seeing the worried look that had spread across his face. He had taken a cautious breath as sudden fear hit him. Fear of what was lying ahead of him of meeting his true parents; if indeed they even were his true parents. He frowned uneasily at the thought of having to tell them what he had done of how he had taken their Crystal and possibly destroyed their world. He felt a wave of nausea sweep through him from head to toe. It was all getting too much to cope with; his murdered family and friends, his home destroyed this place. He took another deep breath, realising that his hands were shaking, he was certainly not all right, but one thing he was certain of was that he was never going to let her know that. Looking straight at her he faked a smile; for now it was the best he could do.

  “My family lives on the third floor Kainan. I’m afraid it is a bit of a trek.” Placing her right hand on the rail and lifting her skirt with the other she began to walk up the stairs. Nodding again he followed her onto the winding staircase. Taking the staircase to the right Arweyn continued. Staring up above him he noticed that fixed to the walls were large wooden brackets carved into glorious dragons holding burning torches, which illuminated the entire staircase. Coughing, he cleared his throat.

  “They really like dragons,” he said. Glancing back down at him she smiled before answering him.

  “Yes. It has been your family’s emblem for centuries.” Kainan pondered for a moment as they continued.

  “The statue of the dragon in the courtyard, where did it come from?” he asked. Arweyn stopped on her stair and turned around to him.

  “The large dragon statue in the water fountain came from the old Malgar. I believe it was found inside one of the caverns when the Groundlings moved back down here.” Kainan nodded in thought. She continued. “It took more than a dozen men to move it into the courtyard, it is solid stone.” She smiled at his face, it was full of curiosity.

  “Does it have a name?” he asked. She looked surprised at his question.

  “No I don’t think so. Why?”

  “It’s nothing, I just thought he looked like a Meladrom,” he replied matter of fact. She laughed at him shaking her head.

  “Meladrom, what kind of name is that?” she joked, continuing on up the stairs. Kainan shrugged as he passed another dragon torch.

  “A dragoney sort of name,” he whispered back, flicking the dragon sconce with his finger idly.

  The staircase seemed to go on forever and he was glad when they finally reached
the third floor. Arweyn took him along a large and very long arched corridor. He ran his fingers along the solid cream stone walls and glanced around, his eyes wide as he tried to take in as much as he could. Walking through a columned archway he noticed some of the symbols carved into the stone archways they were walking under were the same as the ones he had seen in the domed room. Ahead of him a number of paintings hung on the walls and as they reached them he was surprised to find how huge they were some were completely life-size. There were portraits of both men and women. Some wore their regal robes whilst others were dressed for battle. Then stopping he stared fixated on one particular portrait, he was hardly able to believe what his eyes were seeing and his jaw dropped wide open. Turning to Arweyn his eyes were alight with anticipation.

  “Is that my brother?” he questioned, staring at the portrait although he already knew the answer certain that it was not a portrait of him staring back down at them. Smiling, Arweyn nodded at his surprised face; finally she hoped he would now believe what she had told him. That he was King John’s son, twin brother to Gareion; he really was a Prince of Malgar.

  Kainan walked up to the portrait and began inspecting it more closely. He scratched his head as he considered. The person in the portrait wore a tidy beard similar to what Kainan now had after nearly a week without shaving. It was uncanny it was like looking at a portrait of him, but it wasn’t it was his brother! Grinning from ear to ear he took a deep reassuring breath, all this time he had had a twin no wonder he had felt like there was a part of him missing; it had been Gareion who had been missing in his life. And soon very soon he would be meeting him and he felt ecstatic.

  Arweyn looked intensely. His eyes had lit up like fireworks when he had seen Gareion’s portrait. Looking at him and then back at the portrait of Gareion she knew she had been right. Right from that first moment he passed her in the market she had felt that there was something very different about him. Her heart began pounding furiously as she stared at him, at his strong features at the firmness of his face. There was something incredibly magical about him. She didn’t know what it was but she was determined to find out. She smiled to herself, they were not quite identical and she could definitely see immediately that Kainan’s stronger more determined face was different from Gareion’s. He was slightly darker than Gareion too, more like the King; and Kainan was definitely a much heavier build. Concluding that it was probably due to the different lives they had led; Gareion having led the life of luxury with a privileged upbringing had no real need for muscle or strength. Whereas Kainan’s life had been the complete opposite his daily survival was dependant on his strength.

  Looking up above his head Kainan saw a huge shield bearing the same symbol as his tattoo. Grabbing his right arm he pulled up his sleeve exposing the two swords forming a diagonal cross with a dragon with green wings in the centre that was on his upper arm. The same symbol appearing on blue and gold banners strewn across the corridor. Arweyn noticed him staring at them.

  “That is the Dermock coat of arms Kainan,” she explained smiling warmly at him. “It is the symbol of your family, of the King.” He nodded, glancing at her briefly before looking back at the portrait. Perhaps she was right after all that all of this really was part of him? There was so much to take in to comprehend. Here he was in clothes all but rags whilst all around him was such great wealth and finery. It was such a different world from the one he had known all his life. This castle, this incredible place; could it really be his home?

  Continuing further along the corridor they walked through another columned archway. The banners changed colour to red and gold, with the head of a unicorn sitting proud.

  “This is my family coat of arms Kainan, the Glanbers,” she said, sighing sadly. “I am the only Glanber left now.” She stopped in front of a giant portrait of a beautiful elegant woman in a deep blue gown whose dark hair was piled high above her head with loose curls falling about her face. Smiling Arweyn raised her hand and pointed. “This is my mother Kainan, Lady Elanor.”

  Kainan studied the portrait, then turning he smiled at her.

  “She is very beautiful.” Arweyn nodded her agreement. Giving a large sigh she brought her hands to her heart; she missed her mother so much.

  “You look just like her,” he added, gazing at her longingly. Arweyn blushed smiling coyly at him as she felt his eyes on her and her body tingled at his gaze; forcing herself to look away she breathed deeply to compose herself before continuing along the corridor. Then the banner changed again to green and silver with a black dragon emblem in the centre.

  “This is my uncle’s coat of arms, the Detaines.” She stopped at a large portrait of two men. “This is my uncle, and Lothar his son.” She raised her left hand towards them. Kainan studied the picture for a moment. Both the men were tall and heavily built with dark hair and they wore silver battle armour. Kainan noticed that there seemed to be a strange lack of emotion in their eyes, they both had the same cold hard stare. Shrugging to himself he considered, maybe it was just a poor artist? Still at least he would know who they were when he saw them.

  To the right of the painting she stopped. They were stood outside a large solid oak door. Heavy wrought iron door furniture framed it and a large black dragon emblem was fixed onto the front of door so as to identify who lived within. Shaking her head with a sad smile she ran her fingers over it. It used to be a beautiful unicorn, the symbol of her family. That was until her uncle had moved in not long after her father had died; he had blatantly and without even asking her removed it from the door of her home and replaced it with that of his own a black dragon symbol. It was like he had wiped away her very existence as a Glanber. She was just thankful that his son Lothar had not moved in with him, he had remained in the Detaine’s family chamber up in the tower. Her life would have been even more of a nightmare with him living in her quarters. She was scared of him enough as it was and would never have felt safe with him sleeping in the room next to her.

  “Well here we are Kainan, what do you want to do wait outside while I see my uncle first and explain, or will you come in with me now?” Arweyn asked, her hand hovering on the door handle. Looking at him nervously she felt her stomach turning over in knots. The fear of what her uncle might say or do when she tells him what she has done filled her with dread. She could not even begin to imagine how Kainan must be feeling after everything that had happened to him these past few days; and even more of what he was yet to face. She smiled at him encouragingly. Looking down to the floor he thought for a moment. He was beginning to think this whole thing was a really bad idea King’s son or not and it was all he could do to stop himself from turning around and running as far away from here as he could. But then there was Arweyn with her smile that made his knees weak and her beauty that stopped his heart dead, he could not leave her no matter what was to come.

  “I will come in with you, let’s just get this over with.” His reply was almost a whisper. Nodding she turned the large black iron door handle and pushed it open. It was a large room with a roaring fire in the centre of the farthest wall and a few comfy looking chairs drawn around it. A door to the right of the fire was slightly ajar and to the left of the fire was a large desk which had been piled high with various papers and scrolls; on top of which sat a large candelabra with four candles burning lighting the dim room. At the windows to the left hung huge ornate curtains green velvet trimmed in a silver thread that gave some protection against the bitter draughts that whistled through the room on a winter’s evening. In front of them as they entered the room were a couple of sofas arranged around a wooden coffee table and in the far left corner another door which was closed.

  At the desk sat a man large in size and quite distinguished looking with his back to the door. Throwing her bag onto one of the sofas she called to him.

  “Uncle.” The man turned around in surprise, his thoughts had been a million miles away.

  “Arweyn! Where have you been?” he cried, jumping up from his chair
with such a force that it toppled backwards sending it crashing onto the floor with an almighty thud. He was furious. His eyes were black and unyielding and the lines of his face were etched into disfavour. He picked up the chair harshly and walked over to her, his voice was deep and booming.

  “Well answer me child, we have had half the Kingdom out looking for you!” Conscious of her bedraggled appearance she raked her hands through her hair, and straightened what was left of her skirt.

  Suddenly panic shot through his veins as he looked down the front of her.

  “Arweyn you are injured!” His hands went frantically to her bloodied dress.

  “No, no I’m fine really. It’s all right it’s not my blood,” she replied, trying to shake him off her. Looking up he suddenly noticed Kainan hanging back by the door. Pushing her quite forcefully to one side he stepped towards him.

  “Who are you?” he questioned suspiciously. The light from the candles not quite reaching the darkest corner by the door and Kainan stood within its shadow.

  “Uncle.” Walking back to Kainan she reached out to him taking his hand. Kainan squeezed her hand in silent apprehension as she brought him into the light. Her uncle looked at him hard.

  “Prince Gareion is that you?” He sounded shocked; he was the last person he had been expecting to see. Bowing his head, he quickly added.

  “Where have you been Sire? Do you realise the whole kingdom has been looking for both of you, what is going on? Did you help him to escape Arweyn?” He looked at her waiting for an explanation. “Well answer me, and whose blood is that you have all over your dress?” he added impatiently, pointing a waggling finger at her.