The center of the village comprised of a small square among the trees, in the middle of which rose high and proud a prominent tree house. Daniel guessed it belonged to the Chieftain. Directly below it, a single throne sat on a small platform, raising it from the ground. Sitting on it, he saw a handsome looking wingman, with long blonde hair tied back neatly in a single braid. Like the rest of his tribesmen, he was slightly shorter than Séraphin and his folk, and stouter. Looking at his face, Daniel had the feeling that he should not expect any kindness from him, yet the wingman kept on smiling and putting on a cheery expression.
To his right, Daniel was surprised to see Séraphin standing. The wingman looked every bit the cold and unfriendly Sky-Prince he had seen before the Council of the Lords, and he made every attempt to avoid eye contact with the three. Daniel could not help but have a bad feeling about this. They were now truly at the mercy of the wingmen.
There was no sign of Nathaniel, or Lightning so far. As they approached the square and were led before the Chieftain, Daniel began to wonder if he would ever get to see the stallion again.
A great number of wingmen were gathered at the square, standing at a distance from the throne of their leader. Many more sat on the branches of the surrounding trees, all looking down at the visitors being brought before them.
As they stopped only feet away from the throne, Hëna bowed her head in respect, prompting Daniel and Nemo to do the same.
‘Greetings, Lord Gabriel! On behalf of my friends and myself I thank you for your kindness and hospitality. It has been a long and perilous journey, and we do appreciate the chance to rest safely with a roof over our head.’
The Chieftain bowed in return, and without losing the smile from his face, answered.
‘You honor me beyond what I deserve, Lightbringer; I am no lord, but I do appreciate the courtesy. As for our kindness and hospitality, our doors will always be open to you and your brother, and you are welcome to stay with us as long as you please.
‘I have to confess, however, that I had an ulterior motive when I sent for you; I was anxious to meet for myself our new Visitor and the Sea-Prince. They have become quite famed in these parts.’
Daniel lifted his eyes and looked at the blonde wingman, who was no longer smiling. He could now see the hate that had been hiding behind the smile, as well as the satisfaction that vengeance was at hand. Beside him, Séraphin continued to remain cold and expressionless.
The Chieftain continued.
‘So, you can imagine the pleasure it brought to my people and myself, when our prince here brought us news of your arrival. It gave us a chance to make the necessary preparations.’
‘Preparations?’ Hëna asked, guessing what the answer would be.
‘Why, for their proper trial, of course,’ came the answer. ‘You see, my people feel that the results of their first trial were quite…, unsatisfactory. They lost one of their own, and yet, no one was held accountable for it.’
‘The Council of the Lords could not come to a decision in this matter, as I’m sure you’ve already been told, Lord Gabriel. So they followed the law and passed this issue for judgment to the Great Lord. I need not assure you that his decision will be more than satisfactory to your people and anyone else concerned.’
‘I’m afraid that’s just not going to do, Lightbringer. The Lords in Arba may claim ignorance and pretend to follow some old regulations that were never of use to anyone, but we all know that the Great Lord is long gone, and I will not have these two run free through the kingdom, laughing at the rest of us, while chasing legends.’
‘WE are not pretending to be looking for anything,’ replied Hëna, feeling like she was starting to lose her calm. ‘We know exactly what we’re doing and where we’re going.’
‘Of course you do; I mean, if I wanted to find the Great Lord’s castle, I too would follow his horse. It makes sense, right?’ He directed this rhetoric question at the wingmen surrounding them, and laughter broke out in the square. Daniel did not blame them; they would not understand even if he explained it to them. After all, he still had his own doubts about the whole thing. Still, he could not help but feel his blood beginning to boil underneath his skin.
‘Anyway,’ the Chieftain continued, ‘since you have been on the road for quite some time, it falls upon me to inform you of the latest developments in the heart of the kingdom. Your search is over, Lightbringer; you see, as of yesterday there’s a new great lord and king in Endërland, the White Lord himself. And it is by his command I’m afraid, that I must detain these two here, until he gives us permission to go ahead with their trial.’
‘What?’ Nemo exclaimed, without being able to stop himself.
Daniel could not believe his ears. Until now, there was always a chance that they were wrong, and that Winter was not the one responsible for all that was happening in the kingdom. But now, according to Gabriel, he had come forward and declared himself great lord and king over all Endërland. This was indeed bad news; the countdown had finally begun and there was no stopping it now.
‘How do we know you’re telling us the truth?’ Hëna challenged. The Chieftain did not seem to take offense.
‘Surely you and your brother must have observed this for yourselves, or have you been too distracted to notice?’
He gave a meaningful look to both her and Daniel. Hëna understood the insinuation and became red in the face. Daniel looked at her and then turned his gaze towards Séraphin, hatred boiling inside of him as he realized the wingman had run away with his mouth.
‘What of the other Lords?’ Hëna asked, though what she really wanted to ask was what had happened to her father. She knew he would never go along with whatever Winter was doing.
Gabriel replied with a very diplomatic tone of voice.
‘As I understand, they have pledged their allegiance to our new king and lord, and will from now on serve as part of his governing body. This is the beginning of a new era, Lightbringer, and there will be many changes about.’
‘So I’m beginning to see. However, I still have a little problem; I got my orders to find the Great Lord directly from the High Council, and if I’m to disobey them, I’m sorry, Lord Gabriel, but I will need a bit more than just your word.’
Gabriel smiled again, unable to hide his satisfaction.
‘Lord Gabriel. I’m beginning to like the sound of that.’
He motioned to the wingman standing on his left, who came down from the platform, producing from inside his vest a rolled parchment. He handed it to Hëna, bowing his head ever so slightly, and then returned to his former position.
Hëna undid the seal and opened the parchment to read it. The letter instructed the Chieftain to detain the Visitor and Sea-Prince in the village until further notice, and was signed by His Majesty, the High King of Endërland.
Hëna took a moment to think before she spoke again. She needed to be very careful with what she said and did next; she might not be able to help Daniel and Nemo if she openly opposed Winter. She needed to buy some time, until they came up with a plan.
‘Very well, then,’ she finally spoke out loud. ‘If this is indeed the will of the king, I shall obey. I ask only one thing, if I may, Lord Gabriel.’
‘Anything, Lightbringer,’ the blond wingman replied, eager to avoid any possible conflicts with her and her brother.
‘I ask that I and my brother be allowed to stay with the Visitor and Sea-Prince, until their fate is decided. They were released onto our custody, and remain our responsibility until the trial.’
‘The shack is hardly a place worthy of your presence, Lightbringer. I would be glad to host you at my own house and treat you as my honored guests, for as long as you wish to stay.’
‘Thank you, my lord, but the shack is an upgrade from the open road. It will do just fine.’
Gabriel thought about it for a moment and then decided not to pursue the matter any further.
‘Very well, then; it shall be done as you ask. You may all reside in the s
hack until his majesty sends us word that we may proceed with the trial. That would be all,’ he ended the meeting with a wave of his hand.
The armed wingmen began directing Daniel and Nemo back towards the shack and Hëna followed them, but not before giving Séraphin an angry look.