Rose of the Oath

  Chapter 6: Promise of the Rose

  Four weeks. I scowled at the rose that lay on my dressing room table. Four weeks since Eldric’s capture by the beast, and I was still stuck in this castle smashed against a mountainside. I’d not seen the wolves return, but when I looked out in the light of the moon I often caught a glimpse of the still figure, standing guard. Four weeks of cleaning and cooking, eating and reading. There’d been nary a sign of the beast’s writing.

  What of Eldric? Helene and Klara? I tossed aside a quill and stared at the parchment spread on the table. I’d promised them I would return. I’d promised.

  “If you ever cared, my King,” the words fell dully from my lips. I stood and yanked aside the curtain of my window. The beast waded among green shoots of the garden. Wheat and corn. Potatoes and carrots and turnips. I pressed my lips tightly. What business did I have to call the King ‘my King’? I’d prayed to Him that one night, so many years ago. Pled with Him. Little good it did me. Or my parents.

  I spun, glaring at the rose again. It was full and lush, like the day it first arrived on my doorstep. What had the beast said when he gave it to me? The damage was already done? I would welcome much more damage so long as I could leave this stifling valley.

  I swept the up, twisting the stem between my fingers. The deep red velvetiness held a dusky shimmer. I stepped to the mirror and fastened it to my hair.

  The letter I’d written I folded and slipped beneath my bodice. How many letters had I already written and burned? Dachs had not returned. Not yet. Nor Eldric either. Words were cheap; why had I expected the scout to fulfill his own? And yet…

  I hurried outside. The sweet, moist heat of spring wrapped itself around me, lifting tendrils of my hair. The beast glanced up as I passed. He lifted one hand. I inclined my head but didn’t slow my pace until deep within the welcoming embrace of the trees.

  Why did I still wait? Eldric would have come long ago if he was able to find the place. Maybe Dachs had lost it as well. It wasn’t as if the scout owed me anything. He had his own duties. His own life. I shoved through the underbrush and stared at the taunting forest spread beyond the cliff faces. Rebels and wolves and wraiths. I’d face them all if only they’d give me the chance. Gritting my teeth, I slammed against the invisible boundary. It hurled me backward.

  “You really ought to stop doing that, you know.”

  I gasped and sprang to my feet, brushing off my skirt as I spun to face Dachs. He leaned against a nearby tree, dark lines shadowing his eyes. “You’re back!”

  “I promised I’d come, didn’t I?” His smile tensed as he stared at the rose in my hair and faded as he took my hand in his. “How have you been?”

  He was back. He’d actually come back. I blinked quickly.

  “Elissa?” He peered into my eyes.

  “Fine… I guess. I mean…” I pulled my hand away and wrapped my arms around myself. “How are the others?”

  “Safe, the last I saw. Eldric is still searching. I’ve given him the best directions I could, but there was no time to bring him here directly.”

  I swallowed hard. “And the war?”

  Dachs glanced away.

  My brow furrowed. “You’ve not driven the rebels back yet?”

  “Not quite.” He avoided my gaze.

  My stomach twisted. “It’s that bad?”

  Dachs finally looked at me. “They’re gathering; the rebels. Moving from the south. By summer—fall at the latest…” he shook his head. “We’re not going to have a chance unless aid comes.”

  I sank back against a tree. Aid. Like what? The King’s Oath and the promise of the Prince’s coming? My jaw tightened. Small chance we had of that.

  “There’s no need to look quite so despairing,” Dachs said. “All hope isn’t lost. Here.” He dug into his pouch. “I found this in one of the villages.” He pressed something cold and hard into my hand.

  I ran my thumb over the black stone oval. Silver lines traced the outline of a rose.

  “It’s silly, I suppose.” He glanced over his shoulder. “But I wanted you to have something of the outside world. Something to remind you that you aren’t alone, even if I can’t remain here like I’d wish.”

  I bit my lip. “There is nothing I can give in return.” I watched him. “If I could… but I can’t. I don’t have—”

  “Hush.” He placed a finger over my lips. “I come because I care, and I care because I wish to, isn’t that enough? Although.” He retreated a step. “If you spared a thought for me on occasion, I can’t say I’d be sorry.”

  I choked on a laugh as my fingers curled around the stone. “That much you have already.”

  He inclined his head. “Then I count myself fortunate indeed.”

  A blush crept up my cheeks and I glanced away as I pulled out the letter I’d written earlier. “If you happen to see Eldric or the girls…”

  “Of course.” He tucked it into one of his pouches. “It would be my pleasure. I’ll bring your brother if I can. But now,” he hesitated, glancing out into the forest. “Scouts have been following me for the past day or two. I need to leave.”

  “You could hide here, for a time,” I said.

  He shook his head. “How would I be worthy to aid you if I can’t even do my duty?”

  I smiled faintly. “You’ll be back?”

  “As soon as I can.” Dachs traced a winding crack along the bark of a nearby tree. “I’ll leave a letter for you if your brother has one in return. If not, I’ll leave a mark in passing. You’re not alone here. You never will be.”

  He pulled away and stepped through the barrier I couldn’t pass.

  He lifted one hand. I drew a trembling breath as he vanished into the shadows. Closing my eyes with a sigh, I slid down against the tree trunk. Helene’s merry laughter echoed in my ears. I could almost feel Klara’s small hand slipping up my sleeve or Eldric’s arms around my shoulders.

  Eldric. I bit the inside of my cheek. Dachs’s assurances would only heighten his anxiety.

  Leaves rustled distantly. I ignored them.

  The rustling grew louder and I lifted my gaze.

  “Eldric?” I shoved myself to my feet. “Eldric!”

  He didn’t turn. Didn’t flinch. His dark clothes blended into the shadows. A sword hung at his side and his bow dangled from his hand. His gaze swept the mountain face, skimming past me without a sign of recognition.

  I threw myself against the barrier, staggered back, then sprang forward. My fingers strained at the warm energy holding me back.

  “Eldric, please.” The words came out as a whimper as my brother passed within feet of me, his eyes searching every crevice of stone.

  “Elissa…” I heard my name on his lips. “Elissa, you blazing idiot.”

  “Eldric, I’m right here!” I slammed my hand against the unyielding barrier. Again and again. Eldric didn’t stop. Each step carried him farther away. Farther, still farther. Why couldn’t Dachs have waited a few minutes longer? How could he see and pass through the barrier that was invisible to my brother? Perhaps the scout could have shown him the entrance. Perhaps… The shadows swallowed Eldric as he rounded a spur of stone. I choked back a sob and sank to my knees.

  At least Eldric was alive.

  My eyes burned, and I closed them, resting my forehead against the warm energy that hovered in the air. It swept over me, tingling through my blood, wrapping me with warmth and— No!

  I jerked back with a hiss and curled against a tree, resting my cheek against the mossy bark. Gold lanced through the leaves and heralded the coming evening before I pulled myself to my feet. I stumbled back to the valley. The beast was among the roses now. Two fingers stroked a falcon resting on his wrist as he stared at the flowers.

  I stalked toward him, aching bands still wrapped around my throat and chest.

  “How long is this going to go on?” I demanded. “I can’t stay here forever.”

  The beast held out his hand and the bird sprang
into the air. He brushed a strand of sweat-matted hair from his eyes, leaving a trace of earth in its place.

  You won’t. His gaze was dark. It will end.

  “When?” I demanded. “When the armies have overrun all of Aslaria and my family is lost in the confusion?”

  The beast glanced at me sharply. His gaze hardened as it shifted to the forest behind me.

  “I saw my brother.” I choked. “Outside the valley. He was searching for me.” I advanced a step. “He’s looking for me, but he can’t even hear when I call to him. For what? A rose?”

  The beast’s gaze snapped back to me, resting on the blossom fastened in my hair.

  It is… more than a rose. His hand faltered.

  “More? How?” I demanded. “Enough to tear someone away from their family? From all they ever loved? Do you even know what that is like?”

  Suppressed fire flickered in the beast’s eyes. Yes. The strokes forming the letters were tight and quick. Yes, I do.

  I turned away and stared at the opposite side of the valley. The setting sun burnished the garden in bronze. Our garden would look like that now if the girls had tended it. Though with Eldric in the army… did our house even stand, or had it fallen prey to the first wave of rebels?

  “What is it with the roses?” I spun back to the beast. “First the one my brother picked and still you care for the others. How can they be so important?”

  Roses stand for a promise. The beast traced the words out. An Oath. Love.

  “Love?” I laughed incredulously. “Like the kind keeping me from my family?”

  The beast stared at me. You know of the Steig der?

  I blinked. “The rose some idiot picked at the time of the Separation? The reason the King closed off the valley and that supposedly allowed death, sickness, and all the rest?”

  The beast winced, but his hand was steady. It wasn’t just a rose. It was disobedience. Rebellion.

  “Or so the legends claim.” I sighed and tilted my head. “Though what a sign of rebellion has to do with love is beyond me.”

  The beast raised his eyebrows. The rebellion wasn’t the end. There was, he hesitated, then shook his head and pulled parchment and ink from his pocket. One paper was already covered in writing, and he shoved it back before placing a small board and blank parchment on his knee. For a long minute, I waited as his quill scratched against the page.

  His head tilted as he leaned close to the paper. His lips parted, his eyes following the rapid movements of his fingers.

  He finalized a rapid flourish and looked up swiftly. Heat crept up my neck and I glanced away. He paid no heed and held the parchment toward me.

  I took it gingerly and skimmed the glistening ink.

  There was the rebellion—disobedience when the rose was plucked. Death was the punishment, for everyone. The King granted a stay of execution. He gave us an Oath. A promise. A promise that one day the Prince would come and take the punishment every person in Aslaria deserves. That… that is love. That is why I keep the roses. Because the Prince comes.

  Also, I had hoped the patch would protect the single one I wanted to keep safe. Numbers and all. Apparently, no one told your brother that. Though I suppose it was what was meant to be. The time is right, after all, if only…

  Never mind.

  Your own rose; it was given to me years ago and is the sign of the beginning of the end. Or rather the end of the beginning. The rebellion now raging started years ago, but the Prince is coming. He will come. He will save us all.

  My brow furrowed. “Is this supposed to make sense or give me more questions?”

  The beast tilted his head.

  “All this about beginnings and endings. Can’t you tell me what the stars is going on?”

  The beast gave a sharp shake of his head. Not yet.

  I scowled. “Roses and legends, all of it. The King is good. The King is loving.” My voice caught as my nails dug into my palms. “The Oath, the promise. Where is this Prince? It’s been weeks since the rebels appeared. I’ve not seen any sign of rescue or of this King’s care!”

  The beast regarded me thoughtfully.

  “The King does as He pleases, without regard for any who might live or die.” I flung the parchment at the beast, but the wind seized it and tossed it into the air.

  Strong fingers closed about my wrist.

  I jerked, but the beast’s grip tightened as he rose to his feet. His eyes burned into my own. The legends do not tell the half of what the King did for us. They are true, Beauty. True and much more besides. Don’t you ever doubt them.

  My breath caught in my throat. I pulled away as he loosened his grip.

  “You forget.” I flung a final jab over my shoulder as I hurried back toward the castle. “To doubt something, I need to believe it to start with.”

  He paced back and forth down the narrow room.

  How had she known? The war. The advances… There were few who could pass into the valley. A very few.

  The air was suddenly cold.

  What had he thought? That wolves would be the only danger to protect her from? That the rose and her presence wasn’t part of some larger plan? A dangerous game. The final twist of the dagger.

  Still Tauscher’s army advanced.

  He cast his gaze upward. How much longer would it take?

  The silence echoed with the answer, and he shivered. It would be like before, but the roles would reverse. It didn’t matter. The result would be the same. He closed his eyes. There could only be one end.

  If that was what it took… he hesitated. Love and the shattering of Tauscher’s power. Her safety or the curse. It wasn’t his choice, in the end. All he could do was show her.

  He stared at the opposite wall. If that was what it took, then so be it. She would be worth it; she already was.