The Lost King

Copyright © 2013 by Brian K. Gaunt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 09/21/2013

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Contents

Chapter One The Foundling

Chapter Two The Cave

Chapter Three The Bow

Chapter Four The New Son

Chapter Five The Crops

Chapter Six The Paladin

Chapter Seven The Lost King’s Royal Guard

Chapter Eight The Head Master

Chapter Nine The Oath of Fealty

Chapter Ten The Traitor

Chapter Eleven The Earl

Chapter Twelve The Fire

Chapter Thirteen The Real Prophecy

Chapter Fourteen The Test And Return Of The Lost King

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife Sylvianne for always being there and encouraging me.

The Fairy Tale of the Lost King

There was one that would be wed to the Princess and he would become the King. Their unending love would heal the great strife in the land.

Yet there came a night fraught with danger both from within and from out and through deception did one that claimed to be his friend did lure the future King to him and he captured him.

The Princess was in such grief and yearning over the loss of her true love it was said that she would do anything to have her love returned to her.

She would even make a pact with the Legendary One.

So stricken was she that she did not think or remember what the consequences of making a pact with him meant. She did indeed beseech the fabled Legendary One for help in bringing her true love back to her.

The legends say that the Legendary One did answer her and they indeed made a pact.

Now it was also whispered that the pact was that the Legendary One would himself send her true love back to her. She would however have to wait for his arrival.

Until such time she must be true to him and no other and if she were not then she would be lost and never see her true love. He told her that until such time due to the strife in the Kingdom that to keep them safe neither would know the other.

He would place both under his unending protection. She would never be able to be killed or physically harmed. She could however be attacked thru deception and the ones she loved would be able to be injured or killed. There would be many that would try to usurp her throne and the throne of her true love.

Neither would know of the other but what was once his would re-emerge and it would be a sign that he was somewhere in the Kingdom. There would be several tokens of his that were given to her by him and all would then know and recognize them and know them for what they were.

The tokens of their love would be known by the symbols of the Two Lovers Entwined and it will be said of them.

For thou who are Lost may yeah be found and of thy Truest of Love be thou her mate once more.

She laid her eyes on the Legendary One and did she give her very soul to him for the return of he who was her True Love.

Now it was whispered that the fabled Legendary One brought him that would be King to safety.

The Legendary One cast a spell of confusion upon him that would be King.

The spell changed him so that none could recognize him for what he was. The spell would also not allow him to see his true self. The Legendary One cast another spell of protection on him. This spell like hers did not allow him to be harmed.

This spell made him to be with and guard her throughout the endless centuries waiting for the proper time. That time would be when the Legendary One relented and let him see and know himself and his True Love.

Until that time would he be lost to all others and himself for he would then truly be the Lost King.

She would know that her true love was alive and that he was in her Kingdom when she was able to be physically harmed. Then both of them would be in grave danger.

CHAPTER ONE

The Foundling

Helen Tell and her husband Harold were visiting her sister as they always did during that time of year. Throughout the Kingdom there was celebrated what was known as Mid Summer’s Eve. Helen and her husband Harold were tired of the festivities that had gone on all day and they had left early.

They went back to her sister’s house where they were staying and curled up next to each other in front of the fireplace talking of the celebration. They suddenly heard footsteps outside the door and something being placed at the door.

Then they heard the sounds of someone running away. Helen motioned to her husband to see what it was and going outside to check he found a new born baby boy!

Helen’s husband ran after whoever it was that left the child. The babe looked as if it had been born that very day for it still had the markings of being a new born.

There was a very old tale about being born on Mid-Summer’s eve.

According to The Tale if you were born on Mid-Summers Eve then you were destined to greatness’.

Helen had never heard of one single instance of it being true.

People will believe what they wanted to believe even if it is a fairy tale, Helen thought.

Helen was checking the babe over for injuries and saw none. She did notice the baby’s blanket that was of a strange brilliant white of a type of very fine material that she had never seen before. In one corner it had a very small Half-Moon. Helen did not know what this meant but saying the name Half-Moon aloud.

The name somehow seemed to strike her to her very soul this was the boy’s given name. She also knew that it had to be kept secret from everyone even from her husband.

Helen knew the time would come when she would tell him for he would then need it but not until then.

So she switched the blanket for an old one her sister had. She then hid the other one when Helen’s husband had come back a bit later empty hand and saying he could not find them. She begged him to let her keep the babe and he agreed. She told her husband that she was going to call him Edward Tell.

I and my family lived in a very small village called Eyr owned by the Lord Dell the Second of the House of Hadler and his son Dell the Third of the House of Hadler.

They like all the other landowners took what they wanted of our crops and anything else they saw fit. The Lord meanwhile was pacing back and forth in his castle very upset at what the Crown had done. A very spoiled Princess had by Royal decree declared that slavery was inhumane and she therefore had abolished it. This made the Lord very angry because he bought and sold slaves for a living along with the crops he took from his villages.

Now he was supposed to pay these fools! The little brat had made them commoners and as such must be paid a wage for all work done.

The Lord fumed and thought to himself that this was absurd and he refused to pay them a wage for after all they were not commoners but rather slaves. The Lord was according to the Crown now supposed to depend on the amount that he would make by the village’s crops, hunt and trade. The Crown had said he could take no more than twenty percent from any one village’s crops hunt or trade.

The Crown he smiled however wasn’t there.

Her Royal tax collectors were there to collect the Crowns taxes for he had to pay the Crown five percent of all his earnings. They were also there to report any disobedience in the way that the villagers were taxed and treated.

Well he thought smiling again there were always ways around that. All he had to do was slip them a few gold shillings and once in a while some female companionship and they would report his obedience to the Law.

Now the Land was at that time being ravaged by bands of cut-throats and mercenaries. The Lord had learned that her Royal Highness Julienne was going to be traveling thru his lands on the way back to her Palace in the capital city of Ramon. He sent a rider to a group of mercenaries with instructions to meet the Princess at a small grove and kill her and her guard.

Occasionally different mercenary groups would take shelter for the night in a village and they had to be quartered and fed. They were not of the Lord’s guard all knew this but there was a direct command from the Lord.

That under no circumstances was anyone allowed to speak to them on pain of death! This always made for a great deal of conjecture because the question everyone asked was always the same.

Why?

The Princess and her Royal guard which consisted of thirty of her best men accompanied her back to her palace. Also accompanying her were two Paladins who were legendary fighters. All of her guards were superb swordsmen.

They were riding through a small patch of woods and came to a clearing when suddenly there rained down upon them a sheet of arrows and crossbow bolts, her party had been ambushed!

Her men were badly outnumbered as a third fell dead from arrows and crossbows bolts immediately. Then the mercenaries came charging from the woods with lances and another third were unhorsed or slain outright. The mercenaries looked to be in complete control and had lost but only a few men.

The Paladins rallied the remaining troops and with a vengeance drove the mercenaries before them killing them unmercifully.

Their leader seeing that the battle was lost commanded his troops to retreat. He was very angry and was going to have a long talk with the Lord for no one told him about any Paladins being with her. He was not he reflected a fool and only a fool would attack a Paladin.

The Paladin’s took charge and sent a runner to the nearest village, the village of Eyr. They took the Princess and all of her men that she had left to the village for protection and healing. When they arrived there were but six of her Royal guard left alive and two of them gravely wounded. All had wounds of some sort except for the Paladins. None other than the two was life threatening however.

The Paladins put a young man on a fast horse with instructions to ride for the Lord’s castle with all haste. He bore a Decree with the Seal from her Royal Highness and also the Seal of the Holy Paladin that they were to bring supplies and men immediately!

They then sent men out with wagons to go and bury their dead.

The dead mercenaries the Paladins ordered were to be taken and piled in a heap and burned.

If there were any left alive they were to be brought back for questioning. The villagers went to bury the dead and found that some few of the mercenaries looked like they had survived. It however also looked like someone had taken the time to come back and slit their throats, undoubtedly to stop them from talking.

I watched as her Highness rode into the village. I found her to be absolutely stunning and was at a loss for how anyone could be that incredibly beautiful her beauty was truly beyond description.

But the Paladins took her immediately into a place that they could guard and protect her. I did not see her any more for the Paladins watched her day and night. The Paladins sent a rider to the Lords castle with instructions for him to bring supplies, healers and men to take her back to the palace.

The young man they had sent rode as fast as he could for he knew that the Royal Princess was in danger.

The Lord had a standing order that when neither he nor his son was there that the drawbridge was to be raised and under no condition was it to be lowered except upon orders from him or his son.

No exceptions!

The messenger arrived at the castle and the one known as Jordan was on guard at the drawbridge and seeing the Royal Seal and The Seal of the Paladins he started to lower the drawbridge.

The Captain of the guard was running to him and he ordered Jordan to raise the drawbridge and listening to the man’s plea and showing the Captain the Royal Seal and the Seal of the Paladins.

The Captain promptly threw the man in the dungeon and started torturing him.

The Captain had the man tortured demanding time and again as to the real reason he was there did he plan on assassination?

It was three days and the man had not returned.

They wanted to know why there were not any reinforcements the two Paladins spoke quietly and decided that one of them would go and bring back a troop of sixty men to take the Princess home.

Then they would go and see why this messenger did not get through.

Mary the village healer had managed to bandage all the men and was trying desperately to keep the other two alive.

They were gravely injured and hanging on by a thread.

Mary tried to do everything in her power to heal them or at least make them stable enough that another could heal them.

The next morning the first of the two died.

The Paladin seeing the situation went into the room where she was working on the other.

He asked her to please leave and close the door.

Mary left and then saw a bright light and the door opened. The Paladin stepped out he was exhausted to the point that he could barely stand.

He looked at her he is stable now but badly in need of your help good woman.

Mary was stunned!

She had heard that the Fabled Paladins had enormous powers but this!

Two days later the Paladin and a troop of sixty men rode into the village.

The very sight of sixty armed Paladins in black plate mail armor put fear into everyone there. They rode silently and with total precision and they went to the Paladin in charge and the leader strode forth.

They both bowed to each other and spoke in a type of language no one in the village knew of. The two then went to the Princess. They had brought several of their healers with them. They took the Princess and what was left of the Royal guard the next day to her Palace.

The two Paladins’ that sent the messenger to the Lords castle went to the Lords castle. They wanted answers did the messenger not arrive or if he did arrive why did the Lord not obey the Decree?

The Lord Dell had arrived back at his castle in the evening that the messenger had arrived. He spoke to his Captain and he was told of the messenger The Captain was ordered to execute the man and hide any trace of the messenger being there at all.

If anyone thought about talking they would be immediately tortured and then put to death.

The Lord Dell knew the Paladin’s would come for answers and he couldn’t let the messenger be found for it was he who had sent the mercenaries to kill the Princess.

I had left the same day the Princess arrived to go hunting it was clouded over but there was no rain or fog which was unusual he thought. I found no game however and I climbed higher.

I found that I was very high up the mountain higher than I’d ever been before and it was starting to rain.

I knew I had to seek shelter and searching I saw a cave that was higher up still and I made it just before sunset.

In the cave were some dry brush and wood. I took some branches to block the opening to keep out the rain and cold.

I then with stone and flint made a small fire. I ate a cold meal and warmed myself and dried my clothes by the fire.

After finishing the meal and my clothes had dried I made a torch with the intention of discovering how far in this cave went.

It was very dark and dank.

CHAPTER TWO

The Cave

Then I turned a corner and almost dropped the torch.

I was shocked the walls of the room were made of pure crystals the different crystals made the room dance as a rainbow would.

I was in awe!

I hurried back to my camp site and put out the flames. Then I went back to the Crystal Room as I called it. I discovered that I didn’t need to make but a small fire to keep warm. The room itself