Chapter 4
The Father's Will
Reginwald, Lothria
Wille scrubbed Lys' back roughly with the brush, saying, "Them markin's won't come off."
"You could scour me bloody and they won't come off," Lys replied, wincing a little. "Please don't try it. Just the dirt and grime, if you would."
"Don't got much choice, I suppose," Wille said.
After the matron was done giving Lys a good scrubbing, she took a bucket and poured it over her. The bathwater had an herbal mixture to it, the likes of which Lys had not enjoyed since she ran away. Bathing in creeks and springs kept you clean enough, but there was no comparison with a proper hot bath.
Once she had been rinsed off, Lys got out of the tub and Wille wrapped her in a linen cloth. Lys then sat down on a nearby stool and let Wille comb her hair. At least a comb was not so distant a memory. Once Lys became adept enough at using a knife, she crafted her own. Combing her teacher's mane proved to be an easy way to put him in a good mood. The Ral'shee envied little about the 'Apekin', but nimble fingers and the works of skillful hands could be counted among them.
Reminiscing helped Lys overlook all the times Wille's comb would get snagged on a tangle and it felt like the matron was trying to tear the hair from her scalp to get it loose. If Wille tried that with Lys' teacher, she would probably have gotten her hand bitten off.
When Wille was done combing Lys' hair, Lys got up to get dressed. However, she did not find her usual clothes but rather a dress in the fashion of reasonably well-to-do ladies.
"Wille, where are my clothes?" Lys asked.
"Master Kolman instructed me to dress you in that," Wille replied.
Lys' skin crawled a little at the thought. Her garments were important to her and not just because they were what she had grown accustomed to wearing. The hides came from her own kills, animals whose spirits she carried with her. Various charms had been worked in to aid her in her craft. To wear anything else would be the same as wearing nothing at all.
"My clothes, Wille," Lys said firmly.
"But Master Kolman..."
"You leave Master Kolman to me. Now, unless you want me going out like this, you'll bring me my clothes."
Lys dropped the linen cloth to make her point clear. Wille huffed at her defiance, saying, "Not in all my days've I seen such a wild savage of a girl. If I didn't think you had no shame for it, I'd jus' let you go out in naught but your skin like that."
As a matter of fact, when she lived among the Ral'shee, Lys would go naked like them throughout the warmer months and only wore clothes when it was too cold for her to go without. That being said, she doubted she was bold enough to do the same in human company, but Wille did not need to know that.
Wille shortly returned with Lys' clothes and she promptly dressed herself. First the breechcloth, then the skirt and the bodice, the leggings and sleeves, and lastly the cloak. Wille watched all this, while just standing there with her hands on her hips.
"A right savage you are," she said with a sigh, "but it'll take more than any two days to put civilization in you."
It certainly took more than two days to take civilization out of Lys and it was a matter of survival then. She had not thought much about what lay beyond her mission, but if she were to succeed and lived to tell the tale, she would have to decide what to do with the rest of her life. Would she return to the wilds or would she try to rejoin human society? She did not know and she would probably continue to put off thinking about it for a while longer.
Wille made a point to busy herself with her chores around the house so that she would not clash with Lys any more. The least Lys could do was leave her be and avoid provoking her further.
Lys did not have to wait long for Kolman to return. The moment he saw her dressed as she was, he furrowed his brow and asked her, "Why are you wearing that?" Without waiting for her to answer, he shouted, "Wille! Wille!"
Wille, who was out back hanging the wash on the line, hurried back inside.
"Yes, sir?"
"What happened to the dress I told you to have her wear?"
"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but that wild thing weren't havin' it. You ain't gave me leave to take a rod to her to make her do what she ought, so what more could I 'a did?"
"I insisted on it," Lys said. "Don't you dare go punishing Wille for it."
"I almost think I should if it would get you to mind," Kolman replied. "You know we're going before the King and this is how you want to be seen?"
"This is me," Lys said, "as I am. Anything else would be a lie. Would you have me lie to His Majesty?"
"If I thought it would give ease to his troubled mind, I would see that he never hears a word of truth until his dying day."
"Father would never accept that."
"I'm not your father."
"Clearly."
A spark of anger flashed in Kolman's eyes as he seized Lys by the cloak. His hand shook as he stopped himself from going any further.
"It is for the love and honor I hold for my master that I bear the insults you fling at me," he growled, "but I do have my limits. Do not test me further, child."
Lys said nothing. She did not meet anger with anger. Instead, it was disappointment that she felt. Had her master truly grown so little in all this time? Was this the Court Sorcerer of Gotland, the man who stood in her father's place?
Seeming to sense what she was thinking, Kolman told her, "Don't you look at me like that. You're a child who knows nothing of the world. One day you'll learn that what is good and what is right aren't always the same thing."
He let her go and smoothed out his robes as if to put himself back in sorts.
"There is no time to get you dressed appropriately," he said, "so I suppose we'll both suffer the humiliation of you as you are. That's how you put it, didn't you?"
"I'm not ashamed," Lys said.
"Then I must bear a double portion," Kolman replied. "You may not feel shame, but you can feel disappointment, so I'm warning you now. If the Master's will is what you told me and that is the reason why you've come, don't expect to find a warm welcome."
"All I can do is tell them Father's will," Lys said. "The rest is in God's hands."
Kolman sniffed derisively.
"His Grace the Bishop might appreciate you saying that. It may just stay his hand from burning you as a heretic."
"They can burn this goose," Lys said wryly, "but a swan will come after who they cannot burn."
"The swan should've been sent first," Kolman said. "Now come along, goose. We must not keep His Majesty and the other's waiting. Wille, mind the house."
"Yes, sir," Wille said, bobbing her head. "Take care, sir, Miss Mädel."
The former master and apprentice exited the cottage and almost as soon as the door was closed, Kolman asked Lys, "Mädel?"
"I had to give her some sort of name," Lys replied. "She couldn't just keep calling me 'girl', or I guess she could. Clever, don't you think?"
While 'mädel' was a common word for 'girl' in the Gotlander dialect, it was not as common in Lothrian. Kolman was singularly unimpressed, however.
"If you were even half as clever as you think, you might be counted among the very wise."
"And if I were half as foolish as you seem to think, I'd be no better than a common idiot."
"The common idiot doesn't do half as many stupid things as you nor half as much."
"This is starting to sound like a lesson on figures."
"You're never without a thing to say," Kolman grumbled. "Did those savages you lived among suffer your wagging tongue so?"
"Not really, no."
"Perhaps I misjudged them then. It would seem there is some good to them after all. Kindly take that example to heart and don't speak again until you're spoken to."
Kolman's hostility annoyed Lys, but it achieved his aim as she was no longer inclined to speak with him. They kept their silence until they reached a postern gate of the city's inner wall.
Although she was told not to speak unless spoken to, Lys nevertheless asked Kolman, "Why aren't we taking the main gate?"
"I prefer my comings and goings to be more discreet," Kolman said, "especially with current company in mind. Now, I shouldn't have to say this, but mind your tongue in there and choose your words carefully. You dance on the knife's edge and my protection will only go so far."
Rather than antagonize him again, Lys simply replied, "I'll be careful."
Naturally, the guards at the postern knew Kolman and he had probably told them about Lys, as they didn't say anything about her entering the castle. They did stare a little, but that much was not surprising.
There were two wings attached to the keep. The South Wing appeared to be of older construction and was probably the original fortress or one of its successors when they could afford the stone. It was the North Wing where they went, however, which was newer and looked like it may have been completed in the current Count's lifetime.
"You said the other kings who survived are in Lindenberg," Lys said. "Does it not bother King Ottokar that His Majesty is here?"
"I'm not privy to the mind of King Ottokar, but surely some of his advisors must think Widden is going to become a little kingdom of its own," Kolman said, "which is why Berthardt the Count's firstborn is being held hostage... *ahem* ...being fostered by Prince Wenceslaus. Of course, if His Majesty was ungracious and discourteous enough to carve out a slice of his host's domain, the life of his grandson would not be enough to stay his hand."
"His Majesty would never do that."
"Anyone who knows the King knows that, but I'm sure Count Friedbert has rivals in Lindenberg who would have King Ottokar think otherwise."
"They would squabble among themselves when the Witch Queen's armies are at their doorstep?"
"The Witch Queen is just another reason for them to squabble," Kolman said. "The nobility is always at each other's throats. No doubt it's made the Witch Queen's conquests all the easier."
Lys did not say it, but she feared that even if she could succeed in her mission and thwart the Witch Queen, it would only open the door to more fighting instead of less. For a moment, she felt her resolve waver, but then she reminded herself that her mission was not about something as grand in scale as the Eight Kingdoms. She was trying to save two people who were dear to her, who were dear to her father, so much so that he would sacrifice his life for them.
Kolman led Lys up to the solar on the second story. When they arrived, grim Bishop Friedman was already there, along with a young woman Lys did not recognize standing on the opposite side of the chamber. The Bishop's nostrils flared a little at the sight of Lys, and not because he liked what he saw.
"Here she is," Kolman said grudgingly, "such as she is."
Lys curtseyed. The Bishop said nothing and may has well have been a statue for no more than he moved, but the young woman returned Lys' curtsey.
"Hello, Lys," she said. "I have been waiting for this day a long time. I have been following your star ever since you left. I knew you would come back to us."
It was then that Lys recognized her.
"Gudrun?"
She bowed her head.
"At your service, young spirit caller. That is what they called you, yes?"
Of course seven years would make a difference, but what a difference it was for Gudrun, who used to be quite small for her age and was now a proper woman grown. She was the closest thing Lys had to a child her age and whenever Gudrun was not occupied with her duties to Master Udo, they had been constant playmates. Though the years could quite certainly have opened a gulf between them and restraint was perhaps called for, Lys could not contain herself and ran to embrace her old companion. Happily, Gudrun not only received her embrace but returned it with equal warmth.
Grateful as Lys was for the warm reception, she soon began to fear she would be smothered in Gudrun's bosom, which was at the same level as her face. Gudrun seemed to realize this and loosened her hold so Lys could lift up her face to breathe.
"You... you've changed so much," Lys said clumsily, trying to avoid making comment on the changes she noticed in particular.
"As have you, Lys," Gudrun replied, stroking Lys' cheek and tracing one of the lines of the young spirit caller's markings with her thumb. "You have gotten a little taller, but..."
Gudrun's hands slipped up under Lys' arms and she lifted her up as she would often do when they were little.
"Still light as a feather, I see."
Gudrun spun Lys around and they both laughed. It was almost as if they were children again and not a day had passed. The sight of the two girls frolicking clearly displeased the Bishop, who made his feelings known by loudly clearing his throat.
Gudrun set Lys back on her feet but still held her close to her side as she said, "Surely Your Grace can forgive the joy of two sisters reunited."
"When the prodigal son returned, his father met him with much rejoicing," the Bishop said. "Yet there is a time and place for everything. We have not been assembled for mere frivolity."
"It is as you say, Your Grace," Gudrun said with a slight bow of her head, guiding Lys' head down while she was at it.
"You see what a difference being raised in the way of courtly manners makes?" Kolman said. "As opposed to living in the wilds among savages."
"I'm sure you'd rather me take what I learned in the wilds over manners in the court of the Witch Queen," Lys replied.
Gudrun gave Lys' shoulder a squeeze to discourage her from arguing with Kolman further. Even if they were about to go at each other again, they were interrupted by the entry of Gereon, the King's majordomo. He now needed the aid of a sturdy cane to walk and he could not seem to be able to speak more than a few words without wheezing.
"Haa... His Majesty... aah... the King... His Highness... ho... the Crown Prince, and... hee... Her Highness... the... ah... the Princess Luitgard..."
The first one to enter was Prince Wilfried, who had grown from a rather thin and awkward youth to a more strapping young man, the very picture of a future King. The thin moustache on his lip, however, was ineffective at making him look more mature than he was.
The Prince was followed by King Amalric with Princess Luitgard at his side holding his arm. The King looked much older than the last time Lys could remember, his back hunched and his beard left to grow nearly down to his waist. Losing his Queen and then his kingdom weighed heavily on him and the years had done nothing to lighten that burden.
The last to enter was Sir Eckhardt, but Lys scarcely noticed as her attention was on the King. Of those gathered in the room, the men bowed low and the women curtseyed in kind. The King tilted his head at the sight before him.
"Who is this child?" he asked.
"This is Lys, Your Majesty," Kolman said, "Master Tancred's daughter, returned to us after all these years, as I told you. She says she has come to speak of her father's will."
"Tancred's will? Hmmm..."
The King bowed his head in thought for a moment and when he looked up again, he beckoned to Lys.
"Come closer, child. Let me get a better look at you."
Lys was somewhat hesitant, unsure of how to face the King after leaving the way that she did, but Gudrun gave her back a gentle push to encourage her to step forward. She stopped a few paces away from him, but the King continued to beckon.
"Closer, child, closer," he said. "My eyes are not so keen anymore."
Lys got closer still. The way the King's back was stooped, his head was nearly at the same level as hers. He reached out with his hand and touched her face.
"Is this truly the same girl I once bounced on my knee?" he asked. He answered his own question, saying, "Yes... I can see your father in your eyes."
"And my ears, Your Majesty," Lys replied with a bit of a smile.
This made the King smile as well and chuckle a little.
"Like your father, you lighten my spirit," he said. "But what are these strange markings? I have never seen the like of them before."
"I followed the spirits' calling and travelled beyond our borders," Lys said. "There I was trained in the way of the spirits that I might fulfill my father's will."
"Pay no heed to this child, Your Majesty," Bishop Friedman said. "She has given herself over to heathen ways. She should be driven out."
Lys' face hardened as she turned to the Bishop and asked him, "Is this the same courtesy you would have shown my father, Your Grace?"
"Your father was granted a dispensation to practice his arts under the Church's supervision," the Bishop replied. "Whatever was in his soul, he did not make an unseemly display of himself."
"Enough," the King said. Then to Lys, "Tell me about Tancred's will."
"He wanted to save them," Lys said, "to save Loreley and Maus."
The King's face darkened and the entire room seemed to grow colder. It would have been easy for Lys to lose her nerve, yet she pressed on.
"I've been studying the spirit arts so that I can separate the spirit of the Witch Queen possessing Loreley. If I can drive out the Witch Queen..."
"I tried to cast out that foul demon when it first took that girl," Bishop Friedman said. "I adjured it in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Are you saying that your heathen arts are greater than my faith, or the power of the Holy Name of the Blessed Trinity?"
"I'm saying nothing other than what I've said, Your Grace," Lys replied.
Before a fresh row could ensue, the King patted Lys on the shoulder and said, "Walk with me, child. I want some fresh air. You on my left and Luitgard on my right."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Lys said, curtseying before taking up the King's left arm the way Princess Luitgard held the right.
As they turned to leave, the King said, "The rest of you may follow if you please."
With Bishop Friedman and Kolman stridently opposed to what Lys meant to do, they were not going to leave her alone with the King and wherever Gudrun stood on the matter, she followed along as well.
As they were walking, the King said, "My child, I may grant that young Loreley is innocent in the matter, but from what I have been told, Maus bent the knee to the Witch Queen of his own free will."
"All of us who were there that day can attest to that, Your Majesty," Kolman said.
"You cannot say the boy was bewitched," the Bishop added, "or else more of us would have fallen under the same spell."
"He did what he did for love of Loreley," Lys said. "Father understood this."
"And Maus killed your father," Kolman said. "If not by his hand, then by the army he led against his own homeland."
"Any of us can do terrible things in the name of love," Lys argued. "Just because someone has fallen doesn't mean they're not worth saving. There's still good in him. I know."
"What do you mean, you know?" Kolman asked sharply.
Lys had avoided talking about her encounter before now, but surely if ever there was a time for it, this was that time.
"When I was passing through Skadia, I was taken by the men of some lord when the Witch Queen's army attacked. I was wounded trying to get away, but Maus saved me, let me go."
"Why am I just now hearing about this?" Kolman demanded.
Before Lys could reply, Bishop Friedman said, "One good deed cannot redeem years upon years of the most heinous sins."
"Even the vilest sinner can be redeemed, Your Grace," Lys said. "Isn't that what the Church teaches?"
"Only with sincere contrition, with repentance, and the saving grace of our Lord and Savior," the Bishop said. "Without the first two, the third cannot take effect."
"What I saw wasn't a man who enjoyed what he was doing."
"Yet he persists in it all the same. If he was truly contrite, he would not continue to wallow in his sin like a sow in the muck."
"You waste your breath pleading for that villain, Lys," Kolman said. "Who can you hope to find who will take your side on this?"
"Where is Sir Burkhardt?" Lys asked. "He was Maus' master. If anyone here can speak on Maus' behalf, it's him."
"Look to the taverns," Sir Eckhardt said, his voice tired and defeated at the mention of his brother's most likely whereabouts, "but I warn you, child, if you're hoping to find the Knight Champion of old and an advocate for Maus, you're going to be disappointed on both counts."
Lys did not let his words deter her, mostly because she did not really stop to think about what they meant.
"If I can get his support, will you reconsider?"
"There is not a one among us here who does not curse the name of Maus the Betrayer," Sir Eckhardt replied, "but none so much as Sir Burkhardt. You would have an easier time convincing the sun to rise in the west and set in the east."
"If there is any good left in that boy," the King said, "he would feel the sting of this one child begging for his life more than all the curses we could heap upon him."
They exited to one of the courtyards. There were courtyards in each of the four quarters of the castle grounds and this one to the back of the North Wing was used as training grounds for the Count's men as well as the Gotlanders who remained in the King's service. Here they could find a missing member of the Five Champions, Sir Hengist, practicing his archery. At least one of the reasons he had not been in attendance is that navigating the narrow stairwell to the solar would have been nearly impossible with his body. Unlike the much larger Engelsberg in Gottestag, Castle Reginwald was not designed to grant horses or Horsemen easy passage.
When Sir Hengist saw the King, he raised his bow aloft and shouted, "His Majesty the King!"
The men who were training immediately stopped what they were doing to render salutes, as did Sir Hengist in the manner of his people, holding his bow crossways as he dipped the front of his body in a sort of half-kneel.
"As you were, gentlemen," the King said.
Sir Hengist approached and said, "You Majesty, you honor us with your presence as always, but did you not have a conference to attend at this hour?"
"The solar is an ill-fit for so many," the King said. "I wished to enjoy the open air, even if it is within the confines of these walls."
Sir Hengist eyed Lys and said, "So the daughter of Master Tancred has indeed returned."
"Hello, Captain Hengist," Lys said. "I see your skill with a bow has not lessened any."
Sir Hengist snorted.
"At these distances, if I could not hit the target, I would need to be put to pasture. You have been gone some years and picked up some... curious manners in that time."
"Surely you of all people can appreciate a stranger in a strange land, Captain."
"It has been over five hundred years since my ancestors found refuge in Gotland, child, but I take your meaning."
"Come now, Lys," Kolman said. "Tell Sir Hengist your business if you have the courage for it."
Sir Hengist cocked his head.
"I had heard that you wanted to speak to the Five Champions about Master Tancred's will, but I could not attend an indoor meeting. What is this about?"
Kolman goading her was particularly cruel, both because he knew what an intimidating figure Sir Hengist was and how bitterly he hated Maus. Still, if she could not stand up to him, how could she expect to find the courage to face the Witch Queen?
"I'm going to try to save Loreley from the Witch Queen," she said, "and Maus, too. I want your help, you and the rest of the Five Champions."
Sir Hengist gritted his teeth so hard you could hear it. His hands quaked and it seemed like he would explode, then in a single swift motion, he drew arrow and loosed it at the target, barely even looking at it yet still striking no further from the mark than the other arrows he had loosed with a far clearer head.
"Would that have struck that wretch's black heart!" he fumed. "Do you know what you ask of me, girl!?"
It was not necessary to be said, but Kolman seemed to delight in saying it anyway.
"Sir Hengist had a squire, you know. He loved him as a son. He was with us that day. See that he isn't with us now."
"I do not need you to say it, conjurer!" Sir Hengist snapped. "The girl knows! Do you not!?"
"I do," Lys said.
"And still you would ask me to help our betrayer?"
"I would."
Sir Hengist angrily pawed at the ground with his hoof before turning away and going to the target to retrieve his arrows.
"Skadia is fallen," Prince Wilfried said. "Now Lothria is all that remains standing. If the Witch Queen's army stays true to their custom, the vernal equinox will be their signal to invade."
"We are doomed then," the King said, hanging his head. "Seven kingdoms fallen. Can one alone turn the tide?"
"We are being tested, Your Majesty," Bishop Friedman said. "We have been unfaithful and so we have suffered the sword and the famine and the pestilence, but the Almighty in His mercy has not forsaken us entirely. We must call on Him to deliver us."
The King turned to the Bishop and asked, "How many, Friedman... How many have died crying out to God in vain? How many groan under the Witch Queen's cruel yoke and yet God does not answer them?"
"Those who have died in the faith have found their rest," the Bishop replied. "Those who suffer now on earth for His Name's sake will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."
The King shook his head.
"Words... Empty words..."
"Your Majesty!" the Bishop exclaimed. "Though you be King, you must still answer to the King of Kings. Do not let the Devil tempt you away from the one true faith in your despair."
Showing more animation than Lys had seen in him thus far, the King spat back, "Shall we all fall down on our faces then? Grovel and plead with the Most High as the Witch Queen's beasts tear our flesh and crush our bones?"
"We go before God as men," the Bishop said as he reined in his own passions, "humbled, but as men who take their courage and fight for His glory."
Although it was surely not to either of their preference, Lys added her voice to the Bishop's.
"Without the Witch Queen, her armies will crumble," she said. "I have to try."
"I cannot agree with your methods, young Lys," Prince Wilfried said, "but I agree with your purpose. If the Witch Queen were to fall, her empire falls with her.
"We have the Far-seer's final vision. It accords with what Lady Gudrun has seen in her own visions and the reports of our spies. The Witch Queen is so confident in her power that she has left herself lightly defended. If we were to infiltrate Engelsberg through the hidden tunnels with a small party of champions, we could defeat her before her armies march again in the spring."
He paused, taking stock of how the others were reacting to his words.
"It is a desperate gamble, I know, which is why I would lead the expedition myself."
There were looks of surprise from every corner. The only exceptions were Gudrun, obviously, and the King, who simply bowed his head.
"Your Highness," Sir Eckhardt objected, "you are the Crown Prince, the very future of Gotland. You are too important to the kingdom to risk on such a venture."
"Gotland has no future so long as the Witch Queen reigns, Sir Eckhardt," Prince Wilfried said. "If I am to be worthy of the throne, I must win it back by my own hand."
Sir Eckhardt looked to the King and said, "Your Majesty, say something, I beg you."
"There is nothing I can say now that I have not already said," the King replied. "Wilfried is set in his course. If this is how he must prove himself, so it must be."
"Your Majesty!"
Lys knelt before the Prince and took hold of the hem of his cloak.
"Your Highness, our purposes are not at odds with each other. Saving Loreley and Maus would mean the Witch Queen's defeat."
"Still you would plead for your father's murderer?" the Prince asked.
"It is my father's will, Your Highness."
The Prince knelt down and placed his hand on Lys' head, telling her, "I often crossed swords with Maus in training when I was a boy. I would have been proud to have one such as him as my own knight as Sir Eckhardt is for my father, but he chose to betray all faith for the love of a woman, who is herself betrayed as he serves the demon that possesses her. Even if you were to free him from the Witch Queen's thrall, he would have to face justice for his crimes. If he had a thousand lives, it would not be enough to atone for what he has done, so the one will have to suffice.
"Knowing what is in your heart, I will not ask for your help. Maus must face the King's justice, and as the future King of Gotland, I will execute that justice by my own hand. Remain here, Lys, as a comfort to my father. You have done what you could. Fulfill your father's will by carrying on his service to this house."
"I... I am not worthy of your kind words, Your Highness," Lys said, still clinging to the Prince's cloak. "Perhaps I would do well to do as you say, but I don't believe I've done everything I could. Not yet."
Lys stood up. It was quite the breach for her to stand while Prince Wilfried was still kneeling, but breaches in protocol were the least of the offenses she was about to commit.
"I'm going to save them," she vowed. "I'll save them or I'll die trying... with or without your help... or your leave."
Sir Eckhardt was about to upbraid her, but the King raised his hand to stop him. Kolman, however, did not keep quiet.
"The Witch Queen has been collecting everyone she can find with a gift for magic. If you venture into her domain, you will be taken. If you are taken, you will be turned. And if all you're going to accomplish is being made into our enemy, we would do just as well to put an end to you now."
Without flinching, Lys spread out her arms to challenge those around her.
"Any takers?" she asked.
Sir Hengist promptly nocked an arrow and drew back his bow. The look in his eyes made it clear that he would think nothing of loosing that arrow right into Lys' heart.
"Put it away, Sir Hengist!" the King shouted hastily.
Sir Hengist obeyed, but not without a moment of reluctance.
The King moaned, "Why must you add to an old man's trouble? The lamb that was lost is found and you would slaughter her before my eyes? Oh, cursed are my days..."
"Your Majesty, this fool of a child will not listen to reason," Kolman said. "She will not heed me, her master, nor even you, her King. Her powers are too weak for her to triumph yet too strong to be left alone. Her purpose is folly and she will not be swayed from it. What would you have us do?"
"All I see are two children hell-bent on grieving me," the King said. "If I give leave to one, it is only fair that I give leave to the other. Lys, my daughter, if you are truly prepared to sacrifice everything to save those young ones, then no loyal subject of mine will stand in your way nor harm a hair on your head."
Lys knelt down and said, "Thank you... Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Wilfried, Lys," the King continued, "if you cannot agree on what must be done, then it will be a contest between you to see who can accomplish their purpose first."
The Prince gave his father a discomfitted look, then turned to Lys and said, "I do not wish for you to see me as your enemy, Lys."
"Nor I you, Your Highness," Lys replied, "but if you mean to kill Loreley and Maus, then I have to stand in your way."
"Then I must pray that I reach them first," the Prince said.
Lys looked to the others and the only thing resembling a sympathetic face was Gudrun, though she noticeably had not said a word to support her.
"It seems that I won't find any allies here," she said. "I've done the first part of my duty by telling you my father's will. Now I have to do the second part by fulfilling it, alone, it looks like. I'll take His Majesty's leave and be on my way then."
She turned and curtseyed to the King.
"Farewell, Your Majesty. If I return, I hope to be with Loreley and Maus."
"Godspeed, my daughter," the King said, "though I do not know if He favors your course or not. Be well, and return to me."
The King's voice began to break as he spoke, which made Lys' heart ache. Against all good sense and propriety, she threw herself at the King to embrace him. Though he was taken by surprise, he returned the embrace before Sir Eckhardt could pull her away.
The King whispered into her ear, "I may be damned for it, but I pray for your success, child. I would at least give young Maus the chance to answer for what he has done to my face."
Lys withdrew from the embrace before she could be brought to tears, curtseyed once more and turned to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kolman demanded as she began walking off. "Lys!"
Still a little angry that Gudrun had said nothing in her support, Lys simply nodded to her as she walked past, but as she was going, Gudrun said, "Look to the red fox running. He will lead you to the ox you seek."
It took Lys a moment to realize that the words of a seeress are not made to be taken lightly. Gudrun may not have spoken in Lys' favor, but she had nevertheless spoken in her support after all. Lys would take those words and seek out her last possible ally, vain as the effort might prove to be.