Chapter 18 - The Return

Cable was utterly thrilled by Dorian's long tale.  He was so amazed, he'd even forgotten that he was locked in a miserable cell and condemned to rot to death.  Sensing a pause in Dorian's story, he asked, "So you didn't kill the king after all?"

"Of course not," Dorian replied.  "For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would think that I would do such a thing.  Everyone knew I loved my father."

"And you weren't trying to kill Kylus and Romanix during the battle?" Cable queried.

"Cable, you've got to understand something," said Dorian.  "Everyone knows that I was the best archer in the kingdom.  If I wanted to hit something--especially from close range--I would hit it.  Both Kylus and Romanix would know this.  Why would they think that my intent was to kill them?  Boys, it seems as though only Ronaldus understood--things are not always as they seem.

"And let this be a lesson for you," Dorian continued.  "If you encounter something that seems to make no sense at all, then perhaps you simply don't understand it properly.  Kylus and Romanix saw me dressed in the garb of the black knights and thought I'd turned into an enemy.  But they were my friends!  Surely they'd know that such a change was impossible!  They should have realized that they simply didn't have the whole story.  I can't wait to set them straight!"

Cable, who had come back to his senses as he listened to Dorian's reply, couldn't avoid a pessimistic response.  "We won't exactly have a chance to set them straight, though, if we're trapped in this cell."  He looked over to the torch that was mounted on the wall.  The flame was already starting to grow dim.  Soon the light would be extinguished and the trio would be plunged into darkness.  "What makes you so sure that the king will help us?  What makes you so sure that we're not hopelessly doomed?"

Dorian walked over to Cable, whose satchel was still draped over his shoulders.  "When you walked around, I heard a little jingling," he said, reaching into the satchel.  "They sound like our old coins.  Let me see..."  Dorian then grasped a couple of coins out of the bag and walked over closer to the torch.  "Ah, yes, just as I thought.  Do you see that face?  That is the face of King Maximilian.  You would not be carrying these coins, my brothers, if he did not intend to come back, perhaps this very day."

Andres was about to say something, but he held his tongue.  He was still trying to put a couple of mental pieces together in his brain.  Cable, who tried to be encouraged by Dorian's words but still had his doubts, asked, "Are you sure that he'll come back, just because he said so 10 years ago?  I mean, a lot can change in 10 years.  Perhaps he's died, or perhaps he's changed his mind.  Or perhaps he's left the kingdom altogether, or has better things to do, or has just forgotten."  Cable shook his head.  He just couldn't believe, no matter how hard he tried.

A smile crept back over Dorian's face, surprising Cable.  "If you knew our father like I do, you wouldn't doubt.  He always did what he said he would do.  And that hasn't changed, and won't change."

While Cable puzzled over the reply, Andres could remain silent no longer.  "HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!" he declare.  "I GET IT!"

Jumping up and down, he continued.  "Okay Dorian, I've been thinking about this.  You said that Ronaldus took two boys to Corrin 10 years ago.  And just before we left on our mission, our mother said something about our being prepared for this mission ever since we arrived 10 years ago.  And you just called us your brothers.  And you just said something about Maximilian being our father.  And Cornicus is two years older than Abello, like Cable is two years older than I am.  So if I figure this right, that means that Cornicus and Abello are really the same as Cable and Andres, which is really the same thing as us!  We are the king's sons!"

Dorian nodded.  "That's right, Andres.  I knew it from the moment you walked in the door.  I worked to save you those 10 years ago, and now you're returning the favor by coming to save me.  The High King is good, isn't he?"  And the three brothers huddled in the flickering light of the torch.  In the midst of utter misery, there was joy.

Just then, Dorian lay down and put his ear to the floor.  "What are you doing?" Andres asked.

"I'm listening, Andres," he replied.  "When you spend 10 years in a prison cell, you learn to listen for things that catch your attention.  There's not much else to do, after all!  I hear many footsteps in the distance.  It is though an army is on the move, though they are not here yet.  And...well, I hear some footsteps approaching our cell as well.  Be prepared, boys, and follow my lead.  Everything is about to change."

A knock was heard on the cell door.  Andres hoped inside that someone had come to rescue them.  He was quickly disappointed.  It was the voice of the fat man that had thrown them into the cell in the first place.  "Hey, it's your lucky day, guys!" he declared, with an edge of sarcasm.  "Why don't you slide that key back under the door.  The king has decided to let you out!  He just wants to see you for a minute before you go."

Cable grabbed the key from the floor and turned to Dorian.  "Do we trust him?" he whispered. 

"Of course not," replied Dorian.  "But the way of escape planned by the High King may not look the way that we'd expect.  Go ahead and give him the key."

Cable slid the key under the door, and soon it was opened.  As the boys looked into the hallway, they saw the fat man and the tall man, together with about 15 armed guards.  They all had spears pointed directly at the prisoners.  The tall man then said, "You've got to come with us," he said.  "King Slumbutter has summoned you."  He turned to a tall, muscular man with a tiny head that stood by his side.  Andres thought his head looked like a pear, and was about the same size.  "Hey Brains," said the tall man to the muscular man, "go ahead and tie 'em up.  We don't want them running off anywhere."  Brains grabbed some rope and headed over to tie the brothers' hands behind their back.

Dorian looked at Brains and said, "There is no need to tie us, Brains.  You have our word.  We're not going anywhere."

Brains turned to the tall man.  "Hey boss," he said in an oafish voice.  "They said they ain't going anywhere."

"Fool, I said to tie them up!" bellowed the tall man in reply.

"Okay, boss," said Brains.  He turned to Dorian and said, "Sorry, fella.  The boss says I gotta tie you up."

"Nonsense," replied Dorian.  And then he grabbed Brains' little head and kissed him right on the forehead.  Brains was stunned.  "Oh my oh my oh my!" he yelled.  And then he turned and ran down the hallway.

The tall man was disgusted.  "Guards, prod them down the hallway and up to the courtyard," he said.  The guards stuck their spears into the backs of the three prisoners.  The prisoners followed the tall man down the hallway, up a set of stairs, down another hallway, and into the courtyard.  The bright light startled the three prisoners, and they squinted as they were pushed toward a platform that stood at the opposite side of the courtyard.

As Cable's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that they were walking in the midst of an assembly of the black knights.  Four men stood on a platform in the front of the assembly.  One was Dor-ko, a wrathful smile draped over his crooked jaw.  The second was a man with a crown on his head, whom Cable assumed was Slumbutter.  The other two had hoods over their heads and great swords in their hands.

That is when Cable's heart sank.  He knew that the hooded men were the executioners.  They were not about to be set free at all.  They were about to be killed.

The three prisoners were led to the platform and made to sit down, facing the assembly.  The guards remained on the platform, surrounding the prisoners.  Andres couldn't resist muttering, "What's the matter, you sissies?  Do you think it takes 15 of you to guard 3 of us?"  One of the guards took the butt of his spear and swatted Andres on the side of the head.  Andres grunted, but he smiled as he did so.  He'd heard the spear's handle crack as it struck his head.  Once again, he'd given as much as he'd taken.

When the prisoner's were situated, Slumbutter spoke.  "We've gathered you together to celebrate my kingship," he declared.  "Many people in the kingdom have doubted my right to reign, on the grounds that I do not possess the ring of the former King Maximilian, who was slain by the treachery of Ronaldus and Dorian.  We've kept Dorian alive these many years, hoping that he would one day lead us to the ring.  Well, my friends, that day has come!"

At that time, great applause broke out amongst the black knights.

Slumbutter continued.  "Some troublesome boys tried to help the knave escape, but they were caught...with the ring in their possession!  And so, with this great gathering, we will do two momentous things.  First, I shall don the ring which will confirm my place as King of Aberdeen.  And second, we shall slay the treacherous Dorian and the boys who so foolishly tried to restore the ring to him!"

More applause rang through the courtyard.  Then Slumbutter beckoned, and the fat man came forward with the ring.  He handed it to Slumbutter, who took it and walked over to Cable.  "Boy," he asked, "is this not the ring which you carried into the castle?"

Cable was doing all he could to still believe Dorian's words from moments earlier.  Without saying a word, he nodded.

"Then that settles it," declared Slumbutter, turning to the assembly and sliding the ring onto his finger.  "I declare myself once and for all, the sovereign King of Aberdeen!"  The black knights cheered and jeered and rattled their swords and shields.

Slumbutter then turned to the executioners.  Nodding in their direction, he simply said, "Now do your duty," and turned his back.

Cable closed his eyes, not bearing to look.  Andres kept his eyes open, searching for the owl or some other sign of hope.  Dorian's face was wrapped in calm.

The executioners approached.  They drew their swords from their sheaths.

And then one of them said, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Slumbutter."  He then threw off his hood.  A great gasp was heard amongst the black knights.  Slumbutter recognized the voice and whirled around.  His legs shook uncontrollably and he fell to his knees.  Andres and Cable turned and looked at the one they'd feared was about the kill them.  They'd seen this face just moments before, in the horror of the prison cell.

With one voice, a name was uttered by everyone in the courtyard, friend and foe alike.  Most uttered it in fear; the boys uttered it in sheer joy.

"Maximilian!"