The Lost Tales of Mercia Read Online Free PDF Page B

declared,“Not today, Ethelred; of
all days, not today! You will be plenty involved soon enough, of
that I promise you.”
    “What do you mean, soon enough?”
    “For God’s sake, Ethelred, not now! Go away,
fill your little belly in the kitchens if you must!”
    She hurried back inside, and when she was
gone, Ethelred remained standing awhile, huffing with anger. He
could not comprehend all the emotions roiling through him. Suddenly
he felt as if he hated his mother, though he didn’t know why, and
he silently prayed to God for forgiveness.
    Then, having stood still long enough with
his eyes pointed to the horizon, he discerned a shape approaching.
It was a lone rider, charging through the gap in the hills at full
speed; and as he rounded a certain slope, Ethelred was astonished
to glimpse the gleam of a crown on his head.
    “Edward!” he cried.
    He ran down the slope to meet his brother,
little fists bobbing at his sides, heart pounding in his chest. He
did not even know why he ran with such urgency and yelled Edward’s
name so loudly.
    Perhaps, if he had not, things would have
happened differently.
    It had frustrated Ethelred that so many
events of the day had developed beyond his comprehension, and that
he felt some great significance hanging in the air, but he could
not even guess what it was. It filled him with pride that now, he
was at the forefront of this new event. Several dozen soldiers
peeked from the stronghold to see what all the fuss was about, but
Ethelred was far ahead of them. He was the first to reach the king,
who slouched strangely in his saddle, and whose brow twinkled with
sweat in the fading sunlight.
    “Hail, Ethelred,” said King Edward
cheerfully, though his voice rasped. Spittle dripped from his
stallion’s mouth, the hooves of which stomped dangerously close to
Ethelred’s feet.“Have you anything to drink?”
    “I ...” Ethelred patted his tunic uselessly.
He had nothing. He had not even eaten his own night meal, after
all.“I am sorry, Edward, I don’t.” He glanced back to the
stronghold, the sharp stones of which cast angry lines against the
sky from this direction, and watched as a few men marched out of
it. Someone else would provide water, surely, so he hurried to more
important concerns while he could.“What happened to your hearth
companions?”
    “I’m … not sure.” Edward wiped his brow,
though it continued to drip.“I don’t know what disbanded us.
Something must have frightened them, for they disappeared suddenly
… but I would have noticed the tracks of a bear, or wolf. It’s,
ridiculous, isn’t it? A king searching for his own hearth
companions!” He laughed, but no humor was in his voice.
    Ethelred considered this.“We can get my
mother’s men to find them!” He thought he was being helpful, but
Edward frowned. Then Ethelred remembered that most of his mother’s
men had been missing, anyway. He frowned as well.
    “I think not, little brother.” Ethelred
began to understand his discomfort when a few soldiers from the
stronghold reached the king’s horse and surrounded it. Edward
surprised everyone by kicking a man solidly in the face who dared
seize the horse’s reins. The servant fell back with a cry,
clutching a bleeding nose.“Away, you filthy churls. Who has some
ale? That’s all I need.”
    “We’ll fetch it for you,” said a man, and
Ethelred recognized him as one of his mother’s retainers named
Osrid, large and strapping. He looked the part of a soldier though
he wore none of the usual fittings, except perhaps for the
unusually large dirk strapped to his belt. Ethelred was glad to see
him go.
    “Away!” Edward was continuing to kick at the
men lingering around him. At last they all backed off, but Edward
drew his sword nonetheless, a dangerous look in his eyes. His horse
pranced about uneasily, churning the rocky earth under its hooves,
twisting its neck and snorting. Ethelred found the situation very
strange and confusing.