The Servant's Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

prince--"
    "Will understand. The king will die in this war and that boy is our only chance for peace."
    I knew the prince well, he would take his mother's decision poorly, and if she made peace with Rothwell, the soldiers would put her, not the prince, on the throne. "My queen, I do not want to see you hurt."
    "You won't. Protect the boy. For me, for the people of Veneser." She kissed my cheek. "There have been too many deaths. I know you buried your Anna, with this child we can stop the killing. You are the only one I can trust with him."
    I looked at the boy again; he slept sweetly, dark hair curling about his face. My king would have the boy killed -- just to keep a terrible war from ending. Anna would want the war to end. Her desire for peace had killed her. The king slit her throat, but only after defiling her, after making me watch. I would honor her memory, I would keep the promise I made. No revenge, just remembrance. "I will keep him safe, your majesty." Peace for my sister. Peace for my country. And perhaps, proof that I was not the same as the rest of our family. I was not tainted.
    "Thank you." She kissed my cheek and hurried from my room.
    "Well, it looks like we've got a journey to take, little one." I smiled at the boy, "You and I are going to stop a war."
    The rain was cold, soaking my clothes. There were more pursuers now. Men shouting and crying out to each other. The sounds of horses.
    But even with the war over, the politics of the palace wouldn't let me be. I walked the halls warily, wondering if someone would try to kill me for my part. Not everyone supported the new queen. Valerie had managed to stay alive, and her whispers undermined the queen.
    "Terence!" the prince shouted at me, I froze mid-stride and turned to face him. "What have you done? Peace? With Rothwell? You helped them make peace! What would my father say?"
    "He is dead. There is peace. Be pleased. You will be king someday. A feat you may not have managed had he lived."
    He swallowed, knowing full well the truth of those words. "Do you know what will happen to you if those still loyal to the old king discover your part in the peace treaty? You will be dead, Terence." He strode forward and grabbed hold of my shirt. "I don't want you dead." He swallowed, and kissed me.
    I shoved him away. "And I have explained more than once that I cannot reciprocate your feelings highness. I don't love you."
    "You are seventeen, barely a man, you do not know real love. I love you! And now-- now I must send you away. They will kill you and even if you won't return my feelings, I don't want you dead. I care too much about you for that." His blue eyes were serious, his golden hair shone in the lamplight. He looked just like the statues of old heroes in the throne room. Stoic. Brave.
    "How can you be so sure they are after me?" Even I had not heard with any certainty either way.
    "I overheard them talking about it." He shook his head. "I don't care if you don't love me, but I will not see you die. Please, you have to run."
    I sighed. "I will not be forced out of my home, Jon." I shook my head. "Who will be your friend if I am gone?"
    He sighed, but he didn't argue.
     
    ***
     
    I tripped over a root, diving face first into mud. I pushed myself up and kept running. No one  could know. No one.
     
    ***
     
    Jon was right. He was right. They came for me. Seven men and the bitch herself.
    There was blood all over . On my hands, in my hair, in my nose and mouth. I was covered in it. Jon found me there, in a pool of blood and surrounded by the dead. "What have you done?" He asked. "What have you done?" There was smoke and the smell of charred flesh.
    "They came after me-- they--" The dead were men loyal to the old king. Some of them had been friends. I'd grown up with them, trained with them. And I'd killed them.
    "If the queen finds out what you've done she won't be able to protect you."
    "It was self defense."
    "It was murder-- that is what everyone will think.