The Search for the Red Dragon - James A. Owen [41]
As one, the companions turned and looked at the speaker. Tall, with a more regal bearing than they’d remembered despite her rough sailor’s clothing, Aven regarded them all coolly before lifting her chin and giving them a half smile.
“I must admit,” she said, “I didn’t think two of you would come, much less all three. But I’m very…I’m…”
Bert rushed to his daughter and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened at first, then relaxed and returned his embrace. Aven looked up at the three Caretakers and gave them a sincere if weary smile. “I’m very pleased to see you. All of you.”
One by one she gave each of them a brief hug, and kisses on both cheeks. Not an entirely informal greeting, but when she came to Artus, she gave him the same—no more, no less. Charles and John exchanged a puzzled glance, which didn’t escape Artus’s notice.
“You didn’t tell them, did you?” he said to Bert.
“Tell them what?” said Aven.
“It’s none of our business,” said Jack, who had also noted the casual way she had greeted the king. “It’s just that if we hadn’t known better, we wouldn’t have thought you were greeting your husband.”
Aven looked startled. “Husband? You mean Artus?”
“O-of course,” John stammered. “He’s the king, and you’re, uh…”
Aven lifted her chin and looked at them. “He is the king,” she said. “But he is not now, nor has he ever been, my husband.”
“But—but,” Jack started. “That’s, that’s…” He stopped speaking and just looked from Aven to Artus, dumbfounded.
“Aren’t you the queen, Aven?” Charles asked. “I had the understanding—”
Artus cut off the discussion with a gesture. “She is, for all intents and purposes, the royal consort. In effect, she is queen. She and no other helps me to guide the affairs of the Archipelago. But if we had married—formally, as a matter of statesmanship—then she would have been expected to remain on Paralon. And that would not have made her happy.”
“So you refused to marry Artus, just so you wouldn’t have to be confined to Paralon?” said Jack.
“You misunderstand,” said Artus. “I chose not to force her into a marriage that would have filled her days with sorrow and longing.”
“Bear in mind,” John said to Jack, “this is the Archipelago. Our conventions are not necessarily theirs.”
“I’m just a bit startled, is all,” Jack said. “I apologize, Aven, for saying anything out of turn.”
“You didn’t,” said Aven. “But now you know. And despite my wanderlust, I always come back to Paralon. My family is here—both Artus, and…”
Her voice broke, and she pulled her vest tighter. She turned to Artus. “I’ve toured the entire northern perimeter of Paralon. Not a single ship escaped being torched. It’s almost as if a signal was given to an invisible enemy, and all of them were destroyed in a single stroke. Have you heard any news from Samaranth?”
Artus hesitated, then shook his head. “The last report came just as we sent Bert for the Caretaker Principia. There’s been nothing since then.” He paused, considering. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any dragons in more than a day. I wonder where they’ve all gotten to?”
“And the children?” asked Bert. “Are there any more missing?”
“From every village,” Aven said. “The only ones who were spared were too small, or ill.”
“One escaped,” said Charles. “A girl with artificial wings, who called herself Laura Glue.”
“Laura Glue!” exclaimed Aven. “Where is she? Is she here? What did she say?”
“Actually,” said Jack, “we left her sleeping in a wardrobe at James Barrie’s house.”
At the mention of Barrie, Aven’s expression darkened, but she only nodded in understanding. “That’s who she should have gone to. Tell me everything.”
After Artus, Bert, and the Caretakers gave her a hurried explanation, Aven sat at the table and looked over the book where they had found mention of a Crusade.
“Jamie didn’t know what the message meant,” said Bert. “‘The Crusade has begun.’ It meant nothing to him, except for a fragment of a memory.”
“This is the fragment,” Aven said, tapping the book. “The message is what tells me so.