Chapter 18

Another sleepless night, Kol lit a candle. All he wanted was to kiss Kessa. A real kiss. He had worked up his resolve. ‘Tonight.’

It was Max that answered the call. “Max?” 

He bowed his head, “Kessa has gone to the mountain..”

Kol cut him off, “yes, to learn new ways to preserve food. I had forgotten.” He just shook his head. “When she returns, I would like to organize a trip to the island. Frego would like to go before he ships out.”

“Your mother is with her, my king.”

Kol looked displeased. “Now there is an image to behold. Her and food in the same conversation is dangerous. She can’t even boil water.” It was all Max could do not to smile. Kol smiled a great big smile. “You can laugh. It’s true.” Max grinned. “Would you care to send a message to find out if she will stay here? I will make things ready for her if she is agreeable.”

“Yes, my king.” Max bowed and left.

Violet delivered the answer. In the presents of the king, she thought she would pass out. Kol realized that Violet was the person Frego had been speaking with.

“You have a message for me?” He politely asked.

“Yes, my king. Sorry, my king.” She stopped.

“The message?”

“Your mother, my king would be delighted to spend some time with you here at the palace.”

He thought, ‘delighted wasn’t the right word.’ But he didn’t correct her.

“Thank you.” She turned to leave, “would you care to ask Max to stop by when he has some free time? It is nothing urgent.”

She didn’t turn back around. “Yes, my king. At once.”

If it would have not been rude to run, she would have ran from him. But she couldn’t and didn’t.

It was dusk when Max stopped by. “You wished to see me, my king?” Kol was reading, sitting on his big pile of cushions. Max couldn’t tell what the book was.

“Yes,” he set his book down. “Let me start by saying that I have no issue with Violet. Why are you training a new one? I thought 20 was the magic number?”

“I cannot answer that question. I wish I could.”

“You’ve had the same thought?”

“Yes, my king. I don’t understand either.”

“Think with me, is someone being sent with Frego?”

“If they are, I haven’t been told. Would you like someone to go, my king?”

“It’s not out of the realm of impossibility but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it until now.” He got up walking closer to Max, “what about you?”

“My king?”

“How are things with you?”

Max thought about what the king was asking him. Kol walked over to the window. “Kessa, she’s been giving me more responsibilities. Teaching me things that are important to the Bejhar but that are not part of the combat side. Do you think she is going to leave us?”

“Why the sudden interest in preserving food?”

“If I may, my king. Is it sudden?”

Kol tilted his head slightly, “explain.”

“I’m not sure I can. My king, Kessa has many interests. This may be the next one in a long line.” He thought, “to me; it seems, she learns one then moves on to something else.”

“She’s been with us a long time. Are we not interesting anymore?” Kol felt a twinge of regret saying that out loud. “Thank you Max.”

“My king.” He bowed his head and left.

Kol was unable to be there when his mother arrived. He found her and Frego at the table, clean dinner plates in front of them talking about everything. “My apologies for not being able to greet you,” he sat to her left at the table.

“I understand.” She didn’t remove her attention from Frego.

When Kol sat down, Jolla came from the back with a covered tray. He held up his hand. She bowed her head disappearing back into the kitchen. As his mother talked, Kol got lost in their conversation. Frego seemed happy to see his grandmother and to be in her company.

Frego got up from the table, “I have lessons with Rajaf in the morning.”

“How is he?” The Queen Mother asked.

“He is good.”

“I’d love to see him. Do me a favor; young one, learn all you can from him.” His grandmother encouraged.

“Of course,” Frego kissed her cheek. “Father.”

“Goodnight, my son.”

“Before you go,” his mother spoke. “Kessa has invited us to dinner tomorrow night.”

Frego smiled, “then you will see Rajaf there. Goodnight.”

She got up leaving Kol sitting at the table. She turned at the door, “don’t wait up for me.” She laughed.

Chapter 17

Part 3

“We have two soldiers out there.” Frego sighed.

“Why?”

“One of them is the man that grabbed your hand.” Kessa answered.

Kol walked away.

He was in the library when Kessa knocked. “Are you okay, my king?”

He started pacing, still upset. “Why did you show me that?”

“You know me well enough to answer that, my king.”

He hissed, “God told you it was time.”

“Yes, my king.”

“That.” He paced. “Why? Those are our people.”

“Some people can’t function in the confines of society.”

“That’s not the answer I want to hear. There has to be more.”

“No, my king. There doesn’t.”

“Don’t they have family?”

“You heard the lady with the baby does. Some, their families just can’t or don’t know how.”

“I can’t accept this.”

“This wasn’t an attack on you or your leadership. Our kingdom as always had people who can’t make it work.”

He was starting to calm down, “I have walked that wall a thousand times.”

“The top. Have you ever looked down? The inside. Have you walked outside?” He gave her a wild look. “Please, there are situations you can’t do anything about. Situations where you need help. God is giving you that help.”

“This is upsetting. And sad.”

“My king, you are a good man. You are a good king. You can’t fix this but we can make it better. We are trying to make it better.”

He sat on the corner of the desk, “I don’t feel like a good man.” A long sigh escaped him, “if there have always been people at the wall, why is this the first I’m hearing about it. Dad, Abraham, the grand duke never spoke about wall people. But you say they have always been there.”

“I promise you, my king.”

“What can we do to help our soldiers?”

She lowered her head, “they are the most vocal about not accepting help.”

A week had passed; Frego approached Kessa, “my lady have you spoken with dad?”

“It’s been awhile, young prince.”

“I knew it was a bad idea to take him to the wall.”

“It wasn’t a bad idea. It was needed, young prince.”

“He’s locked himself in the library.”

“The king deals with issues in his own way. I agree they are not always healthy ways.”

“Is he okay?” There was panic in Frego’s voice.

“I will check on him, young prince.”

Even with the doors locked, Kessa knew how to get to the king. She found him rolled up in a ball in the darkest corner of the room. He was in need of a bath. She noticed small amounts of food on either desk. Most of it rotting.

Kessa woke with a start. She knew she was on the big pile of cushions; Kol’s arms and legs were wrapped around her. This was not the case when she fell asleep. “Please, don’t move.” His voice was weak. “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry.”

“My king?”

“Kings before me,” he stifled a sob. “Killed the people at the wall. My own father ran them off. They were ‘unsightly’.”

“Forgive me my king.”

“You were right to show me. Like you say, God knows what he’s doing.”