Chapter Five

Wine, Woman and an Arrow

Chris spluttered awake as wine poured over his face, he sat up quickly confused as he looked around the room. Christopher seemed confused to see his two brothers in his chambers. Aldur and Sebastian looked down on him sternly. Aldur lowered his hand and Christopher took it and was quickly hauled to his feet but before he could speak his perception of the world tipped upside down as Aldur suddenly punched him hard in the face connected with Christopher’s cheekbone, knocking him to the ground again. Christopher rolled to the side as Aldur tried to grab him and sprang up running for the door but jerked suddenly as Sebastian threw his arm out forcing his younger brother to run into it knocking his head back, flipping him in the air then dragged him back and threw him head first into the full length mirror smashing it into pieces. Aldur and Sebastian pulled the once more unconscious Christopher from the broken glass and hauled him into a sitting position resting his back against the desk and then Sebastian picked up the wine pitcher and pouring all of the remaining wine over his baby brother making him once again splutter awake, with a loud groan he looked up and said,

“What the hell is going on?”

“We need to talk Christopher…” Aldur said sadly finding his anger ebb away.

“What about?” Christopher asked wiping wine from his face with his sleeve,

“Well where would you like to start, little brother? Hmm? How about treason? Or perhaps we could start with the cold bloodied murder of our father?” Sebastian shouted losing his temper, “What do you think?”

Christopher reached to his waist and sighed as his hand found his jewelled dagger sheath empty on his belt.

“Please Chris…” Sebastian snapped at him, holding up the jewelled dagger in his hand, “… Give us some credit.”

Christopher looked at the dagger then at his brothers with a defiant look on his face for a few seconds but the will seemed to leave him as he realised his situation. His shoulders sagged and he sighed.

“Well I think where ever you want to start will be fine.”

“How could you do this Chris?” Aldur asked sadly,

Christopher suddenly laughed loudly and manically, a change seemed to overcome him as he laughed. Then suddenly stopped and looked at his eldest brother with sad eyes as he said,

“You could never understand. How could the perfect Prince Aldur the Good possibly understand?”

“What?” Aldur asked,

Christopher pulled himself up using the desk to get shakily to his feet. Sebastian tensed but relaxed when Christopher threw himself into his chair behind his desk.

 A strange look came over his face as he looked out the window of the room, down onto the court yard.

“Do you remember father teaching us to ride down there?” he asked them dreamily, as if nothing was wrong,

“We do.” Aldur answered and leaned against the desk. “Sebastian took to it as if he was half horse, I fell a few times but you spent an hour arguing with father about what about the poor animal.”

“I still remember the wallop he gave me…” Christopher said smiling slightly as he continued to look down at the court yard as servants came and went about their duties and some of the guards patrolling.

“Well you got him back now didn’t you?” Sebastian growled, Aldur flashed a warning look and Sebastian angrily nodded his head,

“I hated him some times… I hated all of you sometimes…” Christopher said making his brothers look at him in shock as he continued, “for different reasons… Aldur you just where father’s favourite son…”

“No I wasn’t…” Aldur began but Sebastian snorted making Aldur pause and look at him,

“Well to be fair Aldur, you were his favourite son, he would always say ‘Why can’t you be more like Aldur?’ or ‘You should take a leaf out of your brother’s book.’”

Sebastian said, “It wasn’t your fault though…” he added quickly seeing the look on Aldur’s face,

“Yes it was.” Christopher said, “You were the first born which made you special… and didn’t you rise to the challenge? Always striving to try and be the best at everything? Oh you loved wearing the mantle of Ithaka's favoured son!”

Sebastian forgot himself slightly, chuckling he nodded,

“You always loved the attention Al.” Sebastian said,

“Attention? And what about you, Seb? Want to hear a small story? When I was fourteen I began sneaking out of the castle to mix with the common folk” Christopher laughed, “I met the most beautiful girl I have ever seen… I spent weeks finding out who she was, and then I bumped into her on purpose so I could talk to her. She was amazing, she was an amazing spirit. For the first time in my life I felt… normal.”

Christopher smiled his far away smile again, “Her name was Bridget and I loved to watch her crimson hair blowing in the wind.  Then one summer night I decided I would confess my love to her, offer her a new life away from the low life…  I couldn’t find her.” A stern look crept into his face and he scowled as he continued, “I searched for an hour then returned to the castle and decided I would come to my brother Sebastian. He is smart I told myself, he will help me. As I approached your room what did I see? I saw you sneak from your room half-dressed Seb, Then I saw you summon a guard to you and instruct him to wake your visitor and escort her from the castle and you scurried away and I had to see the guard come out of your room leading a confused Bridget as she sheepishly straightened her clothes she looked up and our eyes met and she realised I was the lowest prince. And I saw the shame in her eyes… and she saw me judging her in my own. I loved her Seb and you ruined her and cast her away like she was nothing…”

There was silence in the room as Aldur looked between his two brothers, Christopher staring out of the window and Sebastian looking at him shocked.

“Chris… I…” Sebastian tried to say,

“You don’t remember her do you?”

“I… When I was younger I went a bit crazy with girls… I didn’t know... I couldn’t have known…” Sebastian began but then he seemed to remember what had happened, and he snapped “And that’s it is it? Treason because I bedded a young girl?”

Christopher laughed again,

“Oh no, no, no. treason for the greater good!” Christopher shouted the last three words and slammed his hand on the table making Aldur jump. His brother seemed to be losing his grip on reality.

“The greater good?” Sebastian asked but Aldur spoke quickly to Christopher,

“How long has your mind been so clouded Christopher?”

Christopher laughed loud and shrilly again,

“And finally the great and powerful heir notices!” Christopher snapped then seemed to remember himself and calmed, “Since father failed us all I have fought my demons... My mind has cleared more than you can know Aldur. As much as it pains me to say it you are as unfit as father was to rule. You both are living walking effigies to his greatest faults... Naivety,” he said pointing at Aldur then turning to Sebastian, “and Arrogance. You would crumble this city.”

“You do not really believe that Chris?” Aldur asked, concern creasing his forehead,

“Oh I do. You could never make the hard decisions Aldur! And Seb! Ha you think you are always right! You are death to the voice of all others!”

“What decisions do you think I would not make?”

“The ones I have! Father would lead us to doom! I removed him so my plan could take shape!”

“What plan Christopher?” Sebastian snapped at him crossing the room quickly towering over him, Aldur stood and pulled Sebastian away,

“Calm Seb, calm.”

“We spend too much time being calm!” Sebastian replied shortly,

“Calm is the way, Sebastian. Calm is how I survived…”

The two older brothers looked down on their younger brother as he talked seemingly more to himself than anyone else.

“I remember it all… I remember his lies… I remember your lies… ‘It’s okay Chris! Shooting is easy’… and how you were all great warriors and yet when we travelled to Estharia and those men attacked us you left me!”

“We don’t have to talk of that day…” Sebastian said quickly turning away, Aldur’s eyes had begun to water as he remembered.

“You left me and mother!” Christopher screamed at them, “ I got scared! All around us was death! And I wanted to be a warrior and help my family as you fought! And I grabbed your bow, Seb, and I shot at one of the bandits… but shooting wasn’t easy was it Seb? No and she had run into the fight to find me…. To protect me… not my brothers… not my father… my father struck down the bandit as I fired! I saw her as he fell… I wanted to scream… I wanted… I wanted to stop her somehow but I couldn’t…”

Aldur looked up confused, this version of that night was not the one he knew. He glanced at his twin and saw Sebastian was getting frustrated but he seemed to be morbidly enthralled in the tale. Christopher suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Aldur.

“I couldn’t move! I had to watch my own arrow fly through the air… it moved so fast, and she saw me and smiled… she didn’t see it… she thought everything was… was going to be all right… she did not even realise that the arrow had struck her…. I… I ran to her as she stumbled and…and… she fell.”

“Christopher… Did you… Did you kill our mother?” Aldur asked hesitantly. Sebastian walked to Christopher’s wine cupboard and retrieved a bottle and a glass he placed them on the desk without a word and waited his face a mask of indifference.

Christopher looked at Aldur with red rimmed eyes and Aldur realised he too had tears running down his face.

“I wanted to hold her… I tried to get to her… but he… he… father saw me and grabbed me and dragged me away… he was too busy killing anyone near us to hear my cries for her! I tried to get back! But his grip… it was so tight… he dragged me to an upturned wagon to hide…”

Then Christopher’s voice took an icy edge, he rubbed his face on his sleeve and he said,

“But we were not the first to hide there… I stood shocked as I looked at my warrior brothers hiding in the dirt! And what did father say? Do you remember? I do… he said thank the Three your all safe! He hadn’t even noticed! I ran into that battle to help you and you two weren’t even in the battle!”

“We were children Christopher…” Sebastian said quietly,

“So was I! It didn’t stop me running into the battle to help…”

“And you killed our mother.” Sebastian said still quietly, Christopher stopped and looked at Sebastian and he started screaming and jumped suddenly at Sebastian but he jumped away as Aldur rushed forward grabbing Christopher in a bear hug and pinned him to the wall as he screamed,

“You think I don’t know what I have done! You don’t think that night has not haunted my every living day since? I see her falling all the time Sebastian! Every day! And every night I see the Arrows flight! It can’t be stopped… it can’t be undone!”

He stopped shouting and began hysterically repeating himself.

“It can’t be undone…. It can’t be undone…”

“No, Christopher, it can’t.” Sebastian said urgently, but what you have set in motion here can be!”

Christopher pulled away from Aldur and slid down the wall crying, he looked up at them through tears and asked,

“What do you want from me?”

“Details!” Sebastian cried,

“Sebastian calm, Christopher we need to know what happened. We need to know what is going to happen because of your plan… Aldur said quietly sitting on the floor in front of his little brother. Sebastian leaned on the desk and poured a glass of wine and fiddled with his belt.

“I found out Milax had betrayed us… he had been working with the sorcerer for months maybe even a year, I found out what he had planned for the city. I couldn’t let it happen, he was going to hand it to them and they were going to destroy it… I couldn’t go to father he would have just killed Milax…I made a deal! They would leave Ithaka unscathed and march through to the eastern border as the Parashien’s moved north pacifying the western towns and cities behind them. But we would have survived! And when the dust settled we would have marched against them while their backs were turned towards our royal cousin Samuel! And I would have sat on the throne when we were victorious with my two brothers beside me!” Christopher said still sitting against the wall his face still wet from his tears.

“You know we wouldn’t have gone along with that Christopher…” Aldur said, walking back and forth as his little brother told his tale.

“And father?” Sebastian asked,

“Milax was to keep him distracted with Azrael and I could poison you all.”

Aldur raised his eyebrows but Christopher shook his head,

“I planned to spike you all and lock you up in the dungeons until it was over. But father ruined it! He burst through the door while we were communicating with Dramada he went ballistic and attacked me. Milax pulled him off me and pulled his dagger I managed to get it from him but suddenly father struck him with the vase and flew at me I didn’t realise the dagger was there as he hit into me! Then he was running and I saw the blood Milax grabbed the dagger and ran after him I got my wits and ran after them but I found father lying in the corridor… Milax had got there before me. He was dead.”

Christopher dissolved into tears and looked at his brothers.

“I swear I did not want to hurt him! I was trying to save him… to save us all!”

Aldur stood and sighed, he looked at his little brother again and said,

“I will take this information to Azrael and the King on your behalf,” he pulled Christopher to his feet,

“Why?”

“Because no matter what you have done, you are my brother and I love you Chris. You will be detained while I fight for you though.” Aldur said, “I cannot pretend to understand or to even forgive you but I will not abandon you.”

And you Sebastian?” Christopher asked hopefully, Sebastian had been standing with his back to them while Christopher told them of his betrayal, he turned now and smiled,

“We are brothers. And we will protect you from the rope.” He handed Christopher a glass of wine, Christopher smiled and took the glass thankfully and took a large sip and looked at his brothers and said,

“Thank you.”

Confusion started to replace the smile on his face and he coughed slightly, then harder. His face began to change colour as he began to choke, panic over took him and showed on his face. Aldur rushed forward,

“Chris? Christopher what’s wrong?” Christopher grabbed hold of  Aldur and stared into his older brother’s eyes silently pleading for help suddenly went rigid and his eyes went dark, his hands slowly dropped from his brothers clothes and went limp. Aldur slowly laid down his brother and gently let go of him stepping back as he realised in horror that he was dead. He spun round to look at Sebastian who was holding up an empty vial staring at Christopher.

“What have you done?” Aldur cried,

“A kindness… one I do not think he deserved.” Sebastian said and turned away but Aldur grabbed him and slammed him into the door turning him he punched Sebastian who pushed back and swung round pushing Aldur against the wall screaming, “Enough! Aldur! Enough! He was a traitor! He murdered our mother AND father! He has done too much to be forgiven and Azrael was clear… the matter was to be settled. I may always hate him for what he has done but…” Sebastian pulled away from Aldur and looked at Christopher’s body and said, “But I wouldn’t see him at the end of a rope.”

“But… it’s Christopher!”

“Not anymore”

And with that Sebastian turned his back on the body and stormed from the room.

    *                                             *                                            *