The Pitchfork Rebellion: The Du Lac Chronicles - Novella by Mary Anne Yarde

Author:Mary Anne Yarde [Yarde, Mary Anne]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Historical Fantasy Fiction
Published: 2016-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

Instead of disagreeing or offering words of comfort, Merton knelt down on the damp sand next to his brother’s feet and began to draw in the sand with his finger.

“What are you doing now?” Alden asked. He had just bared his soul to his brother and now Merton was what? Making sandcastles?

“Father said that there was always a choice,” Merton said, squinting up at him. “These are your choices. The first one is this.” He sat back a little so Alden could see what he had written. Merton had scrawled a single name in the sand. Wessex.

“What does that mean?” Alden asked, perplexed.

“It means I go and find my horse and I ride to Wessex tonight. I will find Cerdic and I will assassinate him and his son. Just say it and I will do it. You know I can.”

Alden stared hard at the name in the sand, then he fell down to his knees next to his brother and he put a line through Wessex’s name with his finger. If only he could destroy the man as easily as he could destroy his name. It was so tempting to say yes. He had never wanted someone to die as much as he wanted Wessex to.

“I need to know my other choice before I can commit to this one,” Alden said.

“All right - but just bear in mind that I am more than happy to murder Wessex. Just say the word and it will be done. I don’t want him haunting your dreams anymore.” Merton spoke with such absolute passion that Alden knew he was sincere.

“Just tell me what my other choice is.”

“It is easier to show you. I have been thinking about this for a while and I have a plan,” Merton said, smiling.

“When don’t you?” Alden asked, but the despair in his voice had lessened. He wasn’t alone in this anymore. Merton was with him. Merton had always been with him; he had just been too wrapped up in himself to notice. He wished now he had confided in Merton earlier and he didn’t know why he had not. Maybe it had been pride. He was after all the older brother; it should be him looking out for Merton, not the other way around.

“I like to be prepared,” Merton answered as he began to draw in the sand again, “and I cannot stop myself from thinking - believe me, I have tried. But I think this idea will meet with your approval.”

“As long as it is not like that scheme you had for making the chickens lay eggs throughout the winter.”

“For a five-year-old that was a really good idea,” Merton said a touch of amusement in his voice, “and it would have worked as well if Budic and Garren had not put a stop to it by telling Father.”

“They had good reason to - they did come back and find their chambers full of chickens.”

“They lacked vision,” Merton said in his defence.

“What about the time you decided

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.