Read Online Search for Audric by Richard S. Tuttle - Free Book Online Page B

bodyguard," replied Prince Derri.
    "You can always count on me, Father," agreed Prince Antion.
    "Good," smiled the king. "I know this will be hard on both of you as some of your old friends are likely to be here."
    "I know that Prince Umal of Odessia will be here," nodded Prince Antion. "It will be hard not to socialize with him, but I know that you would not be taking precautions unless you felt the need. Derri and I will be fine with the arrangements."
    "Excellent," nodded the Arin king. "Once you have the helms on, ride forward and flank King Hector and me."
    The king eased forward and regained his place at the head of the column alongside King Hector. Several minutes later, the two princes appeared just behind them. Within minutes the column halted before the palace gates, which were closed. A squad of Borundan soldiers stood at the gates, but they made no move to open them. King Hector was about to loudly demand that the gates be opened, but King Caedmon gently touched him on the arm. The two leaders and their escorts sat silently before the gates, waiting patiently. Finally an officer approached from somewhere in the palace courtyard.
    "Open the gates, you fools," bellowed the officer. "Do you not recognize the standards of Arin and Salacia?
    "But…" began one of the gate guards.
    "But nothing," yelled the officer. "Open the gates immediately."
    Both gates immediately swung open to admit the foreign dignitaries. King Hector nodded his thanks to the red-faced officer, and the column moved towards the palace entrance. A squad of Borundan soldiers stood waiting for the new arrivals and held their horses as the soldiers dismounted. The two kings and their personal bodyguards moved forward to enter the palace, but the door guards immediately blocked their path.
    "Only the dignitaries are allowed inside," declared one of the door guards. "Your men will have to wait outside with the rest of the foreign troops."
    "That is unacceptable," King Caedmon said calmly and clearly.
    "Those are our instructions," insisted the guard.
    "Maybe so," replied King Caedmon, "but that is unacceptable to the nations of Arin and Salacia. Now do you wish to argue this point with me, or would you prefer to summon a general who is better suited to handling a diplomatic insult."
    The two guards looked at one another briefly with confusion on their faces. One of the guards eased the door open slightly and slid inside the palace. Within moments the door opened wide and a large baldheaded man with a thin mustache walked out.
    "King Caedmon, King Hector," bowed General Ortega. "How nice of you to come for King Eugeon's funeral."
    "All of the Land of the Nine Kingdoms mourns the loss of King Eugeon," replied King Caedmon. "We have come to offer our condolences and to restate our pledge of peace and brotherhood with Borunda. May we enter the palace?"
    "Certainly," smiled General Ortega. "We have set up a place for your soldiers outside. They will not be needed within the palace. I can assure you that you are safe within these walls."
    "Tell me, General Ortega," asked King Caedmon, "why are the gates to the city closed and guarded?"
    "That is just a precaution," smiled General Ortega. "During this sad time, most of our soldiers are mourning as well as the citizens. It only makes sense to man the gates."
    "And why are the gates to the palace also manned and closed?" inquired the Arin king.
    "Again," frowned the Borundan general, "it is just a precaution."
    "I can well appreciate precautions," smiled King Caedmon, "especially in a place where a king was recently assassinated. Just one more question, if I may? Why are you going to agree to let our personal bodyguards accompany us into the palace?"
    "I can answer that for the good general," grinned the Salacian king. "He will allow it just as a precaution. Is that not right, General Ortega?"
    The Borundan general looked from the Salacian king to the Arin king and shook his head. "Very well," he conceded, "but