The news was encouraging, at least where Ahern was concerned. Earlier in the spring, he had made his promised visit to Coroth — by horse-litter and coach, much to his disgust — again accompanied by Duke Richard as he was presented to the council ruling Corwyn until he should reach the statutory age of twenty-five.
From there, after escorting Ahern back to Cynfyn, Richard had returned to Rhemuth, in case his presence should be required in Meara that season — and Ahern had set about recovering as much as he could of his former abilities. It had caused him no little pain as he began to exercise again, for he was constantly testing the limits of his strength and endurance, but he was determined that his injury should be as little an impediment as possible.
He had taken up the bow first, before he could even stand for very long, for he could shoot while perched on a stool, with his stiff leg propped in front of him. Competence with a bow did not require agility of foot, but strong arms and a steady eye.
By midsummer, his accuracy had surpassed even the level it had been before he rode off to Ratharkin the season before. When he could stand longer, he also resumed whacking at a pell with his sword — dull drill, starting over with exercises he had first learned as a small boy, but it served the double purpose of building up his sword arm again and venting his frustration at his limitations.
As the summer wore on, he began to shift his thinking to his strengths instead. He would always find it more comfortable to walk with a stick, and would never recover the agility on foot that he formerly had enjoyed; but he found, to his relief, that riding was not the impossibility he had feared — though he must mount from the right instead of the left, since he could not bend his left knee. In time, he would learn to vault astride, unimpeded by the stiff knee.
His first few times back in the saddle — using a mounting-block, much to his disgust — his thighs had ached for days afterward, and his seat had been atrocious. But lengthening the stirrups improved his stability and his comfort, and gave him the leeway to develop a different style and balance to accommodate the stiff knee.
Soon, as his healing stabilized and his strength returned, he was riding at the quintain again, resuming his drill with sword and lance. Se and Jovett worked with him daily, and Sir Deinol, his seneschal in Cynfyn, kept him to a disciplined regimen of physical training. Early in the autumn, as campaign season waned, Duke Richard again rode over from Rhemuth, also escorting the young earl's sisters for their promised visit, and, after watching Ahern train for several days, declared his belief that, if Ahern continued his present progress, the accolade of knighthood might not, after all, be beyond his reach in another year's time.
No news could have lifted Ahern's spirits more, or those of his sisters. Hearing Richard's declaration, Ahern resolved to redouble his efforts, taking advantage of Richard's presence to beg his personal tutelage, which Richard gladly gave.
«He could do it, couldn't he?» Alyce said to Se and Jovett, the day before she, Marie, and Zoë were to start back for Rhemuth with Richard and his party. «He could still win the accolade».
Standing along the barrier fence of the tilting yard, the five of them were watching prince and future duke spar from horseback with blunted swords. Both men were laughing, and Ahern let out an exuberant «Aha!» as he scored a stinging hit on Richard's shoulder with the flat of his blade, much to Richard's consternation and delight.
Se smiled and nodded, watching every move of both men. «There's precedent. Over a century ago, there was a King of Gwynedd who mostly fought on horseback. Javan Haldane was his name. He was born with a clubbed foot, so he had to wear a special boot — which made him not very nimble when it came to swordplay on the ground, but on a horse, there were few who could match him. Mounted, his actual sword and lance work were excellent, and he was a superb bowman.
«Very sadly, none of that could save him, in the end. He was betrayed by his former regents, ambushed in the field. Archers shot his horse out from under him and then cut him down without mercy, along with two of his closest friends. I believe one of them was a distant cousin of yours, Lady Zoë».
«Charlan Kai Morgan», Zoë said, nodding quietly. «My father shares a middle name with him. I remember being taken to his grave when I was a child. He'd been King Javan's squire when he was still prince. He died at Javan's side, trying to defend him».
«Then your father is the latest in a long tradition of loyal Morgan service to the Haldanes, isn't he?» Jovett said admiringly. «Aside from Duke Richard, perhaps, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have at my back in a fight than Sir Kenneth. Well, maybe Se», he amended, with a teasing glance at the other young knight.
«Well, now that Ahern is making such an amazing comeback, we will make a rather formidable trio, won't we?» Se said easily.
All of them gasped as Ahern evaded a particularly deft maneuver on the part of Duke Richard and wheeled his mount for another pass.
«Would you look at that?» Jovett cried.
«It's all thanks to you and Se», Alyce said, unable to take her eyes from the field.
«No, it's all thanks to Ahern's determination», Se countered. «We simply encouraged him to do what only he could do — and we bullied him occasionally, in the beginning, when the frustration made him falter. But his recovery has been a result of his own hard work. A lesser man might have sat back with his leg propped up and rested on the laurels of his valor at Ratharkin. But just look at him!»
He gestured toward the field, where Ahern and Richard were engaged in an astonishing display of horsemanship, breathless with the sheer joy of partnership between rider and steed, wheeling their mounts and darting, feinting, neither ever managing to land a blow on the other.
«What more could one ask of any man?» Se went on. «Especially one who has answered the challenges he has done. And he is still only sixteen. What will he be two years from now? I have little doubt but that Richard will urge the king to grant him the accolade. On that day, you may be certain that Jovett and I shall be present».
They stayed but another day in Cynfyn before heading back for Rhemuth, arriving early in October. The children of the royal household all were thriving, especially the newest prince, but the choicest gossip stirring the queen's household was the news that the Lady Elaine, wed in June to the son of the Duke of Cassan, in distant Kierney, was expecting their first child the following May.
«Goodness, they didn't waste any time!» Alyce said, as she and Marie joined Vera in her room for a snack of cakes and ale, to share the news from Cynfyn. Since Zoë was also with them, and had not been told of Vera's true parentage, the three sisters took care to guard their speech.
«Well, Jared will be duke someday, so he needs to secure the succession», Vera said. 'The same could be said about your brother. I don't suppose his eye was caught by any of those pretty maids in Coroth?» she added, with a twinkle in her eye.
Alyce shook her head. «Not that I was aware of. He seems to have been far more focused on getting back his health — and he's succeeding marvelously!»
In ever-more-delighted detail, she described Ahern's dexterity on horseback, and his skill on the field with Duke Richard.
«We talked about little else on the way back from Cynfyn», she concluded. «Duke Richard was most impressed by how far he's come».
«It sounds like he'll receive his accolade after all, then», Vera said. «That's wonderful news. Now we just have to find him a lovely girl to be his future duchess. How about you, Zoë? Alyce, wouldn't you and Marie love to have Zoë for a sister?»