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The Revelation (Garrett’s Proposal)

posted by Brenda at 07:03 AM, March 21, 2004 | Filed under : Fiction | Comments and Followups

Many of the cousins, at least the Amberside ones, would already have met Garrett, although they would not have known he was any relation. In fact, until recently, he did not know it himself. Da*n Maggie, anyway. She should have kept her mouth shut. If she hadn’t teased him about “I know something you don’t know”, his life would not have been suddenly turned upside down.

Garrett works in the stables of Castle Amber, like his father, Donovan Bailey. Donovan is one of the head grooms at the stables and had been bringing Garrett there since he was old enough to walk. Garrett was at home with the horses. His father trained him well in caring for them. He was acquainted with every equine personality in the stable. The other grooms teased Garrett for being so small for his age, which was about eighteen, but it was all good-natured. They liked Garrett and respected the dark-haired boy with the light blue eyes for being one of the hardest-working kids they’d met. Despite his size, he could heft hay bales almost as big as he was and never seemed to tire. He’d be the first to jump in to try to calm a panicking horse, and was strong enough to get it under control once he got close enough. He was friendly and laughed easily. His proud father introduced Garrett to everyone who set foot in the stables, including all the royals of Amber.

At least Garrett had always thought that Donovan was his father. Neither of his parents had ever indicated otherwise. Until now. Maggie, it seems, had heard their parents arguing over whether to tell Garrett about his “true” parentage. When Garrett dragged Maggie to their mother, Anna, to quell the stupid rumor, Anna hesitated, and looked at Donovan pleadingly. Donovan just gave her a “you’re on your own” look, before staring at the floor.

Anna was a pretty brunette who had once worked as a maid in the palace, back in the days before King Oberon’s disappearance. She had left the palace when she was pregnant with Garrett, to avoid the heavy lifting, which could harm the baby. That was always the reason she gave before. This time, though, the story was different. With tears in her brown eyes, Anna told of being young and having a crush on one of the princes. In desperation, she had told him that she could be “available” for him, and being young himself, he took her up on the offer. Anna believed in Cinderella stories, and at first it was all so exciting, having the secret attentions of a charming prince. After several months, though, it wasn’t fun anymore. Anna came to see how foolish she’d been. He only wanted one thing and no matter the price of admission, she would never get past the lobby. She was a maid. He was a prince. No chance. No way. Anna had asked to be transferred to the laundry or the kitchens, somewhere away from the family wing. About a month after the transfer, she discovered she was pregnant.

The only person Anna told about her condition was Donovan Bailey, who was her best friend in all of Amber. She and Donovan had played together since they were toddlers. Donnie was big and powerful and strong, but as gentle as a six-foot teddy bear. Somehow he always seemed to be the one to pick up the pieces when her flights of fancy crash-landed.

“So which one is it?” Donovan asked quietly.

“Random” she spat. “The arrogant, self-centered, son-of-a-b..”

“Shhh! You want to be thrown in the dungeons? He is still a prince, you know,” he said.

Anna just growled and fumed.

Donovan sighed. “Look, cursing him out isn’t going to solve the problem.” He paused. “Are you going to tell him?”

“No!” she spat again. “Why should I? He’d probably deny it anyway, and who’s going to believe me?”

Donovan started to object, then just nodded and sighed again.

“Besides,” she continued. “it’s my child as much as his. Do you think I want my baby brought up by nannies and servants? Just look at him to see what THAT gets you.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” he asked.

Anna’s shoulders slackened. She suddenly looked tired. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to leave here, that’s for certain.”

“Wait.” He looked at the ground, thinking. After a long pause, he knelt on one knee. “Marry me.”

“What?” She stared at him in disbelief.

“You heard me. Marry me. We can tell everyone it’s MY baby. We’ve known each other forever. Anyone would believe it.”

“No, they wouldn’t. You’ve never laid a hand on me.”

He stood up and moved closer to her. “We’ll have to remedy that, to make it convincing. Anna, the kid needs a father, biological or not. And you don’t want the real one to know. Do you have a better plan?”

“No.” She sighed. “Are you sure, Donnie? I mean, this is for life.”

He gave her a wilting look. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t sure. What’s your answer?”

A small smile formed on her face as she looked up at him through long lashes. “All right. The answer is yes.”

Garrett just stared as his mother finished her story. Then he looked at Donovan across the room. “Dad?” His voice sounded strangled.

Donovan looked up at him and his hazel eyes were damp. He held Garrett’s gaze. “You’re still my son, Garrett. This changes nothing.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me? Why?” Garrett nearly shouted, struggling for control.

“Because I didn’t want him to,” said Anna.

Garrett turned on her and his jaw dropped in astonishment. “Why not?”

“Because I chose a father for you who would care! Who would love you and teach you what was important. Random cared for nothing but himself. Even if he’d showed any interest at all, he’d have dumped you off on the servants to raise you. You’re MY son. I wouldn’t have you brought up by people who only cared for you because they were paid to.”

“Did you ever tell him?”

“No,” said Anna. “He left Amber a few years after you were born. He was gone for about seven years, and when he came back, he had a wife. Not that I would have told him anyway. He didn’t deserve you. When he left for the Patternfall war, I sincerely hoped he’d be eaten alive by some horrid thing out of Chaos. Would’ve made my life easier. Instead, he somehow got himself made king. Only the Unicorn knows how THAT happened.”

Garrett’s eyes were wide. The implications of all this were starting to set in and the room was spinning. Garrett moved to the door. “I’m going out,” he said as he opened it. When the fresh afternoon air hit him, he started to run.

“Garrett!” his mother called after him.

“Let him go,” said Donovan quietly. “He’ll be back.”

For once, Maggie was silent.

—-

Garrett slowed as he approached the stables. Fetlock, one of the afternoon grooms, saw him coming. “Bailey, you’re not on until tomorrow.”

“I know,” said Garrett. “I just needed some air. Does anyone need exercise?”

“Take the gray mare in Number 21. She hasn’t been out yet today.”

“Okay.” Garrett went to the indicated stall and greeted the mare with a smile and some oats. He led her out and saddled her up. As he fitted the bridle, he buried his face in her neck for a moment and sighed. Then he stood tall, wiped his wet eyes on the back of his hand and climbed into the saddle. “Let’s go, me beauty,” he said.

Garrett walked the horse around to the back of the castle. When he found the trail that led up the mountain, he turned onto it and let the horse pick her own pace. He hadn’t planned to go all the way up. He probably didn’t have time before dark anyway. He was going to an outcrop of rock that he knew of, one that overlooked the castle and the city below. When he got there, he dismounted, tied the horse near a patch of grass, and sat down on the rocks with his feet dangling over the edge. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes to think.

It did explain a lot. Garrett had always been unusually strong. People commented on it often. He just figured he was healthy. And the healing. He had badly broken his arm as a child and it had healed in two weeks. And there was that time when the horse kicked him in the forehead in a panic during the Sundering. Lady Vialle had stitched him up at the field hospital and the gash had healed in three days. Not even a scar. That was another thing, now that he thought about it. While she was washing the blood off his face, Lady Vialle had commented that his features seemed familiar and had asked him about his family. Anna had always told Garrett that he looked like her brother, who had been lost at sea many years ago. Maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe Vialle had noticed some resemblance. Or maybe she was just making conversation. Anyway, the subject never came up again.

Garrett wondered if there were other, ah, symptoms of being an Amberite. It was information he should know. But how to get it? He couldn’t exactly walk up to the king and say, “hi, I’m the son you never knew about.” He would have Garrett locked up. Garrett shuddered at a sudden thought. Would Random even remember Anna Grimes, a lowly maid that he only knew for a couple of months? Okay. He couldn’t approach the king. Not yet.

What about the cousins? Martin was out. How do you introduce yourself to a brother who doesn’t know you exist? Besides, Martin was always so intense. Lady Folly seemed nice. Maybe he could talk to her sometime. Except that she had a thing going with Martin. They were together a lot lately. Being beat up by a newfound brother was not something Garrett looked forward to. If he talked to her, he would be sure to maintain lots of personal space. There was that artist - what was his name - O something? O…O…Ossian, that was it. He might be okay. Lucas came down sometimes to get a horse to go into town, but Garrett didn’t really know him well. Maybe it was the clothes. Jerod - like Martin, too intense. Vere seemed friendly at the stables. A little stiff sometimes, but maybe that was just the way royalty was.

Royalty. Garrett’s head hurt. He couldn’t do this. He thought about Random again. He had met him several times. The first time was in the kitchen when Garrett nearly ran him over with an armload of apples on the way to the stables. He was pleasant then, even with two of King Eric’s palace guards following him around. He even helped Garrett pick up the apples.

A couple of years later, when Eric was gone and Corwin was regent, Random came to the stables a few times, getting horses to go wherever it was he went. Come to think of it, Dad had always managed to be busy when Random came in. He usually made Garrett help the prince. Garrett smiled and shook his head. Dad knew. Garrett thought about the last time he saw the prince before the Sundering. He had come down with all his war gear and needed a horse. Garrett had set him up with a beautiful, steady black mare, a veteran of many a rough ride. As they were getting the horse ready, Garrett heard a sniff from the other side of the mare. He peeked under her neck and asked, “Everything all right, Your Highness?”

Random smiled, but wouldn’t look at Garrett. “Yeah. I just said good-bye to Vialle.” He stuffed more gear in the saddlebags. “Sh*t, that was tough.”

“Yeah. I bet.” Garrett left the prince to his own thoughts and went to look for equine armor.

Later, when Random mounted and prepared to leave, Garrett said, “Good luck, Your Highness.”

“Thanks, kiddo. I’ll need it.”

Garrett opened his eyes, breathed deeply and stared down at the castle in the approaching twilight. It was all too much to comprehend right now. He’d have to sort it out tomorrow. He stood up, stretched and fetched the horse. “Come on, girl,” he said as he mounted. “Time to go home. Mum’ll worry if we’re not home for supper.”

Follow up: the trackback URL for this entry is: http://www.whiterose.org/MT/mt-tb.cgi/3188

3 Comments

Arref
Mar 21, 2004 1:12 PM

Love this.

Karen
Mar 21, 2004 9:56 PM

Yay! Thank you so much for sharing this. It's really cool.

LizT
Mar 22, 2004 11:31 AM

Very neat.

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