Chapter 11
Breakfast was a noisy affair. Sapphire had come for Jasper and let him through another trapdoor in the ground and along another dirt-walled corridor to a massive room filled with rows and rows of long tables. Almost every seat was full and as Jasper entered the room, more than one head turned to look at him. Conversations ended and whispers chased him with the sound of hissing snakes as he followed Sapphire over to a long counter which was piled high with bowls and plates full of food. Delicious smells wafted over and Jasper’s stomach rumbled again.
“Everyone’s staring at me.” He whispered out of the side of his mouth to Sapphire as the pair filled a couple of plates with delicious looking breads, meats and fruits. Sapphire glanced round nonchalantly.
“Of course they are. They’re the army who have sworn to protect the Tiffikins. They, like me, have trained for years to take down our enemies and you’ve just walked in out of nowhere and done it without so much as a second thought.”
“Oh trust me, I’ve had second thoughts,” Jasper muttered under his breath. “Do they hate me?”
Sapphire fixed him with a puzzled stare, like she wasn’t sure how to answer.
“No,” she said, “They don’t hate you. Of course everyone is happy you’re here to save us. I think we all feel a little… useless, though.”
Jasper could understand that. It must be frustrating to train your entire life for a battle that never comes. To have someone else swoop in and do the work for you when you’ve prepared yourself so hard for it must be a demoralising thing. He dipped his head a little in embarrassment and followed Sapphire over to a couple of spare seats. He barely looked up as he ate steadily through the pile of food on his plate, hoping nobody would engage him in conversation. For the first time since he’d gotten here, he felt like an outsider again.
“C…Carnelian?”
The table fell silent, all heads turning to the source of the voice. Jasper lifted his head, too, and turned to look at the man standing by his table, tray in hand.
“Carnelian?” He repeated, then shook his head slightly as though coming out of a daze. “No, it can’t be…”
Still, he continued to stare at Jasper as though seeing someone for the first time in a long time.
“I’m sorry… who’s Carnelian?” Jasper asked, curious as to why this man was mistaking him for someone else.
“He… he was my brother.” The man sighed and sat down at the long table, scratching his stubbly chin and never taking his wide eyes off of Jasper. “He was the head of the King’s guard ten years ago, but one night he vanished along with his wife and their son, my nephew. The work of the Dark Knight, no doubt. The King himself was taken that same night. The Queen, too.“His eyes shifted for a moment to Sapphire’s face and he nodded slightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners in pity.
“Aye, we’ve lost many men and women over the years. There are hardly any of us left now, but you.” He turned back to Jasper. “You’re the spitting image of Carnelian. I thought I’d seen a ghost when I saw you sitting there. What did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t,” Jasper said. “It’s Jasper.”
The man’s hand fell from his face and landed with a soft thud on the table. He suddenly looked pale and his eyes widened further.
“And, how old are you, Jasper? I’d say you’re twelve, almost thirteen?” His voice was thin, as though he was struggling to find the words to say.
“Yes, that’s exactly right, how did you know?” Jasper edged forward on his seat, feeling drawn to this Tiffikin somehow. Something in him told him that whatever happened next was going to be life changing, and he didn’t want to miss it. The Tiffikin man’s cheeks suddenly blazed with colour and his eyes lit up.
“I know because… I think that maybe, I might be your Uncle.”
Chapter 12
“My… uncle?” Jasper stammered, “No, I… I don’t have any family.” He glanced over at Sapphire, whose eyes were darting between Jasper and his potential Uncle, her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. Her gaze paused on Jasper for a second and she spoke in a low voice, leaning close so only the three of them could hear.
“I think we should go somewhere else to talk about this,” and she rose up from her seat, gesturing for Jasper and the older Tiffikin man to follow.
The same whispers that had followed Jasper into the room followed him out and he felt his cheeks burning as he tried to make sense of the past couple of minutes. He had no family that he knew of, and he’d never heard of the Tiffikins until two days ago so he couldn’t possibly be related to one of them, could he? The thought had crossed his mind before, and though it had been glaringly obvious, he’d refused to believe it - yet now, with his supposed Uncle walking in front of him, he was forced to accept it. Yes, he absolutely could have family here because he, Jasper, was obviously a Tiffikin too.
They strode out across the clearing, following Sapphire to the room where Jasper had rested his first day here and all piled in, closing the door behind them and drawing the curtains for privacy. Jasper sat on the small bed, Sapphire on the stool and Jasper’s nameless possible-Uncle paced the floor, scratching at his stubbly chin again and looking deep in thought. He kept glancing over at Jasper and shaking his head slightly in disbelief before turning on the spot and continuing his pacing.
“Do you really think he’s Carnelian’s son, Moss?” Sapphire asked, her eyes following him as he paced.
“Moss?” Jasper whispered, drawing his Uncle’s eyes to him. Moss stopped in front of him and dropped to his knees, staring up at Jasper’s face as though he were a long lost friend.
“Yes,” Moss breathed, “I’m sure of it. Look at him, Princess. He looks just like him! And his age; it would be too much of a coincidence for him not to be!”
“But everyone who was taken that night… we all accepted years ago that they were dead.” Sapphire’s voice caught on the last word, and Jasper thought he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. He wanted to reach out to her and comfort her, but he couldn’t take his attention away from Moss. Now that he was closer, Jasper could see similarities in his face - his nose, pinched at the top, wide and squashed at the bottom was the same nose he’d seen every day looking into the mirror. And the eyes which stared into his face with such warmth were the same almost reddish-brown that Jasper had been sure had inspired his name. Suddenly, any doubts he had were gone and he felt tears of his own prick at his eyes.
“Tell me about my parents,” he asked, and Moss finally stilled, letting out a sigh of relief and sitting himself cross-legged on the floor. He reached for Jasper’s hand and held it tightly as he began his story. Jasper listened intently and as Moss spoke, neither of them noticed Sapphire slip quietly out the door.
“Carnelian and Beryl, your mother,” Moss began, glancing at Jasper with sympathetic eyes at the mention of his mother, “were an important family. Carnelian was not only the head of security for the King, but also his good friend. You never saw the king without Carnelian by his side, whether as his protector or at his dinner table. We’d all grown up together; our family has been linked with royalty for hundreds of years - but what Carnelian and the King had was strong. They were more like brothers than Carnelian and I.” Moss’s head dropped slightly in sadness and Jasper wondered why his bond hadn’t been strong with his brother. He wanted to ask be before the words could leave his mouth, Moss had carried on with his story. “Your Mother naturally became friends with the queen, and so life was good for everyone. When you came along the Queen was there with advice for your mother, having had a child herself already.” Moss looked over to where he expected Sapphire to be sitting and found her gone. His brows crinkled in concern but he turned back to Jasper without comment.
“It was no surprise that when the Dark Knight came for the King and Queen that he took Beryl and Carnelian, too. I lost my King and Queen along with my Brother and sister-in-law that night. And what was most shocking was that their infant son, Jasper, had also been taken. What possible threat could a baby pose to the Dark Knight? Nobody knows exactly what happened that night; only that we lost five of our people and the Princess was left an orphan. And now, you’re here and it makes me wonder what went on and how you could have survived.” He stopped and looked at Jasper questioningly, letting go of his hand and rubbing at his stubbly chin again in what appeared to be a nervous habit. “But you’re here and it’s more than I could have imagined. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have you back with us again.”
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