Sapphire: The Sword and The Seven Stones

By Karen Rouillard

Tietam could not believe they were gone. The shock he felt over the last words his father said to him, he still couldn’t grasp.  A life he didn’t know, he now had to live or would he? The old man said things could change. But at what cost? He knew that the kingdom counted on it but would he be able to save her and still get there in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Karen Rouillard
• Release date: Oct 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386705505

Book preview

Other Books by Karen Rouillard:

Stasha’s Legacy Series

Stasha’s Cure

Franny’s Way

A Mother’s Love

The Sword and the Seven Stones

Diamond

Ruby

Emerald

Non- Series

Being Alive

Online Soldier

Non- Fiction

Surviving Parenthood

The Sword and the Seven Stones

Sapphire

Sword and Stones Series

By

Karen Rouillard

Copyright 2017 by Karen Rouillard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2017 by Karen Rouillard

Cover design by: Book Cover by Design

P.A: Scottica Rapp

Proof and Editing: RL Freelance Publishing

Photography: Chelsea Wilcox (Snapshots of Time)

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

She stood on the mountain top and watched in horror as tears fell down her cheeks. Walls were being built, people being separated. Families crying out for others who they would see no more. What was to come of Aries?  Ashma turned and walked away. She could not stop was to become.

Chapter 1

He walked into the sitting room and took a seat on the one chair that survived the flood. Putting his head in his hands, he thought back to just over a week ago. He had been hunting with John and they were really excited about the game they were bringing home to their families. John had just taken a wife a few months before and she was expecting their first child. When the rains began, they had decided it was best to pack up and make their way back home. As they made their way through the woods, Tietam had an eerie feeling that something was very wrong back at the village. John felt the same way and they left the catch behind and pushed their horse to the extreme to get back to the village. As they made their way down the road that lead to their homes, the destruction was unbelievable. Houses were gone, trees that were over a century old were gone. The water ate everything in its path. Even John’s wife and their unborn child.

Tietam reached his home and was glad to see that his parents had survived but they had swallowed a lot of water. The chest infection was immediate with the both of them. The healer from the castle had come many times, checking on him and his parents.  Chelise was the old healer’s daughter. When her mother passed, she took over watching over his family.  There was nothing that she could do. The infection was too deep and the only thing he could do was make them comfortable. That had been a week ago. Now, he sat there thinking about what his father told him just moments ago as he held his hand as he took his last breath. His mother, dying just moments before.  He got up and walked out the door. He was going to register their names to the book for the king and then head over to John’s house to see how he was.  He wasn’t going to think any more about it. He walked over to his mother’s friend first. She would have the ladies go over and help wrap them both for burial. He thanked her and then headed over to John’s. He knew that others would need help in the village. As he walked along the river’s edge, the only evidence that it did happen, were the water marks that stained the outside walls of the houses in the village. The river bank had settled down afterwards but when it came by such force, it took everything and everybody that stood in its way.

John was sitting in the backyard and looking at the grave that he had placed there. He looked up when Tietam came around the corner. He could tell that it had been a bad day for his friend as well. Do you want to go to the pub for a cup? I have to put my parents’ name in the book. Tietam asked him. John nodded and got out of his chair. He put his arm around Tietam’s neck and walked with him out of the yard. As you said to me a week ago, this will pass and you will live. John gave him a squeeze then released his friend. People were out and Tietam explained to the ones who inquired about them that he was heading now to put his parents’ names down. Some gave him a hug and others said their condolences. His parents were well liked. By the time they got to the bar, everyone inside knew and the barkeep poured a cup for the both of them on the house. He also brought the book over to Tietam so he could enter them in. Taking a good long drink, he now realized why the barkeep was the holder of the book. Anyone would need a stiff drink to be able to write your loves ones’ names down. The king’s secretary would come once a month and gather the names. Until this flood, there would have only been one or two and that was because they were older. He took another drink and then picked up the quill and dipped it into the inkwell. His mother Maylyn had been such a kind woman. People gravitated to her.  Her smile would make anyone want to return one. She had always been soft spoken but Tietam knew not to cross her. She was a very loving mother but would not put up with foolishness. The barkeep refilled his cup and he dipped the quill once more and wrote down his father’s name. Reynold had been the best carpenter that the village had ever seen. He built most of the houses there, along with his father before him and his father before him. When someone needed help, he was the first there and the last to leave.

Chelise came in just as he finished writing it down, then finished what was left in his glass. She took the seat beside him. You okay, Tie? He nodded and then looked at her. He had loved her since they were children and he had hoped that she would one day feel the same for him. He could never understand why every time he tried to get her to take him seriously, she would laugh and walk away. He looked into those beautiful green eyes and knew she would be the only one for him. It must have been the drink because before she could run away, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Chelise took just this small moment and relished in the feeling of him kissing her, then she pushed him away. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she backed away from him. I’m sorry about your parents, then she left. He watched as the door closed behind her and then put his head on the bar. What did I just do? John had started laughing as soon as Chelise left the bar. He smacked Tietam on the back and laughed again. Tie, you never went in for the kill before. He was laughing harder now as he saw the anguished look on his friend’s face. He knew it wasn’t for the death of his parents. It was because he kissed the girl of his dreams and on top of that, he had to get drunk to do it. For years, John watched as Tietam would wait for Chelise to come into the village with her mother. She would play with him and John and Tietam’s mother would watch her while her mother went to work, helping the sick. The barkeep handed him another one and Tietam downed it all in one swallow. Okay John, you can stop laughing now. I just ruined what should have been the perfect moment. How am I supposed to look at her now? The three shots that he downed were now taking effect. John was going to take his friend home to his house to sleep it off.  Tietam leaned on his friend as they made their way back to John’s house. He couldn’t stop talking about Chelise and how he made the biggest mistake of his life. His parents were gone and now he frightened Chelise when he kissed her. John always knew that Tietam had a thing for her. She was a pretty little thing and a lot of men in the village tried their hand but none were ever successful. John finally got Tietam into the house and laid him on the bed in the spare room. He had made the room for the baby and any other children they would have had. Now it was just an empty room with a bed in it. He covered Tietam up with the blanket and left the room. He went into the kitchen and took the bottle off the shelf. He filled his glass and sat down at the table. Thinking of Bethany, she had been the only girl he loved. She and her family had been outsiders and had found a way in. They had to go to the castle to plead to stay, Bethany only being four at the time. Her father was a great mason and the king found that to be an advantage to him so he allowed them to stay. He remembered Tietam’s father going over to help them build the house that Bethany’s father had started on the land that the king had given him. As boys, he and Tietam were always getting into things, always finding new things to discover. He remembered the one day they were walking to the swimming hole and witnessed something that would change his life forever. They were eight at the time and Bethany was six. Two boys were pulling on her clothes and John could see the tears that were already staining her cheeks. He ran over there and pushed the one boy down and then punched the other in the face. Both went crying home. He remembered asking her if she was okay and when she looked up at him with those beautiful gray eyes, he had lost his heart to her right there. From that day forward, they were always together. Tietam accepted the new addition that hung out with them every day. He knew that John loved her and Bethany wasn’t like other girls. She wouldn’t fuss if he and Tietam wanted to do things on their own. When she turned twenty, he asked her father for her hand and the next month, they were married by the king. The month after that, she was pregnant and then not three months later, he lost her. He took another swallow of the drink in his hand and then looked around the kitchen. He remembered when he built the house. It was only four months ago. He could still smell the freshness still in the wood.

When they had arrived home from hunting, John couldn’t believe the destruction of the village. He saw that his house stood strong but as they passed her parents’ house, there had been nothing left. The whole house was gone. He put his horse in the stable and then walked into his house, only to find it empty. He looked in every room and couldn’t find her anywhere. It was then the knock came at the door and Chelise stood there. She had sat him down and told him how Bethany had been at her parents’ house when the river overflowed and took all three with it. He had been in shock. She told him that they found all three bodies on the river bank after the flood subsided. None of them survived. John had felt his whole world come tumbling down at that moment. Chelise had left after that and he hadn’t left his house until Tietam came tonight. Looking at the door where his best friend was sleeping it off, he wondered how Tietam was going to be after this. He had been very close to both his parents. He took one last swallow of his drink and then headed to bed.

Triran looked down on the lifeless body of his son. He couldn’t believe that his son went out in the rains to try and save those in the village. He told him not to go, that the waters were too fierce for him but he wouldn’t listen. He said he was going. It was only a few hours later that the guards brought him back to the castle with broken ribs and a punctured lung, which took his life in the end. Triran sat by his side every minute. The doctor told him there was nothing that he could do to save the king’s son. Triran held his son’s hand until the last breath came from his lips. Everyone had left the room so their king could deal with the loss in private. A tree had fallen on him, the guards had told him. By the time that they had gotten it off him, it was too late. The women would be coming in soon to get him ready for his burial. Triran stood up and looked out the window towards the village. He knew that he would have to bring his other son home. He couldn’t have a kingdom without someone to rule after him.

He walked out of the room and went back to his chambers to dress for the burial.  He closed his door and went to pour himself a drink. He sat down and thought back to the day he had to send his other son away. His wife had just given birth to twins. The law was that if a king were to have twins, that one would be put to death. It was a bad omen to have a queen give birth to twins. As he watched the blood pour from his wife, he knew that he couldn’t lose another. The mid-wife took the baby to the village and he had remained there ever since. Now he knew that he would have to bring his son home.

Tietam woke up the next morning and held his head in his hands. How much did he have to drink? He was sure he only had three but his head was telling him that it was much more. Getting out of bed, he opened the door in search of water to cure the cotton mouth he was dealing with. John stood at the counter and handed his friend a glass of water. Tietam drank it, then took a seat at the table. John turned back to the fire and turned the