Guardians of the West

if I could possibly persuade Ce'Nedra to stay in Boktor as well," he mused.
    "I doubt it," she said. "Kheva might accept you as his superior, but Ce'Nedra looks upon you as her husband. There's a difference, you know."
    He made a wry face. "You're probably right," he admitted. "It's worth a try, though. How far up the Mrin can we go by boat?"
    "The north fork runs into a series of shallows about twenty leagues above Boktor," she replied. "I suppose we could portage around them, but it wouldn't accomplish very much. Ten leagues farther upstream you come to another stretch of shallows, and then there are the rapids. We could spend a great deal of time pulling the boats out of the water and then putting them back in again."
    "Then it would be faster just to start marching when we get to the first shallows?"
    She nodded. "It's likely to take several days for my generals to assemble their troops and get their supplies together," she added. "I'll instruct them to follow us as quickly as they can. Once they join us, we can go on to Rheon and lay siege until Brendig and Hettar arrive."
    "You know, you're really very good at this, Porenn."
    She smiled sadly. "Rhodar was a very good teacher."
    "You loved him very much, didn't you?"
    She sighed. "More than you can possibly imagine, Garion."
    They reached Boktor the following afternoon, and Garion accompanied Queen Porenn and her slightly sullen son to the palace, with Silk tagging along behind. As soon as they arrived, Porenn sent a messenger to the headquarters of the Drasnian military forces.
    "Shall we take some tea while we're waiting, gentlemen?" the little blonde queen offered as the three of them sat comfortably in a large, airy chamber with red velvet drapes at the windows.
    "Only if you can't find anything stronger." Silk replied with an impudent grin.
    "Isn't it a trifle early in the day for that, Prince Kheldar?" she asked him reprovingly.
    "I'm an Alorn, Auntie dear. It's never too early in the day."
    "Kheldar, please don't call me that. It makes me feel positively antique."
    But you are, Porenn -my aunt, I mean, not antique, of course."
    "Are you ever serious about anything?"
    "Not if I can help it."
    She sighed and then laughed a warm tinkle of a laugh.
    Perhaps a quarter of an hour later, a stocky man with a red face and a somewhat gaudy orange uniform was shown into the room. "Your Majesty sent for me?" he asked, bowing respectfully.
    "Ah, General Haldar," she replied. "Are you acquainted with his Majesty, King Belgarion?"
    "We met briefly, ma'am -at your late husband's funeral." He bowed floridly to Garion. "Your Majesty."
    "General."
    "And of course you've met Prince Kheldar."
    "Of course," the general replied. "Your Highness."
    "General." Silk looked at him closely "Isn't that a new decoration, Haldar?" he asked.
    The red-faced general touched the cluster of medals on his chest somewhat deprecatingly. "That's what generals do in peacetime, Prince Kheldar. We give each other medals."
    "I'm afraid that the peacetime is at an end, General Haldar," Porenn said rather crisply. "You've heard what happened at Jarviksholm in Cherek, I presume."
    "Yes, your Majesty," he replied. "It was a well-executed campaign."
    "We are now going to proceed against Rheon. The Bear-cult has abducted King Belgarion's son."
    "Abducted?" Haldar's expression was incredulous.
    "I'm afraid so. I think the time has come to eliminate the cult entirely. That's why we're moving on Rheon. We have a fleet in the harbor loaded with Belgarion's Rivans. Tomorrow, we'll sail up to the shallows and disembark. We'll march overland toward Rheon. I want you to muster the army and follow us as quickly as you possibly can."
    Haldar was frowning as if something he had heard had distracted him. "Are you sure that the Rivan Prince was abducted, your Majesty?" he asked. "He was not killed?"
    "No," Garion answered firmly. "It was clearly an abduction."
    Haldar began to pace up and down agitatedly. "That doesn't make any sense," he muttered, almost to himself.
    "Do you understand your instructions, General?" Porenn asked him.
    "What? Oh yes, your Majesty. I'm to gather the army and catch up with King Belgarion's Rivans before they reach Rheon."
    "Precisely. We'll besiege the town until the rest of our forces arrive. We'll be joined at Rheon by Algars and elements of the Sendarian army."
    "I'll start at once, your Majesty," he assured her. His expression was still slightly abstracted, and his frown was