Each day Lady Lara and the Sleepers lived in constant apprehension over the movements of Lord Zarak. Messengers came secretly from Goodman, who had his men tracking Zarak’s army—and usually they brought bad news.
“It is terrible,” one messenger said, a tall fellow named Coaltar. “Zarak is even far more cruel than we had believed.”
“What is he doing?” Lady Lara asked.
“He is taking many hostages. He is throwing old people and young alike into the foul dungeons of the castle. He keeps spreading the rumors that the king has been slain by the Seven Sleepers and that you are held captive by them.”
Josh, who had been standing by, exclaimed, “We’ve got to do something about Zarak!”
Coaltar turned to him. “Why does he hate you Sleepers so much?”
“How do you know that he does?” Josh asked curiously.
“We have one sympathizer in his ranks. He tells us that Zarak seems to go mad whenever the Seven Sleepers are mentioned. Don’t let him take you alive,” Coaltar warned. “You will die slowly and in agony. But why does he hate you so?”
“Because we are the servants of Goél and he is an instrument of the Dark Lord.”
“Such things are too high for me,” Coaltar said, “but you would do well to stay out of his clutches.”
Lady Lara waited only until Coaltar left, and then she went back to sit beside her father. She took a quick breath for he lay very still, but when she laid her hand on his chest, she felt the slight rise and fall of his breathing. For a long time she sat beside him.
Roland came in after a while and sat across from her. “How is he?”
“He is worse. I fear he is dying, Roland.”
Roland did not disagree. Instead, he studied Lara’s face and seemed to be trying to find words that might encourage her. Perhaps he decided to turn her thoughts to something else, for at last he said, “I can’t stop thinking about what I was before I came on this mission.”
“What do you mean, Roland?”
Roland shifted his weight on the stool. “I mean that I was the most selfish human being that ever lived.”
Lara was able to smile briefly. “I doubt that,” she said. “I believe I was.”
He managed a smile, too. “But you don’t know what I was like. I thought only of myself; I was a bully. Anyone smaller, anyone that I could push around, I did. I don’t see how my parents or anyone else stood me.”
“You might be describing me,” Lady Lara said. Then she added, “I intend my life to be different from now on, though.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Both Lara and Roland jumped to their feet. Somehow the princess knew who the speaker was as soon as she saw him.
Goél’s hood was shading his face, and he pushed it back.
Without a word, the two knelt before him.
Goél put one hand on Lara’s head, the other on Roland’s, and kept them there a moment. Then he said, “Rise up, my children. You indeed are passing through a deep valley.”
“Goél, my father is dying!” Lara looked up at him pleadingly. He took her hands and said, “Do not fear, Lady Lara.”
Somehow she could sense the man’s strength. She had heard much about Goél from Roland and Bentain and Sarah. Now she found she could barely speak to him. She finally whispered, “I have been wicked, sire, but I want to be different.”
“You are already different, and you will grow as time passes.”
“But my father, Goél. He is dying.”
Goél dropped her hands then and sat on the stool beside the king’s bed. For a time he simply sat looking into the pale face of King Falmor, as Lara and Roland watched him.
Goél put one hand on King Falmor’s forehead. At his touch the king suddenly stiffened, and he moaned.
Goél leaned toward the king and spoke words that Lara could not hear. His voice had been quiet, almost a whisper.
Sudden shock ran through Lara then. As she watched, color began coming back into her father’s face. And then with joy she saw his eyelids flutter and his lips move slightly.
“You have been under a dark cloud for many years, my friend.”
This time she did hear Goél’s quiet voice. It was filled with power and warmth, and it seemed to affect the king’s entire body.
King Falmor’s eyes flew open, and his gaze met that of Goél.
“Who are you, sire?”
“I am Goél.”
The king lay still, but then his eyes fell on Lara. He held out his hand, and she flew at once to take it. “Father, you’re better!” The king muttered, “I am better. How long have I been here?”
“You have been in this bed only a few days,” Goél told him. He stood now and looked down on the king. “But you have been under the power of an evil force for many years. Your spirit is weary. As for the wound, you will find that it will properly heal now. I have dealt with the poison.”
“I have strength again!” the king exclaimed. “I want to sit up.” With Roland’s help he managed to sit in the bed, and then he stared long at the boy. “I remember. Your name is Roland.”
“Yes, sire.”
“He has been a faithful servant to you, King Falmor,” Goél said. His eyes went to Lara, and he added, “I think you will find a way to reward him.”
The king stood to his feet shakily. He faced Goél and bowed his head. “I fear I have not been a good king, sire.”
“You have been controlled by an evil force, but it is not too late to change.”
King Falmor then looked at Lara. “Indeed, your mother would have hated what I have become.”
“It will be different now, Father.”
Josh and the other Sleepers and Goodman were waiting by the door of the hut when Goél came out.
“How is the king?” Josh asked at once.
“The king will get well.”
A cheer went up, and Josh said, “It’s a miracle!”
Goél smiled. “A small miracle perhaps.” Then his face grew serious. “But there is still a battle to fight.”
“You told us the battle would mostly be in the hearts of people,” Sarah said quietly. “And now the king’s heart is changed, and Lady Lara’s heart is changed, and—”
“Yes. But evil must be rooted out of the land. Lord Zarak will kill you all if he has the chance.” Goodman said, “All of my men are ready, sire, but what are we against so many?”
“Strength is not always in numbers. There once lived a wise man who delivered a whole city into the hands of an army. I think we will see another ‘small miracle,’ but you must fight,” Goél said. “The heart of the king has indeed changed, and when he is on his throne again and evil is defeated, this land will see peace and justice.”
Sarah was standing next to Josh, and he felt her take his hand. Then he heard her whisper, “And I’ll bet we see a new prince very soon, too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you’re so dense, Joshua Adams! I mean Lady Lara will marry Roland.” “How do you know that?” Sarah was feeling very good. “I didn’t read all those romances for nothing. They’ll get married and live happily ever after.”
He laughed. “You are a romantic, Sarah.”
“Yes, I am,” she said firmly. “And it wouldn’t hurt you to have a little more romance in your soul.”