Chapter Eight

Icelyn felt an unexpected surge of emotion in her chest. It had been so long since she had talked about any of this. It was something that she held close within her and rarely discussed with anyone. She hadn’t spoken of it since she was much younger, shortly after she had found her parents dead. That was an experience that she knew she would never overcome, something that had scarred her well beyond anything that she felt she could experience again. It didn’t matter what kind of danger she might face from now forward; her fear would always be tempered with the knowledge that she had already stared into the face of such abounding evil that she felt both burned and reborn by it.

It was only after she had been left alone in the world, completely isolated by the loss of all of her relatives, that she discovered the journals that outlined Casimir’s final months in the Order. Even after she had read all of her grandfather’s journals and learned the dark secrets that he carried with him in the last days that he spent in the kingdom, though, she had spoken only to Athan. After she learned as much as she felt that she could handle, she closed herself off, refusing to face the truth behind the execution that Casimir was meant to have faced but hadn’t. Now it was all being dragged out of her again and she was forced to delve deeper and further into what she had once thought would never arise again.

“Athan told me that Aegeus and my grandfather were planning something, but no one else in the Order, except for their closest confidences, knew about it. He believes that there were other confidences that knew even more than he does, but he didn’t know who they might be or even all of Aegeus’s plans. Someone else in the Order found out about the suspicions that Casimir had about the hierarchy and the corruption that was happening within it and revealed it to the Panel. They called my grandfather up to face them and to question him about the rumors about him.”

“What did they ask him? Did they know anything that he knew, or did they just have suspicions that he was starting to question them and the possibility for corruption?” Malcolm asked.

“I don’t know,” Icelyn said. “His journals didn’t detail what they asked. Athan could only tell me that when he was brought up in front of the panel, he refused to confess anything and wouldn’t betray Aegeus. No matter what they did or how hard they tried to press him, he wouldn’t say anything. That was why he was sentenced to death.”

“If Aegeus was at the head of the rebellion even then, how did they not know?” Malcolm asked. “How did they choose him to be the executioner?”

“It was just the way that it was. They didn’t question Aegeus and because Casimir wouldn’t reveal his name or their plans, he stayed protected. It just so happened that Aegeus was in the position within the hierarchy that made him the choice for selection as the one who would carry out the sentence.”

“Do you think that they knew that?” Malcolm asked.

“What do you mean?” Icelyn asked.

“Aegeus and Casimir, along with their confidences, whoever they were, were making plans. They were already preparing for something. Would they have known that if one of them was caught, that Aegeus would be the one who would be selected to execute them?”

“You believe that they had a plan in place already,” Icelyn said.

“I don’t know,” Malcolm said. “It’s just something to consider. What happened to Casimir?”

“When he was sentenced to be executed, Aegeus and Athan planned for how they were going to save his life. Athan said that he isn’t sure of all of the details because Aegeus kept them strictly to himself, not wanting to spread the information too much and risk more danger. All that he knows is that Aegeus arranged for Casimir to be moved into a hidden place away from the kingdom with the understanding that when the time was right, Aegeus would return for him. He would get my grandfather out of exile, bring him back here, and together they would move forward with the plans that they had started to put into place.”

“What happened?” Malcolm asked. “Did he go for him?”

“He never had the opportunity to.”

“When was he supposed to?”

“We don’t know. Before he had a chance to go back for him, Aegeus died.”

“Where was your grandfather hidden?”

“I don’t know. That was something that Aegeus didn’t even share with Athan. Athan was his best friend, but he thought that giving him too much information would make things more dangerous. The only people who knew where they put Casimir into exile were Aegeus, whoever actually transferred him there, and my parents.”

“Your parents are dead, too, aren’t they?” Malcolm asked.

Icelyn swallowed hard, refusing to let the pain of the question distract her.

“Yes,” she said.

“What happened to them?”

“The time was coming for Casimir to come out of exile. Changes were coming. The war was approaching. The Order was in Aegeus’s line of vision and he was primed to scourge the Order and the planet of the corruption that had built up within it. Then he died. There was suddenly little hope for those who believed in his rebellion. My parents didn’t know what to do. They were able to go visit Casimir, but he told them that they couldn’t be there, that they couldn’t try to get him out. The Order was starting to figure things out and he needed to stay where he was until the right time. He told them that they had to be strong. Soon the Order figured out that my parents knew something about the Order and Casimir’s plans. They had started to suspect Aegeus and believed that he might be preparing to overthrow the corrupt Order and reestablish the hierarchy. They confronted my parents and tried to get them to reveal what they might know. Just like my grandfather, however, they refused. They followed Casimir’s wishes and wouldn’t tell the Panel anything that they knew. Of course, that meant that they were of no use to the Order. They weren’t members, so there was no need for an execution. Instead, they just had them killed. I found them.”

Icelyn could see Malcolm’s face darken as the realization of what she had been through because of the Order sank in even further. His hand was trembling where it rested on his thigh and she wished that she could see past the expression on his face to the emotions that he was holding within him. Finally, he spoke.

“How could the people in the kingdom not know that this is happening?” he asked. His eyes dropped. “How could I not know?”

“The Order exists in the shadows, Malcolm.” She said. “It’s impossible to really know what’s happening if someone wants to conceal it. This has been happening for so much longer than any of us can fathom. I think that it is so easy for us to think about the beginning of the Order being within our lifetime or with our parents or grandparents, but that’s not the case. We are only a brief moment in the existence of the hierarchy. They have had countless years to learn to protect what they are doing from anyone who they didn’t want to know about it. My grandfather’s journals hinted at the origins of the Order. They didn’t go into detail, but I got the feeling that the group started much smaller than it is now and with the purpose of protecting something or someone specific. That grew to guarding the rest of the Universe, but at its core is still that original intention.”

“Could that intention have been lost, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“We are operating under the assumption that all of this has to do with the corruption of the center of the Order. What if it doesn’t? The Panel itself is corrupt, we know that. But what if the Panel isn’t at the true core of the Order any longer? What if the origins of the hierarchy have been lost to them just as much as they were lost to the rest of us? I know that there are layers within the Order and that there are some who will rank higher than others and know more because of it, but it doesn’t make sense that there are no indications anywhere of what is really at the center of the organization. If the corruption is as pervasive as Athan, Aegeus, and your grandfather have suggested that it is, the rogue members wouldn’t stop at revealing the secret of the origins or compromising the true purpose if they thought that it would benefit them.”

“What are you saying?”

“The corruption is real, there is no denying that. But that is only a part of this. It’s not the same. The corrupt members of the Order aren’t still connected to the origins of the Order --- at least as far as they know.” He leaned closer to her and Icelyn saw his eyes widening as a thrill seemed to rise in him. “Aegeus knew something. He knew that there was more to the corruption than they originally thought. Even the rogue members of the Order didn’t know just how far their greed was and corruption was bringing them. He did. And so did your grandfather.”

“What does that have to do with everything that’s happening now?”

“We aren’t just contending against the corruption and the continued effects of it. We also need to protect the origins of the Order before the corruption can reach it.”

“Which means that we need to understand what it is.”

Icelyn looked away, struggling against the tears that she could feel stinging in her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Malcolm asked.

She felt his hand touch the back of her shoulder and the contact seemed to break through the emotional wall that she had tried to maintain, and she seemed to melt beneath his touch.

“My grandfather has never been found,” she said. “Once my parents died, there was nothing that anyone could do. Athan doesn’t even know who brought him into exile, so there is no way to know who would know where he is and if that person is even alive.” She drew in a breath. “I don’t even know if Casimir has survived his exile. The corrupt Order and those that they have aided are increasing in power. I’ve tried my entire life to pretend that it wasn’t happening, that my grandfather’s sacrifice and Aegeus’s death ended it. But I know now that that is not true. I can’t deny it. I don’t know enough to change it, but I also know enough that I can’t just keep going on as if nothing is happening.”