An Arranged Marriage - 26

     The night was cold -- the kind of cold that turned the trees to gold overnight.  Detlef lowered himself from his window, scaling the wall in silence until he reached the ground.  The warmth of the sun had faded away as soon as the moon took charge of the sky.  Drying grass crunched under Detlef’s feet as he darted through the shadows toward the stables.  It reminded him of the day that Emil had sent him on a wild goose chase to find his servant –who had not been looking for him after all.  The thought still rankled in his heart.

     Horses nickered as he slipped into the stable.  Detlef hushed them as he found his way into Timothy’s stall.

     But, instead of greeting Detlef, Timothy’s eyes were fixed on the opposite stall.  Detlef strained his eyes in that direction until, to his surprise, he discovered the tense figure of a man in the gloom.

     It was too late to hide.  “Who goes there?”

     “I was going to ask you the same thing, little brother,” the figure spoke, relaxing.

     “Matthias!  What are you doing?”

     “I’m going to go get Gretal and see if she will still consent to be my wife.”  Gone was the hesitation and doubt.  His voice was thick with purpose.

     Both were silent for a moment.  Then Detlef spoke.  “You are going to be a great king, Matthias.”

     Matthias moved to saddle his horse, and Detlef did the same.

     “No need to ask where you are going, Detlef, for I can guess.  God be with you and light your way.”

      “Same to you, brother.”  Detlef swung into the saddle and urged Timothy into a gallop, bursting out of the stable like a message rider.

      Timothy’s hooves rang on cobblestone, carrying Detlef swiftly toward the front gate.  A sleepy servant clambered to his feet and opened the gate just in time for Detlef to pass through.  Detlef settled into his ride, letting Timothy’s warmth rise around him.  “The next obstacle will be the Derwalds themselves,” he whispered, as he set a course for the Great Forest.