The Rebels of Cordovia Read Free Page B

sicker
and sicker each day. One of the servants noticed a glass at his
bedside every morning, which wasn’t there the night before. When
she questioned the king about it, he said it was new medicine that
Rupert was giving him so he could feel better. She didn’t believe
it for one moment because that small glass smelled funny. She had
it analyzed by a friend and found her suspicions to be true. After
telling the news to the servants, they told her to tell the king
but it was too late. He passed away the following day. She then
told the King’s Legionnaires what she found out and they were
shocked. By then Rupert’s men had moved in and taken over. They
could do nothing.”
    “He had a following?” asked Daniel with stunned
surprise.
    “Yes. He began rounding up followers as soon as
Jonathan left. They called themselves Kingmen because they believed
a king should rule over their land. Edmund had heard about them but
didn’t know that Rupert was the leader of the group. Rupert had
promised his followers riches and high positions of great
importance. So, needless to say, they quickly backed him up.”
    “Why didn’t the people rebel and defend
themselves?” asked Daniel with disgust.
    “They couldn’t. There were too many
Kingmen.”
    He lifted a curious brow. “So what happened to
the servants?”
    Robin shrugged. “Who knows? The servants and the
Legionnaires decided it wasn’t safe to stay within the Palace. So
they moved into the villages and hid in disguise among the people.
They’re still alive today. If Rupert ever finds out where they are,
he’ll hunt them down. Our very own neighbors could be a devoted
servant or one of King Edmund’s Legionnaires.”
    “Really? How long ago did this happen?”
    “Around thirty years. Papa wanted me to know the
history of Cordovia because no one is allowed to teach the
truth.”
    Daniel’s brow creased with anger as he asked,
“How about the king’s son? Couldn’t he come back and reclaim his
kingdom?”
    Robin shook her head. “Rupert made sure he never
returned. He put guards in charge to search all ships that come to
port and at the borders.”
    Daniel whipped the reins against the horses and
they trotted down the road toward a farmhouse. What he just learned
was quite upsetting. Hopefully he could make a difference to this
beautiful country. When he saw a young woman and five children
standing near her home, he pushed the depressing news from his
memory so he could put on a smile. Everything this lovely young
lady had told him spurred him on… to try harder to free these
people from oppression.
    They delivered all the bread and pastries from
the back of the wagon to everyone Robin could think of in town. The
grateful faces and kind words of the people were touching to both
Robin and Daniel. She noticed the way Daniel acted when he saw the
poverty of the people. When she had told him about the history of
Cordovia, Robin could see the anger flaming from his eyes. As they
headed back to town, she contemplated whether or not to talk to him
about joining their little band of men and women.
    Perhaps this was a good time to ask him but she
would not divulge whom she was… just invite him to join and say
that she knew the leader. How should she go about it?
    Taking a deep breath, she turned toward him and
said, “Have you ever thought about joining one of the rebel
causes?”
    Daniel jerked his head toward her in surprise
and said, “What?”
    “Well,” she began cautiously. “There are a few
groups that have joined together to fight this tyranny and…” She
hesitated. “It’s all about protecting our rights: freedom, justice,
equality. We need to protect our families from persecution. The
king has taken our rights away and we need to get it back.”
    He nodded as he watched her speak. Daniel
noticed how strong she felt about the subject and he was impressed.
Not too many people voiced their opinion because they were afraid
of being arrested if someone of