Free The Dubious Heir by Lydia Clark

this even matter to her? There was many a man on the sea.
    All this did not help to change how her feelings for Dale had begun to grow. How she couldn't stop thinking about him. She never once had this problem with Hurley.
    "You be careful of the Duke," Treea said before leaving Dale in the cellar hole. They had hid there until the early morning dawn, slipping away while the city still slept.
    "Aye, and you too, my Lady. I do know a bit more about taking care of myself in predicaments than you would care to know. I will see to it that your Pop is released soon." Dale said while he kissed her hand tenderly before letting it go.
    Once she was gone and out of sight, Dale made his way through the winding streets of the city. He had to travel across the town. The King's castle was to the South at the top of a craggy cliff where the King could look down at his town's people from the top of the torrents. Here the castle was safe from crashing sea waves when a storm brewed. The sea water never reaching the top of the cliff wall.
    A dense forest separated the Castle from the town. Miles and miles of forest on each side held wildlife that could be hunted for an extra fee and a license from the king. Not many could afford the license and some poaching did occur. First offense if caught was a fine of double the amount of the license fee. Second offense was prison. Third offense was indentured as a servant for the rest of the life of the offender. Rarely did anyone ever escape the services of the castle as his mother did.
    How she came to be a servant at the castle was not known to Dale. He never knew she had anything to do with the castle up until recently. If he had taken the time to read her diary, he had in his possession he would have had a small glimpse of her life. He might even have learned how she had come to be indentured to the castle. Diaries were a private matter and it was his mother's private matter and not to be looked into by him unless it would help his matters.
    Dale not only loved his Mum, but he respected her. He never told her what he was doing for a living while trying to pay his way through college. Herbalism and alchemy was a hard thing to learn. He had learned some stuff, but he had only begun his lessons this past year. There were a good many more years to go before he was to move past the apprentice stage.
    Thinking of this reminded him of how he had not mentioned his nonappearance to his master. The master only waved him off and told him to see him after he was done taking care of his matters. Never once did the man question him as to where he had gotten off to. Dale had to wonder if his master knew all along about him. The wise man had a tendency to know things no one else seemed to know.
    Before leaving the city, Dale had stopped to check up on his Mum one last time. He had to make sure she was still safe. Which she was. But by his stopping in and showing her the book she made him change into his finest. She didn't want the King seeing his only son in rags.
    Loose wool pants and leather boots accompanied a white cotton button down shirt with a red wrap headband pinning his hair away from his face. It also hid the points to his ears. His Mum finished him off with a wool cape pinned at the neck by a brooch. It had been given to her by the King's son, who was Dale's father, as a token of his love. He even told her that it might come in handy someday, possibly saving her life. It was an heirloom of some sort.
    When she was done with him, he was spun before the only mirror they owned so he could see his transformation. He certainly looked dashing. "Whatever you do, don't ruin those clothes. It will be years before I can make you another one of those shirts."
    Dale laughed. "Mum, if the King accepts me as his heir I will have many of these shirts."
    She put her hand against his cheek which he took hold of and brought it to his lips to lay a tender kiss upon. "But those will not be made by me."
    "Nay, they wouldn't