The False Prince

Sage regains consciousness with his hands bound behind him, lying in the back of a moving wagon. Sensing danger, however, Sage keeps his eyes closed, wanting time to assess his surroundings.

With great caution, Sage eases one eye open and sees that the wagon is being guarded by one of Conner’s vigils while Conner and a second vigil are seated in the front. Also in the back of the wagon are two other boys, one of whom keeps coughing:

The shorter one closest to me [seems] to be doing the coughing. Both [are] near my age. The coughing boy [looks] sickly and pale, while the other [is] larger and tanned. They each [have] light brown hair, though the coughing boy’s hair [is] nearer to blond (10).

When Sage fully opens his eyes, the coughing boy catches Sage looking at him, and soon the larger boy does as well and immediately shouts to alert one of the vigils that Sage is awake. Cregan, the vigil in the back of the wagon, comes nearer to Sage and slaps him in the face to rouse him. Mott, the vigil driving the wagon, nods to indicate a greeting to Sage. As far as physical appearance goes, Sage notes that the two vigils are polar opposites:

Mott [is] tall, dark-skinned, and nearly bald. What little hair he did have [is] black and shaved to his scalp [...] In contrast, Cregan [is] short—not much taller than I [am], and shorter than the tanned boy near me. He [is] surprisingly pale for a man who likely [spends] much of his day outdoors, and he [has] a thick crop of blonde hair that he tie[s] back at the nape of his neck (11).

Sage says he’s hungry, so Conner throws an apple in his lap. However, because his hands are tied, Sage cannot grab it. Roden, the large, athletic boy, quickly snatches the apple for himself. Sage is irritated, but he understands that “you [take] food whenever [is] available, as much as you can get” (12). Roden notes that one of the benefits of cooperating with Conner is that he does not have to be bound like a prisoner, as Sage is.

The wagon stops in a small town, Gelvins, which “[is] more like an outpost than a town, with only a few shops on the street and a dozen pathetic excuses for homes” (13). Conner and Mott enter the Gelvins Charity Orphanage. Cregan is left behind to guard the boys; however, as soon as Conner and Mott are out of sight, he tells the boys that he is going to get a quick beverage from a nearby tavern and that “he will personally kill any boy who trie[s] to escape” (14). The boys compare notes on what they know of Conner’s intentions with the orphans he is collecting. Conner is an ally to the court of the king and this mission is some sort of service to King Eckbert.

Meanwhile, in secret, Sage is able to remove the rope from his wrists; he breaks free and uses the rope as a noose, which he slips around the neck of the sickly boy, Latamer. Sage threatens to kill Latamer if Roden comes any nearer. Roden casually replies that he does not care what happens to either of them. Cregan returns and whacks Sage across the back with the flat part of his sword when he sees that Sage is loose. However, Sage insists that he will not run away again.

Conner and Mott soon return to the wagon with another boy who is “tall and unusually thin. His hair [is] darker than both mine and Roden’s, but his [is] stringy and straight and more in need of a trim than mine, if that [is] possible” (17).

Sage recognizes the boy as Tobias, another orphan who he met briefly at the Gelvins Charity Orphanage. Sage remembers Tobias because he “[is] no ordinary orphan. He’d been educated as a child and continue[s] to read anything he [can] get his hands on” (18).

Tobias joins the boys in the back of the wagon, which continues on its way through a “lonely plain covered in gorse and nettle” (19). With night falling, they need a place to camp; Mott, who is still driving the wagon, finds a small clearing. Cregan starts a fire, at which point Mott instructs the boys to gather round. Conner needs a word with them. Conner begins by saying that he is plotting something that involves the boys, and that he “can’t deny there’s danger with my plan […] If we fail, there will be terrible consequences. But if we succeed, the rewards are beyond your imagination” (21). Before he reveals any more, Conner offers, “‘If you don’t feel that this is for you, then this is your opportunity to leave’” (21). Latamer raises his hand and volunteers, saying that he does not think he is physically well enough to compete against Sage and the other boys.

Conner accepts Latamer’s response and tells him to get in the wagon because Cregan will drive him to the closest town that very night. Sage does not quite understand what is happening, but he has a sense of unease. As Latamer makes his way to the wagon, Sage realizes what is about to happen and cries out, but it is too late: Cregan shoots an arrow that pierces Latamer fatally. Latamer falls to the ground, dead. Cregan buries the body while the remaining boys look on in dismay.

Mott brings fruit and assorted meats for the boys, but after witnessing Latamer’s death, none of them are able to eat. Conner reminds them that there will be no other food until breakfast the next day, so they better eat now. The boys tentatively accept.

Still seated around the fire, “Conner nod[s] at Tobias. ‘Stand up. I wish to get a better understanding of who each of you is’” (26). Conner poses a hypothetical question: If you were engaged in a sword fight with a fighter who is clearly a better swordsman than you, would you fight on knowing that you’ll die or beg for mercy? Tobias says that he would beg for mercy so that he could live to fight another day; Roden says that, no matter what, he would fight, because at least he would die with his honor. Sage says he would neither beg nor fight; he would wait until the swordsman lowered his guard, thinking that he had won, and then strike him down.

Conner continues questioning the boys, but the conversation soon turns to Conner’s character, with Sage asking Conner exactly “how far” he will go to win (28). Conner says, “‘I’m willing to lie, to cheat, and to steal. I’m willing to commend my soul to the devils if necessary because I believe there is an exoneration in my cause’” (28). Conner alludes to the nature of his mission and why he has gathered the boys:

‘I need one of you to conduct the greatest fraud ever perpetrated within the country of Carthya. This is a lifetime commitment. It will never be safe to back down from my plan and tell the truth. To do so would destroy not only you but the entire country. And you will do it to save Carthya’ (29).

The boys, especially Sage, have more questions, but Conner tells them that they need to rest now. In the morning, their work will begin in earnest.

During the night, Sage rolls over in his sleep only to realize that he has been chained by the ankle to Mott, to prevent him from escaping. Sage needs to urinate and tells Mott that he must be unchained so that he can go at once. Mott, angered after having been woken, gruffly allows Sage to be unchained for a moment, but he warns him that he should never wake him up in the middle of the night again. Sage ignores his warning.

In the morning, after Mott kicks the boys to wake them, “Tobias and I [glance] at each other. Tobias’s expression [is] clear—he intend[s] to win too, only he clearly plan[s] on pursuing that goal more quietly than Roden” (31). Conner appears and announces that he has bread for breakfast, but he will give “mouthfuls” only to the boys who are able to answer his questions correctly. The questions are trivia about the history and governance of Carthya. Conner asks who the reigning king and queen of Carthya are. Tobias answers correctly—that they are King Eckbert and Queen Erin—and he is rewarded with a bit of bread.

Conner then asks how many regents King Eckbert has in his court (answer: twenty) and how many sons King Eckbert has (answer: two, but one is presumed dead after being lost at sea). Conner goes on to say that he is one of the twenty regents in King Eckbert’s court and that “all of the regents claim loyalty to the king, but few actually practice it. The secret none of them keep very well is that they wish to have the throne for themselves” (33). Conner mentions two members of the king’s court by name: Lord Kerwyn, who is a high chamberlain and very loyal to the king, and Santhias Veldergrath, who is a prime regent and is “ruthless in his ambitions” (34). According to Conner, “‘If anything were ever to happen to the royal family, Veldergrath would be first to reach for the throne. The other regents would either bow to his will or send Carthya into civil war in pursuit of their own ambitions’” (35). When Tobias asks which Conner would prefer—Veldergrath as king, or civil war—Conner replies neither, which is why he has gathered the boys here, thus alluding to a third option. Sage suspects he knows Conner’s plan, though there are still gaps, and he “close[s] my eyes, horrified that my suspicions might be true. Conner [is] holding us on the brink of treason” (35).