The Trinity of Heroes (I Will Protect You Book 1) (16 page)

Benni couldn’t believe it, in just over a month Lawrence had made a full transformation from a weak trainee to a strong and able Knight Guard prospect. In his mind Benni knew that Lawrence was ready, and tonight he would reward him for all of his hard work.

Later that day during training, Benni called a halt to their efforts and pulled Lawrence aside. “I wish to speak to you tonight, alone and in private, Lawrence. I want you to meet me at our secret area; you know the one, right?”

“Yes I do, Benni. Is it something important?”

“It is something that I just don’t feel comfortable discussing where other ears could be listening. Meet me there in the mid of night.”

“Yes, Benni, I will be there.”

Benni continued their conversation almost immediately. “Lawrence, I have to leave you here for now. I have business to attend to with Mayor Flint. I will see you later on.”

“Right. I will see you later, Benni.”

“Goodbye, my friend,” Benni said. He turned and began to walk away.

Business
to attend to?

Lawrence wondered what business Benni could possibly have with Mayor Flint. After finishing his training, he headed back home in the late afternoon. Lawrence went up to his room in the Wakewood household and lay down for a nap. His training, coupled with the current situation with Benni, was exhausting and he needed to rest. His head hit his feather pillow; he loved how cool the outside felt the first time he laid down. He nuzzled the side of his face into the pillow and could feel little feather tips poking through the covering. They tickled his face continuously until he finally stopped his burrowing. Lawrence succumbed to a deep sleep where he dreamed constantly. Lawrence stood outside of Haile looking back at the city he was training to protect. Elsie was with him.

He could feel her squeeze his hand. “Lawrence, what will you do?”

“I will protect Haile, Elsie, no matter what.”

“What if you fail, Lawrence?”

“I won’t, Elsie.”

Just then Elsie’s voice changed to a dark and low voice. “What if you are unable to protect me, Lawrence Sanctus?” she screamed. “What if you fail? What if you fail to protect the city you love so much?! What then? You will be remembered as nothing more than a failure, a mistake! Fail, Lawrence Sanctus! You will fail!” Her words reverberated throughout his mind. He violently shook out of the dream. He was covered in sweat and shaking profusely.

What the hell was that all about?
Lawrence thought to himself as he sat up and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. His undershirt was completely soaked and Lawrence wondered what his dream could have meant. Lawrence noticed that the room was barely lit now save by a candle. Lawrence assumed Helen had brought it up earlier, and when he looked outside he was shocked at how late it was. The moon was already high in the sky and he could feel himself panic.

Damn, I’m going to be late.

Lawrence ran down the steps with the candle in his hand, and after leaving it on the table, he exited out the front door. The place that he and Benni were to meet wasn’t that far away, and as far as it being secret, in truth, it wasn’t. It was under a large bridge that passed over
True Trout Creek
, which led from Alacrecia all the way down to the Endless where it branched into numerous brooks that flowed through the forest. Lawrence raced through the familiar streets of Haile, and out the eastern exit that faced Alacrecia. Upon reaching Alacrecia, Lawrence was reminded that his mentor Sabre Grey lived here, and while he had no business with him tonight, Lawrence still hoped that in the future the two would be able to train together. He ran past Sabre’s home, and eventually came to where the creek went under the first bridge, not his destination.

Lawrence continued down the road out of Alacrecia and eventually he could see the second bridge. It was a sturdy, oak bridge that crossed the creek at its widest point. He saw a shadowy figure standing underneath it, barely illuminated by the moonlight. It didn’t look like Benni. Lawrence slowly approached, and the figure turned to face him. He got closer and closer, but still its face remained hidden by the shadows from the bridge. Lawrence stepped closer, and finally, the pale moonlight illuminated the figure. Lawrence’s breath caught in his throat.

It has come to my attention that the trout living in True Trout Creek, which runs through Alacrecia and down to the Endless, glow mysteriously on dark nights. In my research I have found that it is the magical energy of the Everglen that has permeated these waters and eventually the very fish themselves, making them appear to glow in the dark. It must take a while for their bodies to build up this magical energy however, because the young do not glow right away.

- Big Branic’s Big Book of Mysteries, Chapter 15

“Elsie?” Lawrence couldn’t believe it, Elsie was here.

“Lawrence! What are you doing here?” Elsie sounded like she was waiting for someone else.

“I was supposed to meet Benni. We planned to rendezvous here in the mid of night to discuss something important. What about you, Elsie?”

“Benni told me to meet him here too, Lawrence!”

Benni must have been setting me up to see Elsie, which explains why he went to the castle earlier. What is this supposed to be, some kind of reward? What the hell am I supposed to do? What do I say?

“Elsie!” Lawrence blurted out suddenly. His outburst caused her to take a step backwards. She tripped over a rock and began to fall. Lawrence darted toward her, catching her as she fell. A moment passed, and then another. Elsie just lay there in Lawrence’s arms, feeling secure and safe in his firm grasp.

“Lawrence…” Elsie stuttered as she looked up into his eyes.

“Elsie, are you alright?”

“Yes…”

They both stared at each other for a long time before Lawrence brought Elsie back to a full standing position. What Elsie did next shocked Lawrence; he was unable to move as she threw her arms around him. Elsie kept squeezing tighter and tighter, but it was affectionate, not aggressive. Elsie gripped him like she feared that he would somehow squirm free from her grasp.

“Oh Lawrence!” Elsie cried out. “I was so scared, I was afraid you wouldn’t come back to me. I missed you so much.”

Lawrence didn’t move or say a word, he just stood there. Then, he put his arms around her too. He closed his eyes for a moment, and suddenly, he could have sworn that the sun had come out in the middle of the night. It wasn’t the sun, but rather hundreds of fireflies coming out of the grass all at once, surrounding them, illuminating their union.

“Lawrence, look!” Elsie exclaimed. She rested her head against his chest. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Elsie…I…” Lawrence struggled to say anything as he was still tight in her grasp. Lawrence looked for something, anything to distract them. He wasn’t ready for this; he had no idea what he should do. He saw something moving in the creek. It was a trout, its body illuminated by the fireflies and the moonlight. “Elsie, look!” Lawrence exclaimed, attempting to break up the awkward silence between the two.

Elsie turned her head to look and eventually loosened her grip on Lawrence. “Lawrence, I’ve heard that this river flows right into the Everglen, and that the magic energy from it permeates this river causing the fish to glow at night. It is said that when it gets just past the mid of night their bodies begin to illuminate. I used to come here with my father when I was younger and we would feed the fish. We would bring dried bread scraps and toss them in, and the trout would strike at the surface. It was such a beautiful sight.”

The trout surfaced to feed on a water beetle, and upon returning to its watery recluse, a faint light began to emit from it. It started at the eyes and worked its way through the body of the fish; it was a greenish-blue that almost made the fish look ethereal. Suddenly, more and more of them began to gather around the original one. They had all begun to glow with a similar light, illuminating the entire stream around them.

“Lawrence, look at this!” She began to bend down to get closer to the fish. “They are so pretty! I have never seen so many in one place before. Lawrence, isn’t this amazing?”

Lawrence knelt down beside her. “Yes it is, Elsie. Would you like to feed them?”

“But Lawrence, we don’t have any-”

He cut her off before she could say anything else. He pulled out some dried bread from the morning’s breakfast from his pocket that he had been saving for later. “Here, use this. It’s my leftover breakfast that I didn’t finish this morning.”

He extended his hand and gave her the bread; she accepted it ecstatically and began tossing some into the water. The trout came to the surface and picked at the bread as they splashed and flicked about. More and more fish were beginning to gather, and the rippling water was becoming brighter and brighter, almost as though the entire river was glowing. Lawrence was focused on the fish, and it took his mind off of how nervous he had been just moments earlier. He sat on a nearby rock next to her, and watched in silence as she fed the fish.

Elsie tossed more and more chunks into the water as fish continued to gather and frolic about. “Lawrence, do you have dreams for the future?” Elsie asked, not looking away from the stream.

Lawrence was perplexed by the sudden question, and he quickly tried to fumble some words together for a coherent answer. “Well…I do…but…I mean…I guess I want to be a great Knight, one who is capable of protecting my city and the ones I love.”

“A great Knight… That’s so honorable, Lawrence; I really hope you achieve that goal.”

There was another silence between the two for a while until Lawrence finally said, “What about you, Elsie? What are your dreams?”

“My dreams?” Elsie mused to herself for a moment, smiling. “I want to be a mother someday.”

The words caused Lawrence’s heart to flutter.
Why the hell would she tell me something like that!? I’m just a Knight trainee; I don’t know anything about that!

“Oh, I see…” was all Lawrence could muster; he had no idea how to respond to her sudden proclamation.

“I mean what I really want is a family, Lawrence, just like my family. I want to be a loyal mother someday who has a loving husband and a happy family. I was so scared when my father introduced me to Phillip because I knew that with him that could never happen. He was so callous and abusive that it almost completely scared me away from the thought of courtship all together. I hated being around him, always prancing around me saying how he was going to marry me and make me his wife. I couldn’t stand the way he treated me, just like a possession, like I had no say in the matter…I was so miserable. But, then I met you, Lawrence. You showed me that not every guy is a possessive monster. I think that was the moment that I realized it, Lawrence…” She trailed off without finishing her sentence.

“What did you realize, Elsie?” Lawrence asked.

Elsie dropped the rest of the bread into the water. This prompted a huge trout to come up and swirl about while grabbing a bite to eat. The cold water from the splash hit Elsie, and as it did she jolted backwards into Lawrence’s arms. She shivered a bit from the ice cold water.

“Elsie, are you alright?” Lawrence asked with genuine concern.

Elsie lay in his arms until finally she looked up at him with innocent eyes. She threw her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him close. She whispered, “I’m in love with you, Lawrence.” She pressed her lips against his and the two shared their first kiss.

It was different than Lawrence had imagined; her lips were pressed too tightly together. Lawrence wondered if this was her first time kissing anyone on the lips. He could feel every little ripple in her lips as she held the kiss for a long time. They felt so warm. He couldn’t believe what was happening, Lawrence could feel her move her lips to continue the kiss. She shifted their position only slightly, not wanting to ruin the soft and gentle moment. Lawrence felt his lips respond to hers and since he had no experience of his own to draw off of, he figured it best to let her lead. She pulled him closer, not giving him room to escape as she kissed him harder and deeper now. Elsie’s lips were so soft that Lawrence could feel a tingle flow from his lips throughout his entire body. He wanted this moment to continue forever.

Elsie pulled him toward her more as they repositioned themselves. Elsie now lay on the soft grass with Lawrence leaning over her, kissing her over and over again. He loved it, this feeling of ecstasy blossoming throughout his entire body. He could feel her hands begin to run through his hair, gripping it tightly momentarily and then tracing along the ridges of his ears and neck. She pulled away from his lips and then continued kissing him on the cheek. She could feel his short stubble of facial hair resist her kiss at first, but eventually she grew used to it. Lawrence followed suit, doing the same as she had done, kissing her softly on her pale cheek that he swore had never seen a scratch. It was so soft, smooth as silk, perfect. Just like this moment.

Nip!

A slight pain shot through Lawrence’s ear as he felt her bite him playfully, teasing him as she continued to kiss him. Lawrence could feel their breathing intensify in tandem as they continued to exchange more and more kisses. Lawrence slowly moved from her lips to her neck, his breath tickling her as he approached the nape of her neck. He gave her a soft, sensual kiss, and as he did Elsie whispered, “Lawrence, don’t stop!” Her voice held tones of both exasperation and excitement as her grip around his head tightened. Lawrence could feel Elsie pull her legs together in anticipation for what may be to come. Her body cried for more, but Elsie herself didn’t know if she was ready for anything else.

Suddenly, Lawrence stopped kissing her and whispered, “I don’t really know what to do next, Elsie.” This was the first time he had kissed a girl after all, and even though he had seen it done many times, he had no idea what he was doing. He had no way of knowing the serious implications that his actions on this night would hold. The two lay in silence for a moment. Their kissing had ceased.

All of a sudden, Elsie burst out in laughter. Her laughing continued and Lawrence was dumbfounded. Just then she pushed him off of her. He lay flat on his back. She started to climb on top of him, straddling him. She came down to him and whispered into his ear, her tongue whisking against its outer edges, “Well, I guess I’ll have to teach you.” Her voice held tones of seduction and a hint of relief. The two stayed like this for a while, kissing more and more, deep into the night.

In the back of his mind, though, Lawrence knew that tomorrow morning would come early. After one last, passionate kiss he pulled away. “I really should get back. I don’t want to worry the others.”

Elsie didn’t look happy with these words, and she scoffed at him jokingly. Elsie pulled him back in. This time she bit at his lip. “Just a little while longer, Lawrence, please.”

Her tone was irresistible, and Lawrence couldn’t do anything to keep from obliging her. “Alright, but only a little bit more, I really do have to get up early tomorrow you kn…”

Before Lawrence even had a chance to finish his sentence, Elsie was kissing him again, and this time her tongue entered his mouth. It felt so strange to Lawrence; he didn’t even know what to compare it to. He felt the tip of her tongue touch his, and a chill traveled up and down his spine as he could feel her breathing quicken. She traced the under part of his tongue with the tip of hers and grabbed for his hands. Upon finding them she gripped his hands tightly, stretching them high above his head. As she continued to kiss him, Lawrence could feel myriad other sensations flowing through his body. He could feel her squeezing his left hand with her right hand, and in his other hand she was using her index finger to trace designs on his palm.

She stopped kissing him and put her head on his chest. “Lawrence, promise me something,” she whispered as she listened to Lawrence’s heartbeat.

“What’s that, Elsie?” Lawrence asked. He reached an arm around her, holding her close, not wanting to let her go.

Elsie let go of his other hand and slowly moved off of Lawrence. She sat up, and after he moved up to join her, she said, “I love Haile very much. I have my entire life. I want you to promise me that when you are a great Knight you will protect our city.”

Lawrence was silent for a long moment. Finally, after running his hands through her hair a couple of times he said, “Elsie, I really struggled. I didn’t know if I would be able to continue my training, or even see you again for that matter. But something kept me going; there was one thing that constantly reminded me of the importance of my training. Elsie, without you and the hopes of seeing you again, I don’t know if I would have come
this
far. It’s because of you that I have been able to recover my strength.” He took her hand gently in his. “Thank you, Elsie, for always believing in me.”

“Oh Lawrence, I’m so happy to see you strong and healthy again.” She rested her head back on his shoulder.

After a brief silence Lawrence said, “Elsie, no matter what happens, no matter what evils may come, I will always protect Haile. Even if this world should come to an end and evil would sit atop a dark throne of domination, there will always be one Knight that stands between it and total dominion. Elsie, the road ahead will be a long one, and there will no doubt be times where I may have to leave you, but rest assured, I will protect you.”

Elsie gripped his hand tighter and leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Can I see you again, Lawrence?”