Bloodless Knights (33 page)

Patrious
looked inside the cottage window, “What if it doesn’t work? Then we’re all
sittin’ ducks. And what plan do ye have to take down the dragon?”

“The
plan has to work. I don’t knoweth all the details yet, but I trust Vivian. She
will make it work. All I knoweth is that we must be ready to go first thing on
the morrow.” I whispered as Jadorion leaned in, showing more interest than he
had all night.

Nether,
who had stayed at the cottage to help with Elex, approached from the camp. His
light brown hair was long and unkempt; his beard was over a hand long and was
braided in spots. His peasant clothing made him seem out of place with the
soldiers, but his long, jewel-crusted sword adorned him like he was the king.
“Your majesty, this is a fine group of highly trained knights. We will do fine
against the dragon.”

I
nodded and clapped my hands together, shouting, “Prepare arrows! Tomorrow we
will put down the beast.” A loud cheer filled the air. I thought it funny that
they meant the dragon, and I meant Ladislas.

After
a long night of reuniting and planning for what was next on our voyage,
everyone found places to sleep. The ladies, and little Gabe, had slept in the
warm cottage. The men found solitude in drafty tents.

I
left my tent, only to see that at some point in the night, Kristoff and the
rest of his men had arrived. The abundance of canvas tents added power to my
backbone. I beamed with joy at the realization that today would be the day we
would finally be rid of the major evil in our land.

Vivian
stood on the porch, studying the tents. She held a tin cup with steam billowing
from the top. The lovely woman gazed at me, smiling. She beckoned me toward her
with a curl of her index finger. I immediately walked toward her.

“Good
morrow, handsome. How was thy night?” Vivian handed the welcome cup of tea to
me. I sipped it carefully.

After
looking into the lovely woman’s eyes for a moment, I replied, “Very uneventful
and quite cold. How was thine?”

“That
little Gabe is the most adorable boy ever. He snuggled next to me and slept
soundly.” Vivian slipped an arm around my waist.

I
put an arm around her, “Tell me, did ye always knoweth Patrious was thy father,
even when ye saved his life from the dragon?”

Vivian
nodded and looked up at me, “Aya. I’ve known who my family is all my life.
Trave and I were planning to go back to them at some point, but things kept
standing between us…”

Patrious
and Kristoff appeared from the tents. Vivian and I watched them walk to the
porch.

“Welcome
Kristoff! What news have ye?” I tried not to yell, knowing that others were
still sleeping.

Kristoff’s
face appeared concerned. “There is rumor that thy father was in Bendixon trying
to find a boat. I’m not sure what this information means to thee, however, I
wanted to put it in thy hands.”

“Any
idea where he was trying to get to?” I bellowed out, louder than I intended.

Kristoff
shook his head, “No…but it was also said he had many soldiers with him. I don’t
believe anyone told him of the ship we came here on, but if he didn’t knoweth
then, he surely knowest now. It’s unclear to me where he was planning to go. My
guess is he will be trying to stop us.”

“Trying
to have thee killed.” Vivian spewed. “That man is absolutely despicable!”

I
stared at the chipped paint specks on the wooden floor of the porch, totally
dumbfounded. I wondered what the old man had up his sleeve, but knew that
Vivian was correct. Ladislas couldn’t risk me living, or it would ruin his
greedy plan of cinching his deal with the devil. I smashed my hand onto the
railing, causing my drink to spill. I put the cup back into Vivian’s hand, and
then marched toward the tents.

“Rise
and shine! Time to wake up! We must move, and we must move now!” I shouted,
running to each tent with a fierce vengeance. From the corner of my eye, I saw Vivian
run into the house. Patrious and Kristoff stormed to the tents to help wake the
soldiers. We had to beat my father to Hereford or we had little chance
defeating his dragon.

The
camp came down quickly as men pulled down tents and rolled them. Bedrolls were
folded and secured in wagons. It was decided that all camping equipment would
be left at the cottage to be returned to later.

As
a few of us gathered inside the warm cottage, Patrious told Elizabeth that she
and Elena would stay with Gabe. Elena pitched a fit as to why Vivian got to see
the “action”, and she had to babysit. As much as I admired Elena’s gumption, I
knew she had no idea the ferocious nature of her sister. I smiled at her,
assuring the lady that Vivian wasn’t going to see any action; she was merely
setting a trap.

“I
could set a trap.” Elena blurted, disgustedly. Her lovely hair stuck to her
lips; she angrily swiped it away.

I
smiled at her, pushing her hair from her face, “Lovely Elena, Vivian has many
things to tell thee about her life, but it’s been brought to my attention that
she has far more fighting experience than even I.”

Elena’s
brow furrowed. Her eyes questioned me as she looked away, then walked to her
mother, who was already cuddling Gabe. The little man wasn’t wearing his hat,
and his curls cascaded around his head in an adorable bundle. I wondered again
where the kiddle’s family was, but knew that was a search to be saved for after
our battle.

Jadorion
walked toward Gabe and Elizabeth. He hugged the woman, and put his finger in
the hand of the babe. “Good-bye my queen. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for
Elex. She was a lovely girl.”

“Oh
now, my boy, thou did plenty for her. We are all brought to this world to
escape through death. Sadly, some death’s come sooner than they should. Ye were
a light in her dark time. That is how my family shall always remember thee.”
Elizabeth smoothed Jadorion’s hair, “Now, be careful out there Jadorion. Do us
proud!”

Jadorion
sheepishly grinned at her, shaking Gabe’s hand, “Bye buddy! Be good for Queen
Winnow.”

Jadorion
turned and stared at me. He looked so frail, yet grown-up in his armor. I had
wondered how he would hold himself in it, but he seemed to do fine. I shook his
hand.

“Jadorion,
it’s an honor to have thee with us. Ye will stay near me as my squire. There
would be no person on this earth I would rather have at my hip.”

The
boy laughed, “Except the lovely Miss Vivian.”

I
felt myself blush. “Indeed.” I replied, glancing toward her. Vivian had suited
up in armor, and looked as she did the day I met her. So many things had
transpired between then and now. I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been years.

“Let’s
march!” I heard Kristoff yell from outside. We walked from the cottage to see
hundreds of soldiers on horseback. Many men carried torches, blazing with
flames. A powerful force rose in my chest. We each bid our farewells. Patrious,
Jadorion, Vivian and I found our horses and prepared to ride. ***

As
we rode toward Snake Pass, Patrious asked Vivian if she knew anything else of
the Faceless or the dragon. She thought a moment then replied with, “Aye. The
dragon liked Aelfgyva’s singing. And he goes to the flat rock once per day to
eat his dinner. Aelfgyva would go stand by the rock and sing to him while he
ate, to keep him calm.”

Patrious
pondered what Vivian said, “We saw many people leave my castle to go watch the
beast eat. Dost thou have any idea who they are? Tristen’s brother was in the
group. He acted like he didn’t knoweth Tristen at all.”

Vivian
stared at the ears of her horse for longer than felt comfortable, then finally
she said, “Well, I may have an odd idea of the people, but I’m not sure. We
shall head to thy castle first, to see if we can extract any information from
them.”

“I
tried to get in the castle, Vivian; it seemed to have some kind of invisible
bubble around it.” I exclaimed, adjusting the leg strap on my saddle. My body
felt frozen again. I continually moved my legs to keep the blood flowing.

Again,
Vivian remained silent, as if thinking through something important. “Well, I
will think of a plan to bring them out. And actually, perchance everyone should
think on that.”

Her
words seemed to impact us all; as our ride continued in silence. I found that I
kept thinking back to Patrious’ words: Ghosts. I hoped, for sanity’s sake, that
he was wrong, but in case he wasn’t; I contemplated ways to entice ghosts to
come out for a visit.

Before
long, I realized we were approaching the bend where we could see Hereford. I
beckoned to Jadorion to approach my right side, so he could view the wonder of
the city without obstruction. The poor young man was already beet red from
cold; he just didn’t seem old enough for this journey, but I knew I had been
wandering the plains long before his age. The difference was that I seemed in
much better health and spirits than he was.

As
we rounded the bend, and Hereford sweetened the eyes of our group, loud “ah’s”
escaped their throats. Even Vivian seemed stunned by the beauty of the
landscape, and she had seen it before. We rode forward to allow all to witness
the sight we enjoyed. Staring over the city was like seeing it for the first
time. Something had changed, but I couldn’t figure out what. Suddenly it came
to me; the waterfall that had flowed delicately down the mountain was now
frozen as wide and jagged icicles. It saddened me.

Patrious
seemed lost at what he saw but then a determination spread over his face. “I
will have back my kingdom,
today
! Let’s ride like lightening!” At his
words, his horse galloped rapidly through the snow. The rest of us had no
choice but to follow our fearless leader.

The
cold wind ripped at our faces as we swiftly passed frozen trees with birdless
branches. I was hungry for a juicy little pheasant and couldn’t wait for spring
to return to our land.

I
pushed Blad’s former horse as hard as I could. Soon we would settle this; even
if it meant most of us were killed. I prayed that didn’t happen.

We
descended the backside of the mountain that was near the castle, as we had done
the first time around. All was quiet in the snowy land; not a person or animal
was in sight.

“It’s
only a matter of time before the Faceless sense us here and attack.” Vivian
whispered to me. “Aelfgyva had said their only purpose is to protect the
dragon, and the land he stole, plus feed him. They will be here shortly.”

“Aye.
It’s up to the soldiers to keep them at bay. What of thy weapon to rid the
valley of this evil beast?” I whispered back, as I followed her horse that
wandered toward a group of trees.

Vivian
rode forward, turning her gorgeous face to smirk at me, “Tell thy men to be on
the ready, then follow me to that bank just beyond those trees.”

“Bank?”
I asked dumbly.

“Just
do it, Tristen!” Vivian galloped away before I could say another word.

I
commandeered the horse back to the group. All eyes were on me, except for the
ones that watched Vivian disappear. I gave those men warning glances, pacing
back-and-forth on my new horse, staring at my army.

“It’s
time to win this fight! All men on the ready, for at any moment we will be
graced with the devil’s spawn, looking to tear us apart and destroy our homes
and our livelihood! We will
not
allow this to happen! We will fight to
the death! Once this battle is won, thou will be paid a handsome reward. Light
thy arrows! Organize thyselves! WIN THIS WAR!” My voice was powerful, as I
commanded and motivated the fleet to do their best. My enthusiasm was met with
a deafening roar of soldier voices as, in unison, they praised the request.

Arrows
appeared from quivers. Bows were pulled from every pack. Torches blazed forth
to light the wooden projectiles.  I nodded toward Patrious, indicating it was
his time to take over, then turned my steed to find Vivian.

When
I reached the bank, Vivian’s horse stood empty. I searched for her. She hid
near a tree, sitting on the ground with her back to the bark.

“Tristen,
I need a favor. Lugina is going to appear. I need thee to take the container
from her neck. Once thou hast done that, tap three times on her back. I will
reappear. Be quick! We have absolutely no time to spare.” I nodded at the lady,
but she missed it as Lugina appeared.

I
got down from the horse, slowing approaching the massive tiger. The yellow eyes
seemed to devour me, as I reached toward the animal’s neck to grab the small
barrel. The tiger’s fur was still matted with blood, and smelled in need of a
bath. I held my breath as I yanked at the cord to loosen the bottle. The
container seemed to make a “sloshing” sound as it fell into my waiting hand.
When I was sure the rope was released, I tapped the large fury back three
times, watching as Vivian seamlessly reappeared.

“Thy
protector needs a bath.” I laughed, causing Vivian to grin.

“Aye.
She’ll get one anon. For now, ye must keep that container as safe as possible.
That is the key to getting us out of the mess we’re in. Please let naught
happen to it. Right now, I’m going inside the castle to find out the story of
the people in it. Keep the container safe at all costs, Tristen! If we lose it,
we are lost.” Vivian cast the most serious look I had seen on her, to-date. I
knew I must obey.

“How
will thou get into the castle?” After I asked, Vivian threw me a look of
stupidity, and turned into Lugina the kitten. I shook my head, wondering if I
would ever remember that the woman I loved was a feline.

The
kitten tore off, in a funny run through the snow, just as Jadorion appeared on
foot from behind a tree. His face was frozen in stone-like awe.

“What…is…she?”
He stammered.

Panic
shot through me like a hot knife. “Oh Jad! How long hast thou been there?”

“I
heard everything, sir. What’s going on here?” Jadorion’s voice was louder and
demanding.

I
walked toward Jadorion, who now looked scared. “Jadorion, I’m in love with a
shifter. That’s all I can tell thee for now.”