Following Orders: Chapter Four

Chapter Four          

  “Boy!” My head snapped in the direction of the call. It was Sir Manchmal. “Go collect firewood – I want enough to burn all night. And make some dinner too.”

            “Yes sir.” I scurried off to do as he bid. It wasn’t hard to find enough wood with branches covering the ground laden with pine needles and sticks in abundance. The job was quick, but not quick enough for my master.

            “What took you so long? The princess is half starved! Make dinner.”

            “I bet she’s never been half starved in her life,” I muttered under my breath. I wasn’t quiet enough. A clout on the back of my head put me in my place and I silently scurried out of reach to build a fire. My master followed, lecturing me loudly.

            “You useless swine! You had better learn how to respect your betters if you plan on keeping your position as my squire! I’ll not hear another word out of you for the rest of the night or you’ll regret it!” He stomped off to care for his horse.

 I sat hunched over my work, keeping an eye open for a second approach of Sir Manchmal and made myself busy.

The stew was passable and it didn’t take long to clean up the dishes afterward. I was just settling down under my blanket when another order came.

“You didn’t get enough wood. Go get some more.”

Every stiff muscle in my body protested as I dragged myself to a sitting, then standing, position. I stretched painfully and began walking into the woods. It was more of a trudge than a walk though. I kicked at every rock or stick in my path, sending it flying as far as I could.

“’Useless swine’ indeed. If it wasn’t for me, no one would have eaten anything tonight and there’d be no fire. I’d like to see that Ungeheuer cook anything edible.”

“Why do you call Sir Manchmal a monster?”

I whirled around to see the Princess Elaine behind me. She was standing by a tree, her hand resting on its bark. She had braided her hair and changed into a nightgown. I was too shocked to speak.

“It seems terribly ungrateful after all he’s done for you, don’t you think? And why in German?”

“I’m not being ungrateful Your Highness, I’m being honest. You followed me?”

“Hm. I would disagree. But why in German?”

I made a face. “Because no one knows German and they can’t know that it’s an insult. I can’t be punished if they don’t know I’m insulting anyone. Except that you apparently do know German. Why did you follow me?”

She pushed off the tree and took a few steps forward. Dry pine needle crunched beneath her feet. “I was curious. Of course I know German. Who doesn’t? I’ve known French since I was eight, German since I was nine, and Irish since I was thirteen.”

My eyes widened. I tried to cover the shock, not wanting to appear naïve. “I only know German Your Highness and that only because my mother taught me. Most commoners do not know any language other than English.”

“Why, I had no idea. I thought everyone knew French at least. Why don’t they?”

“Really?” Her expression did not betray any sarcasm or joking. “They don’t have time. Everyone’s too busy working to stay alive.” I shook my head and turned to pick up a large piece of wood. “You should really go back to the campsite, Your Highness. It’s safer there.”

She stuck her nose in the air. “I believe I can take care of myself, thank you. And if I would be safer there, wouldn’t you be too?”

I began walking further into the woods. “Doesn’t matter, my lady. Nothing to steal from me and no one to pay a ransom for me if I’m take hostage. I’m as safe here as anywhere. Besides, someone has to do the work.” I stood from picking up a branch. “All due respect Your Highness, but you should be getting back to camp now. I’ll walk with you.”

She scoffed. “I’ll not have a servant telling me what I should and should not be doing. I can come or go whenever I please and I don’t need you to tell me when that is. I’ll have you know –“ Her barrage of words stopped suddenly. A look of terror crept over the royal princess’ face. She was staring straight behind me.

“What is it Your Highness? Is everything alright?” I took a step toward her.

She lifted a shaking arm to point silently to where I had just been standing. I turned to see what it was and a yell greeted my ears.

The firewood I had collected dropped from my hands as a dark figure slammed into me. In less than a moment, I was tumbling on the ground, blindly wrestling my attacker away. He wasn’t very big, only a few inches taller than me with narrow shoulders. But that certainly didn’t mean that he was a poor fighter. The man was obviously skilled and had done this many times before.

He swung at my face and the blow clattered inside my head. I tried to return the favor, without success. He did it again and blocked an even weaker strike of my own. I felt like my eyes were going crossed and my brain was getting untangled and my head was spinning like a top.

I kicked at his stomach and caught him by surprise. He rolled off of me and I scrambled to my feet. I regretted the movement almost immediately, grabbing a tree for support. Gasping for breath, I took a better look at the man I was fighting as he rolled to his feet. Like I said before, he was small. He was also dressed all in black, head to toe. As he rose, he pulled something from his belt. My eyes widened. A blade was glinting in the sliver of moonlight piercing the trees.

He raised it and started running. I stepped out of the way at the last possible second and he slammed hard into the tree I had only a moment earlier been grasping.

My breath was back and my head throbbed a little less. I darted out behind the man in black. He would not fall for the same trick again. A tree branch lay on the ground, about three feet long and quite thick. I hoisted it up and quickly swung it toward the armed figure.

He dodged easily and ducked to my left. Before I could tell what was happening, something hit my branch near my hand with a force that caused me to drop it. It lay on the ground, a black leather handle all that showed.

I backed up a few steps, trying to buy a minute. He followed. I didn’t dare look behind me and take my eye off of the advancing fighter. I eyed him carefully, trying to figure out his next move. It took me too long though.

With the speed of a battle horse and the step of a deer, the man in black darted toward me. He slammed into my chest with all of his weight, pinning me against a tree a few feet behind me. I punched at him, to no effect. He may have been small, but his strength was great.

A smile touched his lips, ever so slight, and he released one of my arms to reach down for something. Princess Elaine screamed before I could even see what he was doing. Another knife was slowly raised to my throat.

I pushed back against the tree but the blade followed. I swallowed dryly, trying to see the weapon in the gloved hand.

“Who are you?” I whispered hoarsely. “What do you want?”

He smiled cruelly and I looked up to meet his hard eyes. “What do you think? I want all of your money and supplies.”

“I – I don’t have anything.” The knife pushed a little harder.

He shook his head, as if amused by a small child. “You don’t really expect me to believe that do you? I saw that woman – she is not a peasant. So here are your options. I can kill you and then loot your campsite. Or you can show me your campsite and then I kill you. I really don’t care which you choose. Take your time.”

“Is there another option? I’m not fond of either of those.”

The man laughed. “It’s so nice to get a funny one every once in a while. Makes the job more interesting. You know what, I’m in a good mood so I will give you a third choice. You show me your campsite and I let you live.” I was about to leap at that one when he finished his offer. “And I kill your pretty little friend there instead.”

“Why – why do you have to kill someone? Can’t we all just be friends?” My voice was raspy and weak. I only needed to keep him talking long enough to come up with a solution.

“You’re cute but I know what stalling is. Give me your decision boy. Now.”

I gulped. “Please, I’ll show you where the campsite is if you’ll only let the both of us live. I am begging you!”

“I know you are. The thing you should know about me though is that I detest whining and begging. Choose now or you both die.”

“He chooses neither.” A deep voice was followed by the knife falling away from my throat. The man fell to his knees, clutching at his middle. Something liquid glinted in the moonlight. A few feet away, Sir Manchmal cleaned off his sword. The thief’s body stiffened and my master reached out and pushed him over.

I sank into the tree, awash with relief.

“Don’t you dare let anything like that happen again Will!” Sir Manchmal lit into me with full force. “You could have gotten Princess Elaine killed! What were you thinking?”

I looked up at him in wonder. “What?”

“You heard me! You ever do anything like this again and you’ll regret it!”

“You think it was my fault?” But he was already walking away. “Anyone with eyes can see that it wasn’t my fault. Es ist nicht fair! Warum muss ich mit diesem Monster leben?!” I slipped back into the familiar German as Elaine was gently guided away, back to the campsite. The driver of the coach was left staring at me in my outburst of foreign words. He held a branch which I could only assume was meant to be used as a club. Slowly, he moved toward the clearing as well, always keeping a wary eye on me.

I sighed. A pile of dropped logs and wood came into my view. I trudged toward my forgotten task and slowly bent to pick them up.

The princess was asleep when I returned, curled up by Sir Manchmal’s feet. A coarse blanket was wrapped tightly around her shoulders and she shivered in her sleep. I dropped the wood heavily by the fire and nestled between the roots of a large oak tree, determined not to sleep.

My body, however, had different plans.

I awoke to a hard shaking of my shoulder. I whipped my head around, looking to see what was wrong.

Sir Manchmal stood before me. “Make breakfast. You’ll need more wood.” He walked back to where he had been sharpening his sword. I rolled my neck, stretching it out. Despite it being the middle of June, the early mornings were still chilly, and early it was. The world was balanced halfway between night and day, black and blue battling for the sky. Only the faintest rays of light could be seen on the horizon.

I wrapped my cloak tighter around me in an effort to stay warm and went to collect a few logs. Breakfast was easy and ready within the hour.

A movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Princess Elaine had pushed herself up on one elbow and was watching me cook.

“Good morning my lady.” I nodded a greeting.

She nodded back and yawned, stretching. After another minute of blinking the sleep away, she seemed to realize that it was still a touch cold and sat up, pulling the blanket closer around her. “What’s for breakfast?”

“We have bacon and bread. There’s coffee in that pot. Want some?”

“Yes. That’s not very much for breakfast.” I handed her a tin cup, deciding to ignore the comment about breakfast.

“Careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you.” She wrapped her fingers around the warm drink and pulled it close, sucking in the heat. “When do we leave?”

I handed her a plate of food. “I’d imagine we’ll leave as soon as the campsite’s packed up and we’ve eaten.”

“And how far will we go today?”

“I don’t know. Maybe thirty miles? It depends.”

She chewed on a piece of bread quietly for a moment. I stoked the fire and got my own plate. Sir Manchmal and the driver had already eaten and were packing up.

“Do you know how to fight?” Her question surprised me a bit.

“Um, no.”

The princess cocked her head. “Why not? I thought all squires were training to become knights.”

I pursed my lips. She had hit a sore spot. “My master won’t teach me. I was just starting to learn when we left the castle.”

“Oh.” She contemplated my answer. “You see, I asked because last night, even though you had a dagger, you didn’t pull it out. I was just wondering if you knew how to use it.”

“Of course I know how to use it!” I snapped, reddening. I hadn’t even thought to use my father’s dagger. “I just didn’t want to.”

“Why not? It seems an awfully foolish choice. Couldn’t you have beaten him if you used it?”

“Yes. I don’t know. Maybe.” I stood abruptly. “I need to help with the packing if you’ll excuse me Your Highness.”

She raised her brow and nodded. “Of course.”

I stoked the fire one last time and then went to gather up the few things I had taken out the night before. A rough blanket, a wad of clothes for a pillow. Nothing more. It all fit easily into my bag which I attached to my horse. The cooking supplies were easily stowed away and I was soon left with nothing to do. All that was left was to wait for the princess to be ready, so I walked off into the woods.

Once I was out of sight, I slid the dagger from its sheath and sat against a tree. The sun was higher and it lit up my prized possession like a star. The worn ivory handle was still smooth, still beautiful. Why hadn’t I used it last night? Was I really fit to become a knight of the Round Table if I couldn’t even think to pull out a blade when I was attacked?

I jammed the knife as hard as I could into the soft ground, burying it up to its hilt. Immediately regretting this, I pulled it back out and carefully wiped the dirt off on my jacket. I slid it back into the sheath and sighed.

I wanted so badly to make my father proud and I couldn’t even win one measly fight with a bandit. I couldn’t even talk to the princess without looking like a fool! That was partly her fault though.

“Will!” My name echoed through the trees. I imagined Sir Manchmal muttering about that “good for nothing boy” who was “always taking the lazy rout.” I smiled a little in spite of myself and rose to my feet. We had a long journey today and it wouldn’t do any good to keep my master waiting.