Following Orders: Chapter Eleven

             Chapter Eleven

I didn’t lose a moment in giving chase, crashing through the woods after the thief. “Hey! Stop!”

            Because the criminal was so small, I easily caught up within a moment or two and tackled him to the ground. We rolled and he tried to stand and run. He was quick. I caught his foot, and he hit the ground face first, letting go of the bread as it flew out of his hands.

            I leapt quickly to pin him to the ground and rolled him over so that his terrified face was looking up at me. With a shock, I realized that the thief was just a boy, maybe eleven or twelve years old. His hair was a dirty blonde and was really messy. His large green eyes looked up at me apprehensively.

            “What were you doing? That was our food!” My anger outweighed the surprise at the age of my captive.

            “I was hungry. I haven’t eaten in days!” A tear rolled down the red cheek.

            “You can understand me. You’re not from Aronway?” I let up a little.

            “No.” He eyed me warily. “You don’t sound like you’re from Aronway either.”

            “Are you from Camelot?”

            He nodded. I let him sit up. My hand hovered near my short sheath and I made sure he caught the movement.

            “What’s your name?”

            “Trent.”

            “How old are you Trent?”

            “Twelve.” He puffed up his chest a little.

            “Got any parents?”

            He looked sheepishly at the ground.

            “Ran away then? Why?”

            “They were talking about sending me to be apprentice to the blacksmith.” He searched my face earnestly for sympathy. “I couldn’t be a blacksmith my whole life! I’d die all cramped up and hot all day! I need to be free!”

            I tried to hold back a chuckle at his seriousness. “I see. So what are you doing now? Stealing from other poor travelers to compensate for your own poverty?” The sheepish look returned. I pursed my lips. I couldn’t not help the boy – he was obviously starving. But I couldn’t take him to Morestia either. “Alright Trent. Here’s the deal. You can come have some lunch and travel with us if you promise to stop at the next town and find a proper job. Sound good?”

            Light returned to the sad eyes and the boy nodded eagerly. “Sounds perfect! I’ll be great, I promise! I won’t steal anything and I’ll only eat when I’m hungry. Of course, I’m hungry a lot so that might be more often than you think. But I promise I’ll do my best to keep up with you while we’re walking and I’m great for conversation. ‘Least, I was back in Camelot. Now there’s not much anybody to talk to out here in the woods.” He paused for breath and I cut in.

            “Trent. Look at me. And you promise to find a respectable job at the next town and stop stealing?”

            “Yeah, sure. Thank you so much! I’m so excited! Who was that girl back there? Was that your friend? Or your sister?” He cocked his head and appeared to actually be waiting for an answer.

            “Oh, um, sister. Come on. We’ve still got a long ways to go today.” I retrieved the bread and we headed back toward camp.

            Elaine gasped when she saw the grubby little boy following me. “Who is that?”

            “This is Trent, Elle.” I shot her a meaningful look.

            She nodded slightly. “Was he the one who stole our bread Alex?”

            “Yes. I’ve got it back now. It’s just a bit dirty. Trent’s going to travel with us to the next town and find himself a job there.”

            Her brow furrowed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

            “It’ll be fine. We can only be a day or two away from civilization, tops.” I knelt by the empty food basket and began rearranging the parcels neatly within. When I was finished I asked Elaine if she was ready to go.

            “Yes. Anything to get out of these woods.”

            As I helped “my sister” mount, Trent noticed her foot.

            “Oh, what happened? Could I look at it? I bet I could fix it! My mother was always really good at fixing people up when they got hurt or came down with a fever. I watched her a lot so I know what to do. Do you have any medicine? And do you know how to tell a poisonous mushroom from a good one? ‘Cause if you can, I can make a right good soup that’ll heal anything up faster than you can fly.”

            “Slow down Trent. We’ve already got medicine and bandages. Don’t worry about it. All you need to worry about right now is how to find someone who speaks your language to hire you.”

            “Could we please start moving? I’m eager to get to Morestia.” Elaine’s hand flew over her mouth the moment she said it but it was too late.

            “Morestia! Why are you going to Morestia?” The green eyes blinked as they waited for an answer.

            I glared at Elaine as I answered him. “Because we have business there.”

            “What kind of business? Is it something I could help with? You could hire me! Then I don’t have to worry about speaking the wrong language or anything. What are you doing? Is it legal? Are you highwaymen?!” The idea seemed to excite him.

            “Highwaymen? Of course not!” Elaine looked offended at the suggestion. “Why, I am –“

            “Elle Roth, my sister.” I continued my glare as Elaine’s eyes widened in surprise at what she had been about to reveal.

            “Well what’s that supposed to mean? You could still be his sister and be a highwayman. Or a highway-woman. Which would it be?”

            “Look,” I said. “Our business is perfectly legal and it is ours not yours. So stop chattering and let’s get moving.”

            He did a mock salute. “Yes sir, Mister Alex, sir!” He marched a few steps forward and then ran off.

            “Still think it’s a good idea?” Elaine smiled smugly.

            I rolled my eyes. “Like you’re one to talk little miss giving away our mission.” That quieted her down and I led the donkey forward.

            Trent did not travel in a straight line. It was easy to see why he was hungry all the time – running all through the forest instead of walking where you intend to go tends to burn up food rather quickly.

            “Trent!” I called into the darkening trees. “We’re making camp!”

            A spritely figure suddenly appeared from in between some wild berry bushes behind me.

            “Can I help? Is there a tent? What can I do? I didn’t find any mushrooms today so I can’t make the soup, but I can still cook real good so if you want me to make dinner, I’d be happy to whip something up right quick!”

            I put my hand to my forehead. “Just go find some firewood, okay?” I looked at Elaine as he ran off. “I’ve turned into Sir Manchmal.”

            She smiled reassuringly. “Not quite. His manner of asking for firewood involved more yelling and insults.”

            I chuckled. “Thanks.”

            Dinner was a talkative affair with Trent there. By the end, I could have told you anything you wanted to know about mushrooms and then some. Elaine seemed to warm up to him during the meal, in a motherly sort of way.

            “Hey Elle, can I have another piece of bread?” He looked to her for permission.

            “Of course. Here, let me get it for you.” She handed him the bread and he gnawed away happily. She leaned over toward me and whispered, “You were right. This trip’s already more enjoyable with him here!”

            I raised my eyebrows and nodded. Why was I annoyed that they had hit it off finally?

            After the meal was cleaned up, I sent Trent to bed, content and full of food.

            Elaine and I sat in silence for a while. “What was your mother like?”

            I picked up a stick and began whittling. “Didn’t I already tell you?”

            “Sort of. But it’s different now. I feel like that wasn’t quite right for some reason.”

I sighed. “She was sweet and kind and perfect. But I guess memory does that to a person.”

            “Or it’s really what she was like.” I looked up at the comment to find Elaine looking at me. Our gaze held for a moment too long and I cleared my throat and went back to shaving little pieces of wood off of a bigger piece of wood.

            “Um, I know you said not to ask, but –“ I suddenly shrank from the question on my lips.

            “What is my mother like?”

            I looked up at her again. “Yeah.”

            Now it was her turn to sigh and fiddle with pine needles in her lap. She turned her gaze to the canopy of trees above us as I went back to my whittling. “My mother was and is a queen. When my father raised her from the commoners, everyone thought it was the most wonderful thing, and she the most wonderful person. A commoner queen! And I suppose she is a wonderful queen and wife to my father. But I’ve never really spent much time with her. And as my father’s attentions become more devoted to me, she’s been almost shunning me. As if it’s my fault he spends less time with her. I mean, she’s never been cruel or yelled or anything. It’s just, the silence…” Her last whispered word drifted off into the night. Suddenly, she yawned.

            “Why don’t you go on to bed. I’ll stay up a bit longer.” She nodded and I retrieved a blanket for her.

            Trent was already snoring softly across the clearing and it didn’t take long for Elaine to drift off too. True to my word, I stayed up for a while longer, poking at the fire and whittling sticks into splinters.

            I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep against a tree. The sound of a horse whinnying by my ear awoke me with a start. A sword hovered near my throat and I tried to blink the sleep out of my eyes.

            “What…?” My gaze traveled up the sword to the soldier holding it. There was a crest on the shoulder of the uniform. My vision focused and I saw that it was the emblem of Aronway. And the man wearing it – the guard who had been so secretive in telling us about the “princess of Camelot.”

            He noticed that I was awake and looked at me with something between a grimace and a smile. “Can I assume your name is not Alex then?”

            “Elaine!” I was about to scramble to my feet, when the sword pressed in closer.

            “Yes, the princess. She will be well taken care of, I assure you.”

            I felt in my short sheath for the dagger. It was gone.

            The man laughed at my frantic search. “You really think we would leave you armed? How foolish do you think we are?”

            I glared up at him. “Foolish enough to believe that I ran from Camelot.”

            His face reddened. “That’s enough! You’d already be dead if Sir Whyh hadn’t ordered otherwise.”

            I ignored the last comment and turned my attention toward Elaine. A couple guards were leading her toward a large horse.

            Her terrified and frantic eyes caught hold of mine. “Will!”

            “Elaine!” I leaned forward, only to feel the cold touch of steel on my skin.

            Sir Whyh appeared in front of me. He was smiling triumphantly.

            “What are you going to do to her? You have no right to –“

            “I have no right…hmm. You see, no one really has any right to anything. People get what they have because they work for it. Or take it. Which I have now done.” He looked down at me with a cruel light in his eyes. “The question now it, what am I going to do to her? Well, my plan remains the same, excluding you of course.”

            “What?” The statement confused me.

            “You won’t be coming this time. I’ll just be taking the princess, the donkey, and the provisions. Oh,” he said, pulling out my dagger and fiddling with it. “And this, of course.”

            “That’s mine!”

            “Didn’t you hear what I just said about working for things? Anyway, where did you pick up the boy? Is he perhaps the prince of Gaul?”

            Oh yeah. I craned my neck, trying to look around Sir Whyh for Trent. “What did you do with him?”

            “Oh, he’ll be fine. Just a little scared is all. I have one of my best men questioning him on what he knows about the princess.”

            “He doesn’t know anything! He doesn’t even know she’s the princess.”

            “Wonderful. By the way, I’ll be leaving him with you. You see, I feel safe doing this because I now have outposts all along the route from here to where I’m taking your little princess. You’ll never find her again. Good day.”

            He stalked off and mounted a horse next to Elaine, grabbing the reins of hers. “Shall we, my dear?”

            She looked desperately back at me. “Will.”

            “I’ll find you! I promise.”

            “How touching. But we really must be going now.” Sir Whyh kicked his horse into a trot and as soon as they were a ways off, the knight with his sword at my throat, mounted his own horse and followed.

            I gazed after them. “I’ll find you.”

Following Orders: Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten          

  “Ow!” Elaine hopped on one foot.

            “What happened?” I traversed the few steps that separated us. She hobbled over to a tree and balanced herself against the trunk to get a better look at the bottom of her foot.

            “I stepped on something that stabbed straight through my shoe.” Her face scrunched up with pain as she tried to examine the injury.

            “Here, sit down.” I helped her to the ground, then took her foot in my hands. “Where did it happen?”

            She pointed a few feet away. “Over there. It went straight through my shoe.” Her voice was strained.

            “I know.” The rather thin material was ripped jaggedly and blood soaked into it. I looked where she had pointed to see a sharp stone with a few drops of red on it. “I have to take off your shoe. The rock sliced right into your foot.” She nodded and I gently removed the torn article. A sharp intake of breath accompanied my movement.

            The cut wasn’t very long but I could tell that it went deep and that she wouldn’t be walking until it healed some. Not to mention the threat of infection with all of the dirt dusted over her foot. Even a princess was dirty after a couple days walking.

            “How bad is it?” Worry creased her forehead.

            “You’ll live but we need to get you to a town to get it taken care of. For now, I’ll wrap it up and we’ll head for the next house we see.” I took off my cloak and gave it a last rueful look before ripping a strip off the hem. I wished for water to clean the wound as I wrapped the bleeding extremity. Winces and grimaces were plentiful in the moment it took to finish the work and each one felt like a cut into me.

            Once it had stopped bleeding, I shoved the destroyed shoe hopelessly back onto her foot. “You think you can stand up?” I tried to keep my voice light. I held out my hand and she accepted it as a help up.

            “How far to the next house?” Her face was tense and breathing a little shallow.

            “I don’t know. Hopefully just over that hill. Why don’t I run ahead and see if there’s anything there and I’ll come right back.”

            “Okay. I’ll wait here.” She lowered herself to the ground again, no longer complaining about the dirt.

            I looked at her, leaning against the tree, already seeming alone. “Um, here.” I handed her the dagger, handle first. “You know, just in case.”

            She smiled and accepted it.

            “Right, so…” I turned and jogged toward the rise. It was somewhat of a relief to be able to travel quickly again and I almost forgot about Elaine as the wind fingered my hair and cooled my face. It was a short run.

            As I crested the hill, I slowed to a stop and took a sweeping inventory of the valley below. A lone house with a smoking chimney nestled in a corner, surrounded by a small barn and grazing cattle. I smiled at the simple sight and enjoyed it another moment before returning to report my findings.

            “There’s a house in that valley. Maybe a half mile away.” I let myself catch my breath from the refreshing sprint back.

            Elaine smiled up at me from her position. “Shall we go?” She extended the dagger to me in its sheath and I hurriedly attached it to my belt once more, safe and sound. I helped her up and she placed her arm over my shoulder, gripping to stay upright. The injured foot hovered a few inches off the ground. “Ready?”

            “Are you sure you’ll be okay to walk? I can see if the people at that house have a horse or something.”

            “I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

            I took a step forward and she followed with her good foot then used the toes of her other. It was a slow sort of shambling walk. I recalled the first few steps off the road with scorn in comparison to the current pace. Yet, I didn’t feel the same this time about such slothful speeds.

            “Careful, watch that rock.” She stepped gingerly over it then placed her free hand on a tree to rest for a moment.

            “Okay, I’m ready now.”

            Slow was the road to the house, especially since it was nonexistent as a road. When we reached the crest of the hill, we sat down for a minute and just took in the beauty of rolling green hills and rustic buildings. As we watched, a person stood from where they had been hoeing a small garden, stretched, and headed to the barn. They emerged a moment later without the tool and walked around to the front of the house, where they entered.

            “Um, we should probably stick to the Alex and Elle story. They’re probably Arwonains. Might be willing to turn us in for a prize. It would just be safer to be brother and sister when we talk to them.”   

             “Okay Alex.” She nudged me gently with her shoulder. “I’ve never had a brother before. It doesn’t feel very different.” She smiled contentedly and gazed out over the sunset crowning the hills. An orange light lit up her face and the hair that had come loose from her braid danced in the breeze. She was propped up on her hands, legs out in front of her. “What?”

            “Huh? Oh, nothing.” I jumped to my feet. “Are you ready to get moving? We just need to get down this hill. They might even have some dinner for us.”

            Her eyes widened. “Dinner. That sounds amazing. I’m starving!”

            I bit back a comment about how she had probably never been starving in her life and instead helped her to her feet. We assumed our position and awkward, rambling walk and made it down the hill in short order.

            Upon closer inspection, the small farm was just as inviting as it had been from higher up. A few goats pawed about within a small enclosure next to the barn, but a good distance from the vegetable garden. The cows were a ways off, still grazing contentedly. The house was more of a cottage – sweet, small, and hospitable. A few flowers adorned a short walk leading from a rough road. We shambled up it and I knocked on the small door.

            A woman of about forty answered, wiping her hands on her clean apron. She said something in a foreign language and beamed. Considerably shorter than me, I was looking down to speak to her.

            “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Arwonain.”

            She knit her brow and called something inside to her husband. He soon appeared next to her, about my height, but much stronger, still in his working clothes.

            I decided to try to explain our plight to him. “My sister, she is injured.” I pointed to Elaine’s foot. As soon as they caught sight of it, the couple flew into action.

            Like a mother hen, the woman immediately began tending to Elaine while her husband dished up some soup and bread for us. Elaine was taken from my shoulder and guided to a seat by the fire where her foot was propped up and the old bandages taken off. Unsure of what I was supposed to do, I stood awkwardly by her elbow, anxiously watching the deft fingers of the woman.

            She discarded the shreds of my cloak in a pile and poured hot water from a kettle over the fire into a wooden bowl. With a white cloth, she carefully bathed Elaine’s foot with gentle but thorough strokes. Elaine winced a couple times and each time I glanced nervously at her face. Then she smiled. “I’m fine. I’ve cut myself before.”

            In a few moments, while the woman was putting medicine onto the wound, the man of the house came in with two bowls of steaming soup with large hunks of warm bread soaking in the broth. He handed Elaine hers first and nodded at her foreign thanks. I didn’t notice when he held out mine. A hand touched my elbow. I looked at the man to receive a look that spoke across languages. She’ll be fine, it said. Relax. She’s in good hands.

            I accepted the meal with a smile and immediately dug in, ravenously consuming every last drop. By the time I was finished with my food, the woman was finished wrapping clean white bandages around Elaine’s foot. She smiled at my empty bowl and took it to refill with another ladle full of the delicious stew.

            “Oh, you don’t have to do that – I don’t want to take all your food.” My protests were ignored as the bowl was pressed into my hands. The reluctance to accept the kind service diminished as I continued eating.

            “So they can’t understand us?” Elaine was eating her soup slowly, like a princess should and had paused to look up at me.

            “I don’t think so. But we should still stick with Alex and Elle just in case.”

            Elaine smiled. “I suppose I may as well have a brother for a while longer.”

            After we and the kind couple had finished our dinner and the dishes were cleaned up – something I could help with – the man laid out blankets by the fire for me and wrapped a couple more around Elaine.

            “Oh, we shouldn’t stay,” I said. I wanted to, but it wasn’t safe. They seemed to understand what I meant, if not the individual words.

            The man shook his head and pointed at the floor. We were staying.

            The four of us sat around the fire in a companionable silence for another hour before the couple went to bed and Elaine and I did the same. I curled up in the blankets by the fire and closed my eyes.

            “Will?”

            My eyes flickered open and I stared at the foot of the chair that Elaine was lounging in. “Yes Elle?”

            “Sorry, I meant Alex. Um, I looked at the blade on that knife. The engravings were beautiful. Where did you get it?”

            “From my father.”

            “Oh. He wasn’t really a knight, was he?”

            I bit my lip. “No.”

            “But I bet that’s how you think of him.”

            “Yeah.”

            She shifted in her seat and then silence reigned. I let my mind drift back in time. Back to the days of happiness and life.

            I was up early the next morning, eager to keep moving. By the time breakfast was ready, I had my blankets folded neatly and was helping to get out plates. The woman smiled at me as she placed a fried egg on each plate, followed by a piece of toast and another of ham and handed me a cup of coffee. I smiled in return and took Elaine her breakfast.

            “We have to get moving this morning. We’re still not that far from Sir Whyh’s castle. How’s your foot?”

            “It hurts.” She pushed herself higher in the seat with a grimace. “I don’t think I can walk on it all day.”

            I bit my lip and furrowed my brow as I handed her the plate and mug. Then I knelt by the bandaged appendage and tried to peer through the wrappings to see the wound they hid.

            A soft touch pulled me away and the kind woman handed me my breakfast. Eat, her expression said. Worry about that later.

            The food was once again very good and very satisfying. I probably wouldn’t have cared if it was the most disgusting thing I had ever eaten as long as it was edible.

            After the dishes were once again done, the man left and his wife took my hand and guided me over to where Elain was resting. She carefully undid the bandages. Once they were gone, I could finally see the cut clearly. It looked much better clean, but my original assessment had been right. She wouldn’t be walking many miles today.

            The woman held up a small bottle of the medicine she had used last night and showed me how to apply it, then had me rewrap the bandage under her scrutinizing eye. When I was finished, she handed me a small basket with a lid that buckled shut. I opened it to find the little bottle of medicine and a roll of bandages. I smiled my thanks.

            She nodded and stood. Then she pointed at me and then at Elaine and motioned for us to follow. She waited patiently as I helped Elaine to stand, then led us out the front door.

            Her husband held the reins of a donkey. It looked old and tired, especially laden as it was with another basket and a blanket across its back. The woman attached the smaller basket that she had shown me next to the larger one as I stood gaping in gratitude.

            I looked at Elaine to see that her eyes shone as she stared at the gift and then looked at the givers. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said.

            The man had wrapped his arm around the shoulder of his wife and they both stood beaming happily. He motioned from Elaine to the donkey. I understood the gesture to mean that she should mount and hurriedly helped her to do so.

            The animal was short and so she wasn’t really much taller riding it, but it did add to the natural and more rustic look that had been accumulating over the past few days. Elaine’s hair was looser, her hands dirtier, and her face touched by the sun. It really did look nice.

            I stood facing the benevolent couple, unsure of what to say or do. The man stuck out his hand and shook mine. Then he swept his arm out over the open road in an invitation. I took the reins of the little donkey and began walking away from the rising sun. One last glance back showed the pair still standing there, smiling and waving. Then they were gone.

            “I’m starving. Do we have anything to eat?” The princess’ words broke the silence.

            Food! I had forgotten about that one important detail in worrying about Elaine. For the past couple days, roots and berries had provided little sustenance and the occasional stream insubstantial quenching of thirst.

            “Maybe we should stop for a bit and rest. We can move again in an hour.” Once out of sight of the kind Arwonains who had taken us in, we had turned off the path once more to head southwest toward Morestia. Now it was about midday, the sun shining brightly overhead, speckling the forest floor through leaves and branches.

            Elaine settled against a tree trunk and I decided to take inventory of what the couple had given us. I tied the donkey to a dead branch and took the baskets off of his back. I almost saw relief flood the animal’s tired eyes. Almost, but not quite.

            I already knew what was in the smaller basket, so I set it aside and opened the larger one. The contents were neatly arranged and wrapped in clean brown cloths. I pulled them out one by one. The largest bundle contained a huge loaf of fresh brown bread. Next was a large wedge of cheese. A little bowl of blueberries had been carefully wrapped and placed so that they wouldn’t spill, right next to a canteen of water and a thermos of coffee. A few carrots and handfuls of green beans were in a drawstring bag. Most exciting of all though were the two strawberry tarts laid on top of the whole spread. I sat for a minute and just stared at all of the food.

            “Anything good?” Elaine had been watching the whole process in silence. “I’m so hungry!”

            “How does bread and cheese sound? Then we can have the berries with dinner along with the tarts and save the coffee for morning. We can refill the canteen at the next stream which shouldn’t be too far so we don’t really need to worry about water and the carrots and green beans will keep for a couple days so we can save them for now. We’ve got almost enough to get us all the way to the border of Morestia at the pace we’ve been going and we can stop in a town there for more food.”

            “That sounds like quite the plan. Now can we have some lunch?” She smiled wryly.

            “Oh. Right. Yeah.” I broke off a piece of bread and sliced a piece of cheese and handed the two to her, along with the canteen.

            “Thank you.”

            I settled down a few feet away with my own feast and tucked in hungrily.

            “Will!” Elaine’s cry made my head snap up.

            “What? What is it?”

            She pointed. “There! Someone’s taken the rest of the bread!” I looked after her finger to see a small person sprinting away, a suspicious looking bundle under his arm.

Following Orders: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

I turned toward Elaine to meet with a furious glare that immediately began digging into me. “’Serves her right’ does it?” She cocked her head and opened her grey eyes wide. Her jaw pushed forward a little bit, making a rather comic picture of anger. How could her father have taken this seriously?

            “I’m sorry Elaine –“

            “Do not address me by my first name!”

            “I’m sorry Your Highness. But I had to be convincing. If he didn’t believe me, we would never be left standing here. But you have got to remember that story in case we’re asked again. Brother and sister, Alex and Elle. Ran away from Camelot where you were a lady in waiting because I was drafted into the army. Got it?”

            She nodded tersely.

            “Good.”

I let myself breathe for a minute before turning to resume the journey, my hand brushing my belt as I did so. I glanced downward. “There’s something I have to get. It will only take a minute and then we can head to the stables.”

            “And this basket?” She held it away from herself, looking at it as if it had come to life and begun eating porridge.

            “You’re doing great. Keep up the good work.” I heard a huff of exasperation as I turned and walked rapidly down one hallway, then the next, then the next.

            The door to the library was open a crack. Bright afternoon light shone through the windows, shoving past the parted red curtains. I peered cautiously inside. No one was there.

            The item I sought lay just where I hoped it would – on the low table by the now empty fireplace. “Come with me.” I motioned for Elaine to follow. It wouldn’t do any good to get separated on the way out.

            I made certain that Elaine closed the door tight then lifted the knife carefully in my hands. I inspected it quickly, making sure that the noble Sir Whyh had not hurt it in any way. It seemed fine.

            The blade had been lying on an open book when I picked it up and I bent to examine the old pages. An intricate illustration filled all of the left hand page. It was my dagger. The weapon was coming out of the sheath a few inches, showing the light engravings on the blade near the hilt.

            I began reading.

            The legendary blade of Roulin is not certain to exist. It is said to have originated in the hottest of forges deep in the land of Aronway, thousands of years ago. It was made for King Josephus, ruler of that country.

            The noble king was off to battle the kingdom now known as Camelot. At the time of the war however, it went by the name Roulin.

            King Josephus ordered the blade forged as a special weapon meant to kill his rival, King Maximillian of Roulin.

            The day of the battle loomed dark over the armies of King Josephus. All of them spent the night in restless sleep except for their leader, comforted by his new dagger’s intended destiny. The fight was long and hard. Many fell on either side. It was not until the heat of the day that the two strong rulers faced one another, blood staining their armor and hands.

            Despite their exhaustion, they dueled for hours on end. As the sun sank behind the Hill of Avonlee, King Josephus had Maximillian pinned on the ground. He pulled the ivory handled dagger from its special sheath and raised it above the throat of his enemy. As he taunted his helpless prey however, King Maximillian’s last soldier found the strength to stand.

            The man had been gravely wounded, but the sight of his liege’s imminent death gave him the resolve to raise his own weapon and stagger to his feet.

            King Josephus was dead before he knew he had been struck and the new dagger slipped from his lifeless fingers, missing its target.

            Both King Maximillian and his faithful soldier survived the battle and made it back to Roulin in safety. The man who had saved his king’s life was given the dagger of King Josephus as a prize for his courage and knighted with great honor. He wore the blade with pride and it became known as the blade of Roulin to serve as a reminder of the near defeat of all of Roulin and the prevention of its demise by a single faithful citizen.

            But Aronway was not to give up so easily. King Josephus’ son rose to power and vowed revenge on the small country of Roulin. The two were soon at war again and the blade of Roulin served its master until his noble death in battle.

            The dagger was passed to the Aronwain who killed him and, in the next war, passed back to a man of Roulin. One more war left it at home in Aronway, where it was lost to history – if it ever existed in the first place.

            Many have reported finding the blade, but upon verification, all were found to be false. The blade remains lost to this day, no doubt on the belt of some worthy man of Aronway.

            “What’s that book about?” Elaine leaned over my shoulder, her laundry basket discarded on the floor next to a sofa.

            “This.” I showed her my father’s dagger, seeing it myself as if for the first time.

            “What do you want that for?” She looked unimpressed, having seen only the crude leather sheath and simple ivory handle.

            But rather than show her the delicate blade, I became defensive. “It was my father’s! He gave it to me.”

            “Oh.” She was trying to understand, but both of her parents were alive and well – and rulers of a kingdom. “Did you need anything else or was that it?”

            “This was it. Let’s go.”

            Before she could even pick up her laundry basket again, the door opened and a very surprised Sir Whyh stepped in. All of time froze. It began melting slowly, first with the sunbeams on the floor, followed by the laughter of a small child.

            “Very clever Will. I wonder how you got out.” He began advancing. “Guards!”

            Without thinking, I unsheathed the blade of Roulin and grabbed the princess, holding it to her throat. “Will!” She pulled her neck as far from my shaking hand as she could, pressing the back of her head into my shoulder. “What – what are you doing?”

            Sir Whyh stopped for a moment, surprised. Then he smiled. “Foolish boy. I’d like the same answer as the princess. What are you doing?” He cocked his head and waited patronizingly.

            I licked my lips. “I’ll kill her if you come a step closer.”

            “What?!” Elaine shrieked.

            Sir Whyh raised his eyebrows. “And why would you do that? I thought you were trying to save your princess, not kill her.” He took another step.

            “I’ll do it!” I swallowed and attempted to stop the trembling in my armed hand.

            “Will!” Now Elaine was whispering. “What are you doing?”

            “Shh,” I whispered back. I looked back to Sir Whyh. “You know she’s no good to you dead.”

            “What are you talking about boy? It doesn’t matter to me whether she’s dead or alive! I was only thinking of you. But if you don’t care, then by all means, kill her.” He stepped forward again.

            I gripped her shoulder tighter, and pulled the knife in closer. “Don’t come any further. You know she’s no good to you dead,” I repeated. “If she dies, Camelot and Morestia come down on Aronway in full force because of her death. You lose any chance of being restored to your place in court for bringing them to your country’s doorstep.” His confident smile faltered. “On the other hand,” I proceeded, my voice stronger, “if she’s alive, you have that chance to be restored like you told me about. At the very least, I’m sure you could find a way to get both Camelot and Morestia to pay you a pretty penny for her release.”

            I noticed that no guards had come to their master’s call. They must have been too far to hear.

            Sir Whyh mulled over my words in his head. His smile returned. “You have no proof. All of the evidence is in my favor. Your master died on the journey – who’s to say you didn’t kill them both and come to Aronway looking for a reward? Even if you make it out of here, it’s the word of a lying squire against that of a respectable knight. And your knife that killed her.” He added the last with a triumphant grin.

            I narrowed my eyes. “No. It’s your knife.” I jerked my head back toward the book still lying open on the table. “I bring it back with her blood on it and show it to the king. He knows the story. He will know it was you.” I didn’t actually know if King Arthur knew the story of the blade of Roulin, or even of its existence. But neither did Sir Whyh.

            The knight looked nervous again. “You read the book.”

            I nodded. “I read the book.”

            He took another step forward and raised his hands in a placating manner. “I don’t think you understand what you’re saying.”

            I pressed the knife closer and took a step back. “I will kill her!”

            He stopped. “It can be easily proved that you killed your own princess. She need not be alive for my purposes. Baldwin will believe me. He will move out against Camelot this very week. Kill her. Use the knife.”

            “You really want me to? I will.” I lifted my elbow as if to pull the blade across her throat. I whispered to Elaine, “Fall if I slice. Look dead.” She nodded imperceptibly and gulped.

            “Let’s maybe talk about this. I will bring my offer back. You can live here in Aronway – with the princess if you like.” His eyes were darting about, as if looking for a solution on the spine of one of the many books in the room.

            “And why would I want to do that?”

            “I will allow to leave without getting killed yourself. I will not let any of my men touch you.”

            “Who’s to say I’m not going to do that any way?” I tried to appear confident in my threats. If he figured out how idle they were, it would be over.

            “You can’t. You kill her and my men return the favor. You never make it out alive.”

            “And if I don’t? Kill her I mean.”

            “You still die.”

            “You see, I could walk right out of here, a knife at her throat. One of your men makes a move and I slice her neck. Then she is of no use to either of us. That involves no death on my part. It des you no good to kill me after that and I run. Easiest thing in the world. I know the forest better than any of your men, I’ll wager.” I probably didn’t though, having spent most of my life behind the protective walls of a castle.

            “Could I have a say in whether I die today?” Elaine’s voice was less timid than before.

            Sir Whyh smiled wryly. “Your princess does not appear to like your methods young Will. You think your king would enjoy them any better? The truth is always found out and as soon as your deeds are uncovered, you think that you shall be allowed to go free?”

            “But they will not be my deeds. The knife is still sufficient proof of your guilt.” I began walking slowly toward the door, taking Elaine with me. Sir Whyh made a quick movement and I moved the dagger closer.

            “Don’t kill me Will,” Elaine whispered hoarsely. “Please.”

            I didn’t respond to her. “Careful. It would be a shame for you to both lose your prize and your place at court simply because you took a step too close. Go over there.” I jutted my chin toward the circle of chairs. “Sit down. Count to three thousand. Twice. Then you can get up and call the guards and do whatever you like because we’ll be long gone. Move before that and I’ll know. Breathe a word of this before that and I’ll know.”

            He obeyed slowly, a look of sheer disgust and contempt fixed upon me. I backed slowly out of the room, still holding my father’s blade to Elaine’s throat. When we were in the empty hall, I reached out and closed the door before releasing my temporary prisoner. She jumped away and eyed me warily.

            “What were you thinking?!” She lifted a hand to her neck and rubbed it gently.

            “I was thinking that we should get out of here. Come on. I don’t trust him to keep quiet.” It was yet another maze to get out of the castle and we couldn’t run for fear of suspicion. Every sidelong glance from a soldier or child made me hesitate and turn the other direction.

            The courtyard was the same blazing colors and bustle that it had been the day before. We rushed toward the gate, as if on important business.

            “Halt.” I froze and Elaine’s eyes widened.

            I licked my lips and turned around. “Yes?” My smile was forced and straining.

            “Oh, hello there Alex! What are you doing?”

            It was the guard who had told us about the princess. He lounged easily against the guardhouse, spinning a spear in his left hand.

            “Sir Whyh has sent us on an errand to the nearest town.” I leaned forward conspiratorially. “We are to deliver a letter.” I patted my pocket as if it concealed a secret correspondence. “He didn’t say anything about it, but I believe it has to do with the captive princess.”

            He nodded, smiling. “Well best of luck to the two of you. Be back before sundown. That’s when the gates close for the night. It’d be a shame to be locked out there with the wild animals and all.”

            “We are to spend the night in the town so no need to wait for us. We’d best be off!” I waved jovially and the gesture was returned.

            It was excruciatingly painful to walk down the long road to the far off curve without looking back or dodging off the road. Five long minutes of silence and faking an easy walk. The turn in the road was a welcome change, taking our forms from the eyes of any at the castle gate.

            “This way.” I bounded off into the woods.

            “Wait!” Elaine picked her way behind me, dodging a rock here, a stick there.

            I put my hands on my hips. “Really? Are you going to walk like that all the way to Morestia?”

            “Someone should have remembered to get horses before we left.” She glared at me after lifting her foot delicately to step over a fallen branch.

            “Me? Maybe you should have remembered! Don’t be so quick to forget who got us out of there in the first place.”

            “After almost slicing my throat!”

            “I wasn’t actually going to kill you. I just needed Sir Whyh to think that I would. Can you walk any faster?” Only a few feet separated us, but at the pace of the princess, they would never be covered.

            “You try walking in these shoes and then tell me to hurry up.” I took another few steps and then turned around to wait again. She studied the ground intently before each step.

            “Just take them off if they’re that bad. Go barefoot.”

            A shocked expression met my irritated one. “Go barefoot? Are you actually insane? Do you even know what that would do to my feet? They would get all rough and horrid! I’m supposed to be getting married right now, not be tromping through the woods.” She returned to her careful trudging with a pout and I sat down by a tree.

            “You know this ground isn’t that bad. What will you do when we get to brambles and real rocks and holes?”

            “Shush! You made me step in mud and now my shoes are ruined! Keep quiet so I can concentrate.”

            I picked up a stick and began whittling. “I can still see the road from here.”

            “I said to be quiet!”

            That was enough. “Look,” I said, standing up. “I know you’re a princess and all, but out here, you don’t know anything. Just let me do my job and get you to Morestia without having to put up with a snob the entire time. Got it?”

            She glared at me fiercely but straightened. “I suppose since you have caused both of my shoes to be ruined already I don’t need to be quite as careful with my walking.”

            “Finally.” I set off at an easy clip. Slower than I would have by myself, faster than Miss High and Mighty had been going before.

            We were finally free and headed for Morestia. All I had to do now was deliver the princess and I could be on my way back to Camelot to find a new master who would actually train me. Maybe the king would even reward me for my great acts of courage in the face of such adversity. A smile touched my lips. Simple.

            “How much farther do we have to go before we reach Morestia?”

            All traces of a smile were immediately erased. Maybe not so simple.