Following Orders: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I felt the weight of the branch I held in my hand, testing its balance. Seeing as nature had made this weapon and not man, it was fairly unwieldy and oddly shaped. I shrugged and held it ready just as Ronald had shown me.

Through the cape of darkness, I could see the outline of a sturdy tree trunk. I struck at it violently, breaking my so-called “sword.” The break revealed rotten wood and an army of ants scrambled about. I dropped the defective weapon and searched for a new one.

I kicked aside pine needles and thought back to my very much one sided conversation with the princess earlier. She had decided that I needed to learn French like her and was so gracious as to volunteer the unwanted lessons as we traveled. I hadn’t dared to spurn her teaching as Sir Manchmal was right there and had very specific thoughts on how I was to treat royalty. He was already unhappy that I was interacting with her at all. It wouldn’t do any good to taunt the angry bear.

My foot hit something heavy on the forest floor and I tripped. Rubbing my knee, I examined the culprit and found it to be the perfect weapon for practicing my strikes. This time though, I tested it for rottenness first.

As my body pushed into a rhythm, my mind wandered away from the task at hand.

“You said your father taught you German. Where did he learn it?” I was back riding beside the coach, listening to the princess’ mindless chatter only to realize that the last question had been directed at me.

“Um, he learned it in Germany.”

She shook her head. “Of course. But why was he in Germany? Was he saving your mother from an evil lord who kept her locked in a tower high above the small village surrounding the castle?”

I glanced at Sir Manchmal and bit back the response to her question about my mother that was rising in my throat. “He was studying. At a school.”

“Why was he studying? I thought he was a knight. Don’t knights study by being squires?”

“A knight?!” A deep voice interrupted from behind. “You’re telling the princess your father was a knight?” Sir Manchmal rode up beside me. He glared down at me. “Stop telling lies.”

“So he wasn’t a knight?” Princess Elaine looked both shocked and disappointed at the same time. I licked my lips. How to fix this?

I turned to my master rather than the princess and swallowed. “Sir, you said you would train me to be the best knight in the land, just like my father.”

He narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t deny having said it. “You know very well what I meant by those words.”

Princess Elaine leaned forward eagerly. “You knew his father? Was he really a knight or not?” She looked doubtful. “It was so exciting when Will told me his father was a knight in shining armor.”

Sir Manchmal hesitated. “Yes, Your Highness, I knew Will’s father. But he was only a great…knight.” The princess’ face brightened. Sir Manchmal leaned down and whispered to me, “I’ll give you this one for her sake. Don’t you dare let me catch you telling another lie.”

I nodded gravely, oddly grateful to the man. I hadn’t felt that way toward him for years. He fell back to his spot and I realized the princess was once again chattering away gaily and I scrambled to keep up with what she was saying lest another question be proffered.

Back in the darkened woods, I mulled over Sir Manchmal’s protection from earlier. Had it been for me or for Elaine? Was he really only trying to protect her fantasy or was he trying to preserve mine as well?

I yawned suddenly and missed my mark, my momentum carrying me through to crashing into the tree. Sleep. That was what my body was begging for. I turned reluctantly back toward the campsite, dropping my stick. The practice session was over for the night, much as I wanted it to continue.

“What’s your mother like my lady?” I was once again riding by the carriage, wasting away as I listened to dull talk about court. The princess had been silent for a rare moment though and I leaped at the chance to learn something that had been occupying my curiosity for a few days. King Arthur absolutely doted on his daughter, but what about his wife?

She pursed her lips and glared at me. “You are never to ask about the queen again. Do you understand me?”

I was confused. “But surely Queen Guinevere is as benevolent as they say. Why can’t I –“

“I said don’t! Do you understand me?”

I made a face. “Yes my lady.”

“Good.” She sighed heavily but then her face brightened immediately. “How much longer until we reach the castle?”

She had stopped referring to our destination as wretched and base some days ago when she realized the discomfort that accompanied traveling. Now it was hospitable and generous.

“Only a few more days my lady. We enter King Baldwin’s domain tomorrow and his castle two days after.”

Her countenance fell a little at the mention of her foreign fiancé. Silence reigned as she brooded and I abstained from asking any more questions that might result in upsetting someone with power.

The driver on the coach suddenly began soothing the horses. They were flicking their tails and looking around in agitation. Their ears perked intently, listening for whatever it was they thought they were hearing. My horse began to prance nervously and I struggled to control it.

“Whoa! Whoa, boy.” He calmed, but only a little. I glanced around for a snake or something else to cause our mounts to become upset. I glanced back to see Sir Manchmal’s trained battle horse listening carefully, but behaving perfectly. My master, mounted atop, was peering with narrowed eyes into the surrounding woods.

Everything was silent. No birds, no squirrels, no wind even touched the tree tops.

“Who’s there?” Sir Manchmal called. There was no answer. We continued riding, but Sir Manchmal kept a careful eye on our surroundings. The driver also looked as nervous as I felt.

“What was it?” The eager question greeted my listening ears.

“It was nothing, my lady. Don’t worry about it.” I never looked at her.

She sighed in exasperation. “I am not some child to be told when to keep quiet. What was it? If it was bandits I should know. Sir Manchmal could take care of them anyway.”

I finally turned to look at her. “I don’t know what it was Your Highness but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.” At least I hoped. We were close to the point where we would enter Morestia which also meant we were close to the border of Alonway. It was doubtful that their king had not heard of the arrangements between King Arthur and King Baldwin. My eyes darted to the left as a squirrel chattered in the branches of an old oak tree.

“If it’s nothing then why are you so uptight? You look absolutely terrified!”

I hadn’t realized my fear was showing in my face and rushed to hide it. “I’m sure it’s fine Your Highness.”

She nodded reluctantly, decidedly subdued.

I struck at the tree once again, wishing for my sword of the previous night. The moon was full but the trees were thick and only allowed selective beams admittance. Despite the chill of the night, I discarded my jacket in order to move more freely.

Strike. Pause. Strike. Pause. The idea to practice at night had come a few days prior but I had easily mastered the first move and was eager to move on to more advanced. I thought back to when I had seen Sir Gawain sparring with a squire and strained my ears to hear the conversation.

The red headed hero had reached out and adjusted the boy’s shoulder. “Now,” his deep voice resonated, “when you strike at an enemy’s head or neck, I want it to be in an arc, like this.” He had demonstrated and I clearly remembered the picture.

I attempted the cut, but instead threw myself off balance. I tried again, going through the simple movement more slowly and letting my muscles adjust. After a while, it felt reasonably natural and I kept at it for some time.

The whispers were what caught my ear first. Not whispers of voices, but rather whispers of feet. I stopped my practice and went completely still. Silence greeted my ears. A chill rushed up my spine, bringing fear along with it. Anyone or anything could be in these woods. Wolves, bandits, thieves. I didn’t want to repeat the altercation of the first night. It was time to go back.

I crept between the trees, still trying to keep quiet for some reason unknown to my conscious mind. The sudden flicker of firelight filled me with relief. I could see the lumps that were Sir Manchmal and Princess Elaine sleeping peacefully by the fire. The driver appeared to be on watch but as I neared, I saw that his mouth hung open and his snore rumbled.

My foot was about to step into the ring of firelight when a cry rang out. A dozen men ran into the clearing as Sir Manchmal leaped to his feet, sword in hand. The driver was startled awake only a moment before his throat was cut.

I hesitated, watching and unsure of what to do. I glanced down, suddenly feeling the weight of my makeshift practice stick still clutched between my fingers.

Sir Manchmal was heavily engaged with three men, his sword flashing wickedly fast. I realized in that moment that I had never seen him use it before. The old hand wound, however, did not appear to be hindering him any as the first of his enemies fell before him. The place was immediately filled by another.

An insignia on the armband of one of the men caught my eye. It was a blazing sun with spears sticking out of it. The seal of Aronway.

The horses were pulling at their reigns which were tied to trees, shying away from the men reaching to untie and claim their prizes.

A shriek grasped at my attention, catching hold. Princess Elaine was awake. A man grabbed at her and she barely dodged his reach, running as fast as she could into the forest not twenty feet from me. Her golden hair flowed behind her as her bare feet searched out a path through the trees. The soldier who had reached for her and one of his comrades pursued. She had not yes disappeared from my sight when they caught up and stopped her flight. Each of them grabbed one arm, dragging her back toward the campsite. She struggled and kicked, screaming, but it made little difference.

Sir Manchmal caught sight of her. “Elaine!” The distraction proved to be just what his enemies were looking for. A sword plunged through his heart and he gasped. Staggering, he hit the ground, all signs of life draining from his dead eyes.

I took one last look at my branch and raised it in the air. It made swift contact with the back of one of the soldier’s heads. He stumbled a little, but a helmet protected from any real damage. One of his comrades saw me. “A boy!” he yelled.

A few of the nearer men turned on me. I gulped and raised my now real weapon higher in the air. I heard a few snorts and chuckles and swung once again. My piece of wood met with a sword and was flung from my hand. Two more soldiers grabbed me and dragged me over to a man I had not noticed before. I kicked at their legs and they laughed again.

The man was sitting astride a huge horse, glaring cruelly down at me. His hair and beard were thick and black, reminding me of a bear when combined with small beady eyes. He was dressed like a knight, the difference being that his armor was black. I instinctively shied away from the dominating figure but a rough shove to my back sent me sprawling forward instead.

Elaine was a few feet away, gaping openly at me. Terror filled her eyes as tears streaked her face. I nodded to her, as if in encouragement.

Scrambling to my feet, I faced the huge knight. I licked my lips and clenched my fists by my side. “What do you want with us?” The question sounded weak the first time so I repeated it.

“I heard you the first time boy.” His voice was deep and his accent one I didn’t recognize. The words seemed to roll through his throat and then flip off of his tongue as he spoke.

“He was hiding in the woods with a stick, sir.” The same accent in a different voice spoke from behind me. “He hit Leo in the back of the head.”

“Did you now?” He looked slightly amused. “I suppose it’s always good to know what I’m up against – a young man and his stick.” He laughed heartily and was joined by lesser enthusiastic chuckles from his men. He stopped abruptly and the rest went silent.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the princess watching me. I cleared my throat. “I said, what do you want with us?”

“Now that is an interesting question, persistent one.” He stroked his thick beard. “You see, I heard that there was a princess traveling through here. A princess of Camelot. Do you know anything of this?”

“No.” I gulped and tried to avoid glancing at Elaine. “You – you think they would let me go on a trip with a princess? Who are you?”

He laughed again. “Well if you don’t know anything, maybe your little friend does.” He turned toward Elaine. “Tell me, my dear, have you heard anything of this princess?”

The princess looked over his shoulder at me. I shook my head ever so slightly, hoping that she would understand.

“No.” Her voice was oddly soft in the middle of a rough night.

“I see. That is unfortunate.” He looked at his men. “Kill them.”

“Wait, no!” I tried to lunge at him but was held back. “You can’t do that!”

“And why is that?” His gaze was ice.

“Because…because….” I thought desperately for a good reason.

“Because I am the princess.” Now Elaine’s voice was perfectly clear. I looked at her in incredulity. She stood up straight, pride gleaming in her eyes.

“No! No, she’s not!”

But the knight was already smiling. “There now. Isn’t that better? Take the girl.”

“What do you want us to do with this one?”

The knight regarded me with mild interest. “Bring him here.” A shove from behind brought me even closer to the tall man. He surveyed me disinterestedly. Suddenly, his eye caught on something and his mouth opened a bit. “What is that on your belt boy?”

I tried to cover my father’s dagger with my hand. “Nothing.”

“You lie. Give it to me.” He stretched out his hand for the knife to be placed in it.

“No. It’s mine.”

The man raised his eyebrows as I took a defensive step back. “I don’t think you understand how this works my boy. I have rightfully captured you and anything of yours is now rightfully mine. And I can do anything I want to you if you don’t obey me. So give me the blade. Now.”

I took another step away, right into one of the soldiers crowding near. The man grabbed my arms while one of his friends pulled the knife from its sheath. I struggled against them with little result.

The man who had taken my father’s dagger walked over and handed it to the knight, who snatched it away quickly. He brought the blade closer to his face and examined it carefully. I watched warily, wondering how my dagger could prove to be so interesting to such an important looking man. He turned on his horse and tucked it carefully into a saddle bag then looked back to me.

“Take him too. He might prove more interesting than I had initially thought.”

 He took one last wary look at me and rode a few feet away and began speaking to one of the men.

A rough sack was shoved over my head and tightened a little at the neck. Just before my vision was stolen, I saw the same done to Elaine. I was dragged a few yards and hoisted into some type of vehicle. I heard another person thrown in as well followed by someone else climbing in before the door slammed shut.