Following Orders: Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

A long time passed before I was summoned upstairs to speak to our host. The hunger was by then tearing at my stomach. Princess Elaine told me that she had eaten upstairs. I didn’t question the fact that she didn’t bring any down for me.

The guard relocked my cell door. “In case you don’t come back,” he told me. I gulped, but tried to hide my fear. Princess Elaine was gripping the bars, knuckles white, as she stared at me being led away.

I nodded in a poor attempt to appear brave just before we disappeared from her sight.

The passages were different this time. We headed deeper into the castle rather than out. I took mental note of as many turns and landmarks as I could. There would still be a chance to escape. I hoped.

The soldier rapped on a solid oak door. “Enter!” A voice that I recognized answered. The door was shoved open, revealing a dimly lit library. A large lively fire crackled in a fireplace to the left, casting shadows of light across the floor. Chairs and sofas gathered about it, as if warming their upholstery. In the darker reaches of the room stood shelves full of books, causing my mind to label it a library. I breathed deeply through my nose, taking in the full smell of old paper and letting myself forget where I was, if only for a moment. It had been years since I had seen such a place.

A dark figure slowly walked out from between a row of such shelves. He was holding a book, flipping its pages. They were a little stiff and aged. The green cover was worn in multiple places. I strained to read the title, but it was too far and too dark.

“Ah, you are here!” The knight of the castle snapped the book shut and lay it on a small table. My gaze followed it, longing to read only a few words, a few sentences of story. I looked up to see the man eyeing me shrewdly. “Close the door Raphael.” The guard bowed and left. The knight folded his hands behind him and paced toward me. “You are a lover of the classics? Or the philosophers perhaps?”

I licked my lips. His manner made me nervous. “I, um, haven’t read a good book in a long time.”

“So you can read.” He stopped his advance and gestured to the semi-circle of chairs. “Please, sit down. We have much to discuss.”

I eyed him as I stepped onto the thick red carpet beneath the chairs and then sat in one as far away from the knight as possible. He folded his hands on his lap and leaned back in the chair that he had chosen. “I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Sir Whyh of Aronway Court, knight of this castle.”

“Um, I’m Will. Squire to…um…” I technically wasn’t a squire anymore.

He waved away the lack of finish. “I spoke with your princess a while ago.” I waited for him to go on. “Would you like something to eat?”

The question caught me off guard a little bit and I was reluctant to accept. But hunger is hunger and a stomach must be filled. “Yes.” A servant was summoned and an order placed for tea.

“I think you shall find me to be a most reasonable man, young Will. That is, if you are willing to cooperate.”

“Princess Elaine told me you had an offer.”

He smiled amusedly. “That I do. Eager, are we? The tea hasn’t even come.”

I licked my lips. “What’s the offer?”

He nodded, appraising me. “Straight to business. I can respect that. Before I tell you my offer though, you must understand the position that I am in.”

“I know. You need Morestia to help you defeat Camelot or your country will be crushed.”

“Crushed is a bit of a strong word. More like, set back. Yes, Morestia’s help in this war is necessary to a quick and efficient end. But loyalty to one’s country is not the only reason that I am left in this plight. You said you wanted to read, correct? Would you like to hear a story?”

“I . . . guess.”

“Very good. This story begins many years ago.” Sir Whyh tugged on his beard. “My brother was a knight too. I say was because he is no longer walking on this earth. Please, keep your sentiments – I didn’t like him. One day, stupid as he was, he decided to go take on one of the mythical dragons of the east. I’m going to assume that you are no longer such a child that you believe the tales of dragons in the east?”

“Of course not!” Even children as young as six years old knew that they didn’t exist.

“Well, he did not, of course, find these dragons, due in part to their lack of existence and in part to his lack of geographical skills. Sad, really. Why, he could hardly find his way to his own horse while he was sitting on it. Anyway, he went in search of these mythical beasts, passing through much of the desert lands on his journey. You know of the desert lands and the tribes that live there?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. As it turns out, my brother is as horrible at making friends as he is at finding dragons. He managed to anger every village he stayed in and while he was there, tell them where he was from. A few months after his unsuccessful return, the first arrows were fired at a patrol on the eastern border. All of them were killed. No one knew who had done it to them. More and more small attacks like these began taking out small pockets of soldiers over the course of a year, eventually noticeably thinning our forces. Everyone – including the king – was at a loss as to what was happening.”

A knock at the door interrupted the story. “Enter!”

A servant in blood red uniform entered carrying a tea tray in one hand and a tray of cookies in the other. He set them on the table in between the chairs and fire and then bowed out.

“Would you like some tea?” I nodded and watched as the firelight danced across the silver surface while he poured.  I took the offered tea cup and nodded my grudging thanks. I hurriedly grabbed a cookie before settling back a little bit. A sudden thought occurred to me. I eyed my drink warily, swirling it around in the cup.

The knight saw what I was doing and laughed. “It’s not poisoned, I promise. Look.” He took my cup and drank from it himself. “I have no need to quietly kill a squire. If I really wanted to, I have a sword that would do just as nicely.” He patted the sheath at his waist.

“Maybe you don’t want to get blood on the carpet.”

The deep laugh filled the room once again. “You certainly have an odd way of looking at things don’t you?”

“Just being careful. The story?”

“Alright, alright. Let’s see. The patrols were getting killed off. Well, eventually, all of the small teams that had been killing the men grouped into one large army and attacked the castle in Georgolace – the capital of Aronway.”

“I know.”

He raised his eyebrows and lifted his drink to me. “I’m impressed. Not many commoners outside of Aronway know our capital. You have been there?”

“No. The story?”

“Right, right. That was when it was finally figured out that it was the desert tribes, all come together, who had been killing off our men and were now attacking full force in an effort to wipe us out. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated how many troops we had left and were crushed in a matter of hours.”

“So what’s the problem? I don’t get it. They were defeated and this is a different war. Or did you capture their princess too?”

“No, I did not capture their princess. I don’t even know that they have one. Hm.” He looked thoughtfully toward the ceiling. “That would be an interesting thing to find out wouldn’t it?” My tapping foot made him smile quietly once again and he took up the narrative. “The problem is that even though my stupid brother was killed in the battle, the rest of our family – meaning me – was exiled from the capital, never to return again. We have fallen out of grace with the king. Now this is the good part where you and your princess come in.”

I must have looked confused because he looked pleased with himself.

“You’re going to help me get back in the king’s good graces. You see, this is a very important war to him. Personally, I couldn’t care less about conquering Camelot – such a small and meaningless country. But it is important to his Majesty and I intend to fully use that to my advantage. Once King Baldwin of Morestia has given up on the arrival of his bride, he will destroy Camelot in a fit of rage on behalf of Aronway. Our king shall be very pleased and once I tell him that I prevented the marriage and provided the fuel for Morestia’s fire, he will restore my position in the court and I shall be very pleased. Perhaps the only person not happy with this arrangement will be King Baldwin, but he won’t ever have to know about this end of it.”

“And the princess? What do you intend to do with her?” My hands shook and I set down my tea cup.

“That is not really the most important detail here, but it does pertain to my offer – which I have come to.”

I leaned forward in my seat.

“You seem to me to be a very intelligent young man. So I would like to help you succeed in life. Considering the knight who was training you is dead, there’s not really much chance of your leaving the title of squire behind any time soon. Here is my proposition: I will set you up with a house and a yearly allowance in Aronway and you can live in peace for the rest of your life.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What’s in it for you?”

“You see, I was right – you’re very sharp. What’s in it for me is your silence. You never go back to Camelot, you never tell anyone anything about this. When the story is widely known, you don’t let others know that you took part in it. Ever. And you can lead a quiet out of the way life with everything you desire.”

I considered his offer. It did sound appealing – a house and a life of my own, not always running about to do someone else’s bidding. Did I really need to return to Camelot? What was waiting for me there that couldn’t easily be replaced here? Would it really be any better even with Sir Manchmal dead? I would have to face all of the questions about his death and accept unwanted condolences. Camelot was sounding more and more hostile by the second as Aronway’s hospitality grew in my mind. “But what about the princess? You never said what you would do with her.”

“Again, it doesn’t really matter. You could marry her in a couple years if you like – just as long as you don’t let her leave or tell anyone who she really is. Otherwise, I suppose she could stay here, in the dungeon. Or maybe upstairs. I don’t care.”

“No! You can’t keep her here. She has to go to Morestia.”

“My perception of your intelligence is dropping Will. I thought you knew that that is exactly where I keeping her from. Why would I let her go?” He set an empty tea cup on the table. “Besides, just think about it. You would be married to a princess. How could you refuse?”

“It’s not right. You can’t do that.”

“But it’s not my decision Will. It’s yours.” He rose and stood gazing into the fire, back turned to me. “She is quite beautiful.”

“But not very thoughtful,” I muttered.

“No?” Apparently Sir Whyh had caught my words. “When I spoke with her she wouldn’t stop going on about her father and her country and her duty to them. Is she really that awful?”

I couldn’t say yes because she was the princess. And was she really that terrible anyway? What was so bad about her? Sure she talked a lot. And didn’t know when to stop asking questions. But she had gone on this trip to a completely new life for a reason she didn’t even know. What would be so horrible about living with her for the rest of my life?

I looked up to see Sir Whyh smiling. He could tell that I was actually considering it. The grin made me shiver a little. “But she wouldn’t be happy.”

“She will become more content with time. She shall see that Aronway is really not such a bad place at all. Quite beautiful in the spring time. More so than Camelot, I assure you. Now, what do you think? Shall I find you a house?”

I wanted to say yes. My lips were forming the word and my mouth opened to speak it. Then I remembered the courtyard. All of those men who had fought for Camelot, many more left dead. And my hand brushed against my belt where I usually attached the dagger from my father. He had fought for Camelot. Could I destroy his legacy for a single offer of an easy life? “We don’t always like what we have to do, Will. But that doesn’t mean we can just not do it.”

“No.”

The knight’s smile faded a little, like it was melting off of his face. “Excuse me?”

“I said no. I’m not going to do that.” I took a deep breath, bracing myself for his reaction.

“Are you daft? Why not?” He advanced a step.

“Princess Elaine needs to get to Morestia. It’s for the good of Camelot.”

“Are you telling me that you’re giving up the opportunity of a lifetime to save a country that has never done anything for you?”

I thought of that day eight years ago, of searching face after face, and gulped. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

A chill shot up my spine under his icy glare. “This is your last chance. Don’t be a fool. If you say no then you and the princess will stay here forever. Or until I decide to kill one of you. You’re making a decision for both of you. Think of the princess.”

His words were quiet and entered my ears like the hiss of a snake.

“You’re destroying her future.”

I set my jaw. “No. I’m not. She’s going to get to Morestia and I’m going to go back to Camelot. I’m finishing the mission.”

He sneered. “How sweet. The brave little squire following orders even when it won’t work. This is your last chance Will. I’m giving you one last chance to say yes. Don’t come crying to me later when you decide to accept.”

“No. I won’t accept.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Guard!” I set my cup on the table and shoved the uneaten cookies that I held into my pocket as I stood. A soldier entered the room and I returned the glare of Sir Whyh as he said, “Take this piece of trash back to the dungeon. I don’t ever want him to see the light of day again.” I turned to follow the guard. “Have fun telling your little princess how you ruined her future for her.”