Last Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 2), page 7
“What was that all about?” Conner asked.
Steven grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “You know, heat of the moment thing.”
Conner glanced at Laurin, who was unpacking dinner supplies from their packs. “I thought you said she was with a child.”
A rosiness came to Steven’s cheeks as well. “Someday you may understand. What about you? Do you have a girl back in Karmon?”
“No, not really.”
Conner looked up from the small fire and caught Steven and Laurin glancing at one another again. As their eyes caught, their smiles grew wider. He wondered if that was love. He thought he had been in love with Elissa, but he was sure it was just infatuation. She was pretty, he liked being with her, and she seemed to like being with him. There was also an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought about her. But he wasn’t sure all of that constituted love.
But he did miss her. Even when he couldn’t talk to her every day, or even see her every day. At least when he was living in the castle, he was near her. But now, he was far from her, and it was getter farther by the day.
“No, or not really?” Steven asked. “Those are two different answers.”
“Well, there is a girl. A woman. Lady. Whatever you call her.”
“But you like her?”
“Of course,” Conner said. The words came out quicker than he expected. He really needed to get Elissa off his mind, but Steven’s questions weren’t helping.
“Laurin and I have liked each other for a long time. Since we were little kids. It was destiny that we were to be married. Not only did we fall in love, but the marriage was agreed to by both our parents. Many of my friends were forced to marry someone they didn’t really like. Or even hated. But we are in love.”
“I can see it in your eyes,” Conner said. “The way you look at one another.”
“She is the love of my life. I could never live without her. I don’t care where we have to go, but wherever it is, we will be together.”
“Tell me about your girl. What’s her name?”
“Elissa,” Conner said. He paused a moment, and then added, “Queen Elissa.”
“What!” Laurin exclaimed from behind them.
The two men glanced back at Laurin, who was clearly listening to their conversation while trying to look busy.
“You fell in love with your queen?” Steven asked.
“Well, she wasn’t queen when we met. She was just a princess.” Conner wasn’t going to say any more, but Laurin had walked over and sat next to Steven and took his hand in hers. So he told his story. From the time they met, until the time he left her, King Neffenmark dead on her bedroom floor.
The fire was burning high when Conner finished his story.
“You need to go back to South Karmon,” Laurin said, still holding Steven’s hand. “You love one another.”
Conner shook his head. “No, that is past us. She is queen and has duties and obligations to the kingdom. I’m just a commoner. I will always have feelings for her, and adore her. But my place is out there. Someplace else.”
“Well, maybe you just need time alone and away from her to sort things out. Maybe someday you’ll come back to Karmon and you’ll rekindle that love.”
Conner gave Laurin a skeptical look. “I can see you two are in love. I’m not sure it was that way with me and Elissa.”
Steven stood up and said, “Enough of this love talk! I am hungry. Where’s that trap of yours?”
***
Conner left Steven and Laurin at their camp. For some reason, Steven did not want to leave Laurin and made up some excuse about helping her prepare the vegetables. That was okay with him, as he felt like being alone. Although he liked them both, he had grown accustomed to having only himself for company.
He retraced his steps through the woods, spotting the trees that he had memorized as markers. Without much thought for silence, he moved quickly. There was no reason to try and be quiet as either he already trapped an animal or he hadn’t. If not, then it would be another day of vegetable stew. Conner was really craving some meat, so he desperately hoped that his trap was successful.
The movement caught his eye before he saw the trap and he knew that he caught something. He ran quickly to the trap, pulling on the rope that was tied on one end to a tree and the other end was looped around the belly of a fat rabbit. The noose had squeezed its belly tight, and each time it tried to jump away, the noose got tighter and tighter. If he had let the rabbit go all night, it would probably suffocate itself. But he couldn’t wait for morning, so he grabbed a large rock and drove it down on its skull, killing it instantly.
It was a typical forest rabbit with a grayish brown skin and long, skinny ears. It had eaten well through the summer, as it had some heft to it. They would certainly get one big meal out of it.
With the rabbit tossed over his shoulder, Conner returned through the forest. As he neared the camp, he caught a whiff of smoke from the fire. Most times a dense forest would trap smoke from a fire, keeping it from spreading too far. Back in the Darkenwood forest, he had never really thought about a fire. When he needed one, he lit it. There were no real dangers and it kept any curious animals away. But a worrisome thought suddenly crossed his mind. He was no longer in Darkenwood and there were dangers other than animals around.
He was not prone to these types of thoughts. He was not a natural worrier, nor did he dwell on those things that were out of his control. But try as he might, he had a strong sense of dread. He knew his thoughts were silly, and he kept telling himself that. In just a few minutes, he would be back at camp, and all would be well.
It was quiet as he approached, but he made a point of making noise as he walked into the clearing. His heart started pounding hard as soon as he saw the camp. In an instant, he took in all that was wrong. The fire had lost its flame, sending tall tendrils of smoke up into that air. That was why he had smelled it from so far away. The contents of Steven and Laurin’s packs were strewn about, scattered all the way across the clearing.
Conner had seen bears rummage through camps tearing packs and bags searching for an easy dinner. But they only tore apart those that contained food. Anything that didn’t smell edible was left alone. There was no food in any of those packs that would draw the attention of a bear.
“Steven! Laurin!” he called out. It did not occur to him that maybe he should not shout and draw attention to himself. He was only concerned with finding his friends.
When no one answered, anger took the place of worry. If they were hiding again, or had left the camp without telling him, he was going to let them have it. He did not let himself think any other thoughts.
He stomped around the camp, picking up the scattered supplies while muttering to himself about them going off alone again.
It was at the edge of camp that all feeling drained from his body. As he saw the body part, he dropped to his knees, tears overwhelming him. He could not remember the last time he cried. It wasn’t that he never wanted to; there just had never been anything that made him feel this way.
For the briefest of moments, while he sat on the ground, he thought maybe the lower arm did not belong to her. With eyes closed, he tried to shake himself awake, hoping that he was just in a dream. He could not accept the fact that his friends might be dead.
With a slow anger building up inside, Conner stood and let out a scream from deep in his gut. Tears continued to stream down his cheeks, but they were not tears of sadness, they were tears of anger and frustration.
His mind no longer worked. It did not process thoughts properly. He saw only red and the only thing that he could think about was killing those that did this. In a stumbling trance, he raced around the edge of the clearing looking for any sign of a trail from the murderers. He ran into the forest, screaming for the bandits to come after him. After running out of breath, he ran back to the clearing and then back out in another direction.
No one came back. In the end, he ended up in the middle of the clearing, on his knees, bent over with his head resting on the matted grass. He continued to cry, but no longer of anger, but of sadness.
***
Exhausted and drained of all thoughts and emotions, Conner stood. He did not know how long he was sitting on the ground, but when he stood, his legs were stiff and it took some movement to loosen them up. He tried to pretend that he did not see what he remembered seeing, but the severed limb at the edge of the camp brought him back to reality.
A numb coolness had come over him. No longer angry or sad, he was just there. But at least his mind was working again. As tough a job as he knew it would be, he needed to take care of the bodies.
The rest of Laurin’s body wasn’t too far from the severed limb. She had been cut many times and he hoped that she had died quickly, but he did not think any one of her wounds were fatal. All of them together were, which meant she probably lived for some time after she was cut up. As he hauled the body back to the center of the clearing, the tears came back again.
And he hated himself for them. He took several deep breaths to force them away. He was not going to cry any more. He was a knight, and knights didn’t cry.
He knew he really wasn’t a knight, but they believed he was. And right now, that truth didn’t matter. He needed to act like the person that they thought he was.
With tenderness, he set Laurin’s body down. He tried to not look at her severed arm, or her bloodstained body. He found a blanket and set it over her body so only her head could be seen. That was one part of her body that wasn’t severely mangled.
He held out some hope that maybe, possibly, Steven survived. But if Laurin was dead, he could not believe that Steven would have survived. He would have died trying to save her.
A bit deeper into the forest, but still close to her body, he found his. The body had been mutilated and was in many pieces. He felt a bit of bile coming up as he saw it, but he bit his lip and swallowed it. He was not weak. He was not going to let his emotions get the best of him.
It took two trips, but he carried Steven with same tenderness that he carried Laurin’s body. With the bodies carefully placed in the center of the clearing, he collected as much wood as he could find and piled it around them.
With so much dead and dry wood around them, it did not take long for the fire to catch. He stood silently, watching the fire take the bodies.
He missed Master Goshin all of a sudden. It had been some time since he had really thought about him, but as he watched his two friends be taken away from earth, his thoughts turned to the old Hurai.
There was much that Master Goshin had taught him. Some of it was fighting, but some of it was clearly more important than learning how to swing a blade. Or two. But there were other things, too. Most of which he really didn’t understand.
Master Goshin had talked of the One God many times and how belief in Him would help him live past his life on this earth and allow him to live into the next life. Although he was not sure if he really believed all of that, watching the bodies of his friends burn, he thought how wonderful it would be if it were true. It would be much easier to think of their deaths as just another stop in their lives, with the rest of it continuing in the afterlife. Once he finally caught up with his old friend, he would ask him about it.
But in the meantime, he couldn’t think about Master Goshin and his philosophical teaching. There was a more pressing matter that involved revenge and vengeance.
Chapter Eight
This time, Queen Elissa left through the front gate of the castle. Although she wasn’t trying to sneak out of the castle grounds, she made sure it was early morning when she left, when all the servants and castle workers were still asleep. She knew there would still be city guards manning the gates, but they wouldn’t talk or gossip. They would follow standard protocol and not acknowledge her, unless she talked to them first.
But she didn’t count on Marik being up this early. She heard him call her name from behind and she thought for a moment that she could just keep walking, pretending that she did not hear him. But it would not have been the queenly thing to do.
Elissa turned to see Marik trotting towards her.
“Well, Marik,” Elissa said. “Have you come to join me?”
“My queen,” Marik said. “You are heading out into the city? With no escort?”
“Of course not,” Elissa said. “This is my city. Who would do me any harm?”
Marik let out a long sigh. “Oh, my dear Queen Elissa…”
“Are you now my mother?” Elissa asked. “If she were still alive, I am sure that is exactly how she would sound. I am not going to hide in my castle, afraid to walk my streets. If Lord Martin and Lord Kirwal are going to make decisions without me, then when I have one to make, I will need to make it on my own. And this one involves meeting someone.”
“And who would that be?” Marik asked.
Elissa glanced towards the center of the city. “I am not sure.”
Marik let out a burst of laughter. “Do you not think that you should have thought of that before you left?”
Elissa turned her shoulders and tossed her head. “I will find them on my own, then.”
She started walking with a long stride towards the open gate that led out into the city.
Marik took two quick trots to catch up to her. “I would be glad to help. Who are you looking for?”
“You are aware of the city’s water problem?”
“Of course. Several wells are contaminated. They were making people sick so the city guard are rationing out water until we can dig new wells.”
“New wells will not be the only solution,” Elissa said. “We have a great supply of water just to our south.”
“The river?”
“Of course, the river.”
“So…are you planning on changing the course of the river to flow through the city?”
Elissa giggled in a very non-queenly manner. “Of course not, silly. I have a better idea. Who has the largest tavern in town?”
“There are many large taverns,” Marik said. “I am not sure if anyone could be called the largest. What are you looking for?”
“Barrels,” Elissa said. “Someone with lots of barrels.”
Marik rubbed his chin. “A tavern may be a good place to start, but maybe you need to talk to someone else.”
“Who?”
“Just follow me,” Marik said. When Elissa paused, Marik responded, “You will need to trust me. Just follow me.”
“Very well.”
Elissa let Marik lead the way away from the castle and towards the city center. It was slow going as everyone that they came across wanted to bow and curtsy and offer a kind word. Queen Elissa acknowledged each and every one with a smile and a kind word in return. Marik waited patiently as all this happened, even though he was very eager to get the job done. It got worse once they entered the merchant’s square. Vendors and buyers alike all turned to get a look at the queen. It took Marik forcing his way through the crush of people to get them through. He wanted to get angry and drop all common courtesy, but Queen Elissa was as pleasant as she could be.
Finally, they arrived at a small tavern. Elissa did not even have a moment to see what the name of the tavern was. Marik just pushed her through the doors and closed them tight behind.
As soon as she entered, the patrons all recognized who she was and those who stood instantly fell to a knee and those who were seated stumbled to their feet so they could bow as well.
“Rise, please!” Elissa said. “Enough of this! You do not need to fall to a knee every time I come into a room.”
“They are just showing their respect for you and your title,” Marik said. “You are important and they are showing honor and respect to you.”
“Is that true?” Elissa said to the room. Blank looks were returned. “Do you all do it out of some reverence to me?”
“Fear, your Majesty,” came a reply from the far corner of the room. An older man stood and stepped forward. His face was well worn and lined with wrinkles. His eyes were of steel and his face was grim. “They do it out of fear. Fear that if they do not offer you their respect that they will end up headless.”
Elissa glanced around the room and then at Marik.
A slow smile crept across Marik’s face. “You are a trouble maker,” Marik said.
The man returned the smile. “There is more truth in it than you might think. But I will grant you, in the case of this young Queen Elissa, more would kneel out of reverence than out of fear.”
“This is the man that we came to see,” Marik said. “This is Havid, the head of the merchant’s guild.”
Havid stepped forward and gave a very low bow. “Milady, Havid Harmaker at your service.”
“Pleased to meet you,” the queen said. “Can we talk in private?”
Havid clapped his hands and turned to the barkeep. “Paul, a private room, if you please?”
Paul nodded his head and announced loudly that the bar was now closed. Quickly, the patrons left the bar and the queen, Marik, and Havid were left alone.
“You have my ear,” Havid said.
Marik and Elissa exchanged a quick glance. Marik gave a slight nod of his head to let the queen know she could speak freely. “So, I understand that there is a bit of a water shortage.”
Havid raised an eyebrow. “A bit is a bit of an understatement. Since the wells were closed, and the rationing began, things have been a bit hectic. The merchants have been starting to grumble.”
“The taverns look full, and you have a cask there,” Elissa said. “You seem to be doing well.”
A fatherly smile came across Havid’s face. “The problem is not that we are out of ale and beer now, it is that we won’t be able to brew any for the winter. The grumbling is just beginning, but when the taverns run out in a couple of months, the grumbling will turn to shouting and screaming.”
