Sterling touched his chest, “Friend,” he said. He touched Indy’s chest, “Friend.”

  “Fend,” Indy tried.

  Sterling smiled. “You bring me joy. You are my friend.”

  Indy touched Sterling. “Fend.”

  “If you are going to say it, you must say it right. FFF-RRR-IIEE-NN-DD.”

  “Friend.”

  Sterling clapped his hands. “You got it, you got it!” For a moment he forgot his problems.

  At the castle, the servant’s abilities were stretched. There were a lot of men to care for. With so much stress, the king became sick and was taken to his bed. The princess was depressed and stayed in her bed as well. A dark cloud overtook the castle. For the time, Flance’s execution was forgotten.

  Chapter 20

  Thelton was working himself mad. As he raced to find Indy many thoughts entered his mind. He was sorry that he had fought with Indy.

  “I vow if I get her back, I will be more patient with her. I have to get her back. She is my prize. Flance’s awful son stole her from me. Having him makes it worse. Those two have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day I met them. I should have killed them back at the Flankton Forest.”

  As he pushed his horse, he had explored all his options. He didn’t know what to do, or where to turn. He needed his woman back. He had searched and searched in vain, finally coming to the conclusion that there was only one man that could help him, and he knew just where to find him, in the bottom of the king’s dungeon. He knew the risks of returning to the castle. But he must, because Flance could tell him where his son was. If he found the young man, he would find Indy.

  Thelton left the horse outside the castle walls. He scaled over the gate and entered the courtyard. He was surprised to find the castle grounds empty. There were a few guards here and there, but very little. Most of them were in nursing the men back to health. Thelton didn’t know why they weren’t around. He wondered if it was a trap. He realized it wasn’t. No one would expect his return.

  Thelton quietly made his way to the dungeon. He was relieved to still find it unmanned. He wondered if the king would ever learn from his mistakes. He was glad that he hadn’t yet. On his way down the stairs, he could hear Flance hacking. Selfishly, he was glad that he hadn’t died yet.

  …

  “I see you haven’t been able to rescue yourself,” Thelton said standing outside Flance’s door. He had studied the cell to see if Flance still had the siren. The cell was empty.

  “What do you want?” Flance said as he opened his eyes. He began to cough again.

  “You sound worse than ever.”

  Flance stood up and approached the bars. “Don’t pretend to care.”

  “I wouldn’t dare. I am here because I…” Thelton hesitated, “because I finally need you.”

  “You’ve always needed me Thelton. What has finally brought you to that realization?”

  “It’s because your son has something of mine and I want it back.”

  “I am in here because of you. They think I turned the men into trees. They will soon take my life. You would be okay with that, wouldn’t you? Letting me die for the things that you did?” Flance challenged as he stared at Thelton.

  “I am going to spring you from here. Let the kingdom think what they want, you will soon be a free man, and then you can return to Candleshaw and live more life in peace with your son.”

  Flance lay back down. “I am not helping you.” It was hard to breathe lying flat on his back, he began coughing again. Thelton wrinkled his nose, for he hated Flance’s cough.

  “I will give you more than your freedom. I will turn over the title of dragon slayer to you. If you help me then I will leave forever.”

  Flance sat up. He hated Thelton. Would Thelton really leave? He doubted it.

  “I can’t trust you. I led you to the queen and you left me there to die.”

  Thelton become very serious. “Flance, my days as The Dragon Slayer are over. I have a new purpose in life. You help me, and I will give you 200,000 Tretos, my title, and your freedom. I will not betray you.”

  Flance felt like the devil had appeared and was offering him a deal for his soul. He hated Thelton so bad. He didn’t want to make a deal with him nor help him in any way. On the other hand, he knew that his death was closely approaching. He was surprised to still be alive. He didn’t want to die by the hand of the king, or alone in the dungeon. He hoped to see his son again.

  Flance thought about the deal for some time. He could feel himself salivating over the idea of owning 200,000 Tretos. He could do or have anything he wanted with that much currency. He also thought about obtaining the title of the dragon slayer. Against his own judgment, his greed took over.

  “Don’t make me a fool, Thelton. You have already ruined my life three hundred times over.”

  “I promise all is yours, once we find your son.”

  “Is that the deal, Thelton, I find you my son?”

  “Yes it is.”

  “Then what are you going to do, kill him?”

  “No, that is not the deal. I’m taking back what is mine.”

  “What if he doesn’t give it to you, then will you kill him?”

  “Oh, he will return it.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “Because I have something he wants.”

  “And what is that?”

  “You.”

  …

  To Thelton’s delight, all the tools were still scattered around the dungeon. He picked up a sledge hammer and broke down the walls. Flance was free.

  Flance emerged from the cell shivering, he was so cold. His fingers were a light blue.

  “Is there a chance you will lend me your coat.”

  “Not a chance in the world. Stick with me, and in the end you will have enough money to buy a thousand coats.”

  Thelton snuck Flance out of the dungeon. Quietly they walked to the outer walls of the courtyard. The cool air seized Flance’s lunges. He worked hard at oppressing the coughing. He didn’t want to get caught. Once they were to the gate, Thelton helped him scale it. Flance was so week and cold, it was hard work to get over. He scraped up his arms and knees. Blood smeared everywhere. Finally, they were to the other side. Flance sat down.

  “I have my own conditions.” Flance said.

  Thelton spun around and glared at him. “No conditions.”

  Flance’s voice elevated. “Oh, I do.”

  “I call the shots, Flance.”

  “Listen, I am now free. I could run and you would never find my son. I know you don’t want that to happen.”

  “If you did that you wouldn’t get your money or my title.”

  Flance shrugged his shoulders. “I have gone this long without it.”

  Thelton watched Flance. He was not bluffing.

  “Tell me your conditions.”

  “I want you to see me as the better hunter, because I am. It is time you realized that. You had your glory, but I have surpassed you. It is time that you stepped down.” Flance began coughing. How could he prove his superiority when his body kept betraying him?

  Thelton bit his finger. There was no way that he would concede to such a statement.

  “At least treat me as an equal and not like I am some nobody, because I am your equal. Don’t forget, before you set me up, the king chose me. That tells you something about my skill.”

  Thelton bit his finger harder. He needed Flance to find Indy. “Fine. I will make a deal with the devil.”

  “Thelton you are the devil himself”

  “Really, who was the one that caused us to meet? Who tried to take my life first, and for what; my title? Flance, I only play hard because you started it. If you would just get out of my life and out of my way I would have left you alone a long time ago. But, every time I turn around, there you are, trying to kill me.”

  “You didn’t have to come rescue me.”

  “Where is your son?”

  “I am sure he is at home.”

  “Lead the way.”

  “How about I just tell you, and we part here?”

  Thelton pulled out his sword and put it in Flance’s face. “You will lead the way until we find your son.”

  “Where is the respect?” Flance said throwing his arm into the sky. The night air burned at his lunges and he began coughing again.

  “Stop playing games with me and I will give you respect.” Thelton demanded.

  Flance stopped coughing. “Let me get this straight, you want me to lead the way.”

  “Yes,”

  “My dream has come true. I lead, you follow.”

  Thelton bit his finger again.

  Chapter 21

  As they sat there, Sterling didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t very good at making decisions. He hadn’t had to make very many in his life. His father had always done that. His father controlled everything that Sterling had ever done. It was now upon his shoulders to make a decision and he didn’t know what to do. His teeth chattered as his anxiety boiled inside. He couldn’t determine a way to go. He just sat there and moped. Indy, tired of being by his side, stood up. She gathered many flowers and brought them back to Sterling. She dropped them in his lap.

  “Beautiful,” he said. He picked one up and smelt it, it was so sweet. He brought it to Indy’s nose. “I just love flowers.”

  Indy smelled the flower and giggled. She put another flower in Sterling’s nose, he took a deep snort. Indy laughed. She tried to mimic the snort. It tickled her nose.

  “Beautiful,” he said again. “Say beautiful, beautiful.”

  “Butaful,” it was a hard word to say.

  “You are beautiful.” He said as he touched Indy’s chest.

  Indy looked confused. How could the flower and her share the word beautiful.

  Sterling looked at her and had an idea.

  “You know, my father taught me to braid rope. I am pretty good at braids. Whenever I go to villages the women always have their hair in braids with flowers all over. How about I braid your hair?”

  He grabbed Indy’s hair. She pulled away.

  “Braid, good.” He said.

  “Good?”

  “Yes,” he slowly reached forward. Indy calmed. He took her hair in his hand and weaved the pieces through each other. Indy enjoyed the feeling, it was so relaxing. Sterling worked so carefully with each strand of hair. It made him feel happy to do something for her. When he had two braids, he piled them on top of her head. He gathered her flower collection and secured them to the braids. Each new flower added its own component to the arrangement. When he was done, her hair was phenomenal.

  “I am good. Who would have thought that a hunter’s son would be good at doing women’s hair? Maybe I can stop hunting and sit in the village and do hair for my livelihood.” Sterling started laughing really hard. “Oh, wouldn’t father love that, his only boy doing women’s work.”

  Indy reached up and felt her head. She could feel the flowers. She snickered. It felt so different to have the hair off her neck. She kept rubbing her neck trying to get used to the sensation. Her neck felt a new freedom that it had never known before.

  Sterling touched her chest again. “Beautiful.”

  “Butaful,” Indy said.

  “I wish I had a way you could see your hair. I bet you have never had it look like this before.”

  Sterling looked around. He looked at the creek and saw a small area pooled off. He went over to it and looked in. He could see his reflection. It would work.

  “Hey come here,” he motioned to Indy. She just stared at him.

  “Hey friend, come here,” he tried again motioning her his way.

  Indy saw herself in the water and smiled.

  …

  “You know, Dragon Slayer, I wronged you some time ago. It is because of me that we have this bitter hateful relationship. There have been many times where either one of us could have killed the other. Yet, for some reason, we never did. We have wasted the years fighting against each other when we could have been working together.” Flance said as the two men walked towards Candleshaw. They had to take the back way to avoid running in to anyone. Flance knew the kingdoms would be looking for him.

  Thelton spit into the dirt then passed over it. “I hunt alone.”

  “Well, you see, that’s funny, because I believe we both are trying to rescue your damsel. Now that doesn’t seem too alone to me, in fact, it seems like...” Flance didn’t get a chance to finish speaking before Thelton quickly unsheathed his sword and put it under Flance’s throat. He gave Flance a cold hard stare.

  Flance pushed Thelton’s sword away, it sliced his hand. With the burning sensation, Flance brought his hand to his mouth.

  “I’ve learned something about you. You won’t kill me. You can’t, otherwise you would have done it by now.” Flance said as he licked at the blood.

  “Don’t be too sure of yourself. I have grown quite weary of you in my life.”

  “So is that your plan? I lead you to my son and then you kill the both of us?”

  Thelton just stared at Flance, as if he was considering his words.

  “I won’t kill you or your son if you obey me and don’t try anything stupid. All I want to get is the girl. Then, and only then will I give you your reward. We will part ways and never cross paths again.”

  Flance stared at Thelton, he wondered if he could trust his enemy. Thelton had broken his word so many times in the past. “How can I trust you; you have left me and my son to die way too many times.”

  “Let’s not forget you started this relationship. It was you and your son who tried to kill me first. Everything I have done has been an attempt to get away from you and to get you out of my life. If you had never entered it, then we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

  “Let us stop this fighting. You want to work alone, yet you called on me for help. Like it or not, at this very moment we are working together as a team.”

  Thelton disregarded every attempt Flance made to start anew. “We will always be enemies, let us just never run into each other again.”

  Angered by Thelton’s heartlessness, Flance’s face became deep red. His lungs flared up as he began coughing. He would have liked to continue the fight with Thelton, but his lungs took over.

  Annoyed, Thelton left Flance to his coughing fit. “I have no empathy for him,” he thought. Flance bent over as he hacked and hacked. Bloody sputum shot out of his mouth. He struggled to regain his composer. His coughing fits were lasting longer and longer with each episode.

  When Flance’s lungs settled, he looked around. He didn’t see Thelton. He was relieved and disappointed. He was glad to be rid of Thelton but disappointed he wouldn’t get the Tretos.

  Flance scanned the thick meadow and saw there was no sign of Thelton. He took in a deep breath, it was too much air for his lungs and he began coughing again. Tears ran down his cheeks. He gripped his chest in pain. When he finally finished, he sat down and looked around and to his surprise, Thelton was a stone’s throw from him. Thelton had sat down to eat a potato. Flance had not seen him because of the tall weeds. Flance felt disappointment set in. He had hoped that Thelton had left him.

  …

  After a short rest, the men got up.

  “I have been trying to figure out where my son is. If my son indeed has your woman, then he might bring her to our earthen home on the ridge of the Flankton Forest. It is the largest of our homes. We usually lived there for four moon rotations. We never stay at any of our homes very long. As hunters, we move around depending on what season it is.” Flance shared with Thelton.

  “I don’t need all that information, just the location.” Thelton replied.

  As they walked, Flance watched Thelton. He noted how posed Thelton was, how he walked with pride and arrogance. It sickened him how The Dragon Slayer used to be his hero. He used to reverence him as if he were a God. But now his God had fallen from the throne that he had held him to. The very thought of his once adoration filled him with annoyance, but then his mind went back to his stay in the dungeon. It had been hard and miserable and it had broken him. He had spent it in serious contemplation. As he remembered some of the resolutions he had made, the bitterness he felt for Thelton began melting away. It was being replaced with something else;–Pity.

  Being in the jail cell had done something to him. He had been stripped of everything. He had starved and froze. It was unlike any other Hell that he had been through. During it he had much time to think and ponder things. His heart had started to changed, something that only a cold prison cell could do.

  Now, Flance felt sorry for Thelton. His contender had no son. He had no one, not even a woman. What a miserable life that would be.

  Flance began coughing blood in the dungeon. He knew that his time was short. He hoped to find his son and make sure he got the full 200,000 Tretos. He wanted to give his son the best before he passed on.

  Over the years, Flance had watched Sterling carefully. He was scared that his son would also get the lung sickness. Flance started his about six years after his wife died. He wasn’t sure how long she had suffered from it. He was relieved to never see Sterling develop signs of it.

  Flance looked at the lone Thelton. He felt his hate for the man slipping away. He didn’t want to take hate for anyone to the grave with him. Maybe the woman that he searched for would soften his heart. Maybe when he had a wife and kids he would be a different man.

  “You know, Dragon Slayer, I know you don’t want to join forces and be a team, I accept that, but here we are working together.”

  The weeds were so thick and several meters above their heads. Because of them, they were able to walk concealed. Sometimes they would stumble on a group of boars, or be startled when several pheasants would shoot right out of the grass up into the air. Thelton didn’t respond to Flance. Suddenly Thelton disappeared straight down. Flance cautiously stopped and inched forward. Where did Thelton go? Beyond the thick grass was a tar pit. Thelton was flailing around in the sticky substance.

 

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