and felt the sword at my side. I knew that I had to wait for the right moment. I could feel my heart jumping out of my chest as he came closer, until finally, I pulled my sword out, and dug it into his throat. The demon collapsed, and I almost did as well.
I leaned back against the rock for a second, and suddenly noticed the pain in my leg where the demon had clawed me. I tore off a piece of my shirt to try and stop the bleeding. I knew that the smell of blood would attract them from miles around. Then I noticed the pain in the rest of my body from being crushed against the rock. I tried to stand, and felt pain as hot as fire shooting throughout my ribs. I knew then that they were broken. But I forced myself to get up. I silently prayed again, this time for a search party to find us soon. “Isabel,” I called.
There was no response. I stumbled over to the gap under the bottom of the rock, and saw her, laying there motionless, and bloody. “Isabel,” I called again. Still nothing. I crouched down, sticking my arm under rock, to try and shake her a little bit. She moaned slightly, and I thanked god that she was alive. I crawled under slowly, each fiber of my body screaming with such severe pain that within moments I was out of breath.
I crawled up next to her, and nudged her. “Isabel, wake up. It’s me, William.”
Her eyes fluttered upon. “It hurts,” she cried.
“It’s ok. He’s gone now.” I pulled her up against me, and crawled out from under the rock. Once we were in the light, I could see how badly she’d been hurt. Her dress had been shredded almost entirely. She had cuts all over her body, with several gashes that were undoubtedly from the demon. The worst one was the one on her shoulder. I tore the rest of my shirt of and tried as best as I could go cover it. She shivered, and I realized that she was going into shock. I had to get her help.
I bit down hard, as I sucked up the pain, and picked her up. I stumbled, as I walked back towards the palace in agony. Every few minutes she would moan. At one point I was sure that she had stopped breathing, and my heart stopped, but then she would come back. It was the first time that I had ever seen her strong will to live. It was also the first time, my will to save the girl, I didn’t even like, would be tested. The further we got, the more agonizing the pain I was feeling became. At one point, I wasn’t sure that I could go on anymore. I knew that if another demon found us, we were goners.
Then I heard it, the gallops of footsteps of horses. “We’re over here I screamed. We’re over here.”
The Queen
I had never seen the king so angry, or relieved. We had almost lost both of them. I wasn’t sure when, but William had really become our son. I sat at his bedside, and watched him sleep. It had been such a foolish thing that he had done. It was a miracle that he had survived, and with only minor injuries. Well I considered them minor anyways; he wouldn’t, when he woke up. The gash in his leg would heal quickly enough, but the broken leg, arm, and ribs would take a while to heal. He would be on bed rest for a while, but he would live, as would my daughter.
“I can’t believe it,” I heard my husband mutter for the 100th time in the last day. “How did he do it? How did he survive an attack against the oar demon? And then carry her for such a long distance?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I just wanted to be happy that they were both still alive.
“Only the best of the best of my knights have survived in a fight against the beast by themselves. Only a few have ever fought one of those monsters solo, and survived. How did he do it?”
“Maybe you should reconsider letting him be a knight,” I suggested.
“No,” he said abruptly. “I won’t have it. This was a close enough call.”
“You know that I love the boy just as much as you, but you just said it yourself, only a few have ever managed what he has, and he’s only a boy.”
“No,” he said again. “I won’t risk his life. And besides, I forbid him from picking up the sword. What kind of example would I be setting if I let him become a knight now? When he heals he must be punished.”
“Punished?” I asked.
“Yes, punished.”
“For what?” I asked trying not to become angry. I knew that he was over emotional and tired.
“For disobeying.”
“If he hadn’t disobeyed, your daughter would be dead right now.”
“He still has to be punished,” he muttered.
“No, I won’t allow it,” I said stubbornly.
“What?” he questioned.
“I said I won’t allow it. He should be rewarded for his bravery,” I shot back.
“What?” he said again.
“You heard me,” I replied. “This boy has saved the life of the heir to the throne. What kind of message would you is sending, if he isn’t rewarding it for it?”
He chewed his lip for a second, and then got up to leave the room. “I’m going to go check on our daughter,” he said. He held out his hand for me. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had weathered many of my husband’s stormy moods, and managed to calm many of them. I knew that sometimes he could be harsh on the children, but it was only because he was so concerned for their wellbeing.
Especially lately. Every thought that he had, was consumed with his brother, and what would happen to the children if war broke out.
I was sure that William would be fine no matter the outcome. If they had to go into hiding, it would be easy enough for him. Since he had come to live with us, I had refined some of his manners, but he hadn’t changed. He could still fit in with the commoners. I knew he’d probably even be happier with them. My heart ached at the thought. I wished that I could make the boy happy. If only the king would let him be a knight. I knew that was the one thing the boy really wanted. It didn’t matter that we tried to lavish him with gifts to try and make up for what he was missing. He did want for materialistic things. He was simple, and I envied that.
I often wished that Isabel would be more like him. The more time I spent with William, the more time I spent wondering if I had raised my own child right. She was rude, threw tantrums, and was defiant. William on the other hand was submissive, polite, and generous. Suddenly I knew why Isabel acted out so.
I grabbed onto my husband’s arm. “It’s us,” I said.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“We’re the reason why Isabel acts out so.”
“I’m not sure that I understand,” he said.
“We’re too hard on her,” I explained.
“You’ve gone mad,” he said.
“No,” I responded. “All we ever do is reprimand her.”
“She’s the heir to the throne. It’s our job to make sure that she behaves correctly.”
“Don’t you see though, we never praise her when she does. That’s why she’s so jealous of William.”
“It’s different. William is not the heir to throne,” he grumbled.
“No, but sometimes he’s treated like he is,” I told him before I could stop myself. I immediately regretted what I said. I knew that it was a sore point with my husband that we had never had a son.
He jerked his arm away from me. “I’m hard on the girl, because she’s spoiled rotten, and she never does what she is told.”
“Maybe she feels like she can never do anything right. I’m just as guilty of it as you are. I’m not saying it’s wrong to correct her, but maybe once in a while we need to praise her too. She’s only seven years old. She can’t be expected to be in control of her behavior all the time.”
“I’ve had enough of you tonight,” he said walking away from me.
I followed behind him slowly, and waited outside Isabel’s bedroom. I had gone too far tonight, criticized him too much. I knew that he didn’t respond to it well. As a matter of fact, I was the only person that he tolerated it from at all. I was lucky that he even listened to me about William.
But I had pushed too much with Isabel. She was his pride and joy, and he truly just wanted what was best
for her, as did I. I knew him well enough, to know it was the fact that I had challenged him that he was upset about. He was upset, because I had questioned his parenting. I hadn’t meant to make him feel like a bad father, but I knew that’s how he was taking it.
He finally came out. “She’s asking for you,” he said.
“She’s awake?” I asked. I silently thanked god. It was the first time that she had been awake since it happened.
“Shall we go in together?” he asked.
I could see that his mood had softened, and I nodded. When I walked into the room, I was shocked at the appearance of my daughter. I had been in and out of the room numerous times during the last few days, and it still shocked me to see her in the condition that she was in.
I wondered if she would ever look the same again. I wondered if she’d ever be beautiful again. I looked down at her face that was covered with cuts. She was awake, but barely. I stroked her hair.
“I’m sorry Mom,” she said.
I hushed her, and told her to try and not talk. It was all I could do not to burst into tears. My eyes drifted to the gash on her shoulder that was partly covered by her night gown. I reached for the ointment that the doctor told us to rub on every few hours. She winced as I rubbed it onto her cuts. I tried to sooth her, by telling her that it would help her heal faster.
Sir Owen
Matilda was picking flowers by the cottage when I saw the riders go by. My first reaction was that there had been an attack. They were heavily
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