Another World

by D. C. Gomez

  “I’m glad you are honest with yourself,” Sir Bertrant said. “Fortunately for you, we don’t have the time, or enough supplies, to assist this group. I did give them a little food and some water, that way one of them can make it to the castle for help.”

  “Where were you carrying that?” I asked, examining his clothes more closely.

  “Do you seriously think I wear all this clothing for pleasure?” Sir Bertrant opened his jacket and the inside had multiple pockets, all housing various knives and weapons.

  “I thought you were a knight, not an undercover assassin.” I giggled.

  “You are so naïve. Knights are trained to do whatever it takes for the kingdom.” Sir Bertrant buttoned his jacket. “Now, let’s go and find a place to camp out. Our next destination is at least a day’s ride and the horses need a break.”

  The horses weren’t the only ones that needed a break. My stomach was slowly going back to normal as we left the village behind. Somehow, I was starting to feel worse for those missing girls. The people in that village were deranged. Did any of them try to fight for their kids? Please Lord, let the girls be alive. Nobody had ever told me what dragons ate, but I was afraid it might be humans.

  “Move and you will die,” a man whispered in my ear, snapping my eyes open.

  The man dragged me by my hair to a sitting position. Before I could scream, a knife appeared, digging into my neck. Still dark, my eyes weren’t adjusting fast enough to assess the situation accurately.

  “There is nothing here,” another man said from across our small camp.

  Sir Bertrant picked a small clearing off the main road the night before. The horses and I were exhausted. Camp was set up quickly and quietly. We had nothing to discuss after that uncomfortable experience with the burned down village. I crashed within minutes of laying my head on the blanket roll.

  “Keep looking. This one is too well dressed to be alone,” the man behind me said. “His master is hiding their coins nearby.”

  My night vision came into focus and I saw a total of three robbers. Thunder and Lightning were nowhere to be found. I prayed they were hiding from these fools. Sir Bertrant was missing as well.

  Did he abandon me here? Is he dead?

  “I haven’t found the knight. Are you sure he is here?” the third man asked, coming into view. He was unimpressive, with his pot belly and rosy cheeks. If I added in his short height and wrinkled skin, he seemed more like a grandpa than a deadly robber. None of the robbers used names, so I started calling the guy behind me Knife Guy for obvious reasons.

  “Of course I am. Just keep looking,” Knife Guy ordered.

  My eyes roamed the area. The horses were definitely gone and Sir Bertrant was indeed missing, making me think maybe they did abandon me after all. A cold sweat ran down my back, and I felt the need to scream.

  “Madison, close your eyes. Sir Bertrant is right behind you,” Thunder communicated in my head.

  I closed my eyes as quickly as possible.

  “Ahhhh,” one of the men screamed.

  “I’m blind,” another screamed.

  “Madison, down!” Sir Bertrant yelled.

  Knife Guy was behind me, but his knife no longer pressed as firmly against my neck. I kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. I didn’t cause too much damage, but it was enough for the robber to move the knife from my neck. Without waiting for another opportunity, I dropped to the ground. From the shadows, Sir Bertrant charged at the robbers. I had underestimated his skills and abilities. Sir Bertrant was the definition of stealth and efficiency. The two robbers on the far side were disarmed and knocked out before I even had time to blink, a quickness I’d never expected from a former drunk.

  Knife guy was turning around in circles, scanning for the culprit but coming up empty each time. I rolled out of the way before he stepped on me. Unfortunately, I was not nearly as stealthy as Sir Bertrant, and the robber had all the time he needed to grab my leg before I could get far enough away.

  “You are not going anywhere boy,” Knife Guy told me.

  I had never heard of men hitting each other in the groin area, but I wasn’t a real man, and that had been the first lesson I’d ever learned in protecting myself against an assailant. Knife guy made himself an easy target by pulling my left leg towards him. I stopped fighting the pull and aimed with my right leg. I had more upper body strength than lower, but I could still deliver one mean kick.

  “Ahhhh,” screamed knife guy when my foot connected with his unmentionables, as my grandmother used to call them. I was sure something cracked. That guy was not going to be having kids anytime soon.

  Knife guy was doubled over in pain. A reasonable person would have taken off, running away from the danger. I never claimed to be reasonable. Instead of getting out of there, I found a large piece of wood to use as a club and launched myself at him, planning to give the fool the proper beating he deserved. Before I could, Sir Bertrant knocked him over the head with the heel of his sword.

  “Hey, I had this,” I told Sir Bertrant, holding my weapon at the ready.

  “I’m sure you did, but we don’t need to kill them,” Sir Bertrant told me.

  “I wasn’t going to kill him,” I told him. At least, that hadn’t been my plan, but I’d been so angry I couldn’t guarantee what would’ve happened had I got in there.

  “Right,” Sir Bertrant said, looking around. “Let’s put that energy to good use. Go grab some rope from Thunder. He should be by the boulders over there.”

  I dropped my stick and jogged towards Thunder. Both horses were hiding between the boulder and some large bushes.

  “That’s my girl. You didn’t even scream,” Lightning told me like a proud parent.

  “It was a close one,” I admitted to him and grabbed the ropes from Thunder’s saddle bag.

  “Close is fine as long as you don’t do it,” Thunder agreed.

  “Thanks guys,” I told the horses and ran back towards Sir Bertrant.

  By the time I returned to the trampled camp, Sir Bertrant had undressed two of the robbers and had them face down. I stood at the edge, trying to process the scene.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  “Making it hard for these scoundrels to follow us,” Sir Bertrant told me, tossing me a small bag. The bag was heavy and inside I found a large amount of coins.

  What do you need me to do?” I asked as he started to undress the third man.

  “Take the rope and cut it into six parts,” he told me. “We need to tie their legs and hands together.”

  I shook my head. Never in all my time on my planet had I seen any cops do anything remotely similar to their prisoners, but it was a different place with different rules, I supposed.

  I searched around for my dagger.

  “What are you searching for?” he asked me.

  “My dagger.”

  “Why is your dagger not at your side when you sleep?” Sir Bertrant asked me, tossing a knife next to me.

  “You sleep with your sword?” I asked, cutting the rope.

  “Of course I do. This is dangerous territory.” He pointed at the robbers when he said the last part.

  “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” I mumbled.

  “I don’t know who that guy is, but we need to work on your self-defense skills,” Sir Bertrant rambled.

  Once he finished taking the shoes, clothes, and money from the robbers, it didn’t take Sir Bertrant long to tie them up. He demonstrated how to make a strong but delicate knot, making me practice on the arms of the knocked-out robbers. Was that part of the knight’s training? I doubted they had Boy Scouts here.

  “Have you ever been in a fight?” Sir Bertrant asked after we finished with the robbers.

  We packed the rest of the camp and started down the path towards the horses.

  “Not by choice, but yes,” I admitted, kicking rocks on the path.

  “Did you win?” Sir Bertrant asked, following behind me.

  I peered over my s
houlder and met his eyes, shrugging. “Not really, but I didn’t die either.”

  “That’s a start,” Sir Bertrant told me.

  “By the way, why are we carrying these with us?” I asked, struggling to arrange my share of clothes and weapons. Personal hygiene was not a priority for these robbers. Their clothes stunk.

  “I’m sure we are not the first people they robbed,” Sir Bertrant answered. “We are going to donate them to the first village we find. First, we need to put some distance between that trio and us.”

  We rode away from the camp site. Sageri had made me pack several empty sacks in each of the horses. I had no idea what we were supposed to do with them, but they came in handy. We stuffed the clothes in one of the sacks, and the supplies and money in another.

  Climbing on my horse, my legs were still wobbly. I doubted we’d even gotten four hours of sleep, and I feared Sir Bertrant would make us ride all night long. Surprisingly, he veered off the road not long after we started riding.

  “This will do,” Sir Bertrant said.

  “Are we camping?” I asked, crossing my fingers.

  “Unless you want to keep going all night?” he replied.

  “No, she doesn’t,” Lightning answered for me.

  Both horses had been silent during the ride. Did they need to focus to ride at night or were they just tired?

  “That’s what I thought,” Sir Bertrant said and dismounted. “We will make camp on the side away from the road.”

  I dismounted Lightning and followed behind him. Unlike other horses, Thunder and Lightning did not need to be guided. They decided where they wanted to go. Sir Bertrant grabbed a few things from his saddle before dropping his blanket on the ground.

  “Okay Madison, we need to practice a few self-defense tricks before bed. There will be no repeating what just happened back there,” Sir Bertrant told me.

  I froze. “I’m going to die.”

  “Why does everything with you end with you dying?” Lightning asked me.

  “Overly dramatic,” Thunder replied.

  Both horses laughed. I was starting to think I’d been dropped on this planet for their amusement alone.

  “Time to focus everyone. Lesson one: You will always carry a knife with you no matter what. Is that clear?” Sir Bertrant handed me a knife no longer than three inches, light and sharp.

  “Including bathroom breaks and showers?” I asked, holding the knife like a dead rat.

  “Especially when you are relieving yourself or washing.” Sir Bertrant crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at me. “Those are the times where you are more vulnerable. Clear?”

  I took a deep breath before replying. “Clear, Sir Bertrant.”

  “Lesson two: Any person that pulls a knife on you gets their hands cut off. Got it?” Sir Bertrant wasn’t even blinking when he delivered that message.

  “Are you serious?” My words would hardly come out around the dryness that had settled in my throat.

  “You don’t want them trying that again.”

  That was an understatement on Sir Bertrant’s part.

  “Lesson three: Never let an assailant stay behind you.”

  “How exactly do you propose I do that?” I asked, my focus on him. This one I was really interested in learning.

  “I’ll demonstrate, and before you say anything, size is never an issue.” Sir Bertrant walked behind me, pulling another knife from his pocket and holding it to my neck. “Here is the drill, Madison. The first thing you do is get a good hold of their hand, take a step forward, drop to your knees, and pull them over. Make sense?”

  “Not at all,” I answered, putting my hands on my hips.

  “Watch me. Hold the knife to my neck.” Sir Bertrant walked in front of me and handed me a knife.

  This was a little harder for me due to our height differences. Before I could complain, Sir Bertrant had grabbed my right arm and flipped me over his shoulder. I landed on the ground in front of him, moaning as pain shot through my spine.

  “Oh God, you broke my back,” I whined once I was able to speak.

  “Hahaha.” Thunder and Lightning laughed so hard I was surprised they could even breathe.

  “You are fine and pay attention. Did you see what I did?” Was he serious?

  “Of course not,” I told him as I tried to get up but failed.

  “Just stay there and pay attention,” Sir Bertrant told me.

  Sir Bertrant demonstrated his maneuver in three slow steps. He took hold of the imaginary assailant’s arm, stepped down into a lunge, and pushed his hands towards the ground.

  “Oh, just like that.” That appeared too simple to work.

  “You will use their body weight against them. Your turn.” Sir Bertrant pulled me up.

  Going over the steps in my head, I didn’t do it as quickly as Sir Bertrant did. But I did flip him over my shoulder and straight on the ground.

  “I did it!” I was bouncing up and down when Sir Bertrant tripped me. He slid his legs underneath me and I went flat on my back.

  “What was that for?” I screamed.

  “You are not done. Unless you disarm and incapacitate the attacker, he will knock you down.” Sir Bertrant pointed at me on the ground.

  “Good point,” I admitted and slowly got up.

  “Again,” Sir Bertrant said.

  “Again?” I whined.

  “I need to make sure you don’t get yourself killed while I go take care of business,” Sir Bertrant told me.

  He was not kidding. We went over drill after drill until he felt comfortable that I wouldn’t die. My idea of more sleep went out the door. I was exhausted by the end and I was glad he let us have a nap before the next leg of the trip. This time, when I laid down on the ground, I had my dagger at my side and the knife at my back.

  At one point in my life, the idea of camping had been fun. I dreamed of days I could be outside, spread out under the stars when I fell asleep, waking up to fresh air in the morning. After a day on the road and sleeping on the hard ground, I decided camping was overrated. I would never again complain about my bed nestled inside the climate-control building in New York City with absolutely no bugs. New York City had huge roaches, but at least the building could be exterminated. There was no way to kill every bug on this road.

  By mid-morning, we were on the road again. Sir Bertrant fed the horses while I combed them down. With all the riding we were doing, I paid extra attention to their legs and sides. I had no idea how strong horses in this world were, so I made sure they were as comfortable as possible. With full tummies, Thunder and Lightning were very cooperative, which made packing a lot easier.

  Sir Bertrant and I ate on the road. Sageri’s light snacks were perfect. We had unleavened bread with spicy cheese and dried fruits. This was the kind of stuff hikers ate on their trails. At first, it didn’t resemble like a lot of food, but it was surprisingly filling.

  During the ride, Sir Bertrant explained we were taking a short detour passed a village. He wanted to drop off our bounty as quickly as possible.

  I didn’t mind the detour as long as I didn’t have to dismount. I feared if I got off, I’d be in too much pain to get back on. As we reached the settlement, I realized Sir Bertrant was being generous with his descriptions. This was more a compound than a village. A total of eight houses were scattered around, with some animals and gardens around them.

  “Wait here,” Sir Bertrant told me, and I did not argue.

  I handed him the sack I was carrying with the robbers’ stuff. He strolled down a windy trail on Thunder.

  “You should take Sageri’s potion now,” Lightning suggested.

  “What?” I asked, distracted.

  “The potion she gave you for energy,” Lightning answered.

  “But I’m not tired. We just woke up,” I argued.

  “Madison, your mind might not be tired, but your muscles are,” Lightning said, shaking his mane from side to side.

  “Does Sir Bertrant
need some?” I asked, facing in the direction of the knight.

  “Bertrant? Of course not.” Lightning stomped his hoof. “He has been riding since he was a babe. He can also ride better than any man in this world. You, on the other hand, are struggling to stay upright.”

  “Hey, I’m out of practice here,” I said, raising my voice in defense.

  “Madison, for a non-rider, you are doing great,” Lightning said in a gentle tone. “But we have a difficult journey ahead of us. You need to be at your best.”

  “I hope you are right and I don’t start bouncing off the walls here.” I drew out my bag of potions.

  “You have the strangest sayings,” Lightning commented. “What walls could you possible bounce off when we are in the middle of a field?”

  I stopped paying attention to Lightning’s monologue and focused on the little potion, pulling off the cork and taking a whiff at the open jar.

  “Don’t drink it all!” Lightning warned me.

  “Huh?” I replied

  “We don’t need a repeat of the fruit tree episode,” Lightning reminded me. “Just a few drops should be enough.”

  “Good point,” I told him.

  Experience had taught me that Sageri did not know how to dilute potions. Her stuff was as strong as it could be and got there as quickly as possible.

  “How about you drop it on your hand and then lick it?” Lightning suggested.

  “I like that plan so much better.” Thankfully, even the horses were more knowledgeable than me when it came to magic.

  Cautiously, I poured several drops of the potion on my hand. The liquid was cold and made my palm tingle. I licked the weird potion before I had a chance to change my mind. When the potion hit my tongue, an explosion of flavor followed.

  “Wow!” I exclaimed.

  “Madison, are you okay?” Lightning asked, shaking around in circles in an attempt to look over his shoulder.

  “Yes, slow down. Everything is spinning. I’m so glad I only took a few.” I closed my eyes and held on to Lightning as tight as I could.

  “Breathe Madison, breathe.” Lightning stopped moving.

  “What is going on here?” Sir Bertrant asked.