Fire and Thorn

by Mary Vee

  “Yes, sire.”

  “Take me there. And if possible, I’d like some food.”

  The guards set Gilbert's chair in the center and up front.

  “Thank you, but today, I want to sit with the citizens.” He stood. “I’ll sit over here.”

  The play briefly stopped while Gilbert hobbled to the bench area. The audience stared in surprise. They popped out of their seats, smoothed their hair then bowed.

  Gilbert pointed to an empty place on a bench. “Is this seat taken?”

  “No. Not at all, sire. We’re happy to share the bench with you, or, if you prefer, we could go to another one.”

  “Please stay. I’d like to sit with you.”

  The family smiled, showing their missing teeth. Gilbert sat down on the bench. He glanced around at the people. “I thought this was a theatre.”

  A child looked at him and smiled. His dirty face and ragged clothes showed his poverty. “It is, sire.”

  “Then let the play continue.”

  Ben and Charles bowed to their audience and presented several one-act plays retelling the quest. Gilbert laughed with the children at the actor’s exaggerations, especially when Ben played the part of Katia doing her knife demonstration. He accidentally dropped the weapon, bumped into Charles, and nearly stabbed himself in the foot. “I guess I’m not as good as she is.”

  Charles bent down and picked up the knife. His head bandages loosened as he did. The strips of cloth unraveled and tangled in his arms. The more he tried to fix them the more the audience laughed. Katia jumped on stage and untangled him. As soon as she rebandaged his head, Ben signaled the audience to applaud for her.

  Tears of laughter poured down the audience’s faces when the actors performed their poison ivy monkey dance. Gilbert chanted with the crowd, “Encore, encore!”

  After the performance, Gilbert called the squires who went on the quest. “Guard, please help me to the platform.” He hobbled to the stage. “Will the squires who went on the quest please join me?”

  Charles, Sybil, Jonathon, Justin, and Daniel walked to the center of the stage.

  Gilbert looked at his best friend. “Hand me your sword, Sir Ben.”

  Ben unsheathed his weapon and gave it to Gilbert.

  “Squires, please kneel.”

  His five friends kneeled and smiled at each other.

  “Because of your devotion and help on the quest, the people of Aerlis have the Rose. You risked your lives more than once to save others. These actions are worthy of knighthood.” Gilbert walked to Justin and touched each shoulder with the tip of the sword. “I dub you Sir Justin.” He did the same for Jonathon, Daniel, and Charles. Sybil received the title Lady Sybil. “Rise, knights of Aerlis.” Ben and Gilbert celebrated with them by doing the squire salute. “There is one task you must perform before your title can be official.”

  “No. Please, sire. Not that,” said Jonathon.

  “Yes. You must take a bath.”

  Ben laughed. “I think this salute is also worthy of knighthood.” And so the salute had a new name, the Knight Salute.

  Under Gilbert's rule, Aerlis became a new kingdom. The people learned the rules from the sacred book and followed them as best they could every day. When they made mistakes, they said they were sorry to the Great King. Not long after the celebration, Gilbert realized Malum’s army had mysteriously stopped its march against Aerlis.

  Crops grew tall and filled the fields. The thistles died. Citizens appeared happy. Roses grew throughout the kingdom.

  With peace in the land, Gilbert pledged to care for the remaining unsolved problems by planning the next quest. One that no other Aerlis knight had successfully completed. Sadly, this dangerous mission had claimed many lives already.

  He stood outside the castle wall and looked to the north. In his heart, he sensed his baby sister or brother lived, and the child, along with his mother, had survived. They might be in a prison, a cave, or in bondage somewhere.

  He scheduled a planning meeting for this evening. He and a specially chosen team would set out to find the Queen mother and his sibling then bring them safely home.

  And maybe, in his spare time, he’d discover the secret behind Katia’s story.

  Spare time. That was a joke. Then, again … he loved the busy life of a king.

  Challenge For You

  Throughout this novel pieces of Bible stories or phrases have been woven into the text. There are at least 23 in 19 + different chapters.

  Record the ones you find here. To check your answers, go to my website at and click on the tab: www.maryveewriter.com

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  Thank You

  Thank you, Reader, for taking this journey with Gilbert. I hoped you enjoyed this book. There are more Never Give Up stories traveling through my mind. Watch for them!

  The best way to show an author you liked their book is to write a review. Some places you can write one are: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, your local paper, radio station, etc. It only takes a sentence, more if you like.

  About the Author

  Mary Vee - Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of an exciting day. A Bible College grad, former school teacher, short term missionary and now author. Mary writes for her King.

  Mary’s newsletter takes readers on virtual trips. Sail on a pirate ship, zip-line through California redwoods. Join the fun. Sign up at her website below.

  Author of Never Give Up Stories

  www.maryveewriter.com maryveewriter@gmail.com

  Acknowledgments

  There are so many people who deserve my heart-felt thanks in the making of this story. For example:

  I am thankful for a great team of editors who helped put the finishing touches on this story from fact-checking to grammar. Thank you, Kathy McKinsey, Dave Arp, Nike Chillemi, and V.B. Tenery. Any remaining errors are purely my mistakes.

  Thank you, mapmakers on Instagram. You showed me how to draw a map.

  Thank you pixabay.com. (compass) for your service.

  Thank you, Carly Vaitkevicius, for a beautiful cover design. Your computer-design talents made the image in my head a reality.

  Thank you Leta Holloway and Myra Carter, for reading this book and noting questions. Your insights helped clarify the story.

  Thank you, Mrs. McConnell’s students. You live so far from me, yet you have been my cheerleaders for the past seven years, maybe more. Because of your enthusiasm and request, I enjoyed dedicating the last six months to providing this printed version of the story…mostly read in class. Yes, I heard your teacher didn’t finish the story. Unbelievable! You can finally read the end. Let me know what you think. My email is on the last page.

  A huge
shout out to my former Algoma Christian School students. I enjoyed writing the end-of-the-year books. Only one class received this story in a simple 32-page version. Since this book’s original title, The Battle of the Dragon’s and the Rose, you and the other students I taught have grown. Some of you are married, started your careers, and are venturing on your own journeys. Read the Sacred Book daily and continue to honor the Great King. This is what will bring you the joy you seek.

  I am very grateful to my family who didn’t mind a few nights of short order dinners, late laundry, and my crazy questions. It may have been more than a few. Thanks so much hubby, Robert, Carly and my Katy, Brian, and William who live far away. I love you all and appreciate your support.

  I always stay in the movie theater for the credits. I see interesting names, discover whether the film crew and actors traveled to the locations or cheated with a sound set, and note other interesting trivia. By this time the theater is empty, all except my family and me. Some movie directors insert an Easter egg at this point. Aptly named because only those who seek can find. Easter eggs can be anything hidden in the movie for those who chose to play the game. So, I thought, why should movies have all the fun?

  In this novel, there are at least 23 hidden pieces of Bible stories or phrases. In addition, for those who have read through this acknowledgment page, the book version of movie credits, I have included a second Easter egg:

  Those summoned for the quest into the dangerous northern kingdom of Malum gathered in the Great Hall and sat at the conference table. They looked to Lord Chancellor Matthias, waiting for him to answer King Gilbert’s question. “We have no word on the current state of Malum other than the possibility, and this is a remote possibility, that one of our knights escaped over Malum’s mountains into Vista then returned to Aerlis. There is a rumor he secluded himself in the woods beyond the Diaphonic River. His mind is not steady and his words unreliable,” Matthias stroke his beard. “The poor man had watched his wife and son starve to death. The next day he dug up his sword and shield then ventured into the north to find the queen. Although he did not locate her, he is the only known knight to survive. What he truly knows is bound in his mind.” Book II, The Cede Deo Chronicles.