by P D Atkerson
Aroron sighed, and grabbed the box up. "I hope you enjoy this!" he grumbled, turning towards the door.
“Don’t worry, I am!” Ingram called after him. “And I think you will too.”
If there were two complete opposite building types, it would be the Shenockien Palace and the Dark Castle.
Unlike the Dark Castle, that held true to its name, the Palace shimmered with light in the setting sun.
Its golden arches engraved with beautiful pictures of, Aroron guessed, the city's history. A pair of stairs ran up both sides of the palace, meeting at the palace's front door.
At the top, a dozen guards stood at the ready.
Silently, the guards watched Aroron pass them by. He smiled at them, but they didn't even move. They were like statues, only coming alive when danger arose near the Palace.
He turned back towards the stairs and shook his head. He didn’t know how they did it.
As Aroron entered the palace, the beauty of the place caused his breath to catch and for a second, he couldn’t continue on.
All around the circular room he found himself in, stood pillars of gold, with gems of all different colors embedded in them. The floor was made of polished white marble. He'd barely had enough time to take it in, when he looked up at the roof.
There was a mural of the night sky painted on the roof of the main hallway, the stars painted with silver. Even in the dim light of the room, they glowed. As far as he could tell, it was exactly as it was outside. Maybe a little bit different, Aroron wasn't sure. He hadn't really paid that much attention to the sky at night. But it did look a lot like the one the Elouns had, he knew that much. Maybe the Elouns had something to do with this one too. Aroron thought to himself, as he stared at the painting.
"May I help you?" A servant asked, tapping Aroron on the shoulder.
Aroron jumped and took a step back. He hadn’t even heard the man enter! He seemed to have just appeared in front of him, scowling.
“Gee man, where’d you come from?”
“If you don’t know that, you should ask your parents.” The servant said, dryly. “What is your business in the Palace?”
"Oh!” Aroron quickly gathered his thoughts. “I'm here to deliver this to Lady Gana." he said, holding up the box. "I was sent by Ingram, the Palace blacksmith. She asked him to make it and deliver it too. I’m supposed to take it to her personally."
"Am I supposed to care?" He said it like a question, but Aroron didn't think it was. The servant looked him up and down, then slowly nodded. "Alright. Her ladyship is out in the training yard, watching the young knights train. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to her, then you will leave."
Aroron started to nod, but the man was already turning away and headed down a hallway. Lovely fellow. Aroron thought to himself, as he followed closely behind the servant. As they turned a corner, Aroron whistled softly. The servant glanced back at him, but Aroron ignored him.
He didn’t care what the guy thought of him. He was enjoying his little visit too much for that. Aroron had always thought all castles and palaces were as dimly lit as the Dark Castle and the Elouns’ city. But he was wrong.
Everywhere he turned, small archways were cut in the walls, like windows, allowing sunlight to stream in.
It was breathtaking.
Aroron ran his hand through the sunlight, as they walked past. The heat from it tickled his fingers. He almost wished he could have stood there for a minute longer. But he couldn’t.
They turned a few more corners and finally they found themselves outside once again, though for Aroron it wasn’t that much different from the inside. They walked down a covered pathway, until they reached the end and a round, stone court yard appeared below them.
On the court yard’s walls hung different weapons and armor.
It was much nicer than the training yard he'd seen in the barracks he’d delivered to. But then again, this was for the Palace nobles and the barracks were for the men of arms. If he had to guess, he'd bet most of these little boys were royalty and not truly knights. He wouldn’t have been surprised if none of them really knew how to sword fight.
"Her ladyship is over there, below the balcony." The servant said, breaking into Aroron's thoughts. "I will wait for you here. But you'd better hurry, her ladyship’s time is worth more than your life."
Aroron didn’t agree with him, but he nodded and headed towards the stairs leading down to the yard. He stopped short of the court yard and moved instead towards a balcony filled with people watching the duels below. One of them, was Lady Gana.
It had only been a few weeks (two months at most) since Aroron had come to Shey with her, but right then it might as well have been a hundred years before. His throat tightened, as he drew nearer to her. What if she didn't remember him? He wasn’t sure why, but the thought bothered him.
"Your ladyship." Aroron called, moving towards Gana. His feet suddenly felt very heavy.
When she turned and saw his face, Gana's eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. "It's you." She whispered, covering her mouth. She did remember him!
Aroron felt his cheeks grow hot, as he quickly dropped his gaze and held the box out to her. "Um... Ingram um… (the blacksmith) asked me to deliver this to you." He mumbled, staring at the ground. “Your ladyship.”
"Thank you, Aroron." Gana said, taking it. “I can’t believe you’re here, after everything you said to me.” As she spoke, the boy who'd been dueling in the center of the training yard, walked over and held the tip of his sword against Aroron's chest.
"No one speaks to Lady Gana without permission." Aroron glanced down towards him and recognized the boy. Prince Telarian. He’d seen his portrait way too many times around the city.
"That is a child's toy, you shouldn’t threaten with it." Aroron said. Without hesitating, he pushed the blunt blade off him and towards the boy. "It wouldn't be a very wise weapon in a fight."
“Are you saying you want to fight me?" Prince Telarian asked, crossing his arms as he glanced at Gana. "He wants to fight me, Gany.”
Gany? Aroron was starting to really not like this boy. He thought of him as a boy, but the Prince was really the same age as Aroron.
No, I don't want to fight you." Aroron said, shaking his head. "But I feel sorry for you."
"And why would someone like you feel sorry for me?" The prince asked, shoving his chin out as he sneered at Aroron. He obviously thought he was better than him. "One day this will all be mine!" He said, motioning around them. “And what will you have? A little cottage somewhere?” he asked, laughing.
Aroron shrugged. “Be that as it may, I still feel sorry for you.” He said, moving closer to the railing that separated them. “Because, you're not old enough to have a real weapon." Aroron whispered. "That must be very sad for you and a little awkward, since I’m sure you’re the only one here who can’t use a real sword.”
The prince glared at Aroron. "I challenge you to a duel, you big mouthed vulture!” he spat in Aroron’s face.
Aroron laughed, shaking his head as he wiped the spit off his face. “You can’t egg me into fighting you that easily.”
Did the Prince think he was stupid? He couldn't take the boy on, without the threat of being executed for treason, hanging over his head. "I'm not going to fight a snooty noble." Aroron said. "If I did, I’d end up with a noose around my neck. Good day.” He said, forcing himself to bow towards the prince. Then he glanced towards Lady Gana and gave her a wink. With that, he turned and headed back towards the stairs, where the Palace servant still stood, waiting.
"Well, I guess you're just a coward then!" Telarian yelled after him.
Aroron stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned back towards the prince. "What did you just call me?" He asked, glaring at him.
"Nothing." Lady Gana said, moving between them. "Isn't that right? Telarian, you didn't say anything. Please!"
"No, I called him a coward." Telarian said, moving closer to Aroron. "That is what you are,
if you're too scared to duel against me. Just because I'm a prince!"
There was no way he was going to let this brat talk to him that way! He might be royalty, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do with a lesson.
"Fine!" Aroron growled, wishing he’d brought his sword. Ever since coming to Shey, he’d left it in the safety of the blacksmith’s shop. "Just don't forget, this was your idea." He whispered, moving towards the prince. "Come, let's do this. I don't have all day to play around, so get me a sword."
"Fine! Give this boy something to fight with!" Telarian ordered, drawing his own sword. “Though, if you don’t even have a sword, I doubt you’re any good. Where’s his sword?!”
One of the other knights quickly moved forwards and handed Aroron his sword. He nodded his thanks, as he took it from him and turned back towards the prince.
“Please, don’t do this!” Gana called out to them, but neither seemed to hear her.
"Just so you know, I'm a knight of Shenock and only a couple dozen knights in the realm are called that." Telarian said, shrugging off his cloak. He spun it around in the air, and tossed it to Gana. She caught it, then stepped back, shaking her head at them.
"Please, don't do this." She said, still trying to stop them. “This is not going to end well.”
Aroron didn't know what being a Shenockien knight meant, and he didn't much care. "Where I come from, being called a 'knight' is an insult." Aroron said, fixing his grip on the sword they’d given him. He was sure it was no doubt as blunt and useless in a real fight, as the prince’s. "And if we’re giving each other warning, I should tell you, I was trained by Warriors. Real men who aren't afraid to get their armor dirty or dented."
"So, you're saying Shenockien knights aren't real men?!" Prince Telarian asked.
Aroron shrugged. "Some are, but not all of them."
"Tel, don't do this." Gana said, pressing her lips together as she crossed her arms. "Do you really have to prove yourself? He's no one. You don't need to fight him."
"Yeah, Tel, you can still back out." Aroron taunted, as he gripped the sword with both hands. Gana glanced towards him and gave him a look, but Aroron didn’t care. One way or another, he was going to teach this brat a lesson he should have learned a long time ago.
As he glared at the boy, his dislike of royalty filled his mind.
This boy was just like King Munay! The only royal he'd ever liked was Enrick, and now even he was Aroron’s enemy. He didn't care who this boy might be. He was going to teach him a lesson! One he wasn’t soon to forget.
The two of them moved to the center of the training yard and tapped their swords together. They stood still for a second, then Prince Telarian made the first move.
Chapter 14
The Prince
Back and forth they fought. One attack, followed by another. Over and over again, their swords clashed and separated.
The seconds quickly turned into minutes, and somehow, Telarian backed Aroron into a corner. A horizontal post pressed against his back, a wall running parallel to it just a few feet away.
By now a group of knights had gathered around them. Watching intently from a distance.
Aroron was surprised at how well the prince could fight. A smile slowly started to spread across the prince's face, as he pushed Aroron back towards the railing. Aroron gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to give in to this brat! And there was no way he was going to lose to him.
That’s when the prince made his move. Telarian thrust his sword towards Aroron. He jumped back, hooked his legs around the post and bent back.
Hanging upside down for only a second.
In a flash he dropped his sword onto the ground, grabbing the ground with his hands. Then he unhooked his legs, and flipped over the railing. Quickly, snatching his sword up and standing tall again, he blocked another cut from the prince, then parried with his sword.
Aroron twisted his sword around, yanked the boy's blade out of his hand and quickly brought his sword around towards the prince’s chest.
He’d barely disarmed Telarian, when two big men moved towards him. He instantly knew who they were. They were the Prince's body guards. They thought he was going to kill the boy, and they might have been right.
They drew their swords and the first came towards Aroron, attacking with speed.
Just as one of the guards reached him, Aroron jumped up and grabbed onto the bottom of the balcony hanging above him. He kicked at the guard closest to him. The soles of his boots landing squarely in the middle of the guard’s chest, throwing him back and off balance.
He let go, and just as he landed on his feet, the other guard was upon him.
The guard quickly thrust his sword towards Aroron's stomach, leaving him barely enough time to move back. The tip of the blade sliced through his tunic, and he batted the sword away before it could go deeper.
The guard was good. A lot better than the prince had been, but neither of them were quite as bad as an angry Loyal Warrior.
Still, Aroron soon found himself fighting with everything in him, just to keep himself alive. His arms growing tired from the sudden fighting after all this time. The guard swept his sword towards Aroron's head and Aroron dropped to one knee, bent forwards, rolling across the ground and jumped back to his feet again.
"Call your guards off!" He hissed to the prince. "Or can you not take me on without them? What a brave knight that makes you!"
The prince glared at his guards and motioned them away from Aroron. "I've got him. No one else gets the pleasure of thrashing him."
Somehow, Aroron doubted the guards believed him.
After all, they'd probably just saved the boy's life. It was a duel, Aroron had the right to kill him, if he wished. This wasn’t a child’s game.
By now the crowd that formed around them was bigger than he’d expected, and Aroron couldn't let himself think about them, or he knew he wouldn't be able to fight on. There had to be at least a hundred people watching, some knights, some nobles and even a few servants.
He really had a knack for making a scene.
Compared to his fight with the prince’s guards, his moves against Telarian were smooth and almost effortless. But then he grew too confident and made a mistake by taking a step back from the prince.
He tripped over the edge of the stone court yard and fell onto his back.
The prince grinned, looking as though he thought he'd gotten the better of Aroron. Little did he know, he hadn't. The prince moved forwards and held the tip of his blade towards Aroron's neck.
That was when Aroron made his move. He slammed his feet into Telarian's legs, as hard as he could.
The prince lost his balance, stumbled, toppling to the ground next to him. Aroron quickly rolled over and was on top of him within a second.
"Don’t ever assume you’ve won a fight. I think I’ve won this one." Aroron said smugly, as he held his sword against the prince's neck. “Am I right?”
"I don't think so." Prince Telarian whispered, a grin spreading across his face. "I never said the duel was just between us. Get him!"
Aroron glanced up, just as two of the other young knights moved towards them. "Cheater!" Aroron spat, shoving himself back to his feet. “First your guards, and now them, you’re the coward.”
Shaking his arms out, Aroron worked his way towards the two knights. He blocked one of the swords, and then quickly spun around and blocked the other knight.
He missed the next cut and the tip of the knight's sword cut across the side of his face.
For a second, the pain that rippled through his face, reminded him of the Dubh-Woods. He could almost see the trees surrounding him. The darkness closing in upon him. He'd survived that, he wasn't going to let these unruly brats beat him! He growled and quickly parried.
They were nothing more than nobles who thought they were better than him.
As they fought, Aroron studied their moves, and soon a pattern began to form in his mind. Their weak spots glaringly obvious to him.
One thing was for sure, they weren't battle hardened knights. They weren't even that big.
A strong wind might blow them over, and they’d probably scream for their mommies.
Aroron had an idea how to end this fight, once and for all. He knew what he needed to do, and he timed it perfectly. As the two boys moved towards him, he tossed his sword into the air.
He grabbed the center of it and held tightly. Then he spun around and dropped to his knees, holding his sword up as he spun around. The pommel slammed into the one boy's chest and the flat of his blade hit the other boy's back, sending both flying to the ground at the same time.
Breathing heavy, Aroron pushed himself back to his feet and brushed his pants' legs off. "Was that what he wanted?" Aroron asked, as he looked down at the two moaning boys, as they climbed to their feet. "For me to make idiots out of the two of you?" He asked. "Maybe next time, you should think for yourselves and not follow the Prince's orders blindly." Aroron said, stabbing the sword into the ground, as he turned towards Telarian. "You let your guards wear me out, then you tried to cheat and yet, you still lost." He hissed. "Next time, don't take on someone unless you know you can beat them. Only a fool takes on an unknown foe."
"Very good advice." Someone said and the whole crowd turned, as King Dillaran pushed his way toward the front, where Aroron and Prince Telarian were still standing.
"So, you're more than just the boy who does deliveries for Ingram.” He said, looking Aroron over. “I thought you had the look of a fighter."
"I'm not a fighter."
"Really?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "You just wiped the floor with my son, who's been training with the Shenockien knights since he was ten."
"Sir..." The prince started, taking a step towards his father. He started to say more, but was cut off before he could.
"Quiet, Telarian." The king said, holding up a hand. "The adults are talking." He said, turning back to Aroron. "How did you learn to fight like that?"
He glanced around and lowered his gaze. "My guardian taught me, when I was a small child." Aroron said. His guardian. He couldn't call Shon his father anymore, not now that he knew the truth. Whether he wanted to believe it or not. "I was younger than any of these boys when I started."