by A. J. Medina
“Why that’s silly, Alora,” Silas said, but then noticed what I was saying was true.
“Why don’t you stop moving?” Silas asked him.
He reached down and rubbed his knee. “My knee m’lord. It’s an old riding injury. The cold aggravates it. Best if I keep moving.”
Since he stopped moving for that moment, so did I. I stood behind Silas unable to get a good look at the man. “I know you somehow, don’t I?”
“What?” Silas asked.
I slid my hand down Silas’ arm. “I know I know him, but I don’t know from where. Maybe if I could get a good look at his face.”
And I was going to see it. The man made sure to keep Silas between us, but I could see past him. I could see who was walking up from behind him.
“Lucah!” I shouted. “Hold him!”
The man turned to run, but he ran into Lucah and bounced off him. After regaining his balance, the man tried to run around Lucah.
“Stop!” I yelled. The word came out sounding like a shrill scream. With the man unable to move Lucah immediately punched him in the face.
The man still couldn’t move. I had stopped him with one word. I thought about releasing him and then flung my hand at him. His body relaxed.
With blood flowing down the man’s face, Lucah reached out and grabbed him. Pulling the man towards him, Lucah held and locked his arms, so the man couldn’t get away.
“Release me!” the man shouted.
“Shut it!” I ordered him.
“Release me! I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Shut it!” I ordered him again.
Placing my hands behind my back I studied him. He barked orders. He had a strong demeanor. This man was not a peasant. This man was not a slave.
“What’s going on here?” Silas asked the man. “Lord Allen, why did you run?”
Lord Allen. That name I remembered. It was the name Princess Evelyn had mentioned—King Remi’s friend. The one that gave her my stolen practice sword.
When he didn’t answer, Silas ordered Lucah to release him, but Lucah didn’t let go. He looked at me and waited for my command.
Silas stepped closer. “Did you hear me, Lucah?”
I lowered my hood. “This man was in the castle city. He is a friend of King Remi.”
“He is a spy for us,” Silas said. “He was looking out—”
I wouldn’t normally do it, but I raised my hand to silence him and glared at Lord Allen. “Nay!”
Placing my hand behind my back again, I studied Lord Allen. No one spoke. Only the sound of the wind blowing could be heard.
“He’s the man that was riding Mata. The one that gave the princess my training sword. What were you doing at Castle Ly’vera that day?” I asked.
He wiped his nose and stared at the blood on his fingers. He turned his head to Lucah with a questioning look.
Lucah tightened his grip on the man’s arms and shook him. “Answer her!”
“I was there to meet my betrothed.”
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“The person I am to marry.”
“I know what betrothed means. I meant who are you to marry?”
“Princess Evelyn.”
“You are to marry Princess Evelyn?”
He nodded. “Aye.”
I thought back to that day the princess had my training sword and thought back to her argument with the queen. Queen Rosaleen had invited me to wash in her bath and the princess was there too. They were arguing about her doing as she was told. This must be what the princess said she wouldn’t do. She wouldn’t marry Lord Allen.
But when she was playing knight in her room she looked so happy. It was a gift, she had said. From a friend of Father’s.
“Lord Allen, you gave Princess Evelyn a gift. A sword that belonged to me. It was last seen in my cottage. My cottage where my mother and stepfather were murdered. The training sword you gave her. Where did you get it?”
His eyes looked left. The pause was too long. I could tell he was about to lie to me.
His mouthed opened to say something, but I interrupted.
“Too late. Whatever you are about to say can only be a lie. I’ll give you another chance. Don’t lie to me and answer quickly. Where did you get my horse?”
“Which horse do you speak of?”
“Mata is her name. She turned when I called her and yet you stormed off. How do you explain having both my horse and my training sword?”
Silas waited for an answer. As did all of us. When Lord Allen didn’t answer, Silas slapped his face. “Answer her,” he commanded.
“I cannot.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“I would be disobeying my king.”
“Am I not your king?” Silas asked him.
Lord Allen didn’t answer.
“Traitor!” Lucah said, while tightening his hold on Lord Allen.
“Please, I have a family,” he pleaded.
“I had a family once too,” I said, and then held my hand out and summoned my dagger.
“Wait, please! I’ll tell you.”
Silas grabbed my shaky wrist and took my dagger from me, but only because I let him.
“Go on,” Silas said.
“I was ordered by King Remi.”
“To kill my parents?” I asked.
“Nay. That was an unfortunate circumstance. I was ordered by King Remi to search your home for the Emerald of Kali.”
Neala’s hand slid into mine. She squeezed it hard.
“Did you find it?” I of course already knew the answer.
“Nay.”
“Then why kill my parents?”
“They resisted. Refused to let us in and search. A refusal of our king’s wishes is punishable by death.”
So it’s King Remi’s fault that my parents were dead. Mother, Father and even Biron. All three of them died because of Remi and this man.
I released Neala’s hand and held mine out. “My dagger,” I said to Silas.
When he didn’t hand it to me I summoned my sword. Lord Allen’s eyes went wide with fear. As I pulled my arm back to thrust it forward, Silas thrust my own dagger into Lord Allen’s throat.
Lucah released his hold on him and Lord Allen fell to his knees. He clumsily fingered the dagger sticking out of his neck not sure what to do. As he took his last breaths, I squatted down in front of him so that I could look him in the eye.
“You will now suffer as my mother did.”
Before he could escape from this world, I stood up straight, thrust my hands forward, and lit him on fire.
The dagger in his throat prevented him from screaming, but I hoped, I really hoped he was suffering.
After leaving the others to tend to the burning man, I sat in the corner of Silas’ room reading one of Agbavitor’s journals. The floor was cold, but I didn’t care. What I had just read made sense. All of the pieces fit and now any doubt I had was gone.
I picked myself up off the floor. My sword was hanging on my closet’s hook. Untwisting the end of the handle, I retrieved mother’s emerald and threw its ribbon over my head, letting it rest on my chest. I went over to the bed, pulled one of the furs off, and sat back down on the floor wrapped in its cozy warm embrace.
Someone knocked.
I didn’t answer it.
“Alora are you in there?” the voice asked.
“Aye Neala, come in.”
She joined me on the floor. When I opened the fur and invited her to join me, she noticed the emerald.
“Your mother’s emerald is so beautiful,” she said.
Want to know a secret.
She nodded.
“This emerald has powers.”
“What kind of powers?”
It has the power to multiply a wizard’s own power, making them even more powerful. It has the power to borrow another wizard’s powers. And it has the power to heal. I pointed to the passage in the journal.
She read it quickly and looked surprised. “So
that’s how you were able to heal Silas’ wounds and make his hair grow back?”
“It seems that way.”
“Was it the emerald that also gave Silas his powers?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I somehow transferred power to him the way Agbavitor had transferred his power to me. If you choose to become my apprentice, and when you’re ready, I will transfer power to you as well.”
Neala gazed at the fire. I could only guess what she was thinking.
She left the warmth of the fur. “Will you be joining me in my room tonight?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. I’ll see you later then?”
“Aye,” I answered.
After she left, I continued reading. The entries shifted to Agbavitor’s thoughts about me. He thought I was kind, smart, lovely, and... apparently the king did also.
Agbavitor spoke of a conversation between King Remi and Queen Rosaleen that he overheard through the secret passage to his workshop.
King Remi wishes to call Alora to his chambers. Queen Rosaleen must have found out and she told him Alora was training to be one of his knights and it would be inappropriate to do that.
King Remi told her he can do as he pleases, but Rosaleen would not let it go. She mentioned my name. She asked him how I would respond to it. In this case her jealousy may cause Remi to do the right thing. He shouldn’t be calling his knights to his chambers and I would feel betrayed if he called my apprentice to him.
After further arguing, King Remi finally agreed with the queen. He would not call Alora or any of the knightlys to his chambers. He agreed it made sense not to anger his wizard.
I looked up from the journal, a startling discovery just made. Remi didn’t want to anger the wizard. So that must mean that when I was his wizard and first knight he was honoring the wishes of his queen and his old wizard. But now I wasn’t his wizard anymore and I was no longer there to protect them.
I stood and walked over to the shut window and gazed out into the darkness. What have I done? I didn’t just leave the king and that life behind. I left the others behind too.
Just as Neala was under my protection, the girl knightlys were protected too. I didn’t know. I didn’t know, otherwise I wouldn’t have left.
But if I hadn’t left, Neala would be dead right now. Executed by King Remi because of the queen’s jealousy. I tossed the journal at the bed.
What have I done? What have I done?
Chapter 3
Neala sat on her bed wearing only her white sleep shirt. She continued to sew the piece of black material while she pondered over Alora’s proposal to become her apprentice.
Magic had never really interested Neala. She was a slave from such a young age that she didn’t know how to do much else besides serve those she was assigned to. But the more she thought about the magic she’d seen Alora perform, the more she became fascinated with the idea.
Alora could control fire. She could form solid walls out of no where. Ice bridges, ice walls, manipulate water, and even command things to her with her mind.
And besides magic, Neala would learn how to fight. She wouldn’t just be a wizard, she would become a knight and she would no longer be afraid. She would become Neala, First Knight to Queen Alora.
Well, that was if Alora decided to marry Silas.
She wondered why Alora hadn’t said yes to him as soon as he had asked?
She was sure that Alora loved him and wanted to be with him. They did leave Ly’vera and the castle city behind to find him.
And yet she hadn’t said yes.
It seemed odd to Neala. Had they not been slaves, Neala would have married her true love and had a family. If she had been free, that would have been her life. When she was in love that’s all she had wanted. Him, children, and a home of their own. King Remi made sure that never happened by killing her true love.
Neala tied a knot in the thread and then cut the string using her teeth. She threw her legs off the bed and walked over to the mirror. Using her fingers, she traced each one of the cuts Queen Rosaleen had made on her face. The stitches were still fairly new and she would have to wait before they were taken out, but the queen’s words still echoed in her mind. “Never healing, always scarred.”
Neala wanted to scream. She wasn’t sure if it was a scream of anger or a scream of pain, but she wanted to scream. She wasn’t one to be vain and she wasn’t one to care about her beauty, at least she thought she wasn’t. Now that her face was hideous, she realized she did care. She cared a lot.
Neala lifted the mask up to her face. It was one piece and completely black. There were holes for her eyes, and two smaller ones, so she could breath from her nose, but there was no hole for her mouth.
She slid the mask on over her head and lined up the holes. Gazing at her reflection, her eyes stared back at her. She looked strange and yet she felt better.
Her scars were gone. She... Neala was gone. This is who she would become in battle. A faceless knight similar to how Alora appeared wearing her dragon helmet.
There was a knock at the door. Even though she already had an idea who it was, she still asked.
“Who’s there?” she asked, her voice sounding low and muffled under the mask.
“It’s Alora,” the voice said from the other side. “Can I come in?”
Alora was having trouble sleeping and felt comfortable sleeping in Neala’s room. Neala welcomed her company.
“Aye,” Neala said still sounding muffled.
She turned around as Alora shut the door.
To Neala’s surprise, Alora wasn’t frightened.
“Neala, why are you wearing that?” Alora asked.
“This is who I will become. This is who I will fight as. The queen has taken my beauty and has replaced it with this.”
Alora took Neala’s hands in hers. “Nay. Don’t hide your face. It’s not a good idea.”
“Don’t worry,” Neala said, “I will still show my face, but not during battle. During battle I will become someone else. I will become the faceless knight by your side.”
“Nay. It’s not a good idea. Please, don’t hide your face.”
“But won’t the mask strike fear into our enemies?”
Alora raised her hands and gripped the bottom of the mask. Slowly, she lifted the mask off Neala’s head. Alora brushed Neala’s hair with her fingers and then turned Neala around by the shoulders so that they both faced the mirror. With Alora standing behind her, she said, “I don’t want to sound mean, but if that’s what you’re after I think this will make them fear you more.”
She was right of course. Neala nodded and Alora’s hand burst into flames as she burned the mask to ashes.
Alora then held out six vials. “Well then, my apprentice, we shall begin your training at first light.”
Neala took the vials from her and placed them in her drawer.
Lifting the fur covers and sliding under them, Alora asked, “Is there anything you’d like to start with?”
“Controlling fire,” Neala answered. “It’s always amazed me how you can do it so effortlessly.”
“Controlling fire it is.”
They said good night and Neala slept especially well that evening, dreaming of her new powers and her ability to fight as good as Alora could.
Day after day, night after night, Neala would practice controlling fire. She would practice her sword play. She would stay out in the snow late at night when everyone else had gone to bed and manipulate fire as the snow fell all around. She would stay up late and wake up early. Neala was determined to never feel afraid or be anyone’s slave ever again.
And if someone would have told her that a girl would become the best wizard and knight in the realm, she would have laughed at them. Now she chuckled at the thought of there being two of them.
— — —
Back at the castle city in Ly’vera, the king had summoned Aednat along with all the other knightlys and the king’
s knights to the guard’s wing. The courtyard was noisy with all the mumbles of the knights trying to figure out why they were there.
King Remi stepped onto the stage.
Aednat watched him intently and wondered what he was going to say.
“My knights, I have terrible news.”
The crowd gasped at his message.
King Remi pressed down on the air to silence them.
“Two from our kingdom have betrayed us—”
“Who has betrayed us?” someone shouted.
“First Knight Alora and her maiden Neala.”
More gasps and mumbling from the crowd.
“I want a full search of the city for any clues to where they might have gone and if anyone has any news to their where abouts, I expect them to come forward immediately. Alora is a great knight and powerful wizard. We will need to prepare for battle against her. I know this news comes as a surprise, but remember where your loyalties lie.”
“To our king!” Ser Hector shouted.
All the knights cheered in agreement.
After searching throughout the palace Davina stated the obvious. “There’s only two places left to check.”
The two of them made their way to Alora’s chambers and began searching for any clues she might have left behind. Aednat was following her orders, but she wasn’t sure if she would pass on any information she would find.
Her loyalty was to her king, but she was also loyal to Alora.
The room appeared as if Alora had left in a hurry. The bed was disheveled — a mess — and the clothing lay scattered on the floor.
Aednat opened the closet door and scanned it. It was filled with the usual things, just like her own, well almost like hers. There were sleep shirts of different colors, tunics, and many, many dresses.
“The boots and shoes are gone,” she said to Davina. “Alora must have taken them.”
Aednat pulled open the top drawer and found them filled with empty vials of potion. “Empty Vials. Most likely magic potion.”
The king must be worried that they won’t be able to replicate the magic potion and all his knightlys will lose their ability to summon their armor and soar. It’s a foolish worry though, because Aednat has watched Alora time and time again and she had began practicing it herself. If it became necessary, Aednat would reproduce the vials for her king.