“You look lost in thought Bell Ringer” said senior pikeman Saul, one of Corporal Darwin’s training team. ”You finally get to show everyone how tough you are supposed to be.”
“What I am thinking about is none of your business” Jason replied. “If I win this thing is what you should be worried about.”
“If you win?” Saul asked confused.
“I still remember my first day here” Jason said as he looked down on the man.
“That was to teach you a lesson, it wasn’t anything personal” Saul said as Jason could see a little fear in the man’s eyes.
“I have a lesson to teach you also” Jason said smoothly. “And everything with me is personal.”
Jason watched Saul leave to talk to one of the other senior pikemen instructors as he could hear the sounds of marching, it was one of the other classes and unlike his them had far more people than the twenty in Jason’s class, it looked to be almost a hundred of them. A ring was set up promptly and the duels began, the other class had decent skill but the Knights were more than holding their own despite not really practicing for the three weeks they were here and being exhausted. The first couple of Knights lost their duels despite being more skilled. The others were fresher and it showed, the Knights could barely lift their sword to defend themselves. Jason stepped away from the crowd and ran towards the dorm, once inside he found what he was looking for, it was his bells. Jason put them on and walked back slowly, making sure everyone heard the awful clanging sound each one made as he moved. Corporal Darwin did not look impressed as gave a half smile, Jason would wipe it off his face soon enough though.
“I see your bells came back” Darwin said laughing. “I picked a special opponent for you, you think you are going to teach one of my men a lesson do you? You must did not learn from the last beating you took.”
Jason stayed silent as Darwin put him in the circle, Jason grabbed his wooden sword and waited as his opponent came to the ring. The man was large but carried a lot more fat than Jason did. Jason waited for the match to start and charged the big man, there was no doubt he was powerful but Jason doubted he had the speed or reflexes he did and was correct. He went into everything his father had taught him and was scoring at will, scoring on blows to the shoulder, forearms and things before the person judging it stopped it when Jason brought his sword across the big man’s stomach.
“Throw another one in here” Jason said as he backed away. “I heard I have to beat ten of these men so there is no use to waiting.”
“Are you sure?” the Sergeant in charge of the other class said as he looked Jason over. “Say you wouldn’t be the Musician of Death I heard about, would you?”
“I am one in the same sergeant” Jason replied.
“They say you wear those bells because you want the enemy to know where you are at on the battlefield” the sergeant replied as he walked over.
“Somebody told you true Sergeant” Jason replied. “I want the enemy to know it is for them for whom the bell tolls. The Kuul will know of me soon enough.”
“Alright I can send you as many as you want, just remember a loss is a loss” the sergeant said as he motioned to another recruit.
Jason waited for his opponent to come into the ring, Jason did not make much of the man as he knew most of the people he would fighting learned the sword while they we here in training. Jason was sure he was stronger than his opponent and Jason thought he had the superior reflexes as well. When the fight started Jason decided to have a little fun using many movements that looked flashy but really didn’t do anything but confuse. His opponent held his sword up but looked to be in a trance of some kind as the unorthodox movements Jason was using made it hard for him to know when he should attack. Any real swordsman would have taken advantage of the many times Jason was a bit off balance or when Jason turned his back no matter how small the window was, this opponent was quickly swept off his feet and had a sword to his neck before he even knew the fight really began. One by one Jason fought people from the other class, his mission was too stretch out each fight as long as possible and give his class a chance to rest. People of high rank were out to see the spectacle, Jason could see the commandant was out looking at it all, a man he had seen only once but was told was in charge of all the training that took place. Next to him were several nobles, they were most likely here to pick up new troops right out of graduation. In all Jason won nine out of his ten matches and the one he lost was because he was tired from stringing his matches out too long and his opponent, a tiny rankless had surprised him by sliding under him and stabbing up at his thigh. It was a very risky move but the other man correctly thought he had nothing to lose.
“Here” Jason said as he took off one of his bells and handed it over to the much smaller man.
“This is for me?” the other rankless asked.
“That it is” Jason said as the other man took hold of the bell. “That move took me by surprise.”
“I just noticed you had been fighting for a while and you never really paid too much attention to your feet” the man began. “Everyone else charged you and tried to meet you with force, I’m much too small to do something like that and figured I could probably surprise you. I hate to tell you this but you are my first victory period, I never beat any of the others during training.”
“Well I would be honored to fight alongside of you” Jason replied as he nodded and left.
“Thanks for the breather” Geoff said as he motioned for Jason to sit next to him. “We all really needed one after that shit Darwin pulled.”
“I gave you what I could, but now the rest is up to you” Jason replied. “Either way when we leave I hope to never see that man again.”
Jason watched the rest of the fighting, no one on the other side really struck him as being exceptionally talented, they were decent with a blade but now he was really looking at them he was positive before he left Gaol he would have beaten the majority of them easily if not all of them. As the dueling wound its way down Jason was a little disappointed to find out Geoff had beaten him by going a perfect ten for ten despite having less skill. Jason knew Geoff would gain corporal before the final battle even began, Jason was well rested and despite the other commander being a lot more capable in the terms of tactics, Jason himself took out six of the opposing team quickly, opting to hurry up the process. At the end of it all the commandant himself had everyone lined up and personally pinned rank on all who graduated, Jason himself was happy to receive his rank as well as see Geoff get promoted.
“You may want to come watch this Bell Ringer” Geoff said as he started walking over towards Darwin. Jason followed Geoff over where before Darwin could say anything Geoff punched him hard in the face, sending him sprawling on the ground before jumping on top of the man and pounding his face with heavy blows. Geoff bounced up before he could be noticed and walked away as if was taking an afternoon stroll while Darwin was laid out on the ground with his nose gushing. Jason smiled as he was able to make it back amongst the crowd with Geoff undetected or so he thought. The commandant was staring directly at him and walked over.
“Senior Pikeman Jason Smith” the commandant said as he addressed Jason. “The Knight of Death, the so called Bell Ringer. I think you are exactly what the King has been looking for, your time in the army is finished for now.”
“Sir, if it’s about Corporal Darwin” Jason replied before he was interrupted.
“I rarely get involved with commoner business” the commandant said waving dismissively. “The king is always on the lookout for talent, men and women who can do a job efficiently and without delay. I have seen many talented men come through here, few with the combination of athleticism, power and prowess you have. You will be going towards the capital where you will be given a new assignment that pays a lot better than what a senior pikeman would make. You should gather your things, the bells you favor unfortunately will have to remain behind, you are going to be in the presence of royalty after all.”
<
br /> CHAPTER 9
Jason arrived at the capital and was instantly whisked away to wash up and be fitted for new clothing, he had to admit he liked how he looked. His hair he kept long and the small beard he had began growing was neatly trimmed. This was the first time he could really check himself out in the mirror, he had never been vain before but he now knew why the girls back home sometimes were all flustered when he was around. He was even given a new scabbard for his sword which made the weapon look far fancier than it really was, even the handle on his halberd had been polished. After Kestrel, the attendant that had taken Jason to the capital was satisfied, Jason was whisked away to the biggest building he had ever seen, it was the royal palace.
“So you are the new guy” an old man said as he approached Jason. The man looked to be in his sixtieth year and had hair that looked a mixture of silver and white. Jason could see although he was unarmed the man carried himself like someone who knew how to fight, Jason wasn’t sure if it was his gait or the way his brown eyes roamed over him, but knew if he had to be, the old man could be deadly. “I see you carry a halberd in addition to your sword, I am assuming you already know how to use both. So what do I call you?”
“Uh, Bells” Jason replied. “They call me Bells.”
“Are you not sure of your own name?” the old man inquired.
“I am sir, just a bit nervous” Jason said as he steeled his nerves.
“Well that is to be expected” the old man laughed. “I am Grayson, the King’s steward. Part of my job is making sure the guard force knows their business, especially since we are expanding a bit. Follow me and I will take you to your new commander.”
Jason followed the man who took many turns throughout the opulent palace. Everything looked to have been created by a master from the nice tapestries to even the stone floor and walls. Jason wished he had the time to turn and look at everything but hurriedly followed the man until he found himself inside of a small room along with Grayson and a man who was obviously a guard of some kind sitting behind a desk with what looked like a map of the palace in front of him along with a list of names. The man looked up at Grayson then smile as Grayson left the room. Right away Jason could see the resemblance, if this guard was not Grayson’s son then he was closely related to him some other way.
“Did I get that name right, Bells is it?” the man said to Jason’s shocked face. “Rule number one, someone is always listening to every conversation you have. There are only a few places that are soundproof in this place, this being one of them. Remember that and you will live out your time here. Do you know why you are here, other than to be ready to do violence?”
“I have no idea, the commandant just told me the king could use a guy like me” Jason replied.
“You are not what I was expecting I can tell you that” the guard said as he stood up. “All I was told was that you were formerly of the Knights of Death and could fight like a demon straight from the Sorrow Bringer’s pit. I was expecting some shifty individual and was not quite sure what I could do with you, but you are just some kid. A very dangerous kid, but a kid nonetheless. Tell me, what do you know about the royal family?”
“Nothing much sir” Jason began. “Only that we are ruled by a king but none of it really mattered to me in my job as a blacksmith apprenticing under my father.”
“Your father is a blacksmith is he?” the guard asked.
“Well he was before, well he was” Jason said as his father’s last moments came back to him.
“I can see how that could be, the problems of royals just didn’t apply to you” the guard said nodding. “It applies to you now though, I am Grayland Faraway and I used to be just a member of the royal guard tasked with guarding the King and his family. Now though I have been tasked by the king to come up with a guard just for Princess Mellony, separate from the rest. So far it has been just me for the last two months which is not only tiring on me but to my wife and child as well.”
“Why has it been just you?” Jason asked. “I thought there would be more people guarding the king.”
“There are many guards for the royal family, but our Queen is the problem” Grayland said shaking his head. “You see the Princess Mellony is from King Harold’s first wife. Her mother died during childbirth and the king soon remarried our current Queen, Danisha. Danisha is the daughter of one of his rivals, the powerful Duke Macom. To make a long story short, Danisha wants her son prince Adam on the throne to secede King Harold. Most of the nobles would rather see a male on the throne but our King has already named a successor, he chose his first born. To make matters even more complicated is the fact that Mellony is a mage, one of the few we have in our nation. So far this has stopped any outright attacks as she has had the best instructors despite being at such a low power level. But things have changed recently; of all the things I have told you so far only a few know this next part. The king is dying Bells, he knows it and fears for Mellony’s life. This war with Kuul has complicated things; he wants it over as soon as possible and is tossing everything he has at it. He knows his time is not long and wants everything ended so the princess can take the throne with one less headache. Of course he is still worried about our queen and prince. Neither of them has ever had a good relationship with Mellony and the king cannot really prove they are trying to kill Mellony. Still he has dismissed long time royal guards and confidants, anyone he thinks are involved too much with his wife. He wants Mellony to have a separate guard force, right now which is just you and me.”
“What kind of attempts have been made on her life?” Jason asked before continuing with another question that popped into his head. “And if she only has two guards, who is watching her right now?”
“So you have some smarts on you as well” Grayland said smiling slightly. “During the princess’s last outing a group of brigands attacked her caravan. She personally had to fight off three of them with her magic despite being surrounded by royal guards. Just by chance, a passing caravan managed to scare off the attackers but the way it happened is too suspicious. None of the brigands were killed despite fighting against well trained men. Not only that, but none of her guard were seriously injured which led the king to believe the whole thing was an inside job. All of those guards have been dismissed much to their displeasure, when the Queen tried to intervene on their behalf it confirmed the King’s suspicions. As for who is watching her now she is with the king, only an idiot would try anything with him around but he is getting weaker by the day. Let me show you your new post and room, we don’t have proper uniforms yet differentiating from the rest of guard because Her Highness has not chosen anything yet.”
Jason walked with Grayland and instantly liked the man, he never talked down to him once and seemed relieved to have Jason around. Jason was showed where his room would be located, his was in the princess’s wing of the palace in a decent sized room next to her suite. Jason would take the night shift and have the day to himself, currently Grayland was working every shift by himself so it shouldn’t be too bad Jason thought. The room had everything he could want including a weapons rack, the only thing he could see missing was a smithy, but he was sure the royals had deep pockets and could get him access to one in his off time. The job really wasn’t that hard, he would stay outside of the princess’s door at night while she was in her room and follow her if she ever decided to leave the palace. After Jason was settled he was to meet the royal family, to which Grayland was giving him pointers.
“Take a knee until the king tells you to rise” Grayland said on his way to the throne room. “The king and queen are to be addressed as Your Majesty, the prince and princess as Your Highness and if you see anyone with them address them as lord or lady unless you know their name or title. Right now though you are just going to meet the royal family. Jason nodded as he followed Grayland into the throne room and took a knee until he was told to stand. Jason stood still as the king eyed him, the man was thin and looked sunken somewhat, his face had an unhealthy color
and he looked to be sweating. He looked like a man who was trying his best to act normal despite being in great pain, his hair was was cut short and it was hard for Jason to tell how tall the man was sitting down. Next to him was a woman of about forty years who had to be the queen, she had light brown hair and was very well kept. Jason thought her beautiful but something about the way she looked at him unnerved him. Jason was used to women maybe looking at him with an admiring eye but this was more like a hungry dog looking at a juicy bone. The queen had a nice figure, a full bust which she was proudly showing off and a thin waist from what Jason could tell. Next to her was the princess, she was nowhere near the beauty the Queen was but could not be called ugly by any means. She did not have all the makeup the queen wore and had her hair in a simple braid. The princess had dark brown hair in contrast to her father’s lighter locks and had dark eyes to match. The prince was the last person Jason noticed and like his mother he could be called beautiful. He was in relatively good shape and had the eyes and build that Jason could see made him a decent catch if a woman was looking and that was not factoring in his power.
“So this is the new member of Mellony’s guard force” the prince said in a voice that made Jason instantly dislike him. “Tell me guard, how old are you? You don’t look much older than I am.”
“I am 17 about to be 18 Your Highness” Jason replied.
“So you are younger than I am and you think you have what it takes to guard my sister?” The prince said with a small sneer. “Father this is ridiculous, we already have enough guards without bringing people like him in. Tell me guard, have you ever even been in a fight? I am talking about a real fight using real weapons.”
“Yes Your Highness, plenty of times” Jason replied a little nervous.
“You have, have you?” the prince said mockingly. “And how did it end, this fight you got into?”
The Warrior of Sapin Page 8