IX
Dionara rolled over in bed to watch John sleep. The soft, warm light of early morning caressed his strong features. She wanted to dive into him like a lake and swim in his love and desire. She put her head gently on his chest so she could listen to his heart.
“One week.” She thought. “It’s only been one week.” The first day was rough. The emotions she unleashed in him were raw and powerful. “We found a way to put those to good use.” Dionara felt herself purr with delight. “One week, we should celebrate. Let’s see, what can we do.” She grinned, and then corrected herself. “Okay, what else can we do?”
“If you purr like that now, I can’t wait to hear what you sound like as a lioness.” John leaned up and kissed her head. “Good morning.” They lay together for a few moments, just to enjoy each other.
“I should leave today, I have to get the Elites packed up.” John was loath to move but duty called. “He should arrive at the way station late today, we will know quickly if Yamikura has any effect. Either way, the Elites and I will need to set out in the next few days.” He started to get up.
“Stop.” She propped her head up and looked at him. “Let me see if I have this correct. You are the head of the Royal Guard Elite. I am the princess and only ruler of the Kingdom. So that makes me your superior. Does that sound right?”
His laughter made her bounce up and down. “My love, you were superior to me from the day I was born.”
“Good, then I command you to stay. Now that that’s settled, what do you mean ‘from the day you were born’? Are you implying that I’m an older woman again, the young, handsome warrior and the old hag? Is that it? Well. I’ll show you! Let the pillow fight begin.”
The pillow fight led to the dunking contest at the lake, that led to a very messy breakfast, which led to another trip to the lake to get all the food off, that led to the love seat.
“Hang on, I’ve got to catch my breath.” Dionara leaned back, her long wet hair doing whatever it wanted.
He kissed her in between inhale and exhale. “You have your morning rounds and I have to straighten up before I leave.”
“Wait a moment, I thought I settled that!” She yelled.
“You control many things, some of them unique in human history, but the calendar is not one of them.” He said from the bedroom, and then stuck his head out of the doorway, “Unless you’d like to wait until the Red Knight rides into Spirit’s Vale?”
She tackled him on to the bed as he was straightening the bedding. “All right, I’m a monarch, that means one of my skills is negotiation.” She gave him her best serious face. “I see your position Forest and can appreciate your duties and time constraints. I believe the Kingdom can provide a compromise that would suit all parties.”
He looked skeptical.
“Consideration one: Today is the one week anniversary of our initial coupling and while I am not inclined to be parted from you for any reason, under the circumstances I’m willing to allow you to leave at first light tomorrow. This will not only keep you to your timetable, but will also save time since your departure today would require you to spend considerable time and effort to calm your one true love who would be understandably furious and inconsolable at your leaving.”
“Consideration two: In response to your concession I will dutifully complete my rounds and be sure that there is nothing that requires either of our attention today. This will include, but not be limited to, the assignment of a councilor to the Royal Guard Elite for preparations.”
“Consideration three: As recompense for the disruption of your schedule, I will prepare for us a picnic lunch that we will take to a specific tree that I have located which exactly duplicates the tree we sat under my first day in the Forest. Once there you will regale me with stories reminiscent of the afore mentioned, ‘first day.’ At which point I will indulge in behavior that I desired to on that day, but was prohibited from by convention.”
Dionara brought her lips close to his ear then whispered seductively, “How say you Forest, do we have a deal?”
“You truly are a wellspring.” He said through the laughter.
They got up off the bed and she wrapped her arms around him. “You don’t get raised by a bunch of stogy old councilors without picking up a few phrases.” She kissed him and went to work.
It was a perfect afternoon and John had to admit that the spot she picked out looked just like the tree near the gate. He watched as she unpacked the basket. “Did you pack the imaginary sword?”
She raised an empty hand, “Got it. Oh no, I forgot the scabbard!”
He put his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.
“That part I don’t remember from my first day.” She leaned her head back. “But I like your creativity, let’s keep it.” She reached into the basket and pulled out the wine and glasses. “Now this I remember.”
“You only brought one bottle?” He looked into the basket.
“Yes, like I said, the wine I remember. I didn’t say fondly, I can still feel the headache.” She looked at the label. “Oh my! John, look at this.”
They both read the label. “Diana & Stefan, Special Reserve, Bottled in the year they wed for their 25th anniversary.”
Dionara held the bottle gently. “I wanted something special for today, and this was in a box off to the side. I didn’t read the label until now. This year would have been their 25th anniversary.”
John took the bottle and placed it carefully in the basket. They held each other without saying a word.
X
“They’re just behind the ridge, have you decided how to approach the subject?” Catherine tried to keep her concern hidden.
“The Knight can be distant and callous, but somewhere under all those centuries he is an honorable man, at least by his own standards.” In the early dusk that comes deep between the peaks, Yamikura waved his lantern. “Joshua well met!” The men stopped their horses.
“Captain, it’s good to see you again.” Joshua moved to the side as the Knight arrived.
“My Liege,” Yamikura bowed his head, “I have”
The Red Knight struck and Yamikura fell from his horse, unconscious. “Joshua, disarm him and make sure he’s out. Then tie him to his horse.” He turned to the back and called for Deminar to bring up his men and the slaves.
“You are now captain,” the Knight told Joshua as the company arrived at the way station, “have the Guard search the grounds, settle the horses, and then assemble in the main building.”
“Deminar!” The High Councilor came immediately. “Stake out Yamikura and the two slaves down there.” He pointed to where the compound met the valley. “They are not to be harmed until I give permission. Your men will have to wait until the prisoners are no longer useful.”
The Knight’s gaze bore into Deminar. “Listen well, if you are naïve enough to believe that I don’t know exactly what you were planning and how you intended to carry it out, you are a fool. Or would you like to quench your thirst with that hidden vial of liquid you had planned to slip into my food.”
Deminar bowed, “My Liege.”
“Good. Now, you and your men will do what I say, when I say, nothing more, nothing less. If even one of your men cannot obey that simple rule, your life is forfeit. I may need their sword arms, but you are excess baggage. I brought you along to observe and learn because you will have to deal with this situation after I leave.
“If you are going to be a king, then act like one. If I see any more of that putrid rat you so like being, then I will find another king when I return to Kingsport and your corpse will be left to rot in these mountains.”
“Yes Sire.” Deminar dismissed any plan that he might have had. He was smart enough to know that complete obedience was is only option. He bowed and left to carry out his orders.
The Knight entered the bunkhouse followed closely by Kalibra. “Finally!” She said. “It’s about time the ‘real’ you showed up, it’s been so long that I was goi
ng to have a healer check you for brain damage.” There was a pause, “My Liege.” Kalibra bowed in mock obeisance.
The Caretaker circled high overhead. “Of course, just like his agents. If he could train two mortals to be so effective, then his skills would be even greater.” The Red Knight’s mind had transformed the moment he struck Yamikura. The Caretaker searched the Knight’s memories and thoughts, all still laid out for him to see. He found nothing new, however the structure had completely changed.
“He couldn’t change what he thought or what he knew, so he changed how he thought. He took on a different persona, lived it, and became it. When it was no longer necessary, he discarded it in an instant. That’s twice now, there will not be a third.” He promised himself. “Catherine, pack up supplies for three in several packages, keep it light enough to carry by air. Round up the horses on the far side of the valley and stay in touch with me.”
“They are staked out Sire.” Deminar reported to the Red Knight a short time later.
“Bring your men,” the Knight took a lantern, “and a bucket of water.” Once Deminar had left, he gave Kalibra her instructions. “You and the Guard will stay in here, bolt the doors and bar the windows. You stay in here until I come back, if you so much as step outside that door I will kill you myself. Are my instructions understood?”
“Yes.” She said with a sigh and put her sword back in its scabbard.
The Knight followed Deminar to the captives, he instructed the slave hunters to surround the group and watch for predators. He had Deminar throw the bucket of water on Yamikura, then bent down and slapped his ex-captain. “The silk fouled the blade.” He thought.
Yamikura came around. The Knight looked him in the eyes, “Tell your friends that they will speak to me now or all three of you will die slowly at the hands of these highly skilled craftsmen of pain and suffering.”
An eagle glided toward the group, and from a blinding flash of emerald green a man stood before the Knight. A simple man, unclothed, unarmed, and unassuming. “I believe you wished to speak with me?” He said, “I am called the Caretaker, although you may know me better as the Ward of the Mountains.” The Caretaker nodded his head, slightly.
“I am the Red Knight.” He returned the Caretaker’s nod, slightly. “It’s taken awhile to finally meet you.”
“Actually we’ve met before, it was a few hundred years before your troubles with Jarod. I don’t know how long ago that was; I don’t keep track of your calendar. Our meeting was brief but I found it very insightful.” The Caretaker stood politely and waited.
“I don’t recall. You must not have made much of an impression.” The Knight sized up his enemy.
“I try not to.” The Caretaker looked around. “I believe you called me, is there something I can do for you?”
“Well, some of my people landed on the coast west of here awhile back and they haven’t been able to expand their settlement. Perhaps you are aware of the difficulties they’ve run into. I just wondered if we could find a solution for them.” The Red Knight noticed that most of the slave hunters had turned toward their conversation. “If you would excuse me for one moment.”
“Please.” The Caretaker gestured.
The Red Knight walked over to the closest slave hunter, and with a speed that Kalibra would envy, drew his sword and decapitated the hunter. Every pair of eyes snapped to him. He pointed out into the dark, “Eyes out, watch for predators. You are a guard, not an audience.”
He returned to the Caretaker, “My apologies, but one cannot be too careful. We’ve lost a great many people over the years to wolves and mountain lions.”
“Do the predators have a greater tally than you?” He asked
“You imply a difference where none exists. Predator is simply a term for the one who lives, and I have lived a very long time.”
The Caretaker’s laughter echoed down the valley. “You are a child, and a naughty one at that. I have roamed this world since life began. Humanity itself is barely old enough to be considered a species. I studied your kind and was sickened by its wanton destruction and disregard for the balance of life. After the fifty years of the bloodshed and terror from Jarod’s conquest and your counter-revolution, I left humanity to destroy itself and came here.
“Walk with me.” The Caretaker strolled out past the ring of slave hunters and turned. “Please.” The Red Knight joined him. “Isn’t it beautiful? When I came here there were no people on this continent and I created a sanctuary where life can find balance. I allowed your people to settle on the coast, but discouraged them from entering my sanctuary. If your people did not disturb me, I did not disturb them.”
“What about the Mindow? I am correct that there is a community of Mindow here, am I not?” The Knight faced his enemy.
“Yes there is. You see, once you sacked the coast, you created refugees. Ordinarily any human would have gotten the same warning from me, but a single Mindow made it to the very heart of my sanctuary. What an incredible man, the purity and power of his flame surpassed anything in my experience. He proved to me by his actions that there was value in humanity.” The Caretaker looked at his foe and felt pity.
“That one man accomplished more in his short, mortal life than you could achieve in a hundred of your immortal lives. He was my friend and I promised him that some of his people could live under my protection.”
The Red Knight considered what he had heard. “The people in these mountains are under my law. They are my subjects and I will do with them what I will. Once they have been removed you will no longer be obligated to protect them. At that point you will be free to find a new place, one where humanity does not exist. Correct?” The Knight waited, a smile crossed his lips.
“Almost. There’s just that one small matter of my word that was given. If it wasn’t for that, then yes, you would be correct.” A flash of emerald green light blinded the Knight as clouds of biting, stinging insects descended on the slave hunters. Bats that had slowly filled the trees while the two immortals spoke, swooped in to feast on the insects, the damage they did to the hunters while they fed was of no concern to them.
The Caretaker assumed the shape of an eight foot bear as he leapt back to the captives, one swipe of his razor sharp claw and Yamikura’s hand was free. The Caretaker just managed to kick a sword dropped by one of the hunters into Yamikura’s reach before the Knight’s sword sliced him.
Catherine had reviewed the plan with Yamikura, Atheria, and Simon. Just before the Caretaker changed, Catherine’s mind yelled, “Close!” All three captives shut their eyes tight as an emerald light filled the night. Yamikura moved with the speed of instinct. “Close!” Catherine warned. He had freed himself in the time it took the Caretaker to change from his wound. He cut Atheria’s bonds just as Catherine said, “Close!” Once more. This time the light was crimson.
The immortals struggled, locked in combat, but there were no more flashes. The Caretaker had the advantage, he could change at will but the Knight needed to die to repair his wounds.
Seconds later all three were free. As he helped Simon to his feet, Yamikura felt a nudge at his back. He turned to find his horse and two others waiting. He lifted each of the young Mindow onto a horse as Catherine gave them instructions. “Lay flat on his back and wrap your arms around his neck, hold tight with your arms and squeeze your knees on his side. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt him.” Yamikura leapt onto his mount, he had been riding bare back since he was five.
Atheria and Simon’s horses started up the road of their own accord, very carefully. Yamikura took the rear position, sword in hand. He looked back, and by the light of the fallen lantern, he could see a great mountain lion drag the Red Knight into the darkness by his sword arm.
Of the nine slave hunters, three were on the ground writhing in agony while six had run off. Deminar was badly stung, bitten, and cut but he had managed to crawl to the bunkhouse. Joshua quickly dragged him in and barred the door. “Too bad.” Catherine thought when she r
ealized Deminar had entered the building. She then scanned the valley and nearby forest for predators, few would go hungry tonight.
Interlude
Good & Evil
Fortune’s Child was late to meet his philosophy teacher. Even as he hurried, thoughts of combat consumed him. He had spent the morning with two of the greatest swordsmen ever to lay down their arms and bind a wound. Even though he was only sixteen, he had been able to defend himself from both men and discuss tactics while he fought.
“There are the bells! I am very late.” His teacher had a bad habit of choosing the day’s lesson based on his promptness. The later he was, the more difficult the paradox. “Today will not be easy.”
“Fortune’s Child, how nice of you to join me,” The teacher stood by the entry gate.
“Please excuse my tardiness sir, I was lost in swordplay’s allure.” He bowed in contrition.
“There are many temptations in life young one, and your life will be richer if you choose the right ones. What we will discuss today has an allure of its own, one that will enthrall your thoughts throughout life. Today we will discuss good and evil.”
“I knew it, I should have left practice earlier.” Fortune’s Child accepted his fate.
“You see this gate?” The teacher began. “On this side of the gate is a sanctuary of healing, most would term our commitment here as ‘good.’” He opened the gate and stepped outside. “On this side of the gate is a world rife with avarice, pain, suffering, and hardship. Most would term those that inflict pain and suffering on others to benefit themselves as ‘evil.’”
The teacher stopped and they looked at each other in silence. “That’s it, run along.” The teacher motioned for him to shoo.
“Don’t say it! Just go!” Fortune’s Child tried to hold his tongue, but youth has its failings. “Sir, how can it be that simple?” As soon as the question was out, he made a mental note to work harder on impulse control.
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