by Garry Spoor
After telling Shebara what she needed, Kile continued through the staff wing. She didn’t care if the guards saw her this time. There wasn’t anything they could do. At best, they would escort her back to her room, and since that’s where she was going, it wouldn’t’ make much difference.
When she reached her room, she found the red dress still lying on the bed. The rest of the clothes were scattered across the floor. Kile picked up most of the clothes and tossed them into the corner before sitting down on the bed to wait. It was only a matter of time before Daniel, or even Jerald, came in to check on her if they hadn’t already. She knew they were watching for the dogs, so when the dogs left, someone should have noticed.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait too long before the door flew open and Daniel stumbled in. He was surprised to find her sitting there.
“You’re here,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
“And where else would I be?” she asked.
“It’s just that… when I came to get you, you weren’t here.”
“I wasn’t? I was probably in the loo.”
“Oh, I suppose that’s possible,” he said, although she could tell he didn’t believe her. “And well, the dogs. You know, when we heard they left your room…”
“You figured I went with them.”
“It did kind of cross my mind.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“No, I’m glad, I mean, you know, we didn’t want you to miss the ceremony,” he stammered.
“Oh no, we can’t miss the ceremony, can we?”
Daniel glanced at the red dress lying beside her. “Are you all right, Kile?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
“I thought you were going to wear the dress.”
“I had second thoughts. It didn’t suit me.”
“Well, it’s just that Roland wanted…”
“I’m pretty sure I know what Roland wanted,” Kile said. She picked up the dress and tossed it to Daniel. “You can give it back to him. I think he can figure out where to… put it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Are we going, or what?”
“Um, yeah… yeah, I… I guess.”
“Good.” Kile rose from the bed. “I was getting bored waiting.”
When they got to the door, Daniel stopped her. “Did you want me to find you a pair of shoes or boots or something?”
Kile looked down at her bare feet. “Why?”
“Um, you know, so you can… wear them?”
“Not particularly,” she said, pushing past him and stepping out into the hall. Having no idea which way to go, she decided to let him lead.
Daniel, once again, took her down the many intersecting hallways of the Manor House. Left here, past that one, right down the next. The designer of the house must have been quite mad as halls led to more halls and all the doors looked alike. There wasn’t an ounce of creativity anywhere. Nothing on the walls, save for the flickering sconces, which barely lit the area they were supposed to light. They were walking between endless bands of shadows. If it wasn’t for the noises up ahead, Kile would have sworn Daniel was taking her in circles. As it was, they turned down yet another hallway, although this one was wider than the others and actually ended in a set of double white doors. Of course, they didn’t use them. Daniel took her through one of the many side doors, where they walked in darkness until they came to a room occupied by four men. These must have been the other recipients as they were all dressed in their fineries. When they entered, the four men eyed them warily. Daniel seemed nervous, almost apologetic, for bringing Kile to them.
“You’ll have to wait here,” he told her. “I’ll come and get you when they are about to call your name.”
“Fine, whatever,” she said.
Daniel left through the door on the opposite side of the room while Kile continued to examine her surroundings, not that there was much to see. Like the rest of the Manor House, it was sparse, with only a row of chairs running along three sides of the room and the low wooden table sitting in the middle of them. There were no pictures on the walls or curiosities to look at, and it seemed the only thing you could do, in a room like this, was to sit and wait. There was, however, a bowl of fruit on the table, which reminded Kile she was hungry.
The four men, who seemed to know one another, or didn’t want to know her, sat together on the opposite side of the room. It wasn’t difficult to tell they were soldiers. They were all wearing their uniforms, although the uniforms didn’t match. They were probably from different units or even different provinces. Kile never bothered to learn which colors belonged to which lords, and if Roland had his way, it wouldn’t matter anymore, anyhow.
Whispering behind their hands, they cast the odd glance in her direction. Although she couldn’t hear everything they said, she did catch a few scattered words: Wild Hunter, dangerous, animal, dragon, and musical, although she didn’t think musical had anything to do with her. The only instrument she’d ever played was a small flute, which she lost some time ago. They appeared uncomfortable being in the same room with her, although she didn’t know why. What did they think she was going to do? Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, Kile sat down in one of the chairs, opposite the soldiers, and put her feet up on the table.
As Daniel explained it to her, the ceremony was quite simple. Following the fanfare and the well-wishing, the king would give his usual long and drawn-out speech, after which, each medal recipient would be called to the stage, one at a time, to collect their reward. The four soldiers would be going first, which was obvious since one had just left.
Now there were three, and they looked even more nervous than they did before. At first, Kile was curious about which stories they heard about her, and more importantly, who was telling them. But, after a while, she liked the fact these three large, battle-tested men were uneasy about being in the same room with her.
When they came for the second man, he seemed relieved to be next, even if it meant leaving his two friends behind. He looked back one last time before the door closed, and Kile waved to him. The look on his face was comical. She thought about Nilak. Was she slowly becoming as insane as he was? Maybe she should stare at the other two and laugh maniacally. If nothing else, it would be interesting to see what they would do.
They came for the third soldier, and he was all too eager to leave, nearly knocking over the young boy who came to collect him. When the door closed, it was only Kile and the last recipient. He was looking everywhere but at her. Up at the ceiling, down at the floor, anyplace where his eyes didn’t meet hers.
When the door opened again, the man was up and out of his chair before the boy even entered the room. This time Kile did laugh as the door closed and they left her alone.
As she waited for Daniel, she wondered why she didn’t simply walk away. She had nothing to prove, at least not to anybody here. The whole thing seemed ridiculous. She could have been out of the city and halfway to… well, wherever she was going. Why was this so important? Why couldn’t she just let it go? Before she could find the answers, the door opened again.
“You ready?” Daniel asked.
Kile placed her apple core on the table and grabbed another from the fruit bowl before following him out of the room.
She could sense his uneasiness; it was almost palatable. She wanted to ask him why he betrayed her, why he abandoned what he believed in, but she was afraid she already knew the answer. She had mistakenly believed he was an outsider, like herself, but it simply wasn’t the case. He was an “in-betweener.” Always on the fence, never taking sides. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she never knew what he believed in. Maybe this was what he wanted all along. So, in a way, he didn’t betray her, but he did disappoint her.
They walked through darkness, the room once again unlit. Daniel opened yet another door. That’s when the bright light assaulted them. Kile had to shield her eyes as she continued, and when she finally
blinked back the brightness, she found herself in a large auditorium with vaulted ceilings and crisscrossing rafters. Open windows, high above, not only let in the light but the air as well. Open doors circled the room and hundreds of vir filled the seats, and those vir were all looking at her. The last time this many vir shared a collective interest in her was when she was being tried for treason.
“Go ahead,” Daniel said, prodding her forward. He pointed to a narrow aisle that ran between the masses. At the other end, a set of steps led up to a raised platform. On the platform were the four recipients, along with Jerald, the king’s adviser, and of course, Roland Waltair, the king himself.
Kile closed her eyes and took a deep breath before falling into her Edge. She stretched her consciousness past the walls of the Manor House, out into the city and beyond. She felt the birds in the air, the cats and dogs in the streets, the horses in the stables, and the rats in the cellars. Those were her friends, her family, and they were all waiting.
Opening her eyes, she slowly started down the aisle. There was a murmur of voices behind her when she apprached the stage. She could already see the confusion on Roland’s face as she came closer, but it was nothing compared with the outright disgust on Jerald’s. He shuffled, nonchalantly, to the king’s side and whispered something into the royal ear. Whatever it was, Roland did not appreciate it. It was clear, Kile was not living up to the decorum that had been carefully planned. Instead of the pretty little doll in the red dress they expected, they got something entirely different. With her mess of red hair, her baggy shirt, her riding pants, and her bare feet, they were seeing her for who she was: the Wild Hunter.
Before she reached the stage, Kile glanced up to see a crow fly in through one of the open windows. He perched on the rafter and stared down at her. Nobody else noticed, but they would soon enough.
Bouncing up the stairs, she approached the king. She whistled to Jerald to get his attention and tossed him the half-eaten apple. When she stood before Roland, the room fell silent.
“What is the meaning of this?” he asked in a hushed voice.
Kile had to hand it to him—even though he must have been enraged by her outfit, not to mention her attitude, he was still able to keep a stoic face.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she casually replied.
“You know damn well what I mean.”
“No, I don’t. Please explain.”
Roland looked over Kile’s shoulder at the spectators who were collectively holding their breaths. They were trying to hear what was being said.
The king stepped back, cleared his throat, and continued with the ceremony.
“Certified Level Three Hunter Kile Veller,” he announced, putting on his best diplomatic smile. “For your contributions to the crown and your selfless sacrifices for the citizens of Aru, I wish to bestow upon you the titles of Dame Kile Veller, Defender of the Crown, Champion of the People, and Upholder of Justice.”
There was a brief scattering of applause; it was quite underwhelming, but Kile was sure she heard Alex in the audience, cheering her on. She watched as Jerald reluctantly presented a pillow to Roland. Her medal was draped over it. The king lifted it slowly, with both hands, and held it up to for the audience to see. It was a simple golden disk with the royal crest etched on the face and it hung from a long silk ribbon. The sight of the medal got more applause than Kile did, but when the king spoke, again, the audience fell silent.
“Do you, Dame Kile Veller, swear to uphold the laws of this land, protect the crown, defend the weak, and obey the commands of your lord and king?” Roland asked while holding the medal above her head. When he started to place it around her neck, she grabbed his arm.
“No, I don’t,” she said.
The room gasped and the murmur returned. This time it started in the front of the room and quickly made its way to the back. It took a few moments before Roland responded to what had happened. Clearly, nobody had ever refused a knighthood before, or maybe nobody had ever refused him.
“I don’t understand.”
“What’s there not to understand?” Kile stepped back from the king. “I’m answering your questions, both of them. In other words, no to the knighthood and no to the question you have yet to ask but have already assumed an answer to.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why? Because you lied to me, and worst of all, you lied to them,” she said with a sweeping gesture toward the people behind her. The murmuring suddenly stopped, and she sensed all eyes were upon her.
Roland looked nervous while Jerald motioned to someone in the back of the room. It was probably the house guards. Kile expected this. Although her eyes never left Roland’s, she could see everything that was happening in the room.
“You truly didn’t think I’d figure it out, did you?” she continued. “You never wanted the Heart of Nilak to end the war or to bring back the wastelands. You wanted it to start a war. You were going to use it against the Balaa Empire, knowing what it could do. How many people would have died? How many did, and for what? Greed, a lust for power, your own stupidity?”
“You don’t understand,” Roland said. “What I did, I did for the kingdom, for my people.”
“Your people? Did you even think to ask them what they wanted, or did you automatically assume they wanted you to destroy the province of Shia, simply to justify your desire to invade Balaa? Do you honestly think they want another war, a war with the Balaa Empire?”
“They don’t know what they want. That’s why I have to tell them.”
Kile laughed. “And to think, I actually thought you were different. I thought you were someone who understood, but the truth is, you’re no better than any of them. The vir, the Alva, nobody cares. You’re all alike. War, greed, power, lies, deceits.”
“Don’t do this, Kile. Think of what you’re throwing away. Think of what we could do together, what we could accomplish. You and I, we could finally bring peace to the kingdom. We can rule it together, side by side. With the Hunters at my command and the animals at yours, nobody would stand against us.”
“And that’s the real joke, isn’t it?” she said. “You believed I would want that.”
Pulling his ring from her finger, she dropped it on the stage at his feet. “I’m sorry, but that’s not who I am.” She turned her back on him and started to walk away, but the guards surrounded the stage. There was nowhere she could go.
“I’m sorry, Kile, but you know I can’t just let you leave,” Roland told her.
Slowly, she grinned. “Yeah, I kind of thought you would try something like this.” She pointed to the ceiling. “That’s why I brought friends.”
Roland slowly looked up, only to find the rafters filled with birds of every description. There were crows, sparrows, woodpeckers, hawks, falcons, even an eagle or two. They had quietly flown in through the open windows and were now watching the stage with interest.
“Oh, and if that’s not enough…” Kile jerked her thumb to the back of the room where, on cue, Shebara entered through one of the open doors. The guard dog was followed by her entire pack of fifty some odd members along with twenty or thirty cats. They started toward the stage, stopped when they lined the outer walls, and all sat down as one.
The guards gripped their weapons, nervously. The dogs waited patiently. The people moved to the center of the room, away from the animals. All the while, Kile watched Roland carefully. He seemed unsure of what to do next. There was a time when she admired him. She might have even loved him, but now there was nothing. He tried to use her, and this is what it had come to.
A crow cawed, somebody squeaked, a sword was drawn, and something large hit the front doors of the auditorium. The guards braced themselves as all eyes turned to the back of the room. The doors were struck again, and this time there was enough force to rip them from their hinges. When they fell to the floor, a large mountain pony with a yarrow on his head, entered the room. He paid no attention to the people staring at him b
ut casually made his way down the narrow aisle toward the stage. The vir tripped over one another and the chairs, trying to get out of his way. When Grim approached the guards, they made no attempt to stop him and even stepped aside to let him through.
“It looks like my ride’s here,” Kile said. She stepped to the front of the stage and climbed onto the pony’s back. “Don’t worry, Roland. I have no intention of trying to stop you, although I can’t speak for these vir. For me, I’m leaving. I want nothing more to do with you or your kind. I’m heading west, beyond the wastelands, and when I get there, I’ll warn them about you. Every bear, wolf, and eagle, if it walks on the ground or flies in the air, will be watching and waiting, so, if I were you, I wouldn’t come looking for me.”
Turning Grim around, she headed back up the aisle.
“Kile, wait,” Daniel shouted, running out in front them.
-Should I stomp on him?- Grim asked.
“Let’s hear what he has to say first,” she said.
“Kile, you can’t do this—you can’t just leave.”
“Yes, yes I can. Do you remember what you told me when I left the Academy? You told me not to forget which world I came from. Well, I finally figured out which one it is, and it’s not this one.”
“But, Kile…”
“You don’t have to worry about me, anymore. I know who I am. Take care of yourself, Daniel. Maybe it’s you who shouldn’t forget where you came from.”
Kile rode Grim out of the auditorium, down the front steps, and back out onto the streets of the Yuton. She paused for a moment to watch the birds fly out of the Manor House.
-Do you think they’ll follow us?- Grim asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Depends on how well he spins this latest bit of information.”
-You know, you may have just started a revolution.-
“Maybe that’s what has to happen.”
-So, where to now?-
“First stop, that street vendor over there.” She pointed to an old man sitting on the side of the road beside a fruit and vegetable stand. “He seems to be waiting for us.”