Heart of the Crown

by Paul J Bennett

  "Revi will do. I'm here to consult with her on a matter of some importance."

  "Indeed? And what matter might that be? Are you proposing a union of some sort? Is this to be a proposal?"

  Revi was flabbergasted, "Proposal? No, of course not, I just want your daughter."

  "I beg your pardon!" she responded. "She's a proper young lady, and I will not tolerate such behaviour."

  Revi suddenly understood her meaning and blushed. "No, Lady Mary, you misunderstand. I am here to consult with her on matters pertaining to the arcane arts."

  It was now her turn to be surprised, "Pardon?"

  "Magic. I was told she might have the capacity to learn it. I am in need of an apprentice."

  "And who told you of such things?"

  "Dame Beverly Fitzwilliam."

  Her face softened, "Well, I suppose you'd best come in then. You may bring your friend, too," she said, pointing at Lily.

  "Thank you, Baroness," Revi replied. "You are most gracious."

  They hopped off the wagon and made their way to the doorway where Lady Mary led them into an inviting sitting room. "Please have a seat. I'll have servants bring some wine. Does your friend drink wine?"

  Revi looked to Lily, "No, but cider would do."

  Lady Mary gave the orders and then sat down, examining Revi Bloom in some detail. "You look a little young for a mage," she commented.

  "Well, yes. I should have been an apprentice for longer, but Andronicus, my master, died prematurely. Now I find myself in need of an assistant."

  The servants returned with drinks, and while they sat, Lady Mary sent one to fetch Aubrey. Revi was complimenting the baroness on the wine as Aubrey entered. She was shorter than he had expected. Her long brown hair hung loosely from her shoulders, and while she was impeccably dressed in fine clothing, he was struck more by the manner in which she carried herself. This woman, who looked quite young to his eyes, carried herself with grace and elegance.

  "I'm here, Mother," she said, as she entered.

  "Aubrey, dear, this is Magister Revi Bloom, the Royal Life Mage."

  "Pleased to meet you, Master Bloom," she said.

  "He's come to see you, Aubrey."

  "Me? How can that be?"

  "I was told," said Revi, "that you already have some knowledge of magic?"

  "Who told you that?" she asked.

  "Does it matter? Is it true?"

  "I know a little, though I'm sure my education pales in comparison to yours."

  "Dame Beverly told me," he finally revealed.

  "Cousin Beverly? How fares she?"

  "Quite well." Revi continued. "She is sworn to the service of Princess Anna. But what I'd really like to do is ascertain your knowledge. Would that be all right?" he requested, looking to Lady Mary, who simply nodded.

  "How would we do that?" she asked.

  "I'll show you some symbols, and you tell me what they are. How's that for starters?"

  "All right. When would you like to begin?"

  "As soon as possible. I do have to get some books from my wagon, and then we can start."

  "Are you staying in town?" asked Lady Mary.

  Revi looked to the baroness, suddenly aware of his lack of planning. "I haven't made those arrangements yet, my primary objective was to meet Lady Aubrey, here."

  "Well, we must put you in a guest room. Might I enquire as to your friend here?"

  "This is Lily, she's a Saurian."

  "A Saurian!" exclaimed Aubrey. "I've heard of those. I thought they were extinct?"

  "So did we, till we found Lily, here."

  "Are you able to communicate with her?" Aubrey asked.

  "Yes, by using a spell. I'll cast it on you later so you can see how it works, but right now we have more important matters to attend to."

  The baroness interrupted the exchange, "I shall have your horses and wagon seen to. Would you like the cargo brought indoors as well?"

  "Yes, please, though I need to pick out a book or two before that happens. If you'll excuse me a moment, I shall just fetch my notes."

  He rushed out the door to retrieve several books while Lily looked around the room. Her chair was tall for her short legs, and she dangled them, swinging them back and forth while she surveyed the furnishings. Soon, Revi returned with two books.

  "I have a one here which is designed as a primary trainer," he explained. "It goes over the magical alphabet. Let's see how you make out." He laid the book on the arm of her chair and opened it to a page. "This is the letter Mu," he said.

  "Yes, I recognize it," Aubrey replied, "but isn't in pronounced more like moo?"

  Revi was taken by surprise, "Yes it is. How did you know that?"

  "I've read everything I can about magic. My mother thinks there might have been mages in our family generations ago."

  "Astounding," said Revi. "Flip through the pages and see if you recognize any other letters."

  She began going through the book, page by page, naming all the runes. Revi was impressed, it had taken months of hard work for him to master the basics, and Andronicus had told him it was difficult for a mage to find someone with magical potential. By his reckoning, he had just struck gold.

  He opened the second book and withdrew a loose paper, handing it to her. "What do you make of this?" he asked.

  She scrutinized it before answering, "I don't know this one, though it has similarities to both Sep and Mar. Is this some type of hybrid?"

  "No," he replied. "This is a new rune."

  "New? I thought the magical runes had all been discovered years ago."

  "So did I, but a recent discovery has told me otherwise. How would you like to help me decipher this?"

  "I would love to. Would it involve travel?"

  Revi considered the question before answering, "Not immediately, no. We'd study it here, though not in this room?"

  "What's wrong with this room?" asked Lady Mary.

  "We don't want to damage any of your fine furniture, Baroness," replied Revi.

  "Is there danger involved?" the baroness asked, a look of fear on her face.

  "No," he replied, "but when playing with runes, sometimes minor magical tremors can erupt. They usually shake things a little, more like a vibration. I wouldn't want you to be worrying all the time. We would just require a room with a couple of chairs and a table, and maybe a window for light, that's all."

  "Is this an offer to make her your apprentice?" asked the baroness.

  "Yes, I suppose it is. Though I daresay it won't be a traditional apprenticeship, I have little experience in training others. Would that be acceptable?" He looked to Lady Mary for acceptance.

  She visibly composed herself before replying, "Lady Aubrey is a young lady of only sixteen years. I must have assurances you will treat her with the respect due her station. She would be your apprentice only, nothing more."

  "Of course, I can assure you I will treat her properly. Besides, I'm sure if I didn't I'd be sliced in half by your niece, she seems to think highly of Lady Aubrey."

  "Will we be seeing Beverly?" Aubrey asked.

  "Eventually, but not right away, we must unlock the secret of the runes."

  "There's more than one?" she asked.

  "Oh yes, didn't I mention? There are two new runes."

  "Does that mean two new spells?" asked the younger Brandon.

  "No, runes are combined to form magical spells. These two new runes could potentially combine with others to form many new spells."

  "So how do we unlock them," she asked, her excitement at the prospect obvious to all in the room.

  "First, we find out how to pronounce them, and then we start combining them and watching for effects. It's a long and tedious process, but it should work."

  "Well then," said Aubrey, "we best get started."

  Nine

  Kingsford

  Summer 960 MC

  Sir Barnsley Granville looked across the cobblestone courtyard, shaking his head at what he saw. "What a s
trange assemblage of knights."

  His companion, a middle-aged man with a thick beard, wiped down his sword as he responded, "Whatever do you mean?"

  "Well," the younger man continued, "it's rather an unusual mix, don't you think?"

  "It's rather an unusual situation," interjected Dame Aelwyth, running her hand through her long, brown hair.

  "Why would you say that?" asked the bearded man.

  "It's simple," responded Aelwyth. "We're going into a potentially hostile foreign kingdom in the service of a young girl.

  "The king must have a sense of humour," observed Sir Barnsley.

  "Why," objected Aelwyth, "because most of us are women?"

  "No," he replied, "because none of us appear to be nobles. Are any of us from well-to-do families? How about you, Sir Howard?"

  "Not I," replied the bearded man, "though I've been a knight for nigh on ten years, I was born a commoner. What of you, Aelwyth?"

  "I'm from Wickfield," she replied. "I earned my spurs on the Norland border."

  "What's your family name?" asked Sir Howard.

  "Our family uses no name. We trace our ancestors back to the time of old."

  "What, pray tell," said Sir Barnsley, "does that mean?"

  "It means," offered Sir Howard, "that she can trace her ancestors back to the original mercenaries who came to this land."

  "So," mused Sir Barnsley, "an old family."

  "Old? Yes, but not a noble one," explained Dame Aelwyth. "We have no land holdings to speak of and no influence at court."

  "But you can fight," offered Sir Howard.

  "How do you know that?" she replied.

  "Simple," he responded, "if you couldn't fight, you wouldn't have been knighted."

  "What do either of you know about our other two companions?" interrupted Sir Barnsley.

  It was Aelwyth who responded, "The shorter one, Dame Abigail, is from the south, near Shrewesdale. Not sure of her family, but she talks like a commoner."

  "And the other?" asked Sir Howard.

  "That's Dame Juliet, but I just met her, so I don't know anything else about her."

  "Another from an old line, perhaps?" pondered the older knight.

  "She's very comely," observed Sir Barnsley, "like a newborn butterfly on the wind, she doth make my heart yearn for spring to return."

  "You're a poet," observed Sir Howard.

  "Among other things," he admitted.

  Drawn by the conversation, their new companions wandered over. The taller of the two, Dame Juliet, had long, sandy coloured hair which was braided into two tails.

  "I hear we are to work together," she remarked.

  "Be still my heart," said Sir Barnsley.

  Dame Abigail laughed at the remark.

  "You doth wound my heart with your merriment," Sir Barnsley announced.

  Dame Abigail grew quiet suddenly, the smile disappearing from her face. "I'm sorry, I thought you were jesting."

  The young man held his face in its sorrowful expression for the briefest of moments and then he broke into a grin. "I was," he admitted, "though I pray it caused no offense."

  "Why are we all here?" asked Dame Juliet.

  "We are here," said Sir Howard, "because we have been recruited by Sir Arnim Caster. Did he not recruit you also?"

  "Of course," remarked the sandy-haired knight, "but I meant what are we doing here, in Kingsford."

  "Good question," remarked Sir Barnsley. "I'd never heard of Sir Arnim before. Had any of you?"

  They each shook their head, save for Sir Howard. "It doesn't matter," the older knight said, "he's not our new commander."

  The others all looked at him, surprised by this nugget of information.

  "Then who is?" asked Barnsley.

  "Dame Beverly Fitzwilliam," he replied.

  "Now that's a name I recognize," said Dame Abigail.

  "Didn't she run into some sort of problem in Shrewesdale?" asked Sir Barnsley.

  "That was just an excuse to get rid of her," defended Dame Abigail. "The Earl of Shrewesdale doesn't like lady knights."

  "Well, I must say it's his loss," announced Sir Howard. "She proved her mettle well enough during the rebellion."

  Hearing a door open, they looked across the courtyard to see their recruiter approaching.

  "Here comes Sir Arnim," said Sir Howard. "Doubtless he'll let us know what's going on now that we're all assembled."

  Sir Arnim Caster, Knight of the Hound, walked across the stone courtyard. He saw the knights standing about, chatting with each other and lamented the fact that they were not common soldiers used to a more disciplined approach. He was about to yell at them, but thought better of it, these were knights, after all. He didn't offer any sign of greeting, merely grumbled as he approached.

  "Line up," he commanded. "The royal party will be arriving soon. Smartly now, like proper soldiers."

  "We're not soldiers," objected Sir Barnsley, "we're knights."

  Arnim's face grew red, and he looked like he would explode in a rage, but then he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

  "Then line up like knights," he responded. "The princess will be arriving shortly and the head of our order would like to have a few words."

  They wandered into a rough line, each looking expectantly at the gate that was open to the road. Sir Arnim took up a position at the end of the line, closest to the gate and waited.

  The sound of horseshoes striking stone soon echoed toward them and then a rider turned up the road, coming into view. She was a redheaded woman, wearing very expensive looking armour, riding a Mercerian Charger. She pulled up a short distance from the line and looked toward Sir Arnim.

  "What have we here?" she asked.

  "I have the rest of your knights here, Dame Beverly. Would you care to inspect them?"

  "I would," she said, dismounting in one smooth motion, dropping the reins of her horse; the great beast obediently remained stationary. She made her way to the first knight in line, Sir Arnim falling in beside her.

  "And who do we have here?" she asked.

  "This is Sir Barnsley Granville," answered Arnim. "He hails from Colbridge."

  "You're close to home, Sir Barnsley," commented Beverly.

  "Indeed I am, Ma'am," replied the poet.

  Beverly turned her attention to the next in line.

  "This," offered Arnim, "is Dame Aelwyth."

  "Ah, I heard your name years ago," remarked Beverly, "but had no way of finding you. I see you carry an axe, do you use any other weapons?"

  "I do," the woman replied, "though I favour the axe over the sword."

  "I'm trained in the axe myself," said Beverly. "It will be interesting to face someone skilled in its use."

  "You use the axe?" replied Aelwyth. "Your reputation says you favour the sword or hammer."

  "I'm proficient in many weapons," explained Beverly, "I've learned them all. If you survive long enough, you might get to meet the man who trained me."

  "Are we expecting danger?" asked Aelwyth.

  "Expecting? No, but we must always be prepared," Beverly said as she moved to the next in line.

  "And you are?"

  "Sir Howard Elsworth," he replied.

  "I know that name," she mused. "You earned some renown in the north, didn't you?"

  "I did, though that was some time ago. Kind of you to remember."

  "I'm surprised you weren't already sworn to service," remarked Beverly.

  "Alas, I was, but my previous lord dismissed me as a cost-cutting measure."

  "Surely not!" exclaimed Beverly.

  "I'm afraid the Earl of Tewsbury has seen tough times. He dismissed a number of people from his service."

  "His loss is our gain," offered Beverly, moving to the next knight to find herself towering over the recruit before her.

  "Dame?" she asked.

  "Abigail," the diminutive knight replied.

  "Abigail Thompson?"

  "Yes, but we've not met before, have we?" />
  "No, but a dear friend once told me about a few female knights and your name came up, among others." Beverly paused to clear her throat before continuing, "I see you use a mace, an interesting choice of weapon. It looks like it's seen a lot of use."

  "It has, I've been fighting Orcs near the Artisan Hills for years."

  "You were in service to the Earl of Eastwood?" asked Beverly.

  "Only until he rebelled," she replied. "I left his service when he made a deal with the Orcs."

  Beverly stared at her for a moment, deep in thought. "I trust that you don't hold any old loyalties to his family?"

  "Of course not," Dame Abigail replied. "I'm fully committed to the service of the princess."

  "Excellent, then we'll have no trouble."

  "And this," offered up Sir Arnim, "is Dame Juliet."

  "Dame Juliet...?" asked Beverly.

  "I prefer not to use my last name," the woman replied.

  "I trust you're not in trouble?"

  "Not at all, but I wish to make my own way, not rely on my family's reputation."

  "I respect that," said Beverly, turning back to Arnim.

  "They seem adequate to the task, Arnim. Have them report to the Earl of Kingsford's estate, they will meet the rest of the hounds there."

  "I'll see to it," responded Arnim.

  Beverly turned her attention back to the line of knights, "Are there any questions?"

  It was Sir Barnsley who spoke up first, "Might I enquire how we are to address you? You are our commander, are you not?"

  "I am," she responded, "but this is a small detachment. Only ten knights, once you include myself and the others. You may address me as Dame Beverly or Lady Beverly if you wish. My father is the Baron of Bodden, and my mother died many years ago so I may also be addressed as Lady Fitzwilliam, if that suits your fancy. When we're not in the presence of her highness, you may simply address me as Beverly. I'm not a stickler for protocol, though I am very strict about training."

  "What can you tell us about the princess?" asked Aelwyth.

  "Despite her young age, she is highly intelligent and battle tested. She led us to victory on the battlefield during the recent rebellion. You will treat her at all times with the respect due her station. While we are abroad, she will always be accompanied by a bodyguard. This will usually be either myself or Gerald Matheson, but on occasion it might be one of you."