by Billy Wong
"Or the next room?" Brandon replied. "It doesn't matter. Let's smash the damn thing and save my land from those stupid beasts. Nobody disagrees?"
"We don't know if it'll blow up or something if it's broken."
"Then you get out of here, and I'll break it myself." Grinning, he added, "What stupid creatures, to leave their way here unguarded. It's the end of the line, fools!"
He was satisfied to see Rose return his grin. "If nothing strange happens, this might be the easiest mission I've ever gone on. I can't say I'm not pleased, considering I wasn't looking forward to fighting this soon after being shot with a ballista."
"I wouldn't want to see you suffer like that either. Hope you'll join me in our victory celebration afterwards. You deserve much praise for your help."
"Of course I'll be there. I'm never one to pass up a chance at good food. But a guest is all you can expect me to be for you."
Brandon ignored her implied warning, thinking with only slight guilt to try and change her mind when it was well addled with drink. He began towards the shimmering gateway and noticed his soldiers taking him up on his offer to leave the area, but happily Rose stayed by his side. Walking up to the arch, he swung his greatsword, and got the reward of a long ringing noise and an immense surge of energy which coursed into his body and threw him backwards.
"It shocked me!" he growled, and looking up saw the structure unharmed.
"How about I give it a try?" Rose said. "Mine's a little magical." Not waiting for his response, she took his place before the arch and put all her power into a great twisting swing. The ringing was far louder, and sparks flew as Thorn bit halfway into its side. But the energy feedback hurled Rose back much farther than it had Brandon, and she spat, "I guess the greater the damage, the stronger the response."
Helping her get up with some difficulty, Brandon realized her more shaken than she let on. Her wound... "How about you give me your sword, and I'll finish the job?"
Rose looked a bit embarrassed at the notion. "I'll be fine. I've taken worse hits."
"It is my county being endangered by these monsters. So why not let me get the last blow in this fight?"
She seemed to find that appropriate, and smiled. "All right. But be prepared, it was a bad shock."
Suddenly a single fagre walked out of the portal, but she chopped it down before it could do anything. "That's all?" Brandon asked it posthumously. He found out Rose wasn't kidding about the shock when he delivered a similar blow to hers, cutting fully through the arch's side, and was tossed away like a rag doll. He looked up in a daze to see the portal shaking dangerously, as if unable to contain the energies residing within much longer. Rose grabbed him and hauled him to his feet, and they ran while the magical gateway screamed behind them. A tremendous force hit them from behind with its explosion, throwing both warriors over ten feet through the air to slam into a mossy cave wall. "Ouch," Brandon groaned. He looked to see Rose smiling and returned her happy expression. "Looks like we got it. Let's go celebrate. I still can't believe they didn't leave any guards for the gate!"
Rose shrugged, still lying on the ground. "They are stupid monsters. Wonder where they came from, though, and what they were." Picking themselves up, they walked outside into dimming sunlight, and Brandon looked forward to the night to come.
#
"I'm fine," Ashleigh insisted in a slurred voice, but Derrick could tell she wasn't and eased her back down into bed. He knew they wouldn't survive another attack, and prayed the others returned soon with good news. The fort's defenders had defeated their monstrous foes, though they'd suffered great losses in the process. Derrick hoped Ashleigh wouldn't end up joining said casualties. She'd rejoined the battle quickly despite having received a bad concussion, and now paid the price for it. Though otherwise a disciplined and smart fighter, when it came to fighting through injury she acted like she had something to prove. "We kicked their rears good, huh?"
Not wanting to say anything to upset her, he replied, "Yeah, we did, even after they got better ranged weapons. Glory to the humans!"
"Only bad thing is the Count wasn't here to see it," she said, sounding drunk. "He would've been proud."
"He will be."
"He'll get me a nice pillow for my headache, right?"
"Of course he will."
Ashleigh laughed weirdly. "Are you humoring me?" Derrick paused, and she continued, "You think the Count will reward me for my good work? Forget about your friend and remember me?"
This took Derrick off guard, and he stammered, "I h-hope so. She's got a man."
"Like that ever stopped him. I used to have one, too. But I threw him away for nothing." She was crying now. "Nothing now, but what joy then! He made great love."
Derrick wondered what'd happened between her and Brandon. But while it made him curious, he didn't want her recovery to be affected by stress, and said, "Get some rest. I'll see you when you're better." And hopefully she'd forget about this talk, lest the memory make their interactions awkward.
"Protect your friend," she warned. "She'll only be heartbroken if she lets him take her, because his interest will only last so long."
He smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. But you should rest, or you might not be."
"I won't be unless I forget him."
"Then do it." If Brandon was really the kind of man she made him out to be, she could certainly do better than that.
She laughed bitterly and moaned, "Don't you think I tried? You with your perfect love, how would you know about me?"
Derrick didn't think his relationship with Julie perfect, when she insisted on scaring the piss out of him by going on perilous adventures with their somewhat crazy friend Rose. But it was certainly better than what Ashleigh alluded to, and he hoped she didn't dwell on it so much when she wasn't suffering from a head injury. Preparing to leave, he said meekly, "Good luck."
"Nothing to do with it," he heard her reply, and hurried out of the room. He'd never picked up on the woman's attraction to the count before, but wondered if he should have. Wondering if Julie had noticed, he went to their room and spent some time talking with her about their comrades before she needed to sleep. She had suspected the two of having a past relationship. Sometime next morning, he heard bells and went outside to see. It relieved him to find that another attack wasn't beginning, but instead Brandon's group returned. As they approached Rose looked up and smiled brightly at him, and he knew they had good news.
They met in the front courtyard where Rose wrapped him in a huge hug, seemingly not even noticing when she pulled him up off the ground in her excitement. Releasing him, she beamed, "We did it! There won't be any more fagre hordes around here. We destroyed the doorway to their home, wherever that was."
"Was it hard?"
"Shockingly easy, actually. We didn't have to call for help after all. Took care of it without a hitch ourselves." Her face grew somber. "We found Graham's glaive in there, so I guess he didn't make it. How did things go here? Was the last attack rough?"
"Very. They seemed to be getting smarter, or at least more advanced armament-wise. We wouldn't have survived another attack."
Rose's grin returned. "It's a good thing there won't be another one, then. Is Julie any better?"
"Yeah, I think she is. I was afraid she wouldn't make it, but the medicine Ashleigh gave her seems to be doing some good. It's too bad Ashleigh got pretty hurt herself. She really likes Count Brandon, too."
"He likes me. Hope he'll forget about it when I leave."
Derrick didn't know what to make of her flat tone. "What happened? Did you two..?"
She scoffed. "Of course not! I've got more sense than that. He certainly tried, though. When we set up camp on the way back, he did his best to get me in bed, even by making me drunk! But I got him to drink the same amount as me, and eventually he passed out. Of course, I have a little hangover too. Not as bad as him, though."
Derrick glanced the count's way, and saw he indeed looked rather miserable considering the othe
rwise happy occasion. He was saying something about a celebratory feast, and Derrick asked Rose, "Are we staying for the party? We could leave if you're uncomfortable."
"I am a little, but I can take it. Julie's not quite well, and I'm sure you'd have fun. You decide whether to stay or leave. One more night won't kill me."
He appreciated his friend's good nature. "Okay, let's stay. Just hope Brandon stays under control."
#
Rose chatted distractedly with Ashleigh, who had some trouble sitting up straight, as she stole glances at Count Brandon telling of the arch's destruction to some soldier drinking buddies. The blonde woman noticed her attention towards the count and asked, "So what do you think of him?"
She shrugged. "Good fighter, fun guy, wish he was a little less aggressive towards me, though."
"Have you ever asked him to stop?"
She nodded vigorously. "Yes, more than once! Just because I'm named after a flower, doesn't mean I'm that meek. I think it's natural to many men though, to not be inclined to respect the wishes of women. I used to mind it more than I do now, but age and wisdom have taught me to be more understanding. It doesn't make them bad people—my own husband has shown this before, and he's a wonderful person. It just makes them annoying men."
"I would've thought a woman as physically strong as you might be exempt from such treatment, but I guess not." Ashleigh frowned. "But age and wisdom? You're not even twenty-three."
"Sure, but... years are only one way to age."
"There's that famous line of yours! I'm a girl and I think it's girly."
"I think you mean, like Finn says, vampire cultist-like." They shared a laugh over that. "If you like him so much, why don't you go over and talk to him?"
The blonde sighed. "There's no point. He likes you now, not me."
"Maybe when I'm gone-"
Ashleigh cut her off. "It won't matter. His loves—infatuations, maybe I should say—never stop until he finds someone else to obsess over. Though I hope it'll be me, again."
"Why do you like him so much? The way you speak of him is rather negative."
"It sounds that way, I'm sure, but there are many good things about him too. He's funny, generous, brave—so what if his handling of romance isn't the best? I'd just worry about whether he would stay devoted to me if we got married. But even if he had a thing for another woman, like you, I wouldn't abandon him. Hopefully, we could get through the trouble. It's a stupid dream, I know. There's little hope for us, but just the thought of him in my bed puts me to happy sleep every night."
Rose smiled. "You really do like him. Well, you have your share of issues to deal with, but so do I. Don't give up, go to him. Hopefully I'll hear your good news sooner than later."
The frown disappeared from Ashleigh's face, but she didn't quite smile. "You support my pursuit of him? This isn't just you trying to get him off your back, is it?"
Rose admitted that to be a little part of her agenda, but was still being honest when she said, "I'm always eager to see love blossom between two good people. And anyway, I don't need you to get him 'off my back.' I'm already leaving soon."
Ashleigh started to say something, but Brandon interrupted, walking over to ask boisterously, "So, how are my two favorite warrior ladies?! You two feeling better?"
"I'm fine," Rose replied. She shot the nervous blonde an encouraging look and pinched her outside the count's view, hoping to get her to open up. "But Ashleigh's head is bothering her. Maybe you could do something for it?"
"Rose, it's your last night here. Stop worrying so much about others and do something for yourself."
"I'm enjoying myself as is."
"Are you? Come on, get up and walk with me. I'm going to show you something."
Though she didn't really want to, Rose stood with a helpless look at Ashleigh and walked with Brandon outside. "Where are we going?" she asked, but it became evident as he scaled the wall, and sitting on the parapet motioned her to join him.
"See that star?" he said to Rose's dismay. "That's the star of new starts. You can't always see it, but when you do, it means something new and wonderful is waiting for you around the corner, if only you have the wisdom to acknowledge it and the courage to take it. And I know you have plenty of both, Meatball." He hugged her around the shoulders, pulling her close, and she felt the warmth of his body a bit too clearly.
She pushed him away gently, careful not to send him off the wall. "This isn't going to work. Was what you said even true, or did you make that story up? For the thousandth time, I'm loyal to my Finn and staying that way. If that star really does signify a new start, go back inside and look for yours, because it's not with me."
"You're as stubborn as me," Brandon said with a sad look. "What a strong woman you are. You're the only one I can remember refusing me for so long. You've proven your point, that your will's unbreakable. Now you're free to change your own mind, and abandon your hopeless love for one with a future."
Rose's eyes began to grow wet, and she snarled, "Why do you keep trying to break down my love? It's terribly wrong, and hurts me like a ballista bolt in my heart. It's over, Brandon. Even if you ever had a chance with me, you'd have killed it with your attempts to tarnish Finn's image. I'll never give him up. Find someone who wants you, Count. I never will."
He was clearly taken aback. "I'm sorry, Rose! I was just saying what I believe. I don't think your husband is nearly as devoted to you as you to him. He doesn't deserve you. I'd give you everything you wanted, never let you down. Please give me a chance!"
"A chance is too much," she breathed, and walked back inside, blinking away tears.
Rose didn't see Derrick anywhere, and decided to check his and Julie's room. From outside, she could hear their happy voices, and wiped at her eyes while she grew envious of their joyful union. Not perfect, she knew, but so much better than hers it might as well have been. It took longer than expected for Derrick to answer her knock.
"What's wrong?" he asked when he saw her hurt look.
"Nothing. I just don't want to be where Brandon will bother me right now. Can I hide out here?"
"There's no extra bed," Julie warned.
Rose chuckled. "I can sleep on the floor. I'm more than used to it."
"So what happened?" Derrick asked.
"Brandon keeps trying to seduce me, like an incubus I tell you! He claimed that other women found him charming, and I suppose I did before, but his persistence is getting pretty irritating! I wish he'd respect my marriage, and my love. I try to ignore his harmful words, but just can't, and they put doubt in my mind I don't want there. Can't he just look to Ashleigh, who actually wants him?"
"He used to, she told me."
"Yes, I know. I wonder what happened between them exactly. I suppose it doesn't matter to us much. Let's just let the night pass and get out of here."
"I'm so glad you survived, Rose," Julie said unexpectedly. She still looked and sounded extremely weak, but if Derrick said she was improving she must be. "That ballista must have hurt."
That brought some cheer back to Rose, and she smiled. "I'm gladder you're okay. You were worse off than me afterwards, remember?"
"That's embarrassing. I hope I'll do better next time."
"Next time, don't get shot by a ballista. Pay more attention to your enemies, instead of focusing on your pike so much."
"What happened to the pike, anyway?" Julie asked coyly.
She grinned. "You like that pike. I've been trying to teach you the sword, and you'd rather use a spear?"
"I'm scared to get too close," she admitted.
Rose frowned momentarily, but brushing aside a little disappointment said, "Don't fret, you're still a brave girl to be able to go into melee with those things. I'd want to use a polearm too, if I wasn't the loon I am. But I threw that particular pike like a javelin into one of the fagres after you fell. It should still be there in town. Want me to pick it up tomorrow, or would you like a new one?"
Her student thought o
n it for a moment. "A new one would be nice. That one was a bit too long for me, and it's not like it carries good memories with it."
Derrick laughed. "After I heard what happened to you girls, I felt lucky to have only gotten a spear to my hip. You two sure you're fit to travel already?"
She didn't know about Julie and worried quite a bit about her, but Rose said for herself, "I was smashing a magical portal yesterday! Of course I'm ready to travel."
"I'll be okay," Julie added. "We're flying back, right?"
"Yes, Finn's waiting for us." Rose knew her husband would be bored out of his wits by now, and prayed he hadn't gotten himself into trouble again while by his lonesome. Worry grew in her heart. "I doubt he'll approve of the way I handled Brandon."
"You didn't sleep with him, and you didn't kick the tar out of him," Derrick said approvingly. Julie, Rose noticed, had fallen asleep.
"I let him kiss me," she admitted. "It was when he took the ballista bolt out of me, and you were both unconscious. I was bleeding like a stuck pig, in terrible agony, and scared out of my wits. So I didn't stop him."
"You did just have a ballista bolt taken out of you."
With just a touch of pride mingling with her guilt, she replied, "I still could have, and should have, stopped him."
"It was only a little kiss. Just don't tell Finn. What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Then Derrick asked, "But did you enjoy it?"
"No, I was in too much pain! My agony might've saved me from improper thoughts there." Softly, "It did make me feel slightly better, though."
"Don't worry about it. It's pretty late already, so why not get some sleep and hope you feel better in the morning?"
"All right."
#
Brandon woke early, thoughts of his rejection by Rose making it difficult to go back to sleep. He looked outside his window, and took a measure of comfort from seeing the bright sun's light beginning to spread over the land He had feared several times in the recent past that he might never see another day break, and now knew he had a future after all. If only he could have Rose in that future, everything would be perfect. He'd never been able to maintain a relationship for long, as he'd always grown weary of knowing his lady was no peer to him, but an inferior who could not fully share in his life. Before Rose, Ashleigh had been the closest, but she too proved unsuited to him, and he longed to have that mightiest of women, the warrior called Iron Flower.