A New Path

by Xander Jade

  "Hey mom!"

  "Hello, son. Have fun at the celebration?"

  "Actually, I did. Got to spar for a little while and some archery practice too." I replied smiling.

  "What?" she asked as she looked at our faces for some clue to what happened.

  "Yeah, he went against a noble," Wade laughed.

  "He did?" Mom asked while she narrowed her eyes at me and gave me the look. You know, the look that says you better tell me what happened right now. I shrugged.

  "Yes ma’am. He clobbered the guy without breaking a sweat. Sorry Gordon." Wade said.’

  "No problem. He had it coming to him." He stated.

  "And who are you?" Mom asked.

  "Sorry, this is Gordon Ackley. He came with us from the celebration," Wade said quickly.

  "Ackley, the Duke’s son?" Mom said as her eyebrows rose high on her head.

  "Yes ma’am. I’m the second son. Blake is the heir, which Max here sparred against." He laughed.

  "You… not only did you spar against the Duke’s son; you went against the heir?" Mom growled.

  "Umm…yes. To be clear though I didn’t know who he was until now." I stammered.

  Mom went off a little at that statement saying I should have known who he was and not to be sparring with nobles in the first place.

  What difference does it make? I thought to myself. She was acting like it was a sin to get in the circle against a noble. I was about to ask her about that until Gordon spoke up.

  "To be fair Max didn’t challenge him. He just didn’t back down, but I have to ask again. Who trained you? You have to tell me. It was a magnificent display of talent and skills."

  I looked at him and narrowed my eyes to see if he was joking or not. I couldn’t see if he was being untruthful or not. I just shrugged my shoulders and stated, "Look I don’t know you all that well so I’m not going to say anything regarding that question. I will tell you that I have been training every day for the last five years."

  He looked at me and shook his head knowing I wasn’t going to tell him anything else on that subject. Wade and Liv told mom the showdown I had with the noblemen. The further in the story they went the more irritated she got.

  "I’m proud of you son, but I would rather you not get the nobles agitated. They are finicky as it is. No offense intended," she stated to Gordon.

  "No offense taken, ma’am."

  "We are about to have supper. Would you like to join us?" Mom asked.

  "That would be splendid." Gordon said.

  "Good, then you can explain to us why you’re here." Mom stated.

  We walked into the house and got everything ready for the evening meal. The girls set the table while the guys washed up. Dad came in at that time and waved at us as he cleaned up. We sat down and talked about our day and introduced him to Gordon.

  "I heard a tale today about a noble crossing swords. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you Max?" Dad asked carelessly.

  "Umm…yes sir," I said quietly.

  "It wasn’t Max’s fault really," Gordon said. "My brother was being a jerk and he called him on it."

  Dad’s eyebrows rose at that and asked for someone to tell him the tale from the beginning. So Wade began the tale and Liv finished it with Jules putting her thoughts in too. Dad shook his head and probably thinking I was stupid or something. He finally put his thoughts together and asked, "Was anyone hurt?"

  "No sir," I said carefully, "but some minor bruising maybe," chuckling nervously. I looked at dad and noticed he was looking at the others gathered around.

  "Let me ask you a question son. What would happen if you injured him?"

  "I don’t know, sir," I said not knowing what he was saying.

  "Let me enlighten you. If you would have injured or hindered him in anyway, he could have you flogged or even imprisoned. Worse than that maybe even killed."

  I looked at dad just to see if he was joking, but the redness of his face told me he wasn’t. I chose my words very carefully.

  "I didn’t know any of that dad. All I was trying to do was have some fun. I know that’s not what you want to hear and I’m sorry."

  He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know you don’t know the politics of the land son, but you need to be careful when it comes to nobles. I think it’s about time you learned about the world we know."

  "Yes sir—," but was interrupted by another voice.

  "I would be happy to teach him politics of the kingdoms," Gordon volunteered.

  Dad narrowed his eyes at Gordon. "Why are you here Gordon or would you prefer Lord?"

  "Either works for me," he stated calmly.

  "Okay milord, I have some questions. Are you here because you want some kind of retaliation? Where is your protection?"

  "No sir. I’m in town for a while and was intrigued by Max so I asked to come along to see if I could get to know him. I can take care of myself, also I’m not an heir so no need for extra protection unless I ask," Gordon stated.

  "He sounds genuine on the offer dear," mom put her thoughts into our conversation.

  "Hmmm… I’ll think about it. We have tried to keep our kids from the affairs of the kingdom as much as possible. I don’t want some idiotic ideas put in his head. I know you come from a completely different childhood, so if you are going to teach him then you teach him correctly. Do I make myself clear, milord?"

  "Crystal. Thank you, sir. I only want to offer some wisdom and instruct him if he needs it. I can come here for the lessons," Gordon said.

  "That would be best since you are a noble," dad responded with a nod. "Most won’t let Max anywhere near your palace or abodes, Lord."

  "Well, I’m not like that sir. I would like to befriend him and show him things that he wouldn’t normally get to see," Gordon stated with a curious glance. "Also, I wouldn’t mind if he showed me some techniques with the sword if it would be alright with you, sir."

  Dad thought about it for a few minutes as we ate. Everyone was waiting for him to speak. He finally nodded and said "That will be fine. Max, you need to help your mother in the garden. You seem to be trying to get out of that stage of your learning."

  I groaned and promised to help her. Gordon looked at us with bewilderment and asked why I would be doing that. I told him mom was an herbalist and that I was learning the arts of healing, and also learning how to grow, maintain a garden not just for healing, but for survival too. He looked at us with surprise and stated he would like to learn also. So mom said we could start tomorrow. The conversation after that was calm and after some laughter the guests said good night and went home.

  For the next several weeks we learned from each other. At first I was bored with learning the politics of our kingdom and hierarchy of the nobility. We have a king, queen, prince and two princesses as I already knew. He gave me scenarios if something happened to the royal family then it would be his family that takes the throne and so on after who would be on the throne. I also learned about proper etiquette when it came to nobles. Gordon never cared about stuff like that when he was around us, but we showed him the respect he deserves. After that I learned about the other kingdoms. The different races and who is at odds with who. Evidently, there were many races: elves, dwarves, vampires, dragons, orcs, weres, goblins, gnomes, mages, giants, and other hybrid creatures. I was intrigued to learn who was considered the good and the evil. I thought about what it would be like to meet some of them, wondering if they would be friendly, and also learned of the different factions of the elves: wood, high, and dark as well as many factions of weres. I thought my head was going to burst with all the knowledge that was instilled in my head and ended up teaching Gordon the ways of gardening and herbalism. When we weren’t stressing about learning, we hung out with the rest of my crew and became great friends.

  Two months of learning and misery; no I’m just kidding, Gordon was having to leave and go back to his city. I was sad but knew he had other priorities. We said farewell, but he made me promise we would v
isit Oakenshore when the first chance came upon us. After a few days, things went back to some kind of normalcy, Reap would join me to hunt and gather supplies. My life at this point was ever changing and I was about to find out how much.

  Chapter Six

  Corisande looked out the window of the carriage she was in. It was a beautiful day outside and all she wanted to do was get on a horse and ride. Instead she was stuck going to some stupid celebration in Oakenshore. She sighed loudly, the other passengers looked at her in amusement.

  "Cori, it isn’t that bad. You should be excited about this trip, it’s a celebration, and it gets you out of the palace," her older sister Estelle chuckled.

  "I know, but it’s just boring waiting in the carriage," Cori whined. "Why can’t we ride like the guards do?"

  Estelle scoffed and said, "You would rather be dirty and grimy? The carriage is for our protection."

  The handmaidens nodded. "Are you getting antsy, Cori?" the mage Shea asked.

  "I guess so. We haven’t been able to go out of the palace and I just wanted to go riding," Cori responded.

  "Well, we are half way there and we can go sightseeing around the city," Shea suggested. "Will that cheer you up?"

  Cori perked up at that statement. She would rather do that than listen to some egotistical nobleman that tried to get her attention. Even though Cori is eighteen, she is at the age of marrying. She just didn’t have time for that nonsense, she chuckled to herself. Just the thought of being some arm candy for some noble just put her in a somber mood. She shook her head and put those thoughts out of her mind.

  "Miladies, do you need to stop for anything? Nathan the knight asked.

  "No, Sir Nathan, we were just having a lovely conversation about the beautiful weather," Estelle replied.

  "It is definitely a beautiful day," he stated, then bowed to the ladies. "Let us know if you ladies need anything."

  The knight trotted off on his horse to the front to talk with the other soldiers. Dad always sends more than enough, although I guess if you are the daughter of the king then he has the right to do so. Being a princess has its ups and downs. Having thirty royal guards and twenty knights of the kingdom as an escort, people stop and stare to see who the carriage is holding. At least they were almost there.

  "At least Blake will be there and we'll have some good company while we're at the castle. What do you think about Blake, isn't he handsome?" Estelle asked while looking around the carriage. Her handmaidens sat with a dreamy look. Cori’s first thought was to gag when someone brings his name up. She couldn’t believe her sister is enchanted by him.

  "If you like a pompous jerk, then he's okay," Shea replied.

  Cori laughed and said, "Yeah, he spends more time primping himself than you Estelle. Why don't you talk to Gordon? He seems more down to earth and sweet."

  She scoffed said, "He isn't my type. His personality isn't compatible with me."

  "Is it because he isn't first in line for the duchy?" Shea calmly asked.

  "Yes, of course it is, silly. Why not? The territory they have is enormous. Just think about it, nonstop shopping and dancing," Estelle stated with a wistful look.

  Shea and Cori glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. "You do realize that it's not always fun and games, right? You will have to be arm candy to a noble that flirts with other women brazenly. He might be one that has mistresses." Cori advised warily, waiting for her response. She just shrugged and looked at the window again. They shook their heads and chuckled.

  "Did you hear a commoner out dueled him with swords?" Shea asked. "And then beat him in an archery match?"

  Cori looked at her, thinking about the conversation they had with other ladies at court about that rumor. Nobody could vouch for the truth that it happened. She laughed for a good few minutes with some of the others. It wasn't until they heard it brought up by some of the guards talking to Gordon Ackley about it. He just laughed and said it was true and tried to go on with another topic of conversation. They all gaped at him and said he couldn't say that, then try to move on. He looked uncomfortable at the situation. Finally he relented and told them of a lad strolling into the barracks with his friends and watched Blake spar with some other men. Blake popped off saying nobody was good enough in this backwater town to take him on in a real duel.

  He grinned and said the lad told one of his friends that someone needed to teach this guy a lesson in humility. They were all in shock at that statement, knowing that Blake Ackley was a repeat tournament champion of the kingdom. Gordon laughed and said he was stunned too. They listened intently when he started up again. He told them how Max, that's the lads name, went into the circle, waited with no fear, got in his stance, and let Blake come to him. Gordon advised that it only took him less than a few minutes and had Blake on the ground asking him to call out for mercy. At this point the group was stunned, and then he dropped another bomb on them. Gordon stated that he ran into the circle calling for a halt, wanting a chance to let Max calm down before he did something he would regret. So Gordon suggested that they finish the competition with archery instead of continuing with swords. He advised them that he thought Blake could save face and win against the commoner due to his ability in archery. Blake went first and got two in the center. When Max stepped up, took his three arrows out, and pushed them into the ground. He knew that this lad was special. Gordon gave a shot by shot commentary stopping when the third shot split the other arrows dead center of the target. He looked out in the distance like he was remembering something but came to and finished saying he got to know the lad and became his friend over that period of time. The group just stood there in awe at the story that was just told. Cori was brought back to the present when her sister responded.

  Estelle looked at Shea and asked, "Where did you hear that nonsense from? That isn't true."

  "I heard from Harold, an Earth mage. He said he was there and actually saw it. Stated that this person was uncanny in his exhibition of talent," Shea said.

  "So, it's true then. What difference does it make?" Estelle asked haughtily.

  Shea smirked and said, "Well, one, he's a commoner and two, he won against the reigning champion."

  "Yes, it's true." Estelle and Shea looked over at Cori. "I heard the story from Gordon Ackley himself. That must have been awesome to see if he took him out in a few minutes."

  Shea thought about it and chuckled out, "I also found out that the lad is 19 and his name is Max. Can you imagine the embarrassment Blake felt when he found out? Man, I would have loved to have been there to see his face."

  Cori thought about that for a moment and wondered who this person was that could be better than the five time reigning champion. That thought was cutoff when a loud shout was heard and the caravan abruptly stopped. All that was heard in the carriage was growls and roars, no one moved within the carriage. All of them gasped and went wide eyed.

  "Report private," said Sir Nathan

  "Orcs and wolves, sir. About eighty in total."

  "Thank you, private. Get back to your post," Nathan commanded and watched as the soldier saluted and ran off to his post.

  He walked over to the carriage and advised the situation to the ladies.

  "What do you need for us to do, Sir Nathan?" Shea asked, stunned to see the brutes before them.

  "Support milady," Nathan suggested. "Not sure what's going to happen, but we are in our defensive positions."

  "Okay, I will stay and defend the carriage," Shea said firmly, knowing she had to keep the princesses safe.

  The guards and knights circled around the carriage and waited. Cori looked out and saw that the orcs and wolves had them surrounded. They were huge green monsters and their pet wolves were just as scary. This isn't good she thought to myself, they were in deep trouble.

  ***

  Reaper and I were out hunting in the woods when we heard howls and roars. I wonder what that could be, and ran towards the noises. It took a little while to get there but when
approaching, we found an alarming situation. It looked like orcs and wolves were trying to get to the carriage in the middle of some guards. Screams and howls could be heard from all over the meadow, dead lying all over the place. It was a gruesome scene to witness. An air mage was guarding the carriage, she was good, but was still coming up short. Unslinging my bow, I grabbed some arrows out of my quiver and pushed them into the ground. Reaper was beside himself pacing and growling, remembering this kind of wolf. These were the kind that took his mother.

  Knocking an arrow, I took a deep breath, aimed, and then let it fly. One after the other I sent arrows down into the fray, aiming at the wolves first since that were more agile. Some were lodged in the necks, but most went ended up in the head area. Howls of pain and death could be heard from all over the meadow as one dark one after another went down. The orcs and wolves looked desperately to try and find where the fledglings were coming from. Finally they found where their enemy was; some broke off and started towards me and Reap tensed waiting for my sign so he could pounce. He was like a 600lb cage of muscle and rage, I wouldn't want to mess with him at the moment. They were getting closer, but we waited for the right moment. I unsheathed my sword, looked at him and nodded. He roared and I swore the whole battlefield stopped to see what threat was nearby. Chuckling we ran towards our foes.

  ***

  The group inside the carriage heard the sounds of metal against metal and animal grunts. None of them wanted to look out and check to see what was going on.